Joseph Part 10: The Brothers Go Down to Egypt

The Brothers Go Down to Egypt

Last session, The suffering chosen one goes down into what everybody else thinks is death, but Yahweh is with him. He rescues him, raises him up through uncanny circumstances to become an image of Pharaoh ruling over the land with the wisdom of God. And there's life and fruitfulness and family, and the nations come together eating great Egyptian bread, and what a great story. 

But it's down in Egypt, not in the land that Yahweh promises to Abraham. So Yahweh can create Eden even in exile, but that is not the same as Yahweh creating Eden in the land that God promised to his ancestors. So it's, becomes very clear that it's just a temporary pause, and the famine just began and it's powerful in the land. 

We know that the seed of Abraham is supposed to be a blessing to all of the nations, and blessing is connected with the abundance of Eden for everybody.

And the unresolved conflict with the brothers, obviously none of that's been dealt with. 

So we walk into the middle and second act of the story of Joseph and his brothers, and this is gonna focus entirely now back on what we left behind in chapter 37, Yoseph and the brothers. 

So here's just an overview of the second act, it goes from 42:1 through 45:25a.

And "a" just means, actually, the big literary shift happens in the middle of a verse, the verse has multiple sentences. And really it begins with the brothers going down to Egypt in chapter 42, and it's going to end with them bringing Jacob and everybody going down to Egypt. 

And it's that going down to Egypt that is the bookend for this section. 

It has three parts. 

It begins with the brothers going down to Egypt looking for food. Chapter 42 is gonna end with them going back up to Canaan. So they go down, and there's this whole speech about how Benjamin cannot go, and then they go back up after their visit, and it's a whole speech and dialogue about how, Benjamin can't go down with you. 

And in the middle is where the brothers meet Yoseph, but they don't know it 'cause he disguises himself. And he begins to test them. And the first test has to do with accusing them of being dishonest, and what he does is he begins this elaborate plan to recreate the circumstances of their betrayal 13 years ago. And he does it by taking one of their brothers and putting him in prison, and then giving them their money back, their silver back, secretly and sending them on their way.

So they go back, food runs out, and chapter 43 begins. 43 through halfway through the end of 44, this is long, and right here is where Judah steps in to the spotlight.

And it's only because of Judah that they end up going back down a second time. Joseph recreates an even more intense test than the first test, and it's Benjamin that's taken. 

And then Yehudah steps in the spotlight again and offers himself, and that becomes the bookend of the middle unit. And the whole middle unit is about the transformed older brother Judah.

The last third is Yoseph just breaks, he can't take it anymore, he takes off his disguise, and he gives this amazing speech.  

Then he gives a speech talking about how he's the ruler of Egypt and his whole family should come down to this little temporary Eden 'cause we've got a virtual ark, Noah's ark going on down here. We got animals, we got food, and we've got gardens. And so it ends with the family being invited to come down, and the brothers go back up to bring their father.

So then Judah is in the very center of the entire thing. 

And then the middle of the second act is Judah, okay. He's at the center of the center.  

And he was at the center of act one with chapter 38, occupied the center of act one. And as we're gonna see, he's at the center of act three in the blessings given to the brothers, he's giving a blessing of royal rule. 

Genesis 42:1–5 CSB

1 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? 2 Listen,” he went on, “I have heard there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us so that 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 Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he thought, “Something might happen to him.” 5 The sons of Israel were among those who came to buy grain, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

 "And Yaaqov saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Yaaqov said to his sons, 'Why are y'all staring at each other?

Go do something.' He said, 'Look, I've heard that there's grain in Egypt, so go down there, buy grain for us from there so that we will live and not die.'" Life and death, these are gonna be major repeated words from here on throughout. This is a matter of life and death, it's a de-creation story.

"The 10 brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain in Egypt," and you're like 10? I know there's 11. Yeah, the narrator says, because Benyamin.

"Benyamin, the brother of Joseph, he did not send because he said 'So that a disaster won't happen to him.' So the sons of Israel, that is 10, came to buy grain in the midst of those coming because there was famine in the land."

Going to Egypt for Food … Again

Now that the famine has begun, Yaaqov sees that a life-and-death decision is before them: They must go to Egypt to get food. This invites the reader to recall the parallel moment in the story of Abraham, after he first entered into the land of Canaan in Genesis 12.

Genesis 12:10 CSB

10 There was a famine in the land, so Abram went down to Egypt to stay there for a while because the famine in the land was severe.

Going to Egypt to get food in a time of famine, this was what Abraham did.

The first story after he gets his blessing and goes into the land is about him leaving the land.

And so in that case, going to Egypt is a symbol of a lack of trust because he doesn't trust that God will provide for him.

Here, if there is a lack of trust theme activated, it doesn't seem prominent. It seems like a matter of life and death, and thinking about the bigger arc of the story, this is the mysterious hand of God saving their lives via their descent down to Egypt in ways that they don't understand even in this moment. 

So that's interesting.

The New Beloved Son

Notice that Benyamin has taken the place of Yoseph now.

