Genesis from The Holy Bible King James Version (Chapters 26-50)

Isaac Settles in Gerar

26 Now there was a famine in the land [of Canaan], besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to^[a]Abimelech king of the Philistines. ² The Lord appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land of which I will tell you. ³ Live temporarily [as a resident] in this land and I will be with you and will bless and favor you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish and carry out the oath which I swore to Abraham your father. ⁴ I will make your descendants multiply as the stars of the heavens, and will give to your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, ⁵ because Abraham listened to and obeyed My voice and [consistently] kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes, and My laws.”

⁶ So Isaac stayed in Gerar. ⁷ The men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, “She is my ^[b]sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife”—thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is very beautiful.” ⁸ It happened when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out of a window and saw Isaac ^[c]caressing Rebekah his wife. ⁹ Then Abimelech called Isaac and said, “See here, Rebekah is in fact your wife! How did you [dare to] say to me, ‘She is my sister’?” And Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I might be killed because of her [desirability].” ¹⁰ Abimelech said, “What is this that you have done to us? One of the men [among our people] might easily have been intimate with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us [before God].” ¹¹ Then Abimelech commanded all his people, “Whoever touches this man [Isaac] or his wife [Rebekah] shall without exception be put to death.”

¹² Then Isaac planted [seed] in that land [as a farmer] and reaped in the same year a hundred times [as much as he had planted], and the Lord blessed andfavored him. ¹³ And the man [Isaac] became great and gained more and more until he became very wealthy and extremely distinguished; ¹⁴ he owned flocks and herds and a great household [with a number of servants], and the Philistines envied him. ¹⁵ Now all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up by filling them with dirt. ¹⁶ Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from here, because you are far too powerful for us.” ¹⁷ So Isaac left that region and camped in the Valley of Gerar, and settled there.

Quarrel over the Wells

¹⁸ Now Isaac again dug [and reopened] the wells of water which had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, because the Philistines had filled them up [with dirt] after the death of Abraham; and he gave the wells the same names that his father had given them. ¹⁹ But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of flowing [spring] water, ²⁰ the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek (quarreling), because they quarreled with him. ²¹ Then his servants dug another well, and they quarreled over that also, so Isaac named it Sitnah (enmity). ²² He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over that one; so he named it Rehoboth (broad places), saying, “For now the Lord has made ^[d]room for us, and we shall be ^[e]prosperous in the land.”

²³ Then he went up from there to Beersheba. ²⁴ The Lord appeared to him the same night and said,

“I am the God of Abraham your father;
Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will bless and favor you, and multiply your descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”

²⁵ So Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord [in prayer]. He pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.

Covenant with Abimelech

²⁶ Then Abimelech came to him from Gerar with Ahuzzath, his [close friend and confidential] adviser, and Phicol, the commander of his army. ²⁷ Isaac said to them, “Why have you [people] come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” ²⁸ They said, “We see clearly that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘There should now be an oath between us [with a curse for the one who breaks it], that is, between you and us, and let us make a covenant (binding agreement, solemn promise) with you, ²⁹ that you will not harm us, just as we have not touched you and have done nothing but good to you and have sent you away in peace. You are now the blessed and favored of theLord!’” ³⁰ Then Isaac held a [formal] banquet (covenant feast) for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹ They got up early in the morning and swore oaths [pledging to do nothing but good to each other]; and Isaac sent them on their way and they left him in peace. ³² Now on the same day, Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, saying, “We have found water.” ³³ So he named the well ^[f]Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beersheba to this day.

³⁴ When Esau was forty years old he married Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite as his wives; ³⁵ and they were a ^[g]source of grief to [Esau’s parents] Isaac and Rebekah.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 26:1 This is not the Abimelech of ch 20. Abimelech may actually be a dynastic title, like Caesar or Pharaoh, instead of a proper name. The events recounted in chapters 20 and 26 are separated by almost a hundred years.
2. Genesis 26:7 When Abraham used this ploy, it was a half-truth; when Isaac said this it was a complete lie. At this time Isaac was at least seventy-five years old; Rebekah’s age at this time is not known.
3. Genesis 26:8 The name “Isaac” is based on the Hebrew verb translated “caressing,” whose      primary meaning is “to laugh” (cf 17:19).
4. Genesis 26:22 I.e. broad places.
5. Genesis 26:22 Lit fruitful.
6. Genesis 26:33 This could mean “oath” or “overflow, abundance.” Likewise, the name Beersheba could mean “well of abundance,” or “well of the oath,” or “seven wells.”
7. Genesis 26:35 Lit bitterness of spirit.

Jacob’s Deception

27 Now when Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his elder [and favorite] son Esau and said to him, “My son.” And Esau answered him, “Here I am.” ² Isaac said, “See here, I am old; ^[a]I do not know ^[b]when I may die. ³ So now, please take your [hunting] gear, your quiver [of arrows] and your bow, and go out into the open country and hunt game for me; ⁴ and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], the kind I love, and bring it to me to eat, so that my soul may bless you [as my firstborn son] before I die.”

⁵ But Rebekah overheard what Isaac said to Esau his son; and when Esau had gone to the open country to hunt for game that he might bring back, ⁶ Rebekah said to Jacob her [younger and favorite] son, “Listen carefully: I heard your father saying to Esau your brother, ⁷ ‘Bring me some game and make me a savory and delicious dish [of meat], so that I may eat it, and declare my blessing on you ^[c]in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ ⁸ So now, my son, listen [carefully] to me [and do exactly] as I command you. ⁹ Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat].¹⁰ Then you shall bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before his death.” ¹¹ Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Listen, Esau my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth [skinned] man. ¹² Suppose my father touches meand feels my skin; then I will be seen by him as a cheat (imposter), and I will bring his curse on me and not a blessing.” ¹³ But his mother said to him, “May your curse be on me, my son; only listen and obey me, and go, bring the young goats to me.” ¹⁴ So Jacob went and got the two young goats, and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared a delicious dish of food [with a delightful aroma], the kind his father loved [to eat]. ¹⁵ Then Rebekah took her elder son Esau’s best clothes, which were with her in her house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. ¹⁶ And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. ¹⁷ Then she gave her son Jacob the delicious meat and the bread which she had prepared.

¹⁸ So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And Isaac said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” ¹⁹ Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Now please, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.” ²⁰ Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found the game so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God caused it to come to me.” ²¹ But Isaac [wondered and] said to Jacob, “Please come close [to me] so that I may touch you, my son, and determine if you are really my son Esau or not.” ²² So Jacob approached Isaac, and his father touched him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” ²³ He could not recognize him [as Jacob], because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. ²⁴ But he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” Jacob answered, “I am.” ²⁵ Then Isaac said, “Bring the food to me, and I will eat some of my son’s game, so that I may bless you.” He brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine and he drank.²⁶ Then his father Isaac said to him, “Please come, my son, and kiss me.” ²⁷ So he came and kissed him; and Isaac smelled his clothing and blessed him and said,

“The scent of my son [Esau]
Is like the aroma of a field which the Lord has blessed;²⁸ 
Now may God give you of the dew of heaven [to water your land],
And of the fatness (fertility) of the earth,
And an abundance of grain and ^[d]new wine;
²⁹ 
May peoples serve you,
And nations bow down to you;
Be lord and master over your brothers,
And may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed,
And may those who bless you be blessed.”

The Stolen Blessing

³⁰ Now as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.³¹ Esau also made a delicious dish [of meat] and brought it to his father and said to him, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.” ³² Isaac his father said to him, “Who are you?” And he replied, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” ³³ Then Isaac trembled violently, and he said, “Then who was the one [who was just here] who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I blessed him. Yes, and he [in fact] shall be (shall remain) blessed.” ³⁴ When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!” ³⁵ Isaac said, “Your brother came deceitfully and has [fraudulently] taken away your blessing [for himself].”³⁶ Esau replied, “Is he not rightly named ^[e]Jacob (the supplanter)? For he has supplanted me these two times: he took away my birthright, and now he has taken away my blessing. Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” ³⁷ But Isaac replied to Esau, “Listen carefully: I have made Jacob your lord andmaster; I have given him all his brothers and relatives as servants; and I have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then, can I do for you, my son?”³⁸ Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my father.” Then Esau [no longer able to restrain himself] raised his voice and wept [loudly].

