Read Genesis 44:18-46:27 at Bible Gateway
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Hebrew paragraph divisions
Gen 44:18-46:7 {s} Joseph revealed to his brothers and father
Gen 46:8-27 {s} Seventy persons of Israel went down to Egypt
Gen 44:18-46:27 Chiastic structure
1a) Gen 44:18-45:20 Joseph reveals to his brothers that he is alive;
1a) Gen 44:18-34 Judah to Joseph: I cannot bring my father’s gray hair down in sorrow to the grave;
1b) Gen 45:1-2 Joseph wept aloud, and the Egyptians + house of Pharaoh heard it;
1c) Gen 45:3-4 Joseph to his brothers: I am Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt;
central axis) Gen 45:5-11 But do not be grieved that you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life;
2c) Gen 45:12-13 Your eyes see that it is my mouth that speaks to you;
2b) Gen 45:14-16 He wept over his brothers + the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house;
2a) Gen 45:17-20 Pharaoh to Joseph: Bring your father down to Egypt;
1b) Gen 45:21a Then the sons of Israel did so (load their animals + depart);
1c) Gen 45:21b Joseph gave them carts as Pharaoh commanded + provisions for the journey;
central axis) Gen 45:22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments;
2c) Gen 45:23 He sent his father donkeys loaded with good things + food for his father for the journey;
2b) Gen 45:24 He sent his brothers away + they departed/ Do not become troubled along the way;
2a) Gen 45:25-46:27 {s+s} The brothers reveal to Jacob that Joseph is alive;
1a) Gen 45:25 They went up out of Egypt to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father;
1b) Gen 45:26a They told him: Joseph is still alive + governor over all the land of Egypt;
1c) Gen 45:26b Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them;
central axis) Gen 45:27a But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him;
2c) Gen 45:27b The spirit of Jacob their father revived;
2b) Gen 45:28 Israel: Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die;
2a) Gen 46:1-27 Israel went down from Canaan into Egypt with all that he had;
1a) Gen 46:1a So Israel took his journey with all that he had;
1b) Gen 46:1b And came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac;
central axis) Gen 46:2-4 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes;”
2b) Gen 46:5a Then Jacob arose from Beersheba;
2a) Gen 46:7-27 {s+s} The sons of Israel carried their father with their little ones + wives + livestock + goods into Egypt, 70 persons.
The most fascinating thing to me about this structure, is that the central axis highlights, not that Joseph was sent as a deliverer before his brothers; not even God reassuring Jacob of His presence with him in Egypt, but Joseph’s favoritism shown toward his brother Benjamin above his other brothers. This favoritism echoes the favoritism Jacob likewise has for Benjamin above his other sons. Now why would this be the central axis? To answer that question, I worked out the structure for Judah’s speech to Joseph:
Gen 44:18-34 Judah to Joseph: I cannot bring my father’s gray hair down in sorrow to the grave
1a) Gen 44:18 Judah’s request: O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in your hearing;
1b) Gen 44:19-22 Our father has a child of his old age, the only son remaining of his mother + his father loves him;
1a) Gen 44:19-20a You asked us about our father + brother, the child of his old age, only son remaining of his mother;
central axis) Gen 44:20b And his father loves him;
2a) Gen 44:21-22 We said: The lad cannot leave his father, or else his father would die;
1c) Gen 44:23 But you said: Unless your youngest brother is with you, you shall see my face no more;
1d) Gen 44:24a So it was, when we went up to your servant my father;
central axis) Gen 44:24b That we told him the words of my lord;
2d) Gen 44:25 And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food;’
2c) Gen 44:26 But we said: We cannot go down unless our youngest brother is with us;
2b) Gen 44:27-32 He is the only son remaining of his mother + our father’s life bound up in his life;
1a) Gen 44:27-29a My father: He alone is left of his mother/ if you take him + calamity befalls him;
1b) Gen 44:29b You shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave;
1c) Gen 44:30a Therefore, when I come to my father and the lad is not with us;
central axis) Gen 44:30b Since his life is bound up in the lad’s life;
2c) Gen 44:31a It will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that he will die;
2b) Gen 44:31b So your servants will bring down the gray hair of our father with sorrow to the grave;
2a) Gen 44:32 For your servant became surety for the lad to my father/ If I do not bring him back, I shall bear the blame before you forever;
2a) Gen 44:33-34 Judah’s request: Let your servant remain instead of the lad, for how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me.
The B pair highlights Jacob’s love for Benjamin, and that Jacob’s life is bound up in Benjamin’s life. The highlight is again on the favoritism shown to Benjamin. Judah nor the other brothers bemoan the fact that their father will die if something happens to Benjamin but not if something happens to them; they accept it. And Judah makes his request to Jacob to remain in Benjamin’s place, not really because of the love Judah bears for Benjamin, but because of the love Judah bears for his father!
Now considering that all of this prophesies of Messiah (Judah is sacrificing his life to deliver his brother from certain death and restore him to his father who loves him) what is the prophecy concerning Benjamin in this scenario? Beloved, the prophetic types in this history, are that the father is God; Judah is Messiah, also the Son who is surety for the his brother; and Benjamin is us – the rest of mankind. We are the ones who sinned; we are the ones who deserve to be detained because the silver cup was found in our sack. But our brother Judah, who is Messiah Yeshua of the house of Judah, steps in, because He loves His Father, to substitute Himself on our behalf and take upon Himself the punishment that should rightly have fallen on us, so that we can be restored to the Father, who loves us and who cannot bear to be separated from us.
So yes, the structure shines a spotlight on the favoritism shown to Benjamin, but its purpose is to highlight how deep and intense the Father’s love is for us, who do not deserve it, but who have it regardless!
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