Reading the account of Joseph’s reunion with his brothers in Egypt, from their arrival to buy food and their encounter with Egypt’s viceroy until he reveals himself as Joseph, raises several questions. First, how should we understand the whole sequence of Joseph’s actions from meeting his brothers to making himself known? Second, what role and meaning do his dreams have in this context, particularly the fact that he remembers them as soon as he sees his brothers?

These questions are connected. The memory of the dreams at the beginning of the encounter seems to provide the key to Joseph’s subsequent actions. Yet that connection is unclear. How does remembering the dreams explain what he does between meeting his brothers and revealing himself?

The Dreams

At the beginning of the brothers’ first encounter with Joseph, the dreams he dreamed are mentioned:

And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spoke roughly with them; and he said unto them: ‘Whence come ye?’ And they said: ‘From the land of Canaan to buy food.’ And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them: ‘Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.’ And they said unto him: ‘Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one man’s sons; we are upright men, thy servants are no spies.’ And he said unto them: ‘Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.’ (Genesis 42:7–12)

וַיַּרְא יוֹסֵף אֶת אֶחָיו וַיַּכִּרֵם וַיִּתְנַכֵּר אֲלֵיהֶם וַיְדַבֵּר אִתָּם קָשׁוֹת וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מֵאַיִן בָּאתֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ מֵאֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן לִשְׁבָּר אֹכֶל. וַיַּכֵּר יוֹסֵף אֶת אֶחָיו וְהֵם לֹא הִכִּרֻהוּ. וַיִּזְכֹּר יוֹסֵף אֵת הַחֲלֹמוֹת אֲשֶׁר חָלַם לָהֶם וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם מְרַגְּלִים אַתֶּם לִרְאוֹת אֶת עֶרְוַת הָאָרֶץ בָּאתֶם. וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו לֹא אֲדֹנִי וַעֲבָדֶיךָ בָּאוּ לִשְׁבָּר אֹכֶל. כֻּלָּנוּ בְּנֵי אִישׁ אֶחָד נָחְנוּ כֵּנִים אֲנַחְנוּ לֹא הָיוּ עֲבָדֶיךָ מְרַגְּלִים. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם לֹא כִי עֶרְוַת הָאָרֶץ בָּאתֶם לִרְאוֹת. (בראשית מ"ב ז-יב)

Mentioning Joseph’s recollection of the dreams immediately before his accusation of spying might suggest that he accuses his brothers because of the dreams. Yet this is not straightforward. Joseph could reasonably be angry at his brothers for their treatment of him after he told them his dreams, especially for selling him into slavery. But the connection between remembering the dreams and accusing them of spying is unclear. A careful examination of the verses indeed shows that remembering the dreams did not initiate Joseph’s mistreatment of his brothers. His estrangement from them is mentioned before the Torah tells us that he remembers the dreams. The dreams therefore were not the cause of his alienation. What, then, is their role? What significance does his remembering them upon seeing his brothers have?

To answer, we must first understand the goal Joseph pursues in dealing with his brothers, from their meeting until he reveals himself. Was the entire sequence planned? Did he intend to reveal himself at its conclusion? Was he trying to reeducate his brothers and bring them to repentance? Or was he trying to punish them and take revenge?

Is Joseph Testing His Brothers?

The classical interpretation holds that Joseph wanted to test his brothers, to see how they would behave when their brother was in danger. For example, Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel explains:

Despite the entire test Joseph had put his brothers through with the accusation of spying, doubt remained in his heart: did they love Benjamin, or did they still hate the sons of his mother Rachel? He therefore wished to bring Benjamin specifically into the test of the cup, to see whether they would strive to save him… They would then be, in Joseph’s eyes, fully repentant, and he would make himself known and do good to them, as he did. (Abarbanel on Genesis 43:15–44:17, answer to the third question; translated from the Hebrew)

Yet this interpretation seems not to fit the plain meaning of the text. If Joseph intended to test his brothers’ behavior when their youngest brother was in danger, he should have revealed himself as soon as they passed, rather than waiting for Judah’s speech. Their response to Joseph’s attempt to arrest Benjamin shows unmistakably that they passed. They did not abandon him but returned to Egypt together and asked to become slaves with him. As we shall see, they did so even though they had every reason to believe that Benjamin really had stolen the cup. Nevertheless, Joseph did not reveal himself then. Instead, he rejected their offer to become slaves with Benjamin and released them to return peacefully to their father. Only after Judah’s unexpected speech did an apparently unplanned change occur: Joseph broke down and revealed himself.