³⁹ Then Isaac his father answered and [prophesied and] said to him,

“Your dwelling shall be away from the fertility of the earth
And away from the dew of heaven above;⁴⁰ 
But you shall live by your sword,
And serve your brother;
However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred],
That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].”

⁴¹ So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are very near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” ⁴² When these words of her elder son Esau were repeated to Rebekah, she sent for Jacob her younger son, and said to him, “Listen carefully, your brother Esau is comforting himself concerning you by planning to kill you. ⁴³ So now, my son, listen and do what I say; go, escape to my brother Laban in Haran! ⁴⁴ Stay with him for a while, until your brother’s anger subsides. ⁴⁵ When your brother’s anger toward you subsides and he forgets what you did to him, then ^[f]I will send and bring you back from there. Why should I be deprived of you both in a single day?”

⁴⁶ Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am tired of living because of the daughters of Heth [these insolent wives of Esau]. If Jacob takes a wife from the daughters of Heth, like these daughters of the land, what good will my life be to me?”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 27:2 Isaac lived another forty-three years after this blessing was given to Jacob (35:27-29).
2. Genesis 27:2 Lit the day of my death.
3. Genesis 27:7 The patriarch’s formal blessing, offered before the Lord, was equivalent to an inalterable command and prophecy, whose outcome was assured. For that reason it had great importance and tangible value, especially for the firstborn son. When Esau sold his birthright (25:33), he did not imagine that, as a consequence, he would actually lose the blessing to which he had originally been entitled as the firstborn.
4. Genesis 27:28 The Hebrew word refers to wine that is in the first stage of fermentation, still in the vat. Some of the rabbis said that the first stage takes three days, and that wine does not have a strong appeal to the senses until it is 40 days old (according to the Talmud).
5. Genesis 27:36 See note 25:26.
6. Genesis 27:45 Rebekah never saw her son Jacob again. He was well over forty and probably fifty-seven years old when he fled from Esau to Haran, and he stayed there at least twenty years.

Jacob Is Sent Away

28 So Isaac called Jacob and blessed him and charged him, and said to him, “You shall not marry one of the women of Canaan. ^2 [a]Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel your mother’s father; and take from there as a wife for yourself one of the daughters of Laban your mother’s brother. ³ May^[b]God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, so that you may become a [great] company of peoples. ⁴ May He also give the blessing of Abraham to you and your descendants with you, that you may inherit the [promised] land of your sojournings, which He gave to Abraham.” ⁵ Then Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶ Now Esau noticed that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-aram to take a wife for himself from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a prohibition, saying, “You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,”⁷ and that Jacob obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Paddan-aram. ⁸ So Esau realized that [his two wives] the daughters of Canaan displeased Isaac his father; ⁹ and [to appease his parents] Esau went to [the family of] Ishmael and took as his wife, in addition to the wives he [already] had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth [Ishmael’s firstborn son].

Jacob’s Dream

¹⁰ Now Jacob left Beersheba [never to see his mother again] and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹ And he came to a certain place and stayed overnight there because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it under his head and lay down there [to sleep]. ¹² He dreamed that there was a ladder (stairway) placed on the earth, and the top of it reached [out of sight] toward heaven; and [he saw] the angels of God ascending and descending on it [going to and from heaven]. ¹³ And behold, the Lord stood above and around him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your [father’s] father and the God of Isaac; I will give to you and to your descendants the land [of promise] on which you are lying. ¹⁴ Your descendants shall be as [countless as] the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and the east and the north and the south; and all the families (nations) of the earth shall be blessed through you and your ^[c]descendants. ¹⁵ Behold, I am with you and will keep [careful watch over you and guard] you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this [promised] land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.” ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said, “Without any doubt the Lord is in this place, and I did not realize it.” ¹⁷ So he was afraid and said, “How fearful and awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gateway to heaven.”

¹⁸ So Jacob got up early in the morning, and took the stone he had put under his head and he set it up as a pillar [that is, a monument to the vision in his dream], and he poured [olive] oil on the top of it [to ^[d]consecrate it]. ¹⁹ He named that place Bethel (the house of God); the previous name of that city was Luz (Almond Tree). ²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow (promise), saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, ²¹ and if [He grants that] I return to my father’s house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. ²² This stone which I have set up as a pillar (monument, memorial) will be God’s house [a sacred place to me], and of everything that You give me I will give the tenth to You [as an offering to signify my gratitude and dependence on You].”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 28:2 The Hebrew verb “to stand” or “arise” is often used as an instruction to prepare to fulfill a command, somewhat similar to the military command “attention.”
2. Genesis 28:3 Heb El Shaddai.
3. Genesis 28:14 I.e. Jesus Christ (the Messiah) is a descendant of Jacob.
4. Genesis 28:18 I.e. dedicate or declare something sacred for God’s purpose.

Genesis 29Amplified Bible (AMP)

Jacob Meets Rachel

29 Then Jacob ^[a]went on his way and came to the land of the people of the East [near Haran]. ² As he looked, he saw a well in the field, and three flocks of sheep lying there [resting] beside it because the flocks were watered from that well. Now the stone on the mouth of the well [that covered and protected it] was large, ³ and when all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone from the mouth of the well, water the sheep, and [afterward] replace the stone on the mouth of the well.

⁴ Jacob said to them, “My brothers, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” ⁵ So he said to them, “Do you know Laban the grandson of Nahor [Abraham’s brother]?” And they replied, “We know him.” ⁶ And he asked them, “^[b]Is it well with him?” And they said, “He is doing well; look, here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep!” ⁷ Jacob said, “Look, the sun is still high [overhead]; it is a long time before the flocks need to be gathered [in their folds for the night]. Water the sheep, and go, and return them to their pasture.” ⁸ But they said, “We cannot [leave] until all the flocks are gathered together, and the shepherds roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we will water the sheep.”

⁹ While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she was a shepherdess. ¹⁰ When Jacob saw [his cousin] Rachel, the daughter of Laban, his mother’s brother, and Laban’s sheep, he came up and rolled the stone away from the mouth of the well and watered the flock of Laban, his uncle. ¹¹ Then Jacob kissed Rachel [in greeting], and he raised his voice and wept. ¹² Jacob told Rachel he was her father’s relative, Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father.

¹³ When Laban heard of the arrival of Jacob, his sister’s son, he ran to meet him, and embraced and kissed him and brought him to his house. Then he told Laban all these things. ¹⁴ Then Laban said to him, “You are my bone and my flesh.” And Jacob stayed with him a month.

¹⁵ Then Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are my relative, should you work for me for nothing? Tell me, what should your wages be?” ¹⁶ Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah’s eyes were weak, but Rachel was beautiful in form and appearance. ¹⁸ Jacob loved Rachel, so he said, “I will serve you [as a hired workman] for seven years [in return] for [the privilege of marrying] Rachel your younger daughter.” ¹⁹ Laban said, “It is better that I give her [in marriage] to you than give her to another man. Stay and work with me.” ²⁰ So Jacob served [Laban] for seven years for [the right to marry] Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.

