Old Testament Lesson 12

Gospel Doctrine Lesson #12 – Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction
Genesis 40-45

Background

·                 [T]ake the Bible just as it reads; and if it be translated incorrectly, and there is a scholar on the earth who professes to be a Christian, and he can translate it any better than King James's translators did it, he is under obligation to do so, or the curse is upon him. If I understood Greek and Hebrew as some may profess to do, and I knew the Bible was not correctly translated, I should feel myself bound by the law of justice to the inhabitants of the earth to translate that which is incorrect and give it just as it was spoken anciently. Is that proper? Yes, I would be under obligation to do it. But I think it is translated just as correctly as the scholars could get it, although it is not correct in a great many instances. But it is no matter about that. Read it and observe it and it will not hurt any person in the world. If we are not to believe the whole of the Bible, let the man, whoever he may be, among the professed Christians, who thinks he knows, draw the line between the true and the false, so that the whole sectarian world may be able to take the right and leave the wrong. But the man Christ Jesus, who has revealed himself in the latter days, says the Bible is true and the people must believe it. Let us believe it, and then obey it.

·                          Brigham Young Journal of Discourses 14:226-227 (August 27, 1871)

It is important to read a non-KJV of the scripture.  There, I said it.  The KJV is important for reasons besides the translation.  For me, it’s the proper language.  The modern world hates it, but I think it’s important to maintain proper language in reference to God.

In the new movie, The Son of God, one of the things that struck me, is the You, and Your, instead of the Thee and Thine.  I find it abrasive, almost lacking of respect to God.  But it is at times helpful to read other versions for clarity.  Elder Maxwell, Elder Holland and others have quotes from the RSV and NIV in conference talks. 

Bible Gateway reference with KJV, NKJV, NIV of Exodus 20

With this lesson, we end our journey through Genesis and the patriarchs of the ancient Church. From Adam to Joseph, the patriarchs were those individuals selected by God for a special purpose. They were to be representative of the Firstborn, Jesus Christ. They would lead their people from among the wicked, bring them to promised lands of safety, and endure trials that tested their mettle and their faith. Each would carry the special covenant God had made with mankind. Each was tied to priesthood authority.  Each would receive revelation and authority that would lead mankind back into the presence of God.

Genesis           50 chapters – Adam through Joseph

Exodus 40 chapters – Joseph through Moses

Leviticus         27 chapters – Rituals and offerings

Numbers          36 chapters – Census and events from the Exodus to arrival in Israel

Deuteronomy   34 chapters – The Law, lectures of Moses, 10 commandments

Lesson 12	03/23/14	12) Gen. 40-45	“Fruitful in the Land of My Affliction”
Lesson 13	03/30/14	13) Exod. 1-3, 5-6, 11-13	Bondage, Passover, and Exodus
Lesson 14	04/06/14	14) Exod. 15-20, 32-34	“Ye Shall Be a Peculiar Treasure unto Me”
Lesson 15	04/13/14	15) Num. 11-14, 21	“Look to God and Live”
Lesson 16	04/20/14	16) Num. 22-24, 31	“I Cannot Go Beyond the Word of the Lord”
Lesson 17	04/27/14	17) Deut. 6, 8, 11, 32	“Beware Lest Thou Forget”

Last week, we talked briefly about the final Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs. There is overlap with that lesson and this week’s lesson on Joseph rising to power in Egypt and rescuing his family. The 12 patriarchs discussed how Reuben lost the right of Firstborn and it descended to Joseph, the Firstborn of Rachel. They discussed how several of them were jealous of Joseph, some wanting to slay him, but in the end selling him into slavery. Reuben, Judah and Joseph spoke about the importance of chastity, with only Joseph coming out as victor over the flesh.

We will talk about how, Joseph’s 2 children, Manasseh and Ephraim area grafted in and Ephraim becomes the holder of the birthright. 

The Testament of Joseph

(hand out to read)
Joseph tells how God has always delivered him: “I have seen in my life envy and death, Yet I went not astray, but persevered in the truth of the Lord. These my brethren hated me, but the Lord loved me: They wished to slay me, but the God of my fathers guarded me: They let me down into a pit, and the Most High brought me up again. I was sold into slavery, and the Lord of all made me free: I was taken into captivity, and His strong hand succoured me. I was beset with hunger, and the Lord Himself nourished me. I was alone, and God comforted me: I was sick, and the Lord visited me: I was in prison, and my God showed favour unto me; In bonds, and He released me; Slandered, and He pleaded my cause; Bitterly spoken against by the Egyptians, and He delivered me; Envied by my fellow-slaves, and He exalted me” (ch 1).
(end handout)

Joseph talks about his experience with Potiphar’s wife. She continually sought to entrap him and seduce him. She would threaten him, have him punished, and try to bribe him with riches and power. But he remembered his father Jacob’s teachings and refused. He often fasted and prayed for strength. If Potiphar was gone, he drank no wine and fasted for three days, giving his food to the poor and needy.

