Genesis 46 recounts Jacob's journey to Egypt to reunite with his son Joseph, whom he had believed to be dead for many years. When Jacob learns that Joseph is not only alive but also a powerful ruler in Egypt, he decides to travel there with his entire household. Before departing, Jacob stops at Beersheba to offer sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac, seeking God’s guidance for this momentous decision.

God appears to Jacob in a vision during the night, reassuring him not to fear going down to Egypt. The Lord promises to make Jacob into a great nation while in Egypt and guarantees that He will bring Jacob's descendants back to the promised land. God also assures Jacob that Joseph will be present to close his eyes when he dies, providing comfort about his final moments.

The chapter includes a detailed genealogical record of Jacob's family members who accompanied him to Egypt. This comprehensive list includes his sons and their children, totaling seventy people from Jacob's lineage who entered Egypt. The genealogy is organized by the mothers of Jacob's children — those born to Leah, Rachel, and the two maidservants Bilhah and Zilpah — creating a complete family record for this pivotal moment in Israel's history.

Jacob sends Judah ahead to Joseph to get directions to Goshen, the region where they plan to settle. When Joseph learns of his family's arrival, he prepares his chariot and travels to meet his father in Goshen. The emotional reunion between Joseph and Jacob is deeply moving — Joseph falls on his father's neck and weeps for a long time, while Jacob expresses that he can now die in peace since he has seen Joseph alive again.

Genesis 46 concludes with Joseph preparing to present his family to Pharaoh. He instructs his brothers on how to respond when Pharaoh asks about their occupation, advising them to identify themselves as keepers of livestock. Joseph explains this strategy will help ensure they can settle in Goshen, as shepherds are considered an abomination to the Egyptians, which would actually work in their favor by keeping them separate and allowing them to maintain their distinct identity in their designated region.

In Genesis 45, Joseph finally reveals his identity to his brothers who had sold him into slavery years earlier. Unable to control himself any longer in the presence of his Egyptian attendants, Joseph commands everyone except his brothers to leave the room. In this private moment, he breaks down weeping so loudly that the Egyptians and Pharaoh's household can hear him from outside.

Through his tears, Joseph declares to his stunned brothers, "I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?" The brothers are so shocked and terrified that they can’t answer him, struck speechless by the realization that the powerful Egyptian official before them is the very brother they had betrayed. Joseph, seeing their fear, gently calls them closer and reassures them, explaining that, while they intended evil against him, God used their actions for good.

Joseph urges his brothers not to be angry with themselves or each other for selling him, emphasizing that God sent him ahead to Egypt to save lives. He explains that there are still five more years of famine coming, and that God positioned him in Egypt to preserve their family line. In a remarkable display of forgiveness and eternal perspective, Joseph reframes their betrayal as part of God's sovereign plan to make him "a father to Pharaoh" and ruler over all Egypt.

The practical implications of this reunion quickly become apparent as Joseph instructs his brothers to return to Canaan and bring their father Jacob — along with all their families, livestock, and possessions — to settle in the land of Goshen in Egypt. Joseph promises to provide for them there during the remaining years of famine, ensuring they won’t become impoverished. He gives them wagons and provisions for the journey, along with changes of clothing for each brother and special gifts of silver and garments for Benjamin.

When Pharaoh learns that Joseph's brothers have come to Egypt, he enthusiastically endorses the plan and instructs Joseph to tell his family to bring everything and that they would receive “the good of the land of Egypt.”

Genesis 45 concludes with the brothers arriving back in Canaan and telling their father, "Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt."

Genesis 44 continues the dramatic account of Joseph testing his brothers who have come to Egypt seeking grain during the famine. At the beginning of the chapter, Joseph instructs his steward to fill his brothers' sacks with grain and to secretly place each man's money back in his sack. Most significantly, he orders that his personal silver cup be hidden in Benjamin's sack, the youngest brother who is Jacob's beloved son and Joseph's only full brother.

After the brothers leave the city, Joseph sends his steward to pursue them with an accusation of theft. The steward confronts them about stealing his master's silver cup, which he claims is used for divination. The brothers vehemently deny the accusation and confidently declare that whoever is found with the cup should die, while the rest should become slaves. However, the steward proposes a more lenient punishment: only the guilty party would become a slave while the others could go free.

When the sacks are searched from oldest to youngest, the cup is discovered in Benjamin's possession. The brothers are devastated and tear their clothes in anguish. They all return to the city together, refusing to abandon Benjamin despite being given the opportunity to leave without him.

Back in Joseph's presence, Judah takes the lead as spokesman for his brothers. He acknowledges their apparent guilt while maintaining their innocence, recognizing that God has somehow exposed their past sins. When Joseph insists that only Benjamin needs to remain as his slave, Judah explains that their father Jacob's life is bound up with Benjamin's welfare, describing how Jacob had lost one beloved son (Joseph) and how losing Benjamin would kill him. Judah says that he cannot bear to see his father's grief and asks to substitute himself for Benjamin so that the young man can return home.

