Chapter 4 Genesis (4)

Genesis (4) Twenty silver market sellers Jacob lived in Bethel in Canaan for a long time. A few years later, except for Benjamin who was born in Bethel, all 11 sons grew up.Even the youngest Joseph was 17 years old. 17-year-old Joseph and his elder brother shepherd the sheep together, and lived with his aunt Bilhah and Zilpah's sons.Because Joseph was born in Jacob's later years and was born out of his beloved wife Rachel, Jacob paid special attention to him and favored him very much.Joseph also liked to curry favor with his father and often reported his brothers' bad deeds.Joseph discovered that his elder brother Reuben had an affair with his aunt Bilhah.He was still a boy, and he couldn't understand that the reason was that the old man was young and the concubine was young, so he went to bite his father's ear, and Jacob was very angry when he heard it.The word is that Jacob loved Joseph even more. He specially made a colorful dress for Joseph. Joseph wore it very vigorously and looked very proud.

Relying on his father's favor, Joseph often boasted of himself in front of his brothers. Once, Joseph had a dream, and the next morning he bragged to his brothers: "Well, listen to my dream last night: we were tying wheat in the field, and my sheaf was standing in the middle, And your sheaves come and bow down around mine." His brothers shouted and asked him, "What do you mean? Are you going to be our king? Are you really going to rule over us?" The brothers hated him even more because of this. Later, he had another dream, and he showed off to his brothers in front of his father while having breakfast: "Looking at my muscles, I had another dream, dreaming of the sun, the moon, and 11 stars bowing down to me ."

His father rebuked him and said, "What kind of dream are you having? Will your mother, your brothers, and I come and bow down to the ground and worship you?" Although his father was very angry at the time, he didn't take this word to heart after a while, but it made his brothers jealous of Joseph even more.Seeing that he is so favored, so talented, so fond of playing tricks, likes to inform his father, and still loves to work, the elder brother wants to find a chance to clean him up. One day the brothers went out to herd the sheep. In order to find water plants, they trekked all the way to Shechem.Joseph naturally did not do this kind of work.The brothers went out for several days, and Israel was worried, so he wanted to send Joseph to have a look. He said to him, "Aren't your brothers tending sheep in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them."

Joseph said, "Okay." Israel said, "Go and see if your brothers are safe and if the sheep are safe, then come back and report to me." So Joseph took some dry food and walked to Shechem.When he arrived at Shechem, he looked around in the fields, but he couldn't find his brothers, but he got lost.Some local people recognized him as the son of Israel and asked him, "What are you looking for?" Joseph replied, "I am looking for my brothers, please tell me where they keep their sheep." The native said, "They have gone, and I heard them say they are going to Dothan."

Joseph thanked the local man, and went to Dothan to pursue his brothers along the road the man had shown him. The brothers saw Joseph from a distance, and before he came to him, they discussed to kill him.They said, "Look here comes the dreamer. Come, let us kill him and throw him in a pit, and say that a wild beast has eaten him, and let us see how his dream will come true." Although the eldest brother Reuben hated Joseph for telling him the secret, but when he heard that his own brother was going to be killed, he felt that it was too much. He couldn't bear it, and wanted to save him. life. Do not shed his blood, but throw him into a pit in this field, and do not lay hands on him."

Reuben meant to rescue Joseph from the murderous hands of the brothers first, and then slowly persuade them to agree to take Joseph back with him and return it to his father Israel: in a short while, Joseph arrived.His brothers stripped him of his coat, the colorful coat that Israel their father had given him, and threw him into a pit, which was empty and had no water in it. Joseph was stunned by the unexpected attack. Although he struggled instinctively, he was still outnumbered and was thrown into the pit.At first he thought that his brother was just joking, and when he was having lunch, he saw that his brothers were only eating by themselves and ignored him, knowing that things were not that simple, they yelled in the pit.

At that moment a group of merchants from Midian passed by the brothers.Those merchants were the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and his concubine Hagar. They came from Gilead, and they brought spices, frankincense, and myrrh on their camels, and they were going to sell them in Egypt. Judah, the fourth eldest, saw the group of merchants and had a plan in mind. He said to the brothers, "What good is it if we kill our brother and shed his blood? Why don't we sell him to the Ishmaelites?" Do not lay hands on him, for he is our brother and our flesh and blood." As soon as the brothers heard that this was a plan that had the best of both worlds, it could get rid of the trouble of the first head and make some income, so they readily agreed.They stopped the Midianite merchants, brought Joseph out of the pit, and offered to sell them.Seeing that Joseph was young, strong and handsome, the merchants wanted to buy him.After some bargaining, it was finally settled at twenty shekels of silver.Joseph was sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites.

The Ishmaelites took Joseph to Egypt. When this happened, Reuben was looking after the sheep for his brothers.The brothers finished their meal and went to replace him so that he could go back to camp for dinner.Reuben went to the pit and looked, but the man was gone.Only then did the brothers tell him what happened.Seeing that the deal was done, Reuben couldn't say anything, so he buried his head in eating, thinking about how to explain to his father while eating.After dinner, I made up my mind.He tore Joseph's colorful coat, went back to his sheep-herding brothers, and said to them, "The boy (as they jokingly called Joseph) is gone, and I say that he was lost in the fields and was torn by wild animals." Crack and eat."

