Genesis (The Beginning)
Chapters 46-50
Jacob’s Journey to Egypt 46[1-4] So Israel began traveling toward Egypt with everything that he owned and came to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. Then God spoke to him in the dreams of the night, saying, “Jacob! Jacob!” And Jacob said, “Here I am.” Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt, because I’m going to make your family into a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt, and I’ll bring you back again. And Joseph will close your eyes when you die.” [5-7] So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt, carrying him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had given them. They took all their animals and everything they had gotten in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants. He brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, and all the rest of his descendants with him to Egypt.
[8-15] These are the names of the children of Israel, the sons of Jacob, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s first son. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, along with their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three. [16-18] The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah, their sister. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel. These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant Laban gave to Leah, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen. [19-22] The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph’s sons, who born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On had. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Rachel was fourteen. [23-25] The son of Dan was Hushim. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Bilhah was seven. [26-27] All those who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, not counting his sons’ wives, were sixty-six people. And Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt. Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen [28-34] Then Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and point the way to the land of Goshen. So they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father, Israel. When Joseph got there, he hugged his father and cried on his shoulder for a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I’ve seen your face again and know you’re still alive.” And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s whole family, “I’ll go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s whole family have come to me from the land of Canaan. These men are shepherds, and they raise animals and have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’” Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks what you do, you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised animals all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he’ll let you live here in the land of Goshen, because shepherds are hated by the Egyptians.” Jacob Blesses Pharaoh 47[1-6] Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan and have brought all their flocks and herds and possessions with them, and are now in the land of Goshen.” Joseph took five of his brothers with him and brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What do you do?” So they said, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. We have come to live here in Egypt, as there’s no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The drought is very bad there. So please, let us live in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come here, too, choose the best part of land of Egypt for them to live in. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know that any of them are very good at what they do, put them in charge of my animals, too.” [7-12] Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, in to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” So Jacob said, “I’ve traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But the days of my life have been few and evil compared to the lives of my ancestors.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and left him. So Joseph gave the best of land of Egypt, in the land of Rameses, to his father and his brothers to live in, just as Pharaoh had said. And Joseph gave food to his father and his brothers, and enough for all their families. Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine [13-17] Now the lack of food became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. So Joseph took in all the money in Egypt and Canaan by selling grain to the people, and he put the money into Pharaoh’s treasury. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, “Please give us food, or we’ll die right here in front of you! All our money is gone!” So Joseph said, “Since your money is gone, bring me your animals. I’ll give you food in exchange for your animals.” So they brought their animals to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph gave them food for another year. [18-22] But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We can’t hide the truth from you. Our money is gone, and all our animals and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. Why should we die right here in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we give our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the drought was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he moved them all into the cities, from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he didn’t buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received their food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land. [23-28] Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I’ll provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.” So they said, “You’ve saved our lives! May it please you to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” Then Joseph made it a law in the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should get one-fifth of all the crops grown on the land, except what belonged to the priests, which was not given to Pharaoh. So the people of Israel lived in the land of Goshen in Egypt. They were given homes, and the number of their people quickly grew. And Jacob lived for seventeen years after he came to Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all. [29-31] As the time of Jacob’s death drew near, he called for his son, Joseph, and said to him, “If I have pleased you, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you’ll treat me honestly and with kindness. Please, don’t bury me in Egypt, but bury me with my ancestors. You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” So Joseph promised, “I’ll do as you ask.” Then Jacob said, “Promise that you’ll do it.” So Joseph gave his promise, and Israel bowed humbly at the head of his bed. Jacob Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim 48[1-7] Later after this, Joseph was told, “Your father really is dying.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Joseph got there, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, ‘I’ll make you fruitful, and I’ll make you have many descendants. And I’ll give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ Now I am claiming as mine these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I came here. They’ll be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. But any children born to you later will be your own, and they’ll be given part of the land in the land of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh. As for me, when I came from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, when we were still on the way, only a little way from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” [8-11] Then Israel saw the two boys, and said, “Are these your sons?” Joseph told him, “Yes, these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, and I will bless them.” Now Jacob was almost blind because of his age and couldn’t see well. Then Joseph brought the boys to him, and Jacob kissed and hugged them. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!” [12-13] Then Joseph brought the boys to their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he brought the boys closer to Jacob, with his right hand he put Ephraim at Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob purposefully crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the first.
[15-16] Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May God, before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has fed me all my life, to this day, the Angel who has saved me from all evil, may he bless these boys. May they take my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may they have many descendants throughout the earth.” [17-22] But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. He said, “No, father, this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” But his father said, “No. I know, my son; I know. Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become many nations.” So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing, saying, ‘May God make you as great as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. And I am giving you an extra share more than what I’ve given your brothers, of the land that I took from the Amorites with my weapons.” Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons 49[1-2] Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I’ll tell you what will happen to each of you in the last days. “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. [3-4] “Reuben, you’re my firstborn, my power, the first of my strength and youth. You’re pride and power are great. But you’re as troubled as water, and you won’t do well because you went to bed with my wife and defiled my marriage bed. [5-7] “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; weapons of violence are in their homes. My soul will never accept their judgment; My honor will never take part in their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and crippled animals in the selfishness. A curse will be on their anger, for it’s fierce; a curse will be on their wrath, for it’s cruel. I’ll divide them among the descendants of Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel. [8-12] “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You’ll grab your enemies by the neck. All your family will bow before you. Judah, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he bows and lies down; And as a lion, who would dare to wake him? The ruler’s staff won’t leave from Judah’s people, nor a lawgiver from his descendants, until the coming of the One to whom it belongs, the One whom all nations will obey. Tying a foal to a grapevine, the colt of a donkey to a choice vine, this One’s clothes and robes will be washed in wine, and dipped in the blood of grapes, whose eyes are darker than wine, and teeth are whiter than milk. [13] “Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will go to Sidon. [14-15] “Issachar is a strong donkey, resting between two heavy packs. He saw that rest is good and how pleasing the land is, so he’ll put his shoulder under the load and become a bunch of hard workers. [16-18] “Dan will rule his people, like one of the family groups in Israel. Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous snake along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off. I trust you to save me, O God! [19] “Gad will be attacked by raiding soldiers, but he’ll beat them at last. [20] “Asher will have rich foods and will make food fit for rulers. [21] “Naphtali is a deer set free that uses beautiful words. [22-26] “Joseph is a fruitful branch, a fruitful branch by the water, his branches run over the wall. Archers have cruelly attacked him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained tight, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the shepherd, the Rock of Israel. The God of your father will help you; The Almighty will bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and the blessings of the waters below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. The blessings of your father have been more than the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the farthest boundaries of the eternal hills. They will rest on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the one who was separated from his brothers. [27] “Benjamin is a starving wolf, killing his enemies in the morning and taking what he has gotten in the evening.” [28] These are the twelve families of Israel, and this is what their father said as he blessed them. He blessed each one with his own blessing. Jacob’s Death and Burial [29-33] Then Jacob told them, “ I’m dying and will join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. It’s the field and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” When Jacob had finished saying this to his sons, he laid down in bed, and died, and joined his ancestors. 50[1-5] Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and cried over him and kissed him. Then Joseph told the physicians who served him to embalm his father’s body; so Jacob was embalmed. The embalming took 40 days, which is how long embalming takes. And the Egyptians mourned his death for seventy days. When the time of mourning was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s advisers and said, “If I have pleased you, speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘my father made me make a promise. He said to me, ‘Listen, I am dying. Bury me in the grave I have made for myself in the land of Canaan.’ So please let me go and bury my father, and I’ll come back.” [6-9] So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, as he made you promise.” So Joseph went up to bury his father with by all of Pharaoh’s officials, all the highest people of Pharaoh’s household, and all the highest officers of Egypt. Joseph also took his whole household and his brothers and their households, but left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. A great number of people with horses and chariots went with Joseph. [10-13] When they got to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn memorial service, with the time of mourning for Joseph’s father lasting seven days. The local people, the Canaanites, saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad and said, “This is a place of deep mourning for these Egyptians.” So they renamed that place (which is near the Jordan) Abel-mizraim. So Jacob’s sons did as he had told them. They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. Joseph Reassures His Brothers [14-21] After burying Jacob, Joseph went back to Egypt with his brothers and all who had went with him to his father’s burial. But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “Now Joseph might hate us and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him.” So they sent this message to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died, he told us to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you, for their sin in what they did to you.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph heard the message, he broke down and cried. Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph, saying, “See, we’re your slaves!” But Joseph said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You tried to hurt me, but God meant it for good, in order for it to happen like it is today, to save many people. Now, don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you and your children.” So he put them at ease and spoke kindly to them. The Death of Joseph [22-26] So Joseph and all his family continued to live in Egypt. And Joseph lived to be 110 years old. He lived to see three generations of Ephraim’s descendants, and he lived to see the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he brought up. Then Joseph told his brothers “I’m dying, but God will surely come and lead you out of this land to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel make a promise, and said, “When God comes to lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” So Joseph died at 110 years old. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Genesis 46-50
Genesis (The Beginning)
Chapters 46-50
Jacob’s Journey to Egypt 46[1-4] So Israel began traveling toward Egypt with everything that he owned and came to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. Then God spoke to him in the dreams of the night, saying, “Jacob! Jacob!” And Jacob said, “Here I am.” Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt, because I’m going to make your family into a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt, and I’ll bring you back again. And Joseph will close your eyes when you die.” [5-7] So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt, carrying him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had given them. They took all their animals and everything they had gotten in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants. He brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, and all the rest of his descendants with him to Egypt.
[8-15] These are the names of the children of Israel, the sons of Jacob, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s first son. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, along with their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three. [16-18] The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah, their sister. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel. These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant Laban gave to Leah, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen. [19-22] The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph’s sons, who born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On had. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Rachel was fourteen. [23-25] The son of Dan was Hushim. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Bilhah was seven. [26-27] All those who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, not counting his sons’ wives, were sixty-six people. And Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt. Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen [28-34] Then Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and point the way to the land of Goshen. So they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father, Israel. When Joseph got there, he hugged his father and cried on his shoulder for a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I’ve seen your face again and know you’re still alive.” And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s whole family, “I’ll go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s whole family have come to me from the land of Canaan. These men are shepherds, and they raise animals and have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’” Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks what you do, you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised animals all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he’ll let you live here in the land of Goshen, because shepherds are hated by the Egyptians.” Jacob Blesses Pharaoh 47[1-6] Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan and have brought all their flocks and herds and possessions with them, and are now in the land of Goshen.” Joseph took five of his brothers with him and brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What do you do?” So they said, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. We have come to live here in Egypt, as there’s no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The drought is very bad there. So please, let us live in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come here, too, choose the best part of land of Egypt for them to live in. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know that any of them are very good at what they do, put them in charge of my animals, too.” [7-12] Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, in to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” So Jacob said, “I’ve traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But the days of my life have been few and evil compared to the lives of my ancestors.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and left him. So Joseph gave the best of land of Egypt, in the land of Rameses, to his father and his brothers to live in, just as Pharaoh had said. And Joseph gave food to his father and his brothers, and enough for all their families. Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine [13-17] Now the lack of food became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. So Joseph took in all the money in Egypt and Canaan by selling grain to the people, and he put the money into Pharaoh’s treasury. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, “Please give us food, or we’ll die right here in front of you! All our money is gone!” So Joseph said, “Since your money is gone, bring me your animals. I’ll give you food in exchange for your animals.” So they brought their animals to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph gave them food for another year. [18-22] But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We can’t hide the truth from you. Our money is gone, and all our animals and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. Why should we die right here in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we give our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the drought was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he moved them all into the cities, from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he didn’t buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received their food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land. [23-28] Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I’ll provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.” So they said, “You’ve saved our lives! May it please you to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” Then Joseph made it a law in the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should get one-fifth of all the crops grown on the land, except what belonged to the priests, which was not given to Pharaoh. So the people of Israel lived in the land of Goshen in Egypt. They were given homes, and the number of their people quickly grew. And Jacob lived for seventeen years after he came to Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all. [29-31] As the time of Jacob’s death drew near, he called for his son, Joseph, and said to him, “If I have pleased you, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you’ll treat me honestly and with kindness. Please, don’t bury me in Egypt, but bury me with my ancestors. You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” So Joseph promised, “I’ll do as you ask.” Then Jacob said, “Promise that you’ll do it.” So Joseph gave his promise, and Israel bowed humbly at the head of his bed. Jacob Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim 48[1-7] Later after this, Joseph was told, “Your father really is dying.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Joseph got there, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, ‘I’ll make you fruitful, and I’ll make you have many descendants. And I’ll give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ Now I am claiming as mine these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I came here. They’ll be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. But any children born to you later will be your own, and they’ll be given part of the land in the land of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh. As for me, when I came from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, when we were still on the way, only a little way from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” [8-11] Then Israel saw the two boys, and said, “Are these your sons?” Joseph told him, “Yes, these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, and I will bless them.” Now Jacob was almost blind because of his age and couldn’t see well. Then Joseph brought the boys to him, and Jacob kissed and hugged them. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!” [12-13] Then Joseph brought the boys to their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he brought the boys closer to Jacob, with his right hand he put Ephraim at Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob purposefully crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the first.
