rsv Genesis:12-50 SEEK
Seeker Overlay ON
*
Now the LORD said to Abram , "
Go from your country and your kindred and your father '
s house to the land that I will show you .
*
And I will make of you a great nation ,
and I will bless you ,
and make your name great ,
so that you will be a blessing .
*
I will bless those who bless you ,
and him who curses you I will curse ;
and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves ."
*
So Abram went ,
as the LORD had told him ;
and Lot went with him .
Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran .
*
And Abram took Sar '
ai his wife ,
and Lot his brother '
s son ,
and all their possessions which they had gathered ,
and the persons that they had gotten in Haran ;
and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan .
When they had come to the land of Canaan ,
*
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem ,
to the oak of Moreh .
At that time the Canaanites were in the land .
*
Then the LORD appeared to Abram ,
and said , "
To your descendants I will give this land ."
So he built there an altar to the LORD ,
who had appeared to him .
*
Thence he removed to the mountain on the east of Bethel ,
and pitched his tent ,
with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east ;
and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD .
*
And Abram journeyed on ,
still going toward the Negeb .
*
Now there was a famine in the land .
So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there ,
for the famine was severe in the land .
*
When he was about to enter Egypt ,
he said to Sar '
ai his wife , "
I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold ;
*
and when the Egyptians see you ,
they will say , `
This is his wife ';
then they will kill me ,
but they will let you live .
*
Say you are my sister ,
that it may go well with me because of you ,
and that my life may be spared on your account ."
*
When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful .
*
And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her ,
they praised her to Pharaoh .
And the woman was taken into Pharaoh '
s house .
*
And for her sake he dealt well with Abram ;
and he had sheep ,
oxen ,
he-asses ,
menservants ,
maidservants ,
she-asses ,
and camels .
*
But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sar '
ai ,
Abram '
s wife .
*
So 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 ,'
so that I took her for my wife ?
Now then ,
here is your wife ,
take her ,
and be gone ."
*
And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him ;
and they set him on the way ,
with his wife and all that he had .
*
So Abram went up from Egypt ,
he and his wife ,
and all that he had ,
and Lot with him ,
into the Negeb .
*
Now Abram was very rich in cattle ,
in silver ,
and in gold .
*
And he journeyed on from the Negeb as far as Bethel ,
to the place where his tent had been at the beginning ,
between Bethel and Ai ,
*
to the place where he had made an altar at the first ;
and there Abram called on the name of the LORD .
*
And Lot ,
who went with Abram ,
also had flocks and herds and tents ,
*
so that the land could not support both of them dwelling together ;
for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together ,
*
and there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram '
s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot '
s cattle .
At that time the Canaanites and the Per '
izzites dwelt in the land .
*
Then Abram said to Lot , "
Let there be no strife between you and me ,
and between your herdsmen and my herdsmen ;
for we are kinsmen .
*
Is not the whole land before you ?
Separate yourself from me .
If you take the left hand ,
then I will go to the right ;
or if you take the right hand ,
then I will go to the left ."
*
And Lot lifted up his eyes ,
and saw that the Jordan valley was well watered everywhere like the garden of the LORD ,
like the land of Egypt ,
in the direction of Zo '
ar ;
this was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomor '
rah .
*
So Lot chose for himself all the Jordan valley ,
and Lot journeyed east ;
thus they separated from each other .
*
Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan ,
while Lot dwelt among the cities of the valley and moved his tent as far as Sodom .
*
Now the men of Sodom were wicked ,
great sinners against the LORD .
*
The LORD said to Abram ,
after Lot had separated from him , "
Lift up your eyes ,
and look from the place where you are ,
northward and southward and eastward and westward ;
*
for all the land which you see I will give to you and to your descendants for ever .
*
I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth ;
so that if one can count the dust of the earth ,
your descendants also can be counted .
*
Arise ,
walk through the length and the breadth of the land ,
for I will give it to you ."
*
So Abram moved his tent ,
and came and dwelt by the oaks of Mamre ,
which are at Hebron ;
and there he built an altar to the LORD .
*
In the days of Am '
raphel king of Shinar ,
Ar '
ioch king of Ella '
sar ,
Ched-or-lao '
mer king of Elam ,
and Tidal king of Goi '
im ,
*
these kings made war with Bera king of Sodom ,
Birsha king of Gomor '
rah ,
Shinab king of Admah ,
Sheme '
ber king of Zeboi '
im ,
and the king of Bela (
that is ,
Zo '
ar ).
*
And all these joined forces in the Valley of Siddim (
that is ,
the Salt Sea ).
*
Twelve years they had served Ched-or-lao '
mer ,
but in the thirteenth year they rebelled .
*
In the fourteenth year Ched-or-lao '
mer and the kings who were with him came and subdued the Reph '
aim in Ash '
teroth-karna '
im ,
the Zuzim in Ham ,
the Emim in Sha '
veh-kiriatha '
im ,
*
and the Horites in their Mount Se '
ir as far as El-paran on the border of the wilderness ;
*
then they turned back and came to Enmish '
pat (
that is ,
Kadesh ),
and subdued all the country of the Amal '
ekites ,
and also the Amorites who dwelt in Haz '
azon-ta '
mar .
*
Then the king of Sodom ,
the king of Gomor '
rah ,
the king of Admah ,
the king of Zeboi '
im ,
and the king of Bela (
that is ,
Zo '
ar )
went out ,
and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim
*
with Ched-or-lao '
mer king of Elam ,
Tidal king of Goi '
im ,
Am '
raphel king of Shinar ,
and Ar '
ioch king of Ella '
sar ,
four kings against five .
*
Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits ;
and as the kings of Sodom and Gomor '
rah fled ,
some fell into them ,
and the rest fled to the mountain .
*
So the enemy took all the goods of Sodom and Gomor '
rah ,
and all their provisions ,
and went their way ;
*
they also took Lot ,
the son of Abram '
s brother ,
who dwelt in Sodom ,
and his goods ,
and departed .
*
Then one who had escaped came ,
and told Abram the Hebrew ,
who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite ,
brother of Eshcol and of Aner ;
these were allies of Abram .
*
When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive ,
he led forth his trained men ,
born in his house ,
three hundred and eighteen of them ,
and went in pursuit as far as Daniel .
*
And he divided his forces against them by night ,
he and his servants ,
and routed them and pursued them to Hobah ,
north of Damascus .
*
Then he brought back all the goods ,
and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his goods ,
and the women and the people .
*
After his return from the defeat of Ched-or-lao '
mer and the kings who were with him ,
the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (
that is ,
the King '
s Valley ).
*
And Mel-chiz '
edek king of Salem brought out bread and wine ;
he was priest of God Most High .
*
And he blessed him and said , "
Blessed be Abram by God Most High ,
maker of heaven and earth ;
*
and blessed be God Most High ,
who has delivered your enemies into your hand !"
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything .
*
And the king of Sodom said to Abram , "
Give me the persons ,
but take the goods for yourself ."
*
But Abram said to the king of Sodom , "
I have sworn to the LORD God Most High ,
maker of heaven and earth ,
*
that I would not take a thread or a sandal-thong or anything that is yours ,
lest you should say , `
I have made Abram rich .'
*
I will take nothing but what the young men have eaten ,
and the share of the men who went with me ;
let Aner ,
Eshcol ,
and Mamre take their share ."
*
After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision , "
Fear not ,
Abram ,
I am your shield ;
your reward shall be very great ."
*
But Abram said , "
O Lord GOD ,
what wilt thou give me ,
for I continue childless ,
and the heir of my house is Elie '
zer of Damascus ?"
*
And Abram said , "
Behold ,
thou hast given me no offspring ;
and a slave born in my house will be my heir ."
*
And behold ,
the word of the LORD came to him , "
This man shall not be your heir ;
your own son shall be your heir ."
*
And he brought him outside and said , "
Look toward heaven ,
and number the stars ,
if you are able to number them ."
Then he said to him , "
So shall your descendants be ."
*
And he believed the LORD ;
and he reckoned it to him as righteousness .
*
And he said to him , "
I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chalde '
ans ,
to give you this land to possess ."
*
But he said , "
O Lord GOD ,
how am I to know that I shall possess it ?"
*
He said to him , "
Bring me a heifer three years old ,
a she-goat three years old ,
a ram three years old ,
a turtledove ,
and a young pigeon ."
*
And he brought him all these ,
cut them in two ,
and laid each half over against the other ;
but he did not cut the birds in two .
*
And when birds of prey came down upon the carcasses ,
Abram drove them away .
*
As the sun was going down ,
a deep sleep fell on Abram ;
and lo ,
a dread and great darkness fell upon him .
*
Then the LORD said to Abram , "
Know of a surety that your descendants will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs ,
and will be slaves there ,
and they will be oppressed for four hundred years ;
*
but I will bring judgment on the nation which they serve ,
and afterward they shall come out with great possessions .
*
As for yourself ,
you shall go to your fathers in peace ;
you shall be buried in a good old age .
*
And they shall come back here in the fourth generation ;
for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete ."
*
When the sun had gone down and it was dark ,
behold ,
a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces .
*
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram ,
saying , "
To your descendants I give this land ,
from the river of Egypt to the great river ,
the river Euphra '
tes ,
*
the land of the Ken '
ites ,
the Ken '
izzites ,
the Kad '
monites ,
*
the Hittites ,
the Per '
izzites ,
the Reph '
aim ,
*
the Amorites ,
the Canaanites ,
the Gir '
gashites and the Jeb '
usites ."
*
Now Sar '
ai ,
Abram '
s wife ,
bore him no children .
She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar ;
*
and Sar '
ai said to Abram , "
Behold now ,
the LORD has prevented me from bearing children ;
go in to my maid ;
it may be that I shall obtain children by her ."
And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sar '
ai .
*
So ,
after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan ,
Sar '
ai ,
Abram '
s wife ,
took Hagar the Egyptian ,
her maid ,
and gave her to Abram her husband as a wife .
*
And he went in to Hagar ,
and she conceived ;
and when she saw that she had conceived ,
she looked with contempt on her mistress .
*
And Sar '
ai said to Abram , "
May the wrong done to me be on you !
I gave my maid to your embrace ,
and when she saw that she had conceived ,
she looked on me with contempt .
May the LORD judge between you and me !"
*
But Abram said to Sar '
ai , "
Behold ,
your maid is in your power ;
do to her as you please ."
Then Sar '
ai dealt harshly with her ,
and she fled from her .
*
The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness ,
the spring on the way to Shur .
*
And he said , "
Hagar ,
maid of Sar '
ai ,
where have you come from and where are you going ?"
She said , "
I am fleeing from my mistress Sar '
ai ."
*
The angel of the LORD said to her , "
Return to your mistress ,
and submit to her ."
*
The angel of the LORD also said to her , "
I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude ."
*
And the angel of the LORD said to her , "
Behold ,
you are with child ,
and shall bear a son ;
you shall call his name Ish '
mael ;
because the LORD has given heed to your affliction .
*
He shall be a wild ass of a man ,
his hand against every man and every man '
s hand against him ;
and he shall dwell over against all his kinsmen ."
*
So she called the name of the LORD who spoke to her , "
Thou art a God of seeing ";
for she said , "
Have I really seen God and remained alive after seeing him ?"
*
Therefore the well was called Beer-la '
hai-roi ;
it lies between Kadesh and Bered .
*
And Hagar bore Abram a son ;
and Abram called the name of his son ,
whom Hagar bore ,
Ish '
mael .
*
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ish '
mael to Abram .
*
When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram ,
and said to him , "
I am God Almighty ;
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 said to him ,
* "
Behold ,
my covenant is with you ,
and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations .
*
No longer shall your name be Abram ,
but your name shall be Abraham ;
for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations .
*
I will make you exceedingly fruitful ;
and I will make nations of you ,
and kings shall come forth from you .
*
And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant ,
to be God to you and to your descendants after you .
*
And I will give to you ,
and to your descendants after you ,
the land of your sojournings ,
all the land of Canaan ,
for 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 among you shall be circumcised .
*
You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins ,
and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you .
*
He that is eight days old among you shall be circumcised ;
every male throughout your generations ,
whether born in your house ,
or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring ,
*
both he that is born in your house and he that is bought with your money ,
shall be circumcised .
So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant .
*
Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people ;
he has broken my covenant ."
*
And God said to Abraham , "
As for Sar '
ai your wife ,
you shall not call her name Sar '
ai ,
but Sarah shall be her name .
*
I will bless her ,
and moreover I will give you a son by her ;
I will bless her ,
and she shall be a mother of nations ;
kings of peoples shall come from her ."
*
Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed ,
and said to himself , "
Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old ?
Shall Sarah ,
who is ninety years old ,
bear a child ?"
*
And Abraham said to God , "
O that Ish '
mael might live in thy sight !"
*
God said , "
No ,
but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son ,
and you shall call his name Isaac .
I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him .
*
As for Ish '
mael ,
I have heard you ;
behold ,
I will bless him and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly ;
he shall be the father of twelve princes ,
and I will make him a great nation .
*
But I will establish my covenant with Isaac ,
whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year ."
*
When he had finished talking with him ,
God went up from Abraham .
*
Then Abraham took Ish '
mael his son and all the slaves born in his house or bought with his money ,
every male among the men of Abraham '
s house ,
and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins that very day ,
as God had said to him .
*
Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin .
*
And Ish '
mael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin .
*
That very day Abraham and his son Ish '
mael were circumcised ;
*
and all the men of his house ,
those born in the house and those bought with money from a foreigner ,
were circumcised with him .
*
And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre ,
as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day .
*
He lifted up his eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
three men stood in front of him .
When he saw them ,
he ran from the tent door to meet them ,
and bowed himself to the earth ,
*
and said , "
My lord ,
if I have found favor in your sight ,
do not pass by your servant .
*
Let a little water be brought ,
and wash your feet ,
and rest yourselves under the tree ,
*
while I fetch a morsel of bread ,
that you may refresh yourselves ,
and after that you may pass on--since you have come to your servant ."
So they said , "
Do as you have said ."
*
And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah ,
and said , "
Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal ,
knead it ,
and make cakes ."
*
And Abraham ran to the herd ,
and took a calf ,
tender and good ,
and gave it to the servant ,
who hastened to prepare it .
*
Then he took curds ,
and milk ,
and the calf which he had prepared ,
and set it before them ;
and he stood by them under the tree while they ate .
*
They said to him , "
Where is Sarah your wife ?"
And he said , "
She is in the tent ."
*
The LORD said , "
I will surely return to you in the spring ,
and Sarah your wife shall have a son ."
And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him .
*
Now Abraham and Sarah were old ,
advanced in age ;
it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women .
*
So Sarah laughed to herself ,
saying , "
After I have grown old ,
and my husband is old ,
shall I have pleasure ?"
*
The LORD said to Abraham , "
Why did Sarah laugh ,
and say , `
Shall I indeed bear a child ,
now that I am old ?'
*
Is anything too hard for the LORD ?
At the appointed time I will return to you ,
in the spring ,
and Sarah shall have a son ."
*
But Sarah denied ,
saying , "
I did not laugh ";
for she was afraid .
He said , "
No ,
but you did laugh ."
*
Then the men set out from there ,
and they looked toward Sodom ;
and Abraham went with them to set them on their way .
*
The LORD said , "
Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do ,
*
seeing that Abraham shall become a great and mighty nation ,
and all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by him ?
*
No ,
for I have chosen him ,
that he may charge his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice ;
so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him ."
*
Then the LORD said , "
Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomor '
rah is great and their sin is very grave ,
*
I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry which has come to me ;
and if not ,
I will know ."
*
So the men turned from there ,
and went toward Sodom ;
but Abraham still stood before the LORD .
*
Then Abraham drew near ,
and said , "
Wilt thou indeed destroy the righteous with the wicked ?
*
Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city ;
wilt thou then destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous who are in it ?
*
Far be it from thee to do such a thing ,
to slay the righteous with the wicked ,
so that the righteous fare as the wicked !
