Genesis 49

Jacob then called his sons and said, “Gather round, that I may tell you of what shall befall you
In days yet to come. Gather and hear, sons of Jacob, heed your father Israel who called you.
Reuben, you are my firstborn. Not only my might, but also the first fruit of my vigor,
Both surpassing in rank and surpassing in honor. In these virtues, there were none bigger.
As unstable as water, you surpass no more– for when you mounted your father’s bed,
You defiled it and brought disgrace– he went up to my couch, and the couch he mounted.

Now Simeon and Levi are brothers, weapons of violence are their swords. Such cruelty,
Let my person not come to their council nor ever be counted in their assembly.
For in anger they kill men, wantonly maim bulls. Cursed be their anger, too fierce to quell,
And their fury so harsh. I will split them up in Jacob, scatter them in Israel.
You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes’ necks.
And your father’s sons, they shall bow down to you. A lion’s whelp, Judah commands respect.
From prey, my son, you have gone up. He squats and crouches like a lion, the king of beasts.
Who dares rouse him up? The scepter won’t depart him, nor the ruler’s staff leave from his feet,
Until Shiloh comes and people’s homage is his. He ties up his ass-foal to a vine,
His young colt to a choice crimson tendril, and then Judah washes his garment in wine,
His robe in blood of grapes. His eyes darker than wine, his teeth whiter than milk. Zebulun,
He shall dwell on the seashore as haven for boats, and his own flank shall rest on Sidon.

Issachar, a strong-boned ass, crouching in the sheepfolds, saw the good of the resting turf,
And how pleasant the land. So he bent his shoulder to bear, and became a toiling serf.
Dan his people shall judge, as one tribe of Israel’s, and be a serpent by the road,
A viper by the path who bites the horse’s heel, so it throws off its passenger load.
I wait for your deliverance, Lord! Gad shall be raided by raiders, but raid their heels.
Asher’s food shall be rich, for it is royal dainties befitting a king he shall yield.
Naphtali is a hind let loose which yields lovely fawns. Joseph, a young wild ass.
A wild ass by a spring, donkeys along a wall. Archers all assailed him as he passed,
Shot at him bitterly, yet his bow remained firm, and his arms and hands both stayed agile,
By the means of the Mighty One of Jacob up there, the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel.
By your father’s God, may he help you, and Shaddai (Almighty), blessings may he bestow
Upon you; blessings both from the heavens above, and of the ocean crouching below,
Blessings of the breast and womb. The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of old,
Of my ancestors, of mountains eternal, to the boundaries of hills with age untold.
May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the one chosen out of his brothers.
Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. In the morning his foe is the prey he devours.
Then in the evening, he divides up the spoils.” All these are the tribes of Israel, twelve,
And this is what their father told them, giving each an appropriate blessing farewell.

Then he charged them and said, “Soon I will be gathered to my kin, so please bury me right.
Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
At the cave in the field of Machpelah, which faces Mamre, in the land of Canaan.
The same field Abraham bought as a burial holding once from the Hittite Ephron.
There they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Isaac and his wife
Rebekah. And there I buried Leah– … The field and cave in it, bought from the Hittites.”
And when Jacob had finally finished charging his sons and giving them instructions,
Then he gathered his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last, and was gathered to his kin.

Genesis 48

Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons,
Manasseh and Ephraim. And Jacob was told, “To see you, your son Joseph now comes.”
Israel gathered his strength, and said to Joseph as he (Israel) sat up in bed,
“El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me, and said,
‘I will make you bear fruit and be many, and make you into a host of peoples too;
And I will grant this land as a holding for the ages to your offspring after you.’
Now your two sons born to you in Egypt, ‘ere I came to you in Egypt at that time,
Shall be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh, no less than Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine.
But your progeny born to you after them shall be yours, called by the name of their brothers
In their inheritance. For when I was returning from that country, Rachel your mother
Died on me, in the land of Canaan, on the way, still some distance away from Ephrath.
And I buried her there on the road to Ephrath (which is now Bethlehem), on that path.”

Now when Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” Joseph said to his father,
“They are my sons, whom God has given to me here.” And Israel said, “Bring them closer.
Bring them up to me so I can bless them.” For Israel’s eyes with old age had turned dim,
And he could not see. Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and then embraced them.
Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected that your face again I would see,
And yet here, God has let me see your children too.” Joseph then removed them from his knees.
And they all bowed low to the ground. Joseph took both of them, Ephraim with his right hand,
To Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand, to the right of Israel’s stand,
And brought them close to him. But Israel stretched out his right hand, laying it on the head
Of Ephraim (though he was the younger, and normally firstborn receive that instead),
And his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He crossed his arms (Manasseh’s firstborn right thus docked).
He blessed Joseph and said, “The God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has been my shepherd ever since the day that I was born, until this day,
The messenger who has redeemed me from ill fortune, may he bless the lads. And then pray,
May my name and my line be continued through them, and too my fathers’ names, Abraham,
And Isaac. May they teem like fish and become multitudes all through the midst of the land.”

