Genesis 45:1-28

The Reconciliation of the Brothers

45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, ¹  so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained ²  with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 45:2 He wept loudly; ³  the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. ⁴ 

45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were dumbfounded before him. 45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, ⁵  for God sent me ⁶  ahead of you to preserve life! 45:6 For these past two years there has been famine in ⁷  the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 45:7 God sent me ⁸  ahead of you to preserve you ⁹  on the earth and to save your lives ¹⁰  by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser ¹¹  to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Now go up to my father quickly ¹²  and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 45:10 You will live ¹³  in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me – you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 45:11 I will provide you with food ¹⁴  there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 45:12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you. ¹⁵  45:13 So tell ¹⁶  my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” ¹⁷ 

45:14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 45:15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.

45:16 Now it was reported ¹⁸  in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased ¹⁹  Pharaoh and his servants. 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go ²⁰  to the land of Canaan! 45:18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you ²¹  the best land in Egypt and you will eat ²²  the best ²³  of the land.’ 45:19 You are also commanded to say, ²⁴  ‘Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come. 45:20 Don’t worry ²⁵  about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”

45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. ²⁶  Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, ²⁷  and he gave them provisions for the journey. 45:22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, ²⁸  but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. ²⁹  45:23 To his father he sent the following: ³⁰  ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey. 45:24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.” ³¹ 

45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ³²  45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, ³³  for he did not believe them. 45:27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them, ³⁴  and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”

Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ³⁵  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ³⁶  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 19:1

The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

19:1 The two angels came to Sodom in the evening while ³⁷  Lot was sitting in the city’s gateway. ³⁸  When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face toward the ground.

Genesis 5:10

5:10 Enosh lived 815 years after he became the father of Kenan, and he had other sons and daughters.

Genesis 7:14

7:14 They entered, ³⁹  along with every living creature after its kind, every animal after its kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, everything with wings. ⁴⁰ 

Genesis 7:2

7:2 You must take with you seven ⁴¹  of every kind of clean animal, ⁴²  the male and its mate, ⁴³  two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

Genesis 1:2-3

1:2 Now ⁴⁴  the earth ⁴⁵  was without shape and empty, ⁴⁶  and darkness ⁴⁷  was over the surface of the watery deep, ⁴⁸  but the Spirit of God ⁴⁹  was moving ⁵⁰  over the surface ⁵¹  of the water. ⁵²  1:3 God said, ⁵³  “Let there be ⁵⁴  light.” ⁵⁵  And there was light!

Genesis 1:6

1:6 God said, “Let there be an expanse ⁵⁶  in the midst of the waters and let it separate water ⁵⁷  from water.

Genesis 1:16

1:16 God made two great lights ⁵⁸  – the greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also. ⁵⁹ 

[45:1]  ¹ tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”

[45:1]  ² tn Heb “stood.”

[45:2]  ³ tn Heb “and he gave his voice in weeping,” meaning that Joseph could not restrain himself and wept out loud.

[45:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and the Egyptians heard and the household of Pharaoh heard.” Presumably in the latter case this was by means of a report.

[45:5]  ⁵ tn Heb “let there not be anger in your eyes.”

[45:5]  ⁶ sn You sold me here, for God sent me. The tension remains as to how the brothers’ wickedness and God’s intentions work together. Clearly God is able to transform the actions of wickedness to bring about some gracious end. But this is saying more than that; it is saying that from the beginning it was God who sent Joseph here. Although harmonization of these ideas remains humanly impossible, the divine intention is what should be the focus. Only that will enable reconciliation.

[45:6]  ⁷ tn Heb “the famine [has been] in the midst of.”

[45:7]  ⁸ sn God sent me. The repetition of this theme that God sent Joseph is reminiscent of commission narratives in which the leader could announce that God sent him (e.g., Exod 3:15).

[45:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “to make you a remnant.” The verb, followed here by the preposition לְ (lÿ), means “to make.”

[45:7]  ¹⁰ tn The infinitive gives a second purpose for God’s action.

[45:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a father.” The term is used here figuratively of one who gives advice, as a father would to his children.

[45:9]  ¹² tn Heb “hurry and go up.”

[45:10]  ¹³ tn The perfect verbal form with vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:11]  ¹⁴ tn The verb כּוּל (kul) in the Pilpel stem means “to nourish, to support, to sustain.” As in 1 Kgs 20:27, it here means “to supply with food.”

