Genesis 39-47

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 39

Joseph, Blessed of God.^{[a] 1} When Joseph was brought down into Egypt, Potiphar, a counselor of Pharaoh and the commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

² The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered. He remained in the house of the Egyptian, his master. ³ His master realized that the Lord was with him and that whatever he undertook prospered. ⁴ Thus Joseph found favor with him and became his personal attendant. Potiphar even placed him in charge of his household and he entrusted him with all his possessions. ⁵ From the moment that he was made overseer and entrusted with his possessions, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that Potiphar had, whether in the house or out in the fields. ⁶ He entrusted Joseph with all that he had, and he did not concern himself with anything other than the food he ate.

The Righteous One Calumniated.^[b] Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. ⁷ After some time, the wife of his master set her eyes upon Joseph and said to him, “Sleep with me!”

⁸ But he refused and said to the wife of his master, “Look, my lord does not worry about anything in his house and he has entrusted me with all his possessions. ⁹ He has no more authority in this house than I do. He has not kept anything from me but you, for you are his wife. How could I ever do this evil thing and sin against God?” ¹⁰ Although she spoke every day to Joseph, he would not agree to sleep with her or even to be near her.

¹¹ One day he entered the house to do his work, but none of the servants was around. ¹² She took hold of his tunic saying, “Sleep with me!” But he left his tunic in her hands and ran out of the house.

¹³ Seeing that he had left his tunic in her hands and that he had fled outside, ¹⁴ she called out to the servants and told them, “Look, this Hebrew has been brought into the house to mock us! He came in to lie with me, but I screamed out loud. ¹⁵ As soon as he heard me raise my voice and call out, he left his tunic with me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁶ She left the tunic lying next to her until her master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him these same things: “That Hebrew servant, whom you brought to our house, seized me to insult me. ¹⁸ But as soon as I cried out and shouted, he left his tunic next to me and ran out of the house.”

¹⁹ When the master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is what your servant has done to me,” he became very angry. ²⁰ He seized Joseph and put him into the prison where they held royal prisoners.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph. He showed him kindness and caused him to find favor with the chief jailer. ²² The chief jailer entrusted all the prisoners to Joseph. Whatever had to be done there, he did it. ²³ The chief jailer did not have to worry about any of those things that were entrusted to Joseph, for the Lord was with him and made whatever he did prosper.

Chapter 40

A Prophet in Suffering.^{[c] 1} Some time later, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their master. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two eunuchs, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and he put them in prison in the care of the captain of the guard in the prison where Joseph was being held. ⁴ The captain of the guard assigned Joseph to their service. They thus remained in prison for a while.

⁵ Now, the same night, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were in prison, both had a dream, each one having his own dream that had its own meaning.

⁶ The next morning Joseph came to them and saw that they were troubled. ⁷ He asked the eunuchs of Pharaoh who were with him in prison, in the house of his master, “Why are you so sad today?”

⁸ They said, “We had a dream, but no one can interpret it.”

Joseph said to them, “Does not God have the power of interpreting? Tell your dreams to me.”

⁹ The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said, “In my dream I was standing in front of a vine ¹⁰ on which there were three branches. As soon as it sprouted, the flowers bloomed, and it brought forth clusters of grapes. ¹¹ I was holding Pharaoh’s cup in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed their juice into Pharaoh’s cup. I then gave Pharaoh the cup.”

¹² Joseph told him, “Here is the interpretation. The three branches are three days. ¹³ In three days, Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you will give Pharaoh his cup just as you once did when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ When you are happy again, please remember that I was with you. Do me this favor: speak of me to Pharaoh and get me out of here. ¹⁵ I was unjustly carried away from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I have done nothing for which I should have been placed in this dungeon.”

¹⁶ The chief baker, seeing that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, said to him, “As for me, in my dream I was standing with three baskets of white bread on my head. ¹⁷ In the baskets on my head were all different kinds of food for Pharaoh that would be prepared by a baker. But birds ate the food from the baskets that I had on my head.”

¹⁸ Joseph answered and said, “Here is the interpretation: the three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ In three days, Pharaoh will lift off your head and have you impaled; and the birds will eat away your flesh.”

