nkjv Genesis:12-50 SEEK
Seeker Overlay ON
*
Now the LORD had said to Abram : "
Get out of your country ,
From your family And from your father '
s house ,
To a land that I will show you .
*
I will make you a great nation ;
I will bless you And make your name great ;
And you shall be a blessing .
*
I will bless those who bless you ,
And I will curse him who curses you ;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed ."
*
So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him ,
and Lot went with him .
And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran .
*
Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother '
s son ,
and all their possessions that they had gathered ,
and the people whom they had acquired in Haran ,
and they departed to go to the land of Canaan .
So they came to the land of Canaan .
*
Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem ,
as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh .
And the Canaanites were then in the land .
*
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said , "
To your descendants I will give this land ."
And there he built an altar to the LORD ,
who had appeared to him .
*
And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel ,
and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east ;
there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD .
*
So Abram journeyed ,
going on still toward the South .
*
Now there was a famine in the land ,
and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there ,
for the famine was severe in the land .
*
And it came to pass ,
when he was close to entering Egypt ,
that he said to Sarai his wife , "
Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance .
*
Therefore it will happen ,
when the Egyptians see you ,
that they will say , "
This is his wife ';
and they will kill me ,
but they will let you live .
*
Please say you are my sister ,
that it may be well with me for your sake ,
and that I may live because of you ."
*
So it was ,
when Abram came into Egypt ,
that the Egyptians saw the woman ,
that she was very beautiful .
*
The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh .
And the woman was taken to Pharaoh '
s house .
*
He treated Abram well for her sake .
He had sheep ,
oxen ,
male donkeys ,
male and female servants ,
female donkeys ,
and camels .
*
But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai ,
Abram '
s wife .
*
And Pharaoh called Abram and said , "
What is this you have done to me ?
Why did you not tell me that she was your wife ?
*
Why did you say , "
She is my sister '?
I might have taken her as my wife .
Now therefore ,
here is your wife ;
take her and go your way ."
*
So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him ;
and they sent him away ,
with his wife and all that he had .
*
Then Abram went up from Egypt ,
he and his wife and all that he had ,
and Lot with him ,
to the South .
*
Abram was very rich in livestock ,
in silver ,
and in gold .
*
And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel ,
to the place where his tent had been at the beginning ,
between Bethel and Ai ,
*
to the place of the altar which he had made there at first .
And there Abram called on the name of the LORD .
*
Lot also ,
who went with Abram ,
had flocks and herds and tents .
*
Now the land was not able to support them ,
that they might dwell together ,
for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together .
*
And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram '
s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot '
s livestock .
The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land .
*
So Abram said to Lot , "
Please let there be no strife between you and me ,
and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen ;
for we are brethren .
*
Is not the whole land before you ?
Please separate from me .
If you take the left ,
then I will go to the right ;
or ,
if you go to the right ,
then I will go to the left ."
*
And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan ,
that it was well watered everywhere (
before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah )
like the garden of the LORD ,
like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar .
*
Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan ,
and Lot journeyed east .
And they separated from each other .
*
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan ,
and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom .
*
But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD .
*
And the LORD said to Abram ,
after Lot had separated from him : "
Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward ,
southward ,
eastward ,
and westward ;
*
for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever .
*
And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth ;
so that if a man could number the dust of the earth ,
then your descendants also could be numbered .
*
Arise ,
walk in the land through its length and its width ,
for I give it to you ."
*
Then Abram moved his tent ,
and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre ,
which are in Hebron ,
and built an altar there to the LORD .
*
And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar ,
Arioch king of Ellasar ,
Chedorlaomer king of Elam ,
and Tidal king of nations ,
*
that they made war with Bera king of Sodom ,
Birsha king of Gomorrah ,
Shinab king of Admah ,
Shemeber king of Zeboiim ,
and the king of Bela (
that is ,
Zoar ).
*
All these joined together in the Valley of Siddim (
that is ,
the Salt Sea ).
*
Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer ,
and in the thirteenth year they rebelled .
*
In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him came and attacked the Rephaim in Ashteroth Karnaim ,
the Zuzim in Ham ,
the Emim in Shaveh Kiriathaim ,
*
and the Horites in their mountain of Seir ,
as far as El Paran ,
which is by the wilderness .
*
Then they turned back and came to En Mishpat (
that is ,
Kadesh ),
and attacked all the country of the Amalekites ,
and also the Amorites who dwelt in Hazezon Tamar .
*
And the king of Sodom ,
the king of Gomorrah ,
the king of Admah ,
the king of Zeboiim ,
and the king of Bela (
that is ,
Zoar )
went out and joined together in battle in the Valley of Siddim
*
against Chedorlaomer king of Elam ,
Tidal king of nations ,
Amraphel king of Shinar ,
and Arioch king of Ellasar--four kings against five .
*
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of asphalt pits ;
and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled ;
some fell there ,
and the remainder fled to the mountains .
*
Then they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah ,
and all their provisions ,
and went their way .
*
They also took Lot ,
Abram '
s brother '
s son who dwelt in Sodom ,
and his goods ,
and departed .
*
Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew ,
for he dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre the Amorite ,
brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner ;
and they were allies with Abram .
*
Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive ,
he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house ,
and went in pursuit as far as Dan .
*
He divided his forces against them by night ,
and he and his servants attacked them and pursued them as far as Hobah ,
which is north of Damascus .
*
So he brought back all the goods ,
and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods ,
as well as the women and the people .
*
And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (
that is ,
the King '
s Valley ),
after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him .
*
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine ;
he was the priest of God Most High .
*
And he blessed him and said : "
Blessed be Abram of God Most High ,
Possessor of heaven and earth ;
*
And blessed be God Most High ,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand ."
And he gave him a tithe of all .
*
Now the king of Sodom said to Abram , "
Give me the persons ,
and take the goods for yourself ."
*
But Abram said to the king of Sodom , "
I have raised my hand to the LORD ,
God Most High ,
the Possessor of heaven and earth ,
*
that I will take nothing ,
from a thread to a sandal strap ,
and that I will not take anything that is yours ,
lest you should say , "
I have made Abram rich '--
*
except only what the young men have eaten ,
and the portion of the men who went with me :
Aner ,
Eshcol ,
and Mamre ;
let them take their portion ."
*
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision ,
saying , "
Do not be afraid ,
Abram .
I am your shield ,
your exceedingly great reward ."
*
But Abram said , "
Lord GOD ,
what will You give me ,
seeing I go childless ,
and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus ?"
*
Then Abram said , "
Look ,
You have given me no offspring ;
indeed one born in my house is my heir !"
*
And behold ,
the word of the LORD came to him ,
saying , "
This one shall not be your heir ,
but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir ."
*
Then He brought him outside and said , "
Look now toward heaven ,
and count the stars if you are able to number them ."
And He said to him , "
So shall your descendants be ."
*
And he believed in the LORD ,
and He accounted it to him for righteousness .
*
Then He said to him , "
I am the LORD ,
who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans ,
to give you this land to inherit it ."
*
And he said , "
Lord GOD ,
how shall I know that I will inherit it ?"
*
So He said to him , "
Bring Me a three-year-old heifer ,
a three-year-old female goat ,
a three-year-old ram ,
a turtledove ,
and a young pigeon ."
*
Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two ,
down the middle ,
and placed each piece opposite the other ;
but he did not cut the birds in two .
*
And when the vultures came down on the carcasses ,
Abram drove them away .
*
Now when the sun was going down ,
a deep sleep fell upon Abram ;
and behold ,
horror and great darkness fell upon him .
*
Then He said to Abram : "
Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs ,
and will serve them ,
and they will afflict them four hundred years .
*
And also the nation whom they serve I will judge ;
afterward they shall come out with great possessions .
*
Now as for you ,
you shall go to your fathers in peace ;
you shall be buried at a good old age .
*
But in the fourth generation they shall return here ,
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete ."
*
And it came to pass ,
when the sun went down and it was dark ,
that behold ,
there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces .
*
On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram ,
saying : "
To your descendants I have given this land ,
from the river of Egypt to the great river ,
the River Euphrates --
*
the Kenites ,
the Kenezzites ,
the Kadmonites ,
*
the Hittites ,
the Perizzites ,
the Rephaim ,
*
the Amorites ,
the Canaanites ,
the Girgashites ,
and the Jebusites ."
*
Now Sarai ,
Abram '
s wife ,
had borne him no children .
And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar .
*
So Sarai said to Abram , "
See now ,
the LORD has restrained me from bearing children .
Please ,
go in to my maid ;
perhaps I shall obtain children by her ."
And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai .
*
Then Sarai ,
Abram '
s wife ,
took Hagar her maid ,
the Egyptian ,
and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife ,
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan .
*
So he went in to Hagar ,
and she conceived .
And when she saw that she had conceived ,
her mistress became despised in her eyes .
*
Then Sarai said to Abram , "
My wrong be upon you !
I gave my maid into your embrace ;
and when she saw that she had conceived ,
I became despised in her eyes .
The LORD judge between you and me ."
*
So Abram said to Sarai , "
Indeed your maid is in your hand ;
do to her as you please ."
And when Sarai dealt harshly with her ,
she fled from her presence .
*
Now the Angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness ,
by the spring on the way to Shur .
*
And He said , "
Hagar ,
Sarai '
s maid ,
where have you come from ,
and where are you going ?"
She said , "
I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress Sarai ."
*
The Angel of the LORD said to her , "
Return to your mistress ,
and submit yourself under her hand ."
*
Then the Angel of the LORD said to her , "
I will multiply your descendants exceedingly ,
so that they shall not be counted for multitude ."
*
And the Angel of the LORD said to her : "
Behold ,
you are with child ,
And you shall bear a son .
You shall call his name Ishmael ,
Because the LORD has heard your affliction .
*
He shall be a wild man ;
His hand shall be against every man ,
And every man '
s hand against him .
And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren ."
*
Then she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her ,
You-Are-the-God-Who-Sees ;
for she said , "
Have I also here seen Him who sees me ?"
*
Therefore the well was called Beer Lahai Roi ;
observe ,
it is between Kadesh and Bered .
*
So Hagar bore Abram a son ;
and Abram named his son ,
whom Hagar bore ,
Ishmael .
*
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram .
*
When Abram was ninety-nine years old ,
the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him , "
I am Almighty God ;
walk before Me and be blameless .
*
And I will make My covenant between Me and you ,
and will multiply you exceedingly ."
*
Then Abram fell on his face ,
and God talked with him ,
saying :
* "
As for Me ,
behold ,
My covenant is with you ,
and you shall be a father of many nations .
*
No longer shall your name be called Abram ,
but your name shall be Abraham ;
for I have made you a father of many nations .
*
I will make you exceedingly fruitful ;
and I will make nations of you ,
and kings shall come from you .
*
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations ,
for an everlasting covenant ,
to be God to you and your descendants after you .
*
Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger ,
all the land of Canaan ,
as an everlasting possession ;
and I will be their God ."
*
And God said to Abraham : "
As for you ,
you shall keep My covenant ,
you and your descendants after you throughout their generations .
*
This is My covenant which you shall keep ,
between Me and you and your descendants after you :
Every male child among you shall be circumcised ;
*
and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins ,
and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you .
*
He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised ,
every male child in your generations ,
he who is born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not your descendant .
*
He who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money must be circumcised ,
and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant .
*
And the uncircumcised male child ,
who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin ,
that person shall be cut off from his people ;
he has broken My covenant ."
*
Then God said to Abraham , "
As for Sarai your wife ,
you shall not call her name Sarai ,
but Sarah shall be her name .
*
And I will bless her and also give you a son by her ;
then I will bless her ,
and she shall be a mother of nations ;
kings of peoples shall be from her ."
*
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed ,
and said in his heart , "
Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old ?
And shall Sarah ,
who is ninety years old ,
bear a child ?"
*
And Abraham said to God , "
Oh ,
that Ishmael might live before You !"
*
Then God said : "
No ,
Sarah your wife shall bear you a son ,
and you shall call his name Isaac ;
I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant ,
and with his descendants after him .
*
And as for Ishmael ,
I have heard you .
Behold ,
I have blessed him ,
and will make him fruitful ,
and will multiply him exceedingly .
He shall beget twelve princes ,
and I will make him a great nation .
*
But My covenant I will establish with Isaac ,
whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year ."
*
Then He finished talking with him ,
and God went up from Abraham .
*
So Abraham took Ishmael his son ,
all who were born in his house and all who were bought with his money ,
every male among the men of Abraham '
s house ,
and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very same day ,
as God had said to him .
*
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin .
*
And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin .
*
That very same day Abraham was circumcised ,
and his son Ishmael ;
*
and all the men of his house ,
born in the house or bought with money from a foreigner ,
were circumcised with him .
*
Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre ,
as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day .
*
So he lifted his eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
three men were standing by him ;
and when he saw them ,
he ran from the tent door to meet them ,
and bowed himself to the ground ,
*
and said , "
My Lord ,
if I have now found favor in Your sight ,
do not pass on by Your servant .
*
Please let a little water be brought ,
and wash your feet ,
and rest yourselves under the tree .
*
And I will bring a morsel of bread ,
that you may refresh your hearts .
After that you may pass by ,
inasmuch as you have come to your servant ."
They said , "
Do as you have said ."
*
So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said , "
Quickly ,
make ready three measures of fine meal ;
knead it and make cakes ."
*
And Abraham ran to the herd ,
took a tender and good calf ,
gave it to a young man ,
and he hastened to prepare it .
*
So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared ,
and set it before them ;
and he stood by them under the tree as they ate .
*
Then they said to him , "
Where is Sarah your wife ?"
So he said , "
Here ,
in the tent ."
*
And He said , "
I will certainly return to you according to the time of life ,
and behold ,
Sarah your wife shall have a son ." (
Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him .)
*
Now Abraham and Sarah were old ,
well advanced in age ;
and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing .
*
Therefore Sarah laughed within herself ,
saying , "
After I have grown old ,
shall I have pleasure ,
my lord being old also ?"
*
And the LORD said to Abraham , "
Why did Sarah laugh ,
saying , "
Shall I surely bear a child ,
since I am old ?'
*
Is anything too hard for the LORD ?
At the appointed time I will return to you ,
according to the time of life ,
and Sarah shall have a son ."
*
But Sarah denied it ,
saying , "
I did not laugh ,"
for she was afraid .
And He said , "
No ,
but you did laugh !"
*
Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom ,
and Abraham went with them to send them on the way .
*
And the LORD said , "
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing ,
*
since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation ,
and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him ?
*
For I have known him ,
in order that he may command his children and his household after him ,
that they keep the way of the LORD ,
to do righteousness and justice ,
that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him ."
*
And the LORD said , "
Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great ,
and because their sin is very grave ,
*
I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me ;
and if not ,
I will know ."
*
Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom ,
but Abraham still stood before the LORD .
*
And Abraham came near and said , "
Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked ?
*
Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city ;
would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it ?
*
Far be it from You to do such a thing as this ,
to slay the righteous with the wicked ,
so that the righteous should be as the wicked ;
far be it from You !
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?"
*
So the LORD said , "
If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city ,
then I will spare all the place for their sakes ."
*
Then Abraham answered and said , "
Indeed now ,
I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord :
*
Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous ;
would You destroy all of the city for lack of five ?"
So He said , "
If I find there forty-five ,
I will not destroy it ."
*
And he spoke to Him yet again and said , "
Suppose there should be forty found there ?"
So He said , "
I will not do it for the sake of forty ."
*
Then he said , "
Let not the Lord be angry ,
and I will speak :
Suppose thirty should be found there ?"
So He said , "
I will not do it if I find thirty there ."
*
And he said , "
Indeed now ,
I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord :
Suppose twenty should be found there ?"
So He said , "
I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty ."
*
Then he said , "
Let not the Lord be angry ,
and I will speak but once more :
Suppose ten should be found there ?"
And He said , "
I will not destroy it for the sake of ten ."
*
So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham ;
and Abraham returned to his place .
*
Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening ,
and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom .
When Lot saw them ,
he rose to meet them ,
and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground .
*
And he said , "
Here now ,
my lords ,
please turn in to your servant '
s house and spend the night ,
and wash your feet ;
then you may rise early and go on your way ."
And they said , "
No ,
but we will spend the night in the open square ."
*
But he insisted strongly ;
so they turned in to him and entered his house .
Then he made them a feast ,
and baked unleavened bread ,
and they ate .
*
Now before they lay down ,
the men of the city ,
the men of Sodom ,
both old and young ,
all the people from every quarter ,
surrounded the house .
*
And they called to Lot and said to him , "
Where are the men who came to you tonight ?
Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally ."
*
So Lot went out to them through the doorway ,
shut the door behind him ,
*
and said , "
Please ,
my brethren ,
do not do so wickedly !
*
See now ,
I have two daughters who have not known a man ;
please ,
let me bring them out to you ,
and you may do to them as you wish ;
only do nothing to these men ,
since this is the reason they have come under the shadow of my roof ."
*
And they said , "
Stand back !"
Then they said , "
This one came in to stay here ,
and he keeps acting as a judge ;
now we will deal worse with you than with them ."
So they pressed hard against the man Lot ,
and came near to break down the door .
*
But the men reached out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them ,
and shut the door .
*
And they struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blindness ,
both small and great ,
so that they became weary trying to find the door .
*
Then the men said to Lot , "
Have you anyone else here ?
Son-in-law ,
your sons ,
your daughters ,
and whomever you have in the city--take them out of this place !
*
For we will destroy this place ,
because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD ,
and the LORD has sent us to destroy it ."
*
So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law ,
who had married his daughters ,
and said , "
Get up ,
get out of this place ;
for the LORD will destroy this city !"
But to his sons-in-law he seemed to be joking .
*
When the morning dawned ,
the angels urged Lot to hurry ,
saying , "
Arise ,
take your wife and your two daughters who are here ,
lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city ."
*
And while he lingered ,
the men took hold of his hand ,
his wife '
s hand ,
and the hands of his two daughters ,
the LORD being merciful to him ,
and they brought him out and set him outside the city .
*
So it came to pass ,
when they had brought them outside ,
that he said , "
Escape for your life !
Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain .
Escape to the mountains ,
lest you be destroyed ."
*
Then Lot said to them , "
Please ,
no ,
my lords !
*
Indeed now ,
your servant has found favor in your sight ,
and you have increased your mercy which you have shown me by saving my life ;
but I cannot escape to the mountains ,
lest some evil overtake me and I die .
*
See now ,
this city is near enough to flee to ,
and it is a little one ;
please let me escape there (
is it not a little one ?)
and my soul shall live ."
*
And he said to him , "
See ,
I have favored you concerning this thing also ,
in that I will not overthrow this city for which you have spoken .
*
Hurry ,
escape there .
For I cannot do anything until you arrive there ."
Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar .
*
The sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered Zoar .
*
Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah ,
from the LORD out of the heavens .
*
So He overthrew those cities ,
all the plain ,
all the inhabitants of the cities ,
and what grew on the ground .
*
But his wife looked back behind him ,
and she became a pillar of salt .
*
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD .
*
Then he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah ,
and toward all the land of the plain ;
and he saw ,
and behold ,
the smoke of the land which went up like the smoke of a furnace .
*
And it came to pass ,
when God destroyed the cities of the plain ,
that God remembered Abraham ,
and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow ,
when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt .
*
Then Lot went up out of Zoar and dwelt in the mountains ,
and his two daughters were with him ;
for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar .
And he and his two daughters dwelt in a cave .
*
Now the firstborn said to the younger , "
Our father is old ,
and there is no man on the earth to come in to us as is the custom of all the earth .
*
Come ,
let us make our father drink wine ,
and we will lie with him ,
that we may preserve the lineage of our father ."
*
So they made their father drink wine that night .
And the firstborn went in and lay with her father ,
and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose .
*
It happened on the next day that the firstborn said to the younger , "
Indeed I lay with my father last night ;
let us make him drink wine tonight also ,
and you go in and lie with him ,
that we may preserve the lineage of our father ."
*
Then they made their father drink wine that night also .
And the younger arose and lay with him ,
and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose .
*
Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father .
*
The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab ;
he is the father of the Moabites to this day .
*
And the younger ,
she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi ;
he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day .
*
And Abraham journeyed from there to the South ,
and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur ,
and stayed in Gerar .
*
Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife , "
She is my sister ."
And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah .
*
But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night ,
and said to him , "
Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken ,
for she is a man '
s wife ."
*
But Abimelech had not come near her ;
and he said , "
Lord ,
will You slay a righteous nation also ?
*
Did he not say to me , "
She is my sister '?
And she ,
even she herself said , "
He is my brother .'
In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this ."
*
And God said to him in a dream , "
Yes ,
I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart .
For I also withheld you from sinning against Me ;
therefore I did not let you touch her .
*
Now therefore ,
restore the man '
s wife ;
for he is a prophet ,
and he will pray for you and you shall live .
But if you do not restore her ,
know that you shall surely die ,
you and all who are yours ."
*
So Abimelech rose early in the morning ,
called all his servants ,
and told all these things in their hearing ;
and the men were very much afraid .
*
And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him , "
What have you done to us ?
How have I offended you ,
that you have brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin ?
You have done deeds to me that ought not to be done ."
*
Then Abimelech said to Abraham , "
What did you have in view ,
that you have done this thing ?"
*
And Abraham said , "
Because I thought ,
surely the fear of God is not in this place ;
and they will kill me on account of my wife .
*
But indeed she is truly my sister .
She is the daughter of my father ,
but not the daughter of my mother ;
and she became my wife .
*
And it came to pass ,
when God caused me to wander from my father '
s house ,
that I said to her , "
This is your kindness that you should do for me :
in every place ,
wherever we go ,
say of me , "
He is my brother .""'
*
Then Abimelech took sheep ,
oxen ,
and male and female servants ,
and gave them to Abraham ;
and he restored Sarah his wife to him .
*
And Abimelech said , "
See ,
my land is before you ;
dwell where it pleases you ."
*
Then to Sarah he said , "
Behold ,
I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver ;
indeed this vindicates you before all who are with you and before everybody ."
Thus she was rebuked .
*
So Abraham prayed to God ;
and God healed Abimelech ,
his wife ,
and his female servants .
Then they bore children ;
*
for the LORD had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech because of Sarah ,
Abraham '
s wife .
*
And the LORD visited Sarah as He had said ,
and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken .
*
For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age ,
at the set time of which God had spoken to him .
*
And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him--whom Sarah bore to him--Isaac .
*
Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old ,
as God had commanded him .
*
Now Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him .
*
And Sarah said , "
God has made me laugh ,
and all who hear will laugh with me ."
*
She also said , "
Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children ?
For I have borne him a son in his old age ."
*
So the child grew and was weaned .
And Abraham made a great feast on the same day that Isaac was weaned .
*
And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian ,
whom she had borne to Abraham ,
scoffing .
*
Therefore she said to Abraham , "
Cast out this bondwoman and her son ;
for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son ,
namely with Isaac ."
*
And the matter was very displeasing in Abraham '
s sight because of his son .
*
But God said to Abraham , "
Do not let it be displeasing in your sight because of the lad or because of your bondwoman .
Whatever Sarah has said to you ,
listen to her voice ;
for in Isaac your seed shall be called .
*
Yet I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman ,
because he is your seed ."
*
So Abraham rose early in the morning ,
and took bread and a skin of water ;
and putting it on her shoulder ,
he gave it and the boy to Hagar ,
and sent her away .
Then she departed and wandered in the Wilderness of Beersheba .
*
And the water in the skin was used up ,
and she placed the boy under one of the shrubs .
*
Then she went and sat down across from him at a distance of about a bowshot ;
for she said to herself , "
Let me not see the death of the boy ."
So she sat opposite him ,
and lifted her voice and wept .
*
And God heard the voice of the lad .
Then the angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven ,
and said to her , "
What ails you ,
Hagar ?
Fear not ,
for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is .
*
Arise ,
lift up the lad and hold him with your hand ,
for I will make him a great nation ."
*
Then God opened her eyes ,
and she saw a well of water .
And she went and filled the skin with water ,
and gave the lad a drink .
*
So God was with the lad ;
and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness ,
and became an archer .
*
He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran ;
and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt .
*
And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol ,
the commander of his army ,
spoke to Abraham ,
saying , "
God is with you in all that you do .
*
Now therefore ,
swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me ,
with my offspring ,
or with my posterity ;
but that according to the kindness that I have done to you ,
you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt ."
*
And Abraham said , "
I will swear ."
*
Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech '
s servants had seized .
*
And Abimelech said , "
I do not know who has done this thing ;
you did not tell me ,
nor had I heard of it until today ."
*
So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech ,
and the two of them made a covenant .
*
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves .
*
Then Abimelech asked Abraham , "
What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves ?"
*
And he said , "
You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand ,
that they may be my witness that I have dug this well ."
*
Therefore he called that place Beersheba ,
because the two of them swore an oath there .
*
Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba .
So Abimelech rose with Phichol ,
the commander of his army ,
and they returned to the land of the Philistines .
*
Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba ,
and there called on the name of the LORD ,
the Everlasting God .
*
And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days .
*
Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham ,
and said to him , "
Abraham !"
And he said , "
Here I am ."
*
Then He said , "
Take now your son ,
your only son Isaac ,
whom you love ,
and go to the land of Moriah ,
and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you ."
*
So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey ,
and took two of his young men with him ,
and Isaac his son ;
and he split the wood for the burnt offering ,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told him .
*
Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off .
*
And Abraham said to his young men , "
Stay here with the donkey ;
the lad and I will go yonder and worship ,
and we will come back to you ."
*
So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son ;
and he took the fire in his hand ,
and a knife ,
and the two of them went together .
*
But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said , "
My father !"
And he said , "
Here I am ,
my son ."
Then he said , "
Look ,
the fire and the wood ,
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ?"
*
And Abraham said , "
My son ,
God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering ."
So the two of them went together .
*
Then they came to the place of which God had told him .
And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order ;
and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar ,
upon the wood .
*
And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son .
*
But the Angel of the LORD called to him from heaven and said , "
Abraham ,
Abraham !"
So he said , "
Here I am ."
*
And He said , "
Do not lay your hand on the lad ,
or do anything to him ;
for now I know that you fear God ,
since you have not withheld your son ,
your only son ,
from Me ."
*
Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked ,
and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns .
So Abraham went and took the ram ,
and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son .
*
And Abraham called the name of the place ,
The-LORD-Will-Provide ;
as it is said to this day , "
In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided ."
*
Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time out of heaven ,
*
and said : "
By Myself I have sworn ,
says the LORD ,
because you have done this thing ,
and have not withheld your son ,
your only son --
*
blessing I will bless you ,
and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore ;
and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies .
*
In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed ,
because you have obeyed My voice ."
*
So Abraham returned to his young men ,
and they rose and went together to Beersheba ;
and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba .
*
Now it came to pass after these things that it was told Abraham ,
saying , "
Indeed Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor :
*
Huz his firstborn ,
Buz his brother ,
Kemuel the father of Aram ,
*
Chesed ,
Hazo ,
Pildash ,
Jidlaph ,
and Bethuel ."
*
And Bethuel begot Rebekah .
These eight Milcah bore to Nahor ,
Abraham '
s brother .
*
His concubine ,
whose name was Reumah ,
also bore Tebah ,
Gaham ,
Thahash ,
and Maachah .
*
Sarah lived one hundred and twenty-seven years ;
these were the years of the life of Sarah .
*
So Sarah died in Kirjath Arba (
that is ,
Hebron )
in the land of Canaan ,
and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her .
*
Then Abraham stood up from before his dead ,
and spoke to the sons of Heth ,
saying ,
* "
I am a foreigner and a visitor among you .
Give me property for a burial place among you ,
that I may bury my dead out of my sight ."
*
And the sons of Heth answered Abraham ,
saying to him ,
* "
Hear us ,
my lord :
You are a mighty prince among us ;
bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places .
None of us will withhold from you his burial place ,
that you may bury your dead ."
*
Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land ,
the sons of Heth .
*
And he spoke with them ,
saying , "
If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight ,
hear me ,
and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me ,
*
that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has ,
which is at the end of his field .
Let him give it to me at the full price ,
as property for a burial place among you ."
*
Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth ;
and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth ,
all who entered at the gate of his city ,
saying ,
* "
No ,
my lord ,
hear me :
I give you the field and the cave that is in it ;
I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people .
I give it to you .
Bury your dead !"
*
Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land ;
*
and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land ,
saying , "
If you will give it ,
please hear me .
I will give you money for the field ;
take it from me and I will bury my dead there ."
*
And Ephron answered Abraham ,
saying to him ,
* "
My lord ,
listen to me ;
the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver .
What is that between you and me ?
So bury your dead ."
*
And Abraham listened to Ephron ;
and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth ,
four hundred shekels of silver ,
currency of the merchants .
*
So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah ,
which was before Mamre ,
the field and the cave which was in it ,
and all the trees that were in the field ,
which were within all the surrounding borders ,
were deeded
*
to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth ,
before all who went in at the gate of his city .
*
And after this ,
Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah ,
before Mamre (
that is ,
Hebron )
in the land of Canaan .
*
So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place .
*
Now Abraham was old ,
well advanced in age ;
and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things .
*
So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house ,
who ruled over all that he had , "
Please ,
put your hand under my thigh ,
*
and I will make you swear by the LORD ,
the God of heaven and the God of the earth ,
that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites ,
among whom I dwell ;
*
but you shall go to my country and to my family ,
and take a wife for my son Isaac ."
*
And the servant said to him , "
Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land .
Must I take your son back to the land from which you came ?"
*
But Abraham said to him , "
Beware that you do not take my son back there .
*
The LORD God of heaven ,
who took me from my father '
s house and from the land of my family ,
and who spoke to me and swore to me ,
saying , "
To your descendants I give this land ,'
He will send His angel before you ,
and you shall take a wife for my son from there .
*
And if the woman is not willing to follow you ,
then you will be released from this oath ;
only do not take my son back there ."
*
So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master ,
and swore to him concerning this matter .
*
Then the servant took ten of his master '
s camels and departed ,
for all his master '
s goods were in his hand .
And he arose and went to Mesopotamia ,
to the city of Nahor .
*
And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at evening time ,
the time when women go out to draw water .
*
Then he said , "
O LORD God of my master Abraham ,
please give me success this day ,
and show kindness to my master Abraham .
*
Behold ,
here I stand by the well of water ,
and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water .
*
Now let it be that the young woman to whom I say , "
Please let down your pitcher that I may drink ,'
and she says , "
Drink ,
and I will also give your camels a drink '--
let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac .
And by this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master ."
*
And it happened ,
before he had finished speaking ,
that behold ,
Rebekah ,
who was born to Bethuel ,
son of Milcah ,
the wife of Nahor ,
Abraham '
s brother ,
came out with her pitcher on her shoulder .
*
Now the young woman was very beautiful to behold ,
a virgin ;
no man had known her .
And she went down to the well ,
filled her pitcher ,
and came up .
*
And the servant ran to meet her and said , "
Please let me drink a little water from your pitcher ."
*
So she said , "
Drink ,
my lord ."
Then she quickly let her pitcher down to her hand ,
and gave him a drink .
*
And when she had finished giving him a drink ,
she said , "
I will draw water for your camels also ,
until they have finished drinking ."
*
Then she quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough ,
ran back to the well to draw water ,
and drew for all his camels .
*
And the man ,
wondering at her ,
remained silent so as to know whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not .
*
So it was ,
when the camels had finished drinking ,
that the man took a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel ,
and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold ,
*
and said , "
Whose daughter are you ?
Tell me ,
please ,
is there room in your father '
s house for us to lodge ?"
*
So she said to him , "
I am the daughter of Bethuel ,
Milcah '
s son ,
whom she bore to Nahor ."
*
Moreover she said to him , "
We have both straw and feed enough ,
and room to lodge ."
*
Then the man bowed down his head and worshiped the LORD .
*
And he said , "
Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham ,
who has not forsaken His mercy and His truth toward my master .
As for me ,
being on the way ,
the LORD led me to the house of my master '
s brethren ."
*
So the young woman ran and told her mother '
s household these things .
*
Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban ,
and Laban ran out to the man by the well .
*
So it came to pass ,
when he saw the nose ring ,
and the bracelets on his sister '
s wrists ,
and when he heard the words of his sister Rebekah ,
saying , "
Thus the man spoke to me ,"
that he went to the man .
And there he stood by the camels at the well .
*
And he said , "
Come in ,
O blessed of the LORD !
Why do you stand outside ?
For I have prepared the house ,
and a place for the camels ."
*
Then the man came to the house .
And he unloaded the camels ,
and provided straw and feed for the camels ,
and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him .
*
Food was set before him to eat ,
but he said , "
I will not eat until I have told about my errand ."
And he said , "
Speak on ."
*
So he said , "
I am Abraham '
s servant .
*
The LORD has blessed my master greatly ,
and he has become great ;
and He has given him flocks and herds ,
silver and gold ,
male and female servants ,
and camels and donkeys .
*
And Sarah my master '
s wife bore a son to my master when she was old ;
and to him he has given all that he has .
*
Now my master made me swear ,
saying , "
You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites ,
in whose land I dwell ;
*
but you shall go to my father '
s house and to my family ,
and take a wife for my son .'
*
And I said to my master , "
Perhaps the woman will not follow me .'
*
But he said to me , "
The LORD ,
before whom I walk ,
will send His angel with you and prosper your way ;
and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father '
s house .
*
You will be clear from this oath when you arrive among my family ;
for if they will not give her to you ,
then you will be released from my oath .'
* "
And this day I came to the well and said , "
O LORD God of my master Abraham ,
if You will now prosper the way in which I go ,
*
behold ,
I stand by the well of water ;
and it shall come to pass that when the virgin comes out to draw water ,
and I say to her , "
Please give me a little water from your pitcher to drink ,"
*
and she says to me , "
Drink ,
and I will draw for your camels also ,"--
let her be the woman whom the LORD has appointed for my master '
s son .'
* "
But before I had finished speaking in my heart ,
there was Rebekah ,
coming out with her pitcher on her shoulder ;
and she went down to the well and drew water .
And I said to her , "
Please let me drink .'
*
And she made haste and let her pitcher down from her shoulder ,
and said , "
Drink ,
and I will give your camels a drink also .'
So I drank ,
and she gave the camels a drink also .
*
Then I asked her ,
and said , "
Whose daughter are you ?'
And she said , "
The daughter of Bethuel ,
Nahor '
s son ,
whom Milcah bore to him .'
So I put the nose ring on her nose and the bracelets on her wrists .
*
And I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD ,
and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham ,
who had led me in the way of truth to take the daughter of my master '
s brother for his son .
*
Now if you will deal kindly and truly with my master ,
tell me .
And if not ,
tell me ,
that I may turn to the right hand or to the left ."
*
Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said , "
The thing comes from the LORD ;
we cannot speak to you either bad or good .
*
Here is Rebekah before you ;
take her and go ,
and let her be your master '
s son '
s wife ,
as the LORD has spoken ."
*
And it came to pass ,
when Abraham '
s servant heard their words ,
that he worshiped the LORD ,
bowing himself to the earth .
*
Then the servant brought out jewelry of silver ,
jewelry of gold ,
and clothing ,
and gave them to Rebekah .
He also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother .
*
And he and the men who were with him ate and drank and stayed all night .
Then they arose in the morning ,
and he said , "
Send me away to my master ."
*
But her brother and her mother said , "
Let the young woman stay with us a few days ,
at least ten ;
after that she may go ."
*
And he said to them , "
Do not hinder me ,
since the LORD has prospered my way ;
send me away so that I may go to my master ."
*
So they said , "
We will call the young woman and ask her personally ."
*
Then they called Rebekah and said to her , "
Will you go with this man ?"
And she said , "
I will go ."
*
So they sent away Rebekah their sister and her nurse ,
and Abraham '
s servant and his men .
*
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her : "
Our sister ,
may you become The mother of thousands of ten thousands ;
And may your descendants possess The gates of those who hate them ."
*
Then Rebekah and her maids arose ,
and they rode on the camels and followed the man .
So the servant took Rebekah and departed .
*
Now Isaac came from the way of Beer Lahai Roi ,
for he dwelt in the South .
*
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening ;
and he lifted his eyes and looked ,
and there ,
the camels were coming .
*
Then Rebekah lifted her eyes ,
and when she saw Isaac she dismounted from her camel ;
*
for she had said to the servant , "
Who is this man walking in the field to meet us ?"
The servant said , "
It is my master ."
So she took a veil and covered herself .
*
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done .
*
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah '
s tent ;
and he took Rebekah and she became his wife ,
and he loved her .
So Isaac was comforted after his mother '
s death .
*
Abraham again took a wife ,
and her name was Keturah .
*
And she bore him Zimran ,
Jokshan ,
Medan ,
Midian ,
Ishbak ,
and Shuah .
*
Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan .
And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim ,
Letushim ,
and Leummim .
*
And the sons of Midian were Ephah ,
Epher ,
Hanoch ,
Abidah ,
and Eldaah .
All these were the children of Keturah .
*
And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac .
*
But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had ;
and while he was still living he sent them eastward ,
away from Isaac his son ,
to the country of the east .
*
This is the sum of the years of Abraham '
s life which he lived :
one hundred and seventy-five years .
*
Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age ,
an old man and full of years ,
and was gathered to his people .
*
And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah ,
which is before Mamre ,
in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite ,
*
the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth .
There Abraham was buried ,
and Sarah his wife .
*
And it came to pass ,
after the death of Abraham ,
that God blessed his son Isaac .
And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi .
*
Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael ,
Abraham '
s son ,
whom Hagar the Egyptian ,
Sarah '
s maidservant ,
bore to Abraham .
*
And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael ,
by their names ,
according to their generations :
The firstborn of Ishmael ,
Nebajoth ;
then Kedar ,
Adbeel ,
Mibsam ,
*
Mishma ,
Dumah ,
Massa ,
*
Hadar ,
Tema ,
Jetur ,
Naphish ,
and Kedemah .
*
These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names ,
by their towns and their settlements ,
twelve princes according to their nations .
*
These were the years of the life of Ishmael :
one hundred and thirty-seven years ;
and he breathed his last and died ,
and was gathered to his people .
* (
They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur ,
which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria .)
He died in the presence of all his brethren .
*
This is the genealogy of Isaac ,
Abraham '
s son .
Abraham begot Isaac .
*
Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife ,
the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram ,
the sister of Laban the Syrian .
*
Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife ,
because she was barren ;
and the LORD granted his plea ,
and Rebekah his wife conceived .
*
But the children struggled together within her ;
and she said , "
If all is well ,
why am I like this ?
*
And the LORD said to her : "
Two nations are in your womb ,
Two peoples shall be separated from your body ;
One people shall be stronger than the other ,
And the older shall serve the younger ."
*
So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth ,
indeed there were twins in her womb .
*
And the first came out red .
He was like a hairy garment all over ;
so they called his name Esau .
*
Afterward his brother came out ,
and his hand took hold of Esau '
s heel ;
so his name was called Jacob .
Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them .
*
So the boys grew .
And Esau was a skillful hunter ,
a man of the field ;
but Jacob was a mild man ,
dwelling in tents .
*
And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game ,
but Rebekah loved Jacob .
*
Now Jacob cooked a stew ;
and Esau came in from the field ,
and he was weary .
*
And Esau said to Jacob , "
Please feed me with that same red stew ,
for I am weary ."
Therefore his name was called Edom .
*
But Jacob said , "
Sell me your birthright as of this day ."
*
And Esau said , "
Look ,
I am about to die ;
so what is this birthright to me ?"
*
Then Jacob said , "
Swear to me as of this day ."
So he swore to him ,
and sold his birthright to Jacob .
*
And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils ;
then he ate and drank ,
arose ,
and went his way .
Thus Esau despised his birthright .
*
There was a famine in the land ,
besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham .
And Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines ,
in Gerar .
*
Then the LORD appeared to him and said : "
Do not go down to Egypt ;
live in the land of which I shall tell you .
*
Dwell in this land ,
and I will be with you and bless you ;
for to you and your descendants I give all these lands ,
and I will perform the oath which I swore to Abraham your father .
*
And I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of heaven ;
I will give to your descendants all these lands ;
and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed ;
*
because Abraham obeyed My voice and kept My charge ,
My commandments ,
My statutes ,
and My laws ."
*
So Isaac dwelt in Gerar .
*
And the men of the place asked about his wife .
And he said , "
She is my sister ";
for he was afraid to say , "
She is my wife ,"
because he thought , "
lest the men of the place kill me for Rebekah ,
because she is beautiful to behold ."
*
Now it came to pass ,
when he had been there a long time ,
that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked through a window ,
and saw ,
and there was Isaac ,
showing endearment to Rebekah his wife .
*
Then Abimelech called Isaac and said , "
Quite obviously she is your wife ;
so how could you say , "
She is my sister '?"
Isaac said to him , "
Because I said , "
Lest I die on account of her .'
*
And Abimelech said , "
What is this you have done to us ?
One of the people might soon have lain with your wife ,
and you would have brought guilt on us ."
*
So Abimelech charged all his people ,
saying , "
He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death ."
*
Then Isaac sowed in that land ,
and reaped in the same year a hundredfold ;
and the LORD blessed him .
*
The man began to prosper ,
and continued prospering until he became very prosperous ;
*
for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants .
So the Philistines envied him .
*
Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father '
s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father ,
and they had filled them with earth .
*
And Abimelech said to Isaac , "
Go away from us ,
for you are much mightier than we ."
*
Then Isaac departed from there and pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar ,
and dwelt there .
*
And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father ,
for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham .
He called them by the names which his father had called them .
*
Also Isaac '
s servants dug in the valley ,
and found a well of running water there .
*
But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac '
s herdsmen ,
saying , "
The water is ours ."
So he called the name of the well Esek ,
because they quarreled with him .
*
Then they dug another well ,
and they quarreled over that one also .
So he called its name Sitnah .
*
And he moved from there and dug another well ,
and they did not quarrel over it .
So he called its name Rehoboth ,
because he said , "
For now the LORD has made room for us ,
and we shall be fruitful in the land ."
*
Then he went up from there to Beersheba .
*
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said , "
I am the God of your father Abraham ;
do not fear ,
for I am with you .
I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham '
s sake ."
*
So he built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD ,
and he pitched his tent there ;
and there Isaac '
s servants dug a well .
*
Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath ,
one of his friends ,
and Phichol the commander of his army .
*
And Isaac said to them , "
Why have you come to me ,
since you hate me and have sent me away from you ?"
*
But they said , "
We have certainly seen that the LORD is with you .
So we said , "
Let there now be an oath between us ,
between you and us ;
and let us make a covenant with you ,
*
that you will do us no harm ,
since we have not touched you ,
and since we have done nothing to you but good and have sent you away in peace .
You are now the blessed of the LORD ."'
*
So he made them a feast ,
and they ate and drank .
*
Then they arose early in the morning and swore an oath with one another ;
and Isaac sent them away ,
and they departed from him in peace .
*
It came to pass the same day that Isaac '
s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug ,
and said to him , "
We have found water ."
*
So he called it Shebah .
Therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day .
*
When Esau was forty years old ,
he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite ,
and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite .
*
And they were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah .
*
Now it came to pass ,
when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see ,
that he called Esau his older son and said to him , "
My son ."
And he answered him , "
Here I am ."
*
Then he said , "
Behold now ,
I am old .
I do not know the day of my death .
*
Now therefore ,
please take your weapons ,
your quiver and your bow ,
and go out to the field and hunt game for me .
*
And make me savory food ,
such as I love ,
and bring it to me that I may eat ,
that my soul may bless you before I die ."
*
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son .
And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it .
*
So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son ,
saying , "
Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother ,
saying ,
* "
Bring me game and make savory food for me ,
that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the LORD before my death .'
*
Now therefore ,
my son ,
obey my voice according to what I command you .
*
Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats ,
and I will make savory food from them for your father ,
such as he loves .
*
Then you shall take it to your father ,
that he may eat it ,
and that he may bless you before his death ."
*
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother , "
Look ,
Esau my brother is a hairy man ,
and I am a smooth-skinned man .
*
Perhaps my father will feel me ,
and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him ;
and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing ."
*
But his mother said to him , "
Let your curse be on me ,
my son ;
only obey my voice ,
and go ,
get them for me ."
*
And he went and got them and brought them to his mother ,
and his mother made savory food ,
such as his father loved .
*
Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau ,
which were with her in the house ,
and put them on Jacob her younger son .
*
And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck .
*
Then she gave the savory food and the bread ,
which she had prepared ,
into the hand of her son Jacob .
*
So he went to his father and said , "
My father ."
And he said , "
Here I am .
Who are you ,
my son ?"
*
Jacob said to his father , "
I am Esau your firstborn ;
I have done just as you told me ;
please arise ,
sit and eat of my game ,
that your soul may bless me ."
*
But Isaac said to his son , "
How is it that you have found it so quickly ,
my son ?"
And he said , "
Because the LORD your God brought it to me ."
*
Isaac said to Jacob , "
Please come near ,
that I may feel you ,
my son ,
whether you are really my son Esau or not ."
*
So Jacob went near to Isaac his father ,
and he felt him and said , "
The voice is Jacob '
s voice ,
but the hands are the hands of Esau ."
*
And he did not recognize him ,
because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau '
s hands ;
so he blessed him .
*
Then he said , "
Are you really my son Esau ?"
He said , "
I am ."
*
He said , "
Bring it near to me ,
and I will eat of my son '
s game ,
so that my soul may bless you ."
So he brought it near to him ,
and he ate ;
and he brought him wine ,
and he drank .
*
Then his father Isaac said to him , "
Come near now and kiss me ,
my son ."
*
And he came near and kissed him ;
and he smelled the smell of his clothing ,
and blessed him and said : "
Surely ,
the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field Which the LORD has blessed .
*
Therefore may God give you Of the dew of heaven ,
Of the fatness of the earth ,
And plenty of grain and wine .
*
Let peoples serve you ,
And nations bow down to you .
Be master over your brethren ,
And let your mother '
s sons bow down to you .
Cursed be everyone who curses you ,
And blessed be those who bless you !"
*
Now it happened ,
as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob ,
and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father ,
that Esau his brother came in from his hunting .
*
He also had made savory food ,
and brought it to his father ,
and said to his father , "
Let my father arise and eat of his son '
s game ,
that your soul may bless me ."
*
And his father Isaac said to him , "
Who are you ?"
So he said , "
I am your son ,
your firstborn ,
Esau ."
*
Then Isaac trembled exceedingly ,
and said , "
Who ?
Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me ?
I ate all of it before you came ,
and I have blessed him--and indeed he shall be blessed ."
*
When Esau heard the words of his father ,
he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry ,
and said to his father , "
Bless me--me also ,
O my father !"
*
But he said , "
Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing ."
*
And Esau said , "
Is he not rightly named Jacob ?
For he has supplanted me these two times .
He took away my birthright ,
and now look ,
he has taken away my blessing !"
And he said , "
Have you not reserved a blessing for me ?"
*
Then Isaac answered and said to Esau , "
Indeed I have made him your master ,
and all his brethren I have given to him as servants ;
with grain and wine I have sustained him .
What shall I do now for you ,
my son ?"
*
And Esau said to his father , "
Have you only one blessing ,
my father ?
Bless me--me also ,
O my father !"
And Esau lifted up his voice and wept .
*
Then Isaac his father answered and said to him : "
Behold ,
your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth ,
And of the dew of heaven from above .
*
By your sword you shall live ,
And you shall serve your brother ;
And it shall come to pass ,
when you become restless ,
That you shall break his yoke from your neck ."
*
So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him ,
and Esau said in his heart , "
The days of mourning for my father are at hand ;
then I will kill my brother Jacob ."
*
And the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah .
So she sent and called Jacob her younger son ,
and said to him , "
Surely your brother Esau comforts himself concerning you by intending to kill you .
*
Now therefore ,
my son ,
obey my voice :
arise ,
flee to my brother Laban in Haran .
*
And stay with him a few days ,
until your brother '
s fury turns away ,
*
until your brother '
s anger turns away from you ,
and he forgets what you have done to him ;
then I will send and bring you from there .
Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day ?"
*
And Rebekah said to Isaac , "
I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth ;
if Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Heth ,
like these who are the daughters of the land ,
what good will my life be to me ?"
*
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him ,
and charged him ,
and said to him : "
You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan .
*
Arise ,
go to Padan Aram ,
to the house of Bethuel your mother '
s father ;
and take yourself a wife from there of the daughters of Laban your mother '
s brother .
* "
May God Almighty bless you ,
And make you fruitful and multiply you ,
That you may be an assembly of peoples ;
*
And give you the blessing of Abraham ,
To you and your descendants with you ,
That you may inherit the land In which you are a stranger ,
Which God gave to Abraham ."
*
So Isaac sent Jacob away ,
and he went to Padan Aram ,
to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian ,
the brother of Rebekah ,
the mother of Jacob and Esau .
*
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there ,
and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge ,
saying , "
You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan ,"
*
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram .
*
Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac .
*
So Esau went to Ishmael and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael ,
Abraham '
s son ,
the sister of Nebajoth ,
to be his wife in addition to the wives he had .
*
Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran .
*
So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night ,
because the sun had set .
And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head ,
and he lay down in that place to sleep .
*
Then he dreamed ,
and behold ,
a ladder was set up on the earth ,
and its top reached to heaven ;
and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it .
*
And behold ,
the LORD stood above it and said : "
I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac ;
the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants .
*
Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth ;
you shall spread abroad to the west and the east ,
to the north and the south ;
and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed .
*
Behold ,
I am with you and will keep you wherever you go ,
and will bring you back to this land ;
for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you ."
*
Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said , "
Surely the LORD is in this place ,
and I did not know it ."
*
And he was afraid and said , "
How awesome is this place !
This is none other than the house of God ,
and this is the gate of heaven !"
*
Then Jacob rose early in the morning ,
and took the stone that he had put at his head ,
set it up as a pillar ,
and poured oil on top of it .
*
And he called the name of that place Bethel ;
but the name of that city had been Luz previously .
*
Then Jacob made a vow ,
saying , "
If God will be with me ,
and keep me in this way that I am going ,
and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on ,
*
so that I come back to my father '
s house in peace ,
then the LORD shall be my God .
*
And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God '
s house ,
and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You ."
*
So Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the East .
*
And he looked ,
and saw a well in the field ;
and behold ,
there were three flocks of sheep lying by it ;
for out of that well they watered the flocks .
A large stone was on the well '
s mouth .
*
Now all the flocks would be gathered there ;
and they would roll the stone from the well '
s mouth ,
water the sheep ,
and put the stone back in its place on the well '
s mouth .
*
And Jacob said to them , "
My brethren ,
where are you from ?"
And they said , "
We are from Haran ."
*
Then he said to them , "
Do you know Laban the son of Nahor ?"
And they said , "
We know him ."
*
So he said to them , "
Is he well ?"
And they said , "
He is well .
And look ,
his daughter Rachel is coming with the sheep ."
*
Then he said , "
Look ,
it is still high day ;
it is not time for the cattle to be gathered together .
Water the sheep ,
and go and feed them ."
*
But they said , "
We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together ,
and they have rolled the stone from the well '
s mouth ;
then we water the sheep ."
*
Now while he was still speaking with them ,
Rachel came with her father '
s sheep ,
for she was a shepherdess .
*
And it came to pass ,
when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother '
s brother ,
and the sheep of Laban his mother '
s brother ,
that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well '
s mouth ,
and watered the flock of Laban his mother '
s brother .
*
Then Jacob kissed Rachel ,
and lifted up his voice and wept .
*
And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father '
s relative and that he was Rebekah '
s son .
So she ran and told her father .
*
Then it came to pass ,
when Laban heard the report about Jacob his sister '
s son ,
that he ran to meet him ,
and embraced him and kissed him ,
and brought him to his house .
So he told Laban all these things .
*
And Laban said to him , "
Surely you are my bone and my flesh ."
And he stayed with him for a month .
*
Then Laban said to Jacob , "
Because you are my relative ,
should you therefore serve me for nothing ?
Tell me ,
what should your wages be ?
*
Now Laban had two daughters :
the name of the elder was Leah ,
and the name of the younger was Rachel .
*
Leah '
s eyes were delicate ,
but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance .
*
Now Jacob loved Rachel ;
so he said , "
I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter ."
*
And Laban said , "
It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man .
Stay with me ."
*
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel ,
and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her .
*
Then Jacob said to Laban , "
Give me my wife ,
for my days are fulfilled ,
that I may go in to her ."
*
And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast .
*
Now it came to pass in the evening ,
that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob ;
and he went in to her .
*
And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah as a maid .
*
So it came to pass in the morning ,
that behold ,
it was Leah .
And he said to Laban , "
What is this you have done to me ?
Was it not for Rachel that I served you ?
Why then have you deceived me ?"
*
And Laban said , "
It must not be done so in our country ,
to give the younger before the firstborn .
*
Fulfill her week ,
and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years ."
*
Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week .
So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also .
*
And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as a maid .
*
Then Jacob also went in to Rachel ,
and he also loved Rachel more than Leah .
And he served with Laban still another seven years .
*
When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved ,
He opened her womb ;
but Rachel was barren .
*
So Leah conceived and bore a son ,
and she called his name Reuben ;
for she said , "
The LORD has surely looked on my affliction .
Now therefore ,
my husband will love me ."
*
Then she conceived again and bore a son ,
and said , "
Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved ,
He has therefore given me this son also ."
And she called his name Simeon .
*
She conceived again and bore a son ,
and said , "
Now this time my husband will become attached to me ,
because I have borne him three sons ."
Therefore his name was called Levi .
*
And she conceived again and bore a son ,
and said , "
Now I will praise the LORD ."
Therefore she called his name Judah .
Then she stopped bearing .
*
Now when Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children ,
Rachel envied her sister ,
and said to Jacob , "
Give me children ,
or else I die !"
*
And Jacob '
s anger was aroused against Rachel ,
and he said , "
Am I in the place of God ,
who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb ?"
*
So she said , "
Here is my maid Bilhah ;
go in to her ,
and she will bear a child on my knees ,
that I also may have children by her ."
*
Then she gave him Bilhah her maid as wife ,
and Jacob went in to her .
*
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son .
*
Then Rachel said , "
God has judged my case ;
and He has also heard my voice and given me a son ."
Therefore she called his name Dan .
*
And Rachel '
s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son .
*
Then Rachel said , "
With great wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister ,
and indeed I have prevailed ."
So she called his name Naphtali .
*
When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing ,
she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as wife .
*
And Leah '
s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son .
*
Then Leah said , "
A troop comes !"
So she called his name Gad .
*
And Leah '
s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son .
*
Then Leah said , "
I am happy ,
for the daughters will call me blessed ."
So she called his name Asher .
*
Now Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest and found mandrakes in the field ,
and brought them to his mother Leah .
Then Rachel said to Leah , "
Please give me some of your son '
s mandrakes ."
*
But she said to her , "
Is it a small matter that you have taken away my husband ?
Would you take away my son '
s mandrakes also ?"
And Rachel said , "
Therefore he will lie with you tonight for your son '
s mandrakes ."
*
When Jacob came out of the field in the evening ,
Leah went out to meet him and said , "
You must come in to me ,
for I have surely hired you with my son '
s mandrakes ."
And he lay with her that night .
*
And God listened to Leah ,
and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son .
*
Leah said , "
God has given me my wages ,
because I have given my maid to my husband ."
So she called his name Issachar .
*
Then Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a sixth son .
*
And Leah said , "
God has endowed me with a good endowment ;
now my husband will dwell with me ,
because I have borne him six sons ."
So she called his name Zebulun .
*
Afterward she bore a daughter ,
and called her name Dinah .
*
Then God remembered Rachel ,
and God listened to her and opened her womb .
*
And she conceived and bore a son ,
and said , "
God has taken away my reproach ."
*
So she called his name Joseph ,
and said , "
The LORD shall add to me another son ."
*
And it came to pass ,
when Rachel had borne Joseph ,
that Jacob said to Laban , "
Send me away ,
that I may go to my own place and to my country .
*
Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you ,
and let me go ;
for you know my service which I have done for you ."
*
And Laban said to him , "
Please stay ,
if I have found favor in your eyes ,
for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake ."
*
Then he said , "
Name me your wages ,
and I will give it ."
*
So Jacob said to him , "
You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me .
*
For what you had before I came was little ,
and it has increased to a great amount ;
the LORD has blessed you since my coming .
And now ,
when shall I also provide for my own house ?"
*
So he said , "
What shall I give you ?"
And Jacob said , "
You shall not give me anything .
If you will do this thing for me ,
I will again feed and keep your flocks :
*
Let me pass through all your flock today ,
removing from there all the speckled and spotted sheep ,
and all the brown ones among the lambs ,
and the spotted and speckled among the goats ;
and these shall be my wages .
*
So my righteousness will answer for me in time to come ,
when the subject of my wages comes before you :
every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats ,
and brown among the lambs ,
will be considered stolen ,
if it is with me ."
*
And Laban said , "
Oh ,
that it were according to your word !"
*
So he removed that day the male goats that were speckled and spotted ,
all the female goats that were speckled and spotted ,
every one that had some white in it ,
and all the brown ones among the lambs ,
and gave them into the hand of his sons .
*
Then he put three days '
journey between himself and Jacob ,
and Jacob fed the rest of Laban '
s flocks .
*
Now Jacob took for himself rods of green poplar and of the almond and chestnut trees ,
peeled white strips in them ,
and exposed the white which was in the rods .
*
And the rods which he had peeled ,
he set before the flocks in the gutters ,
in the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink ,
so that they should conceive when they came to drink .
*
So the flocks conceived before the rods ,
and the flocks brought forth streaked ,
speckled ,
and spotted .
*
Then Jacob separated the lambs ,
and made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the brown in the flock of Laban ;
but he put his own flocks by themselves and did not put them with Laban '
s flock .
*
And it came to pass ,
whenever the stronger livestock conceived ,
that Jacob placed the rods before the eyes of the livestock in the gutters ,
that they might conceive among the rods .
*
But when the flocks were feeble ,
he did not put them in ;
so the feebler were Laban '
s and the stronger Jacob '
s .
*
Thus the man became exceedingly prosperous ,
and had large flocks ,
female and male servants ,
and camels and donkeys .
*
Now Jacob heard the words of Laban '
s sons ,
saying , "
Jacob has taken away all that was our father '
s ,
and from what was our father '
s he has acquired all this wealth ."
*
And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban ,
and indeed it was not favorable toward him as before .
*
Then the LORD said to Jacob , "
Return to the land of your fathers and to your family ,
and I will be with you ."
*
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field ,
to his flock ,
*
and said to them , "
I see your father '
s countenance ,
that it is not favorable toward me as before ;
but the God of my father has been with me .
*
And you know that with all my might I have served your father .
*
Yet your father has deceived me and changed my wages ten times ,
but God did not allow him to hurt me .
*
If he said thus : "
The speckled shall be your wages ,'
then all the flocks bore speckled .
And if he said thus : "
The streaked shall be your wages ,'
then all the flocks bore streaked .
*
So God has taken away the livestock of your father and given them to me .
* "
And it happened ,
at the time when the flocks conceived ,
that I lifted my eyes and saw in a dream ,
and behold ,
the rams which leaped upon the flocks were streaked ,
speckled ,
and gray-spotted .
*
Then the Angel of God spoke to me in a dream ,
saying , "
Jacob .'
And I said , "
Here I am .'
*
And He said , "
Lift your eyes now and see ,
all the rams which leap on the flocks are streaked ,
speckled ,
and gray-spotted ;
for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you .
*
I am the God of Bethel ,
where you anointed the pillar and where you made a vow to Me .
Now arise ,
get out of this land ,
and return to the land of your family ."'
*
Then Rachel and Leah answered and said to him , "
Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father '
s house ?
*
Are we not considered strangers by him ?
For he has sold us ,
and also completely consumed our money .
*
For all these riches which God has taken from our father are really ours and our children '
s ;
now then ,
whatever God has said to you ,
do it ."
*
Then Jacob rose and set his sons and his wives on camels .
*
And he carried away all his livestock and all his possessions which he had gained ,
his acquired livestock which he had gained in Padan Aram ,
to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan .
*
Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep ,
and Rachel had stolen the household idols that were her father '
s .
*
And Jacob stole away ,
unknown to Laban the Syrian ,
in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee .
*
So he fled with all that he had .
He arose and crossed the river ,
and headed toward the mountains of Gilead .
*
And Laban was told on the third day that Jacob had fled .
*
Then he took his brethren with him and pursued him for seven days '
journey ,
and he overtook him in the mountains of Gilead .
*
But God had come to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night ,
and said to him , "
Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad ."
*
So Laban overtook Jacob .
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountains ,
and Laban with his brethren pitched in the mountains of Gilead .
*
And Laban said to Jacob : "
What have you done ,
that you have stolen away unknown to me ,
and carried away my daughters like captives taken with the sword ?
*
Why did you flee away secretly ,
and steal away from me ,
and not tell me ;
for I might have sent you away with joy and songs ,
with timbrel and harp ?
*
And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters .
Now you have done foolishly in so doing .
*
It is in my power to do you harm ,
but the God of your father spoke to me last night ,
saying , "
Be careful that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad .'
*
And now you have surely gone because you greatly long for your father '
s house ,
but why did you steal my gods ?"
*
Then Jacob answered and said to Laban , "
Because I was afraid ,
for I said , "
Perhaps you would take your daughters from me by force .'
*
With whomever you find your gods ,
do not let him live .
In the presence of our brethren ,
identify what I have of yours and take it with you ."
For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them .
*
And Laban went into Jacob '
s tent ,
into Leah '
s tent ,
and into the two maids '
tents ,
but he did not find them .
Then he went out of Leah '
s tent and entered Rachel '
s tent .
*
Now Rachel had taken the household idols ,
put them in the camel '
s saddle ,
and sat on them .
And Laban searched all about the tent but did not find them .
*
And she said to her father , "
Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise before you ,
for the manner of women is with me ."
And he searched but did not find the household idols .
*
Then Jacob was angry and rebuked Laban ,
and Jacob answered and said to Laban : "
What is my trespass ?
What is my sin ,
that you have so hotly pursued me ?
*
Although you have searched all my things ,
what part of your household things have you found ?
Set it here before my brethren and your brethren ,
that they may judge between us both !
*
These twenty years I have been with you ;
your ewes and your female goats have not miscarried their young ,
and I have not eaten the rams of your flock .
*
That which was torn by beasts I did not bring to you ;
I bore the loss of it .
You required it from my hand ,
whether stolen by day or stolen by night .
*
There I was !
In the day the drought consumed me ,
and the frost by night ,
and my sleep departed from my eyes .
*
Thus I have been in your house twenty years ;
I served you fourteen years for your two daughters ,
and six years for your flock ,
and you have changed my wages ten times .
*
Unless the God of my father ,
the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac ,
had been with me ,
surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed .
God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands ,
and rebuked you last night ."
*
And Laban answered and said to Jacob , "
These daughters are my daughters ,
and these children are my children ,
and this flock is my flock ;
all that you see is mine .
But what can I do this day to these my daughters or to their children whom they have borne ?
*
Now therefore ,
come ,
let us make a covenant ,
you and I ,
and let it be a witness between you and me ."
*
So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar .
*
Then Jacob said to his brethren , "
Gather stones ."
And they took stones and made a heap ,
and they ate there on the heap .
*
Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha ,
but Jacob called it Galeed .
*
And Laban said , "
This heap is a witness between you and me this day ."
Therefore its name was called Galeed ,
*
also Mizpah ,
because he said , "
May the LORD watch between you and me when we are absent one from another .
*
If you afflict my daughters ,
or if you take other wives besides my daughters ,
although no man is with us--see ,
God is witness between you and me !"
*
Then Laban said to Jacob , "
Here is this heap and here is this pillar ,
which I have placed between you and me .
*
This heap is a witness ,
and this pillar is a witness ,
that I will not pass beyond this heap to you ,
and you will not pass beyond this heap and this pillar to me ,
for harm .
*
The God of Abraham ,
the God of Nahor ,
and the God of their father judge between us ."
And Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac .
*
Then Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain ,
and called his brethren to eat bread .
And they ate bread and stayed all night on the mountain .
*
And early in the morning Laban arose ,
and kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them .
Then Laban departed and returned to his place .
*
So Jacob went on his way ,
and the angels of God met him .
*
When Jacob saw them ,
he said , "
This is God '
s camp ."
And he called the name of that place Mahanaim .
*
Then Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Seir ,
the country of Edom .
*
And he commanded them ,
saying , "
Speak thus to my lord Esau , "
Thus your servant Jacob says : "
I have dwelt with Laban and stayed there until now .
*
I have oxen ,
donkeys ,
flocks ,
and male and female servants ;
and I have sent to tell my lord ,
that I may find favor in your sight .""'
*
Then the messengers returned to Jacob ,
saying , "
We came to your brother Esau ,
and he also is coming to meet you ,
and four hundred men are with him ."
*
So Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed ;
and he divided the people that were with him ,
and the flocks and herds and camels ,
into two companies .
*
And he said , "
If Esau comes to the one company and attacks it ,
then the other company which is left will escape ."
*
Then Jacob said , "
O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac ,
the LORD who said to me , "
Return to your country and to your family ,
and I will deal well with you ':
*
I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies and of all the truth which You have shown Your servant ;
for I crossed over this Jordan with my staff ,
and now I have become two companies .
*
Deliver me ,
I pray ,
from the hand of my brother ,
from the hand of Esau ;
for I fear him ,
lest he come and attack me and the mother with the children .
*
For You said , "
I will surely treat you well ,
and make your descendants as the sand of the sea ,
which cannot be numbered for multitude ."'
*
So he lodged there that same night ,
and took what came to his hand as a present for Esau his brother :
*
two hundred female goats and twenty male goats ,
two hundred ewes and twenty rams ,
*
thirty milk camels with their colts ,
forty cows and ten bulls ,
twenty female donkeys and ten foals .
*
Then he delivered them to the hand of his servants ,
every drove by itself ,
and said to his servants , "
Pass over before me ,
and put some distance between successive droves ."
*
And he commanded the first one ,
saying , "
When Esau my brother meets you and asks you ,
saying , "
To whom do you belong ,
and where are you going ?
Whose are these in front of you ?'
*
then you shall say , "
They are your servant Jacob '
s .
It is a present sent to my lord Esau ;
and behold ,
he also is behind us ."'
*
So he commanded the second ,
the third ,
and all who followed the droves ,
saying , "
In this manner you shall speak to Esau when you find him ;
*
and also say , "
Behold ,
your servant Jacob is behind us ."'
For he said , "
I will appease him with the present that goes before me ,
and afterward I will see his face ;
perhaps he will accept me ."
*
So the present went on over before him ,
but he himself lodged that night in the camp .
*
And he arose that night and took his two wives ,
his two female servants ,
and his eleven sons ,
and crossed over the ford of Jabbok .
*
He took them ,
sent them over the brook ,
and sent over what he had .
*
Then Jacob was left alone ;
and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day .
*
Now when He saw that He did not prevail against him ,
He touched the socket of his hip ;
and the socket of Jacob '
s hip was out of joint as He wrestled with him .
*
And He said , "
Let Me go ,
for the day breaks ."
But he said , "
I will not let You go unless You bless me !"
*
So He said to him , "
What is your name ?"
He said , "
Jacob ."
*
And He said , "
Your name shall no longer be called Jacob ,
but Israel ;
for you have struggled with God and with men ,
and have prevailed ."
*
Then Jacob asked ,
saying , "
Tell me Your name ,
I pray ."
And He said , "
Why is it that you ask about My name ?"
And He blessed him there .
*
So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel : "
For I have seen God face to face ,
and my life is preserved ."
*
Just as he crossed over Penuel the sun rose on him ,
and he limped on his hip .
*
Therefore to this day the children of Israel do not eat the muscle that shrank ,
which is on the hip socket ,
because He touched the socket of Jacob '
s hip in the muscle that shrank .
*
Now Jacob lifted his eyes and looked ,
and there ,
Esau was coming ,
and with him were four hundred men .
So he divided the children among Leah ,
Rachel ,
and the two maidservants .
*
And he put the maidservants and their children in front ,
Leah and her children behind ,
and Rachel and Joseph last .
*
Then he crossed over before them and bowed himself to the ground seven times ,
until he came near to his brother .
*
But Esau ran to meet him ,
and embraced him ,
and fell on his neck and kissed him ,
and they wept .
*
And he lifted his eyes and saw the women and children ,
and said , "
Who are these with you ?"
So he said , "
The children whom God has graciously given your servant ."
*
Then the maidservants came near ,
they and their children ,
and bowed down .
*
And Leah also came near with her children ,
and they bowed down .
Afterward Joseph and Rachel came near ,
and they bowed down .
*
Then Esau said , "
What do you mean by all this company which I met ?"
And he said , "
These are to find favor in the sight of my lord ."
*
But Esau said , "
I have enough ,
my brother ;
keep what you have for yourself ."
*
And Jacob said , "
No ,
please ,
if I have now found favor in your sight ,
then receive my present from my hand ,
inasmuch as I have seen your face as though I had seen the face of God ,
and you were pleased with me .
*
Please ,
take my blessing that is brought to you ,
because God has dealt graciously with me ,
and because I have enough ."
So he urged him ,
and he took it .
*
Then Esau said , "
Let us take our journey ;
let us go ,
and I will go before you ."
*
But Jacob said to him , "
My lord knows that the children are weak ,
and the flocks and herds which are nursing are with me .
And if the men should drive them hard one day ,
all the flock will die .
*
Please let my lord go on ahead before his servant .
I will lead on slowly at a pace which the livestock that go before me ,
and the children ,
are able to endure ,
until I come to my lord in Seir ."
*
And Esau said , "
Now let me leave with you some of the people who are with me ."
But he said , "
What need is there ?
Let me find favor in the sight of my lord ."
*
So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir .
*
And Jacob journeyed to Succoth ,
built himself a house ,
and made booths for his livestock .
Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth .
*
Then Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem ,
which is in the land of Canaan ,
when he came from Padan Aram ;
and he pitched his tent before the city .
*
And he bought the parcel of land ,
where he had pitched his tent ,
from the children of Hamor ,
Shechem '
s father ,
for one hundred pieces of money .
*
Then he erected an altar there and called it El Elohe Israel .
*
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah ,
whom she had borne to Jacob ,
went out to see the daughters of the land .
*
And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite ,
prince of the country ,
saw her ,
he took her and lay with her ,
and violated her .
*
His soul was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob ,
and he loved the young woman and spoke kindly to the young woman .
*
So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor ,
saying , "
Get me this young woman as a wife ."
*
And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter .
Now his sons were with his livestock in the field ;
so Jacob held his peace until they came .
*
Then Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him .
*
And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it ;
and the men were grieved and very angry ,
because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob '
s daughter ,
a thing which ought not to be done .
*
But Hamor spoke with them ,
saying , "
The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter .
Please give her to him as a wife .
*
And make marriages with us ;
give your daughters to us ,
and take our daughters to yourselves .
*
So you shall dwell with us ,
and the land shall be before you .
Dwell and trade in it ,
and acquire possessions for yourselves in it ."
*
Then Shechem said to her father and her brothers , "
Let me find favor in your eyes ,
and whatever you say to me I will give .
*
Ask me ever so much dowry and gift ,
and I will give according to what you say to me ;
but give me the young woman as a wife ."
*
But the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father ,
and spoke deceitfully ,
because he had defiled Dinah their sister .
*
And they said to them , "
We cannot do this thing ,
to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised ,
for that would be a reproach to us .
*
But on this condition we will consent to you :
If you will become as we are ,
if every male of you is circumcised ,
*
then we will give our daughters to you ,
and we will take your daughters to us ;
and we will dwell with you ,
and we will become one people .
*
But if you will not heed us and be circumcised ,
then we will take our daughter and be gone ."
*
And their words pleased Hamor and Shechem ,
Hamor '
s son .
*
So the young man did not delay to do the thing ,
because he delighted in Jacob '
s daughter .
He was more honorable than all the household of his father .
*
And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city ,
and spoke with the men of their city ,
saying :
* "
These men are at peace with us .
Therefore let them dwell in the land and trade in it .
For indeed the land is large enough for them .
Let us take their daughters to us as wives ,
and let us give them our daughters .
*
Only on this condition will the men consent to dwell with us ,
to be one people :
if every male among us is circumcised as they are circumcised .
*
Will not their livestock ,
their property ,
and every animal of theirs be ours ?
Only let us consent to them ,
and they will dwell with us ."
*
And all who went out of the gate of his city heeded Hamor and Shechem his son ;
every male was circumcised ,
all who went out of the gate of his city .
*
Now it came to pass on the third day ,
when they were in pain ,
that two of the sons of Jacob ,
Simeon and Levi ,
Dinah '
s brothers ,
each took his sword and came boldly upon the city and killed all the males .
*
And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword ,
and took Dinah from Shechem '
s house ,
and went out .
*
The sons of Jacob came upon the slain ,
and plundered the city ,
because their sister had been defiled .
*
They took their sheep ,
their oxen ,
and their donkeys ,
what was in the city and what was in the field ,
*
and all their wealth .
All their little ones and their wives they took captive ;
and they plundered even all that was in the houses .
*
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi , "
You have troubled me by making me obnoxious among the inhabitants of the land ,
among the Canaanites and the Perizzites ;
and since I am few in number ,
they will gather themselves together against me and kill me .
I shall be destroyed ,
my household and I ."
*
But they said , "
Should he treat our sister like a harlot ?"
*
Then God said to Jacob , "
Arise ,
go up to Bethel and dwell there ;
and make an altar there to God ,
who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother ."
*
And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him , "
Put away the foreign gods that are among you ,
purify yourselves ,
and change your garments .
*
Then let us arise and go up to Bethel ;
and I will make an altar there to God ,
who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone ."
*
So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands ,
and the earrings which were in their ears ;
and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem .
*
And they journeyed ,
and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them ,
and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob .
*
So Jacob came to Luz (
that is ,
Bethel ),
which is in the land of Canaan ,
he and all the people who were with him .
*
And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel ,
because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother .
*
Now Deborah ,
Rebekah '
s nurse ,
died ,
and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree .
So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth .
*
Then God appeared to Jacob again ,
when he came from Padan Aram ,
and blessed him .
*
And God said to him , "
Your name is Jacob ;
your name shall not be called Jacob anymore ,
but Israel shall be your name ."
So He called his name Israel .
*
Also God said to him : "
I am God Almighty .
Be fruitful and multiply ;
a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you ,
and kings shall come from your body .
*
The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you ;
and to your descendants after you I give this land ."
*
Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him .
*
So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him ,
a pillar of stone ;
and he poured a drink offering on it ,
and he poured oil on it .
*
And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him ,
Bethel .
*
Then they journeyed from Bethel .
And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath ,
Rachel labored in childbirth ,
and she had hard labor .
*
Now it came to pass ,
when she was in hard labor ,
that the midwife said to her , "
Do not fear ;
you will have this son also ."
*
And so it was ,
as her soul was departing (
for she died ),
that she called his name Ben-Oni ;
but his father called him Benjamin .
*
So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (
that is ,
Bethlehem ).
*
And Jacob set a pillar on her grave ,
which is the pillar of Rachel '
s grave to this day .
*
Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder .
*
And it happened ,
when Israel dwelt in that land ,
that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father '
s concubine ;
and Israel heard about it .
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve :
*
the sons of Leah were Reuben ,
Jacob '
s firstborn ,
and Simeon ,
Levi ,
Judah ,
Issachar ,
and Zebulun ;
*
the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin ;
*
the sons of Bilhah ,
Rachel '
s maidservant ,
were Dan and Naphtali ;
*
and the sons of Zilpah ,
Leah '
s maidservant ,
were Gad and Asher .
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram .
*
Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre ,
or Kirjath Arba (
that is ,
Hebron ),
where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt .
*
Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years .
*
So Isaac breathed his last and died ,
and was gathered to his people ,
being old and full of days .
And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him .
*
Now this is the genealogy of Esau ,
who is Edom .
*
Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan :
Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite ;
Aholibamah the daughter of Anah ,
the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite ;
*
and Basemath ,
Ishmael '
s daughter ,
sister of Nebajoth .
*
Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau ,
and Basemath bore Reuel .
*
And Aholibamah bore Jeush ,
Jaalam ,
and Korah .
These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan .
*
Then Esau took his wives ,
his sons ,
his daughters ,
and all the persons of his household ,
his cattle and all his animals ,
and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan ,
and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob .
*
For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together ,
and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock .
*
So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir .
Esau is Edom .
*
And this is the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir .
*
These were the names of Esau '
s sons :
Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau ,
and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau .
*
And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman ,
Omar ,
Zepho ,
Gatam ,
and Kenaz .
*
Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz ,
Esau '
s son ,
and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz .
These were the sons of Adah ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These were the sons of Reuel :
Nahath ,
Zerah ,
Shammah ,
and Mizzah .
These were the sons of Basemath ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These were the sons of Aholibamah ,
Esau '
s wife ,
the daughter of Anah ,
the daughter of Zibeon .
And she bore to Esau :
Jeush ,
Jaalam ,
and Korah .
*
These were the chiefs of the sons of Esau .
The sons of Eliphaz ,
the firstborn son of Esau ,
were Chief Teman ,
Chief Omar ,
Chief Zepho ,
Chief Kenaz ,
*
Chief Korah ,
Chief Gatam ,
and Chief Amalek .
These were the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom .
They were the sons of Adah .
*
These were the sons of Reuel ,
Esau '
s son :
Chief Nahath ,
Chief Zerah ,
Chief Shammah ,
and Chief Mizzah .
These were the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom .
These were the sons of Basemath ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
And these were the sons of Aholibamah ,
Esau '
s wife :
Chief Jeush ,
Chief Jaalam ,
and Chief Korah .
These were the chiefs who descended from Aholibamah ,
Esau '
s wife ,
the daughter of Anah .
*
These were the sons of Esau ,
who is Edom ,
and these were their chiefs .
*
These were the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land :
Lotan ,
Shobal ,
Zibeon ,
Anah ,
*
Dishon ,
Ezer ,
and Dishan .
These were the chiefs of the Horites ,
the sons of Seir ,
in the land of Edom .
*
And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam .
Lotan '
s sister was Timna .
*
These were the sons of Shobal :
Alvan ,
Manahath ,
Ebal ,
Shepho ,
and Onam .
*
These were the sons of Zibeon :
both Ajah and Anah .
This was the Anah who found the water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon .
*
These were the children of Anah :
Dishon and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah .
*
These were the sons of Dishon :
Hemdan ,
Eshban ,
Ithran ,
and Cheran .
*
These were the sons of Ezer :
Bilhan ,
Zaavan ,
and Akan .
*
These were the sons of Dishan :
Uz and Aran .
*
These were the chiefs of the Horites :
Chief Lotan ,
Chief Shobal ,
Chief Zibeon ,
Chief Anah ,
*
Chief Dishon ,
Chief Ezer ,
and Chief Dishan .
These were the chiefs of the Horites ,
according to their chiefs in the land of Seir .
*
Now these were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel :
*
Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom ,
and the name of his city was Dinhabah .
*
And when Bela died ,
Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place .
*
When Jobab died ,
Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place .
*
And when Husham died ,
Hadad the son of Bedad ,
who attacked Midian in the field of Moab ,
reigned in his place .
And the name of his city was Avith .
*
When Hadad died ,
Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place .
*
And when Samlah died ,
Saul of Rehoboth-by-the-River reigned in his place .
*
When Saul died ,
Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place .
*
And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died ,
Hadar reigned in his place ;
and the name of his city was Pau .
His wife '
s name was Mehetabel ,
the daughter of Matred ,
the daughter of Mezahab .
*
And these were the names of the chiefs of Esau ,
according to their families and their places ,
by their names :
Chief Timnah ,
Chief Alvah ,
Chief Jetheth ,
*
Chief Aholibamah ,
Chief Elah ,
Chief Pinon ,
*
Chief Kenaz ,
Chief Teman ,
Chief Mibzar ,
*
Chief Magdiel ,
and Chief Iram .
These were the chiefs of Edom ,
according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession .
Esau was the father of the Edomites .
*
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger ,
in the land of Canaan .
*
This is the history of Jacob .
Joseph ,
being seventeen years old ,
was feeding the flock with his brothers .
And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah ,
his father '
s wives ;
and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father .
*
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children ,
because he was the son of his old age .
Also he made him a tunic of many colors .
*
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers ,
they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him .
*
Now Joseph had a dream ,
and he told it to his brothers ;
and they hated him even more .
*
So he said to them , "
Please hear this dream which I have dreamed :
*
There we were ,
binding sheaves in the field .
Then behold ,
my sheaf arose and also stood upright ;
and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf ."
*
And his brothers said to him , "
Shall you indeed reign over us ?
Or shall you indeed have dominion over us ?"
So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words .
*
Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers ,
and said , "
Look ,
I have dreamed another dream .
And this time ,
the sun ,
the moon ,
and the eleven stars bowed down to me ."
*
So he told it to his father and his brothers ;
and his father rebuked him and said to him , "
What is this dream that you have dreamed ?
Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you ?"
*
And his brothers envied him ,
but his father kept the matter in mind .
*
Then his brothers went to feed their father '
s flock in Shechem .
*
And Israel said to Joseph , "
Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem ?
Come ,
I will send you to them ."
So he said to him , "
Here I am ."
*
Then he said to him , "
Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks ,
and bring back word to me ."
So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron ,
and he went to Shechem .
*
Now a certain man found him ,
and there he was ,
wandering in the field .
And the man asked him ,
saying , "
What are you seeking ?"
*
So he said , "
I am seeking my brothers .
Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks ."
*
And the man said , "
They have departed from here ,
for I heard them say , "
Let us go to Dothan ."'
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan .
*
Now when they saw him afar off ,
even before he came near them ,
they conspired against him to kill him .
*
Then they said to one another , "
Look ,
this dreamer is coming !
*
Come therefore ,
let us now kill him and cast him into some pit ;
and we shall say , "
Some wild beast has devoured him .'
We shall see what will become of his dreams !"
*
But Reuben heard it ,
and he delivered him out of their hands ,
and said , "
Let us not kill him ."
*
And Reuben said to them , "
Shed no blood ,
but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness ,
and do not lay a hand on him "--
that he might deliver him out of their hands ,
and bring him back to his father .
*
So it came to pass ,
when Joseph had come to his brothers ,
that they stripped Joseph of his tunic ,
the tunic of many colors that was on him .
*
Then they took him and cast him into a pit .
And the pit was empty ;
there was no water in it .
*
And they sat down to eat a meal .
Then they lifted their eyes and looked ,
and there was a company of Ishmaelites ,
coming from Gilead with their camels ,
bearing spices ,
balm ,
and myrrh ,
on their way to carry them down to Egypt .
*
So Judah said to his brothers , "
What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood ?
*
Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites ,
and let not our hand be upon him ,
for he is our brother and our flesh ."
And his brothers listened .
*
Then Midianite traders passed by ;
so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit ,
and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver .
And they took Joseph to Egypt .
*
Then Reuben returned to the pit ,
and indeed Joseph was not in the pit ;
and he tore his clothes .
*
And he returned to his brothers and said , "
The lad is no more ;
and I ,
where shall I go ?"
*
So they took Joseph '
s tunic ,
killed a kid of the goats ,
and dipped the tunic in the blood .
*
Then they sent the tunic of many colors ,
and they brought it to their father and said , "
We have found this .
Do you know whether it is your son '
s tunic or not ?"
*
And he recognized it and said , "
It is my son '
s tunic .
A wild beast has devoured him .
Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces ."
*
Then Jacob tore his clothes ,
put sackcloth on his waist ,
and mourned for his son many days .
*
And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him ;
but he refused to be comforted ,
and he said , "
For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning ."
Thus his father wept for him .
*
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar ,
an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard .
*
It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers ,
and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah .
*
And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua ,
and he married her and went in to her .
*
So she conceived and bore a son ,
and he called his name Er .
*
She conceived again and bore a son ,
and she called his name Onan .
*
And she conceived yet again and bore a son ,
and called his name Shelah .
He was at Chezib when she bore him .
*
Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn ,
and her name was Tamar .
*
But Er ,
Judah '
s firstborn ,
was wicked in the sight of the LORD ,
and the LORD killed him .
*
And Judah said to Onan , "
Go in to your brother '
s wife and marry her ,
and raise up an heir to your brother ."
*
But Onan knew that the heir would not be his ;
and it came to pass ,
when he went in to his brother '
s wife ,
that he emitted on the ground ,
lest he should give an heir to his brother .
*
And the thing which he did displeased the LORD ;
therefore He killed him also .
*
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law , "
Remain a widow in your father '
s house till my son Shelah is grown ."
For he said , "
Lest he also die like his brothers ."
And Tamar went and dwelt in her father '
s house .
*
Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua ,
Judah '
s wife ,
died ;
and Judah was comforted ,
and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah ,
he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite .
*
And it was told Tamar ,
saying , "
Look ,
your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep ."
*
So she took off her widow '
s garments ,
covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself ,
and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah ;
for she saw that Shelah was grown ,
and she was not given to him as a wife .
*
When Judah saw her ,
he thought she was a harlot ,
because she had covered her face .
*
Then he turned to her by the way ,
and said , "
Please let me come in to you ";
for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law .
So she said , "
What will you give me ,
that you may come in to me ?"
*
And he said , "
I will send a young goat from the flock ."
So she said , "
Will you give me a pledge till you send it ?
*
Then he said , "
What pledge shall I give you ?"
So she said , "
Your signet and cord ,
and your staff that is in your hand ."
Then he gave them to her ,
and went in to her ,
and she conceived by him .
*
So she arose and went away ,
and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood .
*
And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite ,
to receive his pledge from the woman '
s hand ,
but he did not find her .
*
Then he asked the men of that place ,
saying , "
Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside ?"
And they said , "
There was no harlot in this place ."
*
So he returned to Judah and said , "
I cannot find her .
Also ,
the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place ."
*
Then Judah said , "
Let her take them for herself ,
lest we be shamed ;
for I sent this young goat and you have not found her ."
*
And it came to pass ,
about three months after ,
that Judah was told ,
saying , "
Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot ;
furthermore she is with child by harlotry ."
So Judah said , "
Bring her out and let her be burned !"
*
When she was brought out ,
she sent to her father-in-law ,
saying , "
By the man to whom these belong ,
I am with child ."
And she said , "
Please determine whose these are--the signet and cord ,
and staff ."
*
So Judah acknowledged them and said , "
She has been more righteous than I ,
because I did not give her to Shelah my son ."
And he never knew her again .
*
Now it came to pass ,
at the time for giving birth ,
that behold ,
twins were in her womb .
*
And so it was ,
when she was giving birth ,
that the one put out his hand ;
and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand ,
saying , "
This one came out first ."
*
Then it happened ,
as he drew back his hand ,
that his brother came out unexpectedly ;
and she said , "
How did you break through ?
This breach be upon you !"
Therefore his name was called Perez .
*
Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand .
And his name was called Zerah .
*
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt .
And Potiphar ,
an officer of Pharaoh ,
captain of the guard ,
an Egyptian ,
bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there .
*
The LORD was with Joseph ,
and he was a successful man ;
and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian .
*
And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand .
*
So Joseph found favor in his sight ,
and served him .
Then he made him overseer of his house ,
and all that he had he put under his authority .
*
So it was ,
from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had ,
that the LORD blessed the Egyptian '
s house for Joseph '
s sake ;
and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field .
*
Thus he left all that he had in Joseph '
s hand ,
and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate .
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance .
*
And it came to pass after these things that his master '
s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph ,
and she said , "
Lie with me ."
*
But he refused and said to his master '
s wife , "
Look ,
my master does not know what is with me in the house ,
and he has committed all that he has to my hand .
*
There is no one greater in this house than I ,
nor has he kept back anything from me but you ,
because you are his wife .
How then can I do this great wickedness ,
and sin against God ?"
*
So it was ,
as she spoke to Joseph day by day ,
that he did not heed her ,
to lie with her or to be with her .
*
But it happened about this time ,
when Joseph went into the house to do his work ,
and none of the men of the house was inside ,
*
that she caught him by his garment ,
saying , "
Lie with me ."
But he left his garment in her hand ,
and fled and ran outside .
*
And so it was ,
when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside ,
*
that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them ,
saying , "
See ,
he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us .
He came in to me to lie with me ,
and I cried out with a loud voice .
*
And it happened ,
when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out ,
that he left his garment with me ,
and fled and went outside ."
*
So she kept his garment with her until his master came home .
*
Then she spoke to him with words like these ,
saying , "
The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me ;
*
so it happened ,
as I lifted my voice and cried out ,
that he left his garment with me and fled outside ."
*
So it was ,
when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him ,
saying , "
Your servant did to me after this manner ,"
that his anger was aroused .
*
Then Joseph '
s master took him and put him into the prison ,
a place where the king '
s prisoners were confined .
And he was there in the prison .
*
But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy ,
and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison .
*
And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph '
s hand all the prisoners who were in the prison ;
whatever they did there ,
it was his doing .
*
The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph '
s authority ,
because the LORD was with him ;
and whatever he did ,
the LORD made it prosper .
*
It came to pass after these things that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord ,
the king of Egypt .
*
And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers ,
the chief butler and the chief baker .
*
So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard ,
in the prison ,
the place where Joseph was confined .
*
And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them ,
and he served them ;
so they were in custody for a while .
*
Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt ,
who were confined in the prison ,
had a dream ,
both of them ,
each man '
s dream in one night and each man '
s dream with its own interpretation .
*
And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them ,
and saw that they were sad .
*
So he asked Pharaoh '
s officers who were with him in the custody of his lord '
s house ,
saying , "
Why do you look so sad today ?"
*
And they said to him , "
We each have had a dream ,
and there is no interpreter of it ."
So Joseph said to them , "
Do not interpretations belong to God ?
Tell them to me ,
please ."
*
Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph ,
and said to him , "
Behold ,
in my dream a vine was before me ,
*
and in the vine were three branches ;
it was as though it budded ,
its blossoms shot forth ,
and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes .
*
Then Pharaoh '
s cup was in my hand ;
and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh '
s cup ,
and placed the cup in Pharaoh '
s hand ."
*
And Joseph said to him , "
This is the interpretation of it :
The three branches are three days .
*
Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place ,
and you will put Pharaoh '
s cup in his hand according to the former manner ,
when you were his butler .
*
But remember me when it is well with you ,
and please show kindness to me ;
make mention of me to Pharaoh ,
and get me out of this house .
*
For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews ;
and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon ."
*
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good ,
he said to Joseph , "
I also was in my dream ,
and there were three white baskets on my head .
*
In the uppermost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh ,
and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head ."
*
So Joseph answered and said , "
This is the interpretation of it :
The three baskets are three days .
*
Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree ;
and the birds will eat your flesh from you ."
*
Now it came to pass on the third day ,
which was Pharaoh '
s birthday ,
that he made a feast for all his servants ;
and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants .
*
Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again ,
and he placed the cup in Pharaoh '
s hand .
*
But he hanged the chief baker ,
as Joseph had interpreted to them .
*
Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph ,
but forgot him .
*
Then it came to pass ,
at the end of two full years ,
that Pharaoh had a dream ;
and behold ,
he stood by the river .
*
Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows ,
fine looking and fat ;
and they fed in the meadow .
*
Then behold ,
seven other cows came up after them out of the river ,
ugly and gaunt ,
and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river .
*
And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows .
So Pharaoh awoke .
*
He slept and dreamed a second time ;
and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk ,
plump and good .
*
Then behold ,
seven thin heads ,
blighted by the east wind ,
sprang up after them .
*
And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads .
So Pharaoh awoke ,
and indeed ,
it was a dream .
*
Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled ,
and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men .
And Pharaoh told them his dreams ,
but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh .
*
Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh ,
saying : "
I remember my faults this day .
*
When Pharaoh was angry with his servants ,
and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard ,
both me and the chief baker ,
*
we each had a dream in one night ,
he and I .
Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream .
*
Now there was a young Hebrew man with us there ,
a servant of the captain of the guard .
And we told him ,
and he interpreted our dreams for us ;
to each man he interpreted according to his own dream .
*
And it came to pass ,
just as he interpreted for us ,
so it happened .
He restored me to my office ,
and he hanged him ."
*
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph ,
and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon ;
and he shaved ,
changed his clothing ,
and came to Pharaoh .
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
I have had a dream ,
and there is no one who can interpret it .
But I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream ,
to interpret it ."
*
So Joseph answered Pharaoh ,
saying , "
It is not in me ;
God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace ."
*
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph : "
Behold ,
in my dream I stood on the bank of the river .
*
Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river ,
fine looking and fat ;
and they fed in the meadow .
*
Then behold ,
seven other cows came up after them ,
poor and very ugly and gaunt ,
such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt .
*
And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven ,
the fat cows .
*
When they had eaten them up ,
no one would have known that they had eaten them ,
for they were just as ugly as at the beginning .
So I awoke .
*
Also I saw in my dream ,
and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk ,
full and good .
*
Then behold ,
seven heads ,
withered ,
thin ,
and blighted by the east wind ,
sprang up after them .
*
And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads .
So I told this to the magicians ,
but there was no one who could explain it to me ."
*
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh , "
The dreams of Pharaoh are one ;
God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do :
*
The seven good cows are seven years ,
and the seven good heads are seven years ;
the dreams are one .
*
And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years ,
and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine .
*
This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh .
God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do .
*
Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt ;
*
but after them seven years of famine will arise ,
and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt ;
and the famine will deplete the land .
*
So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following ,
for it will be very severe .
*
And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing is established by God ,
and God will shortly bring it to pass .
* "
Now therefore ,
let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man ,
and set him over the land of Egypt .
*
Let Pharaoh do this ,
and let him appoint officers over the land ,
to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years .
*
And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming ,
and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh ,
and let them keep food in the cities .
*
Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt ,
that the land may not perish during the famine ."
*
So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants .
*
And Pharaoh said to his servants , "
Can we find such a one as this ,
a man in whom is the Spirit of God ?"
*
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Inasmuch as God has shown you all this ,
there is no one as discerning and wise as you .
*
You shall be over my house ,
and all my people shall be ruled according to your word ;
only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you ."
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
See ,
I have set you over all the land of Egypt ."
*
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph '
s hand ;
and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck .
*
And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had ;
and they cried out before him , "
Bow the knee !"
So he set him over all the land of Egypt .
*
Pharaoh also said to Joseph , "
I am Pharaoh ,
and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt ."
*
And Pharaoh called Joseph '
s name Zaphnath-Paaneah .
And he gave him as a wife Asenath ,
the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On .
So Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt .
*
Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt .
And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh ,
and went throughout all the land of Egypt .
*
Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly .
*
So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt ,
and laid up the food in the cities ;
he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them .
*
Joseph gathered very much grain ,
as the sand of the sea ,
until he stopped counting ,
for it was immeasurable .
*
And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came ,
whom Asenath ,
the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On ,
bore to him .
*
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh : "
For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father '
s house ."
*
And the name of the second he called Ephraim : "
For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction ."
*
Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended ,
*
and the seven years of famine began to come ,
as Joseph had said .
The famine was in all lands ,
but in all the land of Egypt there was bread .
*
So when all the land of Egypt was famished ,
the people cried to Pharaoh for bread .
Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians , "
Go to Joseph ;
whatever he says to you ,
do ."
*
The famine was over all the face of the earth ,
and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians .
And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt .
*
So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain ,
because the famine was severe in all lands .
*
When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt ,
Jacob said to his sons , "
Why do you look at one another ?"
*
And he said , "
Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt ;
go down to that place and buy for us there ,
that we may live and not die ."
*
So Joseph '
s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt .
*
But Jacob did not send Joseph '
s brother Benjamin with his brothers ,
for he said , "
Lest some calamity befall him ."
*
And the sons of Israel went to buy grain among those who journeyed ,
for the famine was in the land of Canaan .
*
Now Joseph was governor over the land ;
and it was he who sold to all the people of the land .
And Joseph '
s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth .
*
Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them ,
but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them .
Then he said to them , "
Where do you come from ?"
And they said , "
From the land of Canaan to buy food ."
*
So Joseph recognized his brothers ,
but they did not recognize him .
*
Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them ,
and said to them , "
You are spies !
You have come to see the nakedness of the land !"
*
And they said to him , "
No ,
my lord ,
but your servants have come to buy food .
*
We are all one man '
s sons ;
we are honest men ;
your servants are not spies ."
*
But he said to them , "
No ,
but you have come to see the nakedness of the land ."
*
And they said , "
Your servants are twelve brothers ,
the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ;
and in fact ,
the youngest is with our father today ,
and one is no more ."
*
But Joseph said to them , "
It is as I spoke to you ,
saying , "
You are spies !'
*
In this manner you shall be tested :
By the life of Pharaoh ,
you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here .
*
Send one of you ,
and let him bring your brother ;
and you shall be kept in prison ,
that your words may be tested to see whether there is any truth in you ;
or else ,
by the life of Pharaoh ,
surely you are spies !"
*
So he put them all together in prison three days .
*
Then Joseph said to them the third day , "
Do this and live ,
for I fear God :
*
If you are honest men ,
let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house ;
but you ,
go and carry grain for the famine of your houses .
*
And bring your youngest brother to me ;
so your words will be verified ,
and you shall not die ."
And they did so .
*
Then they said to one another , "
We are truly guilty concerning our brother ,
for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us ,
and we would not hear ;
therefore this distress has come upon us ."
*
And Reuben answered them ,
saying , "
Did I not speak to you ,
saying , "
Do not sin against the boy ';
and you would not listen ?
Therefore behold ,
his blood is now required of us ."
*
But they did not know that Joseph understood them ,
for he spoke to them through an interpreter .
*
And he turned himself away from them and wept .
Then he returned to them again ,
and talked with them .
And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes .
*
Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain ,
to restore every man '
s money to his sack ,
and to give them provisions for the journey .
Thus he did for them .
*
So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there .
*
But as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment ,
he saw his money ;
and there it was ,
in the mouth of his sack .
*
So he said to his brothers , "
My money has been restored ,
and there it is ,
in my sack !"
Then their hearts failed them and they were afraid ,
saying to one another , "
What is this that God has done to us ?"
*
Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them ,
saying :
* "
The man who is lord of the land spoke roughly to us ,
and took us for spies of the country .
*
But we said to him , "
We are honest men ;
we are not spies .
*
We are twelve brothers ,
sons of our father ;
one is no more ,
and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan .'
*
Then the man ,
the lord of the country ,
said to us , "
By this I will know that you are honest men :
Leave one of your brothers here with me ,
take food for the famine of your households ,
and be gone .
*
And bring your youngest brother to me ;
so I shall know that you are not spies ,
but that you are honest men .
I will grant your brother to you ,
and you may trade in the land ."'
*
Then it happened as they emptied their sacks ,
that surprisingly each man '
s bundle of money was in his sack ;
and when they and their father saw the bundles of money ,
they were afraid .
*
And Jacob their father said to them , "
You have bereaved me :
Joseph is no more ,
Simeon is no more ,
and you want to take Benjamin .
All these things are against me ."
*
Then Reuben spoke to his father ,
saying , "
Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you ;
put him in my hands ,
and I will bring him back to you ."
*
But he said , "
My son shall not go down with you ,
for his brother is dead ,
and he is left alone .
If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go ,
then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave ."
*
Now the famine was severe in the land .
*
And it came to pass ,
when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt ,
that their father said to them , "
Go back ,
buy us a little food ."
*
But Judah spoke to him ,
saying , "
The man solemnly warned us ,
saying , "
You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you .'
*
If you send our brother with us ,
we will go down and buy you food .
*
But if you will not send him ,
we will not go down ;
for the man said to us , "
You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you ."'
*
And Israel said , "
Why did you deal so wrongfully with me as to tell the man whether you had still another brother ?"
*
But they said , "
The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family ,
saying , "
Is your father still alive ?
Have you another brother ?'
And we told him according to these words .
Could we possibly have known that he would say , "
Bring your brother down '?"
*
Then Judah said to Israel his father , "
Send the lad with me ,
and we will arise and go ,
that we may live and not die ,
both we and you and also our little ones .
*
I myself will be surety for him ;
from my hand you shall require him .
If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you ,
then let me bear the blame forever .
*
For if we had not lingered ,
surely by now we would have returned this second time ."
*
And their father Israel said to them , "
If it must be so ,
then do this :
Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man--a little balm and a little honey ,
spices and myrrh ,
pistachio nuts and almonds .
*
Take double money in your hand ,
and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks ;
perhaps it was an oversight .
*
Take your brother also ,
and arise ,
go back to the man .
*
And may God Almighty give you mercy before the man ,
that he may release your other brother and Benjamin .
If I am bereaved ,
I am bereaved !"
*
So the men took that present and Benjamin ,
and they took double money in their hand ,
and arose and went down to Egypt ;
and they stood before Joseph .
*
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them ,
he said to the steward of his house , "
Take these men to my home ,
and slaughter an animal and make ready ;
for these men will dine with me at noon ."
*
Then the man did as Joseph ordered ,
and the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house .
*
Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph '
s house ;
and they said , "
It is because of the money ,
which was returned in our sacks the first time ,
that we are brought in ,
so that he may make a case against us and seize us ,
to take us as slaves with our donkeys ."
*
When they drew near to the steward of Joseph '
s house ,
they talked with him at the door of the house ,
*
and said , "
O sir ,
we indeed came down the first time to buy food ;
*
but it happened ,
when we came to the encampment ,
that we opened our sacks ,
and there ,
each man '
s money was in the mouth of his sack ,
our money in full weight ;
so we have brought it back in our hand .
*
And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food .
We do not know who put our money in our sacks ."
*
But he said , "
Peace be with you ,
do not be afraid .
Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks ;
I had your money ."
Then he brought Simeon out to them .
*
So the man brought the men into Joseph '
s house and gave them water ,
and they washed their feet ;
and he gave their donkeys feed .
*
Then they made the present ready for Joseph '
s coming at noon ,
for they heard that they would eat bread there .
*
And when Joseph came home ,
they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house ,
and bowed down before him to the earth .
*
Then he asked them about their well-being ,
and said , "
Is your father well ,
the old man of whom you spoke ?
Is he still alive ?"
*
And they answered , "
Your servant our father is in good health ;
he is still alive ."
And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves .
*
Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin ,
his mother '
s son ,
and said , "
Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me ?"
And he said , "
God be gracious to you ,
my son ."
*
Now his heart yearned for his brother ;
so Joseph made haste and sought somewhere to weep .
And he went into his chamber and wept there .
*
Then he washed his face and came out ;
and he restrained himself ,
and said , "
Serve the bread ."
*
So they set him a place by himself ,
and them by themselves ,
and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves ;
because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews ,
for that is an abomination to the Egyptians .
*
And they sat before him ,
the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth ;
and the men looked in astonishment at one another .
*
Then he took servings to them from before him ,
but Benjamin '
s serving was five times as much as any of theirs .
So they drank and were merry with him .
*
And he commanded the steward of his house ,
saying , "
Fill the men '
s sacks with food ,
as much as they can carry ,
and put each man '
s money in the mouth of his sack .
*
Also put my cup ,
the silver cup ,
in the mouth of the sack of the youngest ,
and his grain money ."
So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken .
*
As soon as the morning dawned ,
the men were sent away ,
they and their donkeys .
*
When they had gone out of the city ,
and were not yet far off ,
Joseph said to his steward , "
Get up ,
follow the men ;
and when you overtake them ,
say to them , "
Why have you repaid evil for good ?
*
Is not this the one from which my lord drinks ,
and with which he indeed practices divination ?
You have done evil in so doing ."'
*
So he overtook them ,
and he spoke to them these same words .
*
And they said to him , "
Why does my lord say these words ?
Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing .
*
Look ,
we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks .
How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord '
s house ?
*
With whomever of your servants it is found ,
let him die ,
and we also will be my lord '
s slaves ."
*
And he said , "
Now also let it be according to your words ;
he with whom it is found shall be my slave ,
and you shall be blameless ."
*
Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground ,
and each opened his sack .
*
So he searched .
He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest ;
and the cup was found in Benjamin '
s sack .
*
Then they tore their clothes ,
and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city .
*
So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph '
s house ,
and he was still there ;
and they fell before him on the ground .
*
And Joseph said to them , "
What deed is this you have done ?
Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination ?"
*
Then Judah said , "
What shall we say to my lord ?
What shall we speak ?
Or how shall we clear ourselves ?
God has found out the iniquity of your servants ;
here we are ,
my lord '
s slaves ,
both we and he also with whom the cup was found ."
*
But he said , "
Far be it from me that I should do so ;
the man in whose hand the cup was found ,
he shall be my slave .
And as for you ,
go up in peace to your father ."
*
Then Judah came near to him and said : "
O my lord ,
please let your servant speak a word in my lord '
s hearing ,
and do not let your anger burn against your servant ;
for you are even like Pharaoh .
*
My lord asked his servants ,
saying , "
Have you a father or a brother ?'
*
And we said to my lord , "
We have a father ,
an old man ,
and a child of his old age ,
who is young ;
his brother is dead ,
and he alone is left of his mother '
s children ,
and his father loves him .'
*
Then you said to your servants , "
Bring him down to me ,
that I may set my eyes on him .'
*
And we said to my lord , "
The lad cannot leave his father ,
for if he should leave his father ,
his father would die .'
*
But you said to your servants , "
Unless your youngest brother comes down with you ,
you shall see my face no more .'
* "
So it was ,
when we went up to your servant my father ,
that we told him the words of my lord .
*
And our father said , "
Go back and buy us a little food .'
*
But we said , "
We cannot go down ;
if our youngest brother is with us ,
then we will go down ;
for we may not see the man '
s face unless our youngest brother is with us .'
*
Then your servant my father said to us , "
You know that my wife bore me two sons ;
*
and the one went out from me ,
and I said , "
Surely he is torn to pieces ";
and I have not seen him since .
*
But if you take this one also from me ,
and calamity befalls him ,
you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave .'
* "
Now therefore ,
when I come to your servant my father ,
and the lad is not with us ,
since his life is bound up in the lad '
s life ,
*
it will happen ,
when he sees that the lad is not with us ,
that he will die .
So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave .
*
For your servant became surety for the lad to my father ,
saying , "
If I do not bring him back to you ,
then I shall bear the blame before my father forever .'
*
Now therefore ,
please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord ,
and let the lad go up with his brothers .
*
For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me ,
lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father ?"
*
Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him ,
and he cried out , "
Make everyone go out from me !"
So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers .
*
And he wept aloud ,
and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it .
*
Then Joseph said to his brothers , "
I am Joseph ;
does my father still live ?"
But his brothers could not answer him ,
for they were dismayed in his presence .
*
And Joseph said to his brothers , "
Please come near to me ."
So they came near .
Then he said : "
I am Joseph your brother ,
whom you sold into Egypt .
*
But now ,
do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here ;
for God sent me before you to preserve life .
*
For these two years the famine has been in the land ,
and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting .
*
And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth ,
and to save your lives by a great deliverance .
*
So now it was not you who sent me here ,
but God ;
and He has made me a father to Pharaoh ,
and lord of all his house ,
and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt .
* "
Hurry and go up to my father ,
and say to him , "
Thus says your son Joseph : "
God has made me lord of all Egypt ;
come down to me ,
do not tarry .
*
You shall dwell in the land of Goshen ,
and you shall be near to me ,
you and your children ,
your children '
s children ,
your flocks and your herds ,
and all that you have .
*
There I will provide for you ,
lest you and your household ,
and all that you have ,
come to poverty ;
for there are still five years of famine ."'
* "
And behold ,
your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is my mouth that speaks to you .
*
So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt ,
and of all that you have seen ;
and you shall hurry and bring my father down here ."
*
Then he fell on his brother Benjamin '
s neck and wept ,
and Benjamin wept on his neck .
*
Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them ,
and after that his brothers talked with him .
*
Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh '
s house ,
saying , "
Joseph '
s brothers have come ."
So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well .
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Say to your brothers , "
Do this :
Load your animals and depart ;
go to the land of Canaan .
*
Bring your father and your households and come to me ;
I will give you the best of the land of Egypt ,
and you will eat the fat of the land .
*
Now you are commanded--do this :
Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives ;
bring your father and come .
*
Also do not be concerned about your goods ,
for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours ."'
*
Then the sons of Israel did so ;
and Joseph gave them carts ,
according to the command of Pharaoh ,
and he gave them provisions for the journey .
*
He gave to all of them ,
to each man ,
changes of garments ;
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments .
*
And he sent to his father these things :
ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt ,
and ten female donkeys loaded with grain ,
bread ,
and food for his father for the journey .
*
So he sent his brothers away ,
and they departed ;
and he said to them , "
See that you do not become troubled along the way ."
*
Then they went up out of Egypt ,
and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father .
*
And they told him ,
saying , "
Joseph is still alive ,
and he is governor over all the land of Egypt ."
And Jacob '
s heart stood still ,
because he did not believe them .
*
But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them ,
and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him ,
the spirit of Jacob their father revived .
*
Then Israel said , "
It is enough .
Joseph my son is still alive .
I will go and see him before I die ."
*
So Israel took his journey with all that he had ,
and came to Beersheba ,
and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac .
*
Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night ,
and said , "
Jacob ,
Jacob !"
And he said , "
Here I am ."
*
So He said , "
I am God ,
the God of your father ;
do not fear to go down to Egypt ,
for I will make of you a great nation there .
*
I will go down with you to Egypt ,
and I will also surely bring you up again ;
and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes ."
*
Then Jacob arose from Beersheba ;
and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob ,
their little ones ,
and their wives ,
in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him .
*
So they took their livestock and their goods ,
which they had acquired in the land of Canaan ,
and went to Egypt ,
Jacob and all his descendants with him .
*
His sons and his sons '
sons ,
his daughters and his sons '
daughters ,
and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt .
*
Now these were the names of the children of Israel ,
Jacob and his sons ,
who went to Egypt :
Reuben was Jacob '
s firstborn .
*
The sons of Reuben were Hanoch ,
Pallu ,
Hezron ,
and Carmi .
*
The sons of Simeon were Jemuel ,
Jamin ,
Ohad ,
Jachin ,
Zohar ,
and Shaul ,
the son of a Canaanite woman .
*
The sons of Levi were Gershon ,
Kohath ,
and Merari .
*
The sons of Judah were Er ,
Onan ,
Shelah ,
Perez ,
and Zerah (
but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan ).
The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul .
*
The sons of Issachar were Tola ,
Puvah ,
Job ,
and Shimron .
*
The sons of Zebulun were Sered ,
Elon ,
and Jahleel .
*
These were the sons of Leah ,
whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram ,
with his daughter Dinah .
All the persons ,
his sons and his daughters ,
were thirty-three .
*
The sons of Gad were Ziphion ,
Haggi ,
Shuni ,
Ezbon ,
Eri ,
Arodi ,
and Areli .
*
The sons of Asher were Jimnah ,
Ishuah ,
Isui ,
Beriah ,
and Serah ,
their sister .
And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel .
*
These were the sons of Zilpah ,
whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter ;
and these she bore to Jacob :
sixteen persons .
*
The sons of Rachel ,
Jacob '
s wife ,
were Joseph and Benjamin .
*
And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim ,
whom Asenath ,
the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On ,
bore to him .
*
The sons of Benjamin were Belah ,
Becher ,
Ashbel ,
Gera ,
Naaman ,
Ehi ,
Rosh ,
Muppim ,
Huppim ,
and Ard .
*
These were the sons of Rachel ,
who were born to Jacob :
fourteen persons in all .
*
The son of Dan was Hushim .
*
The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel ,
Guni ,
Jezer ,
and Shillem .
*
These were the sons of Bilhah ,
whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter ,
and she bore these to Jacob :
seven persons in all .
*
All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt ,
who came from his body ,
besides Jacob '
s sons '
wives ,
were sixty-six persons in all .
*
And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt were two persons .
All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy .
*
Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph ,
to point out before him the way to Goshen .
And they came to the land of Goshen .
*
So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel ;
and he presented himself to him ,
and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while .
*
And Israel said to Joseph , "
Now let me die ,
since I have seen your face ,
because you are still alive ."
*
Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father '
s household , "
I will go up and tell Pharaoh ,
and say to him , "
My brothers and those of my father '
s house ,
who were in the land of Canaan ,
have come to me .
*
And the men are shepherds ,
for their occupation has been to feed livestock ;
and they have brought their flocks ,
their herds ,
and all that they have .'
*
So it shall be ,
when Pharaoh calls you and says , "
What is your occupation ?'
*
that you shall say , "
Your servants '
occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now ,
both we and also our fathers ,'
that you may dwell in the land of Goshen ;
for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians ."
*
Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh ,
and said , "
My father and my brothers ,
their flocks and their herds and all that they possess ,
have come from the land of Canaan ;
and indeed they are in the land of Goshen ."
*
And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh .
*
Then Pharaoh said to his brothers , "
What is your occupation ?"
And they said to Pharaoh , "
Your servants are shepherds ,
both we and also our fathers ."
*
And they said to Pharaoh , "
We have come to dwell in the land ,
because your servants have no pasture for their flocks ,
for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan .
Now therefore ,
please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen ."
*
Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph ,
saying , "
Your father and your brothers have come to you .
*
The land of Egypt is before you .
Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land ;
let them dwell in the land of Goshen .
And if you know any competent men among them ,
then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock ."
*
Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh ;
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh .
*
Pharaoh said to Jacob , "
How old are you ?"
*
And Jacob said to Pharaoh , "
The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years ;
few and evil have been the days of the years of my life ,
and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage ."
*
So Jacob blessed Pharaoh ,
and went out from before Pharaoh .
*
And Joseph situated his father and his brothers ,
and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt ,
in the best of the land ,
in the land of Rameses ,
as Pharaoh had commanded .
*
Then Joseph provided his father ,
his brothers ,
and all his father '
s household with bread ,
according to the number in their families .
*
Now there was no bread in all the land ;
for the famine was very severe ,
so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine .
*
And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan ,
for the grain which they bought ;
and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh '
s house .
*
So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan ,
all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said , "
Give us bread ,
for why should we die in your presence ?
For the money has failed ."
*
Then Joseph said , "
Give your livestock ,
and I will give you bread for your livestock ,
if the money is gone ."
*
So they brought their livestock to Joseph ,
and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses ,
the flocks ,
the cattle of the herds ,
and for the donkeys .
Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year .
*
When that year had ended ,
they came to him the next year and said to him , "
We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone ;
my lord also has our herds of livestock .
There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands .
*
Why should we die before your eyes ,
both we and our land ?
Buy us and our land for bread ,
and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh ;
give us seed ,
that we may live and not die ,
that the land may not be desolate ."
*
Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh ;
for every man of the Egyptians sold his field ,
because the famine was severe upon them .
So the land became Pharaoh '
s .
*
And as for the people ,
he moved them into the cities ,
from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end .
*
Only the land of the priests he did not buy ;
for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh ,
and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them ;
therefore they did not sell their lands .
*
Then Joseph said to the people , "
Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh .
Look ,
here is seed for you ,
and you shall sow the land .
*
And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh .
Four-fifths shall be your own ,
as seed for the field and for your food ,
for those of your households and as food for your little ones ."
*
So they said , "
You have saved our lives ;
let us find favor in the sight of my lord ,
and we will be Pharaoh '
s servants ."
*
And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day ,
that Pharaoh should have one-fifth ,
except for the land of the priests only ,
which did not become Pharaoh '
s .
*
So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt ,
in the country of Goshen ;
and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly .
*
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years .
So the length of Jacob '
s life was one hundred and forty-seven years .
*
When the time drew near that Israel must die ,
he called his son Joseph and said to him , "
Now if I have found favor in your sight ,
please put your hand under my thigh ,
and deal kindly and truly with me .
Please do not bury me in Egypt ,
*
but let me lie with my fathers ;
you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place ."
And he said , "
I will do as you have said ."
*
Then he said , "
Swear to me ."
And he swore to him .
So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed .
*
Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told , "
Indeed your father is sick ";
and he took with him his two sons ,
Manasseh and Ephraim .
*
And Jacob was told , "
Look ,
your son Joseph is coming to you ";
and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed .
*
Then Jacob said to Joseph : "
God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me ,
*
and said to me , "
Behold ,
I will make you fruitful and multiply you ,
and I will make of you a multitude of people ,
and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession .'
*
And now your two sons ,
Ephraim and Manasseh ,
who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt ,
are mine ;
as Reuben and Simeon ,
they shall be mine .
*
Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours ;
they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance .
*
But as for me ,
when I came from Padan ,
Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way ,
when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath ;
and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (
that is ,
Bethlehem )."
*
Then Israel saw Joseph '
s sons ,
and said , "
Who are these ?"
*
Joseph said to his father , "
They are my sons ,
whom God has given me in this place ."
And he said , "
Please bring them to me ,
and I will bless them ."
*
Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age ,
so that he could not see .
Then Joseph brought them near him ,
and he kissed them and embraced them .
*
And Israel said to Joseph , "
I had not thought to see your face ;
but in fact ,
God has also shown me your offspring !"
*
So Joseph brought them from beside his knees ,
and he bowed down with his face to the earth .
*
And Joseph took them both ,
Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel '
s left hand ,
and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel '
s right hand ,
and brought them near him .
*
Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim '
s head ,
who was the younger ,
and his left hand on Manasseh '
s head ,
guiding his hands knowingly ,
for Manasseh was the firstborn .
*
And he blessed Joseph ,
and said : "
God ,
before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked ,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day ,
*
The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil ,
Bless the lads ;
Let my name be named upon them ,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth ."
*
Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim ,
it displeased him ;
so he took hold of his father '
s hand to remove it from Ephraim '
s head to Manasseh '
s head .
*
And Joseph said to his father , "
Not so ,
my father ,
for this one is the firstborn ;
put your right hand on his head ."
*
But his father refused and said , "
I know ,
my son ,
I know .
He also shall become a people ,
and he also shall be great ;
but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he ,
and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations ."
*
So he blessed them that day ,
saying , "
By you Israel will bless ,
saying , "
May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh !"'
And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh .
*
Then Israel said to Joseph , "
Behold ,
I am dying ,
but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers .
*
Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers ,
which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow ."
*
And Jacob called his sons and said , "
Gather together ,
that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days :
* "
Gather together and hear ,
you sons of Jacob ,
And listen to Israel your father .
* "
Reuben ,
you are my firstborn ,
My might and the beginning of my strength ,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power .
*
Unstable as water ,
you shall not excel ,
Because you went up to your father '
s bed ;
Then you defiled it --
He went up to my couch .
* "
Simeon and Levi are brothers ;
Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place .
*
Let not my soul enter their council ;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly ;
For in their anger they slew a man ,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox .
*
Cursed be their anger ,
for it is fierce ;
And their wrath ,
for it is cruel !
I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel .
* "
Judah ,
you are he whom your brothers shall praise ;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies ;
Your father '
s children shall bow down before you .
*
Judah is a lion '
s whelp ;
From the prey ,
my son ,
you have gone up .
He bows down ,
he lies down as a lion ;
And as a lion ,
who shall rouse him ?
*
The scepter shall not depart from Judah ,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet ,
Until Shiloh comes ;
And to Him shall be the obedience of the people .
*
Binding his donkey to the vine ,
And his donkey '
s colt to the choice vine ,
He washed his garments in wine ,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes .
*
His eyes are darker than wine ,
And his teeth whiter than milk .
* "
Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea ;
He shall become a haven for ships ,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon .
* "
Issachar is a strong donkey ,
Lying down between two burdens ;
*
He saw that rest was good ,
And that the land was pleasant ;
He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden ,
And became a band of slaves .
* "
Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel .
*
Dan shall be a serpent by the way ,
A viper by the path ,
That bites the horse '
s heels So that its rider shall fall backward .
*
I have waited for your salvation ,
O LORD !
* "
Gad ,
a troop shall tramp upon him ,
But he shall triumph at last .
* "
Bread from Asher shall be rich ,
And he shall yield royal dainties .
* "
Naphtali is a deer let loose ;
He uses beautiful words .
* "
Joseph is a fruitful bough ,
A fruitful bough by a well ;
His branches run over the wall .
*
The archers have bitterly grieved him ,
Shot at him and hated him .
*
But his bow remained in strength ,
And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (
From there is the Shepherd ,
the Stone of Israel ),
*
By the God of your father who will help you ,
And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above ,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath ,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb .
*
The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors ,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills .
They shall be on the head of Joseph ,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers .
* "
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf ;
In the morning he shall devour the prey ,
And at night he shall divide the spoil ."
*
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel ,
and this is what their father spoke to them .
And he blessed them ;
he blessed each one according to his own blessing .
*
Then he charged them and said to them : "
I am to be gathered to my people ;
bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite ,
*
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah ,
which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan ,
which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place .
*
There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife ,
there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ,
and there I buried Leah .
*
The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth ."
*
And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons ,
he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last ,
and was gathered to his people .
*
Then Joseph fell on his father '
s face and wept over him ,
and kissed him .
*
And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father .
So the physicians embalmed Israel .
*
Forty days were required for him ,
for such are the days required for those who are embalmed ;
and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days .
*
Now when the days of his mourning were past ,
Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh ,
saying , "
If now I have found favor in your eyes ,
please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh ,
saying ,
* "
My father made me swear ,
saying , "
Behold ,
I am dying ;
in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan ,
there you shall bury me ."
Now therefore ,
please let me go up and bury my father ,
and I will come back ."'
*
And Pharaoh said , "
Go up and bury your father ,
as he made you swear ."
*
So Joseph went up to bury his father ;
and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh ,
the elders of his house ,
and all the elders of the land of Egypt ,
*
as well as all the house of Joseph ,
his brothers ,
and his father '
s house .
Only their little ones ,
their flocks ,
and their herds they left in the land of Goshen .
*
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen ,
and it was a very great gathering .
*
Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad ,
which is beyond the Jordan ,
and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation .
He observed seven days of mourning for his father .
*
And when the inhabitants of the land ,
the Canaanites ,
saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad ,
they said , "
This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians ."
Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim ,
which is beyond the Jordan .
*
So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them .
*
For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan ,
and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah ,
before Mamre ,
which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place .
*
And after he had buried his father ,
Joseph returned to Egypt ,
he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father .
*
When Joseph '
s brothers saw that their father was dead ,
they said , "
Perhaps Joseph will hate us ,
and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him ."
*
So they sent messengers to Joseph ,
saying , "
Before your father died he commanded ,
saying ,
* "
Thus you shall say to Joseph : "
I beg you ,
please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin ;
for they did evil to you ."'
Now ,
please ,
forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father ."
And Joseph wept when they spoke to him .
*
Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face ,
and they said , "
Behold ,
we are your servants ."
*
Joseph said to them , "
Do not be afraid ,
for am I in the place of God ?
*
But as for you ,
you meant evil against me ;
but God meant it for good ,
in order to bring it about as it is this day ,
to save many people alive .
*
Now therefore ,
do not be afraid ;
I will provide for you and your little ones ."
And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them .
*
So Joseph dwelt in Egypt ,
he and his father '
s household .
And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years .
*
Joseph saw Ephraim '
s children to the third generation .
The children of Machir ,
the son of Manasseh ,
were also brought up on Joseph '
s knees .
*
And Joseph said to his brethren , "
I am dying ;
but God will surely visit you ,
and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham ,
to Isaac ,
and to Jacob ."
*
Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel ,
saying , "
God will surely visit you ,
and you shall carry up my bones from here ."
*
So Joseph died ,
being one hundred and ten years old ;
and they embalmed him ,
and he was put in a coffin in Egypt .