Genesis 43 opens with the famine continuing to ravage the land of Canaan, forcing Jacob's family to consider another journey to Egypt for grain. When their supplies run low, Jacob instructs his sons to return to Egypt to buy more food. However, Judah reminds his father that the Egyptian official (whom they don't know is Joseph) had sternly warned them not to return without their youngest brother Benjamin.

Jacob initially resists sending Benjamin, expressing his fear of losing another beloved son after already mourning Joseph's apparent death. Judah steps forward and offers to personally guarantee Benjamin's safety, pledging his own life as surety for his brother's return. He argues that, if they hadn’t waited, they could’ve made the trip twice already. Faced with the reality of starvation, Jacob reluctantly agrees to let Benjamin go.

Before their departure, Jacob instructs his sons to take gifts for the Egyptian ruler. He also tells them to take double the money, both to pay for the new grain and to return the money that had mysteriously appeared in their sacks after their previous trip. Jacob believes this might have been an oversight that could be corrected.

When the brothers arrive in Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph sees them and instructs his steward to bring them to his house for a meal. This frightens the brothers, who assume they're being brought to Joseph's house because of the money found in their sacks. They fear they’ll be accused of theft and enslaved. At the entrance to Joseph's house, they approach the steward and explain about the money, insisting they’ve brought it back along with additional money for more grain.

The steward reassures them, telling them not to fear and that their God must have put treasure in their sacks, as he had received their payment. He then brings Simeon out to them, the brother who had been held as a hostage during their previous visit. As they prepare for the noon meal with Joseph, the brothers are given water to wash their feet, and their donkeys are fed.

When Joseph arrives home, the brothers present their gifts and bow down before him, again fulfilling the dreams Joseph had shared with them years earlier. Joseph asks about their welfare and specifically inquires about their elderly father. When he sees Benjamin, his youngest brother, Joseph is overcome with emotion but manages to control himself for a moment. He asks if this is their youngest brother and blesses Benjamin and then quickly leaves the room to weep privately.

After composing himself, Joseph returns and orders the meal to be served. The Egyptians eat separately from the Hebrews due to cultural customs, and Joseph eats alone because of his high position. The brothers are seated in order of their ages, from oldest to youngest, which amazes them since they cannot understand how this Egyptian official would know their birth order. Joseph sends portions from his table to his brothers, but Benjamin receives five times as much as the others. Despite their initial fears, the brothers enjoy their meal and the time with Joseph, not yet realizing they’re dining with their long-lost brother.

Genesis 42 opens during the severe famine that has gripped the ancient Near East, including the land of Canaan where Jacob and his family live. When Jacob learns that grain is available for purchase in Egypt, he sends ten of his sons to buy food, keeping only Benjamin, his youngest son and the full brother of the now-missing Joseph, safely at home.

Upon arriving in Egypt, the ten brothers unknowingly come before Joseph, who has risen to become the second-in-command of all Egypt and oversees the distribution of grain during the famine. Joseph immediately recognizes his brothers, but they don’t recognize him after more than twenty years and his transformation into an Egyptian official. Rather than revealing his identity, Joseph decides to test his brothers, speaking to them harshly through an interpreter and accusing them of being spies.

The brothers vehemently deny the accusation, explaining that they’re honest men, sons of one father in Canaan, and that they have come only to buy food. They mention that they were originally twelve brothers, but “one is not” and the youngest has remained at home with their father. Joseph continues his harsh treatment, insisting that they must prove their honesty by bringing their youngest brother to Egypt while one of them remains imprisoned as a guarantee of their return.

After keeping all the brothers in custody for three days, Joseph modifies his demand, stating that only one brother will remain in prison while the others return home with grain. He requires them to bring back their youngest brother as proof of their truthfulness, warning that otherwise they won’t see his face again. The brothers, speaking among themselves in Hebrew and unaware that Joseph understands them, begin to acknowledge their guilt regarding their treatment of Joseph years earlier, recognizing their current situation as divine retribution for their past sins.

Joseph, overhearing his brothers' confession and expressions of remorse, is deeply moved and turns away to weep privately. He then returns and selects Simeon to remain bound before their eyes while the others prepare to return to Canaan. Unknown to his brothers, Joseph secretly orders his servants to return each brother's money to their grain sacks, along with provisions for their journey home.

Genesis 42 concludes with the brothers' discovery of the returned money, first when one opens his sack at a lodging place during the journey, and later when they all discover their money back at home. This discovery fills them with fear, as they wonder what God is doing to them. When they relate all of this to Jacob, including Joseph's demand to see Benjamin and Simeon's imprisonment, Jacob is devastated, lamenting that he’s being bereaved of his children and refusing to allow Benjamin to go to Egypt, declaring that, if harm should come to Benjamin, it would bring his gray hairs down to the grave in sorrow.

Genesis 41 opens with Pharaoh experiencing two troubling dreams that none of his magicians or wise men can interpret. In the first dream, he sees seven fat, healthy cows grazing by the river, followed by seven thin, ugly cows that devour the fat ones. In the second dream, seven plump ears of grain grow on a single stalk, but seven thin, scorched ears swallow them up. These vivid dreams leave Pharaoh deeply disturbed and searching for answers.

