Joseph and the Famine A brother’s chance
to unite his family
Jacob’s family was hungry because
of a famine.
So Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to
buy food.
He kept his youngest son,
Benjamin, at home.
He was afraid of losing Benjamin
like he had lost his son Joseph many years before.
He didn’t know that his older sons
had sold Joseph as a slave.
By this time, Joseph was a great
leader in Egypt.
He was in charge of selling food
during the famine.
The brothers met with Joseph and
asked him for food.
They didn’t recognize him.
Joseph recognized them, but he
pretended not to know them.
He asked about their family to see
if his father and brother Benjamin were alive.
Then Joseph gave his brothers
food.
He told them not to come back for
more food unless they brought their youngest brother, Benjamin,
with them.
When the family ran out of food
again, Jacob knew he had to send Benjamin with his other sons back
to Egypt.
Jacob was still scared about
letting Benjamin go.
But Judah, one of the brothers,
promised he would keep Benjamin safe.
When the brothers returned to
Egypt, Joseph made it look like
Benjamin stole a silver cup.
He wanted to see if his older
brothers had changed.
Judah begged Joseph not to punish
Benjamin
but to punish Judah instead.
Joseph was happy to see that his
brothers had changed.
They loved Benjamin enough to
protect him.
So, at last, Joseph told them who
he was.
Joseph forgave his brothers for
selling him to be a slave.
Joseph said it was the Lord’s way
to help their family survive the famine.
Joseph’s brothers went back to
their father, Jacob, and told him
all that had happened.
Jacob moved his whole family to
Egypt.
Pharaoh welcomed Jacob’s family.
He gave them land and animals so
they could have plenty of food.
Jacob’s family lived in peace for
a long time.