Joseph is a guy I would be very interested in meeting. What was there about him that caused him to be so well respected by everyone? Well, I guess everyone except his jealous brothers who sold him into slavery. His first gig as a slave was to Potiphar who had eventually promoted him until he was in charge of his entire household. Even in prison the "warden" trusted him enough to put him in a position of responsibility. And now he is 2nd only to Pharaoh in the land of Egypt. However, there is still something going on in terms of racial or social prejudice. In the final verses of today's passage we find this statement: "They served him by himself, the brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because Egyptians could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detestable to Egyptians." Hmm. I guess this may help explain why, even after all Joseph did for the Egyptians during this time of famine, his descendants still ended up as slaves and eventually had to make their "exodus". But I'm getting ahead of the story.
Now, his brothers are coming to him to humbly ask for help. My, how the tables have turned. Looks like the dreams he had in ch. 37 - the ones that almost got him killed by his brothers - are indeed coming true. Today's reading sort of ends with a cliff-hanger. Will Joseph reveal his true identity to his brothers? Will he seek revenge for the way they treated him? What will he do with Benjamin - his only full brother? ...Tune in next time.
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