Did Joseph Take Revenge on His Brothers?

Another possible answer sees the whole sequence as Joseph’s attempt to avenge their mistreatment of him. Though plausible and rooted in one of the most primal instincts, this explanation fits neither the Torah’s portrayal of Joseph nor several of his actions toward his brothers. Apart from his reporting their misconduct to their father when he was a small child, as explained in “Eleven Stars Bowed Down to Me,” Joseph is consistently depicted as a positive figure: God-fearing, constantly invoking God’s name, and refraining from wrongdoing. One example is his refusal to sin with Potiphar’s wife:

But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife: ‘Behold, my master, having me, knoweth not what is in the house, and he hath put all that he hath into my hand; he is not greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ (Genesis 39:8–9)

וַיְמָאֵן וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל אֵשֶׁת אֲדֹנָיו הֵן אֲדֹנִי לֹא יָדַע אִתִּי מַה בַּבָּיִת וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר יֶשׁ לוֹ נָתַן בְּיָדִי. אֵינֶנּוּ גָדוֹל בַּבַּיִת הַזֶּה מִמֶּנִּי וְלֹא חָשַׂךְ מִמֶּנִּי מְאוּמָה כִּי אִם אוֹתָךְ בַּאֲשֶׁר אַתְּ אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵיךְ אֶעֱשֶׂה הָרָעָה הַגְּדֹלָה הַזֹּאת וְחָטָאתִי לֵאלֹהִים. (בראשית ל"ט ח-ט)

His treatment of his brothers in Egypt likewise reveals great empathy and sensitivity. When he hears them regretting his sale, for example, he turns away and weeps (Genesis 42:21–24).

Moreover, on two occasions he orders their containers filled with grain as much as they can carry and their money returned (Genesis 42:25; 44:1). The return of the money certainly frightens them, but that hardly seems his main purpose. If he wished to sow fear, more effective means were available: serious accusations, imprisonment, and so forth. These actions suggest that alongside his main plan, Joseph continues to ensure that his family has enough food and money. He is not motivated by revenge. Later, when the cup is discovered in Benjamin’s sack, the brothers offer to become Joseph’s slaves. Had he wished to settle accounts, this was an excellent opportunity. He could throw them into a dungeon, just as they had thrown him into a pit in Canaan. Instead, he releases them to return peacefully to their father.

Further evidence against revenge appears near the end of Genesis. Following Jacob’s death, the brothers fear that Joseph will now repay their evil. They approach him, ostensibly in their father’s name, asking forgiveness:

And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said: ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.’ And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying: ‘Thy father did command before he died, saying: So shall ye say unto Joseph: Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee evil. And now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of thy father.’ And Joseph wept when they spoke unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said: ‘Behold, we are thy bondmen.’ And Joseph said unto them: ‘Fear not; for am I in the place of God? And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not; I will sustain you, and your little ones.’ And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto them. (Genesis 50:15–21)