[45:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “And, look, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth is the one speaking to you.”

[45:13]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect verbal form with the vav consecutive here expresses instruction.

[45:13]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and hurry and bring down my father to here.”

[45:16]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “and the sound was heard.”

[45:16]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “was good in the eyes of.”

[45:17]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and go! Enter!”

[45:18]  ²¹ tn After the imperatives in vv. 17-18a, the cohortative with vav indicates result.

[45:18]  ²² tn After the cohortative the imperative with vav states the ultimate goal.

[45:18]  ²³ tn Heb “fat.”

[45:19]  ²⁴ tn The words “to say” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[45:20]  ²⁵ tn Heb “let not your eye regard.”

[45:21]  ²⁶ tn Heb “and the sons of Israel did so.”

[45:21]  ²⁷ tn Heb “according to the mouth of Pharaoh.”

[45:22]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to all of them he gave, to each one, changes of outer garments.”

[45:22]  ²⁹ tn Heb “changes of outer garments.”

[45:23]  ³⁰ tn Heb “according to this.”

[45:24]  ³¹ tn Heb “do not be stirred up in the way.” The verb means “stir up.” Some understand the Hebrew verb רָגָז (ragaz, “to stir up”) as a reference to quarreling (see Prov 29:9, where it has this connotation), but in Exod 15:14 and other passages it means “to fear.” This might refer to a fear of robbers, but more likely it is an assuring word that they need not be fearful about returning to Egypt. They might have thought that once Jacob was in Egypt, Joseph would take his revenge on them.

[45:25]  ³² tn Heb “and they entered the land of Canaan to their father.”

[45:26]  ³³ tn Heb “and his heart was numb.” Jacob was stunned by the unbelievable news and was unable to respond.

[45:27]  ³⁴ tn Heb “and they spoke to him all the words of Joseph which he had spoke to them.”

[19:1]  ³⁵ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ³⁶ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[19:1]  ³⁷ tn The disjunctive clause is temporal here, indicating what Lot was doing at the time of their arrival.

[19:1]  ³⁸ tn Heb “sitting in the gate of Sodom.” The phrase “the gate of Sodom” has been translated “the city’s gateway” for stylistic reasons.

[7:14]  ³⁹ tn The verb “entered” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:14]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “every bird, every wing.”

[7:2]  ⁴¹ tn Or “seven pairs” (cf. NRSV).

[7:2]  ⁴² sn For a study of the Levitical terminology of “clean” and “unclean,” see L. E. Toombs, IDB 1:643.

[7:2]  ⁴³ tn Heb “a male and his female” (also a second time at the end of this verse). The terms used here for male and female animals (אִישׁ, ’ish) and אִשָּׁה, ’ishah) normally refer to humans.

[1:2]  ⁴⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (conjunction + subject + verb) at the beginning of v. 2 gives background information for the following narrative, explaining the state of things when “God said…” (v. 3). Verse one is a title to the chapter, v. 2 provides information about the state of things when God spoke, and v. 3 begins the narrative per se with the typical narrative construction (vav [ו] consecutive followed by the prefixed verbal form). (This literary structure is paralleled in the second portion of the book: Gen 2:4 provides the title or summary of what follows, 2:5-6 use disjunctive clause structures to give background information for the following narrative, and 2:7 begins the narrative with the vav consecutive attached to a prefixed verbal form.) Some translate 1:2a “and the earth became,” arguing that v. 1 describes the original creation of the earth, while v. 2 refers to a judgment that reduced it to a chaotic condition. Verses 3ff. then describe the re-creation of the earth. However, the disjunctive clause at the beginning of v. 2 cannot be translated as if it were relating the next event in a sequence. If v. 2 were sequential to v. 1, the author would have used the vav consecutive followed by a prefixed verbal form and the subject.

[1:2]  ⁴⁵ tn That is, what we now call “the earth.” The creation of the earth as we know it is described in vv. 9-10. Prior to this the substance which became the earth (= dry land) lay dormant under the water.

[1:2]  ⁴⁶ tn Traditional translations have followed a more literal rendering of “waste and void.” The words describe a condition that is without form and empty. What we now know as “the earth” was actually an unfilled mass covered by water and darkness. Later תֹהוּ (tohu) and בֹּהוּ (bohu), when used in proximity, describe a situation resulting from judgment (Isa 34:11; Jer 4:23). Both prophets may be picturing judgment as the reversal of creation in which God’s judgment causes the world to revert to its primordial condition. This later use of the terms has led some to conclude that Gen 1:2 presupposes the judgment of a prior world, but it is unsound method to read the later application of the imagery (in a context of judgment) back into Gen 1:2.

