Genesis 45.16-20-Pharaoh Invites Joseph's Brothers to Live in Egypt
Tuesday March 13, 2007
Genesis: Genesis 45:16-20-Pharaoh’s Invites Joseph’s Brothers to Live in Egypt
Tape # 295
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 45:16.
This past week we temporarily suspended our studies of Genesis 45 in order to study the various ways in Genesis 40-45 that Joseph is a type of Christ.
This evening we will resume our studies of Genesis 45 but before we continue, let’s review what we have noted thus far in the chapter.
In Genesis 45:1-4, we saw Joseph revealing his true identity to his brothers after hearing Judah offer himself as a substitute for Benjamin so that his father would not have to suffer the loss of another child.
Then, in Genesis 4:5-8, we noted the “magnanimity” of Joseph towards his brothers and saw Joseph reassuring his brothers that he will not exact revenge upon them.
Instead he reveals to them that their cruel treatment of him over twenty years before was a part of God’s plan to deliver their family from starvation.
This was followed by Genesis 45:9-11 where we saw Joseph sending a message to his father Israel through his brothers to find refuge from the famine in Egypt.
Lastly, in Genesis 45:12-15, we saw Joseph embracing and talking to his brothers before their departure for Canaan.
This evening we will study Genesis 45:16-20 and read that Joseph’s brothers receive a gracious invitation from Pharaoh to live in Egypt.
Genesis 45:16-46:7 contains the fourth and final scene of the third act of the tenth and final section of the book of Genesis, which is contained in Genesis 37:2-50:26 and gives the account of Jacob’s descendants.
The first act was contained in Genesis 37:2-38:30, introducing us to the dysfunctional family of Jacob (37:2-38:30), giving us the account of Joseph being rejected by his brothers and sold into slavery (37:2-36) as well as containing the story of Judah sinning against Tamar and having twins with her (38:1-30).
The second act was contained in Genesis 39:1-41:57 presenting Joseph’s rise to power over Egypt, giving us the account of Joseph in Potiphar’s house (39:1-20), being imprisoned and interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker (39:21-40:23) as well as being promoted by Pharaoh to prime minister (41:1-57).
The third act is contained in Genesis 42:1-46:27, giving us the account of the dysfunctional family of Jacob being reconciled in Egypt and contains four scenes.
The first scene recorded in Genesis 42 presents Joseph’s brothers with the exception of Benjamin making their first journey to Egypt to buy grain.
Genesis 43 contains the second scene where Joseph’s steward returns Simeon to his brothers as soon as, but only after they return the money to him.
Genesis 44:1-14 contains the third scene where Joseph put his brothers to their final test of love for their brother in need by making Benjamin alone appear guilty of secretly placing his silver cup in his sack and counseling the other brothers to return home in peace.
But then, in Genesis 44:15-34, Judah offers himself as a slave in Benjamin’s place, which causes Joseph to reveal his identity to his brothers since they have demonstrated to him that he can trust them completely and this is recorded in Genesis 45:1-15.
In the fourth and final scene that is recorded in Genesis 45:16-24 we see Jacob’s entire family migrating toward Egypt to live with Joseph.
In the third act that is contained in Genesis 42:1-46:27, we see the spiritual transformation of Joseph’s brothers with Joseph and Judah emerging as heroes.
Genesis 45:16 begins the fourth and final scene of the third act and concludes in Genesis 46:7.
This fourth and final scene is divided into three sections: (1) In Genesis 45:16-20, Pharaoh commands Joseph to extend an invitation to his father and his brothers to live in Egypt, which Joseph adds to according to Genesis 45:21-24. (2) In Genesis 45:25-26, Joseph’s brothers arrive back in Canaan and announce to their father that Joseph is alive and in Genesis 45:27-28, they convince their father to migrate to Egypt. (3) In Genesis 46:1-4, at Beersheba, the Lord reassures and reconfirms His promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to make their descendants into a great nation by His presence with them in Egypt.
The patriarchal period in Canaan ends with this fourth and final scene.
The third section of this fourth and final scene recorded in Genesis 46:1-4 deals with the nation of Israel in its infancy migrating to Goshen where it will develop into a great nation as the Lord promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Genesis 45:16, “Now when the news was heard in Pharaoh's house that Joseph's brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.”
