Discovery BoxGenesis 45:1-18
Context45:1 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.’
Genesis 46:31--47:10
Context46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, 24 ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 46:32 The men are shepherds; 25 they take care of livestock. 26 They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 46:33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle 27 from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, 28 for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting 29 to the Egyptians.”
47:1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of
Canaan. They are now 30 in the land of Goshen.” 47:2 He took five of his brothers and introduced them to Pharaoh. 31
47:3 Pharaoh said to Joseph’s 32 brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.” 33 47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents 34 in the land. There 35 is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
47:5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 47:6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men 36 among them, put them in charge 37 of my livestock.”
47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him 38 before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed 39 Pharaoh. 47:8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?” 40 47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All 41 the years of my travels 42 are 130. All 43 the years of my life have been few and painful; 44 the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” 45 47:10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. 46
[45:1] 1 tn Heb “all the ones standing beside him.”
[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.
[46:31] 24 tn Heb “tell Pharaoh and say to him.”
[46:32] 25 tn Heb “feeders of sheep.”
[46:32] 26 tn Heb “for men of livestock they are.”
[46:34] 27 tn Heb “your servants are men of cattle.”
[46:34] 28 sn So that you may live in the land of Goshen. Joseph is apparently trying to stress to Pharaoh that his family is self-sufficient, that they will not be a drain on the economy of Egypt. But they will need land for their animals and so Goshen, located on the edge of Egypt, would be a suitable place for them to live. The settled Egyptians were uneasy with nomadic people, but if Jacob and his family settled in Goshen they would represent no threat.
[46:34] 29 tn Heb “is an abomination.” The Hebrew word תּוֹעֵבָה (to’evah, “abomination”) describes something that is loathsome or off-limits. For other practices the Egyptians considered disgusting, see Gen 43:32 and Exod 8:22.
[47:1] 30 tn Heb “Look they [are] in the land of Goshen.” Joseph draws attention to the fact of their presence in Goshen.
[47:2] 31 tn Heb “and from the whole of his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.”
[47:3] 32 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[47:3] 33 tn Heb “both we and our fathers.”
[47:4] 34 tn Heb “to sojourn.”
[47:4] 35 tn Heb “for there.” The Hebrew uses a causal particle to connect what follows with what precedes. The translation divides the statement into two sentences for stylistic reasons.
[47:6] 36 tn Heb “men of skill.”
[47:6] 37 tn Heb “make them rulers.”
[47:7] 38 tn Heb “caused him to stand.”
[47:7] 39 sn The precise meaning of the Hebrew verb translated “blessed” is difficult in this passage, because the content of Jacob’s blessing is not given. The expression could simply mean that he greeted Pharaoh, but that seems insufficient in this setting. Jacob probably praised Pharaoh, for the verb is used this way for praising God. It is also possible that he pronounced a formal prayer of blessing, asking God to reward Pharaoh for his kindness.
[47:8] 40 tn Heb “How many are the days of the years of your life?”
[47:9] 41 tn Heb “the days of.”
[47:9] 42 tn Heb “sojournings.” Jacob uses a term that depicts him as one who has lived an unsettled life, temporarily residing in many different places.
[47:9] 43 tn Heb “the days of.”
[47:9] 44 tn The Hebrew word רַע (ra’) can sometimes mean “evil,” but that would give the wrong connotation here, where it refers to pain, difficulty, and sorrow. Jacob is thinking back through all the troubles he had to endure to get to this point.
[47:9] 45 tn Heb “and they have not reached the days of the years of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.”