[15-16] Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May God, before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has fed me all my life, to this day, the Angel who has saved me from all evil, may he bless these boys. May they take my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may they have many descendants throughout the earth.” [17-22] But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. He said, “No, father, this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” But his father said, “No. I know, my son; I know. Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become many nations.” So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing, saying, ‘May God make you as great as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. And I am giving you an extra share more than what I’ve given your brothers, of the land that I took from the Amorites with my weapons.” Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons 49[1-2] Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I’ll tell you what will happen to each of you in the last days. “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. [3-4] “Reuben, you’re my firstborn, my power, the first of my strength and youth. You’re pride and power are great. But you’re as troubled as water, and you won’t do well because you went to bed with my wife and defiled my marriage bed. [5-7] “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; weapons of violence are in their homes. My soul will never accept their judgment; My honor will never take part in their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and crippled animals in the selfishness. A curse will be on their anger, for it’s fierce; a curse will be on their wrath, for it’s cruel. I’ll divide them among the descendants of Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel. [8-12] “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You’ll grab your enemies by the neck. All your family will bow before you. Judah, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he bows and lies down; And as a lion, who would dare to wake him? The ruler’s staff won’t leave from Judah’s people, nor a lawgiver from his descendants, until the coming of the One to whom it belongs, the One whom all nations will obey. Tying a foal to a grapevine, the colt of a donkey to a choice vine, this One’s clothes and robes will be washed in wine, and dipped in the blood of grapes, whose eyes are darker than wine, and teeth are whiter than milk. [13] “Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will go to Sidon. [14-15] “Issachar is a strong donkey, resting between two heavy packs. He saw that rest is good and how pleasing the land is, so he’ll put his shoulder under the load and become a bunch of hard workers. [16-18] “Dan will rule his people, like one of the family groups in Israel. Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous snake along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off. I trust you to save me, O God! [19] “Gad will be attacked by raiding soldiers, but he’ll beat them at last. [20] “Asher will have rich foods and will make food fit for rulers. [21] “Naphtali is a deer set free that uses beautiful words. [22-26] “Joseph is a fruitful branch, a fruitful branch by the water, his branches run over the wall. Archers have cruelly attacked him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained tight, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the shepherd, the Rock of Israel. The God of your father will help you; The Almighty will bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and the blessings of the waters below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. The blessings of your father have been more than the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the farthest boundaries of the eternal hills. They will rest on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the one who was separated from his brothers. [27] “Benjamin is a starving wolf, killing his enemies in the morning and taking what he has gotten in the evening.” [28] These are the twelve families of Israel, and this is what their father said as he blessed them. He blessed each one with his own blessing. Jacob’s Death and Burial [29-33] Then Jacob told them, “ I’m dying and will join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. It’s the field and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” When Jacob had finished saying this to his sons, he laid down in bed, and died, and joined his ancestors. 50[1-5] Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and cried over him and kissed him. Then Joseph told the physicians who served him to embalm his father’s body; so Jacob was embalmed. The embalming took 40 days, which is how long embalming takes. And the Egyptians mourned his death for seventy days. When the time of mourning was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s advisers and said, “If I have pleased you, speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘my father made me make a promise. He said to me, ‘Listen, I am dying. Bury me in the grave I have made for myself in the land of Canaan.’ So please let me go and bury my father, and I’ll come back.” [6-9] So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, as he made you promise.” So Joseph went up to bury his father with by all of Pharaoh’s officials, all the highest people of Pharaoh’s household, and all the highest officers of Egypt. Joseph also took his whole household and his brothers and their households, but left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. A great number of people with horses and chariots went with Joseph. [10-13] When they got to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn memorial service, with the time of mourning for Joseph’s father lasting seven days. The local people, the Canaanites, saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad and said, “This is a place of deep mourning for these Egyptians.” So they renamed that place (which is near the Jordan) Abel-mizraim. So Jacob’s sons did as he had told them. They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. Joseph Reassures His Brothers [14-21] After burying Jacob, Joseph went back to Egypt with his brothers and all who had went with him to his father’s burial. But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “Now Joseph might hate us and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him.” So they sent this message to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died, he told us to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you, for their sin in what they did to you.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph heard the message, he broke down and cried. Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph, saying, “See, we’re your slaves!” But Joseph said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You tried to hurt me, but God meant it for good, in order for it to happen like it is today, to save many people. Now, don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you and your children.” So he put them at ease and spoke kindly to them. The Death of Joseph [22-26] So Joseph and all his family continued to live in Egypt. And Joseph lived to be 110 years old. He lived to see three generations of Ephraim’s descendants, and he lived to see the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he brought up. Then Joseph told his brothers “I’m dying, but God will surely come and lead you out of this land to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel make a promise, and said, “When God comes to lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” So Joseph died at 110 years old. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Chapters 46-50
Jacob’s Journey to Egypt 46[1-4] So Israel began traveling toward Egypt with everything that he owned and came to Beersheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. Then God spoke to him in the dreams of the night, saying, “Jacob! Jacob!” And Jacob said, “Here I am.” Then God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt, because I’m going to make your family into a great nation there. I’ll go with you down to Egypt, and I’ll bring you back again. And Joseph will close your eyes when you die.” [5-7] So Jacob left Beersheba, and his sons took him to Egypt, carrying him and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had given them. They took all their animals and everything they had gotten in the land of Canaan and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants. He brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, and all the rest of his descendants with him to Egypt.
[8-15] These are the names of the children of Israel, the sons of Jacob, who went to Egypt: Reuben was Jacob’s first son. The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (though Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron. The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These were the sons of Leah and Jacob who were born in Paddan-aram, along with their daughter, Dinah. The number of Jacob’s descendants (male and female) through Leah was thirty-three. [16-18] The sons of Gad were Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah, their sister. Beriah’s sons were Heber and Malkiel. These were the sons of Zilpah, the servant Laban gave to Leah, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Zilpah was sixteen. [19-22] The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. Joseph’s sons, who born in the land of Egypt, were Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On had. Benjamin’s sons were Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. These were the sons of Rachel and Jacob. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Rachel was fourteen. [23-25] The son of Dan was Hushim. The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. These were the sons of Bilhah, the servant Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter. The number of Jacob’s descendants through Bilhah was seven. [26-27] All those who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, not counting his sons’ wives, were sixty-six people. And Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. So altogether, there were seventy members of Jacob’s family in the land of Egypt. Jacob’s Family Arrives in Goshen [28-34] Then Jacob sent Judah ahead to meet Joseph and point the way to the land of Goshen. So they came to the land of Goshen. So Joseph got in his chariot and went to Goshen to meet his father, Israel. When Joseph got there, he hugged his father and cried on his shoulder for a long time. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I’ve seen your face again and know you’re still alive.” And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s whole family, “I’ll go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s whole family have come to me from the land of Canaan. These men are shepherds, and they raise animals and have brought with them their flocks and herds and everything they own.’” Then he said, “When Pharaoh calls for you and asks what you do, you must tell him, ‘We, your servants, have raised animals all our lives, as our ancestors have always done.’ When you tell him this, he’ll let you live here in the land of Goshen, because shepherds are hated by the Egyptians.” Jacob Blesses Pharaoh 47[1-6] Then Joseph went to see Pharaoh and told him, “My father and my brothers have come from the land of Canaan and have brought all their flocks and herds and possessions with them, and are now in the land of Goshen.” Joseph took five of his brothers with him and brought them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What do you do?” So they said, “We, your servants, are shepherds, just like our ancestors. We have come to live here in Egypt, as there’s no pasture for our flocks in Canaan. The drought is very bad there. So please, let us live in the land of Goshen.” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Now that your father and brothers have come here, too, choose the best part of land of Egypt for them to live in. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know that any of them are very good at what they do, put them in charge of my animals, too.” [7-12] Then Joseph brought his father, Jacob, in to Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?” So Jacob said, “I’ve traveled this earth for 130 hard years. But the days of my life have been few and evil compared to the lives of my ancestors.” Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh again and left him. So Joseph gave the best of land of Egypt, in the land of Rameses, to his father and his brothers to live in, just as Pharaoh had said. And Joseph gave food to his father and his brothers, and enough for all their families. Joseph’s Leadership in the Famine [13-17] Now the lack of food became so severe that all the food was used up, and people were starving throughout the lands of Egypt and Canaan. So Joseph took in all the money in Egypt and Canaan by selling grain to the people, and he put the money into Pharaoh’s treasury. When the people of Egypt and Canaan ran out of money, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, “Please give us food, or we’ll die right here in front of you! All our money is gone!” So Joseph said, “Since your money is gone, bring me your animals. I’ll give you food in exchange for your animals.” So they brought their animals to Joseph in exchange for food. In exchange for their horses, flocks of sheep and goats, herds of cattle, and donkeys, Joseph gave them food for another year. [18-22] But that year ended, and the next year they came again and said, “We can’t hide the truth from you. Our money is gone, and all our animals and cattle are yours. We have nothing left to give but our bodies and our land. Why should we die right here in front of you? Buy us and our land in exchange for food; we give our land and ourselves as slaves for Pharaoh. Just give us grain so we may live and not die, and so the land does not become empty.” So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold him their fields because the drought was so severe, and soon all the land belonged to Pharaoh. As for the people, he moved them all into the cities, from one end of Egypt to the other. The only land he didn’t buy was the land belonging to the priests. They received their food directly from Pharaoh, so they didn’t need to sell their land. [23-28] Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I’ve bought you and your land for Pharaoh. I’ll provide you with seed so you can plant the fields. Then when you harvest it, one-fifth of your crop will belong to Pharaoh. You may keep the remaining four-fifths as seed for your fields and as food for you, your households, and your little ones.” So they said, “You’ve saved our lives! May it please you to let us be Pharaoh’s servants.” Then Joseph made it a law in the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should get one-fifth of all the crops grown on the land, except what belonged to the priests, which was not given to Pharaoh. So the people of Israel lived in the land of Goshen in Egypt. They were given homes, and the number of their people quickly grew. And Jacob lived for seventeen years after he came to Egypt, so he lived 147 years in all. [29-31] As the time of Jacob’s death drew near, he called for his son, Joseph, and said to him, “If I have pleased you, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you’ll treat me honestly and with kindness. Please, don’t bury me in Egypt, but bury me with my ancestors. You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” So Joseph promised, “I’ll do as you ask.” Then Jacob said, “Promise that you’ll do it.” So Joseph gave his promise, and Israel bowed humbly at the head of his bed. Jacob Blesses Manasseh and Ephraim 48[1-7] Later after this, Joseph was told, “Your father really is dying.” So Joseph went to visit his father, and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When Joseph got there, Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you.” So Jacob gathered his strength and sat up in bed. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me and said to me, ‘I’ll make you fruitful, and I’ll make you have many descendants. And I’ll give this land of Canaan to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ Now I am claiming as mine these two boys of yours, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born here in the land of Egypt before I came here. They’ll be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. But any children born to you later will be your own, and they’ll be given part of the land in the land of their brothers Ephraim and Manasseh. As for me, when I came from Paddan-aram, Rachel died in the land of Canaan, when we were still on the way, only a little way from Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).” [8-11] Then Israel saw the two boys, and said, “Are these your sons?” Joseph told him, “Yes, these are the sons God has given me here in Egypt.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, and I will bless them.” Now Jacob was almost blind because of his age and couldn’t see well. Then Joseph brought the boys to him, and Jacob kissed and hugged them. Then Jacob said to Joseph, “I never thought I’d see your face again, but now God has let me see your children, too!” [12-13] Then Joseph brought the boys to their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he brought the boys closer to Jacob, with his right hand he put Ephraim at Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob purposefully crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads, putting his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the first.