The statement “When the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house” in the Hebrew text literally reads, “the voice was heard at Pharaoh’s house.”
This statement repeats the introduction to Joseph revealing his identity to his brothers recorded in Genesis 45:1-2.
Therefore, the statement “when the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house” links Genesis 45:16 back to the statement in Genesis 45:2 that Joseph “wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.”
A comparison of these verses emphasizes the speed of Pharaoh’s response to hearing the news about Joseph’s brothers meaning that Pharaoh offered an invitation without hesitation expressing his wholehearted approval of Joseph and the welcome of his family.
Chronologically, Pharaoh’s invitation to Egypt follows Joseph’s invitation since the text never indicates that Joseph makes Pharaoh aware of his invitation since no Egyptian was present when Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers.
In gratitude to Joseph and his service in saving the nation of Egypt, Pharaoh independently extends an invitation to Joseph’s family to live in Egypt.
“Pharaoh” is the proper noun par`oh (hu)r+P^) (Hebrew: par-o) (English: phay-row), which means, “great house” and was the title of the kings of Egypt until 323 B.C.
The term was originally used to describe the palace of the king but around 1500 B.C. this term was applied to the Egyptian kings and meant something like "his honor, his majesty."
The title “the king of Egypt” is synonymous with the designation “Pharaoh” who during the time of Joseph’s imprisonment would have been Sesostris II (1897-1878 B.C.) and whose dreams Joseph interpreted and whom he served as prime minister.
The “Pharaoh” or the “king of Egypt” who invited Jacob and his family to settle in Goshen, the garden spot of Egypt would have been Sesostris III (1878-1853 B.C.).
Sesostris II died precisely at the end of the seven year period of prosperity and his successor Sesostris III began his reign with the seven year period of famine according to the chronology accepted by the Cambridge Ancient History and cited by Eugene H. Merrill (Kingdom of Priests, page 50, Baker Book House).
“Servants” is the noun `evedh (db#u#) (eh-ved), which does “not” refer to a slave who is in bondage to another against his will but rather refers to Pharaoh’s advisers and officials in his cabinet who helped him in deciding state affairs.
Not only was Pharaoh pleased at the reunion of Joseph and his family but also the officials in Pharaoh’s cabinet who helped Pharaoh decide state affairs, which indicates that Joseph was well respected by the entire government of Egypt because he saved the nation of Egypt from being destroyed by famine.
The reunion between Joseph and his family pleased Pharaoh and his cabinet since they all greatly respected Joseph for his service in delivering the nation of Egypt from famine and also because it demonstrated proof that Joseph came from such a noble and wealthy family of free nomads and was in fact, not born a slave.
Joseph was the top celebrity in Egypt because of his service to the nation in delivering it from starvation, thus his every move was of interest to the citizens of the nation, especially, this reunion with his family.
Genesis 45:17-18, “Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’”
In Genesis 45:10, Joseph invites his brothers to move their families and father to be near him in Goshen whereas in Genesis 45:17-18, Pharaoh’s invitation is more extravagant in that he offers Joseph’s family “the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat of the fat of the land.”
Again, Pharaoh’s offer expresses his gratitude for Joseph in delivering his nation from famine and also his great respect for Joseph.
Pharaoh’s invitation is communicated through Joseph because he does not speak Hebrew like Joseph.
“Beasts” is the noun be`ir (ryu!B+) (beh-ere), which is a general term denoting domesticated four-footed animals useful for work and transportation of people and goods and thus refers to oxen, donkeys or camels who would have this function.
Pharaoh’s offer “I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land” means that he is offering Joseph’s family the best land for agriculture (Compare Isaiah 1:19) and this can be inferred by Israel’s later references to it (See Numbers 20:5; Psalm 78:47) (Bruce K. Waltke, Genesis, A Commentary, page 571, Zondervan).
Notice that unlike Joseph, Pharaoh does not specify the pasturelands of Goshen, which indicates that Pharaoh is unaware that Joseph’s family are shepherds in need specifically of pastureland.
Genesis 45:19, “Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come.’”
