The Story of Joseph, the Governor of Egypt

The Story of Joseph, the Governor of Egypt

So that day Joseph was tending the flocks and goats with his brothers. Although he was very young at seventeen years old, he helped with the children of Bilhah and the children of Zilpa, women belonging to his father.

There were no other ways to improve the field activities, always describing the work of the brothers to their father. Jacob's children began to envy Joseph in everything they did and, in a way, they realized that their father liked Joseph better, and for that reason they began to hate and feel envy. Notably, it is noticed that young Joseph began to have problems with him very early on. Especially when Jacob calls Joseph after the dinner meeting and presents him with a colorful tunic, which was why the brothers hated Joseph.

Every day, José would tell a dream after lunch. Jose said:

- Father and my brothers. I had a dream that I was doing my activities in the field with my brothers, gathering food, and suddenly the fruits stood, the fruits reigned, and the brothers' fruits bowed.

With this dream described, Joseph's brothers, who were no longer happy with him, began to hate him even more.

Soon, the other day Joseph had another dream, and he said:

-Dad and my brothers I can tell you the other dream I had is the same as the first dream.

After telling the dream, he filled the brothers with hatred and Jacob said:

- Beloved son José, I didn't like that dream and don't tell me more about the dream.

After a few days, Jacob asked Joseph to meet his brothers in the field, since they were taking a long time to arrive. Joseph departed, and it took him a while to find these.

When the brothers saw Joseph, they said to one another:

- Here comes the chief dreamer!

-See the dreamer has already come after us, always looking for a way to deliver us to your father.

-Let's throw him in a grave so he dies.

the other says

-The pit is without water, even so, we will leave him in the pit. We'll wait for the foreign merchants to pass by and we'll do business with him.

-My brothers, here they come.

-Let's remove him from the grave for the merchants to see his body.

-True. We withdraw and sell it, only then do we get rid of it.

The desert merchants agreed on Joseph's price, claiming that he didn't have the strength to work, but they bought it anyway.

One of the brothers said:

- What will we tell our father at home?

The other said:

-We'll say an animal devoured him. It is important that we stain his tunic as a gift with the blood of a goat to prove to our father that he is dead.

Upon arriving in Egypt, the merchants sold Joseph as a slave to Pharaoh Potiphar.

The Bible reports the following:

“And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.” Genesis 39:2

God is the lord in all conditions, although he was sold by his brothers, the story of Joseph of Egypt shows that God was always with him. That way, everything prospered or the best happened.

In this way, the Pharaoh of Egypt trusted the ways and means in which Joseph spoke and thus placed him as his administrator of his life.

One day, the Pharaoh's wife, with bad intentions, saw Joseph and spoke affectionately, demanding that he lay down with her, but Joseph promptly refused the loving proposal of sex.

So, on a certain day, then, the woman had the idea to take advantage of the fact that there was no one at home and grabbed Joseph by his clothes so that he would lie down with her. Joseph, again refused such a proposal. Pharaoh's wife ran out and ended up leaving a piece of clothing behind.

With her pride wounded, because of the rejection, the woman shouted saying to the guards:

-Help me he wants to harass me! He grabbed me.

On this occasion, the damage was done. And upon learning of the accusation made by the wife, with Joseph's clothes in her hands, Pharaoh Potiphar had Joseph arrested in prison. Even in prison, God did not abandon, did not forsake or despise his servant, having given Joseph power to take care of the other prisoners in jail.

On a certain day, surprised, Joseph saw Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker in prison in the same cell as Joseph. It turns out that the butler and baker had two dreams in the same night, and Joseph interpreted each one's dream. In view of the facts, the cupbearer dreamed of a three-year-old vine, which sprouted, progressed and gave grapes, and such grapes the cupbearer squeezed cream from Pharaoh Potiphar, delivering it to him.

Notably, the cupbearer's dream was that in three days he would be released from prison, and return to the position of cupbearer to Pharaoh.

Joseph humbly asked each of them the following:

- Your dreams are solved. Please! Help-me. I am innocent and I have never harassed a woman. Help-me. Don't forget me when you're with Pharaoh. Please.

