Genesis 50:20

Context

This verse comes from the final chapter of Genesis. After their father Jacob dies, Joseph's brothers fear that he will now take the revenge he had held back, and they ask for his forgiveness (50:15-18). Weeping, Joseph asks, "Am I in the place of God?" (v. 19). He reassures them with the words of verse 20 and promises to nourish them and their children. He had made the same confession earlier, when he first revealed himself to his brothers (45:5-8).

The same Hebrew verb, ḥāšab ("to devise, to plan"), stands behind both "ye thought evil" and "God meant it unto good." The verse thus sets what the brothers devised side by side with what God devised.

Interpretations

• As a confession of providence: The verse is read as a central text of belief in providence, the conviction that God governs even evil human intentions to accomplish good purposes. Together with Romans 8:28, it is often used to bring comfort in suffering.
• The Calvinist reading: The brothers' evil act itself fell within God's decree, and God "meant" the same event for a different purpose. Yet the guilt for the sin rests on those who committed it. (Acts 2:23 uses a similar structure to describe the death of Christ.) The chapter on providence in the Westminster Confession of Faith reflects this understanding.
• The Arminian reading: God permits human beings to commit evil freely, yet overrules it and brings about a good outcome. The Korean translation of the verse, which says that God "turned" the evil to good, fits this reading well.
• As words of reconciliation: Some interpreters stress that the verse functions primarily as a word of forgiveness and reconciliation rather than as a doctrinal statement. On this reading, Joseph leaves the right of vengeance to God and embraces his brothers.

Debates and Issues

Pastoral voices caution that hastily applying this verse to someone in pain, as if to say "it is all God's will," brings no comfort. They also point out that Joseph reached this confession only after a long time and many tears. All of the views above agree that God's use of evil for good does not remove the responsibility of those who do evil. See Predestination and free will.

Related Passages

• Genesis 45:5-8
• Romans 8:28
• Acts 2:23
• Psalm 105:16-22
• Isaiah 55:8-9