Gen_41:1-57; Gen_42:1-38; Gen_43:1-34; Gen_44:1-34

Pgs.128-139

Ch.41-44

SECTION X.

VAYEHI MEKETS. AND it wasat the end of two years that Pharoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood by theRiver. And, behold, there came up from the River seven oxen, goodly inappearance, and fat-fleshed; and they grazed in the meadow.^{[1] <l >}And, behold, seven other oxen came up from the river after them, evil inappearance, and leanfleshed; and they stood beside them by the bank of the theriver. And the evil-looking and lean-fleshed oxen ate up the sevenwell-looking and fat ones: and Pharoh awoke. And he slept, and dreamed asecond (time); and, behold, seven ears rose up from one stalk, large and good,and, behold, seven ears, thin, and blighted (with the) east (wind), sprang upafter them. And the seven wasted ears devoured the seven large and full ears.And Pharoh awoke, and, behold, a dream. And when it was morning his spirit wastroubled, and he sent and called all the magicians^{[2] <l >} ofMizraim, and all the wise men;^{[3] <l >} and Pharoh related the dreams tothem, but they could not interpret them to Pharoh. And the chief of thecupbearers spake to Pharoh, saying, My faults I do remember this day. Pharohwas displeased with his servants, and gave me into custody at the house of thechief executioner, and the chief baker with me. And we dreamed a dream in onenight, I and he, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, wedreamed. And with us there was a Hebrew youth, a servant of the chiefexecutioner; and we recounted to him, and he explained to us our dreams, toeach man according to his dream be explained; and according as he had explainedto us, so it was: me he restored to my service, and him he hanged. And Pharohsent, and called Joseph, and made him hasten from the prison; and he dressedhis hair,^{[4] <l >} and changed his garments, and cameunto Pharoh. And Pharoh said to Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is noone to interpret it. And I have heard of thee, saying, that thou hearest adream, and dost interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharoh, saying, Not from mywisdom, but from before the Lord, will there be an answer of peace unto Pharoh.And Pharoh spake with Joseph, saying, In my dream, behold, I stood upon thebank of the River; and, behold, from the River rose up seven oxen, fat-fleshedand goodly in appearance, and they grazed in the meadow.^{[5] <l >} And,behold, seven other oxen came up after them, lean and most evil in appearance,so wanting in flesh, that their like I have not seen in all the land of Mizraimfor badness. And the lean oxen and evil ones ate up the seven first fat oxen.And they entered into their stomachs; but it could not be known that they hadentered into their stomachs, for their appearance was bad as before; and Iawoke. I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears of corn arose on one stalk,full and good. And, behold, seven (other) ears, hard, thin, and blasted (withthe) east (wind), sprang up after them. And the thin ears devoured the sevengood ears. And I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could showit to me. And Joseph answered Pharoh, The dream of Pharoh is one. That whichthe Lord is about to do He hath showed to Pharoh. The seven good oxen are sevenyears; and the seven good ears of corn are seven years; the dream is one. Andthe seven lean and evil oxen which came up after them are seven years; and theseven ears, thin, and blasted with the east wind, are seven years of famine.This is the word which I have spoken to Pharoh. What the Lord is about to do,He hath showed to Pharoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty in allthe land of Mizraim. And after them will arise seven years of famine, and allthe plenty in the land of Mizraim will be forgotten, and the famine willconsume the people of the land. And plenty will not be known in the land forthat famine which will be afterward; for it will be very mighty. And forasmuchas the dream was repeated to Pharoh twice, it is a confirmed thing before theLord, and the Lord will hasten to do it. And now let Pharoh look out a prudentand wise man, and appoint him over the land of Mizraim. Let Pharoh do this, andappoint officers (lit., faithful men)over the land, and let them sow the land of Mizraim in the seven years ofplenty, and collect all the produce of those good years that come, and layup provision under the hand of Pharoh’s officers, and preserve it in the cities: and it will beprovision for the people of the land in the seven years of famine that arecoming in the land of Mizraim, that the people of the land may not be consumedby the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharoh, and in the eyes ofall his servants. And Pharoh said to his servants, Can we find a man like this,in whom is the spirit of prophecy from the Lord? And Pharoh said to Joseph,Since the Lord hath made all this known to thee, there is none more prudent orwise than thou; thou shalt be appointed over my house, and by thy word shallall my people be governed;^{[6] <l >} only in the throne of this kingdomwill I be more honourable than thou. And Pharoh said to Joseph, See, I haveappointed thee over all the land of Mizraim. And Pharoh took off his ring fromhis hand, and set it upon Joseph’s hand, and clothed him in a robe of lawn,^{[7] <l >}and put a chain of gold upon his neck. And he made him ride in his own second chariot,^{[8] <l >} and they proclaimed before him, This is the father of the king;^{[9] <l >} and heappointed him over all the land of Mizraim. And Pharoh said to Joseph, I amPharoh; and without thy word shall no man lift up his hand to hold a weapon,nor his foot to mount a horse, in all the land of Mizraim. And Pharoh calledthe name of Joseph, The man to whom mysteries are revealed.^{[10] <l >} Andhe gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti Phera,^{[11] <l >}prince of On, to be his wife; and Joseph went forth ruling over the land ofMizraim. And Joseph was a son of thirty years when he stood before Pharoh, kingof Mizraim. And Joseph went out from before Pharoh, and passed through all the land of Mizraim. And the inhabitants of the land collected in the seven years of plentythe provision into granaries. And he collected all the provision of the sevenyears which was in the land of Mizraim, and laid up the provision in cities, inthe midst of each city the provision of the land surrounding it. And Josephgathered provision as the sand of the sea, exceeding much, until he ceased to number,for it was without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons, (before the yearof famine came,) which Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, prince of On, bare tohim. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Menasheh;^{[12] <l >}because the Lord hath made me to forget all my labour and all my father’shouse. And the name of the second he called Eph-ra-im;^{[13] <l >}because the Lord hath made me to increase in the land of my servitude. And theseven years of plenty which were in the land of Mizraim were completed. And theseven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said; and the famine was inall the lands, but in all the land of Mizraim there was bread. Yet all the landof Mizraim was famished, and the people cried before Pharoh for bread: andPharoh said to all the Mizraee, Go unto Joseph, and what he shall say to you,do. And the famine was over all the face of the land; and Joseph opened all thegranaries in which was the corn, and sold to the Mizraee, and the famine becamemighty in the land of Mizraim. And all the inhabitants of the earth came intoMizraim to buy corn of Joseph, because the famine was mighty in all the earth.

