Joseph Meets His Brothers - RSV

Joseph Did Not Plan to Meet up with His Brothers. He Had His Life in Egypt and God Had Definitely Been Leading. He was Useful and Had Purpose in Life. Going Back to Canaan Did Not Seem to Be One of His Goals. Maybe His Brothers Were Just the Same as When They Had Sold Him as a Slave to Passing Traders Who Sold Him in Egypt.

1. When Joseph's Brothers Went to Buy Grain They Had No Idea Who Would Sell it to Them.

Genesis 42:1 When Jacob ____________ that there was grain in _________, he said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?"

Genesis 42:3-4 So ten of Joseph's brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. [4] But Jacob did not send ______________, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might __________ him.

Genesis 42:6-7 Now Joseph was ______________ over the land; he it was who sold to all the people of the land. And ______________ brothers came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. [7] Joseph saw his brothers, and knew them, but he treated them like ________________ and spoke ____________ to them. "Where do you come from?" he said. They said, "From the land of Canaan, to buy food."

1. Why did Joseph speak harshly to his brothers? _____________________

2. Why did only ten brothers come to buy grain? _____________________

3. Did his brothers have any idea that he was their brother? ___________

2. Joseph Wanted to Learn More about Them Before They Knew Who He was.

Genesis 42:8-11 Thus Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. [9] And Joseph __________________ the __________ which he had ____________ of them; and he said to them, "You are spies, you have come to see the weakness of the land." [10] They said to him, "No, my lord, but to buy food have your servants come. [11] We are all sons of one man, we are __________ men, your servants are not spies."

Genesis 42:12-17 He said to them, "No, it is the weakness of the land that you have come to see." [13] And they said, "We, your ______________, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our __________, and one is no more." [14] But __________ said to them, "It is as I said to you, you are spies. [15] By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place __________ your youngest brother comes here. [16] Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you __________ in prison, that your words may be tested, ____________ there is truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, __________ you are spies." [17] And he put them all ______________ in prison for three days.

Genesis 42:18-20 On the third day Joseph said to them, "Do this and you will live, for I fear God: [19] if you are honest men, let one of your brothers remain ______________ in your prison, and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your __________________, [20] and bring your ______________ brother to me; so your words will be ______________, and you shall not die." And they did so.

Genesis 42:21-24 Then they said to one another, "In truth we are guilty __________________ our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he ______________ us and we would not listen; therefore is this distress come upon us." [22] And Reuben ______________ them, "Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad? But you would not listen. So now there comes a ________________ for his blood." [23] They did not know that Joseph __________________ them, for there was an ___________________ between them. [24] Then he turned away from them and wept; and he ______________ to them and spoke to them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.

1. Did the brother's discover it was their brother Joseph asking them questions? ___________

2. Why did Joseph insist that they bring Benjamin down to Egypt? _______________

3. The Twelve Brothers Were Not Happy to Tell Their Father, Jacob, What Had Happened.

Genesis 42:25-28 And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, and to replace every man's money in his sack, and to give them __________________ for the ____________. This was done for them. [26] Then they loaded their asses with their grain, and ______________. [27] And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass ________________ at the ____________ place, he saw his money in the mouth of his sack; [28] and he said to his ______________, "My money has been put back; here it is in the mouth of my sack!" At this their hearts failed them, and they turned ________________ to one another, saying, "What is this that God has done to us?"

Genesis 42:29-34 When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had befallen them, __________, [30] "The man, the lord of the land, spoke ____________ to us, and took us to be spies of the land. [31] But we said to him, 'We are honest men, we are not spies; [32] we are __________ brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.' [33] Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, 'By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take _________ for the __________ of your __________________, and go your way. [34] _________ your youngest brother to me; then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men, and I will ____________ to you your brother, and you shall _________ in the land.'"

Genesis 42:35-36 As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were ______________. [36] And Jacob their father said to them, "You have ______________ me of my ______________: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would take ______________; all this has come upon me."

Genesis 42:38 But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his ____________ is dead, and he only is left. If harm should befall him on the ____________ that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with __________ to Sheol."

1. How many sons did Jacob have? _________

2. How many sons were at home with him now? ___________

3. Who was now missing from the original number of sons? __________________ and __________________

4. Joseph Instructs His Steward to Take the Men to His House. They Do Not Know Why He Would Do This.

Genesis 43:1-5 Now the famine was severe in the land. [2] And when they had eaten the grain which they had ____________ from Egypt, their __________ said to them, "Go again, buy us a __________ food." [3] But Judah said to him, "The man ______________ __________ us, __________, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.' [4] If you will send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food; [5] but if you will not send him, we will not go down, for the man said to us, 'You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.'"

Genesis 43:6-10 Israel said, "Why did you treat me so ill as to tell the man that you had another brother?" [7] They ____________, "The man __________________ us ________________ about ourselves and our ____________, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?' What we told him was in answer to these ________________; could we in any way know that he would say, 'Bring your brother down'?" [8] And 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 will be surety for him; of my hand you shall ____________ him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him __________ you, then let me bear the blame for ever; [10] for if we had not ____________, we would now have ______________ twice."

Genesis 43:11-15 Then their father Israel said to them, "If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice __________ of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man a present, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, ________________ nuts, and almonds. [12] Take double the money with you; carry back with you the money that was ______________ in the mouth of your sacks; ____________ it was an ________________. [13] Take also your brother, and arise, go again to the man; [14] may God ______________ grant you mercy before the man, that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my ______________, I am bereaved." [15] So the men took the present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin; and they arose and went down to Egypt, and stood before __________.

Genesis 43:16-17 When Joseph saw ______________ with them, he said to the steward of his house, "Bring the men into the house, and ________________ an animal and make ready, for the men are to dine with me at noon." [17] The man did as Joseph bade him, and brought the men to ______________ house.

5. Joseph's Brothers Tried to Explain to the Steward That They Had Found the Money in Their Sacks and Brought it Back with Them.

Genesis 43:18-22 And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph's house, and they said, "It is because of the money, which was ______________ in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may seek ______________ against us and fall upon us, to make __________ of us and seize our asses." [19] So they went up to the ____________ of Joseph's house, and spoke with him at the door of the house, [20] and said, "Oh, my lord, we came down the first time to buy food; [21] and when we came to the ____________ place we __________ our sacks, and there was every _________ money in the _________ of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it again with us, [22] and we have brought _________ money down in our hand to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks."

Genesis 43:23-25 He replied, "Rest ____________, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father must have put ______________ in your sacks for you; I ______________ your money." Then he brought Simeon out to them. [24] And when the man had brought the men into Joseph's house, and given them water, and they had washed their feet, and when he had given their asses ________________, [25] they made ready the ____________ for Joseph's coming at noon, for they heard that they should eat bread there.

Genesis 43:26-30 When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which they had with them, and bowed down to him to the ground. [27] And he ______________ about their welfare, and said, "Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?" [28] They said, "Your ____________ our father is well, he is still alive." And they bowed their heads and made ________________. [29] And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, his ______________ son, and said, "Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me? God be ______________ to you, my son!" [30] Then Joseph made haste, for his heart ____________ for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he ____________ his ____________ and wept there.

Genesis 43:31-34 Then he washed his face and came out; and ___________________ himself he said, "Let food be served." [32] They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is an abomination to the Egyptians. [33] And they sat before him, the first-born according to his __________________ and the ______________ according to his youth; and the men looked at one another in ________________. [34] Portions were taken to them from ______________ table, but __________________ portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.

1. Why did Joseph give Benjamin more food than he gave the other brothers? _____________________

2. Do the brothers know they are dealing with Joseph? _____________

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