[15-16] Then he blessed Joseph and said, “May God, before whom my grandfather Abraham and my father, Isaac, walked, the God who has fed me all my life, to this day, the Angel who has saved me from all evil, may he bless these boys. May they take my name and the names of Abraham and Isaac. And may they have many descendants throughout the earth.” [17-22] But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. He said, “No, father, this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” But his father said, “No. I know, my son; I know. Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become many nations.” So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing, saying, ‘May God make you as great as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” So, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. Then Israel said to Joseph, “Look, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to Canaan, the land of your ancestors. And I am giving you an extra share more than what I’ve given your brothers, of the land that I took from the Amorites with my weapons.” Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons 49[1-2] Then Jacob called together all his sons and said, “Gather around me, and I’ll tell you what will happen to each of you in the last days. “Come and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. [3-4] “Reuben, you’re my firstborn, my power, the first of my strength and youth. You’re pride and power are great. But you’re as troubled as water, and you won’t do well because you went to bed with my wife and defiled my marriage bed. [5-7] “Simeon and Levi are two of a kind; weapons of violence are in their homes. My soul will never accept their judgment; My honor will never take part in their plans. For in their anger they murdered men, and crippled animals in the selfishness. A curse will be on their anger, for it’s fierce; a curse will be on their wrath, for it’s cruel. I’ll divide them among the descendants of Jacob and scatter them throughout Israel. [8-12] “Judah, your brothers will praise you. You’ll grab your enemies by the neck. All your family will bow before you. Judah, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he bows and lies down; And as a lion, who would dare to wake him? The ruler’s staff won’t leave from Judah’s people, nor a lawgiver from his descendants, until the coming of the One to whom it belongs, the One whom all nations will obey. Tying a foal to a grapevine, the colt of a donkey to a choice vine, this One’s clothes and robes will be washed in wine, and dipped in the blood of grapes, whose eyes are darker than wine, and teeth are whiter than milk. [13] “Zebulun will live by the seashore and will be a harbor for ships; his borders will go to Sidon. [14-15] “Issachar is a strong donkey, resting between two heavy packs. He saw that rest is good and how pleasing the land is, so he’ll put his shoulder under the load and become a bunch of hard workers. [16-18] “Dan will rule his people, like one of the family groups in Israel. Dan will be a snake beside the road, a poisonous snake along the path that bites the horse’s hooves so its rider is thrown off. I trust you to save me, O God! [19] “Gad will be attacked by raiding soldiers, but he’ll beat them at last. [20] “Asher will have rich foods and will make food fit for rulers. [21] “Naphtali is a deer set free that uses beautiful words. [22-26] “Joseph is a fruitful branch, a fruitful branch by the water, his branches run over the wall. Archers have cruelly attacked him, shot at him and hated him. But his bow remained tight, and his arms were strengthened by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob, by the shepherd, the Rock of Israel. The God of your father will help you; The Almighty will bless you with the blessings of the heavens above, and the blessings of the waters below, and blessings of the breasts and womb. The blessings of your father have been more than the blessings of my ancestors, reaching to the farthest boundaries of the eternal hills. They will rest on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the one who was separated from his brothers. [27] “Benjamin is a starving wolf, killing his enemies in the morning and taking what he has gotten in the evening.” [28] These are the twelve families of Israel, and this is what their father said as he blessed them. He blessed each one with his own blessing. Jacob’s Death and Burial [29-33] Then Jacob told them, “ I’m dying and will join my ancestors. Bury me with my father and grandfather in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. This is the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial place. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried. There Isaac and his wife, Rebekah, are buried. And there I buried Leah. It’s the field and the cave that my grandfather Abraham bought from the Hittites.” When Jacob had finished saying this to his sons, he laid down in bed, and died, and joined his ancestors. 50[1-5] Joseph threw himself on his father’s face and cried over him and kissed him. Then Joseph told the physicians who served him to embalm his father’s body; so Jacob was embalmed. The embalming took 40 days, which is how long embalming takes. And the Egyptians mourned his death for seventy days. When the time of mourning was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s advisers and said, “If I have pleased you, speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘my father made me make a promise. He said to me, ‘Listen, I am dying. Bury me in the grave I have made for myself in the land of Canaan.’ So please let me go and bury my father, and I’ll come back.” [6-9] So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, as he made you promise.” So Joseph went up to bury his father with by all of Pharaoh’s officials, all the highest people of Pharaoh’s household, and all the highest officers of Egypt. Joseph also took his whole household and his brothers and their households, but left their little children and flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. A great number of people with horses and chariots went with Joseph. [10-13] When they got to the threshing floor of Atad, near the Jordan River, they held a very great and solemn memorial service, with the time of mourning for Joseph’s father lasting seven days. The local people, the Canaanites, saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad and said, “This is a place of deep mourning for these Egyptians.” So they renamed that place (which is near the Jordan) Abel-mizraim. So Jacob’s sons did as he had told them. They carried his body to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. Joseph Reassures His Brothers [14-21] After burying Jacob, Joseph went back to Egypt with his brothers and all who had went with him to his father’s burial. But now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers said, “Now Joseph might hate us and pay us back for all the wrong we did to him.” So they sent this message to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died, he told us to say to you: ‘Please forgive your brothers for the great wrong they did to you, for their sin in what they did to you.’ So we, the servants of the God of your father, beg you to forgive our sin.” When Joseph heard the message, he broke down and cried. Then his brothers came and threw themselves down before Joseph, saying, “See, we’re your slaves!” But Joseph said, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You tried to hurt me, but God meant it for good, in order for it to happen like it is today, to save many people. Now, don’t be afraid. I’ll take care of you and your children.” So he put them at ease and spoke kindly to them. The Death of Joseph [22-26] So Joseph and all his family continued to live in Egypt. And Joseph lived to be 110 years old. He lived to see three generations of Ephraim’s descendants, and he lived to see the children of Manasseh’s son Makir, whom he brought up. Then Joseph told his brothers “I’m dying, but God will surely come and lead you out of this land to the land that was promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Then Joseph made the sons of Israel make a promise, and said, “When God comes to lead you back, you must take my bones with you.” So Joseph died at 110 years old. The Egyptians embalmed him, and his body was put in a coffin in Egypt.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Genesis 41-45
Genesis
Chapters 41-45
Pharaoh’s Two Dreams 41[1-4] Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and feed in the grass. Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were weak and skinny. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. Then the weak and skinny cows ate all the seven healthy, fat cows! Then Pharaoh woke up. [5-7] But he fell asleep again and had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and good, all growing on one stalk. Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were dried-up and shrunken by the east wind. And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, good heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream. [8-13] In the morning, Pharaoh was very upset by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, no one could tell him what they meant. Finally, the ruler’s chief cup-bearer spoke up, saying, “I’m reminded of my fault, today. When you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the great house of the captain of the guard, one night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had a different meaning. There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my place as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was killed and hung on a pole.” [14-16] Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the prison. He shaved and changed his clothes, and then went in to the Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that you can understand a dream and explain it.” Then Joseph said, “It’s not in my power, but God will tell you what it means and give you peace.”
[17-24] So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream, saying, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and feed in the grass. But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, weak and skinny, come up after them, such sorry-looking animals as I’ve ever seen in all the land of Egypt. These thin, skinny cows ate the seven fat cows, but no one would have known it, for they were still as skinny as before! Then I woke up. Then I fell asleep again, and I had another dream. This time I saw seven heads of grain, plump and good, all growing on one stalk. Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were dried up and shrunken by the east wind. And the thin heads swallowed the seven good heads. Then I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.” [25-32] Then Joseph answered, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has shown Pharaoh what’s about to happen. Both the seven good cows and the seven good heads of grain are seven very good years. The seven weak and skinny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain dried up by the east wind are seven years of no harvest. This will happen just as I’ve told you, for God has shown Pharaoh what’s about to happen. For seven years there will be a time of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt, but afterward there will be seven years of no harvest, and all the plenty will be forgotten in Egypt. A great famine will ruin the land. So all the good years will be forgotten because of the seven years following them, the famine will be so terrible. And the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh because it’s God’s doing and it’s going to happen very soon. [33-36] “So, you, Pharaoh, should find an understanding and smart man and put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then you should set supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food in the good years that are coming and store it in the cities under your control. Then that food will be saved for the seven years of no harvests that are coming to the land of Egypt and the land will be saved.” Joseph Made Ruler Over Egypt [37-40] So Pharaoh and all his officials liked what Joseph had said. Then Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this, a man who has the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown all this to you, no one else is as understanding or as smart as you’re. You’ll be ruler of my house, and all my people will be ruled by whatever you say. Only I will be greater than you because I sit on the throne.” [41-44] Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I’ve put you in control of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from off his hand and put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave him fine linen clothes and a gold chain was hung around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the second chariot following his and they shouted out as he went, “Bow down on your knees!” So Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over all of Egypt and Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, and no one will lift a hand or a foot in the whole land of Egypt without your saying so.” [45-49] Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, Asenath, who was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph was the overseer of the whole land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he began serving the Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. And when Joseph left from the Pharaoh’s court, he went and looked over the whole land of Egypt. And for seven years the land produced bountiful crops. So Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt in the first seven years and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. The amount of grain that Joseph gathered was like the sand on the seashore, too much to count.
[50-57] Before the years of no harvests came, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Joseph named his older son Manasseh, and said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim, and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles.” Then the seven years of bountiful crops in the land of Egypt ended and the seven years of no crops began, just as Joseph had said. The crops died in all the surrounding countries as well, but there was still food in Egypt. When the crops failed throughout all the land of Egypt, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. So Pharaoh told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you to do.” The lack of food was everywhere, so Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold the grain to the Egyptians, for all the crops had failed throughout the land of Egypt. And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the crops had failed in all the surrounding countries. Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt 42[1-5] When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just looking at one another? I’ve heard there’s grain in Egypt, so go down there, and buy grain so that we will live and not die.” So Joseph’s ten older brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. But Jacob didn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, saying, “Something bad might happen to him.” So Jacob’s sons went to Egypt along with the other people who were going to buy food, because the crops had failed in Canaan.
[6-10] Since Joseph was ruler over all of Egypt and sold the grain to all the people, his brothers came to him and bowed down with their faces to the ground in front of him. Joseph recognized his brothers, but he acted like a stranger and spoke to them harshly. Joseph asked, “Where are you from?” So they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them, so he said to them, “You’re all spies! You’ve come to see how bare our land is.” [10-13] They said to him, “No, Pharaoh! Your servants have come to buy food. We’re all brothers, the sons of one man. We’re honest men and not spies!” But Joseph said, “Yes, you’re! You’ve come to see how bare our land is.” So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is with our father now, and one isn’t with us anymore.” [14-17] But Joseph said again, “As I said, you’re spies! So I’ll test you in this way. By the life of Pharaoh, you’ll never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here! One of you must go and get him and the rest of you will be kept here in prison to find out whether or not what you say is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if not, then I’ll know you’re spies.” So Joseph put them all in prison together for three days.
[18-20] On the third day Joseph said to them, “I know God. If you do what I say, you’ll live. If you’re honest men, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you, go and carry grain to your hungry families. When you bring your youngest brother back to me, this will prove that you’re telling the truth, and you’ll not die.” And they did so.
[21-24]Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we’re guilty for what we did to Joseph. We saw how upset he was when he begged us, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.” Then Reuben asked, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy and you wouldn’t listen? And now we have to pay for his blood!” They didn’t know that Joseph understood them, because he used an interpreter to speak to them. Joseph turned away from them and cried. Then he came back and spoke to them again. Then he took Simeon from among them and had him tied up right in front of them.
[25-28] Then Joseph ordered his servants to fill their sacks with grain, and to put each brother’s money back in the top of his sack and to give them supplies for their journey home. So they loaded their donkeys with grain and left there. But when they camped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, and saw his money in the top of his sack. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been put back in my sack!” Then their hearts sank and they said to one another, “What has God done to us?” [29-34] When they came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, “The man who’s ruler of the land spoke very harshly to us and said we were spies in the country. But we said, ‘We’re honest men, not spies. We’re twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man who’s ruler of the land told us, “If you’re honest men, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you, go and carry grain to your hungry families. When you bring your youngest brother back to me, this will prove that you’re telling the truth, and you’ll not die. Then I’ll give your brother back to you, and you may trade freely in the land.’” [35-38] Then as they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! When they and their father saw them, they were all very scared. Then Jacob said to them, “You’re taking all my children away from me! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!” Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my own two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. If you put him in my hands, I’ll bring him back to you.” But Jacob said, “My son won’t go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he’s the only one left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you’d bring my gray-hair down to the grave in sorrow.”
The Brothers Go Back to Egypt 43[1-5] The lack of food continued throughout the land of Canaan. When the grain they had brought from Egypt was gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” But Judah said, “The man strongly warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you send Benjamin with us, we’ll go down and buy more food. But if you don’t let him go, we won’t go. The man said to us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’” [6-10] Then Israel said, “Why did you do me so wrong and tell him you had another brother?” So they said, “The man clearly asked about us and our family, asking, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered him honestly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here?’” Then Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll go, so we’ll all live and not die both you and us, and our little ones. I will personally keep him safe. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you, and I will be the blame forever. If we hadn’t waited all this time, we would have gone and come back the second time by now.” [11-14] So their father, Jacob, said to them, “If it must be this way, then do this. Pack some of the best fruits of this land. Take them as a gift for the man. Take some balm, and a little honey, some spices, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Also take double the money of what was put back in your sacks, as it might have been a mistake. Take your brother, too, and go back to the man. May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he’ll release Simeon and Benjamin, too. But if I must lose them, then I lose them.” [15-18] So the men packed the gifts and Benjamin and took double the money. When they got to Egypt they went to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “Take these men to my home and then go kill an animal and cook it. These men will eat with me at noon.” So the man did as Joseph told him and took them into Joseph’s house. The brothers were very afraid when they saw that they were being taken into Joseph’s house. They said, “It’s because of the money that was put in our sacks the first time we were here, so that he can accuse us and take us, to make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” A Feast at Joseph’s Great house [19-25] So the brothers went to the manager of Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the doorway to the great house, saying, “Sir, we came to Egypt once before to buy food. But as we were going back home, we camped for the night and opening our sacks we found each man’s money, the full price, in the top of his sack! We have brought it back with us, and have more money to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in our sacks.” So the household manager told them “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, put the treasure into your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to meet them. He brought them into Joseph’s great house and gave them water to wash their feet and fed their donkeys. Then they got their gifts ready for Joseph, because they had been told they would eat with him at noon.