When Joseph saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it wrong;
So he took hold of his father’s hand to move it to Manasseh’s head, where it belonged.
Joseph said to his father, “Not so, father, this one is firstborn, place hand on his head.”
But his father refused, saying, “I know, my son, I know. From him too, tribes shall be bred.
He too shall be great, and yet his younger brother will be greater than he, his offspring
Shall become a great multitude of nations.” So then he blessed them on that day, saying,
“By you shall Israel give blessings, saying: God made you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”
And by speaking their names in that order, Israel put Ephraim before Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Here, I am about to die, but God will be with you.
He will have you return to the land of your fathers. And now, one more thing must I do.
Now I give you one portion, one shoulder, one mountain slope more than your brothers’ reward,
Which I once took away from the hand of the Amorite with my bow and with my sword.”

Genesis 47

So Joseph came and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their sheep and oxen
And all that is theirs, came from the land of Canaan and are now in the land of Goshen.”
From the circle of his brothers, Joseph picked five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.
Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is it that you do?” And they responded, “As you know,
We your servants are shepherds of flocks, like our fathers before us. And now we have come
To sojourn in the land, for there’s no pasture for the flocks of your servants where we’re from.
Famine is severe in Canaan’s land. Pray let your servants stay in the land of Goshen.”
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “So your fathers and brothers have come to you, these goodly men.
The land of Egypt lies before you, so have them settle in the best parts of the land.
Let them stay in the region of Goshen. And if you know capable men in their band,
You should put them in charge of my livestock.” Joseph brought his father Jacob to Pharaoh.
Jacob gave Pharaoh a blessing of greeting. Pharaoh said to Jacob, “I’d like to know
Just how many are the days and years of your life?” Jacob said to Pharaoh in reply,
“The days and years of my sojourn here on earth have been one hundred thirty years gone by.
Few and ill-fated have been the days and years of my life. They have not reached the life-span
Of my fathers’ lives during their sojourns.” Jacob gave Pharaoh a farewell-blessing, and
Left his presence. So Joseph then settled his father and brothers, gave them property
In the best part of Egypt’s land, in the region of Rameses, as Pharaoh had decreed.
Joseph sustained his father, his brothers, and his father’s household, as numbers dictated

But there was no bread in all the land, due to the food shortage the famine had created.
Both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan were completely depleted from famine.
Joseph gathered up all of the silver that was found in the lands of Egypt and Canaan,
As a payment for rations they’d bought. Then Joseph brought the silver into Pharaoh’s house.
When the silver in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan had all run out,
The Egyptians all came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread! Shall we die in front of you
Just because all our silver is gone?” Joseph said, “Give me your livestock, and that will do.
I will give you bread in exchange for your livestock, since the silver no longer amasses.”
So they brought their livestock to Joseph, who gave them bread for horses, sheep, cattle, and asses.
He got them through that year by allowing them to exchange all of their livestock for bread.
But when that year had ended, they came back to him during the following year and said,
“We can’t hide from my lord that if the silver has run out, and all our livestock you own,
There is nothing remaining for my lord aside from our soil and our flesh and bones.
Why should we die in front of your eyes, and not only us, but also our land and soil?
Take both us and our land for the bread, and from now on as serfs for Pharaoh we will toil.
Give us seeds so that we may live and not die, and so the soil won’t become desolate.”
So Joseph acquired all of the farm land in Egypt for Pharaoh at a speedy rate,
For each of the Egyptians sold his field because the famine was just too much to bear,
So the land all went over to Pharaoh. And as for the people who were living there,
Joseph transferred them into the cities from one edge of Egypt to the other edge.
Only the land of the priests he did not acquire, because the priests had Pharaoh’s pledge.
They received an allotment from Pharaoh and managed to live off of that allocation.
Therefore they did not sell their land to Joseph, but instead stayed at their former location.
Joseph said to the people, “Since on this day I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh,
You shall have seed. Now here is the seed for you, which in the land of Pharaoh you shall sow.
And at harvest time, you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh. The other four fifths are for you,
As more seed for the field, and as food for you, and for your household, your little ones too.”
They said, “You saved our lives! May it please our lord, from now on Pharaoh by us shall be served.”
And Joseph made it into a land law in Egypt, which still to this day is observed,
That the fifth part of all land shall go to Pharaoh, the exception being the priests’ soil.

