1

1 The History of Creation In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

2 But the earth was unsightly and unfurnished, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God moved over the water.

3 And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.

4 And God saw the light that it was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.

5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night, and there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it be a division between water and water”; and it was so.

7 And God made the firmament, and God divided between the water which was under the firmament and the water which was above the firmament.

8 And God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the water which is under the heaven be gathered into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. And the water which was under the heaven was gathered into its places, and the dry land appeared.

10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of the waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass-bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth”; and it was so.

12 And the earth brought forth the herb of grass-bearing seed according to its kind and according to its likeness, and the fruit tree bearing fruit whose seed is in it, according to its kind on the earth; and God saw that it was good.

13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, to divide between day and night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and for years.

15 And let them be for light in the firmament of the heavens, so as to shine upon the earth”; and it was so.

16 And God made two great lights, the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night; He made the stars also.

17 And God set them in the firmament of the heavens, so as to shine upon the earth,

18 and to rule over the day and the night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And God saw that it was good.

19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the waters bring forth reptiles having life, and winged creatures flying above the earth in the firmament of the heavens”; and it was so.

21 And God made great whales, and every living reptile, which the waters brought forth according to their kinds, and every creature that flies with wings according to its kind; and God saw that they were good.

22 And God blessed them saying, “Increase and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the creatures that fly be multiplied on the earth.”

23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind, cattle and reptiles and wild beasts of the earth according to their kind”; and it was so.

25 And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their kind, and cattle according to their kind, and all the reptiles of the earth according to their kind, and God saw that they were good.

26 And God said, “Let Us make man according to Our image and likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the cattle and all the earth, and over all the reptiles that move upon the earth.”

27 And God made man, according to the image of God He made him, male and female He made them.

28 And God blessed them, saying, “Increase and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the seas, and the birds of the sky, and all the cattle and all the earth, and all the reptiles that move on the earth.”

29 And God said, “Behold, I have given to you every plant-yielding seed which is upon all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.

30 And to all the wild beasts of the earth, and to all the birds of the sky, and to every reptile that creeps on the earth, which has in itself the breath of life, even every green plant for food”; and it was so.

31 And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, they were very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2

1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole host of them.

2 And God finished on the sixth day His works which He made, and He ceased on the seventh day from all His works which He made.

3 And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He ceased from all His works which God began to do.

4 Another Account of Creation This is the book of the generations of heaven and earth, when they were made, in the day in which the Lord God made the heaven and the earth,

5 and every herb of the field before it was on the earth, and all the grass of the field before it sprang up, for God had not sent rain upon the earth, and there was no man to cultivate it.

6 But there rose up a fountain out of the earth, and it watered the whole face of the earth.

7 And God formed the man of the dust of the earth, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul.

8 And God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and He placed the man there whom He had formed.

9 And God caused to spring up also out of the earth every tree beautiful to the eye and good for food, and the tree of life in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 And a river proceeded out of Eden to water the garden, and it divided itself there into four heads.

11 The name of the one is Pishon, this is that which encircles the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.

12 And the gold of that land is good, there also is carbuncle and emerald.

13 And the name of the second river is Gihon, this is that which encircles the whole land of Ethiopia.

14 And the third river is Tigris, this is that which flows forth over against the Assyrians. And the fourth river is Euphrates.

15 And the Lord God took the man whom He had formed, and placed him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and keep it.

16 And the Lord God commanded Adam, saying, “Of every tree which is in the garden you may freely eat,

17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil—of it you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”

18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, let Us make for him a helper suitable to him.”

19 And God formed yet farther out of the earth all the wild beasts of the field, and all the birds of the sky, and He brought them to Adam, to see what he would call them, and whatever Adam called any living creature, that was its name.

20 And Adam gave names to all the cattle and to all the birds of the sky, and to all the wild beasts of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to himself.

21 And God brought a deep sleep upon Adam, and he slept, and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.

22 And God formed the rib which he took from Adam into a woman, and brought her to Adam.

23 And Adam said, “This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.

25 And the two were naked, both Adam and his wife, and were not ashamed.

3

1 The Temptation and Fall of Man Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the beasts on the earth, which the Lord God had made. And the serpent said to the woman, “Has God truly said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,

3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

4 And the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die!

5 For God knew that in whatever day you should eat of it, your eyes would be opened, and you would be as gods, knowing good and evil.”

6 And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate. And having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves coverings to go around them.

8 And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

9 And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”

10 And he said to Him, “I heard Your voice as You walked in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.”

11 And God said to him, “Who told you that you were naked, unless you have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”

12 And Adam said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”

13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “Why have you done this?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 And the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle and all the beasts of the earth; on your breast and belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her Seed, He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

16 And to the woman He said, “I will greatly multiply your pains and your groanings; in pain you shall bring forth children, and your submission shall be to your husband, and he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat of it—of that you have eaten, cursed is the ground in your labors, in pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life.

18 Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to you, and you shall eat the herb of the field.

19 In the sweat of your face shall you eat your bread until you return to the ground out of which you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.”

20 And Adam called the name of his wife Eve, because she was the mother of all living.

21 And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and clothed them.

22 And God said, “Behold, Adam has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest at any time he stretch forth his hand, and take of the tree of life and eat, and so he shall live forever”—

23 so the Lord God sent him forth out of the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground out of which he was taken.

24 And He cast out Adam and caused him to dwell outside of the garden of Eden, and stationed the cherubim and the fiery sword that turns about to keep the way of the tree of life.

4

1 Cain Murders Abel Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and brought forth Cain and said, “I have acquired a man through God.”

2 And she again bore his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.

3 And it was so after some time that Cain brought a sacrifice to the Lord of the fruits of the earth.

4 And Abel also brought of the firstborn of his sheep and of his fatlings. And God looked upon Abel and his gifts,

5 but Cain and his sacrifices He did not regard. And Cain was exceedingly sorrowful and his countenance fell.

6 And the Lord God said to Cain, “Why are you downcast, and why has your countenance fallen?

7 Have you not sinned if you have brought it rightly, but not rightly divided it? Be still, to you shall be his submission, and you shall rule over him.”

8 And Cain said to Abel his brother, “Let us go out into the field.” And it came to pass, that when they were in the field, Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and killed him.

9 And the Lord God said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know—am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

11 And now you are cursed from the earth which has opened her mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.

12 When you till the earth, then it shall not continue to give its strength to you: you shall be groaning and trembling on the earth.”

13 And Cain said to the Lord God, “My crime is too great for me to be forgiven.

14 If You cast me out this day from the face of the earth, and I shall be hidden from Your presence, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, then it will be that anyone that finds me shall kill me.”

15 And the Lord God said to him, “Not so; anyone that slays Cain shall suffer a seven-fold vengeance.” And the Lord God set a mark upon Cain, so that no one that found him would kill him.

16 The Beginnings of Civilization So Cain went forth from the presence of God, and dwelt in the land of Nod opposite Eden.

17 And Cain knew his wife, and having conceived she bore Enoch; and he built a city; and he named the city after the name of his son, Enoch.

18 And to Enoch was born Irad; and Irad fathered Mehujael; and Mehujael fathered Methushael; and Methushael fathered Lamech.

19 And Lamech took to himself two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the second was Zillah.

20 And Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those that dwell in tents, feeding cattle.

21 And the name of his brother was Jubal; it was he who invented the psaltery and harp.

22 And Zillah also bore Tubal-Cain; he was a smith, a manufacturer both of brass and iron; and the sister of Tubal-Cain was Naamah.

23 And Lamech said to his wives, Adah and Zillah, “Hear my voice, you wives of Lamech, consider my words, because I have slain a man to my sorrow and a youth to my grief.

24 Because vengeance has been exacted seven times on Cain’s behalf, on Lamech’s it shall be seventy times seven.”

25 And Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Seth, saying, “For God has raised up to me another offspring in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.”

26 And Seth had a son, and he called his name Enosh; he hoped to call on the name of the Lord God.

5

1 Adam’s Descendants to Noah and His Sons This is the genealogy of men in the day in which God made Adam; in the image of God He made him:

2 male and female He made them, and blessed them; and He called his name Adam, in the day in which He made them.

3 And Adam lived 230 years, and fathered a son in his own likeness, and after his own image, and he called his name Seth.

4 And the days of Adam, which he lived after he fathered Seth, were 700 years; and he had sons and daughters.

5 Thus all the days that Adam lived were 930 years, and he died.

6 Now Seth lived 205 years, and fathered Enosh.

7 And Seth lived 707 years after he had Enosh, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

8 And all the days of Seth were 912 years, and he died.

9 And Enosh lived 190 years, and fathered Cainan.

10 And Enosh lived 715 years after he had Cainan, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

11 And all the days of Enosh were 905 years, and he died.

12 And Cainan lived 170 years, and he fathered Mahalalel.

13 And Cainan lived 740 years after he had Mahalalel, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

14 And all the days of Cainan were 910 years, and he died.

15 And Mahalalel lived 165 years, and he fathered Jared.

16 And Mahalalel lived 730 years after he fathered Jared, and he had other sons and daughters.

17 And all the days of Mahalalel were 895 years, and he died.

18 And Jared lived 162 years, and fathered Enoch:

19 and Jared lived 800 years after he had Enoch, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

20 And all the days of Jared were 962 years, and he died.

21 And Enoch lived 165 years, and fathered Methuselah.

22 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God. After he had Methuselah, He walked with God 200 years, and he fathered other sons and daughters.

23 And all the days of Enoch were 365 years.

24 And Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, for God translated him.

25 And Methuselah lived 167 years, and fathered Lamech.

26 And Methuselah lived 802 years after he had Lamech, and fathered other sons and daughters.

27 And all the days of Methuselah, which he lived, were 969 years, and he died.

28 And Lamech lived 188 years, and fathered a son.

29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will cause us to cease from our works, and from the toils of our hands, and from the earth, which the Lord God has cursed.”

30 And Lamech lived 565 years after he had Noah, and fathered other sons and daughters.

31 And all the days of Lamech were 753 years, and he died.

32 And Noah was 500 years old, and he fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6

1 The Wickedness and Judgment of Man And it came to pass when men began to be numerous upon the earth, and daughters were born to them,

2 that the sons of God, having seen the daughters of men, that they were beautiful, took to themselves wives of all whom they chose.

3 And the Lord God said, “My Spirit shall by no means remain with these men forever, for they are flesh, but their days shall be 120 years.”

4 Now the giants were upon the earth in those days; and after that when the sons of God came in to the daughters of men, they bore children to them. Those were the giants of old, the men of renown.

5 And the Lord God, having seen that the wicked actions of men were multiplied upon the earth, and that everyone in his heart was meditating on evil continually,

6 that God took it to heart that He had made man upon the earth, and He pondered it deeply.

7 And God said, “I will blot out man whom I have made from the face of the earth, even man and beast, and reptiles, along with the birds of the sky, for I am grieved that I have made them.”

8 But Noah found grace before the Lord God.

9 Noah Pleases God And these are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man; being perfect in his generation; Noah was well pleasing to God.

10 And Noah fathered three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11 But the earth was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with unrighteousness.

12 And the Lord God saw the earth, that it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth.

13 The Preparation of the Ark And the Lord God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth has been filled with unrighteousness by them, and behold, I shall destroy them and the earth.

14 Therefore make for yourself an ark of square timber; you shall make the ark in compartments, and you shall line it inside and out with pitch.

15 And thus shall you make the ark: the length of the ark shall be 300 cubits, its breadth 50 cubits, and its height 30 cubits.

16 You shall narrow the ark as you make it, and in a cubit above you shall finish it, and the door of the ark you shall make on the side; with lower, second, and third stories you shall make it.

17 And behold, I shall bring a flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life under heaven, and whatsoever things are upon the earth shall die.

18 And I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter into the ark, and your sons and your wife, and your sons’ wives with you.

19 And of all cattle and of all reptiles and of all wild beasts, even of all flesh, you shall bring by pairs into the ark, so that you may feed them with yourself: male and female they shall be.

20 Of all winged birds after their kind, and of all cattle after their kind, and of all reptiles creeping upon the earth after their kind, pairs of all shall come in to you, male and female, to be fed with you.

21 And you shall take to yourself of all kinds of food which you eat, and you shall gather them to yourself, and it shall be for you and them to eat.”

22 And Noah did everything that the Lord God commanded him.

7

1 The Great Flood And the Lord God said to Noah, “Enter into the ark, you and all your family, for I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.

2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, male and female, and of the unclean animals take two each, male and female.

3 And also seven each of the clean birds of the sky, male and female, and also pairs of all unclean birds, male and female, to maintain seed on all the earth.

4 For after seven more days I shall bring rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I shall blot out every living thing which I have made from the face of all the earth.”

5 And Noah did all things, whatever the Lord God commanded him.

6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood of water came upon the earth.

7 And then Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

8 And of the clean birds and the unclean birds, and of the clean cattle and the unclean cattle, and of all the things that creep upon the earth,

9 by pairs they went in to Noah into the ark, male and female, as God had commanded Noah.

10 And it came to pass after seven days that the floodwaters came upon the earth.

11 In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on this day all the fountains of the abyss were broken up, and the flood gates of heaven were opened.

12 And the rain fell upon the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13 On that very day Noah, his sons Shem, Ham, Japheth, and Noah’s wife, and the three wives of his sons, entered into the ark.

14 And all the wild beasts after their kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and all the reptiles after their kind, and every flying bird after its kind,

15 went in to Noah into the ark, by pairs, both male and female of all flesh in which is the breath of life.

16 And those that entered went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded Noah, and the Lord God shut the door behind him.

17 And the flood was upon the earth forty days and forty nights, and the water increased greatly and raised up the ark, and it was lifted up high from off of the earth.

18 And the waters prevailed and abounded exceedingly upon the earth, and the ark floated upon the waters.

19 And the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth, and covered all the high mountains which were under heaven.

20 And the waters rose fifteen cubits above the earth, and it covered all the high mountains.

21 And all flesh that moved upon the earth died; of the birds and cattle, and of the wild beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, and every man.

22 And all things which have the breath of life, and whatever was on the dry land died.

23 And God blotted out every living thing which was upon the face of the earth, both man and beast, and reptiles, and birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth, and Noah was left alone, and those that were with him in the ark.

24 And the waters were raised over the earth 150 days.

8

1 The Flood Subsides And God remembered Noah, and all the wild beasts, and all the cattle, and all the birds, and all the reptiles that creep, as many as were with him in the ark, and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters subsided.

2 And the fountains of the deep were closed up, and the flood gates of heaven, and the rain from heaven was withheld.

3 And the waters subsided, and receded off the earth, and after 150 days the waters were diminished, and the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

4 And the waters continued to decrease until the tenth month.

5 And in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the heads of the mountains were visible.

6 And it came to pass after forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he had made.

7 And he sent forth a raven; and it went out, and did not return until the waters were dried up from the earth.

8 And he sent a dove after it, to see if the waters had ceased from off of the earth.

9 And the dove, not having found rest for her feet, returned to him into the ark, because the waters were upon all the face of the earth, and he stretched out his hand and took her in, and brought her to himself into the ark.

10 And waiting yet another seven days, he again sent forth the dove from the ark.

11 And the dove returned to him in the evening, and had an olive leaf in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had subsided from off the earth.

12 And waiting yet another seven days, he again sent forth the dove, and she did not return to him anymore.

13 And it came to pass in the six hundred and first year of the life of Noah, in the first month, on the first day of the month, that the waters subsided from off of the earth, and Noah opened the covering of the ark which he had made, and he saw that the waters had subsided from the face of the earth.

14 And in the second month the earth had dried out, on the twenty-seventh day of the month.

15 And the Lord God spoke to Noah, saying,

16 “Come out from the ark, you and your wife and your sons, and your sons’ wives with you.

17 And all the wild beasts, as many as are with you, and all flesh, both of birds and beasts, and every reptile moving upon the earth, bring forth with you: be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.”

18 And Noah came forth, and his wife and his sons, and his sons’ wives with him.

19 And all the wild beasts and all the cattle and every bird, and every reptile creeping upon the earth after their kind, came forth out of the ark.

20 God’s Covenant with Man And Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of all clean beasts, and of all clean birds, and offered a burnt offering upon the altar.

21 And the Lord God smelled a sweet aroma. And the Lord God, having considered all things, said, “I will never again curse the earth, due to the works of men, because the imagination of man is intently bent upon evil things from his youth, I will never again destroy all living flesh as I have done.

22 All the days of the earth, seed and harvest, cold and heat, summer and spring, shall not cease by day or night.”

9

1 God’s Covenant with Noah And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and have dominion over it.

2 And the dread and the fear of you shall be upon all the wild beasts of the earth, on all the birds of the sky, and on all things moving upon the earth, and upon all the fish of the sea, I have placed them under your power.

3 And every living reptile shall be to you for food, I have given all things to you as the green herbs.

4 But the flesh with its lifeblood you shall not eat.

5 For your lifeblood shall I require at the hand of all wild beasts, and I shall require a man’s life at the hand of his fellow man.

6 He that sheds man’s blood, instead of that blood shall his own be shed, for in the image of God I made man.

7 But as for you, be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and have dominion over it.”

8 And God spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying,

9 “Behold, I establish My covenant with you, and with your offspring after you,

10 and with every living creature with you, of birds and of beasts, and with all the wild beasts of the earth, as many as are with you, of all that came out of the ark.

11 And I will establish My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh die by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy all the earth.”