They slaughtered a he goat, stained Joseph's coat with blood, and sent it to their father, saying, "We picked this up in the field, please identify it, is it your son's coat?" ?" Israel recognized at a glance that it was the colorful coat he gave Joseph, snatched it, and said, "This is my son's coat. A beast ate him, and Joseph was torn to pieces! Torn to pieces!" !" So Israel tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his loins, and mourned for his son many days. When the sons returned to Israel and saw their father's attire, they knew that their plot had succeeded, so they feigned grief and comforted their father with weeping faces.But Israel refused to be comforted, and said to his family, "I will go down to hell to my son in mourning."

While the old Israel was weeping for the death of his beloved son, Joseph who caused this grief was experiencing a dramatic life in Egypt. (Genesis 37) Widow Tamar - Mother of the Jews Israel’s fourth son, Judah, returned to Bethel for a few days after the brother-trafficking incident. Seeing his father’s grief over the loss of Joseph, the whole family was unhappy, so they wanted to leave home temporarily to find a place to relax.One day he bid farewell to his father and went to visit the home of an Adullamite named Sheila, and stayed in his home for a while.There Judah fell in love with the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite, and took him as his wife, and had sex with her.Soon Shuah conceived and gave birth, and Judah named the firstborn Er.Later, Judah's wife gave birth to two children, the second was named Onan, and the third was named Shelah.

When Er, the eldest son, grew up, Judah married Tamar his daughter-in-law.Er had always relied on the power of his big family to do evil outside. God punished him, and he died shortly after he married Tamar before he could leave any roots to carry on the family line. Tamar was young and widowed. According to the family rules of the Israelites, she should commit herself to her ex-husband’s brother, have sex with her brother-in-law, and give birth to a child under her ex-husband’s name.Then Judah said to his second son Onan, "You should go to bed with your sister-in-law, and do your duty as a younger brother to her, so that you can raise a son for your brother." Onan knew that the child born to Tamar would not belong to him, and when Er was alive, he was at odds with Ov.So Onan was reluctant to fulfill his duty.In order to deal with his father Judah and also to enjoy the house, Onan still often went to Tamar's house.But whenever Onan had sex with Tamar, he dropped his semen on the ground.Tamar begged him in every possible way, but he didn't listen at all, so Tamar remained barren for a long time. God saw Onan's prank and knew that he was not a good person, so he let him die early like his brother. Judah didn't know the details. He saw that his two sons died shortly after having intercourse with Tamar. He thought that his younger son Shelah was younger and weaker. , I am afraid that he will die like his two brothers.So Judah sent Tamar back to her mother's house to be a widow, and said to her, "Tama, daughter-in-law of my sons, go back to your mother's house first and be a widow in your father's house. When my youngest son Shelah grows up, I will send Take you back and consummate the house with him, so that my family can carry on the family." Ta Ma didn't know that her father-in-law had concerns about herself, so she obediently returned to her natal home and lived there for several years. Seeing that her brother-in-law had grown up, she didn't see someone from her in-law's family come to take her back to consummate the house with him.At this time, Ta Ma realized in her heart that her father-in-law must have blamed herself for the early deaths of the two children.Although this is a matter of injustice and grievance, how can she explain this kind of matter to others, and how can she seek justice in front of her father-in-law?After a long time, the wife of Judah, the daughter of Shuah, died.Judah's friend Hira the Adullamite went to his house to comfort him, and then took him to stay at his own house to relieve his loss. It was the sheep-shearing season at that time, and Judah’s family’s pasture was in Timnah, not far from Sheila’s house. Judah went to Timnah every day to help his servants shear sheep.Tamar had long heard that his father-in-law lived in the house of Sheila, the neighbor of his mother's family, and also found out that he would go to nearby Timna to shear sheep every day.Tamar thought that he was a member of the family of Judah to his death, and he must leave offspring for his family. Thinking so in his mind, Tamar took off her widow's clothes one afternoon, covered her face with a veil, and covered her body with a cloak, and came early to wait at the gate of Inain City on the way to Timnah. .Judas had to pass through here every day to and fro. Some time had passed since Judah's