That's the situation Joseph finds himself in as the story in Genesis reaches its climax.
We've seen Joseph rise to power in Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself. We've seen his brothers unknowingly travel to Egypt seeking grain during a famine, and we’ve watched Joseph, unrecognizable after years apart, test them, subtly manipulating events to see if they've truly changed since they sold him into slavery. Now, according to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, Joseph sees that his brothers are truly on the verge of destroying Egypt in their fury over Benjamin's apparent theft of a valuable cup. He knows it's time.
But how to reveal himself? Joseph, ever the strategist, engineers a perfect moment. He uses Manasseh to calm Judah's rage. Then, he gently questions them about the stolen cup. Benjamin vehemently denies any involvement, swearing an oath, invoking the memory of his lost brother Joseph. He cries out, "As true as my brother Joseph is separated from me… I swear that I did not touch the cup!"
Joseph, hearing these words, can no longer contain himself. He challenges them. “You said the brother of this lad was dead. Did you yourselves see him dead before you?” They confirm they did. Joseph presses further, "Did you stand beside his grave?" Again, they say yes. But then Joseph asks, "Did you throw clods of earth upon his corpse?" And this time, they say no.
Joseph seizes on this nuance. According to Legends of the Jews, Joseph reflects that his brothers are still pious and truthful. They believe him dead because, as the story goes, a poor man is like a dead man, and they did throw him into a pit, which they considered his grave. But they didn't actively cover him with earth, which would have been a lie.
It's a moment of intense psychological insight. He declares, "Ye lie when ye say that your brother is dead. He is not dead. You sold him, and I did buy him." Then he dramatically calls out, "Joseph, son of Jacob, come hither!" The brothers are bewildered, looking around for this mysterious Joseph. Finally, he cries out, "Why look ye here and there? Behold, I am Joseph your brother!"
Can you imagine the shock? The text says, "Their souls fled away from them." They are utterly stunned. God, however, performs a miracle and returns their souls to their bodies, allowing them to comprehend the unbelievable truth.
Joseph tries to reassure them, pointing out that he is speaking to them in Hebrew, proving his identity. But they are still in disbelief. The smooth-faced youth they betrayed is now a powerful, bearded ruler! So, Joseph bares his body, revealing the marks of his lineage, proving he is indeed a descendant of Abraham.
The brothers are ashamed and terrified. According to Legends of the Jews, they are so enraged at Joseph for revealing their misdeeds that they want to kill him! But an angel intervenes, scattering them. Judah's outcry is so powerful that the very walls of Egypt crumble!
Despite their fear, Joseph seeks to comfort them. "Now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life." He emphasizes that he harbors no vengeful thoughts. He uses vivid imagery, saying, "As little as I harbor vengeful thoughts in my heart against Benjamin, so little do I harbor them against you."
Finally, his words begin to soothe them. They approach him, and Joseph, weeping, embraces and kisses each of them. The text tells us that he weeps because his prophetic spirit shows him the future enslavement of their descendants. He particularly weeps on Benjamin's neck, foreseeing the destruction of the two Temples, which would be located in Benjamin's territory. And Benjamin weeps for the sanctuary at Shiloh, in Joseph's territory, which is also destined for destruction.
Pharaoh, relieved by the reconciliation, welcomes Joseph's family to Egypt, offering them the best land. But even in this moment of triumph, there's a hint of future conflict, as some Egyptians worry about the influx of Hebrews.
Joseph showers his brothers with gifts, including changes of clothing for weekdays and the Sabbath. He gives Benjamin five changes of raiment, not to elevate him, but to foreshadow the future glory of Mordecai, a descendant of Benjamin, who would be arrayed in five royal garments. He presents his brothers to Pharaoh, who is impressed by their heroic stature and handsome appearance.
Joseph also provides wagons for his family to travel to Egypt. When Judah discovers that they are ornamented with idols, he burns them. Joseph replaces them with eleven others, including the one he used when he first rose to power, now intended for his father, Jacob. He sends lavish gifts to his brothers' children and wives, and even to his sister, Dinah.
As his brothers depart, Joseph gives them three pieces of advice for their journey: don't take too large steps, don't discuss Halakic (Jewish law) subjects and lose your way, and enter the city before sunset.
What a complex and emotionally charged moment! Joseph's revelation is not just a personal reunion; it’s a pivotal point in the history of his family and, ultimately, the Jewish people. He transforms potential tragedy into a moment of reconciliation and sets the stage for their future in Egypt. It leaves you wondering: how often do we misinterpret events in our own lives, only to realize later that they were part of a larger plan? And how often do we hold onto secrets, when perhaps, revealing them could lead to healing and understanding?
