GENESIS 44:1-34
1 And he commanded
the steward of his house, saying, "Fill the men's sacks with
food, as much as they can carry, and put each man's money in the
mouth of his sack.
2 Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of
the youngest, and his grain money." So he did according to
the word that Joseph had spoken.
3 As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they
and their donkeys.
4 When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off,
Joseph said to his steward, "Get up, follow the men; and
when you overtake them, say to them, 'Why have you repaid evil
for good?
5 Is not this the one from which my lord drinks, and with which
he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.'
"
6 So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.
7 And they said to him, "Why does my lord say these words?
Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.
8 Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money
which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal
silver or gold from your lord's house?
9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and
we also will be my lord's slaves."
10 And he said, "Now also let it be according to your words;
he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless."
11 Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and
each opened his sack.
12 So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with
the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey
and returned to the city.
14 So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was
still there; and they fell before him on the ground.
15 And Joseph said to them, "What deed is this you have done?
Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?"
16 Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? What shall
we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the
iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord's slaves, both
we and he also with whom the cup was found."
17 But he said, "Far be it from me that I should do so; the
man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And
as for you, go up in peace to your father."
18 Then Judah came near to him and said: "O my lord, please
let your servant speak a word in my lord's hearing, and do not
let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even like
Pharaoh.
19 My lord asked his servants, saying, 'Have you a father or a
brother?'
20 And we said to my lord, 'We have a father, an old man, and
a child of his old age, who is young; his brother is dead, and
he alone is left of his mother's children, and his father loves
him.'
21 Then you said to your servants, 'Bring him down to me, that
I may set my eyes on him.'
22 And we said to my lord, 'The lad cannot leave his father, for
if he should leave his father, his father would die.'
23 But you said to your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother
comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.'
24 "So it was, when we went up to your servant my father,
that we told him the words of my lord.
25 And our father said, 'Go back and buy us a little food.'
26 But we said, 'We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is
with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man's face
unless our youngest brother is with us.'
27 Then your servant my father said to us, 'You know that my wife
bore me two sons;
28 and the one went out from me, and I said, "Surely he is
torn to pieces"; and I have not seen him since.
29 But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls
him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.'
30 "Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father,
and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the
lad's life,
31 it will happen, when he sees that the lad is not with us, that
he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of
your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.
32 For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying,
'If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall bear the blame
before my father forever.'
33 Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the
lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
34 For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me,
lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?"
GENESIS 45:1-28
1 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who
stood by him, and he cried out, "Make everyone go out from
me!" So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known
to his brothers.
2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh
heard it.
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers," I am Joseph; does my
father still live?" But his brothers could not answer him,
for they were dismayed in his presence.
4 And Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come near to me."
So they came near. Then he said: "I am Joseph your brother,
whom you sold into Egypt."
5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves
because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve
life.
6 For these two years the famine has been in the land, and there
are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor
harvesting.
7 And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in
the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has
made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a
ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 "Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, 'Thus says
your son Joseph: "God has made me lord of all Egypt; come
down to me, do not tarry.
10 You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near
to me, you and your children, your children's children, your flocks
and your herds, and all that you have.
11 There I will provide for you, lest you and your household,
and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five
years of famine.' "
12 "And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin
see that it is my mouth that speaks to you.
13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of
all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father
down here."
14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck and wept, and Benjamin
wept on his neck.
15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and
after that his brothers talked with him.
16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying,
"Joseph's brothers have come." So it pleased Pharaoh
and his servants well.
17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers, 'Do
this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan.
18 Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will
give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat
of the land.
19 Now you are commanded - do this: Take carts out of the land
of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father
and come.
20 Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of
all the land of Egypt is yours.' "
21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts,
according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions
for the journey.
22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but
to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes
of garments.
23 And he sent to his father these things: ten donkeys loaded
with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with
grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.
24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said
to them, "See that you do not become troubled along the way."
25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan
to Jacob their father.
26 And they told him, saying, "Joseph is still alive, and
he is governor over all the land of Egypt." And Jacob's heart
stood still, because he did not believe them.
27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said
to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry
him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.
28 Then Israel said, "It is enough. Joseph my son is still
alive. I will go and see him before I die."
GENESIS 46: 1-34
1 So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came
to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father
Isaac.
2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said,
"Jacob, Jacob!" And he said, "Here I am."
3 So He said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not fear
to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.
4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring
you up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes."
5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried
their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the
carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had
acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all
his descendants with him.
7 His sons and his sons' sons, his daughters and his sons' daughters,
and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
8 Now these were the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and
his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob's firstborn.
9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar,
and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but
Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were
Hezron and Hamul.
13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron.
14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan
Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his
daughters, were thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi,
and Areli.
17 The sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah,
their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.
18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his
daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin.
20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim,
whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to
him.
21 The sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman,
Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
22 These were the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen
persons in all.
23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his
daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from
his body, besides Jacob's sons' wives, were sixty-six persons
in all.
27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two
persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt
were seventy.
28 Jacob Settles in Goshen Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph,
to point out before him the way to Goshen. And they came to the
land of Goshen.
29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet
his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on
his neck and wept on his neck a good while.
30 And Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die, since I have
seen your face, because you are still alive."
31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household,
"I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, 'My brothers
and those of my father's house, who were in the land of Canaan,
have come to me.
32 And the men are shepherds, for their occupation has been to
feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds,
and all that they have.'
33 So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, 'What is your
occupation?'
34 that you shall say, 'Your servants' occupation has been with
livestock from our youth even till now, both we and also our fathers,'
that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is
an abomination to the Egyptians."
GENESIS 47: 1-31
1 Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, "My father
and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they
possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are
in the land of Goshen."
2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them
to Pharaoh.
3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?"
And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both
we and also our fathers."
4 And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to dwell in the
land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks,
for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore,
please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."
5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, "Your father and
your brothers have come to you.
6 The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers
dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen.
And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief
herdsmen over my livestock."
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh;
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, "How old are you?"
9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my
pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have
been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained
to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days
of their pilgrimage."
10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them
a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in
the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his
father's household with bread, according to the number in their
families.
13 Joseph Deals with the Famine Now there was no bread in all
the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of
Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the
land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they
bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land
of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, "Give
us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money
has failed."
16 Then Joseph said, "Give your livestock, and I will give
you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone."
17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave
them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle
of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread
in exchange for all their livestock that year.
18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and
said to him, "We will not hide from my lord that our money
is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing
left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.
19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy
us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants
of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the
land may not be desolate."
20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every
man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe
upon them. So the land became Pharaoh's."
21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from
one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.
22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests
had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations
which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.
23 Then Joseph said to the people, "Indeed I have bought
you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for
you, and you shall sow the land.
24 And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give
one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for
the field and for your food, for those of your households and
as food for your little ones."
25 So they said, "You have saved our lives; let us find favor
in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's servants."
26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day,
that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the
priests only, which did not become Pharaoh's.
27 Joseph's Vow to Jacob So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt,
in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew
and multiplied exceedingly.
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the
length of Jacob's life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his
son Joseph and said to him, "Now if I have found favor in
your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly
and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
30 but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt
and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I
will do as you have said."
31 Then he said, "Swear to me." And he swore to him.
So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed. |