CHAPTER 45

45:1 And Joseph could not refrain himself when all were standing by him, but said, Dismiss all from me; and no one stood near Joseph, when he made himself known to his brethren. 2 And he uttered his voice with weeping; and all the Egyptians heard, and it was reported to the house of Pharao. 3 And Joseph said to his brethren, I am Joseph; doth my father yet live? And his brethren could not answer him, for they were troubled. 4 And Joseph said to his brethren, Draw nigh to me; and they drew nigh; and he said, I am your brother Joseph, whom ye sold into Egypt. 5 Now then be not grieved, and let it not seem hard to you that ye sold me hither, for God sent me before you for life. 6 For this second year there is famine on the earth, and there are yet five years remaining, in which there is to be neither ploughing, nor mowing. 7 For God sent me before you, that there might be left to you a remnant upon the earth, even to nourish a great remnant of you. 8 Now then ye did not send me hither, but God; and he hath made me as a father of Pharao, and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt. 9 Hasten, therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, These things saith thy son Joseph; God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down therefore to me, and tarry not. 10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gesem of Arabia; and thou shalt be near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons’ sons, thy sheep and thine oxen, and whatsoever things are thine. 11 And I will nourish thee there: for the famine is yet for five years; lest thou be consumed, and thy sons, and all thy possessions. 12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you. 13 Report, therefore, to my father all my glory in Egypt, and all things that ye have seen, and make haste and bring down my father hither. 14 And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept on him; and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 And he kissed all his brethren, and wept on them; and after these things his brethren spoke to him.16 And the report was carried into the house of Pharao, saying, Joseph’s brethren are come; and Pharao was glad, and his household. 17 And Pharao said to Joseph, Say to thy brethren, Do this; fill your waggons, and depart into the land of Chanaan. 18 And take up your father, and your possessions, and come to me; and I will give you of all the goods of Egypt, and ye shall eat the marrow of the land. 19 And do thou charge them thus; that they should take for them waggons out of the land of Egypt, for your little ones, and for your wives; and take up your father, and come. 20 And be not sparing in regard to your property, for all the good of Egypt shall be yours. 21 And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave to them waggons, according to the words spoken by king Pharao; and he gave them provision for the journey. 22 And he gave to them all two sets of raiment apiece; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of gold, and five changes of raiment. 23 And to his father he sent presents at the same rate, and ten asses, bearing some of all the good things of Egypt, and ten mules, bearing bread for his father for thy journey. 24 And he sent away his brethren, and they went; and he said to them, Be not angry by the way. 25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chanaan, to Jacob their father. 26 And they reported to him, saying, Thy son Joseph is living, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt; and Jacob was amazed, for he did not believe them. 27 But they spoke to him all the words uttered by Joseph, whatsoever he said to them; and having seen the chariots which Joseph sent to take him up, the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 28 And Israel said, It is a great thing for me if Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.

AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO. (Gen. 45:7). WHAT DOES THE REMNANTS OF THE GREAT RACE OF JACOB MEAN? — What does Joseph mean: For God has sent me before you, so that your remains may remain on the earth and that your survivors may grow greatly. This does not entirely coincide with reality, so that we are forced to think that Jacob and his children were mere survivors or remnants, for they were all safe. Does it mean, perhaps, that which the Apostle says with profound and secret mystery: “By the election of grace a remnant has been saved (Rom. 11:5),” which the prophet had predicted, saying, "If the number of the children of Israel were as the sand of the sea, will only one rest be saved (Is. 10:22)?” Christ was killed by the Jews and given to the Gentiles as Joseph was delivered by his brothers to the Egyptians so that a remnant of Israel would be saved. That is why the Apostle says: “For I am an Israelite (Rom. 11:1),” and “until all the Gentiles come in, and thus all Israel may be saved (Rom. 11:25-26),” then it is the rest of Israel, according to the flesh, and all the nations, who are Israel by faith in Christ, according to the Spirit. Or even of the people of Israel, if they preserve the fullness of faith, from which the rest proceed, in which the apostles were also saved. All this was foreshadowed by that fullness of the deliverance of Israel which they received through Moses, when he brought them out of Egypt. [Question 148]

