Genesis 41:53-47:12
International Children’s Bible
53 The seven years of good crops came to an end in the land of Egypt. 54 Then the seven years of hunger began, just as Joseph had said. In all the lands people had nothing to eat. But in Egypt there was food. 55 The time of hunger became terrible in all of Egypt. The people cried to the king for food. He said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do whatever he tells you to do.”
56 The hunger was everywhere in that part of the world. And Joseph opened the storehouses and sold grain to the people of Egypt. This was because the time of hunger became terrible in Egypt. 57 And all the people in that part of the world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain. This was because the hunger was terrible everywhere in that part of the world.
The Dreams Come True
42 Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt. So he said to his sons, “Why are you just sitting here looking at one another? 2 I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us to eat. Then we will live and not die.”
3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with them. Jacob was afraid that something terrible might happen to Benjamin. 5 Along with many other people, the sons of Jacob, also called Israel, went to Egypt to buy grain. This was because the people in the land of Canaan were hungry also.
6 Now Joseph was governor over Egypt. He was the one who sold the grain to people who came to buy it. So Joseph’s brothers came to him. They bowed facedown on the ground before him. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were. But he acted as if he didn’t know them. He asked unkindly, “Where do you come from?”
They answered, “We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food.”
8 Joseph knew they were his brothers. But they did not know who he was. 9 And Joseph remembered his dreams about his brothers bowing to him. He said to them, “You are spies! You came to learn where the nation is weak!”
10 But his brothers said to him, “No, my master. We come as your servants just to buy food. 11 We are all sons of the same father. We are honest men, not spies.”
12 Then Joseph said to them, “No! You have come to learn where this nation is weak!”
13 And they said, “We are 10 of 12 brothers. We are sons of the same father. We live in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is there with our father right now. And our other brother is gone.”
14 But Joseph said to them, “I can see I was right! You are spies! 15 But I will give you a way to prove you are telling the truth. As surely as the king lives, you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. 16 One of you must go and get your brother. The rest of you will stay here in prison. We will see if you are telling the truth. If not, as surely as the king lives, you are spies.” 17 Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I am a God-fearing man. Do this thing, and I will let you live: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you go and carry grain back to feed your hungry families. 20 Then bring your youngest brother back here to me. If you do this, I will know you are telling the truth. Then you will not die.”
The brothers agreed to this. 21 They said to each other, “We are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his trouble. He begged us to save him, but we refused to listen. That is why we are in this trouble now.”
22 Then Reuben said to them, “I told you not to harm the boy. But you refused to listen to me. So now we are being punished for what we did to him.”
23 When Joseph talked to his brothers, he used an interpreter. So they did not know that Joseph understood what they were saying. 24 Then Joseph left them and cried. After a short time he went back and spoke to them. He took Simeon and tied him up while the other brothers watched. 25 Joseph told his servants to fill his brothers’ bags with grain. They were to put the money the brothers had paid for the grain back in their bags. They were to give them things they would need for their trip back home. And the servants did this.
26 So the brothers put the grain on their donkeys and left. 27 When they stopped for the night, one of the brothers opened his sack. He was going to get food for his donkey. Then he saw his money in the top of the sack. 28 He said to the other brothers, “The money I paid for the grain has been put back. Here it is in my sack!”
The brothers were very frightened. They said to each other, “What has God done to us?”
The Brothers Return to Jacob
29 The brothers went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. They told him everything that had happened. 30 They said, “The master of that land spoke unkindly to us. He accused us of spying on his country. 31 But we told him that we were honest men, not spies. 32 We told him that we were 10 of 12 brothers—sons of one father. We said that 1 of our brothers was gone. And we said that our youngest brother was with our father in Canaan.
33 “Then the master of the land said to us, ‘Here is a way I can know you are honest men: Leave 1 of your brothers with me. Take back grain to feed your hungry families, and go. 34 And bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies but honest men. And I will give you back your brother whom you leave with me. And you can move about freely in our land.’”
35 Then the brothers emptied their sacks. And each of them found his money in his sack. When they and their father saw it, they were afraid.
36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are robbing me of all my children. Joseph is gone. Simeon is gone. And now you want to take Benjamin away, too. Everything is against me.”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put my 2 sons to death if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. Trust him to my care. I will bring him back to you.”
38 But Jacob said, “I will not allow Benjamin to go with you. His brother is dead. He is the only son left from my wife Rachel. I am afraid something terrible might happen to him during the trip to Egypt. Then I would be sad until the day I die.”