wife had died, and now the bereavement was replaced by the unbearable loneliness of a new widower.One day when he came back from shearing sheep, he walked to the gate of Inain City and saw a young woman covered with a veil standing there flirting. He thought it was a prostitute, so he leaned over and said, "Come, let me sleep with you." Seeing that her father-in-law didn't recognize her, Tamar replied, "What will you give me if you want to sleep with me?" "I will send you a kid from the flock," Judah said cheerfully. Sheep were a common currency in that era. "There's no evidence for what you say, you have to give me something as a pawn." "What do you want?" "Your seal, your belt, and the staff in your hand." Tamar touched Judah's hand holding the staff while speaking. Judah had no time to think about it, so he gave Tamar the three things as requested. Tamar took him to a hidden place, where in darkness the sex between man and woman was accomplished.After that, Tamar sent Judas away without letting him spend the night with him, so that he would not recognize her.In this way, if this time is unsuccessful and she does not conceive his child, she can use the same method to sleep with him next time. After seeing Judah off, Tamar took off her veil and cloak, put on widow's clothes, got up and went back to her mother's house. Judah asked his friend Sheila to send a goat kid to the place where he had a tryst with Tamar, so that he could get back the pawn in the woman's hand, but he couldn't find her after several visits.Ask the people who live around, and the people there say: "We don't have any prostitutes here." Judas felt very puzzled. After about three months, Judas was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has become a prostitute and has conceived because of her fornication." Judas was furious when he heard this, and shouted loudly: "Pull her out and burn her to death!" Women who are promiscuous, once discovered, will be burned to death by the tribe.This was the law of the ancient Israelites. When Tamar was pulled out, he sent someone to her father-in-law, and said to him, "Who do these things belong to, with whom I am conceived; please recognize, this seal, belt, and walking stick are all who?" Judas took it over and took a look. It turned out that those things were all given by himself. The pawn of a "whore". Then he suddenly realized, and he admitted: "She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah." Judah no longer slept with Tamar. After another three or four months, Tamar found out that she was carrying twins when she was pregnant at full term.When it was time to give birth, a child stretched out a hand, and the midwife tied a red thread to his hand and said, "This is the firstborn." As soon as the words fell, the child retracted his hand again.The other child who didn't tie the red thread went to the ground first and became the elder brother. The midwife said, "Why did you rush to come?" The child's name was Perez. Later, the child with the red line on his hand was born and became a younger brother named Xie La. The descendants of Perez became the tribe of Perez, and the tribe of Perez was divided into two branches.The later heroes David and Nasus were both of the Peresian race.Because of Tamar, Judah became one of the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Genesis 38) From slave to retainer It is said that Joseph, the eleventh son favored by Israel, was sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites for 20 silver. The Ishmaelites took the young Joseph to Egypt and covered his hands and feet. Iron chains, let him stand on the high platform of the slave market and wait for people to buy them. On that day, Potiphar, the chief guard of the Egyptian Pharaoh, passed by the stage and saw that Joseph was young and smart, so he bought him at a price several times that of 20 silver coins. Joseph saw a fundamental change in his status. He changed his bad habit of being lazy and conceited at home because of his father's favor. He was very diligent in his master's house, and he took care of everything carefully.But little Joseph's luck is very good, God bless everything goes smoothly and successfully.No matter how difficult the task was, as long as it was entrusted to Joseph, the problem could be solved easily. Joseph could do what other servants could not do.Since Joseph came to Potiphar's house to take care of the housework, the family business has been prosperous day by day, so it didn't take long for Joseph to win the trust of the chief guard and was promoted by Minluo to be the housekeeper.Potiphar assured him to manage everything in the house, all matters were decided by him, and he would not ask any questions. Joseph was handsome and handsome when he was young, and his shrewdness and ability endowed him with a mature charm beyond his age.His mistress, Potiphar's wife, fell in love with him.She first gave Joseph a sneak peek and eye contact.Joseph pretended