Black Ink--Bible page/Text
Blue Ink--Understand/Pray
Genesis 6 -- 50
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"Continued to live 782 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. So all the days of Methuselah amounted to 969 years and he died. And Lamech lived on for 182 years. Then he became father to a son. And he proceeded to call his name Noah, saying -- "This one will bring us comfort from our work and from the pain of our hands resulting from the ground which God has cursed." And after fathering Noah Lamech continued to live on for 595 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. So all the days of Lamech amounted to 777 years and he died. And Noah got to be 500 years old. After that Noah became father to Shem, Ham and Japheth. 6 Now it came about that when men started to grow in numbers on the surface of the ground and daughters were born to them, then the sons of the true God began to notice the daughters of men, that they were good looking, and they went taking wives for themselves, namely, all whom they chose. After that God said -- "My spirit shall not act toward man indefinitely in that he is also flesh. Accordingly his days shall amount to 120 years." The Nephilim (giants, larger and stronger beings) proved to be in the earth in those days, and also afterward that, when the sons of true God continued to have relations with the daughters of man and they bore sons to them, they were the mighty ones who were of old, the men of fame. Consequently, God saw that the badness of man was abundant in the earth and every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only bad all the time. And God felt regrets that he had made men in the earth, and felt hurt in his heart. So the God said -- "I am going to wipe men whom I have created off the surface of the ground, from man to domestic animal, to moving animal and to flying creature of the heavens, because I do regret I have made them. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. This is history of Noah. Noah was righteous man. He proved himself faultless among his contemporaries. Noah walked with the true God. In time Noah became father to 3 sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. And the earth came to be ruined in the sight of the true God and the earth became filled with violence. So God saw the earth and, look! it was ruined, because all flesh had ruined its way on the earth. After that God said to Noah -- "The end of all flesh has come before me, because the earth is full of violence and as a result of them -- and here I am bringing them to ruin together with the earth. Make for yourself an ark out of wood of a resinous tree. You will make compartments in the ark, and you must cover it inside and outside with tar. And this is how you will make it -- 300 cubits (450 feet) length of the ark, and 50 cubits (75 feet) its width, and 30 cubits (45 feet) its height. You will make a tsohar (roof or window) for the ark, and you will complete it to the extent of a cubit (18 inches) upward, and the entrance of the ark you will put in its side -- you will make it with a lower story, a 2nd story and a 3rd story.
"And as for me, here I am bringing the deluge (flood) of waters upon the earth to bring to ruin all flesh in which the force of life is active from under the heavens. Everything that is in the earth will expire (die). And I do establish my covenant (agreement, relationship) with you -- and you must go into the ark, you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. And of every living creature of every sort of flesh, 2 of each, you will bring into the ark to preserve with you. Male and female they will be. Of the flying creatures according to the their kinds and of the domestic animals according to their kinds, of all moving animals of the ground according to their kinds, 2 of each will go in there to you to preserve them alive. And as for you, take for yourself every sort of food that is eaten, you must gather it to yourself, and it must serve as food for you and for them." And Noah proceeded to do according to all that God had commanded him. He did just so.
7 After that God said to Noah-- "Go, you and all your household, into the ark, because you are the one I have seen to be righteous before me among this generation. Of every clean beast you must take to yourself by 7s, the sire and its mate (males and its mates ) -- and of every beast that is not clean just 2, the sire and its mate, also the flying creatures of heavens by 7s, male and female, to preserve offspring alive on the surface of the entire earth. For in just 7 days more I am making it rain upon the earth 40 days and 40 nights -- and I will wipe off every existing thing that I have made off the surface of the ground." And Noah proceeded to do according to all that God had commanded him. And Noah was 600 years old when the deluge of waters occurred on the earth. So Noah went in, and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him, into the ark ahead of the waters of the deluge. Of every clean beast and of every beast that is not clean and of the flying creatures and everything that moves on the ground, they went in by 2s to Noah inside the ark, male and female, just as God/Lord commanded Noah. And 7 days later it turned out that the waters of the deluge came upon the earth. In the 600th year of Noah's life, in the 2nd month, on the 17th day of the month, on this day all the springs of the vast watery deep were broken open and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And the downpour upon the earth went on for 40 days and 40 nights. On this very day Noah went in, and Shem and Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, and the wife of Noah and the 3 wives of his sons with him, into the ark -- they and every wild beast according to its kind, and every domestic animal of its kind, and every moving animal that moves on the earth according to its kind and every flying creature accroding to its kind, very bird, every winged creature. And they kept going into Noah inside the ark, 2 by 2, of every sort of flesh in which the force of life was active. And those going in, male and female of every sort of flesh, went in, just as God commanded him. And the waters became
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overwhelming and kept increasing greatly upon the earth, but the ark kept going on the surface of the waters. And the waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to 15 cubits (22 1/2 feet) the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered. So all flesh that was moving upon the earth expired, among the flying creatures and among the domestic animals and among the wild beasts and among all the swarms that were swarming upon the earth, and all mankind. Everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died. Thus he wiped out every existing thing that was on the surface of ground, from man to beast, to moving animal and to flying creature of the heavens, and they were wiped off the earth, and only Noah and those who were with him in the ark kept on surviving. And the waters continued overwhelming the earth a 150 days. overwhelming and kept increasing greatly upon the eaeth, but the ark kept going on the surface of the waters. And the waters overwhelmed the earth so greatly that all the tall mountains that were under the whole heavens came to be covered. Up to 15 cubits (22 1/2 feet) the waters overwhelmed them and the mountains became covered. So all flesh that was moving upon the earth expired, among the flying creatures and among the domestic animals and among the wild beasts and among all the swarms that were swarming upon the earth, and all mankind. Everything in which the breath of the force of life was active in its nostrils, namely, all that were on the dry ground, died. Thus he wiped out every existing thing that was on the surface of ground, from man to beast, to moving animal and to flying creature of the heavens, and they were wiped off the earth, and only Noah and those who were with him in the ark kept on surviving. And the waters continued overwhelming the earth a 150 days. 8 After that God remembered Noah and every wild beasts and every domestic animal that was with him in the ark, and God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters began to subside. And the springs of the watery deep and the flood gates of heavens became stopped up, so the downpour from the heavens was restrained. And the waters began receding from off the earth, prgressviely receding and at the end of a 150 days the waters were lacking. And in the 7th month, on the 7th day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Aarat. And the waters kept on progressively lessening until the 10th month. in the 10th month, on the 1st of the month, the tops of the mountains appeared. So it occurred that at the end of 40 days Noah proceeded to open the window of the ark that he had made. After that he sent out a raven, and it continued flying outdoors, going and returning, until the waters dried off the earth. Later he sent out from him a dove to see whether the waters had abated from the surface of the ground. And the dove did not find any resting-place for the sole of its foot, and so it returned to him into the ark because the waters were yet upon the surface of the whole earth. At that he put his hand out and took it and brought it to himself inside the ark. And he went on waiting still another 7 days, and once again he sent out the dove from the ark. Later on the dove came to him about the time of evening and, look! there was an olive leaf freshly plucked in its bill, and so Noah got to know that the waters had abated from the earth. And he went on waiting still another 7 days. Then he sent out the dove, but it did not come back again to him anymore. Now in the 601st year, in the 1st month, on the 1st day of the month, it came about that the waters had drained from off the earth -- and Noah proceeded to remove the covering of the ark and to look, and here the surface of the ground had drained dry. And in the 2nd month, on the 27th day of the month, the earth had dried off. God now spoke to Noah, saying -- "Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and yours sons' wives with you. Every living creature that is
with you every sort of flesh, among the flying creatures and among the beasts and among all the moving animals that move upon the earth, bring out with you, as they swarm in the earth and be fruitful and become many upon the earth." At that Noah went out, and also his sons and his wife and sons' wives with him. Every living creature, every moving animal and every flying creature, everything that moves on the earth, according to their families they went out of the ark. And Noah began to build an altar to God and to take some of all the clean beasts and of all the clean flying creatures and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar. And God began to smell a restful odor, and so God said in his heart -- "Never again, shall I call down evil upon the ground on man's account, because the inclination of heart of man is bad from his youth up -- and never again shall I deal every living thing a blow just as I have done. For all the days the earth continues, seed sowing and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, will never cease." 9 And God went on to bless Noah and his sons and say to them -- "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth. And a fear of you and a terror of you will continue upon every living creature of the earth and upon every flying creature of the heavens, upon everything that goes moving on the ground, and upon all the fishes of the sea. Into your hand they are now given. Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to you. Only flesh with its soul --its blood -- you must not eat. And, besides that, your blood of your souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back -- and from the hand of man, from the hand of each one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man. Anyone shedding man's blood, by man will his own blood be shed, for in God's image HE made man. And as for you men, be fruitful and become many, make the earth swarm with you and become many in it." And God went on to say to Noah and his sons -- "As for me, here I am establishing my covenant with you men and with your offspring after you, and with every living soul that is with you, and among fowls, among beasts and among all living creatures of the earth with you, from all those going out of the ark to every living creature of the earth. Yes, I do establish my covenant with you --No more will all flesh be cut off by waters of a deluge, and no more will there occur a deluge to bring the earth to ruin." And God added -- "This is the sign of the covenant that I am giving between me and you and every living soul that is with you, for the generations to time indefinite. My rainbow I do give in the cloud, and it must serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. And it shall occur when I am bring a cloud over the earth, the rainbow will certainly appear in the cloud. And I shall certainly remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living soul among all flesh -- and no more will the waters become a deluge go bring all flesh to ruin. And the rainbow must occur
in the cloud, and I shall certainly see it to remember the covenant to time indefinite between God and every living soul among all flesh that is upon the earth." And God repeated to Noah -- "This is the sign of the covenant that I do establish between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." And Noah's sons who came out the ark were Shem and Ham and Japheth. Later Ham was the father of Canaan. These 3 were Noah's sons, and from these was all the earth's population spread abroad. Now Noah started off as a farmer and proceeded to plant a vineyard. And he began drinking of the wine and became intoxicated, and so he uncovered himself in the midst of his tent. Later Ham the father of Canaan saw his father's nakedness and went telling it to his 2 brothers outside. At that Shem and Japheth took a mantle and put it upon both their shoulders and walked in backwards. Thus they covered their father's nakedness, while their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's nakedness. Finally Noah awoke from his wine and got to know what his youngest son had done to him. At this he said -- "Curse be Canaan. Let him become the lowest slave to his brothers." And he added -- "Bless be God, Shem's God, and let Canaan become a slave to him. Let God grant ample space to Japheth, And let him reside in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan become a slave to him also. And Noah continued to live 350 years after the deluge. So all the days of Noah amounted to 950 years old and then he died.
10 And this is the history of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth. Now sons began to be born to them after the deluge. The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. And Sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togar-mah. And sons of Javan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim. From these population of the isles of the nations was spread about in their lands, each according to its tongue, according to their families by their nations. And the sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim and Put and Canaan. And the sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabtah and Raamah and Sabteca. And the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. And Cush became father to Nimrod. He made the start in becoming a mighty one in the earth. He displayed himself a mighty hunter in opposition to God. That is why there is a saying -- "Just like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in opposition to God" And beginning of his kingdom came to be Babel, Erech, Accad and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went into Assyria and set himself to building Nineveh
"Love God"
and Rehoboth-Ir and Calah and Resen between and Nineveh and Calah--this is the great city. Mizraim became father to Ludim and Anamim and Lehabim and Naphtuhim and Pathrusim and Casluhim (from among whom the Philistines went forth) and Caphtorim. And Canaan became father to Sidon his firstborn and Heth and the Jebusite and the Amorite and the Girgashite, and the Hivite and the Arkite and the Sinite and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite and the Hamathite, and afterward the families of Canaan were scattered. So the boundary of Canaanite came to be from Sidon to Gerar near Gaza to far as Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, near Lasha. These were the sons of Ham according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, by their nations. And to Shem, the forefather of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the oldest, there was also progeny born. The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. And the sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. And Arpachshad was father of Shelah, and Shelah became father of Eber. And Eber there were 2 sons born. The name of one was Peleg, because in his days, the earth was divided --and the name of his brother was Joktan. And Joktan became father to Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba Ophir and Havilah and Jobab -- all these were the sons of Joktan. And their place of dwelling came to extend from Mesha as far as Sephar, the mountainous region in the East. These were the sons of Shem according to their families, according to their tongues, in their lands, according to their nations. These were the families of sons Noah according to their descents, by their nations were spread about in the earth after the deluge.
11 Now all the earth continued to be one language and of one set of words. And it came about that in their journeying eastward they eventually discovered a valley plain in the land of Shinar, and they took up dwelling there. And they began to say, each one to the other -- "Come on! Let us make bricks and bake them with a burning process" So brick served as stone for them, but bitumen served as mortar for them. They now said -- "Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered all over the surface of the earth." God proceeded to go down to see the city and the tower and the sons of men had built. After that God said -- "Look! They are one people and there is one language what they start to do. Why, now there is nothing that they may have in mind to do that will be unattainable for them. Come now! Let us go down and there confuse language that they
may not listen to one another's language." Accordingly Jehovah scattered them from there all over all the surface of the earth, and they gradually left building the city. This is why its name was called Babel, because there God had confused the language of all the earth, and God had scattered them from there over all the surface of the earth. This is history of Shem -- Shem was a 100 years old when he became father to Arpachshad Shem continued to live 500 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Arpachshad lived 35 years. Then he became father to Shelah. And after his fathering Shelah Arpachshad continued to live 403 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Shelah lived 30 years. Then he became father to Eber. And after his fathering Eber Shelah continued to live 403 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Eber lived on for 34 years. Then he became father to Peleg. and after fathering Peleg Eber continued to live 430 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Peleg lived on for 30 years. live. Then he became father to Reu. And after his fathering Reu Peleg continued to live 209 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Reu lived on for 32 years. Then he became father to Serug. And after his fathering Serug Reu continued to live 207 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Serug lived on for 30 years. Then he became father to Nahor. And after his fathering Nahor Serug continued to live for 200 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Nahor lived on for 29 years. Then he became to father to Terah. And after his fathering Terah Nahor continued to live a 119 years. Meanwhile he became father to sons and daughters. And Terah lived on for 70 years, after which he became father to Abram, Nahor and Haran. And this is history of Terah. Terah became father to Abram, Nahor and Haran -- and Haran became father to Lot. Later Haran died while in company with Terah his father in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans. And Abram and Nahor proceeded to take wives for themselves. The name of Abram's wife was Sarai, while the name of Nahor's wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and father of Iscah. But Sarai continued to be barren, she had no child. After that Terah took Abram his son and Lot, the son of Haran, his grandson, and Sarai his daughter in law, the wife of Abram his son, and they went with him out of Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. In time they came to Haran and took up dwelling there. And the days of Terah came to be 205
years, Then Terah died in Haran. 12 And God proceeded to say to Abram -- "Go your way out of your country and from your relatives and from the house of your father to the country that I shall show you -- and I shall make a great nation out of you and I shall bless you and I will make your name great -- and prove yourself a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who calls evil upon you I shall curse, and all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves by means of you." At that Abram went just as God had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was 75 years old when he went out from Haran. So Abram took his wife Sarai his wife and Lot the son of his brother and all the goods that they had accumulated and the souls whom they had acquired in Haran, and they got on their way out to go the land of Canaan. And Abram went on through the land as far as the site of Shechem, near the big trees of Moreh --and at that time the Canaanite was in the land. God appeared to Abram and said -- "To your seed I am going to give this land." After that he built an altar (holy table) to God who had appeared to him. Later he move from there to the mountainous region to the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Aion the east. Then he built an altar there to God and began to call on the name of the Lord. Afterward Abram broke camp going them from encampment to encampment toward Neg'eb. Now a famine arose in the land and Abram made his way down toward Egypt to reside there as an alien, because the famine was severe in the land. And it came about as soon as he got near to entering Egypt, then he said to Sarai his wife -- "Please, now I well know you are a woman beautiful in appearance. So it is bound to happen that the Egyptians will see you and will say, 'This is his wife' and they will certainly kill me, but you they will preserve alive. Please say you are my sister, in order that it may go well with me on your account, and my soul will be certain to live due to you." So it happened that, as soon as Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians got to see the woman, that she was very beautiful. And the princes of Pharaoh also got to see her and they began praising her to Pharaoh, so the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. And they treated Abram well because of her account, and he came to have sheep and cattle and asses (donkeys) and menservants and maidservants, and she-asses and camels. Then God touched Pharaoh and his household with a great plagues because of Sarai, Abraham's wife. With that Pharaoh called Abram and said -- "what have you done to me? Why did not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I was about to take her as my wife? And now here is your wife. Take her and go!" And Pharaoh issued commands to men concerning him, and they went escorting him and his wife and all that he had. 13 Following that Abram went up out of Egypt with all they had, and Lot with him, to the Negeb. And Abram was heavily stocked with herds and silver and gold. And he made
his way from encampment to encampment out of the Negeb and to Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at 1st between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar that he had made originally -- and Abram proceeded to call there on the name of the Lord. Now Lot who was going along with Abram, also owned sheep and cattle and tents. So the land did not allow for them to dwell all together, because their goods had become many and they were not able to dwell together. And a quarrel arose between the herders of Abram's livestock -- and the herders of Lot's livestock -- and at the time Canaanite and Perizzite were dwelling in the land. Hence Abram said to Lot -- "Please, do not let any quarreling continue between me and you and between my herdsmen, and your herdsmen, for we men are brothers! Is not the whole land available to you? Please, separate from me. If you go to the left, then I will go to the right -- but if you go to the right-- then I will go to the left." So Lot raised his eyes and saw the whole District of Jordan, and all of it was well-watered region before God brought Sodom and Gomorrah to ruin, Like the garden of God, like the land of Egypt as far as Zoar. Then Lot chose for himself whole District of Jordan, and Lot moved his camp to the east. So they separated the one from the other. Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, but Lot dwelt among the cities of the District. Finally he pitched tent near Sodom. And the men of Sodom were bad and were gross sinners against Jehovah. Then God said to Abram after Lot had separated from him -- "Raise your eyes, please, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward to westward, because all of the land at which you are looking, to you and to your seed I am going to give it until time indefinite. And I will constitute your seed like the dust particles of the earth, so that, if a man could be able to count the dust particles of the earth, then your seed could be numbered. Get up, go about in the land through its length and through its breadth, because to you I am going to give it." So Abram continued to live in tents. Later on he came and dwelt among the big trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron -- and there he proceeded to build an altar to the Lord. 14 Now it came about in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlamer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim that these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zebhoiim, and the king of Bela (that is to say, Zoar). All these marched as allies to the Low Plain of Siddim, that is, the Salt Sea. 12 years they had served Chedorlaomer, but the 13th year they rebelled. And the 14th year Chedorlaomer came, and also the kings who were with him, and they inflicted defeats on the Rephaim in Horites in Ashterothkarnaim, and the Zuzim in Ham, and the Emim in Shavehkiriathaim, and their mountain of Seir, down to Elparan, which is at the wilderness. Then they turned about and came to Enmishpat, that is, Kadesh, and defeated the whole field of
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the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were dwelling in Hazazontamar. At this point the king of Sodom went on the march, and also the king of Gomorrah and the king of Admah and the king Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is to say, Zoar), and they drew up in battle order against them in low plains of Siddim, against Chedolaomer king of Elam and Tidal king of Goiim and Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king Ellasar -- 4 kings against the 5. Now the Low plain of Siddim was pits upon pits of bitumen -- and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah took to flight and went falling into them, and those who remained fled to the mountainous region. Then the victors took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food and went on their way. They also took Lot the son of Abram's brother and his goods and continued on their way. He was then dwelling in Sodom. After that a man who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew. He was then tabermacling among the big trees in Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and brother of Aner, and they were confederates (partners) of Abram. Thus Abram got to hear that his brother had been taken captive. With that he mustered his trained men -- 318 slaves born his household and went in pursuit up to Dan. And by night he resorted to dividing his forces, he and his slaves, against them, and thus he defeated them and kept in pursuit of them up to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. And he proceeded to recover all the goods, and recovered also Lot his brother, and his goods and also women and the people. Then the king of Sodom went out to meet him after he returned from defeating Chedolaomer and the kings that were with him, to the Low Plain of Shaveh, that is, the king's Low Plain. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest of Most High God. Then he blessed him and said -- " Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth -- And blessed the Most High God, Who has delivered your oppressors into your hand!" At that Abram gave him a 10th (1/10) of everything. After that the king of Sodom said to Abram -- "Give me the souls (people), but take the goods for yourself." At this Abram said to the king of Sodom -- "I do lift up my hand in an oath to God the Most High God, Producer of heaven and earth, that, from a thread to a sandal lace, no, I shall take nothing from anything that is yours, in order that you may not say, 'It was I who made Abram rich! Nothing for me! Only what the young men already eaten, and the share of the men who went with me, Aner, Eshcol and Mamre -- let them have their share." 15 After these things the word of God came to Abram in a vision, saying -- "Do not fear, Abram. I am a shield for you. Your reward will be very great." At this Abram said -- "Sovereign Lord God, what will you give me, seeing that I am going childless and the one who will possess my house is man of Damascus, Eliezer?" And Abram added --"Look you have
given me no seed, and, look! a son of my household is succeeding me as heir?" But, look! the word of God to him was in these words -- "This man will not succeed you as heir, but one who will come out of your own inward parts will succeed you as heir." He now brought him outside and said -- "Look up, please, to the heavens and count the stars, if you are possibly able to count them." And we went on to say to him -- "So your seed will become." And he put faith in the Lord and proceeded to count it to him as righteousness. Then he added to him -- "I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take it in possession." To this he said -- "Sovereign Lord God, by what shall I know that I shall take it in possession?" In turn he said to him -- "Take for me a 3 year old heifer and a 3 year old she-goat and a 3 year old ram and a turtle-dove and a young pigeon." So he took all these to himself and cut them in 2 and put each part of them so as to match the other, but the birds he did not cut in pieces. And the birds of prey began to descend upon the carcasses, but Abram kept driving them away. After a while sun was about to set and deep sleep fell upon Abram, and, look! frightfully great darkness was falling upon him. And he began to say to Abram -- "You may know for sure that your seed will become an alien resident in a land not theirs, and they will have to serve them, and they will certainly afflict them for 400 years. But the nation that they will serve I am judging and after that they will go out with many goods. As for you, you will go to your forefathers in peace -- you will be buried at good old age. But in the 4th generation they will return here, because the error of the Amorites has not yet come to completion." The sun was now setting and a dense darkness came and, look! a smoking furnace and a fiery torch that passed in between these pieces. On that day Lord concluded with Abram a covenant, saying -- "To your seed I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates -- the Kenites and the Kenizzites and the Kadmonites and Hittites and the Perizzites and the Rephaim and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Girgashites and the Jebusites." 16 Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne to him no children -- but she had an Egyptian maidservant and her name was Hagar. Hence Sarai said to Abram -- "Please now! God has shut me off from bearing children. Please, have relations with my maidservant. Perhaps I may get children from her." So Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. Then Sarai, Abram's wife, took Hagar, her Egyptian maidservant, at the end of 10 years of Abram's dwelling in the land of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband as his wife. Accordingly he had relations with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When she became aware that she was pregnant, then the mistress began to be despised in her eyes. At this Sarai said to Abram -- "The violence done me be upon you. I myself gave my maidservant over to your bosom, and she became aware that she was pregnant, and I began to be despised in her eyes. May God judge between me and you."