The Brothers Go Back to Egypt
43 Still no food grew in the land of Canaan. 2 Jacob’s family had eaten all the grain they had brought from Egypt. So Jacob said to them, “Go to Egypt again. Buy a little more grain for us to eat.”
3 But Judah said to Jacob, “The governor of that country strongly warned us. He said, ‘Bring your brother back with you. If you don’t, you will not be allowed to see me.’ 4 If you will send Benjamin with us, we will go down and buy food for you. 5 But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The governor of that country warned us. He said we would not see him if we didn’t bring Benjamin with us.”
6 Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Why did you tell the man you had another brother? You have caused me a lot of trouble.”
7 The brothers answered, “He questioned us carefully about ourselves and our family. He asked us, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We just answered his questions. How could we know he would ask us to bring our other brother to him?”
8 Then Judah said to his father Jacob, “Send Benjamin with me. Then we will go at once. Do this so that we, you and our children may live and not die. 9 I will guarantee you that he will be safe. I will be personally responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life. 10 If we had not wasted all this time, we could have already made two trips.”
11 Then their father Jacob said to them, “If it has to be that way, then do this: Take some of the best foods in our land in your packs. Give them to the man as a gift: some balm, some honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take twice as much money with you this time. Take back the money that was returned to you in your sacks last time. Maybe it was a mistake. 13 And take Benjamin with you. Now leave and go to the man. 14 I pray that God All-Powerful will cause the governor to be merciful to you. I pray that he will allow Simeon and Benjamin to come back with you. If I am robbed of my children, then I am robbed of them!”
15 So the brothers took the gifts. They also took twice as much money as they had taken the first time. And they took Benjamin. They hurried down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
16 In Egypt Joseph saw Benjamin with them. Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Bring those men into my house. Kill an animal and prepare a meal. Those men will eat with me today at noon.” 17 The servant did as Joseph told him. He brought the men to Joseph’s house.
18 The brothers were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the money that was put in our sacks on the first trip. He wants to attack us, make us slaves and take our donkeys.” 19 So the brothers went to the servant in charge of Joseph’s house. They spoke to him at the door of the house. 20 They said, “Sir, we came here once before to buy food. 21 While we were going home, we stopped for the night and opened our sacks. Each of us found all his money in his sack. We brought that money with us to give it back to you. 22 And we have brought more money. It is to pay for the food we want to buy this time. We don’t know who put that money in our sacks.”
23 But the servant answered, “It’s all right. Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, must have put the money in your sacks. I got the money you paid me for the grain last time.” Then the servant brought Simeon out to them.
24 The servant led the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave their donkeys food to eat. 25 The men prepared their gift to give to Joseph when he arrived at noon. They had heard they were going to eat with him there.
26 When Joseph came home, the brothers gave him the gift they had brought into the house. Then they bowed down to the ground to him. 27 Joseph asked them how they were doing. He said, “How is your aged father you told me about? Is he still alive?”
28 The brothers answered, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” And they bowed low before Joseph to show him respect.
29 Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, who had the same mother as he. Joseph asked, “Is this your youngest brother you told me about?” Then Joseph said to Benjamin, “God be good to you, my son!” 30 Then Joseph hurried off. He had to hold back the tears when he saw his brother Benjamin. So Joseph went into his room and cried there. 31 Then he washed his face and came out. He controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”
32 So they served Joseph at one table. They served his brothers at another table. And they served the Egyptians who ate with him at another table. This was because Egyptians did not like Hebrews and never ate with them. 33 Joseph’s brothers were seated in front of him. They were in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest. And they looked at each other because they were so amazed. 34 Food from Joseph’s table was taken to them. But Benjamin was given five times more food than the others. Joseph’s brothers drank with him until they were very drunk.
Joseph Sets a Trap
44 Then Joseph gave a command to the servant in charge of his house. Joseph said, “Fill the men’s sacks with as much grain as they can carry. And put each man’s money into his sack with the grain. 2 Put my silver cup in the sack of the youngest brother. Also put his money for the grain in that sack.” The servant did what Joseph told him.
3 At dawn the brothers were sent away with their donkeys. 4 They were not far from the city when Joseph said to the servant in charge of his house, “Go after the men. When you catch up with them, say, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? 5 The cup you have stolen is the one my master uses for drinking. And he uses it for explaining dreams. You have done a very wicked thing!’”
