IN A NUTSHELL
This parasha begins with Yosef at his lowest point, chained and forgotten in prison. But when Pharaoh is disturbed by two dreams, his butler remembers Yosef is an interpreter and may be able to help explain them. Yosef tells Pharaoh that the dreams contain a prophecy that there will be seven good years in Egypt, followed by seven years of drought and famine, but he also tells Pharaoh he has a solution to the problem – storehouses during the good years to help them survive the bad years. Pharaoh is impressed, and appoints Yosef to be his prime minister. Only Pharaoh himself is now more powerful than Yosef.
The famine affects Canaan too, and Yosef’s family struggle, until Yaakov sends the ten elder brothers to Egypt to buy sacks full of food. (Egypt is the only place with extra supplies because of Yosef’s plan!) The brothers come before Yosef, but do not recognise him as their brother because he has now grown up, and is dressed and speaking like an Egyptian. Yosef, however, recognises them immediately.
Without revealing who he is, Yosef creates a situation for the brothers that is designed to test them. He tells them to come back with their youngest brother, Binyamin, and then he accuses Binyamin of stealing from him. The test is this: Will they abandon another brother like they abandoned Yosef, or have they learned to be better brothers? We will have to wait until the next parasha to find out!
QUESTION TO PONDER
How did Yosef get his new job? Was this always his plan?