Notes from the Joseph Cycle

Gen 45:4  Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Come closer to me." And they came closer. He said, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For the famine has been in the land these two years; and there are five more years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
Gen 45:8  So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.


During this exchange Joseph was probably seated on a chair of state looking down upon his brothers.  He asked them to draw closer to him in a gentle manner, perhaps to speak without being overheard, perhaps so they might better see his features. When he revealed his true self they must have felt apprehension and maybe fear.  Then surprisingly he admonishes them not to grieve nor be angry with themselves for their actions.  Joseph explains that they were but instruments of God in this and he had been sent to Egypt to preserve life.  Uncounted numbers of lives which had been preserved in Egypt as well as the Levantine region through Joseph’s careful preparations.  He repeats his statement that God has sent him there before them.  He seems to do this to relieve their sorrow and guilt. He impresses upon them that it was to preserve them and their posterity.  Their actions put him in a position to deliver them into safety and their actions were the will of God.

Joseph did not react in wrath seeking vengeance.  He took the higher road and sought to discern the greater good in the actions that had befallen him.  Life had given young Joe a pile of lemons and he made lemonade for everyone.


Gen 50:15  Realizing that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers said, "What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong that we did to him?"
Gen 50:16  So they approached [194] Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this instruction before he died,
Gen 50:17  "Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
Gen 50:18  Then his brothers also wept, [195] fell down before him, and said, "We are here as your slaves."
Gen 50:19  But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?
Gen 50:20  Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.
Gen 50:21  So have no fear; I myself will provide for you and your little ones." In this way he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

After Jacob/Israel had passed into death Joseph’s brothers were fearful that Joseph would seek vengeance upon them for the cruelty they had done him.  This seems to indicate that despite Joseph’s gracious and friendly manner towards them in Egypt they were still fearful of being held to account for what they had done.  Their guilt led them to believe that Joseph would act in a way other than that which he had indicated.  The root of their concern seems to have been that Joseph may have felt wrathful throughout, and had only withheld his indignation during their father’s lifetime out of respect for him.  Perhaps this is the way they themselves would have acted in same or similar circumstances and they were unable to comprehend someone behaving otherwise.

They sent to their brother saying that their father had instructed them to tell him that he desired Joseph to forgive his brothers of all they had done to him.  Perhaps this was a lie, perhaps it was the truth, we can not know.  There seems to be no mention of it in the dying statement and blessing of Jacob to his sons.  

The plea is powerful in that it makes note of their common parentage and the fact they were all followers of the same God.  Joseph is portrayed as weeping upon hearing these words.  Perhaps he was concerned over their emotional distress, but he may have also been saddened, in that they should hold him in such low opinion and distrust, despite all the kindness and generosity he had shown them.  Joseph seems to have forgiven their misdeeds long ago.

When they heard this they took heart reply.  They went to their brother themselves and fell down before him.  They humbled themselves, prostrating themselves before him in shame, declaring themselves to be his servants.  Joseph again took the high road and admonished them to fear not, and posed the question, am I in the place of God?  Joseph refused to allow them to assume the place of servants.  His words must have lifted their spirits and hearts.

Joseph did not let them completely off the hook and called their attention to the fact that they had intended him ill, but softens this statement with the caveat that despite their intentions God had meant him not ill but good
And through God’s plan many lives had been spared death in the famine.

He told them not to fear him that he would take care of them and their children.  He comforted them and spoke kindly to them.  Joseph proved himself to be a man of compassion who was not willing to let people problems override the underlying fabric of God’s divinely ordained plan.