And so Israel stayed in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, being loyal.
They obtained holdings in it, bore fruit, multiplied, until they were exceedingly rife.
Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt so that the span of Jacob’s life
Came to one hundred and forty-seven years. When the time came for Israel to die,
He called his son Joseph and said, “If I’ve gained your favor, put your hand under my thigh,
Swear that you’ll deal with me in good faith and truth; pray do not bury me in Egypt.
When I lie down with my fathers, carry me from Egypt, and bury me in their crypt.”
Joseph told him, “I will do according to what you have spoken.” But Israel said,
“Swear to me!” So Joseph swore to him. And then Israel bowed at the head of his bed.

Genesis 46

So then Israel set out with all he had, came to Beersheba, offered sacrifice
To the God of his father Isaac. God called to Israel in visions of the night.
God said, “Jacob! Jacob!” He said, “Here I am.” God said, “I am God, God of your father.
Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for a great nation I’ll make of you there.
I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will bring you up again.
Joseph shall lay his hand on your eyes when you die.” Jacob set out from Beersheba then.
The sons of Israel carried Jacob their father, their wives, and their little-ones too
In the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to transport him. And they took what they had accrued,
All their livestock and all of the property that they had gained in the land of Canaan.
They came to Egypt, Jacob and his offspring with him, his sons, and the sons of his sons,
Jacob’s daughters and Jacob’s sons’ daughters; all his offspring he brought with him to Egypt.

Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came down to Egypt on the trip:
Jacob and his sons: Jacob’s firstborn Reuben. His sons: Enoch, Pallu, Carmi, Hezron.
Simeon’s sons: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Saul (a Canaanite’s son).
Levi’s sons: Gershon, Kehat, and Merari. Judah’s sons: Shelah, Perez, Onan, Er,
And Zerah– but Onan and Er died in the land of Canaan. And Perez’s sons were:
Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were: Puvah, Iob, Shimron, and Tola.
Zebulun’s sons were: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. And those were the sons born by Leah.
Leah bore those sons to Jacob, along with his daughter Dinah, in Aram-country,
Hence the persons among all the daughters and sons of Jacob numbered thirty and three.
Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, Areli. All Gad’s.
Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah, the sister that they had.
And Beriah’s sons Heber and Malchiel. Those were the sons that were born by Zilpah,
Whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter. Zilpah bore Jacob sixteen persons in all.

The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. Then in the land of Egypt,
Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore Joseph two sons from her hips:
Their names were Manasseh and Ephraim. The sons of Benjamin were: Ard, and Huppim,
Bela, and Becher, and Ashbel, and Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, and Rosh, and Muppim.
Those were the sons of Rachel that were born to Jacob. In all, there were fourteen of them.
While Dan’s only son was: Hushim. Naphtali’s sons were: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, Shillem.
Those were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban had given to Rachel his daughter as maid,
Bilhah bore all of these sons to Jacob. They were seven persons, when fully arrayed.
All the persons who came into Egypt with Jacob, the ones that were his own offspring,
Aside from the wives of Jacob’s sons, there were sixty-six persons when finished counting.
And then Joseph’s sons, who were born to him in Egypt, they numbered two. So it would be,
That the total number of all Joseph’s household that came to Egypt was seventy.

Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to point the way to Goshen.
When they came to the region of Goshen, Joseph had his chariot harnessed, and then
He went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel, presenting himself to him.
Joseph flung himself around his neck, and wept on it until in tears his face did swim.
Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, since I have seen your face– you’re still alive!”
Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s household, “Here is a plan so we can thrive:
I will go up and tell the news to Pharaoh, saying, ‘My brothers and father’s household,
Who were in the land of Canaan have come to me. They are shepherds, their calling of old.
They have always been breeders of livestock, they brought all they have, all their flocks and their herds.’
Now when Pharaoh has you called and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ Then you must answer,
‘Your servants have been breeders of livestock from our youth, both we and also our fathers.’
So that you may all settle in the region of Goshen to practice your occupation.
For to the Egyptians, every shepherd of flocks is no more than an abomination.”

Genesis 45

Then Joseph could no longer restrain himself before all of his attendants, and cried,
“Now, have everyone withdraw from me!” No one else but Joseph’s brothers was left inside.
Joseph made himself known to his brothers, his weeping so loud, it could be heard by others;
The Egyptians heard, and even Pharaoh’s household heard. And then Joseph said to his brothers,
“I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were not able to answer,
For they were dumbfounded by his presence. Joseph told them all, “Come close to me. Advance, sirs.”
They came close. Joseph said, “I am Joseph your brother, he whom you sold into Egypt.
But now, don’t be distressed or upset with yourselves that you sold me here. It’s in the script,
For it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you. There have been two years of famine,
And five more years of famine are still to come, the land will yield no harvest to examine.
So God sent me ahead of you to make sure that you stay living on earth, and survive.
So you see, it was not you that sent me here, but God. And see how he has made me thrive:
He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and the lord of all Pharaoh’s household as well,
And also ruler over the whole land of Egypt, the place where I currently dwell.