So Abram said to Sarai -- "Look! your maidservant is at your disposal. Do to her what is good in your eyes." Then Sarai began to humiliate her so that she ran away from her. Later the Lord God's angel found her at a fountain of waters in the wilderness, at the fountain on the way to Shur. And he began to say -- "Hagar, maidservant to Sarai, just where have you come from and where are you going?" to this she said -- "Why from Sarai my mistress I am running away." And God's angel went on to say to her -- "Return to your mistress and humble yourself under her hand." Then God's angel said to her -- "I shall greatly multiply your seed, so that it will be numbered (limited) for multitude (many)." Further God's angel added to her-- "Here you are pregnant, and you shall give birth to a son and must call his name Ishmael -- for God has heard your affliction. As for him, he will become a zebra of a man. His hand will be against everyone, and the hand of everyone will be against him, and before the face of all of his brothers he will tabernacle. Then she began to call the name of the Lord, who was speaking to her -- "You are a God of sight," for she said -- "Have I here actually looked upon him who sees me?" That is why the well was called Beerlahairoi. Here it is between Kadesh and Bered. Later on Hagar bore to Abram a son and Abram called the name of his son whom Hagar bore to Ishmael. And Abram was 86 years old at Hagar's bearing Ishmael to Abram. 17 When Abram got to be 90 years old, then God appeared to Abram and said to him-- " I am God Almighty. Walk before me and prove yourself faultless. And I will give my covenant (protection, relationship) between me and you, that I may multiply you very, very much." At this Abram fell upon his face, and God continued to speak with him, saying -- "As for me, look! my covenant is with you, and you will certainly become a father a crowd of nations. And your name will not be called Abram anymore, and your name must become Abraham, because a father of crowd of nations I will make of you. And I will make you very, very fruitful and make you become nations, and kings will come out of you. "And I will carry out my covenant between me and you and your seed after you according to their generations for a covenant to time indefinite, to prove myself God to you and to your seed after you. And I will give you and to your seed after you the land of your alien residences, even the entire Canaan, for a possession to time indefinite -- and I will prove myself God to them." And God said further to Abraham -- "As for you, you are to keep my covenant, you and your seed after you according to your generations. This is my covenant that you men will keep, between me and you men, even your seed after you --Every male of yours must get circumcised. And you must get circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins and it must serve as sign of the covenant between me and you. And every male of yours at 8 days old must be circumcised, according to your generations, anyone born in the house and anyone purchased with money from any foreigner who is not from your seed. Every man born in your house and every man purchased
with money of yours must without fail get circumcised -- and my covenant in the flesh of you men must serve as covenant to time indefinite. And an uncircumcised male who will not get the flesh of his foreskin circumcised, even that soul must be cut off from his people. He has broken my covenant." And God went on to say --"As for Sarai your wife, you must not call her name Sarai, because Sarah is her name. And I will bless her and also give you a son from her -- and I will bless her and she shall become nations -- kings of people will come from her." At this Abraham fell upon his face and began to laugh and to say in his heart -- "Will a man 100 years old have a child born. and will Sarah, yes, will a woman 90 years old give birth?" After that Abraham said to true God -- "O that Ishmael might live before you!" To this God said -- "Sarah your wife is indeed bearing you a son, and must call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for a covenant to time indefinite to his seed after him. But as regards Ishamel I have heard you. Look! I will bless him and will make him fruitful and will multiply him very, very much. He will certainly will produce 12 chieftains (princes), and I will make him become a great nation. However, my covenant I shall establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this appointed time next year." With that God finished speaking with him and went up from Abraham. Abraham then proceeded to take Ishmael his son and all the men born in his son and all the men born in his house and everyone purchased with money of his, of every male among the men of the household of Abraham and he went to circumcising the flesh of their foreskins in this very day, just as God had spoken with him. And Abraham was 99 years old when he had the flesh of his foreskin circumcised. And Ishmael his son was 13 years old when he had the flesh of his foreskins circumcised. In this very day Abraham got circumcised, and also Ishmael his son. And all the men of his household, anyone born in the house and anyone purchased with money from a foreigner, got circumcised with him. 18 Afterward God appeared to him among the big trees of Mamre, while he was sitting at the entrance of the tent about the heat of the day. When he raised his eyes, then he looked and there 3 men were standing some distance from him. When he caught a sight of them he began running to meet them from the entrance of the tent and proceeded to bow down to the earth. Then he said -- "Lord, if, now, I have found favor in your eyes, please do not pass by your servant. Let a little water be taken, please, and you must have your feet washed. Then recline under the tree. And let me get a piece of bread, and refresh your hearts. Following that, you can pass on, because that is why you have passed this way to your servant." At this they said -- "All right. You may do just as you have spoken." So Abraham went hurrying to the tent to Sarah and said -- "Hurry! Get 3 seah (1 seah = 7.33 liters, so 3 seah is 21.99 liters) measure of fine flour, knead the dough and bake round cakes." Next Abraham ran to the herd and proceeded to get a tender and good young bull and to give it to the attendant, and he went hurrying to get it ready. He
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then took butter and milk and the young bull that he had got ready and set it before them. Then he himself kept standing by them under the tree as they were eating. They now said to him -- "Where is Sarah your wife?" To this he said -- "Here in the tent!" So he continued -- "I am surely going to return to you next year at this time, and, look! Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance, and it was behind the man. And Abraham and Sarah were old, being advanced in years. Sarah had stopped having menstruation. Hence Sarah began to laugh inside herself, saying -- "After I am worn out, shall I really have pleasure, my lord being old besides?" Then God said to Abraham -- "Why was that Sarah laughed, saying, 'Shall I really and truly give birth although I have become old?' Is anything too extraordinary for Jehovah? At the appointed time I shall return to you, next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son." But Sarah began to deny it, and saying --"I did not laugh!" For she was afraid. At this he said, "No! But you did laugh." Later the men got up from there and looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham was walking with them to escort them. And God said -- "Am I keeping covered from Abraham what I am doing? Why, Abram is surely going to become a nation great and mighty, and all the nations of the earth must bless themselves by means of him. For I have become acquainted with him in order that he may command his sons and his household after him so that they shall keep Lord's way to do righteousness and judgment -- in order that Lord may certainly bring upon Abraham what he has spoken about him." Consequently the Lord God said -- "The cry and complaint about Sodom and Gomorrah, yes, it is loud, and their sin, yes, it is very heavy. I am quite determined to go down that I may see whether they act altogether according to the outcry over it that has come to me, if not, I can get to know it." At this point the men turned from there and got on their way to Sodom -- but as for God, he was still standing before Abraham. Then Abraham approached and began to say -- "Will you really sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are 50 righteous men in the midst of the city. Will you, then, sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Will you, then, sweep them away and not pardon the place for the sake of the 50 righteous who are inside it? It is unthinkable of you that you are acting in manner to put to death the righteous man with the wicked one so that it has to occur with the righteous man as it does with the wicked! It is unthinkable of you. Is the Judge of all the earth not going to do what is right?" Then Lord said -- "I shall find in Sodom 50 righteous men in midst of the city I will pardon the whole place on their account." But Abraham went to answer and say -- "Please, I have taken upon myself to speak to God, whereas I am dust and ashes. Suppose 50 righteous should be lacking 5. Will you for the 5, bring the whole city to ruin? To this he said -- "I shall not bring it to ruin if I find there 45." But yet again he spoke further to him and said -- "Suppose 40 are found there?" In turn he said -- "I shall not do it on account of the 40." But he continued -- "May God, please, not
grow hot with anger, but let me go on speaking. Suppose 30 are found there." In turn he said -- "I shall not do it if I find 30 there." But he continued on -- "Please, here I have taken upon myself to speak to Jehovah -- Suppose 20 are found there." In turn he said -- "I shall not bring it to ruin on account of 20." Finally he said --"May God, please, not grow hot with anger, but let me speak just this once -- Suppose 10 are found there." In turn he said -- "I shall not bring it to ruin on account of the 10." Then Jehovah went his way when he finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place. 19 Now the 2 angels arrived at Sodom by evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot caught sight of them, then he got up to meet them and bowed down with his face to the earth. And he proceeded to say -- "Please, now, my lords, turn aside, please, into to the house of your servant and stay overnight and have your feet washed. Then you must get up early and travel on your way." To this they said -- "No, but in the public square is where we shall stay overnight." But he was very insistent with them, so that they turned aside to him and came into his house. Then he made a feast for them, and he baked unfermented cakes, and they went to eating. Before they could lie down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, from boy to old man, all the people in one mob. And they kept calling out to Lot and saying to him -- "Where are the men who came in to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have interc*urse with them." Finally Lot went out to the entrance, but he shut the door behind him. Then he said -- "Please, my brothers, do not act badly. Please, here I have 2 daughters who never had interc*urse (virgins) with a man. Please, let me bring them out to you. Then do to them as is good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do a thing, because that is why they have come under my roof." At this they said -- "Stand back there!" And they added -- "This lone man here to reside as an alien and yet he would actually play the judge! Now we are going to do worse to you than to them." And they came pressing heavily in on the man, on Lot, and were getting near to break in the door. So the men thrusted out their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door. But they struck with blindness the men who were at the entrance of the house, from the least to the greatest, so that they were wearing themselves out trying to find the entrance. Then the men said to Lot -- "Do you have anyone else here? Sons-in-law and your sons and your daughters and all who are yours in the city, bring out the place! For we are bringing this place to ruin, because the outcry against them has grown loud before God, so that Jehovah sent us to bring city to ruin." Hence Lot went on out and began to speak to his sons-in-law who were to take his daughters and kept on saying -- "Get up! Get out of this place, because God is bringing the city to ruin!" But in the eyes of his sons-in-law he seemed like a man who was joking. However, when the dawn ascended, then the angels became urgent with Lot, saying -- "Get up! Take your wife and your 2 daughters who are found
here, for fear you may be swept away in the error of the city!" When he kept lingering, then in the compassion of God upon him, the men seized hold of his hand and of the hand of his wife and of the hands of his 2 daughters and they proceeded to bring him out and to station him outside the city. And it came about that, as soon as they had brought them forth to the outskirts, he began to say -- "Escape for your soul!" Do not look behind you and do not stand still in all the District! Escape to the mountainous region for fear you may be swept away!" Then Lot said to them -- "Not that, please, God! Please, now, your servant has found favor in your eyes, so that you are magnifying your loving kindness, which you have exercised with me to preserve my soul alive, but I - I am not able to escape to the mountainous region for fear calamity may keep close to me and I certainly die. Please, now, this city is nearby to flee there and it is a small thing. May I, please escape there -- is it not a small thing? -- and my soul will live on." So he said to him -- "Here I do show you consideration to this extent also, by my not overthrowing the city of which you have spoken. Hurry! Escape there, because I am not able to do a thing until your arriving there!" That is why he called the name of the city Zoar. The sun had gone forth over the land when Lot arrived at Zoar. Then God made it rain sulphur and fire from God, from the heavens, upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah. So he went ahead overthrowing these cities, even the entire District and all the inhabitants of the cities and the plants of the ground. And his wife began to look around from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. Now Abraham made his way early in the morning to the place where he had stood before God. Then he looked down toward all the land of the District and saw a sight. Why, here thick smoke ascended from the land like the thick smoke of a kiln! And it came about that when God brought the cities of District to ruin God kept Abraham in mind in that he took steps to send Lot out of the midst of the overthrow when overthrowing the cities among which Lot had been dwelling. Later Lot went up from Zoar and began dwelling in the mountainous region, and his 2 daughters along with him, because he got afraid of dwelling in Zoar. So he began dwelling in a cave, he and his 2 daughters. And the 1st born proceeded to say to the younger woman -- "Our father is old and there is not a man in the land to have relations with us according to the way of the whole earth. Come, let us give father wine to drink and let us lie down with him and preserve offspring from our father." So they kept giving their father wine to drink during that night -- then the 1stborn went in and and lay down with her father, but he did not know when she lay down and when she got up. And it came about on the next day that the 1stborn then said to the younger -- "Here I lay down with my father last night. Let us give him wine to drink tonight also. Then you go in, lie down with him, and let us preserve offspring from our father." So they repeatedly gave their father wine to drink during that
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night also -- then the younger got up and lay down with him, but he did not know when she lay down and she got up. And both the daughters of Lot became pregnant from their own father. In time the 1stborn became mother to a son and called his name Moab, to this day. As for the younger, she too gave birth to a son and then called his name Benammi. He is the father of the sons of Ammon, to this day. 20 Now Abraham moved camp from there to the land of the Negeb and took up dwelling between Kadesh and Shur and residing as an alien at Gerar. And Abraham repeated concerning Sarah his wife -- ""She is my sister that Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him -- "Here you are as good as dead because of the woman whom you have taken, since she is owned by another owner as his wife." However, Abimelech had not gone near her. Hence he said -- "God, will you kill a nation did not go near her, so he said to God, "Jehovah, will you kill a nation that is really righteous? Did not say to me, 'She is my sister?' and she -- did not too say, 'He is my brother'? In the honesty of my heart and with innocency of my hands I have done this." At that the true God said to him in the dream -- "I too have known that in the honesty of your heart you have done this, and I was also holding you back from sinning against me. That is why I did not allow you to touch her. But now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will make supplication (beg, entreaty, plea) for you. So keep living. But if you are not returning her, know that you will positively die, you and all who are yours." So Abimelech got up early in the morning and proceeded to call all his servants and to speak of all these things in their ears. And the men got very much afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham and said to him -- "What have you done to us, and what sin have I committed against you, in that you have brought upon me and my kingdom, a great sin? Deeds that should not have been done you have done in connection with me." And Abimelech went on to say to Abraham -- "What did you have in view in that you have done this thing?" To this Abraham said -- "It was because I said to myself, 'Doubtless there is no fear of God in this place, and they will certainly will kill me because of my wife." And besides, she is truly my sister, the daughter of my father -- only not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. And it came about that, when God caused me to wander from the house of my father, then I said to her, 'This is your loving kindness which you may exercise toward me -- At every place where we shall come say of me -- "He is my brother."'" Following that Abimelech took sheep and cattle and menservants and maidservants and gave them to Abraham and returned to him Sarah his wife. Further Abimelech said -- "Here my land is available to you. Dwell where good it is in your eyes." And to Sarah he said -- "Here I do give a 1,000 silver pieces of money to your brother. Here it is for you a covering of the eyes to all who are with you, and before everybody, and you are cleared of reproach." And Abraham began to make supplication to the true God -- and God proceeded to heal Abimelech and his wife and his slave girl, and they
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God that you will not prove false to me and to my offspring and to my posterity (future generations) -- that, according to loyal love with which I have dealt with you, you will deal with me and with the land in which you have been residing as an alien." So Abraham said -- "I shall swear." When Abraham criticized Abimelech severely as regards the well of water that the servants of Abimelech had seized by violence, then Abimelech said -- "I do not know who did this thing, neither did you or yourself tell it to me, and I myself have not heard of it except today." With that Abraham took sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and both of them proceeded to conclude a covenant. When Abraham set 7 female lambs of the flock by themselves, Abimelech went on to say to Abraham -- "What is the meaning here of these 7 female lambs that you have set by themselves?" Then he said -- "You are to accept the 7 females lambs at my hand, that it may serve as witness for me that I have dug this well." That is why he called that place Beersheba, because there both of them had taken an oath. So they concluded a covenant at Beersheba, after which Abimelech got up together with Philcol the chief of his army returned to the land of the Philistines. After that he planted a tamarsik tree at Beersheba and called there upon the name of God the indefinite lasting God. And Abraham extended his residence as an alien in the land of the Philistines many days. 22 Now after these things it came about that the true God put Abraham to the test. Accordingly he said to him-- "Abraham!" to which he said -- "Here I am." And he went on to say -- "Take, please, your son, your only son whom you so love, Isaac, and make a trip to land of Moriah and there offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I shall designate to you." So Abraham got up early in the morning and saddled his ass and took 2 of his attendants with him and Isaac his son -- and he split the wood for burnt offering. Then he rose and went on the trip to the place that the true God designated to him. It was 1st on the 3rd day that Abraham raised his eyes and began to see the place from a distance. Abraham now said to his 2 attendants -- "You stay here with the ass, but I and the boy want to go on there and worship and return to you." After that Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and put in on Isaac his son and took in his hands the fire and slaughtering knife, and both of them went on together. And Isaac began to say to Abraham his father -- "My father!" In return he said -- "Here I am, my son!" So he continued -- "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?" To this Abraham said -- "God will provide himself the sheep for the burnt offering, my son." And both of them walked together. Finally they reached the place that the true God had designated to him, and Abraham built an altar there and set the wood in order and bound Isaac his son hand and foot and put him upon the altar on top of the wood. Then Abraham put out his hand and took the slaughtering knife to kill his son. But God's angels calling to him out of the
heavens and saying --"Abraham, Abraham!" to which he answered --
"Here I am!" And he went on to say --"Do not put out your hands against the boy and do not do anything at all to him, for now I do know that you are God-fearing in that you have not withheld your son, your only one, from me." At that Abraham raised his eyes and looked and there, deep in the foreground was ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up for a burnt offering in place of his son. And Abraham began to call the name of that place Jehovahjireh. This is why it is customarily said today -- "In the mountain of Jehovah it will be provided." And Jehovah's Angel proceeded to call to Abraham the 2nd time out of the heavens and to say -- "'By myself I do swear,' is the utterance of God, that by the reason of the fact that you have done this thing, you have not withheld your son, your only one. I shall surely bless you and shall certainly multiply your offspringas many as stars in the sky and sands on the shore and your seed like the stars of the heavens and like the grains of sand that are on the seashore -- and your seed will take possession of the gate of his enemies. And by means of your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves due to the fact that you have listened to my voice.'" After that Abraham returned to his attendants, and they got up and went their way together to Beersheba -- and Abraham continued to dwell at Beersheba. Now it came about after these things that the report got through to Abraham -- "Here Milcah herself has also borne sons to Nahor your brother -- Uz his 1st born and Buz his brother and Kemuel the father of Aram, and Chesed and Hazo and Pildash and Jidlaph and Bethuel." And Bethuel became father of Rebekah. These 8 Milcah bore to Nahor the brother of Abraham. There was his concubine too, whose name was Reumah. In time she herself also gave birth to Tebah and Gaham and Tahash and Maacah. 23 And Sarah's life got to be a 127 years long. They were the years of Sarah's life. So Sarah died in Kiriatharba, that is to say, Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham came in to bewail Sarah and to weep over her. Then Abraham got up from before his dead and proceeded to speak to the sons of Heth, saying -- "An alien resident and settler I am among you. Give me the possession of a burial place among you that I may bury my dead out of my sight." At this the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying to him-- "Hear us, my lord, a chieftain of God you are in the midst of us. In the choicest of our burial places bury your dead. None of us will hold back his burial place from you to prevent burying your dead." Thereupon Abraham got up and bowed down to the natives, to the sons of Heth, and spoke with them, saying -- "If your souls agree to bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me and urge Ephron the son of Zohar for me, that he may give me the cave of Machpelah, which is his, which is at the extremity of his field. For the full amount of silver let him give it to me in the midst of you for the possession of a burial place." As it was, Ephron was sitting among the sons of Heth. So Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the
