History of Israel: Joseph Meets His Brothers

In today's episode of Bible Backdrop, the famine has hit and Jacob's sons are forced to go to Egypt to buy grain. There they come face to face with the man in charge of selling the grain...the grand vizier...the man second only to Pharaoh. Joseph. But it's not just Joseph...they are face to face with their sin and it's consequences. And those consequences could be dire...

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Transcript

Dust. That’s all there was as far as the eye could see. What had once been lush and fertile land was nothing but dust. How long had it been this way? It felt like decades. 

The man stood up and dropped the dry dirt to the ground. This was getting very worrisome. How would they feed their families if the crops couldn’t grow? How could they feed the livestock? Sure they had some stored up against a bad harvest, but this was much, much worse. This wasn’t just an underachieving harvest...this was scorched earth. Nothing could grow in this dirt. How long before their extra supplies ran out?

He made his way back to the camp in time to see his father talking to a caravan leader. He was from further east and the famine had hit there too...with quite a vengeance. He couldn’t make out what they were saying but the leader kept pointing west...toward Egypt.

The man, Reuben, sat with his brothers and they discussed what to do next. Being the oldest, they looked to him for answers but he was just as lost as they were. They weren’t sure what to do next but they obviously couldn’t stay here. Just then their father, Jacob, joined them and looked around at each in turn. Reuben noticed his father’s eyes narrow a bit when he looked at his oldest son. He felt the breach there between him and his father. A moment’s lust lead to a lifetime of mistrust and misery. And not watching out for his father’s favorite, Joseph, didn’t help matters. Well...what was done, was done. No point in thinking of the past...not when the future looked so bleak.

Jacob finally spoke: Why are you all just staring at each other? I’ve heard that there is grain in Egypt. Now go down there and buy us some or we’ll all be dead before long. The brothers each started making their way to their tents, but Jacob grabbed Benjamin. He was told not to go; that he would stay behind. Reuben rolled his eyes...some things never changed. Father still had his favorite. He shook his head as he started packing his things for the long journey to Egypt.

Hello again everyone and welcome to another episode of Bible Backdrop. Today, we’re continuing the history of Israel series with a look at Joseph coming face to face with his brothers. When we left off, Joseph had been made grand vizier, or prime minister, over all of Egypt...second only to pharaoh. He married and had two sons named Manasseh and Ephraim. The Bible says that he went throughout all of Egypt and required 20% of each harvest of grain during the years of plenty. These were kept in storehouses throughout Egypt. The abundance was so great that the Bible says they quit taking records because they couldn’t record it all. 

Before moving on, let’s talk about the storehouses themselves, also called granaries. These weren’t just big open warehouses full of grain. They had to be very well thought out. They had to be kept cool and dry as moisture would cause mold and spoilage. They also had to keep out vermin such as mice and rats. Finally, they had to be kept secure so people wouldn’t help themselves. To help with this, the granaries were built like huge beehives and they had excellent gutter systems to channel any water away. Floors were built up so that mice and rats wouldn’t contaminate the grain and also helped with airflow. In order to fill it, there was a door at the top of the granaries and another door at the bottom to get the grain when it was needed. To help with security, granaries were usually built together and either attached to a temple or town square. Some even had a walled enclosure and security was tight. Joseph, in his new job, was responsible for building new granaries, making sure they were constructed properly, and had plenty of trustworthy security (nobody selling grain on the side). This also required precise record keeping; something the Egyptians did very well. On top of that, he had to enforce a 20% tax on people. This may not have gone over well, but as he was the representative of pharaoh, it didn’t seem that people pushed back much. As the years of plenty rolled on, the people may not have even missed that extra 20% very much.

But, as they say, all good things must come to an end and so it was with the 7 years of plenty. Then starts the 7 years of famine and it’s ugly. It seems that it was so bad, absolutely nothing grew. People, seeing the huge storehouses full of grain being filled during the 7 years of plenty, may have put aside some of their own harvests for personal use. There’s no evidence of this, but you have to think some people could see what was happening. If they did, it probably didn’t last long. When people get hungry, they become angry and that’s a recipe for disaster for a monarch. So pharaoh tells everyone to talk to Joseph and do whatever he says. Joseph opens up the granaries and sells it to the Egyptians. I find it interesting that he sells it to the Egyptians...he doesn’t just give it to them. Why? First of all, they don’t own the grain. It’s owned by pharaoh who determines how it will be spent. Second, although the amount is immeasurable, it doesn’t mean it will last forever unless there’s some restraining measure. The people had to exchange something of value for the grain in order to survive. Without an exchange of money, goods or services, the people will not appreciate what they have and may waste it knowing that more is available for free. So what did they use to buy the grain? In the years of plenty, the surplus grain was probably sold and this meant the Egyptians may have had gold or silver to spare. Remember, there wasn’t an official currency in Egypt with the exception of the deben which was 90 grams of copper. Joseph had to determine an equal match weight of silver and gold for grain. What happens if you didn’t have gold or silver? We’ll discuss that later when we talk about Genesis 47.

After this, we find ourselves back with Jacob and his other 11 sons. Like the story I mentioned earlier alludes to, Jacob told his sons to, basically, get off your rear ends and go get some food before we all starve to death. Somehow word had gotten back that there was food in Egypt. This was probably the last place the brothers wanted to go knowing that it was where Joseph was going when they sold him into slavery. At this point, they have no choice. So they pack up and head to Egypt. Well, not everyone. Jacob keeps Benjamin close since he is the last tie to his beloved Rachel. The battle in Jacob’s heart and head is always raging and he still plays favorites. 