The chief cupbearer, finally remembering Joseph's accurate interpretation of dreams in prison, speaks up and recommends Joseph to Pharaoh. Joseph is quickly summoned from the dungeon, cleaned up, and brought before the Egyptian ruler. When Pharaoh describes his dreams, Joseph humbly credits God as the source of dream interpretation and explains that both dreams carry the same divine message about Egypt's future.

Joseph reveals that the seven fat cows and full ears represent seven years of abundant harvests coming to Egypt, while the seven thin cows and scorched ears symbolize seven years of severe famine that will follow. He emphasizes that God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do, and the repetition of the dream in two forms indicates that this plan is firmly established and will happen soon. The coming famine will be so severe that it will consume all memory of the preceding abundance.

Recognizing the gravity of this revelation, Joseph boldly advises Pharaoh to find a wise administrator to oversee a systematic storage program during the seven years of plenty. This person should collect one-fifth of Egypt's harvest each year and store it in cities under Pharaoh's authority, creating reserves that will sustain the nation through the devastating famine to come.

Pharaoh and his officials are impressed by Joseph's wisdom and discernment. Pharaoh declares that, since God has revealed these things to Joseph, no one is more qualified to implement the plan. He appoints Joseph as second-in-command over all of Egypt, giving him his signet ring, fine clothing, and a gold chain as symbols of authority. Joseph, now thirty years old, is given an Egyptian name and marries Asenath, daughter of an Egyptian priest.

Genesis 41 concludes by describing the fulfillment of Joseph's interpretation. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph efficiently collects and stores grain throughout Egypt in quantities so vast they stop measuring it. He also has two sons during this period: Manasseh and Ephraim. When the seven years of famine begin as predicted, Joseph opens the storehouses and begins selling grain not only to the Egyptians but to people from surrounding nations who come to Egypt seeking relief from the widespread famine.

Genesis 40 is the account of Joseph's encounter with two fellow prisoners in the Egyptian dungeon where he was being held. While Joseph was imprisoned on false charges, Pharaoh's chief cupbearer and chief baker were thrown into the same prison after they had offended their master. The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to serve them during their imprisonment.

One morning, Joseph noticed that both men appeared troubled. When he asked about their condition, they explained that they had each experienced dreams the previous night but had no one to interpret their meaning. Joseph responded with faith, telling them that interpretations belong to God, and he asked them to share their dreams with him.

The chief cupbearer spoke first, describing his dream of a vine with three branches that budded, blossomed, and produced ripe grapes. In the dream, he had squeezed the grapes into Pharaoh's cup and placed it in Pharaoh's hand. Joseph interpreted this as a favorable sign, explaining that the three branches represented three days, and that within three days Pharaoh would restore the cupbearer to his former position.

Next, the chief baker shared his own dream. He had seen three white baskets on his head, with the top basket containing baked goods for Pharaoh. But birds were eating from it. Joseph delivered a much grimmer interpretation, explaining that the three baskets also represented three days, but that within this time Pharaoh would execute the baker and hang his body on a pole, where birds would eat his flesh.

Joseph made a personal appeal to the cupbearer, asking him to remember Joseph's kindness and mention his case to Pharaoh when he was restored. Joseph emphasized his innocence, explaining that he had been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and had done nothing in Egypt to deserve imprisonment.

Three days later, on Pharaoh's birthday, both interpretations came to pass exactly as Joseph had predicted. Pharaoh restored the cupbearer to his position but executed the baker. However, despite Joseph's request and the accuracy of his interpretation, the cupbearer forgot about Joseph and did not mention him to Pharaoh, leaving Joseph to remain in prison.

Genesis 39 follows Joseph after his brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian official and captain of Pharaoh’s guard, purchased Joseph. The Lord was with Joseph, blessing everything he did — and Potiphar noticed. As a result, Potiphar placed Joseph in charge of his entire household and possessions, and the Lord blessed Potiphar’s house because of Joseph.

Joseph was “a goodly person, and well favoured,” and he attracted the attention of Potiphar’s wife. She repeatedly propositioned Joseph, asking him to sleep with her, but Joseph consistently refused, explaining it would be a sin against God and a betrayal of his master’s trust. One day, when no one else was in the house, Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph by his cloak and demanded he sleep with her. Joseph fled, leaving his cloak behind in her hand.

Potiphar’s wife used Joseph’s cloak as evidence to falsely accuse him of attempted rape. She told her household servants and later her husband that Joseph had tried to assault her, but she had screamed, causing him to flee and leave his garment behind. When Potiphar heard this accusation, he became angry and had Joseph thrown into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held.

Even in prison, the Lord remained with Joseph and showed him kindness. The prison warden noticed Joseph’s reliability and placed him in charge of all the other prisoners and prison operations. Whatever Joseph did, the Lord made it succeed, continuing to demonstrate His favor despite Joseph’s difficult circumstances.