Joseph’s Dream
1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.
2These are the records of the generations of Jacob.
Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.
3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a avaricolored tunic.
4His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him bon friendly terms. Life Lessons
5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
6He said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have had;
7for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
8Then his brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, “Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?”
11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
12Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.
13Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.”
14Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.”
17Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
The Plot against Joseph
18When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. Life Lessons
19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer!
20“Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
21But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.”
22Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.
23So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him;
24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
25Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.
26Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27“Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.
28Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.
29Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.
30He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?”
31So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;
32and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
34So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
35Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
Judah and Tamar
1And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her and went in to her.
3So she conceived and bore a son and he named him Er.
4Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan.
5She bore still another son and named him Shelah; and it was at Chezib that she bore him.
6Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.
8Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”
9Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother.
10But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the LORD; so He took his life also.
11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, “I am afraid that he too may die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12Now after a considerable time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, Judah went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13It was told to Tamar, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a aveil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife.
15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face.
16So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, “Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?”
18He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “Your seal 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.
19Then she arose and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments.
20When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.
21He asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no temple prostitute here.”
22So he returned to Judah, and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no temple prostitute here.’ ”
23Then Judah said, “Let her keep them, otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”
24Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
25It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “Please examine and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?”
26Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.
27It came about at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were twins in her womb.
28Moreover, it took place while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”
29But it came about as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named bPerez.
30Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named cZerah.
Joseph’s Success in Egypt
1Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there.
2The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Life Lessons What the Bible Says About: The Value of Hard Work
3Now his master saw that the LORD was with him and how the LORD caused all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge.
5It came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph; thus the LORD’s blessing was upon all that he owned, in the house and in the field.
6So he left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
7It came about after these events that his master’s wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”
8But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge.
9“There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?” Life Lessons
10As she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.
11Now it happened one day that he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household was there inside.
12She caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and went outside.
13When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside,
14she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed.
15“When he heard that I raised my voice and ascreamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside.”
16So she left his garment beside her until his master came home.
17Then she spoke to him with these words, “The Hebrew slave, whom you brought to us, came in to me to make sport of me;
18and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
Joseph Imprisoned
19Now when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your slave did to me,” his anger burned.
20So Joseph’s master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; and he was there in the jail. Answers to Life’s Questions: Does God bring us adversity?
21But the LORD was with Joseph and extended kindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. Life Lessons
22The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in the jail; so that whatever was done there, he was responsible for it.
23The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph’s charge because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made to prosper.
Joseph Interprets a Dream
1Then it came about after these things, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt. Life Examples: Joseph
2Pharaoh was furious with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.
3So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, in the jail, the same place where Joseph was imprisoned.
4The captain of the bodyguard put Joseph in charge of them, and he took care of them; and they were in confinement for some time.
5Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.
6When Joseph came to them in the morning and observed them, behold, they were dejected.
7He asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in confinement in his master’s house, “Why are your faces so sad today?”
8Then they said to him, “We have had a dream and there is no one to interpret it.” Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”
9So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream, behold, there was a vine in front of me;
10and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.
11“Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”
12Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;
13within three more days Pharaoh will alift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.
14“Only keep me in mind when it goes well with you, and please do me a kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house.
15“For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”
16When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head;
17and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, and the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;
19within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”
20Thus it came about on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.
21He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;
22but he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.
23Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
Pharaoh’s Dream
1Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was standing by the Nile. Life Lessons
2And lo, from the Nile there came up seven cows, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass.
3Then behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, ugly and gaunt, and they stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.
4The ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke.
5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good.
6Then behold, seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them.
7The thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.
8Now in the morning his spirit was troubled, so he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
9Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would make mention today of my own offenses.
10“Pharaoh was furious with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the bodyguard, both me and the chief baker.
11“We had a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream.
12“Now a Hebrew youth was with us there, a servant of the captain of the bodyguard, and we related them to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each one he interpreted according to his own dream.
13“And just as he interpreted for us, so it happened; he restored me in my office, but he hanged him.”
Joseph Interprets
14Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”
16Joseph then answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.” Life Lessons
17So Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile;
18and behold, seven cows, fat and sleek came up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the marsh grass.
19“Lo, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such as I had never seen for ugliness in all the land of Egypt;
20and the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows.
21“Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had devoured them, for they were just as ugly as before. Then I awoke.