²⁰ Three days later, it was the birthday of Pharaoh, and there was a banquet for all his ministers. He lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and lifted off the head of the chief baker before all his ministers. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his office as cupbearer, so that he would hand the cup to Pharaoh. ²² He had the chief baker impaled, just as Joseph had said in his interpretation.

²³ But the cupbearer did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

Chapter 41

Messenger of Salvation.^{[d] 1} Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream in which he was alongside the Nile. ² Seven cows came out of the Nile, beautiful and fat, and they began to graze in the reed grass. ³ Then seven other cows came up out of the Nile after them. They were ugly and thin, and they stopped alongside the first cows on the shore of the Nile. ⁴ The ugly and thin cows devoured the seven beautiful and fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ He fell back asleep and had a second dream. There were seven heads of grain on one stalk, fat and healthy. ⁶ But seven empty heads, shriveled by the east wind, sprouted up after them. ⁷ The seven empty heads swallowed the seven fat and healthy heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.

⁸ In the morning, he was very troubled and he summoned all the magicians and wise men in Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dream, but no one knew how to interpret it for him.

⁹ The cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, “Today I remember that I have done something wrong. ¹⁰ Pharaoh was angry with his servants and had sent me and the chief baker into prison in the care of the captain of the guard. ¹¹ We both had dreams the same night, but each of us had his own dream with its own meaning. ¹² There was a young Hebrew there with us, a slave of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them, giving each of us an explanation for his dream. ¹³ Just what he predicted came true: I was restored to my office, and the other man was impaled.”

¹⁴ Pharaoh therefore summoned Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the dungeon. He shaved and changed his clothes and was brought to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream and no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said that you can hear a dream and immediately interpret it.”

¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, “Not I, but God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.”

¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was on the Nile riverbank. ¹⁸ Seven fat and beautiful cows came out of the Nile and they began to graze on the reed grass. ¹⁹ Then seven other cows came out after them. They were poor and sickly and thin, I had never seen any as ugly in all of Egypt. ²⁰ The thin and ugly cows devoured the seven fat cows.^{[e] 21} Even after they had eaten them, you still could not see that they had eaten anything. They were still as ugly as they had been before. Then I woke up.

²² “I then had a dream in which seven heads of grain sprouted on a single stalk. They were fat and good. ²³ But seven dry heads, empty and shriveled by the east wind, sprouted after them. ²⁴ The empty heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

²⁵ Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are actually one dream. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven beautiful cows are seven years, and the seven beautiful heads of grain are seven years. It is a single dream. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years and the seven empty heads, withered by the east wind, are seven years. There will be seven years of famine.

²⁸ “It is just as I have told Pharaoh. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ There will soon be seven years of great abundance in the land of Egypt. ³⁰ Then the seven years after these will be seven years of famine. The years of abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and famine will ravage the land. ³¹ It will be forgotten that there was abundance in the land, for the famine that will follow will be very severe. ³² As for the fact that the dream was repeated twice, this means that God has decided the matter and God is hastening to fulfill it.

³³ “Pharaoh should seek and find an intelligent and wise man and place him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Pharaoh should also appoint overseers in the land to collect a fifth of the produce of the land during the years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food in these good years that are about to take place. They will gather the grain under the authority of Pharaoh and place it in granaries in the cities. ³⁶ This food will serve as a reserve in the land for the seven years of famine that will come upon the land of Egypt. Thus, the land will not be devastated during the famine.”

³⁷ Joseph Is Made Viceroy of Egypt.^[f] Pharaoh and all his ministers were pleased with this. ³⁸ Pharaoh said to his ministers, “Could we find another man like this, in whom one finds the Spirit of God?”

³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed all this to you, there is surely no one as intelligent or as wise as you. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my house. You shall have authority over all my people. Only the throne shall outrank you.”

⁴¹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I have made you ruler of the entire land of Egypt.” ^42 [g]Pharaoh took the ring off his finger and placed it on the finger of Joseph. He dressed him in clothes made of the finest linen and placed a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in the chariot of his vizier, and before him they cried, “Make way!” He made him ruler of the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁴ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your permission no one can raise a hand or a foot in the entire land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ And Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-peneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, a priest of On,^[h] as his wife. Joseph went throughout the entire land of Egypt.

⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he was brought before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph left the presence of Pharaoh and traveled throughout the entire land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of abundance the land was very fertile. ⁴⁸ He collected all the food of these seven years when there was abundance in the land of Egypt. He placed the food in the cities, that is, in every city he deposited the food of the surrounding countryside. ⁴⁹ Joseph gathered as much grain as the sand of the sea, enormous quantities. There was so much that it could no longer be measured, for it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰ The Great Famine.^[i] Joseph had two sons in the years that preceded the famine. They were born to Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. ⁵¹ Joseph called the firstborn Manasseh for, he said, “God has made me forget all my difficulties and my father’s entire family.” ⁵² He named the second son Ephraim for, he said, “God has made me prosper in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended, ⁵⁴ and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine over the whole earth, but there was food in Egypt.

⁵⁵ Then the whole land of Egypt began to feel the hunger, and the people cried out to Pharaoh to have food. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he tells you.”

⁵⁶ The famine spread throughout the entire land. So Joseph opened up the storehouses in which he had placed the grain, and he sold it to the Egyptians. The famine kept getting worse in Egypt. ⁵⁷ People came to Egypt from every country to buy grain from Joseph, for the famine was severe over the whole earth.

Chapter 42

The Sons of Jacob Seek Food in Egypt.^{[j] 1} When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you standing around looking at each other?” ² He continued, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us, so that we may stay alive and not die.”

³ So ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with the others, for he said, “Some misfortune might befall him.” ⁵ The sons of Israel, therefore, arrived to buy grain along with all the others who had also come, for there was famine in Canaan.

⁶ Joseph had authority over the land, and he sold grain to all the people of the land. Therefore, the brothers of Joseph came to him and bowed down to the earth. ⁷ Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he hid his identity from them. He spoke harshly and said, “Where do you come from?”

They answered, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

⁸ Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. ⁹ Joseph remembered the dreams he had concerning them, and he said to them, “You are spies. You have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

¹⁰ They answered, “No, my lord, your servants have come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all sons of one man. We are honest. Your servants are not spies.”

¹² But he said to them, “No, you have come to spy out the nakedness of the land.”

¹³ They said, “Your servants are twelve in all. We are brothers, sons of one man from the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with his father, and one is no more.”

¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “Things are just as I have said: you are spies. ¹⁵ This is how you shall be put to the test. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave here until your youngest brother has arrived. ¹⁶ Send one of your number to bring your brother; the rest will remain as prisoners. You will thus be put to the test concerning what you have said, to see if you have told the truth. If not, by the life of Pharaoh, you are spies.” ¹⁷ And he then held them in prison for three days.

¹⁸ On the third day, Joseph said to them, “Do this and you shall live, for I fear God! ¹⁹ If you are honest, then leave one of your brothers in prison and go to bring the grain to ease the hunger of your household. ²⁰ Then bring me your youngest brother. In this way, your words will be seen to be true and you will not die.” They agreed.

²¹ They said among themselves, “Surely this terrible thing has come upon us because of our brother. We saw his torment when he begged us, and we did not listen to him. That is why this trouble has come upon us.”

²² Reuben spoke to them, “Did I not tell you not to sin against the boy? But you refused to listen. Now we will pay for his blood.” ²³ They did not know that Joseph understood them because he was using an interpreter.

²⁴ He walked away from them and cried. Then he returned and spoke with them. He selected Simeon and had him placed in chains while they were watching.

²⁵ The Sons of Jacob Return to Canaan.^[k] Joseph gave orders that their sacks be filled with grain, and that each one’s money be placed in his sack, and that they be given provisions for their journey. This was done for them. ²⁶ Then they loaded the grain on their donkeys and departed.

²⁷ At their night encampment, one of them opened his sack to take out forage for his donkey and saw his money lying at the mouth of the sack. ²⁸ He told his brothers, “My money has been returned to me. Look, it was in my sack.”

Their hearts sank, and they began to shake, saying to one another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

²⁹ When they reached their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them. ³⁰ “That man who is the lord of the land spoke harshly to us and placed us in prison as spies of the land. ³¹ We told him, ‘We are honest men, not spies! ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is at home with our father in the land of Canaan.’

³³ “But the man who is lord of the land answered us, ‘This is how I shall know if you are honest: leave one of your brothers here with me, take the grain you need for your household, and go. ³⁴ Then bring your youngest brother back to me. In that way I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are honest. I will return your brother and you will have the freedom of the land.’ ”

³⁵ As they emptied their sacks, each one found his money bag in his sack. When they and their father saw their money bags, they were filled with fear. ³⁶ And their father Jacob said, “You have taken away my sons. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and now you would like to take away Benjamin. Everything is against me!”