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sons of Heth with all those entering the gate of his city, saying --"No, my lord! Listen to me. The field I do give to you, and the cave that is in it to you I do give it. Before the eyes of the sons of my people I do give it to you. Bury your dead." At that Abraham bowed down before the natives, and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the natives, saying -- "Only if you -- no, listen to me! I will give you the amount of silver for the field. Take it from me, that I may bury my dead there." Then Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him -- "My lord, listen to me. A land plot worth 400 shekels, what is that between me and you? So bury your dead." Accordingly Abraham listened to Ephron and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the amount of silver that he had spoken in the hearing of the sons of Heth, 400 silver shekels current with the merchants. Thus the field of Ephron that was Machpelah, which is in front of Mamre, the field and the cave that was in it and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all its boundaries round about, became confirmed to Abraham as his purchased property before the eyes of the sons of Heth among all those entering the gate of his city. And after that Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah in front of Mamre, that is to say, Hebron, in the land of Canaan. Thus the field and the cave that was in it became confirmed to Abraham for the possession of a burial place at the hands of the sons of Heth. 24 Now Abraham was old, advanced in years -- and God had blessed him in everything. Hence Abraham said to his servant, oldest one of his household, who was managing all he had -- "Put your hand, please, under my thigh, as I must have you swear by God, the Lord of the heavens and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in among whom I am dwelling, but you will go to my country and to my relatives, and you will certainly take a wife for my son, for Isaac." However, the servant said to him -- "What if the woman does not wish to come with me to this land? Must I be sure to return your son to the land from where you went out?" At this Abraham said to him -- "Be on your guard that you do not return my son there. God the Lord of the heavens, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my relatives and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying -- 'To your seed I am going to give this land,' he will send his angel ahead of you, and you will certainly take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman should not wish to come with you, you also will have become is free from this oath you gave me. Only you must not return my son there.'" With that the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning this matter. So the servant took 10 camels from the camels of his master and proceeded to go with every sort of good thing of his master's in his hand. Then he rose and got on his way to Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor. Eventually, he had the camels kneel down outside the city at a well of water about evening time, about the time that the women who draw water were accustomed to go out. And
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he went on to say -- "God the Lord of my master Abraham, cause it to happen, please, before me this day and perform loving kindness with my master Abraham. Here I am stationed at a fountain of water, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water. What must occur is that the young woman to whom I shall say -- 'Let water jar down, please, that I may take a drink,' and who will indeed say -- 'Take a drink, and I shall also water your camels' this is the one you must assign to your servant, to Isaac -- and by this let me know that you have performed loyal love with my master." Well, it came about that before he had finished speaking, why, here coming out was Rebekah, who had been born to Bethuel the son of Milcah the wife Nahor, Abraham's brother. And her water jar was upon her shoulder. Now the young woman was very attractive in appearance, a virgin, and no man had se*ual interc*urse with her -- and she made her way down to fill her water jar and then came up. At once the servant ran to meet her and said -- "Give me, please, a little sip of water from your jar." In turn she said -- "Drink, my lord." With that she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. When she was finished giving him a drink, then she said -- "For your camels too I shall draw water until they are done drinking." So she quickly emptied her jar into a trough and ran yet again and again to the well to draw water, and kept drawing for all of his camels. All the while the man gazing at her in wonder, keeping silent to know whether God had made his trip successful or not. Consequently it came about that, when the camels had finished drinking, then the man took a gold nose ring of 1/2 shekel in weight and 2 bracelets for her hands, 10 shekels of gold was their weight, and he went on to say -- "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, please. Is there any room at the house of your father for us to spend the night?" At that she said to him -- "I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore him to Nahor." And she said further to him -- "There is both straw and much fodder with us, also a place to spend the night." And the man proceeded to bow down and prostrate (lay face down on the ground his arms stretched out by his sides) before God and say -- "Blessed be Jehovah the God of my master Abraham, who has not left loving-kindness and his trustworthiness toward my master. I being on the way, God has led me to the house of the brothers of my master." And young woman went running and telling the household of her mother about these things. Now Rebekah had a brother and his name was Laban. So Laban went running to the man who was outside at the fountain. And it came about that on seeing the nose ring and the bracelets on the hands of sister and on hearing the words of Rebekah his sister saying-- "This was the way the man spoke to me," then he came to the man and there he was, standing by the camels at the fountain. At once he said --"Come, you blessed one of God. Why do you keep standing out here, when I myself had made the house ready and room for the camels?" With that the man came on into the house, and he went unharnessed the camels and giving straw and fodder to the camels and water
to wash his feet and the feet of men who were with him. Then something to eat was set before him, but he he said -- "I shall not eat until I have spoken about my matters." Hence he said -- "Speak!" Then he went on to say -- "I am Abraham's servant. And God has blessed my master very much in that he goes on making him greater and giving him sheep and cattle and silver and gold and menservants and maidservants and camels and asses. Further, Sarah the wife of my master bore a son to my master after her growing old -- and he will give him everything he has. So my master made me swear, saying -- 'You must not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I am dwelling. No, but you will go to the house of my father and to my family and you must take a wife for my son.' But I said to my master, 'What if the woman will not come with me?' Then he said to me -- 'Jehovah, before whom I have walked, will send his angel with you and will certainly give success to your way -- and you must take a wife for my son from my family and from the house of my father. At that time you will be cleared of obligation to me by oath when you get to my family, and if they will not give her to you, then you shall become free of obligation to me by oath.' "When I got to the fountain today, then I said -- 'God the Jehovah of my master Abraham, if you are really giving success to my way on which I am going, here I am stationed at a fountain of water. What must occur is that the maiden coming out to draw water to whom I shall actually say -- "Please, let me drink a little water from your jar," and who will indeed say to me -- "Both you take a drink, and I shall also draw water for your camels,' she is the woman whom God has assigned for the son of my master.' "Before I was finished speaking in my heart, why, there was Rebekah coming out, with her jar upon her shoulder -- and she made her way down to the fountain and began to draw water. Then I said to her -- 'Give me a drink, please.' So she quickly lowered her jar from off her and said -- 'Take a drink, and I shall also water your camels.' Then I took a drink, and she also watered the camels. After that I asked her and said -- 'Whose daughter are you?' to which she said -- 'The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.' Accordingly I put the nose ring on her nostril and bracelets on her hands. And I proceeded to bow down and prostrate myself before God and bless God the Lord of my master Abraham, who had led me to in the true way to take the daughter of the brother of my master for his son. And now if you are actually exercising loving-kindness and trustworthiness toward my master, tell me, but if not, tell me, that I turn to the right hand or to the left." Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said --"From God this thing has issued. We are unable to speak bad or good to you. Here is Rebekah before you. Take her and go, and let her become a wife to the son of your master, just as God has spoken." And it came about that when Abraham's servant had heared their words, he at once prostrated himself on the earth before God. And the servant began to bring out articles of silver and articles of gold and garments and to give them to Rebekah -- and he gave
choice things to her brother and her mother. After that they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and they spent the night there and got up in the morning. Then he said -- "Send me off to my master." To this her brother and her mother said -- "Let the young woman stay with us at least 10 days. Afterward she can go" But he said to them -- "Do not detain me, seeing that God has given success to my way. Send me off, that I may go to my master." So they said --"Let us call the young woman and inquire at her mouth." Then they called Rebekah and said to her -- "Will you go with this man?" In turn she said -- "I am willing to go." At that they sent off Rebekah their sister and her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. And they began to bless Rebekah and say to her, "O You, our sister, may you become 1,000 X 10,000 and let your seed take possession of the gate of those who hate it." After that Rebekah and her lady attendants rose and they went riding on the camels and following the man -- and the servant took Rebekah and got on their way. Now Isaac had come from the way that goes to Beerlahairoi, for he was dwelling in the land of Negeb. And Isaac was out walking in order to meditate in the field at about the falling of evening. When he raised his eyes and looked, why, there camels were coming! When Rebekah raised her eyes, she caught sight of Isaac and she swung herself down from off the camel. Then she said to the servant -- "Who is that man there walking in the field to meet us?" and the servant said -- "It is my master." And she proceeded to take a headcloth and to cover herself. And the servant went relating to Isaac all the things he had done. After that Isaac brought her into the tent of Sarah, his mother. Thus he took Rebekah and she became his wife -- and he fell in love with her, and Isaac found comfort after the loss of his mother. 25 Furthermore, Abraham again took a wife, her name was Keturah. In time she gave birth to Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. And Jokshan became father to Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan became Asshurim, Letushim, Leummim. And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah. Later on Abraham gave everything he had to Isaac, but to the sons of concubines that Abraham had Abraham gave gifts. Then he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, eastward, to the land of the East. And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life which he lived, 175 years. Then Abraham expired and died in good old age, old and satisfied, and was gathered to his people. So Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite that is in front of Mamre, the field that Abaham had purchased from sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and also Sarah his wife. And it developed that after Abraham's death God continued to bless Isaac his son, and Isaac
was dwelling close by Beerlahairoi. And this is the history of Ishmael
the son of Abraham whom Hagar the Egyptian the maidservant of Sarah
bore to Abraham. Now these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their family origins -- Ishmael's 1st born Nebaioth and Kedar and Adbeel and Mibsam and Mishma and Dumah and Massa, Hadad and Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are the their names by their courtyards and by their walled camps -- 12 chieftains according to their clans. And these are the years of Ishmael's life, a 137 years. Then he expired and died and was gathered to his people. And they took up tabernacling from Havilah near Shur, which is in front of Egypt, as far as Assyria. In front of all his brothers he settled down. And this is the history of Isaac the son of Abraham. Abraham became father to Isaac. And Isaac happened to be 40 years old at his taking Rebekah the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Paddanaram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, as his wife. And Isaac kept on entreating Jehovah especially for his wife, because she was barren, so Jehovah let himself be entreated for him, and Rebekah his wife became pregnant. And the sons within her began to struggle with each other, so that she said -- "If this is the way it is, just why am I alive?" With that she went to inquire of Jehovah. And God proceeded to say to her -- "2 nations are in your belly, and 2 national groups will be separated from your inward parts -- and the one national group will be stronger than the other national group, and the older will serve the younger." Gradually her days came to the full for giving birth, and, look! twins were in her belly. Then the 1st came out red all over like an official garment of hair -- so they called his name Esau. And after that his brother came out and his hand was holding onto the heel of Esau, so he called his name Jacob. And Isaac was 60 years old at her giving them birth. And the boys got bigger, and Esau became a man knowing how to hunt, a man of the field, but Jacob a blameless man, dwelling in tents. And Isaac had love for Esau, because it meant game in his mouth, whereas Rebekah was lover of Jacob. Once Jacob was boiling up some stew, when Esau came along from the field and he was tired. So Esau said to Jacob -- "Quick, please, give me a swallow of the red -- the red there, for I am tired!" That is why his name was called Edom. To this Jacob said -- "Sell me, 1st of all, your rights as the 1stborn!" And Esau continued -- "Here I am simply going to die, and of what benefit to me is a birthright?" And Jacob added -- "Swear to me 1st of all!" And he proceeded to swear to him and to sell his right as right as 1stborn to Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he went eating and drinking. Then he got up and went his way. So Esau despised the birthright. 26 Now there arose a famine in the land, besides the 1st famine that occurred in the days of Abraham, so that Isaac directed himself to Abimelech,
king of the Philistines, to Gerar. Then God appeared to him and said -- "Do not go down to Egypt. Tabernacle in the land that I designated to you. Reside as an alien in this land, and I shall continue with you and bless you, because to you and to your seed I shall give all these lands, I will carry out the sworn statement which I swore to Abraham your father -- 'And multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens and I will give to your seed all these lands -- and by means your seed all nations of the earth will certainly bless themselves.' due to the fact that Abraham listened to my voice and continued to keep his obligations to me, my commands, my statutes, and my laws." So Isaac went on dwelling in Gerar. Well, the men of the place kept asking with respect to his wife, and he would say-- "She is my sister" For he was afraid to say "My wife" for fear that, to quote him -- "the men of the place should kill me because of Rebekah," because she was attractive in appearance. So it came about that as his days there extended themselves Abimelech, king of the Philistines, was looking out the window and taking in the sight, and there was Isaac having a good time with Rebekah. At once Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Why, she is no other than your wife! So how is it you said -- "She is my sister?" At that Isaac said to him -- "I said it for fear I should die on her account." But Abimelch continued -- "What is this you have done to us? A little more and certainly one of the people would have lain down with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us!" Then Abimelech commanded all the people, saying -- "Anybody touching this man and his wife will surely be put to death!" After Isaac began to sow seed in that land, and in that year he was getting up to a 100 measures to one, as God blessed him. Consequently the man became great and went on advancing more and more and growing greater until he got very great. And he came to have flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and a large body of servants, so that the Philistines began to envy him. As for the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham his father, these the Philistines stopped up and they would fill them with dry earth. Finally Abimelech said to Isaac -- "Move from our neighborhood, because you have grown far stronger than we are." So Isaac moved from there and encamped in the torrent valley of Gerar and took up dwelling there. And Isaac proceeded to dig again the wells of water that they had dug in the days of Abraham his father but which the Philistines went stopping up after Abraham's death. -- and he resumed calling their names by the names that his father had called them. And the servants of Isaac went on digging in the torrent valley and so they found there a well of fresh water. But the shepherds of Gerar fell to quarreling with shepherds of Isaac, saying -- "The water is ours!" Hence he called name of the well Esek, because they contended with him. And they went digging another well, and they fell to quarreling over it also. Hence he called its name Sitnah. Later he moved away from there and dug another well, but they did not quarrel over it. Hence he called its name Rehoboth and said -- "It
is because now God has given us ample room and has made us fruitful in the earth." Then he went up from there Beersheba. And God proceeded to appear to him during that night and to say -- "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, because I am with you and will bless you and multiply your seed on account of Abraham my servant." Accordingly he built an altar there and called on the name of God and pitched his tent there and the servants of Isaac went excavating a well there. Later on Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath his confidential friend and Phicol the chief of his army. At this Isaac said to them -- "Why have you come to me, seeing that you yourselves hated me and so sent me away from your neighborhood?" To this they said -- "We have unmistakably seen that God has proved to be with you. Hence we said -- 'Let, please, an oath of obligation occur between us, between us and you, and let us conclude a covenant with you, that you will do nothing bad toward us just as we have not touched you and just as we have done only good toward you in that we sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed of God.'" Then he made a feast for them and they ate and drank. Next morning they were early in rising and they made sworn statements one to other. After that Isaac sent them away and they went from him in peace. Now on that day it occurred that the servants of Isaac proceeded to come and reported to him regarding the well that they had dug, and to say to him -- "We have found water!" Hence he called its name Shibah. That is why the name of the city is Beersheba, down to this day. And Esau grew to be 40 years old. Then he took as wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite and also Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite. And they were source of bitterness of spirit to Isaac and Rebekah. 27 Now it came about that when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see he then called Esau his older son and said to him -- "My son!" at which he said to him -- "Here I am!" And he went on to say -- "Here, now, I have become old. I do not know the day of my death. So at this time take, please, your implements, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt some venison (deer) for me. Then make me a tasty dish such as I am fond of and bring it to me and, ah, let me eat, in order that my soul may bless you before I die." However, Rebekah was listening while Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went out into the field to hunt game and bring it in. And Rebekah said to Jacob her son -- "Here I just heard your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying -- "Bring me some game and make me a tasty dish and, ah, let me eat, that I may bless you before God before my death. And now, my son, listen to my voice in what I am commanding you. Go, please, to the herd and get me from there 2 kids of the goats, good ones, that I may make them up into a tasty dish for your father such as he is fond of. Then you must bring it to your father and he must eat it, in order that he may bless you before his death." And Jacob proceeded to say to Rebekah his mother --
"But Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man. What if my father feels me? Then I shall certainly become in his eyes like one making a mockery, and I shall certainly bring upon myself a malediction and not a blessing." At this his mother said to him -- "Upon me be the malediction meant for you, my son. Only listen to my voice and go, get them for me." Accordingly he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made a tasty dish such as his father was fond of. After that Rebekah took garments of Esau her older son, the most desirable ones which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. And the skins of the kids of the goats she put upon his hands and upon the hairless part of his neck. Then she gave the tasty dish and the bread that she had made into the hand of Jacob her son. So he went on in to his father and said -- "My father!" to which he said -- "Here I am! Who are you, my son?" And Jacob went on to say to his father -- "I am Esau your 1stborn. I have done just as you have spoken to me. Raise yourself up, please. Sit down and eat some of my game, in order that your soul may bless me." At that Isaac said to his son -- "How is it that you have been so quick in finding it, my son?" In turn he said -- "Because your God caused it to meet up with me." Then Isaac said to Jacob -- "Come near, please, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not." So Jacob came near to Isaac his father, and he went feeling him, after which he said -- "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." And he did not recognize him, because his hands proved to be hairy like the hands of Esau, his brother. Hence he blessed him. After that he said -- "You are really my son Esau?" to which he said -- "I am." Then Isaac said -- "Bring it near to me so I may eat some of the game of my son, to the end that my soul may bless you." with that he brought it near to him and he began to eat, and he brought him wine, and he began to drink. Then Isaac his father said to him -- "Come near, please, and kiss me, my son." So he came near and kissed him, and he could smell the scent of his garments. And he proceeded to bless him and to say -- "See, the scent of my son is like the scent of the field which God blessed and may the true God give you the dews of the heaven and the fertile soils of the earth and an abundance of grain and new wine. Let people serve you and let national groups bow low to you. Become master over your brothers, and let the sons of your mother in law bow low to you. Cursed be each one of those cursing you, and blessed be each one of those blessing you." Now it came about as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, yes, it indeed came about when Jacob had barely come out from before the face of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came back from his hunting. And he too went about making a tasty dish. Then he brought it to his father and said to his father -- "Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game, in order that your soul may bless me." At this Isaac his father siad to him -- "Who are you?" to which he said -- "I am your son, your 1stborn, Esau." And Isaac began to shake with a great trembling in extreme measure,
and so he said -- "Who, then, was it that hunted for game and came bringing it to me, so that I ate of everything before you could come in and I blessed him? Blessed too he will become!" On hearing his father's words Esau began to cry out in an extremely loud and bitter manner and to say to his father -- "Bless me, even me too, my father!" But he went on to say -- "Your brother came with deception that he might get the blessing meant for you." At this he said -- "Is that not why his name is called Jacob, in that he should supplant me these 2 times? My birthright he has already taken, and here at this time he has taken my blessing!" Then he added -- "Have you not reserved a blessing for me?" But in answer to Esau Isaac continued -- "Here I have appointed him master over you, and all his brothers I have given to him as servants, and grain and new wine I have bestowed for his support, and where is there anything I can do for you, my son?" Then Esau said to his father -- "Is there just one blessing that you have, my father? Bless me, even me too, my father!" With that Esau raised his voice and burst into tears. So in answer Isaac his father said to him-- "Behold, away from the fertile soils of the earth your dwelling will be found, and away from the dew of the heavens above. And by your sword you will live, and your brother restless, you will indeed break his yoke off your neck." However, Esau harbored animosity for Jacob on account of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau kept saying in his heart -- "The days of the period of mourning for my father are getting closer. After that I am going to kill Jacob my brother." When the words of Esau her older son were told to Rebekah, she at once sent and called Jacob her younger son and said to him -- "Look! Esau your brother is comforting himself in regard to you -- to kill you. Now, then, my son, listen to my voice and get up, run away to Laban my brother at Haran. And you must dwell with him for some days until the rage of your brother calms down, until the anger of your brother turns away from you and he has forgotten what you done to him. And I shall certainly send and get you from there. Why should I bereaved also of both of you in one day?" After that Rebekah kept saying to Isaac -- "I have come to abhor this life of mine because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob ever takes a wife from the daughters of Heth like these from the daughters of the land, of what good is life to me?" 28 Consequently Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and commanded him and said to him -- "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan. Get up go to Paddanaram to the house of Bethuel the father of your mother and from there take yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban the brother of your mother. And God Almighty will bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, and you will certainly become a congregation of peoples. And he will give to you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your seed with you, that you may take possession of the land of your alien residences, which God has given to Abraham."