Joseph Comes at Noon. [26-31] When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought him, then bowed down on the ground to him. Then he asked how they were doing and asked, “How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?” So they said, “Yes, our father, your servant, is doing well and still alive.” And they bowed down again. Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son.” Then Joseph was about to cry because he had wanted to see his brother for a long time, so he quickly looked for a place to cry. He went to his room, and cried there. After washing his face, he came back out, keeping control of himself and said, “Serve the meal!” [32-34] So they served Joseph at his own table, his brothers at another table, and the Egyptians who ate with Joseph sat at their own table. The Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews because it wasn’t right to them. So they sat where Joseph told them to, and were amazed that he had seated them according to their age, from oldest to youngest. Then Joseph took their plates to them, filled with food from his own table, giving Benjamin five times as much as he gave the rest of them. So they drank and enjoyed themselves with him. Joseph’s Silver Cup 44[1-2] Joseph told the manager of his house, “Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man’s money back into the top of his sack. Then put my own silver cup at the top of my youngest brother’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” So the manager did what Joseph told him. [3-5] At dawn the brothers were sent on their way with their loaded donkeys. But when they had left the city and had gone only a little way, Joseph said to the manager, “Chase after them and when you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup, which he drinks from and uses to tell the future? You’ve done an evil thing!’” [6-10] When the manager caught up with them, he said to them what he had been told. “Why would he say such a thing?” the brothers answered. “We would never do such a thing! Didn’t we bring back the money we found in our sacks from the land of Canaan? Then how could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? Let the man die who has your master’s cup, and all the rest of us will be his slaves.” So the manager said, “It will be as you say, but only the one who stole the cup will be my master’s slave and the rest of you may go free.” [11-13] Quickly they all put their sacks down on the ground and opened them. He searched all their sacks, from the oldest to the youngest and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then the brothers were so upset that they tore their clothes and loaded their donkeys again and went back to the city. [14-17] Joseph was still in his house when Judah and his brothers got there, so they fell to the ground at his feet. Then Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Don’t you know that a man like me can tell the future?” Then Judah answered, “What can we say to you? What words can we say to clear ourselves? God has found out our sins, so we have all come back to be your slaves, both us and the one who had your cup.” Then Joseph said, “I’d never do that! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace.” Judah Speaks for His Brothers [18-23] Then Judah stepped up closer and said, “Please, let your servant have a word with you and don’t be angry with me, even though you’re like the Pharaoh himself. “You asked us, your servants, ‘Do you’ve a father or a brother?’ And we answered, ‘Yes, we have a father who’s an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’ “And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’ But we said to you, ‘The boy can’t leave his father, or his father would die.’ But you told us, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you’ll never see my face again.’ [24-34] “So we went back to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said. Later, when he said, ‘Go back again and buy us some more food,’ we said, ‘We can’t go unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We’ll never get to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ “Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife had two sons, and one of them went away and never came back. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I’ve never seen him since. Now if you take his brother away from me, and anything happens to him, you’ll send this gray-headed man with sorrow to his grave.’ “And now, I can’t go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life and if he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will in fact be responsible for sending that gray-headed man to his grave in sorrow. I promised my father that I’d take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I’ll take the blame forever.’ “So please, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the sorrow this would cause my father!” Joseph Reveals His Identity 45[1-3] Joseph couldn’t keep from crying in front of all the people in the room any longer so he cried out to his guards, “Make everyone leave me!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and word of it quickly came to Pharaoh’s great house. Then he said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word they were so shocked when they knew who he was.
[4-8] And Joseph said, “Please, come closer to me.” So they came closer and he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me here. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to save lives. This lack of food that has hurt the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither planting nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to save you and your families for the future and to save your lives in a great way. So it was not you who sent me here, but God, who’s the One who made me a counselor to Pharaoh and the manager of his whole house and the ruler of all Egypt. [9-15] “Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me ruler over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me now and don’t wait! You can live in the area of Goshen, where you can be near me with all of your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. I’ll take care of you there, or you, your household, and all your animals will starve. There’s still five more years with a lack of food.” Then Joseph added, “Look! You and my brother Benjamin can see for yourselves that it is me who speaks to you! Go tell my father of all my fame and wealth here in Egypt. Tell him everything you’ve seen, and then quickly bring my father here.” Then he hugged Benjamin’s neck and cried, and Benjamin hugged his neck and cried. Then Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried over them, and after that they talked freely with him. Pharaoh Invites Jacob to Egypt [16-20] The news soon reached Pharaoh’s great house: “Joseph’s brothers have come!” Pharaoh and his officials were very pleased to hear this. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals, and go back to the land of Canaan. Then get your father and all of your families, and come back here to me. I’ll give you the very best land in Egypt, and you’ll eat from the best of the land. Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here. Don’t worry about all your things, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” [21-23] So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them with wagons, as Pharaoh had said, and supplies for the journey. And he gave each of them new clothes, but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 silver coins. He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for his journey. [24-28] So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, “Don’t worry about all this along the way!” So they left Egypt and went back to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! And he’s ruler of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob’s heart skipped a beat at the news, because he couldn’t believe it! But when they told Jacob everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw all the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirit revived. Then Israel said, “It’s enough that my son Joseph is still alive and I’ll go and see him before I die!”
Chapters 41-45
Pharaoh’s Two Dreams 41[1-4] Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and feed in the grass. Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were weak and skinny. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. Then the weak and skinny cows ate all the seven healthy, fat cows! Then Pharaoh woke up. [5-7] But he fell asleep again and had another dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and good, all growing on one stalk. Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were dried-up and shrunken by the east wind. And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, good heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream. [8-13] In the morning, Pharaoh was very upset by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, no one could tell him what they meant. Finally, the ruler’s chief cup-bearer spoke up, saying, “I’m reminded of my fault, today. When you were angry with the chief baker and me, and you imprisoned us in the great house of the captain of the guard, one night the chief baker and I each had a dream, and each dream had a different meaning. There was a young Hebrew man with us in the prison who was a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he told us what each of our dreams meant. And everything happened just as he had predicted. I was restored to my place as cup-bearer, and the chief baker was killed and hung on a pole.” [14-16] Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the prison. He shaved and changed his clothes, and then went in to the Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one can tell me what it means. But I’ve heard that you can understand a dream and explain it.” Then Joseph said, “It’s not in my power, but God will tell you what it means and give you peace.”
[17-24] So Pharaoh told Joseph his dream, saying, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River, and I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and feed in the grass. But then I saw seven sick-looking cows, weak and skinny, come up after them, such sorry-looking animals as I’ve ever seen in all the land of Egypt. These thin, skinny cows ate the seven fat cows, but no one would have known it, for they were still as skinny as before! Then I woke up. Then I fell asleep again, and I had another dream. This time I saw seven heads of grain, plump and good, all growing on one stalk. Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were dried up and shrunken by the east wind. And the thin heads swallowed the seven good heads. Then I told these dreams to the magicians, but no one could tell me what they mean.” [25-32] Then Joseph answered, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God has shown Pharaoh what’s about to happen. Both the seven good cows and the seven good heads of grain are seven very good years. The seven weak and skinny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain dried up by the east wind are seven years of no harvest. This will happen just as I’ve told you, for God has shown Pharaoh what’s about to happen. For seven years there will be a time of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt, but afterward there will be seven years of no harvest, and all the plenty will be forgotten in Egypt. A great famine will ruin the land. So all the good years will be forgotten because of the seven years following them, the famine will be so terrible. And the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh because it’s God’s doing and it’s going to happen very soon. [33-36] “So, you, Pharaoh, should find an understanding and smart man and put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then you should set supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food in the good years that are coming and store it in the cities under your control. Then that food will be saved for the seven years of no harvests that are coming to the land of Egypt and the land will be saved.” Joseph Made Ruler Over Egypt [37-40] So Pharaoh and all his officials liked what Joseph had said. Then Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this, a man who has the spirit of God?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown all this to you, no one else is as understanding or as smart as you’re. You’ll be ruler of my house, and all my people will be ruled by whatever you say. Only I will be greater than you because I sit on the throne.” [41-44] Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I’ve put you in control of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from off his hand and put it on Joseph’s finger. He gave him fine linen clothes and a gold chain was hung around his neck. Then he had Joseph ride in the second chariot following his and they shouted out as he went, “Bow down on your knees!” So Pharaoh made Joseph ruler over all of Egypt and Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, and no one will lift a hand or a foot in the whole land of Egypt without your saying so.” [45-49] Then Pharaoh gave Joseph a new Egyptian name, Zaphenath-paneah. He also gave him a wife, Asenath, who was the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. So Joseph was the overseer of the whole land of Egypt. Joseph was thirty years old when he began serving the Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. And when Joseph left from the Pharaoh’s court, he went and looked over the whole land of Egypt. And for seven years the land produced bountiful crops. So Joseph gathered all the crops grown in Egypt in the first seven years and stored the grain from the surrounding fields in the cities. The amount of grain that Joseph gathered was like the sand on the seashore, too much to count.
[50-57] Before the years of no harvests came, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. Joseph named his older son Manasseh, and said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son Ephraim, and said, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my troubles.” Then the seven years of bountiful crops in the land of Egypt ended and the seven years of no crops began, just as Joseph had said. The crops died in all the surrounding countries as well, but there was still food in Egypt. When the crops failed throughout all the land of Egypt, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. So Pharaoh told them, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you to do.” The lack of food was everywhere, so Joseph opened up the storehouses and sold the grain to the Egyptians, for all the crops had failed throughout the land of Egypt. And people from all around came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph because the crops had failed in all the surrounding countries. Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt 42[1-5] When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you just looking at one another? I’ve heard there’s grain in Egypt, so go down there, and buy grain so that we will live and not die.” So Joseph’s ten older brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. But Jacob didn’t let Joseph’s younger brother, Benjamin, go with them, saying, “Something bad might happen to him.” So Jacob’s sons went to Egypt along with the other people who were going to buy food, because the crops had failed in Canaan.
[6-10] Since Joseph was ruler over all of Egypt and sold the grain to all the people, his brothers came to him and bowed down with their faces to the ground in front of him. Joseph recognized his brothers, but he acted like a stranger and spoke to them harshly. Joseph asked, “Where are you from?” So they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” Though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. And he remembered the dreams he’d had about them, so he said to them, “You’re all spies! You’ve come to see how bare our land is.” [10-13] They said to him, “No, Pharaoh! Your servants have come to buy food. We’re all brothers, the sons of one man. We’re honest men and not spies!” But Joseph said, “Yes, you’re! You’ve come to see how bare our land is.” So they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man, who lives in the land of Canaan. Our youngest brother is with our father now, and one isn’t with us anymore.” [14-17] But Joseph said again, “As I said, you’re spies! So I’ll test you in this way. By the life of Pharaoh, you’ll never leave Egypt unless your youngest brother comes here! One of you must go and get him and the rest of you will be kept here in prison to find out whether or not what you say is true. By the life of Pharaoh, if not, then I’ll know you’re spies.” So Joseph put them all in prison together for three days.
[18-20] On the third day Joseph said to them, “I know God. If you do what I say, you’ll live. If you’re honest men, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you, go and carry grain to your hungry families. When you bring your youngest brother back to me, this will prove that you’re telling the truth, and you’ll not die.” And they did so.
[21-24]Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we’re guilty for what we did to Joseph. We saw how upset he was when he begged us, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.” Then Reuben asked, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy and you wouldn’t listen? And now we have to pay for his blood!” They didn’t know that Joseph understood them, because he used an interpreter to speak to them. Joseph turned away from them and cried. Then he came back and spoke to them again. Then he took Simeon from among them and had him tied up right in front of them.
[25-28] Then Joseph ordered his servants to fill their sacks with grain, and to put each brother’s money back in the top of his sack and to give them supplies for their journey home. So they loaded their donkeys with grain and left there. But when they camped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, and saw his money in the top of his sack. So he said to his brothers, “My money has been put back in my sack!” Then their hearts sank and they said to one another, “What has God done to us?” [29-34] When they came to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, “The man who’s ruler of the land spoke very harshly to us and said we were spies in the country. But we said, ‘We’re honest men, not spies. We’re twelve brothers, sons of one father. One brother is no longer with us, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’ Then the man who’s ruler of the land told us, “If you’re honest men, choose one of your brothers to stay here in prison. The rest of you, go and carry grain to your hungry families. When you bring your youngest brother back to me, this will prove that you’re telling the truth, and you’ll not die. Then I’ll give your brother back to you, and you may trade freely in the land.’” [35-38] Then as they emptied out their sacks, there in each man’s sack was the bag of money he had paid for the grain! When they and their father saw them, they were all very scared. Then Jacob said to them, “You’re taking all my children away from me! Joseph is gone! Simeon is gone! And now you want to take Benjamin, too. Everything is going against me!” Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my own two sons if I don’t bring Benjamin back to you. If you put him in my hands, I’ll bring him back to you.” But Jacob said, “My son won’t go down with you. His brother Joseph is dead, and he’s the only one left. If anything should happen to him on your journey, you’d bring my gray-hair down to the grave in sorrow.”