To emphasize the sincerity of his gracious offer, Pharaoh commands Joseph’s family to migrate to Egypt in order to enjoy the agriculture and products of Egypt.
Pharaoh orders are an official authorization to take equipment from Egypt to move Joseph’s family from Canaan, thus assigning a special status to Joseph’s family as ward of the king of Egypt.
Henry M. Morris commenting on the wagons, writes, “The ‘wagons’ were essentially carts, usually on two wooden wheels, drawn by oxen or horses. This is the first mention of wagons in the Bible and suggests that they were essentially unique to Egypt at that time” (The Genesis Record, page 624, Baker Book House).
Genesis 45:20, “Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
“Goods” is the noun keli (yl!K+) (kel-ee), which denotes a wide variety of vessels that can be for household use or trade or used to store a variety of objects ranging from food to documents and can include various types of implements and equipment.
The phrase “the best of all the land of Egypt” is connected with the expression “your goods,” thus Pharaoh is saying do not be afraid to leave behind your personal possessions that will delay you and make the trip difficult since I will give you the best material possessions of Egypt such as houses and furnishings.
Pharaoh is saying that the best material possessions of Egypt would be at the disposal of the Israelites to recompense them for what must be left behind.
Again, Pharaoh is dealing very graciously with Joseph’s family out of gratitude to Joseph for his service to the nation of Egypt in delivering it from the great famine.
Pharaoh’s gracious invitation to Joseph’s family just as Joseph’s promotion to prime minister of Egypt illustrates the spiritual principle taught in Proverbs 21:1.
Proverbs 21:1, “The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes.”
Unwittingly, Pharaoh’s gracious invitation to Joseph’s family is another step in fulfilling the prophecy the Lord gave to Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in Egypt for over four hundred years, which is recorded in Genesis 15.
In Genesis 45:9-11, we see Joseph commanding his brothers to communicate to their father his counsel that their family migrate to Egypt in order to escape the famine that would continue for another five years.
This was the first step in fulfilling the prophecy the Lord gave to Abraham, which is recorded in Genesis 15.
Genesis 15:12, “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him.”
Genesis 15:13, “God said to Abram, ‘Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, where they will be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years.’”
“Your descendants” is a reference to the nation of Israel and the “land” in which the nation of Israel would be strangers in and would be enslaved to and oppressed for four hundred years is Egypt.
“Four hundred years” is a “round” number for the more precise figure of four hundred thirty years appears in Exodus 12:40-41; Acts 7:6; Gal. 3:16-17.
Genesis 15:14, “But I will also judge the nation whom they will serve, and afterward they will come out with many possessions.”
“I will judge the nation (Egypt)” is a reference to the Lord judging Pharaoh and the nation of Egypt through the ten plagues for not letting Israel leave as God had commanded Pharaoh as recorded in Exodus 6-14.
Genesis 15:15, “As for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you will be buried at a good old age.”
Genesis 15:16, “Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete.”
“They” is a reference to Abram’s descendants, namely, the Israelites who will return from the slavery of Egypt to the land promised to Abram and his descendants.
“Generation” is the noun dor (rw{D) (dore), which denotes a “cycle of time, a life span,” which in the context of Genesis 15 is calculated to be one hundred years since Abram had his first child at one hundred years of age (Gen. 21:5).
Therefore, the “fourth generation” indicates that after four hundred years Abram’s descendants, i.e., the nation of Israel would come back into to the land of Canaan promised to Abram by the Lord.
Exodus 6:16-26 records that it was exactly in the fourth generation that the children of Israel left Egypt and returned to Canaan.
The “Amorite” is a figure of speech called “synecdoche of the part” where a part is put for the whole, thus the term “the Amorite” is put for the ten nations listed in Genesis 15:19-21, of which “the Amorite” was a part of (cf. Gen. 48:22; Nm. 13:29; 21:21).
Therefore since Pharaoh’s invitation was the first step in fulfilling the prophecy given to Abraham in Genesis 15, this event is also a manifestation of the spiritual principle taught in Jeremiah 1:12, that the Lord watches over His Word to perform it.
Jeremiah 1:12, “Then the LORD said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.’”