So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he struck out for Paddanaram, for Laban the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddanaram to take from there a wife for himself, and that when he blessed him he laid command upon him, saying -- "Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan" -- and that Jacob was obeying his father and mother and was on his way to Paddanaram -- Then Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were displeasing in the eyes of Isaac his father. Hence Esau went to Ishmael and took as wife Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael the son of Abraham, the sister of Nebaioth, besides his other wives. And Jacob continued his way out from Beersheba and kept going to Haran. In time he came across a place and set about spending there because the Sun had set. So he took one of the stones of the place and set it as his head supporter and lay down in that place. And he began to dream and, look! there was a ladder stationed upon the earth and its top reaching up to the heavens, and, look! there were God's angels ascending and descending on it. And look! there was God stationed above it, and he proceeded to say --"I am Jehovah the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac. The land upon which you are lying, to you I am going to give it and to your seed. And your seed will certainly become the dust particles of the earth, and you will certainly spread abroad to the west, to the east and to the north and to the south, and by means of you and by means of your seed all the families of the ground will certainly bless themselves. And here I am with you and I will keep you in all the way you are going and I return you to this ground, because I am not going to leave you until I have actually done what I spoken to you." Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said - "Truly Jehovah is in this place, but I myself didn't know it." And he grew fearful and added -- "How fear inspiring his place is fear inspiring this place is! This is nothing else but the house of God and this is the gate of heavens." So Jacob got up early in the morning and took the stone that was there as his head supporter and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. Further, he called the name of that place Bethel -- but the fact is, Luz was city's name formerly. And Jacob went on to vow a vow, saying -- "If God will continue with me and will certainly keep me on this way on which I am going and will certainly give me bread to eat and garments to wear and I shall certainly return in peace to the house of my father, then Jehovah will have proved to be my God. And this stone I have set up as a pillar will become a house of God, and as for everything that you will give me I shall without fail give the 10th of it to you." 29 After that Jacob set his feet in motion and traveled on to the land of the Orientals. Now he looked, and here there was a well in the field and here 3 droves of sheep were lying down there by it, because from that well they were accustomed to water the droves -- and there was a great stone over the mouth of the well. When all the droves had been gathered there,
they rolled stone away from off the mouth of the well, and they watered the flocks, after they returned the stone over to the mouth of the well. to its place. So Jacob said to them -- "My brothers, from what place are you?" to which they said -- "We are from Haran." Then he said to them -- "Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor?" to which they said --"We know him." At this he said to them -- "Is it all right with him?" In turn they said -- "It is all right. And here is Rachel his daughter coming with the sheep." And he went on to say -- "Why, is it yet full day. It is not the time for gathering the herds, Water the sheep, then go feed them." To this they said -- "We are not allowed to do so until all the droves are gathered and they actually roll away the stone from off the mouth of the well. Then we must water the sheep." While he was yet speaking with them, Rachel came with the sheep that belonged to her father, for she was a shepherdess. And it came about that when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, Jacob immediately approached and rolled away the stone off the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel and raised his voice and burst into tears. And Jacob began to tell Rachel that he was the brother of her father and that he was son of Rebekah. And she went running to telling her father. Now it came about that as soon as Laban heard the report about Jacob the son of his sister, he went running to meet him. Then he embraced him and kissed him and brought him on into the house. And he began to relate to Laban all these things. After that Laban said to him -- "You are indeed my bone and my flesh." So he went with him a full month. After that Laban said to Jacob -- "Are you my brother? and must serve me for nothing? Tell me, What are your wages to be? As it was, Laban had 2 daughters. The name of the older was Leah and the name of younger Rachel. But the eyes of Leah had no luster, whereas Rachel had become beautiful in form and beautiful of countenance (face, expression). And Jacob was in love with Rachel. So he said --"I am willing to serve you 7 years for Rachel your younger daughter." To this Laban said -- "It is better or me to give her to you than for me to giver her to another man. Keep dwelling with me." And Jacob proceeded to serve 7 years for Rachel, but in his eyes they proved to be like some few days because of his love for her. Then Jacob said to Laban -- "Give over my wife, because my days are up, and let me have relations with her." With that Laban gathered all the men of the place and made a feast. But it turned out that during the evening he resorted to taking Leah his daughter and bringing her to him that he might have relations with her. Moreover, Laban gave to her Zilpah his maidservant, even to Leah his daughter, as a maidservant. So it followed in the morning here it was Leah! Consequently he said to Laban -- "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served with you? So why have you tricked me?" To this Laban said -- "It is not done ordinarily to do this way in our place, to give the younger woman before the 1stborn. Celebrate to
the full week of this woman. After that there shall be given to you also this other woman for the service that you can serve me for 7 years more." According Jacob did so and celebrated fully the week of this woman, after which he gave him Rachel his daughter as his wife. Besides Laban gave Bilhah his maidservant to Rachel to his daughter as maidservant. Then he had relations also with Rachel and also expressed more love for Rachel than for Leah, and he went serving with him for yet 7 years more. When God came to see that Leah was hated, HE opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah became pregnant and brought a son to birth and then called his name Reuben, for she said -- "It is because God has looked upon my wretchedness, in that my husband will begin to love me." And she became pregnant again and brought a son and then said --"It is because God has listened, in that I was hated so he gave me also this one." Hence she called his name Simeon. And she became pregnant again brought a son to birth and then said -- "Now this time my husband will join himself to me, because I have borne him 3 sons." His name therefore was called Levi. And she became pregnant once more and brought a son to birth and then said --"This time I shall laud (praise) God." She therefore called his name Judah. After that she left off giving birth. 30 Then Rachel came to see that she had borne nothing to Jacob, Rachel got jealous of her sister and began to say to Jacob-"Give me children or otherwise I shall be a dead woman." At this Jacob's anger burned against Rachel and he said -- "Am I in the place of God? Who has held back the fruit of belly from you?" So she said- -"Here is my slave girl Bilhah. Have relations with her, that she may give birth upon my knees and that I, even I may get children from her." With that she gave him Bilhah her maidservant as wife, and Jacob had relations with her. And Bilhah became pregnant and in time bore Jacob a son. Then Rachel said -- "God has acted as my judge and has listened to my voice, so that he gave me a son." That is why she called his name Dan. And Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, became pregnant once more and in time bore a 2nd son to Jacob. Then Rachel said -- "With strenuous wrestlings I have wrestled with my sister. I also come off a winner!" So she called his name Naphtali. When Leah came to see that she had left off giving birth, she proceeded to take Zilpah, her maidservant and give her to Jacob as wife. In time Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, bore a son to Jacob. Then Leah said -- "With good fortune!" So she named him Gad. After that Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, bore a 2nd son to Jacob. then Leah said-- "With my happiness! For the daughters will certainly pronounce me happy." So she called his name Asher. Now Reuben went walking in the days of the wheat harvest and got to find mandrakes in the field. So he brought them to Leah his mother. Then Rachel said to Leah -- "Give me, please, some your son's mandrakes." At this she said to her -- "Is this a little thing, your
having taken my husband, with your now taking also my son's mandrakes?" So Rachel said --"For that reason he is going to lie down with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes." When Jacob was coming from the field in the evening, Leah went on out to meet him and then said --"It is with me you are going to have relations, because I have hired you outright with my son's mandrakes." Accordingly he lay down with her that night. And God heard and answered Leah and she became pregnant and in time bore to Jacob a 5th son. Then Leah said -- "God has given me a hireling's (laborer's wages} because I have given my maidservant to my husband." So she called his name Issachar. And Leah became pregnant once more and in time bore a 6th son to Jacob. Then Leah said -- "God has endowed me, yes, me, with a good endowment. At last my husband will tolerate me, because I have borne him 6 sons." So she called his name Zebulun. And after that she bore a daughter and then called her name Dinah. Finally God remembered Rachel, and God heard and answered her in that she opened her womb. And she became pregnant and brought a son to birth. Then she said -- "God has taken away my reproach!" So she called his name Joseph, saying -- "God is adding another son to me!" And it followed that when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob immediately said to Laban -- "Send me away that I may go to my place and to my country. Give over my wives and my children, for whom I have served with you, that I may go -- for you yourself must know my service which I have rendered you." Then Laban said to him -- "If, now, I have found favor in your eyes -- I have taken the omens to the effect that God is blessing me due to you." And he added -- "Stipulate (Specify) your wages to me and I will give them." So he said to him -- "You yourself must know how I have served you and how your herd has fared with me -- that it was little that you actually had before my coming, and it went expanding to a multitude, in that God blessed you since I stepped in. So now when am I to do something for my own house?" then he said -- "What shall I give you?" And Jacob went on to say -- "You will give me nothing whatsoever! If you will do this thing for me, I shall resume shepherding your flock. I shall continue guarding it. I will pass among your whole flock today. You set aside from there every sheep speckled and with color patches, every dark brown sheep among the young rams and any color patched and speckled one among the she goats. Hereafer such must be my wages. And my rightdoing must answer for me on whatever future day you may come to look over my wages -- every one that is not speckled and color patched among the she goats and dark brown among the young rams is something stolen if it is with me." To this Laban said -- "Why, that is fine! Let it be according to your word." Then he set aside on that day he goats and striped and color patched and all the she goats speckled and color patched, every one in which there was any white and every one dark brown among the young rams, but he gave them over into the hands of his sons. After that he set a distance of 3 days journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob
was shepherding the flocks of Laban that remained over. Then Jacob took for his use staffs still moist of the storax tree and of the almond tree and peeled spots by laying bare white places which were upon the staffs. Finally the staffs that he had peeled he placed in front of the flock, in the gutters, in the water drinking troughs, where the flocks would come to drink, that they might get into a heat before them when they came to drink. Consequently, the flock would get in heat before the staffs and the flocks would produce striped, specked and color patched ones. And Jacob separated the young rams and then turned the faces of the flocks ot the striped ones and all the dark ones among the flocks of Laban. And it always occurred that whenever the robust flocks would get in heat, Jacob would locate the staffs in the gutters before the eyes of the flocks, that they might get in heat by the staffs. But when the flocks showed feebleness he would not locate them there. So the feeble ones always came to be Laban's, but the robust ones Jacob's. And the man went on increasing more and more, and great flocks and maidservants and menservants and camels and asses came to be his. 31 In time he got to hear the words of the sons of Laban, saying --"Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father -- and from what belonged to our father he has amassed all his wealth." When Jacob would look at the face of Laban, here it was not with him as formerly. Finally God said to Jacob -- "Return to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I shall continue with you." Then Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah, out to the field to his flock, and he said to them -- "I am seeing the face your father, that he is not the same toward me as formerly -- but the God of my father has proved to be with me. And you yourselves certainly know that with all my power I have served your father. And your father has trifled with me and he has changed my wages 10 times, but God has not allowed him to do me harm. If on the one hand he would say -- "The speckled ones will become your wages,' then the whole flock produced speckled ones --but on the other hand, he would say, "The striped ones will become your wages', then the whole flock produced striped one. So God kept taking the herd of your father away and giving it to me. At last it came about at the time when the flock got in heat that I raised my eyes and saw a sight in a dream and here the he goats springing upon the flock were striped, speckled and spotty. Then the angel of the true God said to me in the dream, 'Jacob!' to which I said, 'Here I am.' And he continued, 'Raise your eyes, please, and see all the he goats springing upon the flock are striped, specked and spotty, for I have seen all that Laban is doing to you. I am the true God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you vowed a vowed a vow to me. Now get up, go out of this land and return to the land of your birth.'" At this Rachel and Leah answered and said to him -- "Is there share of inheritance for us anymore in the house of
our father?" Are we not really considered as foreigners to him since he has sold us, so that he keeps eating continually even from the money given for us? For all the riches that God has taken away from our father are ours and our children's. So now everything God has said to you do." Then Jacob got up and lifted his children and his wives onto the camels -- and he began driving all his herd and all the goods that he had accumulated, the herd of his acquisition that he had accumulated in Paddanaram, in order to go to Isaac his father to the land of Canaan. Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep. Meantime Rachel stole the teraphim (shrine) that belonged to her father. So Jacob outwitted Laban the Syrian, because he did not told him that he was running away. And he proceeded to run away and to get up cross the River, he and all he had. After that he directed his face to the mountainous region of Gilead. Later, on the 3rd day, it was told to Laban that Jacob had run away. With that he took his brothers with him and went chasing after him for a distance of 7 days' journey and caught up with him in the mountainous region of Gilead. Then God came to Laban the Syrian in a dream by night and said to him -- "Watch yourself that you do not go speaking either good or bad with Jacob." So Laban approached Jacob, as Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain and Laban had encamped his brothers in the mountainous region of Gilead. Then Laban said to Jacob -- "What have you done, in that you resorted to outwitting me and driving my daughters off like captives taken by the sword? Why did you have to run away secretly, outwit me and not tell me, that I might send you away rejoicing and with songs, with tambourine and with harp? And you did not give me a chance to kiss my children and my daughters. Now you have acted foolishly. It is in the power of my hand to do harm to you people, but the God of your father talked to me last night, saying, 'Watch yourself against speaking either good or bad with Jacob.' While you have actually gone now because you have been yearning intensely for the house of your father, why, though, have you stolen my gods (shrine)?" In answer Jacob proceeded to say to Laban -- "It was because I was afraid. For I said to myself, 'You might tear your daughters away from me.' Whoever it is with whom you may find your gods, let them not live. Before our brothers, examine for yourself what is with me and take them for yourself." But Jacob did not know Rachel had stolen them. So Laban went on into the tent of Jacob and into the tent of Leah and into the tent of the 2 slave girls, but did not find them. Finally he went out of Leah's tent and went on into the Rachel's tent. Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and she resorted to putting them in the woman's saddle basket of the camel, and she kept sitting upon them. So Laban went feeling through the whole tent, but did not find them. Then she said to her father -- "Do not let anger glean in the eyes of my lord, because I am not able to get up before you, for customary thing with women is upon me." So he searched on carefully, but did not find the teraphim. And Jacob became angry and began to quarrel with Laban, and in answer Jacob went
on to say to Laban -- "What is the revolt on my part, what the sin of mine, as a reason why you have hotly pursued after me? Now that you have felt through all my goods, what of all the goods of your house have you found? Put it here in front of my brothers and your brothers, and let them decide between us 2. These 20 years I have been with you. Your female sheep and your she goats did not suffer abortions, and the rams of your flock I never ate. Any animals torn in pieces I did not bring to you. I myself would stand the loss of it. Whether one was stolen by day or was stolen by night, you would put in a claim for it from my hand. It has been my experience that by day the heat consumed me and the cold by night, and sheep would flee from my eyes. This makes 20 years for me in your house. I have served you 14 years for your flock, and you kept changing my wages 10 times. If the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Dread of Isaac, had not proved on my side, you would now have sent me away empty handed! My wretchedness and the toil of my hands God has seen, and so he reproved you last night." Then Laban in answer said to Jacob -- "The daughters are my daughters and the children are my children and the flock my flock, and everything you are looking at is mine and my daughters.' What can I do against these today or against their children whom they have borne? And now, come, let us conclude a covenant (relationship, promise), I and you, and it must serve as a witness between me and you." According to Jacob took a stone and set it up as pillar. Then Jacob said to his brothers -- "Pick up the stones!" And they went taking stones and making a heap. After that they ate there on the heap. And Laban began calling it Jegarsahadutha but Jacob called it Galeed. And Laban proceeded to say -- "This heap is a witness between me and you today." That is why he called its name Galeed, and The Watchtower, because he said -- "Let Jehovah keep watch between me and you when we are situated unseen the one from the other. If you go afflicting my daughters and if you go to taking wives in addition to my daughters, there is no man with us. See! God is a witness between me and you." And Laban went on to say to Jacob -- "Here is this heap and here is the heap and the pillar that I have erected between me and you. This heap is a witness, and the pillar is something that bears witness, that I will not pass this heap against you and that you will not pass this heap and this pillar against me for harm. Let the god of Abraham and the god of Nahor judge between us, the god of their father." But Jacob swore by Dread of his father Isaac. After that Jacob sacrificed a sacrifice in the mountain and invited his brothers to eat bread and passed the night in the mountain. However, Laban got up early in the morning and kissed his children and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban got on his way that he might return to his own place. 32 And as for Jacob, he got on his way, and the angels of God now met up with him. Immediately Jacob said, when he saw them -- "The camp of God this is!" Hence he called the name of that place Mahanaim. Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to Esau his
brother to land of Seir, the field of Edom, and he commanded them, saying -- "This is what you will say to my lord, to Esau. 'This is what your servant Jacob has said -- "With Laban I have resided as an alien and I have stayed for a long time till now. And I have come to have bulls and asses, sheep, and menservants and maidservants, and I would like to send to notify my lord, that I may find favor in your eyes."'" In time the messengers returned to Jacob, saying -- "We got to your brother Esau, and he is also on his way to meet you, and 400 men with him." And Jacob became very much afraid and grew anxious. So he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and the cattle and the camels into 2 camps, and he said -- "If Esau should come to the one camp and assault it, then there is certain to be a camp remaining to make an escape." After Jacob said -- "O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O Jehovah, you who are saying to me, 'Return to your land and to your relatives and I will deal with you.' I am unworthy of all the loving-kindnesses and of all the faithfulness that you have exercised toward your servant, for with but my staff I crossed this Jordan and now I have become 2 camps. Deliver me, I pray you, from my brother's hand, from Esau's hand, because I am afraid of him that he may come and certainly assault me, mother together with children. And you, you have said -- 'Unquestionably I shall deal well with you and I will constitute your seed like the grains of sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.'" And he kept lodging there on that night. And from what came to his hand he proceeded to take a gift for Esau his brother -- 200 she- goats, 20 he- goats, 200 female sheep and 20 rams, 30 camels giving suck and their young ones, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 she-asses and 10 full-grown asses. Then he handed over to his servants one drove after another by itself and repeatedly said to his servants -- "Cross over ahead of me, and you are to set an interval between drove and drove." Further he commanded the 1st one, saying -- "In case that Esau my brother should meet you and ask you, saying, 'To whom do you belong, and where are you going and to whom do these ahead of you belong?' Then you must say, 'To your servant, to Jacob. A Gift it is, sent to my lord, to Esau, and look! he himself is also behind us.'" And he went on to command also the 2nd, also the 3rd, also all those following the droves saying-- "According to this word you are to speak to Esau on your encountering him. And must say also -- 'Here is your servant Jacob behind us,'" For he said to himself -- "I may appease him by gift going ahead of me, and afterward I shall see his face. Perhaps he will give a kindly reception." So the gift went crossing over ahead of him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp. Later during the night he rose and took his 2 wives and his 2 maidservants and his 11 young sons and crossed over the ford of Jabbok. So he took them and brought them over the torrent valley, and he brought over what he had. Finally Jacob was left by himself. Then a man began to grapple with him until the dawn ascended. When he got to
see that he had not prevailed over him, then he touched socket of his thigh joint -- and the socket of Jacob's thigh joint got out of place during his grappling with him. After that he said-- "Let me go, for the dawn has ascended." To this he said -- "I am not going to let you go until you 1st bless me." So he said to him -- "What is your name?" to which he said, "Jacob." Then he said, "Your name will no longer be called Jacob but Israel, for you have contended with God and with men so that you last prevailed." In turn Jacob inquired and said -- "Tell me, please, your name." However he said -- "Why is it that you inquire for my name?" With that he blessed him there. Hence Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, because to quote him, "I have seen God face to face and yet my soul was delivered." And the sun began to flash upon him as soon as he passed by Penuel, but he was limping upon his thigh. That is why sons of Israel are not accustomed to eat the sinew of the thigh nerve, which is on the socket of the thigh joint, down to this day, because he touched the socket of Jacob's thigh joint by the sinew of the thigh nerve. 33 In time Jacob raised his eyes and looked, and here Esau saw coming and with him 400 men. Consequently he divided off the children to Leah and to Rachel and to 2 maidservants, and he put maidservants and their children foremost and Leah and her children after them and Rachel and Joseph to the rear of them. And he himself passed on ahead of them and proceeded to bow down to the earth several times until he got near his brother. And Esau went running to meet him, and he began to embrace him and fall upon his neck and kiss him, and they burst into tears. Then he raised his eyes and saw the women and the children and said -- "Who are these with you?" to which he said -- "The children with whom God has favored your servant." At that the maidservants came forward, and her children, and bowed down --and Leah too came forward and her children, and they bowed down, and afterward Joseph came forward, and Rachel, and they bowed down. He now said -- "What do you mean by all this camp of travelers that I have met?" To this he said -- "In order to find favor in the eyes of my lord." Then Esau said -- "I have a great many, my brother. Let continue yours what is yours." However, Jacob said -- "No, please. If now, I have found a favor in your eyes, then you must take my gift at my hand, because in harmony with its purpose I have seen your face as though seeing God's face in that you received me with pleasure." Take, please, the gift conveying my blessing which was brought to you, because God has favored me and because I have everything." And he continued to urge him, so that he took it. Later on he said -- "Let us pull out and go, and let me go in advance of you." But he said to him -- "My lord is aware that the children are delicate and sheep and cattle that are giving suck in my charge, and should they drive too quickly for one day, then the whole flock will certainly die. Let my lord, please, pass on ahead of his servant, but may I myself continue the journey at my leisure according to the pace of the livestock that is before me and according to the pace of the children until
I shall come to my lord at Seir." Then Esau said -- "Let me, please, put at your disposal some of the people who are with me." To this he said -- "Why this? Let me find favor the eyes of my lord." So on that day Esau turned back on his way to Seir. And Jacob pulled out for Succoth, and he proceeded to build himself a house and for his herd he made booths. That was why he called the name of the place Succoth. In time Jacob came safe and sound to the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, while he was coming from Paddanaram -- and he pitched camp in front of the city. Then he acquired tract of the field where he pitched his tent at the hand of the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem, for a 100 pieces of money. After that he set up there an altar
and called it God the God of Israel. 34 Now Dinah daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, used to go out to see the daughters of the land. And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, a chieftain of the land, got to see her and then took her lay down with her and violated her. And his soul began to cling to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he fell in love with the young woman and kept speaking persuasively to the young woman. Finally Shechem said to Hamor his father -- "Get me this young lady as a wife." But Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter. His sons happened to be with his herd in the field -- and Jacob kept silent until they came in. Later Hamor, Shechem's father, went out to Jacob to speak with him. And the sons of Jacob came in from the field as soon as they heard of it -- and the men became hurt in their feelings and they grew very angry, because he had committed a disgraceful folly against Israel in lying down with Jacob's daughter, whereas nothing like that ought to be done. And Hamor proceeded to speak to them, saying -- "As for Shechem my son, his soul is attached to your daughter. Give her, please, to him as a wife, and form marriage alliances with us, and our daughters you are able to take for yourselves. And with us you may dwell, and the land will become available for you. Dwell and carry on business in it and get settled in it." Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you will say to me I shall give it. Raise very high the marriage money and gift imposed on me, and I stand willing to give according to what you may say to me -- only give me the young woman as a wife." And Jacob's sons began to answer Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit and to speak so because he had defiled Dinah their sister. And they went on to say to them -- "We cannot possibly do such a thing, to give our sister to a man who has a foreskin, because that is a reproach to us. Only on this condition can we give consent to you, that you become like us, by every male or yours getting circumcised. Then we shall certainly give our daughters to you, and your daughters we shall take for ourselves, and we shall certainly dwell with you and become one people. But if you do not listen to us to get circumcised, then we will take our daughters and go."