The Brothers Go Back to Egypt 43[1-5] The lack of food continued throughout the land of Canaan. When the grain they had brought from Egypt was gone, Jacob said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.” But Judah said, “The man strongly warned us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’ If you send Benjamin with us, we’ll go down and buy more food. But if you don’t let him go, we won’t go. The man said to us, ‘You won’t see my face again unless your brother is with you.’” [6-10] Then Israel said, “Why did you do me so wrong and tell him you had another brother?” So they said, “The man clearly asked about us and our family, asking, ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ So we answered him honestly. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down here?’” Then Judah said to his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll go, so we’ll all live and not die both you and us, and our little ones. I will personally keep him safe. You may hold me responsible if I don’t bring him back to you, and I will be the blame forever. If we hadn’t waited all this time, we would have gone and come back the second time by now.” [11-14] So their father, Jacob, said to them, “If it must be this way, then do this. Pack some of the best fruits of this land. Take them as a gift for the man. Take some balm, and a little honey, some spices, aromatic resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. Also take double the money of what was put back in your sacks, as it might have been a mistake. Take your brother, too, and go back to the man. May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man, so that he’ll release Simeon and Benjamin, too. But if I must lose them, then I lose them.” [15-18] So the men packed the gifts and Benjamin and took double the money. When they got to Egypt they went to Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the manager of his household, “Take these men to my home and then go kill an animal and cook it. These men will eat with me at noon.” So the man did as Joseph told him and took them into Joseph’s house. The brothers were very afraid when they saw that they were being taken into Joseph’s house. They said, “It’s because of the money that was put in our sacks the first time we were here, so that he can accuse us and take us, to make us slaves, and take our donkeys.” A Feast at Joseph’s Great house [19-25] So the brothers went to the manager of Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the doorway to the great house, saying, “Sir, we came to Egypt once before to buy food. But as we were going back home, we camped for the night and opening our sacks we found each man’s money, the full price, in the top of his sack! We have brought it back with us, and have more money to buy food. We don’t know who put our money in our sacks.” So the household manager told them “Don’t be afraid. Your God, the God of your father, put the treasure into your sacks. I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to meet them. He brought them into Joseph’s great house and gave them water to wash their feet and fed their donkeys. Then they got their gifts ready for Joseph, because they had been told they would eat with him at noon.
Joseph Comes at Noon. [26-31] When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought him, then bowed down on the ground to him. Then he asked how they were doing and asked, “How is your father, the old man you spoke about? Is he still alive?” So they said, “Yes, our father, your servant, is doing well and still alive.” And they bowed down again. Then Joseph saw his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about? May God be gracious to you, my son.” Then Joseph was about to cry because he had wanted to see his brother for a long time, so he quickly looked for a place to cry. He went to his room, and cried there. After washing his face, he came back out, keeping control of himself and said, “Serve the meal!” [32-34] So they served Joseph at his own table, his brothers at another table, and the Egyptians who ate with Joseph sat at their own table. The Egyptians couldn’t eat with Hebrews because it wasn’t right to them. So they sat where Joseph told them to, and were amazed that he had seated them according to their age, from oldest to youngest. Then Joseph took their plates to them, filled with food from his own table, giving Benjamin five times as much as he gave the rest of them. So they drank and enjoyed themselves with him. Joseph’s Silver Cup 44[1-2] Joseph told the manager of his house, “Fill each of their sacks with as much grain as they can carry, and put each man’s money back into the top of his sack. Then put my own silver cup at the top of my youngest brother’s sack, along with the money for his grain.” So the manager did what Joseph told him. [3-5] At dawn the brothers were sent on their way with their loaded donkeys. But when they had left the city and had gone only a little way, Joseph said to the manager, “Chase after them and when you catch up with them, ask them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? Why have you stolen my master’s silver cup, which he drinks from and uses to tell the future? You’ve done an evil thing!’” [6-10] When the manager caught up with them, he said to them what he had been told. “Why would he say such a thing?” the brothers answered. “We would never do such a thing! Didn’t we bring back the money we found in our sacks from the land of Canaan? Then how could we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? Let the man die who has your master’s cup, and all the rest of us will be his slaves.” So the manager said, “It will be as you say, but only the one who stole the cup will be my master’s slave and the rest of you may go free.” [11-13] Quickly they all put their sacks down on the ground and opened them. He searched all their sacks, from the oldest to the youngest and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. Then the brothers were so upset that they tore their clothes and loaded their donkeys again and went back to the city. [14-17] Joseph was still in his house when Judah and his brothers got there, so they fell to the ground at his feet. Then Joseph said to them, “What have you done? Don’t you know that a man like me can tell the future?” Then Judah answered, “What can we say to you? What words can we say to clear ourselves? God has found out our sins, so we have all come back to be your slaves, both us and the one who had your cup.” Then Joseph said, “I’d never do that! Only the man who stole the cup will be my slave. The rest of you may go back to your father in peace.” Judah Speaks for His Brothers [18-23] Then Judah stepped up closer and said, “Please, let your servant have a word with you and don’t be angry with me, even though you’re like the Pharaoh himself. “You asked us, your servants, ‘Do you’ve a father or a brother?’ And we answered, ‘Yes, we have a father who’s an old man, and his youngest son is a child of his old age. His full brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him very much.’ “And you said to us, ‘Bring him here so I can see him with my own eyes.’ But we said to you, ‘The boy can’t leave his father, or his father would die.’ But you told us, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you’ll never see my face again.’ [24-34] “So we went back to your servant, our father, and told him what you had said. Later, when he said, ‘Go back again and buy us some more food,’ we said, ‘We can’t go unless you let our youngest brother go with us. We’ll never get to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ “Then my father said to us, ‘As you know, my wife had two sons, and one of them went away and never came back. Doubtless he was torn to pieces by some wild animal. I’ve never seen him since. Now if you take his brother away from me, and anything happens to him, you’ll send this gray-headed man with sorrow to his grave.’ “And now, I can’t go back to my father without the boy. Our father’s life is bound up in the boy’s life and if he sees that the boy is not with us, our father will die. We, your servants, will in fact be responsible for sending that gray-headed man to his grave in sorrow. I promised my father that I’d take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I’ll take the blame forever.’ “So please, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers. For how can I go back to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the sorrow this would cause my father!” Joseph Reveals His Identity 45[1-3] Joseph couldn’t keep from crying in front of all the people in the room any longer so he cried out to his guards, “Make everyone leave me!” So he was alone with his brothers when he told them who he was. Then he cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and word of it quickly came to Pharaoh’s great house. Then he said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers couldn’t say a word they were so shocked when they knew who he was.
[4-8] And Joseph said, “Please, come closer to me.” So they came closer and he said again, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into slavery in Egypt. But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me here. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to save lives. This lack of food that has hurt the land for two years will last five more years, and there will be neither planting nor harvesting. God has sent me ahead of you to save you and your families for the future and to save your lives in a great way. So it was not you who sent me here, but God, who’s the One who made me a counselor to Pharaoh and the manager of his whole house and the ruler of all Egypt. [9-15] “Now hurry back to my father and tell him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me ruler over all the land of Egypt. So come down to me now and don’t wait! You can live in the area of Goshen, where you can be near me with all of your children and grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and everything you own. I’ll take care of you there, or you, your household, and all your animals will starve. There’s still five more years with a lack of food.” Then Joseph added, “Look! You and my brother Benjamin can see for yourselves that it is me who speaks to you! Go tell my father of all my fame and wealth here in Egypt. Tell him everything you’ve seen, and then quickly bring my father here.” Then he hugged Benjamin’s neck and cried, and Benjamin hugged his neck and cried. Then Joseph kissed all his brothers and cried over them, and after that they talked freely with him. Pharaoh Invites Jacob to Egypt [16-20] The news soon reached Pharaoh’s great house: “Joseph’s brothers have come!” Pharaoh and his officials were very pleased to hear this. Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals, and go back to the land of Canaan. Then get your father and all of your families, and come back here to me. I’ll give you the very best land in Egypt, and you’ll eat from the best of the land. Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little children and your wives, and bring your father here. Don’t worry about all your things, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’” [21-23] So the sons of Israel did as they were told. Joseph gave them with wagons, as Pharaoh had said, and supplies for the journey. And he gave each of them new clothes, but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and 300 silver coins. He also sent his father ten male donkeys loaded with the best things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for his journey. [24-28] So Joseph sent his brothers off, and as they left, he called after them, “Don’t worry about all this along the way!” So they left Egypt and went back to their father, Jacob, in the land of Canaan. And they told him, “Joseph is still alive! And he’s ruler of all the land of Egypt!” Jacob’s heart skipped a beat at the news, because he couldn’t believe it! But when they told Jacob everything Joseph had said to them, and when he saw all the wagons Joseph had sent to carry him, their father’s spirit revived. Then Israel said, “It’s enough that my son Joseph is still alive and I’ll go and see him before I die!”
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Holy Bible: Genesis Chapters 36-40
Genesis
Chapters 36-40
The Descendants of Esau 36[1-] This is the story of the descendants of Esau (Who was also called Edom). Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. Aholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. [6-8] Esau took his wives, his children, and his whole household, along with his animals and cattle, everything he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and moved away from his brother, Jacob. There was not enough land to support them both because of all the animals and possessions they had gotten. So Esau (also called Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. [9-13] This is the story of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Timna, the servant wife of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. [14-19] Esau also had sons through Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of different families: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the families of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Esau’s son Reuel became the leaders of the families of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Reuel. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Esau and his wife Aholibamah became the leaders of the families of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the family leaders who descended from Esau’s wife Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah. These are the families descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their family leaders. Original Peoples of Edom [20-30] These are the names of the families that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite family leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan also had a sister named Timna. The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the countryside while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.) The descendants of Anah were his son, Dishon, and his daughter, Aholibamah. The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. So these were the leaders of the Horite families: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite families are named after their family leaders, who lived in the land of Seir. The Rulers of Edom [31-43] These are the rulers who ruled in the land of Edom before anyone ruled over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from the city of Dinhabah. After Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became ruler in his place. After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became ruler in his place. After Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. After Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became ruler in his place. After Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became ruler in his place. After Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became ruler in his place. After Baal-hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. Hadad’s wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. These are the names of the leaders of the families descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Aholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of the families of Edom, listed according to their settlements in the land they occupied. They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites. Joseph the Dreamer 37[1-4] So Jacob lived again in the land of Canaan, where his father was a foreigner. This is the story of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks with his brothers. He worked with his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph told his father the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob, also called Israel, loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob made for Joseph a coat woven with many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than the rest of them, they hated him more and couldn’t speak to him in peace. [5-8] One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to my dream! We were out in the field, gathering up bunches of grain. Suddenly my bunch stood up, and your bunches all gathered around and bowed down to me!” Then his brothers answered, “Do you actually think you’ll be our ruler? Do you actually think you’ll reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and what he said about them. [9-11] Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it, saying, “Listen, I’ve had another dream! This time the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him, saying, “What does this dream of yours mean? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground to you?” So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering what the dreams meant. [12-14] Later, Joseph’s brothers went to feed their father’s flocks at Shechem. So Jacob, also called Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the sheep at Shechem? Come here, and I’ll send you to them.” So Joseph said, “I’m ready.” Then Israel said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me.” So he sent him to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron. [15-17] When he got there, a man from the area saw him wandering around the countryside and asked him, “What are you looking for?” So Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Do you know where they are feeding their sheep?” Then the man told him, “They have left here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph went to look for his brothers in Dothan and found them there. Joseph Sold into Slavery [18-22] When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, before he got close to them, they made plans to kill him. They said, “Here comes the dreamer! “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into a pit. We’ll say, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” But when Reuben heard of their evil plan, he tried to save Joseph’s life and said, “Let’s not kill him. “Don’t shed any blood. Just throw him into this pit out here in the countryside, and don’t lay a hand on him.” He planned to save Joseph from them and bring him back to his father. [23-27] So when Joseph got there, his brothers took the colorful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into an empty pit that had no water. Then, just as they had sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a group of Ishmaelite traders with a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. They were taking a load of spices, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and hiding it? Let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders instead. Let’s not lay a hand on him because he’s our brother, our own flesh and blood!” So his brothers agreed.
[28-30] So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. Later, Reuben came back to get Joseph out of the pit. But when he found that Joseph wasn’t there, he tore his clothes, being very upset. Then he went back to his brothers and cried, “The boy is gone! What will I do?” [31-33] Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. They brought the colorful robe to their father and asked, “We found this. Is this the robe that belongs to your son?” Their father knew it immediately and said, “Yes, it’s my son’s robe. A wild animal has eaten him. Without a doubt, Joseph has been torn to pieces!”
[34-36] Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in mourning clothes, mourning for his son for a very long time. All his family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, “I’ll go down to my grave mourning for my son.” So his father sadly cried for him. In the meantime, the Midianite traders had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the guard. Judah and Tamar 38[1-5] It happened at this time, that Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he stayed with a man named Hirah. There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and married her. When he had sex with her, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. So he named the boy Er. Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, who she named Onan. And when she gave birth to a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they were living at Kezib. [6-10] After some time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. But Yahweh saw that Er was an evil man, and took his life. Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry your brother’s wife Tamar, and give your brother a heir.” But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had sex with his brother’s wife, he withdrew from her and let the semen go on the ground, to keep her from having a child who would belong to his brother. But Yahweh wasn’t pleased with Onan and took his life, too. [11-13] Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her parent’s home. Then some years later Judah’s wife died and after the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to shear the sheep. So someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” [14-18] Tamar knew that Shelah had grown up, but she had not been given to him in marriage. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the town of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. So when Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. So he stopped and made her an offer, saying, “Let me have sex with you,” not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. So she asked, “What will you give to have sex with me?” Tamar asked. So Judah promised, “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock.” Then she said, “But give me something to make sure that you send the goat.” So he asked, “What shall I give you?” And she answered, “Give me your ring to identify you and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her and had sex with her, and she became pregnant by him.