Make haste, go back to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph does say,
“God has made me the lord of all Egypt, so come down to me here, and do not delay.
You shall stay in the region of Goshen, you shall be near me, you, and your sons, and their sons,
Your flocks, your herds, and all that is yours. I’ll sustain you through the coming five years of famine.
Otherwise, you and your household and all that is yours will be reduced to poverty.”’
Here, your eyes see, and my brother Benjamin’s eyes see, the one speaking to you is me.
So tell my father of all the weight that I carry in Egypt, and all that you’ve seen.
And make haste, bring my father down here!” Joseph flung himself on his brother Benjamin,
Then he wept as he hugged the neck of Benjamin, who wept on Joseph’s neck in release.
Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept on them. Only then could they speak to him in peace.

The news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased.
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do as follows, load up all of your beasts,
And go down to the land of Canaan. Fetch your father and your households, and come to me.
I will give you the best that Egypt has to offer; the fat of the land you will eat!’
Command them also, ‘Do this, take wagons from Egypt for your little ones and your wives,
Carry your father down and come! Do not regard with regret things from your former lives,
For the best that Egypt has to offer shall be yours.’” The sons of Israel did so,
Joseph gave them wagons and food for the journey as he’d been commanded by Pharaoh.
To each of them he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave a great extent,
Three hundred silver pieces and five changes of clothes. And then to his father he sent
Ten male asses, all loaded with the best of Egypt, ten she-asses with grain and bread,
And provisions for his father on the journey. Then he sent off his brothers ahead.
As they went off, Joseph said to his brothers, “Don’t quarrel with each other on the way.”
They went up from Egypt, came to the land of Canaan, where their father Jacob did stay.
And they told him, “Joseph, he is still alive! Now he’s the ruler of all Egypt’s land!”
His heart failed, for he did not believe them. But then they spoke to him of Joseph’s command,
And when they spoke to their father of Joseph’s words, the words Joseph had spoken to them,
And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent for the purpose of transporting him,
Then their father Jacob’s spirit came to life. And Israel (who is Jacob) then said,
“It’s enough! Joseph my son is still alive; I must go see him before I am dead!”

Genesis 44

He commanded the steward of his house and said, “Fill the men’s packs with food, to the brim,
Put each man’s silver into his pack. And put my goblet in the pack of Benjamin,
Yes my best silver goblet, put it in the youngest’s pack, with the silver for his rations.”
So the man did as Joseph had told him. At daybreak, the men were sent off, with their asses.
They had just left the city, and had not gone far, when Joseph said to his steward, “Rise!
Get up, follow those men, and when you have caught up with them, say to them, ‘I am surprised!
Why have you repaid good with ill? For is this not what my lord drinks with, this very cup,
And he also divines with it. You have done wrong by this.’” So when the steward caught up,
He spoke those words to them. To the steward they said, “Why does my lord speak words such as these?
Heaven forbid your servants should do such a thing. Now remember, my lord, if you please,
That the money we found in our sacks we brought back, all the way from the land of Canaan.
So how could we steal silver or gold from the house of your lord? This charge shall not go on.
Let whichever of your servants found with the goblet die, and then we shall be your slaves.”
He replied, “Let it be as you say, a servant shall be made of the cup-stealing knave,
But the rest of you shall go free.” So each one hastened to lower his pack to the ground,
Each man opened his pack, then he searched from the eldest to youngest. The goblet was found!