And their words seemed good in the eyes of Hamor and in the eyes of Shechem, Hamor's son, and the young man did not delay to perform the condition, because he did not find delight in Jacob's daughter and he was not the most honorable of the whole house of his father. So Hamor and Shechem his son went to the gate of their city and began to speak to the men of their city, saying -- "These men are peace loving toward us. Hence let them dwell in the land and carry on business in it, as the land is quite wide before them. Only on this condition will be the men give us their consent to dwell with us so as to become one people, that every male of ours gets circumcised just the way they are circumcised. Then their possessions and their wealth and all their livestock, will they not be ours? Only let us give them our consent so they may dwell with us." Then all those going out by the gate of his city listened to Hamor and to Shechem his son, and all the males got circumcised, all those going out by the gate of his city. However, it came about that on the 3rd day, when they got to be acting, the 2 sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, brothers of Dinah, proceeded to take each one his sword and to go unsuspectedly to the city and kill every male. And Hamor and Shechem his son they killed with the edge of sword. Then they took Dinah from out of Shechem's house and went on out. The other sons of Jacob attacked the fatally wounded men and went plundering (ransacking) the city, because they had defiled her sister. Their flocks and their herds and their asses and what was in the city and what was in the field they took. And all their means of maintenance and all their little children and their wives they carried off captives, so that they plundered all that was in the houses. At this Jacob said to Simeon and Levi -- "You have brought ostracism upon me in making me a stench to the inhabitants of the land, with the Canaanites and Perizzites -- whereas I am few in number, and they will certainly gather together against me and assault me and I and my house." In turn they said -- "Ought anyone treat our sister like a prostitute?" 35 After that God said to Jacob -- "Rise, go up to Bethel and dwell there, and make an altar to the true God who appeared to you when you were running away from Esau your brother." Then Jacob said to his household and who were with him -- "Put away the foreign gods and cleanse yourselves and change your mantles, and let us rise and go up to Bethel. And there I shall make an altar to the true God who answered me in the day of distress in that he proved to be with me in the way that I have gone." So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their hands and the earrings that in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the big tree that was close by Shechem. After that they pulled away, and the terror of God came to be upon the cities that they did not chase after the sons of Jacob. Eventually Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of
Canaan, that is to say, Bethel, he and all the people who were wth him. Then he built an altar there and began to call the place Elbethel, because there the true God had revealed himself to him at the time of his running away from his brother. Later Deborah, the nursing woman of Rebekah died and was buried a the foot of Bethel under a massive tree. Hence he called its name Allonbacuth. God now appeared to Jacob once again during his coming from Paddanaram and blessed him. And God went on to say to him -- "Your name is Jacob. No longer is your name to be called Jacob, but Israel will you name become." And he began to call his name Israel. And God said further to him -- "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and become many. Nations and a congregation of nations will proceed out of you, and kings will come out of your loins. As for the land that I have given to Abraham and Isaac, to you I shall give it, and to your seed after you I shall give the land." Consequently Jacob stationed a pillar in the place where he had spoken to him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering upon it and poured oil upon it. And Jacob continued to call the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. Then they pulled away from Bethel. And while there was yet a good stretch of land before coming to Ephrath, Rachel proceeded to give birth, and it was going hard with her in making the delivery. But so it was that while she had difficulty in making the delivery the midwife said to her -- "Do not be afraid, for you will have this son also." And the result was that as her soul was going out (because she died) she called his name Benoni -- but his father called him Benjamin. Thus Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is to say, Bethlehem. Hence Jacob stationed a pillar over her grave. This is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day. After that Israel pulled away and pitched his tent a distance beyond the tower of Eder. And it came about while Israel was tabernacling in that land that once Reuben went and lay down with Bilhah his father's concubine, and Israel got to hear of it. So there came to be 12 sons of Jacob -- The sons by Leah were Jacob's 1stborn Reuben, and Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Zebulun. The sons by Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. And the sons by Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali. And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These are Jacob's sons who were born to him in Paddanaram. At length Jacob came to Isaac his father in Mamre, to Kiriatharba, that is to say Hebron, where Abraham and also Isaac had resided as aliens. And the days of Isaac came to be a 180 years. And that Isaac expired and died and was gathered to his people, old and satisfied with days, and Esau and Jacob his son buried him. 36 This is history of Esau, that is to say, Edom. Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan -- Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite and Oholibamah the
daughter of Anah, the granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite, and Basemath,
Ishamel's daughter, sister of Nebaioth. And Jacob proceeded to bear Eliphaz to
Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, and Oholibamah bore to Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan. After that Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the souls of his house and his herd and all his other beasts and all his wealth, which he had accumulated in the land of Canaan, and went to a land away from Jacob his brother, because their goods become too great for them to dwell together and the land of their alien residences was not able to sustain them as a result of their herds. So Esau took up dwelling in the mountainous region of Seir. Esau is Edom. And this is history of Esau the father of Edom in the mountain region of Seir. These are the names of sons of Esau -- Eliphaz the son of Adah, Esau's wife -- Reuel the son of Basemath, Esau's wife. And the sons of Eliphaz came to be Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam and Kenaz. And Timna became the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau's son. In time she bore to Eliphaz Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife. The Sons of Reuel -- Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These came to be the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife. And these came to be the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, and granddaughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife, in that she bore to Esau Jeush and Jalam and Korah. These were the sheiks (head of the family, tribe) of sons of Esau -- The sons of Eliphaz, Esau's 1stborn-- sheiks -- Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, Amalek. Thsese are the sheiks of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons by Adah. These are the sons of Reuel, Esau's son-- Sheiks-- Nahath, Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sheiks of Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons by Basemath, Esau's wife. Finally these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife -- sheiks -- Jeush, Jalam, Korah. These are the sheiks of Oholibamah the daugther of Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, and these are their sheiks. He is Edom. These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land -- Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah and Dishon and Ezer and Dishan. These are the sheiks of Horite, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. And the sons of Lotan came to be Hori and Hemam and Lotan's sister was Timna. And these are the sons of Shobal - Alvan and Manahath and Ebal, Shepho and Onam. And these are the sons of Zibeon -- Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness while he was tending the asses for Zibeon his father. And these are the children of Anah -- Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. And these are the sons of Dishon -- Hemdan and Eshban and Ithran and Cheran.
These are the sons of Ezer -- Bilhan and Zaavan and Akan. These are the sons of Dishan. Uz and Aran. These are the sheiks of the Horite -- Sheiks -- Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, Dishan. And these are the sheiks of the Horite according to their sheiks in the land of Seir. Now these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the sons of Israel. And Bela son of Beor procceded to reign in Edom, and the name city was Dinhabah. When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah began to reign instead of him. When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites began to reign instead of him. When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the field of Moab, began to reign instead of him, and the name of his city was Avith. When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah began to reign instead of him. When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River began to reign instead of him. When Shaul died, Baalhanan son of Achbor began to reign instead of him. When Baalhanan son of Achbor died, Hadar began to reign instead of him -- and the name of his wife was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mezahab. So these are the name of the sheiks of Esau according to their families, according to their places, by their names -- Sheiks-- Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, Iram. These are the sheiks of Edom according to their dwellings in the land of their possession. This is Esau the father of Edom. 37 And Jacob continued to dwell in the land of the alien residences of his father, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, when 17 years old, happened to be tending sheep with his brothers among the flock, and, being but a boy, he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. And Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was the son of his old age -- and he had a long, striped shirtlike garment made for him. When his brothers came to see that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him, and they were not able to speak peacefully to him. Later on Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, and they found further reason to hate him. And he went on to say to them -- "Listen, please, to this dream I have dreamed. Well, here we were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, when here my sheaf got up and also stood erect and here your sheaves proceeded to encircle and bow down to my sheaf." And his brothers began to say to him --"Are you going to be king over us for certain? or, Are you going to dominate over us for certain?" So they found fresh reason to hate him over his dreams and his words. After that he had still another dream, and he related it to his brothers and said -- "Here I have had a dream once more, and here the sun and the moon
and 11 stars were bowing down to me." Then he related it to his father as well as his brothers, and his father began to rebuke him and say to him -- "What does this dream that you have dreamed mean? Am I and also your mother and your brothers for certain going to come and bow down to the earth to you?" And his brothers grew jealous of him, but his father observed the saying. His brothers now went to feed the flock of their father close by Shechem. After a while Israel said to Joseph -- "Your brothers are tending flocks close by Shechem, are they not? Come, and let me send you to them." At this he said to him -- "Here I am!" So he said to him -- "Go, please. See whether your brothers are safe and sound, and bring me back word." With that he sent him away from low plain of Hebron, and he went on toward Shechem. Later a man found him and here he was wandering in a field. Then the man inquired of him, saying -- "What are you looking for?" To this he said -- "It is my brothers I am looking for. Tell me, please, Where are they tending the flocks?" And the man continued -- "They have pulled away from here, because I heard them saying, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" So Joseph kept on after his brothers and found them at Dothan. Well, they caught sight of him from a distance, and before he could get close to them they began plotting cunningly against him to put him to death. So they said to one another -- "Look! Here comes that dreamer! And now come and let us kill him and pitch him into one of the waterpits -- and we must say a vicious wild beast devoured him. Then let us see what will become of his dreams." When Reuben heard this he tried to deliver him out of their hand. So he said -- "Let us not strike his soul fatally. And Reuben went on to say to them -- "Do not spill his blood. Pitch him into this waterpit which is in the wilderness and do not lay a violent hand upon him." His purpose was to deliver him out of their hand in order to return him to his father. So it came about that as soon as Joseph came to his brothers, they went stripping Joseph of his long garment, even the long striped garment that was upon him -- after which they took him and pitched him into the waterpit. At the time the pit was empty -- there was no water in it. Then they sat down to eat bread. When they raised their eyes and took a look, why, here was a caravan of Ishamelites that was coming from Gilead, and their camels were carrying labdanum and balsam and resinous bark, on their way to take it down to Egypt. At this Judah said to his brothers -- "What profit would there be in case we killed our brother and did cover over his blood? Come and let us sell him to Ishmaelites, and do not let our hand be upon him. After all, he is our brother, our flesh." So they listened to their brother. Now men, Midianite merchants, were passing by. Hence they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the waterpit and then sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 silver pieces. Eventually these brought Joseph into Egypt. Later Reuben returned to the waterpit and here Joseph was not in the waterpit. Consequently he ripped his garments apart. When he returned to
his other brothers he exclaimed -- "The child is gone! And I -- where am I really to go?" However, they took Joseph's long garment and slaughtered a male goat and repeatedly dipped the long garment in the blood. After that they sent the long striped garment had it brought to their father and said -- "This is what we found. Examine, please, whether it is your son's long garment or not." And he went examining it and exclaimed -- "It is my son's long garment! A vicious wild beast must have devoured him! Joseph is surely torn to pieces!" With that Jacob ripped his mantles apart and put sackcloth upon his hips and carried on mourning over his son for many days. And all his sons and all his daughters kept rising up to comfort him, but he kept refusing to take comfort and saying -- "For I shall go down mourning to my son into Sheol!" And his father continued weeping for him. However, the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar a court official of Pharaoh, the chief of the bodyguard. 38 Now in the meantime it came about that when Judah went down from his brothers and he pitched his tent near a man, an Adullamite, and his name was Hirah. And there Judah got to see a daughter of certain Canaanite, and his name was Shua. So he took her and had relations with her. And she became pregnant. Later she bore a son named Er. Again she became pregnant again. In time she bore a son and called his name Onan. And yet another time she went on to bear a son then called his name Shelah. Now he happened to be in Achzib at the time she bore him. In time Judah took a wife for Er his 1st born, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's 1stborn, proved to be bad in the eyes of God, hence God put him to death. In view of that Judah said to Onan -- "Have relations with your brother's wife and perform brother -in-law marriage with her and raise up offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not become his -- and it occurred that when he did have relations with his brother's wife he wasted his semen on the earth so as not to give offspring to his brother. Now what he did was bad in the eyes of God -- hence he put him also to death. So Judah said to Tamar his daughter in law -- "Dwell as a widow in the house of your father until Shelah my son grows up." For he said to himself -- "He too may die like his brothers." Accordingly Tamar went and continued to dwell at her own father's house. Thus the days became many and the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died --and Judah kept the period of mourning. After that he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hirah his companion the Adullamite to Timna. Then it was told to Tamar -- "Here your father-in-law is going up to Timna to shear his sheep." With that she removed the garments of her widowhood from her and covered herself with a shawl and veiled herself and sat down at the entrance of Enaim, where is along the road to Timna. For she saw that Shelah had grown up and yet she had not been given as wife to him. When Judah caught sight of her, he at once took her for a harlot, because she had covered her face. So he turned aside to her by the road and said -- "Allow me, please, to have
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relations with you." For he did not know that she was his daughter- in law. However, she said -- "What will you give me that you may have relations with me?" To this he said -- "I myself shall send a kid of the goats from the herd." But she said -- "Will you give a security until you send it?" And he continued -- "What is the security that I shall give you?" to which she said -- "Your seal ring and your cord and your rod that is in your hand." Then he gave them to her and had relations with her, so that she became pregnant by him. After that she got up and went and removed her shawl off her and clothed herself with the garments of her widowhood. And Judah proceeded to send a kid of the goats by the land of his companion the Adullamite in order to get back the security from the hand of the woman, but he never found her. And he went inquiring of the men of her place, saying --"Where is that temple prostitute in Enaim along the road?" But they kept saying -- "No temple prostitute has ever been in this place.'" Finally he returned to Judah and said -- "I never found her, besides, the men of the place said -- 'No temple prostitute has ever been in this place.'" So Judah said -- "Let her take them for herself in order that we may not fall into contempt. At any rate. I have sent this kid, but you -- you never found her." However, about 3 months later it happened that it was told to Judah -- "Tamar your daughter in law has played a harlot, and here she is also pregnant by her harlotry." At that Judah said -- "Bring her out and let her be burned." As she was being brought out she herself sent to her father -in law, saying -- "By the man to whom these belong I am pregnant." And she added -- "Examine, please, to whom these belong, the seal ring and the cord and the rod." Then Judah examined them and said -- "She is more righteous than I am, for the reason I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he had no further interc*urse with her after that. Now it developed that in the time of her giving birth, why, here there were twins in her belly. Further, it turned out that when she was giving birth one extended his hand, and the midwife at once took and tied a scarlet piece about his hand, saying -- "This one came out 1st." Finally it developed that as soon as he drew back his hand, why, here his brother came out, so that she exclaimed -- "What do you mean by this, that you have produced a perineal rupture for yourself?" Hence his name was called Perez. And afterward his brother upon whose hand the scarlet piece was came out and his name came to be called Zerah. 39 As for Joseph, he was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official for of Pharaoh, the chief of the body guard, an Egyptian, got to buy him from the hand of the Ishamelites who had brought him down there. But God proved to be with him and Joseph, so he turned out a successful man and came to be over the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master got to see that God was with him that everything he was doing God was making turn out successful in his hand. And Joseph kept finding favor in his eyes and waited upon him continually, so that he appointed him over his house, and all that was his he gave to his hand. And it followed that
from the time he appointed him over his house and in charge of all that was his
God kept blessing the house of the Egyptian due to Joseph, and God's blessing came to be upon all that he had in the house and the field. Finally he left everything that was his in Joseph's hand -- and he did not know what was with him at all except the bread he was eating. Moreover, Joseph grew to beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. Now after these things it came about that the wife of his master began to raise her eyes toward Joseph and say -- "Lie down with me." But he would refuse and would say to his master's wife -- "Here, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and everything he has he has given to my hand. There is no one greater than I am, and he has not withheld from me anything at all except you, because you are his wife. So how could I commit this great badness and actually sin against God?" So it turned out that as she spoke to Joseph day after day he never listened to her to lie alongside her, to continue with her. But it happened that on this day as other days he went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there in the house. Then she grabbed hold of him by his garment, saying -- "Lie down with me!" But he left his garment in her hand and took to flight and went on outside. So it occurred that as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand that he might flee outside, she began to cry out to men of her house and to say to them -- "Look! He brought to us a man, a Hebrew, to make us a laughingstock. He came to lie down with me, but I began to cry out at the top of my voice. And it followed that as soon as he heard that I raised my voice and began crying out, he then left his garment beside me and took to flight and went on outside." After that she kept his garment laid up beside her until his master came to his house. Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying -- "The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came to me to make a laughingstock. But it followed that as soon as I raised my voice and began to cry out, he then left his garment beside me and fleeing outside." The result was that as soon as his master heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying -- "like this and this your servant did to me," his anger blazed. So Joseph's master took him and gave him over to the prison house, the place where the prisoners of the king were kept under arrest, and he continued there in the prison house. However, God continued with Joseph and kept extending loving kindness to him and granting him to find favor in the eyes of the chief officer of the prison house. So the chief officer of the prison house gave over into Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison house -- and everything that they were doing there he proved to be the one having it done. The chief officer of the prison house was looking after absolutely nothing that was in his hand, because God was with Joseph and what he was doing-- God was making it turn out successful. 40 Now after these things it came about that the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned against their
lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh grew indignant at his 2 officers, at the chief of the cupbearers and chief of the bakers. So he committed them to the jail of the house of the chief of the bodyguard, to the prison house, the place where Joseph was a prisoner. Then the chief of the bodyguard assigned Joseph to be with them that he might wait upon them -- and they continued in jail for some days. And both of them proceeded to dream a dream, each one his own dream with its own interpretation, the cupbearer and the baker who belong to the king of Egypt who were prisoners in the prison house. When Joseph came in to them in the morning and saw them, why, there they were looking dejected. And he began to inquire of the officers of the Pharaoh who were with him in the jail of his master's house, saying -- "For what reason are your faces are gloomy today?" At this they said to him -- "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter with us." So Joseph said to them -- "Do not interpretations belong to God?" Relate it to me, please." And the chief of the cupbearers went on to relate his dream to Joseph and to say to him -- ""In my dream, why, here there was a vine before me. And on the vine there were 3 twigs, and it was apparently sprouting shoots. It's blossoms push forth. Its clusters ripened their grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, and I proceeded to take the grapes and squeeze them out into Pharaoh's cup. After that I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." Then Joseph said to him -- "This is its nterpretation-- the 3 twigs are 3 days. In 3 days from now the Pharaoh will lift your head and he will certainly return you to your office -- and you will certainly give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, according to the former custom when you acted as his cupbearer. Nevertheless, you must keep me in your remembrance as soon as it gives well with you, and you must, please, perform loving kindness with me and mention me to Pharaoh, and you must get me out of this house. For I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews -- and here also I have done nothing at all for which they should put me in prison hole." When the chief of the bakers saw that he had interpreted something good, he, in turn, said to Joseph -- "I too was in my dream, and here there were 3 baskets of white bread upon my head, and in the topmost basket there were all sorts of eatables for Pharaoh, the product of a baker, and there were fowls eating them out of the basket on top of my head." Then Joseph answered and said -- "This is the interpretation -- The 3 baskets were 3 days. In 3 days from now the Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you and will certainly hang you upon a stake -- and the fowls will certainly eat your flesh from off you." Now on the 3rd day it turned out to be Pharaoh's birthday, and he proceeded to make a feast for all his servants and to lift up the head of the chief of the cupbearers and the head of the chief of the bakers in midst of the servants. According he returned the chief of the cupbearers to his post of cupbearer, and he continued to give the cup into Pharaoh's hand. But the chief of the bakers he hung up, just
as Joseph had given them the interpretation. However, the chief of the cupbearer