12 And the Lord God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and between every living creature which is with you for all generations:

13 I set My rainbow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.

14 And it shall be when I gather clouds upon the earth, that My rainbow shall be seen in the cloud.

15 And I shall remember My covenant, which is between Me and you, and between every living soul in all flesh, and there shall no longer be water for a deluge, so as to blot out all flesh.

16 And My rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look at it and remember the everlasting covenant between Me and the earth, and between every living soul in all flesh, which is upon the earth.”

17 And God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant, which I have made between Me and all flesh, which is upon the earth.”

18 Noah and His Sons Now the sons of Noah which came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. And Ham was the father of Canaan.

19 These three are the sons of Noah, of these were men scattered over all the earth.

20 And Noah began to be a farmer, and he planted a vineyard.

21 And he drank of the wine, and was drunk, and was naked in his house.

22 And Ham the father of Canaan saw the nakedness of his father, and he went out and told his two brothers outside.

23 And Shem and Japheth, having taken a garment, put it on both their backs and went backwards, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their face was backward, and they did not see the nakedness of their father.

24 And Noah recovered from the wine, and knew all that his younger son had done to him.

25 And he said, “Cursed be the servant Canaan, a slave shall he be to his brothers.”

26 And he said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, and Canaan shall be his servant.

27 “May God make room for Japheth, and let him dwell in the habitations of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.”

28 And Noah lived after the flood 350 years.

29 And all the days of Noah were 950 years, and he died.

10

1 Nations Descended from Noah Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth; and sons were born to them after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Elisa, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Jovan were Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 From these were the islands of the Gentiles divided in their land, each according to his tongue, in their tribes and in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham were Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush were Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabtechah. And the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan.

8 And Cush fathered Nimrod: he began to be a giant upon the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before the Lord God; therefore they said, “Like Nimrod the mighty hunter before the Lord.”

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land he came to Assyria, and built Nineveh, and the city Rehoboth Ir, and Calah,

12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah: this is the great city.

13 And Mizraim fathered the Ludim, and the Naphtuhim, and the Enemetim, and the Lehabim,

14 and the Pathrusim, and the Casluhim (from whom came forth the Philistine) and the Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan fathered Sidon his firstborn, and the Hittite,

16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

17 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Senite,

18 and the Aradian, and the Samarean, and the Amathite; and after this the tribes of the Canaanites were dispersed.

19 And the boundaries of the Canaanites were from Sidon till one comes to Gerar and Gaza, till one comes to Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

20 These were the sons of Ham in their tribes according to their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

21 And to Shem himself also were children born, the father of all the sons of Eber, the brother of Japheth the elder.

22 The sons of Shem were Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, Aram, and Cainan.

23 The sons of Aram were Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mesech.

24 And Arphaxad fathered Cainan, and Cainan fathered Salah, and Salah fathered Eber.

25 And to Eber were born two sons, the name of the one was Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Joktan.

26 And Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Sarmoth, Jerah,

27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah,

28 Ebal, Abimael, Sheba,

29 Ophir, Havila, and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, till one comes to Sephar, a mountain of the east.

31 These were the sons of Shem in their tribes, according to their tongues, in their countries, and in their nations.

32 These are the tribes of the sons of Noah, according to their generations, according to their nations: of them were the islands of the Gentiles scattered over the earth after the flood.

11

1 The Tower of Babel And all the earth had one language, and one speech.

2 And it came to pass as they moved from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there.

3 And a man said to his neighbor, “Come, let us make bricks and bake them with fire.” And the brick was to them for stone, and their mortar was asphalt.

4 And they said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city and tower, whose top shall reach the heavens, and let us make for ourselves a name, before we are scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”

5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the sons of men had built.

6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have one language between them, and they have begun to do this, and now nothing shall fail from them of all that they have purposed to do.

7 Come, let Us go down and confound their language, that they may not understand each the voice of his neighbor.”

8 And the Lord scattered them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city and the tower.

9 On this account its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confounded the languages of all the earth, and then the Lord scattered them upon the face of all the earth.

10 The Descendants of Shem And these are the generations of Shem: and Shem was 100 years old when he fathered Arphaxad, the second year after the flood.

11 And Shem lived 500 years after he had fathered Arphaxad, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

12 And Arphaxad lived 135 years, and fathered Cainan.

13 And Arphaxad lived 400 years after he had fathered Cainan, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died. And Cainan lived 130 years and fathered Salah; and Canaan lived 330 years after he had fathered Salah, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

14 And Salah lived 130 years, and fathered Heber.

15 And Salah lived 330 years after he had fathered Eber, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

16 And Eber lived 134 years, and fathered Peleg.

17 And Eber lived 270 years after he had fathered Peleg, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

18 And Peleg lived 130 years, and fathered Reu.

19 And Peleg lived 209 years after he had fathered Reu, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

20 And Reu lived 132 years, and fathered Serug.

21 And Reu lived 207 years after he had fathered Serug, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

22 And Serug lived 130 years, and fathered Nahor.

23 And Serug lived 200 years after he had fathered Nahor, and fathered other sons and daughters, and died.

24 And Nahor lived 179 years, and fathered Terah.

25 And Nahor lived 125 years after he had fathered Terah, and fathered other sons and daughters, and he died.

26 And Terah lived 70 years and fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

27 The Descendants of Terah And these are the generations of Terah: Terah fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran fathered Lot.

28 And Haran died in the presence of Terah his father, in the land in which he was born, in the country of the Chaldees.

29 And Abram and Nahor took to themselves wives; the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran, and he was the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah.

30 And Sarai was barren, and had no children.

31 And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot his grandson, the son of Haran, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram his son, and led them forth out of the land of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan, and they came as far as Haran, and dwelt there.

32 And all the days of Terah in the land of Haran were 205 years, and Terah died in Haran.

12

1 The Call of Abram And the Lord said to Abram, “Go forth out of your land, and out from your family, and out of the house of your father, into the land which I will show you.

2 “And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you shall be blessed.

3 “And I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you, and in you all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed.”

4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot the son of his brother, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and every soul which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go into the land of Canaan.

6 And Abram traveled the land lengthwise as far as Shechem, to the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites then inhabited the land.

7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said to him, “I will give this land to your decendants.” And Abram built an altar there to the Lord who appeared to him.

8 And he departed from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and there he pitched his tent in Bethel near the sea, and Ai toward the east, and there he built an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord.

9 And Abram departed and went and encamped in the wilderness.

10 Abram and Sarai in Egypt Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, because the famine prevailed in the land.

11 And it came to pass when Abram approached Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a beautiful woman.

12 It shall come to pass then, that when the Egyptians shall see you, that they shall say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they shall kill me, but they shall keep you alive.

13 Therefore say to them, ‘I am his sister,’ that it may be well with me on account of you, and my soul shall live because of you.”

14 And it came to pass when Abram entered into Egypt—the Egyptians having seen his wife that she was very beautiful—

15 that the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh, and brought her into Pharaoh’s house.

16 And they treated Abram well on her account, and he had sheep, calves, donkeys, male and female servants, mules, and camels.

17 And God afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great and severe afflictions, because of Sarai, Abram’s wife.

18 And Pharaoh, having called Abram, said, “What is this you have done to me, that you did not tell me that she was your wife?

19 Why then did you say, ‘She is my sister?’ And I took her for a wife to myself; and now, behold, your wife is before you, take her and go away immediately.”

20 And Pharaoh commanded his men concerning Abram, to join in sending him forward, and his wife, and all that he had.

13

1 Abram and Lot Separate And Abram went up out of Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the wilderness.

2 And Abram was very rich in cattle, and silver, and gold.

3 And he went to the place where he came, into the wilderness as far as Bethel, as far as the place where his tent was before, between Bethel and Ai,

4 to the place of the altar, which he built there at first, and Abram there called on the name of the Lord.

5 And Lot, who went out with Abram, had sheep, oxen, and tents.

6 And the land was not large enough for them to live together, because their possessions were great; and the land was not large enough for them to live together.

7 And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle, and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle, and the Canaanites and the Perizzites then inhabited the land.

8 And Abram said to Lot, “Let there not be strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are brothers.

9 Behold, is not the whole land before you? Separate yourself from me; if you go to the left, I will go to the right, and if you go to the right, I will go to the left.”

10 And Lot, having lifted up his eyes, observed all the country round about the Jordan, that it was well watered, before God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, as the garden of the Lord, and as the land of Egypt, until you come to Zoar.

11 And Lot chose for himself all the country surrounding the Jordan, and Lot went from the east, and they were separated from each other. And Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan.

12 And Lot dwelt in a city of the neighboring people, and pitched his tent in Sodom.

13 But the men of Sodom were evil, and exceedingly sinful before God.

14 And God said to Abram after Lot had separated from him, “Look up with your eyes, and behold from the place where you now are northward and southward, and eastward and westward;

15 for all the land which you see, I will give to you and to your decendants forever.

16 And I will make your decendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone is able to number the dust of the earth, then shall your decendants be numbered.

17 Arise, walk in the land, both in its length and in its breadth; for to you will I give it, and to your decendants forever.”

18 And Abram, having removed his tent, came and dwelt by the oak of Mamre, which was in Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord.

14

1 Lot’s Captivity and Rescue And it came to pass in the reign of Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, that Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations,

2 made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, and with Shinab, king of Adamah, and with Shemeber king of Zeboiim and the king of Bela, (that is, Zoar).

3 All these met with one accord at the Salt Valley; this is now the Salt Sea.

4 Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and the thirteenth year they revolted.

5 And in the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer came, and the kings with him, and they cut to pieces the giants in Ashteroth, and Karnaim, and strong nations with them, and the Emim in the city of Shaveh Kiriathaim.

6 And the Horites in the mountains of Seir, to the terebinth tree of El Paran, which is in the desert.

7 And having turned back, they came to the Well of Judgment; this is Kadesh, and they cut to pieces all the princes of Amalek, and the Amorites dwelling in Hazezon Tamar.

8 And the king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrhah, the king of Admah, the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, (that is, Zoar) went out, and they set themselves in battle array against them for war in the Salt Valley,

9 against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of nations, Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar, the four kings against the five.

10 Now the Salt Valley consists of slime pits. And the king of Sodom fled and the king of Gomorrah, and they fell in there. And those that were left fled to the mountain country.

11 And they took all the cavalry of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and departed.

12 And they also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his possessions, and departed, for he dwelt in Sodom.

13 And one of them that had been rescued came and told Abram the Hebrew; and he dwelt by the oak of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eschol, and the brother of Aner, who were allies of Abram.

14 And Abram, having heard that Lot his nephew had been taken captive, numbered his own home-born servants, 318, and pursued after them to Dan.

15 And he came upon them by night, he and his servants, and he struck them, and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is north of Damascus.

16 And he recovered all the cavalry of Sodom, and he recovered Lot his nephew, and all his possessions, and the women and the people.

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and the kings with him, to the valley of Shaveh; this was the plain of the kings.

18 Abram and Melchizedek And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth loaves and wine, (he was the priest of the Most High God).

19 And he blessed Abram, and said, “Blessed be Abram of the Most High God, who made heaven and earth,

20 and blessed be the Most High God, who delivered your enemies into your power.” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the men, and take the horses to yourself.”

22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, the Most High God, who made the heaven and the earth,

23 that I will not take from all your goods, from a string to a sandal strap, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

24 Except what things the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men that went with me, Eschol, Aner, Mamre, these shall take a portion.”

15

1 God’s Covenant with Abram And after these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear, Abram, for I am your shield. Your reward shall be very great.”

2 And Abram said, “Master and Lord, what shall You give me? Seeing I am departing without a child, but the son of Masek my home-born female slave, this Eliezer of Damascus is my heir.”

3 And Abram said, “I am grieved since You have given me no offspring, but my home-born servant shall succeed me.”

4 And immediately the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, “This shall not be your heir; but he that shall come out of you shall be your heir.”

5 And He brought him out and said to him, “Look up now to heaven, and count the stars, if you shall be able to number them fully.” And He said, “So shall your descendants be.”

6 And Abram believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.

7 And He said to him, “I am God that brought you out of the land of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land to inherit.”

8 And he said, “Master and Lord, how shall I know that I shall inherit it?”

9 And He said to him, “Take for Me a heifer in her third year, and a female goat in her third year, and a ram in his third year, and a dove and a pigeon.”

10 So he took to Him all these things, and divided them in the midst, and set them opposite to each other, but the birds he did not divide.

11 And birds came down upon the carcasses, upon the divided parts of them, and Abram sat down by them.

12 And about sunset, a deep sleep came on Abram, and behold, fear and great darkness pressed upon him.

13 And God said to Abram, “You shall surely know that your decendants shall be sojourners in a land not their own, and they shall enslave them, and afflict them, and humble them four hundred years.

14 And the nation whom they shall serve I will judge; and after this, they shall come forth with great possessions.

15 But you shall depart to your fathers in peace, nourished in a good old age.

16 And in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the sins of the Amorites are not yet filled up, even until now.”

17 And when the sun was about to set, there was a flame, and behold, a smoking furnace and lamps of fire, which passed between the divided pieces.

18 In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your decendants I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river Euphrates.

19 The Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites,

20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim,

21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

16

1 Hagar and Ishmael Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, bore him no children; and she had an Egyptian maid, whose name was Hagar.

2 And Sarai said to Abram, “Behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go therefore in to my maid, that I may obtain children for myself through her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.

3 So Sarai, Abram’s wife, having taken Hagar the Egyptian her maid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, gave her to Abram her husband as a wife.

4 And he went in to Hagar, and she conceived. And when she saw that she was pregnant, her mistress was dishonored before her.

5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “You have hurt me! I gave my maid into your arms, and when I saw that she was pregnant, I was dishonored before her. The Lord judge between me and you!”

6 And Abram said to Sarai, “Behold your maid is in your hands, use her as it may seem good to you.” And Sarai afflicted her, and she fled from before her.

7 And the Angel of the Lord found her by the fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.

8 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Hagar, Sarai’s maid, from where do you come, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai.”

9 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her authority.”

10 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “I will surely multiply your decendants, so that they shall be too many to count.”

11 And the Angel of the Lord said to her, “Behold, you are pregnant, and shall bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, for the Lord has seen your humiliation.

12 He shall be a wild man, his hands shall be against all, and the hands of all shall be against him, and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers.”

13 And she called the name of the Lord God who spoke to her, “You are the God who sees”; for she said, “For I have openly seen Him that appeared to me.”

14 Therefore she called the well Beer Lahai Roi; behold it is between Kadesh and Bered.

15 And Hagar bore a son to Abram; and Abram called the name of his son which Hagar bore to him, Ishmael.

16 And Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.

17

1 The Sign of the Covenant When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am your God, be well-pleasing before Me, and be blameless.

2 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you exceedingly.”

3 And Abram fell upon his face, and God spoke to him, saying,

4 “Behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

5 And your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.

6 And I will increase you very exceedingly, and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

7 “And I will establish My covenant between you and your decendants after you, to their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be your God, and the God of your descendants after you.

8 And I will give to you and to your descendants after you the land in which you sojourn, even all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession, and I will be to them a God.”

9 And God said to Abraham, “You also shall fully keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you for their generations.

10 And this is the covenant which you shall fully keep between Me and you, and between your descendants after you for their generations; every male of you shall be circumcised.

11 And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between Me and you.

12 And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised by you, every male throughout your generations, and the servant born in the house and he that is bought with money, of every son of a stranger, who is not of your offspring.

13 He that is born in your house, and he that is bought with money shall surely be circumcised, and My covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.

14 And the uncircumcised male, who shall not be circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin on the eighth day, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from his family, for he has broken My covenant.”

15 And God said to Abraham, “Sarai, your wife—her name shall not be called Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.

16 And I will bless her, and give you a son by her, and I will bless him, and he shall become nations, and kings of nations shall decend from him.”

17 And Abraham fell upon his face and laughed; and said in his heart, “Shall there be a child to one who is a hundred years old, and shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

18 And Abraham said to God, “Let this Ismael live before You.”

19 And God said to Abraham, “Behold, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to him and to his descendants after him.

20 As for Ishmael, behold, I have heard you, and behold, I have blessed him, and will increase him and multiply him exceedingly; twelve nations shall he father, and I will make him into a great nation.

21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.”

22 And He left off speaking with him, and God went up from Abraham.

23 And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all his home-born servants, and all those bought with money, and every male of the men in the house of Abraham, and he circumcised their foreskins that very day, according as God spoke to him.

24 And Abraham was ninety-nine years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

25 And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.

26 That very day Abraham was circumcised, and Ishmael his son,

27 and all the men of his house, both those born in the house, and those bought with money among the foreign nations.

18

1 A Son Promised to Abraham and Sarah And God appeared to him by the oak of Mamre, as he sat by the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

2 And he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood before him; and having seen them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and bowed himself to the ground.

3 And he said, “Lord, if indeed I have found grace in Your sight, do not pass by Your servant.

4 Let water now be brought, and let them wash your feet, and refresh yourselves under the tree.

5 And I will bring bread, and you shall eat, and after this you shall depart on your journey, on account of which refreshment you have turned aside to your servant.” And He said, “Do as you have said.”

6 And Abraham hastened to the tent to Sarah, and said to her, “Quickly, knead three measures of fine flour, and make cakes.”

7 And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a young calf, tender and good, and gave it to his servant, and he hastened to prepare it.

8 And he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had prepared; and he set them before them, and they ate, and he stood by them under the tree.

