Tuesday

So the men (Joseph’s brothers) took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take these men to my house, slaughter an animal and prepare dinner; they are to eat with me at noon.”
The man did as Joseph told him and took the men to Joseph’s house. Now the men were frightened when they were taken to his house. They thought, “We were brought here because of the silver that was put back into our sacks the first time. He wants to attack us and overpower us and seize us as slaves and take our donkeys.”
So they went up to Joseph’s steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. “Please, sir,” they said, “we came down here the first time to buy food. But at the place where we stopped for the night we opened our sacks and each of us found his silver – the exact weight – in the mouth of his sack. So we brought it back with us. We have also brought additional silver with us to buy food. We don’t know who put our silver in our sacks.”
“It’s all right,” he said, “Don’t be afraid.”
(Genesis 43:15-23a, NIV)

Following the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, Joseph is appointed Prime Minister of Egypt, and he directs the effort to collect and store food produced during the seven years of abundance. Storage facilities are built in each Egyptian city in preparation for the famine. Chapter 41 tells us about the thirty-year-old Joseph’s appointment and the beginning of the famine. Chapter 42 records the journey of Joseph’s brothers to Egypt in search of food and Joseph’s act of revenge. When Joseph recognizes his brothers, he frightens them by accusing them of being spies and demands that they leave one of the brothers as ransom until they return to Egypt with their youngest brother, Benjamin. Joseph then instructs his men to put the money that the brothers used to pay for their food back into their sacks. When the brothers discover the money on their way home, they are convinced that they are doomed.

Today’s verses record their return journey to Egypt, this time accompanied by Benjamin. They fear that they will be overpowered by the angry Prime Minister and made into slaves. But to their surprise, the Prime Minister’s steward says, “It’s all right. Don’t be afraid.” Or, “Be at ease; rest assured” (RSV); or “Shalom to you.”

In this context, the word shalom is more specific than a reference to one’s general welfare. It is a guarantee of safety offered by a person who has the ability to do harm. This is another very common use of the word shalom. The word is used in the same way when, for example, Gideon encounters the angel of the Lord and is frightened. The Lord says to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die” (Judges 6:23). We must therefore add the concept of safety and physical security to our understanding of the Hebrew word shalom.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for the promise that in you we can find safety and security. We praise you that you are a God who cares about protecting and comforting your people. Amen.