New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 44
1
Joseph told the manager of his house what to do. "Fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry," he said. "Put each man's money in his sack.
Reference
2
"Then put my silver cup in the youngest one's sack. Put it there along with the money he paid for his grain." So the manager did what Joseph told him to do.
Reference
Word
2 Corinthians 8:8
3
When morning came, the men were sent on their way with their donkeys.
4
They hadn't gone very far from the city when Joseph spoke to his manager. "Go after those men at once," he said. "Catch up with them. Say to them, 'My master was good to you. Why have you paid him back by doing evil?
Reference
5
Isn't this the cup my master drinks from? Doesn't he also use it to figure things out? You have done an evil thing.' "
Reference
6
When the manager caught up with them, he told them what Joseph had said.
7
But they said to him, "Why do you say these things? We would never do anything like that!
8
We even brought back to you from Canaan the money we found in our sacks. So why would we steal silver or gold from your master's house?
9
"If you find out that any of us has the cup, he will die. And the rest of us will become your slaves."
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 31:32
10
"All right, then," he said. "As you wish. The one who is found to have the cup will become my slave. But the rest of you will be free from blame."
11
Each of them quickly put his sack down on the ground and opened it.
12
Then the manager started to search. He began with the oldest and ended with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13
When that happened, they were so upset they tore their clothes. Then all of them loaded their donkeys and went back to the city.
Reference
14
Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers came in. They threw themselves down on the ground in front of him.
15
Joseph said to them, "What have you done? Don't you know that a man like me has ways to figure things out?"
16
"What can we say to you?" Judah replied. "What can we say? How can we prove we haven't done anything wrong? God has shown you that we are guilty. We are now your slaves. All of us are, including the one who was found to have the cup."
Reference
17
But Joseph said, "I would never do anything like that! Only the man who was found to have the cup will become my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace."
18
Then Judah went up to him. He said, "Please, sir. Let me speak a word to you. Don't be angry with me, even though you are equal to Pharaoh himself.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 41:44
References Lord
Exodus 32:22
Genesis 18:30
Genesis 18:32
Word
Genesis 41:40
19
You asked us, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 43:7
20
We answered, 'We have an old father. A young son was born to him when he was old. His brother is dead. He's the only one of his mother's sons left. And his father loves him.'
Reference
22
"We said to you, 'The boy can't leave his father. If he does, his father will die.'
23
"But you told us, 'Your youngest brother must come down here with you. If he doesn't, you won't see my face again.'
Reference
24
So we went back to my father. We told him what you had said.
25
"Then our father said, 'Go back. Buy a little more food.'
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 43:2
26
"But we said, 'We can't go down. We'll only go if our youngest brother goes there with us. We can't even see the man's face unless our youngest brother goes with us.'
27
"Your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife had two sons by me.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 46:19
28
One of them went away from me. And I said, "He must have been torn to pieces." I haven't seen him since.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 37:33
29
What if you take this one from me too and he is harmed? Then you would cause me to die as a sad old man. I would go down into the grave full of pain and suffering.'
Reference
30
"So now, what will happen if the boy isn't with us when I go back to my father? His life is closely tied up with the boy's life.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 Samuel 18:1
31
When he sees that the boy isn't with us, he'll die as a sad old man. Because of us, he'll go down into the grave full of sorrow.
Reference
32
"I promised my father I would keep the boy safe. I said, 'Father, I'll bring him back to you. If I don't, you can put the blame on me for the rest of my life.'
33
"Now then, please let me stay here. Let me be your slave in place of the boy. Let the boy return with his brothers.
Reference
Parallel theme
1 John 3:16
34
How can I go back to my father if the boy isn't with me? Don't let me see the pain and suffering that would come to my father."
Reference
Evil
Esther 8:6
Summary of Genesis 44
Genesis, chapter forty-four is where tension between Joseph and the brothers reaches an end, and where a final test is created to bring out the most powerful speech of Judah.
The chapter opens with Joseph giving secret instructions to his steward: fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry; put each man's silver back in his sack, as before. But another instruction is added: tell the steward to put his own silver cup in the mouth of the youngest one's sack along with the silver for his grain. Every detail is designed to put pressure on the brothers to come to a point of choice when the pressure is high.
Morning light brings men on their way with their donkeys, but not until the city is out of sight does Joseph tell his steward to go after them. Stop them, he says, and ask them why they have returned good with evil, taking the cup from his master's hands, which he uses for divination.
The steward catches up and asks them why they have done this, which causes the brothers to give a confident defense. Why would you say these things, they ask. We returned the silver we found in our sacks when we were here the first time; why would we then take silver and gold from your master's house? If any of us is found to have it, let him die, and the rest of us will become your slaves.
The steward, however, reduces the punishment to only the one who is found with it will become your slave, the rest of you will be without blame. So they quickly lower their sacks to the ground; the steward begins searching, starting with the oldest and going to the youngest. Of course, the cup is found in Benjamin's sack.
This is where their reactions show the change from the day they sold Joseph into slavery. Their clothes are torn, and each one of them has loaded his donkey and is returning to the city with them. There is no scattering; the brothers have taken their united stand in grief over Benjamin and his possible death.
