Bible: Genesis 25-50
The Death of Abraham
25:1 Abraham had taken 1 another 2 wife, named Keturah. 25:2 She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. 25:3 Jokshan became the father of Sheba and Dedan. 3 The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites. 25:4 The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All these were descendants 4 of Keturah.
25:7 Abraham lived a total of 7 175 years. 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man who had lived a full life. 8 He joined his ancestors. 9 25:9 His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah 10 near Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar, the Hethite. 25:10 This was the field Abraham had purchased from the sons of Heth. 11 There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. 25:11 After Abraham’s death, God blessed 12 his son Isaac. Isaac lived near Beer Lahai Roi. 13
The Sons of Ishmael
25:12 This is the account of Abraham’s son Ishmael, 14 whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to Abraham.
25:13 These are the names of Ishmael’s sons, by their names according to their records: 15 Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, 25:14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 25:15 Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 25:16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their settlements and their camps – twelve princes 16 according to their clans.
25:17 Ishmael lived a total of 17 137 years. He breathed his last and died; then he joined his ancestors. 18 25:18 His descendants 19 settled from Havilah to Shur, which runs next 20 to Egypt all the way 21 to Asshur. 22 They settled 23 away from all their relatives. 24
Jacob and Esau
25:19 This is the account of Isaac, 25 the son of Abraham.
25:21 Isaac prayed to 28 the
“Two nations 32 are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
25:24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth, 33 there were 34 twins in her womb. 25:25 The first came out reddish 35 all over, 36 like a hairy 37 garment, so they named him Esau. 38 25:26 When his brother came out with 39 his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob. 40 Isaac was sixty years old 41 when they were born.
25:27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled 42 hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents. 43 25:28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game, 44 but Rebekah loved 45 Jacob.
25:29 Now Jacob cooked some stew, 46 and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 25:30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed 47 me some of the red stuff – yes, this red stuff – because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called 48 Edom.) 49
25:31 But Jacob replied, “First 50 sell me your birthright.” 25:32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?” 51 25:33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.” 52 So Esau 53 swore an oath to him and sold his birthright 54 to Jacob.
Isaac and Abimelech
26:1 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred 57 in the days of Abraham. 58 Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 26:2 The
26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, “She is my sister.” 71 He was afraid to say, “She is my wife,” for he thought to himself, 72 “The men of this place will kill me to get 73 Rebekah because she is very beautiful.”
26:8 After Isaac 74 had been there a long time, 75 Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed 76 Isaac caressing 77 his wife Rebekah. 26:9 So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, “She is really 78 your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac replied, “Because I thought someone might kill me to get her.” 79
26:10 Then Abimelech exclaimed, “What in the world have you done to us? 80 One of the men 81 might easily have had sexual relations with 82 your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!” 26:11 So Abimelech commanded all the people, “Whoever touches 83 this man or his wife will surely be put to death.” 84
26:12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown, 85 because the
26:16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere, 94 for you have become much more powerful 95 than we are.” 26:17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley. 96 26:18 Isaac reopened 97 the wells that had been dug 98 back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up 99 after Abraham died. Isaac 100 gave these wells 101 the same names his father had given them. 102
26:19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing 103 water there, 26:20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled 104 with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac 105 named the well 106 Esek 107 because they argued with him about it. 108 26:21 His servants 109 dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it 110 Sitnah. 111 26:22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac 112 named it 113 Rehoboth, 114 saying, “For now the
26:23 From there Isaac 115 went up to Beer Sheba. 26:24 The
26:26 Now Abimelech had come 118 to him from Gerar along with 119 Ahuzzah his friend 120 and Phicol the commander of his army. 26:27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me 121 and sent me away from you.” 26:28 They replied, “We could plainly see 122 that the
26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported. 136 26:33 So he named it Shibah; 137 that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba 138 to this day.
26:34 When 139 Esau was forty years old, 140 he married 141 Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, as well as Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. 26:35 They caused Isaac and Rebekah great anxiety. 142
Jacob Cheats Esau out of the Blessing
27:1 When 143 Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he was almost blind, 144 he called his older 145 son Esau and said to him, “My son!” “Here I am!” Esau 146 replied. 27:2 Isaac 147 said, “Since 148 I am so old, I could die at any time. 149 27:3 Therefore, take your weapons – your quiver and your bow – and go out into the open fields and hunt down some wild game 150 for me. 27:4 Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then 151 I will eat it so that I may bless you 152 before I die.”
27:5 Now Rebekah had been listening while Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 153 When Esau went out to the open fields to hunt down some wild game and bring it back, 154 27:6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, 27:7 ‘Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat 155 it and bless you 156 in the presence of the
27:11 “But Esau my brother is a hairy man,” Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, “and I have smooth skin! 164 27:12 My father may touch me! Then he’ll think I’m mocking him 165 and I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.” 27:13 So his mother told him, “Any curse against you will fall on me, 166 my son! Just obey me! 167 Go and get them for me!”
27:14 So he went and got the goats 168 and brought them to his mother. She 169 prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. 27:15 Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. 27:16 She put the skins of the young goats 170 on his hands 171 and the smooth part of his neck. 27:17 Then she handed 172 the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
27:18 He went to his father and said, “My father!” Isaac 173 replied, “Here I am. Which are you, my son?” 174 27:19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done as you told me. Now sit up 175 and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me.” 176 27:20 But Isaac asked his son, “How in the world 177 did you find it so quickly, 178 my son?” “Because the
“Yes, 192 my son smells
like the scent of an open field
27:28 May God give you
the dew of the sky 193
and the richness 194 of the earth,
and plenty of grain and new wine.
27:29 May peoples serve you
and nations bow down to you.
and the sons of your mother will bow down to you. 197
May those who curse you be cursed,
and those who bless you be blessed.”
27:30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left 198 his father’s 199 presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt. 200 27:31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau 201 said to him, “My father, get up 202 and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.” 203 27:32 His father Isaac asked, 204 “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,” 205 he replied, “Esau!” 27:33 Isaac began to shake violently 206 and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him. 207 He will indeed be blessed!”
27:34 When Esau heard 208 his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly. 209 He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 27:35 But Isaac 210 replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away 211 your blessing.” 27:36 Esau exclaimed, “‘Jacob’ is the right name for him! 212 He has tripped me up 213 two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
27:37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 27:38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!” 214 Then Esau wept loudly. 215
27:39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“Indeed, 216 your home will be
away from the richness 217 of the earth,
and away from the dew of the sky above.
27:40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.” 218
27:41 So Esau hated 219 Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. 220 Esau said privately, 221 “The time 222 of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill 223 my brother Jacob!”
27:42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said, 224 she quickly summoned 225 her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you. 226 27:43 Now then, my son, do what I say. 227 Run away immediately 228 to my brother Laban in Haran. 27:44 Live with him for a little while 229 until your brother’s rage subsides. 27:45 Stay there 230 until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there. 231 Why should I lose both of you in one day?” 232
27:46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am deeply depressed 233 because of these daughters of Heth. 234 If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!” 235
28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! 236 28:2 Leave immediately 237 for Paddan Aram! Go to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and find yourself a wife there, among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother. 28:3 May the sovereign God 238 bless you! May he make you fruitful and give you a multitude of descendants! 239 Then you will become 240 a large nation. 241 28:4 May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham 242 so that you may possess the land 243 God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident.” 244 28:5 So Isaac sent Jacob on his way, and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
28:6 Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. 245 As he blessed him, 246 Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” 247 28:7 Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. 28:8 Then Esau realized 248 that the Canaanite women 249 were displeasing to 250 his father Isaac. 28:9 So Esau went to Ishmael and married 251 Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.