22“I saw also in my dream, and behold, seven ears, full and good, came up on a single stalk;
23and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them;
24and the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. Then I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”
25Now Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same; God has told to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
26“The seven good cows are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one and the same.
27“The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind will be seven years of famine.
28“It is as I have spoken to Pharaoh: God has shown to Pharaoh what He is about to do.
29“Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt;
30and after them seven years of famine will come, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will ravage the land.
31“So the abundance will be unknown in the land because of that subsequent famine; for it will be very severe.
32“Now as for the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it means that the matter is determined by God, and God will quickly bring it about.
33“Now let Pharaoh look for a man discerning and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
34“Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.
35“Then let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming, and store up the grain for food in the cities under Pharaoh’s authority, and let them guard it.
36“Let the food become as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish during the famine.”
37Now the proposal seemed good to Pharaoh and to all his servants.
Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt
38Then Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is a divine spirit?”
39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.
40“You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.”
41Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
42Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck.
43He had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.
44Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
45Then Pharaoh named Joseph aZaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt.
46Now Joseph was thirty years old when he bstood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. Life Lessons
47During the seven years of plenty the land brought forth abundantly.
48So he gathered all the food of these seven years which occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities; he placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields.
49Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.
The Sons of Joseph
50Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of cOn, bore to him.
51Joseph named the firstborn dManasseh, “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.”
52He named the second eEphraim, “For,” he said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
53When the seven years of plenty which had been in the land of Egypt came to an end,
54and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said, then there was famine in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
55So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do.”
56When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.
57The people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in all the earth.
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
1Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?”
2He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die.”
3Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.
4But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that harm may befall him.”
5So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, for the famine was in the land of Canaan also. Life Lessons
6Now Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.
7When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him.
9Joseph remembered the dreams which he had about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land.”
10Then they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.
11“We are all sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.”
12Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the undefended parts of our land!”
13But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.”
14Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies;
15by this you will be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here!
16“Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”
17So he put them all together in prison for three days.
18Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear God:
19if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine of your households,
20and bring your youngest brother to me, so your words may be verified, and you will not die.” And they did so.
21Then they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us.”
22Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood.”
23They did not know, however, that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between them.
24He turned away from them and wept. But when he returned to them and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain and to restore every man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. And thus it was done for them.
26So they loaded their donkeys with their grain and departed from there.
27As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his money; and behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
28Then he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned, and behold, it is even in my sack.” And their hearts sank, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”
Simeon Is Held Hostage
29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them, saying,
30“The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly with us, and took us for spies of the country.
31“But we said to him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies.
32‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’
33“The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me and take grain for the famine of your households, and go.
34‘But bring your youngest brother to me that I may know that you are not spies, but honest men. I will give your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”
35Now it came about as they were emptying their sacks, that 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.
36Their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin; all these things are against me.”
37Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”
38But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left. If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.”
The Return to Egypt
1Now the famine was severe in the land.
2So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”
3Judah spoke to him, however, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’
4“If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.
5“But if you do not send him, we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ”
6Then Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man whether you still had another brother?”
7But they said, “The man questioned particularly about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ So we answered his questions. Could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.
9“I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.
10“For if we had not delayed, surely by now we could have returned twice.”
11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.
12“Take double the money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was a mistake. Life Lessons
13“Take your brother also, and arise, return to the man;
14and may God Almighty grant you compassion in the sight of the man, so that he will release to you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”
15So the men took this present, and they took double the money in their hand, and Benjamin; then they arose and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.
Joseph Sees Benjamin
16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Bring the men into the house, and slay an animal and make ready; for the men are to dine with me at noon.”
17So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house.
18Now the men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time that we are being brought in, that he may seek occasion against us and fall upon us, and take us for slaves with our donkeys.”
19So they came near to Joseph’s house steward, and spoke to him at the entrance of the house,
20and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food,
21and it came about when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks, and behold, each man’s money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full. So we have brought it back in our hand.
22“We have also brought down other money in our hand to buy food; we do not know who put our money in our sacks.”
23He said, “aBe at ease, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them. Life Lessons
24Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys fodder.
25So they prepared the present for Joseph’s coming at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.
26When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present which was in their hand and bowed to the ground before him.
27Then he asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?”
28They said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” They bowed down in homage.
29As he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”
30Joseph hurried out for he was deeply stirred over his brother, and he sought a place to weep; and he entered his chamber and wept there.
31Then he washed his face and came out; and he controlled himself and said, “Serve the meal.”