So Yoseph was the son of the old age, the beloved one, but Yaaqov, this was a while ago, he was kind of foolish just sending him off to his brothers, ignorant of the conflict and the hostility. And so notice the contrast here.

Genesis 37:12–13 CSB

12 His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied.

Back in chapter 37, Yaaqov felt just fine about sending Yoseph with, out to the brothers in the field, but now he will not send Benyamin with the brothers. Well, it's interesting because it's sort of like is this correlation or causation? 

Does he just remember that last time, you know, a son of my beloved wife went to the brothers and that didn't work out well?

Or does he suspect something? 

The narrative doesn't go there, but when there's gaps in the narrative, it's the narrator wanting you to imagine and ponder. 

So who knows? 

One way or another, he's like never again. 

Life and Death and Food

Here we are again at life and death, but we're going out of what's supposed to be the garden land, has now become a land of famine, and what's supposed to be the wilderness is actually a little Eden, a refuge, and so go down there.

Notice how the themes and key words of Genesis 2-3 are being evoked and inverted here.

Instead of abundant food in a garden, the land has become a food-desert in a famine.

Instead of abundant life, the land will now lead people to death unless they strive to produce food through difficult work and suffering.

Genesis 42:6–13 CSB

6 Joseph was in charge of the country; he sold grain to all its people. His brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked. “From the land of Canaan to buy food,” they replied. 8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the weakness of the land.” 10 “No, my lord. Your servants have come to buy food,” they said. 11 “We are all sons of one man. We are honest; your servants are not spies.” 12 “No,” he said to them. “You have come to see the weakness of the land.” 13 But they replied, “We, your servants, were twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no longer living.”

Now, in case you forgot from a paragraph ago, "Joseph was the ruler over all the land. He was the one selling grain to all the people of the land, and so the brothers came and they bowed down, faces on the ground."

So they bowed down on the ground. "Now, Yoseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, and he made himself unrecognizable to them, and he spoke harsh things to them. He said, 'From where have y'all come?' And they said, 'Well, from the land of Canaan to buy food.' And Yoseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

To their defence he has grown. He is dressed as an Egyptian, he is shaved, probably has makeup on his face as was the style for men of the time.

And Yoseph remembered the dream that he dreamed about them, and he said, 'Y'all are spies. Y'all have come to see the nakedness of the land,' And they said to him, 'No, no, my master, your servants have come to buy food. We are all sons of one man, we are upright men,'"

"'Your servants are not spies,' and he said to them, 'No, you've come to see the nakedness of the land.' And they said, 'Your servants, we are two and 10 brothers.'" There's a word for 12, but they don't say it, they say two and 10.

"'We are two and 10 brothers, sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and look, the little one is with his father, and well, the one remaining, oh, we shouldn't have said all of this.'" It's like they painted themselves into a corner, well, "the one is, he's no more." It's dripping with irony here.

The word "unrecognizable." he recognizes them.

This is the same verb as when the brothers said about the bloody robe, "Recognize it, is this from your son?" And then it's the same verb when Tamar says to Yehudah, "Recognize whose things are these," the seal and the staff. And so he recognizes them, but then he makes himself unrecognizable. 

It's a very uncommon form of this verb that's pronounced vayyitnakker. And what's interesting is it matches and rhymes with the same sequence of verbs when his brothers saw him coming, back in chapter 37, they vayyitnakkel, they made a deceitful plan.

So when they saw him, they vayyitnakkel, make a plan, and then a deception. And then here, he has, their vayyitnakkel is matched by his vayyitnakker, which begins the signals of his counter-deception to theirs.

A Test and the Nakedness of the Land?

When Yoseph accuses his brothers of being spies, he creates an opportunity to discover whether or not they will tell the truth. In other words, Yoseph is testing his brothers' integrity.

This explains why the narrative from this point onward contains numerous verbal hyperlinks back to the test of Adam and Eve’s faithfulness in Genesis 3.

hese two stories from Genesis 1-11 are themselves tightly connected.

Because of the snake, Adam and Eve are deceived and eat the fruit that enables them to “see the nakedness” of their bodies and then provide somewhat pathetic clothing for themselves.

Because of the wine of the garden, Noah becomes a drunk fool, and his son Ham (the ancestor of Egypt! See Gen. 10:6) sees his nakedness.

Here in Genesis 42, Yoseph accuses his brothers of being like a foolish Adam and Eve coming up with inadequate responses to their nakedness and like Ham, father of Egypt, who takes advantage of others.

The actual phrase "to see the nakedness" of is verbatim of what Ham does when he goes into the tent and he sees his drunk father, he sees the nakedness of his father. And what is interesting there is Ham is the ancestor of Egypt.

When Ham saw the nakedness of his father, and there's a rabbit hole as to what that means, but it's what leads to the separation, the division of the brothers. And of Ham being cursed, but Shem being blessed and Japheth being kind of blessed, but it's a division of the brothers. And so here in the previous story, we just saw Shem and Ham reconcile in the rule of the exalted image of God, Yoseph.

