Genesis 42:1-38: Famine in Egypt
Bible Essentials: Set 3, Lesson 29
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Opening
Individuals: Take time to think back about your past week. Where have you seen God work in your life or answer prayer? Write down any prayer requests you have.
Group: Open the study by sharing life updates, reviewing highs and lows of your past week, or sharing prayer requests and praises.
Icebreaker: Have you ever been reunited with someone after being apart for a long time? Did you recognize each other easily?
All: Begin the study with a word of prayer, asking God to open your heart for today’s study. You can also pray for any prayer requests now, or save that for the end.
Study
Read today’s passage: Genesis 42:1-38.
42 When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you just keep looking at each other?” 2 He continued, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may live and not die.”
3 Then ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with the others, because he was afraid that harm might come to him. 5 So Israel’s sons were among those who went to buy grain, for there was famine in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now Joseph was the governor of the land, the person who sold grain to all its people. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger and spoke harshly to them. “Where do you come from?” he asked.
“From the land of Canaan,” they replied, “to buy food.”
8 Although Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. 9 Then he remembered his dreams about them and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
10 “No, my lord,” they answered. “Your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the sons of one man. Your servants are honest men, not spies.”
12 “No!” he said to them. “You have come to see where our land is unprotected.”
13 But they replied, “Your servants were twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
14 Joseph said to them, “It is just as I told you: You are spies! 15 And this is how you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of your number to get your brother; the rest of you will be kept in prison, so that your words may be tested to see if you are telling the truth. If you are not, then as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 17 And he put them all in custody for three days.
18 On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you will live, for I fear God: 19 If you are honest men, let one of your brothers stay here in prison, while the rest of you go and take grain back for your starving households. 20 But you must bring your youngest brother to me, so that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” This they proceeded to do.
21 They said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw how distressed he was when he pleaded with us for his life, but we would not listen; that’s why this distress has come on us.”
22 Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen! Now we must give an accounting for his blood.” 23 They did not realize that Joseph could understand them, since he was using an interpreter.
24 He turned away from them and began to weep, but then came back and spoke to them again. He had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.
25 Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, to put each man’s silver back in his sack, and to give them provisions for their journey. After this was done for them, 26 they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.
27 At the place where they stopped for the night one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver in the mouth of his sack. 28 “My silver has been returned,” he said to his brothers. “Here it is in my sack.”
Their hearts sank and they turned to each other trembling and said, “What is this that God has done to us?”
29 When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, 30 “The man who is lord over the land spoke harshly to us and treated us as though we were spying on the land. 31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. 32 We were twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in Canaan.’
33 “Then the man who is lord over the land said to us, ‘This is how I will know whether you are honest men: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for your starving households and go. 34 But bring your youngest brother to me so I will know that you are not spies but honest men. Then I will give your brother back to you, and you can trade in the land.’”
35 As they were emptying their sacks, there in each man’s sack was his pouch of silver! When they and their father saw the money pouches, they were frightened. 36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!”
37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may put both of my sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him back.”
38 But Jacob said, “My son will not go down there with you; his brother is dead and he is the only one left. If harm comes to him on the journey you are taking, you will bring my gray head down to the grave in sorrow.”
What is the context for this passage?
Last week, we saw God give Pharaoh dreams that foretold 7 years of abundance followed by 7 years of famine. Only Egypt had the foreknowledge of the famine, and they planned for it by storing up the excess from the 7 years of abundance. Joseph was the one who made the plan, and he was also put in charge of following through on the plan. When the time of the famine came in Egypt and all around, Egypt was prepared, but no one else was. Therefore, people within traveling distance of Egypt went to Egypt to buy food.
Read the passage again.
Explore a different version if you have one available. If you are online, here is Genesis 42 in NIV through Bible Gateway. You can change the version by using the dropdown menu at the top right of the page.
Try to summarize the passage in your own words.
Answer these three questions about the passage:
1. What does the passage say about God?
God spread famine far beyond Egypt. When God brought famine on the land of Egypt as he foretold through Pharaoh’s dreams, he also brought famine on all the surrounding lands. We know from this story that the famine spread at least as far as Canaan, although it was likely far beyond that as well.
God inspires fear in the people who follow him. Joseph stated that he feared God. What does it mean to fear God? Part of it is true fear related to the possibility of judgment, but for those who follow God, fear is more a sense of awe and reverence and willingness to submit to God’s authority. God inspires fear in people who follow him through his holiness, love, and so many other characteristics.
2. What does the passage say about people?
People who are starving seek out food. Joseph’s family in Canaan was without food because of the famine. Jacob thought that they would die if they didn’t go seek out food somewhere else. Because they had heard that there was food in Egypt, that was where Jacob sent his sons.
People protect those they love most. Even though Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy food, he didn’t send one son—Benjamin. Benjamin was Joseph’s full brother, born of Jacob’s beloved Rachel. Jacob couldn’t bear to lose Benjamin like he lost Joseph, so he didn’t allow Benjamin to go on the trip to Egypt.
People bow down to those in high authority. When Joseph’s brothers saw Joseph, they bowed down to him. This wasn’t because they recognized him and were humbled. It was because Joseph was in a position of high esteem that required people to bow to him.