not to see it and ignored it.Gradually, she hinted at him and teased him with words, and Joseph pretended to be deaf and dumb, showing that he was ignorant of human affairs.Later, the woman begged Joseph, regardless of her master's dignity, "Let us sleep together! The master will not come back today, and no one else will come in here except you. We can love each other well." When Joseph heard this, he knelt down and said to the hostess: "I am not worthy, I dare not, and I will never do anything wrong to my master." "Look, my master doesn't know all the housework. He does everything In my hand, there is no servant older than I in this house. The lord has not left me anything except you, because you are his wife. How can I repay kindness with evil, and do such a great evil? How can I offend God?" The hostess shrugged in embarrassment when she heard this, and turned away. But she didn't stop there. Now that she had torn the face of her dignity as a master, she pursued Joseph even more unscrupulously.She had been flirting with Joseph every day in several subjects, but Joseph just refused to follow her, and tried to avoid her as much as possible. One day, the woman finally couldn't bear it any longer, and taking advantage of Joseph's opportunity of doing business in the inner room, seeing that no one was around, she put her arms around his neck, kissed him desperately, and kept saying, "You Sleep with me, sleep with me!" Joseph didn't expect her to be like this, he hastily broke free from her, and ran out of the room in a panic. The hostess tried her best to catch him and not let him go, because Joseph was stronger than her, so she failed to catch Joseph, but she grabbed Joseph's coat and took it off.Seeing that Joseph was so ungrateful and shameless, the love in her heart turned into hatred.She took the clothes and called her family in, and she said to them, "Look, he has brought back a Hebrew man. The fellow is teasing me. He came to me and wanted to sleep with me, so I shouted, When he heard me shout, he left the clothes at me and ran outside." When Potiphar came home, the woman took Joseph's cloak in her hand and complained to him, "Look who you brought back? That lowly Hebrew came in to tease me, and I shouted When he got up, he threw his clothes at me and ran out." Potichor believed his wife's words and was very angry. He regarded Joseph as an ungrateful and rebellious person and put him in the prison—the place where Pharaoh's prisoners were imprisoned. Joseph was wrongfully thrown into prison, but God was with him.God was gracious to him, and he found favor in the eyes of the jailer.When the jailer saw that he had behaved well, he put all the prisoners under Joseph's hand, and managed the prisoners through his hands.The jailer didn't ask anything about Joseph's affairs. Among the prisoners whom Joseph served as the prison manager, two were descended from Pharaoh's side to the prison. They were Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker.Because they had offended their king, the two courtiers were sent to prison, which happened to be under Joseph's management.It was these two close servants of the king of Egypt that brought about an earth-shaking change in Joseph's fate. (Genesis 39) Joseph's Dream Interpretation in Prison One night, the cupbearer and the baker of the Egyptian king who were in the same cell as Joseph had a dream each. When they got up in the morning, they didn't know what their dreams meant, and they all sat on the floor in a daze.Joseph inspected the cell, saw this scene, and asked them with concern: "Excuse me, why are you looking so sad today?" The butler and the baker said to them, "We each had a dream, but neither of us could explain what it meant." Joseph said: "Dreams are signs from God, and interpretation of dreams requires God's guidance. Please tell me your dreams and see if I can help you." The cupbearer recalled his dream and said: "I dreamed that there was a vine in front of me, and there were three branches on the tree. It seemed to have sprouted and blossomed, and the grapes on it were ripe. The bosom of Pharaoh was in my hand. Take grape Khan and squeeze it into Pharaoh's bosom, and put it in his hand." Joseph thought for a while, and quickly dug out the meaning beneath the symbolism of the dream.He explained to the cupbearer: "Your dream can be interpreted like this: Three branches are three days. Within three days, Pharaoh will definitely lift you out of prison and restore you to your post. You still have to hand the cup into Pharaoh's hand." , the same as he was his cupbearer before." The butler couldn't help being overjoyed when he heard this, and he patted Joseph on the shoulder to express his thanks.Joseph took this opportunity to plead with the cupbearer, "But when you get benefits, please do me a good deed on the basis of the fact that we live in the same prison. Please speak a good word to me in front of Pharaoh, and save my life." I came out