Twas in Benjamin’s pack. They rent their clothes, reloaded their asses, returned to the city.
Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph, who was still there, seeking his pity.
They flung themselves on the ground before him. Joseph said, “What deed is this that you have done?
Do you not know that a man like me can divine?” Judah said, “What thing can be spoken?
What can we say to my lord? How can we plead? How can we prove that we are innocent?
God has uncovered the crime of your servants, so here we are, to be my lord’s servants,
We, and the one in whose hand the goblet was found.” But then Joseph said, “Heaven Forbid!
No, far be it from me to make all of you my servants for what just one of you did.
The man in whose possession the goblet was found, he shall become a servant to me,
But the rest of you, go back in peace to your father.” Judah neared, and offered a plea:
“Please, my lord, pray let your servant speak a few words in the ears of my lord of our woe,
And please don’t let your anger flare up against your servant, for you are like the Pharaoh.
My lord asked of his servants, ‘Do you have a father or another brother?’ We said,
‘We do have an old father, and a young child of his old age, one whose brother is dead,
So that he alone is left of his mother, his father loves him.’ And then you decreed
To your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, for I wish to set my eyes upon him, indeed.’
Then we said to my lord, ‘The lad can’t leave his father, if he left, his father would die.’
But you said to your servants, ‘If your youngest brother does not come down with you hereby,
You shall not see my face again.’ Now it was when we went back to my father, your servant,
We told him my lord’s words, and our father said, ‘Go back and buy us some rations, it’s urgent!’
But we said, ‘We can’t go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down,
For if he is not with us, then we cannot see the man’s face.’ This made my father frown.
Now your servant, my father, told us, ‘You yourselves know that my wife bore two sons to me.
One is gone from me, and I said, “He has been torn by a beast, torn to pieces, surely.”
And I’ve not seen him since. Now if you take away this one from before my face as well,
Then should harm befall him, you will bring down my white head and grey hairs in grief to Sheol.’
So now, when I come back to your servant, my father, and the young lad is not with us,
The lad with whom his own life is so bound up, when he sees that the lad is not with us,
He will die. And your servants will send the grey hairs of our father to Sheol in grief.
For your servant pledged himself to my father for the boy’s safety, a concern in chief.
I said, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will forever be guilty before you.’
So now, pray let this servant of yours stay instead of the lad, to be a servant for you,
But let this lad go back with his brothers. How can I return to my father without him?
Then I would have to see the ill-fortune that would fall on my father, and all about him.

Genesis 43

Now the famine was grave in the land, so when they’d finished eating the rations they’d brought
Up from Egypt, their father told them, “Return there, buy us more rations.” But Judah thought.
Judah told him, “The man had warned us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother’s with you.’
So if you will let our brother go with us, we’ll go down there and buy rations to give you.
But if you will not let him go, we will not go down, because the man said to us all,
‘You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” This made Israel’s face fall.
He said, “Why did you serve me so ill, telling this man that another brother you’ve got?”
They replied, “The man asked about us, and about our family, and kept asking a lot.
Saying things like, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ And so
We responded accordingly. Could we know he’d say, ‘Bring your brother down’? Could we know?”

Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad in my care, we’ll be on our way,
So we may live and not die– we, you, and our children. The boy’s safety I pledge this day.
I will act as his pledge, at my hand you may seek him. If I don’t bring him back to you,
And set him before you, then I’ll forever bear the guilt that my duty I couldn’t do.
Indeed, had we not lingered, we could have been there and back twice in this time we just spake.”
Then their father Israel said to them all, “If it must be so, then do this thing: Take.
Take some of the choice produce of this land in your baggage, take them as gifts to the man–
Some basalm, honey, balm and laudanum, pistachios and almonds. Take in your hand
Silver doubled, two times over all of the silver that you found returned in your packs,
Return it in your hand, perhaps it was an oversight; if so they might want it back.
Take your brother too. Rise and return to the man, and may God Almighty grant to you
Mercy from the man, so he’ll release your other brother to you, and Benjamin too.
As for me, if I must be bereaved, then I must be bereaved.” The brothers took the gift,
Silver two times over and Benjamin as well, and went down to Egypt, to Joseph.
There they stood before him, and when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he told his house steward,
“Take those men in the house, and then slaughter an animal, have it prepared and procured,
For it is with me that these man shall dine this noon.” The man did just as Joseph instructed,
He brought the men into Joseph’s house, but the men were afraid at how they’d been conducted.
They were frightened to be there and said, “It’s because of the silver that we’ve been brought in,
All that silver returned in our packs last time makes us look like we’ve committed a sin.
They will take offense, roll on us, fall on us, seize us as slaves, and our asses as well.”
So they went to the chief steward of Joseph’s house at the entrance and said, “We must tell.
Please my lord, hear us out. We came down here before to buy rations, but that very night,
When we camped and then opened our packs, each man’s silver was in the packs, stacked to full height.
But we’ve brought it back here in our hand, and more silver as well to buy food rations here.
We do not know who put our silver in our packs.” He replied, “All is well, do not fear.
Your God, the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags for you, I’ve been paid,
Since your silver has already come to me.” And Simeon before them he conveyed.
Then the man had them come into Joseph’s house, and gave them water for washing their feet,
And gave their asses food. They prepared the gifts, until Joseph came back at noon to eat.