(The problems with Potiphar’s wife went on for a great deal of time, and intrigue; seduction, attempts to drug him, etc…he see through it all)

Joseph then describes a vision he had. “Hear ye, therefore, my vision which I saw.

I saw twelve harts feeding.

And nine of them were dispersed.

(summarize this paragraph, The Lord brings those 12 harts back together. )

Now the three were preserved, but on the following day they also were dispersed.

And I saw that the three harts became three lambs, and they cried to the Lord, and He brought them forth into a flourishing and well watered place, yea He brought them out of darkness into light. And there they cried unto the Lord until there gathered together unto them the nine harts, and they became as twelve sheep, and after a little time they increased and became many flocks.

And after these things I saw and behold,

twelve bulls…who became… innumerable herds.

And the horns of the fourth bull (Judah) went up unto heaven and became as a wall for the flocks, and in the midst of the two horns there grew another horn.

And I saw a bull calf which surrounded them twelve times, and it became a help to the bulls wholly.

And I saw in the midst of the horns a virgin [wearing a many-coloured garment, and from her] went forth a lamb;

and on his right…all the beasts and all the reptiles rushed (against him), and the lamb over came them and destroyed them. And the bulls rejoiced because of him, and the cow [and the harts] exulted together with them.

This garment potentially represents the priesthood garment that has been discussed in previous lessons. Adam’s garment was passed down through his children to Noah. Ham stole it, passes to Nimrod.  Esau slays Nimrod and takes the garment. But while fleeing Nimrod’s soldiers, he trades it to Jacob for food. Jacob makes a special garment, possibly similar to this garment, for Joseph. This represents his righteousness, and being chosen of God as a prophet. Mary now is seen with such a garment, as she is pregnant with Christ, who also holds the Melchizedek Priesthood and is the fulfillment of all the symbolism of the past. He is Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob and Joseph in their role as high priest and prophet of God (see Hebrews 4-7). Christ will overcome all things.

In another dream, while the Ship of Israel breaks apart and the family is scattered, it is noted that Joseph escapes on a little boat (literally fulfilled by his descendant Lehi’s escape by boat to the New World).

Ancient Egyptian Prison Life

Genesis 40

Anciently, with the exception of debtor’s prison, where people stayed until they paid off their debts; most prisons were built as temporary holding places for criminals. They usually were established to hold people until final judgment was passed upon them. Not so for Joseph, who seems to never have come before a tribunal of any kind. Sitting patiently in prison for his day to appear before a magistrate, he spent many years waiting.

Enter the butler and the cook. These were members of high station in Pharaoh’s court. Their stay in the prison will not last long, but they would soon be judged by Pharaoh himself as to their final outcome. Waiting nervously in this situation, both have a dream. Anciently, Egyptians believed that one received visions from the dead and Gods at night, when one’s body was sleeping. Sleep was tied to death, and represented a gateway to the underworld of the Gods and dead. So, when a person had a dream, it obviously signified important events to come.

Joseph is tied into the dream world himself, having received several visions himself. In defining the two dreams, he was able to not only predict the specific outcomes, but how the two were related.

Gen 40: 9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine was before me, ¹⁰ and in the vine were three branches; it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. ¹¹ Then Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days. ¹³ Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler. ¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”

Joseph asks the butler to remember him, but is quickly forgotten, and remains several more years in prison as the Forgotten Man. One thinks of the words of the Savior, “I was in prison and ye did not visit me” (Mat 25:43). Only when Pharaoh struggled with his own dreams does the butler remember.