וַיִּרְאוּ אֲחֵי יוֹסֵף כִי מֵת אֲבִיהֶם וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוּ יִשְׂטְמֵנוּ יוֹסֵף וְהָשֵׁב יָשִׁיב לָנוּ אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר גָּמַלְנוּ אֹתוֹ. וַיְצַוּוּ אֶל יוֹסֵף לֵאמֹר אָבִיךָ צִוָּה לִפְנֵי מוֹתוֹ לֵאמֹר. כֹּה תֹאמְרוּ לְיוֹסֵף אָנָּא שָׂא נָא פֶּשַׁע אַחֶיךָ וְחַטָּאתָם כִי רָעָה גְמָלוּךָ וְעַתָּה שָׂא נָא לְפֶשַׁע עַבְדֵי אֱלֹהֵי אָבִיךָ וַיֵּבְךְּ יוֹסֵף בְּדַבְּרָם אֵלָיו. וַיֵּלְכוּ גַּם אֶחָיו וַיִּפְּלוּ לְפָנָיו וַיֹּאמְרוּ הִנֶּנּוּ לְךָ לַעֲבָדִים. וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף אַל תִּירָאוּ כִּי הֲתַחַת אֱלֹהִים אָנִי. וְאַתֶּם חֲשַׁבְתֶּם עָלַי רָעָה אֱלֹהִים חֲשָׁבָהּ לְטֹבָה לְמַעַן עֲשֹׂה כַּיּוֹם הַזֶּה לְהַחֲיֹת עַם רָב. וְעַתָּה אַל תִּירָאוּ אָנֹכִי אֲכַלְכֵּל אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת טַפְּכֶם וַיְנַחֵם אוֹתָם וַיְדַבֵּר עַל לִבָּם. (בראשית נ' טו-כא)

Joseph responds with tears. He does not let his brothers off lightly or minimize the seriousness of their acts against him. He tells them that their intention was indeed evil, but adds that providence had other plans. The brothers fear Joseph and understand that revenge would be deserved. Their fear, however, reflects their perception of Joseph, revealing more about themselves than about him. Contrary to that mistaken perception, the Torah testifies that Joseph never contemplated revenge. The very realization that he was suspected of it makes him weep.

The Torah’s account therefore suggests that revenge did not motivate Joseph.

The Attempt to Sever Ties

As noted, Joseph’s revelation seems spontaneous rather than planned. Judah’s speech surprises him: Joseph could not have imagined that Judah would approach and try to persuade him to free Benjamin after every possible argument about the stolen cup had already been exhausted. Judah himself says as much upon being brought back with his brothers:

And Judah said: ‘What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord’s bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found.’ (Genesis 44:16)

וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוּדָה מַה נֹּאמַר לַאדֹנִי מַה נְּדַבֵּר וּמַה נִּצְטַדָּק הָאֱלֹהִים מָצָא אֶת עֲו‍ֹן עֲבָדֶיךָ הִנֶּנּוּ עֲבָדִים לַאדֹנִי גַּם אֲנַחְנוּ גַּם אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא הַגָּבִיעַ בְּיָדוֹ. (בראשית מ"ד טז)

Had Judah not approached at the last moment, the brothers would have returned to their father in Canaan without Benjamin. His speech stirs something in Joseph’s soul that Joseph neither planned nor could have planned.

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried: ‘Cause every man to go out from me.’ And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. (Genesis 45:1)

וְלֹא יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק לְכֹל הַנִּצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיִּקְרָא הוֹצִיאוּ כָל אִישׁ מֵעָלָי וְלֹא עָמַד אִישׁ אִתּוֹ בְּהִתְוַדַּע יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו. (בראשית מ"ה א)

What was Joseph’s original plan, and what caused it to change?

Reading the story carefully backward, from its conclusion to its beginning, reveals Joseph’s motivation and plan. As demonstrated above, he is not trying to avenge himself, punish his brothers, or test them. He seeks to preserve his separation from his family while using this unexpected opportunity to reunite with Benjamin. The sale had made clear to Joseph that his brothers had rejected him from the family and that he must accept his separation from his father’s household. He understood and internalized this rupture many years before the surprising encounter. Even before his brothers arrived in Egypt, he named his Egyptian-born firstborn Manasseh:

And Joseph called the name of the first-born Manasseh: ‘for God hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.’ (Genesis 41:51)

וַיִּקְרָא יוֹסֵף אֶת שֵׁם הַבְּכוֹר מְנַשֶּׁה כִי נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל עֲמָלִי וְאֵת כָּל בֵּית אָבִי. (בראשית מ"א נא)

The Hebrew “נַשַּׁנִי” means “has made me forget.”