Jacob’s Dream at Bethel
28:10 Meanwhile Jacob left Beer Sheba and set out for Haran. 28:11 He reached a certain place 252 where he decided to camp because the sun had gone down. 253 He took one of the stones 254 and placed it near his head. 255 Then he fell asleep 256 in that place 28:12 and had a dream. 257 He saw 258 a stairway 259 erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it 28:13 and the
28:16 Then Jacob woke up 267 and thought, 268 “Surely the
28:18 Early 269 in the morning Jacob 270 took the stone he had placed near his head 271 and set it up as a sacred stone. 272 Then he poured oil on top of it. 28:19 He called that place Bethel, 273 although the former name of the town was Luz. 28:20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God is with me and protects me on this journey I am taking and gives me food 274 to eat and clothing to wear, 28:21 and I return safely to my father’s home, 275 then the
The Marriages of Jacob
29:1 So Jacob moved on 279 and came to the land of the eastern people. 280 29:2 He saw 281 in the field a well with 282 three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now 283 a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 29:3 When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds 284 would roll the stone off the mouth of the well and water the sheep. Then they would put the stone back in its place over the well’s mouth.
29:4 Jacob asked them, “My brothers, where are you from?” They replied, “We’re from Haran.” 29:5 So he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the grandson 285 of Nahor?” “We know him,” 286 they said. 29:6 “Is he well?” 287 Jacob asked. They replied, “He is well. 288 Now look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.” 29:7 Then Jacob 289 said, “Since it is still the middle of the day, 290 it is not time for the flocks to be gathered. You should water the sheep and then go and let them graze some more.” 291 29:8 “We can’t,” they said, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well. Then we water 292 the sheep.”
29:9 While he was still speaking with them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, for she was tending them. 293 29:10 When Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle Laban, 294 and the sheep of his uncle Laban, he 295 went over 296 and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of his uncle Laban. 297 29:11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and began to weep loudly. 298 29:12 When Jacob explained 299 to Rachel that he was a relative of her father 300 and the son of Rebekah, she ran and told her father. 29:13 When Laban heard this news about Jacob, his sister’s son, he rushed out to meet him. He embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob 301 told Laban how he was related to him. 302 29:14 Then Laban said to him, “You are indeed my own flesh and blood.” 303 So Jacob 304 stayed with him for a month. 305
29:15 Then Laban said to Jacob, “Should you work 306 for me for nothing because you are my relative? 307 Tell me what your wages should be.” 29:16 (Now Laban had two daughters; 308 the older one was named Leah, and the younger one Rachel. 29:17 Leah’s eyes were tender, 309 but Rachel had a lovely figure and beautiful appearance.) 310 29:18 Since Jacob had fallen in love with 311 Rachel, he said, “I’ll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel.” 29:19 Laban replied, “I’d rather give her to you than to another man. 312 Stay with me.” 29:20 So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. 313 But they seemed like only a few days to him 314 because his love for her was so great. 315
29:21 Finally Jacob said 316 to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time of service is up. 317 I want to have marital relations with her.” 318 29:22 So Laban invited all the people 319 of that place and prepared a feast. 29:23 In the evening he brought his daughter Leah 320 to Jacob, 321 and Jacob 322 had marital relations with her. 323 29:24 (Laban gave his female servant Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her servant.) 324
29:25 In the morning Jacob discovered it was Leah! 325 So Jacob 326 said to Laban, “What in the world have you done to me! 327 Didn’t I work for you in exchange for Rachel? Why have you tricked 328 me?” 29:26 “It is not our custom here,” 329 Laban replied, “to give the younger daughter in marriage 330 before the firstborn. 29:27 Complete my older daughter’s bridal week. 331 Then we will give you the younger one 332 too, in exchange for seven more years of work.” 333
29:28 Jacob did as Laban said. 334 When Jacob 335 completed Leah’s bridal week, 336 Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. 337 29:29 (Laban gave his female servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her servant.) 338 29:30 Jacob 339 had marital relations 340 with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban 341 for seven more years. 342
The Family of Jacob
29:31 When the
29:34 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “Now this time my husband will show me affection, 350 because I have given birth to three sons for him.” That is why he was named Levi. 351
29:35 She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, “This time I will praise the
30:1 When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she 353 became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children 354 or I’ll die!” 30:2 Jacob became furious 355 with Rachel and exclaimed, “Am I in the place of God, who has kept you from having children?” 356 30:3 She replied, “Here is my servant Bilhah! Have sexual relations with 357 her so that she can bear 358 children 359 for me 360 and I can have a family through her.” 361
30:4 So Rachel 362 gave him her servant Bilhah as a wife, and Jacob had marital relations with 363 her. 30:5 Bilhah became pregnant 364 and gave Jacob a son. 365 30:6 Then Rachel said, “God has vindicated me. He has responded to my prayer 366 and given me a son.” That is why 367 she named him Dan. 368
30:7 Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, became pregnant again and gave Jacob another son. 369 30:8 Then Rachel said, “I have fought a desperate struggle with my sister, but I have won.” 370 So she named him Naphtali. 371
30:9 When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she gave 372 her servant Zilpah to Jacob as a wife. 30:10 Soon Leah’s servant Zilpah gave Jacob a son. 373 30:11 Leah said, “How fortunate!” 374 So she named him Gad. 375
30:14 At the time 380 of the wheat harvest Reuben went out and found some mandrake plants 381 in a field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” 30:15 But Leah replied, 382 “Wasn’t it enough that you’ve taken away my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes too?” “All right,” 383 Rachel said, “he may sleep 384 with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” 30:16 When Jacob came in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep 385 with me because I have paid for your services 386 with my son’s mandrakes.” So he had marital relations 387 with her that night. 30:17 God paid attention 388 to Leah; she became pregnant 389 and gave Jacob a son for the fifth time. 390 30:18 Then Leah said, “God has granted me a reward 391 because I gave my servant to my husband as a wife.” 392 So she named him Issachar. 393
30:19 Leah became pregnant again and gave Jacob a son for the sixth time. 394 30:20 Then Leah said, “God has given me a good gift. Now my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun. 395
30:21 After that she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.