Far be that from thee !
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ?"
*
And the LORD said , "
If I find at Sodom fifty righteous in the city ,
I will spare the whole place for their sake ."
*
Abraham answered , "
Behold ,
I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord ,
I who am but dust and ashes .
*
Suppose five of the fifty righteous are lacking ?
Wilt thou destroy the whole city for lack of five ?"
And he said , "
I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there ."
*
Again he spoke to him ,
and said , "
Suppose forty are found there ."
He answered , "
For the sake of forty I will not do it ."
*
Then he said , "
Oh let not the Lord be angry ,
and I will speak .
Suppose thirty are found there ."
He answered , "
I will not do it ,
if I find thirty there ."
*
He said , "
Behold ,
I have taken upon myself to speak to the Lord .
Suppose twenty are found there ."
He answered , "
For the sake of twenty I will not destroy it ."
*
Then he said , "
Oh let not the Lord be angry ,
and I will speak again but this once .
Suppose ten are found there ."
He answered , "
For the sake of ten I will not destroy it ."
*
And the LORD went his way ,
when he had finished speaking to Abraham ;
and Abraham returned to his place .
*
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 bowed himself with his face to the earth ,
*
and said , "
My lords ,
turn aside ,
I pray you ,
to your servant '
s house and spend the night ,
and wash your feet ;
then you may rise up early and go on your way ."
They said , "
No ;
we will spend the night in the street ."
*
But he urged them strongly ;
so they turned aside to him and entered his house ;
and he made them a feast ,
and baked unleavened bread ,
and they ate .
*
But before they lay down ,
the men of the city ,
the men of Sodom ,
both young and old ,
all the people to the last man ,
surrounded the house ;
*
and they called to Lot , "
Where are the men who came to you tonight ?
Bring them out to us ,
that we may know them ."
*
Lot went out of the door to the men ,
shut the door after him ,
*
and said , "
I beg you ,
my brothers ,
do not act so wickedly .
*
Behold ,
I have two daughters who have not known man ;
let me bring them out to you ,
and do to them as you please ;
only do nothing to these men ,
for they have come under the shelter of my roof ."
*
But they said , "
Stand back !"
And they said , "
This fellow came to sojourn ,
and he would play the judge !
Now we will deal worse with you than with them ."
Then they pressed hard against the man Lot ,
and drew near to break the door .
*
But the men put forth their hands and brought Lot into the house to them ,
and shut the door .
*
And they struck with blindness the men who were at the door of the house ,
both small and great ,
so that they wearied themselves groping for the door .
*
Then the men said to Lot , "
Have you any one else here ?
Sons-in-law ,
sons ,
daughters ,
or any one you have in the city ,
bring them out of the place ;
*
for we are about to destroy this place ,
because the outcry against its people has become great before the LORD ,
and the LORD has sent us to destroy it ."
*
So Lot went out and said to his sons-in-law ,
who were to marry his daughters , "
Up ,
get out of this place ;
for the LORD is about to destroy the city ."
But he seemed to his sons-in-law to be jesting .
*
When morning dawned ,
the angels urged Lot ,
saying , "
Arise ,
take your wife and your two daughters who are here ,
lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city ."
*
But he lingered ;
so the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand ,
the LORD being merciful to him ,
and they brought him forth and set him outside the city .
*
And when they had brought them forth ,
they said , "
Flee for your life ;
do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley ;
flee to the hills ,
lest you be consumed ."
*
And Lot said to them , "
Oh ,
no ,
my lords ;
*
behold ,
your servant has found favor in your sight ,
and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life ;
but I cannot flee to the hills ,
lest the disaster overtake me ,
and I die .
*
Behold ,
yonder city is near enough to flee to ,
and it is a little one .
Let me escape there--is it not a little one ?--
and my life will be saved !"
*
He said to him , "
Behold ,
I grant you this favor also ,
that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken .
*
Make haste ,
escape there ;
for I can do nothing till you arrive there ."
Therefore the name of the city was called Zo '
ar .
*
The sun had risen on the earth when Lot came to Zo '
ar .
*
Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomor '
rah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven ;
*
and he overthrew those cities ,
and all the valley ,
and all the inhabitants of the cities ,
and what grew on the ground .
*
But Lot '
s wife behind him looked back ,
and she became a pillar of salt .
*
And Abraham went early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD ;
*
and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomor '
rah and toward all the land of the valley ,
and beheld ,
and lo ,
the smoke of the land went up like the smoke of a furnace .
*
So it was that ,
when God destroyed the cities of the valley ,
God remembered Abraham ,
and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow ,
when he overthrew the cities in which Lot dwelt .
*
Now Lot went up out of Zo '
ar ,
and dwelt in the hills with his two daughters ,
for he was afraid to dwell in Zo '
ar ;
so he dwelt in a cave with his two daughters .
*
And the first-born said to the younger , "
Our father is old ,
and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the earth .
*
Come ,
let us make our father drink wine ,
and we will lie with him ,
that we may preserve offspring through our father ."
*
So they made their father drink wine that night ;
and the first-born went in ,
and lay with her father ;
he did not know when she lay down or when she arose .
*
And on the next day ,
the first-born said to the younger , "
Behold ,
I lay last night with my father ;
let us make him drink wine tonight also ;
then you go in and lie with him ,
that we may preserve offspring through our father ."
*
So 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 first-born bore a son ,
and called his name Moab ;
he is the father of the Moabites to this day .
*
The younger also bore a son ,
and called his name Ben-ammi ;
he is the father of the Ammonites to this day .
*
From there Abraham journeyed toward the territory of the Negeb ,
and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur ;
and he sojourned in Gerar .
*
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife , "
She is my sister ."
And Abim '
elech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah .
*
But God came to Abim '
elech in a dream by night ,
and said to him , "
Behold ,
you are a dead man ,
because of the woman whom you have taken ;
for she is a man '
s wife ."
*
Now Abim '
elech had not approached her ;
so he said , "
Lord ,
wilt thou slay an innocent people ?
*
Did he not himself say to me , `
She is my sister '?
And she herself said , `
He is my brother .'
In the integrity of my heart and the innocence of my hands I have done this ."
*
Then God said to him in the dream , "
Yes ,
I know that you have done this in the integrity of your heart ,
and it was I who kept you from sinning against me ;
therefore I did not let you touch her .
*
Now then 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 that are yours ."
*
So Abim '
elech rose early in the morning ,
and called all his servants ,
and told them all these things ;
and the men were very much afraid .
*
Then Abim '
elech called Abraham ,
and said to him , "
What have you done to us ?
And how have I sinned against you ,
that you have brought on me and my kingdom a great sin ?
You have done to me things that ought not to be done ."
*
And Abim '
elech said to Abraham , "
What were you thinking of ,
that you did this thing ?"
*
Abraham said , "
I did it because I thought ,
There is no fear of God at all in this place ,
and they will kill me because of my wife .
*
Besides she is indeed my sister ,
the daughter of my father but not the daughter of my mother ;
and she became my wife .
*
And when God caused me to wander from my father '
s house ,
I said to her , `
This is the kindness you must do me :
at every place to which we come ,
say of me ,
He is my brother .'"
*
Then Abim '
elech took sheep and oxen ,
and male and female slaves ,
and gave them to Abraham ,
and restored Sarah his wife to him .
*
And Abim '
elech said , "
Behold ,
my land is before you ;
dwell where it pleases you ."
*
To Sarah he said , "
Behold ,
I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver ;
it is your vindication in the eyes of all who are with you ;
and before every one you are righted ."
*
Then Abraham prayed to God ;
and God healed Abim '
elech ,
and also healed his wife and female slaves so that they bore children .
*
For the LORD had closed all the wombs of the house of Abim '
elech because of Sarah ,
Abraham '
s wife .
*
The LORD visited Sarah as he had said ,
and the LORD did to Sarah as he had promised .
*
And Sarah conceived ,
and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the time of which God had spoken to him .
*
Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him ,
whom Sarah bore him ,
Isaac .
*
And Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old ,
as God had commanded him .
*
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him .
*
And Sarah said , "
God has made laughter for me ;
every one who hears will laugh over me ."
*
And she said , "
Who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would suckle children ?
Yet I have borne him a son in his old age ."
*
And the child grew ,
and was weaned ;
and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned .
*
But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian ,
whom she had borne to Abraham ,
playing with her son Isaac .
*
So she said to Abraham , "
Cast out this slave woman with her son ;
for the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son Isaac ."
*
And the thing was very displeasing to Abraham on account of his son .
*
But God said to Abraham , "
Be not displeased because of the lad and because of your slave woman ;
whatever Sarah says to you ,
do as she tells you ,
for through Isaac shall your descendants be named .
*
And I will make a nation of the son of the slave woman also ,
because he is your offspring ."
*
So Abraham rose early in the morning ,
and took bread and a skin of water ,
and gave it to Hagar ,
putting it on her shoulder ,
along with the child ,
and sent her away .
And she departed ,
and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba .
*
When the water in the skin was gone ,
she cast the child under one of the bushes .
*
Then she went ,
and sat down over against him a good way off ,
about the distance of a bowshot ;
for she said , "
Let me not look upon the death of the child ."
And as she sat over against him ,
the child lifted up his voice and wept .
*
And God heard the voice of the lad ;
and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven ,
and said to her , "
What troubles you ,
Hagar ?
Fear not ;
for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is .
*
Arise ,
lift up the lad ,
and hold him fast 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 .
*
And God was with the lad ,
and he grew up ;
he lived in the wilderness ,
and became an expert with the bow .
*
He lived in the wilderness of Paran ;
and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt .
*
At that time Abim '
elech and Phicol the commander of his army said to Abraham , "
God is with you in all that you do ;
*
now therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my offspring or with my posterity ,
but as I have dealt loyally with you ,
you will deal with me and with the land where you have sojourned ."
*
And Abraham said , "
I will swear ."
*
When Abraham complained to Abim '
elech about a well of water which Abim '
elech '
s servants had seized ,
*
Abim '
elech said , "
I do not know who has done this thing ;
you did not tell me ,
and I have not heard of it until today ."
*
So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abim '
elech ,
and the two men made a covenant .
*
Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock apart .
*
And Abim '
elech said to Abraham , "
What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set apart ?"
*
He said , "
These seven ewe lambs you will take from my hand ,
that you may be a witness for me that I dug this well ."
*
Therefore that place was called Beer-sheba ;
because there both of them swore an oath .
*
So they made a covenant at Beer-sheba .
Then Abim '
elech and Phicol the commander of his army rose up and returned to the land of the Philistines .
*
Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba ,
and called there on the name of the LORD ,
the Everlasting God .
*
And Abraham sojourned many days in the land of the Philistines .
*
After these things God tested Abraham ,
and said to him , "
Abraham !"
And he said , "
Here am I ."
*
He said , "
Take your son ,
your only son Isaac ,
whom you love ,
and go to the land of Mori '
ah ,
and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you ."
*
So Abraham rose early in the morning ,
saddled his ass ,
and took two of his young men with him ,
and his son Isaac ;
and he cut the wood for the burnt offering ,
and arose and went to the place of which God had told him .
*
On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off .
*
Then Abraham said to his young men , "
Stay here with the ass ;
I and the lad will go yonder and worship ,
and come again to you ."
*
And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering ,
and laid it on Isaac his son ;
and he took in his hand the fire and the knife .
So they went both of them together .
*
And Isaac said to his father Abraham , "
My father !"
And he said , "
Here am I ,
my son ."
He said , "
Behold ,
the fire and the wood ;
but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ?"
*
Abraham said , "
God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering ,
my son ."
So they went both of them together .
*
When they came to the place of which God had told him ,
Abraham built an altar there ,
and laid the wood in order ,
and bound Isaac his son ,
and laid him on the altar ,
upon the wood .
*
Then Abraham put forth 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 !"
And he said , "
Here am I ."
*
He said , "
Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him ;
for now I know that you fear God ,
seeing you have not withheld your son ,
your only son ,
from me ."
*
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
behind him was a ram ,
caught in a thicket by his horns ;
and Abraham went and took the ram ,
and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son .
*
So Abraham called the name of that place The LORD will provide ;
as it is said to this day , "
On the mount of the LORD it shall be provided ."
*
And the angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven ,
*
and said , "
By myself I have sworn ,
says the LORD ,
because you have done this ,
and have not withheld your son ,
your only son ,
*
I will indeed bless you ,
and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore .
And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies ,
*
and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves ,
because you have obeyed my voice ."
*
So Abraham returned to his young men ,
and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba ;
and Abraham dwelt at Beer-sheba .
*
Now after these things it was told Abraham , "
Behold ,
Milcah also has borne children to your brother Nahor :
*
Uz the first-born ,
Buz his brother ,
Kemu '
el the father of Aram ,
*
Chesed ,
Hazo ,
Pildash ,
Jidlaph ,
and Bethu '
el ."
*
Bethu '
el became the father of Rebekah .
These eight Milcah bore to Nahor ,
Abraham '
s brother .
*
Moreover ,
his concubine ,
whose name was Reumah ,
bore Tebah ,
Gaham ,
Tahash ,
and Ma '
acah .
*
Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years ;
these were the years of the life of Sarah .
*
And Sarah died at Kir '
iath-ar '
ba (
that is ,
Hebron )
in the land of Canaan ;
and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her .
*
And Abraham rose up from before his dead ,
and said to the Hittites ,
* "
I am a stranger and a sojourner among you ;
give me property among you for a burying place ,
that I may bury my dead out of my sight ."
*
The Hittites answered Abraham ,
* "
Hear us ,
my lord ;
you are a mighty prince among us .
Bury your dead in the choicest of our sepulchres ;
none of us will withhold from you his sepulchre ,
or hinder you from burying your dead ."
*
Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites ,
the people of the land .
*
And he said to them , "
If you are willing that I should bury my dead out of my sight ,
hear me ,
and entreat for me Ephron the son of Zohar ,
*
that he may give me the cave of Mach-pe '
lah ,
which he owns ;
it is at the end of his field .
For the full price let him give it to me in your presence as a possession for a burying place ."
*
Now Ephron was sitting among the Hittites ;
and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites ,
of all who went in at the gate of his city ,
* "
No ,
my lord ,
hear me ;
I give you the field ,
and I give you the cave that is in it ;
in the presence of the sons of my people I give it to you ;
bury your dead ."
*
Then Abraham bowed down before the people of the land .
*
And he said to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land , "
But if you will ,
hear me ;
I will give the price of the field ;
accept it from me ,
that I may bury my dead there ."
*
Ephron answered Abraham ,
* "
My lord ,
listen to me ;
a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver ,
what is that between you and me ?
Bury your dead ."
*
Abraham agreed with Ephron ;
and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver which he had named in the hearing of the Hittites ,
four hundred shekels of silver ,
according to the weights current among the merchants .
*
So the field of Ephron in Mach-pe '
lah ,
which was to the east of Mamre ,
the field with the cave which was in it and all the trees that were in the field ,
throughout its whole area ,
was made over
*
to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites ,
before all who went in at the gate of his city .
*
After this ,
Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Mach-pe '
lah east of Mamre (
that is ,
Hebron )
in the land of Canaan .
*
The field and the cave that is in it were made over to Abraham as a possession for a burying place by the Hittites .
*
Now Abraham was old ,
well advanced in years ;
and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things .
*
And Abraham said to his servant ,
the oldest of his house ,
who had charge of all that he had , "
Put your hand under my thigh ,
*
and I will make you swear by the LORD ,
the God of heaven and of the earth ,
that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites ,
among whom I dwell ,
*
but will go to my country and to my kindred ,
and take a wife for my son Isaac ."
*
The servant said to him , "
Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land ;
must I then take your son back to the land from which you came ?"
*
Abraham said to him , "
See to it that you do not take my son back there .
*
The LORD ,
the God of heaven ,
who took me from my father '
s house and from the land of my birth ,
and who spoke to me and swore to me , `
To your descendants I will give this land ,'
he will send his angel before you ,
and you shall take a wife for my son from there .
