The Restoration of Judah

Four chapters is a lot of material. But given the detail of the narrative, there is, in a sense, less need for commentary. The author slows down the tempo of the narrative and gives us far more information. But we need to see these four chapters together, because Genesis 42-45 is a literary masterpiece.

The two journeys to Egypt appear to be set in parallel. The story of the first journey in chapter 42 is paralleled exactly by the second journey in chapters 43-45. It is fitting perhaps that the brothers are taken into custody twice – thrown into prison twice – in payment for what they did to Joseph.

But something bothered me about that. Because the Joseph narrative is not all about revenge. He certainly tests his brothers to see if they are trustworthy, but there is never any hint that Joseph is seeking revenge. So it made no sense to me that Joseph's “revenge” should be at the center of the narrative.

And so I kept reading. And I looked at who was speaking on behalf of the brothers.

In the first journey, it is Reuben: he speaks at the second audience with Joseph, he speaks again when they return to Jacob, their father.

In the second journey, it is Judah: he speaks when they prepare to depart from their father, he speaks again at the second audience with Joseph.

In other words, it is a double chiasm. If all you do is see the chiasm of chapter 42 in parallel with the chiasm of chapters 43-45, then you will miss the center of the story. Because the center of the story is not Joseph's “testing” his brothers!

The center of the story is the restoration of Judah – when Judah displaced Reuben as the spokesman for the family.