Joseph Reveals His Identity

45 Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,^[a] so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.^{(A) 2} But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. ³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.

⁴ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.^{(B) 5} And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.^{(C) 6} For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. ⁷ God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.^{[b] 8} Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. ¹⁰ You can settle in the land of Goshen^(D) and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have. ¹¹ There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.”’^{(E) 12} Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m^[c] the one speaking to you. ¹³ Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”^(F)

¹⁴ Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. ¹⁵ Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept,^[d] and afterward his brothers talked with him.

The Return for Jacob

¹⁶ When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’ ¹⁹ You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here.^{(G) 20} Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”^(H)

²¹ The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. ²² He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes,^(I) but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.^{(J) 23} He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. ²⁴ So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue^[e] on the way.”

²⁵ So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. ²⁶ They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned,^[f] for he did not believe them. ²⁷ But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.

²⁸ Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.”

Jacob Leaves for Egypt

46 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba,^(A) and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² That night God spoke to Israel in a vision:^(B) “Jacob, Jacob!” he said.

And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”

³ God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.^{(C) 4} I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back.^(D) Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”^[a](E)

⁵ Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him,^(F) along with their dependents and their wives. ⁶ They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.^{(G) 7} His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.

Jacob’s Family

⁸ These are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt^(H)—Jacob and his sons:

Jacob Arrives in Egypt

²⁸ Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival^[i] at Goshen.^(S) When they came to the land of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.^(T)

³⁰ Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”

³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.^{(U) 32} The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’ ³³ When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock^[j] from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”^(V)

Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob

47 So Joseph went and informed Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”^(A)

² He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.^{(B) 3} And Pharaoh asked his brothers, “What is your occupation?”

They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants, both we and our ancestors, are shepherds.”^{(C) 4} And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to stay in the land for a while because there is no grazing land for your servants’ sheep, since the famine in the land of Canaan has been severe.^(D) So now, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.”

⁵ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come to you, ⁶ the land of Egypt is open before you; settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land.^(E) They can live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”^(F)

⁷ Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”

⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, “My pilgrimage^(G) has lasted 130 years. My years have been few and hard,^(H) and they have not reached the years of my ancestors during their pilgrimages.”^{(I) 10} So Jacob blessed Pharaoh and departed from Pharaoh’s presence.

¹¹ Then Joseph settled his father and brothers in the land of Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the land of Rameses,^(J) as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food for their dependents.^(K)