of this prison. I was actually trafficked from the Hebrews to Egypt, and I did nothing wrong here, but someone set me up and put me in prison." As soon as the baker heard that the butler had a good dream, he told Joseph about his dream: "I saw in my dream that I had three baskets of white cakes on my head; in the top basket were all kinds of bread baked for Pharaoh. Food, some flying birds came to eat the food in the basket above my head." This time Joseph explained almost without thinking: "Your dream can be interpreted like this: Three baskets are three days; within three days, Pharaoh will cut off your head and hang you on a tree, and birds will eat you." your flesh." After three days, things happened exactly as Joseph predicted.This day happened to be Pharaoh's birthday, and he prepared a feast for his servants and restored the butler to his post. He still passed the cup into Pharaoh's hand, but hung up the chief baker. However, the cupbearer got so carried away that he forgot the request of Joseph, a friend in need.The cupbearer's forgetfulness kept Joseph in Pharaoh's prison for an extra two years.It was not until one day that Pharaoh had a strange dream that doctors and magicians all over the country could not explain, that the cupbearer thought of Joseph, a genius of dream interpretation. From prisoner to minister Two years after the Pharaoh's cupbearer was released from prison and resumed his post as a prison officer, one day, the Pharaoh had two strange dreams. He first dreamed that he was standing by the river, and he saw seven beautiful and fat cows coming up from the river, grazing among the reeds.Then, seven more cows came up from the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the river with the previous seven cows.The ugly and skinny 7 cows ate the 7 good-looking and fat cows. After this dream, Pharaoh woke up for a while, and when he fell asleep again, he had a second dream: He dreamed that a wheat stalk grew seven ears, strong and golden.Then seven ears of wheat grew, thin and dry.These 7 thin ears of wheat swallowed the 7 fat and full ears of wheat.When Pharaoh woke up in the morning, he was very disturbed, so he sent someone to call all the magicians and doctors in Egypt to interpret dreams for him.But none of these people could explain the meaning to Pharaoh. Only then did the cupbearer think of Joseph in prison, and he said to Pharaoh, "Your Majesty, I am guilty." Pharaoh felt a little strange when he heard this, and asked, "Well, what crime?" "Your Majesty, I just remembered a genius dreamer today. Two years ago, Your Majesty was enraged by my mistakes, and you sent me and the chief baker to the prison in the palace of the chief guard. We both made a dream in the same night. I don’t even know the meaning of dreams. When we were worrying, a Hebrew youth in our prison listened to our dreams and explained the meaning of each dream to us in detail. Everything that happened later fully fulfilled his words : My officer was reinstated, the baker was hanged up after being executed." As soon as Pharaoh heard that there were such strange people in his prison, he hurriedly sent someone to inform the prison to release them.Pharaoh's attendants brought Joseph out of the prison, had his head shaved, his face was shaved, his clothes were changed, and he was brought before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and no one in the whole country could explain it. I heard from the cupbearer that you are a genius at interpreting dreams. Can you explain my dream?" Joseph replied confidently and humbly: "Whether I can interpret your majesty's dream is not up to me, but to God. God's complete answer will satisfy you, Pharaoh." Pharaoh was very happy when he heard this.He told Joseph exactly what his dream was, and then said, "I have told this dream to all the doctors and magicians in the whole country, but none of them can explain it to me." Joseph listened carefully to Pharaoh's retelling, and explained to Pharaoh confidently: "Your Majesty, it is God who has revealed the decree to you. God has already shown you what he is going to do. Your two dreams, The meaning is actually one. In your dream, 7 good cows represent 7 years, 7 good ears of wheat are also 7 years, and they are all 7 harvest years; then the 7 thin and ugly cows that come up later represent 7 years , the 7 empty ears of wheat that were scorched by the east wind also represent these 7 years, all of which are 7 years of famine. That is to say, there will be 7 years of great abundance in the whole of Egypt, followed by 7 years of great famine. The 7 ugly The oxen ate the 7 good-looking oxen, which means that the seven famine years will eat up the harvest of the previous seven good years, so that all the people in Egypt will forget the previous seven good years; because the later famine is too great. , people in the whole country can't remember that there was a good harvest year, and the whole of Egypt will be destroyed