Also note the symbolism for 3 days…it’s almost as if it’s saying, in 3 days he will be “raised from the dead”…

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and there were three white baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ So Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰ Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²² But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. ²³ Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

Gills Exposition of the Bible

and this phrase is used of taking the sum of persons, or the number of them, and is so rendered, Exodus 30:12; the allusion is thought to be to a custom used by great personages, to have the names of their servants called over on a certain day, as Pharaoh perhaps used to do on his birthday, Genesis 40:20; when they struck out of the list or put into it whom they pleased, and pardoned or punished such as had offended;

You see this often in Roman times…during command changes for instance, when the new leader comes to town, the prisons will largely empty out.  They will be quickly judged either to an out-of-prison judgement or be killed.  Keeping people in prison is expensive and the ruler has to pay that directly…

Pharaoh’s Dream

Genesis 41

Pharaoh dreams two dreams. He has a large bureaucracy to run the land of Egypt, including counselors, wise men, and magicians (not like today’s entertainers, but those who worked real magic by the power of the gods). None are able to deduce or divine the dreams’ meanings. When all have failed, only then do we find that the butler did it. He remembers Joseph in prison.

41 Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river. ² Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. ⁴ And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.⁶ Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them. ⁷ And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream. ⁸ Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

Pharaoh must have been very desperate. Joseph is a slave, who has been imprisoned for years for attempted rape of the wife of one of Pharaoh’s high officials. It is unknown what the ancient attitudes toward sexual predators may have been, but imagine it today.

Pharaoh knows that the dreams had a major warning behind them. One does not see corn and cattle go from robust and healthy to being eaten by diseased cattle and wind-blasted corn without realizing that something is very wrong with the picture. There is only one seer in Egypt. No other god in Egypt is able to interpret the dreams.  (But imagine how humble he must have been because HE was seen as God)

Just as with Abraham, who entered Egypt and became a force to be reckoned with in the land, so it is with Joseph. Both sit on Pharaoh’s throne. Concerning the Egyptians, Abraham “communicated to them arithmetic, and delivered to them the science of astronomy” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 1, ch 8:2). Joseph will teach them about economy, food storage, and preparation for harsh times.

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”

¹⁶ So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

From at least the days of Abraham and down to Moses, we shall see that God’s true prophets are greater than the prophets and clerics of the Egyptian gods. Abraham taught that while his Pharaoh was a good man, he did not have the true priesthood authority, which Abraham sought diligently for and obtained (Abraham 1). Joseph will prove his worth and the power of Jehovah by not only interpreting the dreams, but saving Egypt and the surrounding peoples during a seven year famine. In doing so, he will also make Pharaoh exceedingly rich and powerful.

“And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.
And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck” (Gen 41:38-42).

Pharaoh recognizes the power of God and his Spirit. It has blessed Joseph with the gift of wisdom, exceeding all the wise men in Egypt. Joseph is made the right hand of Pharaoh. Pharaoh is considered the son of the gods Osiris, Horus and Ra. He is a god in his own right. In giving his signet ring to Joseph, he has endowed the former slave and prisoner with the gifts of the gods. Joseph could have been considered Pharaoh’s adopted son and potential heir to the throne.

“And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt” (Gen 41:43). They bowed to Joseph as they would to Pharaoh or one of the gods. Joseph was a mortal god in Egypt.

“And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-paaneah” (41:44). It is uncertain what the name originally meant in Egyptian. Some scholars have thought it meant “one who reveals mysteries.” Jerome thought it meant "savior of the world." While modern Egyptologists are uncertain of the term “Zaphnath”, most agree that “paaneah” means “the life.” Some suggest it means “the god speaks, [and] he lives” (JewishEncyclopedia.com - ZAPHNATH-PAANEAH:).

Given these possibilities, we see that the Egyptians recognized Joseph as a Revelator. They also possibly saw him as the “Savior of the (Egyptian) world” which would place him squarely as a symbol for Jesus Christ. While Joseph would save all from physical famine, Jesus is the Bread of Life (John 6:35), saving us all from spiritual famine. In the context of “the life” or “god speaks and he lives” we see that both Joseph provided life to the Egyptians when God spoke. When Jesus speaks, and we listen, we are given the gift of eternal life.

Joseph married prior to this story…

Gen 41⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

But marrying an Egyptian should have been problematic for priesthood holding…

Abraham 1

 25 Now the first ^agovernment of Egypt was established by Pharaoh, the eldest son of Egyptus, the daughter of Ham, and it was after the manner of the government of Ham, which was patriarchal.

 26 Pharaoh, being a righteous man, established his kingdom and judged his people wisely and justly all his days, seeking earnestly to imitate that ^aorder established by the fathers in the first generations, in the days of the first patriarchal reign, even in the reign of Adam, and also of Noah, his father, who blessed him with the ^bblessings of the earth, and with the blessings of wisdom, but cursed him as pertaining to the Priesthood.