In real truth. The dreams interpreted by José were real, but they never remembered José out there. In this way, Joseph remained in oblivion.

Two years passed, and José became sadder every day, and his eyes filled with tears inside the cell. One day, Pharaoh Potiphar had two dreams and there was no one in Egypt to interpret the dreams with seven fat cows, seven skinny cows and with ears of corn that were full and others dry. The skinny cows ate the fat ones and the dry ears devoured the good ones.

Pharaoh was very worried that he could not find anyone to interpret, not even the monks and others. Moment, when the butler looked at the Pharaoh and felt that the Pharaoh was not well with the dreams. And he says.

-My Pharaoh, if my memory serves me right, in prison there is a simple and honorable man who can interpret his dreams, and he says he is innocent of the accusations.

Pharaoh Potiphar ordered Joseph to be brought in to interpret the dream. Without delay, Joseph was brought before Pharaoh. Having asked this:

-You interpreted the butler's dream, and I want you to interpret my dreams now.

Joseph replied:

-Your Majesty, I will always be here when you call me.

Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream. He told Potiphar that the two dreams were one and that the seven cows and seven ears of corn were seven years respectively.

-Yes Pharaoh, I will do this for your reign.

Then Pharaoh said:

-I dreamed of seven fat cows, seven skinny cows and ears of corn that were full and others dry. The skinny cows ate the fat ones and the dry ears devoured the good ones.

Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream, saying:

-Your Majesty, the two dreams are only one and that the seven cows and seven ears were about seven years, respectively. Seven years in which there would be peace, plenty and tranquility and seven years in which there would be a famine, which would consume the land of Egypt.

-And I advise Pharaoh to put a man to rule Egypt for these 14 years.

Pharaoh said the following:

- I will do all that, and to rule Egypt for 14 years, I choose you.

Joseph was happy with Potiphar's expressions. Thus, we can say that God was always in Joseph's way, remembering that Joseph was sold by his brothers as a slave, wronged by Pharaoh's wife, forgotten by his cellmates and honored by God as governor of Egypt.

As governor, José was an outstanding politician, he took care of the people, managed the crisis and was successful. During the period of plenty, Joseph ordered to gather as much wheat as possible, reflecting on the time of famine. And when famine came and none of the people around had anything to eat, Egypt had something to sell and offer to everyone (Genesis 41:41).

In Canaan, Jacob speaks to his sons:

- Why are you looking at each other? Behold, I have heard that there is food in Egypt; go down there and buy us wheat, that we may live and not die.

As for Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob did not send with his brothers, because he said:

-If they take my youngest son, I won't give them away, avoid saying any disgrace.

In this way went the children of Israel to buy, among those who came thither; because there was a famine in the land of Canaan.

Joseph, therefore, was the governor of that land; he sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. And Joseph, seeing his brothers, knew them; but he showed himself a stranger to them, and spoke harshly to them, and said to them:

-Where do you come from?

And they said:

- From the land of Canaan, to buy food.

So Joseph knew his brothers; but they did not know him. Then Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed of them and said to them:

-You are spies and you have come to see the nakedness of the earth.

And they said to him:

- No, my lord; but your servants came to buy food. In Canaan, there is no longer any place to grow fruits and food. After all, we are all one man's children; we are men of righteousness; your servants are not spies.

And he said to them:

- No; rather, you came to see the nakedness of the land.

And they said:

- We, your servants, are twelve brothers, sons of a pole of the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father Jacob this day; but one no longer exists.

Then Joseph said to them:

- That's what I've been telling you, saying that you are spies. In this you will be tried: As Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place until your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you to bring your brother; but you will be in prison, and your words will be tried, if there is truth with you; and if not, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies. And put them together on guard three days.

And, on the third day, José articulated:

-Do this and you will live, because I fear God. If you are men of righteousness, let one of your brothers be imprisoned in the house of your prison; and you, go, take wheat for the famine of your house. And bring me your youngest brother, and your words will be verified, and you will not die.

And they did. So they said to each other:

- Indeed, we are guilty about our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul, when he pleaded with us; we, however, do not listen; therefore this anguish comes upon us.