did not remember Joseph and went on forgetting him. 41 And it came about at the end of 2 full years that Pharaoh was dreaming and here he was standing by the river Nile. And here ascending out of the river Nile were 7 cows beautiful in appearance and fat fleshed and feeding themselves among Nile grass. And here there were 7 other cows ascending after them out of the river Nile, ugly in appearance and thin fleshed, and they took their stand alongside the cows by the bank of the river Nile. Then the cows that were ugly in appearance and thin fleshed began to eat up the 7 cows that were beautiful in appearance and fat. At this Pharaoh woke up. However, he went back to sleep and dreamed a 2nd time. And here there were 7 ears of grain coming up on the stalk, fat and good. And here were 7 ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind -- growing up after them. And the thin ears of grain began to swallow up the 7 fat and full ears of grain. At this Pharaoh woke up and here it was a dream. And it developed in the morning that his spirit became agitated. So he sent and called all the magic practicing priests of Egypt and all the wise men, and Pharaoh went on to relate his dreams to them. But there was no interpreter of them for Pharaoh. Then the chief of the cupbearer spoke with Pharaoh, saying -- "My sins I am mentioning today. Pharaoh was indignant at his servant. So he committed me to the jail of the house of the chief of the bodyguard, both me and the chief of the bakers. After that we both dreamed a dream in the one night, both I and he. We dreamed each one his own dream with its own interpretation. And there was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the chief of the bodyguard. When we related them to him, he proceeded to interpret our dreams to us. He interpreted each according to his dream. And it turned out that just as he had interpreted to us so it happened. Me he returned to my office, but him he hanged." And Pharaoh proceeded to send nd to call Joseph, that they might bring him quickly form the prison hole. Hence he shaved and changed his mantles clothes and went in to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph -- "I have dreamed a dream, but there is no interpreter of it. Now I myself have heard it said about you that you can hear a dream and interpret it." At this Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying -- "I need not be considered! God will announce welfare to Pharaoh." And Pharaoh went on to speak to Joseph -- "In my dream here I was standing on the bank of the river Nile. And here ascending out the river Nile were 7 cows fat fleshed and beautiful to feed among the Nile grass. And here there were 7 other cows ascending after them, poor and very bad in form and thin fleshed. For badness I have not seen the like of them in all the land of Egypt. And the skinny and bad cows began to eat up the 1st 7 fat cows. So these came into their bellies, and yet it could not be known that they had come into their bellies, as their appearance was bad just as at the start. At that I woke up.
"After that I saw in my dream and here there were 7 ears of grain coming up on 1 stalk, full and good. And here there were 7 ears of grain shriveled, thin, scorched by the east wind, growing up after them. And the thin ears of grain began to swallow up the 7 good ears of grain. So I stated it to the magic practicing priests, but there was none telling me." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh -- "The dream of Pharaoh is but one. What the true God is doing he has told to the Pharaoh. The 7 good cows are years. Likewise the 7 good ears of grain are 7 years. The dream is but one. And the 7 skinny and bad cows that came up after them are 7 years -- and the 7 empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, will prove to be 7 years of famine. This is the thing that I have spoken to Pharaoh -- What the true God is doing he has caused the Pharaoh to see. "Here there are 7 years coming with great plenty in all the land of Egypt. But the 7 years of famine will certainly arise after them, and all the plenty in the land of Egypt will certainly be forgotten and the famine will simply consume the land. And the plenty once in the land will not be known as a result of that famine afterward, because it certainly will be severe. And the fact that the dream was repeated to Pharaoh 2wice means that the thing is firmly established on the part of the true God, and the true God is speeding to do it." So now let Pharaoh look for a man discreet and wise and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh act and appoint overseers over the land, and he must take up 1/5 of the Egypt during 7 years of plenty. And let them collect all the foodstuffs of these coming good years, and let them pile up grain under Pharaoh's hand as foodstuffs in the cities, and they must safeguard it. And the foodstuffs must serve as a supply for the land for the 7 famine years, which will develop in the land of Egypt, in order that the land may not be cut off by the famine." Well, the thing proved to be good in the eyes of Pharaoh and of all his servants. So Pharaoh said to his servants --"Can another man be found like this one in whom the spirit of God is?" After that Pharaoh said to Joseph -- "Since God has caused you to know all this, there is no one as discreet and wise as you are. You will personally be over at my house, and all my people will obey you implicitly. Only as to the throne shall I be greater than you." And Pharaoh added to Joseph -- "See, I do place you over all the land of Egypt." With that Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph's hand and clothed him with garments of fine linen and placed a necklace of gold about his neck. Moreover, he had him ride in the 2nd chariot of honor that he had, so that they should call out ahead of him, "Avrekh" thus putting him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh further said to Joseph -- "I am Pharaoh, but without your authorization, no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." After that Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphenathpaneah and gave him Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On as a wife. And Joseph began to go out over the land of Egypt. And Joseph
was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh the king of Egypt. Then Joseph went out from before Pharaoh and toured about in all the land of Egypt. And during the 7 years of plenty the land went on producing by the handfuls. He kept collecting all the foodstuffs of the 7 years that came upon the land of Egypt and he would put the foodstuffs in the cities. The foodstuffs of the field that was round about a city he put in the midst of it. And Joseph continued piling up grain in very great quantity, like the sand of the sea, until finally they gave up counting it, because it was without number. And before the year of the famine arrived there were born to Joseph 2 sons, whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him. So Joseph called the name of the 1stborn Manasseh, because, to quote him, "God has made me forget all my trouble and all the house of his father." And the name of the 2nd he called Ephraim, because, to quote him, "God has made me fruitful in land of my wretchedness." And the 7 years of the plenty that had obtained in the land of Egypt gradually ended, and, in turn, the 7 years of famine started to come, just as Joseph had said. And the Famine developed in all the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was found bread. Finally all the land of Egypt became famished and the people began to cry out to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians -- "Go to Joseph. Whatever he says to you, you are to do." And the famine obtained over all the surface of the earth. Then Joseph began to open up all the grain depositories that were among them and to sell to the Egyptians, as the famine got a strong grip on the land of Egypt. Moreover, people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy from Joseph, because the famine had a strong grip on all the earth. 42 Eventually Jacob got to see that there were cereals in Egypt. Then Jacob said to his sons -- "Why do you keep looking at one another?" And he added -- "Here I have heard that there are cereals in Egypt. Go down there and buy for us from there, that we may keep alive and not die off." Accordingly !0 brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his other brothers, because he said -- "Otherwise a fatal accident may befall him." So Israel's sons came along with the others who were coming to buy, because the famine existed in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the man in power over the land. He was the one that did the selling to all the people of the earth. When Joseph got to see his brothers, he at once recognized them, but he made himself unrecognizable to them. So he spoke harshly with them and said to them -- "Where have come from?" to which they said -- "From the land of Canaan to buy foodstuffs." Thus Joseph recognized his brothers, but they themselves did not recognize him. Immediately Joseph remembered that he had dreamed respecting them, and he went on to say to them -- "You are spies! You have come to see the exposed condition of the land!" Then they said to him -- "No,
my lord, but your servants have come to buy foodstuffs. We are all of us sons of but one man. We are upright men. Your servants do not act as spies." But he said to them -- "Not so! Because you have come to see the exposed condition of the land!" At this they said -- "Your servants are 12 brothers. We are the sons of but one man in the land of Canaan -- and here the youngest is with our father today, whereas the other one is no more." However, Joseph said to them -- "It is what I have spoken to you, saying, 'You are spies!' By this you will be tested out. As Pharaoh lives, you will not go out of here except when your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you that he may get your brother while you have been bound, that your words may be tested out as the truth in your case. And if not, then, as Pharaoh lives, you are spies." With that he put them together in custody for 3 days. After that Joseph said to them on the 3rd day -- "Do this keep alive, I fear the true God. If you are upright, let one of your brothers be kept bound in your house of custody, but the rest of you go, take cereals for famine in your houses. Then you will bring your youngest brother to me, that your words may be found trustworthy -- and you will not die." And they proceeded to do so. And they began to say one to the other -- "Unquestionably we are guilty with regard to our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he implored compassion on our part, we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us." Then Reuben answered them, saying -- "Did not I say to you, 'Do not sin against the child, but you did not listen? And now his blood, here it is certainly asked back." As for them, they did not know that Joseph was listening, because there was an interpreter between them. Consequently he turned away from them and began to weep. Then he returned to them and spoke to them and took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes. After that Joseph gave the command, and they went filling up their receptacles with grain. Also, they were to return the money of the men to each one's individual sack and give them provisions for the journey. Accordingly it was done so to them. So they loaded their cereals upon their asses and got on their way from there. When one opened his sack to give fodder to his ass at the lodging place, he got to see his money, and here it was in the mouth of his bag. At that he said to his brothers -- "My money has been returned and now here it is in my bag!" Then their hearts sank, so that they turned trembling to one another, saying -- "What is this that God has done to us?" At length they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and told him all the things that had befallen them, saying -- "The man who is the lord of the country spoke harshly with us, since he took us for men spying on the country. But we said to him, 'We are upright men. We do not act as spies. We are 12 brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in Canaan. But the man who is the lord of the country said to us, 'By this I am going to know you are upright -- Have one brother of yours stay with me.
Then you take something for the famine in your houses and go. And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know that you are no spies but your are upright. Your brother I shall give back to you, and you may carry on business in the land." And it came about that when they were emptying their sacks here was each one's bundle of money in his sack. And they as well as their father got to see their bundles of money, and they became afraid. Then Jacob their father exclaimed to them -- "It is I you have bereaved! Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and Benjamin you are going to take! It is upon me that all these things have come!" But Reuben said to his father -- "My own 2 sons you may put to death if I do not bring him back to you. Give him over to my care, I shall be the one to return him to you." However, he said -- "My son will not go down with you men, because his brother is dead and he has been left by himself. If a fatal accident should befall him on the way on which you would go, then you would certainly bring down my gray hairs with grief to Sheol." 43 And the famine was severe in the land. And it came about that as soon as they had finished eating up the cereals they brought from Egypt, their father proceeded to say to them --"Return, buy a little food for us." Then Judah said to him -- "The man unmistakably bore witness to us, saying, 'You must not see my face again unless your brother is with you.' If you are sending our brother with us, we are willing to go down and buy food for you. But if you are not sending him, we shall not go down, because the man did say to us, 'You must not see my face again unless your brother is with you.'" And Israel exclaimed -- "Why did you have to do harm to me by telling the man you had another brother?" At this they said -- "The man directly inquired concerning us and our relatives, saying, 'Is your father yet alive? Do you have another brother? and we went on to tell him according to these facts. How could we know for certain that he would say, 'Bring, your brother down'?" Finally Judah said to Israel his father -- "Send the boy with me, that we may get up and go and that we may keep alive and not die off, both we and you and our little children. I shall be the one to be surety for him. Out of my hand you may exact the penality for him. If I fail to bring him to you and present him to you, then I shall have sinned against you for all time. But if we had not lingered around, we should by now have been there and back these 2 times." So Israel their father said to them -- "If, then, that is the case, do this -- Take the finest products of the land in your receptacles and carry them down to the man as a gift -- a little balsam, and a little honey, labdanum and resinous bark, pistachios nuts and almonds. Also, take double the money that was returned in the mouth of your bags you will take back in your hand. Maybe it was mistake. And take your brother and get up, return to the man. And may God Almighty give you pity before the man, that he may certainly release to you your other brother and Benjamin. But I, in case I must be bereaved, I shall certainly be bereaved!" Accordingly the men took this gift, and they took double the money in their hand and Benjamin. Then they rose and went their way down to Egypt.
​and got to stand before Joseph. When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he at once said to the man who was over his house -- "Take the men to the house and slaughter animals and make preparation, because the men are to eat with me at noon." Immediately the man did just as Joseph had said. So the man took the men to Joseph's house. But the men got afraid because they had been taken to Joseph's house, and they began to say -- "It is because of the money that we went back with us in our bags at the start that we are being brought here for them to fall upon us and attack us and to take us for slaves and also our asses!" Hence they approached the man who was over Joseph's house and spoke to him at the entrance of the house, and they said -- "Excuse us, my lord! We surely did come down at the start to buy food. But what occurred was that when we came to the lodging place and began opening our bags, why, here was the money in full weight. So we are returning it with our own hands. We have brought more money to buy food. We certainly do not know who placed our money in our bags. Then he said, "It is all right with you. Do not be afraid. Your God and God of your father gave you treasures in your bags. Your money came 1st to me." After that he brought out Simeon to them. Then the man brought men into Joseph's house and gave water that they might have their feet washed, and he gave fodder for their asses. And they proceeded to get the gift ready for Joseph's coming at noon, because they had heard that it was there they were going to eat bread. When Joseph went on into the house, and prostrated themselves to him to the earth. (Lay face down with arms stretched out at the sides to the earth). After this he inquired whether they were getting along well and said -- "Is your father, the aged man of whom you have spoken, getting along well? Is he still alive?" To this they said -- "Your servant our father is getting along well. He is still alive." Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves. When he raised his eyes and saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother, he went on to say -- "Is this your brother, the youngest one of whom you have spoken to me?" And he added -- "May God show you his favor, my son." Joseph was now in a hurry, because his inward emotions were excited toward his brother, So that he looked for a place to weep and he went into an interior room and gave way to tears there. After that he washed his face and went out kept control of himself and said -- "Set on the meal." And they proceeded to set it on for him by himself and for them by themselves -- for the Egyptians were not able to eat a meal with the Hebrews, because that is a detestable thing to Egyptians. And they were seated before him, the 1stborn according to his right as 1stborn, and the youngest according to his youngness -- and the men kept looking one other in amazement. And he kept having portions carried from before him to them, but he would increase Benjamin's portion 5 times the size of the portions of all the others. So they continued banqueting
​ and drinking with him to the full. 44 Later on he commanded the man who
was over his house, saying -- "Fill the bags of the men with food to the extent they are able to carry it and place the money of each one in the mouth of his bag. But you must place my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the bag of the youngest and money for the cereals." So he did according to the word of Joseph which he had spoken. The morning had become light when the men were sent away, both they and their asses. They went out of the city. They had not gone far when Joseph said to the man who was over his house -- "Get up! Chase after the men and to say to them -- 'Why have you repaid bad for good? Is not this thing that my master drinks from and by means of which he expertly reads omens? It is a bad deed you have committed.'" Eventually he overtook them spoke these words to them. But they said to him -- 'Why does my lord speak with such words as these? It is unthinkable that your servants should do anything like this. Why the money that we found in the mouth of the bags we brought back to you from the land of Canaan. How, then, could we steal silver or gold from the house of your master? Let the one of your slaves with whom it may be found die and let us ourselves also become slaves to my master." So he said -- "Let it be now exactly according to your words. Thus the one with whom it may be found will become a slave to me, but you yourselves will be proved innocent! With that they quickly let down each one his bag to the earth and they opened each one his own bag. And he went searching carefully. He started with oldest and finished with the youngest. At last the cup was found in Benjamin's bag. Then they ripped their mantles apart and lifted each one his load back onto his ass and returned to the city. And Judah and his brothers went on into Joseph's house, and he was still there -- and they proceeded to fall before him to the earth. Joseph now said to them -- "What sort of deed is this that you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I am can expertly read omens?" At this Judah exclaimed -- "What can we say to my master? What can we speak? And how can we prove ourselves righteous? The true God has found out the error of your slaves. Here we are slaves to my master, both we and the one in whose hand the cup was found." However, he said -- "It is unthinkable for me to do this! The man in whose hand the cup was found is the one who will become a slave to me. As for the rest of you, go up in peace to your father." Judah now came near to him and said -- "I pray you, my master, please let your slave speak a word in the hearing of my master, and do not let your anger grow hot against your slave, because it is the same with you as Pharaoh. My master asked his slaves, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?' So we said to my master, 'We do have an aged father and a child of his old age, the youngest. But his brother is dead so that he alone is left of his mother, and his father does love him.'' After that you said to your slaves, "Bring him down to
me that I may set my eye upon him. But we said to my master, 'The boy is not able to leave his father. If he did leave his father, he would certainly die.' Then you said to your slaves, 'Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you may not see my face anymore.' "And it came about that we went up to your slave my father and then told him the words of my master. Later our Father said -- "Return, buy a little food for us.' But we said-- 'We are not able to go down. If our youngest brother is with us we will go down, because we are not able to see the man's face in case our youngest brother is not with us.' Then your slave my father said to us--'You yourselves well know that my wife bore but 2 sons to me. Later the one went out from my company and I exclaimed -- "Ah, he must surely be torn to pieces!" and I have not seen him till now. If you were to take this one also out of my sight and a fatal accident were to befall him, you would certainly bring down my gray hairs with calamity to Sheol.' "And now, as soon as I should come down to your slave my father without the boy along with us, when that one's soul is bound up with this one's soul then it is certain to occur that as soon as he sees that the boy is not there he will simply die, and your slaves will indeed bring down the gray hairs of your slave our father with grief to Sheol. For your slave became surety for the boy when away from his father, saying -- 'If I fail to bring him back to you, then I shall have sinned against my father forever.' So now, please, let your slave stay instead of the boy as slave to my master, that the boy may go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father without the boy along with me, for fear that then I may look upon the calamity that will find out my father?" 45 At this Joseph was no longer able to control himself before all those who were stationed by him. So he cried out -- "Have everybody go out from me!" And no one else stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And he began to raise his voice in weeping, so that the Egyptians got to hear it and Pharaoh's house got to hear it. Finally Joseph said to his brothers -- "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" But his brothers were unable to answer him at all, because they were disturbed by reason of him. So Joseph said to his brothers -- "Come close to me, please." With that they came close to him. Then he said -- "I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not feel hurt and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here -- because for the preservation of life God has sent me ahead of you. For this is the 2nd year of the famine in the midst of the earth, and there are yet 5 years in which there will be no plowing time of harvest. Consequently God sent me ahead of you in order to place a remnant for you men in the earth and to keep you alive by a great escape. So now it was was not you who sent me here, but it was the true that God, that he might appointed me a father to Pharaoh and a lord for all his house and as one dominating over all the land of Egypt. "Go up quickly to my father and you must say to him, "This is what your son Joseph has said-- "God has appointed me lord for all Egypt. Come down to me. Do not delay. And you must
​Dwell in the land of Goshen, and you must continue near me, you and your sons and the sons of your sons and your flocks and your herds and everything you have. And I will supply with food there, for there are yet 5 years of famine -- for fear you and your house and everything you have may come to poverty. And here your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin are seeing that it is my mouth that is speaking to you. So you must tell my father about all of my glory in Egypt and everything that you have seen -- and you must hurry and bring my father down here." Then he fell upon the neck of Benjamin his brother and gave way to weeping, and Benjamin wept upon his neck. And he proceeded to kiss all his brothers and weep over them, and after that his brothers spoke with him. And the news was heard at the house of Pharaoh, saying -- "Joseph's brothers have come!" And it proved to be good in the eyes of the Pharaoh and of his servants. Accordingly Pharaoh said to Joseph --"Say to your brothers, 'Do this--Load your beasts of burden and go enter the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households and come here to me, that I may give you the good of the land of Egypt -- and eat the fat part of the land. And you yourself are commanded -- "Do this -- Take for yourselves wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives, and you must lift your father on one and come here. And do not let your eye feel sorry over your equipment, because the good of all the land of Egypt is yours."'" Following that the sons of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them wagons according to Pharaoh's orders and gave them provisions for the way. To each of them he gave individual changes of mantles, but to Benjamin he gave 300 silver pieces and 5 changes of mantles. And to his father he sent as follows -- 10 asses carrying good things of Egypt and 10 she- asses carrying grain and bread and sustenance for his father for the way. Thus he sent his brothers off, and they proceeded to go. However, he said to them -- "Do not get exasperated at one another on the way." And they began going up out of Egypt and at length came into the land of Canaan to Jacob their father. Then they reported to him, saying -- "Joseph is still alive, and he is the one dominating over all the land of Egypt!" But his heart grew numb, because he did not believe them. When they went on speaking to him all of Joseph's words that he had spoken to them and he got to see the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father began to revive. Then Israel exclaimed -- "It is enough! Joseph my son is still alive! Ah, let me go and see him before die!" 46 According Israel and all who were his pulled out and came to Beersheba, and he proceeded to sacrifice sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. Then God talked to Israel in visions of the night and said -- "Jacob, Jacob" to which he said -- "Here I am!" And he went on to say -- "I am the true God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, and I myself shall surely bring you, up also -- and Joseph will lay his hand upon your eyes."