32So they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for that is loathsome to the Egyptians.
33Now they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment.
34He took portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely with him.
The Brothers Are Brought Back
1Then he commanded his house steward, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.
2“Put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his money for the grain.” And he did as Joseph had told him.
3As soon as it was light, the men were sent away, they with their donkeys.
4They had just gone out of the city, and were not far off, when Joseph said to his house steward, “Up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?
5‘Is not this the one from which my lord drinks and which he indeed uses for divination? You have done wrong in doing this.’ ”
6So he overtook them and spoke these words to them.
7They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing.
8“Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?
9“With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”
10So he said, “Now let it also be according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and the rest of you shall be innocent.”
11Then they hurried, each man lowered his sack to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
12He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.
13Then they tore their clothes, and when each man loaded his donkey, they returned to the city.
14When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
15Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that such a man as I can indeed practice divination?”
16So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we speak? And how can we justify ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been found.”
17But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose possession the cup has been found, he shall be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18Then Judah approached him, and said, “Oh my lord, may your servant please speak a word in my lord’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.
19“My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’
20“We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’
21“Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may set my eyes on him.’
22“But we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’
23“You said to your servants, however, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will not see my face again.’
24“Thus it came about when we went up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.
25“Our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’
26“But we said, ‘We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’
27“Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;
28and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces,” and I have not seen him since.
29‘If you take this one also from me, and harm befalls him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’
30“Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life,
31when he sees that the lad is not with us, he will die. Thus your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in sorrow.
32“For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’
33“Now, therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.
34“For how shall I go up to my father if the lad is not with me—for fear that I see the evil that would overtake my father?”
Joseph Deals Kindly with His Brothers
1Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
2He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.
3Then 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.
4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they came closer. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. Life Lessons
5“Now do not be grieved or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.
6“For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
*7“God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant in the earth, and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. Life Lessons
8“Now, therefore, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
9“Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay.
10“You shall live in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.
11“There I will also provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, and you and your household and all that you have would be impoverished.” ’
12“Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you.
13“Now you must tell my father of all my splendor in Egypt, and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.”
14Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.
15He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
16Now when the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.
17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: load your beasts and go to the land of Canaan,
18and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat of the land.’
19“Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come.
20‘Do not concern yourselves with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’ ”
21Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey.
22To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.
23To his father he sent as follows: ten donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and sustenance for his father on the journey.
24So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “Do not quarrel on the journey.”
25Then they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to their father Jacob. Answers to Life’s Questions: Why doesn’t God answer my prayers sooner?
26They told him, saying, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But he was stunned, for he did not believe them.
27When they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28Then Israel said, “It is enough; my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
Jacob Moves to Egypt
1So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
2God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob.” And he said, “Here I am.”
3He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.
4“I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again; and Joseph will close your eyes.” Life Lessons
5Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
6They took their livestock and their property, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him:
7his sons and his grandsons with him, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
Those Who Came to Egypt
8Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn.
9The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu and Hezron and Carmi.
10The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
11The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
12The sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
13The sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvvah and Iob and Shimron.
14The sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel.
15These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all his sons and his daughters numbered thirty-three.
16The sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli.
17The sons of Asher: Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah and their sister Serah. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.
18These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons.
19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
20Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him.
21The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppim and Ard.
22These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; there were fourteen persons in all.
23The sons of Dan: Hushim.
24The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni and Jezer and Shillem.
25These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and she bore these to Jacob; there were seven persons in all.
26All the persons belonging to Jacob, who came to Egypt, his direct descendants, not including the wives of Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all,
27and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt were two; all the persons of the house of Jacob, who came to Egypt, were seventy.
28Now he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out the way before him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
29Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; as soon as he appeared before him, he fell on his neck and wept on his neck a long time.
30Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”
31Joseph 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;
32and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’
33“When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’
34you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ that you may live in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is loathsome to the Egyptians.”
Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen
1Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they have, have come out of the land of Canaan; and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.”
2He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
3Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” So they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.”
4They 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. Now, therefore, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.”
5Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.
6“The land of Egypt is aat your disposal; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land, let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know any capable men among them, then put them in charge of my livestock.”
7Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
8Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How many years have you lived?”
9So Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourning are one hundred and thirty; few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, nor have they attained the years that my fathers lived during the days of their sojourning.”
10And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from his presence.
11So 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 Rameses, as Pharaoh had ordered.
12Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones.
13Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.
14Joseph gathered 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.
15When 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, for why should we die in your presence? For our money is gone.”
16Then Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food for your livestock, since your money is gone.”
17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he fed them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.
18When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is all spent, and the cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left for my lord except our bodies and our lands.
19“Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be slaves to Pharaoh. So give us seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”
Result of the Famine
20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s.
21As for the people, he removed them to the cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other.
22Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived off the allotment which Pharaoh gave them. Therefore, they did not sell their land.
23Then Joseph said to the people, “Behold, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you may sow the land.
24“At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”
25So they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
27Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous.
28Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.
29When the time for Israel to die drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Please, if I have found favor in your sight, place now your hand under my thigh and deal with me in kindness and bfaithfulness. Please do not bury me in Egypt,
30but when I lie down with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.” Life Lessons
31He said, “Swear to me.” So he swore to him. Then Israel bowed in worship at the head of the bed.
Israel’s Last Days
1Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.
2When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed.
3Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,
4and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’
5“Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are.
6“But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.
7“Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died, to my sorrow, in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
8When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?”
9Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.”
10Now the eyes of Israel were so dim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
11Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.” Life Lessons
12Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground.
13Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.
14But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.
15He blessed Joseph, and said,
“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, Life Lessons
16The angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
And may my name live on in them,
And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And may they grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
18Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.”
19But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”
20He blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ”
Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.
21Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to the land of your fathers.
22“I give you one portion more than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Israel’s Prophecy concerning His Sons
1Then Jacob summoned his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves that I may tell you what will befall you in the days to come.
2“Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel your father.
3“Reuben, you are my firstborn;
My might and the beginning of my strength,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power.
4“Uncontrolled as water, you shall not have preeminence,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled it—he went up to my couch.
5“Simeon and Levi are brothers;
Their swords are implements of violence.
6“Let my soul not enter into their council;
Let not my glory be united with their assembly;
Because in their anger they slew men,
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.
7“Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel.
I will disperse them in Jacob,
And scatter them in Israel.
8“Judah, your brothers shall praise you;
Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.
9“Judah is a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He couches, he lies down as a lion,
And as a lion, who dares rouse him up?
*10“The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
aUntil Shiloh comes,
And to him shall be the obedience of the peoples. Life Lessons
11“He ties his foal to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine;
He washes his garments in wine,
And his robes in the blood of grapes.
12“His eyes are bdull from wine,
And his teeth cwhite from milk.
13“Zebulun will dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.
14“Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between the sheepfolds.
15“When he saw that a resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear burdens,
And became a slave at forced labor.
16“Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17“Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
A horned snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.
18“For Your salvation I wait, O LORD.
19“As for Gad, raiders shall raid him,
But he will raid at their heels.
20“As for Asher, his food shall be rich,
And he will yield royal dainties.
21“Naphtali is a doe let loose,
He gives beautiful words.
22“Joseph is a fruitful dbough,
A fruitful bough by a spring;
Its ebranches run over a wall.
23“The archers bitterly attacked him,
And shot at him and harassed him;
24But his bow remained firm,
And his arms were agile,
From the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob
(From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25From the God of your father who helps you,
And by the Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26“The blessings of your father
Have surpassed the blessings of my ancestors
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
May they be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of the one distinguished among his brothers.
27“Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And in the evening he divides the spoil.”
28All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He blessed them, every one with the blessing appropriate to him.
29Then he charged them and said to them, “I am about to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site.
31“There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there I buried Leah—
32the field and the cave that is in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.”
33When Jacob finished charging his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
The Death of Israel
1Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him.
2Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.
3Now forty days were required for it, for such is the period required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
4When the days of mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying,
5‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am about to die; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.’ ”
6Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7So 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,
8and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.
9There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.
10When 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 observed seven days mourning for his father.
11Now when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore it was named Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
Burial at Machpelah
12Thus his sons did for him as he had charged them;
13for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah before Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field for a burial site from Ephron the Hittite.
14After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him!”
16So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father charged before he died, saying,
17‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, “Please forgive, I beg you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.” ’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
18Then his brothers also came and fell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.”
19But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in God’s place?
20“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive. Life Lessons
21“So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
Death of Joseph
22Now Joseph stayed in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.
23Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s sons; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born on Joseph’s knees.
24Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up from this land to the land which He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.” Life Lessons
25Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely take care of you, and you shall carry my bones up from here.”
26So Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.