And Ruben answered them, saying:

- Didn't I tell you, saying: Don't sin against the boy? But you didn't listen; and, behold, his blood is also required.

And they did not know that Joseph understood them, because there was an interpreter among them. And he withdrew from them and wept. Then he returned to them, spoke to them, took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes.

And the men took that gift and took folded money in their hands and Benjamin; and they arose, and went down to Egypt, and presented themselves before the face of Joseph.

So when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the one who was over his house,

- Take these men to the house, and kill cattle, and prepare everything; for these men will eat with me at noon.

And the man did as Joseph said and the man took those men to Joseph's house. Then the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph's house and said,

- Because of the money that he gives again returned in our bags, we were brought here, to criminalize us and fall on us, so that he takes us for servants and our donkeys.

So they came to the man who was over Joseph's house and talked with him at the door of the house. And they said:

-There! My Lord, surely we went down before to buy food; and it came to pass, when we came to the shop and opened our bags, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his bag, our money by its weight; and we brought him back in our hands. We also brought other money in our hands, to buy food; we don't know who put our money in our bags.

And he says:

- Peace be with you, do not be afraid; your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks; your money came to me.

And he brought Simeon out to them.

Then the man took those men to Joseph's house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; he also fed his donkeys. And they prepared the gift, for when Joseph came at noon; because they had heard that they were to eat bread there. So when Joseph came into the house, they brought him the present that was in his hand; and they bowed down to him to the ground. And he asked them how they were and said:

- Is your father, the old man you spoke of, okay? Still lives?

And they said:

- Well is your servant, our father still lives.

And they bowed their heads and bowed. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother, and he said,

-This is your younger brother, who you told me about?

Then he said:

-God bless you, my son.

And Joseph hastened, because his heart was moved to his brother; and he sought where to weep, and went into the chamber, and wept there. Then he washed his face and left; and he caught himself and said:

-Put bread.

And they set him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; for the Egyptians cannot eat bread with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the Egyptians. And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his minority; than the men marveled among themselves. And he presented to him the portions that were before him; but Benjamin's portion was five times that of any of them. And they drank and were merry with him.

And he commanded the servant who was over his house, saying:

- Fill these men's bags with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the mouth of his bag. And my cup, the silver cup, you shall put in the mouth of the youngest's bag, with his grain money.

And he did as Joseph had said, which he had said. When morning light came, these men and their donkeys departed. As they left the city and had not yet gone far, Joseph said to the one who was over his house:

- Get up and chase those men; and, overtaking them, you will say to them: Why did you repay evil for good? Is not this the cup my lord drinks from? And what does he guess well? You did wrong in what you did.

And the Egyptian servant overtook them and spoke the same words to them. And they said to him:

- Why does my lord say such words? Far be thy servants from doing such a thing. Behold, the money which we found in the mouths of our bags We brought you back from the land of Canaan; How then can we steal silver or gold from your master's house? Whoever of your servants it is found with, let him die; and yet we will be my lord's slaves.

And he says:

- Well, be it also according to your words; whoever is found will be my slave, but you will be forgiven.

And they hurried, and each one put his sack on the ground, and each one opened his sack. And he searched, beginning with the greatest and ending with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. So they tore their clothes, and each one loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.

And Judah came with his brothers to Joseph's house, because he was still there; and they prostrated themselves before him to the ground. And Joseph said to them:

- What is this you did? Do you not know that such a man as I can guess?

Then Judah said:

-What shall we say to my lord? What shall we talk? And how will we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord's slaves, both we and he in whose hand the cup was found.

But he said:

-Far be it from me to do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, that shall be my servant; but you went up in peace to your father.

Then Judah came to him and said:

-There! My lord, please let your servant speak a word in the ears of my lord, and let not your anger burn against your servant; because you are like Pharaoh.

My lord asked his servants, saying:

- Do you have a father or a brother?

And we said to my lord:

-We have an old father and a young man of his old age, the youngest, whose brother is killed; and only he is left of his mother, and his father loves him.

Then you said to your servants:

- Bring him to me, and I will set my eyes on him.