Laban’s Treachery

²¹ Finally, Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time [of service] is completed, so that I may take her to me [as my wife].” ²² So Laban gathered together all the men of the place and prepared a [wedding] ^[c]feast [with wine].²³ But in the evening he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob, and Jacob ^[d]went in to [consummate the marriage with] her. ²⁴ Laban also gave Zilpah his maid to his daughter Leah as a maid. ²⁵ But in the morning [when Jacob awoke], it was Leah [who was with him]! And he said to Laban, “What is this that you have done to me? Did I not work for you [for seven years] for Rachel? Why have you deceived and betrayed me [like this]?” ²⁶ But Laban only said, “It is not ^[e]the tradition here to give the younger [daughter in marriage] before the older. ²⁷ Finish the week [of the wedding feast] for Leah; then we will give you Rachel also, and in return you shall work for me for seven more years.” ²⁸ So Jacob complied and fulfilled Leah’s week [of celebration]; then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel as his [second] wife. ²⁹ Laban also gave Bilhah his maid to his daughter Rachel as a maid. ³⁰ So Jacob consummated his marriage and lived with Rachel [as his wife], and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and he served with Laban for another seven years.

³¹ Now when the Lord saw that Leah was unloved, He ^[f]made her able to bear children, but Rachel was barren. ³² Leah conceived and gave birth to a son and named him Reuben (See, a son!), for she said, “Because the Lord has seen my humiliation and suffering; now my husband will love me [since I have given him a son].” ³³ Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Because the Lord heard that I am unloved, He has given me this son also.” So she named him Simeon (God hears). ³⁴ She conceived again and gave birth to a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me [as a companion], for I have given him three sons.” Therefore he was named ^[g]Levi.³⁵ Again she conceived and gave birth to a [fourth] son, and she said, “Now I will praise the Lord.” So she named him ^[h]Judah; then [for a time] she stopped bearing [children].

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 29:1 Lit raised his feet.
2. Genesis 29:6 Lit Is peace (Heb shalom) to him?
3. Genesis 29:22 The wedding feast was usually a lavish event lasting seven days. A wide variety of food was served along with wine, which was sometimes fortified with spices.
4. Genesis 29:23 Laban must have made sure that Jacob was thoroughly intoxicated before he attempted to switch the daughters.
5. Genesis 29:26 Lit done this way in.
6. Genesis 29:31 Lit opened her womb.
7. Genesis 29:34 The exact meaning is uncertain, perhaps companion or attached or joined.
8. Genesis 29:35 Possibly an abbreviation of “Praise YHWH.”

The Sons of Jacob

30 When Rachel saw that she conceived no children for Jacob, she envied her sister, and said to Jacob, “Give me children, or else I will die.” ² Then Jacob became furious with Rachel, and he said, “Am I in the place of God, who has denied you children?” ³ She said, “Here, take my maid Bilhah and go in to her; and [when the baby comes] she shall ^[a]deliver it [while sitting] on my knees, so that by her I may also have children [to count as my own].” ⁴ So she gave him Bilhah her maid as a [^[b]secondary] wife, and Jacob went in to her. ⁵ Bilhah conceived and gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶ Then Rachel said, “God has judged and vindicated me, and has heard my plea and has given me a son [through my maid].” So she named him Dan (He judged). ⁷ Bilhah, Rachel’s maid, conceived again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸ So Rachel said, “With mighty wrestlings [in prayer to God] I have struggled with my sister and have prevailed.” So she named him Naphtali (my wrestlings).

⁹ When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing [children], she took Zilpah her maid and gave her to Jacob as a [^[c]secondary] wife. ¹⁰ Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a son for Jacob. ¹¹ Then Leah said, “How fortunate!” So she named him Gad (good fortune). ¹² Zilpah, Leah’s maid, gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ¹³ Then Leah said, “I am happy! For women will call me happy.” So she named him Asher (happy).

¹⁴ Now at the time of wheat harvest Reuben [the eldest child] went and found some ^[d]mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁵ But Leah answered, “Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband? Would you take away my son’s mandrakes also?” So Rachel said, “Jacob shall sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son’s mandrakes.” ¹⁶ When Jacob came in from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You must sleep with me [tonight], for I have in fact hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” So he slept with her that night. ¹⁷ God listened and answered [the prayer of] Leah, and she conceived and gave birth to a fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸ Then Leah said, “God has given me my reward because I have given my maid to my husband.” So she named him ^[e]Issachar. ¹⁹ Leah conceived again and gave birth to a sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰ Then Leah said, “God has endowed me with a good [marriage] gift [for my husband]; now he will live with me [regarding me with honor as his wife], because I have given birth to six sons.” So she named him ^[f]Zebulun. ²¹ Afterward she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²² Then God remembered [the prayers of] Rachel, and God thought of her and opened her womb [so that she would conceive]. ²³ So she conceived and gave birth to a son; and she said, “God has taken away my disgrace andhumiliation.” ²⁴ She named him Joseph (may He add) and said, “May the Lordadd to me another son.”

Jacob Prospers

²⁵ Now when Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Send me away, that I may go back to my own place and to my own country. ²⁶ Give me my wives and my children for whom I have served you, and let me go; for you know the work which I have done for you.” ²⁷ But Laban said to him, “If I have found favor in your sight, stay with me; for I have learned [from the omens in divination and by experience] that the Lord has blessed me because of you.”²⁸ He said, “Name your wages, and I will give it [to you].” ²⁹ Jacob answered him, “You know how I have served you and how your possessions, your cattleand sheep and goats, have fared with me. ³⁰ For you had little before I came and it has increased and multiplied abundantly, and the Lord has favored you with blessings wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household?” ³¹ Laban asked, “What shall I give you?” Jacob replied, “You shall not give me anything. But if you will do this one thing for me [which I now propose], I will again pasture and keep your flock: ³² Let me pass through your entire flock today, removing from it every speckled and spotted sheep and every dark or black one among the lambs and the spotted and speckled among the goats; and those shall be my wages. ³³ So my honesty will be evident for me later, when you come [for an accounting] concerning my wages. Every one that is not speckled and spotted among the goats and dark among the young lambs, if found with me, shall be considered stolen.” ³⁴ And Laban said, “Good! Let it be done as you say.” ³⁵ So on that same day Laban [secretly] removed the male goats that were streaked and spotted and all the female goats that were speckled and spotted, every one with white on it, and all the dark ones among the sheep, and put them in the care of his sons. ³⁶ And he put [a distance of] three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob was then left in care of the rest of Laban’s flock.

³⁷ Then Jacob took branches of fresh poplar and almond and plane trees, and peeled white stripes in them, exposing the white in the branches. ³⁸ Then he set the branches which he had peeled in front of the flocks in the watering troughs, where the flocks came to drink; and they mated and conceived when they came to drink. ³⁹ So the flocks mated and conceived by the branches, and the flocks ^[g]gave birth to streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring. ⁴⁰ Jacob separated the lambs, and [as he had done with the peeled branches] he made the flocks face toward the streaked and all the dark or black in the [new] flock of Laban; and he put his own herds apart by themselves and did not put them [where they could breed] with Laban’s flock. ⁴¹ Furthermore, whenever the stronger [animals] of the flocks were breeding, Jacob would place the branches in the sight of the flock in the watering troughs, so that they would mate andconceive among the branches; ⁴² but when the flock was sickly, he did not putthe branches there; so the sicker [animals] were Laban’s and the stronger Jacob’s. ⁴³ So Jacob became exceedingly prosperous, and had large flocks [of sheep and goats], and female and male servants, and camels and donkeys.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 30:3 This ritual symbolized that the wife was providing the child for her husband through a surrogate mother.
2. Genesis 30:4 I.e. concubine (see note 22:24).
3. Genesis 30:9 I.e. concubine (see note 22:24).
4. Genesis 30:14 A narcotic plant thought by ancient peoples to be an aphrodisiac or cure for      infertility.
5. Genesis 30:18 Related to Hebrew for “reward.”
6. Genesis 30:20 Possibly related to Hebrew for “home” or “elevated place.”
7. Genesis 30:39 The success of Jacob’s action was undoubtedly the answer to an unrecorded prayer. Later (31:7-12), Jacob gives God the credit for what happened, citing a special dream that he had from God.

