Miketz

📜 The Story

Two years went by, and Joseph was still in prison. Then one night Pharaoh had two strange dreams. In the first, seven skinny cows ate up seven fat cows. In the second, seven thin stalks of grain swallowed seven full, healthy stalks. None of Pharaoh's wise men could tell him what the dreams meant.

Then Pharaoh's chief butler remembered Joseph, who had explained his dream in prison. Joseph was rushed to Pharaoh. He said both dreams meant the same thing: Egypt would have seven years with lots of food, and then seven years of terrible hunger, a famine. Joseph told Pharaoh to choose a wise man to save up food in the good years, so there would be enough in the hard years.

Pharaoh was so impressed that he put Joseph in charge of all of Egypt. Only Pharaoh was more powerful. Joseph was thirty years old. He married Asenath and had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. During the seven good years, Joseph stored huge amounts of grain in cities all over Egypt.

Then the famine came, and it reached Canaan too. Jacob sent ten of his sons to Egypt to buy food. He kept Benjamin, the youngest, at home. The brothers bowed down to the powerful Egyptian ruler. They had no idea he was their brother Joseph. Joseph knew them right away, but he spoke roughly to them and called them spies. He kept Simeon in Egypt until they came back with Benjamin.

When the brothers came back with Benjamin, Joseph tested them one more time. He had his silver cup hidden in Benjamin's sack, and then sent his men to accuse Benjamin of stealing it. The brothers tore their clothes in grief and went back to Joseph together. Judah said they would all stay as slaves. They would not leave Benjamin behind. The story continues in next week's parsha.