Study Desk

But then there will be seven years of hunger. The people will forget how much food there had been in Egypt before. This famine will ruin the country.

Then Pharaoh said to him, "I am Pharaoh, the king over everyone in Egypt, but no one else in Egypt can lift a hand or move a foot unless you say he can."

Joseph named the second son Ephraim. Joseph gave him this name because he said, "I had great troubles, but God has made me successful in everything."

For seven years people had all the food they needed, but those years ended.

Then the seven years of hunger began, just as Joseph had said. No food grew anywhere in any of the countries in that area. But in Egypt people had plenty to eat because Joseph had stored the grain.

but the famine was bad everywhere. So people from the countries around Egypt had to come to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain.

Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted like he didn't know them. He was rude when he spoke to them. He said, "Where do you come from?" The brothers answered, "We have come from the land of Canaan to buy food."

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not know who he was.

But the brothers said to him, "No, sir, we come as your servants. We have come only to buy food.

But Joseph said to them, "No! I can see that I am right. You are spies.

But I will let you prove that you are telling the truth. In the name of Pharaoh, I swear that I will not let you go until your youngest brother comes here.

But then you must bring your youngest brother back here to me. Then I will know that you are telling the truth, and you will not have to die." The brothers agreed to this.

They said to each other, "We are being punished for the bad thing we did to our younger brother Joseph. We saw the trouble he was in. He begged us to save him, but we refused to listen. So now we are in trouble."

Then Reuben said to them, "I told you not to do anything bad to that boy, but you refused to listen to me. Now we are being punished for his death."

Joseph told the servants to fill the bags with grain. The brothers had given Joseph the money for the grain, but he didn't keep the money. He put the money in their bags of grain. Then he gave them what they would need for their trip back home.

There are twelve of us brothers, all from the same father. But one of our brothers is no longer living, and the youngest is still at home with our father in Canaan.'

But Reuben said to his father, "Father, you may kill my two sons if I don't bring Benjamin back to you. Trust me. I will bring him back to you."

But Jacob said, "I will not let Benjamin go with you. His brother is dead, and he is the only son left from my wife Rachel. It would kill me if anything happened to him during the trip to Egypt. You would send me to the grave a very sad, old man."

But Judah said to Jacob, "But the governor of that country warned us. He said, ‘If you don't bring your brother back to me, I will refuse to talk to you.'

But if you refuse to send Benjamin, we will not go. The man warned us to not come back without him."