Jacob Leaves Secretly for Canaan

31 Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken away everything that was our father’s, and from what belonged to our father he has acquired all this wealth and honor.” ² Jacob noticed [a change in] the ^[a]attitude of Laban, and saw that it was not friendly toward him as before. ³ Then the Lordsaid to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers and to your people, and I will be with you.” ⁴ So Jacob sent and called Rachel and Leah to his flock in the field, ⁵ and he said to them, “I see [a change in] your father’s attitude, that he is not friendly toward me as [he was] before; but the God of my father [Isaac] has been with me. ⁶ You know that I have served your father with all my strength. ⁷ Yet your father has cheated me [as often as possible] and changed my wages ten times; but God did not allow him to hurt me. ⁸ If he said, ‘The speckled shall be your wages,’ then the entire flock gave birth to speckled [young]; and if he said, ‘The streaked shall be your wages,’ then the entire flock gave birth to streaked [young]. ⁹ Thus God has taken away the flocks of your father and given them to me. ¹⁰ And it happened at the time when the flock conceived that I looked up and saw in a dream that the rams which mated [with the female goats] were streaked, speckled, and spotted. ¹¹ And the^[b]Angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ And I said, ‘Here I am.’ ¹² He said, ‘Look up and see, all the rams which are mating [with the flock] are streaked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you. ¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar, and where you made a vow to Me; now stand up, leave this land, and return to the land of your birth.’” ¹⁴ Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there still any portion or inheritance for us in our father’s house? ¹⁵ Are we not counted by him as foreigners? For he sold us [to you in marriage], and has also entirely used up our purchase price. ¹⁶ Surely all the riches which God has taken from our father are ours and our children’s. Now then, whatever God has told you to do, do it.”

¹⁷ Then Jacob stood [and took action] and put his children and his wives on camels; ¹⁸ and he drove away all his livestock and [took along] all his property which he had acquired, the livestock he had obtained and accumulated in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. ¹⁹ When Laban had gone to shear his sheep, Rachel [went inside the house and] stole her father’s ^[c]household gods. ²⁰ And Jacob ^[d]deceived Laban the Aramean (Syrian) by not telling him that he intended to leave and he slipped away secretly. ²¹ So he fled with everything that he had, and got up and crossed the river [Euphrates], and set his face toward the hill country of Gilead [east of the Jordan River].

Laban Pursues Jacob

²² On the third day [after his departure] Laban was told that Jacob had fled.²³ So he took his relatives with him and pursued him for seven days, and they overtook him in the hill country of Gilead. ²⁴ God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful that you do not speak to Jacob, either good or bad.”

²⁵ Then Laban overtook Jacob. Now Jacob had pitched his tent on the hill, and Laban with his relatives camped on the same hill of Gilead. ²⁶ Then Laban said to Jacob, “What do you mean by deceiving me and leaving without my knowledge, and carrying off my daughters as if [they were] captives of the sword? ²⁷ Why did you run away secretly and deceive me and not tell me, so that [otherwise] I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with [music on the] tambourine and lyre? ²⁸ And why did you not allow me to kiss my ^[e]grandchildren and my daughters [goodbye]? Now you have done a foolish thing [in behaving like this]. ²⁹ It is in my power to harm you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night, saying, ‘Be careful not to speak to Jacob, either good or bad.’ ³⁰ Now [I suppose] you felt you must go because you^[f]were homesick for your father’s house and family; but why did you steal my [household] ^[g]gods?” ³¹ Jacob answered Laban, “[I left secretly] because I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force.³² The one with whom you find your gods shall not live; in the presence of our relatives [search my possessions and] point out whatever you find that belongs to you and take it.” For Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.

³³ So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and into Leah’s tent and the tent of the two maids, but he did not find them. Then he came out of Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s tent. ³⁴ Now Rachel had taken the household idols and put them in the camel’s saddlebag and sat on them. Laban searched through all her tent, but did not find them. ³⁵ So Rachel said to her father, “Do not be displeased, my lord, that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is on me and I am unwell.” He searched [further] but did not find the household idols.

³⁶ Then Jacob became angry and argued with Laban. And he said to Laban, “What is my fault? What is my sin that you pursued me like this? ³⁷ Although you have searched through all my possessions, what have you found of your household goods? Put it here before my relatives and your relatives, so that they may decide [who has done right] between the two of us. ³⁸ These twenty years I have been with you; your ewes and your female goats have not lost their young, nor have I eaten the rams of your flocks. ³⁹ I did not bring you the torn carcasses [of the animals attacked by predators]; I [personally] took the loss. You required of me [to make good] everything that was stolen, whether it occurred by day or night. ⁴⁰ This was my situation: by day the heat consumed me and by night the cold, and ^[h]I could not sleep. ⁴¹ These twenty years I have been in your house; I served you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for [my share of] your flocks, and you have ^[i]changed my wages ten times. ⁴² If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and [the Feared One] of Isaac, had not been with me, most certainly you would have sent me away now empty-handed. God has seen my affliction and humiliation and the [exhausting] labor of my hands, so He rendered judgment and rebuked you last night.”

The Covenant of Mizpah

⁴³ Laban answered Jacob, “These ^[j]women [that you married] are my daughters, these children are my ^[k]grandchildren, these flocks are [from] my flocks, and all that you see [here] is mine. But what can I do today to these my daughters or to their children to whom they have given birth? ⁴⁴ So come now, let us make a covenant, you and I, and let it serve as a witness between you and me.” ⁴⁵ So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a [memorial] pillar. ⁴⁶ Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound [of stones], and they ate [a ceremonial meal together] there on the mound [of stones]. ⁴⁷ Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha (stone monument of testimony in^[l]Aramaic), but Jacob called it ^[m]Galeed. ⁴⁸ Laban said, “This mound [of stones] is a witness [a reminder of the oath taken] today between you and me.” Therefore he [also] called the name Galeed, ⁴⁹ and Mizpah (^[n]watchtower), for Laban said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are absent from one another. ⁵⁰ If you should mistreat (humiliate, oppress) my daughters, or if you should take other wives besides my daughters, although no one is with us [as a witness], see and remember, God is witness between you and me.” ⁵¹ Laban said to Jacob, “Look at this mound [of stones] and look at this pillar which I have set up between you and me. ⁵² This mound is a witness, and this pillar is a witness, that I will not pass by this mound to harm you, and that you will not pass by this mound and this pillar to harm me. ⁵³ The God of Abraham [your father] and the God of Nahor [my father], and the ^[o]god [the image of worship] of their father [Terah, an idolater], judge between us.” But Jacob swore [only] by [the one true God] the Fear of his father Isaac. ⁵⁴ Then Jacob offered a sacrifice [to the Lord] on the mountain, and called his relatives to the meal; and they ate food and spent the night on the mountain. ⁵⁵ Early in the morning Laban got up and kissed his ^[p]grandchildren and his daughters [goodbye] and pronounced a blessing [asking God’s favor] on them. Then Laban left and returned home.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 31:2 Lit face.
2. Genesis 31:11 See note 16:7. Note especially Gen 31:13, where the Angel says, “I am the God of Bethel.”
3. Genesis 31:19 Possession of these pagan figurines implied or conferred a right of inheritance.
4. Genesis 31:20 Lit stole the heart of.
5. Genesis 31:28 Lit sons.
6. Genesis 31:30 Lit longed greatly.
7. Genesis 31:30 Laban was upset because possession of the father’s household gods played an important role in inheritance. In the region where Laban lived, a son-in-law who possessed the family gods could appear before a judge and make a claim to the estate of his father-in-law. Since Jacob’s possession of the household gods implied the right to inherit Laban’s wealth, one can understand why he followed Jacob to recover the idols.
8. Genesis 31:40 Lit sleep fled from my eyes.
9. Genesis 31:41 I.e. cheated me as often as possible.
10. Genesis 31:43 Lit daughters.
11. Genesis 31:43 Lit children.
12. Genesis 31:47 The language of Laban, who was an Aramean (v 20). The two names chosen by Laban and Jacob were equivalent.
13. Genesis 31:47 Heb heap of witness.
14. Genesis 31:49 The stone mound evidently was tall enough to be considered a place from which one could see at a distance. The thought behind it was that the Lord would watch them when they could not watch each other, and He would see and deal with any mistreatment committed by either of them (see v 50).
15. Genesis 31:53 Here “god” is put in lowercase because Joshua later declared that Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor, was an idolater, serving “other gods” (Josh 24:2). The wording of the Hebrew here indicates that Laban equated the God of Abraham and Nahor with the god of Terah. Whether Laban actually made no distinction in his mind between the true God and false gods, or simply committed an oversight, is not clear. Jacob evidently recognized the ambiguity in Laban’s statement as well, so to avoid any possibility of swearing allegiance to a false god, he swore his own oath by the God of Isaac.
16. Genesis 31:55 Lit sons.