*
But if the woman is not willing to follow you ,
then you will be free from this oath of mine ;
only you must 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 ,
taking all sorts of choice gifts from his master ;
and he arose ,
and went to Mesopota '
mia ,
to the city of Nahor .
*
And he made the camels kneel down outside the city by the well of water at the time of evening ,
the time when women go out to draw water .
*
And he said , "
O LORD ,
God of my master Abraham ,
grant me success today ,
I pray thee ,
and show steadfast love to my master Abraham .
*
Behold ,
I am standing by the spring of water ,
and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water .
*
Let the maiden to whom I shall say , `
Pray let down your jar that I may drink ,'
and who shall say , `
Drink ,
and I will water your camels '--
let her be the one whom thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac .
By this I shall know that thou hast shown steadfast love to my master ."
*
Before he had done speaking ,
behold ,
Rebekah ,
who was born to Bethu '
el the son of Milcah ,
the wife of Nahor ,
Abraham '
s brother ,
came out with her water jar upon her shoulder .
*
The maiden was very fair to look upon ,
a virgin ,
whom no man had known .
She went down to the spring ,
and filled her jar ,
and came up .
*
Then the servant ran to meet her ,
and said , "
Pray give me a little water to drink from your jar ."
*
She said , "
Drink ,
my lord ";
and she quickly let down her jar upon her hand ,
and gave him a drink .
*
When she had finished giving him a drink ,
she said , "
I will draw for your camels also ,
until they have done drinking ."
*
So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw ,
and she drew for all his camels .
*
The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not .
*
When the camels had done drinking ,
the man took a gold ring weighing a half shekel ,
and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels ,
*
and said , "
Tell me whose daughter you are .
Is there room in your father '
s house for us to lodge in ?"
*
She said to him , "
I am the daughter of Bethu '
el the son of Milcah ,
whom she bore to Nahor ."
*
She added , "
We have both straw and provender enough ,
and room to lodge in ."
*
The man bowed his head and worshiped the LORD ,
*
and said , "
Blessed be the LORD ,
the God of my master Abraham ,
who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master .
As for me ,
the LORD has led me in the way to the house of my master '
s kinsmen ."
*
Then the maiden ran and told her mother '
s household about these things .
*
Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban ;
and Laban ran out to the man ,
to the spring .
*
When he saw the ring ,
and the bracelets on his sister '
s arms ,
and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister , "
Thus the man spoke to me ,"
he went to the man ;
and behold ,
he was standing by the camels at the spring .
*
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 ."
*
So the man came into the house ;
and Laban ungirded the camels ,
and gave him straw and provender for the camels ,
and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him .
*
Then food was set before him to eat ;
but he said , "
I will not eat until I have told my errand ."
He said , "
Speak on ."
*
So he said , "
I am Abraham '
s servant .
*
The LORD has greatly blessed my master ,
and he has become great ;
he has given him flocks and herds ,
silver and gold ,
menservants and maidservants ,
camels and asses .
*
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 .
*
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 kindred ,
and take a wife for my son .'
*
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 kindred and from my father '
s house ;
*
then you will be free from my oath ,
when you come to my kindred ;
and if they will not give her to you ,
you will be free from my oath .'
* "
I came today to the spring ,
and said , `
O LORD ,
the God of my master Abraham ,
if now thou wilt prosper the way which I go ,
*
behold ,
I am standing by the spring of water ;
let the young woman who comes out to draw ,
to whom I shall say , "
Pray give me a little water from your jar to drink ,"
*
and who will say 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 .'
* "
Before I had done speaking in my heart ,
behold ,
Rebekah came out with her water jar on her shoulder ;
and she went down to the spring ,
and drew .
I said to her , `
Pray let me drink .'
*
She quickly let down her jar from her shoulder ,
and said , `
Drink ,
and I will give your camels drink also .'
So I drank ,
and she gave the camels drink also .
*
Then I asked her , `
Whose daughter are you ?'
She said ,
The daughter of Bethu '
el ,
Nahor '
s son ,
whom Milcah bore to him .'
So I put the ring on her nose ,
and the bracelets on her arms .
*
Then I bowed my head and worshiped the LORD ,
and blessed the LORD ,
the God of my master Abraham ,
who had led me by the right way to take the daughter of my master '
s kinsman for his son .
*
Now then ,
if you will deal loyally 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 Bethu '
el answered , "
The thing comes from the LORD ;
we cannot speak to you bad or good .
*
Behold ,
Rebekah is before you ,
take her and go ,
and let her be the wife of your master '
s son ,
as the LORD has spoken ."
*
When Abraham '
s servant heard their words ,
he bowed himself to the earth before the LORD .
*
And the servant brought forth jewelry of silver and of gold ,
and raiment ,
and gave them to Rebekah ;
he also gave to her brother and to her mother costly ornaments .
*
And he and the men who were with him ate and drank ,
and they spent the night there .
When they arose in the morning ,
he said , "
Send me back to my master ."
*
Her brother and her mother said , "
Let the maiden remain with us a while ,
at least ten days ;
after that she may go ."
*
But he said to them , "
Do not delay me ,
since the LORD has prospered my way ;
let me go that I may go to my master ."
*
They said , "
We will call the maiden ,
and ask her ."
*
And they called Rebekah ,
and said to her , "
Will you go with this man ?"
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 ,
be the mother of thousands of ten thousands ;
and may your descendants possess the gate of those who hate them !"
*
Then Rebekah and her maids arose ,
and rode upon the camels and followed the man ;
thus the servant took Rebekah ,
and went his way .
*
Now Isaac had come from Beer-la '
hai-roi ,
and was dwelling in the Negeb .
*
And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening ;
and he lifted up his eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
there were camels coming .
*
And Rebekah lifted up her eyes ,
and when she saw Isaac ,
she alighted from the camel ,
*
and said to the servant , "
Who is the man yonder ,
walking in the field to meet us ?"
The servant said , "
It is my master ."
So she took her veil and covered herself .
*
And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done .
*
Then Isaac brought her into the tent ,
and took Rebekah ,
and she became his wife ;
and he loved her .
So Isaac was comforted after his mother '
s death .
*
Abraham took another wife ,
whose name was Ketu '
rah .
*
She bore him Zimran ,
Jokshan ,
Medan ,
Mid '
ian ,
Ishbak ,
and Shuah .
*
Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan .
The sons of Dedan were Asshu '
rim ,
Letu '
shim ,
and Le-um '
mim .
*
The sons of Mid '
ian were Ephah ,
Epher ,
Hanoch ,
Abi '
da ,
and Elda '
ah .
All these were the children of Ketu '
rah .
*
Abraham gave all he had to Isaac .
*
But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts ,
and while he was still living he sent them away from his son Isaac ,
eastward to the east country .
*
These are the days of the years of Abraham '
s life ,
a hundred and seventy-five years .
*
Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age ,
an old man and full of years ,
and was gathered to his people .
*
Isaac and Ish '
mael his sons buried him in the cave of Mach-pe '
lah ,
in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite ,
east of Mamre ,
*
the field which Abraham purchased from the Hittites .
There Abraham was buried ,
with Sarah his wife .
*
After the death of Abraham God blessed Isaac his son .
And Isaac dwelt at Beer-la '
hai-roi .
*
These are the descendants of Ish '
mael ,
Abraham '
s son ,
whom Hagar the Egyptian ,
Sarah '
s maid ,
bore to Abraham .
*
These are the names of the sons of Ish '
mael ,
named in the order of their birth :
Neba '
ioth ,
the first-born of Ish '
mael ;
and Kedar ,
Adbeel ,
Mibsam ,
*
Mishma ,
Dumah ,
Massa ,
*
Hadad ,
Tema ,
Jetur ,
Naphish ,
and Ked '
emah .
*
These are the sons of Ish '
mael and these are their names ,
by their villages and by their encampments ,
twelve princes according to their tribes .
* (
These are the years of the life of Ish '
mael ,
a hundred and thirty-seven years ;
he breathed his last and died ,
and was gathered to his kindred .)
*
They dwelt from Hav '
ilah to Shur ,
which is opposite Egypt in the direction of Assyria ;
he settled over against all his people .
*
These are the descendants of Isaac ,
Abraham '
s son :
Abraham was the father of Isaac ,
*
and Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah ,
the daughter of Bethu '
el the Aramean of Paddan-aram ,
the sister of Laban the Aramean .
*
And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife ,
because she was barren ;
and the LORD granted his prayer ,
and Rebekah his wife conceived .
*
The children struggled together within her ;
and she said , "
If it is thus ,
why do I live ?"
So she went to inquire of the LORD .
*
And the LORD said to her , "
Two nations are in your womb ,
and two peoples ,
born of you ,
shall be divided ;
the one shall be stronger than the other ,
the elder shall serve the younger ."
*
When her days to be delivered were fulfilled ,
behold ,
there were twins in her womb .
*
The first came forth red ,
all his body like a hairy mantle ;
so they called his name Esau .
*
Afterward his brother came forth ,
and his hand had taken hold of Esau '
s heel ;
so his name was called Jacob .
Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them .
*
When the boys grew up ,
Esau was a skilful hunter ,
a man of the field ,
while Jacob was a quiet man ,
dwelling in tents .
*
Isaac loved Esau ,
because he ate of his game ;
but Rebekah loved Jacob .
*
Once when Jacob was boiling pottage ,
Esau came in from the field ,
and he was famished .
*
And Esau said to Jacob , "
Let me eat some of that red pottage ,
for I am famished !" (
Therefore his name was called Edom .)
*
Jacob said , "
First sell me your birthright ."
*
Esau said , "
I am about to die ;
of what use is a birthright to me ?"
*
Jacob said , "
Swear to me first ."
So he swore to him ,
and sold his birthright to Jacob .
*
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils ,
and he ate and drank ,
and rose and went his way .
Thus Esau despised his birthright .
*
Now there was a famine in the land ,
besides the former famine that was in the days of Abraham .
And Isaac went to Gerar ,
to Abim '
elech king of the Philistines .
*
And the LORD appeared to him ,
and said , "
Do not go down to Egypt ;
dwell in the land of which I shall tell you .
*
Sojourn in this land ,
and I will be with you ,
and will bless you ;
for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands ,
and I will fulfil the oath which I swore to Abraham your father .
*
I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven ,
and will give to your descendants all these lands ;
and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves :
*
because Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge ,
my commandments ,
my statutes ,
and my laws ."
*
So Isaac dwelt in Gerar .
*
When the men of the place asked him about his wife ,
he said , "
She is my sister ";
for he feared to say , "
My wife ,"
thinking , "
lest the men of the place should kill me for the sake of Rebekah ";
because she was fair to look upon .
*
When he had been there a long time ,
Abim '
elech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac fondling Rebekah his wife .
*
So Abim '
elech called Isaac ,
and said , "
Behold ,
she is your wife ;
how then could you say , `
She is my sister '?"
Isaac said to him , "
Because I thought , `
Lest I die because of her .'"
*
Abim '
elech said , "
What is this you have done to us ?
One of the people might easily have lain with your wife ,
and you would have brought guilt upon us ."
*
So Abim '
elech warned all the people ,
saying , "
Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death ."
*
And Isaac sowed in that land ,
and reaped in the same year a hundredfold .
The LORD blessed him ,
*
and the man became rich ,
and gained more and more until he became very wealthy .
*
He had possessions of flocks and herds ,
and a great household ,
so that the Philistines envied him .
* (
Now the Philistines had stopped and filled with earth all the wells which his father '
s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father .)
*
And Abim '
elech said to Isaac , "
Go away from us ;
for you are much mightier than we ."
*
So Isaac departed from there ,
and encamped in the valley of Gerar and dwelt there .
*
And Isaac dug again the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father ;
for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham ;
and he gave them the names which his father had given them .
*
But when Isaac '
s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of springing water ,
*
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 contended with him .
*
Then they dug another well ,
and they quarreled over that also ;
so he called its name Sitnah .
*
And he moved from there and dug another well ,
and over that they did not quarrel ;
so he called its name Reho '
both ,
saying , "
For now the LORD has made room for us ,
and we shall be fruitful in the land ."
*
From there he went up to Beer-sheba .
*
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said , "
I am the God of Abraham your father ;
fear not ,
for I am with you and will bless you and multiply your descendants for my servant Abraham '
s sake ."
*
So he built an altar there and called upon the name of the LORD ,
and pitched his tent there .
And there Isaac '
s servants dug a well .
*
Then Abim '
elech went to him from Gerar with Ahuz '
zath his adviser and Phicol the commander of his army .
*
Isaac said to them , "
Why have you come to me ,
seeing that you hate me and have sent me away from you ?"
*
They said , "
We see plainly that the LORD is with you ;
so we say ,
let there be an oath between you and us ,
and let us make a covenant with you ,
*
that you will do us no harm ,
just as we have not touched you and have done to you nothing 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 .
*
In the morning they rose early and took oath with one another ;
and Isaac set them on their way ,
and they departed from him in peace .
*
That same day Isaac '
s servants came and told him about the well which they had dug ,
and said to him , "
We have found water ."
*
He called it Shibah ;
therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day .
*
When Esau was forty years old ,
he took to wife Judith the daughter of Be-e '
ri the Hittite ,
and Bas '
emath the daughter of Elon the Hittite ;
*
and they made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah .
*
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see ,
he called Esau his older son ,
and said to him , "
My son ";
and he answered , "
Here I am ."
*
He said , "
Behold ,
I am old ;
I do not know the day of my death .
*
Now then ,
take your weapons ,
your quiver and your bow ,
and go out to the field ,
and hunt game for me ,
*
and prepare for me savory food ,
such as I love ,
and bring it to me that I may eat ;
that I may bless you before I die ."
*
Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau .
So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it ,
*
Rebekah said to her son Jacob , "
I heard your father speak to your brother Esau ,
* `
Bring me game ,
and prepare for me savory food ,
that I may eat it ,
and bless you before the LORD before I die .'
*
Now therefore ,
my son ,
obey my word as I command you .
*
Go to the flock ,
and fetch me two good kids ,
that I may prepare from them savory food for your father ,
such as he loves ;
*
and you shall bring it to your father to eat ,
so that he may bless you before he dies ."
*
But Jacob said to Rebekah his mother , "
Behold ,
my brother Esau is a hairy man ,
and I am a smooth man .
*
Perhaps my father will feel me ,
and I shall seem to be mocking him ,
and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing ."
*
His mother said to him , "
Upon me be your curse ,
my son ;
only obey my word ,
and go ,
fetch them to me ."
*
So he went and took them and brought them to his mother ;
and his mother prepared savory food ,
such as his father loved .
*
Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son ,
which were with her in the house ,
and put them on Jacob her younger son ;
*
and the skins of the kids she put upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck ;
*
and she gave the savory food and the bread ,
which she had prepared ,
into the hand of her son Jacob .
*
So he went in 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 first-born .
I have done as you told me ;
now sit up and eat of my game ,
that you may bless me ."
*
But Isaac said to his son , "
How is it that you have found it so quickly ,
my son ?"
He answered , "
Because the LORD your God granted me success ."
*
Then Isaac said to Jacob , "
Come near ,
that I may feel you ,
my son ,
to know whether you are really my son Esau or not ."
*
So Jacob went near to Isaac his father ,
who 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 .
*
He said , "
Are you really my son Esau ?"
He answered , "
I am ."
*
Then he said , "
Bring it to me ,
that I may eat of my son '
s game and bless you ."
So he brought it to him ,
and he ate ;
and he brought him wine ,
and he drank .
*
Then his father Isaac said to him , "
Come near and kiss me ,
my son ."
*
So he came near and kissed him ;
and he smelled the smell of his garments ,
and blessed him ,
and said , "
See ,
the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the LORD has blessed !
*
May God give you of the dew of heaven ,
and of the fatness of the earth ,
and plenty of grain and wine .
*
Let peoples serve you ,
and nations bow down to you .
