GENESIS 42: YEARS OF FAMINE

In line with what God had revealed to Pharaoh through his dreams, after the seven years of abundance came scarcity. But thanks to Joseph’s good administration, Egypt was ready to face it.

(Genesis 41:53-57) The seven years of plenty that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end, (54) and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (55) When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. What he says to you, do.” (56) So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt. (57) Moreover, all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the earth.

Notice that Joseph did not “give away” food to the people; it clearly says that he sold the food. After working hard for seven years, gathering from all the abundance of the land, Joseph spent his time selling what he had gathered. It was not Joseph’s personal business, but of the King of Egypt, the Pharaoh. Further ahead we will see that the king will become the owner of almost all of Egypt, since the famine would be extended for seven long years (Gen. 47:13-26).

FAMINE IN ALL THE LAND

The famine wasn’t just in Egypt, but in the entire region, including Canaan. People from all over came to Egypt in search of food, amongst whom were Jacob’s family.

Jacob was a prosperous man. But famines and droughts affect everyone the same. Jacob’s family had plenty of livestock, but he didn’t have any way to feed it; they had riches and possessions, but they didn’t have anyone to buy food from for the family. This is why Jacob decided to send his sons to Egypt to buy grain.

(Gen. 42:1-5) When Jacob learned that there was grain for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” (2) And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain for sale in Egypt. Go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live and not die.” (3) So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. (4) But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him. (5) Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Jacob’s sons went to Egypt with the intention of buying grain, but they did not suspect that they would see their brother Joseph during this trip. But when they did see him, they did not recognize him, since he wasn’t anymore the young man that had been sold as a slave, but a grown man who had become Egypt’s governor.

(Gen. 42:6) Now Joseph was governor over the land. He was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground.

Right in that moment, the dream God had given to Joseph when he was a young man became true (Gen. 37:6-10): his brothers bowed before him. It was a historic and important moment for Joseph, but also very emotional. Surely in that moment he felt a mixture of emotions – joy for seeing his family, but pain for the treason. It was a moment of trial for Joseph, in which he had to choose between vengeance and forgiveness…

(Gen. 42:7-9) Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” (8) And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (9) And Joseph remembered the dreams that he had dreamed of them. And he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 

At first glance, it would seem like Joseph wanted to take “vengeance” on his brothers; but later it is made obvious that his behavior was not motivated by vengeance, but by the dreams that God had given him.

JOSEPH’S PLAN

If Joseph would have planned on taking vengeance on his brothers, it would have been really easy for him to do so. But it is obvious that his intentions were different and what he did was part of a strategy. Joseph did not immediately reveal himself as “brother”, because he had a plan…

The commentator Rav Bin Nun explains that Joseph’s plan was to find out about his brother Benjamin, who was Rachel’s other son. He wanted to find out if they had repented about what they had done to him and to find out how they behaved towards their younger brother, who most likely had taken his place as his father’s favorite son.

When they were accused of being spies (42:9), the brothers answered like this:

(Gen. 42:13) And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.”

By pressuring them, Joseph got the information he wanted – his brother and his father were still alive. Naturally, he was not simply going to take their word for it, he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

(Gen. 42:14-17) But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you. You are spies. (15) By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. (16) Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. Or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” (17) And he put them all together in custody for three days.

Maybe deep down Joseph had the temptation of taking vengeance on his brothers. But he took three days to process it. After that time, the changed the conditions: instead of having one brother go and the rest stay, he said that only one of them had to stay as a guarantee that they would bring their youngest brother.

(Gen. 42:18-20) On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain confined where you are in custody, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households, 20and bring your youngest brother to me. So your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.

With this test, what was in the brother’s heart came to the surface. They had guilt rooted inside of them. Evidently, they had their conscience stained, since they thought that all of this was happening to them because of what they had done to Joseph:

(Gen. 42:21-23) Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” (22) And Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you did not listen. So now there comes a reckoning for his blood.” (23) They did not know that Joseph understood them, for there was an interpreter between them. 

Joseph was moved when he heard his brother’s confession…

(Gen. 42:24-28) Then he turned away from them and wept. And he returned to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. (25) And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. This was done for them. (26) Then they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed. (27) And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. (28) He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!” At this their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

Joseph did not take vengeance; he didn’t even charge them for the grain that they had bought. He was giving them the opportunity of proving that they had changed…

JACOB'S REACTION

When they got back to Canaan, they told their father what had happened. They also said that they had to go back with Benjamin, to free Simeon and to be able to buy more food (Gen. 42:29-35). But Jacob did not respond well to that news…

(Gen. 42:36) And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take Benjamin. All this has come against me.”

In that moment, we see Reuben trying to take leadership as Jacob’s firstborn son.

(Gen. 42:37) Then Reuben said to his father, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”

It is likely that Reuben was trying to win Jacob over, since after having sinned against his dad, he fell into disgrace (Gen. 35:22). But Jacob did not consider him a firstborn anymore (Gen. 49:3-4).

(Gen. 42:38) But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

Jacob continued showing preference for Rachel’s sons; he rather run the risk of losing Simeon than to lose Benjamin.