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Genesis 43:1-34 — The Second Journey to Egypt

Gen.43.1-34

¹Now the famine was severe in the land. ²And when they had finished eating the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” ³But Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us, saying, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.' ⁴If you will send our brother with us, then we will go down and buy food for you. ⁵But if you will not send him, then we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.'" ⁶Israel said, “Why did you bring this trouble upon me by telling the man that you had another brother?” ⁷They replied, “The man questioned us closely about ourselves and our relatives, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?' And we answered him according to these words. Could we possibly know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?” ⁸Then Judah said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, so that we may live and not die—both we, and you, and our little ones. ⁹I myself will be a guarantee for him; from my hand you may require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you all my days. ¹⁰For if we had not delayed, surely by now we would have returned a second time." ¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice products of the land in your bags, and carry down a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. ¹²And take double the silver in your hand, and take back in your hand the silver that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. ¹³Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man. ¹⁴May God Almighty grant you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." ¹⁵So the men took this gift, and they took double the silver in their hand, and Benjamin. Then they arose, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. ¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, slaughter an animal, and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” ¹⁷The man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. ¹⁸But the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said to one another, “It is because of the silver that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, in order to overpower us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves, along with our donkeys.” ¹⁹So they approached the steward of Joseph's house and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. ²⁰And they said, "Please, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food. ²¹But when we came to the lodging place and opened our sacks, behold, each man's silver was in the mouth of his sack, our silver in its full weight. So we have brought it back in our hand. ²²We have also brought down other silver in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks." ²³He said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; your silver came to me.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴The man brought the men into Joseph's house, gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave fodder for their donkeys. ²⁵Then they prepared the gift for Joseph's arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there. ²⁶When Joseph came into the house, they brought him the gift that was in their hand into the house, and bowed down to the ground before him. ²⁷He asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your elderly father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads and prostrated themselves. ²⁹He lifted up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰Then Joseph hurried out, for he was deeply moved with compassion for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. He entered his private room and wept there. ³¹Then he washed his face and came out. Controlling himself, he said, “Serve the meal.” ³²They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat a meal with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. ³³They were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment. ³⁴Portions were brought to them from before him, but Benjamin's portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and became drunk with him.

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4/11/2026

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