Jacob was dealing with a disaster. In the middle of a famine, his sons had just returned from Egypt with bad news. If he wanted to buy food from Egypt, Jacob would have to allow his favorite son, Benjamin, to go to Egypt as required by the Pharaoh’s second in command, who controlled all food sales. Jacob had already lost his son Joseph, whom he believed to have been killed by wild animals. The truth is that his brothers hated him and had sold him into slavery. None of them knew Joseph had become second in command in Egypt—next to the Pharaoh.