Be lord over your brothers ,
and may your mother '
s sons bow down to you .
Cursed be every one who curses you ,
and blessed be every one who blesses you !"
*
As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob ,
when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father ,
Esau his brother came in from his hunting .
*
He also prepared savory food ,
and brought it to his father .
And he said to his father , "
Let my father arise ,
and eat of his son '
s game ,
that you may bless me ."
*
His father Isaac said to him , "
Who are you ?"
He answered , "
I am your son ,
your first-born ,
Esau ."
*
Then Isaac trembled violently ,
and said , "
Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me ,
and I ate it all before you came ,
and I have blessed him ?--
yes ,
and he shall be blessed ."
*
When Esau heard the words of his father ,
he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry ,
and said to his father , "
Bless me ,
even me also ,
O my father !"
*
But he said , "
Your brother came with guile ,
and he has taken away your blessing ."
*
Esau said , "
Is he not rightly named Jacob ?
For he has supplanted me these two times .
He took away my birthright ;
and behold ,
now he has taken away my blessing ."
Then he said , "
Have you not reserved a blessing for me ?"
*
Isaac answered Esau , "
Behold ,
I have made him your lord ,
and all his brothers I have given to him for servants ,
and with grain and wine I have sustained him .
What then can I do for you ,
my son ?"
*
Esau said to his father , "
Have you but one blessing ,
my father ?
Bless me ,
even me also ,
O my father ."
And Esau lifted up his voice and wept .
*
Then Isaac his father answered him : "
Behold ,
away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be ,
and away from the dew of heaven on high .
*
By your sword you shall live ,
and you shall serve your brother ;
but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your neck ."
*
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him ,
and Esau said to himself , "
The days of mourning for my father are approaching ;
then I will kill my brother Jacob ."
*
But the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah ;
so she sent and called Jacob her younger son ,
and said to him , "
Behold ,
your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill you .
*
Now therefore ,
my son ,
obey my voice ;
arise ,
flee to Laban my brother in Haran ,
*
and stay with him a while ,
until your brother '
s fury turns away ;
*
until your brother '
s anger turns away ,
and he forgets what you have done to him ;
then I will send ,
and fetch you from there .
Why should I be bereft of you both in one day ?"
*
Then Rebekah said to Isaac , "
I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women .
If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these ,
one of the women of the land ,
what good will my life be to me ?"
*
Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him ,
and charged him , "
You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women .
*
Arise ,
go to Paddan-aram to the house of Bethu '
el your mother '
s father ;
and take as wife from there one of the daughters of Laban your mother '
s brother .
*
God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you ,
that you may become a company of peoples .
*
May he give the blessing of Abraham to you and to your descendants with you ,
that you may take possession of the land of your sojournings which God gave to Abraham !"
*
Thus Isaac sent Jacob away ;
and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban ,
the son of Bethu '
el the Aramean ,
the brother of Rebekah ,
Jacob '
s and Esau '
s mother .
*
Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there ,
and that as he blessed him he charged him , "
You shall not marry one of the Canaanite women ,"
*
and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and gone to Paddan-aram .
*
So when Esau saw that the Canaanite women did not please Isaac his father ,
*
Esau went to Ish '
mael and took to wife ,
besides the wives he had ,
Ma '
halath the daughter of Ish '
mael Abraham '
s son ,
the sister of Neba '
ioth .
*
Jacob left Beer-sheba ,
and went toward Haran .
*
And he came to a certain place ,
and stayed there that night ,
because the sun had set .
Taking one of the stones of the place ,
he put it under his head and lay down in that place to sleep .
*
And he dreamed that there was a ladder set up on the earth ,
and the top of it reached to heaven ;
and behold ,
the angels of God were ascending and descending on it !
*
And behold ,
the LORD stood above it and said , "
I am the LORD ,
the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac ;
the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants ;
*
and your descendants shall be like the dust of the earth ,
and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south ;
and by you and your descendants shall all the families of the earth bless themselves .
*
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 that of which 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 ."
*
So Jacob rose early in the morning ,
and he took the stone which he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it .
*
He called the name of that place Bethel ;
but the name of the city was Luz at the first .
*
Then Jacob made a vow ,
saying , "
If God will be with me ,
and will keep me in this way that I go ,
and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear ,
*
so that I come again to my father '
s house in peace ,
then the LORD shall be my God ,
*
and this stone ,
which I have set up for a pillar ,
shall be God '
s house ;
and of all that thou givest me I will give the tenth to thee ."
*
Then Jacob went on his journey ,
and came to the land of the people of the east .
*
As he looked ,
he saw a well in the field ,
and lo ,
three flocks of sheep lying beside it ;
for out of that well the flocks were watered .
The stone on the well '
s mouth was large ,
*
and when all the flocks were gathered there ,
the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well ,
and water the sheep ,
and put the stone back in its place upon the mouth of the well .
*
Jacob said to them , "
My brothers ,
where do you come from ?"
They said , "
We are from Haran ."
*
He said to them , "
Do you know Laban the son of Nahor ?"
They said , "
We know him ."
*
He said to them , "
Is it well with him ?"
They said , "
It is well ;
and see ,
Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep !"
*
He said , "
Behold ,
it is still high day ,
it is not time for the animals to be gathered together ;
water the sheep ,
and go ,
pasture them ."
*
But they said , "
We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together ,
and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well ;
then we water the sheep ."
*
While he was still speaking with them ,
Rachel came with her father '
s sheep ;
for she kept them .
*
Now when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother '
s brother ,
and the sheep of Laban his mother '
s brother ,
Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well '
s mouth ,
and watered the flock of Laban his mother '
s brother .
*
Then Jacob kissed Rachel ,
and wept aloud .
*
And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father '
s kinsman ,
and that he was Rebekah '
s son ;
and she ran and told her father .
*
When Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister '
s son ,
he ran to meet him ,
and embraced him and kissed him ,
and brought him to his house .
Jacob told Laban all these things ,
*
and Laban said to him , "
Surely you are my bone and my flesh !"
And he stayed with him a month .
*
Then Laban said to Jacob , "
Because you are my kinsman ,
should you therefore serve me for nothing ?
Tell me ,
what shall your wages be ?"
*
Now Laban had two daughters ;
the name of the older was Leah ,
and the name of the younger was Rachel .
*
Leah '
s eyes were weak ,
but Rachel was beautiful and lovely .
*
Jacob loved Rachel ;
and he said , "
I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel ."
*
Laban said , "
It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to any other man ;
stay with me ."
*
So Jacob served seven years for Rachel ,
and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love he had for her .
*
Then Jacob said to Laban , "
Give me my wife that I may go in to her ,
for my time is completed ."
*
So Laban gathered together all the men of the place ,
and made a feast .
*
But in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob ;
and he went in to her .
* (
Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah to be her maid .)
*
And in the morning ,
behold ,
it was Leah ;
and Jacob said to Laban , "
What is this you have done to me ?
Did I not serve with you for Rachel ?
Why then have you deceived me ?"
*
Laban said , "
It is not so done in our country ,
to give the younger before the first-born .
*
Complete the week of this one ,
and we will give you the other also in return for serving me another seven years ."
*
Jacob did so ,
and completed her week ;
then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to wife .
* (
Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter Rachel to be her maid .)
*
So Jacob went in to Rachel also ,
and he loved Rachel more than Leah ,
and served Laban for another seven years .
*
When the LORD saw that Leah was hated ,
he opened her womb ;
but Rachel was barren .
*
And Leah conceived and bore a son ,
and she called his name Reuben ;
for she said , "
Because the LORD has looked upon my affliction ;
surely now my husband will love me ."
*
She conceived again and bore a son ,
and said , "
Because the LORD has heard that I am hated ,
he has given me this son also ";
and she called his name Simeon .
*
Again she conceived and bore a son ,
and said , "
Now this time my husband will be joined 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 , "
This time I will praise the LORD ";
therefore she called his name Judah ;
then she ceased bearing .
*
When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children ,
she envied her sister ;
and she said to Jacob , "
Give me children ,
or I shall die !"
*
Jacob '
s anger was kindled against Rachel ,
and he said , "
Am I in the place of God ,
who has withheld from you the fruit of the womb ?"
*
Then she said , "
Here is my maid Bilhah ;
go in to her ,
that she may bear upon my knees ,
and even I may have children through her ."
*
So she gave him her maid Bilhah as a wife ;
and Jacob went in to her .
*
And Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son .
*
Then Rachel said , "
God has judged me ,
and has also heard my voice and given me a son ";
therefore she called his name Daniel .
*
Rachel '
s maid Bilhah conceived again and bore Jacob a second son .
*
Then Rachel said , "
With mighty wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister ,
and have prevailed ";
so she called his name Naph '
tali .
*
When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children ,
she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife .
*
Then Leah '
s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son .
*
And Leah said , "
Good fortune !"
so she called his name Gad .
*
Leah '
s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a second son .
*
And Leah said , "
Happy am I !
For the women will call me happy ";
so she called his name Asher .
*
In the days of wheat harvest Reuben went and found mandrakes in the field ,
and brought them to his mother Leah .
Then Rachel said to Leah , "
Give me ,
I pray ,
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 ?"
Rachel said , "
Then he may lie with you tonight for your son '
s mandrakes ."
*
When Jacob came from the field in the evening ,
Leah went out to meet him ,
and said , "
You must come in to me ;
for I have hired you with my son '
s mandrakes ."
So he lay with her that night .
*
And God hearkened to Leah ,
and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son .
*
Leah said , "
God has given me my hire because I gave my maid to my husband ";
so she called his name Is '
sachar .
*
And Leah conceived again ,
and she bore Jacob a sixth son .
*
Then Leah said , "
God has endowed me with a good dowry ;
now my husband will honor me ,
because I have borne him six sons ";
so she called his name Zeb '
ulun .
*
Afterwards she bore a daughter ,
and called her name Dinah .
*
Then God remembered Rachel ,
and God hearkened to her and opened her womb .
*
She conceived and bore a son ,
and said , "
God has taken away my reproach ";
*
and she called his name Joseph ,
saying , "
May the LORD add to me another son !"
*
When Rachel had borne Joseph ,
Jacob said to Laban , "
Send me away ,
that I may go to my own home and country .
*
Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you ,
and let me go ;
for you know the service which I have given you ."
*
But Laban said to him , "
If you will allow me to say so ,
I have learned by divination that the LORD has blessed me because of you ;
*
name your wages ,
and I will give it ."
*
Jacob said to him , "
You yourself know how I have served you ,
and how your cattle have fared with me .
*
For you had little before I came ,
and it has increased abundantly ;
and the LORD has blessed you wherever I turned .
But now when shall I provide for my own household also ?"
*
He said , "
What shall I give you ?"
Jacob said , "
You shall not give me anything ;
if you will do this for me ,
I will again feed your flock and keep it :
*
let me pass through all your flock today ,
removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every black lamb ,
and the spotted and speckled among the goats ;
and such shall be my wages .
*
So my honesty will answer for me later ,
when you come to look into my wages with you .
Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and black among the lambs ,
if found with me ,
shall be counted stolen ."
*
Laban said , "
Good !
Let it be as you have said ."
*
But that day Laban removed the he-goats that were striped and spotted ,
and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted ,
every one that had white on it ,
and every lamb that was black ,
and put them in charge of his sons ;
*
and he set a distance of three days '
journey between himself and Jacob ;
and Jacob fed the rest of Laban '
s flock .
*
Then Jacob took fresh rods of poplar and almond and plane ,
and peeled white streaks in them ,
exposing the white of the rods .
*
He set the rods which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the runnels ,
that is ,
the watering troughs ,
where the flocks came to drink .
And since they bred when they came to drink ,
*
the flocks bred in front of the rods and so the flocks brought forth striped ,
speckled ,
and spotted .
*
And Jacob separated the lambs ,
and set the faces of the flocks toward the striped and all the black in the flock of Laban ;
and he put his own droves apart ,
and did not put them with Laban '
s flock .
*
Whenever the stronger of the flock were breeding Jacob laid the rods in the runnels before the eyes of the flock ,
that they might breed among the rods ,
*
but for the feebler of the flock he did not lay them there ;
so the feebler were Laban '
s ,
and the stronger Jacob '
s .
*
Thus the man grew exceedingly rich ,
and had large flocks ,
maidservants and menservants ,
and camels and asses .
*
Now Jacob heard that the sons of Laban were saying , "
Jacob has taken all that was our father '
s ;
and from what was our father '
s he has gained all this wealth ."
*
And Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him with favor as before .
*
Then the LORD said to Jacob , "
Return to the land of your fathers and to your kindred ,
and I will be with you ."
*
So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah into the field where his flock was ,
*
and said to them , "
I see that your father does not regard me with favor as he did before .
But the God of my father has been with me .
*
You know that I have served your father with all my strength ;
*
yet your father has cheated me and changed my wages ten times ,
but God did not permit him to harm me .
*
If he said , `
The spotted shall be your wages ,'
then all the flock bore spotted ;
and if he said , `
The striped shall be your wages ,'
then all the flock bore striped .
*
Thus God has taken away the cattle of your father ,
and given them to me .
*
In the mating season of the flock I lifted up my eyes ,
and saw in a dream that the he-goats which leaped upon the flock were striped ,
spotted ,
and mottled .
*
Then the angel of God said to me in the dream , `
Jacob ,'
and I said , `
Here I am !'
*
And he said , `
Lift up your eyes and see ,
all the goats that leap upon the flock are striped ,
spotted ,
and mottled ;
for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you .
*
I am the God of Bethel ,
where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me .
Now arise ,
go forth from this land ,
and return to the land of your birth .'"
*
Then Rachel and Leah answered him , "
Is there any portion or inheritance left to us in our father '
s house ?
*
Are we not regarded by him as foreigners ?
For he has sold us ,
and he has been using up the money given for us .
*
All the property which God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children ;
now then ,
whatever God has said to you ,
do ."
*
So Jacob arose ,
and set his sons and his wives on camels ;
*
and he drove away all his cattle ,
all his livestock which he had gained ,
the cattle in his possession which he had acquired in Paddan-aram ,
to go to the land of Canaan to his father Isaac .
*
Laban had gone to shear his sheep ,
and Rachel stole her father '
s household gods .
*
And Jacob outwitted Laban the Aramean ,
in that he did not tell him that he intended to flee .
*
He fled with all that he had ,
and arose and crossed the Euphra '
tes ,
and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead .
*
When it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled ,
*
he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him for seven days and followed close after him into the hill country of Gilead .
*
But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night ,
and said to him , "
Take heed that you say not a word to Jacob ,
either good or bad ."
*
And Laban overtook Jacob .
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country ,
and Laban with his kinsmen encamped in the hill country of Gilead .
*
And Laban said to Jacob , "
What have you done ,
that you have cheated me ,
and carried away my daughters like captives of the sword ?
*
Why did you flee secretly ,
and cheat me ,
and did not tell me ,
so that I might have sent you away with mirth and songs ,
with tambourine and lyre ?
*
And why did you not permit me to kiss my sons and my daughters farewell ?
Now you have done foolishly .
*
It is in my power to do you harm ;
but the God of your father spoke to me last night ,
saying , `
Take heed that you speak to Jacob neither good nor bad .'
*
And now you have gone away because you longed greatly for your father '
s house ,
but why did you steal my gods ?"
*
Jacob answered Laban , "
Because I was afraid ,
for I thought that you would take your daughters from me by force .
*
Any one with whom you find your gods shall not live .
In the presence of our kinsmen point out what I have that is yours ,
and take it ."
Now Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them .
*
So Laban went into Jacob '
s tent ,
and into Leah '
s tent ,
and into the tent of the two maidservants ,
but he did not find them .
And he went out of Leah '
s tent ,
and entered Rachel '
s .
*
Now Rachel had taken the household gods and put them in the camel '
s saddle ,
and sat upon them .
Laban felt all about the tent ,
but did not find them .
*
And she said to her father , "
Let not my lord be angry that I cannot rise before you ,
for the way of women is upon me ."