When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they’d brought to the house, from their hand, and then bowed.
They bowed low to the ground before him. Joseph greeted them, asked of their welfare aloud,
“Is your old father well, the one of whom you spoke? Is he still in good health?” They replied,
“It is well with your servant our father, he is in good health, and gladly has not died.”
They bowed in homage. Joseph then lifted his eyes up and saw his brother Benjamin,
The son of his mother, and he said, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you mentioned?”
Then he said to him, “May God be gracious to you, my boy.” With that, Joseph hurried out.
For he was overcome with feelings for his brother, and had to weep to let it out.
Joseph entered a chamber and wept there. He then washed his face, and returned, in control.
He said, “Serve bread!” They served him by himself, and them by themselves, with their own bread and rolls,
The Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, for with Hebrews they would not break bread.
(Such things are an abomination for Egyptians.) In his presence, they were seated,
The firstborn according to his firstborn-rank, the youngest according to his youth-rank.
And the brothers all stared at each other, astonished. (Was this an elaborate prank?)
Joseph had courses taken to them from his table, especially for Benjamin,
Whose food portions were five times as large as theirs were. Then they drank and were merry with him.

Genesis 42

Now when Jacob saw that there were rations to be had in Egypt, he said to his sons,
“Why do you keep just looking at one another? I’ve heard in Egypt, there are rations.
Go down to Egypt and buy us food rations from there, so that we may live and not die.”
So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy some rationed grain from Egypt’s large supply.
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, for he said, “What if he is harmed?”
The sons of Israel were among those that came to buy rations; they came in a swarm,
For the famine was in the land of Canaan. Joseph was governor over the land,
It was he who dispensed rations to the land’s people. Before him, his brothers did stand.
They came and bowed to him, with their heads to the ground. When Joseph saw his brothers, he knew
Who they were, but pretended not to recognize them and spoke as a stranger might do.
He spoke harshly to them and said, “Where do you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan,
To buy food rations.” And though Joseph recognized them, for their part, they never caught on.
And Joseph was reminded of dreams he had dreamt of them. He said to them, “You are spies!
It’s the land’s weakness that you have come to see!” They replied, “No, we came to buy supplies.
My lord, your servants have come to buy food rations. We are all sons of a single man,
We are honest, your servants have never been spies.” He said, “No, you now spy on the land!
It’s the land’s weakness that you have come to see!” They said, “Your servants are twelve, we are brothers,
Sons of one man in Canaan, the youngest is with our father, and no more is the other.”

Joseph said to them, “It’s just as I have told you, ‘You are spies!’– Here is how you’ll be tested:
As Pharaoh lives, unless your youngest brother comes here, at this place you shall be arrested.
You shall not leave this place. Send one of you to fetch him, the rest shall as prisoners remain.
That way we will test your words and see whether there is truth in you, or if you just feign
And as Pharaoh lives, you are indeed spies!” He moved them into custody for three days.
Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and you shall live, for I follow God’s ways:
If you are honest, let one of you brothers stay as a prisoner in custody,
And the rest of you go back to your households with famine-rations for your family.
Then bring your youngest brother back to me, to prove your words truthful, and you will not die.”
They prepared to do so, but the brothers said to one another, “We cannot deny
We have guilt in regards to our brother– we saw his distress of heart as he implored,
And we listened not. That’s why this distress has come upon us: His distress, we ignored.”
Reuben spoke up and said, “Didn’t I tell you ‘Don’t sin against the child!’ But you would not hear.
So now reckoning has come for his blood.” They did not know that they had caught Joseph’s ear,
For he’d spoken to them through an interpreter (so they did not know he understood).
Joseph turned away from them and wept, but returned and spoke to them as soon as he could.
Joseph had Simeon taken away from them, and bound up and fettered before their eyes.
Then Joseph ordered that their bags be filled with grain, and each man’s silver returned likewise,
And that they should be given provisions for their journey. Joseph’s men did so for them.
Then they loaded their rations onto their donkeys, and departed from that place. But then,
As one opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the night camp, there in his pack
Was his silver. He said to his brothers, “My silver has been given back, in my sack!”
Their hearts gave way, and they trembled to one another, saying, “What has God done to us?”
They came home to their father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, bearing Egypt’s surplus.
They recounted all that had befallen them, saying, “The man, governor of the land,
Spoke harshly with us, since he mistook us for spies and thought some evil deeds we had planned.
Now we said to him, ‘We are honest, we have never been spies. We are twelve, brothers all,
Sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is in Canaan, at father’s call.’
Then the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘Here’s how I’ll tell if you are honest men:
Leave one of you brothers here with me, and bring food to your household to face the famine.
But bring your youngest brother back to me, so that I may know you are honest, not spies.
Then I will give your brother back to you, you may travel as you see best in your eyes.’”

