014 Joseph and His Brothers - A Bible Story for Children

Genesis 42:1-46:30

The famine spread, and people came from all over to buy corn from Joseph, the most powerful man in Egypt. In Canaan, too, food was scarce, and Jacob called his sons to him. "We must do something," he said. "I hear there is corn in Egypt. Go there, and buy some."

So ten of the brothers set out for Egypt, but Jacob kept Benjamin, his youngest son, home with him, because he was afraid something would happen to him.

When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt, they were brought before Joseph, who was seated in a fine chair and dressed in rich Egyptian robes. His brothers did not recognize him, but Joseph knew them at once. He made up his mind to test his brothers. "Where do you come from?" he asked angrily. "You must be spies who have come to Egypt to see what is going on here."

"No, my lord," they answered in fright. "We are honest men. We have come from Canaan only to buy food."

"I do not believe you," Joseph said. "You are spies."

But Joseph's brothers continued to protest. "We are twelve sons of one man in Canaan. Our youngest brother stayed at home with our father, and one of our brothers disappeared a long time ago."

"No, you are spies," answered Joseph, still pretending he did not know his brothers, and he sent them all to prison.

After three days, Joseph called his brothers before him. "Because I am a God-fearing man," he said, "I will give you a chance to prove you are telling the truth. Go, take the corn home with you, but one of you must stay in Egypt as my prisoner. He can return to Canaan when the rest of you come back with your youngest brother. If you do this, you will not die."

Joseph's brothers were very unhappy, and they said to one another, "This is happening to us now because of what we did to Joseph. He called to us from the pit, and we did not answer him."

"I told you not to harm the boy," said Reuben, "but you would not listen to me. Now, after all these years, we are paying for what you did."

When Joseph heard these words, he turned away from his brothers and wept, for he, too, remembered what they had done to him. But Joseph did not let his brothers know he understood them. Instead, he chose Simeon from among them and had him tied up before their eyes. Then Joseph ordered his servants to fill his brothers' bags with corn, and also to hide in their bags the money they had used to pay for the corn.

When Joseph's brothers stopped for the night, they opened their bags and, to their horror, discovered the money. "What is God doing to us?" they asked.

As soon as they returned to Canaan, they told Jacob everything that had happened to them. Then they told him that they were supposed to bring Benjamin back to Egypt.

"No!" Jacob shouted. "Joseph is dead, and Simeon is gone. I will not let you take Benjamin away, too!"

But soon Jacob's family had eaten all the corn they had bought in Egypt, and Jacob called his sons to him once more. "Go to Egypt again," he said, "and buy more food."

Then Judah said to Jacob, "We cannot go back without Benjamin. But I promise you that if we return to Canaan without him, I will carry the blame forever."

"If this must be so, do it," Jacob said sadly. "I pray that God will grant you mercy and that you will come home with Benjamin and Simeon." And Jacob gave his sons rare sweets and spices as gifts for the great Egyptian.

When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt, and Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he told his chief servant to prepare lunch for them all in his own house. Joseph's brothers remembered the money they had found in their bags and tried to return it. But the servant said to them, "Do not be afraid. The money you found was a gift from God." Then the servant brought Simeon to them.

When Joseph came home, his brothers bowed down before him, and gave him the presents their father had sent from Canaan. "Is your father well?" Joseph asked them.

"Yes," they answered.

Next Joseph looked at Benjamin, and asked, "Is this the younger brother you told me about?"

When Joseph saw that it was Benjamin, he was filled with love for all his brothers and rushed to another room, where he wept alone. Then he went back to his brother, and they all sat down to a happy meal. But Joseph still did not tell his brothers who he was.

When lunch was over, Joseph ordered his servant to fill his brothers' bags with as much grain as they could carry and again to hide money in them. Joseph also told his servant to hide his own silver cup in Benjamin's bag.

As soon as his brothers left, Joseph sent his servant after them. "Why have you paid back good with evil?" the servant asked when he caught up with them. "You ate my master's food, took his grain, and then stole his silver cup!"

"God forbid that we steal anything from your master," the brothers answered. "We tried to give back the money we found in our bags before. We were honest then; why would we be thieves now? Please, search our bags. If you find the cup in anyone's bag, the owner of that bag shall die, and the rest of us will be your master's slaves."

So the brothers threw their bags to the ground, and Joseph's servant pretended to search them. When he pulled the cup from Benjamin's bag, the brothers cried out and tore their clothes in sorrow. Terrified, they returned to Joseph's house, and bowed down before him.

"My lord," said Judah, who had promised his father that no harm would come to Benjamin. "What can I say? This is God's punishment for something we did a long time ago. Now we are all your slaves, and our youngest brother, Benjamin, is at your mercy."

Joseph spoke slowly, "I am not a cruel man. The youngest one, the one who had my cup--he must stay here. The rest of you may go home in peace to your father."

Then Judah came closer to Joseph and said, "O my lord, please let me say a few words to you, and I beg you, do not be angry with me. Our father is an old man who especially loves his youngest son. He did not want to send Benjamin to Egypt with us because he was afraid something might happen to the boy. Now I fear that our father might die if we come home without Benjamin. My lord, I do not want to be the cause of my father's death. Please let Benjamin go home, and keep me in his place."

When he heard this, Joseph could no longer hold back his tears. "I am Joseph," he said.

His brothers were amazed, and could not speak.

"I am Joseph," he repeated. "Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery. But do not be unhappy about that now, for it was God who sent me here to save your lives, and the lives of your children. If I had not been sent to Egypt, who would have warned Pharaoh and saved grain for the seven years of famine? So hurry back to my father, and tell him his son Joseph is alive and wants him to come to Egypt."

Then Joseph embraced his brother Benjamin, and his other brothers, and they all wept with happiness. And when Pharaoh learned that Joseph's brothers were with him, he offered them good land, and sent wagons to Canaan to move Jacob's household to Egypt.

When Jacob arrived, Joseph went out to greet him, and they embraced. "Now I can die in peace because I have seen you," said Jacob . But Jacob lived many more years and saw his family grow rich and powerful in Egypt.

Category: Children's Bible Stories