9 And He said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he answered and said, “There, in the tent.”

10 And He said, “I will return and come to you at the appointed time, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door, being behind him.

11 And Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in days, and the custom of women had ceased with Sarah.

12 And Sarah laughed within herself, saying, “The thing has not as yet happened to me, even until now, and my lord is old.”

13 And the Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child? But I have grown old.’

14 Shall anything be impossible with the Lord? At the appointed time I shall return to you, and Sarah shall have a son.”

15 But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. And He said to her, “No, but you did laugh!”

16 Judgment Pronounced on Sodom And the men rose up from there, and looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah. And Abraham went with them, attending to them on their journey.

17 And the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham My servant what I intend to do?

18 But Abraham shall become a great and populous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

19 For I know that he will order his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham all things whatsoever He has spoken to him.”

20 And the Lord said, “The cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has reached My ears, and their sins are very great.

21 I will therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to Me, and if not, I will know.”

22 And the men, having departed from there, came to Sodom. And the Lord stood before Abraham.

23 And Abraham drew near and said, “Would You destroy the righteous with the wicked? And shall the righteous be as the wicked?

24 Should there be fifty righteous in the city, will You destroy them? Will You not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they be in it?

25 Far be it from You to do such at thing, so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous shall be as the wicked: far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

26 And the Lord said, “If there should be in Sodom fifty righteous people, I will spare the whole city, and the whole place for their sakes.”

27 And Abraham answered and said, “Now I have begun to speak to my Lord, and I am but dust and ashes.

28 But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, will You destroy the whole city because of the five that are lacking?” And He said, “I will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five.”

29 And he continued to speak to Him still, and said, “But if there should be found there forty?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the forty’s sake.”

30 And he said, “Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I shall speak? But if there be found there thirty?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the thirty’s sake.”

31 And he said, “Since I am able to speak to the Lord, what if there should be found there twenty?” And He said, “I will not destroy it, if I should find there twenty.”

32 And he said, “Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet once more? But if there should be found there ten?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

33 And the Lord departed, when He left off speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

19

1 The Depravity of Sodom And the two angels came to Sodom at evening. And Lot sat by the gate of Sodom. And Lot, having seen them, rose up to meet them, and he bowed down with his face to the ground, and said,

2 “Wait, My lords, turn aside to the house of your servant, and rest from your journey, and wash your feet. Rise early in the morning to depart on your journey.” And they said, “No, but we will lodge in the street.”

3 And he constrained them, and they turned aside to him, and they entered into his house. And he made a feast for them, and baked unleavened cakes for them, and they ate.

4 But before they went to sleep, the men of the city, the Sodomites, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people together.

5 And they called out Lot, and said to him, “Where are the men that came to you this night? Bring them out to us, that we may be with them.”

6 And Lot went out to them to the porch, and he shut the door behind him,

7 and said to them, “By no means, brothers, do not act so wickedly.

8 But I have two daughters, who have not known a man. I will bring them out to you, and you may do with them as you wish, only do not harm these men, since this is the reason they have come under the shelter of my roof.”

9 And they said to him, “Stand back! You came here to sojourn, was it also to judge? Now then we would harm you more than them!” And they pressed hard against Lot, and they drew near to break down the door.

10 And the men stretched forth their hands, and they pulled Lot inside the house, and shut the door.

11 And they struck the men that were at the door of the house with blindness, both small and great, and they were wearied with seeking the door.

12 Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed And the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, or sons or daughters, or if you have any other friend in the city, bring them out of this place.

13 For we are going to destroy this place; for their outcry has risen up before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.”

14 And Lot went out, and spoke to his sons-in-law who had married his daughters, and said, “Rise up, and depart out of this place, for the Lord is about to destroy the city”; but he seemed to be speaking foolishly before his sons-in-law.

15 But when it was morning, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Arise and take your wife, and your two daughters, and go forth; lest you also be destroyed with the iniquities of the city.”

16 And they were troubled, and the angels laid hold on his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hands of his two daughters, in that the Lord spared him.

17 And it came to pass when they brought them out, that they said, “By all means save your own life; do not look behind you, nor stay in this surrounding country, but escape to the mountains, lest perhaps you be overtaken together with them.”

18 And Lot said to them, “I beseech you, my lords,

19 since your servant has found mercy before you, and you have magnified your righteousness, in that you have spared my life, but I shall not be able to escape to the mountains, lest perhaps the calamity overtake me and I die.

20 Behold, this city is near for me to escape to, which is a small one, and there shall I be preserved, is it not little? And my soul shall live because of you.”

21 And he said to him, “Behold, I grant you this favor also, that I will not overthrow the city of which you have spoken.

22 Hurry then to escape there, for I shall not be able to do anything until you arrive there.” Therefore he called the name of that city, Zoar.

23 Now the sun had risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar.

24 And the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah sulfur and fire out of heaven.

25 And He overthrew these cities, and all the surrounding countryside, and all the inhabitaints of the cities, and the plants which grew of the ground.

26 And his wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.

27 And Abraham rose up early to go to the place where he had stood before the Lord.

28 And he looked towards Sodom and Gomorrah, and towards the neighboring countryside, and behold, he saw a flame going up from the earth, like the smoke from a furnace.

29 And it came to pass, that when God had destroyed all the cities of the region round about, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when the Lord overthrew those cities in which Lot dwelt.

30 The Shameful Origin of Moab and Ammon And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the mountain, he and his two daughters with him, for he feared to dwell in Zoar; and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him.

31 And the elder said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no one on the earth who shall come in to us, as it is fit in all the earth.

32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us sleep with him, and let us raise up offspring from our father.”

33 So they made their father drink wine in that night, and the elder went in and lay with her father that night, and he knew not when he slept and when he rose up.

34 And it came to pass on the next day, that the elder said to the younger, “Behold, I slept last night with our father, let us make him drink wine tonight as well, and you go in and sleep with him, and let us raise up offspring from our father.”

35 So they made their father drink wine in that night also, and the younger went in and slept with her father, and he knew not when he slept, nor when he arose.

36 And the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father.

37 And the elder bore a son and called his name Moab, saying, “He is of my father.” This is the father of the Moabites to this day.

38 And the younger also bore a son, and called his name Ammon, saying, “The son of my family.” This is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

20

1 Abraham and Sarah at Gerar And Abraham journeyed from there to the southern country, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and sojourned in Gerar.

2 And Abraham said concerning Sarah his wife, “She is my sister,” for he feared to say, “She is my wife,” lest at any time the men of the city should kill him for her sake. So Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah.

3 And God came to Abimelech by night in his sleep, and said, “Behold, you shall die for the woman whom you have taken, for she has a husband.”

4 But Abimelech had not touched her, and he said, “Lord, will You destroy an ignorantly sinning and just nation?

5 Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister’, and she, even she herself said, ‘He is my brother’? With a pure heart and in the righteousness of my hands have I done this.”

6 And God said to him in his sleep, “Yes, I knew that you did this with a pure heart, and I spared you, so that you should not sin against Me, therefore I did not let you touch her.

7 But now return the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live; but if you do not restore her to him, know that you and all yours shall die.”

8 And Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and he spoke all these words in their ears, and all the men feared exceedingly.

9 And Abimelech called Abraham and said to him, “What is this you have done to us? Have we sinned against you, that you have brought upon me and upon my kingdom this great sin? You have done a deed to me that ought not to be done!”

10 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What have you seen in me that you have done this?”

11 And Abraham said, “Because I thought, ‘Surely there is not the worship of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’

12 For truly she is my sister by my father, but not by my mother, and she became my wife.”

13 And it came to pass when God brought me forth out of the house of my father, that I said to her, “This righteousness you shall perform to me, in every place into which we may enter, say of me, ‘He is my brother.’”

14 And Abimelech took a thousand pieces of silver, and sheep, and calves, and servants, and maid servants, and gave them to Abraham, and he returned Sarah his wife to him.

15 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “Behold, my land is before you, dwell wherever it may please you.”

16 And to Sarah he said, “Behold, I have given your brother a thousand pieces of silver, those shall be to you for the price of your countenance, and to all the women with you, and speak the truth in all things.”

17 And Abraham prayed to God, and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his female servants, and they bore children.

18 For the Lord had closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.

21

1 The Birth of Isaac And the Lord visited Sarah, as He said, and the Lord did to Sarah as He spoke.

2 And she conceived and bore to Abraham a son in his old age, at the appointed time according as the Lord spoke to him.

3 And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

4 And Abraham circumcised Isaac on the eighth day, as God commanded him.

5 And Abraham was one hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

6 And Sarah said, “The Lord has made laughter for me, for whoever shall hear shall rejoice with me.”

7 And she said, “Who shall say to Abraham that Sarah nurses a child? For I have born a child in my old age.”

8 Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away And the child grew and was weaned, and Abraham made a great feast the day that his son Isaac was weaned.

9 And Sarah, having seen the son of Hagar the Egyptian, who was born to Abraham, sporting with Isaac her son,

10 that she said to Abraham, “Cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not inherit with my son Isaac.”

11 But the word appeared very distressing before Abraham concerning his son.

12 But God said to Abraham, “Let it not be distressing before you concerning the child, and concerning the bondwoman; whatever Sarah shall say to you, listen to her voice, for in Isaac shall your offspring be named.

13 And moreover, I will make the son of this bondwoman a great nation, because he is your offspring.”

14 And Abraham rose up in the morning and took loaves and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar, and he put the child on her shoulder, and sent her away, and she, having departed, wandered in the wilderness near the Well of the Oath.

15 And when the water in the skin was gone, she put the child under a fir tree.

16 And she departed, and sat down opposite him at a distance, as it were about a bowshot, for she said, “Surely I cannot see the death of my child.” And she sat opposite him, and the child cried aloud and wept.

17 And God heard the voice of the child from the place where he was, and an angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said to her, “What is it, Hagar? Do not fear, for God has heard the voice of the child from the place where he is.

18 Rise up, and take the child, and hold him in your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of springing water; and she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the child a drink.

20 And God was with the child, and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

21 And he dwelt in the wilderness, and his mother took for him a wife out of Paran of Egypt.

22 Abraham and Abimelech Make a Covenant And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech, and Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the chief captain of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, “God is with you in all things, in all that you do.

23 Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not injure me, nor my offspring, nor my name, but according to the righteousness which I have performed with you, you shall deal with me, and with the land in which you have sojourned.”

24 And Abraham said, “I will swear.”

25 And Abraham reproved Abimelech because of the wells of water, which the servants of Abimelech took away.

26 And Abimelech said to him, “I know not who has done this thing to you, neither did you tell it to me, neither did I hear it until today.”

27 And Abraham took sheep and calves, and gave them to Abimelech, and they both made a covenant.

28 And Abraham set seven ewe lambs by themselves.

29 And Abimelech said to Abraham, “What are these seven ewe lambs which you have set alone?”

30 And Abraham said, “You shall receive the seven ewe lambs from me, that they may be for me as a witness, that I dug this well.”

31 Therefore he named the name of that place, The Well of the Oath, for there they both swore.

32 And they made a covenant at the Well of the Oath. And there rose up Abimelech, Ochozath his friend, and Phichol the commander-in-chief of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.

33 And Abraham planted a field at the Well of the Oath, and called there on the name of the Lord, the Everlasting God.

34 And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philistines many days.

22

1 The Testing of Abraham’s Faith And it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham, Abraham”; and he said, “Behold! I am here.”

2 And He said, “Take your son, the beloved one, whom you have loved—Isaac, and go into the high land, and offer him there for a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”

3 And Abraham rose up in the morning and saddled his donkey, and he took two servants with him, and Isaac his son, and having split wood for a burnt offering, he arose and departed, and came to the place of which God spoke to him.

4 On the third day Abraham, having lifted up his eyes, saw the place afar off.

5 And Abraham said to his servants, “Sit here with the donkey, and I and the lad will proceed thus far, and having worshipped, we will return to you.”

6 And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son, and he took into his hands both the fire and the knife, and the two went together.

7 And Isaac said to Abraham his father, “Father.” And he said, “What is it, son?” And he said, “Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?”

8 And Abraham said, “God will provide for Himself a lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” And both, having gone together,

9 came to the place which God spoke to him of; and there Abraham built the altar, and laid the wood on it, and having bound the feet of Isaac his son together, he laid him on the altar upon the wood.

10 And Abraham stretched forth his hand to take the knife to kill his son.

11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham.” And he said, “Behold, I am here.”

12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand upon the child, neither do anything to him, for now I know that you fear God, and for My sake you have not spared your beloved son.”

13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! A ram caught by his horns in a plant of Sabek; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the place of Isaac his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place, The Lord Has Seen; that they might say today, In the mount the Lord was seen.

15 Then the Angel of the Lord called Abraham the second time out of heaven, saying,

16 “I have sworn by Myself,” says the Lord, “because you have done this thing, and on My account have not spared your beloved son,

17 surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and as the sand which is on the seashore, and your offspring shall inherit the cities of their enemies.

18 And in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

19 And Abraham returned to his servants, and they arose and went together to the Well of the Oath; and Abraham dwelt at the Well of the Oath.

20 The Family of Nahor And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Abraham, saying, “Behold, Milcah herself too has born sons to Nahor your brother.”

21 Huz the firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of the Syrians, and Chesed,

22 Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, Bethuel, and Bethuel fathered Rebecca.

23 These are eight sons which Milcah bore to Nahor, the brother of Abraham.

24 And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she also bore Tebah, Gaham, Thahash, and Maachah.

23

1 The Death of Sarah And the life of Sarah was 127 years.

2 And Sarah died in Kirjath Arba, which is in the valley, this is Hebron in the land of Canaan; and Abraham came to lament for Sarah and to mourn.

3 And Abraham stood up from before his dead; and Abraham spoke to the sons of Heth, saying,

4 “I am a sojourner and a stranger among you. Therefore give me possession of a burial place among you, and I will bury my dead away from me.”

5 And the sons of Heth answered Abraham, saying, “Not so, my lord,

6 but hear us; you are in the midst of us a prince of God; bury your dead in our choice tombs, for none of us will by any means withhold his tomb from you, so that you should not bury your dead there.”

7 And Abraham rose up and bowed himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Heth.

8 And Abraham spoke to them, saying, “If you have it in your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, listen to me, and speak to Ephron the son of Zohar for me.

9 And let him give me the double cave which he has, which is in a part of his field, let him give it to me for the money it is worth for possession of a burial place among you.”

10 Now Ephron was sitting in the midst of the children of Heth, and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham and spoke in the hearing of the sons of Heth, and of all who entered the city, saying,

11 “Attend to me, my lord, and hear me, I give to you the field and the cave which is in it; I have given it to you before all my countrymen; bury your dead.”

12 And Abraham bowed down before the people of the land.

13 And he said in the ears of Ephron before the people of the land, “Since you are on my side, hear me; take the price of the field from me, and I will bury my dead there.”

14 But Ephron answered Abraham, saying,

15 “No, my lord, I have heard indeed, the land is worth four hundred silver shekels, but what can this be between me and you? So bury your dead.”

16 And Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham rendered to Ephron the money, which he mentioned in the ears of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver approved with merchants.

17 And the field of Ephron, which was in Double Cave, which is opposite Mamre, the field and the cave, which was in it, and every tree which was in the field, and whatever is in its borders round about, were deeded

18 to Abraham for a possession, before the sons of Heth, and all that entered into the city.

19 After this Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the Double Cave of the field, which is opposite Mamre, this is Hebron in the land of Canaan.

20 So the field and the cave which was in it were deeded to Abraham for possession of a burying place, by the sons of Heth.

24

1 The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah And Abraham was old, advanced in days, and the Lord blessed Abraham in all things.

2 And Abraham said to his servant the elder of his house, who had rule over all his possessions, “Put your hand under my thigh,

3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son Isaac from the daughters of the Canaanites, with whom I dwell, in the midst of them.

4 But you shall go instead to my country, where I was born, and to my tribe, and you shall take from there a wife for my son Isaac.”

5 And the servant said to him, “Shall I carry back your son to the land from which you came from, if the woman should not be willing to return happily with me to this land?”

6 And Abraham said to him, “See that you do not carry my son back there.

7 The Lord, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, who took me out of my father’s house, and out of the land from which I sprang, who spoke to me, and who swore to me, saying, ‘I will give this land to you and to your offspring’, He shall send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife to my son from there.

8 And if the woman should not be willing to come with you into this land, you shall be clear from my oath, only do not carry my son there again.”

9 And the servant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham, and swore to him concerning this matter.

10 And the servant took ten camels from among his master’s herds, and he took of all the goods of his master with him, and he arose and went into Mesopotamia to the city of Nahor.

11 And he rested his camels outside the city by the well of water towards evening, when women go forth to draw water.

12 And he said, “O Lord God of my master Abraham, prosper my way before me today, and deal mercifully with my master Abraham.

13 Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of them that inhabit the city come forth to draw water.

14 And it shall be, the virgin to whomsoever I shall say, ‘Let down your water pot, that I may drink,’ and she shall say, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink, until they have finished drinking’—even this one You have prepared for Your servant Isaac, and hereby shall I know that You have dealt mercifully with my master Abraham.”

15 And it came to pass before he had done speaking in his mind, that behold, Rebecca the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, came forth, having a water pot on her shoulders.

16 And the virgin was very beautiful in appearance, she was a virgin, a man had not known her; and she went down to the well, and filled her water pot, and came up.