So he searched ,
but did not find the household gods .
*
Then Jacob became angry ,
and upbraided Laban ;
Jacob said to Laban , "
What is my offense ?
What is my sin ,
that you have hotly pursued me ?
*
Although you have felt through all my goods ,
what have you found of all your household goods ?
Set it here before my kinsmen and your kinsmen ,
that they may decide between us two .
*
These twenty years I have been with you ;
your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried ,
and I have not eaten the rams of your flocks .
*
That which was torn by wild beasts I did not bring to you ;
I bore the loss of it myself ;
of my hand you required it ,
whether stolen by day or stolen by night .
*
Thus I was ;
by day the heat consumed me ,
and the cold by night ,
and my sleep fled from my eyes .
*
These twenty years I have been in your house ;
I served you fourteen years for your two daughters ,
and six years for your flock ,
and you have changed my wages ten times .
*
If the God of my father ,
the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac ,
had not been on my side ,
surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed .
God saw my affliction and the labor of my hands ,
and rebuked you last night ."
*
Then Laban answered and said to Jacob , "
The daughters are my daughters ,
the children are my children ,
the flocks are my flocks ,
and 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 ?
*
Come now ,
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 .
*
And Jacob said to his kinsmen , "
Gather stones ,"
and they took stones ,
and made a heap ;
and they ate there by the heap .
*
Laban called it Je '
gar-sahadu '
tha :
but Jacob called it Galeed .
*
Laban said , "
This heap is a witness between you and me today ."
Therefore he named it Galeed ,
*
and the pillar Mizpah ,
for he said , "
The LORD watch between you and me ,
when we are absent one from the other .
*
If you ill-treat my daughters ,
or if you take wives besides my daughters ,
although no man is with us ,
remember ,
God is witness between you and me ."
*
Then Laban said to Jacob , "
See this heap and the pillar ,
which I have set between you and me .
*
This heap is a witness ,
and the pillar is a witness ,
that I will not pass over this heap to you ,
and you will not pass over this heap and this pillar to me ,
for harm .
*
The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor ,
the God of their father ,
judge between us ."
So Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac ,
*
and Jacob offered a sacrifice on the mountain and called his kinsmen to eat bread ;
and they ate bread and tarried all night on the mountain .
*
Early in the morning Laban arose ,
and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them ;
then he departed and returned home .
*
Jacob went on his way and the angels of God met him ;
*
and when Jacob saw them he said , "
This is God '
s army !"
So he called the name of that place Mahana '
im .
*
And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother in the land of Se '
ir ,
the country of Edom ,
*
instructing them , "
Thus you shall say to my lord Esau :
Thus says your servant Jacob , `
I have sojourned with Laban ,
and stayed until now ;
*
and I have oxen ,
asses ,
flocks ,
menservants ,
and maidservants ;
and I have sent to tell my lord ,
in order that I may find favor in your sight .'"
*
And the messengers returned to Jacob ,
saying , "
We came to your brother Esau ,
and he is coming to meet you ,
and four hundred men with him ."
*
Then 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 ,
*
thinking , "
If Esau comes to the one company and destroys it ,
then the company which is left will escape ."
*
And Jacob said , "
O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac ,
O LORD who didst say to me , `
Return to your country and to your kindred ,
and I will do you good ,'
*
I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness which thou hast shown to thy servant ,
for with only my staff I crossed this Jordan ;
and now I have become two companies .
*
Deliver me ,
I pray thee ,
from the hand of my brother ,
from the hand of Esau ,
for I fear him ,
lest he come and slay us all ,
the mothers with the children .
*
But thou didst say , `
I will do you good ,
and make your descendants as the sand of the sea ,
which cannot be numbered for multitude .'"
*
So he lodged there that night ,
and took from what he had with him a present for his brother Esau ,
*
two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats ,
two hundred ewes and twenty rams ,
*
thirty milch camels and their colts ,
forty cows and ten bulls ,
twenty she-asses and ten he-asses .
*
These he delivered into the hand of his servants ,
every drove by itself ,
and said to his servants , "
Pass on before me ,
and put a space between drove and drove ."
*
He instructed the foremost , "
When Esau my brother meets you ,
and asks you , `
To whom do you belong ?
Where are you going ?
And whose are these before you ?'
*
then you shall say , `
They belong to your servant Jacob ;
they are a present sent to my lord Esau ;
and moreover he is behind us .'"
*
He likewise instructed the second and the third and all who followed the droves , "
You shall say the same thing to Esau when you meet him ,
*
and you shall say , `
Moreover your servant Jacob is behind us .'"
For he thought , "
I may appease him with the present that goes before me ,
and afterwards I shall see his face ;
perhaps he will accept me ."
*
So the present passed on before him ;
and he himself lodged that night in the camp .
*
The same night he arose and took his two wives ,
his two maids ,
and his eleven children ,
and crossed the ford of the Jabbok .
*
He took them and sent them across the stream ,
and likewise everything that he had .
*
And Jacob was left alone ;
and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day .
*
When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob ,
he touched the hollow of his thigh ;
and Jacob '
s thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him .
*
Then he said , "
Let me go ,
for the day is breaking ."
But Jacob said , "
I will not let you go ,
unless you bless me ."
*
And he said to him , "
What is your name ?"
And he said , "
Jacob ."
*
Then he said , "
Your name shall no more be called Jacob ,
but Israel ,
for you have striven with God and with men ,
and have prevailed ."
*
Then Jacob asked him , "
Tell me ,
I pray ,
your name ."
But he said , "
Why is it that you ask my name ?"
And there he blessed him .
*
So Jacob called the name of the place Peni '
el ,
saying , "
For I have seen God face to face ,
and yet my life is preserved ."
*
The sun rose upon him as he passed Penu '
el ,
limping because of his thigh .
*
Therefore to this day the Israelites do not eat the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow of the thigh ,
because he touched the hollow of Jacob '
s thigh on the sinew of the hip .
*
And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked ,
and behold ,
Esau was coming ,
and four hundred men with him .
So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids .
*
And he put the maids with their children in front ,
then Leah with her children ,
and Rachel and Joseph last of all .
*
He himself went on before them ,
bowing 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 when Esau raised his eyes and saw the women and children ,
he said , "
Who are these with you ?"
Jacob said , "
The children whom God has graciously given your servant ."
*
Then the maids drew near ,
they and their children ,
and bowed down ;
*
Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down ;
and last Joseph and Rachel drew near ,
and they bowed down .
*
Esau said , "
What do you mean by all this company which I met ?"
Jacob answered , "
To find favor in the sight of my lord ."
*
But Esau said , "
I have enough ,
my brother ;
keep what you have for yourself ."
*
Jacob said , "
No ,
I pray you ,
if I have found favor in your sight ,
then accept my present from my hand ;
for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God ,
with such favor have you received me .
*
Accept ,
I pray you ,
my gift that is brought to you ,
because God has dealt graciously with me ,
and because I have enough ."
Thus he urged him ,
and he took it .
*
Then Esau said , "
Let us journey on our way ,
and I will go before you ."
*
But Jacob said to him , "
My lord knows that the children are frail ,
and that the flocks and herds giving suck are a care to me ;
and if they are overdriven for one day ,
all the flocks will die .
*
Let my lord pass on before his servant ,
and I will lead on slowly ,
according to the pace of the cattle which are before me and according to the pace of the children ,
until I come to my lord in Se '
ir ."
*
So Esau said , "
Let me leave with you some of the men 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 Se '
ir .
*
But Jacob journeyed to Succoth ,
and built himself a house ,
and made booths for his cattle ;
therefore the name of the place is called Succoth .
*
And Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem ,
which is in the land of Canaan ,
on his way from Paddan-aram ;
and he camped before the city .
*
And from the sons of Hamor ,
Shechem '
s father ,
he bought for a hundred pieces of money the piece of land on which he had pitched his tent .
*
There he erected an altar and called it El-El '
ohe-Israel .
*
Now Dinah the daughter of Leah ,
whom she had borne to Jacob ,
went out to visit the women of the land ;
*
and when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite ,
the prince of the land ,
saw her ,
he seized her and lay with her and humbled her .
*
And his soul was drawn to Dinah the daughter of Jacob ;
he loved the maiden and spoke tenderly to her .
*
So Shechem spoke to his father Hamor ,
saying , "
Get me this maiden for my wife ."
*
Now Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah ;
but his sons were with his cattle in the field ,
so Jacob held his peace until they came .
*
And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob to speak with him .
*
The sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard of it ;
and the men were indignant and very angry ,
because he had wrought folly in Israel by lying with Jacob '
s daughter ,
for such a thing ought not to be done .
*
But Hamor spoke with them ,
saying , "
The soul of my son Shechem longs for your daughter ;
I pray you ,
give her to him in marriage .
*
Make marriages with us ;
give your daughters to us ,
and take our daughters for yourselves .
*
You shall dwell with us ;
and the land shall be open to you ;
dwell and trade in it ,
and get property in it ."
*
Shechem also said to her father and to her brothers , "
Let me find favor in your eyes ,
and whatever you say to me I will give .
*
Ask of me ever so much as marriage present and gift ,
and I will give according as you say to me ;
only give me the maiden to be my wife ."
*
The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully ,
because he had defiled their sister Dinah .
*
They said to them , "
We cannot do this thing ,
to give our sister to one who is uncircumcised ,
for that would be a disgrace to us .
*
Only on this condition will we consent to you :
that you will become as we are and every male of you be circumcised .
*
Then we will give our daughters to you ,
and we will take your daughters to ourselves ,
and we will dwell with you and become one people .
*
But if you will not listen to us and be circumcised ,
then we will take our daughter ,
and we will be gone ."
*
Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor '
s son Shechem .
*
And the young man did not delay to do the thing ,
because he had delight in Jacob '
s daughter .
Now he was the most honored of all his family .
*
So Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city and spoke to the men of their city ,
saying ,
* "
These men are friendly with us ;
let them dwell in the land and trade in it ,
for behold ,
the land is large enough for them ;
let us take their daughters in marriage ,
and let us give them our daughters .
*
Only on this condition will the men agree to dwell with us ,
to become one people :
that every male among us be circumcised as they are circumcised .
*
Will not their cattle ,
their property and all their beasts be ours ?
Only let us agree with them ,
and they will dwell with us ."
*
And all who went out of the gate of his city hearkened to Hamor and his son Shechem ;
and every male was circumcised ,
all who went out of the gate of his city .
*
On the third day ,
when they were sore ,
two of the sons of Jacob ,
Simeon and Levi ,
Dinah '
s brothers ,
took their swords and came upon the city unawares ,
and killed all the males .
*
They slew Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword ,
and took Dinah out of Shechem '
s house ,
and went away .
*
And the sons of Jacob came upon the slain ,
and plundered the city ,
because their sister had been defiled ;
*
they took their flocks and their herds ,
their asses ,
and whatever was in the city and in the field ;
*
all their wealth ,
all their little ones and their wives ,
all that was in the houses ,
they captured and made their prey .
*
Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi , "
You have brought trouble on me by making me odious to the inhabitants of the land ,
the Canaanites and the Per '
izzites ;
my numbers are few ,
and if they gather themselves against me and attack me ,
I shall be destroyed ,
both I and my household ."
*
But they said , "
Should he treat our sister as a harlot ?"
*
God said to Jacob , "
Arise ,
go up to Bethel ,
and dwell there ;
and make there an altar to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau ."
*
So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him , "
Put away the foreign gods that are among you ,
and purify yourselves ,
and change your garments ;
*
then let us arise and go up to Bethel ,
that I may make there an altar to the God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone ."
*
So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had ,
and the rings that were in their ears ;
and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem .
*
And as they journeyed ,
a terror from God fell upon the cities that were round about them ,
so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob .
*
And Jacob came to Luz (
that is ,
Bethel ),
which is in the land of Canaan ,
he and all the people who were with him ,
*
and there he built an altar ,
and called the place El-bethel ,
because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother .
*
And Deb '
orah ,
Rebekah '
s nurse ,
died ,
and she was buried under an oak below Bethel ;
so the name of it was called Al '
lon-bacuth .
*
God appeared to Jacob again ,
when he came from Paddan-aram ,
and blessed him .
*
And God said to him , "
Your name is Jacob ;
no longer shall your name be called Jacob ,
but Israel shall be your name ."
So his name was called Israel .
*
And God said to him , "
I am God Almighty :
be fruitful and multiply ;
a nation and a company of nations shall come from you ,
and kings shall spring from you .
*
The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you ,
and I will give the land to your descendants after you ."
*
Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him .
*
And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him ,
a pillar of stone ;
and he poured out a drink offering on it ,
and poured oil on it .
*
So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him ,
Bethel .
*
Then they journeyed from Bethel ;
and when they were still some distance from Ephrath ,
Rachel travailed ,
and she had hard labor .
*
And when she was in her hard labor ,
the midwife said to her , "
Fear not ;
for now you will have another son ."
*
And as her soul was departing (
for she died ),
she called his name Ben-o '
ni ;
but his father called his name Benjamin .
*
So Rachel died ,
and she was buried on the way to Ephrath (
that is ,
Bethlehem ),
*
and Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave ;
it is the pillar of Rachel '
s tomb ,
which is there to this day .
*
Israel journeyed on ,
and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder .
*
While Israel dwelt in that land Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father '
s concubine ;
and Israel heard of it .
Now the sons of Jacob were twelve .
*
The sons of Leah :
Reuben (
Jacob '
s first-born ),
Simeon ,
Levi ,
Judah ,
Is '
sachar ,
and Zeb '
ulun .
*
The sons of Rachel :
Joseph and Benjamin .
*
The sons of Bilhah ,
Rachel '
s maid :
Dan and Naph '
tali .
*
The sons of Zilpah ,
Leah '
s maid :
Gad and Asher .
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram .
*
And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre ,
or Kir '
iath-ar '
ba (
that is ,
Hebron ),
where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned .
*
Now the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years .
*
And Isaac breathed his last ;
and he died and was gathered to his people ,
old and full of days ;
and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him .
*
These are the descendants of Esau (
that is ,
Edom ).
*
Esau took his wives from the Canaanites :
Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite ,
Oholiba '
mah the daughter of Anah the son of Zib '
eon the Hivite ,
*
and Bas '
emath ,
Ish '
mael '
s daughter ,
the sister of Neba '
ioth .
*
And Adah bore to Esau ,
El '
iphaz ;
Bas '
emath bore Reu '
el ;
*
and Oholiba '
mah bore Je '
ush ,
Jalam ,
and Korah .
These are 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 members of his household ,
his cattle ,
all his beasts ,
and all his property which he had acquired in the land of Canaan ;
and he went into a land away from his brother Jacob .
*
For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together ;
the land of their sojournings could not support them because of their cattle .
*
So Esau dwelt in the hill country of Se '
ir ;
Esau is Edom .
*
These are the descendants of Esau the father of the E '
domites in the hill country of Se '
ir .
*
These are the names of Esau '
s sons :
El '
iphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau ,
Reu '
el the son of Bas '
emath the wife of Esau .
*
The sons of El '
iphaz were Teman ,
Omar ,
Zepho ,
Gatam ,
and Kenaz .
* (
Timna was a concubine of El '
iphaz ,
Esau '
s son ;
she bore Am '
alek to El '
iphaz .)
These are the sons of Adah ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These are the sons of Reu '
el :
Nahath ,
Zerah ,
Shammah ,
and Mizzah .
These are the sons of Bas '
emath ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These are the sons of Oholiba '
mah the daughter of Anah the son of Zib '
eon ,
Esau '
s wife :
she bore to Esau Je '
ush ,
Jalam ,
and Korah .
*
These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau .
The sons of El '
iphaz the first-born of Esau :
the chiefs Teman ,
Omar ,
Zepho ,
Kenaz ,
*
Korah ,
Gatam ,
and Am '
alek ;
these are the chiefs of El '
iphaz in the land of Edom ;
they are the sons of Adah .