XLIII. AndJakob saw that corn was sold in Mizraim, and Jakob said to his sons, Whylookyou (on each other)?^{[14] <l >} And he said, Behold, I have heardthat corn is sold in Mizraim: go downthither, and buy us from thence, and we shall live, and not die. And the tenbrothers of Joseph went down to buy corn from Mizraim; but Benjamin, thebrother of Joseph, Jakob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest deathshould befall him. And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among them who came;for the famine was in the land of Kenaan. And Joseph, who was ruler over theland, was he who sold the corn to all the people of the earth. And the brothersof Joseph came, and bowed before him with their faces upon the ground. AndJoseph saw his brothers, and knew them, and considered what he should say tothem. And he spake with them severely, and said to them, Whence come you? Andthey said, From the land of Kenaan, to buy corn. And Joseph knew his brothers,but they did not know him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he haddreamed of them; and he said to them, You are spies; to see the ruin^{[15] <l >}of the land are you come. And they said, No, my lord, (ribboni,)thy servants are come to buy corn. We are all the sons of one man. Right(men) are we; thy servants are not spies. But he said to them, No, but you arecome to see the ruin of the land. And they said, Thy servants are twelvebrothers, the sons of one man, in the land of Kenaan; and, behold, the youngestis with our father to-day, and one is not! And Joseph said to them, Thatis what I have told you, saying, You are spies; by this you shall be proved:by the life of Pharoh you shall not go hence, until your youngest brother become hither. Send one of you, and bring your brother; but you shall be bound,and your words shall be proved, whether you have spoken the truth; if not, bythe life of Pharoh, you are spies. And he put them in the house of custodythree days. And Joseph said to them the third day, This do, and live; for Ifear before the Lord. If you be true, let one of your brethren be bound in theprison ; and go you, carry the provision which is needed in your house, andbring your youngest brother to me, and your words will be verified, and youshall not die. And they did so. And they said, a man to his brother, We areverily guilty concerning our brother; that we saw the anguish of his soul, whenhe implored us, and we would not hearken to him: therefore is this distresscome upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying, Did not I tell you, saying, Donot sin against the youth? but you, would not hearken. Thus, behold, his bloodis required. But they knew not that Joseph heard; for there was an interpreterbetween them. And he turned himself away from them, and wept. And he returnedand spake to them, and took Shemeon from them, and bound him before their eyes.And Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and return their money(that of each) man in his sack, and give them food in the way. And he did so bythem. And they laid their corn upon their asses, and went thence. And oneopened his sack to give provender to his ass at the house of lodging,^{[16] <l >} and saw his money, and, behold, it was in the mouth of his package; and hesaid to his brothers, My money is returned, and, behold, it is in my package.And the knowledge of their hearts failed, and they were each of themconfounded, saying, What is this which the Lord hath done to us? And they cameto Jakob their father in the land of Kenaan, and showed him all that hadhappened to them, saying, The man, the lord of the country, spoke hardly withus, and dealt with us as spies of the land. And we told him, We are true men,not spies: we are twelve brothers, sons of one father: one isnot, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Kenaan. And theman, the lord of the country, said to us, By this I shall know that you aretrue men. Leave one of your brethren with me, and take the corn which is neededin your house, and go, and bring your youngest brother to me, and I shall knowthat you are not spies: and when you (will be proved to) be true men, I willgive up your brother to you., and you shall trade in the land. And it was, as theyemptied their sacks, behold, each man’s money was bound up in his sack; andwhen they and their father saw the envelopes of their money, they were afraid.And Jakob their father said to them, Me have you made desolate; Joseph is not,and Shemeon is not (here), and Benjamin you would take away; upon me are allthese! And Reuben spake with his father, saying, Thou shalt put my two childrento death if I do not bring him back to thee. Deliver him into my hand, and Iwill return him to thee. But he said, My son shall not go down with you; forhis brother is dead, and he alone remains; and if death should befall him inthe way in which you will go, you will bring down my grey hairs with mourningunto Sheol.

XLIII. Butthe famine prevailed in the land. And it was when they had ended to eat thecorn which they had brought from Mizraim, that their father said to them,Return, and buy for us a little corn. And Jehuda spake to him, saying, The manattesting attested to us, saying, You shall not see my face unless your brotherbe with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buythee corn; but if thou wilt not send, we will not go down: for the man told us,You shall not see my face unless your brother be with you. And Israel said, Whydid you do me this evil, in showing the man that you have a brother? And theysaid, The man asking asked us concerning our family,^{[17] <l >}saying, Is your father yet alive ? Have you a brother? And we showed himaccording to the word of these things: knowing could we know that be would say,Bring your brother to me? And Jehuda said to Israel his father, Send the youthwith me, and let us arise and go, that we may live and not die, we, and thou,and our little ones. I will be the pledge for him; of my hand shalt thou requirehim; if I do not bring him back to thee, and set him before thee, let mine bethe sin with thee all the days. For except we had delayed in this, we might nowhave returned twice. And Israel their father said to them, If then it is to be,do this: take of what is praiseworthy^{[18] <l >} in the land in your vessels, andcarry down to the man an offering; a little gum, and a little honey, storax andladanum, nuts and almonds; and silver, two for one take in your hands, eventhe. silver which was returned in the mouth of your bags take back in yourhands; perhaps it was an oversight. And take your brother, and arise, return tothe man; and God the Almighty give you favour before the man, that he mayrelease to you your other brother and Benjamin. And I, when desolated, shall bedesolate! And the men took that offering, and the money two for one took theyin their hands; and they took Benjamin, and arose, and went down into Mizraim,and stood before Joseph. And Joseph saw Benjamin with them; and he said to himwho was appointed over his house, Bring the men into the house, and kill akilling^{[19] <l >} and prepare; for the men shall eatwith me at dinner. And the man did as Joseph had said; and the man brought themen into Joseph’s house. And the men were afraid because they were brought into the, house of Joseph; andsaid, It is on account of the money that was returned in our baggage at first,that we are brought in, that he might domineer over us,^{[20] <l >}and find occasion against us, and takepossession of us as slaves, and seize upon our asses. And they drew near theman who was set over Joseph’s house, and spake with him at the gate of thehouse, and said, We entreat my lord (to hear us). Descending we came down atfirst to buy corn. And it was while we were at the resting-place, we openedour baggage, and, behold, a man’s silver was in the mouth of the bag; thesilver in its weight. But we have returned it in our hand. And other silverhave we brought in our hand to buy corn. We knew not who put the silver in ourbaggage. And he said, Peace be to you: fear not; your God, and the God of yourfather, gave you treasure in, your bags; your money came to me. And he broughtout Shemeon to them. And the man brought the men into Joseph’s house, and gavewater, and they washed their feet, and he gave provender for their asses. Andthey made ready the offering against the entrance of Joseph to dinner: for theyhad heard that there they were to eat bread. And Joseph entered the house, andthey brought to him the offering which was in their hands into the house; andthey bowed to him upon the ground. And he saluted them,^{[21] <l >} andsaid, Is your father well, the old man you spake of? Is he yet alive? And theysaid, It is well with thy servant our father, he is yet alive; and they bowedand worshipped. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, theson of his mother; and he said, Is this your youngest brother of whom you spaketo me? And he said, Mercy from the Lord be upon thee, my son.^{[22] <l >} AndJoseph made haste, for his bowels were commoved over his brother, and he sought(where) to weep; and he entered into the chamber, the place of sleeping, andwept there. And he washed his face, and came out, and was comforted, and said,Put on bread; and they set for him alone, and for them alone, and for theMizraee who ate with him, alone. For the Mizraee might not eat bread with theHivraee, because the animals that the Mizraee worshipped the Hivraee did eat.And they reclined before him, the chief according to his chiefship, and theless according to his minority; and the men wondered, each man at hiscompanion. And portions were brought from him, and set before them, and greaterwas Benjamin’s portion than the portions of them all five portions. And theydrank and were merry with him.^{[23] <l >}