17 And the servant ran up to meet her, and said, “Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher”;

18 and she said, “Drink, sir”; and she quickly let down the pitcher upon her arm, and gave him to drink, till he ceased drinking.

19 And she said, “I will also draw water for your camels, till they shall all have drunk.”

20 And she quickly emptied the water pot into the trough, and ran to the well to draw again, and drew water for all the camels.

21 And the man took great notice of her, and remained silent to know whether the Lord had made his way prosperous or not.

22 And it came to pass when all the camels ceased drinking, that the man took golden earrings, each weighing half a shekel, and he put two bracelets on her hands, their weight was ten pieces of gold.

23 And he asked her, and said, “Whose daughter are you? Tell me if there is room for us to lodge with your father.”

24 And she said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.”

25 And she said to him, “We have both straw and much feed, and a place for resting.”

26 And the man, being well pleased, worshipped the Lord,

27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not allowed His righteousness to fail, nor His truth from my master, and the Lord has brought me prosperously to the house of the brother of my lord.”

28 And the woman ran and reported to the house of her mother according to these words.

29 And Rebecca had a brother whose name was Laban; and Laban ran out to meet the man, by the well.

30 And it came to pass when he saw the earrings and the bracelets on the hands of his sister, and when he heard the words of Rebecca his sister, saying, “Thus the man spoke to me,” that he went to the man, as he stood by the camels at the well.

31 And he said to him, “Come in here, you blessed of the Lord, why do you stand outside, whereas I have prepared the house and a place for the camels?”

32 And the man entered into the house, and unloaded the camels, and gave the camels straw and feed, and water to wash his feet, and the feet of the men that were with him.

33 And he set before them loaves to eat; but he said, “I will not eat, until I have told my errand.” And he said, “Speak on.”

34 And he said, “I am a servant of Abraham;

35 and the Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him sheep, calves, silver, gold, male and female servants, camels, and donkeys.

36 And Sarah my master’s wife bore one son to my master after he had grown old; and he gave him whatever he had.

37 And my master caused me to swear, saying, ‘You shall not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I sojourn in their land.

38 But you shall go to the house of my father, and to my tribe, and you shall take from there a wife for my son.’

39 And I said to my master, Perhaps the woman will not happily go with me.

40 And he said to me, ‘The Lord God Himself, to whom I have been acceptable in His presence, shall send out His angel with you, and shall prosper your journey, and you shall take a wife for my son of my tribe, and of the house of my father.

41 Then shall you be clear from my oath, for whenever you have come to my tribe, and they shall not give her to you, then shall you be clear from my oath.’

42 And having come this day to the well, I said, ‘Lord God of my master Abraham, if You prosper my journey on which I am now going,

43 behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come forth to draw water, and it shall be that the woman to whom I shall say, ‘Give me a little water to drink out of your pitcher’,

44 and she shall say to me, ‘Drink, and I will draw water for your camels’, also; this shall be the wife whom the Lord has prepared for His own servant Isaac; and hereby shall I know that You have shown mercy to my master Abraham.’”

45 “And it came to pass before I had done speaking in my mind, that Rebecca came forth, having her pitcher on her shoulders; and she went down to the well, and drew water; and I said to her, ‘Give me a drink’.

46 And she quickly let down her pitcher on her arm from her head, and said, ‘Drink, and I will give your camels a drink, also’; and I drank, and she gave the camels a drink.

47 And I asked her, and said, ‘Whose daughter are you? Tell me’; and she said, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him’; and I put on her the earrings, and the bracelets on her hands.

48 And being well-pleased, I worshipped the Lord, and I blessed the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has prospered me in a true way, so that I should take the daughter of my master’s brother for his son.

49 If then you will deal mercifully and justly with my lord, tell me, and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left.”

50 And Laban and Bethuel answered and said, “This matter has come forth from the Lord, we shall not be able to answer you bad or good.

51 Behold, Rebecca is before you, take her and go away, and let her be the wife to the son of your master, as the Lord has said.”

52 And it came to pass when the servant of Abraham heard these words, he worshipped the Lord, bowing down to the earth.

53 And the servant, having brought forth jewels of silver and gold and clothing, gave them to Rebecca, and gave gifts to her brother, and to her mother.

54 And both he and the men with him ate and drank and went to sleep. And he arose in the morning and said, “Send me away, that I may go to my master.”

55 And her brothers and her mother said, “Let the young woman remain with us about ten days, and after that she shall depart.”

56 But he said to them, “Do not delay me, for the Lord has prospered my journey for me; send me away, that I may depart to my master.”

57 And they said, “Let us call the woman, and ask her personally.”

58 And they called Rebecca, and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.”

59 So they sent forth Rebecca their sister, and her goods, and the servant of Abraham, and his attendants.

60 And they blessed Rebecca, and said to her, “You are our sister; may you become the mother of thousands and thousands, and let your descendants possess the cities of their enemies.”

61 And Rebecca rose up, both she and her maidens, and they mounted the camels and went with the man. And the servant, having taken up Rebecca, departed.

62 And Isaac went through the wilderness to the Well of the Vision, and he dwelt in the land toward the south.

63 And Isaac went forth into the plain toward evening to meditate; and having lifted up his eyes, he saw camels coming.

64 And Rebecca lifted up her eyes, and saw Isaac; and she dismounted at once from off of the camel,

65 and said to the servant, “Who is that man that walks in the plain to meet us?” And the servant said, “This is my master”; and she took her veil and covered herself.

66 And the servant told Isaac all that he had done.

67 And Isaac went into the house of his mother, and took Rebecca, and she became his wife, and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted over Sarah his mother.

25

1 Abraham Marries Keturah And Abraham again took a wife, whose name was Keturah.

2 And she bore to him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

3 And Jokshan fathered Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were the Assurians, the Letushim, and the Leummim.

4 And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah; all these were sons of Keturah.

5 But Abraham gave all his possessions to Isaac his son.

6 But to the sons of his concubines Abraham gave gifts, and he sent them away from his son Isaac, while he was yet living, to the country of the east.

7 The Death of Abraham And these were the years of the days of the life of Abraham, as many as he lived, 175 years.

8 Then Abraham breathed his last, and died in a good old age, an old man and full of days, and was added to his people.

9 And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the double cave, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is opposite Mamre,

10 which Abraham bought from the sons of Heth; there they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife.

11 And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son, and Isaac dwelt by the Well of the Vision.

12 Ishmael’s Descendants And these are the generations of Ishmael the son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, the maid of Sarah, bore to Abraham.

13 And these are the names of the sons of Ismael, according to the names of their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael was Nabajoth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

14 Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

15 Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

16 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names by their towns and in their camps, twelve princes according to their nations.

17 And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: 137 years. And he breathed his last and died, and was added to his fathers.

18 And he dwelt from Havilah to Shur, which is opposite Egypt, in the direction of Assyria; he dwelt in the presence of all his brothers.

19 Esau and Jacob And these are the generations of Isaac the son of Abraham:

20 Abraham fathered Isaac. And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebecca as wife, daughter of Bethuel the Syrian, out of Syrian Mesopotamia, sister of Laban the Syrian.

21 Now Isaac prayed to the Lord concerning Rebecca his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord heard him, and his wife Rebecca conceived in her womb.

22 And the babes leaped within her; and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” And she went to inquire of the Lord.

23 And the Lord said to her, “There are two nations in your womb, and two peoples shall be separated from your body, and one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.”

24 And the days were fulfilled that she should be delivered, and she had twins in her womb.

25 And the first came out red, hairy all over like a garment; and she called his name Esau.

26 And after this his brother came forth, and his hand took hold of the heel of Esau; and she called his name Jacob. And Isaac was sixty years old when Rebecca bore them.

27 And the boys grew, and Esau was a man skilled in hunting, dwelling in the country, and Jacob a simple man, dwelling in a house.

28 And Isaac loved Esau, because his venison was his food, but Rebecca loved Jacob.

29 And Jacob cooked a stew, and Esau came from the plain, and he was weary.

30 And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me taste of that red stew, because I am fainting”; therefore his name was called Edom.

31 And Jacob said to Esau, “Sell me this day your birthright.”

32 And Esau said, “Behold, I am going to die, and for what good does this birthright belong to me?”

33 And Jacob said to him, “Swear to me this day”; and he swore to him; and Esau sold his birthright to Jacob.

34 And Jacob gave bread to Esau, and a stew of lentiles; and he ate and drank, and he arose and departed; thus Esau despised his birthright.

26

1 Isaac and Abimelech And there was a famine in the land, besides the former famine, which was in the time of Abraham; and Isaac went to Abimelech the king of the Philistines to Gerar.

2 And the Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt, but dwell in the land which I shall tell you of.

3 And sojourn in this land; and I will be with you, and bless you, for I will give to you and to your descendants all this land; and I will establish My oath which I swore to your father Abraham.

4 And I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and I will give to your descendants all this land, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in your descendants.

5 Because Abraham your father obeyed My voice, and kept My injunctions, My commandments, My ordinances, and My statutes.”

6 And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.

7 And the men of the place questioned him concerning Rebecca his wife, and he said, “She is my sister” (for he feared to say, “She is my wife,” lest at any time the men of the place should kill him because of Rebecca, because she was beautiful).

8 And he remained there a long time, and Abimelech the king of Gerar leaned to look through the window, and saw Isaac sporting with Rebecca his wife.

9 And Abimelech called Isaac, and said to him, “Is she then your wife? Why have you said, She is my sister?” And Isaac said to him, “I did so, for I said, ‘Lest at any time I should die on her account.’”

10 And Abimelech said to him, “Why have you done this to us? One of my kindred might soon have lain with your wife, and you would have brought a sin of ignorance upon us.”

11 And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, “Every man that touches this man and his wife shall be liable to death.”

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and he found barley in that year, and reaped one hundred fold, and the Lord blessed him.

13 And the man prospered, and continued prospering, till he became very great.

14 And he had herds of sheep, and herds of oxen, and many tilled lands, and the Philistines envied him.

15 And all the wells which the servants of his father had dug in the time of his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled them with earth.

16 And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Depart from us, for you have become much greater than us.”

17 And Isaac departed from there, and rested in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water, which the servants of his father Abraham had dug, and the Philistines had stopped them up, after the death of his father Abraham; and he gave them names, according to the names by which his father named them.

19 And the servants of Isaac dug in the valley of Gerar, and they found there a well of living water.

20 And the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with the shepherds of Isaac, saying that the water was theirs; and they called the name of the well, Injury, for they injured him.

21 And having departed from there he dug another well, and they fought for that one also; and he named the name of it, Enmity.

22 And he departed from there and dug another well; and they did not quarrel about that one; and he named the name of it, Room, saying, “Because now the Lord has made room for us, and has increased us upon the earth.”

23 And he went up from there to the Well of the Oath.

24 And the Lord appeared to him in that night and said, “I am the God of Abraham your father; fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you, and multiply your descendants for the sake of Abraham your father.”

25 And he built an altar there, and called on the name of the Lord, and there he pitched his tent, and there the servants of Isaac dug a well in the valley of Gerar.

26 And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, and so did Ahuzzath his friend, and Phichol the commander of his army.

27 And Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me? Seeing that you hated me, and sent me away from you.”

28 And they said, “We have surely seen that the Lord was with you, and we said, ‘Let there be an oath between us and you, and we will make a covenant with you,

29 that you shall do us no harm, as we have not abhorred you, and since we have treated you well, and have sent you forth peaceably; and now you are blessed of the Lord.’”

30 And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

31 And they arose in the morning, and swore each to his neighbor; and Isaac sent them forth, and they departed from him in safety.

32 And it came to pass in that day, that the servants of Isaac came and told him of the well which they had dug; and they said, “We have not found water.”

33 And he called it, Oath: therefore he called the name of that city, the Well of Oath, until this day.

34 And Esau was forty years old; and he took as wives Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

35 And they brought grief to Isaac and Rebecca.

27

1 Isaac Blesses Jacob And it came to pass after Isaac was old, that his eyes were dim so that he could not see. And he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, “My son”; and he said, “Behold, I am here.”

2 And he said, “Behold, I have grown old, and I do not know the day of my death.

3 Now then take the weapons, both your quiver and your bow, and go into the plain, and get me some venison,

4 and prepare some meats for me, as I like them, and bring them to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.”

5 And Rebecca heard Isaac speaking to Esau his son; and Esau went to the plain to hunt for venison for his father.

6 And Rebecca said to Jacob her younger son, “Behold, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother, saying,

7 ‘Bring me some venison, and prepare some meats for me, that I may eat and bless you before the Lord, before I die.’

8 Now then, my son, listen to me, as I command you.

9 Go now to the cattle and bring me from there two choice kids, tender and good, and I will prepare the meats for your father, as he likes.

10 And you shall bring them in to your father, and he shall eat, that your father may bless you before he dies.”

11 And Jacob said to his mother Rebecca, “Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

12 Perhaps my father may feel me, and I shall be before him as one ill-intentioned, and I shall bring upon me a curse, and not a blessing.”

13 And his mother said to him, “On me be your curse, my son; only listen to my voice, and go and bring them for me.”

14 So he went and took and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared the meats, as his father liked them.

15 And Rebecca, having taken the fine clothing of her elder son Esau which was with her in the house, put it on Jacob her younger son.

16 And she put on his arms the skins of the kids of the goats, and on the bare parts of his neck.

17 And she gave the meats, and the loaves which she had prepared, into the hands of Jacob her son.

18 And he brought them to his father, and said, “Father”; and he said, “Behold I am here; who are you, son?”

19 And Jacob said to his father, “I, Esau your firstborn, have done as you told me: come, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me.”

20 And Isaac said to his son, “What is this which you have quickly found?” And he said, “That which the Lord your God presented before me.”

21 And Isaac said to Jacob, “Come close to me, and I will feel you, son, if you are my son Esau or not.”

22 And Jacob came close to his father Isaac, and he felt him, and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.”

23 And he did not recognize him, for his hands were as the hands of his brother Esau, hairy; and he blessed him,

24 and he said, “Are you my son Esau?” And he said, “I am.”

25 And he said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of your venison, my son, that my soul may bless you.” And he brought it near to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26 And Isaac his father said to him, “Come close to me, and kiss me, my son.”

27 And he came close and kissed him, and smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, “Behold, the smell of my son is as the smell of an abundant field, which the Lord has blessed.

28 And may God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of grain and wine.

29 And let nations serve you, and princes bow down to you, and be master over your brother, and the sons of your father shall reverence you; accursed is he that curses you, and blessed is he that blesses you.”

30 Esau’s Lost Blessing And it came to pass after Isaac had ceased blessing his son Jacob, just when Jacob had gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31 And he also had prepared meats and brought them to his father; and he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s venison, that your soul may bless me.”

32 And Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am Esau, your firstborn son.”

33 And Isaac was amazed with very great amazement, and said, “Who then was it that has hunted venison and brought it to me? And I have eaten all of it before you came, and I have blessed him, and he shall be blessed.”

34 And it came to pass when Esau heard the words of his father Isaac, he cried out with a great and very bitter cry, and said, “Bless me—me also, father!”

35 And he said to him, “Your brother has come with deceit, and has taken away your blessing.”

36 And he said, “Rightly was his name called Jacob, for behold, this second time has he supplanted me; he has both taken my birthright, and now he has taken my blessing!” And Esau said to his father, “Have you not a blessing left for me, father?”

37 And Isaac answered and said to Esau, “If I have made him your master, and have made all his brothers his servants, and have strengthened him with grain and wine, what then shall I do for you, son?”

38 And Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me—me also, O my father!” And Isaac cried out, and Esau cried aloud and wept.

39 And Isaac his father answered and said to him, “Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, and of the dew of heaven from above.

40 And you shall live by your sword, and shall serve your brother; and there shall be a time when you shall break and loosen his yoke from off your neck.”

41 Jacob Escapes Esau’s Fury And Esau was angry with Jacob because of the blessing, with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his mind, “Let the days of my father’s mourning draw near, that I may kill my brother Jacob.”

42 And the words of Esau her elder son were reported to Rebecca, and she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Behold, Esau your brother threatens you, to kill you.

43 Now then, my son, hear my voice, and rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia to Laban my brother, into Haran.

44 And dwell with him for a while, until your brother’s anger

45 and rage toward you departs, and he forgets what you have done to him; and I will send and bring you from there, lest at any time I should be bereaved of you both in one day.”

46 And Rebecca said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life, because of the Hittite women! If Jacob shall take a wife of the daughters of this land, where then shall I live?”

28

1 And Isaac, having called for Jacob, blessed him, and charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of the Canaanites.

2 Rise and depart quickly into Mesopotamia, to the house of Bethuel the father of your mother, and take to yourself a wife of the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother.

3 And may my God bless you, and increase you, and multiply you, and you shall become an assembly of nations.

4 And may He give you the blessing of my father Abraham, even to you and to your descendants after you, to inherit the land of your sojourning, which God gave to Abraham.”

5 So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went into Mesopotamia, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebecca the mother of Jacob and Esau.

6 Esau Marries Ishmael’s Daughter And Esau saw that Isaac blessed Jacob, and sent him away to Mesopotamia of Syria as he blessed him, to take to himself a wife from there, and that he charged him, saying, “You shall not take a wife of the daughters of the Canaanites”;

7 and that Jacob listened to his father and his mother, and went to Mesopotamia of Syria.

8 And Esau, also having seen that the daughters of Canaan were evil before his father Isaac,

9 went to Ishmael, and took Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, the sister of Nebajoth, for a wife, in addition to his other wives.

10 Jacob’s Dream at Bethel And Jacob went forth from the Well of the Oath, and departed into Haran.

11 So he came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place,

12 and dreamed. And behold, a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it.

13 And the Lord stood upon it, and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your descendants.

14 And your descendants shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in you and in your descendants shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed.

15 And behold, I am with you, to preserve you continually wherever you shall go; and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not desert you, until I have done all that I have said to you.”

16 And Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and said, “The Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.”

17 And he was afraid, and said, “How fearful is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!”

18 And Jacob rose up in the morning, and took the stone he had laid there by his head, and he set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it.

19 And he called the name of that place, the House of God; and the name of the city before was Luz.

20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, “If the Lord God will be with me, and guard me throughout on this journey, on which I am going, and give me bread to eat, and clothing to put on,

21 and bring me back in safety to the house of my father, then shall the Lord be my God.

22 And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be to me a house of God; and of everything You shall give me, I will tithe a tenth to You.”

29

1 Jacob Meets Rachel So Jacob started on his journey and came to the land of the east to Laban, the son of Bethuel the Syrian, and the brother of Rebecca, mother of Jacob and Esau.

2 And he looked, and behold, a well in the plain; and there were three flocks of sheep resting at it, for out of that well they watered the flocks, but there was a great stone at the mouth of the well.

3 And all the flocks were gathered there, and they used to roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, and water the flocks, and set the stone again in its place on the mouth of the well.

4 And Jacob said to them, “Brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.”

5 And he said to them, “Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?” And they said, “We know him.”

6 And he said to them, “Is he well?” And they said, “He is well.” And behold Rachel his daughter came with the sheep.

7 And Jacob said, “It is yet high day, it is not yet time that the flocks be gathered together. Water the flocks, and go and feed them.”

8 And they said, “We shall not be able, until all the shepherds are gathered together, and they shall roll away the stone from the mouth of the well, then we will water the flocks.”

9 While he was yet speaking to them, behold, Rachel the daughter of Laban came with her father’s sheep, for she fed the sheep of her father.

10 And it came to pass when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother, that Jacob came and rolled away the stone from the mouth of the well, and watered the sheep of Laban, his mother’s brother.

11 And Jacob kissed Rachel, and cried with a loud voice and wept.

12 And he told Rachel that he was the near relative of her father, and the son of Rebecca; and she ran and reported to her father according to these words.

13 And it came to pass when Laban heard the name of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him, and brought him into his house; and he told Laban all these sayings.

14 And Laban said to him, “You are of my bones and of my flesh”; and he was with him a full month.

15 Jacob Marries Laban’s Daughters And Laban said to Jacob, “Surely you shall not serve me for nothing, because you are my brother; tell me what your reward is to be.”

16 Now Laban had two daughters, the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.

17 And the eyes of Leah were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in appearance, and exceedingly fair in countenance.

18 And Jacob loved Rachel, and said, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

19 And Laban said to him, “It is better that I should give her to you, than that I should give her to another man; dwell with me.”

20 And Jacob served for Rachel seven years, and they seemed only a few days, because of the love that he had for her.

21 And Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her.”

22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a marriage feast.

23 And so it was, that he took his daughter Leah, and brought her in to Jacob, and Jacob went in to her.

24 And Laban gave his maid Zilpah to his daughter Leah, as a maid for her.

25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah; and Jacob said to Laban, “What is this that you have done to me? Did I not serve you for Rachel? And why have you deceived me?”

26 And Laban answered, “It is not done thus in our country, to give the younger before the elder.

27 Fulfill then her week, and I will give her to you also in return for your service, which you serve with me, yet seven other years.”

28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week; and Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.

29 And Laban gave his maid Bilhah to his daughter as a maid to her.

30 And he went in to Rachel; and he loved Rachel more than Leah; and he served him seven other years.

31 And when the Lord God saw that Leah was hated, He opened her womb; but Rachel was barren.

32 And Leah conceived and bore a son to Jacob; and she called his name Reuben, saying, “Because the Lord has looked on my humiliation, and has given me a son, now then my husband will love me.”

33 And she conceived again, and bore a second son to Jacob; and she said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, He has given to me this one also”; and she called his name Simeon.

34 And she conceived yet again, and bore a son, and said, “In the present time my husband will be with me, for I have born him three sons”; therefore she called his name Levi.

35 And having conceived yet again, she bore a son, and said, “Now yet again this time will I give thanks to the Lord”; therefore she called his name, Judah; and ceased bearing.

30

1 And Rachel, having perceived that she bore Jacob no children, was jealous of her sister; and said to Jacob, “Give me children; and if not, I shall die.”

2 And Jacob was angry with Rachel, and said to her, “Am I in the place of God, who has deprived you of the fruit of the womb?”

3 And Rachel said to Jacob, “Behold my maid Bilhah, go in to her, and she shall bear upon my knees, and I also shall have children by her.”

4 And she gave him Bilhah her maid, for a wife to him; and Jacob went in to her.

5 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

6 And Rachel said, “God has given judgment for me, and heard my voice, and has given me a son”; therefore she called his name Dan.

7 And Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived yet again, and bore a second son to Jacob.

8 And Rachel said, “God has helped me, and I contended with my sister and prevailed”; and she called his name Naphtali.

9 And Leah saw that she ceased from bearing, and she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her to Jacob for a wife; and he went in to her.

10 And Zilpah Leah’s maid conceived, and bore Jacob a son.

11 And Leah said, “It is happily”; and she called his name Gad.

12 And Zilpah Leah’s maid conceived yet again, and bore Jacob a second son.

13 And Leah said, “I am blessed, for the women will pronounce me blessed”; and she called his name Asher.

14 And Reuben went in the day of barley harvest, and found apples of mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah; and Rachel said to Leah her sister, “Give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

15 And Leah said, “Is it not enough for you that you have taken my husband, will you also take my son’s mandrakes?” And Rachel said, “Not so: let him lie with you tonight for your son’s mandrakes.”

16 And Jacob came in out of the field in the evening; and Leah went forth to meet him, and said, “You shall come in to me this day, for I have hired you for my son’s mandrakes”; and he lay with her that night.

17 And God listened to Leah, and she conceived, and bore Jacob a fifth son.

18 And Leah said, “God has given me my reward, because I gave my maid to my husband”; and she called his name Issachar, which is, Reward.

19 And Leah conceived again, and bore Jacob a sixth son.

20 And Leah said, “God has given me a good gift in this time; my husband will choose me, for I have born him six sons”; and she called his name Zebulun.

21 And after this she bore a daughter; and she called her name Dinah.

22 And God remembered Rachel, and God listened to her, and He opened her womb.

23 And she conceived, and bore Jacob a son; and Rachel said, “God has taken away my reproach.”

24 And she called his name Joseph, saying, “Let God add to me another son.”

25 Jacob Prospers at Laban’s Expense And it came to pass when Rachel had born Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my land.

26 Restore my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, that I may depart, for you know the service with which I have served you.”

27 And Laban said to him, “If I have found grace in your sight, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me at your coming in.

28 Name me your wages, and I will give them.”

29 And Jacob said, “You know in what things I have served you, and how many livestock of yours is with me.

30 For what you had was little before my time, and it is increased to a multitude, and the Lord God has blessed you since my coming; now then, when shall I set up also my own house?”

31 And Laban said to him, “What shall I give you?” And Jacob said to him, “You shall not give me anything; if you will do this thing for me, I will again tend your flocks and keep them.

32 Let all your sheep pass by today, and separate from there every gray sheep among the rams, and everyone that is speckled and spotted among the goats—this shall be my reward.

33 And my righteousness shall answer for me in the morning, for it is my reward before you: whatever shall not be spotted and speckled among the goats, and gray among the rams, shall be considered stolen if it is with me.”

34 And Laban said to him, “Let it be according to your word.”

35 And he separated in that day the spotted and speckled male goats, and all the spotted and speckled female goats, and all those that were gray among the rams, and everyone that was white among them, and he gave them into the hand of his sons.

36 And he set a distance of a three days’ journey between them and Jacob. And Jacob tended the cattle of Laban that were left behind.

37 And Jacob took to himself rods of green poplar, and walnut and plane tree; and Jacob peeled white strips in them; and as he drew off the green, the white strips which he had made appeared alternate on the rods.

38 And he laid the rods which he had peeled in the hollows of the watering troughs, so that whenever the cattle should come to drink, they might conceive at the rods.

39 So the cattle conceived before the rods, and the cattle brought forth young speckled, streaked and spotted with ash-colored spots.

40 And Jacob separated the lambs, and set before the sheep a speckled ram, and every streaked one among the lambs, and he separated flocks for himself alone, and did not mingle them with Laban’s sheep.

41 And it came to pass in the time that whenever the cattle became pregnant, that Jacob put the rods before the cattle in the troughs, that they might conceive by the rods.

42 But he did not put them in indiscriminately whenever the cattle happened to bring forth, but the unmarked ones were Laban’s, and the marked ones were Jacob’s.

43 And the man became very rich, and he had many cattle and oxen, and male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.

31

1 Jacob Flees from Laban And Jacob heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and of our father’s property has he gotten all this glory.”

2 And Jacob saw the countenance of Laban, and behold it was not favorable toward him as before.

3 And the Lord said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your father, and to your family, and I will be with you.”

4 And Jacob sent and called Leah and Rachel to the plain where the flocks were.

5 And he said to them, “I see the countenance of your father, that it is not favorable toward me as before, but the God of my father was with me.

6 And you too know that with all my might I have served your father.

7 But your father deceived me, and changed my wages for the ten lambs, yet God did not give him the power to hurt me.

8 If he should say thus, The speckled shall be your reward, then all the cattle would bear speckled; and if he should say, The white shall be your reward, then would all the cattle bear white.

9 So God has taken away all the cattle of your father, and given them to me.

10 And it came to pass when the cattle conceived and were with young, that I beheld with my eyes and saw in a dream, and behold, the male goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the female goats, speckled and streaked and spotted with ash-colored spots.

11 And the Angel of God said to me in a dream, ‘Jacob’; and I said, ‘What is it’?

12 And He said, ‘Look up with your eyes, and behold the male goats and the rams leaping on the sheep and the female goats, speckled and streaked and spotted with ash-colored spots; for I have seen all things that Laban does to you.

13 I am God that appeared to you in the place of God where you anointed a pillar to Me, and vowed to Me there a vow; now then arise and depart out of this land, depart into the land of your nativity, and I will be with you.’”

14 And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, “Have we yet a part or inheritance in the house of our father?

15 Are we not considered strangers by him? For he has sold us, and quite devoured our money.

16 All the wealth and the glory which God has taken from our father, it shall be ours, and our children’s; now then do whatever God has said to you.”

17 And Jacob arose and took his wives and his children up on the camels;

18 and he took away all his possessions and all his store, which he had gotten in Mesopotamia, and all that belonged to him, to depart to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.

19 And Laban went to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole her father’s idols.

20 And Jacob hid the matter from Laban the Syrian, so as not to tell him that he ran away.

21 And he departed, himself and all that belonged to him, and passed over the river, and went into the mountain of Gilead.

22 Laban Pursues Jacob But it was told to Laban the Syrian on the third day that Jacob had fled.

23 And having taken his brothers with him, he pursued after him seven days’ journey, and overtook him on Mount Gilead.

24 And God came to Laban the Syrian in sleep by night, and said to him, “Take heed to yourself that you do not speak evil things to Jacob at any time.”

25 And Laban overtook Jacob; and Jacob pitched his tent in the mountain; and Laban stationed his brothers in the mountains of Gilead.

26 And Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? Why did you run away secretly, and pillage me, and lead away my daughters as captives taken with the sword?

27 If you had told me, I would have sent you away with joy, and with songs, with timbrel and harp.

28 And I was not counted worthy to embrace my children and my daughters. Now then you have done foolishly.

29 And now my hand has the power to hurt you; but the God of your father spoke to me yesterday, saying, ‘Take heed to yourself that you speak no evil words to Jacob.’

30 Now then go on your way, for you have earnestly desired to depart to the house of your father; but why have you stolen my gods?”

31 And Jacob answered and said to Laban, “Because I was afraid; for I said, Lest at any time you should take away your daughters from me, and all my possessions.”

32 And Jacob said, “With whomever you shall find your gods, he shall not live in the presence of our brothers; take notice of what I have of your property, and take it”; and he observed nothing with him, but Jacob did not know that his wife Rachel had stolen them.

33 And Laban went in and searched in the house of Leah, and did not found them; and he went out of the house of Leah, and searched in the house of Jacob, and in the house of the two maid-servants, and did not found them; and he went also into the house of Rachel.

34 And Rachel took the idols, and cast them among the camel’s packs, and sat upon them.

35 And she said to her father, “Do not be angry, Sir; I cannot rise up before you, for it is with me according to the manner of women.” Laban searched in all the house, and did not find the images.

36 And Jacob was angry, and contended with Laban; and Jacob answered and said to Laban, “What is my injustice, and what is my sin, that you have pursued after me,

37 and that you have searched all the furniture of my house? What have you found of all the furniture of your house? Set it here between your relations and my relations, and let them decide between us two.

38 These twenty years have I been with you; your sheep, and your female goats have not failed in bearing; and I have not eaten the rams of your cattle.

39 That which was torn of beasts I did not bring to you; I made good of myself the thefts of the day, and the thefts of the night.

40 I was parched with heat by day, and chilled with frost by night, and my sleep departed from my eyes.

41 These twenty years have I been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters, and six years among your sheep, and you falsely changed my wages for ten lambs.

42 Unless the God of my father, the God of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed; but God saw my humiliation, and the labor of my hands, and rebuked you yesterday.”

43 Laban’s Covenant with Jacob And Laban answered and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, and the sons my sons, and the cattle are my cattle, and all things which you see are mine, and the property of my daughters; what shall I do to them today, or their children which they bore?

44 Now then come, let me make a covenant, both you and I, and it shall be for a witness between me and you”; and he said to him, “Behold, there is no one with us; behold, God is witness between me and you.”

45 And Jacob, having taken a stone, set it up for a pillar.

46 And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones”; and they gathered stones and made a heap, and ate there upon the heap; and Laban said to him, “This heap witnesses between me and you this day.”

47 And Laban called it, the Heap of Testimony; and Jacob called it, the Witness Heap.

48 And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold this heap, and the pillar, which I have set between me and you; this heap witnesses, and this pillar witnesses; therefore its name was called, The Heap Witnesses.

49 And the vision of which he said, Let God look to it between me and you, because we are about to depart from each other.

50 If you shall humble my daughters, if you should take wives in addition to my daughters, see, there is no one with us looking on. God is witness between me and you.”

51 And Laban said to Jacob, “Behold, this heap and this pillar are a witness.

52 For if I should not cross over unto you, neither should you cross over to me, for mischief beyond this heap and this pillar.

53 The God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge between us”; and Jacob swore by the Fear of his father Isaac.

54 And he offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his kinsmen, and they ate and drank, and slept in the mountain.

55 And Laban rose up in the morning, and kissed his sons and his daughters, and blessed them; and Laban, having turned back, departed to his place.

32

1 Esau Comes to Meet Jacob And Jacob departed for his journey; and having looked up, he saw the host of God encamped; and the angels of God met him.

2 And Jacob said, when he saw them, “This is the Camp of God”; and he called the name of that place, Encampments.

3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, to the country of Edom.

4 And he charged them, saying, “Thus shall you say to my lord Esau: Thus says your servant Jacob; ‘I have sojourned with Laban and stayed there until now.

5 And there were born to me oxen, donkeys, sheep, male and female servants; and I sent to tell my lord Esau, that your servant might find grace in your sight.’”

6 And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We came to your brother Esau, and behold, he is coming to meet you, and four hundred men with him.”

7 And Jacob was greatly terrified, and was perplexed; and he divided the people that was with him, and the cows, and the camels, and the sheep, into two camps.

8 And Jacob said, “If Esau should come to one camp and strike it, the other camp shall be in safety.”

9 And Jacob said, “God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord, You are He that said to me, ‘Depart quickly to the land of your birth, and I will do you good.’

10 Let there be to me a sufficiency of all the justice and all the truth which You have wrought with Your servant; for with this my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.

11 Deliver me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau, for I am afraid of him, lest he should come and attack me, and the mother with the children.

12 But You said, ‘I will do you good, and will make your descendants as the sand of the sea, which shall not be numbered for multitude.’”

13 And he slept there that night, and took of the gifts which he carried with him, and sent out to Esau his brother

14 two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred sheep, twenty rams,

15 thirty milk camels with their foals, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty donkeys, and ten colts.

16 And he delivered them to his servants, every drove by itself; and he said to his servants, “Go on before me, and put a space between successive droves.”

17 And he charged the first, saying, “If Esau my brother meets you, and he asks you, saying, ‘To whom do you belong? And where are you going, and whose are these possessions in front of you?’

18 You shall say, ‘Your servant Jacob’s; he has sent gifts to my lord Esau, and behold, he is behind us.’”

19 And he charged the first, the second, and the third, and all that went before him after these flocks, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Esau when you find him;

20 and you shall say, ‘Behold your servant Jacob comes after us.’” For he said, “I will appease him with the gifts going before his presence, and afterwards I will behold his face, perhaps he will accept me.”

21 So the presents went on before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp.

22 Jacob Wrestles with God And he rose up in that night, and took his two wives and his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed over the ford of Jabbok.

23 And he took them, and passed over the brook, and brought over all his possessions.

24 And Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him till the morning.

25 And He saw that He did not prevail against him; and He touched the broad part of his thigh, and the broad part of Jacob’s thigh was numbed in his wrestling with Him.

26 And He said to him, “Let Me go, for the day has dawned”; but he said, “I will not let You go, except You bless me.”

27 And He said to him, “What is your name?” And he answered, “Jacob.”

28 And He said to him, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name; for you have prevailed with God, and shall be mighty with men.”

29 And Jacob asked and said, “Tell me Your name”; and He said, “Why is it that you ask about My name?” And He blessed him there.

30 And Jacob called the name of that place Peniel; for, he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life was preserved.”

31 And the sun rose upon him, when he passed Peniel; and he limped upon his thigh.

32 Therefore the children of Israel will by no means eat of the sinew which was numbed, which is on the broad part of the thigh, until this day, because the Angel touched the broad part of Jacob’s thigh—even the sinew which was numbed.

33

1 Jacob and Esau Meet And Jacob lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo, Esau his brother was coming, and four hundred men with him. And Jacob divided the children to Leah and to Rachel, and the two maidservants.

2 And he put the two maidservants and their children with the first, and Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph last.

3 But he advanced himself before them, and bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he drew near to his brother.

4 And Esau ran on to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they both wept.

5 And Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, “What are these to you?” And he said, “The children with which God has mercifully blessed your servant.”

6 And the maidservants and their children drew near and bowed down.

7 And Leah and her children drew near and bowed down; and after Rachel and Joseph drew near, and bowed down.

8 And he said, “What are these things to you, all these companies that I have met?” And he said, “That your servant might find grace in your sight, my lord.”

9 And Esau said, “I have much, my brother; keep your own.”

10 And Jacob said, “If I have found grace in your sight, receive the gifts through my hands; therefore have I seen your face, as if anyone should see the face of God, and you shall be well-pleased with me.

11 Receive my blessings, which I have brought you, because God has had mercy on me, and I have all things”; and he urged him, and he took them.

12 And he said, “Let us depart, and proceed onward.”

13 And he said to him, “My lord knows, that the children are very tender, and the flocks and the herds with me are with young; if then I shall drive them hard one day, all the cattle will die.

14 Let my lord go on before his servant, and I shall have strength on the road according to the ease of the journey before me, and according to the strength of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir.”

15 And Esau said, “I will leave with you some of the people who are with me.” And he said, “Why so? It is enough that I have found favor before you, my lord.”

16 And Esau returned on that day on his journey to Seir.

17 And Jacob departed to his tents; and he made for himself a house there, and for his cattle he made booths; therefore he called the name of that place, Succoth.

18 And Jacob came to Salem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he departed out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and took up a position in front of the city.

19 And he bought the portion of the field, where he pitched his tent, of Hamor the father of Shechem, for a hundred lambs.

20 And he set up an altar there, and called on the God of Israel.

34

1 The Rape of Dinah And Dinah, the daughter of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob, went forth to observe the daughters of the inhabitants.

2 And Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, the ruler of the land, saw her, he took her and lay with her, and violated her.

3 And he was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the young woman, and he spoke kindly to the young woman.

4 Shechem spoke to Hamor his father, saying, “Take for me this young woman for a wife.”

5 And Jacob heard that the son of Hamor had defiled Dinah his daughter (now his sons were with his herds in the plain). And Jacob was silent until they came.

6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out to Jacob, to speak with him.

7 And the sons of Jacob came from the plain; and when they heard, the men were deeply pained, and it was very grievous to them, because the man had done a disgraceful thing in Israel, having lain with the daughter of Jacob, which ought not to be done.

8 And Hamor spoke to them, saying, “Shechem my son has chosen your daughter in his heart; therefore give her to him for a wife,

9 and intermarry with us. Give us your daughters, and take our daughters for your sons.

10 And dwell in the midst of us; and behold, the land is spacious before you; dwell in it, and trade, and acquire possessions in it.”

11 And Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, “I seek grace before you, and will give whatever you shall name.

12 Multiply your demand of dowry very much, and I will give accordingly as you shall say to me, only you shall give to me this young woman for a wife.”

13 And the sons of Jacob answered to Shechem and Hamor his father craftily, and spoke to them, because they had defiled Dinah their sister.

14 And Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, said to them, “We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for it is a reproach to us.

15 Only on these terms will we conform to you, and dwell among you, if you also will be as we are, in that every male of you be circumcised.

16 And we will give our daughters to you, and we will take of your daughters for wives to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will be as one race.

17 But if you will not heed us and be circumcised, we will take our daughter and depart.”

18 And the words pleased Hamor and Shechem, Hamor’s son.

19 And the young man did not delay to do this thing, for he was much attached to Jacob’s daughter, and he was the most honorable of all in his father’s house.

20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their city, and spoke to the men of their city, saying,

21 “These men are peaceable, let them dwell with us upon the land, and let them trade in it, and behold the land is extensive before them; we will take their daughters to us for wives, and we will give them our daughters.

22 Only on these terms will the men conform to us to dwell with us so as to be one people, if every male of us be circumcised, as they also are circumcised.

23 And shall not their cattle and their herds, and their possessions, be ours? Only in this let us conform to them, and they will dwell with us.”

24 And all that went in at the gate of their city hearkened to Hamor and Shechem his son, and they were circumcised in the flesh of their foreskin, every male.

25 Dinah’s Brothers Avenge Their Sister And it came to pass on the third day, when they were in pain, that the two sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each man took his sword, and came upon the city securely, and killed every male.

26 And they killed Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of the house of Shechem, and went forth.

27 But the sons of Jacob came upon the wounded, and ravaged the city in which they had defiled Dinah their sister.

28 And they took their sheep, their oxen, and their donkeys, and all things that were in the city, and were in the plain.

29 And they took captive all their people, and all their store, and their wives, and plundered both whatever things there were in the city, and whatever things there were in the houses.

30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have made me hateful so that I should be evil to all the inhabitants of the land, both among the Canaanites and the Perizzites, and I am few in number; they will gather themselves against me and cut me in pieces, and I shall be utterly destroyed, and my house.”

31 And they said, “No, but shall they treat our sister as a harlot?”

35

1 Jacob Returns to Bethel And God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, and dwell there; and make there an altar to the God that appeared to you, when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”

2 And Jacob said to his house, and to all that were with him, “Remove the foreign gods that are with you from the midst of you, and purify yourselves, and change your clothes.

3 And let us rise and go up to Bethel, and let us there make an altar to God who listened to me in the day of calamity, who was with me, and preserved me throughout in the journey, by which I went.”

4 And they gave to Jacob the foreign gods, which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which is in Shechem, and destroyed them to this day.

5 So Israel departed from Shechem, and the fear of God was upon the cities round about them, and they did not pursue after the children of Israel.

6 And Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, which is Bethel, he and all the people that were with him.

7 And he built an altar there, and called the name of the place Bethel; for there God appeared to him, when he fled from the face of his brother Esau.

8 And Deborah, Rebecca’s nurse, died, and was buried below Bethel under the oak; and Jacob called its name, The Oak of Mourning.

9 And God appeared to Jacob once more in Luz, when he came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, and God blessed him.

10 And God said to him, “Your name shall not be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name”; and He called his name Israel.

11 And God said to him, “I am your God; be fruitful and multiply; for nations and gatherings of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come out of your loins.

12 And the land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I have given to you; and it shall come to pass that I will give this land also to your descendants after you.”

13 And God went up from him from the place where He spoke with him.

14 And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where God spoke with him, even a pillar of stone; and offered a drink offering upon it, and poured oil upon it.

15 And Jacob called the name of the place in which God spoke with him, Bethel.

16 The Death of Rachel (And Jacob journeyed from Bethel, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Gader,) and it came to pass when he drew near to Habratha, to enter into Ephratha, Rachel labored in childbirth; and she had hard labor.

17 And it came to pass in her hard labor, that the midwife said to her, “Be of good courage, for you shall also have this son.”

18 And it came to pass in her giving up the ghost (for she was dying), that she called his name, The son of my pain; but his father called his name Benjamin.

19 So Rachel died, and was buried in the way of the course of Ephratha, (that is, Bethlehem.)

20 And Jacob set up a pillar on her tomb; this is the pillar on the tomb of Rachel, to this day.

21 (This verse omitted in LXX)

22 And it came to pass when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, the concubine of his father Jacob; and Israel heard, and the thing appeared grievous before him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

23 Jacob’s Twelve Sons The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn; Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

24 And the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.

25 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali.

26 And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria.

27 The Death of Isaac And Jacob came to Isaac his father, to Mamre, to a city of the plain; this is Hebron in the land of Canaan, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

28 And the days of Isaac which he lived were one hundred and eighty years.

29 And Isaac gave up the ghost and died, and was gathered to his people, old and full of days; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.

36

1 The Descendants of Esau And these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom.

2 And Esau took to himself wives of the daughters of the Canaanites; Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon, the Hivite;

3 and Basemath, daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nabajoth.

4 And Adah bore to him Eliphaz; and Basemath bore Reuel.

5 And Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah; these are the sons of Esau, which were born to him in the land of Canaan.

6 And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and all his possessions, and all his cattle, and all that he had gotten, and all things whatsoever that he had acquired in the land of Canaan; and Esau went forth from the land of Canaan, from the face of his brother Jacob.

7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together; and the land of their sojourning could not bear them, because of the abundance of their possessions.

8 And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; Esau is Edom.

9 And these are the generations of Esau, the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.

10 And these are the names of the sons of Esau: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; and Reuel, the son of Basemath, wife of Esau.

11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 And Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau; and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau.

13 And these are the sons of Reuel; Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, wife of Esau.

14 And these are the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the son of Sebegon, the wife of Esau; and she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.

15 These are the chiefs of the son of Esau, even the sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau; Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz,

16 Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, and Chief Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Adah.

17 And these are the sons of Reuel, the son of Esau: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel, in the land of Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, wife of Esau.

18 And these are the sons of Oholibamah, wife of Esau; Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These are the chiefs of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, wife of Esau.

19 These are the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these are the chiefs. .

20 And these are the sons of Seir, the Horite, who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the son of Seir, in the land of Edom.

22 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman; and the sister of Lotan was Timna.

23 And these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 And these are the sons of Zibeon: Ajah, and Anah; this is the Anah who found Jamin in the wilderness, when he tended the beasts of his father Zibeon.

25 And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.

26 And these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

27 And these are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 And these are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

29 And these are the chiefs of Horri: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobai, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah,

30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishon. These are the chiefs of Horri, in their principalities in the land of Edom.

31 Now these are the kings which reigned in Edom, before a king reigned in Israel:

32 Bela, son of Beor reigned in Edom; and the name of his city was Dinhabah.

33 And Bela died; and Jobab, son of Zerah, from Bozrah reigned in his place.

34 When Jobab died, Husham, from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.

35 And when Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who cut off Midian in the plain of Moab, ruled in his place; and the name of his city was Avith.

36 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

37 And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-by-the River reigned in his place.

38 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.

39 And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadar the son of Barad reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau; and the name of his wife was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred, son of Mezahab.

40 These are the names of the chiefs of Esau, in their tribes, according to their place, in their countries, and in their nations; Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,

41 Chief Oholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon,

42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar,

43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom in their dwelling places in the land of their possession; this is Esau, the father of Edom.

37

1 Joseph’s Dream of Greatness And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

2 And these are the generations of Jacob. And Joseph was seventeen years old, feeding the sheep of his father with his brothers, being young; with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to Israel their father.

3 And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was to him the son of his old age; and he made for him a coat of many colors.

4 And his brothers, seeing that his father loved him more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brothers.

6 And he said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed.

7 I thought you were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and my sheaf stood up and was erected, and your sheaves turned round, and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed be lord over us?” And they hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words.

9 And he dreamed another dream, and told it to his father, and to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream: and this time, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 And his father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream which you have dreamed? Shall indeed both I and your mother and your brothers come and bow before you to the earth?”

11 And his brothers envied him; but his father observed the saying.

12 Joseph Sold by His Brothers And his brothers went to feed the sheep of their father in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Do not your brothers feed their flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them”; and he said to him, Behold, I am here.

14 And Israel said to him, “Go and see if your brothers and the sheep are well, and bring me word.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a man found him wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

16 And he said, “I am seeking my brothers; tell me where they feed their flocks.”

17 And the man said to him, “They have departed from here, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan”; and Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

18 And they spied him from a distance before he came near them, and they wickedly took counsel to kill him.

19 And each said to his brother, “Look, here comes that dreamer!

20 Now then come, let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘An evil wild beast has devoured him’; and we shall see what his dreams will be.”

21 And Reuben, having heard it, rescued him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”

22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; cast him into one of these pits in the wilderness, but do not lay your hand upon him; that he might rescue him out of their hands, and restore him to his father.”

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic that was upon him, the tunic of many colors.

24 And they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, it had no water.

25 And they sat down to eat bread. And having lifted up their eyes they beheld, and lo, Ishmaelite travelers came from Gilead, and their camels were heavily loaded with spices, and resin, and myrrh; and they were on their way to bring them to Egypt.

26 And Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh”; and his brothers listened.

28 And the men, the merchants of Midian, went by, and they reached down and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned to the pit, and didnot see Joseph in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

31 And having taken the coat of Joseph, they killed a kid of the goats, and stained the coat with the blood.

32 And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this: Do you know if it is your son’s coat or not?”

33 And he recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s coat, an evil wild beast has devoured him; a wild beast has carried off Joseph.”

34 And Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and his daughters gathered themselves together, and came to comfort him; but he would not be comforted, saying, “I will go down to my son mourning to Hades”; and his father wept for him.

36 And the Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt; to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s eunuch, the captain of the guard.

38

1 Judah and Tamar And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brothers, and came as far as to a certain man of Adullam, whose name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanite man, whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in to her.

3 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Er.

4 And she conceived and bore a son again, and called his name Onan.

5 And she again bore a son, and called his name Shelah; and she was in Chezib when she bore them.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him.

8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and marry her as her brother-in-law, and raise up descendants to your brother.”

9 And Onan, knowing that the descendants would not be his—and it came to pass when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he spilled it upon the ground, so that he should not give seed to his brother’s wife.

10 And his doing this appeared evil before God; and He killed him also.

11 And Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in the house of your father-in-law, until Shelah my son is grown”; for he said, “lest he also die as his brothers”; and Tamar departed, and sat in the house of her father.

12 And the days were fulfilled, and Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah, being comforted, went to them that sheared his sheep, himself and Hirah the Adullamite, to Timna.

13 And it was told Tamar his daughter-in-law, saying, Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timna, to shear his sheep.

14 And having taken off the garments of her widowhood from her, she put on a veil, and adorned her face, and sat by the gates of Aenan, which is in the way to Timna, for she saw that Shelah was grown; but she was not given to him as a wife.

15 And when Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she covered her face, and he did not recognize her.

16 And he went out of his way to her, and said to her, “Let me come in to you.” (For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law). And she said, “What will you give me if you should come in to me?”

17 And he said, “I will send you a kid of the goats from my flock.” And she said, “Well, if you will give me a pledge, until you send it.”

18 And he said, “What is the pledge that I shall give you?” And she said, “Your ring, and your bracelet, and the staff in your hand.” And he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

19 And she arose and departed, and took off her veil, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman; but he did not find her.

21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the harlot who was in Aenan by the way side?” And they said, “There was no harlot here.”

22 And he returned to Judah, and said, “I have not found her; and the men of the place say, There is no harlot here.”

23 And Judah said, “Let her have them, but let us not be ridiculed; I sent this kid, but you have not found her.”

24 And it came to pass after three months, that it was told Judah, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has grievously played the harlot, and behold she is with child by harlotry.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

25 And as they were bringing her, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man whose these things are.” And she said, “See whose ring this is, and bracelet and staff.”

26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, “Tamar is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son”; and he never knew her again.

27 And it came to pass when she was in labor, that she also had twins in her womb.

28 And it came to pass as she was bringing forth, one thrust forth his hand, and the midwife, having taken hold of it, bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, “This one shall come out first.”

29 And when he drew back his hand, then immediately came forth his brother; and she said, “Why has the barrier been cut through because of you?” And she called his name Perez.

30 And after this came forth his brother, on whose hand was the scarlet thread; and she called his name Zerah.

39

1 Joseph a Slave in Egypt And Joseph was brought down to Egypt. And Potiphar, Pharaoh’s eunuch, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hands of the Ishmaelites, who brought him down there.

2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house with his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master knew that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord prospered in his hands all that he did.

4 And Joseph found grace in the presence of his master, and was well-pleasing to him; and he set him over his house; and all that he had, he gave into the hand of Joseph.

5 And it came to pass after that he was set over his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all his possessions in the house, and in his field.

6 And he committed all that he had into the hands of Joseph; and he knew not of anything that belonged to him, except the bread which he himself ate. And Joseph was handsome in form, and exceedingly beautiful in countenance.

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph, and said, “Lie with me.”

8 But he would not; but said to his master’s wife, “If because of me my master knows nothing in his house, and has given into my hands all things that belong to him;

9 and in this house there is nothing above me, nor has anything been kept back from me, but you, because you are his wife—how then shall I do this wicked thing, and sin against God?”

10 So it was, as she talked with Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to sleep with her, or to be with her.

11 But it came to pass on a certain day, that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there was no one of the household inside.

12 And she caught hold of him by his clothes, and said, “Lie with me.” And having left his clothes in her hands, he fled, and ran outside.

