Study Desk

"But we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.'

"But we said, 'We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man's face unless our youngest brother is with us.'

"For your servant accepted responsibility for the boy from my father, saying, 'If I do not bring him back to you, then my father can let me take the blame forever.'

"For how shall I go up to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear that I may see the evil that would overtake my father."

And Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were terrified in his presence.

"Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save lives.

"For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.

"So God sent me ahead of you to ensure for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.

"For you shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.

"There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished."'

"Now you are ordered, 'Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come.

'And do not concern yourselves with your property, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.

And to his father he sent the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and sustenance for his father on the journey.

And they told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt." But he was stunned, for he did not believe them.

Then He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.

and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.'

"When Pharaoh calls for you and says, 'What is your occupation?'

you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock since our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,' so that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians."

They also said to Pharaoh, "We have come to reside in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen."