SUMMARY
The evil intentions of the brothers against Joseph are incorporated by God into God’s intentions for good on behalf of this family.
ANALYSIS
Genesis 50:20 has long been debated: How are God’s intentions in the story of Joseph to be related to the intentions of Joseph’s brothers? Are, as some suggest, the intentions of God and the brothers collapsed into each other so that the only real agency is God’s (see, for example, 45:4-15)? Or, as others claim, are the evil actions of the brothers a genuine reality that God uses to further God’s own purposes with this family?
In response to such questions, it is important to note that the related texts ascribe effective agency to the brothers (for example, 45:4-5; see 37:28) and to Joseph (45:9-13). The story refers to the brothers’ actions with the language of sin and evil (42:22; 50:15, 17, 20), for which they are guilty (42:21; 44:16). It seems unlikely that this language would be used for God’s actions. Moreover, if God were the absolute subject of these events, there would be no real test for the brothers; their actions and those of Joseph would only be a façade for a divine game.
The text of Genesis 50:20 speaks of both human and divine intentions as effectively at work in these events, albeit in the service of different objectives. But God’s actions are decisive for shaping the future: God’s activity from within the context set in part by the brothers’ evil behaviors has proved, finally, to be decisive. In other words, the brothers’ sinful objectives have been thwarted by being drawn into the larger orbit of God’s purposes and used by God in such a way as to bring life rather than death. In effect, God has “taken over” what the brothers have done; their actions have become God’s actions by being woven into God’s life-giving purposes. God does not intend human evil; God’s intention is to take even such evil and bring about good for all involved. This God does and in the wake of such action the divine promises are reiterated (50:24).