[1:2]  ⁴⁷ sn Darkness. The Hebrew word simply means “darkness,” but in the Bible it has come to symbolize what opposes God, such as judgment (Exod 10:21), death (Ps 88:13), oppression (Isa 9:1), the wicked (1 Sam 2:9) and in general, sin. In Isa 45:7 it parallels “evil.” It is a fitting cover for the primeval waste, but it prepares the reader for the fact that God is about to reveal himself through his works.

[1:2]  ⁴⁸ tn The Hebrew term תְּהוֹם (tÿhom, “deep”) refers to the watery deep, the salty ocean – especially the primeval ocean that surrounds and underlies the earth (see Gen 7:11).

[1:2]  ⁴⁹ tn The traditional rendering “Spirit of God” is preserved here, as opposed to a translation like “wind from/breath of God” (cf. NRSV) or “mighty wind” (cf. NEB), taking the word “God” to represent the superlative. Elsewhere in the OT the phrase refers consistently to the divine spirit that empowers and energizes individuals (see Gen 41:38; Exod 31:3; 35:31; Num 24:2; 1 Sam 10:10; 11:6; 19:20, 23; Ezek 11:24; 2 Chr 15:1; 24:20).

[1:2]  ⁵⁰ tn The Hebrew verb has been translated “hovering” or “moving” (as a bird over her young, see Deut 32:11). The Syriac cognate term means “to brood over; to incubate.” How much of that sense might be attached here is hard to say, but the verb does depict the presence of the Spirit of God moving about mysteriously over the waters, presumably preparing for the acts of creation to follow. If one reads “mighty wind” (cf. NEB) then the verse describes how the powerful wind begins to blow in preparation for the creative act described in vv. 9-10. (God also used a wind to drive back the flood waters in Noah’s day. See Gen 8:1.)

[1:2]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “face.”

[1:2]  ⁵² sn The water. The text deliberately changes now from the term for the watery deep to the general word for water. The arena is now the life-giving water and not the chaotic abyss-like deep. The change may be merely stylistic, but it may also carry some significance. The deep carries with it the sense of the abyss, chaos, darkness – in short, that which is not good for life.

[1:3]  ⁵³ tn The prefixed verb form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the narrative sequence. Ten times in the chapter the decree of God in creation will be so expressed. For the power of the divine word in creation, see Ps 33:9, John 1:1-3, 1 Cor 8:6, and Col 1:16.

[1:3]  ⁵⁴ tn “Let there be” is the short jussive form of the verb “to be”; the following expression “and there was” is the short preterite form of the same verb. As such, יְהִי (yÿhi) and וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) form a profound wordplay to express both the calling into existence and the complete fulfillment of the divine word.

[1:3]  ⁵⁵ sn Light. The Hebrew word simply means “light,” but it is used often in scripture to convey the ideas of salvation, joy, knowledge, righteousness, and life. In this context one cannot ignore those connotations, for it is the antithesis of the darkness. The first thing God does is correct the darkness; without the light there is only chaos.

[1:6]  ⁵⁶ tn The Hebrew word refers to an expanse of air pressure between the surface of the sea and the clouds, separating water below from water above. In v. 8 it is called “sky.”

[1:6]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “the waters from the waters.”

[1:16]  ⁵⁸ sn Two great lights. The text goes to great length to discuss the creation of these lights, suggesting that the subject was very important to the ancients. Since these “lights” were considered deities in the ancient world, the section serves as a strong polemic (see G. Hasel, “The Polemical Nature of the Genesis Cosmology,” EvQ 46 [1974]: 81-102). The Book of Genesis is affirming they are created entities, not deities. To underscore this the text does not even give them names. If used here, the usual names for the sun and moon [Shemesh and Yarih, respectively] might have carried pagan connotations, so they are simply described as greater and lesser lights. Moreover, they serve in the capacity that God gives them, which would not be the normal function the pagans ascribed to them. They merely divide, govern, and give light in God’s creation.

[1:16]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “and the stars.” Now the term “stars” is added as a third object of the verb “made.” Perhaps the language is phenomenological, meaning that the stars appeared in the sky from this time forward.