After that Jacob got up out of Beersheba, and the sons of Israel continued transporting Jacob their father and their little ones and, their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. Further, they took along their herds and their goods, which they had accumulated in the land of Canaan. Eventually they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him. He brought his sons and his sons with him, his daughters and his sons' daughters, even all his offspring with him into Egypt. Now these are the names of Israel's sons who came into Egypt -- Jacob and his sons -- Jacob's 1stborn was Reuben, And the sons of Reuben were sons were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, Carmi -- And sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. And the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath and Merari. And the sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, Zerah. However, Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan -- And the sons of Perez came to be called Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Isasachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, Shimron. And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddanaram, together with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and of his daughters were 33. And the sons of Gad were Ziphion and Haggi, Shuni and Ezbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli. And the sons of Asher were Imnah and Ishvah and Ishvi and Beriah, and there was Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. In time she bore these to Jacob -- 16 souls. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were Joseph and Benjamin. And there came to be born to Joseph in the land of Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him. And the sons of Benjamin were Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, Ehi and Rosh, Muppim and Huppin and Ard. These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob. All the souls were 14. And the sons of Dan were Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, and Guni and Jezer and Shillem -- These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Leban gave to his daughter Rachel. In time she bore these to Jacob -- all the souls were 7. All the souls who came to Jacob into Egypt were those who issued out of his upper thigh, aside from the wives of Jacob's sons. All the souls were 66. And Joseph's sons who were born to him in Egypt were 2 souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were 70. And he sent Judah in advance of him to Joseph to impart information ahead of him to Goshen. After that they came into
the land of Goshen. Then Joseph had his chariot made ready and went up to meet Israel his father at Goshen. When he appeared to him he at once fell upon the neck and gave way to tears upon his neck again and again. Finally Israel said to Joseph -- "This time I am willing to die, now that I have seen your face, since you are still alive." Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household -- "Let me go up and report to Pharaoh and say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who were in the land of Canaan have come here to me. And the men are shepherds, because they became stock raisers, and their flocks, and their herds and all they have brought here. And what must occur is that when Pharaoh will call you and actually say, 'What is your occupation?' You must say, ' Your servants have continued to be stock raisers from our youth, until now, both we and our forefathers,' in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, because every herder of sheep is a detestable thing to Egypt." 47 Accordingly Joseph came and reported to Pharaoh and said -- "My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all they have come from the land of Canaan, and here they are in the land of Goshen." And from the whole number of his brothers he took 5 men, that he might present them to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to his brothers -- "What is your occupation?" so they said to Pharaoh -- "Your servants are herders of sheep, both we and our forefathers." After that they said to Pharaoh -- "We have come to reside as aliens in the land, because there is no pasturage for flock that your servants have, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. And now let your servants dwell, please, in the land of Goshen." At that Pharaoh said to Joseph -- "Your father and your brothers have come here to you. The land of Egypt is at your disposal. Have your father and your brothers dwell in the very best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know that there are among them courageous men, you must appoint them cattle chiefs over what is mine." Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and introduced him to Pharaoh, and Jacob proceeded to bless Pharaoh. Pharaoh now said to Jacob -- "How many are the days of years did you live?" Jacob answered, "130 years as an alien, few distressing years of your life?" So Jacob said to Pharaoh -- "The days of the years of my alien residences are a 130 years. Few and distressing the days of the years of my life have proved, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my fathers in the days of their alien residences." After that Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before Pharaoh. Thus Joseph had his father and his brothers dwell and he gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the very best of the land of Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded. And Joseph kept supplying his father and his brothers and the entire household of his father with bread, according to the number of the little ones." Now there was no bread in all the land, because famine was very severe -- and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan became exhausted as a result of the famine. And Joseph went on picking up all the money that was to be found in
the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the cereals which people were buying -- and Joseph kept bringing money into Pharaoh's house. In time the money from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was spent, and all the Egyptians began coming to Joseph, saying -- "Give us bread! And why should we die in front of you because money has run out?" Then Joseph said -- "hand over your livestock and I shall give you bread in exchange for your livestock, if money has run out." And they began bringing their livestock to Joseph -- and Joseph kept giving them bread in exchange for their horse and the livestock of the flock and the livestock of the herd and the asses, and he kept providing them with bread in exchange for all their livestock during that year. Gradually that year came to its close, and they began coming to him in the next year and saying to him -- "We shall not hide it from my lord but the money and the stock of domestic animals have been spent to my lord. There remains nothing before my lord but our bodies and our land. Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land. Buy us and our land for bread, and together with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh -- and give us seed that we may live and not die and our land will not be laid desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egyptians for the Pharaoh, because the Egyptian sold each one his field, for the famine had got a strong grip on them -- and the land came to be Pharaoh's. As for the people, he removed them into the cities from one end of the territory of Egypt its other end. Only the land of the priests he did not buy, because the rations for the priests were Pharoah and they ate their rations that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land. Then Joseph said to the people -- "See, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you, and you must sow the land with it. When it has resulted in produce, then you must give a 1/5 to Pharaoh, but 4 parts will become yours as seed for the field and as food for you and for those who are in your houses and for your little ones to eat." Consequently they said -- "You have preserved our lives. Let us find favor in the eyes of my lord, and will become slaves to Pharaoh." And Joseph proceeded to make it a decree down to this day over landed estate of Egypt for Pharaoh to have to the amount of a 5th. Only the land of priests as a distinct group did not become Pharaoh's. And Israel continued to dwell in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen -- and they became settled in it and were fruitful and grew to be very many. And Jacob's days, the years of his life, came to be a 147 years. Gradually the days approached for Israel to die. So he called his son Joseph and said to him -- "If now, I have found favor in your eyes, place your hand, please, under my thigh, and you must exercise loving-kindness and trustworthiness toward me. (Please do not bury me in Egypt.) And I, must lie with my fathers, and you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their grave." Accordingly he said -- "I myself shall do in keeping with your word." Then he said -- "Swear to me." So he swore to him. At that Israel prostrated himself over the head of the couch.
48 And it came about after these things that it was said to Joseph -- "Look, your father is becoming weak." At that he took with him his 2 sons Manasseh and Ephraim. Then it was reported to Jacob and said -- "Here your son Joseph has come to you." So Israel exerted his strength and sat up on his couch. And Jacob proceeded to say to Joseph -- "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaaan that he might bless me. And he went on to say to me -- 'Here I am making you fruitful, and I will transform you into a congregation of peoples and I will give this land to your seed after you for a possession to time indefinite.' And now your 2 sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came here to you into Egypt, they are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will become mine like Reuben and Simeon. But your progeny to which you shall become father after them will become yours. Together with the name of their brothers they will be called in their inheritance. And as for me, when I was coming from Paddan, Rachel died alongside me in the land of Canaan on the way while there was yet a good stretch of land before coming to Ephrath, so that I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is to say, Bethlehem." Then Israel saw Joseph's sons and said -- "Who are these?" So Joseph said to his father -- "They are my sons whom God has given me in this place." At this he said -- "Bring them, please, to me that I may bless them." Now the eyes of Israel were dull from old age. He was unable to see. Accordingly he brought them close to him, and he then kissed them and embraced them. And Israel went on to say to Joseph -- "I had no idea of seeing your face, but here God has let me see also your offspring." After that Joseph brought them out away from his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth. Joseph now took the 2 of them, Ephraim by his right hand to Israel's left, and Manasseh by his hand to Israel bowed down with his face to the earth. Joseph now took the 2 of them--Ephraim by his right hand to Israel's left, Manasseh's by left hand to Israel's right, and brought them close to him. However, Israel put out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim's head, although he was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head. He purposely laid his hands so, since Manasseh was the 1stborn. And he proceeded to bless Joseph and to say -- "The true God before my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The true God who has shepherding me during all my existence until this day. The angel who has been recovering me from all calamity, bless the boys. And let my name be called upon them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, And let them increase to a multitude in the midst of the earth." When Joseph saw that his father kept his right hand placed on Ephraim's head, it was displeasing to him, and he tried to take hold of his father's hand to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Hence Joseph said to his father -- "Not so, my father, because this is the 1stborn. Put your right hand on his head." But his father kept refusing and said -- "I know it, my son, I know it,
He too will become a people and he too will become great. But, just the same, his younger brother will become greater than he will, and his offspring will become the full equivalent of nations." And he continued to bless them on that day, saying -- "By means of you let Israel repeatedly pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God constitute you like Ephraim --may God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh." Thus he kept putting Ephraim before Manasseh. After that Israel said to Joseph -- "Look, I am dying, but God will certainly continue with you people and return you to the land of your forefathers. As for me, I do l give you one shoulder of land more than to your brothers, which I took from the hand of Amorites by my sword and by my law. 49 Later on Jacob called his sons and said -- "Gather yourselves together that I may tell you what will happen to you in the final part of his days. Assemble yourselves and listen, you sons of Jacob, yes, listen to Israel your father. "Reuben, you are my 1stborn, my vigor and the beginning of my generative power, the excellence of dignity and excellence of strength. With reckless license like waters, do not you excel, because you have gone up to your father's bed. At that time you profaned (disgraced) my lounge. He went up to it. "Simeon and Levi are brothers. Instruments of violence are their slaughter weapons. Into their intimate group do not come, O my soul. With their congregation do not become united, O my disposition, because in their anger they killed men, and in their arbitrariness they hamstrung bulls. Cursed be their anger, because it is cruel, and their fury, because it acts harshly. Let me parcel them out in Jacob and let me scatter them in Israel. "As for you, Judah, your brothers will laud (praise) you. Your hand will be on the back of the necks of your enemies. The sons of your father will prostrate themselves to you. A lion cub Judah is. From the prey, my son, you will certainly go up. He bowed down, he stretched himself out like a lion and, like a lion, who dares rouse him? The scepter will not turn aside from Judah, neither the commander's staff from between his feet, until Shiloh (peace) comes, and to him the obedience of peoples will belong. Tying his full grown ass to a vine the descendant of his own she ass to a choice vine, he will certainly wash his clothing in wine and and his garment in the blood of grapes. Dark red are his eyes from wine, and the whiteness of his teeth is from milk. "Zebulun will reside by the seashore, and he will be by the shore where the ships lie anchored, and his remote side will be toward Sidon. "Issachar is a strong boned ass, lying down between 2 saddlebags. And he will see that resting place is good and that land is pleasant, and he will bend down his shoulder to bear burdens and become subject to slavish forced labor. "Dan will judge his people as one of the tribes of Israel. Let Dan prove to be a serpent by the roadside, a horned snake by wayside, that bites the heels of the horse so that its rider
falls backward. I shall indeed wait for salvation from you O Jehovah. " As for Gad, a marauder band will raid him, but he will raid the extreme rear. "Out of Asher his bread will be fat, and he will give the dainties of a king. "Naphtali is a slender hind. He is giving words of elegance. "Offshoot of a fruit bearing tree by the fountain, that propels its branches up over a wall. But the archers kept harassing him and shot at him and kept harboring animosity against him. And yet his bow was dwelling in a permanent place, and the strength of his hands war supple. From the hands of Powerful One of Jacobs, from there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel. He is from the God of your father, and he will help you -- and he is with the Almighty, and he will bless you with the blessing of the heavens above, with the blessings of the watery deep lying down below, with the blessing of breasts and womb. The blessings of your father will indeed be superior to the blessings of the eternal mountains, to the ornament of the indefinitely lasting hills. They will continue upon head of Joseph, even upon the crown of the head of the one singled out from his brothers. "Benjamin will keep on tearig life a wolf. In the morning he will eat the animal seized and at evening, he will divide the spoil." All these are the 12 tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them when he was blessing them. He blessed them each one according to his own blessing. That he commanded them and said to them -- "I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah that is in front of Mamre in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham purchased from Ephron the Hittite for the possession of a burial place. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Leah. The field purchased and the cave that is in it were from the sons of Heth. Thus Jacob finished giving commands to his sons. then he gathered his feet up onto the couch and expired and was gathered to his people. 50 Then Joseph fell upon the face of his father and burst into tears over him and kissed him. After that Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel, and they took fully 40 days for him, for this many days they customarily take for embalming, and the Egyptians continued to shed tears for him 70 days. Finally the days of weeping for him passed, and Joseph spoke to Pharaoh's household, saying -- "If, now, I have found favor in your eyes, speak, please, in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying-- 'My father made me swear, saying -- "Look! I am dying. In my burial place which I have excavated for myself in the land of Canaan is where you are to bury me." And now, please, let me go up and bury my father, after which I am willing to return.'" Accordingly Pharaoh
said -- "Go up and bury your father just as he made you swear." So Joseph went up to bury his father, and there went up with him all of Pharaoh's servants, the older men of his household and all the older men of the land of Egypt, and all Joseph's household and his brothers and the household of his father. Only their little children and their flocks and their herds they left in the land of Goshen. There also went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and the camp came to be very numerous. Then they came to be threshing floor of Atad, which is in the region of the Jordan, and there they carried on a very great and heavy wailing and he kept up the mourning rites in the threshing floor of Atad, and they exclaimed -- "This is a heavy mourning for the Egyptians!" That is why its name Abelmizraim, which is in the region of the Jordan. And his sons proceeded to do for him exactly as he commanded them. So his sons carried him into land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, the field that Abraham had purchased for the possession of a burial place from Ephron the Hittite in front of Mamre. Afterward Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all those who went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. When the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they began to say-- "It may be that Joseph is harboring animosity against us and he will be sure to repay us for all the evil that we have rendered him."' So they expressed a command to Joseph in these words -- "Your father gave the command before his death, saying, 'This is what you say to Joseph -- "I beseech you, pardon, please, the revolt of your brothers and their sin in that they have rendered evil to you." And now pardon, please, the revolt of the servants of your father's God." And Joseph burst into tears when they spoke to him. Following that his brothers also came and fell down before him and said -- "Here we are as slaves to you!" Then Joseph said to them-- "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you had evil in mind against me. God had it in mind for good for the purpose of acting as at this day to preserve many people alive. So now do not be afraid. I myself shall keep supplying you and your little children with food." Thus he comforted them and spoke reassuringly to them. And Joseph continued to dwell in Egypt, he and the house of his father-- and Joseph lived for a 110 years. And Joseph got to see Epraim's sons of the 3rd generation, also the sons of Machir the Manasseh's son. They were born upon Joseph's knees. At length Joseph said to his brothers -- "I am dying, but God will without fail turn his attention to you, and he will certainly bring you up out of this land to the land about which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob." Hence Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying -- "God will without fail turn his attention to you. Accordingly you must take my bones up out of here!" After that Joseph at the age of 110 years -- and they had him embalmed, and he was put in coffin in Egypt.