30:22 Then God took note of 396 Rachel. He paid attention to her and enabled her to become pregnant. 397 30:23 She became pregnant 398 and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “God has taken away my shame.” 399 30:24 She named him Joseph, 400 saying, “May the
The Flocks of Jacob
30:25 After Rachel had given birth 401 to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send 402 me on my way so that I can go 403 home to my own country. 404 30:26 Let me take my wives and my children whom I have acquired by working for you. 405 Then I’ll depart, 406 because you know how hard I’ve worked for you.” 407
30:27 But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, please stay here, 408 for I have learned by divination 409 that the
30:29 “You know how I have worked for you,” Jacob replied, 411 “and how well your livestock have fared under my care. 412 30:30 Indeed, 413 you had little before I arrived, 414 but now your possessions have increased many times over. 415 The
30:31 So Laban asked, 418 “What should I give you?” “You don’t need to give me a thing,” 419 Jacob replied, 420 “but if you agree to this one condition, 421 I will continue to care for 422 your flocks and protect them: 30:32 Let me walk among 423 all your flocks today and remove from them every speckled or spotted sheep, every dark-colored lamb, 424 and the spotted or speckled goats. 425 These animals will be my wages. 426 30:33 My integrity will testify for me 427 later on. 428 When you come to verify that I’ve taken only the wages we agreed on, 429 if I have in my possession any goat that is not speckled or spotted or any sheep that is not dark-colored, it will be considered stolen.” 430 30:34 “Agreed!” said Laban, “It will be as you say.” 431
30:35 So that day Laban 432 removed the male goats that were streaked or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted (all that had any white on them), and all the dark-colored lambs, and put them in the care 433 of his sons. 30:36 Then he separated them from Jacob by a three-day journey, 434 while 435 Jacob was taking care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
30:37 But Jacob took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond, and plane trees. He made white streaks by peeling them, making the white inner wood in the branches visible. 30:38 Then he set up the peeled branches in all the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink. He set up the branches in front of the flocks when they were in heat and came to drink. 436 30:39 When the sheep mated 437 in front of the branches, they 438 gave birth to young that were streaked or speckled or spotted. 30:40 Jacob removed these lambs, but he made the rest of the flock face 439 the streaked and completely dark-colored animals in Laban’s flock. So he made separate flocks for himself and did not mix them with Laban’s flocks. 30:41 When the stronger females were in heat, 440 Jacob would set up the branches in the troughs in front of the flock, so they would mate near the branches. 30:42 But if the animals were weaker, he did not set the branches there. 441 So the weaker animals ended up belonging to Laban 442 and the stronger animals to Jacob. 30:43 In this way Jacob 443 became extremely prosperous. He owned 444 large flocks, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.
Jacob’s Flight from Laban
31:1 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were complaining, 445 “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich 446 at our father’s expense!” 447 31:2 When Jacob saw the look on Laban’s face, he could tell his attitude toward him had changed. 448
31:10 “Once 459 during breeding season I saw 460 in a dream that the male goats mating with 461 the flock were streaked, speckled, and spotted. 31:11 In the dream the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ ‘Here I am!’ I replied. 31:12 Then he said, ‘Observe 462 that all the male goats mating with 463 the flock are streaked, speckled, or spotted, for I have observed all that Laban has done to you. 31:13 I am the God of Bethel, 464 where you anointed 465 the sacred stone and made a vow to me. 466 Now leave this land immediately 467 and return to your native land.’”
31:14 Then Rachel and Leah replied to him, “Do we still have any portion or inheritance 468 in our father’s house? 31:15 Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted 469 the money paid for us! 470 31:16 Surely all the wealth that God snatched away from our father belongs to us and to our children. So now do everything God has told you.”
31:17 So Jacob immediately put his children and his wives on the camels. 471 31:18 He took 472 away all the livestock he had acquired in Paddan Aram and all his moveable property that he had accumulated. Then he set out toward the land of Canaan to return to his father Isaac. 473
31:19 While Laban had gone to shear his sheep, 474 Rachel stole the household idols 475 that belonged to her father. 31:20 Jacob also deceived 476 Laban the Aramean by not telling him that he was leaving. 477 31:21 He left 478 with all he owned. He quickly crossed 479 the Euphrates River 480 and headed for 481 the hill country of Gilead.
31:22 Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left. 482 31:23 So he took his relatives 483 with him and pursued Jacob 484 for seven days. 485 He caught up with 486 him in the hill country of Gilead. 31:24 But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and warned him, 487 “Be careful 488 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.” 489
31:25 Laban overtook Jacob, and when Jacob pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead, Laban and his relatives set up camp there too. 490 31:26 “What have you done?” Laban demanded of Jacob. “You’ve deceived me 491 and carried away my daughters as if they were captives of war! 492 31:27 Why did you run away secretly 493 and deceive me? 494 Why didn’t you tell me so I could send you off with a celebration complete with singing, tambourines, and harps? 495 31:28 You didn’t even allow me to kiss my daughters and my grandchildren 496 good-bye. You have acted foolishly! 31:29 I have 497 the power to do you harm, but the God of your father told me last night, ‘Be careful 498 that you neither bless nor curse Jacob.’ 499 31:30 Now I understand that 500 you have gone away 501 because you longed desperately 502 for your father’s house. Yet why did you steal my gods?” 503
31:31 “I left secretly because I was afraid!” 504 Jacob replied to Laban. “I thought 505 you might take your daughters away from me by force. 506 31:32 Whoever has taken your gods will be put to death! 507 In the presence of our relatives 508 identify whatever is yours and take it.” 509 (Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.) 510
31:33 So Laban entered Jacob’s tent, and Leah’s tent, and the tent of the two female servants, but he did not find the idols. 511 Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 512 31:34 (Now Rachel had taken the idols and put them inside her camel’s saddle 513 and sat on them.) 514 Laban searched the whole tent, but did not find them. 515 31:35 Rachel 516 said to her father, “Don’t be angry, 517 my lord. I cannot stand up 518 in your presence because I am having my period.” 519 So he searched thoroughly, 520 but did not find the idols.
31:36 Jacob became angry 521 and argued with Laban. “What did I do wrong?” he demanded of Laban. 522 “What sin of mine prompted you to chase after me in hot pursuit? 523 31:37 When you searched through all my goods, did you find anything that belonged to you? 524 Set it here before my relatives and yours, 525 and let them settle the dispute between the two of us! 526
31:38 “I have been with you for the past twenty years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks. 31:39 Animals torn by wild beasts I never brought to you; I always absorbed the loss myself. 527 You always made me pay for every missing animal, 528 whether it was taken by day or at night. 31:40 I was consumed by scorching heat 529 during the day and by piercing cold 530 at night, and I went without sleep. 531 31:41 This was my lot 532 for twenty years in your house: I worked like a slave 533 for you – fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, but you changed my wages ten times! 31:42 If the God of my father – the God of Abraham, the one whom Isaac fears 534 – had not been with me, you would certainly have sent me away empty-handed! But God saw how I was oppressed and how hard I worked, 535 and he rebuked you last night.”
31:43 Laban replied 536 to Jacob, “These women 537 are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, 538 and these flocks are my flocks. All that you see belongs to me. But how can I harm these daughters of mine today 539 or the children to whom they have given birth? 31:44 So now, come, let’s make a formal agreement, 540 you and I, and it will be 541 proof that we have made peace.” 542
31:45 So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a memorial pillar. 31:46 Then he 543 said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they brought stones and put them in a pile. 544 They ate there by the pile of stones. 31:47 Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha, 545 but Jacob called it Galeed. 546
31:48 Laban said, “This pile of stones is a witness of our agreement 547 today.” That is why it was called Galeed. 31:49 It was also called Mizpah 548 because he said, “May the
31:51 “Here is this pile of stones and this pillar I have set up between me and you,” Laban said to Jacob. 554 31:52 “This pile of stones and the pillar are reminders that I will not pass beyond this pile to come to harm you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and this pillar to come to harm me. 555 31:53 May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor, 556 the gods of their father, judge between us.” Jacob took an oath by the God whom his father Isaac feared. 557 31:54 Then Jacob offered a sacrifice 558 on the mountain and invited his relatives to eat the meal. 559 They ate the meal and spent the night on the mountain.