6 So the servant caught up with the brothers. He said to them what Joseph had told him to say.
7 But the brothers said to the servant, “Why do you say these things? We would not do anything like that! 8 We brought back to you the money we found in our sacks. We brought it back from the land of Canaan. So surely we would not steal silver or gold from your master’s house. 9 If you find that silver cup in the sack of one of us, then let him die. And we will be your slaves.”
10 The servant said, “We will do as you say. But only the man who has taken the cup will become my slave. The rest of you may go free.”
11 Then every brother quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. 12 The servant searched the sacks, going from the oldest brother to the youngest. He found the cup in Benjamin’s sack. 13 The brothers tore their clothes to show they were sad. Then they put their sacks back on the donkeys. And they returned to the city.
14 When Judah and his brothers went back to Joseph’s house, Joseph was still there. The brothers bowed facedown on the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Didn’t you know that a man like me can learn things by signs and dreams?”
16 Judah said, “Sir, what can we say? And how can we show we are not guilty? God has uncovered our guilt. So all of us will be your slaves, not just Benjamin.”
17 But Joseph said, “I will not make you all slaves! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back safely to your father.”
18 Then Judah went to Joseph and said, “Sir, please let me speak plainly to you. Please don’t be angry with me. I know that you are as powerful as the king of Egypt himself. 19 When we were here before, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 20 And we answered you, ‘We have an old father. And we have a younger brother. He was born when our father was old. This youngest son’s brother is dead. So he is the only one of his mother’s children left alive. And our father loves him very much.’ 21 Then you said to us, ‘Bring that brother to me. I want to see him.’ 22 And we said to you, ‘That young boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves him, his father would die.’ 23 But you said to us, ‘You must bring your youngest brother. If you don’t, you will not be allowed to see me again.’ 24 So we went back to our father and told him what you had said.
25 “Later, our father said, ‘Go again. Buy us a little more food.’ 26 We said to our father, ‘We cannot go without our youngest brother. Without our youngest brother, we will not be allowed to see the governor.’ 27 Then my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife Rachel gave me two sons. 28 One son left me. I thought, “Surely he has been torn apart by a wild animal.” And I haven’t seen him since. 29 Now you want to take this son away from me also. But something terrible might happen to him. Then I would be sad until the day I die.’ 30 Now what will happen if we go home to our father without our youngest brother? He is the most important thing in our father’s life. 31 When our father sees that the young boy is not with us, he will die. And it will be our fault. We will cause the great sorrow that kills our father.
32 “I gave my father a guarantee that the young boy would be safe. I said to my father, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, you can blame me all my life.’ 33 So now, please allow me to stay here and be your slave. And let the young boy go back home with his brothers. 34 I cannot go back to my father if the boy is not with me. I couldn’t stand to see my father that sad.”
Joseph Reveals Who He Is
45 Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer. He cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. 2 Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. And the people in the king’s palace heard about it. 3 He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.
4 So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” So the brothers came close to him. And he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph. You sold me as a slave to go to Egypt. 5 Now don’t be worried. Don’t be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6 No food has grown on the land for two years now. And there will be five more years without planting or harvest. 7 So God sent me here ahead of you. This was to make sure you have some descendants left on earth. And it was to keep you alive in an amazing way. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace. I am the master of all the land of Egypt.
9 “So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. 10 Live in the land of Goshen. You will be near me. Also your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds and all that you have will be near me. 11 I will care for you during the next five years of hunger. In this way, you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’
12 “Now you can see for yourselves. The one speaking to you is really Joseph. And my brother Benjamin can see this. 13 So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” 14 Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried also. 15 Then Joseph kissed all his brothers. He cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.
16 The king of Egypt and his officers learned that Joseph’s brothers had come. And they were very happy about this. 17 So the king said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their animals and go back to the land of Canaan. 18 Tell them to bring their father and their families back here to me. I will give them the best land in Egypt. And they will eat the best food we have here. 19 Tell them to take some wagons from Egypt for their children and their wives. And tell them to bring their father back also. 20 Tell them not to worry about bringing any of their things with them. We will give them the best of what we have in Egypt.”
21 So the sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as the king had ordered. And he gave them food for their trip. 22 He gave each brother a change of clothes. But he gave Benjamin five changes of clothes. And Joseph gave him about seven and one-half pounds of silver. 23 Joseph also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with the best things from Egypt. And he sent ten female donkeys. They were loaded with grain, bread and other food for his father on his trip back. 24 Then Joseph told his brothers to go. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on the way home.”