When they come to Joseph, Judah and his brothers throw themselves to the ground before him. Joseph plays his role again, asking what they thought they were doing, didn't they realize a man in his position could find things out by means of divination? Judah's answer is a resignation of their ability to speak to his lord. What can we say to my lord, what can we argue? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves.
Joseph, however, takes the pressure to the next level, telling them that only Benjamin needs to be his slave, while the rest of them can go home in peace to their father. This is the point where the brothers are forced to choose whether they will abandon another favored son of Rachel as they did Joseph, or if they have changed.
It is Judah's turn to speak the emotional center of the whole Joseph story, when he asks for permission to speak plainly. He reminds Joseph of the whole family history, unknowingly speaking to him as the brother he is describing. He tells of how their father is old, and had asked them if they had a father or another brother, and they had told him about their aged father and the youngest brother, born of his old age, whose full brother is dead, so their father loves him dearly, as the only one left of his mother's sons.
He reminds Joseph (not knowing he is speaking to Joseph) of how their father refused at first to let Benjamin come, saying his son wouldn't go down with them because if harm came to him, it would bring his gray head down to the grave in sorrow. He tells of how he personally guaranteed the boy's safety to his father, saying if I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life.
He finally makes his offer that will change things forever. If Benjamin doesn't return, their father will die of grief the moment he sees he isn't with them, and Judah and his brothers would have brought their father's gray head down to the grave in sorrow. So he begs Joseph to allow him to remain behind as a slave in Benjamin's place, so that the boy can go back with his brothers instead. How can I go back to my father, Judah pleads, if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see the misery that would come upon my father.
It is an amazing moment, really, watching Judah, who suggested selling Joseph for silver rather than killing him, willing to sacrifice his own freedom to prevent any more misery for his father, and to protect his younger brother. Chapter forty-four ends on this note, as Judah's plea hangs in the air, prompting Joseph's final test of his brothers to see if they have really changed from the ones who had thrown him into a cistern and walked away.
The chapter opens with Joseph giving secret instructions to his steward: fill the men's sacks with as much food as they can carry; put each man's silver back in his sack, as before. But another instruction is added: tell the steward to put his own silver cup in the mouth of the youngest one's sack along with the silver for his grain. Every detail is designed to put pressure on the brothers to come to a point of choice when the pressure is high.
Morning light brings men on their way with their donkeys, but not until the city is out of sight does Joseph tell his steward to go after them. Stop them, he says, and ask them why they have returned good with evil, taking the cup from his master's hands, which he uses for divination.
The steward catches up and asks them why they have done this, which causes the brothers to give a confident defense. Why would you say these things, they ask. We returned the silver we found in our sacks when we were here the first time; why would we then take silver and gold from your master's house? If any of us is found to have it, let him die, and the rest of us will become your slaves.
The steward, however, reduces the punishment to only the one who is found with it will become your slave, the rest of you will be without blame. So they quickly lower their sacks to the ground; the steward begins searching, starting with the oldest and going to the youngest. Of course, the cup is found in Benjamin's sack.
This is where their reactions show the change from the day they sold Joseph into slavery. Their clothes are torn, and each one of them has loaded his donkey and is returning to the city with them. There is no scattering; the brothers have taken their united stand in grief over Benjamin and his possible death.
When they come to Joseph, Judah and his brothers throw themselves to the ground before him. Joseph plays his role again, asking what they thought they were doing, didn't they realize a man in his position could find things out by means of divination? Judah's answer is a resignation of their ability to speak to his lord. What can we say to my lord, what can we argue? God has uncovered your servants' guilt. We are now my lord's slaves.
Joseph, however, takes the pressure to the next level, telling them that only Benjamin needs to be his slave, while the rest of them can go home in peace to their father. This is the point where the brothers are forced to choose whether they will abandon another favored son of Rachel as they did Joseph, or if they have changed.
It is Judah's turn to speak the emotional center of the whole Joseph story, when he asks for permission to speak plainly. He reminds Joseph of the whole family history, unknowingly speaking to him as the brother he is describing. He tells of how their father is old, and had asked them if they had a father or another brother, and they had told him about their aged father and the youngest brother, born of his old age, whose full brother is dead, so their father loves him dearly, as the only one left of his mother's sons.
He reminds Joseph (not knowing he is speaking to Joseph) of how their father refused at first to let Benjamin come, saying his son wouldn't go down with them because if harm came to him, it would bring his gray head down to the grave in sorrow. He tells of how he personally guaranteed the boy's safety to his father, saying if I do not bring him back to you, I will bear the blame before you, my father, all my life.
He finally makes his offer that will change things forever. If Benjamin doesn't return, their father will die of grief the moment he sees he isn't with them, and Judah and his brothers would have brought their father's gray head down to the grave in sorrow. So he begs Joseph to allow him to remain behind as a slave in Benjamin's place, so that the boy can go back with his brothers instead. How can I go back to my father, Judah pleads, if the boy isn't with me? I couldn't bear to see the misery that would come upon my father.
It is an amazing moment, really, watching Judah, who suggested selling Joseph for silver rather than killing him, willing to sacrifice his own freedom to prevent any more misery for his father, and to protect his younger brother. Chapter forty-four ends on this note, as Judah's plea hangs in the air, prompting Joseph's final test of his brothers to see if they have really changed from the ones who had thrown him into a cistern and walked away.