XLIV. AndJoseph commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men’s bags withcorn as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of hisbaggage. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the youngest one’sbaggage, and his purchase-money. And he did according to Joseph’s wordwhich he spake. The morning lightened, and the men were sent away, they andtheir asses. They had not gone far from the city, when Joseph said to him whowas set over his house, Arise, follow after the men, and overtake them, and sayto them, Why have you rendered evil for good? Is it not this from which my lorddrinketh, and, behold, by which inquiring he inquireth?^{[24] <l >} Youhave done the thing that is evil. And he overtook them, and spake with themthese words. And they said, Why does mylord speak these words? Be it far from thy servants to do according to this thing! Behold, the moneywhich we found in the mouth of our baggages we brought to thee again from theland of Kenaan; how then should we steal from the house of thy lord vessels ofsilver, or vessels of gold? With whomsoever of thy servants it is found, lethim die; and we also will be servants to my lord. And he said, According toyour words, so let it be. With whomsoever it is found, he shall be my servant,but you will be acquitted. And they made haste, and brought down every man hisbaggage to the ground; and every man opened his baggage. And he searched,beginning with the greatest and finishing with the least; and the chalice wasfound in the baggage of Benjamin. And they rent their clothes, and laded everyman his ass, and returned to the city. And Jehuda entered and his brothers intoJoseph’s house, for he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.And Joseph said to them, What work is this which you have done? Did you notknow that a man like me divining can divine? And Jehuda said to him, What shallwe say to my lord? What shall we speak? How shall we be justified? Before thelord there is sin found in thy servants. Behold, we are the servants of mylord; we also and he in whose hand the chalice hath been found. But he said,Far be it from me to do so: the man in whose hand the chalice has been foundshall be my servant; but go you up in peace to your father.

^[1] Or, "sedge."

^[1]Harashee.

^[1]Hakimaha.

^[1]Vesafir-attonsus est.

^[1] Or, "sedge."

^[1] Sam. Vers. "be fed."

^[1]Butz byssus.

^[1] Sam. Vers. "double chariot."

^[1]Deen aba lemalka.

^[1] Sam Vers. Temirithi gala, "The Revealer of mysteries."

^[1] Sam. Vers. "the daughter of theKohen Potiphera."

^[1] From nashah, "to forget."

^[1] From pharah, "to be fruitful."

^[1]Lama tithchazun.

^[1] Sam. Vers. "the shame of theland."

^[1]Beth mebatha.

^[1] "Our generation."

^[1]Medimshabach. Sam Vers. "celebrated."

^[1] Or, "a victim," niksatha.

^[1] Sam. Vers. "lord it over us."

^[1] Lit. "asked for their peace."

^[1] Sam. Vers. "Elohim be propitious tothee, my son."

^[1] Lit. "were drunken." Sam Vers."were heavy."

^[1]Badaqa mebadiq.

^{[1] <l >} Or, "sedge."

^{[2] <l >}Harashee.

^{[3] <l >}Hakimaha.

^{[4] <l >}Vesafir-attonsus est.

^{[5] <l >} Or, "sedge."

^{[6] <l >} Sam. Vers. "be fed."

^{[7] <l >}Butz byssus.

^{[8] <l >} Sam. Vers. "doublechariot."

^{[9] <l >}Deen aba lemalka.

^{[10] <l >} Sam Vers. Temirithi gala, "The Revealer of mysteries."

^{[11] <l >} Sam. Vers. "the daughter of theKohen Potiphera."

^{[12] <l >} From nashah, "to forget."

^{[13] <l >} From pharah, "to be fruitful."

^{[14] <l >}Lama tithchazun.

^{[15] <l >} Sam. Vers. "the shame of theland."

^{[16] <l >}Beth mebatha.

^{[17] <l >} "Our generation."

^{[18] <l >}Medimshabach. Sam Vers. "celebrated."

^{[19] <l >} Or, "a victim," niksatha.

^{[20] <l >} Sam. Vers. "lord it overus."

^{[21] <l >} Lit. "asked for theirpeace."

^{[22] <l >} Sam. Vers. "Elohim bepropitious to thee, my son."

^{[23] <l >} Lit. "were drunken." SamVers. "were heavy."

^{[24] <l >}Badaqa mebadiq.