Jacob Wrestles at Peniel
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 567 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 568 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 569 Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 570 this message 571 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” 572 he thought, 573 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 574
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 575 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O
32:13 Jacob 591 stayed there that night. Then he sent 592 as a gift 593 to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to 594 his servants, who divided them into herds. 595 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 596 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 597 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 598 32:18 then you must say, 599 ‘They belong 600 to your servant Jacob. 601 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 602 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 603
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 604 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 605 Jacob thought, 606 “I will first appease him 607 by sending a gift ahead of me. 608 After that I will meet him. 609 Perhaps he will accept me.” 610 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 611 while he spent that night in the camp. 612
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 613 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 614 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 615 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 616 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 617 wrestled 618 with him until daybreak. 619 32:25 When the man 620 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 621 he struck 622 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 623 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 624 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 625 “unless you bless me.” 626 32:27 The man asked him, 627 “What is your name?” 628 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 629 “but Israel, 630 because you have fought 631 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 632 “Why 633 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 634 Then he blessed 635 Jacob 636 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 637 explaining, 638 “Certainly 639 I have seen God face to face 640 and have survived.” 641
32:31 The sun rose 642 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 643 but 644 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 645 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 646 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
Jacob Meets Esau
33:1 Jacob looked up 647 and saw that Esau was coming 648 along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 649 33:3 But Jacob 650 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 651 his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau 652 looked up 653 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 654 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 655 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 656 33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
33:8 Esau 657 then asked, “What did you intend 658 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 659 Jacob 660 replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. 661 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 662 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 663 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 664 33:11 Please take my present 665 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 666 to me and I have all I need.” 667 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 668
33:12 Then Esau 669 said, “Let’s be on our way! 670 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 671 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 672 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 673 If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, 674 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 678 to Seir. 33:17 But 679 Jacob traveled to Succoth 680 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 681 Succoth. 682
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 683 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 684 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 685 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 686
Dinah and the Shechemites
34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet 687 the young women 688 of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, 689 and sexually assaulted her. 690 34:3 Then he became very attached 691 to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. 692 34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 693 34:5 When 694 Jacob heard that Shechem 695 had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent 696 until they came in.
34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. 697 34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. 698 They 699 were offended 700 and very angry because Shechem 701 had disgraced Israel 702 by sexually assaulting 703 Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. 704
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 705 Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. 706 Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. 707 34:10 You may live 708 among us, and the land will be open to you. 709 Live in it, travel freely in it, 710 and acquire property in it.”
34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s 711 father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me 712 I’ll give. 713 34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, 714 and I’ll give 715 whatever you ask 716 of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem 717 had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give 718 our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace 719 to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become 720 like us by circumcising 721 all your males. 34:16 Then we will give 722 you our daughters to marry, 723 and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms 724 by being circumcised, then we will take 725 our sister 726 and depart.”
34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 727 34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked 728 because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah 729 badly. (Now he was more important 730 than anyone in his father’s household.) 731 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate 732 of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough 733 for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 734 34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand 735 that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, 736 won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”
34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 737 agreed with 738 Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 739 was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword 740 and went to the unsuspecting city 741 and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them 742 and looted the city because their sister had been violated. 743 34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. 744 34:29 They captured as plunder 745 all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.
34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin 746 on me by making me a foul odor 747 among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I 748 am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, 749 “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”
The Return to Bethel
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 750 to Bethel 751 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 752 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. 753 Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 754 35:3 Let us go up at once 755 to Bethel. Then I will make 756 an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress 757 and has been with me wherever I went.” 758
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 759 and the rings that were in their ears. 760 Jacob buried them 761 under the oak 762 near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. 763 The surrounding cities were afraid of God, 764 and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) 765 in the land of Canaan. 766 35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel 767 because there God had revealed himself 768 to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, 769 Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named 770 Oak of Weeping.) 771
35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. 772 35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. 773 Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! 774 35:12 The land I gave 775 to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants 776 I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place 777 where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. 778 He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. 779 35:15 Jacob named the place 780 where God spoke with him Bethel. 781
35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, 782 Rachel went into labor 783 – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 784 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 785 35:18 With her dying breath, 786 she named him Ben-Oni. 787 But his father called him Benjamin instead. 788 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 789 35:20 Jacob set up a marker 790 over her grave; it is 791 the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.
35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 792 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with 793 Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, 794 to Kiriath Arba 795 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 796 35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 797 35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. 798 He died an old man who had lived a full life. 799 His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
The Descendants of Esau
36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). 800
36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: 801 Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 802 of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from 803 Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled 804 was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 805
36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father 806 of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons 807 of Esau’s wife Adah.
36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons 808 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 809 of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.
36:15 These were the chiefs 810 among the descendants 811 of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, 812 chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons 813 of Adah.
36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons 814 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.
36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, 815 who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants 816 of Seir in the land of Edom.
36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; 817 Lotan’s sister was Timna.
36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, 818 and Onam.
36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs 819 in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).
36:25 These were the children 820 of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: 821 Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.
36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 822
36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.
36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River 823 reigned in his place.
36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements 826 in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 829 was taking care of 830 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 831 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 832 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 833 to their father.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons 834 because he was a son born to him late in life, 835 and he made a special 836 tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s 837 brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, 838 they hated Joseph 839 and were not able to speak to him kindly. 840
37:5 Joseph 841 had a dream, 842 and when he told his brothers about it, 843 they hated him even more. 844 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 845 37:7 There we were, 846 binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down 847 to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” 848 They hated him even more 849 because of his dream and because of what he said. 850
37:9 Then he had another dream, 851 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 852 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 853 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 854 37:11 His brothers were jealous 855 of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. 856
37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers 857 are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” 858 Joseph replied. 859 37:14 So Jacob 860 said to him, “Go now and check on 861 the welfare 862 of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob 863 sent him from the valley of Hebron.
37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, 864 a man found him wandering 865 in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell 866 me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, 867 for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers 868 saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! 869 37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild 870 animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” 871
37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph 872 from their hands, 873 saying, 874 “Let’s not take his life!” 875 37:22 Reuben continued, 876 “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” 877 (Reuben said this 878 so he could rescue Joseph 879 from them 880 and take him back to his father.)
37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him 881 of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; 882 there was no water in it.)
37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up 883 and saw 884 a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. 885 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, 886 for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. 887 37:28 So when the Midianite 888 merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled 889 him 890 out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites 891 then took Joseph to Egypt.
37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! 892 He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, 893 and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father 894 and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! 895 Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, 896 and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by 897 him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” 898 So Joseph’s 899 father wept for him.
Judah and Tamar
38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man 907 named Shua. 908 Judah acquired her as a wife 909 and had marital relations with her. 910 38:3 She became pregnant 911 and had a son. Judah named 912 him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had 913 yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 914
38:6 Judah acquired 915 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 916 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 917 up a descendant for your brother.” 918 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 919 would not be considered his. 920 So whenever 921 he had sexual relations with 922 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 923 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the
38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, 925 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 926 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
38:12 After some time 927 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 928 his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, 929 “Look, your father-in-law is going up 930 to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because 931 she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) 932
38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute 933 because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 934 (He did not realize 935 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 936 38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 937 38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. 938 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 939 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 940 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 941 but Hirah 942 could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 943 “Where is the cult prostitute 944 who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things 945 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 946 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 947 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 948 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 949 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 950 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 951 Then she said, “Identify 952 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright 953 than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her 954 again.
