The Brothers Come

Far away in Canaan, the famine reached Jacob’s family too. So Jacob sent ten of his sons down to Egypt to buy grain. Only Benjamin, the youngest — Joseph’s own little brother — stayed home, for Jacob was afraid to lose him. And so it happened: the ten brothers came and stood before the ruler of Egypt, and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground — and it was Joseph. Joseph knew his brothers the moment he saw them. But they did not know him at all: the boy they had sold was now a great Egyptian lord. And Joseph remembered his dreams — the sheaves, bowing down. Joseph did not tell them who he was. Speaking through an interpreter, he spoke sternly and tested them, to see whether their words were true. They said, “We are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest is with our father — and one is no more.” Joseph kept his brother Simeon in Egypt, and sent the rest home with grain, saying they must bring their youngest brother back with them to prove their words true. And the brothers said to one another, “We are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw how frightened he was when he begged us, and we would not listen.” They did not know the great Egyptian could understand them — and Joseph turned away from them and wept.

When the grain ran out, Jacob had no choice: Benjamin had to go too. Judah promised his father with his own life that he would bring the boy safely home. So the brothers went down to Egypt again, and this time Benjamin stood with them before Joseph. When Joseph saw his little brother, his own mother’s son, his heart burned within him — and he hurried out of the room and wept where no one could see. Then he washed his face, came back, and gave a feast for his brothers. And Benjamin’s portion was five times bigger than anyone else’s! But Joseph had one more test. As the brothers left for home, he had his own silver cup hidden in Benjamin’s sack. Then he sent his steward chasing after them — and there was the cup, in Benjamin’s sack! The brothers tore their clothes in grief and came back to face the ruler. Then Judah stepped forward — the same Judah who had once said “let us sell him.” He stood before the ruler of Egypt and pleaded for Benjamin: “My lord, our father is old, and this boy is the child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him. If we come home without the boy, our father will die of grief. I gave my life as a promise for him. Let me stay here as your slave in place of the boy — but let the boy go home with his brothers. How can I go back to my father without him?”