🌿 [Genesis 40–45] Why Joseph Had No Choice But to Weep Aloud: The One Fact He Had Never Known
AI-generated image
Joseph was called by his brothers “the dreamer” (Gen 37:19).
Because of his dreams, he was hated even more by them, and even his father Jacob rebuked him.
Yet the Scripture says that Jacob kept those words in mind.
(Having encountered God through dreams, dreams must have held special meaning for Jacob.)
1. From “the dreamer” to “the interpreter of dreams”
In Genesis 40 and 41, Joseph progresses and appears as one who interprets dreams.
However, he does not take credit for himself.
He entrusts the interpretation entirely to God.
Before hearing the dreams of the cupbearer and the baker, he says:
“Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Gen 40:8)
Before interpreting Pharaoh’s dream, he says:
“God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer” (Gen 41:16)
Joseph not only interprets the dreams but also provides solutions.
He is recognized as a man of wisdom and becomes governor over Egypt.
👉 In this way, Joseph is used as a stepping stone in the process through which God fulfills the future of Israel.
2. The time God had already set
📍 Genesis 15:13–16
“Your descendants will be strangers… and will be afflicted for 400 years…”
📍 Exodus 12:40–41
“The time that the people of Israel lived in Egypt was 430 years…”
✔️ Scripture clearly distinguishes between 400 and 430 years.
The 400 years refer to the period of affliction.
3. The encounter with his brothers
The Bible records that there was famine over all the land,
and Jacob appears at the beginning of chapter 42.
He sends his ten sons to Egypt to buy food,
but keeps Benjamin with him.
Benjamin was the last son of Rachel,
and after losing Joseph, Jacob cherished him even more.
Joseph sees his ten brothers in Egypt,
but his younger brother is not among them.
Through questioning,
he learns that Benjamin is with their father.
4. Joseph’s character (through his actions)
To understand the next section (5), it is important to understand how Joseph is portrayed in Scripture.
- Faithfulness – managing Potiphar’s house
- Integrity – refusing to sin even under repeated temptation
- Faithfulness again – entrusted with responsibility in prison
- Excellence – interpreting dreams and solving problems
👉 “The Lord was with Joseph and made him prosper” (Gen 39)
👉 Potiphar also recognized this (Gen 39:3)
✔️ Joseph was not a man who acted with deceit or falsehood.
✔️ Therefore, his actions toward his brothers must have had a reason.
5. First strategy – bringing the younger brother
📌 “Bring your youngest brother to me”
Joseph could not fully trust what his brothers said.
He needed to confirm whether his brother was truly alive
and what his condition was.
👉 This demand becomes the process of bringing Benjamin to Egypt.
During this, the brothers are put in custody and say among themselves:
“We saw the distress of his soul… but we did not listen…” (Gen 42:21)
Reuben says:
“Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy?” (42:22)
👉 Scripture records that at this moment
they speak about their past.
Scripture does not mention whether this conversation had occurred before.
6. Second strategy – the incident with Benjamin
After Benjamin is brought,
Joseph finds another way to keep his brother with him and succeeds.
👉 The incident of the cup
“The one in whose hand the cup is found shall be my servant…” (Gen 44:17)
If this proceeds,
👉 Benjamin would remain behind.
From Joseph’s perspective, leaving his brother in the hands of brothers he could not trust must have been unsettling.
Just as he once fled from Potiphar’s wife, he may have understood that his brother also needed to distance himself from his dangerous brothers in order to be safe.
7. Judah’s words
When Joseph’s plan unfolds exactly as intended, Judah steps forward and explains. In short:
- The father’s life is bound up with the boy
- If the boy does not return, the father will die
And he says:
👉 “Let me remain as a servant instead of the boy”
The fact that he understands his father’s pain, along with the promise he made, reveals a change within him. (Below, I have included a reference to the record about Judah.)
🔗 [Genesis 37–39] Why Does Chapter 38 Reveal Judah? – The One Who Said “Our Brother” and Yet Sold Him8. The reason Joseph wept
Through Judah’s words,
Joseph learns one thing.
👉 His father Jacob believed that he was dead.
“Surely he has been torn to pieces… and I have not seen him since…”
Joseph had been sold,
but to his father, he was considered dead.
👉 At the moment he learns this, Joseph, as he comes to realize not only the sorrow he himself experienced but also his father’s grief and pain, is overwhelmed with emotion and weeps.
So he weeps.
He weeps loudly.
The Egyptians hear it.
It reaches Pharaoh’s household (Gen 45:2)
Then he reveals himself and asks:
👉 “Is my father still alive?” (Gen 45:3)
✍️ Conclusion
Scripture reveals itself when read as it is.
There is no need to force interpretations.
When we follow the text, the message is already there.
While writing this, the passage deeply touched me, and through it I could feel both Jacob’s pain and Joseph’s sorrow.
Joseph, who had not known, seems to have come to realize only later the long sorrow of his father.
It even brings me to tears.
🌿 Closing
God begins to fulfill the promise He made to Abraham.
That beginning comes
when Joseph opens the way
and receives the family of Jacob.
God, who is faithful,
accomplishes His work through His faithful servant, Joseph.
Joseph, who became a stepping stone in God’s plan, says to his brothers:
👉 “It was not you who sent me here, but God.”
댓글
댓글 쓰기