Seeing that his brethren were, indeed, on the point of destroying Egypt, Joseph resolved to make himself known to them, and he cast around for a proper opening, which would lead naturally to his announcement. At his behest, Manasseh laid his hand upon Judah's shoulder, and his touch allayed Judah's fury, for he noticed that he was in contact with a kinsman of his, because such strength existed in no other family. Then Joseph addressed Judah gently, saying: "I should like to know who advised him to steal the cup. Could it have been one of you?" Benjamin replied: "Neither did they counsel theft, nor did I touch the cup." "Take an oath upon it," demanded Joseph, and Benjamin complied with his brother's request: "I swear that I did not touch the cup! As true as my brother Joseph is separated from me; as true as I had nothing to do with the darts that my brethren threw at him; as true as I was not one of those to take off his coat; as true as I had no part in the transaction by which he was given over to the Ishmaelites; as true as I did not help the others dip his coat in blood; so true is my oath, that they did not counsel theft, and that I did not commit theft." Joseph: "How can I know that this oath of thine taken upon thy brother's fate is true?" Benjamin: "From the names of my ten sons, which I gave them in memory of my brother's life and trials, thou canst see how dearly I loved him. I pray thee, therefore, do not bring down my father with sorrow to the grave." Hearing these words of abiding love, Joseph could refrain himself no longer. He could not but make himself known unto his brethren. He spake these words to them: "Ye said the brother of this lad was dead. Did you yourselves see him dead before you?" They answered, "Yes!" Joseph: "Did you stand beside his grave?" The brethren: "Yes!" Joseph: "Did you throw clods of earth upon his corpse?" The brethren: "No." Then Joseph reflected, saying to himself: "My brethren are as pious as aforetime, and they speak no lies. They said I was dead, because when they abandoned me, I was poor, and 'a poor man is like unto a dead man;' they stood beside my grave, that is the pit into which they cast me; but they did not say that they had shovelled earth upon me, for that would have been a falsehood." Turning to his brethren, he said: "Ye lie when ye say that your brother is dead. He is not dead. You sold him, and I did buy him. I shall call him, and set him before your eyes," and he began to call, "Joseph, son of Jacob, come hither! Joseph, son of Jacob, come hither! Speak to thy brethren who did sell thee." The others turned their eyes hither and thither, to the four corners of the house, until Joseph called to them: "Why look ye here and there? Behold, I am Joseph your brother! "Their souls fled away from them, and they could make no answer, but God permitted a miracle to happen, and their souls came back to them. Joseph continued, "Ye see it with your own eyes, and also my brother Benjamin seeth it with his eyes, that I speak with you in Hebrew, and I am truly your brother." But they would not believe him. Not only had he been transformed from a smooth-faced youth into a bearded man since they had abandoned him, but also the forsaken youth now stood before them the ruler of Egypt. Therefore Joseph bared his body and showed them that he belonged to the descendants of Abraham. Abashed they stood there, and in their rage they desired to slay Joseph as the author of their shame and their suffering. But an angel appeared and flung them to the four corners of the house. Judah raised so loud an outcry that the walls of the city of Egypt tumbled down, the women brought forth untimely births, Joseph and Pharaoh both rolled down off their thrones, and Joseph's three hundred heroes lost their teeth, and their heads remained forever immobile, facing backward, as they had turned them to discover the cause of the tumult. Yet the brethren did not venture to approach close to Joseph, they were too greatly ashamed of their behavior toward their brother. He sought to calm them, saying, "Now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither, for God did send me before you to preserve life." Even such kind words of exhortation did not banish their fear, and Joseph continued to speak, "As little as I harbor vengeful thoughts in my heart against Benjamin, so little do I harbor them against you."And still his brethren were ill at case, and Joseph went on, "Think you that it is possible for me to inflict harm upon you? If the smoke of ten candles could not extinguish one, how can one extinguish ten?" At last the brethren were soothed, and they went up to Joseph, who knew each by name, and, weeping, he embraced and kissed them all in turn. The reason why he wept was that his prophetic spirit showed him the descendants of his brethren enslaved by the nations. Especially did he weep upon Benjamin's neck, because he foresaw the destruction decreed for the two Temples to be situated in the allotment of Benjamin. And Benjamin also wept upon Joseph's neck, for the sanctuary at Shiloh, in the territory of Joseph which was likewise doomed to destruction. Pharaoh was well pleased with the report of the reconciliation between Joseph and the Hebrews, for he had feared that their dissensions might cause the ruin of Egypt, and he sent his servants to Joseph, that they take part in his joy. Also he sent word to Joseph that it would please him well if his brethren took up their abode in Egypt, and he promised to assign the best parts of the land to them for their dwelling-place. Not all the servants of Pharaoh were in agreement with their master concerning this invitation to the Hebrews. Many among them were disquieted, saying, "If one of the sons of Jacob came hither, and he was advanced to a high position over our heads, what evil will happen to us when ten more come hither?" Joseph gave all his brethren two changes of raiment, one for use on the ordinary days of the week and one for use on the Sabbath, for, when the cup was found with Benjamin, they had rent their clothes, and Joseph would not have his brethren go about in torn garments. But to Benjamin he gave five changes of raiment, though not in order to distinguish him above his brethren. Joseph remembered only too well what mischief his father had caused by giving him the coat of many colors, thereby arousing the envy of his brethren. He desired only to intimate that Mordecai, a descendant of Benjamin, would once be arrayed in five royal garments. Joseph presented his brethren, apparelled in their gold and silver embroidered clothes, before Pharaoh, who was well pleased to become acquainted with them when he saw that they were men of heroic stature and handsome appearance. He gave them wagons, to bring their families down into Egypt, but as they were ornamented with images of idols, Judah burnt them, and Joseph replaced them with eleven other wagons, among them the one he had ridden in at his accession to office, to view the land of Egypt. This was to be used by his father on his journey to Egypt. For each of his brothers' children, he sent raiments, and also one hundred pieces of silver for each, but for each of the children of Benjamin he sent ten changes of raiment. And for the wives of his brethren he gave them rich garments of state, such as were worn by the wives of the Pharaohs, and also ointments and aromatic spices. To his sister Dinah he sent silver and gold embroidered clothes, and myrrh, aloes, and other perfumes, and such presents he gave also to the wife and the daughters-in-law of Benjamin. For themselves and for their wives the brethren received all sorts of precious stones and jewelled ornaments, like those that are worn by the Egyptian nobility. Joseph accompanied his eleven brethren to the frontier, and there he took leave of them with the wish that they and all their families come down to Egypt, and he enjoined upon them, besides, three maxims to be observed by travellers: Do not take too large steps; do not discuss Halakic subjects, that you lose not your way; and enter the city at the latest with the going down of the sun.