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his clothes in her hands and fled, and ran outside,

14 that she called those that were of her house, and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew servant to mock us—he came in to me, saying, ‘Lie with me,’ and I cried with a loud voice.

15 And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, having left his clothes with me, he fled, and went outside.”

16 So she left his clothes by her, until his master came home.

17 And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you brought in to us, came in to me to mock me, and said to me, ‘I will lie with you.’

18 And when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, having left his clothes with me, he fled outside.”

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard all the words of his wife, that she spoke to him, saying, “Thus did your servant to me,” that he was very angry.

20 And his master took Joseph, and cast him into the prison, into the place where all the king’s prisoners are kept. And he was there in the prison.

21 And the Lord was with Joseph, and poured down mercy upon him; and He gave him favor in the sight of the chief keeper of the prison.

22 And the chief keeper of the prison gave the prison into the hand of Joseph, and all the prisoners, as many as were in the prison; and all things whatsoever they do there, he did them.

23 Because of him the chief keeper of the prison knew nothing, for all things were in the hands of Joseph, because the Lord was with him; and whatever things he did, the Lord made them to prosper in his hands.

40

1 The Prisoners’ Dreams And it came to pass after these things, that the chief cupbearer of the king of Egypt and the chief baker trespassed against their lord, the king of Egypt.

2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two eunuchs, with his chief cupbearer, and with his chief baker.

3 So he put them in custody, into the prison, into the place where Joseph was confined.

4 And the chief keeper of the prison committed them to Joseph, and he served them; and they were some days in the prison.

5 And they both had a dream in one night; and the vision of the dream of the chief cupbearer and chief baker, who belonged to the king of Egypt, who were in the prison, was this:

6 Joseph went in to them in the morning, and saw them, and they had been troubled.

7 So he asked the eunuchs of Pharaoh who were with him in the prison with his master, saying, “Why is it that you look so sad today?”

8 And they said to him, “We have seen a dream, and there is no interpreter of it.” And Joseph said to them, “Is not the interpretation of them with God? Therefore tell them to me.”

9 And the chief cupbearer related his dream to Joseph, and said, “In my dream a vine was before me.

10 And in the vine were three stems; and its budding shot forth blossoms; the clusters of grapes were ripe.

11 And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand; and I took the bunch of grapes, and squeezed it into the cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

12 And Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three stems are three days.

13 Yet three days and Pharaoh shall remember your position, and he shall restore you to your place of chief cupbearer, and you shall give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, according to your former high place, as you were his cupbearer.

14 But remember me when it is well with you, and you shall deal mercifully with me, and you shall make mention of me to Pharaoh, and you shall bring me forth out of this dungeon.

15 For surely I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews, and here I have done nothing, but they have cast me into this pit.”

16 And the chief baker saw that he interpreted correctly; and he said to Joseph, “I also saw a dream, and in it I took up on my head three baskets of bread.

17 And in the upper basket there was the work of the baker of every kind of bread which Pharaoh eats; and the birds of the air ate them out of the basket that was on my head.”

18 And Joseph answered and said to him, “This is the interpretation of it; The three baskets are three days.

19 Yet three days, and Pharaoh shall lift up your head from off you, and shall hang you from a tree, and the birds of the sky shall eat your flesh from off of you.”

20 And it came to pass on the third day that it was Pharaoh’s birthday, and he made a banquet for all his servants, and he remembered the office of the cupbearer and the office of the baker in the midst of his servants.

21 And he restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.

22 And he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph interpreted to them.

23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

41

1 Pharaoh’s Dreams And it came to pass after two full years that Pharaoh had a dream. He thought he stood upon the bank of the river.

2 And behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fair in appearance, and choice of flesh, and they fed in the meadow.

3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after these out of the river, ill-favored and lean-fleshed, and fed by the other cows on the bank of the river.

4 And the seven ill-favored and lean cows devoured the seven well-favored and choice-fleshed cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

5 And he dreamed again. And behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, choice and good.

6 And behold, seven thin heads, blasted by the wind, grew up after them.

7 And the seven thin heads blasted with the wind devoured the seven choice and full heads. And Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, it was a dream.

8 And it was morning, and his soul was troubled. And he sent and called all the interpreters of Egypt, and all the wise men; and Pharaoh related to them his dream, and there was no one to interpret it to Pharaoh.

9 And the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “This day I remember my fault:

10 when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put us in prison in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker.

11 And we both had a dream in one night, both he and I; we saw, each according to his dream.

12 And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew servant of the captain of the guard; and we related to him our dreams, and he interpreted them to us.

13 And it came to pass, as he interpreted them to us, so also it happened, both that I was restored to my office, and that he was hanged.”

14 And Pharaoh, having sent, called Joseph; and they brought him out from the prison, and shaved him, and changed his clothes, and he came to Pharaoh.

15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have seen a vision, and there is no one to interpret it; but I have heard it said concerning you that you can hear dreams and interpret them.”

16 And Joseph answered Pharaoh and said, “Without God an answer of safety shall not be given to Pharaoh.”

17 And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “In my dream, I stood by the bank of the river.

18 Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, well-favored and choice-fleshed, and they fed in the meadow.

19 And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, evil and ill-favored and lean-fleshed, such that I never saw worse in all the land of Egypt.

20 And the seven ill-favored and thin cows ate up the seven first good and choice cows.

21 And they went into their bellies; and it was not perceptible that they had gone into their bellies, and their appearance was ill-favored, as also at the beginning. And after I awoke, I slept,

22 and I saw again in my sleep, and seven heads came up on one stem, full and good.

23 Then behold, seven heads, thin and blasted with the wind, sprang up close to them.

24 And the seven thin and blasted heads devoured the seven fine and full heads: so I spoke to the interpreters, and there was no one to explain it to me.”

25 And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years; the dream of Pharaoh is one.

27 And the seven thin cows that came up after them are seven years; and the seven thin and blasted heads are seven years; there shall be seven years of famine.

28 And as for the word which I have told Pharaoh, God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

29 Behold, for seven years there is coming great plenty in all the land of Egypt.

30 But there shall come seven years of famine after these, and they shall forget the plenty that shall be in all Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land.

31 And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine that shall be after this, for it shall be very grievous.

32 And concerning the repetition of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it is because the saying which is from God shall be true, and God will hasten to accomplish it.

33 Now then, select a wise and prudent man, and set him over the land of Egypt.

34 And let Pharaoh make and appoint local governors over the land; and let them take up a fifth part of all the produce of the land of Egypt for the seven years of the plenty.

35 And let them gather all the food of these seven good years that are coming, and let the grain be gathered under the hand of Pharaoh; let food be kept in the cities.

36 And the stored food shall be for the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; and the land shall not be utterly destroyed by the famine.”

37 Joseph’s Rise to Power And the word was pleasing in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of all his servants.

38 And Pharaoh said to all his servants, “Shall we find such a man as this, who has the Spirit of God in him?”

39 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all these things, there is not a wiser or more prudent man than you.

40 You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be obedient to your word; only in the throne will I excel you.”

41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Behold, I set you this day over all the land of Egypt.”

42 And Pharaoh took his ring off his hand, and put it on the hand of Joseph, and put on him a robe of fine linen, and put a necklace of gold about his neck.

43 And he mounted him on the second of his chariots, and a herald made proclamation before him; and he set him over all the land of Egypt.

44 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh; without you no one shall lift up his hand on all the land of Egypt.”

45 And Pharaoh called the name of Joseph Zaphnath-Paaneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of Heliopolis, as a wife.

46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went through all the land of Egypt.

47 And the land produced, in the seven years of plenty, whole handfuls of grain.

48 And he gathered all the food of the seven years, in which was the plenty in the land of Egypt; and he laid up the food in the cities; the food of the fields of a city round about it he laid up in it.

49 And Joseph gathered very much grain as the sand of the sea, until it could not be numbered, for there was no number of it.

50 And to Joseph were born two sons, before the seven years of famine came, which Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him.

51 And Joseph called the name of the firstborn, Manasseh; “For God,” he said, “has made me forget all my toils, and all my father’s house.”

52 And he called the name of the second, Ephraim; “For God,” he said, “has increased me in the land of my humiliation.”

53 And the seven years of plenty passed away, which were in the land of Egypt.

54 And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph said; and there was a famine in all the land; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

55 And all the land of Egypt was hungry; and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph, and do whatever he shall say to you.”

56 And the famine was upon the face of the whole earth; and Joseph opened all the granaries, and sold to all the Egyptians.

57 And all countries came to Egypt to buy from Joseph, for the famine prevailed in all the earth.

42

1 Joseph’s Brothers Go to Egypt And Jacob, having seen that there was a sale of grain in Egypt, said to his sons, “Why do look at one another?

2 Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; now go down there, and buy for us a little food, that we may live, and not die!”

3 And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain out of Egypt.

4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers; for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”

5 And the sons of Israel came to buy with those that journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

6 Now Joseph was ruler over the land; and he sold to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph, having come, bowed down to him, with their faces to the ground.

7 And when Joseph saw his brothers, he knew them, and estranged himself from them, and spoke harsh words to them; and said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “Out of the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

8 And Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him.

9 And Joseph remembered his dream, which he saw; and he said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the exposed parts of the land!”

10 But they said, “No, my lord, we your servants have come to buy food;

11 we are all sons of one man; we are peaceable; your servants are not spies.”

12 And he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the exposed parts of the land.”

13 And they said, “We your servants are twelve brothers, in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is with our father today, but the other one is not.”

14 And Joseph said to them, “This is what I mean when I spoke to you, saying, ‘you are spies.’

15 In this manner shall you be tested; by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not depart from here, unless your younger brother comes here.

16 Send one of you, and take your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, until your words may be tested, whether you speak the truth or not; but, if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.”

17 And he put them in prison for three days.

18 And he said to them on the third day, “Do this, and you shall live, for I fear God.

19 If you are peaceable, let one of your brothers be detained in prison; but go, and carry back the grain you have purchased.

20 And bring your younger brother to me, and your words shall be believed; but, if not, you shall die.” And they did so.

21 And each said to his brother, “Yes indeed, for we are to blame concerning our brother, when we disregarded the anguish of his soul, when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear him; therefore has this affliction come upon us.”

22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not hurt the boy, and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”

23 But they did not know that Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them.

24 And Joseph turned away from them and wept; and again he came to them, and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from them, and bound him before their eyes.

25 Joseph’s Brothers Return to Canaan And Joseph gave orders to fill their vessels with grain, and to return their money to each into his sack, and to give them provisions for the way; and it was so done to them.

26 And having put the grain on the donkeys, they departed from there.

27 And one of them, having opened his sack to feed his donkeys, at the place where they rested, saw also his bundle of money, for it was on the mouth of his sack.

28 And he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored to me, and behold it is in my sack!” And their hearts sank, and they were troubled, saying one to another, “What is this that God has done to us?”

29 And they came to their father Jacob, into the land of Canaan, and reported to him all that had happened to them, saying,

30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke harshly to us, and put us in prison as spies of the land.

31 And we said to him, ‘We are men of peace, we are not spies.

32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is with his father today in the land of Canaan.’

33 And the man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this shall I know that you are peaceable: leave one brother here with me, and having taken the grain you have purchased for your family, depart.

34 And bring to me your younger brother; then I shall know that you are not spies, but that you are men of peace; and I will restore you your brother, and you shall trade in the land.’”

35 And it came to pass as they were emptying their sacks, there was each man’s bundle of money in his sack; and they and their father saw their bundles of money, and they were afraid.

36 And their father Jacob said to them, “You have bereaved me. Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and will you take Benjamin as well? All these things have come against me!”

37 And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; give him into my hand, and I will bring him back to you.”

38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, because his brother is dead, and only he has been left; and suppose it shall come to pass that he is afflicted by the way by which you go, then you shall bring down my old age with sorrow to Hades.”

43

1 Joseph’s Brothers Return with Benjamin Now the famine prevailed in the land.

2 And it came to pass, when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go again; buy us a little food.”

3 And Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man, the lord of the country, positively testified to us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your younger brother is with you.

4 If, then, you send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy you food;

5 but if you do not send our brother with us, we will not go: for the man spoke to us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your younger brother is with you.’”

6 And Israel said, “Why did you harm me, inasmuch as you told the man that you had a brother?”

7 And they said, “The man closely questioned us about our family also, saying, ‘Does your father yet live, and have you a brother?’ And we answered him according to this question: did we know that he would say to us, ‘Bring your brother?’”

8 And Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you, and our store.

9 And I myself will be a surety for him; at my hand you shall require him; if I do not bring him to you, and place him before you, I shall be guilty toward you forever.

10 For if we had not lingered, we would have returned twice by now.”

11 And Israel their father said to them, “If it be so, do this; take of the fruits of the earth in your vessels, and carry down to the man presents of balm and honey, frankincense and myrrh, pistachio nuts and walnuts.

12 And take double money in your hands, and the money that was returned in your sacks, carry back with you, lest perhaps it was a mistake.

13 And take your brother; and arise, go down to the man.

14 And may God give you favor in the sight of the man, and send away your other brother, and Benjamin, for I accordingly, as I have been bereaved, am bereaved.”

15 And the men, having taken these presents, and the double money, took Benjamin in their hands; and they rose up and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

16 And Joseph saw them and his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said to the steward of his household, “Bring the men into the house, and slaughter an animal and make ready, for the men are to eat bread with me at noon.”

17 And the man did as Joseph said; and he brought the men into the house of Joseph.

18 And the men, when they perceived that they were brought into the house of Joseph, said, “We have been brought in because of the money that was returned in our sacks in the beginning; to make a case against us, and lay it to our charge; to take us for servants, and our donkeys.”

19 And having approached the man who was over the house of Joseph, they spoke to him in the porch of the house,

20 saying, “O Sir; we came down at first to buy food.

21 And it came to pass, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks; and there, in our sacks, was each man’s money. We have now brought back our money, in full weight, in our hands.

22 And we have brought other money with us to buy food; we know not who put the money into our sacks.”

23 And he said to them, “God deal mercifully with you; be not afraid; your God, and the God of your fathers, has given you treasures in your sacks, and I have enough of your good money.” And he brought Simeon out to them.

24 And he brought water to wash their feet, and gave feed to their donkeys.

25 And they prepared their gifts, until Joseph came at noon, for they heard that he was going to dine there.

26 And Joseph entered into the house, and they brought him the gifts which they had in their hands, into the house; and they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.

27 And he asked them, “How are you?” And he said to them, “Is your father, the old man of whom you spoke, well? Does he still live?”

28 And they said, “Your servant our father is well; he is still alive.” And he said, “Blessed be that man by God”—and they bowed, and prostrated themselves.

29 And Joseph lifted up his eyes, and saw his brother Benjamin, born of the same mother; and he said, “Is this your younger brother, whom you spoke of bringing to me?” And he said, “God have mercy on you, my son.”

30 And Joseph was troubled, for his heart yearned over his brother, and he wanted to weep; and he went into his chamber, and wept there.

31 And he washed his face and came out, and refrained himself, and said, “Set out bread.”

32 And they set out bread for him alone, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians feasting with him by themselves, for the Egyptians could not eat bread with the Hebrews, for it is an abomination to the Egyptians.

33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his seniority, and the younger according to his youth; and the men looked with amazement, everyone at his brother.

34 And they took their portions from him to themselves; but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as the portions of the others. And they drank and were merry with him.

44

1 Joseph Detains Benjamin And Joseph charged the manager of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put the money of each in the mouth of his sack.

2 And put my silver cup into the sack of the youngest, and the price of his grain.” And it was done according to the word of Joseph, as he said.

3 The morning dawned, and the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

4 And when they had gone out of the city, and were not far off, then Joseph said to his manager, “Arise, and pursue after the men; and you shall overtake them, and say to them, ‘Why have you returned evil for good?

5 Why have you stolen my silver cup? Is it not this out of which my lord drinks? And he practices divination with it. You have accomplished evil in that which you have done.’”

6 And he found them, and spoke to them according to these words.

7 And they said to him, “Why does our lord speak according to these words? Far be it from your servants to do according to this word!

8 If we brought back to you out of the land of Canaan the money which we found in our sacks, why should we steal silver or gold out of the house of your lord?

9 With whomever of your servants you shall find the cup, let him die; and moreover, we will be servants to our lord.”

10 And he said, “Now then it shall be as you say; with whomever the cup shall be found, he shall be my servant, and you shall be blameless.”

11 And they made haste, and took down every man his sack on the ground, and they opened every man’s sack.

12 And he searched, beginning from the eldest, until he came to the youngest; and he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack.

13 And they tore their clothes, and laid each man’s sack on his donkey, and returned to the city.

14 And Judah and his brothers came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him.

15 And Joseph said to them, “What is this thing you have done? Did you not know that a man such as I can certainly practice divination?”

16 And Judah said, “What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or how shall we clear ourselves? God has discovered the unrighteousness of your servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found.”

17 And Joseph said, “Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant. But as for you, go up with safety to your father.”

18 Judah Intercedes for Benjamin And Judah drew near him, and said, “I beseech you, Sir, let your servant speak a word before you, and be not angry with your servant, for you are next to Pharaoh.

19 Sir, you asked your servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’

20 And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him.’

21 And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him.’

22 And we said to my lord, ‘The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die.’

23 But you said to your servants, ‘Except your younger brother come down with you, you shall not see my face again.’

24 And it came to pass, when we went up to your servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord.

25 And our father said, ‘Go again, and buy us a little food.’

26 And we said, ‘We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man’s face if our younger brother is not with us.’

