Genesis:46:1-49:28
nsb@Genesis:46:1 @ Jacob packed up everything he owned and left for Egypt. On the way he stopped near the town of Beer-sheba and offered sacrifices to the God his father Isaac had worshiped.
nsb@Genesis:46:2 @ That night, God spoke to him and said: »Jacob! Jacob!« »Here I am,« Jacob answered.
nsb@Genesis:46:3 @ God said: »I am God! I am the same God your father worshiped. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt. I will give you so many descendants that one day they will become a nation.
nsb@Genesis:46:4 @ »I will go to Egypt with you. I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes when you die.«
nsb@Genesis:46:5 @ Jacob left Beer-sheba. Israels sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back.
nsb@Genesis:46:6 @ They took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt.
nsb@Genesis:46:7 @ He brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters, his entire family.
nsb@Genesis:46:8 @ These are the names of Israels descendants who arrived in Egypt. Reuben was Jacobs firstborn.
nsb@Genesis:46:9 @ The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
nsb@Genesis:46:10 @ The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
nsb@Genesis:46:11 @ The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
nsb@Genesis:46:12 @ The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
nsb@Genesis:46:13 @ The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
nsb@Genesis:46:14 @ The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
nsb@Genesis:46:15 @ These were the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan-aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was thirty-three.
nsb@Genesis:46:16 @ The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
nsb@Genesis:46:17 @ The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.
nsb@Genesis:46:18 @ These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was sixteen.
nsb@Genesis:46:19 @ The sons of Jacobs wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
nsb@Genesis:46:20 @ In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.
nsb@Genesis:46:21 @ The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
nsb@Genesis:46:22 @ These were the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was fourteen.
nsb@Genesis:46:23 @ The son of Dan was Hushim.
nsb@Genesis:46:24 @ The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
nsb@Genesis:46:25 @ These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was seven.
nsb@Genesis:46:26 @ The total number of Jacobs direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was sixty-six. This did not include the wives of Jacobs sons.
nsb@Genesis:46:27 @ Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. There were a total of seventy people in Jacobs household who went to Egypt.
nsb@Genesis:46:28 @ Jacob sent Judah ahead to ask Joseph to meet them in Goshen. When they arrived,
nsb@Genesis:46:29 @ Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father. When they met, Joseph threw his arms around his fathers neck and cried for a long time.
nsb@Genesis:46:30 @ Jacob said to Joseph: »Now I am ready to die. Now that I have seen you and know that you are still alive.«
nsb@Genesis:46:31 @ Joseph said to his brothers and the rest of his fathers family: »I must go and tell the king that my brothers and all my fathers family, who were living in Canaan, have come to me.
nsb@Genesis:46:32 @ »I will tell him that you are shepherds and take care of livestock. And that you have brought your flocks and herds and everything else that belongs to you.
nsb@Genesis:46:33 @ »The king will call for you. He will ask what your occupation is.
nsb@Genesis:46:34 @ »Be sure to tell him that you have taken care of livestock all your lives, just as your ancestors did. In this way he will let you live in the region of Goshen. Joseph said this because Egyptians will have nothing to do with shepherds.
nsb@Genesis:47:1 @ Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him: »My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen.«
nsb@Genesis:47:2 @ Then he presented his brothers to the king.
nsb@Genesis:47:3 @ The king asked: »What is your occupation?« »We are shepherds, Sir, just as our ancestors were,« they answered.
nsb@Genesis:47:4 @ »We have come to live in this country. The famine is so severe in the land of Canaan that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen.«
nsb@Genesis:47:5 @ The king said to Joseph: »Now that your father and your brothers have arrived,
nsb@Genesis:47:6 @ »the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. If there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock.«
nsb@Genesis:47:7 @ Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing.
nsb@Genesis:47:8 @ The king asked him: »How old are you?«
nsb@Genesis:47:9 @ Jacob answered: »My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings.«
nsb@Genesis:47:10 @ Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.
nsb@Genesis:47:11 @ Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt. He gave them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses. This was as the king had commanded.