³⁷ Reuben said to his father, “You can kill my two sons if we do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to me, and I will bring him back.”

³⁸ But he answered, “My son shall not go down there with you because his brother is dead and he alone remains. If something bad were to happen to him during the journey that you were making, you would make these gray hairs go down into the netherworld.”

Chapter 43

The Sons of Jacob Set Out Again for Egypt.^{[l] 1} The famine continued to grow more severe in the land. ² When they had finished eating the grain that they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Return there to buy a little more food for us.”

³ But Judah said to him, “That man told us harshly, ‘You shall not come into my presence if you do not have your brother with you.’ ⁴ If you are willing to let us leave with our brother, then we will go down there and buy grain. ⁵ But if you will not let him leave, we will not go because of what that man told us: ‘You shall not come into my presence if you do not have your brother with you.’ ”

⁶ Israel said, “Why have you done this evil thing to me, to let that man know that you had another brother?”

⁷ They answered, “That man interrogated us, demanding to know about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have some other brothers?’ and we answered his questions. How could we know that he would have said, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

⁸ Judah said to Israel his father, “Let the young one come with me. We will leave immediately, so that we might live and not die, we, you, and our children. ⁹ I will make myself the pledge for him. You will receive him from my hand. If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear this guilt in your eyes all my life. ¹⁰ If you had not hesitated, we could have already gone there and back twice by now.”

¹¹ Israel their father answered, “If this is the way it is, do it. Pack your bags with the choice products of the land to give to that man as a gift: some balsam, a bit of honey, resin, gum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹² Take double the amount of money with you. Take back the money that you found in the mouth of your sacks; maybe there was a mistake. ¹³ Take your brother as well; leave and return to that man. ¹⁴ May God Almighty help you to find mercy with that man so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin. As for me, if I must mourn my children, I will do so.”

¹⁵ The Sons of Jacob Are Guests of Joseph.^[m] The men therefore took the gifts, double the money, and Benjamin and left. They went down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph. ¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his head steward: “Bring these men into the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it. They are to eat the noonday meal with me.”

¹⁷ The steward did what Joseph had ordered and brought the men into his house. ¹⁸ They were worried when they were brought into Joseph’s house and they said, “He brought us here because of the money that was placed back in our sacks the other time. They are going to fall upon us and make us slaves and take our donkeys as well.”

¹⁹ So they approached Joseph’s head steward and spoke to him at the entrance to the house ²⁰ saying, “My lord, we came one other time to buy provisions. ²¹ When we arrived at the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each one discovered his money in the mouth of the sack. It was the exact amount of money we had brought. But we have brought it back ²² and we brought some other money as well to buy more food. We do not know who placed our money in the sacks.”

²³ But he told them, “Be at peace! Do not fear! Your God and the God of your fathers placed riches in your sacks. I received your money.” And he brought Simeon to them.

²⁴ The steward led the men into Joseph’s house, and gave them water to wash their feet, and provided forage for their donkeys. ²⁵ They prepared their gifts while they waited for Joseph to arrive at noon, for they knew that they were to eat in that place.

²⁶ When Joseph arrived, they presented to him the gifts that they had with them, and they bowed their faces to the ground before him. ²⁷ He asked them how they were and said, “How is your aged father, the one about whom you have spoken? Is he still alive?”

²⁸ They answered, “Your servant, our father, is well, and he is still alive,” and they knelt and bowed down.

²⁹ Looking up, he saw Benjamin, his brother, the son of his mother, and said, “Is this your youngest brother about whom you have spoken?” He added, “God bless you, my son!” ³⁰ Joseph went out in a rush, for he was deeply moved at seeing his brother and he was close to tears. He went into his room and wept there.

³¹ Then he washed his face, went out, and, controlling his emotions, ordered, “Serve the meal.”

³² He was served separately, then his brothers, and then the Egyptians, for Egyptians cannot eat with Hebrews. It would be an abomination for them. ³³ He sat them before himself from the firstborn to the youngest, each in the order of his birth. They looked at each other with awe. ³⁴ He served them a portion taken from his own table, but the portion he gave to Benjamin was five times larger than that given to all the others. They then drank with him until they were lighthearted.