Black Ink--Bible Page/Text
Blue Ink -- Understand & Pray
Exodus 1 - 40
Exodus 1 Now these are the names of Israel's sons who came into Egypt with Jacob -- each man and his household came -- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issarchar, Zebulun and Benjamin, Dan , Naphtali, Gad and Asher. And all the souls who issued out of Jacob's upper thigh were 70 souls, but Joseph was already in Egypt. Eventually Joseph died, and also all his brothers and also all that generation. And the sons of Israel became fruitful and began to swarm -- and they kept on multiplying and growing mightier at a very extraordinary rate, so that the land got to be filled with them. In time there arose over Egypt a new king who did not know Joseph. And he proceeded to say to his people -- "Look! The people of the sons of Israel are more numerous and mightier than we are. Come on! Let us deal shrewdly with them, for fear they may multiply, and it must turn out that, in case war should befall us, then they certainly will also be added to those who hate us and fight against us and go up out of the country." So they set over them chiefs of forced labor for the purpose of oppressing them in their burden bearing -- and they went building cities as storage places for Pharaoh, namely. Pithom and Raamses. But the more they would oppress them, the more they would multiply and the more they kept spreading abroad, so that they felt a sickening dread as a result of the sons of Israel. Consequently the Egyptians made the sons of Israel slaves under tyranny. And they kept making their life bitter with hard slavery at clay mortar and bricks and with every form of slavery in the field, yes, every form of slavery of theirs in which they used them as slaves under tyranny. Later on the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, the name of one whom was Shiphrah and the name of the other was Puah, yes, he went so far as to say -- "When you help the Hebrew women to give birth and you do see them on the stool for childbirth, if it is a son, you must also put it to death -- but if it is a daughter, it must live." However, the midwives feared the true God, and they did not do as king of Egypt had spoken to them, but they would preserve the male children alive. In time the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them -- "What is it you have done this thing, in that you preserved the male children alive?" In turn the midwives said to Pharaoh -- "Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, because they are lively, they have already given birth before the midwives can come in to them." So God dealt well with the midwives, and the people kept growing more numerous and becoming very mighty. And it came about that because the midwives had feared the true God he later presented them with families. Finally Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying -- "Every newborn son you are to throw into the river Nile, but every daughter you are to preserve alive." 2 Meantime, a certain man of the house of Levi went ahead and took a daughter of Levi. And the woman became
pregnant and brought a son to birth. When she saw how good -looking he was, she kept him concealed for 3 lunar months. When she was no longer able to conceal him, she then look for him an ark of papyrus and coated it with bitumen and pitch and put the child in it and put it among the reeds by the bank of river Nile. Further, his sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would be done with him. After a while Pharaoh's daughter came down to bathe in the Nile River. And she caught sight of the ark in the middle of the reeds. Immediately she sent her slave girl that she might get it. When she opened it she got to see the child, and here the boy was weeping. At that she felt compassion for him, although she said -- "This is one of the children of the Hebrews." Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter -- "Shall I go and specially call for you a nursing woman from the Hebrew women that she may nurse the child for you?" So the Pharaoh's daughter said to her -- "Go!" At once the maiden went and called the child's mother. Pharaoh's daughter then said to her -- "Take this child with you and nurse him for me, and I myself shall give you your wages." Accordingly the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew up. Then she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, so that he became a son to her -- and she proceeded to call his name Moses and to say -- "It is because I have drawn him out of the water." Now it came about in those days, as Moses was becoming strong, that he went out to his brothers that he might look at the burdens that they were bearing -- and he caught sight of a certain Egyptian striking a Hebrew of his brothers. So he turned this way and that and saw there was nobody in sight. Then he struck the Egyptian down and hid him in the sand. However, he went out on the following day and here there were 2 Hebrew men struggling with each other -- So he said to the one in the wrong -- "Why should you strike your companion?" At this he said -- "Who appointed you as a prince and judge over us? Are you intending to kill me just as you killed the Egyptian?" Moses now got afraid and said -- "Surely this thing has become known!" Subsequently Pharaoh got to hear of this thing, and he attempted to kill Moses, but Moses ran away from Pharaoh that he might dwell in the land of Midian -- and he took a seat by a well. Now the priest of Midian had 7 daughters, and as usual they came and drew water and filled the gutters to water their father's flock. And as usual the shepherds came and drove them away. At this Moses got up and helped the women out and watered their flock. So when they came home to Reuel their father he exclaimed -- "How is it you have come home so quickly today?" To this they said -- "A certain Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and, besides, he actually drew water for us that he might water the flock." Then he said to his daughters -- "But where is he? Why is that you have left the man behind? Call him, that he may eat bread." After that Moses showed willingness to dwell with the man, and he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses. Later she bore a son and he called his name Gershom, because, he
said -- "An alien I have come to be in a foreign land." And about during these days the king of Egypt finally died, but the sons of Israel continued to sigh because of the slavery, and the complaints and cry for help kept going up to the true God because of slavery. In time God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. So God looked on the sons of Israel and God took notice. 3 And Moses became a shepherd of the flock of Jethro, the priest of Midian, whose son-in-law he was. While he was a driving the flock to the west side of the wilderness, he came at length to the mountain of the true God, to Horeb. Then Jehovah's angel appeared to him in a flame of fire in the midst of a thornbush. As he kept looking, why, here the thornbush was burning with fire and yet the thornbush was not consumed. At this Moses said -- "Let me just turn aside that I may inspect this great phenomenon, as to why the thornbush is not burnt up." When Jehovah saw that he turned aside to inspect, God at once called him out of the midst of the thornbush and said -- "Moses! Moses!" to which he said -- "Here I am." Then he said -- "Do not come near here. Draw your sandals from off your feet, because the place where you are standing is a holy ground." And he went on to say -- "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Then Moses concealed his face, because he was afraid to look at the true God. And Jehovah added -- "Unquestionably I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their outcry as a result of those who drive them to work -- because I well know the pains they suffer. And I am proceeding to go down to deliver them out of the hand of Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a land good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the locality of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. And now, look! the outcry of the sons of Israel has come to me, and I have seen also the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. And now come and let me send you to Pharaoh, and you bring my people the sons of Israel out of Egypt." However, Moses said to the true God -- "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and that I have to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" To this he said -- "Because I shall prove to be with you, and this is the sign for you that it is I who have sent you -- After you have brought the people out of Egypt, you people will serve the true God on this mountain." Nevertheless, Moses said to true God, "Suppose I am now come to the sons of Israel and I do say to them -- 'The God of your forefathers has sent me to you,' and they do say to me, 'What is his name?' What shall I say to them?" At this God said to Moses -- "I shall prove to be what I shall prove to be." And he added -- "This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel, 'I SHALL PROVE TO BE has sent me to you.'" Then God said once more to Moses -- "This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel--"Jehovah the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name forever and this I will be remembered for generation after generation. You go and you must gather older men of Israel and say to them, "God has appeared to me, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob said without fail give attention to you and to what is being done to you in Egypt. And so I say I shall bring you up out of affliction by the Egyptians to the land of Canaanites and, the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land of flowing with milk and honey."' "And they will certainly listen to your voice, and you must come, you and the older men of Israel, to the king of Egypt, and you men must say to him, 'Jehovah the God of the Hebrews has come in touch with us, and now we want to go, please, a journey of 3 days into the wilderness, and we want to sacrifice to Jehovah our God.' And I, even I, well know that king of Egypt will not give you permission to go except by a strong hand. And I shall have stretch out my hand and strike Egypt with all my wonderful acts that he will give this people favor in the eyes of the Egyptians -- and it will certainly occur that when you go, you will not go empty handed. And each woman must ask from her neighbor and from the woman residing as an alien in her house articles of silver and articles of gold and mantles, and you must put them upon your sons and daughters -- and you must strip the Egyptians." 4 However, Moses in answering said -- "But suppose they do not believe me and do not listen to my voice, because they are going to say, 'God did not appear to you.'" Then God said to him -- "What is that in your hand?" to which he said -- "A rod." Next he said -- "Throw it on the earth." So he threw it on the earth, and it became a serpent -- and Moses began to flee from it. God now said to Moses -- "thrust your hand out and grab hold of it by the tail." So he thrust his hand out and grabbed hold of it, and it became a rod in his palm. "In order that," to quote him, "they may believe that God the God of their forefathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." Then God said to him once more -- "Stick your hand, please, into the upper fold of your garment. When he drew it out, why, here his hand was stricken with leprosy like snow! After that he said -- "Return your hand into the upper fold of your garment." So he returned his hand into the upper fold of his garment, why, here it was restored like the rest of his flesh! "And it must occur that," to quote him, "If they will not believe you and will not listen to the voice of the 1st sign, then they will certainly believe the voice of the later sign. Still it must occur that, if they will not believe even these 2 signs and will not listen to your voice, then you will have to take some water from the Nile River and pour it on the dry land -- and the water that you will take from the Nile River will certainly become, yes, it will indeed become blood on the dry land."
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Moses now said to Jehovah -- "Excuse me, God, but I am not a fluent speaker, neither since yesterday, nor since before that nor since your speaking to your servant, for I am slow of mouth and slow of tongue." At that God said to him -- "Who appointed a mouth for man or who appoints the speechless or the deaf or the clear-sighted or the blind? Is is not I, God? So now go, and I myself shall prove to be with your mouth and I will teach you what you ought to say." But he said -- "Excuse me, God, but send, please, by the hand of the one whom you are going to send." Then God's anger grew hot against Moses and he said -- "Is not Aaron the Levite your brother? I do know that he can really speak. And, besides, here he is on his way out to meet you. When he does see you, he will certainly rejoice in his heart. And you must speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I myself shall prove to be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you men what to do. And he must speak for you to the people -- and it must occur that he will serve as a mouth to you, and you will serve as God to him. And this rod you will take in your hand that you may perform the signs with it." Accordingly Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law and said to him -- "I want to go, please, and return to my brothers who are in Egypt that I may see whether they are still alive." So Jethro said to Moses -- "Go in peace." After that God said to Moses in Midian -- "Go return to Egypt, because all the men who were hunting for your soul are dead." Then Moses took his wife and his sons and made them ride on an ass, and he proceed to return to the land of Egypt. Moreover, Moses took the rod of the true God in his hand. And God went on to say to Moses -- "After you have gone and returned to Egypt see that you actually perform all the miracles that I have put in your hand before Pharaoh. As for me, I shall let his heart become obstinate -- and he will not send people away. And you must say to Pharaoh, "This is what God has said--"Israel is my son, my 1stborn. And I say to you -- Send my son away that he may serve me. But should you refuse to send him away, here I am killing your son, your 1stborn."'" Now it came about on the road at the lodging place that God got to meet him and kept looking for a way to put him to death. Finally Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin and caused it to touch his feet and said -- "It is because you are a bridegroom of blood to me." Consequently he let go of him. At that time she said -- "A bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision. Then God said to Aaron -- "Go to meet Moses into the wilderness." With that he went and met him in the mountain of the true God and kissed him. And Moses proceeded to tell Aaron all the words of God, who had sent him, and all the signs that he had commanded him to do. After that Moses and Aaron went and gathered all the older men of sons of Israel. Then Aaron spoke all the words that God had spoken to Moses, and he performed the signs under the eyes of people. At this people believed. When they heard that God had turned his attention to the sons of Israel
and that he had seen their affliction, then they bowed down and prostrated themselves. 5 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in and proceeded to say to Pharaoh -- "This is what God the God of Israel has said -- " Send my people away that they may celebrate a festival to me in the wilderness." But Pharaoh said -- "Who is God, so that I should obey his voice to send Israel away?" I do not know God at all and, what is more, I am not going to send Israel away." However, they went on to say -- "The God of the Hebrews has come in touch with us. We want to go, please, a journey of 3 days into the wilderness and sacrifice to God our Jehovah -- otherwise he may strike at us with pestilence or with sword." At this the king of Egypt said to them -- "Why is it, Moses and Aaron, that you cause the people to leave off from their works? Go bearing your burdens! And Pharaoh continued -- "Look! The people of the land are now many, and you indeed make them desist from their bearing of burdens." Immediately on that day Pharaoh commanded those who drove the people to work and their officers, saying -- "You must not gather straw to give to the people to make bricks as formerly. Let them themselves go and gather straw for themselves. Moreover, the required amount of bricks that they were making formerly, you will further impose upon them. You must not make any reduction for them, because they are relaxing. That is why they are relaxing. That is why they are crying out, saying, "We want to go, we want to sacrifice to our God!' Let the service be heavy upon the men and let them work at it, and let them not pay attention to false words." So those who drove the people to work and their officers went out and said to the people -- "Here is what Pharaoh has said, 'I am giving you no more straw. You yourselves go, get straw for yourselves wherever you may find it, because there is to be no reducing of your services one bit.'" Consequently the people scattered about over all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. And those who drove them to work kept urging them, saying -- "Finish your works, each one his work, day for day, just as when the straw was available." Later on the officers of the sons of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, these saying -- "Why is it you did not finish your prescribed task in making bricks as formerly, both yesterday and today?" Consequently the officers of the sons of Israel went in and began to cry out to Pharaoh, saying -- "Why do you deal this way with your servants? There is no straw given to the servants and yet they are saying to us, 'Make bricks!' and here your servants are beaten, whereas your own people are wrong at fault" But he said, "You are relaxing, you are relaxing! That is why you are saying, 'We want to go, we want to sacrifice to God. And now go, serve! Though no straw will be given to you, yet you are to give the fixed amount of bricks!" Then the officer os the sons of Israel saw themselves in an evil plight at the saying -- "You must not deduct from your bricks one bit of anyone's daily rate." After that they encountered Moses and Aaron, who were standing there to meet them as they came out from Pharaoh . At once they said to them -- "May God look upon
you and judge, since you have made us smell offensive before Pharaoh and before his servants so to put a sword in their hand to kill us." Then Moses turned to God and said -- "God, why have you caused evil to this people? Why is it that you have sent me? For from the time I went in before Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has done evil to this people, and you have by no means delivered your people." 6 So God said to Moses -- "Now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh, because on account of a strong hand he will send them away on account of a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." And God went on to speak to Moses and to say to him, "I am God, I used to appear to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as God Almighty, but as respects my name Jehovah, I did not make myself known to them. And I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their alien residences in which they resided as aliens. And I, even I, have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians are enslaving, and I remember my covenant. "Therefore say to the sons of the sons of Israel, 'I am Jehovah, and I shall certainly bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians and deliver you from their slavery, and I shall indeed reclaim you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements. And I shall certainly take you to me as a people, and I shall indeed prove to be God to you -- and you will certainly know that I am Jehovah your God who is bring you out from under the burdens of Egypt. And I shall certainly bring you into the land that I raised my hand in oath to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- and I shall indeed give it to you as something to possess. I am Jehovah.'" Afterward Moses spoke to this effect to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses out of discouragement and for hard slavery. Then God spoke to Moses, saying -- "Go in, speak to Pharaoh, Egypt's king, that he should send the sons of Israel away out of his land." However, Moses spoke before God, saying -- "Look! the sons of Israel have not listened to me -- and how will Pharaoh ever listen to me, as I am uncircumcised in lips?" But God continued to speak to Moses and Aaron and issue the command by them to the sons of Israel, to the Phar'aoh, the king of Egypt in order to bring sons of Israel and to Pharaoh, Egypt's king, in order to bring the sons of Israel out from the land of Egypt. These are the heads of the house of their fathers -- The sons of Reuben, Israel's 1stborn, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon. And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their family descents -- Gershon and Kohath and Merari. And the years of Levi's life were a 137 years. The sons of Gershon were Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath were Amram and Izhar,
and Hebron and Uzziel. And the years of Kohath's life were 133 years. And the sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the families of the Levites, according to their family descents. Now Amram took Jochebed his father's sister as his wife. Later she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of Amram's life were a 137 years. And the sons of Izhar were Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel were Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri. Now Aaron took Elisheba, Amminadab's daughter, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife. Later she bore him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah were Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph. These were families of Korahites. And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as his wife. Later she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites, according to their families. This is the Aaron and Moses to whom God said -- "Bring the sons of Israel out from the land of Egypt according to their armies." They were the ones speaking to Pharaoh, Egypt's king, to bring the sons of Israel out of from Egypt. This is the Moses and Aaron. It came about on that day God spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, that God went on to speak to Moses, saying "I am God. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I am speaking to you." Then Moses said before God -- "Look! I am uncircumcised in lips, so how will Pharaoh ever listen to me?" 7 Consequently God said to Moses, "See, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your own brother will become your prophet. You -- you will speak all that I shall command you -- and Aaron your brother will do the speaking to Pharaoh, and he must send the sons of Israel away from his land. As for me, I shall let Pharaoh's heart become obstinate, and I shall certainly multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh will not listen to you men -- and I shall have to lay my hand upon Egypt and bring my armies, my people, the sons of Israel, out from the land of Egypt with great judgements. And the Egyptians will certainly know that I am God when I stretch out my hand against Egypt, and I shall indeed bring the sons of Israel out from their midst." And Moses and Aaron went ahead doing as God had commanded them. They did just so. And Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83 years old at the time of speaking to Pharaoh. God now said to Moses and Aaron -- "In case that Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Produce a miracle for yourselves', then you must say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and throw it down before Pharaoh.' It will become a big snake!" So Moses and Aaron went on in to Pharaoh and did exactly as God had commanded. Accordingly Aaron threw his rod down before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a big snake. However, Pharaoh also called the wise
men and the sorcerers -- and the magic practicing priests of Egypt themselves also proceeded to do the same thing with their magic arts. So they threw down each one his rod, and they became big snakes -- but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Still, Pharaoh's heart became obstinate, and he did not listen to them, just as God had spoken. Then God said to Moses -- "Pharaoh's heart is unresponsive. He has refused to send the people away. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look! He is going out of the water! And you must put yourself in position to meet him by the edge of the Nile River, and the rod that had turned into a serpent you are to take in your hand. And you must say to him, 'God the God of the Hebrews has sent me to you, saying -- "Send my people away that they may serve me in the wilderness," but here you have not obeyed until now. This is what God has said -- "By this you will know I am God. Here I am striking with the rod that is in my hand upon the water that is in the Nile River, and it will certainly turn into blood. And the fish that are in the Nile River will actually stink, and the Egyptians will simply have no stomach for drinking water from the Nile River."'" Subsequently God said to Moses -- "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their Nile canals and over their reedy pools and over all their impounded waters, that they may become blood.' And there will certainly be blood in all the land of Egypt and in the wooden vessels and in the stone vessels." Immediately Moses and Aaron did so, just as God had commanded, and he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile River under the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile River turn into blood. And the fish that were in the Nile River died, and the Nile River began to stink -- and the Egyptians were unable to drink water from the Nile River -- and the blood came to be in all the land of Egypt. Nevertheless, the magic practicing priests of Egypt proceeded to do the same thing with their secret arts -- so that Pharaoh's heart continued to be obstinate, and he did not listen to them, just as God had spoken. Hence Pharaoh turned and went into his house and he did not set his heart to have any regard for this either. And all the Egyptians went digging around about the Nile River for water to drink, because they were unable to drink any water from Nile River. 8 Then God said to Moses -- "Go in to Pharaoh, and you must say to him --'This is what God has said -- "Send my people away that they may serve me. And if you keep refusing to send them away, here I am plaguing all your territory with frogs. And the Nile River will fairly teem with frogs, and they will certainly come up and enter into your house and inner bedroom and upon your couch and into the houses of your servants and on your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. And on you and on your people and on all your servants the frogs will come up."'" Later on God said to Moses -- "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch
your hand with your rod out over the rivers, the Nile canals, and the reedy pools and make the frogs come up over the the land of Egypt. At that Aaron stretched his hand out over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs began to come up and cover the land of Egypt. However, the magic practicing priests did the same thing by their secrets arts and made the frogs come up over the land Egypt. In time Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron said-- "Entreat God that he may remove the frogs from me and my people, as I want to send the people away that they may sacrifice to God." Then Moses said to Pharaoh -- "You take the glory over me to say when I shall make entreaty for you and your servants and your people in order to cut the frogs off from you and your houses. Only in the Nile River. will they be left." To this he said -- "Tomorrow." So he said, "it will be according to your word, in order that you may know that there's no one like Jehovah our God, In that the frogs will certainly turn away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. Only in Nile River will they be left." Accordingly Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to God because of the frogs that He had put upon Pharaoh. Then God did according to Moses's word, and the frogs began to die off from the houses, the courtyards and the fields. And they went piling them up, heaps upon heaps, and the land began to stink. When the Pharaoh got to see that relief had taken place, his heart unresponsive -- and did not listen to them, just as God had spoken. God now said to Moses -- "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch your rod out and strike the dust of earth, and it must become gnats in all the land of Egypt.'" And they proceeded to do this. So Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats came to be on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. And the magic practicing priests tried to do the same by their secret arts, in order to bring forth the gnats, but they were unable. And the gnats came to be on man and beasts. Hence the magic practicing priests said to Pharaoh -- "It is the finger of God!" But Pharaoh's heart continued to be obstinate, and he did not listen to them, just as God spoken. Then God said to Moses -- "Get up early in the morning and take a position in front of Pharaoh. Look! He is coming out to the water! And you must say to him, 'This is what God has said-- "send my people away so that they may serve me. But if you are not sending my people away, here I am sending upon you and your servants and your people and into your houses the gadfly -- and the houses of Egypt will simply be full of gadfly, and also the ground upon which they are. And on that day I shall certainly make the land of Goshen upon which my people are standing distinct, that no gadfly may exist there, in order that you may know I am God that I am God in the midst of the earth. And I shall indeed set a demarcation between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will take place."'" And God proceeded to do so, and heavy swarms of gadflies began to invade the house
of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and all the land of Egypt. The land came to ruin as a result of the gadflies. Finally Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said -- "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." But Moses said, "It is not admissible to do so, because we wo