And we said to my lord:

- That young man will not be able to leave his father; if he leaves his father, he will die.

- So you said to your servants: If your younger brother does not come down with you, you will never see my face again.

And he pointed out that:

- As we went up to thy servant, my father, and told him the words of my lord.

Our father said:

- Come back, buy us some food.

And we articulate:

- We will not be able to go down; but if our youngest brother goes with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see a man's face unless our younger brother is with us.

Then your servant my father said to us:

- You know that my wife gave me two children; one was absent from me, and I said, Surely it was torn in pieces, and I have not seen it until now; if now you also take this one from my face, and disaster befalls him, you will bring my gray hairs down in pain to the grave. Now therefore, when I go to thy servant my father, and the lad is not going with us, as his soul is bound with his soul, it shall come to pass, when he sees that the lad is not there, that he shall die; and thy servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. For your servant pledged himself for this young man to my father, saying,

-If I don't, I'll blame my father every day. Now therefore, let your servant stay in place of this lad as my lord's slave, and let the lad go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father if the lad does not go with me? Lest I see the evil that will befall my father.

So Joseph could not contain himself in front of all those who were with him; and he cried:

-Bring every man out of here;

And no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he lifted up his voice with weeping, so that the Egyptians heard him, and the house of Pharaoh heard him.

And Joseph said to his brothers:

-I'm Joseph; is my father still alive?

And his brothers could not answer him, because they were amazed at his face.

And Joseph said to his brothers:

-I beg you, come to me.

And they arrived. Then he said:

- I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore, be not grieved, nor grieve in your own eyes, that you sold me hither; for God sent me before you to preserve life. For there have already been two years of famine in the midst of the land, and there are still five years left in which there will be neither plowing nor reaping. Therefore God sent me before you to preserve your succession on earth and to save you alive by a great deliverance. So it was not you who sent me here, but God, who made me father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. Make haste, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me and do not delay. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and shalt be near me, thou and thy children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and thy herds, and all that thou hast. And I will feed you there, because there are still five years of famine, so that you do not perish from poverty, you, and your house, and all that you have. And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. And make known to my father all my glory in Egypt and all that you have seen; and make haste to bring my father down hither.

And he fell on the neck of Benjamin his brother, and wept; and Benjamin also wept on his neck.

And he kissed all his brothers and wept over them; and afterward his brothers spoke with him.

And he was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying,

- Joseph's brothers are coming; and he seemed good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants.

And Pharaoh said to Joseph,

- Say to your brothers: Do this: load your animals, and depart, and return to the land of Canaan, and return to your father and your families, and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the abundance of the land. To thee, therefore, it is commanded; this do: take you carts from the land of Egypt for your little ones, for your wives and for your father, and come. And don't let any of your implements weigh you down; for the best of all the land of Egypt shall be yours.

And the children of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them chariots, according to Pharaoh's command; he also gave them food for the way. To all he gave them, each one, changes of clothes; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. And his father likewise sent ten asses laden with the best of Egypt, and ten asses laden with corn, and bread, and food for his father, for the way. And he sent his brethren away, and they departed; and he said to them:

-Do not quarrel along the way.

And they went up out of Egypt and came to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father. So they told him, saying:

-Joseph is still alive and he is also ruler over all the land of Egypt.

And his heart fainted, because he didn't believe them. But when they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and he saw the chariots that Joseph had sent to carry him, he revived the spirit of Jacob his father. And Israel said:

- Enough; my son Joseph is still alive; I will go and see him before I die.

And Israel departed with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of Isaac his father. And he spoke God to Israel in visions by night, and said:

- Jacob! Jacob!

And he says:

- Here I am.

And he says:

- I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there. And I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely bring you up again; and Joseph will lay his hand on your eyes.

Then Jacob of Beersheba arose; and the children of Israel carried their father Jacob, and their little ones, and their wives, in the chariots which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. And they took their cattle and their goods which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his seed with him. His sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed he brought with him into Egypt.

And Jacob sent Judah before his face to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen; and they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph got his chariot ready and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. And when he was shown to her, he fell on her neck and wept on her neck a long time.