nsb@Genesis:47:12 @ Joseph provided food for his father, his brothers, and all the rest of his fathers family, including the very youngest.
nsb@Genesis:47:13 @ The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger.
nsb@Genesis:47:14 @ They bought grain from Joseph. Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace.
nsb@Genesis:47:15 @ When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said: »Give us food! Do not let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone.«
nsb@Genesis:47:16 @ Joseph answered: »Bring your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone.«
nsb@Genesis:47:17 @ They brought their livestock to Joseph. He gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
nsb@Genesis:47:18 @ The following year they said to him: »We will not hide the fact from you, Sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands.
nsb@Genesis:47:19 @ »Do not let us die. Do something! Do not let our fields be deserted. Buy us and buy our land in exchange for food. We will be the kings slaves. He will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields.«
nsb@Genesis:47:20 @ Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe. All the land became the kings property.
nsb@Genesis:47:21 @ He removed the people into the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other.
nsb@Genesis:47:22 @ The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. The king gave the priests an allowance to live on. So they did not have to sell their lands.
nsb@Genesis:47:23 @ Joseph said to the people: »I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields.
nsb@Genesis:47:24 @ »You must give one-fifth to the king at the time of harvest. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families.«
nsb@Genesis:47:25 @ They answered: »You have saved our lives. You have been good to us. We will be the kings slaves.«
nsb@Genesis:47:26 @ Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the kings property.
nsb@Genesis:47:27 @ The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They became rich and had many children.
nsb@Genesis:47:28 @ Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, until he was a hundred and forty-seven years old.
nsb@Genesis:47:29 @ When the time drew near for him to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him: »Place your hand under my thighs and make a solemn vow that you will not bury me in Egypt.
nsb@Genesis:47:30 @ »I want to be buried where my fathers are. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.« Joseph answered: »I will do as you say.«
nsb@Genesis:47:31 @ Jacob said: »Make a vow that you will.« Joseph made the vow. Jacob gave thanks there on his bed.
nsb@Genesis:48:1 @ Later Joseph was told that his father was ill. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to see Jacob.
nsb@Genesis:48:2 @ Jacob was told that his son Joseph had come to see him. He gathered his strength and sat up in bed.
nsb@Genesis:48:3 @ Jacob said to Joseph: »Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
nsb@Genesis:48:4 @ »He promised: I will give you a large family with many descendants that will grow into a nation. I am giving you this land that will belong to you and your family from generation to generation.«
nsb@Genesis:48:5 @ Jacob went on to say: »Joseph, your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt. But I accept them as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
nsb@Genesis:48:6 @ »Any children you have later will be considered yours. Their inheritance will come from Ephraim and Manasseh.
nsb@Genesis:48:7 @ »Your mother Rachel died in Canaan after we left northern Syria and before we reached Bethlehem. I had to bury her along the way.«
nsb@Genesis:48:8 @ Then Israel saw Josephs sons. He asked Joseph: »Who are these boys?« Joseph answered:
nsb@Genesis:48:9 @ »They are my sons. God has given them to me here in Egypt.« »Bring them to me,« Jacob said. »I want to give them my blessing.« Joseph brought the boys to him.
nsb@Genesis:48:10 @ Israels eyesight was failing because of old age. He could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father. Israel hugged them and kissed them.
nsb@Genesis:48:11 @ Israel said to Joseph: »I never expected to see you again. Now God has even let me see your sons.«
nsb@Genesis:48:12 @ Joseph took them off his fathers lap and bowed with his face touching the ground.
nsb@Genesis:48:13 @ Then Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right, facing Israels left, and Manasseh on his left, facing Israels right, and brought them close to him.
nsb@Genesis:48:14 @ But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraims head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manassehs head, although Manasseh was older.
nsb@Genesis:48:15 @ Jacob blessed Joseph. He said: »May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may this God who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
nsb@Genesis:48:16 @ »May the being who rescued me from all evil bless these boys! May they be called by my name and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac. May they have many children on the earth.«
nsb@Genesis:48:17 @ Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraims head. Joseph did not like it. So he took his fathers hand in order to move it from Ephraims head to Manassehs.