38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child 955 put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. 956 She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” 957 So he was named Perez. 958 38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. 959
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 960 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 961 purchased him from 962 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 979 39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of 980 Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 981 39:8 But he refused, saying 982 to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought 983 to his household with me here, 984 and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 985 39:9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do 986 such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak 987 to Joseph day after day, he did not respond 988 to her invitation to have sex with her. 989
39:11 One day 990 he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants 991 were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran 992 outside. 993 39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought 994 in a Hebrew man 995 to us to humiliate us. 996 He tried to have sex with me, 997 but I screamed loudly. 998 39:15 When he heard me raise 999 my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: 1000 “That Hebrew slave 1001 you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 1002 39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
39:19 When his master heard his wife say, 1003 “This is the way 1004 your slave treated me,” 1005 he became furious. 1006 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, 1007 the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 1008
39:21 But the
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer 1014 to the king of Egypt and the royal baker 1015 offended 1016 their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, 1017 the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. 1018
They spent some time in custody. 1019 40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream 1020 the same night. 1021 Each man’s dream had its own meaning. 1022 40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. 1023 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” 1024 40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, 1025 but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them 1026 to me.”
40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: 1027 “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his 1028 cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 1029
40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent 1030 three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you 1031 and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before 1032 when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me 1033 when it goes well for you, and show 1034 me kindness. 1035 Make mention 1036 of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, 1037 40:15 for I really was kidnapped 1038 from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”
40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, 1039 he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread 1040 on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”
40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent 1041 three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you 1042 and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 1043 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position 1044 so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. 1045 40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. 1046
Joseph’s Rise to Power
41:1 At the end of two full years 1047 Pharaoh had a dream. 1048 As he was standing by the Nile, 41:2 seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, 1049 and they grazed in the reeds. 41:3 Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, 1050 and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river. 1051 41:4 The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
41:5 Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing 1052 on one stalk, healthy 1053 and good. 41:6 Then 1054 seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:7 The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. 1055
41:8 In the morning he 1056 was troubled, so he called for 1057 all the diviner-priests 1058 of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, 1059 but no one could interpret 1060 them for him. 1061 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today I recall my failures. 1062 41:10 Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards – me and the chief baker. 41:11 We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. 1063 41:12 Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant 1064 of the captain of the guards, 1065 was with us there. We told him our dreams, 1066 and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us. 1067 41:13 It happened just as he had said 1068 to us – Pharaoh 1069 restored me to my office, but he impaled the baker.” 1070
41:14 Then Pharaoh summoned 1071 Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh. 41:15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, 1072 and there is no one who can interpret 1073 it. But I have heard about you, that 1074 you can interpret dreams.” 1075 41:16 Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “It is not within my power, 1076 but God will speak concerning 1077 the welfare of Pharaoh.” 1078
41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing 1079 by the edge of the Nile. 41:18 Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds. 1080 41:19 Then 1081 seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows 1082 as these in all the land of Egypt! 41:20 The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven 1083 fat cows. 41:21 When they had eaten them, 1084 no one would have known 1085 that they had done so, for they were just as bad-looking as before. Then I woke up. 41:22 I also saw in my dream 1086 seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good. 41:23 Then 1087 seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them. 41:24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this 1088 to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning.” 1089
41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Both dreams of Pharaoh have the same meaning. 1090 God has revealed 1091 to Pharaoh what he is about to do. 1092 41:26 The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning. 1093 41:27 The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent 1094 seven years of famine. 41:28 This is just what I told 1095 Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. 41:29 Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. 41:30 But seven years of famine will occur 1096 after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate 1097 the land. 41:31 The previous abundance of the land will not be remembered 1098 because of the famine that follows, for the famine will be very severe. 1099 41:32 The dream was repeated to Pharaoh 1100 because the matter has been decreed 1101 by God, and God will make it happen soon. 1102
41:33 “So now Pharaoh should look 1103 for a wise and discerning man 1104 and give him authority 1105 over all the land of Egypt. 41:34 Pharaoh should do 1106 this – he should appoint 1107 officials 1108 throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt 1109 during the seven years of abundance. 41:35 They should gather all the excess food 1110 during these good years that are coming. By Pharaoh’s authority 1111 they should store up grain so the cities will have food, 1112 and they should preserve it. 1113 41:36 This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine.” 1114
41:37 This advice made sense to Pharaoh and all his officials. 1115 41:38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find a man like Joseph, 1116 one in whom the Spirit of God is present?” 1117 41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because God has enabled you to know all this, there is no one as wise and discerning 1118 as you are! 41:40 You will oversee my household, and all my people will submit to your commands. 1119 Only I, the king, will be greater than you. 1120
41:41 “See here,” Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I place 1121 you in authority over all the land of Egypt.” 1122 41:42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his own hand and put it on Joseph’s. He clothed him with fine linen 1123 clothes and put a gold chain around his neck. 41:43 Pharaoh 1124 had him ride in the chariot used by his second-in-command, 1125 and they cried out before him, “Kneel down!” 1126 So he placed him over all the land of Egypt. 41:44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission 1127 no one 1128 will move his hand or his foot 1129 in all the land of Egypt.” 41:45 Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah. 1130 He also gave him Asenath 1131 daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 1132 to be his wife. So Joseph took charge of 1133 all the land of Egypt.
41:46 Now Joseph was 30 years old 1134 when he began serving 1135 Pharaoh king of Egypt. Joseph was commissioned by 1136 Pharaoh and was in charge of 1137 all the land of Egypt. 41:47 During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests. 1138 41:48 Joseph 1139 collected all the excess food 1140 in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. 1141 In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it. 41:49 Joseph stored up a vast amount of grain, like the sand of the sea, 1142 until he stopped measuring it because it was impossible to measure.
41:50 Two sons were born to Joseph before the famine came. 1143 Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, was their mother. 1144 41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, 1145 saying, 1146 “Certainly 1147 God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s house.” 41:52 He named the second child Ephraim, 1148 saying, 1149 “Certainly 1150 God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering.”
41:53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end. 41:54 Then the seven years of famine began, 1151 just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food. 41:55 When all the land of Egypt experienced the famine, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, 1152 “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.”
41:56 While the famine was over all the earth, 1153 Joseph opened the storehouses 1154 and sold grain to the Egyptians. The famine was severe throughout the land of Egypt. 41:57 People from every country 1155 came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain because the famine was severe throughout the earth.
Joseph’s Brothers in Egypt
42:1 When Jacob heard 1156 there was grain in Egypt, he 1157 said to his sons, “Why are you looking at each other?” 1158 42:2 He then said, “Look, I hear that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us 1159 so that we may live 1160 and not die.” 1161
42:3 So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt. 42:4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, 1162 for he said, 1163 “What if some accident 1164 happens 1165 to him?” 42:5 So Israel’s sons came to buy grain among the other travelers, 1166 for the famine was severe in the land of Canaan.
42:6 Now Joseph was the ruler of the country, the one who sold grain to all the people of the country. 1167 Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down 1168 before him with 1169 their faces to the ground. 42:7 When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger 1170 to them and spoke to them harshly. He asked, “Where do you come from?” They answered, 1171 “From the land of Canaan, to buy grain for food.” 1172
42:8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. 42:9 Then Joseph remembered 1173 the dreams he had dreamed about them, and he said to them, “You are spies; you have come to see if our land is vulnerable!” 1174
42:10 But they exclaimed, 1175 “No, my lord! Your servants have come to buy grain for food! 42:11 We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men! Your servants are not spies.”