*
These are the sons of Reu '
el ,
Esau '
s son :
the chiefs Nahath ,
Zerah ,
Shammah ,
and Mizzah ;
these are the chiefs of Reu '
el in the land of Edom ;
they are the sons of Bas '
emath ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These are the sons of Oholiba '
mah ,
Esau '
s wife :
the chiefs Je '
ush ,
Jalam ,
and Korah ;
these are the chiefs born of Oholiba '
mah the daughter of Anah ,
Esau '
s wife .
*
These are the sons of Esau (
that is ,
Edom ),
and these are their chiefs .
*
These are the sons of Se '
ir the Horite ,
the inhabitants of the land :
Lotan ,
Shobal ,
Zib '
eon ,
Anah ,
*
Dishon ,
Ezer ,
and Dishan ;
these are the chiefs of the Horites ,
the sons of Se '
ir in the land of Edom .
*
The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman ;
and Lotan '
s sister was Timna .
*
These are the sons of Shobal :
Alvan ,
Man '
ahath ,
Ebal ,
Shepho ,
and Onam .
*
These are the sons of Zib '
eon :
A '
iah and Anah ;
he is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness ,
as he pastured the asses of Zib '
eon his father .
*
These are the children of Anah :
Dishon and Oholiba '
mah the daughter of Anah .
*
These are the sons of Dishon :
Hemdan ,
Eshban ,
Ithran ,
and Cheran .
*
These are the sons of Ezer :
Bilhan ,
Za '
avan ,
and Akan .
*
These are the sons of Dishan :
Uz and Aran .
*
These are the chiefs of the Horites :
the chiefs Lotan ,
Shobal ,
Zib '
eon ,
Anah ,
*
Dishon ,
Ezer ,
and Dishan ;
these are the chiefs of the Horites ,
according to their clans in the land of Se '
ir .
*
These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom ,
before any king reigned over the Israelites .
*
Bela the son of Be '
or reigned in Edom ,
the name of his city being Din '
habah .
*
Bela died ,
and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his stead .
*
Jobab died ,
and Husham of the land of the Te '
manites reigned in his stead .
*
Husham died ,
and Hadad the son of Bedad ,
who defeated Mid '
ian in the country of Moab ,
reigned in his stead ,
the name of his city being Avith .
*
Hadad died ,
and Samlah of Masre '
kah reigned in his stead .
*
Samlah died ,
and Shaul of Reho '
both on the Euphra '
tes reigned in his stead .
*
Shaul died ,
and Ba '
al-ha '
nan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead .
*
Ba '
al-ha '
nan the son of Achbor died ,
and Hadar reigned in his stead ,
the name of his city being Pau ;
his wife '
s name was Mehet '
abel ,
the daughter of Matred ,
daughter of Me '
zahab .
*
These are the names of the chiefs of Esau ,
according to their families and their dwelling places ,
by their names :
the chiefs Timna ,
Alvah ,
Jetheth ,
*
Oholiba '
mah ,
Elah ,
Pinon ,
*
Kenaz ,
Teman ,
Mibzar ,
*
Mag '
diel ,
and Iram ;
these are the chiefs of Edom (
that is ,
Esau ,
the father of Edom ),
according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession .
*
Jacob dwelt in the land of his father '
s sojournings ,
in the land of Canaan .
*
This is the history of the family of Jacob .
Joseph ,
being seventeen years old ,
was shepherding the flock with his brothers ;
he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah ,
his father '
s wives ;
and Joseph brought an ill report of them to their father .
*
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children ,
because he was the son of his old age ;
and he made him a long robe with sleeves .
*
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 when he told it to his brothers they only hated him the more .
*
He said to them , "
Hear this dream which I have dreamed :
*
behold ,
we were binding sheaves in the field ,
and lo ,
my sheaf arose and stood upright ;
and behold ,
your sheaves gathered round it ,
and bowed down to my sheaf ."
*
His brothers said to him , "
Are you indeed to reign over us ?
Or are you indeed to have dominion over us ?"
So they hated him yet more for his dreams and for his words .
*
Then he dreamed another dream ,
and told it to his brothers ,
and said , "
Behold ,
I have dreamed another dream ;
and behold ,
the sun ,
the moon ,
and eleven stars were bowing down to me ."
*
But when he told it to his father and to his brothers ,
his father rebuked him ,
and said to him , "
What is this dream that you have dreamed ?
Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you ?"
*
And his brothers were jealous of him ,
but his father kept the saying in mind .
*
Now his brothers went to pasture their father '
s flock near Shechem .
*
And Israel said to Joseph , "
Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem ?
Come ,
I will send you to them ."
And he said to him , "
Here I am ."
*
So he said to him , "
Go now ,
see if it is well with your brothers ,
and with the flock ;
and bring me word again ."
So he sent him from the valley of Hebron ,
and he came to Shechem .
*
And a man found him wandering in the fields ;
and the man asked him , "
What are you seeking ?"
* "
I am seeking my brothers ,"
he said , "
tell me ,
I pray you ,
where they are pasturing the flock ."
*
And the man said , "
They have gone away ,
for I heard them say , `
Let us go to Dothan .'"
So Joseph went after his brothers ,
and found them at Dothan .
*
They saw him afar off ,
and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him .
*
They said to one another , "
Here comes this dreamer .
*
Come now ,
let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits ;
then we shall say that a wild beast has devoured him ,
and we shall see what will become of his dreams ."
*
But when Reuben heard it ,
he delivered him out of their hands ,
saying , "
Let us not take his life ."
*
And Reuben said to them , "
Shed no blood ;
cast him into this pit here in the wilderness ,
but lay no hand upon him "--
that he might rescue him out of their hand ,
to restore him to his father .
*
So when Joseph came to his brothers ,
they stripped him of his robe ,
the long robe with sleeves that he wore ;
*
and they took him and cast him into a pit .
The pit was empty ,
there was no water in it .
*
Then they sat down to eat ;
and looking up they saw a caravan of Ish '
maelites coming from Gilead ,
with their camels bearing gum ,
balm ,
and myrrh ,
on their way to carry it down to Egypt .
*
Then Judah said to his brothers , "
What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood ?
*
Come ,
let us sell him to the Ish '
maelites ,
and let not our hand be upon him ,
for he is our brother ,
our own flesh ."
And his brothers heeded him .
*
Then Mid '
ianite traders passed by ;
and they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit ,
and sold him to the Ish '
maelites for twenty shekels of silver ;
and they took Joseph to Egypt .
*
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit ,
he rent his clothes
*
and returned to his brothers ,
and said , "
The lad is gone ;
and I ,
where shall I go ?"
*
Then they took Joseph '
s robe ,
and killed a goat ,
and dipped the robe in the blood ;
*
and they sent the long robe with sleeves and brought it to their father ,
and said , "
This we have found ;
see now whether it is your son '
s robe or not ."
*
And he recognized it ,
and said , "
It is my son '
s robe ;
a wild beast has devoured him ;
Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces ."
*
Then Jacob rent his garments ,
and put sackcloth upon his loins ,
and mourned for his son many days .
*
All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him ;
but he refused to be comforted ,
and said , "
No ,
I shall go down to Sheol to my son ,
mourning ."
Thus his father wept for him .
*
Meanwhile the Mid '
ianites had sold him in Egypt to Pot '
i-phar ,
an officer of Pharaoh ,
the captain of the guard .
*
It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers ,
and turned in to a certain Adullamite ,
whose name was Hirah .
*
There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua ;
he married her and went in to her ,
*
and she conceived and bore a son ,
and he called his name Er .
*
Again she conceived and bore a son ,
and she called his name Onan .
*
Yet again she bore a son ,
and she called his name Shelah .
She was in Chezib when she bore him .
*
And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born ,
and her name was Tamar .
*
But Er ,
Judah '
s first-born ,
was wicked in the sight of the LORD ;
and the LORD slew him .
*
Then Judah said to Onan , "
Go in to your brother '
s wife ,
and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her ,
and raise up offspring for your brother ."
*
But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his ;
so when he went in to his brother '
s wife he spilled the semen on the ground ,
lest he should give offspring to his brother .
*
And what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD ,
and he slew him also .
*
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law , "
Remain a widow in your father '
s house ,
till Shelah my son grows up "--
for he feared that he would die ,
like his brothers .
So Tamar went and dwelt in her father '
s house .
*
In course of time the wife of Judah ,
Shua '
s daughter ,
died ;
and when Judah was comforted ,
he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers ,
he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite .
*
And when Tamar was told , "
Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep ,"
*
she put off her widow '
s garments ,
and put on a veil ,
wrapping herself up ,
and sat at the entrance to Enaim ,
which is on the road to Timnah ;
for she saw that Shelah was grown up ,
and she had not been given to him in marriage .
*
When Judah saw her ,
he thought her to be a harlot ,
for she had covered her face .
*
He went over to her at the road side ,
and said , "
Come ,
let me come in to you ,"
for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law .
She said , "
What will you give me ,
that you may come in to me ?"
*
He answered , "
I will send you a kid from the flock ."
And she said , "
Will you give me a pledge ,
till you send it ?"
*
He said , "
What pledge shall I give you ?"
She replied , "
Your signet and your cord ,
and your staff that is in your hand ."
So he gave them to her ,
and went in to her ,
and she conceived by him .
*
Then she arose and went away ,
and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood .
*
When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite ,
to receive the pledge from the woman '
s hand ,
he could not find her .
*
And he asked the men of the place , "
Where is the harlot who was at Enaim by the wayside ?"
And they said , "
No harlot has been here ."
*
So he returned to Judah ,
and said , "
I have not found her ;
and also the men of the place said , `
No harlot has been here .'"
*
And Judah replied , "
Let her keep the things as her own ,
lest we be laughed at ;
you see ,
I sent this kid ,
and you could not find her ."
*
About three months later Judah was told , "
Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot ;
and moreover she is with child by harlotry ."
And Judah said , "
Bring her out ,
and let her be burned ."
*
As she was being brought out ,
she sent word to her father-in-law , "
By the man to whom these belong ,
I am with child ."
And she said , "
Mark ,
I pray you ,
whose these are ,
the signet and the cord and the staff ."
*
Then Judah acknowledged them and said , "
She is more righteous than I ,
inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah ."
And he did not lie with her again .
*
When the time of her delivery came ,
there were twins in her womb .
*
And when she was in labor ,
one put out a hand ;
and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread ,
saying , "
This came out first ."
*
But as he drew back his hand ,
behold ,
his brother came out ;
and she said , "
What a breach you have made for yourself !"
Therefore his name was called Perez .
*
Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread upon his hand ;
and his name was called Zerah .
*
Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt ,
and Pot '
i-phar ,
an officer of Pharaoh ,
the captain of the guard ,
an Egyptian ,
bought him from the Ish '
maelites who had brought him down there .
*
The LORD was with Joseph ,
and he became 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 caused all that he did to prosper in his hands .
*
So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him ,
and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had .
*
From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had the LORD blessed the Egyptian '
s house for Joseph '
s sake ;
the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had ,
in house and field .
*
So he left all that he had in Joseph '
s charge ;
and having him he had no concern for anything but the food which he ate .
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking .
*
And after a time his master '
s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph ,
and said , "
Lie with me ."
*
But he refused and said to his master '
s wife , "
Lo ,
having me my master has no concern about anything in the house ,
and he has put everything that he has in my hand ;
*
he is not greater in this house than I am ;
nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself ,
because you are his wife ;
how then can I do this great wickedness ,
and sin against God ?"
*
And although she spoke to Joseph day after day ,
he would not listen to her ,
to lie with her or to be with her .
*
But one day ,
when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house ,
*
she caught him by his garment ,
saying , "
Lie with me ."
But he left his garment in her hand ,
and fled and got out of the house .
*
And when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand ,
and had fled out of the house ,
*
she called to the men of her household and said to them , "
See ,
he has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us ;
he came in to me to lie with me ,
and I cried out with a loud voice ;
*
and when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried ,
he left his garment with me ,
and fled and got out of the house ."
*
Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home ,
*
and she told him the same story ,
saying , "
The Hebrew servant ,
whom you have brought among us ,
came in to me to insult me ;
*
but as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried ,
he left his garment with me ,
and fled out of the house ."
*
When his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him , "
This is the way your servant treated me ,"
his anger was kindled .
*
And Joseph '
s master took him and put him into the prison ,
the place where the king '
s prisoners were confined ,
and he was there in prison .
*
But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love ,
and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison .
*
And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph '
s care all the prisoners who were in the prison ;
and whatever was done there ,
he was the doer of it ;
*
the keeper of the prison paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph '
s care ,
because the LORD was with him ;
and whatever he did ,
the LORD made it prosper .
*
Some time after this ,
the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt .
*
And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers ,
the chief butler and the chief baker ,
*
and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard ,
in the prison where Joseph was confined .
*
The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them ,
and he waited on them ;
and they continued for some time in custody .
*
And one night they both dreamed--the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt ,
who were confined in the prison--each his own dream ,
and each dream with its own meaning .
*
When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them ,
they were troubled .
*
So he asked Pharaoh '
s officers who were with him in custody in his master '
s house , "
Why are your faces downcast today ?"
*
They said to him , "
We have had dreams ,
and there is no one to interpret them ."
And Joseph said to them , "
Do not interpretations belong to God ?
Tell them to me ,
I pray you ."
*
So the chief butler told his dream to Joseph ,
and said to him , "
In my dream there was a vine before me ,
*
and on the vine there were three branches ;
as soon as it budded ,
its blossoms shot forth ,
and the clusters ripened into grapes .
*
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 ."
*
Then Joseph said to him , "
This is its interpretation :
the three branches are three days ;
*
within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office ;
and you shall place Pharaoh '
s cup in his hand as formerly ,
when you were his butler .
*
But remember me ,
when it is well with you ,
and do me the kindness ,
I pray you ,
to make mention of me to Pharaoh ,
and so get me out of this house .
*
For I was indeed stolen out of the land of the Hebrews ;
and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon ."
*
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable ,
he said to Joseph , "
I also had a dream :
there were three cake baskets on my head ,
*
and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh ,
but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head ."
*
And Joseph answered , "
This is its interpretation :
the three baskets are three days ;
*
within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head--from you !--
and hang you on a tree ;
and the birds will eat the flesh from you ."
*
On the third day ,
which was Pharaoh '
s birthday ,
he made a feast for all his servants ,
and lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants .
*
He restored the chief butler to his butlership ,
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 .
*
After two whole years ,
Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile ,
*
and behold ,
there came up out of the Nile seven cows sleek and fat ,
and they fed in the reed grass .
*
And behold ,
seven other cows ,
gaunt and thin ,
came up out of the Nile after them ,
and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile .
*
And the gaunt and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows .
And Pharaoh awoke .
*
And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time ;
and behold ,
seven ears of grain ,
plump and good ,
were growing on one stalk .
*
And behold ,
after them sprouted seven ears ,
thin and blighted by the east wind .
*
And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears .
And Pharaoh awoke ,
and behold ,
it was a dream .
*
So in the morning 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 dream ,
but there was none who could interpret it to Pharaoh .
*
Then the chief butler said to Pharaoh , "
I remember my faults today .
*
When Pharaoh was angry with his servants ,
and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard ,
*
we dreamed on the same night ,
he and I ,
each having a dream with its own meaning .
*
A young Hebrew was there with us ,
a servant of the captain of the guard ;
and when we told him ,
he interpreted our dreams to us ,
giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream .
*
And as he interpreted to us ,
so it came to pass ;
I was restored to my office ,
and the baker was hanged ."
*
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph ,
and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon ;
and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes ,
he came in before Pharaoh .
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
I have had a dream ,
and there is no one who can interpret it ;
and I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it ."
*
Joseph answered Pharaoh , "
It is not in me ;
God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer ."
*
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Behold ,
in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile ;
*
and seven cows ,
fat and sleek ,
came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass ;
*
and seven other cows came up after them ,
poor and very gaunt and thin ,
such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt .
*
And the thin and gaunt cows ate up the first seven fat cows ,
*
but when they had eaten them no one would have known that they had eaten them ,
for they were still as gaunt as at the beginning .
Then I awoke .
*
I also saw in my dream seven ears growing on one stalk ,
full and good ;
*
and seven ears ,
withered ,
thin ,
and blighted by the east wind ,
sprouted after them ,
*
and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears .
And I told it to the magicians ,
but there was no one who could explain it to me ."
*
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh , "
The dream of Pharaoh is one ;
God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do .
*
The seven good cows are seven years ,
and the seven good ears are seven years ;
the dream is one .
*
The seven lean and gaunt cows that came up after them are seven years ,
and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine .
*
It is as I told Pharaoh ,
God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do .
*
There will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt ,
*
but after them there will arise seven years of famine ,
and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt ;
the famine will consume the land ,
*
and the plenty will be unknown in the land by reason of that famine which will follow ,
for it will be very grievous .
*
And the doubling of Pharaoh '
s dream means that the thing is fixed by God ,
and God will shortly bring it to pass .
*
Now therefore let Pharaoh select a man discreet and wise ,
and set him over the land of Egypt .
*
Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers over the land ,
and take the fifth part of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plenteous years .
*
And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming ,
and lay up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities ,
and let them keep it .
*
That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine which are to befall the land of Egypt ,
so that the land may not perish through the famine ."
*
This proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants .
*
And Pharaoh said to his servants , "
Can we find such a man as this ,
in whom is the Spirit of God ?"
*
So Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Since God has shown you all this ,
there is none so discreet and wise as you are ;
*
you shall be over my house ,
and all my people shall order themselves as you command ;
only as regards the throne will I be greater than you ."
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Behold ,
I have set you over all the land of Egypt ."
*
Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph '
s hand ,
and arrayed him in garments of fine linen ,
and put a gold chain about his neck ;
*
and he made him to ride in his second chariot ;
and they cried before him , "
Bow the knee !"
Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt .
*
Moreover Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
I am Pharaoh ,
and without your consent no man shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt ."
*
And Pharaoh called Joseph '
s name Zaph '
enath-pane '
ah ;
and he gave him in marriage As '
enath ,
the daughter of Poti '
phera priest of On .
So Joseph went out over the land of Egypt .
*
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh king of Egypt .
And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh ,
and went through all the land of Egypt .
*
During the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly ,
*
and he gathered up all the food of the seven years when there was plenty in the land of Egypt ,
and stored up food in the cities ;
he stored up in every city the food from the fields around it .
*
And Joseph stored up grain in great abundance ,
like the sand of the sea ,
until he ceased to measure it ,
for it could not be measured .
*
Before the year of famine came ,
Joseph had two sons ,
whom As '
enath ,
the daughter of Poti '
phera priest of On ,
bore to him .
*
Joseph called the name of the first-born Manas '
seh , "
For ,"
he said , "
God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father '
s house ."
*
The name of the second he called E '
phraim , "
For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction ."
*
The seven years of plenty that prevailed in the land of Egypt came to an end ;
*
and the seven years of famine began to come ,
as Joseph had said .
There was famine in all lands ;
but in all the land of Egypt there was bread .
*
When all the land of Egypt was famished ,
the people cried to Pharaoh for bread ;
and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians , "
Go to Joseph ;
what he says to you ,
do ."
*
So when the famine had spread over all the land ,
Joseph opened all the storehouses ,
and sold to the Egyptians ,
for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt .
*
Moreover ,
all the earth came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain ,
because the famine was severe over all the earth .
*
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt ,
he said to his sons , "
Why do you look at one another ?"
*
And he said , "
Behold ,
I have heard that there is grain in Egypt ;
go down and buy grain for us there ,
that we may live ,
and not die ."
*
So ten of Joseph '
s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt .
*
But Jacob did not send Benjamin ,
Joseph '
s brother ,
with his brothers ,
for he feared that harm might befall him .
*
Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came ,
for the famine was in the land of Canaan .
*
Now Joseph was governor over the land ;
he it was who sold to all the people of the land .
And Joseph '
s brothers came ,
and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground .
*
Joseph saw his brothers ,
and knew them ,
but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them . "
Where do you come from ?"
he said .
They said , "
From the land of Canaan ,
to buy food ."
*
Thus Joseph knew his brothers ,
but they did not know him .
*
And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them ;
and he said to them , "
You are spies ,
you have come to see the weakness of the land ."
*
They said to him , "
No ,
my lord ,
but to buy food have your servants come .
*
We are all sons of one man ,
we are honest men ,
your servants are not spies ."
*
He said to them , "
No ,
it is the weakness of the land that you have come to see ."
*
And they said , "
We ,
your servants ,
are twelve brothers ,
the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ;
and behold ,
the youngest is this day with our father ,
and one is no more ."
*
But Joseph said to them , "
It is as I said to you ,
you are spies .
*
By this you shall be tested :
by the life of Pharaoh ,
you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here .
*
Send one of you ,
and let him bring your brother ,
while you remain in prison ,
that your words may be tested ,
whether there is truth in you ;
or else ,
by the life of Pharaoh ,
surely you are spies ."
*
And he put them all together in prison for three days .
*
On the third day Joseph said to them , "
Do this and you will live ,
for I fear God :
*
if you are honest men ,
let one of your brothers remain confined in your prison ,
and let the rest go and carry grain for the famine of your households ,
*
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 , "
In truth we are guilty concerning our brother ,
in that we saw the distress of his soul ,
when he besought us and we would not listen ;
therefore is this distress come upon us ."
*
And Reuben answered them , "
Did I not tell you not to sin against the lad ?
But you would not listen .
So now there comes a reckoning for his blood ."
*
They did not know that Joseph understood them ,
for there was an interpreter between them .
*
Then he turned away from them and wept ;
and he returned to them and spoke to them .
And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes .
*
And Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain ,
and to replace every man '
s money in his sack ,
and to give them provisions for the journey .
This was done for them .
*
Then they loaded their asses with their grain ,
and departed .
*
And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender at the lodging place ,
he saw his money in the mouth of his sack ;
*
and he said to his brothers , "
My money has been put back ;
here it is in the mouth of my sack !"
At this their hearts failed them ,
and they turned trembling to one another ,
saying , "
What is this that God has done to us ?"
*
When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan ,
they told him all that had befallen them ,
saying ,
* "
The man ,
the lord of the land ,
spoke roughly to us ,
and took us to be spies of the land .
*
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 this day with our father in the land of Canaan .'
*
Then the man ,
the lord of the land ,
said to us , `
By this I shall know that you are honest men :
leave one of your brothers with me ,
and take grain for the famine of your households ,
and go your way .
*
Bring your youngest brother to me ;
then I shall know that you are not spies but honest men ,
and I will deliver to you your brother ,
and you shall trade in the land .'"
*
As they emptied their sacks ,
behold ,
every man '
s bundle of money was in his sack ;
and when they and their father saw their bundles of money ,
they were dismayed .
*
And Jacob their father said to them , "
You have bereaved me of my children :
Joseph is no more ,
and Simeon is no more ,
and now you would take Benjamin ;
all this has come upon me ."
*
Then Reuben said to his father , "
Slay 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 only is left .
If harm should befall him on the journey that you are to make ,
you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol ."
*
Now the famine was severe in the land .
*
And when they had eaten the grain which they had brought from Egypt ,
their father said to them , "
Go again ,
buy us a little food ."
*
But Judah said to him , "
The man solemnly warned us ,
saying , `
You shall not see my face ,
unless your brother is with you .'
*
If you will 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 .'"
*
Israel said , "
Why did you treat me so ill as to tell the man that you had another brother ?"
*
They replied , "
The man questioned us carefully about ourselves and our kindred ,
saying , `
Is your father still alive ?
Have you another brother ?'
What we told him was in answer to these questions ;
could we in any way know that he would say , `
Bring your brother down '?"
*
And 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 will be surety for him ;
of 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 for ever ;
*
for if we had not delayed ,
we would now have returned twice ."
*
Then their father Israel said to them , "
If it must be so ,
then do this :
take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags ,
and carry down to the man a present ,
a little balm and a little honey ,
gum ,
myrrh ,
pistachio nuts ,
and almonds .
*
Take double the money with you ;
carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks ;
perhaps it was an oversight .
*
Take also your brother ,
and arise ,
go again to the man ;
*
may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man ,
that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin .
If I am bereaved of my children ,
I am bereaved ."
*
So the men took the present ,
and they took double the money with them ,
and Benjamin ;
and they arose and went down to Egypt ,
and stood before Joseph .
*
When Joseph saw Benjamin with them ,
he said to the steward of his house , "
Bring the men into the house ,
and slaughter an animal and make ready ,
for the men are to dine with me at noon ."
*
The man did as Joseph bade him ,
and brought the men to Joseph '
s house .
*
And the men were afraid because they were brought to Joseph '
s house ,
and they said , "
It is because of the money ,
which was replaced in our sacks the first time ,
that we are brought in ,
so that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us ,
to make slaves of us and seize our asses ."
*
So they went up to the steward of Joseph '
s house ,
and spoke with him at the door of the house ,
*
and said , "
Oh ,
my lord ,
we came down the first time to buy food ;
*
and when we came to the lodging place we opened our sacks ,
and there was every man '
s money in the mouth of his sack ,
our money in full weight ;
so we have brought it again with us ,
*
and we have brought other money down in our hand to buy food .
We do not know who put our money in our sacks ."
*
He replied , "
Rest assured ,
do not be afraid ;
your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your sacks for you ;
I received your money ."
Then he brought Simeon out to them .
*
And when the man had brought the men into Joseph '
s house ,
and given them water ,
and they had washed their feet ,
and when he had given their asses provender ,
*
they made ready the present for Joseph '
s coming at noon ,
for they heard that they should eat bread there .
*
When Joseph came home ,
they brought into the house to him the present which they had with them ,
and bowed down to him to the ground .
*
And he inquired about their welfare ,
and said , "
Is your father well ,
the old man of whom you spoke ?
Is he still alive ?"
*
They said , "
Your servant our father is well ,
he is still alive ."
And they bowed their heads and made obeisance .
*
And he lifted up his eyes ,
and saw his brother Benjamin ,
his mother '
s son ,
and said , "
Is this your youngest brother ,
of whom you spoke to me ?
God be gracious to you ,
my son !"
*
Then Joseph made haste ,
for his heart yearned for his brother ,
and he sought a place to weep .
And he entered his chamber and wept there .
*
Then he washed his face and came out ;
and controlling himself he said , "
Let food be served ."
*
They served him by himself ,
and them by themselves ,
and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves ,
because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews ,
for that is an abomination to the Egyptians .
*
And they sat before him ,
the first-born according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth ;
and the men looked at one another in amazement .
*
Portions were taken to them from Joseph '
s table ,
but Benjamin '
s portion was five times as much as any of theirs .
So they drank and were merry with him .
*
Then he commanded the steward of his house , "
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 ,
*
and put my cup ,
the silver cup ,
in the mouth of the sack of the youngest ,
with his money for the grain ."
And he did as Joseph told him .
*
As soon as the morning was light ,
the men were sent away with their asses .
*
When they had gone but a short distance from the city ,
Joseph said to his steward , "
Up ,
follow after the men ;
and when you overtake them ,
say to them , `
Why have you returned evil for good ?
Why have you stolen my silver cup ?
*
Is it not from this that my lord drinks ,
and by this that he divines ?
You have done wrong in so doing .'"
*
When he overtook them ,
he spoke to them these words .
*
They said to him , "
Why does my lord speak such words as these ?
Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing !
*
Behold ,
the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks ,
we brought back to you from the land of Canaan ;
how then should we steal silver or gold from your lord '
s house ?
*
With whomever of your servants it be found ,
let him die ,
and we also will be my lord '
s slaves ."
*
He said , "
Let it be as you say :
he with whom it is found shall be my slave ,
and the rest of you shall be blameless ."
*
Then every man quickly lowered his sack to the ground ,
and every man opened his sack .
*
And he searched ,
beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest ;
and the cup was found in Benjamin '
s sack .
*
Then they rent their clothes ,
and every man loaded his ass ,
and they returned to the city .
*
When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph '
s house ,
he was still there ;
and they fell before him to the ground .
*
Joseph said to them , "
What deed is this that you have done ?
Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed divine ?"
*
And Judah said , "
What shall we say to my lord ?
What shall we speak ?
Or how can we clear ourselves ?
God has found out the guilt of your servants ;
behold ,
we are my lord '
s slaves ,
both we and he also in whose hand the cup has been found ."
*
But he said , "
Far be it from me that I should do so !
Only the man in whose hand the cup was found shall be my slave ;
but as for you ,
go up in peace to your father ."
*
Then Judah went up to him and said , "
O my lord ,
let your servant ,
I pray you ,
speak a word in my lord '
s ears ,
and let not your anger burn against your servant ;
for you are like Pharaoh himself .
*
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 young brother ,
the child of his old age ;
and 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 upon him .'
*
We said to my lord , `
The lad cannot leave his father ,
for if he should leave his father ,
his father would die .'
*
Then you said to your servants , `
Unless your youngest brother comes down with you ,
you shall see my face no more .'
*
When we went back to your servant my father we told him the words of my lord .
*
And when our father said , `
Go again ,
buy us a little food ,'
*
we said , `
We cannot go down .
If our youngest brother goes with us ,
then we will go down ;
for we cannot 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 ;
*
one left me ,
and I said ,
Surely he has been torn to pieces ;
and I have never seen him since .
*
If you take this one also from me ,
and harm befalls him ,
you will bring down my gray hairs in sorrow to Sheol .'
*
Now therefore ,
when I come to your servant my father ,
and the lad is not with us ,
then ,
as his life is bound up in the lad '
s life ,
*
when he sees that the lad is not with us ,
he will die ;
and your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant our father with sorrow to Sheol .
*
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 in the sight of my father all my life .'
*
Now therefore ,
let your servant ,
I pray you ,
remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord ;
and let the lad go back with his brothers .
*
For how can I go back to my father if the lad is not with me ?
I fear to see the evil that would come upon my father ."
*
Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him ;
and he cried , "
Make every one go out from me ."
So no one stayed with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers .
*
And he wept aloud ,
so that the Egyptians heard it ,
and the household of Pharaoh heard it .
*
And Joseph said to his brothers , "
I am Joseph ;
is my father still alive ?"
But his brothers could not answer him ,
for they were dismayed at his presence .
*
So Joseph said to his brothers , "
Come near to me ,
I pray you ."
And they came near .
And he said , "
I am your brother ,
Joseph ,
whom you sold into Egypt .
*
And now do not be distressed ,
or angry with yourselves ,
because you sold me here ;
for God sent me before you to preserve life .
*
For the famine has been in the land these two years ;
and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest .
*
And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth ,
and to keep alive for you many survivors .
*
So 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 ruler over all the land of Egypt .
*
Make haste 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 me ,
you and your children and your children '
s children ,
and your flocks ,
your herds ,
and all that you have ;
*
and there I will provide for you ,
for there are yet five years of famine to come ;
lest you and your household ,
and all that you have ,
come to poverty .'
*
And now your eyes see ,
and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see ,
that it is my mouth that speaks to you .
*
You must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt ,
and of all that you have seen .
Make haste and bring my father down here ."
*
Then he fell upon his brother Benjamin '
s neck and wept ;
and Benjamin wept upon his neck .
*
And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them ;
and after that his brothers talked with him .
*
When the report was heard in Pharaoh '
s house , "
Joseph '
s brothers have come ,"
it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well .
*
And Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Say to your brothers , `
Do this :
load your beasts and go back to the land of Canaan ;
*
and take your father and your households ,
and come to me ,
and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt ,
and you shall eat the fat of the land .'
*
Command them also , `
Do this :
take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives ,
and bring your father ,
and come .
*
Give no thought to your goods ,
for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours .'"
*
The sons of Israel did so ;
and Joseph gave them wagons ,
according to the command of Pharaoh ,
and gave them provisions for the journey .
