[Gen. 42]
Meanwhile, back at the ranch in Canaan, patriarch Israel and his eleven remaining sons are feeling the pinch from this worldwide famine.
I've got to quote this:
And he [Israel] said, "Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live, and not die." (Gen. 42:2)I love that he wants to live and not die.
So the brothers head down to Egypt. Except Benjamin, since Israel fears something bad might happen to him. Why the bad thing would happen to Benjamin and not the other ten sons, we aren't told. (My suspicion: Benjamin needs to be home with Jacob in order for a later plot development to work out, and this is a clumsy narrative excuse for him to stay home.)
When they get there, Joseph recognizes his brothers and demands - I don't really understand why - that they go back up to Canaan and bring Benjamin back down with them (does that mean I was right? Maybe kinda-sorta.). I'm going to assume the reason Joseph wants to see Benjamin is that Benjamin is the only of his brothers with whom he shares a mother, Rachel?
Joseph takes Simeon as a hostage to ensure they bring back young Ben, then sends the brothers home packing with their grain... and also with their buy money secreted away in the grain sacks. Again, I don't really understand why.
[Gen. 43]
When the family has run through that grain, the brothers are forced to head to Egypt for more. Nobody seems overly concerned about getting their brother Simeon out of bondage (these boys are pretty much total bastards, with the exception of Reuben, who remains their voice of conscience). Israel, the family patriarch, dithers and reproaches his sons - he still wants to keep Benjamin at home with him - but finally bids the whole cohort of his sons to go to Egypt for more grain. He sends them with new buy money, and the buy money from last time, and a load of obsequious presents including, interestingly, pistachio nuts.
Joseph receives the brothers by taking them into his home for a meal. They're scared about this, but Joseph is so moved by the sight of Benjamin that he has to sneak off to a side room and cry. Joseph lies to everybody - once again, not sure why - saying he actually received their grain payment last time, and tells them they can keep all the money they've brought down.
During the meal, Benjamin is given five times the amount of food as the others - suggesting either that he's partially buried beneath food, or that the other brothers are being starved out.
[Gen. 44]
Joseph sends his brothers back toward Canaan with a full load of grain plus all their money. But he has his silver goblet from the dinner party slipped into Benjamin's sack, then has guards chase down the brothers and arrest them outside of town for stealing it.
Why all these ruses? Joseph is pretty much the power player here, and can do whatever he wants without a lot of games.
Well, the brothers are willing to give themselves up into slavery for this theft they hadn't known about; but Joseph says it's only necessary for the thief, Benjamin, to be enslaved. They beg Joseph not to do it, because the loss of Benjamin, dad's favorite, would simply kill Israel.
[Gen. 45]
It's interesting that Joseph, who has been playing quite a mind game on his brothers for some months here, is so affectionate and sentimental - unreproachful - when he now suddenly chooses to reveal who he is. Makes me wonder even more what all the games were about (their only function as I can see it is to ensure that Joseph's egomaniac wheat-sheaf dreams came true).
"...[D]o not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life." (Gen. 45:5) So all's well that ends well, even if it involves blood relatives striving to ruin each other's lives - not to mention years of suffering to effect an outcome which could surely have been obtained more directly. If things pan out in the end - heck, for that matter, even if they don't - we'll chalk it up to God's will and thank him for it.
It's always seemed strange to me that we're supposed to be in awe of God's wisdom when we see it proved by harmony in nature or in human affairs: and that we're supposed to be in greater awe of the same when we can't spot any harmony or synchonicity or plan whatsoever. Because in those cases God is being "mysterious", which is taken baselessly as evidence of the very deepest wisdom. Heads, I win; tails, you lose. Anything we could ever possibly encounter is proof of god's wise plan.
But in any event. After being sold into slavery, Joseph thinks things are cool since they turned out allright. I'm sure it's easier for him to say this after spending all these months taking some brothers hostage, sending the others across the greater middle east on wild goose chases, and finally framing the lot of them for crimes punishable by slavery. That kind of revenge would soothe anybody's mood. Joseph is so soothed that he embraces and kisses everybody while weeping.
Joe orders his brothers home to collect dad, and to move the whole clan down to nearby Goshen where he can provide them with wheat for the five years of famine that remain. The Pharaoh is pleased to hear his minister is reuniting with his family, and lends wagons to help their emigration.
No comments:
Post a Comment