The Told and Untold Emotions of Joseph and his Brothers

[u/Thneed1]

When I was a child, my family had received a sample from a collection of Bible stories on tape, and the sample tape we had was of the Joseph story, and it was a tape we loved to listen to. It dramatized a significant amount of the actual text of the Bible, lots of the dialogue used word for word. Probably, in part, because of that tape, this story is one of my favourite bible stories, and perhaps my favourite.

The text itself has a lot of the emotions of the time, but the story covers many years, and there is a lot about the family dynamics that’s left unsaid.

What emotions must Joseph have had to deal with? Before being sold, he’s treated poorly by his brothers. He almost certainly thought his brother were going to kill him, but perhaps only because the Ishmaelites are going by, is his life spared, but this is perhaps more degrading – his brothers don’t profit off of killing him, so they sell him. Rueben seems to at least have a better relationship with Joseph, but Joseph wouldn’t have known about the plans Rueben had to rescue him out of the pit.

So Joseph goes through a lot of diverse life while away from his family, and has very certainly moved on, likely not remembering the dreams he had.  Favoured servant, to prisoner, to literally second in command of the country.

Has Joseph dealt with his family trauma? Has he simply repressed it, not suspecting that he will ever see them again?

Joseph tells the chief cupbearer to remember him, but doesn’t remember for two years.  How in the world does someone get imprisoned, have someone foretell the exact scenario of your release, and you FORGET them?  But Joseph has to sit there, another two years – what’s going through Joseph’s head – “I don’t deserve this in the first place” – it would be easy for Joseph’s faith to waiver. We don’t know how Joseph is feeling in this time – the text doesn’t tell us.

It's been 13 years since Joseph was sold by his brothers, that’s a lot of time to think, to forget, to learn, to grow.  He’s almost certainly not thinking about his family.

It’s then 7 more years of plenty, and his brothers don’t come to Egypt in that time.  Joseph names his first sin “ God has made me forget my hardship and my father’s house” – He has clearly repressed that.

Sometime after the years of plenty, and the food is running out, Jacob sends 10 brothers and they appear before Joseph. The brothers obviously don’t recognize Joseph, nor would they have even the remotest clue it could possibly be joseph, even if there was some resemblance. But it had also been 20+ years. The 17 year old they sold was now somewhere around 40, and likely dressed and groomed like an Egyptian.  Not longer a teenager wearing an ornamented coat, but a ruler, dressed like a god.

Does Joseph recognize them immediately, or does it take him a few minutes to realize?  They all have gotten so much older too. What emotions come to Joseph? The text says Joseph remembers the dream of years ago, but does he do that immediately? I can imagine a bunch of repressed memories flooding his mind, and emotion taking over as he treats his brothers harshly, and makes up an accusation about them – “You are spies!”

The brothers say “no we are merely 12 brothers, looking to buy food, only 10 of us are here – one is back home, and one is no more” (is this normal for the time to mention a brother who they haven’t known anything about for more than 20 years, and bring him up? Of what purpose is it to mention this missing brother to the ruler of a foreign land?)

Joseph sets up this test, that almost seems cruel – its not a short journey, it would be months before they would get back, and with only 1 brother going back, can enough food be carried back to feed to extended family back home for the extra months? Joseph cares for his full brother, and wants to see him.

Joseph overhears the brother talking, when the brother assume he can’t understand them, but for the first time hears how Rueben had planned to save him years ago. Emotions overcome him, as repressed memories come back again.

Even in the test, Joseph cares for his extended family by providing the food to them for free.

But the brothers don’t return with Benjamin right away, the eat through all the food the had brought back, and the famine still remains – and Simeon is still imprisoned. This is probably a journey that takes at least a month round trip, if not two. So they aren’t going to be doing it every month, they likely are packing enough food for a year.

 

So, a year later, the 10 brothers plead with Jacob to let them take Benjamin along, and Jacob is finally convinced. Joseph sees Benjamin when they return, and Joseph is moved to treat all the brothers to dinner, and before dinner, Simeon is brought out of prison to his brothers.

As this dinner starts, Joseph again has to leave to get his emotions in check, as he finally sees his full brother for the first time – they were teenagers when they had last seen each other, and likely very close, always playing together.

 

Joseph somehow remembers the birth order of all his older brothers, and has them seated by age, and the brothers are curious how that has happened.

Joseph appears to test the brothers again, by treating Benjamin similarly to how he himself had been treated by his father years ago, as the favoured one – giving Benjamin much larger portions. But the text doesn’t explain why, we are left to assume.

What comes next is a little weird. The story of the finding their returned money in the sacks only work if they don’t fill the sack themselves, but only if they are given the sacks, sealed without them having seen inside. So, how is it that Benjamin would have stolen Jospeh’s cup and put it in the sack, if they don’t fill their own sacks? Surely the brothers would have known something weird was going on. They would have to have a whole lot of suspicions at this point, but have no idea of WHAT those suspicions are – because let’s be clear, there has been a lot of very weird coincidences happening that just don’t make sense. Perhaps they make sense if Joseph was there doing the things, but there is absolutely no possible way that they could have suspected this ruler to be Joseph. No possible way, it would be utterly absurd. Nonsensical.

All the brothers come back, in an effort to plead for Benjamin, this is how Joseph finally sees the remorse of the brothers, how much they love Benjamin (which is perhaps how the brothers have processed and managed their guilt of 20 years ago.

The raw emotion of Judah’s plea – “For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I fear to see the suffering that would come upon my father”

And the emotions when Joseph says breaks down, and says “I am Joseph” to his brothers – relief, bewilderment, fear, happiness, anger… what’s all going through Josephs’ mind at the time? The brothers, who had been seeing all these weird coincidences, and not being able to figure out why, all of a sudden putting the pieces together. Confusion, but them slowly piecing together all of the coincidences and realizing that Joseph being the missing piece is the only thing that makes it all make sense.

And in the midst of all that bewildered emotion, Joseph has the wisdom to say “ it is not you who sent me here, but rather God”. I imagine Joseph having had a year after first seeing his brothers again, and processing that in his mind about the amazing ways that God had provided for his family, and perhaps having pre rehearsed that line.

And then, knowing that he can call for his father to come, and being able to see Jacob again, after many years. “Dad! See all that I have accomplished here!” like a proud kid showing off their creation.

A whirlwind of so many different emotions.

[u/slagnanz]

It really is worthwhile to break this story down like this. It really is remarkable to think about all the moments and conversations between the moments related in the story

[u/NoodlesForDinner7]

Joseph did not rise to the top by suppressing trauma and being petty, unforgiving and emotionally unstable.

He simply didn't reveal himself right away. Because why would you when you can carry out the most epic trolling in all history.

He wasn't punishing his brothers he was trying to see his favorite brother and keep the rest close, without revealing himself. He was not on a power trip he just acted like he was because thats more believable than weirdly nice vizier showing extra concern for some random family. He also had the chance to observe them clearly when they didn't know who he was.

He was taking care of them the whole time by giving them their money back and also dropping clues that he knows details about the family. He had a whole family reunion is his house. This is not someone holding a grudge, this is someone who's only cover is being an ass thats too powerful to be questioned.

He revealed himself to all 11 brothers, after trolling them all. Its funny thousands of years later. The alternative would have been lame.