Joseph’s initial response to the unexpected encounter is estrangement. He does not want reunion with the brothers who rejected him and therefore does not want them to recognize him. He also notices Benjamin’s absence. He begins wondering whether he will ever be reunited with his younger brother, and what he must do to achieve it. Joseph assumes that Benjamin is not independent but subject to his brothers’ authority. Sending an emissary to Canaan to fetch him would therefore fail: the family would presumably prevent Benjamin from coming to Egypt.

Joseph sees that his brothers hold the key: through them he can bring Benjamin to him. He detains them and accuses them of spying, thereby inducing them to bring Benjamin to prove their innocence. Bringing him to Egypt alone, however, will not suffice. To make him stay, Joseph must stage the theft of the cup, ostensibly arrest him, and send the others back to Canaan, hoping never to see them again.

The Cup Accusation

Before sending his brothers back to Canaan, Joseph eats with them. His steward’s words after finding the cup in Benjamin’s sack suggest that it served Joseph for divination as well as drinking (Genesis 44:5: “הֲלוֹא זֶה אֲשֶׁר יִשְׁתֶּה אֲדֹנִי בּוֹ וְהוּא נַחֵשׁ יְנַחֵשׁ”). During their meal, when the guests drank from cups and became intoxicated, Joseph presumably used his cup to appear to divine the brothers’ birth order. They were seated from firstborn to youngest and looked at one another in astonishment (Genesis 43:33: “וַיֵּשְׁבוּ לְפָנָיו הַבְּכֹר כִּבְכֹרָתוֹ וְהַצָּעִיר כִּצְעִרָתוֹ וַיִּתְמְהוּ הָאֲנָשִׁים אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ”). The meal enables Joseph later to plant the cup in Benjamin’s sack and accuse him of stealing it. He establishes both a motive for the theft and an opportunity to commit it.

But why does Joseph need this accusation? Could he not, by virtue of his authority and power, expel the brothers from Egypt and keep Benjamin without accusing him of theft?

Although biblical rulers enjoyed supreme status, their kingdoms had laws, and they could not do whatever they pleased. The story of Naboth’s vineyard illustrates this (1 Kings 21). Naboth the Jezreelite owned a vineyard adjoining King Ahab’s estate. Ahab wanted it and offered to buy it, but Naboth refused to sell his ancestral inheritance. Despite being king of Israel, Ahab could not take it without grounds. Queen Jezebel therefore recruited false witnesses to accuse Naboth of cursing the king. He was convicted and executed, and his property confiscated for the king. Only through a staged trial did Ahab obtain the vineyard. The story is famous for Elijah’s rebuke over killing and then taking possession (1 Kings 21:19: “הֲרָצַחְתָּ וְגַם יָרָשְׁתָּ”).

Like Ahab, Joseph needs legal grounds to retain Benjamin. But legality alone is insufficient. He fears that without grounds credible to his brothers, they will continue trying to get Benjamin back by various means. Only if they are convinced that Benjamin has been caught in wrongdoing and properly sentenced to slavery will they accept the harsh decree, leave him in Egypt, and return without him.

Why, specifically, does Joseph choose his divining cup as the allegedly stolen object?

Joseph uses his intimate knowledge of the family’s history. In a similar situation, when the family fled Haran, Benjamin’s mother Rachel stole her father’s teraphim. Like Joseph’s cup, the teraphim served for divination; see “Why Did Rachel Steal the Teraphim?” Their theft had endangered Jacob’s family during its escape by strengthening Laban’s determination to pursue them. Without divine intervention, it would have ended badly, as Laban himself relates (Genesis 31:29). Joseph now tries to recreate that situation. As in the flight from Laban, the brothers’ departure after receiving permission to leave Egypt with Benjamin resembles an escape. They presumably hurry away, fearing another difficult demand from the unpredictable viceroy, perhaps to bring their father. Joseph sends his steward after them because a divining instrument has been stolen, this time by Benjamin, son of Rachel who stole the teraphim before. He expects his brothers, familiar with that story, to accept an account in which Rachel’s son repeats his mother’s act in a similar situation, taking it as an unfortunate tendency in Rachel’s family.