But when all of them emptied their sacks, there was each man’s pouch of silver, filled and unlightened.
They looked at their pouches full of silver, both they and their father, and then became frightened.
Then their father Jacob said to them, “Why is it always me that you boys must bereave?
Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and now for Benjamin you would have me grieve!
All this has come upon me.” Reuben said to his father, “My two sons you may destroy
If I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I’ll return you the boy.”
But he said, “My son is not to go down with you, for his brother is already dead.
And he is left alone. Should some harm befall him on the path which you now wish to tread,
You will send down to Sheol (down to the grave) in sorrow every gray hair on my head.”

Genesis 41

Pharaoh had a dream after two years that he was standing out by the stream of the Nile,
When out of the Nile came seven cows, fat of flesh, fair to look at, sturdy, and virile.
The cows grazed in the reed grass, but then seven other cows came from the Nile close behind,
Ill to look at and lean of flesh, these new cows stood on the Nile’s bank near the first kind.
Then the ugly and skinny cows ate up the seven cows sturdy and fair to look at.
Pharaoh woke from this dream, but then he fell asleep to dream a second time after that:
Seven ears of grain, solid and healthy, grew on one stalk. Seven more ears sprung up near,
But the seven new ears of grain had been scorched by the east wind, and so they were lean ears.
Then the lean ears devoured the seven full ears. Pharaoh awoke: It was all a dream!
But in the morning his spirit was agitated, so he sent throughout his regime
To have all the wise-men and magicians of Egypt brought in to give interpretation.
Pharaoh told his dream to them, but none of them could find meaning or present revelation.

Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh and said, “Now of my faults I must make admission.
At one point Pharaoh was angry with his servants, placed me in custody in his prison,
In the house of the captain of the guard, myself and the chief baker. And we both dreamt.
That one night we each dreamt dreams with their own meanings, but to understand, failed our attempt.
Now a young Hebrew lad was in there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard.
When we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us, (which we had both found too hard).
He told each of us what our dreams meant. And it was just as he interpreted to us:
I was restored to my position, and the other was hanged and is now a carcass.”
Pharaoh sent and had Joseph called. They rushed him out of the dungeon. He shaved, changed his clothes,
Then he came before Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said, “I dreamt a dream. What it means, no one knows.
But I heard it said of you that when you hear a dream, you can give an interpretation.”
Joseph answered, “Not I! God will answer what is good for Pharaoh in this situation.”
Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the Nile’s bank, when behold,
Out of the Nile came seven cows, fat of flesh, fair of form,” (their good health he extolled,)
“And they grazed in the reed grass. And then seven other cows came from the Nile close behind,
And these new seven were scrawny, ill, and ugly. In all Egypt, I’ve not seen their kind.
I had never seen any in such ill-condition, and then the ill cows ate the strong,
But when they ate the first cows, you could not tell, because they looked as ill as all along.
Then I woke. I saw also in my dream, on one stalk grew seven healthy ears of grain,
And then seven more stalks, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprung up behind them on the plain.
Then the thin, withered ears ate the seven good ears. Now, I’ve spoken with all my magicians,
But none of them can give me a good explanation. To do so, Joseph, is your mission.”

Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Your two dreams are the same. God has revealed His plan to Pharaoh.
Here, the seven good cows stand for seven years, the seven good ears, seven years also.
The dream is one dream. The seven ugly and lean cows that followed them are seven years,
And the seven ears of grain that were hollow, shriveled, and scorched by the east wind, those ears
Will be seven years of famine! Just as I’ve told Pharaoh, God has revealed his plan:
Here, immediately ahead are seven years of abundance in all Egypt’s land.
After them shall arise seven years of harsh famine, when all abundance is forgotten.
And the famine will ravage the land, with abundance no more. All the crops will grow rotten.
As the land becomes ravaged by famine, no trace of the plenty before shall remain,
For the famine that comes after will be exceedingly heavy, destroying all grain.
Now as for Pharaoh having the same dream twice, it means that God has determined the matter,
And that God will soon carry it out. So now let Pharaoh save Egypt from being shattered.
Now let Pharaoh select a discreet and wise man, set him over the land of Egypt.
And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers for the land who are well-equipped,
To take one fifth of all Egypt’s produce in the seven years when plenty fills the land.
Let them gather the food of these good years ahead, and pile it up under Pharaoh’s hand.
All the food will be stored in the cities, and kept under guard, to act as a reserve
So that during the seven year famine that strikes Egypt, we’ll live on food we’ve preserved.”
Joseph’s plan was deemed good by Pharaoh and his servants. Pharaoh said to his servants, “Well,
Could we find us another man like him, a man in whom the spirit of God would dwell?”
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God made this known to you, there are none as wise as you.
You shall be the one over my house, and my servants will do as you tell them to do.
Only by the throne shall I be greater than you.” Pharaoh to Joseph said one more thing,
“See, I put you in charge of the land of Egypt!” Then Pharaoh removed his signet-ring;
He took it from his hand, placed it on Joseph’s hand, and had him dressed in fine linen clothes,
And then put a gold chain on his neck, had him mount the second chariot of Pharaoh’s,
And they called out before him, “Abrek!” (which can mean “Attention!” or sometimes “Bow the knee!”)
So it was that Pharaoh placed Joseph over all the land of Egypt to oversee.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your leave, no man in the area
Of Egypt shall raise hand or foot.” Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name “Zaphenath Paneah”
(Which means “God speaks and He lives”). Pharaoh gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera,
Priest of On, as a wife. So Joseph’s influence went out over Egypt in that era.
Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.
Joseph went out from Pharaoh’s presence and went through all the land of Egypt, well-equipped.
During the seven years of abundance, the land produced plenty. He gathered the grain,
And collected all kinds of provisions from those seven years which graced Egypt’s domain.
He stored grain in each city, and put in the city the grain from the fields around it.
Joseph piled up grain, like the sand of the sea, until there were too many to count it.
Now Joseph fathered two sons by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On,
Before the years of famine came. Joseph gave the name of “Manasseh” to the firstborn,
(Which translates as “He Who Makes Forget”) meaning, “God made me forget all of my hardships,
And all my father’s house.” And he named the second “Ephraim” (“Double Fruit”) from his lips,
Meaning, “God has made me bear fruit in the land of my affliction.” The seven years ended,
And abundance in Egypt gave way to a seven year famine, as Joseph portended.
A great famine struck in all the lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread throughout.
But when even all Egypt’s lands felt famine, for bread the people to Pharaoh cried out.
Pharaoh said to all of the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, whatever he tells you, do!”
So when famine had spread through the land, Joseph opened the storehouses where grain accrued.
He gave rations to all the Egyptians, since famine in Egypt was slow gaining strength.
And all lands came to Egypt for rations, to Joseph, since famine had struck the world’s length.

Genesis 40

Some time later, the cupbearer and baker of Egypt’s king had both given offense
To their lord, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, and hence,
He took his chief cupbearer and chief baker, and had them taken into custody
In the house of the captain of the guard, the same dungeon where Joseph happened to be.
The guard captain appointed Joseph to attend them. In custody, they spent much time,
And the two of them– both the cupbearer and baker of Pharaoh who had been confined–
They both had dreams, each man with his own dream that had its own meaning on that single night.
When Joseph came to them in the morning and saw them, their depression was in plain sight.
He asked Pharaoh’s officials, in custody with him, “Why do you appear sad today?”
They replied, “We have dreamt dreams, and there’s no intepreter to tell us what the dreams say.”
Joseph said to them, “Are not all interpretations from God? Pray, tell your dreams to me.”
The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph. He said, “In my dream, a vine I did see.
There was a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches each with winding shapes,
And just as it was budding, the blossoms came out, and the clusters ripened into grapes.
Then the Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand. I picked the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup,
And put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Joseph said to him, “Here’s what your dream means, listen up:
The three branches are three days, in three days Pharaoh will lift up your head, your post restored,
And you shall again place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, like you did as cupbearer before.
But please keep me in mind when it goes well for you, kindly mention my name to Pharaoh,
So that you will free me from this place. For in truth, I was kidnapped– stolen!– long ago,
From the land of the Hebrews. And here too I’ve done nothing to merit a dungeon stay.”
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he decided to say,
“I also had a dream of that type. On my head were three wicker baskets of bread,
And in the topmost basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh. But then the birds fed!
The birds ate the food out of the basket atop my head.” Joseph then gave his reply,
“Here’s the interpretation: The three baskets are three days, and when three days have gone by,
Pharaoh will lift up your head– from off of your body!– and then hang you up from a tree,
And the birds will all pick at your flesh.” On the third day, Pharaoh’s birthday, it came to be
That he held a great banquet for all of his servants, and lifted the heads of a pair:
His chief cupbearer and his chief baker were singled out from all of those who were there.
He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearership, to put the cup once again
In the hand of Pharoah. But the chief baker he hanged, all just as Joseph told the men.
It all happened according to what Joseph gave as interpretations from their dreams.
But the cupbearer did not keep Joseph in mind, he forgot his promise to redeem.