What does Genesis 45:13 mean?
Joseph is urging his brothers to return to Canaan and bring their father Jacob back to Egypt. He wants them to move the entire family there, under his care, to save them from the famine (Genesis 45:1–12). Now Joseph asks them to tell his father how Joseph is honored in Egypt. Joseph sounds very much like a son who longs for his father to be proud of him. Despite what Jacob has long thought (Genesis 37:31–34), Joseph is not dead. In fact, he has become a great and important man (Genesis 41:44). One can only image how much he longed to show all of his success to his father.The speech to Joseph's brothers concludes with a great sense of urgency. Joseph might have been worried that Jacob, quite old and in much distress, might not survive long enough to see him again.
Genesis 45:1–15 records Joseph's emotional revelation of his identity. Still unrecognized by his estranged brothers, Joseph had tested them, leading to Judah's passionate, sacrificial offer (Genesis 44:18–34). Overcome with emotion, Joseph identifies himself to his dumbfounded brothers. He states with confidence that all this has happened as part of God's plan to preserve the people of Israel.
Genesis 45 is a series of revelations. Following an emotional breakdown, Joseph finally reveals his identity to his baffled brothers. After they realize the governor of Egypt is the one they sold into slavery two decades earlier, he rushes to tell them he does not hold them responsible. In His own way, God had arranged for Joseph's enslavement, for the purpose of saving many people from famine. With Pharaoh's enthusiastic support, Joseph arranged for his brothers to return to Canaan, pack up Jacob and all they own, and come back to resettle in Egypt. Jacob, finally convinced all this is true, agrees to the move.