42:12 “No,” he insisted, “but you have come to see if our land is vulnerable.” 1176 42:13 They replied, “Your servants are from a family of twelve brothers. 1177 We are the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father at this time, 1178 and one is no longer alive.” 1179
42:14 But Joseph told them, “It is just as I said to you: 1180 You are spies! 42:15 You will be tested in this way: As surely as Pharaoh lives, 1181 you will not depart from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. 42:16 One of you must go and get 1182 your brother, while 1183 the rest of you remain in prison. 1184 In this way your words may be tested to see if 1185 you are telling the truth. 1186 If not, then, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” 42:17 He imprisoned 1187 them all for three days. 42:18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do as I say 1188 and you will live, 1189 for I fear God. 1190 42:19 If you are honest men, leave one of your brothers confined here in prison 1191 while the rest of you go 1192 and take grain back for your hungry families. 1193 42:20 But you must bring 1194 your youngest brother to me. Then 1195 your words will be verified 1196 and you will not die.” They did as he said. 1197
42:21 They said to one other, 1198 “Surely we’re being punished 1199 because of our brother, because we saw how distressed he was 1200 when he cried to us for mercy, but we refused to listen. That is why this distress 1201 has come on us!” 42:22 Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I say to you, ‘Don’t sin against the boy,’ but you wouldn’t listen? So now we must pay for shedding his blood!” 1202 42:23 (Now 1203 they did not know that Joseph could understand them, 1204 for he was speaking through an interpreter.) 1205 42:24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned around and spoke to them again, 1206 he had Simeon taken 1207 from them and tied up 1208 before their eyes.
42:25 Then Joseph gave orders to fill 1209 their bags with grain, to return each man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. His orders were carried out. 1210 42:26 So they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left. 1211
42:27 When one of them 1212 opened his sack to get feed for his donkey at their resting place, 1213 he saw his money in the mouth of his sack. 1214 42:28 He said to his brothers, “My money was returned! Here it is in my sack!” They were dismayed; 1215 they turned trembling one to another 1216 and said, “What in the world has God done to us?” 1217
42:29 They returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan and told him all the things that had happened to them, saying, 42:30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us and treated us 1218 as if we were 1219 spying on the land. 42:31 But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies! 42:32 We are from a family of twelve brothers; we are the sons of one father. 1220 One is no longer alive, 1221 and the youngest is with our father at this time 1222 in the land of Canaan.’
42:33 “Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘This is how I will find out if you are honest men. Leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain 1223 for your hungry households and go. 42:34 But bring your youngest brother back to me so I will know 1224 that you are honest men and not spies. 1225 Then I will give your brother back to you and you may move about freely in the land.’” 1226
42:35 When they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bag of money in his sack! When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were afraid. 42:36 Their father Jacob said to them, “You are making me childless! Joseph is gone. 1227 Simeon is gone. 1228 And now you want to take 1229 Benjamin! Everything is against me.”
42:37 Then Reuben said to his father, “You may 1230 put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care 1231 and I will bring him back to you.” 42:38 But Jacob 1232 replied, “My son will not go down there with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. 1233 If an accident happens to him on the journey you have to make, then you will bring down my gray hair 1234 in sorrow to the grave.” 1235
The Second Journey to Egypt
43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. 1236 43:2 When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return, buy us a little more food.”
43:3 But Judah said to him, “The man solemnly warned 1237 us, ‘You will not see my face 1238 unless your brother is with you.’ 43:4 If you send 1239 our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy food for you. 43:5 But if you will not send him, we won’t go down there because the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’”
43:7 They replied, “The man questioned us 1242 thoroughly 1243 about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ 1244 So we answered him in this way. 1245 How could we possibly know 1246 that he would say, 1247 ‘Bring your brother down’?”
43:8 Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me and we will go immediately. 1248 Then we will live 1249 and not die – we and you and our little ones. 43:9 I myself pledge security 1250 for him; you may hold me liable. If I do not bring him back to you and place him here before you, I will bear the blame before you all my life. 1251 43:10 But if we had not delayed, we could have traveled there and back 1252 twice by now!”
43:11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man – a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. 43:12 Take double the money with you; 1253 you must take back 1254 the money that was returned in the mouths of your sacks – perhaps it was an oversight. 43:13 Take your brother too, and go right away 1255 to the man. 1256 43:14 May the sovereign God 1257 grant you mercy before the man so that he may release 1258 your other brother 1259 and Benjamin! As for me, if I lose my children I lose them.” 1260
43:15 So the men took these gifts, and they took double the money with them, along with Benjamin. Then they hurried down to Egypt 1261 and stood before Joseph. 43:16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 43:17 The man did just as Joseph said; he 1262 brought the men into Joseph’s house. 1263
43:18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of 1264 the money that was returned in our sacks last time. 1265 He wants to capture us, 1266 make us slaves, and take 1267 our donkeys!” 43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 43:20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down 1268 the first time 1269 to buy food. 43:21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money – the full amount 1270 – in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it. 1271 43:22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”
43:23 “Everything is fine,” 1272 the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks. 1273 I had your money.” 1274 Then he brought Simeon out to them.
43:24 The servant in charge 1275 brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 43:25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival 1276 at noon, for they had heard 1277 that they were to have a meal 1278 there.
43:26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside, 1279 and they bowed down to the ground before him. 43:27 He asked them how they were doing. 1280 Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 43:28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility. 1281
43:29 When Joseph looked up 1282 and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.” 1283 43:30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother 1284 and was at the point of tears. 1285 So he went to his room and wept there.
43:31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said, 1286 “Set out the food.” 43:32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers, 1287 and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting 1288 to do so.) 1289 43:33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest. 1290 The men looked at each other in astonishment. 1291 43:34 He gave them portions of the food set before him, 1292 but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk. 1293
The Final Test
44:1 He instructed the servant who was over his household, “Fill the sacks of the men with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. 44:2 Then put 1294 my cup – the silver cup – in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” He did as Joseph instructed. 1295
44:3 When morning came, 1296 the men and their donkeys were sent off. 1297 44:4 They had not gone very far from the city 1298 when Joseph said 1299 to the servant who was over his household, “Pursue the men at once! 1300 When you overtake 1301 them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid good with evil? 44:5 Doesn’t my master drink from this cup 1302 and use it for divination? 1303 You have done wrong!’” 1304
44:6 When the man 1305 overtook them, he spoke these words to them. 44:7 They answered him, “Why does my lord say such things? 1306 Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! 1307 44:8 Look, the money that we found in the mouths of our sacks we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Why then would we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? 44:9 If one of us has it, 1308 he will die, and the rest of us will become my lord’s slaves!”
44:10 He replied, “You have suggested your own punishment! 1309 The one who has it will become my slave, 1310 but the rest of 1311 you will go free.” 1312 44:11 So each man quickly lowered 1313 his sack to the ground and opened it. 44:12 Then the man 1314 searched. He began with the oldest and finished with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack! 44:13 They all tore their clothes! Then each man loaded his donkey, and they returned to the city.
44:14 So Judah and his brothers 1315 came back to Joseph’s house. He was still there, 1316 and they threw themselves to the ground before him. 44:15 Joseph said to them, “What did you think you were doing? 1317 Don’t you know that a man like me can find out things like this by divination?” 1318
44:16 Judah replied, “What can we say 1319 to my lord? What can we speak? How can we clear ourselves? 1320 God has exposed the sin of your servants! 1321 We are now my lord’s slaves, we and the one in whose possession the cup was found.”
44:18 Then Judah approached him and said, “My lord, please allow your servant to speak a word with you. 1324 Please do not get angry with your servant, 1325 for you are just like Pharaoh. 1326 44:19 My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ 44:20 We said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father, and there is a young boy who was born when our father was old. 1327 The boy’s 1328 brother is dead. He is the only one of his mother’s sons left, 1329 and his father loves him.’