Genesis 32Amplified Bible (AMP)

Jacob’s Fear of Esau

32 Then as Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him [to reassure and protect him]. ² When Jacob saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim (^[a]double camps).

³ Then Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴ He commanded them, saying, “This is what to say to my lord Esau: ‘Your servant Jacob says this, “I have been living temporarily with Laban, and have stayed there until now; ⁵ I have oxen, donkeys, flocks, male servants, and female servants; and I have sent [this message] to tell my lord, so that I may find grace and kindness in your sight.”’”

⁶ The messengers returned to Jacob, saying, “We went to your brother Esau, and now he is coming to meet you, and there are four hundred men with him.”⁷ Jacob was greatly afraid and distressed; and he divided the people who were with him, and the flocks and herds and camels, into two camps; ⁸ and he said, “If Esau comes to the one camp and attacks it, then the other camp which is left will escape.”

⁹ Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, theLord, who said to me, ‘Return to your country and to your people, and I will make you prosper,’ ¹⁰ I am unworthy of all the lovingkindness and compassion and of all the faithfulness which You have shown to Your servant. With only my staff [long ago] I crossed over this Jordan, and now I have become [blessed and increased into these] two groups [of people]. ¹¹ Save me, please, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; for I fear him, that he will come and attack me and the mothers with the children. ¹² And You [Lord] said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper and make your descendants as [numerous as] the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’”

¹³ So Jacob spent the night there. Then he selected a present for his brother Esau from the livestock he had acquired: ¹⁴ two hundred female goats, twenty male goats, two hundred ewes, twenty rams, ¹⁵ thirty milking camels with their colts, forty cows, ten bulls, twenty female donkeys, and ten [donkey] colts.¹⁶ He put them into the care of his servants, every herd by itself, and said to his servants, “Go on ahead of me, and put an interval [of space] between theindividual herds.” ¹⁷ Then he commanded the one in front, saying, “When Esau my brother meets you and asks to whom you belong, and where you are going, and whose are the animals in front of you? ¹⁸ then you shall say, ‘They are your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau. And he also is behind us.’” ¹⁹ And so Jacob commanded the second and the third as well, and all that followed the herds, saying, “This is what you shall say to Esau when you meet him; ²⁰ and you shall say, ‘Look, your servant Jacob is behind us.’” For he said [to himself], “I will try to appease him with the gift that is going ahead of me. Then afterward I will see him; perhaps he will accept and forgive me.” ²¹ So the gift [of the herds of livestock] went on ahead of him, and he himself spent that night back in the camp.

²² But he got up that same night and took his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven children, and waded over the ford of the Jabbok.²³ Then he took them and sent them across the brook. And he also sent across whatever he had.

Jacob Wrestles

²⁴ So Jacob was left alone, and a ^[b]Man [came and] wrestled with him until daybreak. ²⁵ When the Man saw that He had not prevailed against Jacob, He touched his hip joint; and Jacob’s hip was dislocated as he wrestled with Him.²⁶ Then He said, “Let Me go, for day is breaking.” But Jacob said, “I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing on me.” ²⁷ So He asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” ²⁸ And He said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but ^[c]Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed.” ²⁹ Then Jacob asked Him, “Please tell me Your name.” But He said, “Why is it that you ask My name?” And He declared a blessing [of the covenant promises] on Jacob there. ³⁰ So Jacob named the place Peniel (the face of God),saying, “For I have seen God face to face, yet my life has not been snatched away.” ³¹ Now the sun rose on him as he passed Penuel (Peniel), and he was limping because of his hip. ³² Therefore, to this day the Israelites do not eat the tendon of the hip which is on the socket of the thigh, because He touched the socket of Jacob’s thigh by the tendon of the hip.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 32:2 Jacob may have been referring to the angels as another camp, along with his own, and viewing their presence as evidence of divine protection. This was Jacob’s second encounter with the “angels of God” (28:12).
2. Genesis 32:24 This was God Himself (as Jacob eventually realizes in Gen 32:30; see also v 29 and Hosea 12:4), in the form of an angel.
3. Genesis 32:28 “He who strives with God,” or “God strives.”

Genesis 33Amplified Bible (AMP)

Jacob Meets Esau

33 Then Jacob looked up, and saw Esau coming with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two maids. ² He put the maids and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. ³ Then Jacob crossed over [the stream] ahead of them and bowed himself to the ground seven times [bowing and moving forward each time], until he approached his brother.

⁴ But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him, and hugged his neck and kissed him, and they wept [for joy]. ⁵ Esau looked up and saw the women and the children, and said, “Who are these with you?” So Jacob replied, “They are the children whom God has graciously given your servant.” ⁶ Then the maids approached with their children, and they bowed down. ⁷ Leah also approached with her children, and they bowed down. Afterward Joseph and Rachel approached, and they bowed down. ⁸ Esau asked, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” And he answered, “[These are] to find favor in the sight of my lord.” ⁹ But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” ¹⁰ Jacob replied, “No, please, if now I have found favor in your sight, then accept my gift [as a blessing] from my hand, for I see your face as if I had seen the face of God, and you have received me favorably.¹¹ Please accept my blessing (gift) which has been brought to you, for God has dealt graciously with me and I have everything [that I could possibly want].” So Jacob kept urging him and Esau accepted it.

¹² Then Esau said, “Let us get started on our journey and I will go in front of you [to lead the way].” ¹³ But Jacob replied, “You know, my lord, that the children are frail and need gentle care, and the nursing flocks and herds [with young] are of concern to me; for if the men should drive them hard for a single day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴ Please let my lord go on ahead of his servant, and I will move on slowly, governed by the pace of the livestock that are in front of me and according to the endurance of the children, ^[a]until I come to my lord in Seir [in Edom].”

¹⁵ Then Esau said, “Please let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But Jacob said, “^[b]What need is there [for it]? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” ¹⁶ So Esau turned back [toward the south] that day on his way to Seir. ¹⁷ But Jacob journeyed [north] to Succoth, and built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock; so the name of the place is Succoth (huts, shelters).

Jacob Settles in Shechem

¹⁸ When Jacob came from Paddan-aram, he arrived safely and in peace at the city of Shechem, in the land of Canaan, and camped in front of the [walled] city. ¹⁹ Then he bought the piece of land on which he had pitched his tents from^[c]the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred ^[d]pieces of money.²⁰ There he erected an altar and called it ^[e]El-Elohe-Israel.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 33:14 Jacob must have been concerned about traveling through Edom and used this excuse to avoid following Esau to Seir. Indeed, he heads in the opposite direction.
2. Genesis 33:15 Lit Why this?
3. Genesis 33:19 Lit the hand of the sons.
4. Genesis 33:19 Heb qesitah, an uncertain measure of weight; a rabbi once reported hearing thema’ah, a small coin worth 1/12 of a shekel, called a qesitah.
5. Genesis 33:20 I.e. God, the mighty God of Israel.