[19-23] So she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing again. Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his promise. But Hirah couldn’t find her. So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting out here beside the road?” But they said, “We’ve never had a prostitute here.” So Hirah went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the town claim they’ve never had a prostitute there.” So Judah said, “Then let her keep the things I gave her or we would be shamed. I sent the young goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t find her.
[24-26] Then about three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute and is pregnant because of what she did.” So Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned to death!” But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things is the one who got me pregnant. Find out whose seal, cord and walking stick these are?” So Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She’s better than I am, because I didn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never had sex with Tamar again. [27-30] When the time came for Tamar to give birth, she was having twins. While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand, so the midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” But then he pulled back his hand, and his brother was born first, so the midwife said excitedly, “How did you break through first?” So he was named Perez. Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah. Joseph in Potiphar’s House 39[1-4] When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was bought by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and blessed him in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar saw this and realized that Yahweh, his God was with Joseph, helping him to do well in everything he did. Potiphar was pleased, so he soon put Joseph in charge of his whole household and everything he owned.
[5-6] From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, Yahweh began to bless it for Joseph’s sake. Everything he owned, both inside and outside did well. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete control over everything he owned, and he didn’t even know what he had, except the food he ate! And Joseph was a very good looking and well-built.
[7-10] Soon Potiphar’s wife began to look at him and want him, saying, “Come and have sex with me.” But Joseph refused and told her, “Look, my master trusts me with everything he has in his whole household. No one here has more say than I do and he’s held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such an evil thing and sin against God?” She kept on asking Joseph day after day, but he refused to have sex with her.
[11-15] Then one day, no one else was around when he went in to do his work, so she grabbed him by his clothes, and said, “Have sex with me!” But Joseph ran away, and left his clothes in her hand as he ran outside. When she saw that she was holding his clothes and he had run away, she called out to her servants, saying, “Look! My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside, but he left his clothes behind with me.” [16-18] She kept the clothes with her until her husband came home. Then she told him this story, saying, “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and rape me. But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his clothes with me!” Joseph Put in Prison [19-23] Potiphar was very angry when he heard what his wife said about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the ruler’s prisoners were held. So he stayed there in the prison. But Yahweh was with Joseph in the prison and showed him kindness. Yahweh made Joseph well liked by the prison warden. The warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden didn’t have to look into anything that was under Joseph’s control. Yahweh was with him and caused everything he did to go well. Joseph Interprets Two Dreams 40[1-4] A while later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their ruler. Pharaoh became angry with these two officers, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. [5-8] While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream in one night, and each dream had a different meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he saw that they both looked upset. So he asked them, “Why do you look so upset today?” And they said, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” But Joseph said, “God knows what they mean, so tell me your dreams.” [9-15] So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first, saying, “In my dream, I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said. “This is what the dream means. The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. So please remember me and show kindness to me when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, though I’ve done nothing to deserve it.” [16-19] When the chief baker saw that meaning of the first dream was good, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three white baskets stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.” But Joseph told him, “This is what the dream means. The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will cut your head off and hang your body on a tree. Then birds will eat at your flesh.” [20-23] Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he made a feast for all the staff. He called for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the others. He then gave the chief cup-bearer his old job again, and he handed Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said would happen. But Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer forgot about Joseph, and didn’t remember him.
Chapters 36-40
The Descendants of Esau 36[1-] This is the story of the descendants of Esau (Who was also called Edom). Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. Aholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. [6-8] Esau took his wives, his children, and his whole household, along with his animals and cattle, everything he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and moved away from his brother, Jacob. There was not enough land to support them both because of all the animals and possessions they had gotten. So Esau (also called Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. [9-13] This is the story of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Timna, the servant wife of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. [14-19] Esau also had sons through Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of different families: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the families of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Esau’s son Reuel became the leaders of the families of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Reuel. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Esau and his wife Aholibamah became the leaders of the families of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the family leaders who descended from Esau’s wife Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah. These are the families descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their family leaders. Original Peoples of Edom [20-30] These are the names of the families that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite family leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan also had a sister named Timna. The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the countryside while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.) The descendants of Anah were his son, Dishon, and his daughter, Aholibamah. The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. So these were the leaders of the Horite families: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite families are named after their family leaders, who lived in the land of Seir. The Rulers of Edom [31-43] These are the rulers who ruled in the land of Edom before anyone ruled over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from the city of Dinhabah. After Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became ruler in his place. After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became ruler in his place. After Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. After Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became ruler in his place. After Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became ruler in his place. After Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became ruler in his place. After Baal-hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. Hadad’s wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. These are the names of the leaders of the families descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Aholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of the families of Edom, listed according to their settlements in the land they occupied. They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites. Joseph the Dreamer 37[1-4] So Jacob lived again in the land of Canaan, where his father was a foreigner. This is the story of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks with his brothers. He worked with his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph told his father the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob, also called Israel, loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob made for Joseph a coat woven with many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than the rest of them, they hated him more and couldn’t speak to him in peace. [5-8] One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to my dream! We were out in the field, gathering up bunches of grain. Suddenly my bunch stood up, and your bunches all gathered around and bowed down to me!” Then his brothers answered, “Do you actually think you’ll be our ruler? Do you actually think you’ll reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and what he said about them. [9-11] Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it, saying, “Listen, I’ve had another dream! This time the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him, saying, “What does this dream of yours mean? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground to you?” So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering what the dreams meant. [12-14] Later, Joseph’s brothers went to feed their father’s flocks at Shechem. So Jacob, also called Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the sheep at Shechem? Come here, and I’ll send you to them.” So Joseph said, “I’m ready.” Then Israel said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me.” So he sent him to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron. [15-17] When he got there, a man from the area saw him wandering around the countryside and asked him, “What are you looking for?” So Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Do you know where they are feeding their sheep?” Then the man told him, “They have left here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph went to look for his brothers in Dothan and found them there. Joseph Sold into Slavery [18-22] When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, before he got close to them, they made plans to kill him. They said, “Here comes the dreamer! “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into a pit. We’ll say, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” But when Reuben heard of their evil plan, he tried to save Joseph’s life and said, “Let’s not kill him. “Don’t shed any blood. Just throw him into this pit out here in the countryside, and don’t lay a hand on him.” He planned to save Joseph from them and bring him back to his father. [23-27] So when Joseph got there, his brothers took the colorful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into an empty pit that had no water. Then, just as they had sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a group of Ishmaelite traders with a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. They were taking a load of spices, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and hiding it? Let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders instead. Let’s not lay a hand on him because he’s our brother, our own flesh and blood!” So his brothers agreed.
[28-30] So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. Later, Reuben came back to get Joseph out of the pit. But when he found that Joseph wasn’t there, he tore his clothes, being very upset. Then he went back to his brothers and cried, “The boy is gone! What will I do?” [31-33] Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. They brought the colorful robe to their father and asked, “We found this. Is this the robe that belongs to your son?” Their father knew it immediately and said, “Yes, it’s my son’s robe. A wild animal has eaten him. Without a doubt, Joseph has been torn to pieces!”
[34-36] Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in mourning clothes, mourning for his son for a very long time. All his family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, “I’ll go down to my grave mourning for my son.” So his father sadly cried for him. In the meantime, the Midianite traders had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the guard. Judah and Tamar 38[1-5] It happened at this time, that Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he stayed with a man named Hirah. There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and married her. When he had sex with her, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. So he named the boy Er. Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, who she named Onan. And when she gave birth to a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they were living at Kezib. [6-10] After some time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. But Yahweh saw that Er was an evil man, and took his life. Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry your brother’s wife Tamar, and give your brother a heir.” But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had sex with his brother’s wife, he withdrew from her and let the semen go on the ground, to keep her from having a child who would belong to his brother. But Yahweh wasn’t pleased with Onan and took his life, too. [11-13] Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her parent’s home. Then some years later Judah’s wife died and after the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to shear the sheep. So someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” [14-18] Tamar knew that Shelah had grown up, but she had not been given to him in marriage. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the town of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. So when Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. So he stopped and made her an offer, saying, “Let me have sex with you,” not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. So she asked, “What will you give to have sex with me?” Tamar asked. So Judah promised, “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock.” Then she said, “But give me something to make sure that you send the goat.” So he asked, “What shall I give you?” And she answered, “Give me your ring to identify you and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her and had sex with her, and she became pregnant by him.
[19-23] So she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing again. Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his promise. But Hirah couldn’t find her. So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting out here beside the road?” But they said, “We’ve never had a prostitute here.” So Hirah went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the town claim they’ve never had a prostitute there.” So Judah said, “Then let her keep the things I gave her or we would be shamed. I sent the young goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t find her.
[24-26] Then about three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute and is pregnant because of what she did.” So Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned to death!” But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things is the one who got me pregnant. Find out whose seal, cord and walking stick these are?” So Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She’s better than I am, because I didn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never had sex with Tamar again. [27-30] When the time came for Tamar to give birth, she was having twins. While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand, so the midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” But then he pulled back his hand, and his brother was born first, so the midwife said excitedly, “How did you break through first?” So he was named Perez. Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah. Joseph in Potiphar’s House 39[1-4] When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was bought by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and blessed him in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar saw this and realized that Yahweh, his God was with Joseph, helping him to do well in everything he did. Potiphar was pleased, so he soon put Joseph in charge of his whole household and everything he owned.
[5-6] From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, Yahweh began to bless it for Joseph’s sake. Everything he owned, both inside and outside did well. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete control over everything he owned, and he didn’t even know what he had, except the food he ate! And Joseph was a very good looking and well-built.
[7-10] Soon Potiphar’s wife began to look at him and want him, saying, “Come and have sex with me.” But Joseph refused and told her, “Look, my master trusts me with everything he has in his whole household. No one here has more say than I do and he’s held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such an evil thing and sin against God?” She kept on asking Joseph day after day, but he refused to have sex with her.
[11-15] Then one day, no one else was around when he went in to do his work, so she grabbed him by his clothes, and said, “Have sex with me!” But Joseph ran away, and left his clothes in her hand as he ran outside. When she saw that she was holding his clothes and he had run away, she called out to her servants, saying, “Look! My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside, but he left his clothes behind with me.” [16-18] She kept the clothes with her until her husband came home. Then she told him this story, saying, “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and rape me. But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his clothes with me!” Joseph Put in Prison [19-23] Potiphar was very angry when he heard what his wife said about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the ruler’s prisoners were held. So he stayed there in the prison. But Yahweh was with Joseph in the prison and showed him kindness. Yahweh made Joseph well liked by the prison warden. The warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden didn’t have to look into anything that was under Joseph’s control. Yahweh was with him and caused everything he did to go well. Joseph Interprets Two Dreams 40[1-4] A while later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their ruler. Pharaoh became angry with these two officers, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. [5-8] While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream in one night, and each dream had a different meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he saw that they both looked upset. So he asked them, “Why do you look so upset today?” And they said, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” But Joseph said, “God knows what they mean, so tell me your dreams.” [9-15] So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first, saying, “In my dream, I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said. “This is what the dream means. The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. So please remember me and show kindness to me when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, though I’ve done nothing to deserve it.” [16-19] When the chief baker saw that meaning of the first dream was good, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three white baskets stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.” But Joseph told him, “This is what the dream means. The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will cut your head off and hang your body on a tree. Then birds will eat at your flesh.” [20-23] Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he made a feast for all the staff. He called for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the others. He then gave the chief cup-bearer his old job again, and he handed Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said would happen. But Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer forgot about Joseph, and didn’t remember him.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Genesis 31-35
Genesis
Chapters 31-35
Jacob Leaves Laban’s Household 31[1-3] But Jacob heard Laban’s sons saying about him, “Jacob has taken what belonged to our father. Everything he has he has gotten from our father.” And Jacob saw that Laban’s attitude toward him was not good. Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your father and your family, and I’ll be with you.” [4-9] So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock. He said to them, “I’ve seen that your father’s attitude toward me isn’t good. But the God of my father has been with me. You know how hard I’ve worked for your father, but he has cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed him to hurt me. If he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your pay,’ the whole flock had speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your pay,’ then the whole flock had striped young. So God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me. [10-13] “One time when the goats were mating, I had a dream and saw that the males mating with the females were striped, speckled, and spotted. Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I said, ‘Yes, here I am.’ Then the angel said, ‘Look, see that only the striped, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. I’ve seen everything that has been done to you by Laban. I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the stone and made your promise to Me. Now get up and leave this country and go back to the land of your birth.’” [14-16] Rachel and Leah answered, “Is there any inheritance left for us in our father’s house? He treats us like strangers. He sold us, used up all our money. Everything God has given you from our father really belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” [17-21] So Jacob got up and put his wives and children on camels. Then he took all his tame animals and everything he had gotten in Paddan-aram with him and set out for the land of Canaan, to his father, Isaac. Now Laban was shearing his sheep, so Rachel stole her father’s false gods of the household and took them with her. So Jacob secretly left Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that they planned to go. So Jacob left with everything he had and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead. Laban Chases Jacob [22-25] Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had left. So he gathered a group of his family and chased him down, catching up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. But the night before, God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “Be careful what you speak to Jacob.” So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s.