44:21 “Then you told your servants, ‘Bring him down to me so I can see 1330 him.’ 1331 44:22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father. If he leaves his father, his father 1332 will die.’ 1333 44:23 But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not see my face again.’ 44:24 When we returned to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
44:25 “Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ 44:26 But we replied, ‘We cannot go down there. 1334 If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go, 1335 for we won’t be permitted to see the man’s face if our youngest brother is not with us.’
44:27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife gave me two sons. 1336 44:28 The first disappeared 1337 and I said, “He has surely been torn to pieces.” I have not seen him since. 44:29 If you take 1338 this one from me too and an accident happens to him, then you will bring down my gray hair 1339 in tragedy 1340 to the grave.’ 1341
44:30 “So now, when I return to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us – his very life is bound up in his son’s life. 1342 44:31 When he sees the boy is not with us, 1343 he will die, and your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father in sorrow to the grave. 44:32 Indeed, 1344 your servant pledged security for the boy with my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I will bear the blame before my father all my life.’
44:33 “So now, please let your servant remain as my lord’s slave instead of the boy. As for the boy, let him go back with his brothers. 44:34 For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see 1345 my father’s pain.” 1346
The Reconciliation of the Brothers
45:1 Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all his attendants, 1347 so he cried out, “Make everyone go out from my presence!” No one remained 1348 with Joseph when he made himself known to his brothers. 45:2 He wept loudly; 1349 the Egyptians heard it and Pharaoh’s household heard about it. 1350
45:3 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were dumbfounded before him. 45:4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 45:5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, 1351 for God sent me 1352 ahead of you to preserve life! 45:6 For these past two years there has been famine in 1353 the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 45:7 God sent me 1354 ahead of you to preserve you 1355 on the earth and to save your lives 1356 by a great deliverance. 45:8 So now, it is not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me an adviser 1357 to Pharaoh, lord over all his household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 45:9 Now go up to my father quickly 1358 and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me; do not delay! 45:10 You will live 1359 in the land of Goshen, and you will be near me – you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. 45:11 I will provide you with food 1360 there because there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise you would become poor – you, your household, and everyone who belongs to you.”’ 45:12 You and my brother Benjamin can certainly see with your own eyes that I really am the one who speaks to you. 1361 45:13 So tell 1362 my father about all my honor in Egypt and about everything you have seen. But bring my father down here quickly!” 1363
45:14 Then he threw himself on the neck of his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 45:15 He kissed all his brothers and wept over them. After this his brothers talked with him.
45:16 Now it was reported 1364 in the household of Pharaoh, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived.” It pleased 1365 Pharaoh and his servants. 45:17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go 1366 to the land of Canaan! 45:18 Get your father and your households and come to me! Then I will give you 1367 the best land in Egypt and you will eat 1368 the best 1369 of the land.’ 45:19 You are also commanded to say, 1370 ‘Do this: Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come. 45:20 Don’t worry 1371 about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt will be yours.’”
45:21 So the sons of Israel did as he said. 1372 Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had instructed, 1373 and he gave them provisions for the journey. 45:22 He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, 1374 but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes. 1375 45:23 To his father he sent the following: 1376 ten donkeys loaded with the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, food, and provisions for his father’s journey. 45:24 Then he sent his brothers on their way and they left. He said to them, “As you travel don’t be overcome with fear.” 1377
45:25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 1378 45:26 They told him, “Joseph is still alive and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned, 1379 for he did not believe them. 45:27 But when they related to him everything Joseph had said to them, 1380 and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, their father Jacob’s spirit revived. 45:28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive! I will go and see him before I die.”
The Family of Jacob goes to Egypt
46:1 So Israel began his journey, taking with him all that he had. 1381 When he came to Beer Sheba 1382 he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 46:2 God spoke to Israel in a vision during the night 1383 and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” He replied, “Here I am!” 46:3 He said, “I am God, 1384 the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. 46:4 I will go down with you to Egypt and I myself will certainly bring you back from there. 1385 Joseph will close your eyes.” 1386
46:5 Then Jacob started out 1387 from Beer Sheba, and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little children, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent along to transport him. 46:6 Jacob and all his descendants took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they went to Egypt. 1388 46:7 He brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, 1389 his daughters and granddaughters – all his descendants.
46:8 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt – Jacob and his sons:
Reuben, the firstborn of Jacob.
46:9 The sons of Reuben:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
46:10 The sons of Simeon:
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar,
and Shaul (the son of a Canaanite woman).
46:11 The sons of Levi:
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
46:12 The sons of Judah:
Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah
(but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
46:13 The sons of Issachar:
46:14 The sons of Zebulun:
Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
46:15 These were the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, along with Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters numbered thirty-three in all. 1392
46:16 The sons of Gad:
Zephon, 1393 Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
46:17 The sons of Asher:
Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister.
The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malkiel.
46:18 These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, sixteen in all.
46:19 The sons of Rachel the wife of Jacob:
Joseph and Benjamin.
46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt. Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, 1394 bore them to him.
46:21 The sons of Benjamin: 1395
Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.
46:22 These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob, fourteen in all.
46:23 The son of Dan: Hushim. 1396
46:24 The sons of Naphtali:
Jahziel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
46:25 These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.
46:26 All the direct descendants of Jacob who went to Egypt with him were sixty-six in number. (This number does not include the wives of Jacob’s sons.) 1397 46:27 Counting the two sons 1398 of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt, all the people of the household of Jacob who were in Egypt numbered seventy. 1399
46:28 Jacob 1400 sent Judah before him to Joseph to accompany him to Goshen. 1401 So they came to the land of Goshen. 46:29 Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. When he met him, 1402 he hugged his neck and wept on his neck for quite some time.
46:30 Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.” 1403 46:31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, 1404 ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. 46:32 The men are shepherds; 1405 they take care of livestock. 1406 They have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ 46:33 Pharaoh will summon you and say, ‘What is your occupation?’ 46:34 Tell him, ‘Your servants have taken care of cattle 1407 from our youth until now, both we and our fathers,’ so that you may live in the land of Goshen, 1408 for everyone who takes care of sheep is disgusting 1409 to the Egyptians.”
Joseph’s Wise Administration
47:1 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father, my brothers, their flocks and herds, and all that they own have arrived from the land of
47:3 Pharaoh said to Joseph’s 1412 brothers, “What is your occupation?” They said to Pharaoh, “Your servants take care of flocks, just as our ancestors did.” 1413 47:4 Then they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live as temporary residents 1414 in the land. There 1415 is no pasture for your servants’ flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
47:5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 47:6 The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best region of the land. They may live in the land of Goshen. If you know of any highly capable men 1416 among them, put them in charge 1417 of my livestock.”
47:7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and presented him 1418 before Pharaoh. Jacob blessed 1419 Pharaoh. 47:8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How long have you lived?” 1420 47:9 Jacob said to Pharaoh, “All 1421 the years of my travels 1422 are 130. All 1423 the years of my life have been few and painful; 1424 the years of my travels are not as long as those of my ancestors.” 1425 47:10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from his presence. 1426
47:11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers. He gave them territory 1427 in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the land, the land of Rameses, 1428 just as Pharaoh had commanded. 47:12 Joseph also provided food for his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household, according to the number of their little children.
47:13 But there was no food in all the land because the famine was very severe; the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away 1429 because of the famine. 47:14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan as payment 1430 for the grain they were buying. Then Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace. 1431 47:15 When the money from the lands of Egypt and Canaan was used up, all the Egyptians 1432 came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die 1433 before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
47:16 Then Joseph said, “If your money is gone, bring your livestock, and I will give you food 1434 in exchange for 1435 your livestock.” 47:17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of their flocks and herds, and their donkeys. 1436 He got them through that year by giving them food in exchange for livestock.