Chapter 44

Benjamin Is Condemned To Remain in Egypt.^{[n] 1} Joseph then gave this order to the head steward of his house, “Fill these men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry and place each man’s money in the mouth of his sack. ² Also place my cup, my silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest along with the money for their grain.” And he did as Joseph had ordered.

³ When morning dawned the men set out with their donkeys. ⁴ They had just left the city and were not far off when Joseph said to the head steward of his house, “Up, follow the men. When you reach them, tell them, ‘Why have you paid back evil for good? ⁵ Is this not the cup that my lord uses for drinking and to tell the future? Why have you done this evil thing?’ ”

⁶ He reached them and repeated these words to them. ⁷ They told him, “Why is my lord saying these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ We brought the money that we found in the mouth of the sacks back from the land of Canaan. How could we steal the silver or gold from the house of your master? ⁹ Whichever of your servants is found with it will be put to death, and we will also become the slaves of your master.”

¹⁰ He answered, “Very well, it will be as you have said. Whoever is found with it will be my slave; the others will be innocent.”

¹¹ Each one hurried to unload his sack and open it. ¹² The steward searched from the oldest to the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ At this, they tore their clothes. Then each one loaded up his donkey, and they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph, they found him still there; so they threw themselves on the ground in front of him. ¹⁵ Joseph told them, “What have you done? Did you not know that a man like me could cast a spell to find out the truth?”

¹⁶ Judah said, “What will we say to our lord? What can we say? How can we justify ourselves? God has uncovered the iniquity of your servants. Let us be slaves of my lord, we and the one with whom the cup was found.” ¹⁷ He answered them, “Far be it from me to do this! The man with whom the cup was found, he will be my slave. As for you, return in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ But Judah came before him and said, “My lord, let your servant please speak a word in the ear of my lord. Let your anger not burn against your servant, for you are as great as Pharaoh himself. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ We told my lord, ‘We have an aged father and a younger brother who was born in his old age. His brother is dead, and he is the only remaining son of his mother, and his father loves him.’

²¹ “You said to your servants, ‘Bring him here to me, so that I can see him with my own eyes.’ ²² We told my lord, ‘The young one cannot leave his father; if he were to leave his father he would die.’ ²³ But you said to your servants, ‘If your younger brother does not come down here with you, you shall not see my face.’ ²⁴ When we returned to your servant, my father, we told him the words of my lord.

²⁵ “Our father said, ‘Return to buy a little more food for us.’ ²⁶ We answered, ‘We cannot return down there if our younger brother does not go down with us. Otherwise, we will not be admitted into the presence of that man, if our younger brother is not with us.’

²⁷ “Your servant, my father, said, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. ²⁸ One left me, and I said, “Surely he has been torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you carry away this one and something were to happen to him, you would make this gray head go down with sorrow into the netherworld.’

³⁰ “Now, when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young one is not with me (for the life of one is bound to the other), ³¹ he will surely die as soon as he sees that the young one is not with me. Thus, your servants will have made the gray head of your servant, our father, go down into the netherworld. ³² Your servant made himself a pledge for the young one with my father: ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I will bear this guilt before you all my life.’

³³ “Let your servant remain as the slave of my lord instead of the young one. Let the young one return back with his brothers. ³⁴ How could I return to my father without having the young one with me? I could not bear to see the evil that I will have done to my father.”

Chapter 45

Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers and Manifests God’s Plan.^{[o] 1} Joseph could no longer control himself in front of all of his attendants and he cried out, “Let everyone leave my presence!” Thus no one was there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. ² He cried out so loudly that all the Egyptians heard him, and the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.

³ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not respond for they were dumbfounded at his presence.

⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “Come close to me!” They approached him, and he said to them, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ But do not be grieved and do not be angry with yourselves for having sold me down here, for God sent me here before you to save your lives. ⁶ The famine has already lasted two years in the land, and there are another five years in which there will be neither plowing not reaping. ⁷ God sent me here before you, to preserve a remnant for you on the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.

