and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.’
Joseph has just told his brothers who he is, and the news travels through the palace until Pharaoh himself joins in. The invitation comes not from Joseph alone but from the throne of Egypt, and it offers the family not bare rations but the best of the country.
Welcomed for Joseph's Sake
The brothers had no claim of their own on Egypt.
J. G. BellettThe reconciliation waited only for their repentance. Now it was complete, and everything was ready to load the brothers with blessing without limit. Pharaoh's goodwill is to be fully toward them, as well as Joseph's. They were Joseph's brothers; that was enough for Pharaoh. And Pharaoh will have their aged father brought down. He will settle him, with his households and his flocks, in the richest and choicest part of the land.
The king and the governor speak with one voice here:
G. C. WillisJoseph in his glory and in such a high position wanted his father and his brothers to be with him... Here Joseph is a picture of the Lord Jesus, and Pharaoh of God the Father. God the Father's heart is the same as the heart of our Lord Jesus. Pharaoh said, "Come to me!" just as Joseph said, "Come to me!" And so the Father and the Son both call us to "Come!"
Words That Echo Forward
The wording of the invitation has struck commentators as familiar: a call to come, then a promise to give. The writers below quote an older translation, which reads "the good of the land" where the ESV has "the best of the land."
F. B. HoleHere again we find words which strongly remind us of New Testament language: "Come to me; and I will give you …" Surely that reminds us all of Matthew 11:28: "Come to me … and I will give you rest." Joseph's word was to be, "I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land." But that "good" would mean rest for them — rest from their fear of famine, and rest from the wearying search for food through the famine years. Coming to Joseph, they would find rest indeed.
What Absolute Power Was Used For
Joseph now held complete power in Egypt, and the brothers who had wronged him stood in front of him.
F. B. HoleBut now that such power was in his hands, what use did he make of it? His word to his father, and brothers, and all their households was, "Come to me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land" (Gen. 45:18). As exalted, he was the minister of their blessing.
The Best, Not the Bare Minimum
Two phrases carry the weight of the offer: the best of the land, and the fat of the land. Neither one is about mere relief from hunger.
C. KnappWhat an inducement! "The good of the land of Egypt" and "the fat of the land." This is what God has to offer souls that come to Him. No such terms were ever offered by any government to encourage settlers. Transportation is provided too. "Wagons" were sent to carry the weak and helpless. And what answers to the wagons in this picture is the Holy Spirit sent by the Father to bring helpless sinners to Christ.
The brothers had first come to Egypt with nothing but empty sacks, and that turned out to be the point.
J. G. BellettThey were told that they might leave all their own stuff behind them, for all the good of the land of Egypt was before them. And so it proved to be. Their empty sacks had come down to Egypt at first to be filled. They were still to prove that there was a heart and a hand there, both able and ready to give without measure. The emptier they came down, the fuller they would learn this.
A Rehearsal of Something Larger
One writer looks past the immediate rescue to what the story foreshadows.
William KellyEven if they did not surpass fable, they were true. They bear the clear stamp of God's ordering, because they picture in advance what the prophets pledge in Jehovah's name. A greater than Joseph, rejected by His brothers, was exalted to sit at God's right hand with richer supplies for a famished world. He is about to make Himself known "the second time" to His brothers, whose hearts are broken with deep repentance.
Summary
- Welcomed. The brothers were invited because they belonged to Joseph, and that connection alone was enough for the king.
- Come. The invitation is a call to a person before it is an offer of goods — the same two-part wording found on the lips of Jesus: come to Me, and I will give you.
- Give. The man with absolute power over Egypt spent it on the family that had wronged him; as exalted, he became the source of their blessing.
- The best. Not survival, but the best and the fat of the land — terms no government ever offered settlers, with transport supplied for the weak.
- Empty hands. They came down with empty sacks to be filled; the emptier they came, the more they learned how freely that hand gave. The whole scene rehearses a greater than Joseph, who makes Himself known to His brothers a second time.