by famine. As for the two dreams of Pharaoh, it is God who is urging you; telling you to get ready." While Joseph was talking, Pharaoh nodded repeatedly; when Joseph got to this point, Pharaoh couldn't wait for him to say, "Wise and wise young man, please tell me, what should I do according to God's will?" Joseph replied in an orderly manner: "For Your Majesty's consideration, you should choose a smart and capable person and send him to govern Egypt. You also need to appoint other wise officials to take up important responsibilities in various places. When the next seven years of harvest come, let all High-level officials collect one-fifth of the grain produced locally, transport it to each city, store it centrally, and adjust it uniformly by you, Pharaoh. These grain reserves can be used to relieve the second seven-year famine. Only in this way will Egypt not destroyed by famine." After hearing this, Pharaoh nodded and agreed. He immediately convened a meeting of his ministers. Everyone agreed with Joseph's idea and thought it was a wonderful method. Pharaoh said to the princes, "How shall we find such a man, who has the Spirit of God in him?" He then called Joseph to his seat, and said to him in front of all the people, "Since God has shown you this, there is no one as clever and intelligent as you. I now make you a minister, and you can rule My country, my people obey your orders, only I am greater than you on the throne." Pharaoh then stepped down from his throne and gave Joseph a solemn authorization ceremony. Pharaoh took off the ring symbolizing power and put it on Joseph's hand. He also dressed him in linen with his own hands, and put a gold necklace around his neck.After finishing all this, Pharaoh returned to the throne and announced to the ministers: "I appointed Joseph to rule the whole of Egypt on my behalf. From now on, he is your master, and you must obey his orders. Violators will be severely punished." As soon as the words fell, the officials cheered: "Long live my king! Long live!" Pharaoh took Joseph on another tour and put him in the side chariot.He shouted to the people on the street in front of him: "Kneel down!" All the people knelt down to welcome the new minister led by the king. Pharaoh gave Joseph great authority. In the whole of Egypt, no official was allowed to act without Joseph's order. Pharaoh also conferred an Egyptian name on Joseph, Safanatmanea, which means "God said: long live." wife. This year, Joseph was just 30 years old. After Joseph became a minister, he served the king of Egypt with all his heart and soul. He often visited various places and visited every place in Egypt.During the first seven years of good harvests, all parts of Egypt had good harvests year after year. Joseph stored one-fifth of the food produced in cities scattered throughout Egypt. During the seven years, Egypt's food reserves were as large as the sand on the seashore, which cannot be counted.All the granaries were full, and grain overflowed through the doors. During these seven years, Joseph also had two sons.The eldest son's name is Manasseh, which means: "make it forget." He said: "God made me forget all my troubles and my father's family.". The name of the younger son was Ephraim; meaning "to prosper."He said, "God has made me prosperous where I suffer." After the 7 years of abundance, there will be 7 years of famine.At this time, Joseph opened a storehouse to distribute grain to the victims of the disaster in all Egypt. At this time, the disasters in the countries around Egypt were also very serious, and they came to Egypt one after another for Tiao.Many Canaanites came to Egypt to sell grain, and 10 of these Canaanites were the sons of the patriarch Israel. They sold Joseph's brothers for 20 silver. (Genesis 4i) Joseph tries brotherhood twice At that time, the disasters in Canaan were very serious, and the food reserves of the Israelites were quickly exhausted.Israel summoned his sons to discuss and said: "You can no longer wait and see each other. Shall we just sit there and starve to death? I heard that there is food in Egypt. You can go to Egypt and buy (di) some from there. Bring back the food. Only in this way can the lives of the Israelites be saved!" Israel then sent Joseph's ten brothers to Egypt, but he kept Joseph's brother Benjamin with him, and did not let him go, because after Joseph "died", Benjamin became his He was afraid of what would happen if Benjamin went with his brothers. The ten brothers came to Egypt with a food team, because they were not Egyptians, and they wanted to buy a large amount of grain, which required the approval of the minister himself.They came to Joseph's mansion, bowed down to Joseph, and fell to the ground.More than ten years have passed, and Joseph has changed from a boy to a mature man. His appearance has changed a lot, his clothes are completely different, and he still speaks an authentic Egyptian language.The brothers could no longer