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Genesis 45

Joseph reveals himself and receives his brothers, declaring that God has worked through their betrayal to preserve the family.

Joseph sends his attendants out and reveals his identity to the brothers who sold him into Egypt. They are terrified; he weeps and explains that God sent him ahead to preserve their family through the famine. He tells them to bring their father and households to Goshen, where he can provide for them. Pharaoh supplies wagons and promises good land. Back in Canaan, Jacob struggles to believe the news until he sees the wagons Joseph sent.

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1Then Joseph couldn’t control himself before all those who stood before him, and he called out, “Cause everyone to go out from me!” No one else stood with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Does my father still live?” His brothers couldn’t answer him; for they were terrified at his presence.
4Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” They came near. He said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
5Now don’t be grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there are yet five years, in which there will be no plowing and no harvest.
7God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance.
8So now it wasn’t you who sent me here, but God, and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9Hurry, and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me. Don’t wait.
10You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be near to me, you, your children, your children’s children, your flocks, your herds, and all that you have.
11There I will provide for you; for there are yet five years of famine; lest you come to poverty, you, and your household, and all that you have.”’
12Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
13You shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen. You shall hurry and bring my father down here.”
14He fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
15He kissed all his brothers, and wept on them. After that his brothers talked with him.
16The report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” It pleased Pharaoh well, and his servants.
18Take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.’
19Now you are commanded to do this: Take wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for your wives, and bring your father, and come.
20Also, don’t concern yourselves about your belongings, for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
21The sons of Israel did so. Joseph gave them wagons, according to the commandment of Pharaoh, and gave them provision for the way.
22He gave each one of them changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing.
23He sent the following to his father: ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father by the way.
24So he sent his brothers away, and they departed. He said to them, “See that you don’t quarrel on the way.”
26They told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” His heart fainted, for he didn’t believe them.
27They told him all the words of Joseph, which he had said to them. When he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob, their father, revived.
28Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Genesis 45:4Joseph asks his frightened brothers to come near while naming both their family bond and their act of betrayal.
Genesis 45:5Joseph identifies God’s purpose of preserving life within the painful history of his brothers selling him into Egypt.
Genesis 45:24Joseph’s warning against quarreling shows that the brothers’ conduct toward one another still matters after their reunion.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm and Acts recount the same history of Joseph’s sale, his rise to authority in Egypt, and the famine that brought his family there. Exodus begins with the household that came to Egypt, linking Joseph’s provision here with the later history of Israel in that land.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What do Joseph’s tears and his words about being sold reveal about this reunion?

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What stands out to you about Jacob needing to see the wagons before believing the news?

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Questions people ask about Genesis 45

Why does Joseph say God sent him to Egypt in Genesis 45?

Joseph sees his position in Egypt as God’s provision for keeping his family alive through the famine. He still names what his brothers did: they sold him. His claim that God sent him explains the saving purpose God accomplished through that history; it does not excuse their betrayal.

Why does Joseph tell his brothers not to quarrel on the way?

Joseph gives this warning as he sends his brothers back to bring Jacob to Egypt. The chapter does not state what argument he expects. Their shared guilt over selling him provides a plausible setting for blame, but the text leaves the reason unstated. The command calls for peace among them.

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What the Bible says about forgiveness →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).