It remains unclear why Joseph orders their containers filled with grain and their money returned. Apparently this is to show that he is not looking for a pretext against them. Despite the opportunity, he does not seize upon the money returned at the mouths of their sacks. He wants only the stolen silver cup. His servant finds it in Benjamin’s sack after a methodical search from eldest to youngest. This is highly convincing.

Joseph thus has a meticulously prepared plan to retain Benjamin in Egypt and rid himself of his other brothers forever. What makes him abandon his plan to sever ties? Why does he finally reveal himself?

The Dreams as a Calling

Immediately after Joseph estranges himself from his brothers, the Torah notes his recollection of the dreams (Genesis 42:7–9). The sight of his brothers bowing before him plainly expresses their fulfillment. The unexpected reunion brings them up from the depths of his consciousness. Joseph realizes that these dreams contain more than a child’s picture of his brothers bowing to him. They assign him a leadership role within his own family. At the moment of meeting, however, he cannot bear these insights’ significance, much less act upon them. Instead of fulfilling the dreams, he chooses to deny them and continue his initial, spontaneous estrangement. He sees an opportunity to reunite with Benjamin and definitively separate from his family.

His first step is to accuse the brothers of spying, forcing them to bring Benjamin. He accuses them not because of the dreams, but despite remembering them. Though he understands that the dreams assign him a role in his father’s extended family, he chooses estrangement from his brothers and thus from his calling.

The Change: Judah’s Speech

During the Egyptian encounters Joseph gradually draws closer to his brothers and family. He increasingly identifies with them and feels empathy. Their acknowledgment of wrongdoing and regret for selling him move him deeply. Yet he can still restrain himself, control his feelings, and adhere to his plan (Genesis 42:21–24).

His longing peaks during the meal with his brothers, when for a moment they are together as in Canaan, even drinking to intoxication. Yet though wine enters, the secret does not emerge: Joseph sticks to his plan. Judah’s speech finally becomes the last straw. It is masterfully constructed; presumably not a dry eye remains in the room. Its central motif is Jacob’s suffering and the devastating significance of losing another son. This apparently makes a profound impression on Joseph.

Reading the speech prompts us to check whether its contents were already mentioned in earlier conversations with Joseph. The speech says that the brothers mentioned their father in Canaan and that Joseph asked after him. Surprisingly, however, none of those earlier conversations mentions Jacob’s suffering. It presumably had come up: Judah tells Joseph so, and there is no reason to assume he is inaccurate. Yet the biblical narrator disregards it, as though emphasizing that Joseph did not take this fact into account when it was first reported, until Judah’s speech.

Why Did Joseph Not Send Word to His Father?

Many commentators have struggled with this question: how could Joseph not think of his father? During all his years as Egypt’s viceroy, why did he not send Jacob a letter relating what had happened to him?

Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun argues that Joseph mistakenly believed his father had consented to the sale, and so saw no point in sending word. Judah’s speech disclosed his error, leading him to reveal himself (“Division and Unity: The Double Bitter Error and the Shock of Discovery; Why Did Joseph Not Send an Emissary to His Father?”, Megadim 1, pp. 20–31). In a response, Rabbi Yaakov Medan follows Rabbis Isaac Arama and Isaac Abarbanel in seeing Joseph as giving his brothers an opportunity to repent, combining this with Nahmanides’ interpretation that Joseph sought to fulfill the dreams. According to Medan, these two aims forced Joseph both to estrange himself and to disregard his father’s suffering (“Where the Penitent Stand: Joseph and His Brothers,” Megadim 2, pp. 54–78).