47:18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from our 1437 lord that the money is used up and the livestock and the animals belong to our lord. Nothing remains before our lord except our bodies and our land. 47:19 Why should we die before your very eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we, with our land, will become 1438 Pharaoh’s slaves. 1439 Give us seed that we may live 1440 and not die. Then the land will not become desolate.” 1441
47:20 So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. Each 1442 of the Egyptians sold his field, for the famine was severe. 1443 So the land became Pharaoh’s. 47:21 Joseph 1444 made all the people slaves 1445 from one end of Egypt’s border to the other end of it. 47:22 But he did not purchase the land of the priests because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh and they ate from their allotment that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
47:23 Joseph said to the people, “Since I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Cultivate 1446 the land. 47:24 When you gather in the crop, 1447 give 1448 one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and the rest 1449 will be yours for seed for the fields and for you to eat, including those in your households and your little children.” 47:25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! You are showing us favor, 1450 and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 1451
47:27 Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they owned land there. They were fruitful and increased rapidly in number.
47:28 Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; the years 1454 of Jacob’s life were 147 in all. 47:29 The time 1455 for Israel to die approached, so he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, put your hand under my thigh 1456 and show me kindness and faithfulness. 1457 Do not bury me in Egypt, 47:30 but when I rest 1458 with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” Joseph 1459 said, “I will do as you say.”
Manasseh and Ephraim
48:1 After these things Joseph was told, 1466 “Your father is weakening.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 48:2 When Jacob was told, 1467 “Your son Joseph has just 1468 come to you,” Israel regained strength and sat up on his bed. 48:3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The sovereign God 1469 appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 48:4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful 1470 and will multiply you. 1471 I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants 1472 as an everlasting possession.’ 1473
48:5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. 1474 Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 48:6 Any children that you father 1475 after them will be yours; they will be listed 1476 under the names of their brothers in their inheritance. 1477 48:7 But as for me, when I was returning from Paddan, Rachel died – to my sorrow 1478 – in the land of Canaan. It happened along the way, some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem). 1479
48:8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are these?” 48:9 Joseph said to his father, “They are the 1480 sons God has given me in this place.” His father 1481 said, “Bring them to me so I may bless them.” 1482 48:10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing 1483 because of his age; he was not able to see well. So Joseph 1484 brought his sons 1485 near to him, and his father 1486 kissed them and embraced them. 48:11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected 1487 to see you 1488 again, but now God has allowed me to see your children 1489 too.”
48:12 So Joseph moved them from Israel’s knees 1490 and bowed down with his face to the ground. 48:13 Joseph positioned them; 1491 he put Ephraim on his right hand across from Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh on his left hand across from Israel’s right hand. Then Joseph brought them closer to his father. 1492 48:14 Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger. 1493 Crossing his hands, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, for Manasseh was the firstborn.
48:15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,
“May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked –
the God who has been my shepherd 1494
all my life long to this day,
from all harm –
bless these boys.
May my name be named in them, 1497
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac.
May they grow into a multitude on the earth.”
48:17 When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him. 1498 So he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 48:18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
48:19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a nation and he too will become great. In spite of this, his younger brother will be even greater and his descendants will become a multitude 1499 of nations.” 48:20 So he blessed them that day, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”
So he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 1502
48:21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you 1503 and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. 48:22 As one who is above your 1504 brothers, I give to you the mountain slope, 1505 which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”
The Blessing of Jacob
49:2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob;
listen to Israel, your father.
49:3 Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might and the beginning of my strength,
outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power.
for you got on your father’s bed, 1510
then you defiled it – he got on my couch! 1511
49:5 Simeon and Levi are brothers,
weapons of violence are their knives! 1512
49:6 O my soul, do not come into their council,
do not be united to their assembly, my heart, 1513
for in their anger they have killed men,
and for pleasure they have hamstrung oxen.
49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,
and their fury, for it was cruel.
I will divide them in Jacob,
and scatter them in Israel! 1514
49:8 Judah, 1515 your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
49:9 You are a lion’s cub, Judah,
from the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He crouches and lies down like a lion;
like a lioness – who will rouse him?
49:10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, 1516
until he comes to whom it belongs; 1517
the nations will obey him. 1518
49:11 Binding his foal to the vine,
and his colt to the choicest vine,
he will wash 1519 his garments in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
49:12 His eyes will be dark from wine,
and his teeth white from milk. 1520
49:13 Zebulun will live 1521 by the haven of the sea
and become a haven for ships;
his border will extend to Sidon. 1522
49:14 Issachar is a strong-boned donkey
lying down between two saddlebags.
49:15 When he sees 1523 a good resting place,
and the pleasant land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
and become a slave laborer. 1524
as one of the tribes of Israel.
49:17 May Dan be a snake beside the road,
a viper by the path,
that bites the heels of the horse
so that its rider falls backward. 1527
49:18 I wait for your deliverance, O
49:19 Gad will be raided by marauding bands,
but he will attack them at their heels. 1529
and he will provide delicacies 1532 to royalty.
49:21 Naphtali is a free running doe, 1533
he speaks delightful words. 1534
49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, 1535
a fruitful bough near a spring
whose branches 1536 climb over the wall.
49:23 The archers will attack him, 1537
they will shoot at him and oppose him.
49:24 But his bow will remain steady,
and his hands 1538 will be skillful;
because of the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
49:25 because of the God of your father,
who will help you, 1541
because of the sovereign God, 1542
who will bless you 1543
with blessings from the sky above,
blessings from the deep that lies below,
and blessings of the breasts and womb. 1544
49:26 The blessings of your father are greater
or the desirable things of the age-old hills.
They will be on the head of Joseph
and on the brow of the prince of his brothers. 1547
49:27 Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
in the morning devouring the prey,
and in the evening dividing the plunder.”
49:29 Then he instructed them, 1550 “I am about to go 1551 to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. 49:30 It is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought for a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 49:31 There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah; and there I buried Leah. 49:32 The field and the cave in it were acquired from the sons of Heth.” 1552
49:33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went 1553 to his people.
The Burials of Jacob and Joseph
50:1 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face. 1554 He wept over him and kissed him. 50:2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service 1555 to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel. 50:3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming. 1556 The Egyptians mourned 1557 for him seventy days. 1558
50:4 When the days of mourning 1559 had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court, 1560 “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh, 1561 50:5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, 1562 “I am about to die. Bury me 1563 in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’” 50:6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.” 1564
50:7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him – the senior courtiers 1565 of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt, 50:8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. 50:9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage. 1566
50:10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad 1567 on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. 1568 There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father. 50:11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasion 1569 for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was called 1570 Abel Mizraim, 1571 which is beyond the Jordan.
50:12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them. 50:13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite. 50:14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
50:15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repay 1572 us in full 1573 for all the harm 1574 we did to him?” 50:16 So they sent word 1575 to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died: 50:17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. 1576 50:18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” 50:19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am 1577 I in the place of God? 50:20 As for you, you meant to harm me, 1578 but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day. 1579 50:21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindly 1580 to them.
50:22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family. 1581 Joseph lived 110 years. 50:23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation. 1582 He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph. 1583
50:24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to you 1584 and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to give 1585 to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” 50:25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.” 50:26 So Joseph died at the age of 110. 1586 After they embalmed him, his body 1587 was placed in a coffin in Egypt.