27 And your servant our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;

28 and one is departed from me; and you said that he was devoured by wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now.

29 If then you take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall you bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave.’

30 Now then, if I should go in to your servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this lad’s life)

31 —it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, that he will die, and your servants will bring down the old age of your servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave.

32 For your servant has received the boy in charge from his father, saying, ‘If I don’t bring him to you, and place him before you, I shall be guilty towards my father forever.’

33 Now then, I will remain a servant with you instead of the lad, a slave of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brothers.

34 For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad is not with us? Lest I behold the evils which will befall my father.”

45

1 Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers And Joseph could not refrain himself when all were standing by him, but said, “Dismiss everyone from before me”; and no one stood near Joseph, when he made himself known to his brothers.

2 And he uttered his voice with weeping; and all the Egyptians heard, and it was reported to the house of Pharaoh.

3 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph; does my father yet live?” And his brothers could not answer him, for they were troubled.

4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Draw near to me”; and they drew near; and he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt.

5 Now then, do not be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.

6 For this second year there is famine on the earth, and there are yet five years remaining, in which there is to be neither plowing, nor mowing.

7 For God sent me before you, that there might be left to you a remnant upon the earth, even to nourish a great remnant of you.

8 Now then, you did not send me here, but God; and He has made me as a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler of all the land of Egypt.

9 Hurry, therefore, and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: God has made me lord of all the land of Egypt; come down therefore to me, and do not delay.

10 And you shall dwell in the land of Goshen of Arabia; and you shall be near me, you and your sons, and your sons’ sons, your sheep and your oxen, and whatever things are yours.

11 And I will provide for you there: for the famine is yet for five years; lest you be consumed, and your sons, and all your possessions.

12 Behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaks to you.’

13 Therefore report to my father all my glory in Egypt, and all things that you have seen, and make haste and bring my father down here.”

14 And he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept on him; and Benjamin wept on his neck.

15 And he kissed all his brothers, and wept on them; and after these things his brothers spoke to him.

16 And the report was carried into the house of Pharaoh, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come”; and Pharaoh was glad, and his household.

17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, Do this; fill your wagons, and depart into the land of Canaan.

18 And take up your father, and your possessions, and come to me; and I will give you of all the goods of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.

19 And do charge them thusly: that they should take for themselves wagons out of the land of Egypt, for your little ones, and for your wives; and take up your father, and come.

20 And be not sparing in regard to your property, for all the best of Egypt shall be yours.”

21 And the children of Israel did so; and Joseph gave to them wagons, according to the words spoken by King Pharaoh; and he gave them provision for the journey.

22 And he gave to them all two sets of clothing apiece; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of gold, and five changes of clothing.

23 And to his father he sent presents at the same rate, and ten donkeys, bearing some of all the good things of Egypt, and ten mules, bearing bread for his father for the journey.

24 And he sent away his brothers, and they went; and he said to them, “Be not angry by the way.”

25 And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father.

26 And they reported to him, saying, “Your son Joseph is living, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob was amazed, for he did not believe them.

27 But they spoke to him all the words uttered by Joseph, whatsoever he said to them; and having seen the chariots which Joseph sent to take him up, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

28 And Israel said, “It is a great thing for me if Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

46

1 Jacob’s Journey to Egypt And Israel departed, he and all that he had, and came to the Well of the Oath; and he offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac.

2 And God spoke to Israel in a night vision, saying, “Jacob, Jacob”; and he said, “What is it?”

3 And He said to him, “I am the God of your fathers; do not fear to go down into Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

4 And I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will bring you up at the end; and Joseph shall put his hands on your eyes.”

5 And Jacob rose up from the Well of the Oath; and the sons of Israel took up their father, and the baggage, and their wives on the wagons, which Joseph sent to take them.

6 And they took up their goods, and all their property, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, and they came into the land of Egypt—Jacob, and all his descendants with him.

7 His sons, and his grandsons with him; his daughters, and his granddaughters as well; and he brought all of his family into Egypt.

8 And these are the names of the sons of Israel that went into Egypt with their father Jacob—Jacob and his sons. The firstborn of Jacob was Reuben.

9 And the sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

10 And the sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

11 And the sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

12 And the sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan).

13 And the sons of Perez were Esron, and Jemuel. And the sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron.

14 And the sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

15 These are the sons of Leah, which she bore to Jacob in Mesopotamia of Syria, with Dinah his daughter; all the persons, sons and daughters, were thirty-three.

16 And the sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbron, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

17 And the sons of Asher were Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.

18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah, who bore these to Jacob, sixteen persons.

19 And the sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, were Joseph and Benjamin.

20 And there were sons born to Joseph in the land of Egypt, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah, priest of Heliopolis, bore to him, even Manasseh and Ephraim. And there were sons born to Manasseh, which the Syrian concubine bore to him, even Machir. And Machir fathered Gilead. And the sons of Ephraim, the brother of Manasseh were Sutalaam, and Taam. And the son of Sutalaam was Edom.

21 And the sons of Benjamin were Belah, Becher, and Ashbel. And the sons of Belah were Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, and Muppim. And Gera fathered Ard.

22 These are the sons of Rachel, which she bore to Jacob; eighteen persons in all.

23 The son of Dan was Hushim.

24 And the sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, who bore these to Jacob; seven persons in all.

26 And all the souls that came with Jacob into Egypt, who came out of his loins, besides the wives of the sons of Jacob, were sixty-six persons in all.

27 And the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in the land of Egypt were nine persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came with Joseph into Egypt were seventy-five persons.

28 Jacob Settles in Goshen And he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to meet him at the City of Heroes, into the land of Rameses.

29 And Joseph, having made ready his chariots, went up to meet Israel his father, at the City of Heroes; and having appeared to him, he fell on his neck, and wept with abundant weeping.

30 And Israel said to Joseph, “After this I will gladly die, since I have seen your face, and you are still alive!”

31 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, ‘My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

32 And the men are shepherds; for they have been feeders of cattle, and they have brought with them their cattle, and their cows, and all their property.’

33 If then Pharaoh calls you, and says to you, ‘What is your occupation?’

34 You shall say, ‘We your servants are herdsmen from our youth until now, both we and our fathers’; that you may dwell in the land of Goshen of Arabia, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.”

47

1 And Joseph came and told Pharaoh, saying, “My father, my brothers, their cattle, their oxen, and all their possessions have come out of the land of Canaan, and behold, they are in the land of Goshen.”

2 And he took five men from among his brothers, and set them before Pharaoh.

3 And Pharaoh said to Joseph’s brothers, “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our father.”

4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants, for the famine has prevailed in the land of Canaan. Now then, we will dwell in the land of Goshen.” And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Let them dwell in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are among them able men, make them overseers of my cattle.” So Jacob and his sons came into Egypt, to Joseph; and Pharaoh, king of Egypt, heard of it.

5 And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.

6 Behold, the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best land.”

7 And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

8 And Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my life, wherein I sojourn, are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, they have not attained to the days of the life of my fathers, in which days they sojourned.”

10 And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and departed from him.

11 And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh commanded.

12 And Joseph gave provision to his father, and his brothers, and to all the house of his father, bread for each person.

13 The Famine in Egypt And there was no bread in all the land, for the famine prevailed greatly; and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted on account of the famine.

14 And Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and the land of Canaan, in return for the grain which they bought, and he distributed grain to them; and Joseph brought all the money into the house of Pharaoh.

15 And all the money failed out of the land of Egypt, and out of the land of Canaan. And all the Egyptians came to Joseph, saying, “Give us bread, and why do we die in your presence? For our money is spent.”

16 And Joseph said to them, “Bring your cattle, and I will give you bread for your cattle, if your money is spent.”

17 And they brought their cattle to Joseph; and Joseph gave them bread in return for their horses, and for their sheep, and for their oxen, and for their donkeys; and Joseph maintained them with bread for all their cattle in that year.

18 And that year passed, and they came to him in the second year, and said to him, “Must we then be consumed from before our lord? For if our money has failed, and our possessions, and our cattle, brought to you our lord, and there has not been left to us before our lord more than our own bodies and our land, we are indeed destitute.

19 In order then that we die not before you, and the land be made desolate, buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh: give seed that we may sow, and live and not die, so our land shall not be made desolate.”

20 And Joseph bought all the land of the Egyptians for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold their land to Pharaoh; for the famine prevailed against them, and the land became Pharaoh’s.

21 And he brought the people into bondage to him, for servants, from one extremity of Egypt to the other,

22 except for the land of the priests; Joseph did not buy this, for Pharaoh gave a portion in the way of a gift to the priests, and they ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.

23 And Joseph said to all the Egyptians, “Behold, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh; take seed for yourselves, and sow the land.

24 And there shall be the fruits of it; and you shall give the fifth part to Pharaoh, and the four remaining parts shall be for yourselves, for seed for the earth, and for food for yourselves, and all that are in your houses.”

25 And they said, “You have saved us; we have found favor before our lord, and we will be servants to Pharaoh.”

26 And Joseph appointed it to them for an ordinance until this day; to reserve a fifth part for Pharaoh, of the land of Egypt, except for the land of the priests, that was not Pharaoh’s.

27 The Last Days of Jacob And Israel dwelt in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they gained an inheritance upon it; and they increased and multiplied very greatly.

28 And Jacob survived seventeen years in the land of Egypt; and Jacob’s days of the years of his life were one hundred and forty-seven years.

29 And the days of Israel drew near for him to die. And he called his son Joseph, and said to him, “If I have found favor before you, put your hand under my thigh, and you shall execute mercy and truth toward me, so as not to bury me in Egypt.

30 But I will sleep with my fathers, and you shall carry me up out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb.” And he said, “I will do according to your word.”

31 And he said, “Swear to me”; and he swore to him. And Israel bowed down, leaning on the top of his staff.

48

1 Jacob Blesses Joseph’s Sons And it came to pass after these things, that it was reported to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ill.” And having taken his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, he came to Jacob.

2 And it was reported to Jacob, saying, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” And Israel, having strengthened himself, sat up upon the bed.

3 And Jacob said to Joseph, “My God appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will increase you, and multiply you, and will make of you a multitude of nations; and I will give this land to you, and to your descendants after you, for an everlasting possession.’

5 Now then your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt, before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon they shall be mine.

6 And the children which you shall beget hereafter, shall be in the name of their brothers; they shall be named after their inheritances.

7 And as for me, when I came out of Mesopotamia of Syria, Rachel, your mother, died in the land of Canaan, as I drew near to the horse course of Cabratha of the land of Canaan, so as to come to Ephratha; and I buried her by the road of the course; which is Bethlehem.”

8 And when Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he said, “Who are these to you?”

9 And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God gave me here.” And Jacob said, “Bring them to me, that I may bless them.”

10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, and he could not see; and he brought them near to him, and he kissed them, and embraced them.

11 And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I have not been deprived of seeing your face, and lo! God has shown me your children also.”

12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and they bowed down to him, with their face to the ground.

13 And Joseph took his two sons, both Ephraim in his right hand, but on the left of Israel, and Manasseh on his left hand, but on the right of Israel, and brought them near to him.

14 But Israel, having stretched out his right hand, laid it on the head of Ephraim, and he was the younger; and his left hand on the head of Manasseh guiding his hands crosswise.

15 And he blessed them and said, “The God in whose sight my fathers were well pleasing, even Abraham and Isaac, the God who continues to feed me from my youth until this day;

16 the angel who delivers me from all evils, bless these boys, and my name shall be called upon them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and let them be increased to a great multitude on the earth.”

17 And Joseph, having seen that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim—it seemed grievous to him; and Joseph took hold of the hand of his father, to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Manasseh.

18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, father; for this is the firstborn; lay your right hand upon his head.”

19 And he would not, but said, “I know it, son, I know it; he also shall be a people, and he shall be exalted, but his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”

20 And he blessed them in that day, saying, “In you shall Israel be blessed,” saying, “God make you as Ephraim and Manasseh”; and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

21 And Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I die; and God shall be with you, and restore you to the land of your fathers.

22 And I give to you Sicima, a select portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorites with my sword and bow.”

49

1 Jacob’s Last Words to His Sons And Jacob called his sons, and said to them,

2 “Assemble yourselves, that I may tell you what shall happen to you in the last days. Gather yourselves together, and hear me, you sons of Jacob; hear Israel, hear your father.

3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, you my strength, and the first of my children, hard to be endured, hard and self-willed.

4 You were insolent like water, burst not forth with violence, for you went up to the bed of your father; then you defiled the couch, whereupon you went up.

5 Simeon and Levi, brothers, accomplished the injustice of their cutting off.

6 Let not my soul come into their counsel, and let not my inward parts contend in their conspiracy, for in their wrath they slew men, and in their passion they hamstrung a bull.

7 Cursed be their wrath, for it was willful, and their anger, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.

8 Judah, your brothers have praised you, and your hands shall be on the back of your enemies; your father’s sons shall bow down before you.

9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the tender plant, my son, you have gone up. Having couched, you lie down like a lion, and as a whelp; who shall stir him up?

10 A ruler shall not fail from Judah, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and He is the expectation of nations.

11 Binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his donkey to the branch of it, he shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape.

12 His eyes shall be more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.

13 Zebulun shall dwell on the coast, and he shall be by a haven of ships, and shall extend to Sidon.

14 Issachar has desired that which is good; resting between the inheritances.

15 And having seen the resting place that it was good, and the land that it was fertile, he subjected his shoulder to labor, and became a farmer.

16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.

17 And let Dan be a serpent in the way, besetting the path, biting the heel of the horse (and the rider shall fall backward),

18 waiting for the salvation of the Lord.

19 Gad, a plundering troop shall plunder him; but he shall plunder him, pursuing him closely.

20 Asher, his bread shall be fat; and he shall yield dainties to princes.

21 Naphtali is a spreading stem, bestowing beauty on its fruit.

22 Joseph is a son increased; my dearly loved son is increased; my youngest son, turn to me.

23 Against whom men taking evil counsel reproached him, and the archers pressed hard upon him.

24 But their bow and arrows were mightily consumed, and the sinews of their arms were slackened by the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob; this is he that strengthened Israel from the God of your father;

25 and my God helped you, and He blessed you with the blessing of heaven from above, and the blessing of the earth possessing all things, because of the blessing of the breasts and of the womb,

26 the blessings of your father and your mother—it has prevailed above the blessing of the lasting mountains, and beyond the blessings of the everlasting hills; they shall be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the head of the brothers of whom he took the lead.

27 Benjamin, as a ravening wolf, shall eat still in the morning, and at evening he gives food.”

28 All these are the twelve sons of Jacob; and their father spoke these words to them, and he blessed them; he blessed each of them according to his blessing.

29 Jacob’s Death and Burial And he said to them, “I am added to my people; you shall bury me with my fathers in the cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

30 in the double cave which is opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the cave which Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a possession, for a tomb.

31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac, and Rebecca his wife; there they buried Leah;

32 in the portion of the field, and of the cave that was in it, purchased from the sons of Heth.”

33 And Jacob ceased giving charges to his sons; and having lifted up his feet on the bed, he died, and was gathered to his people.

50

1 And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept on him, and kissed him.

2 And Joseph commanded his servants the embalmers to embalm his father; and the embalmers embalmed Israel.

3 And they fulfilled forty days for him, for so are the days of embalming numbered; and Egypt mourned for him seventy days.

4 And when the days of mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the princes of Pharaoh, saying, “If I have found favor in your sight, speak concerning me in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,

5 ‘My father adjured me, saying, ‘In the tomb which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me’; now then I will go up and bury my father, and return again.’”

6 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Go up, bury your father, as he made you to swear.”

7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt.

8 And all the household of Joseph, and his brothers, and all the house of his father, and his kindred; and they left behind the sheep and the oxen in the land of Goshen.

9 And there went up with him also chariots and horsemen; and there was a very great company.

10 And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan; and they bewailed him with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11 And the inhabitants of the land of Canaan saw the mourning at the floor of Atad, and said, “This is a great mourning to the Egyptians; therefore he called its name, The Mourning of Egypt, which is beyond the Jordan.”

12 And thus his sons did to him.

13 So his sons carried him up into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the double cave which Abraham bought for possession of a burying place from Ephrom the Hittite, before Mamre.

14 And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and those that had gone up with him to bury his father.

15 Joseph Forgives His Brothers And when Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Let us take heed, lest at any time Joseph remember evil against us, and recompense to us all the evils which we have done against him.”

16 And they came to Joseph, and said, “Your father adjured us before his death, saying,

17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph, ‘Forgive them their injustice and their sin, forasmuch as they have done you evil; and now pardon the injustice of the servants of the God of your father.’” And Joseph wept while they spoke to him.

18 And they came to him and said, “We, these persons, are your servants.”

19 And Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for I am God’s.

20 You took counsel against me for evil, but God took counsel for me for good, that the matter might be as it is today, and many people might be fed.”

21 And he said to them, “Do not fear, I will maintain you, and your families. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.

22 The Death of Joseph And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brothers, and all the family of his father; and Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

23 And Joseph saw the children of Ephraim to the third generation; and the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh were borne on the sides of Joseph.

24 And Joseph spoke to his brothers, saying, “I die, and God will surely visit you, and will bring you out of this land to the land concerning which God swore to our fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

25 And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel, saying, “At the visitation with which God shall visit you, then you shall carry up my bones from here with you.”

26 And Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years; and they prepared his body, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.