ויחי 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were a hundred forty and seven years. 29 And the time drew near that Israel must die; and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him: 'If now I have found favour in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt. 30But when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying-place.' And he said: 'I will do as thou hast said.' "And he said: 'Swear unto me.' And he swore unto him. And Israel bowed down upon the bed's head. 48 And it came to pass after and said unto him: 'We will not hide from my lord, how that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord's; there is nought left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands. 19Wherefore should we die before thine eyes, both we and our land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be bondmen unto Pharaoh; and give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not desolate.' 20So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was sore upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed them city by city, from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end thereof. 22Only the land of the priests bought he not, for these things, that one said to the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, Joseph: 'Behold, thy father is sick.' and did eat their portion which And he took with him his two sons, Pharaoh gave them; wherefore they Manasseh and Ephraim. And one sold not their land. Then Joseph told Jacob, and said: 'Behold, thy said unto the people: 'Behold, I have son Joseph cometh unto thee.' And bought you this day and your land for Israel strengthened himself, and sat Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, upon the bed. And Jacob said unto and ye shall sow the land. "And it Joseph: 'God Almighty appeared unshall come to pass at the ingatherings, to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, and blessed me, and said unto me: and four parts shall be your own, for Behold, I will make thee fruitful, seed of the field, and for your food, and and multiply thee, and I will make of for them of your households, and for thee a company of peoples; and will food for your little ones.' 25 And they give this land to thy seed after thee for said: "Thou hast saved our lives. an everlasting possession. "And now Let us find favour in the sight of my thy two sons, who were born unto thee lord, and we will be Pharaoh's bond- in the land of Egypt before I came unmen.' 26 And Joseph made it a statute to thee into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim concerning the land of Egypt unto this and Manasseh, even as Reuben and day, that Pharaoh should have the Simeon, shall be mine. And thy issue, fifth; only the land of the priests alone that thou begettest after them, shall became not Pharaoh's. 27And Israel be thine; they shall be called after the dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the land name of their brethren in their inof Goshen; and they got them posses-heritance. And as for me, when I sions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. came from Paddan, Rachel died unto me in the land of Canaan in the way, said: 'I know it, my son, I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.' 20And he blessed them that day, saying: 'By thee shall Israel bless, saying: God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh.' And he set Ephraim before Manasseh. 21And Israel said unto Joseph: 'Behold, I bow.' 49 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said: 'Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the end of days. when there was still some way to 'Not so, my father, for this is the come unto Ephrath; and I buried her first-born; put thy right hand upon his there in the way to Ephrath-the head.' 19And his father refused, and same is Beth-lehem.' And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said: 'Who are these?' And Joseph said unto his father: "They are my sons, whom God hath given me here.' And he said: 'Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.' 10Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. "And Israel said unto Joseph: 'I had not thought die; but God will be with you, and to see thy face; and, lo, God hath let bring you back unto the land of your me see thy seed also.' And Joseph | fathers. Moreover I have given to brought them out from between his thee one portion above thy brethren, knees; and he fell down on his face to which I took out of the hand of the the earth. And Joseph took them Amorite with my sword and with my both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the first-born. 15And he blessed Joseph, and said: "The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who hath been my shepherd all my life long unto this day, 16the angel who hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named in them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.' 17 And when Joseph saw that his father was laying his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 18 And Joseph said unto his father: 2Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; And hearken unto Israel your father. 'Reuben, thou art my first-born, My might, and the first-fruits of my strength; The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 'Unstable as water, have not thou the excellency; Because thou wentest up to thy Then defiledst thou it he went up "Simeon and Levi are brethren; Unto their assembly let my glory Heb. schechem, shoulder. For in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they houghed oxen. "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, And their wrath, for it was cruel; Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? 10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, As long as men come to Shiloh; And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. "Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass's colt unto the choice vine; He washeth his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes; 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk. 13Zebulun shall dwell at the shore of the sea, And he shall be a shore for ships, And his flank shall be upon Zidon. 14Issachar is a large-boned ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds. 15For he saw a resting-place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork. 16Dan shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel. 17Dan shall be a serpent in the way, A horned snake in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward. 18I wait for Thy salvation, O Lord. 19Gad, a troop shall troop upon him; But he shall troop upon their heel. 20 As for Asher, his bread shall be fat, And he shall yield royal dainties. 21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: He giveth goodly words. 22Joseph is a fruitful vine, A fruitful vine by a fountain; Its branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have dealt bitterly with him, And shot at him, and hated him; 24 But his bow abode firm, And the arms of his hands were made supple, By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, From thence, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, 25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee, And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that coucheth beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 26 The blessings of thy father Are mighty beyond the blessings of my progenitors ■ Heb. gedud. b From the Heb. root gadad. Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills; They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of the prince among his brethren. 27Benjamin is a wolf that raveneth; In the morning he devoureth the prey, And at even he divideth the spoil.' 28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is it that their father spoke unto them and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them. 29And he charged them, and said unto them: 'I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which__Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace. There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah. The field and the cave that is therein, which was purchased from the children of Heth.' "And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people. 50 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days. And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke unto the house of Pharaoh, saying: 'If now I have found favour in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying: "My father made me swear, saying: Lo, I die; in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come back.' And Pharaoh said: 'Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.' 'And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company. 10And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. "And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said: "This is a grievous "mourning to the Egyptians.' Wherefore the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan. 12And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them. 13For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, in front of Mamre. 14And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father. 15And when • Heb. ebel. Joseph's brethren saw that their father people alive. "Now therefore fear ye was dead, they said: 'It may be that not; I will sustain you, and your little Joseph will hate us, and will fully ones.' And he comforted them, and requite us all the evil which we did spoke kindly unto them. unto him.' 16And they sent a message 22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, unto Joseph, saying: "Thy father did and his father's house; and Joseph command before he died, saying: lived a hundred and ten years. And 17So shall ye say unto Joseph: For-Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the give, I pray thee now, the transgres- third generation; the children also of sion of thy brethren, and their sin, Machir the son of Manasseh were born for that they did unto thee evil. upon Joseph's knees. 24 And Joseph And now, we pray thee, forgive the said unto his brethren: 'I die; but transgression of the servants of the God will surely remember you, and God of thy father.' And Joseph wept bring you up out of this land unto when they spoke unto him. 18And the land which He swore to Abraham, his brethren also went and fell down to Isaac, and to Jacob.' 25 And Josepà before his face; and they said: 'Be- took an oath of the children of Israel, hold, we are thy bondmen.' 19And saying: 'God will surely remember Joseph said unto them: 'Fear not; for am I in the place of God? 20And as for you, ye meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.' 26So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. |