recognize him, but he recognized them at a glance. When Joseph saw his brothers walking into his main hall, various complicated emotions were intertwined in his heart.In the end, the surprise of reunion after a long absence occupied his whole heart.But he didn't recognize them right away, he wanted to test his brothers first. He watched his brothers bow down to him, and the dream he had more than ten years ago flashed in his mind.How similar the two are. He pretended not to know them, and asked in a stern tone: "Where are you from?" The elder brother said, "We came from Canaan to grow grain in your country." Joseph threatened them majestically, saying, "You are lying! You are all spies who have come to our country to spy on the truth." When the brothers heard this, they were terrified, and argued, "No, no! My lord, the servants are not spies." Joseph insisted: "No. You are spies who have come to spy on the truth. If you are not spies, why do groups of people enter our country in groups, like soldiers who cooperate with each other with tacit understanding." In order to prove that he is not a spy, my brother quickly introduced the situation at home.They said, "The servants were originally 12 brothers, sons of a man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and the second youngest is dead." Joseph said, "Well then, you say you are brothers, and there is a younger brother who has not come. I swear by the life of Pharaoh, if you can bring this little brother, it will prove that you are not spies.If you can't bring it, you're lying and you can't get out of here. "Now you need to send someone back to bring your brother back to verify that your words are true. Before your little brother arrives, I have to wrong you, and I will imprison you first." So Joseph put them all in prison for three days. On the third day Joseph brought them out of the prison and said to them, "I am a God-fearing man; do as I say and you will live. If you are honest, keep the One person is imprisoned here as a hostage, and the rest can go back with food first to relieve the famine in your family. If you bring your little brother next time, you can all go back safely." When the brothers heard that they were going to bring the younger brother to Egypt as evidence, they couldn't help but think of Joseph who was sold to Egypt more than ten years ago.Some of them said, "We are really guilty of our brother. When he fell into our hands and we cried out to us, we saw that he had shown remorse, but we refused to forgive him. Now suffering has come upon us." ." The eldest brother Reuben complained to those disobedient brothers: "Didn't I tell you not to hurt that child? But you just didn't listen to me. Now it's all right, we should be punished." When the ten brothers were chatting, they did not avoid Joseph, the ruler of Egypt, who was sitting on the stage, because they spoke Hebrew. Joseph, whom they were talking to, could not understand what they were saying.But these words pierced his long-healed trauma like a sharp sword.Two streams of hot tears couldn't help but welled up in his eyes, he hurriedly turned sideways and retreated to the back room.Joseph cried a lot, then held back his grief, wiped away his tears, went into the hall, pointed at Simeon and said sharply, "Tie him up!" Two soldiers stepped out from the guards lined up on both sides, and bound Simeon up in front of the other brothers. Joseph called the steward behind his back, and ordered him to fill the grain sacks of the Israeli food purchase team, to bring them water and food for the journey, and to put the money sold by each person in their grain sacks. bag.The housekeeper did everything according to their instructions. In the early morning of the next day, the nine brothers and their servants put the grain bags on the backs of the animals and left the capital for the journey. They walked all day, and at dusk they stopped at an inn.Someone in the grain-packing team opened his pockets to feed the donkeys, only to find that his silver was still in his pockets.The news spread quickly, and everyone opened their pockets and found that their money hadn't been touched.Feeling that something was wrong, they said to each other tremblingly, "What does this mean? What is God going to do to us?" In this way, they hurried all the way in fear, and finally returned to their father Israel in Canaan.They told the old Israel everything that happened in Egypt in detail, and finally said: "They want us to bring the little brother as evidence. Otherwise, Simeon will not be released, and Simeon will not be traded with us." Israel, too, was terrified when he heard what they said, and saw so much grain and untouched silver.He said to his sons: You have caused me to lose two sons: Joseph is gone, Simeon cannot come back, and you are going to take Benjamin away again. Isn't this killing me? " Reuben said to his father, "Father, if I don't bring Benjamin back to you, you can kill my two sons. Please don't worry and let us take Benjamin. He'll come back and give it to you." Israel was sad and said, "My son cannot go with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he is the only one left. If he is killed on the way to Egypt, it is not you who want me, the gray-haired old man, to be miserable." Do you go to hell?" At this point, the brothers can't force it anymore. 