So when he says you've come to see the nakedness, he's pitting them as you're pulling a Ham, but you're from Shem.

Dreams and Their Fulfillment

Notice also how this section draws attention to the dreams of Yoseph and how they are beginning to be fulfilled.

Genesis 37: Yoseph dreams of becoming a ruler whose family bows down to him.

Genesis 42: Yoseph remembers his dreams as his brothers bow down before him.

Yoseph … The Disguised Deceiving Tester

The previous section portrayed Yoseph’s brothers as Adam and Eve figures who are looking for food and seeing nakedness. This section takes the analogies with Genesis 3 further—Yoseph will propose a test that will prove the trustworthiness of his brothers.

In an ironic twist, Yoseph becomes the disguised deceiver who accuses his brothers’ of treachery precisely in order to test their integrity. This is an inverted analogy, where Yoseph takes on the role of deceptive figures in Genesis, but with a different aim. His goal is not to trap his brothers but to recreate the scenario of Genesis 37 in order to see if they have changed.

The spiritual being in Genesis 3 disguised as a snake (Gen. 3)

Abraham lying to Pharaoh in Egypt (Gen. 12)

Yaaqov disguised as his brother to deceive his father (Gen. 27)

Tamar disguised as a prostitute to deceive her father-in-law in order to save the family (Gen. 38)

This last and most recent disguised deceiver is of special importance because the story of Yehudah and Tamar was placed right after the story of Yoseph and his brothers in order to create an analogy between the two.

Genesis 42:14–20 CSB

14 Then Joseph said to them, “I have spoken: ‘You are spies!’ 15 This is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one from among you to get your brother. The rest of you will be imprisoned so that your words can be tested to see if they are true. If they are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 So Joseph imprisoned them together for three days. 18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God—do this and you will live. 19 If you are honest, let one of you be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.

"And Yoseph said to them, 'This is what I say to you, y'all are spies, so let your words be tested,'"

"'Let your words be tested by this. As Pharaoh lives,'" 'cause this is a very common oath formula later on is as God lives, or as Yahweh lives, I will do such and such.  But here it's as Pharaoh lives. "'Y'all will not go out from here until your little brother, the little one comes down here. So send one out from y'all and let that one go take your brother and I'm gonna bind all of you up.

Isaac, the binding of Isaac. So one brother goes free to get the little brother, and the rest of you are bound up, and this is all a test. 

"'And your words will be tested if you are trustworthy or not 'cause as Pharaoh lives Y'all are spies.'" He gathered them into the prison for?

Three, it's a three day test. And then watch this, he's trying to disorient them. "Then Yoseph spoke to them on the third day and said, 'Hey, if you wanna live, do what I say. Do this and live. I fear Elohim, okay?

If you all are upright, now one of your brothers will be bound up in the house of the prison and the rest of you go and bring famine grain to your houses and bring your little brother to me. Then your words will be proved trustworthy and nobody's gonna die here.' And they did so."

And with that, it seems like maybe is it one taking the place of many that we can even see in like Joseph?

He switches it real quick. Y'all will be bound up and one goes, and then he just flips it.

So one will remain in prison and the rest of you go. So the one bound brother now stands for all the brothers because of the inversion of the paragraphs here. 

But then also remember he's about to put all the silver in their bags.

So one remains, all it would take is to abandon one, and we've got money and food and we'd be set. So he's recreating

The one brother being left behind and you make off with the money and the bread.

The Third Day and the Loss of a Son

Notice that Yoseph’s proposal quickly changes from (a) all the brothers imprisoned and one goes back to Yaaqov to (b) only one of the brothers imprisoned and the rest go back to Yaaqov. Yoseph is being quick on his feet, trying to disorient the brothers, all in an effort to recreate the circumstances of their betrayal in Genesis 37.

It doesn't get any better actually. Bringing all the themes together here, so there's a test of the brother's trustworthiness or faithfulness, and that's the same thing that was at stake in God making a command about a tree that has something that you think is good, knowing good and bad, like, humans will need to know that for how to rule the world. But the first, the beginning of wisdom is to fear Yahweh, right? Proverbs 1. And so it seems like a good thing, but Yahweh says it will kill me, so what am I gonna trust?

My wisdom or God's wisdom? That's how the test starts, and then it's just gonna keep going through all of the generations. "Yahweh says we're gonna have a son, but we're not able to have a son, and having a son's a good thing, oh, we have this idea, the Egyptian slave." And then that becomes their failure. And Jacob is born destined for blessing, the younger will rule over the older, but he spends his whole life scheming and deceiving everybody to get the thing that God said from birth he's gonna receive as a gift. And so he fails all of these tests and hurts everybody, including himself, in the process. And then his sons come and repeat it. 

And so here's Yoseph now in the God slot doing to his brothers what God forced all these others to undergo, to surface whether or not they're trustworthy partners.

When you step back and you see that the whole Genesis scroll, it's unified, like, it's really about one basic set of ideas that's just being explored over and over and over again. 

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