JOHN CHRYSOSTOM OF CONSTANTINOPLE. These words greatly moved Joseph, and appeared to him a sufficient mark of filial respect and fraternal love. And he could no longer restrain himself, nor support the presence of the assistants: he drives everyone away, and remains alone in the midst of them (Gen. 45:1), he utters a cry with a sob, and makes himself known to his brothers. And this was known throughout the kingdom, and even in Pharaoh's house. (Ibid. 2) And he said to his brethren, I am Joseph! Does my father still live? (Ibid. 3) I can not help admiring here, the perseverance of this blessed, how he could support his role to the end, not to betray himself, but what surprises me especially is that his brothers had the strength to remain standing, to open their mouths again, that life did not have fled from them, that they did not lose their reason, that they did not disappear at bottom of the earth. His brothers could not answer him: because they were troubled. Nothing more natural in remembering how they had behaved towards him, what he himself had been for them, considering the illustrious rank where he was placed, it was almost for their lives that they were worried. So, wishing to reassure them, he said to them, Come near me. (Ibid. 4) Do not retreat: do not believe that your conduct towards me comes from a purpose conceived by you. It is not so much the work of your injustice to me as the wisdom of God, of his ineffable kindness: he has brought me here, so that in due time I can provide food and to you and to all the country. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold to be brought to Egypt. Now therefore, do not grieve. (Ibid. 5) It must not be troubling you, that you reproach yourself for what happened. The providence of God has directed everything. For God sent me to Egypt for your salvation. This is the second year that the famine is on the earth, and there will be another five years in which there will be no plowing or harvest. (Ibid. 6) God has brought me here before you, so that you may have food to subsist. (Ibid. 7) Therefore, it is not you who brought me here, it is God. (Ibid. 8)

Thus, on two and three occasions, he seeks to appease their remorse, persuading them that they have nothing to do with his coming to Egypt, that it was God who did this, in order to raise him to glorious rank where he is now. It was God who sent me, who made me the father of Pharaoh, the ruler of all his house, the ruler of all Egypt. This is the power that this slavery has earned me, the glory that this sale has given me, the honors with which this affliction has been for me the principle, the elevation to which this jealousy has brought me. - It is not enough to listen to these words: we must follow the example they give us and so console our persecutors, taking away from them the responsibility of our ills, by submitting everything with a perfect calm, like said this admirable man. So you are well convinced, he says, that I do not impute to you my misfortunes, that I discharge you from all grievance and attribute everything to God, to God who has led everything in order to rise to the glory where I am now. Therefore hasten to return to my father and say to him: This is what your son Joseph says: God made me ruler of all Egypt. Come to me, and do not delay (Ibid. 9); and you shall dwell in the land of Gessen, and you shall be near me, and your sons, the sons of your sons, and your flocks, and your herds, and all that you have (Ibid. 10), and I will feed you ( for the famine will last five years, so that you may not perish with your sons and all your goods. (Ibid. 11) Your eyes thus see that the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is I who speaks to you of my mouth. Bring back to my father all the glory I have in Egypt, and all that you have seen, and hasten to bring it. (Ibid. 12) After having kept this language, to have fully reassured them, informed of what they were to say to their father, eager to bring him back promptly, He threw himself on Benjamin's neck (they were sons of the same mother), and began to cry, and Benjamin also wept over him, and he kissed all his brethren, and wept for them. (Ibid. 14) It is then, after such a long interview, after these tears, this advice given, that they finally dare, no. without difficulty, address him. After that they spoke to him. (Ibid. 15) But the report of this event came to Pharaoh's house, and he rejoiced, as did all his house. (Ibid. 16) Thus everyone rejoices at this recognition of Joseph and his brothers. And the king said to Joseph, Say to your brethren, Do this, Fill your carts with wheat, and depart. (Ibid. 17) And come back to me with your father: I will tell you all the lesbians of Egypt. (Ibid. 18) But advise them to take tanks here for their wives and children. The king himself, you see it; is all preoccupied with Jacob's journey. Take your father with you, and come; and leave nothing of what you have. For all the goods of Egypt will be yours. (Ibid.19) So did the children of Israel. Joseph gave them chariots, according to the king's instructions. (Ibid. 21) And he gave two robes to each, to Benjamin three hundred pieces of gold, and five gowns (Ibid. 22); To his father he also sent ten donkeys carrying riches from Egypt, and ten mules laden with bread for the journey. (Ibid. 23) And when he had given all these things, he cast away his brethren, and set out; and he said to them, "Do not quarrel with me. (Ibid. 24) Notice this profound wisdom. Not content to grant them absolute forgiveness, and to forget their faults, he exhorts them still not to quarrel on the way, not to be. to raise mutual reproaches concerning the past. Let us remember that, in the presence of Joseph, they used to say one to another: It is precisely; because we sinned against Joseph our brother, and we were not moved by his pain; And when Reuben rose up to say, Is it not true that I said to you, Do not hurt this young child, and that you have not listened to me? for all the more reason it was likely that he would now accuse them. This is why Joseph soothes their hearts, and represses their quarrelsome temperament by saying: Do not quarrel on the way: remember that I have not reproached you for the past, and so remain in peace with one another. [Homilies on Genesis]