The Treachery of Jacob’s Sons

34 Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out [unescorted] to visit the girls of the land. ² When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her]. ³ But his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke comfortingly to her young heart’s wishes. ⁴ So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this young woman as a wife.” ⁵ Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled (violated) Dinah his daughter; but his sons were in the field with his livestock, so Jacob said nothing until they came in. ⁶ But Shechem’s father Hamor went to Jacob to talk with him. ⁷ Now when Jacob’s sons heard of it they came in from the field; they were deeply grieved, and they were very angry, for Shechem had done a disgraceful thing to ^[a]Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing is not to be done.

⁸ But Hamor conferred with them, saying, “The soul of my son Shechem [deeply] longs for your daughter [and sister]. Please give her to him as his wife. ⁹ And [beyond that] intermarry with us; give your daughters to us [as wives] and take our daughters for yourselves. ¹⁰ In this way you shall live with us; the country will be open to you; live and do business in it and acquire property and possessions in it.” ¹¹ Shechem also said to Dinah’s father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give you whatever you ask of me. ¹² Demand of me a very large bridal payment and gift [as compensation for giving up your daughter and sister], and I will give you whatever you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife.”

¹³ Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah. ¹⁴ They said to them, “We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us. ¹⁵ But we will consent to you only on this condition: if you will become like us, in that every male among you consents to be circumcised, ¹⁶ then we will give our daughters to you [in marriage], and we will take your daughters for ourselves, and we will live with you and become one people. ¹⁷ But if you do not listen to us and refuse to be circumcised, then we will take our daughter [Dinah] and go.”

¹⁸ Their words seemed reasonable to Hamor and his son Shechem, ¹⁹ and the young man did not hesitate to do the [required] thing, for he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected and honored than all [others] in the household of his father. ²⁰ Then Hamor and Shechem his son came to the gate of their [walled] city [where the leading men would meet] and spoke with the men of the city, saying, ²¹ “These men are peaceful andfriendly with us; so let them live in the land and do business in it, for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters [in marriage]. ²² But only on this condition will the men consent to our request that they live among us and become one people: that every male among us become circumcised just as they are circumcised. ²³ Will not their cattle and their possessions and all their animals be ours [if we do this]? Let us consent [to do as they ask], and they will live here with us.” ²⁴ And every [Canaanite] man who went out of the city gate listened and considered what Hamor and Shechem said; and every male who^[b]was a resident of that city was circumcised.

²⁵ Now on the third day [after the circumcision], when all the men were [terribly] sore and in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without anyone suspecting them of evil intent], and they killed every male. ²⁶ They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house [where she was staying], and left. ²⁷ Then Jacob’s [other] sons came upon those who were killed and looted the town, because their sister had been defiled and disgraced. ²⁸ They took the Canaanites’ flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and whatever was in the city and in the field; ²⁹ they looted all their wealth, and [took captive] all their children and their wives, even everything that was in the houses. ³⁰ Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have ruined me, making me a stench to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites! My men are few in number, and the men of the land will band together against me and attack me; I shall be destroyed, I and my household.” ³¹ But they said, “Should he [be permitted to] treat our sister as a prostitute?”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 34:7 This use of the word “Israel” implies that the family of Israel (Jacob) was developing into a distinct people or nation. They are recognized by Pharaoh as a separate nation in Ex 1:9.
2. Genesis 34:24 Lit went out of the gate of his city.

Jacob Moves to Bethel

35 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up to Bethel and live there, and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you [in a distinct manifestation] when you fled [years ago] from Esau your brother.” ² Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Get rid of the [idols and images of] foreign gods that are among you, and ceremonially purify yourselves and change [into fresh] clothes; ³ then let us get up and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” ⁴ So they gave Jacob all the [idols and images of the] foreign gods they had and the rings which were in their ears [worn as charms against evil], and Jacob buried them under the ^[a]oak tree near Shechem.

⁵ As they journeyed, there was a great [supernatural] terror [sent from God] on the cities around them, and [for that reason] the Canaanites did not pursue the sons of Jacob. ⁶ So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. ⁷ There he built an altar [to worship the Lord], and called the place El-bethel (God of the House of God), because there God had revealed Himself to him when he escaped from his brother. ⁸ Now Deborah, [who once was] Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under the oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth (Oak of Weeping).

Jacob Is Named Israel

⁹ Then God [in a visible manifestation] appeared to Jacob again when he came out of Paddan-aram, and declared a blessing on him. ¹⁰ Again God said to him,

“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”

So he was called ^[b]Israel. ¹¹ And God said to him,

“I am ^[c]God Almighty.
Be fruitful and multiply;
A nation and a company of nations shall come from you,
And kings shall be born of your ^[d]loins.
¹² 
“The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac
I will give to you,
and to your descendants after you I will give the land.”

¹³ Then God ascended from Jacob in the place where He had spoken with him.¹⁴ Jacob set up a pillar (memorial, monument) in the place where he had talked with God, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering [of wine] on it; he also poured oil on it [to declare it sacred for God’s purpose]. ¹⁵ So Jacob named the place where God had spoken with him, Bethel (the House of God).

¹⁶ Then they journeyed from Bethel; and when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath (Bethlehem), Rachel began to give birth and had difficulty andsuffered severely. ¹⁷ When she was in hard labor the midwife said to her, “Do not be afraid; you now have another son.” ¹⁸ And as her soul was departing, (for she died), she named him Ben-oni (son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin (^[e]son of the right hand). ¹⁹ So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰ Jacob set a pillar (memorial, monument) on her grave; that is the ^[f]pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.²¹ Then Israel (Jacob) journeyed on and pitched his tent on the other side of the tower of Eder [the lookout point used by shepherds].

²² While Israel was living in that land, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s ^[g]concubine, and Israel heard about it.

The Sons of Israel

Now Jacob had twelve sons— ²³ The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; ²⁴ and the sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin; ²⁵ and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali; ²⁶ and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob born to him in Paddan-aram.

²⁷ Jacob came to Isaac his father at Mamre of Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had lived temporarily.

²⁸ Now the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years. ²⁹ Isaac’s spirit departed and he died and was ^[h]gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death], an old man full of days (satisfied, fulfilled); his sons Esau and Jacob buried him [in the cave of Machpelah with his parents Abraham and Sarah].

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 35:4 This appears to have been a special tree of uncertain type, perhaps a terebinth tree that had significance for pagan worship.
2. Genesis 35:10 “He who strives with God” or “God strives” or “Prince of God.”
3. Genesis 35:11 Heb El Shaddai, the sufficient and powerful One.
4. Genesis 35:11 The midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips. Often a euphemism for the human genitals.
5. Genesis 35:18 This had a positive meaning, like a “right-hand man,” a son in a position of importance and honor.
6. Genesis 35:20 This pillar was still visible at the time when Moses lived.
7. Genesis 35:22 See note 22:24.
8. Genesis 35:29 See note 25:8.

Esau Moves

36 Now these are the records of the descendants of Esau, (that is, Edom).

² Esau took his [three] wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite, ³ and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth. ⁴ Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel, ⁵ and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau born to him in Canaan.

⁶ Now Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the members of his household, and his livestock and all his cattle and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and he went to a land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷ For their [great flocks and herds and] possessions made it impossible for them to live together [in the same region]; the land in which they lived temporarily could not support them because of their livestock. ⁸ So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

Descendants of Esau

⁹ These are the records of the generations of Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill country of Seir. ¹⁰ These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, Esau’s wife, and Reuel, the son of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹¹ And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹² And Timna was a ^[a]concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife. ¹³ These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁴ And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon. She bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

¹⁵ These are the tribal chiefs of the sons of Esau: The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: Chiefs Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶ Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Adah. ¹⁷ These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife. ¹⁹ These are the sons of Esau, (that is, Edom), and these are their chiefs.