*
To each and all of them he gave festal garments ;
but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver and five festal garments .
*
To his father he sent as follows :
ten asses loaded with the good things of Egypt ,
and ten she-asses loaded with grain ,
bread ,
and provision for his father on the journey .
*
Then he sent his brothers away ,
and as they departed ,
he said to them , "
Do not quarrel on the way ."
*
So they went up out of Egypt ,
and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob .
*
And they told him , "
Joseph is still alive ,
and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt ."
And his heart fainted ,
for he did not believe them .
*
But when they told him all the words of Joseph ,
which he had said to them ,
and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him ,
the spirit of their father Jacob revived ;
*
and 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 Beer-sheba ,
and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac .
*
And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night ,
and said , "
Jacob ,
Jacob ."
And he said , "
Here am I ."
*
Then he said , "
I am God ,
the God of your father ;
do not be afraid to go down to Egypt ;
for I will there make of you a great nation .
*
I will go down with you to Egypt ,
and I will also bring you up again ;
and Joseph '
s hand shall close your eyes ."
*
Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba ;
and the sons of Israel carried Jacob their father ,
their little ones ,
and their wives ,
in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him .
*
They also took their cattle and their goods ,
which they had gained in the land of Canaan ,
and came into Egypt ,
Jacob and all his offspring with him ,
*
his sons ,
and his sons '
sons with him ,
his daughters ,
and his sons '
daughters ;
all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt .
*
Now these are the names of the descendants of Israel ,
who came into Egypt ,
Jacob and his sons .
Reuben ,
Jacob '
s first-born ,
*
and the sons of Reuben :
Hanoch ,
Pallu ,
Hezron ,
and Carmi .
*
The sons of Simeon :
Jemu '
el ,
Jamin ,
Ohad ,
Jachin ,
Zohar ,
and Shaul ,
the son of a Canaanitish woman .
*
The sons of Levi :
Gershon ,
Kohath ,
and Merar '
i .
*
The sons of Judah :
Er ,
Onan ,
Shelah ,
Perez ,
and Zerah (
but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan );
and the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul .
*
The sons of Is '
sachar :
Tola ,
Puvah ,
Iob ,
and Shimron .
*
The sons of Zeb '
ulun :
Sered ,
Elon ,
and Jah '
leel
* (
these are the sons of Leah ,
whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram ,
together with his daughter Dinah ;
altogether his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three ).
*
The sons of Gad :
Ziph '
ion ,
Haggi ,
Shuni ,
Ezbon ,
Eri ,
Aro '
di ,
and Are '
li .
*
The sons of Asher :
Imnah ,
Ishvah ,
Ishvi ,
Beri '
ah ,
with Serah their sister .
And the sons of Beri '
ah :
Heber and Mal '
chi-el
* (
these are 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 :
Joseph and Benjamin .
*
And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manas '
seh and E '
phraim ,
whom As '
enath ,
the daughter of Poti '
phera the priest of On ,
bore to him .
*
And the sons of Benjamin :
Bela ,
Becher ,
Ashbel ,
Gera ,
Na '
aman ,
Ehi ,
Rosh ,
Muppim ,
Huppim ,
and Ard
* (
these are the sons of Rachel ,
who were born to Jacob--fourteen persons in all ).
*
The sons of Dan :
Hushim .
*
The sons of Naph '
tali :
Jahzeel ,
Guni ,
Jezer ,
and Shillem
* (
these are the sons of Bilhah ,
whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter ,
and these she bore to Jacob--seven persons in all ).
*
All the persons belonging to Jacob who came into Egypt ,
who were his own offspring ,
not including Jacob '
s sons '
wives ,
were sixty-six persons in all ;
*
and the sons of Joseph ,
who were born to him in Egypt ,
were two ;
all the persons of the house of Jacob ,
that came into Egypt ,
were seventy .
*
He sent Judah before him to Joseph ,
to appear before him in Goshen ;
and they came into the land of Goshen .
*
Then Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen ;
and he presented himself to him ,
and fell on his neck ,
and wept on his neck a good while .
*
Israel said to Joseph , "
Now let me die ,
since I have seen your face and know that you are still alive ."
*
Joseph said to his brothers and to his father '
s household , "
I will go up and tell Pharaoh ,
and will say to him , `
My brothers and my father '
s household ,
who were in the land of Canaan ,
have come to me ;
*
and the men are shepherds ,
for they have been keepers of cattle ;
and they have brought their flocks ,
and their herds ,
and all that they have .'
*
When Pharaoh calls you ,
and says , `
What is your occupation ?'
*
you shall say , `
Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now ,
both we and our fathers ,'
in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen ;
for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians ."
*
So Joseph went in and told Pharaoh , "
My father and my brothers ,
with their flocks and herds and all that they possess ,
have come from the land of Canaan ;
they are now in the land of Goshen ."
*
And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh .
*
Pharaoh said to his brothers , "
What is your occupation ?"
And they said to Pharaoh , "
Your servants are shepherds ,
as our fathers were ."
*
They said to Pharaoh , "
We have come to sojourn in the land ;
for there is no pasture for your servants '
flocks ,
for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan ;
and now ,
we pray you ,
let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen ."
*
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph , "
Your father and your brothers have come to you .
*
The land of Egypt is before you ;
settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land ;
let them dwell in the land of Goshen ;
and if you know any able men among them ,
put them in charge of my cattle ."
*
Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father ,
and set him before Pharaoh ,
and Jacob blessed Pharaoh .
*
And Pharaoh said to Jacob , "
How many are the days of the years of your life ?"
*
And Jacob said to Pharaoh , "
The days of the years of my sojourning are a 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 sojourning ."
*
And Jacob blessed Pharaoh ,
and went out from the presence of Pharaoh .
*
Then Joseph settled 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 Ram '
eses ,
as Pharaoh had commanded .
*
And Joseph provided his father ,
his brothers ,
and all his father '
s household with food ,
according to the number of their dependents .
*
Now there was no food in all the land ;
for the famine was very severe ,
so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished by reason 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 .
*
And when the money was all spent in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan ,
all the Egyptians came to Joseph ,
and said , "
Give us food ;
why should we die before your eyes ?
For our money is gone ."
*
And Joseph answered , "
Give your cattle ,
and I will give you food in exchange for your cattle ,
if your money is gone ."
*
So they brought their cattle to Joseph ;
and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses ,
the flocks ,
the herds ,
and the asses :
and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their cattle that year .
*
And when that year was ended ,
they came to him the following year ,
and said to him , "
We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent ;
and the herds of cattle are my lord '
s ;
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 food ,
and we with our land will be slaves to Pharaoh ;
and give us seed ,
that we may live ,
and not die ,
and that the land may not be desolate ."
*
So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh ;
for all the Egyptians sold their fields ,
because the famine was severe upon them .
The land became Pharaoh '
s ;
*
and as for the people ,
he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other .
*
Only the land of the priests he did not buy ;
for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh ,
and lived on the allowance which Pharaoh gave them ;
therefore they did not sell their land .
*
Then Joseph said to the people , "
Behold ,
I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh .
Now here is seed for you ,
and you shall sow the land .
*
And at the harvests you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh ,
and four fifths shall be your own ,
as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households ,
and as food for your little ones ."
*
And they said , "
You have saved our lives ;
may it please my lord ,
we will be slaves to Pharaoh ."
*
So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt ,
and it stands to this day ,
that Pharaoh should have the fifth ;
the land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh '
s .
*
Thus Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt ,
in the land of Goshen ;
and they gained possessions in it ,
and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly .
*
And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years ;
so the days of Jacob ,
the years of his life ,
were a hundred and forty-seven years .
*
And when the time drew near that Israel must die ,
he called his son Joseph and said to him , "
If now I have found favor in your sight ,
put your hand under my thigh ,
and promise to deal loyally and truly with me .
Do not bury me in Egypt ,
*
but let me lie with my fathers ;
carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying place ."
He answered , "
I will do as you have said ."
*
And he said , "
Swear to me ";
and he swore to him .
Then Israel bowed himself upon the head of his bed .
*
After this Joseph was told , "
Behold ,
your father is ill ";
so he took with him his two sons ,
Manas '
seh and E '
phraim .
*
And it was told to Jacob , "
Your son Joseph has come to you ";
then Israel summoned his strength ,
and sat up in bed .
*
And 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 company of peoples ,
and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession .'
*
And now your two sons ,
who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt ,
are mine ;
E '
phraim and Manas '
seh shall be mine ,
as Reuben and Simeon are .
*
And the offspring born to you after them shall be yours ;
they shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance .
*
For when I came from Paddan ,
Rachel to my sorrow died in the land of Canaan on the way ,
when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath ;
and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (
that is ,
Bethlehem )."
*
When Israel saw Joseph '
s sons ,
he said , "
Who are these ?"
*
Joseph said to his father , "
They are my sons ,
whom God has given me here ."
And he said , "
Bring them to me ,
I pray you ,
that I may bless them ."
*
Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age ,
so that he could not see .
So 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 ;
and lo ,
God has let me see your children also ."
*
Then Joseph removed them from his knees ,
and he bowed himself with his face to the earth .
*
And Joseph took them both ,
E '
phraim in his right hand toward Israel '
s left hand ,
and Manas '
seh in his left hand toward Israel '
s right hand ,
and brought them near him .
*
And Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it upon the head of E '
phraim ,
who was the younger ,
and his left hand upon the head of Manas '
seh ,
crossing his hands ,
for Manas '
seh was the first-born .
*
And he blessed Joseph ,
and said , "
The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked ,
the God who has led me all my life long to this day ,
*
the angel who has redeemed me from all evil ,
bless the lads ;
and in them let my name be perpetuated ,
and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ;
and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth ."
*
When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of E '
phraim ,
it displeased him ;
and he took his father '
s hand ,
to remove it from E '
phraim '
s head to Manas '
seh '
s head .
*
And Joseph said to his father , "
Not so ,
my father ;
for this one is the first-born ;
put your right hand upon 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 ;
nevertheless 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 pronounce blessings ,
saying , `
God make you as E '
phraim and as Manas '
seh '";
and thus he put E '
phraim before Manas '
seh .
*
Then Israel said to Joseph , "
Behold ,
I am about to die ,
but God will be with you ,
and will bring you again to the land of your fathers .
*
Moreover I have given to you rather than to your brothers one mountain slope which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow ."
*
Then Jacob called his sons ,
and said , "
Gather yourselves together ,
that I may tell you what shall befall you in days to come .
*
Assemble and hear ,
O sons of Jacob ,
and hearken to Israel your father .
*
Reuben ,
you are my first-born ,
my might ,
and the first fruits of my strength ,
pre-eminent in pride and pre-eminent in power .
*
Unstable as water ,
you shall not have pre-eminence because you went up to your father '
s bed ;
then you defiled it--you went up to my couch !
*
Simeon and Levi are brothers ;
weapons of violence are their swords .
*
O my soul ,
come not into their council ;
O my spirit ,
be not joined to their company ;
for in their anger they slay men ,
and in their wantonness they hamstring oxen .
*
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 ,
your brothers shall praise you ;
your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies ;
your father '
s sons shall bow down before you .
*
Judah is a lion '
s whelp ;
from the prey ,
my son ,
you have gone up .
He stooped down ,
he couched as a lion ,
and as a lioness ;
who dares rouse him up ?
*
The scepter shall not depart from Judah ,
nor the ruler '
s staff from between his feet ,
until he comes to whom it belongs ;
and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples .
*
Binding his foal to the vine and his ass '
s colt to the choice vine ,
he washes his garments in wine and his vesture in the blood of grapes ;
*
his eyes shall be red with wine ,
and his teeth white with milk .
*
Zeb '
ulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea ;
he shall become a haven for ships ,
and his border shall be at Sidon .
*
Is '
sachar is a strong ass ,
crouching between the sheepfolds ;
*
he saw that a resting place was good ,
and that the land was pleasant ;
so he bowed his shoulder to bear ,
and became a slave at forced labor .
*
Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel .
*
Dan shall be a serpent in the way ,
a viper by the path ,
that bites the horse '
s heels so that his rider falls backward .
*
I wait for thy salvation ,
O LORD .
*
Raiders shall raid Gad ,
but he shall raid at their heels .
*
Asher '
s food shall be rich ,
and he shall yield royal dainties .
*
Naph '
tali is a hind let loose ,
that bears comely fawns .
*
Joseph is a fruitful bough ,
a fruitful bough by a spring ;
his branches run over the wall .
*
The archers fiercely attacked him ,
shot at him ,
and harassed him sorely ;
*
yet his bow remained unmoved ,
his arms were made agile by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob (
by the name of the Shepherd ,
the Rock of Israel ),
*
by the God of your father who will help you ,
by God Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above ,
blessings of the deep that couches beneath ,
blessings of the breasts and of the womb .
*
The blessings of your father are mighty beyond the blessings of the eternal mountains ,
the bounties of the everlasting hills ;
may they be on the head of Joseph ,
and on the brow of him who was separate from his brothers .
*
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf ,
in the morning devouring the prey ,
and at even dividing the spoil ."
*
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel ;
and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them ,
blessing each with the blessing suitable to him .
*
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 at Mach-pe '
lah ,
to the east of Mamre ,
in the land of Canaan ,
which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying 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 in it were purchased from the Hittites ."
*
When Jacob finished charging his sons ,
he drew up his feet 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 it ,
for so many are required for embalming .
And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days .
*
And when the days of weeping for him were past ,
Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh ,
saying , "
If now I have found favor in your eyes ,
speak ,
I pray you ,
in the ears of Pharaoh ,
saying ,
*
My father made me swear ,
saying , `
I am about to die :
in my tomb which I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan ,
there shall you bury me .'
Now therefore let me go up ,
I pray you ,
and bury my father ;
then I will return ."
*
And Pharaoh answered , "
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 household ,
and all the elders of the land of Egypt ,
*
as well as all the household of Joseph ,
his brothers ,
and his father '
s household ;
only their children ,
their flocks ,
and their herds were left in the land of Goshen .
*
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen ;
it was a very great company .
*
When they came to the threshing floor of Atad ,
which is beyond the Jordan ,
they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful lamentation ;
and he made a mourning for his father seven days .
*
When the inhabitants of the land ,
the Canaanites ,
saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad ,
they said , "
This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians ."
Therefore the place was named A '
bel-mizraim ;
it is beyond the Jordan .
*
Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them ;
*
for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan ,
and buried him in the cave of the field at Mach-pe '
lah ,
to the east of Mamre ,
which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite ,
to possess as a burying place .
*
After he had buried his father ,
Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father .
*
When Joseph '
s brothers saw that their father was dead ,
they said , "
It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him ."
*
So they sent a message to Joseph ,
saying , "
Your father gave this command before he died ,
* `
Say to Joseph ,
Forgive ,
I pray you ,
the transgression of your brothers and their sin ,
because they did evil to you .'
And now ,
we pray you ,
forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father ."
Joseph wept when they spoke to him .
*
His brothers also came and fell down before him ,
and said , "
Behold ,
we are your servants ."
*
But Joseph said to them , "
Fear not ,
for am I in the place of God ?
*
As for you ,
you meant evil against me ;
but God meant it for good ,
to bring it about that many people should be kept alive ,
as they are today .
*
So do not fear ;
I will provide for you and your little ones ."
Thus he reassured them and comforted them .
*
So Joseph dwelt in Egypt ,
he and his father '
s house ;
and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years .
*
And Joseph saw E '
phraim '
s children of the third generation ;
the children also of Machir the son of Manas '
seh were born upon Joseph '
s knees .
*
And Joseph said to his brothers , "
I am about to die ;
but God will visit you ,
and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham ,
to Isaac ,
and to Jacob ."
*
Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel ,
saying , "
God will visit you ,
and you shall carry up my bones from here ."
*
So Joseph died ,
being a hundred and ten years old ;
and they embalmed him ,
and he was put in a coffin in Egypt .