As the 10 brothers make their way, there is no telling what they were thinking. Were their minds and hearts weighed down with guilt and shame? Did it increase with each step towards Egypt? Did they think they might see their brother in chains as a slave? If they did, what would they do? It had been 20 years; certainly, they wouldn’t recognize each other. 

What they don’t know is...God is setting them up for the ultimate showdown.

OK...showdown might be a bit harsh, but they were about to come face to face with their sin and it’s consequences. When they arrive, they come to the man who is responsible for selling the grain. He is the grand vizier...the prime minister...second in the land only answering to pharaoh. It was none other than Joseph. They bowed down low to him and Joseph immediately recognized them. He also remembered his dream...the one that got him sold into slavery in the first place. This was it...Joseph’s time to get revenge. And the Joseph of 20 years prior would probably have done so; but this was a different person altogether. He had become a slave, been wrongfully accused, thrown into prison, miraculously interpreted a dream for other prisoners, still stuck in prison until the moment God made it all work together. Joseph had been humbled and had a deep reliance on God. Was he still angry at his brothers? Perhaps. But he understood why he was sent to Egypt and had to suffer the way that he did. That by his suffering, his family would be saved. Hmmm...sounds familiar.

If this were a movie, this is the moment that Joseph reveals who he is, they all reconcile, have a party, and live happily ever after. Not so much. One thing that’s always confused me is that the Bible says “Joseph spoke harshly to them” and he accused them of being spies. Why not just reveal himself? The Bible mentions that Joseph remembered his dreams and that they would be fulfilled. If he spoke kindly to them, they may not answer truthfully. Under duress and what probably seemed like a cross examination, they answered quickly and truthfully. Well, somewhat truthfully. They mentioned their father and youngest brother who stayed behind, but said that “one is no more.” One commentator states that he questioned them harshly and quickly to get the truth out of them and to find out about his youngest brother and make sure they didn’t do away with him too. 

There’s another reason Joseph probably acted this way. It was a move by God to bring the brothers to repentance. They had to be humbled first and come face to face with the consequences of their sin. Joseph didn’t do this out of a sense of superiority; he was being led to do this to bring about God’s plan. Spying was a grave charge and could earn a death penalty if found to be true. I always thought it was a strange charge, but more reflection shows that this probably wasn’t the first time Joseph had to deal with spies. With other countries starving due to the famine, a military expedition to Egypt was a real possibility. The only reason I could think this wouldn’t happen is due to the famine’s severity. Nobody had enough food to feed an army on the march that could rival Egypt. It doesn’t mean people didn’t try.

Anyway, Joseph deals with them as though they are spies and locks them in prison for 3 days. They don’t know what is going to happen to them and are probably very afraid. Joseph doesn’t do this to be mean spirited and for revenge. Again, he is following God’s lead. As we’ll see later, the brothers are coming to realize that their sin has a consequence.

Originally, Joseph tells them that one will go back and get the youngest and then return. After the 3 days in prison, he alters the deal. 9 would return; 1 would stay behind as a hostage to ensure that they returned. To encourage them he states “Do this and you will live, for I fear God.” He is telling them that, as high as he is in the government, there is someone higher than him...even higher than pharaoh. Did he use the name of God the same as the Israelites did? That may have caught them off guard and made them see the hand of God in this meeting.

The brothers speak to one another in Hebrew, probably believing the Egyptian official couldn’t understand him. They are coming to realize that they are now paying the price of their sin and what they did to Joseph. Reuben even speaks up and reminds them that he said not to sin against the boy but they went ahead and did it anyway. That’s a bit rich as he just told them not to kill him, but put him in that cistern so he could double cross them later and restore him to his father for his own personal gain. But even with this statement, we know something is happening in Reuben and the other brothers.

Joseph is overwhelmed at this moment and quickly goes into the other room to weep. Seeing him leave quickly probably made the brothers even more wary and nervous. Soon enough, Joseph regains his composure and comes back into the room. For some reason, Simeon is chosen to remain behind while the others went free. Why Simeon? Reuben being the oldest is believed to be the patriarch when Jacob wasn’t around, so then it may have fallen to the next oldest. It’s also possible they drew lots or that Simeon volunteered. He probably thought he would only be there for a few weeks. 

Joseph then gave them the grain and provisions for their journey. He also secretly returned their silver in their sacks of grain. On their way back home, one of them, the Bible doesn’t say who, opens their sack of grain to find their silver returned. Instead of appreciating the blessing, they are frightened and believe that God is setting them up for something disastrous. 

They return to their father and tell him the whole story including the part about having to bring Benjamin back with them in order to get Simeon out of jail. Then they all open their grain sacks to discover their bags of silver. Jacob is distraught by all this. He believes that he is being punished for his failings and that he will lose Benjamin. Reuben offers him his two sons if something happens to Benjamin on their return journey but Jacob is unwilling to yield. Simeon will be stuck in prison for a while.

On that note, I’m going to stop here in the narrative. If you are enjoying Bible Backdrop, please leave a 5 star rating and review. You can also e-mail the show at BibleBackdrop@gmail.com. Word of mouth is still the best way for this podcast to get around, so please tell a friend and have them subscribe. In our next episode, the brothers return again to see Joseph and, this time, they bring Benjamin with them. Thank you again for listening and have a great week!J