²⁰ These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹ Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom. ²² The sons of Lotan are Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister is Timna. ²³ The sons of Shobal are these: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. ²⁴ These are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of Zibeon his father. ²⁵ The children of Anah are these: Dishon and Oholibamah [Esau’s wife], the daughter of Anah. ²⁶ These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran. ²⁷ Ezer’s sons are these: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. ²⁸ The sons of Dishan are these: Uz and Aran. ²⁹ The Horite chiefs are these: Chiefs Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰ Dishon, Ezer, Dishan. These are the Horite chiefs, according to their various clans in the land of Seir.

³¹ And these are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites: ³² Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. ³³ Now Bela died, and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned as his successor. ³⁴ Then Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned as his successor. ³⁵ And Husham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated Midian in the country of Moab, reigned as his successor. The name of his [walled] city was Avith. ³⁶ Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him. ³⁷ Then Samlah died, and Shaul of Rehoboth on the river [Euphrates] reigned as his successor. ³⁸ And Shaul died, and Baal-hanan son of Achbor reigned as his successor. ³⁹ Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and then ^[b]Hadar reigned [as his successor]. His [walled] city was ^[c]Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰ And these are the names of the tribal chiefs of Esau, according to their families and places of residence, by their names: Chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,⁴¹ Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴² Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³ Magdiel, and Iram. These are the tribal chiefs of Edom (that is, of Esau the father of the Edomites), according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 36:12 See note 22:24.
2. Genesis 36:39 In 1 Chr 1:50, Hadad.
3. Genesis 36:39 In 1 Chr 1:50, Pai.

Joseph’s Dream

37 So Jacob (Israel) lived in the land ^[a]where his father [Isaac] had been a stranger (sojourner, resident alien), in the land of Canaan. ² These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers [Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher]; the boy was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s [^[b]secondary] wives; and Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. ³ Now Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a [distinctive] ^[c]multicolored tunic. ⁴ His brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of his brothers; so they hated him and could not [find it within themselves to] speak to him on friendly terms.

⁵ Now Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they ^[d]hated him even more. ⁶ He said to them, “Please listen to [the details of] this dream which I have dreamed; ⁷ we [brothers] were binding sheaves [of grain stalks] in the field, and lo, my sheaf [suddenly] got up and stood upright andremained standing; and behold, your sheaves stood all around my sheaf and bowed down [in respect].” ⁸ His brothers said to him, “Are you actually going to reign over us? Are you really going to rule and govern us as your subjects?” So they hated him even more for [telling them about] his dreams and for his [arrogant] words.

⁹ But Joseph dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers [as well]. He said, “See here, I have again dreamed a dream, and lo, [this time I saw] eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowed down [in respect] to me!” ¹⁰ He told it to his father as well as to his brothers; but his father rebuked him and said to him [in disbelief], “What is [the meaning of] this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow down to the ground [in respect] before you?” ¹¹ Joseph’s brothers were enviousand jealous of him, but his father kept the words [of Joseph] in mind[wondering about their meaning].

¹² Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem. ¹³ Israel (Jacob) said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing [the flock] at Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said, “Here I am [ready to obey you].” ¹⁴ Then Jacob said to him, “Please go and see whether everything is all right with your brothers and all right with the flock; then bring word [back] to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.

¹⁵ Now a certain man found Joseph, and saw that he was wandering around andhad lost his way in the field; so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” ¹⁶ He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are pasturing our flocks.” ¹⁷ Then the man said, “[They were here, but] they have moved on from this place. I heard them say, ‘Let us go to ^[e]Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

The Plot against Joseph

¹⁸ And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him. ¹⁹ They said to one another, “Look, here comes this^[f]dreamer. ²⁰ Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the^[g]pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], ‘A wild animal killed and devoured him’; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!” ²¹ Now Reuben [the eldest] heard this and rescued him from their hands and said, “Let us not take his life.” ²² Reuben said to them, “Do not shed his blood, but [instead] throw him [alive] into the pit that is here in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him [to kill him]”—[he said this so] that he could rescue him from them and return him [safely] to his father. ²³ Now when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the [distinctive] ^[h]multicolored tunic which he was wearing; ²⁴ then they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ Then they sat down to eat their meal. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of ^[i]Ishmaelites coming from Gilead [east of the Jordan], with their camels bearing ladanum resin [for perfume] and balm and ^[j]myrrh, going on their way to carry the cargo down to Egypt. ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood (murder)? ²⁷ Come, let us [instead] sell him to these Ishmaelites [and ^[k]Midianites] and not lay our hands on him, because he is our brother and our flesh.” So his brothers listened to him and agreed. ²⁸ Then as the ^[l]Midianite [and Ishmaelite] traders were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And so they took Joseph [as a captive] into Egypt.

²⁹ Now Reuben [unaware of what had happened] returned to the pit, and [to his great alarm found that] Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his clothes [in deep sorrow]. ³⁰ He rejoined his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where shall I go [to hide from my father]?” ³¹ Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; ³² and they brought the multicolored tunic to their father, saying, “We have found this; please examine it and decide whether or not it is your son’s tunic.” ³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces!” ³⁴ So Jacob tore his clothes [in grief], put ^[m]on sackcloth and mourned many days for his son. ³⁵ Then all his sons and daughters attempted to console him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “I will go down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in mourning for my son.” And his father wept for him. ³⁶ Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph [as a slave] to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and the captain of the [royal] guard.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 37:1 Lit of his father’s sojournings.
2. Genesis 37:2 I.e. concubines (see note 22:24).
3. Genesis 37:3 The meaning of this word is uncertain; some sources indicate that it refers to a long-sleeved tunic that reaches the ankles, essentially a light robe. In any case, the tunic was a visible reminder to Joseph’s brothers of their father’s favoritism toward him.
4. Genesis 37:5 In both vv 5 and 8 “hated him even more” is properly translated, but there is an interesting play on words. The literal Hebrew says, “they added to hate”—the Hebrew word for “added” is the same for the word for Joseph—“they ‘Josephed’ their hate for him.”
5. Genesis 37:17 Located about twelve miles north of Shechem.
6. Genesis 37:19 Lit master of dreams.
7. Genesis 37:20 These were earthen tanks that were dug or carved into rocky ground (perhaps limestone), designed to collect rainwater in the desert during winters. Some were cavernous, with a staircase carved into one of the walls for access to the bottom. The cistern selected by Joseph’s brothers must have been deep enough to make escape very difficult for someone of his size, but constructed without a staircase or other means of access (other than a rope).
8. Genesis 37:23 See note v 3.
9. Genesis 37:25 Descendants of Abraham and Hagar (Sarah’s maid, 16:15).
10. Genesis 37:25 A valuable tree resin.
11. Genesis 37:27 Descendants of Abraham and Keturah, his concubine.
12. Genesis 37:28 The relationship between the Midianites and the Ishmaelites as they are mentioned here is unclear. It is possible, as some have suggested, that “Ishmaelites” came to be used as a general term for desert tribes, and that the same merchants are called by both names in this verse. This would also explain the reference to the “Midianites” in v 36. Another explanation, which was offered by the rabbis, is that Joseph was sold first to the Ishmaelites, who then sold him to the Midianites. Another possibility is that they were Ishmaelites from the area of Midian.
13. Genesis 37:34 An uncomfortable material woven from goat hair and worn in mourning.