nsb@Genesis:48:18 @ He said to his father: »That is not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.«
nsb@Genesis:48:19 @ His father refused and said: »I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation. He, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he. His descendants will become many nations.«
nsb@Genesis:48:20 @ That day he blessed them. He said: »Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing: May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh! In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.«
nsb@Genesis:48:21 @ Then Israel said to Joseph: »I am about to die. God will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers.
nsb@Genesis:48:22 @ »I am giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.«
nsb@Genesis:49:1 @ Jacob called for his sons. He said: »Gather around, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future.
nsb@Genesis:49:2 @ »Come together and listen, sons of Jacob. Listen to your father Israel.
nsb@Genesis:49:3 @ »Reuben, you are my firstborn; you are my strength and the first child of my manhood. You are the proudest and strongest of all my sons.
nsb@Genesis:49:4 @ »You are like a raging flood. But you will not be the most important, for you slept with my concubine. You dishonored your fathers bed.
nsb@Genesis:49:5 @ »Simeon and Levi are brothers. They use their weapons to commit violence.
nsb@Genesis:49:6 @ »I will not join in their secret talks. I will not take part in their meetings. They killed people in anger. They crippled bulls for sport.
nsb@Genesis:49:7 @ »A curse is on their anger, because it is so fierce. And a curse is on their fury, because it is so cruel. I will scatter them throughout the land of Israel. I will disperse them among its people.
nsb@Genesis:49:8 @ »Judah, your brothers will praise you. You hold your enemies by the neck. Your brothers will bow down before you.
nsb@Genesis:49:9 @ »Judah is like a lion, killing his victim and returning to his den. He is like a lion stretching out and lying down. No one dares disturb him.
nsb@Genesis:49:10 @ »The royal scepter shall not depart from Judah. His descendants will always rule. Nations will bring him tribute and bow in obedience before him. This, until Shiloh comes and all will obey him.
nsb@Genesis:49:11 @ »He will tie his donkey to a grapevine, his colt to the best vine. He will wash his clothes in wine, his garments in the blood of grapes.
nsb@Genesis:49:12 @ »His eyes are darker than wine. His teeth are whiter than milk.
nsb@Genesis:49:13 @ »Zebulun will live by the coast. He will have ships by the coast. His border will go as far as Sidon.
nsb@Genesis:49:14 @ »Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between the saddlebags.
nsb@Genesis:49:15 @ »When he sees that his resting place is good and that the land is pleasant, he will bend his back to the burden and will become a slave laborer.
nsb@Genesis:49:16 @ »Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel.
nsb@Genesis:49:17 @ »Dan will be a snake on a road, a viper on a path that bites a horses heels so that its rider falls backwards.
nsb@Genesis:49:18 @ »I wait with hope for your salvation, O Jehovah.
nsb@Genesis:49:19 @ »Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders. He will strike back at their heels.
nsb@Genesis:49:20 @ »Ashers food will be rich. He will provide delicacies fit for a king.
nsb@Genesis:49:21 @ »Naphtali is a deer set free with beautiful fawns.
nsb@Genesis:49:22 @ »Joseph is a fruitful tree, a fruitful tree by a spring, with branches climbing over a wall.
nsb@Genesis:49:23 @ »Archers provoked him, shot at him, and harassed him.
nsb@Genesis:49:24 @ »His bow stayed steady! His arms remained limber because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob, because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
nsb@Genesis:49:25 @ »because of the God of your father who helps you, because of the Almighty who blesses you from the heavens above, blessings from the deep springs below the ground, blessings from breasts and womb.
nsb@Genesis:49:26 @ »The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings of the oldest mountains and the riches of the ancient hills. May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the prince among his brothers.
nsb@Genesis:49:27 @ »Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning and evening he destroys his enemies.«
nsb@Genesis:49:28 @ These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is how Jacob blessed each of them.
![[pBiblx2]](/img/pbiblx2_logo3.png){kind=logo}