然而，从埃及运回来的粮食很快就吃光了。以色列人再一次面临饥饿的威胁，老以色列就对儿子们说："你们再去给我籴些粮来。" 四儿子犹大说："埃及臣宰曾反复对我们说：你们的兄弟不来，你们就甭想再见我的面。您若让小弟与我们同去，我们就去；你若不让他去，我们是不会去的，因为去了也白搭。"以色列无可奈何他说："你们为什么这样害我，为什么告诉那人你们还有兄弟呢？" 兄弟们解释说："那位埃及臣宰的权力极大，他问：你们的父亲还在吗？你们还有兄弟吗？我们如果不照实回答，就买不到粮。谁也不曾想到他会提出这样的要求。" 犹大再次出面开导他父亲说："父亲，只有带小弟去，我们才可能买得到粮食。否则我们全部以色列人就只有饿死了。我也愿意为便雅悯担保，如果不带回来，我愿永远承担一切罪责。父亲，时间不容人哪！我们要回来后就出发，第二趟都已经回来了。" 为了拯救以色列民族，年迈的以色列同意了兄弟们的请求。他说："如果必须带便雅悯去的话，你们就带他去吧。你们可以将迦南的土产带些去送给那位埃及臣宰，你们要把本地产的最好的乳香、蜂蜜、香料、没药、栖子、杏仁都取一点收在身边，到了埃及就送给臣宰作礼物。你们手里要加倍地带银子；还要把上次退给你们的银子带上，你们要主动地还给他们，上次也可能是弄错了。你们也可以把便雅悯带上，一同去见那位臣宰。但愿全能的神能使你们在那人眼前蒙怜悯，释放你们的兄弟西缅，保佑我儿便雅悯与你们一同回来。" 说完这些话，老以色列又自言自语地说道："谁知道会怎样呢？上帝若注定要使我丧失儿子，就让他失去吧。" 九位哥哥这样带着礼物、银两以及小弟便雅悯来到埃及，觐见约瑟。约瑟见到便雅悯与哥哥们一起来了，就吩咐家宰说："将这些人领到家里去要宰杀牲畜，预备筵席，我要与他们共进午餐。" 家宰遵命而行，把众兄弟领进臣宰府。他们听见臣宰要自己到他家里去，都感到害怕，私下嘀咕说："领我们进到这里来，必是为头次归还在我们口袋里的银子找我们的茬，向我们下毒手，他们可能会夺去我们的驴，强迫我们为奴。" 这时候，他们还在臣宰府的大门口，对身旁约瑟的家宰说："我主啊，我们头次来实在是要籴粮，后来到了住宿的地方，我们打开口袋，不料各人的银子分毫未动，仍在各人的口袋内，现在我们又把这些银子带回来了，我们还带了一倍的银子来籴米。不知上次是谁把银子装在我们口袋里的？" 家宰见各位心中狐疑，安慰他们说："你们可以放心，不要害怕，那是你们的神和你们父亲的神赐给你们的财宝，你们的银子我早已收了。" 进了臣宰府后，家宰就把西缅带出来交给他们。 家宰还吩咐仆人为他们打水洗脚，给他们草料喂驴。然后请他们坐下来喝牛奶，等约瑟回来吃饭。 约瑟从外边进来，众兄弟马上向他呈上礼物，又俯伏在地上向他下拜。约瑟问他们好，又问："你们的父亲，就是你们所说的那老人家平安吗？他还健在吗？" 众兄弟回答："托大人的福，你的仆人我们的父亲还平安，他还健在。" 接着约瑟举目看着他同母的兄弟便雅悯问："你们给我说的顶小的兄弟，就是这位吧？"没有等他们回答，约瑟就接着说："小伙子呀，愿上帝赐福给你。"说着约瑟的爱弟之情就再也控制不住了，他急忙转身回到里屋，大哭一回，然后，他洗了脸，强装笑脸出来，吩咐仆人摆饭就餐。 仆人们为约瑟单独摆了一桌席，给以色人摆了一桌度，还为和约瑟同吃饭的埃及人摆了一桌席。因为埃及人瞧不起以色列人，厌恶与他们同桌吃饭。 约瑟让众兄弟在他面前排列坐席，都按着长幼的次序。这使各位兄弟感到很诧异，他们不知道这位臣宰是怎么知道兄弟们的长幼次序的。 约瑟把他面前的食物分出来，送给各位兄弟，但便雅悯所得的比别人多五倍。 约瑟还与在座各位饮酒，与他们宴乐。 约瑟的兄弟们不敢在埃及的京城里多呆一天，因为迦南的老父亲在等着他们回去，以色列人在等待着他们的粮食救命。约瑟就吩咐家宰说："把粮食装满这些人的口袋，尽着他们的驴所能驮的给他们。 把各人的银子放在各人的口袋里，并将我的银杯和那位年龄最小的少年人籴粮的银子，一同装在他的口袋里。 " 家宰按照约瑟的吩咐行事，在他们的口袋里装上粮食、银子和银杯。 天刚亮家宰就打发众兄弟出发。约瑟估计他们出城不远，就对家宰说："起来，追那些人去。追上了就问他们，你们为什么以恶报善呢？这不是我主人饮酒的杯吗？不是他占卜用的吗？你们这样做恶习，我们饶不了你们。" 家宰带了卫队追上以色列人的驮粮队，将上面的话对他们了。以色列的儿子们就回答说："我主为什么这样说话呢？你的仆人们断不会做这样的事情。 你看，我们从前在口袋里发现的银子尚且从迦南带回来还给你们，我们怎能从你主人家里偷窃金银呢，你如果在我们之中谁的口袋里搜出你主人的东西，就叫他死，我们大家都做你主人的奴仆。 " 家宰说："不用这么着。如果在谁的口袋里搜出赃物来，谁就做我主人的奴仆，其余的人无罪。" 驮粮队的人急忙把口袋卸在地上，各人打开口袋。家宰就开始搜查，从年长的搜起，到年幼的为止，那杯竟在便雅悯的口袋里搜出来。众兄弟气得撕裂了衣服，他们把货物驮在驴背上回城去了。 犹大和他的冗弟们进去见约瑟，向他俯伏于地。约瑟对他们说："你们做的是什么事啊？你们难道不知道，象我这样的人必能占卜吗？" 犹大无可奈何他说："我们对我主说什么好呢？还有什么话可说呢？我们现在即使跳进大海也洗不清了。上帝已经查出仆人的罪孽了，我们与那在他手中搜出杯来的都是我主的奴仆。" 约瑟说："我断不能这样做。在谁的手中搜出杯来，谁就做我的奴仆。至于你们，可以平平安安地回到你们父亲那里去。" 犹大俯仆着再向前一步，挨近约瑟说："我主啊，求你容仆人说一句话给我主听，不要向仆人发怒。求我主仁慈为怀，让仆人留下，代替小弟给您做奴隶，哪怕当牛做马也在所不辞。请您千万要放我小弟回去，因为他是我父亲以色列的命根。我父亲只有两个最心痛的小儿子。一个在荒野被野兽撕裂，一个就在我主眼前。我父亲再也不能失去他了，如果失去了他，就必定死去。难道仁慈的阁下能忍心让一个自发苍苍的老人因为失去自己的爱子而悲悲惨惨地下到阴问去吗？" 听着犹大充满对兄弟一片真情的肺腑之言，约瑟再也不能强装不认识了，他喝道："左右，退去！" 在座的兵士和家宰纷纷退去。 约瑟放声大哭，这哭声甚至惊动了法老家中的人。约瑟对兄弟们说："我就是约瑟。" 众兄弟都无言以对，他们不敢相信这话是真的，显得有些惊慌失措。 约瑟见兄弟们不敢与他相认，叫他们近前来，又接着说："我是约瑟，约瑟，就是被你们卖到埃及的那个小兄弟呀。现在你们不要为你们过去的过失而自忧自责了。那不是你们卖我到埃及来，而是上帝差遣我来的。上帝派我先来埃及，好保全以色列人的性命。现在这里的饥荒已经有两年了，还有五年不能耕种，不能收成。上帝差我在你们之先来，为要给你们留余种在世上，又要大施拯救，保全你们的生命。上帝让我在埃及如法老的父，作他全家的主，并埃及全国的臣宰。 "你们赶快回到我父亲那里去，对他说：您儿子约瑟现在在埃及作主，请您马上到那里去，不要耽搁。您和您的儿子、孙子，连牛群、羊群都可以住在埃及歌珊与他相近。他要在那里奉养您。 因为还有五年饥荒，免得您和您的眷属和一切所有的牲畜都饿死。 你们要将我在埃及一切的荣耀和你们所看见的事都告诉我父亲，要赶紧将全族搬到我这里来。 " 说罢，约瑟就与便雅悯搂着脖子相视良久，激动得热泪盈眶。 接着约瑟又与其他兄弟拥抱亲吻，七嘴八舌他说了好多歉疚与后悔、谅解与宽容的话。 约瑟与兄弟相会的消息传到法老耳朵里，鉴于约瑟的功绩和威望，法老恩准他把自己的家族带到埃及来居住。他把约瑟召去，对他说："听说你找到你的兄弟们了，你就叫他们带着你父亲和全族人来埃及居住吧。我会把埃及的富饶之地赐一块给他们耕种、放牧。" "你可以打发一批车辆、马匹和人力到迦南去帮助你的眷属，还要带上足够的粮食在路上吃。" 约瑟就按照法老的吩咐做了安排。他给每个兄弟一人一套衣服，还特意给便雅悯300两银子和5件衣服，他送给他父亲公驴10匹，驮着埃及的特产，母驴10匹，驮着粮食、饼和蔬菜。 众兄弟回到迦南，把在埃及与约瑟相遇的情况给他们的父亲讲了，告诉他如今约瑟位及人臣；约瑟和法老都请他们到埃及去居住。以色列开始还不相信，他已经心灰意冷，直到他们拿出约瑟送给他们和父亲的礼物时，他才喜出望外他说："罢了！罢了！你们不要说了，我已经相信了。趁我还未死，我要去见我儿约瑟一面。"（出42一45） 雅各家族迁往埃及 以色列带着全族老老少少，一共70人，乘着法老的车，顺利地来到埃及。动身之前，以色列先到别是巴，祭献他父亲的，即以撒的神，神现出异象告诉他说："你下到埃及去，不要害怕，我必使你在那里成为大族……。" 以色列订发犹大去见约瑟，报告他们到来的消息。约瑟就乘座马车到路上去迎接他父亲。 约瑟和父亲见面后，抱着父亲的脖子哭了许久。 以色列对约瑟说："我既然已经见到你还活着，就是死了也甘心了。" 到了埃及都城，约瑟从他的兄弟中挑选5个去见法老。法老问他们："你们从事什么职业？" "陛下，您仆人是牧羊的，连我们的祖宗也是牧羊的。"五兄弟恭敬地回答。 法老很慷慨地对他们说："你们到这里来了，这个国家的土地都在你们面前，你们只管住在最好的地方。我看歌珊这地方很宽阔肥沃，很适合你们放牧。你们就在那里住下吧。" 歌珊是埃及最富饶的地方，那里水草肥美，适于放牧牛羊。 以色列迁到埃及那年已经130岁，他在埃及又住了17年才死去。临死的时候，他打发人把约瑟叫来，对他说："我若在你眼前蒙恩，请你把手放在我大腿底下，给我发誓，不要把我葬在埃及，要把我带到迦南希布仑麦比拉洞中，与列祖列宗同眠。" 约瑟答到："父亲，放心吧，我必遵着你的命而行。" 以色列看到约瑟一手牵着一个孩子，就问他："他们是你什么人？" 约瑟告诉他："这是上帝在这里赐给我的两儿子，大的那个叫玛拿西，小的那个叫以法莲。" 以色列在儿子们的帮助下，勉强从床上坐起来，用两只手分别摸着两个孩子的头，对约瑟说："那和华曾降旨给我，我未来埃及之前你在这里生的孩子应归在我名下，他们的后代将作为以色列人的一支。" 希伯来人以右为尊。以色列要为这两个童子祝福，约瑟见父亲把右手放在次子以法莲的头上，以为他老眼昏花，颠倒了长幼，就要交换他的手。这时以色列说："不要交换。我知道玛拿西为长子，但他们中弟弟会比哥哥还大，他的后裔要成为大族。" 于是，约瑟的这两个孩子便与他们的叔伯中的11人成为以色列民族12支派的根。 以色列接下来为其他孩子祝福。祝福后没多久，他转过脸去归天了。 以色列人按照埃及的习俗，把以色列的尸体做成木乃伊，熏尸仪式一共进行了40天。40天过后，全埃及人又为他哀哭了70天。 送葬队伍熙熙攘攘，把以色列的遗体送回到迦南的亚伯拉罕墓地。法老的全体大臣都参加了送葬队伍。以色列的灵枢后面跟着一大群哭丧的女人。她们哭得那样悲痛，迦南的居民都为之惊讶，以致千他们纷纷出来问：是哪位伟大的埃及臣子要埋葬在他们家乡呢？约瑟作埃及的臣子活到110岁才死去，他活着的时候子孙满堂。临终前，他给以色列后裔留下遗嘱："我死了，上帝必看顾你们，把你们引到以色列人的列祖列宗那里去。你们要把我的骸骨从这里搬上去。" "以色列人记下了他的话，并用香料熏了他的尸体，收殓在棺材里，停在埃及。（创46一50）