[26-30] So Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, leaving without telling me? You took my daughters away like prisoners of war! Why did you go without telling me? I might have sent you away with happiness and singing, with tambourines and harps. You didn’t let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye. That was a stupid thing to do! I could hurt you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Be careful what you speak to Jacob.’ I know that you’ve gone because you wanted to go home. But why have you stolen my gods?” [31-32] So Jacob answered, “I left secretly because I was afraid, thinking you might take your daughters away from me by force. And if you find those false gods of yours, you may kill the person who has taken them! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, show it to us before all these family of ours and take it with you!” But Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the household gods. [33-35] Then Laban went into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then into the tents of the two servant wives, but he didn’t find them. So finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. But Rachel had taken the household gods and hidden them under her camel’s saddle, and was sitting on them. When Laban had searched all through her tent without finding them, she said to her father, “I hope it doesn’t upset you that I can’t get up for you. I’m on my period.” So Laban kept on searching, but he could not find his household gods. [36-42] Then Jacob got angry, and questioned Laban, “What’s my crime? What have I done wrong to make you chase after me like this? You’ve gone through everything I own. Now if you’ve found anything that belongs to you, set it out here in front of our family, for all to see. Let them judge between us! For twenty years I’ve been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I’ve never eaten a ram of your flock. If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never brought it to you. You required me to take the loss myself! You made me pay you back for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night. I worked for you through the heat of the day and the cold nights, loosing my own sleep. For twenty years I’ve worked in your house! I’ve worked for fourteen years for your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock, and you changed my pay ten times! If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse of me and my hard work, and told you to leave me alone last night!” Jacob’s Treaty with Laban [43-47] Then Laban said to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what could I do to my own daughters and their children? So come, let’s make a promise, you and I, and it’ll be a witness between us.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap, eating on it. In recognition of the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew). [48-53] Then Laban said, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the promise we have made to each other today.” This is why it was called Galeed. But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May Yahweh watch between you and me when we are apart from each other. If you abuse my daughters or if you marry other wives besides them, God will see it even if no one else does. See, God is a witness between us. I’ve set this pile of stones between us as a witness. They stand between us as witnesses of our promise that I’ll never pass this pile of stones to hurt you, and you must never pass these stones to hurt me. I call on the God of our ancestors, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor, to serve as a judge between us.” So Jacob promised by the God of his father, Isaac.
[54-55] Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and called everyone to come eat. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. Then Laban got up early the next morning, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and went back home. 32[1-2] As Jacob began to go, the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said excitedly, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim. Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau [3-5] Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, “ Tell my brother Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, ‘Until now I’ve been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I’ve sent these messengers to tell you of my coming, hoping that I’ll be treated kindly by you.’” [6-8] The messengers came back to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he’s coming to meet you with 400 men!” And Jacob was very scared when he heard this news, so he divided his household, along with the flocks, herds, and camels, into two groups, thinking, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, maybe the other group will escape.” [9-12] Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and my father, Isaac, Yahweh, who told me, ‘Go back to your own land and to your family and I’ll treat you well.’ I’m not worthy of even a little of all the mercy and truth you’ve shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I had nothing but my walking stick, and now my household is two large camps! O God, please save me from the power of my brother, Esau. I’m afraid that he’s coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I’ll surely treat you well, and I’ll grow your descendants until they become as many as the sands along the seashore, more than you can count.’” [13-16] And Jacob stayed where he was for the night and took whatever came to his hand as gifts for his brother, Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels along with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. He gave them to his servants, separating each herd by itself. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me, but keep some distance between the herds.” [17-21] He told the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, and asks, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ Tell him, ‘They belong to your little brother Jacob, who sends them as a gift for his older brother, Esau. Look, he’s coming behind us.’” And Jacob gave the same instructions to the second, and third, and all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, ‘Look, your little brother Jacob is coming behind us.’ I’ll try to calm him down by sending gifts ahead of me and when I see him face to face, maybe he’ll be kind to me.” So the gifts were sent ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp. Jacob Wrestles with God [22-26] That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over everything he owned. When Jacob was left alone in the camp, someone came and wrestled with him until the sun began to come up. So realizing that Jacob wasn’t giving up, the angel touched Jacob’s hip and it came out of its socket. Then the angel said, “Let me go; the sun is coming up!” But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” [27-32] So the angel asked, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” So the angle said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but you’ll be called Israel, because you’ve struggled with both God and men and haven’t given up.” Then Jacob said, “Please tell me your name?” But the angel said, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I’ve seen God face to face, yet my life is spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because his hip was hurt. (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the angel pulled the tendon of Jacob’s hip.) Jacob Makes Peace with Esau
33[1-4] Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. He put the servant wives and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then Jacob went on ahead, and as he came to his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times. Then Esau ran to meet him and hugged him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both cried. [5-11] Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?” “These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob said. Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him. “And what do you mean by all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked. So Jacob said, “They’re a gift, brother, that I might please you.” Esau answered, “I have more than enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” But Jacob insisted, “No, if you’re pleased with me, please take this gift from me. Because I have seen your face again and you were pleased with me, it’s like seeing the face of God! Please take this gift I’ve brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And Jacob wouldn’t take no for an answer, so Esau took it. [12-16] So Esau said, “Let’s take our trip and go. I’ll lead the way.” But Jacob said, “You can see that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. Please, Esau, go on ahead of me. We will follow slowly, at the right pace for the animals and the children and I’ll meet you at Seir.” So Esau said, “Yes, but at least let me tell some of my men to guide and protect you.” But Jacob answered, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve accepted me kindly, Esau!” So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day.
[17-20] Jacob then traveled on to Succoth, where he built himself a house and made shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”). Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob went safely to the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. Then Jacob bought from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of land where he camped for 100 pieces of silver, and built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel. Jacob’s Sons take Revenge against Shechem 34[1-4] One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. But when the local prince, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he took her and raped her, forcing her to have sex with him. But then he fell in love with her, and spoke kindly to the young woman. He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young woman. I want to marry her.” [5-7] Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields herding the animals, so he said nothing until they came back. Then Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to speak with Jacob. Jacob’s sons came in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were very upset and angry that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s daughter, by having sex with her, something that should never be done. [8-10] Then Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, saying, “My son, Shechem, is truly in love with your daughter. Please let him marry her and let’s make other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we’ll give you our daughters for your sons. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Live here and trade with us, and buy property for yourselves in the land.” [11-17] Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers, saying, “Let me please you, and marry your daughter. I’ll give you whatever you ask. No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I’ll pay it, if you just give me the young woman as my wife.” But since Shechem had shamed their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons lied to Shechem and his father, Hamor, saying to them, “We couldn’t do this, because it would be a disgrace to us for our sister to marry a man who hasn’t cut off his foreskin! But if every man among you will have his foreskin cut off like we are, then we’ll give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people. But if you don’t agree to cut your foreskins off, we’ll take her and go.” [18-23] Hamor and his son Shechem liked what they said, so Shechem wasted no time in doing what they asked, because he loved Jacob’s daughter, being more honorable than the rest of his family. So he went with his father, Hamor, to talk to the leaders at the city gate, saying, “These men are friendly towards us. Let them live here among us and trade with us. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours. But they’ll only stay here and becoming one people with us if all of our men have their foreskins cut off, just as they are. If we do this, all their animals and everything they own will be ours. Let’s do what they ask and they’ll live here with us.” [24-26] So they all agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the city had their foreskins cut off. But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and went boldly into the city, slaughtering every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. [27-29] Later, the rest of Jacob’s sons went in and took all the valuables in the city because their sister had been shamed there. They took all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys, everything inside the city and outside in the fields. They took all the valuables out of their houses, and took all their little children and wives as captives. [30-31] Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve caused me nothing but trouble! You’ve made me horrible to all the people of this land, both the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are few, so they’ll gather together and kill me and my family. My whole family will be destroyed!” But they said to him, “Should we let him treat our sister like a whore?” Jacob’s goes back to Bethel 35[1-3] Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and go to Bethel and live there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, wash yourselves, and put on clean clothes. Let’s get ready and go to Bethel, where I’ll build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in trouble, and has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and their earrings, and he buried them under the pistachio tree near Shechem. As they set out, the terror of God came over all the cities around them, and no one came after Jacob’s family. [6-8] Then Jacob and his family got to Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the pistachio tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “tree of weeping”). [9-13] God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel, when he came from Padan-Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you won’t be called Jacob any more. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, “I am God Almighty. Create more of your own kind and make many more people. You’ll become a great nation, and later, many nations. Kings will come from your line of descendants! And I’ll give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I’ll give it to you and your descendants after you.” After speaking with Jacob, God went up from there. [14-15] Jacob set up a stone to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed it with olive oil. And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there. The Death of Rachel [16-20] Then they left Bethel, and when there was only a little farther to go to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor to have her baby and she was in hard labor. When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, you’ll have this son, too!” And so as Rachel was dying, she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”), but his father called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it’s the stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. [21-22] Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond the tower of Eder. While he was living there, Reuben had sex with Bilhah, his father’s servant wife, and Jacob heard about it. [23-26] These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob: The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram. [27-29] So Jacob went back to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. Isaac lived for 180 years and died, joining his ancestors, being very old. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him together.
Chapters 31-35
Jacob Leaves Laban’s Household 31[1-3] But Jacob heard Laban’s sons saying about him, “Jacob has taken what belonged to our father. Everything he has he has gotten from our father.” And Jacob saw that Laban’s attitude toward him was not good. Then Yahweh said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your father and your family, and I’ll be with you.” [4-9] So Jacob called Rachel and Leah out to the field where he was watching his flock. He said to them, “I’ve seen that your father’s attitude toward me isn’t good. But the God of my father has been with me. You know how hard I’ve worked for your father, but he has cheated me and changed my pay ten times. But God has not allowed him to hurt me. If he said, ‘The speckled animals will be your pay,’ the whole flock had speckled young. And when he changed his mind and said, ‘The striped animals will be your pay,’ then the whole flock had striped young. So God has taken your father’s animals and given them to me. [10-13] “One time when the goats were mating, I had a dream and saw that the males mating with the females were striped, speckled, and spotted. Then in my dream, the angel of God said to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I said, ‘Yes, here I am.’ Then the angel said, ‘Look, see that only the striped, speckled, and spotted males are mating with the females of your flock. I’ve seen everything that has been done to you by Laban. I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel, the place where you anointed the stone and made your promise to Me. Now get up and leave this country and go back to the land of your birth.’” [14-16] Rachel and Leah answered, “Is there any inheritance left for us in our father’s house? He treats us like strangers. He sold us, used up all our money. Everything God has given you from our father really belongs to us and our children. So do whatever God has told you.” [17-21] So Jacob got up and put his wives and children on camels. Then he took all his tame animals and everything he had gotten in Paddan-aram with him and set out for the land of Canaan, to his father, Isaac. Now Laban was shearing his sheep, so Rachel stole her father’s false gods of the household and took them with her. So Jacob secretly left Laban the Aramean, by not telling him that they planned to go. So Jacob left with everything he had and crossed the Euphrates River, heading for the hill country of Gilead. Laban Chases Jacob [22-25] Three days later, Laban was told that Jacob had left. So he gathered a group of his family and chased him down, catching up with Jacob seven days later in the hill country of Gilead. But the night before, God had appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream and told him, “Be careful what you speak to Jacob.” So when Laban caught up with Jacob as he was camped in the hill country of Gilead, he set up his camp not far from Jacob’s.
