Verses 41–45: After Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream and counseled him wisely regarding the coming famine, he promoted Joseph to his second-in-command. Joseph was given charge over the entire land of Egypt, lifted up with wealth and honor, and even granted a wife (Potiphera).
46–49: At just thirty years of age, Joseph traveled throughout Egypt as the king’s highest governor, collecting grain during the seven years of abundance and storing it in the fields around cities where it was grown. The quantity became so massive that it was too much to record.
50–52: God also blessed Joseph with two sons: Manasseh, which sounds like the Hebrew word for forget, and Ephraim, like the Hebrew twice fruitful. God brought Joseph so much joy and prosperity that he left behind the troubles of his past.
53–57: True to God’s dream interpretation through Joseph, a famine hit Egypt hard after seven years. When the people looked to Pharaoh for rescue, he directed them to Joseph, who sold them grain from storehouses throughout the land. In fact, the entire world known to Egypt traveled there to buy food—the famine was no respecter of nations. It seemed that God was trying to get everyone's attention.
Genesis 42
Verses 1–5: When Jacob learned that Egypt was selling grain, he sent ten of his sons to buy some. Benjamin alone stayed behind, as Jacob feared losing him in addition to Joseph.
6–13: Jacob's sons encountered Joseph soon after their arrival in Egypt. While Joseph recognized them, they didn't recognize him. They bowed down to him just as his childhood dream foretold, but he treated them harshly, pretending they were spies. They insisted on their innocence and honesty, reporting to him only one other living brother, and Joseph himself as dead.
14–24: Joseph presented a “test” of innocence to them: one brother would return home and bring Benjamin back to Egypt; the others would remain in prison as collateral. Then, he would “know” that they weren’t spies. After three days, though, he changed his plan: only one brother would remain in prison while the rest returned home to retrieve Benjamin.
Since Joseph was speaking to them with an interpreter, his brothers didn't realize he could understand them. They began talking among themselves, convinced that their past treacherous treatment of Joseph had caught up to them. Reuben angrily rebuked them for refusing to listen when he warned them not to harm Joseph so many years ago. He was convinced God was holding them accountable for their actions. Unable to take it any longer, Joseph turned away and wept. Once he regained composure, he had Simeon bound and taken away to prison.
25–35: In a further test of his brother’s hearts, Joseph ordered the return of the silver used to purchase food to their sacks of grain. On their journey, one brother discovered his silver, and they again concluded that God's punishment was upon them. They related everything to their father once home, and found their remaining silver as they unpacked their grain bags. Fear descended on everyone.
36–38: Jacob was overcome. First Joseph, then Simeon. It felt like everything was against him! Reuben tried to reassure him with a solemn pledge over Benjamin: if he didn't return, Jacob could put Reuben’s own two sons to death. But Jacob wouldn't hear of it. He believed that Joseph was dead, and he wasn't willing to risk losing the only child left from his beloved Rachel. After all that God had promised, he saw no way forward. But God had a clearer view.