 27 Now, Pharaoh being of that lineage by which he could not have the right of ^aPriesthood, notwithstanding the Pharaohs would fain^bclaim it from Noah, through Ham, therefore my father was led away by their idolatry;

Elder Mark E. Peterson raises a puzzling questions, but doesn’t give us a good answer:  
    "Potipherah was obviously a Semite and not of Egyptian blood at all. That is the point here. His blood had not been mixed with the Egyptians, and his daughter, Asenath, was therefore herself a Semite without any restriction on her bloodline. Therefore, no barrier would be raised against the marriage from this standpoint." (Joseph of Egypt, pp37-38)

So he simply pronounces that she must not have been from the line of Ham, and been forbidden to bear those that would hold the priesthood. 

But the answer from more modern research is more interesting…here is Hugh Nibley

…the classic story of the marriage of Joseph and Asenath,¹⁵⁷ which explains the mingling and reconciling of the blood of Ham with the blood of Israel. For Asenath, it will be recalled, was the daughter of the high priest of Heliopolis (Genesis 41:45; 46:20), and hence of the pure line of Ham; she was also the wife of Joseph and the mother of our own vaunted ancestor Ephraim (Genesis 41:50—52; 46:20). The purpose of the story is to tell how she became an Israelite and he became the heir of Pharaoh.

It was the blessings that did it. The first step was for Joseph to lay his right hand upon the head of his future bride and say: "Lord God, Father of Israel . . . who leadeth from dark to light, from error to truth, and death to life [well-known Egyptian formulas], Oh bless this maiden; give her life; renew her through thy Holy Ghost."¹⁵⁸ In rites that follow, she renounces the luxury, splendor, and rank of an Egyptian princess, but not her parentage, and is disowned by the mass of the Egyptians.¹⁵⁹Then she is washed and clothed in white by an angel,¹⁶⁰ who registers her name in the Book of Life,¹⁶¹ with the declaration, "From this day forward thou art newly created and formed and given a new life, eating the bread of life and receiving the anointing with the oil of immortality"—more familiar Egyptian and Hebrew ordinances. Then she is given a new name.¹⁶² Next comes a surprise: having been adopted into the covenant as all of Abraham's converts were, becoming the seed of Abraham by adoption, the maiden has yet to be married. And that ordinance is performed by Pharaoh himself, who, after giving the couple his blessing,¹⁶³ crowns them with golden crowns.¹⁶⁴ Laying his hands on their heads, he then pronounces the operative blessing: "May the Lord, the Most High God, bless you, and multiply and exalt and glorify you throughout all Eternity."¹⁶⁵ Then he instructs them to seal the marriage with a kiss, and the rites are completed as the whole court goes to celebrate a seven-day feast to which all the nobility of Egypt and all the kings of the nation were invited.¹⁶⁶ It is only later that the couple visit Father Jacob and receive an Israelite blessing and his embraces.¹⁶⁷

The point is much more profound than just “pronouncing” that she must have been semitic.  From where?  Born from whom?  Whom would Joseph marry?  A sister?  If Israel is his father, and that is where the “12 tribes of Israel start”, there must have been a way to “bring someone into the fold” as it were.  And there was.  By adoption.  Asenath is adopted in.  By the priesthood.  With washing, anointing and being given a new name it appears she was adopted in through some sort of…endowment…

Prior to the famine Asenath bore two sons:  Manasseh & Ephraim (Genesis 41:50-52).

Genesis 41 ⁵⁰ And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh:^[a] “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”⁵² And the name of the second he called Ephraim:^[b] “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

(Perhaps comments here)

Back to the famine…

“And the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt, were ended. And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said: and the dearth was in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was over all the face of the earth: And Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; because that the famine was so sore in all lands” (Gen 41:53-57).

⁵³ Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. (NKJV, no “dearth”)

Those who prepared, such as Pharaoh and Joseph, were ready not only to care for their own, but to open up their storehouses to others. However, note that the storehouses were opened for a price. First the people sold what they had, then their property, and finally sold themselves into “slavery” or more like indentured servants or sharecroppers working the land for Pharaoh (Gen 47:13-25). There would be a future tax of 20% placed on the sharecroppers to work the newly purchased lands of Pharaoh.