25 So the brothers left Egypt and went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive. He is the ruler over all the land of Egypt.” Their father was shocked and did not believe them. 27 But the brothers told him everything Joseph had said. Then Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him back to Egypt. Now Jacob felt better. 28 Jacob, also called Israel, said, “Now I believe you. My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Jacob Goes to Egypt
46 So Jacob, also called Israel, took all he had and started his trip. He went to Beersheba. There he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 During the night God spoke to Israel in a vision. He said, “Jacob, Jacob.”
And Jacob answered, “Here I am.”
3 Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt. I will make your descendants a great nation there. 4 I will go to Egypt with you. And I will bring you out of Egypt again. Joseph’s own hands will close your eyes when you die.”
5 Then Jacob left Beersheba. The sons of Israel loaded their father, their children and their wives. They put them in the wagons the king of Egypt had sent. 6 They also took their farm animals and everything they had gotten in Canaan. So Jacob went to Egypt with all his descendants. 7 He took his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters. He took all his family to Egypt with him.
Jacob’s Family
8 Now these are the names of the children of Israel who went into Egypt. (They are Jacob and his descendants.)
Reuben was Jacob’s first son. 9 Reuben’s sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron and Carmi.
10 Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar and Shaul. (Shaul was Simeon’s son by a Canaanite woman.)
11 Levi’s sons were Gershon, Kohath and Merari.
12 Judah’s sons were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah. (But Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan.) Perez’s sons were Hezron and Hamul.
13 Issachar’s sons were Tola, Puah, Jashub and Shimron.
14 Zebulun’s sons were Sered, Elon and Jahleel.
15 These are the sons of Leah and Jacob born in Northwest Mesopotamia. His daughter Dinah was also born there. There were 33 persons in this part of Jacob’s family.
16 Gad’s sons were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.
17 Asher’s sons were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel.
18 These are Jacob’s sons by Zilpah. She was the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. There were 16 persons in this part of Jacob’s family.
19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. 20 In Egypt, Joseph became the father of Manasseh and Ephraim by his wife Asenath. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
21 Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
22 These are the sons of Jacob by his wife Rachel. There were 14 persons in this part of Jacob’s family.
23 Dan’s son was Hushim.
24 Naphtali’s sons were Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.
25 These are Jacob’s sons by Bilhah. She was the slave girl whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. There were 7 persons in this part of Jacob’s family.
26 So the total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went to Egypt was 66. (The wives of Jacob’s sons were not counted in this number.) 27 Joseph had 2 sons born in Egypt. So the total number in the family of Jacob in Egypt was 70.
Jacob Arrives in Egypt
28 Jacob sent Judah ahead of him to see Joseph in Goshen. Then Jacob and his people came into the land of Goshen. 29 Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as Joseph saw his father, he hugged his neck. And he cried there for a long time.
30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die. I have seen your face. And I know that you are still alive.”
31 Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I will go and tell the king you are here. I will say, ‘My brothers and my father’s family have left the land of Canaan. They have come here to me. 32 They are shepherds and take care of farm animals. And they have brought their flocks and their herds and everything they own with them.’ 33 When the king calls you, he will ask, ‘What work do you do?’ 34 This is what you should tell him: ‘We, your servants, have taken care of farm animals all our lives. Our ancestors did the same thing.’ Then the king will allow you to settle in the land of Goshen. This is away from the Egyptians. They don’t like to be near shepherds.”
Jacob Settles in Goshen
47 Joseph went in to the king and said, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan. They have their flocks and herds and everything they own with them. They are now in the land of Goshen.” 2 Joseph chose five of his brothers to introduce to the king.
3 The king said to the brothers, “What work do you do?”
And they said to him, “We, your servants, are shepherds. Our ancestors were also shepherds.” 4 They said to the king, “We have come to live in this land. There is no grass in the land of Canaan for our animals to eat. The hunger is very terrible there. So please allow us to live in the land of Goshen.”
5 Then the king said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 You may choose any place in Egypt for them to live. Give your father and your brothers the best land. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if any of them are skilled shepherds, put them in charge of my sheep and cattle.”
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and introduced him to the king. And Jacob blessed the king.
8 Then the king said to Jacob, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob said to him, “My life has been spent wandering from place to place. It has been short, filled with trouble. I have lived only 130 years. My ancestors lived much longer than I.” 10 Then Jacob blessed the king and left.
11 Joseph obeyed the king. He gave his father and brothers the best land in Egypt. It was near the city of Rameses. 12 And Joseph gave his father, his brothers and everyone who lived with them the food they needed.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