People sometimes hide their identity from others. When Joseph realized that his brothers didn’t recognize him, he intentionally continued to hide his identity from them. He didn’t reveal who he was in order to manipulate the situation.
Some people are better than others at recognizing people they know. Joseph recognized his brothers almost immediately, but his brothers did not recognize him. This is likely because of a difference in age and cultural style that worked to hide Joseph’s identity more than the brothers.
People share more information when they are being falsely accused. When Joseph started to accuse the brothers of being spies, the brothers instantly started to provide him with more information than he asked for just to try to prove their innocence. In this way, Joseph found out information about his father and his brother, Benjamin.
People sometimes test others to determine their honesty. Even though Joseph’s brothers were telling a story consistent with what Joseph would have known, he tested them by telling them to bring their other brother to Egypt. He wanted to see his brother for himself.
People carry guilt around with them for past decisions. When Joseph laid out his ultimatum for his brothers, his brothers instantly felt like they were being punished for what they had done to Joseph. Through all the years, they’ve carried around the guilt of selling Joseph into slavery. That guilt was doubled when they found silver in their sacks, and they felt that God himself was bringing trouble upon them.
People share the events that have happened to them. When the brothers went back home, they reported to Jacob all the events that happened to them, from being accused of being spies to the task that Joseph had given them.
People are frightened when something unexpected happens. When Joseph’s brothers found that all of them had their silver in their grain sacks, they were frightened. They knew how harsh Joseph had been to them, and they knew this would bring more trouble on their heads. What they didn’t know what that this was Joseph’s and God’s way of providing for them.
People fall into despair when they don’t understand God’s plan. Jacob and his sons didn’t know what was going on. They knew that Benjamin needed to go to Egypt in order to get more food, and they knew that it would appear that they had stolen the previous round of food by not paying for it. They didn’t know what trouble they would face once they returned to Egypt, and Jacob feared that everything would be taken from him. He didn’t understand the plan that God had to save them.
3. What does the passage say about God’s plan?
God’s plan was for Joseph to be in charge of distributing food in Egypt. After all the trouble that Joseph faced, God now has him exactly where he wants him—in a place where he can help his family, the land of Egypt, and all surrounding peoples through a famine.
God’s plan was to fulfill Joseph’s dreams. When Joseph was growing up, he had dreams that his brothers would bow down to him. Those dreams are fulfilled in this passage. The brothers didn’t know that they were bowing down to Joseph, but Joseph recognized the fulfillment of his dreams.
God’s plan was for Joseph to be reunited with his brothers. Although the brothers don’t know that they are with Joseph again, Joseph recognized them and received news about his family after many years of being separated from them. Although the true reunion doesn’t happen for another couple chapters, this is the first step for Joseph to be reunited with his family.
God’s plan was to provide for Jacob and his family through Joseph. God knew that the famine would come, so he worked in Joseph’s life over many years to put him in a place to provide for his family. Sometimes God’s plan didn’t make sense at the time, but eventually it did.
How does the passage fit into the overarching story of the Bible?
Sometimes it’s easier to understand a passage if you have a little outside knowledge from other passages in the Bible. This section will help provide that outside perspective.
When I read this story, I always wonder if maybe Joseph had that lightbulb moment when his brothers bowed down to him, thinking, “Ah. This is what God’s been doing.” Joseph had the advantage of a bit of foreknowledge from dreams. He knew that God had given him a dream that his brothers would bow down to him, and he knew that hadn’t been fulfilled yet. So he knew that God still had plans for him that he didn’t know about yet. That knowledge must have sustained him when he was sold into slavery and tossed in a dungeon. That knowledge surely caused him to continue to trust that God had a plan.
Jesus also had the advantage of foreknowledge. He knew God’s plan for his time on earth. He knew that he would be betrayed. He knew that he would be crucified. He knew the pain he would have to suffer. But he also knew that he would rise again, and that the pain was worth the victory that would come in the end. Through it all, this knowledge helped him to persevere to the very end.
We may not have the foreknowledge that Joseph and Jesus had about what God is planning to do with our lives. But we do trust in the same God, and we know that he always has a plan that he will bring to fulfillment. So whatever God is doing in your life right now that doesn’t make sense, know that someday, it will. You will look back and say, “Ah. That’s what God’s been doing. I’m glad I continued to trust him.”
Discussion
Individual: Answer the following questions thoughtfully for yourself.
Group: Pose these questions for discussion.
All: If you are willing to share, I’d love to hear your thoughts to these questions. Feel free to use the comment section to start a discussion about this passage.
What else strikes you about this passage?
How does the passage affect how you view God? How you view yourself?
How does this passage affect how you will live your life?
Additional Study
For additional study related to this topic, read Genesis 43-44.
Premium Resources
For Bible Essential studies, you can use my thoughts as your devotional, or you can download and use the journaling sheet to work through the passage on your own. If desired, you can then compare your thoughts to mine. Journal sheets can be downloaded and used now or later. They can be printed and filled in by hand or saved and filled out electronically. Journal sheets are available for individual or group use.
If you plan to lead a group study, a PowerPoint presentation is also available.
You can access these resources by clicking here: Genesis 42 Resources
Or you can download the journal sheets here*:
*Substack doesn’t support PowerPoint file downloads yet, so if you want to access the PowerPoint file for group study, you will need to download it from the resource page linked above.