Testing His Brethren

The 10 brothers travel to Egypt for food and meet Joseph, but don’t recognize him. He knew they were capable of treachery, and possibly murder. His main concerns were his father Jacob, and his brother Benjamin. He needed to know that both were safe and treated fairly by the other ten sons of Israel.

Only when he saw his brother Benjamin, and Benjamin was able to verify that Jacob was well, did Joseph reveal himself to his family and forgive them openly for what they had done. He understood that God allowed it to happen so that Joseph would become the savior of Israel and God’s covenant people, in similitude of Christ as Savior of the World and of spiritual Israel and the covenant people.

Gen 42 ¹⁴ But Joseph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ ¹⁵ In this manner you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶ Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!” ¹⁷ So he put them all together in prison three days.

¹⁸ Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ If you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.²⁰ And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.”

And they did so. ²¹ Then they said to one another, “We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”

²² And Reuben (eldest) answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”²³ But they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. ²⁴ And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon (second son) from them and bound him before their eyes.

Joseph has their sacks filled, the money is placed back inside and they are sent home.  We pick up in verse 33 where they are now home and relating this to their father…

Gen 42 ³³ Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone.³⁴ And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’”

³⁵ Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”

Reuben offers to kill his own sons if Benjamin does not come back.

³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “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.”

³⁸ But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”

Chapter 43 continues the famine, Jacob wants to send them down to Egypt again, but Judah indicates they CANNOT go down without Benjamin.

43 Now the famine was severe in the land. ² And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

³ But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food. ⁵ But if you will not send him, e will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”

⁶ And Israel said, “Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother?”

⁷ But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”

Gen 43^{: 8} Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. ⁹ I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. 

Jacob relents and tells them to…¹² Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. ¹³ Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man. ¹⁴ And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”

¹⁵ So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for these men will dine with me at noon.” ¹⁷ Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

¹⁸ Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and seize us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”

Vs 19-22 the brothers explain to the steward what happened, how the money was returned to them.

²³ But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

Vs 24-48 They are brought to his house, they tell Joseph about their father.

²⁹ Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.” ³⁰ Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep. And he went into his chamber and wept there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”

32 shows the Egyptians eating separately as eating with the Hebrews was an abomination.

³⁴ Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him. (end ch 43)

Joseph plots to keep Benjamin

Gen 44: And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. ² Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.

Joseph sends his men to find the cup and indicates there will be death for whomever stole it.

¹² So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.

¹⁴ So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground. ¹⁵ And Joseph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”

¹⁶ Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.”

¹⁷ But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”

Gen 44: ¹⁸ Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like Pharaoh. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’²⁰ And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’ ²² And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’

²⁴ “So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord. ²⁵ And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons; ²⁸ and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’

³⁰ “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life, ³¹ it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave. ³² For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’ ³³ Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers. ³⁴ For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?” (end ch 44)

Finally Joseph reveals himself

45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. ² And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.

³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. ⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. ⁶ For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.⁷ And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.

In verse 10 he assigns them Goshen as the place they may live.

¹² “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you. ¹³ So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”

¹⁴ Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.¹⁵ Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.

The sons are sent to get Israel who nearly has a heart attack…

²⁶ And they told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.

²⁸ Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.

The Covenant Continues Through Ephraim

Gen 46

Chapter begins with Jacob heading off to Egypt.  This is verified to him in vision.

³ So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”

Then we have 20 verses of Genealogy so down to vs 28

Gen 46: ²⁸ Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen. ²⁹ So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.

³⁰ And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.”

³¹ Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. ³² And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’ ³³ So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’³⁴ that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

Israel meets Pharaoh

Gen 47⁷ Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

⁹ And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”¹⁰ So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

And that is a remarkable thing when one “blesses” a mortal God with the priesthood of the Eternal God. 

Joseph saves the people from famine

But forces them to pay for everything, securing all land to pharaoh. 

Gen 47²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.  ²⁹ When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.”

However, standard Christian teachings do teach that all twelve tribes entered and left Egypt. It is very likely that while in Egypt, all were seen as Joseph’s family, since he was Pharaoh’s second in command.
It would be easy for the other tribes to be subsumed for a time under Joseph.

After settling in the land of Goshen, Egypt, near the Nile delta, Jacob is visited by Joseph, who introduces his two young sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob places his right hand on Ephraim, intent on giving the birthright and firstborn blessings to the younger son. Once again, the promise of the covenant which would normally go to the older son is placed with the younger. The two will replace Reuben and Simeon as Jacob’s oldest children, due to their own fall from grace (Reuben for sleeping with his step-mother, and Simeon for killing the men of Shechem, not to mention spearheading the banishment of Joseph). Jacob blesses them both to be a “multitude in the earth” as he and his fathers had also been blessed.