⁸ “It was not you who sent me here, but God. He made me a father to Pharaoh, lord over his whole household, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

⁹ “Hurry, go up to my father and tell him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has made me lord over all of Egypt. Come down here to me and do not delay. ¹⁰ You will live in the land of Goshen^[p] and stay near me, you and your sons and the sons of your sons, your flocks and your herds, and all your possessions. ¹¹ There I will give you provisions, for there will still be five more years to this famine, lest your family fall into poverty, you, and your family, and all you possess.” ’

¹² “Your own eyes have seen it and the eyes of my brother Benjamin have seen it: it is I who speak to you. ¹³ Tell my father all the glory that I have in Egypt and what you have seen. Hurry to bring my father down here.”

¹⁴ He threw himself on the neck of Benjamin and cried. Benjamin also cried, holding on to his neck. ¹⁵ He then kissed all his brothers and cried, holding them to himself. Afterward, his brothers spoke to him.

¹⁶ In the house of Pharaoh they heard the report: “The brothers of Joseph have arrived.” This pleased Pharaoh and his ministers. ¹⁷ Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load up your animals, leave, and go to the land of Canaan. ¹⁸ Then bring your father and your families and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the finest products of the land.’

¹⁹ “As for you, give them this command: ‘Do this: take wagons with you from the land of Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring your father and come. ²⁰ Do not be concerned about your possessions, for the best of everything in the land of Egypt shall be yours.’ ”

²¹ The Sons of Jacob Return Home Again.^[q] This is what the sons of Israel did. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh ordered, and he gave them provisions for their journey. ²² He gave all of them fresh clothing, but he gave Benjamin three hundred shekels of silver and five sets of clothes. ²³ He also sent his father ten donkeys loaded with products of Egypt and ten donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and other food for their father’s trip. ²⁴ He then sent his brothers off and, while they were leaving, he said to them, “Do not fight during the journey.”

²⁵ They left Egypt and returned to the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob, ²⁶ and immediately told him, “Joseph is alive; he is the ruler over the whole land of Egypt!” But his heart was cold, for he could not believe them. ²⁷ When they told him all the things Joseph had said to them and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to bring him, their father’s spirit revived. ²⁸ Israel said, “Enough! Joseph, my son, is alive. I will go to see him before I die!”

Chapter 46

Jacob Goes to Egypt.^{[r] 1} Israel set out with all that he had and arrived at Beer-sheba where he offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.

² God appeared to Israel in a vision during the night saying, “Jacob, Jacob.” He answered, “Here I am.”

³ He continued, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not fear to go down into Egypt, for down there I will make a great people of you. ⁴ I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will surely make you return. Joseph will close your eyes.”

⁵ Jacob left Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father, their children, and their wives into the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them. ⁶ They took with them their animals and all the possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus, Jacob and all his descendants went to Egypt. ⁷ He brought his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, and all his descendants with him into Egypt.

⁸ These are the names of the sons of Israel who entered Egypt: Jacob and his sons.

Reuben the firstborn of Jacob.

⁹ The sons of Reuben:

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰ The sons of Simeon:

Nemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹ The sons of Levi:

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹² The sons of Judah:

Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah, (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).

The sons of Perez:

Hezron and Hamul.

¹³ The sons of Issachar:

Tola, Puah, Jashub, and Shimron.

¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun:

Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵ These were the sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with their daughter Dinah. The total number of her sons and daughters was thirty-three.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad:

Zephon, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arod, and Areli.

¹⁷ The sons of Asher:

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and their sister Serah.

The sons of Beriah:

Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸ These were the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. She bore them to Jacob: sixteen in all.

¹⁹ The sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob:

Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ Ephraim and Manasseh were born to Joseph in Egypt. They were the sons of Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.^[s]

²¹ The sons of Benjamin:

Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ahiram, Shupham, Hupham, and Ard.

²² These were the sons Rachel bore to Jacob—fourteen in all.

²³ The son of Dan:

Hushim.

²⁴ The sons of Naphtali:

Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵ These were the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore them to Jacob: seven in all.

²⁶ All those who entered with Jacob into Egypt were his offspring. Not counting the wives of the sons of Jacob there were sixty-six in all. ²⁷ Two sons were born to Joseph in Egypt. The members of the family of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.

²⁸ Joseph and Pharaoh Welcome Jacob.^[t] Jacob sent Judah to Joseph ahead of the rest so that he might give instructions in Goshen before his arrival. When they arrived in the land of Goshen, ²⁹ Joseph made his chariot ready and went up into Goshen to greet Israel, his father. As soon as he saw him, he threw himself around his neck and wept for a long time holding on to his neck.