And Israel said to Joseph:

- Die now, for I have seen your face, that you still live.

Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's house:

- I will go up, and announce to Pharaoh, and say to him: My brothers and my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan, came to me. And the men are shepherds of sheep, for they are men of cattle, and they have brought with them their sheep, and their herds, and all that they have. When shall it come to pass, then, that Pharaoh shall call you, and say, What is your business? Then you will say, Your servants have been cattle men from our youth until now, both we and our fathers; that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Then came Joseph, and told Pharaoh, and said,

- My father, and my brothers, and their sheep, and their cows, with all that they have, arrived from the land of Canaan, and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. And he took a part of his brethren, namely, five men, and set them before Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers,

- What's your business? And they said to Pharaoh:

- Your servants are sheep shepherds, both us and our fathers.

They said more to Pharaoh:

- We came to pilgrimage in this land; because there is no pasture for the sheep of your servants, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan; now therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying,

- Your father and your brothers came to you. The land of Egypt is before your face; in the best of the land make your father and your brothers dwell; dwell in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are valiant men among them, you shall make them rulers of the cattle over what I have.

And Joseph brought Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Jacob:

- How many are the days of the years of your life?

And Jacob said to Pharaoh:

- The days of the years of my pilgrimages are one hundred and thirty years; Few and evil were the days of the years of my life, and they did not reach the days of the years of the life of my fathers, in the days of their pilgrimages.

And Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh's face. And Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph fed his father and his brothers and all his father's house by their families with bread.

And there was no bread in all the land, because the famine was very severe; so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. So Joseph collected all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the wheat they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house. So when money ran out in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying,

-Give us bread; why shall we die in your presence? Because we lack money.

And Joseph said:

-Give your cattle, and I will give it to you for your cattle, if the money is lacking.

So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses; and he fed them with bread that year for all their cattle.

And when that year was ended, they came to him in the second year, and said to him, We will not hide from my lord that the money is finished, and my lord has the animals; nothing else is left to us before the face of my lord, except our body and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh; it gives seed that we may live and not die, and the earth not become desolate.

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold each his field, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he moved them to the cities, from one end of the land of Egypt to the other end. Only the land of the priests did he not buy, because the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and they ate their portion which Pharaoh had given them; therefore they did not sell their land.

So Joseph said to the people:

- Behold, I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh today; behold, there is seed for you, that ye may sow the land. But it shall come to pass, that ye shall give the fifth part to Pharaoh, and the four parts shall be yours, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for those in your households, and for your little ones to eat.

And they said:

- Life has given us; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be servants to Pharaoh. So Joseph made it a statute over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should take away the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh's.

So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they took possession therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so that the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years.

When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him,

-If now I have found favor in your eyes, I beg you to put your hand under my thigh, and deal with me in kindness and truth; I beg you, do not bury me in Egypt, but let me lie with my fathers; therefore you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb. And Joseph said:

-I will do as you say.

And Jacob asked:

- Swear to me?

And Joseph swore to him; and Israel leaned over the head of the bed.

Jacob perished, and was mummified in Egypt, buried in Ephron in his family's plot. Joseph's brothers, now without their father Jacob, feared that he might have brought the time closer for their prestigious brother to want revenge. However, their reaction was uneven: And Joseph said the following:

-"Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God? You planned evil against me, but God changed the evil into good to do what we are seeing today, that is, keep many people alive” (Gn 50,19-20).

After a long history, Joseph realized that everything had been God's plan, and that through his life Israel was preserved (Genesis 45:7; 50:20). Joseph then lived the rest of his days in Egypt. He reached the third generation of the children of Ephraim, and he died at the age of 110.

Joseph, the Governor of Egypt, died in Egypt, being embalmed and placed in a coffin, to be carried to Canaan when his relatives returned there. And in this way, Joseph died confident in the promise of the Lord.

You know, Moses was warned of Joseph's desire and took his bones out of Egypt, as recorded in the book of Exodus (13:19). Joseph was buried at Shechem, on a piece of land that his father, Jacob, had purchased (Joshua 24:32).