Josephs Loyalty To His Family

The news that Joseph's brothers had arrived became known in Pharaoh's

palace; and it pleased Pharaoh and his servants greatly. Pharaoh said to

Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do this: load your beasts, go to the

land of Canaan, and take your father and your families and come to me,

and I will give you the best there is in the land of Egypt, and you

shall eat the best that the land can give. Now you are commanded to do

his: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for

your wives, and bring your father and come. Also do not pay any

attention to your household goods, for the best of all there is in the

land of Egypt is yours.'" And the sons of Jacob did as they were

commanded.



So Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh ordered, and what was needed for

the journey. To each of them he gave a change of clothing, but to

Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of

clothing. To his father he sent this gift: ten asses loaded with the

best products of Egypt and ten asses loaded with grain and bread and

provisions for his father on the journey.



So he sent his brothers away, and, as they went, he said to them, "See

that you do not quarrel on the journey!" So they went up out of Egypt

and came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, and told him,

"Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!"

Then Jacob's heart stood still, for he could not believe them. But when

they told him all that Joseph had said to them and when he saw the

wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their

father revived, and he said, "It is enough; Joseph my son is still

alive. I will go and see him before I die."



Then Jacob set out on his journey with all that he had. He first went to

Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God

spoke to him in a vision by night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." He answered,

"Here am I." God said, "I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to

go down into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation. I

myself will go down with you into Egypt; I will surely bring you back

again; and Joseph shall close your dying eyes."



When Jacob left Beersheba, his sons carried him and their little ones

and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent. Jacob also sent

Judah before him to Joseph, that he might show him the way to Goshen.



When they came into the land of Goshen, Joseph made ready his chariot,

and went up to Goshen to meet Jacob his father. When he met him, Jacob

fell on his neck and wept there a long time.



Then Jacob said to Joseph, "Now let me die, for I have seen your face

and know that you are still alive." But Joseph said to his brothers and

to his father's household, "I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say

to him, 'My brothers and my father's family who were in the land of

Canaan have come to me. Now the men are shepherds, for they have been

keepers of cattle; and they have brought their flocks and cattle and all

that they have.' When Pharaoh calls you, and asks, 'What is your

business?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of cattle

from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers.' Say this that

you may live in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is looked down

upon by the Egyptians."



Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh and said, "My father and my

brothers with their sheep and cattle and all that they possess have come

from the land of Canaan; and now they are in the province of Goshen."

And he took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh

said to them, "What is your business?" They answered, "Your servants are

shepherds, both we and our fathers." They also said to Pharaoh, "We have

come to live in your country; because the famine is severe in the land

of Canaan, and there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. Now,

therefore, we beg of you, let your servants stay in the land of Goshen."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Let them stay in the land of Goshen; and

if you know any able men among them, put them in charge of my cattle."



Joseph also brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh;

and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How many years

have you lived?" Jacob answered, "I have lived a hundred and thirty

years; few and evil have been the years of my life, and they have not

been as many as those that my forefathers lived on earth." After Jacob

had blessed Pharaoh, he went out from Pharaoh's presence. So Joseph gave

his father and his brothers a place to live in and a home in the land of

Goshen, in the best part of the land of Egypt, as Pharaoh had commanded.



Joseph also provided food for his father and his brothers and all his

father's family according to the number of the little children. So the

Israelites lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and there they grew

wealthy and had many children.