³⁰ Israel said to Joseph, “Let me die, now that I have seen your face, that you are still alive.”

³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to the family of his father, “I am going to inform Pharaoh and to tell him, ‘My brothers and the family of my father, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to be with me. ³² These men were shepherds of flocks and they tended herds. They have brought their flocks, their herds, and all their possessions.’ ³³ When Pharaoh summons you and asks you what you do for a living, ³⁴ you should answer, ‘Your servants have been men who care for cattle from their youth until now, just as our fathers did.’ This is so that you can dwell in the land of Goshen.” For all shepherds of flocks are an abomination to the Egyptians.

Chapter 47

¹ Joseph went to inform Pharaoh, saying to him, “My father and my brothers with their flocks and herds and with all their possessions have come from the land of Canaan. They are now in the land of Goshen.” ² He selected five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

³ Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What work do you do?”

They answered Pharaoh, “We shepherd the flocks of your servants, just as our fathers did.” ⁴ They went on to tell Pharaoh, “We came to sojourn in this land because there were no more pastures for the flocks of your servants. The famine is terrible in the land of Canaan. Please allow your servants to dwell in the land of Goshen.”

⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is at your disposition. Have your father and your brothers settle in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any of them as able men, place them in charge of my cattle.”

⁷ Joseph then introduced Jacob, his father, and presented him to Pharaoh. After Jacob had blessed Pharaoh, ⁸ Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹ Jacob answered Pharaoh, “One hundred and thirty are the years of my sojourning. Few and sad are the years of my life, and I have not reached the number of years that my fathers lived in their life journey.” ¹⁰ Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and withdrew from his presence.

¹¹ Joseph settled his father and his brothers and gave them property in Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the territory of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. ¹² Joseph provided for his father, his brothers, and all the family of his father, as much bread as was needed for each person.

¹³ Joseph’s Administration.^[u] Now there was no bread in the whole land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan wasted away because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph collected all the money there was in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain that they were buying. Joseph sent this money to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ When the money of the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread! Why should we die while you are watching? We do not have any more money.”

¹⁶ Joseph answered, “If you do not have any more money, give me your animals and I will give you bread in exchange for the animals.” ¹⁷ They therefore brought their animals to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for their horses and sheep, their oxen and their donkeys. That year he fed them with bread in exchange for their animals.

¹⁸ That year having ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone and our animals now belong to my lord. We have nothing for my lord except our own bodies and our land. ¹⁹ Why should we die with you looking on, we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for bread, and we will become servants to Pharaoh, we and our land. But give us something to plant so that we live and not die and the land not become a desert.”

²⁰ Joseph acquired all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, because the Egyptians sold their fields on account of the famine that weighed upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s property. ²¹ As to the people, he moved them into the cities from one end to the other of the borders of Egypt. ²² Only the property which belonged to the priests was not bought, for the priests had a fixed allotment given to them by Pharaoh, and they ate the allotment that Pharaoh had given them. This is why they did not sell their land.

²³ Joseph said to the people, “See, today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed, sow the land. ²⁴ But when you harvest it, you will give a fifth of it to Pharaoh and four-fifths will be for you to sow the fields and feed yourselves and those who are in your household and to feed your children.”

²⁵ They answered, “You have saved our lives! Let us only find favor before my lord and we will be servants of Pharaoh.”

²⁶ Joseph made a law that is still in force up until this day for the land of Egypt, that a one-fifth portion must be given to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests does not belong to Pharaoh.

²⁷ Final Dispositions of Jacob. The Israelites settled in the land of Egypt, in the territory of Goshen. They had possessions and were fruitful and became very numerous.

²⁸ Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for seventeen years and he lived for a total of one hundred and forty-seven years.

²⁹ When the day of his death drew near, Israel summoned his son Joseph and told him, “If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh and deal with me kindly and faithfully. Do not bury me in Egypt. ³⁰ When I lie with my fathers, carry me from Egypt and bury me in their tomb.”

³¹ “I will do as you say,” he replied.

But Jacob demanded, “Swear it to me.” He answered, “I swear it.” And he swore it. Then Israel sank back on his pillow.