[26-30] So Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done, leaving without telling me? You took my daughters away like prisoners of war! Why did you go without telling me? I might have sent you away with happiness and singing, with tambourines and harps. You didn’t let me kiss my daughters and grandchildren and tell them good-bye. That was a stupid thing to do! I could hurt you, but the God of your father appeared to me last night and warned me, ‘Be careful what you speak to Jacob.’ I know that you’ve gone because you wanted to go home. But why have you stolen my gods?” [31-32] So Jacob answered, “I left secretly because I was afraid, thinking you might take your daughters away from me by force. And if you find those false gods of yours, you may kill the person who has taken them! And if you find anything else that belongs to you, show it to us before all these family of ours and take it with you!” But Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the household gods. [33-35] Then Laban went into Jacob’s tent to search there, then into Leah’s, and then into the tents of the two servant wives, but he didn’t find them. So finally, he went into Rachel’s tent. But Rachel had taken the household gods and hidden them under her camel’s saddle, and was sitting on them. When Laban had searched all through her tent without finding them, she said to her father, “I hope it doesn’t upset you that I can’t get up for you. I’m on my period.” So Laban kept on searching, but he could not find his household gods. [36-42] Then Jacob got angry, and questioned Laban, “What’s my crime? What have I done wrong to make you chase after me like this? You’ve gone through everything I own. Now if you’ve found anything that belongs to you, set it out here in front of our family, for all to see. Let them judge between us! For twenty years I’ve been with you, caring for your flocks. In all that time your sheep and goats never miscarried. In all those years I’ve never eaten a ram of your flock. If any were attacked and killed by wild animals, I never brought it to you. You required me to take the loss myself! You made me pay you back for every stolen animal, whether it was taken in broad daylight or in the dark of night. I worked for you through the heat of the day and the cold nights, loosing my own sleep. For twenty years I’ve worked in your house! I’ve worked for fourteen years for your two daughters, and then six more years for your flock, and you changed my pay ten times! If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the fear of Isaac, had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God has seen your abuse of me and my hard work, and told you to leave me alone last night!” Jacob’s Treaty with Laban [43-47] Then Laban said to Jacob, “These women are my daughters, these children are my grandchildren, and these flocks are my flocks. Everything you see is mine. But what could I do to my own daughters and their children? So come, let’s make a promise, you and I, and it’ll be a witness between us.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a monument. Then he told his family members, “Gather some stones.” So they gathered stones and piled them in a heap, eating on it. In recognition of the event, Laban called the place Jegar-sahadutha (which means “witness pile” in Aramaic), and Jacob called it Galeed (which means “witness pile” in Hebrew). [48-53] Then Laban said, “This pile of stones will stand as a witness to remind us of the promise we have made to each other today.” This is why it was called Galeed. But it was also called Mizpah (which means “watchtower”), for Laban said, “May Yahweh watch between you and me when we are apart from each other. If you abuse my daughters or if you marry other wives besides them, God will see it even if no one else does. See, God is a witness between us. I’ve set this pile of stones between us as a witness. They stand between us as witnesses of our promise that I’ll never pass this pile of stones to hurt you, and you must never pass these stones to hurt me. I call on the God of our ancestors, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of my grandfather Nahor, to serve as a judge between us.” So Jacob promised by the God of his father, Isaac.
[54-55] Then Jacob offered a sacrifice to God there on the mountain and called everyone to come eat. After they had eaten, they spent the night on the mountain. Then Laban got up early the next morning, and kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then he left and went back home. 32[1-2] As Jacob began to go, the angels of God met him. When Jacob saw them, he said excitedly, “This is God’s camp!” So he named the place Mahanaim. Jacob Sends Gifts to Esau [3-5] Then Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother, Esau, who was living in Seir in the land of Edom. He told them, “ Tell my brother Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says, ‘Until now I’ve been living with Uncle Laban, and now I own cattle, donkeys, flocks of sheep and goats, and many servants, both men and women. I’ve sent these messengers to tell you of my coming, hoping that I’ll be treated kindly by you.’” [6-8] The messengers came back to Jacob and reported, “We met your brother, Esau, and he’s coming to meet you with 400 men!” And Jacob was very scared when he heard this news, so he divided his household, along with the flocks, herds, and camels, into two groups, thinking, “If Esau meets one group and attacks it, maybe the other group will escape.” [9-12] Then Jacob prayed, “O God of my grandfather Abraham, and my father, Isaac, Yahweh, who told me, ‘Go back to your own land and to your family and I’ll treat you well.’ I’m not worthy of even a little of all the mercy and truth you’ve shown to me, your servant. When I left home and crossed the Jordan River, I had nothing but my walking stick, and now my household is two large camps! O God, please save me from the power of my brother, Esau. I’m afraid that he’s coming to attack me, along with my wives and children. But you promised me, ‘I’ll surely treat you well, and I’ll grow your descendants until they become as many as the sands along the seashore, more than you can count.’” [13-16] And Jacob stayed where he was for the night and took whatever came to his hand as gifts for his brother, Esau: 200 female goats, 20 male goats, 200 ewes, 20 rams, 30 female camels along with their young, 40 cows, 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys, and 10 male donkeys. He gave them to his servants, separating each herd by itself. Then he told his servants, “Go ahead of me, but keep some distance between the herds.” [17-21] He told the men leading the first group: “When my brother, Esau, meets you, and asks, ‘Whose servants are you? Where are you going? Who owns these animals?’ Tell him, ‘They belong to your little brother Jacob, who sends them as a gift for his older brother, Esau. Look, he’s coming behind us.’” And Jacob gave the same instructions to the second, and third, and all who followed behind the herds: “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. And be sure to say, ‘Look, your little brother Jacob is coming behind us.’ I’ll try to calm him down by sending gifts ahead of me and when I see him face to face, maybe he’ll be kind to me.” So the gifts were sent ahead, while Jacob himself spent that night in the camp. Jacob Wrestles with God [22-26] That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two servant wives, and his eleven sons and crossed the Jabbok River with them. After taking them to the other side, he sent over everything he owned. When Jacob was left alone in the camp, someone came and wrestled with him until the sun began to come up. So realizing that Jacob wasn’t giving up, the angel touched Jacob’s hip and it came out of its socket. Then the angel said, “Let me go; the sun is coming up!” But Jacob said, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.” [27-32] So the angel asked, “What’s your name?” and he said, “Jacob.” So the angle said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but you’ll be called Israel, because you’ve struggled with both God and men and haven’t given up.” Then Jacob said, “Please tell me your name?” But the angel said, “Why do you want to know my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. So Jacob named the place Peniel (which means “face of God”), for he said, “I’ve seen God face to face, yet my life is spared.” The sun was rising as Jacob left Peniel, and he was limping because his hip was hurt. (Even today the people of Israel don’t eat the near the hip socket because of what happened that night when the angel pulled the tendon of Jacob’s hip.) Jacob Makes Peace with Esau
33[1-4] Then Jacob looked up and saw Esau coming with his 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and his two servant wives. He put the servant wives and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. Then Jacob went on ahead, and as he came to his brother, he bowed to the ground seven times. Then Esau ran to meet him and hugged him, threw his arms around his neck, and kissed him. And they both cried. [5-11] Then Esau looked at the women and children and asked, “Who are these people with you?” “These are the children God has graciously given to me, your servant,” Jacob said. Then the servant wives came forward with their children and bowed before him. Next came Leah with her children, and they bowed before him. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed before him. “And what do you mean by all the flocks and herds I met as I came?” Esau asked. So Jacob said, “They’re a gift, brother, that I might please you.” Esau answered, “I have more than enough, my brother. Keep what you have for yourself.” But Jacob insisted, “No, if you’re pleased with me, please take this gift from me. Because I have seen your face again and you were pleased with me, it’s like seeing the face of God! Please take this gift I’ve brought you, for God has been very gracious to me. I have more than enough.” And Jacob wouldn’t take no for an answer, so Esau took it. [12-16] So Esau said, “Let’s take our trip and go. I’ll lead the way.” But Jacob said, “You can see that some of the children are very young, and the flocks and herds have their young, too. If they are driven too hard, even for one day, all the animals could die. Please, Esau, go on ahead of me. We will follow slowly, at the right pace for the animals and the children and I’ll meet you at Seir.” So Esau said, “Yes, but at least let me tell some of my men to guide and protect you.” But Jacob answered, “That’s not necessary. It’s enough that you’ve accepted me kindly, Esau!” So Esau turned around and started back to Seir that same day.
[17-20] Jacob then traveled on to Succoth, where he built himself a house and made shelters for his animals. That is why the place was named Succoth (which means “shelters”). Later, having traveled all the way from Paddan-aram, Jacob went safely to the town of Shechem, in the land of Canaan. There he set up camp outside the town. Then Jacob bought from the family of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of land where he camped for 100 pieces of silver, and built an altar there and named it El-Elohe-Israel. Jacob’s Sons take Revenge against Shechem 34[1-4] One day Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, went to visit some of the young women who lived in the area. But when the local prince, Shechem, son of Hamor the Hivite, saw Dinah, he took her and raped her, forcing her to have sex with him. But then he fell in love with her, and spoke kindly to the young woman. He said to his father, Hamor, “Get me this young woman. I want to marry her.” [5-7] Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled his daughter, Dinah, but his sons were out in the fields herding the animals, so he said nothing until they came back. Then Hamor, Shechem’s father, came to speak with Jacob. Jacob’s sons came in from the field as soon as they heard what had happened. They were very upset and angry that their sister had been raped. Shechem had done a disgraceful thing against Jacob’s daughter, by having sex with her, something that should never be done. [8-10] Then Hamor spoke with Jacob and his sons, saying, “My son, Shechem, is truly in love with your daughter. Please let him marry her and let’s make other marriages, too. You give us your daughters for our sons, and we’ll give you our daughters for your sons. And you may live among us; the land is open to you! Live here and trade with us, and buy property for yourselves in the land.” [11-17] Then Shechem himself spoke to Dinah’s father and brothers, saying, “Let me please you, and marry your daughter. I’ll give you whatever you ask. No matter what dowry or gift you demand, I’ll pay it, if you just give me the young woman as my wife.” But since Shechem had shamed their sister, Dinah, Jacob’s sons lied to Shechem and his father, Hamor, saying to them, “We couldn’t do this, because it would be a disgrace to us for our sister to marry a man who hasn’t cut off his foreskin! But if every man among you will have his foreskin cut off like we are, then we’ll give you our daughters, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves. We will live among you and become one people. But if you don’t agree to cut your foreskins off, we’ll take her and go.” [18-23] Hamor and his son Shechem liked what they said, so Shechem wasted no time in doing what they asked, because he loved Jacob’s daughter, being more honorable than the rest of his family. So he went with his father, Hamor, to talk to the leaders at the city gate, saying, “These men are friendly towards us. Let them live here among us and trade with us. Look, the land is large enough to hold them. We can take their daughters as wives and let them marry ours. But they’ll only stay here and becoming one people with us if all of our men have their foreskins cut off, just as they are. If we do this, all their animals and everything they own will be ours. Let’s do what they ask and they’ll live here with us.” [24-26] So they all agreed with Hamor and Shechem, and every male in the city had their foreskins cut off. But three days later, when their wounds were still sore, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, who were Dinah’s full brothers, took their swords and went boldly into the city, slaughtering every male. They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with their swords, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house and left. [27-29] Later, the rest of Jacob’s sons went in and took all the valuables in the city because their sister had been shamed there. They took all the sheep, oxen, and donkeys, everything inside the city and outside in the fields. They took all the valuables out of their houses, and took all their little children and wives as captives. [30-31] Afterward Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You’ve caused me nothing but trouble! You’ve made me horrible to all the people of this land, both the Canaanites and Perizzites. We are few, so they’ll gather together and kill me and my family. My whole family will be destroyed!” But they said to him, “Should we let him treat our sister like a whore?” Jacob’s goes back to Bethel 35[1-3] Then God said to Jacob, “Get ready and go to Bethel and live there. Build an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother, Esau.” So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, wash yourselves, and put on clean clothes. Let’s get ready and go to Bethel, where I’ll build an altar to the God who answered my prayers when I was in trouble, and has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” So they gave Jacob all their pagan idols and their earrings, and he buried them under the pistachio tree near Shechem. As they set out, the terror of God came over all the cities around them, and no one came after Jacob’s family. [6-8] Then Jacob and his family got to Luz (also called Bethel) in Canaan. Jacob built an altar there and named the place El-bethel (which means “God of Bethel”), because God had appeared to him there when he was fleeing from his brother, Esau. Soon after this, Rebekah’s old nurse, Deborah, died. She was buried beneath the pistachio tree in the valley below Bethel. Ever since, the tree has been called Allon-bacuth (which means “tree of weeping”). [9-13] God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel, when he came from Padan-Aram, and blessed him. And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but you won’t be called Jacob any more. From now on your name will be Israel.” So God renamed him Israel. Then God said, “I am God Almighty. Create more of your own kind and make many more people. You’ll become a great nation, and later, many nations. Kings will come from your line of descendants! And I’ll give you the land I once gave to Abraham and Isaac. Yes, I’ll give it to you and your descendants after you.” After speaking with Jacob, God went up from there. [14-15] Jacob set up a stone to mark the place where God had spoken to him. Then he poured wine over it as an offering to God and anointed it with olive oil. And Jacob named the place Bethel (which means “house of God”), because God had spoken to him there. The Death of Rachel [16-20] Then they left Bethel, and when there was only a little farther to go to Ephrath, Rachel went into labor to have her baby and she was in hard labor. When she was in hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, you’ll have this son, too!” And so as Rachel was dying, she named the baby Ben-oni (which means “son of my sorrow”), but his father called him Benjamin (which means “son of my right hand”). So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). Jacob set up a stone monument over Rachel’s grave, and it’s the stone of Rachel’s grave to this day. [21-22] Then Jacob traveled on and camped beyond the tower of Eder. While he was living there, Reuben had sex with Bilhah, his father’s servant wife, and Jacob heard about it. [23-26] These are the names of the twelve sons of Jacob: The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali. The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher. These are the names of the sons who were born to Jacob at Paddan-aram. [27-29] So Jacob went back to his father, Isaac, in Mamre, which is near Kiriath-arba (now called Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had both lived as foreigners. Isaac lived for 180 years and died, joining his ancestors, being very old. His sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him together.
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