18. The Truth Will Out (Genesis 44: 1 – 45: 28)

8/13/2019 18. The Truth Will Out (Genesis 44: 1 45: 28)

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Lesson #18

The Truth Will Out

(44: 1 45: 28)


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Entering Lesson #17, Joseph has risen from a slave tobecome Prime Minister of Egypt; seven years of

plenty have passed, during which Joseph brilliantly

expands Egypts agricultural land; builds massive

food reserves; and now, during the years of famine,

has cornered the grain market, selling provisions at a

hefty profit to all who come to Egypt . . . including his

brothers, whom he sees for the first time in 20

yearsthe brothers who wanted him dead.


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As we move from Lesson #17 to #18, when Joseph

sees his brothers standing before him, a storm of

emotions surges in his heart: anger, vengeance, self-

righteousness, longing, love, hate . . . Theseare the

brothers who betrayed him. Theseare the brothers

who hated him. Theseare the brothers who now

need his help in a time of famine. The anger and

heartbreak, love and loss that Joseph buried deep

inside for twenty years erupt. Nowhere else inScripture do we have such a kaleidoscope of

emotions on full display.


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5.

National Gallery, London.

Raphael de Mercatelli. Illuminated Bible, late 15thcentury. Ghent Cathedral, Ms. 10, fol. 74.


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Why is the silver returned . . . again?

As Joseph has time to process the encounter with his

brothers and to sort out the storm of emotions raging

within, he determines to test his brothers, to discern

their motives and to ensure the safety of his brother,Benjamin.


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Each move Joseph makes is designed to

keep his brothers off balance, to make

them feel trapped in a network of

uncanny circumstances they can neither

control nor explain, much as he himselfwas trapped in a nightmare when sold

as a slave into Egypt.


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As the silver reappearsalong with thesilver cup (accompanied by the

repeated suggestion of supernatural

divination)the brothers are caught,

as Robert Alter observes, in a net of

dream logic; the harder they struggle

to escape the net, the more entangled

in it they become.


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The brothers who wanted to receivesilver for selling Joseph into slavery in

Egypt cannot seem to return the silver,

no matter how hard they try!


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The is the final turn of the screw: will the brothers

allow Benjamin to be enslaved, as Joseph was

enslaved? Will they sell him out?


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Jean-Charles Tardieu. Joseph Recognized by His Brothers (oil

on canvas), 1788. Private collection [auctioned at Christis,

1997, Sale 8756, Lot 252].


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1. Why does Joseph return the brothers silver

again, as well as place his cup in Benjaminssack?

2. There are several instances of irony in

Chapter 44. What are they?

3. Why does Judah step up and offer himself inplace of Benjamin?

4. When Joseph reveals himself to his brothers,

how do they react? Why?5. When Jacob is told that Joseph is still alive,

how does he react? Why?


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Copyright 2013 by William C. Creasy

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18. The Truth Will Out (Genesis 44: 1 – 45: 28)

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