In this debate I lean toward Rabbi Bin-Nun. As he explains, even in Canaan Joseph saw his brothers running household affairs while his father had little influence. In the Shechem episode Jacob withheld his reply to Hamor until his sons returned from the field. The brothers then acted against their father’s judgment and killed the city’s men. Jacob responded with silence when Reuben lay with Bilhah. Unlike Bin-Nun, however, I do not think Joseph mistakenly believed his father, who loved him so dearly, had agreed to his sale. The Torah repeatedly records Joseph’s asking after Jacob, for example the brothers’ report that the man asked whether their father was still alive (Genesis 43:7: “הַעוֹד אֲבִיכֶם חַי”), and Joseph’s asking whether their elderly father was well and still alive (43:27: “הֲשָׁלוֹם אֲבִיכֶם הַזָּקֵן… הַעוֹדֶנּוּ חָי”). This reveals his longing. In my view, Joseph continued to envision his brothers acting against their father’s wishes. That pattern culminated in his sale, which he understood to have occurred against the will of the father who loved him more than all his sons. The sale convinced him that his brothers set the family’s course and had rejected him. Despite his love for his father and his father’s love for him, he had no choice but to accept separation. He understood that, however great his longing, attempting contact was pointless. He had to begin a new life in Egypt, which he did with great success.

Everything Remains in the Family

From overhearing his brothers in Egypt, Joseph learned that they regretted the sale, that not all of them had wanted to hurt him, and that Reuben had even insisted they refrain. Judah’s speech taught him that his father’s influence on his brothers was greater than he had estimated. He discovered that they had delayed returning to Egypt because Jacob opposed Benjamin’s descent, and that only Judah’s personal guarantee persuaded him to send Benjamin. These insights suddenly combined into the realization that a reunion he had once considered impossible was achievable.

Judah ends by taking personal responsibility. Having guaranteed the boy’s safety to his father, he volunteers to replace Benjamin as a slave. This responsibility touches Joseph’s heart and prompts him to think that he too must assume responsibility and fulfill his calling. He can no longer restrain himself; emotion overwhelms him. Suddenly everything becomes clear. He internalizes what he already understood at the first Egyptian encounter: his dreams marked out a calling, a leadership role within his family rather than in Egypt’s kingdom. Despite all his attempts to escape that role and separate from his family, providence directed events otherwise. He understands, accepts the role, and decides to reveal himself:

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried: ‘Cause every man to go out from me.’ And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians heard, and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren: ‘I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?’ And his brethren could not answer him; for they were affrighted at his presence. And Joseph said unto his brethren: ‘Come near to me, I pray you.’ And they came near. And he said: ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the famine been in the land; and there are yet five years, in which there shall be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to give you a remnant on the earth, and to save you alive for a great deliverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:1–8)

וְלֹא יָכֹל יוֹסֵף לְהִתְאַפֵּק לְכֹל הַנִּצָּבִים עָלָיו וַיִּקְרָא הוֹצִיאוּ כָל אִישׁ מֵעָלָי וְלֹא עָמַד אִישׁ אִתּוֹ בְּהִתְוַדַּע יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו. וַיִּתֵּן אֶת קֹלוֹ בִּבְכִי וַיִּשְׁמְעוּ מִצְרַיִם וַיִּשְׁמַע בֵּית פַּרְעֹה. וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו אֲנִי יוֹסֵף הַעוֹד אָבִי חָי וְלֹא יָכְלוּ אֶחָיו לַעֲנוֹת אֹתוֹ כִּי נִבְהֲלוּ מִפָּנָיו. וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל אֶחָיו גְּשׁוּ נָא אֵלַי וַיִּגָּשׁוּ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲנִי יוֹסֵף אֲחִיכֶם אֲשֶׁר מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי מִצְרָיְמָה. וְעַתָּה אַל תֵּעָצְבוּ וְאַל יִחַר בְּעֵינֵיכֶם כִי מְכַרְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי לְמִחְיָה שְׁלָחַנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם... וַיִּשְׁלָחֵנִי אֱלֹהִים לִפְנֵיכֶם לָשׂוּם לָכֶם שְׁאֵרִית בָּאָרֶץ וּלְהַחֲיוֹת לָכֶם לִפְלֵיטָה גְּדֹלָה. וְעַתָּה לֹא אַתֶּם שְׁלַחְתֶּם אֹתִי הֵנָּה כִּי הָאֱלֹהִים וַיְשִׂימֵנִי לְאָב לְפַרְעֹה וּלְאָדוֹן לְכָל בֵּיתוֹ וּמֹשֵׁל בְּכָל אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם. (בראשית מ"ה א-ח)