48 Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father issick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. ² And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben (the eldest) and Simeon (the second son), they shall be mine. ⁶ Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who are these?”

⁹ And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me in this place.”

And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.” ¹⁰ Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them. ¹¹ And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”

¹² So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. ¹³ And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. ¹⁴ Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.¹⁵ And he blessed Joseph, and said:

“God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
¹⁶ The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷ Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

²⁰ So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”

The promised covenant with Joseph through Ephraim is a continuation of the Melchizedek Priesthood and its keys. Through Levi the Aaronic/Levitical Priesthood would guide Israel through the era of the Mosaic Law. Judah was promised to be the physical ruler and to have the Messiah/King of Israel born to his line. To Ephraim was promised the covenant of First Born.

Even after the tribes were scattered, the Lord insisted, “I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn” (Jeremiah 31:9).

In the latter days, Ephraim would return to its rightful place next to Judah in ruling Israel.

“Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all” (Ezekiel 37:15-22).

Isaiah foresaw the return of the tribes, and particularly the joining of Judah and Ephraim together in the last days:

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim” (Is 11:10-16).

Clearly the story of Joseph and Ephraim do not end with the people of Israel being carried off by Assyria in 721 BC.

Jacob Blesses His Children

Genesis 49

49 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

² “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
And listen to Israel your father.

³ “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
⁴ Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—
He went up to my couch.

⁵ “Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.
⁶ Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
⁷ Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.

⁸ “Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
⁹ Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
¹⁰ The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until Shiloh comes;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.
¹¹ Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
¹² His eyes are darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³ “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He shall become a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

¹⁴ “Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
¹⁵ He saw that rest was good,
And that the land was pleasant;
He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden,
And became a band of slaves.

¹⁶ “Dan shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.
¹⁷ Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.
¹⁸ I have waited for your salvation, OLord!

¹⁹ “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.

²⁰ “Bread from Asher shall be rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.

²¹ “Naphtali is a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.

²² “Joseph is a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
²³ The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot at him and hated him.
²⁴ But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
²⁵ By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
²⁶ The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

²⁷ “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.”

²⁸ All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Each of the blessings predicts future events for the descendants of the twelve patriarchs, often based upon how each lived his own life. Because Reuben was unstable and defiled his father, his children would never excel or become leaders in Israel again.

Simeon and Levi are both chastised for their violence. As they divided and scattered Shechem, so their descendants would be divided and scattered.

Judah started out rough, but made up for his early mistakes by offering his own life in exchange for Benjamin’s. From him would come rulers, but particularly Shiloh (or the Messiah) would come from his line. The Messiah is foreseen with the statement, “until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes: His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk” (Gen 49:10-12). The Messiah would come and gathered all people unto him. Jesus would use an ass’ colt to enter in triumph into Jerusalem. In his first coming, Christ washed his garments with his own blood, but shall in a future coming return with vengeance in his eyes towards the wicked.

Zebulon, Issachar, Dan, Gad, Asher, and Napthali are told how their tribes shall be in the future. Some would have trials, others would succeed in business.

Joseph is then given a long description of the future of his people.

“Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren” (Gen 49:22-26).

Joseph will extend beyond the wall of Israel. Just as Joseph was cast off from Israel in the land of Canaan, so a vine from Joseph’s vineyard would go over the wall. This ties in with the vision in the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs: while the tribes of Israel are scattered from the Ship Israel on planks, Joseph hops a boat and paddles away. Joseph is promised a great progeny, and blessings “of the deep that lieth under” perhaps meaning safety on a long ocean voyage, as Lehi and Nephi undertook as descendants of Joseph. Joseph would be blessed “unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills” – there weren’t any everlasting hills in Egypt’s Nile Delta. The land of Canaan had hills, but most are not so remarkable as to call them everlasting. But the hills of the Americas could be considered everlasting. The Rockies and Andes are two of the longest mountain ranges on earth, with some of the highest mountains outside of the Himalayas. It is possible that these many events tie in directly with the dispersion of Joseph’s seed, as is described in the Book of Mormon.

With Joseph’s death comes the end of the Patriarchal era. The people will not have another prophet to guide them for centuries. Egypt’s survival through the seven years of famine will be remembered for a time, but only until a new Pharaoh arises that does not know Joseph. The people of Israel are about to change from a dynastic family to a nation.