Judah and Tamar

38 Now at that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to [stay with] a certain Adullamite named Hirah. ² There Judah saw a daughter of Shua, a Canaanite, and he took her [as his wife] and lived with her. ³ So she conceived and gave birth to a son and Judah named him Er. ⁴ Then she conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. ⁵ Again she conceived and gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Now Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him [in judgment]. ⁸ Then Judah told Onan, “Go in to your brother’s widow, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law [under the levirate marriage custom]; [be her husband and] raise children for [the name of] your brother.” ⁹ Onan knew that the child (heir) would not be his [but his dead brother’s]; so whenever he lay with his brother’s widow, he spilled his seed on the ground [to prevent conception], so that he would not give a child to his brother. ¹⁰ But what he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord; therefore He killed him also [in judgment]. ¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow at your father’s house until Shelah my [youngest] son is grown”; [but he was deceiving her] for he thought that [if Shelah should marry her] he too might die like his brothers did. So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

^12 [a]But quite a while later, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ Tamar was told, “Listen, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself up [in disguise], and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife [as Judah had promised]. ¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a [temple] prostitute, for she had covered her face [as such women did]. ¹⁶ He turned to her by the road, and said, “Please come, let me lie with you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may lie with me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “Will you give me a pledge [as a deposit] until you send it?” ¹⁸ He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She said, “Your seal and your cord, and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and was intimate with her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ Then she got up and left, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s clothing.

²⁰ When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to get his pledge [back] from the woman, he was unable to find her. ²¹ He asked the men of that place, “Where is the temple prostitute who was by the roadside at Enaim?” They said, “There was no prostitute here.” ²² So he returned to Judah, and said, “I cannot find her; also the local men said, ‘There was no prostitute around here.’” ²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep the things (pledge articles) for herself, otherwise we will be a laughingstock [searching everywhere for her]. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the [role of a] prostitute, and she is with child because of her immorality.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned [to death as punishment]!” ²⁵ While she was being brought out, she [took the things Judah had given her and] sent [them along with a message] to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these articles belong.” And she added, “Please examine [them carefully] and see [clearly] to whom these things belong, the seal and the cord and staff.” ²⁶ Judah recognized the articles, and said, “She has been more righteous [in this matter] than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah [as I had promised].” And Judah did not have [intimate] relations with her again.

²⁷ Now when the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb.²⁸ And when she was in labor, one [baby] put out his hand, and the midwife took his hand and tied a scarlet thread on it, saying, “This one was born first.”²⁹ But he pulled back his hand, and his brother was born first. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself [to be the firstborn]!” So he was named Perez (breach, break forth). ³⁰ Afterward his brother who had the scarlet [thread] on his hand was born and was named Zerah (brightness).

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 38:12 Lit The days multiplied and Judah’s wife....

Joseph’s Success in Egypt

39 Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the [royal] guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. ² The Lord was with Joseph, and he [even though a slave] became a successful and prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ Now his master saw that theLord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper (succeed) in his hand. ⁴ So Joseph pleased Potiphar and found favor in his sight and he served him as his personal servant. He made Joseph overseer over his house, and he put all that he owned in Joseph’s charge. ⁵ It happened that from the time that he made Joseph overseer in his house and [put him in charge] over all that he owned, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph; so the Lord’s blessing was on everything that Potiphar owned, in the house and in the field. ⁶ So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with Joseph there he did not [need to] ^[a]pay attention to anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and attractive in form and appearance. ⁷ Then after a time his master’s wife ^[b]looked at Joseph with desire, and she said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me in the house, my master does not concern himself with anything; he has put everything that he owns in my charge. ⁹ He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God [and your husband]?”¹⁰ And so it was that she spoke to Joseph [persistently] day after day, but he did not listen to her [plea] to lie beside her or be with her. ¹¹ Then it happened one day that Joseph went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the men of the household was there in the house. ¹² She caught Joseph by his [outer] robe, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his robe in her hand and ran, and got outside [the house]. ¹³ When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had run outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her household and said to them, “Look at this, your master has brought a Hebrew [into the household] to mock and insult us; he came to me to lie with me, and I screamed. ¹⁵ When he heard me screaming, he left his robe with me and ran outside [the house].”¹⁶ So she left Joseph’s [outer] robe beside her until his master came home.¹⁷ Then she told her husband the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you brought among us, came to me to mock and insult me; ¹⁸ then as soon as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his robe with me and ran outside [the house].”

Joseph Imprisoned

¹⁹ And when Joseph’s master heard the words of his wife, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger burned. ²⁰ So Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and extended lovingkindness to him, and gave him favor in the sight of the warden.²² The warden committed to Joseph’s care (management) all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was ^[c]in charge of it.²³ The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him; whatever Joseph did, the Lord made to prosper.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 39:6 Lit know.
2. Genesis 39:7 Lit cast her eyes on.
3. Genesis 39:22 Lit the doer.

Joseph Interprets a Dream

40 Now some time later, the cupbearer (butler) and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, Egypt’s king. ² Pharaoh (^[a]Sesostris II) was extremely angry with his two officials, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers. ³ He put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the same prison where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard put Joseph in charge of them, and he served them; and they continued to be in custody for some time. ⁵ Then the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both dreamed a dream in the same night, each man with his [own significant] dream and each dream with its [personal] interpretation. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning and looked at them, [he saw that] they were sad and depressed. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in confinement with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so down-hearted today?” ⁸ And they said to him, “We have [each] dreamed [distinct] dreams and there is no one to interpret them.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell me [your dreams].”

⁹ So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me; ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. Then as soon as it budded, its blossoms burst open, and its clusters produced ripe grapes [in rapid succession]. ¹¹ Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup; then I placed the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.” ¹² Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches represent three days; ¹³ within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head (present you in public) and restore you to your position; and you will [again] put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand just as [you did] when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ Only think of me when it goes well with you, and please show me kindness by mentioning me to Pharaoh and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For in fact I was ^[b]taken (stolen) from the land of the Hebrews by [unlawful] force, and even here I have done nothing for which they should put me in the dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation [of the dream] was good, he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed, and [in my dream] there were three cake baskets on my head; ¹⁷ and in the top basket there were some of all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds [of prey] were eating [these foods] out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ Joseph answered, “This is the interpretation of it: the three baskets represent three days; ¹⁹ within three more days Pharaoh will^[c]lift up your head and will hang you on a tree (gallows, pole), and [you will not so much as be given a burial, but] the birds will eat your flesh.”

²⁰ Now on the third day, [which was] the Pharaoh’s birthday, he [released the two men from prison and] made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker [that is, presented them in public] among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and the cupbearer [once again] put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand; ²² but Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted [the meaning of the dreams] to them. ²³ Yet [even after all that] the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot [all about] him.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 40:2 Also called Senusret II, 1894-1878 b.c.
2. Genesis 40:15 The word here is much less personal than “kidnap.” Joseph was considered a “thing”—not a person.
3. Genesis 40:19 Notice the totally different usage of the words “lift up your head.” In v 13, it      is used idiomatically as “present you in public,” but in v 19, it is used literally, “lift your head up off of your body.”

Pharaoh’s Dream

41 Now it happened at the end of two full years that Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the ^[a]Nile. ² And lo, there came up out of the Nile seven [healthy] cows, sleek and handsome and fat; and they grazed in the reed grass [in a marshy pasture]. ³ Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the Nile, ugly and gaunt and raw-boned, and stood by the fat cows on the bank of the Nile. ⁴ Then the ugly and gaunt and raw-boned cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. ⁵ Then he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. ⁶ Then behold, seven ears [of grain], thin and dried up by the east wind, sprouted after them. ⁷ Then the thin ears swallowed the seven plump and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and it was a dream. ⁸ So when morning came his spirit was troubled and disturbed and he sent and called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them to him.

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I would mention my faults today. ¹⁰ [Two years ago] Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker. ¹¹ We dreamed a dream on the same night, he and I; each of us dreamed according to [the significance of] the interpretation of his own dream. ¹² Now there was with us [in the prison] a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us, to each man according to the significance of his own dream.¹³ And just as he interpreted [the dreams] for us, so it happened; I was restored to my office [as chief cupbearer], and the baker was hanged.”

Joseph Interprets

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes [making himself presentable], he came to Pharaoh. ¹⁵ Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said about you that you can understand a dream and interpret it.”¹⁶ Joseph answered Pharaoh, “It is not in me [to interpret the dream]; God [not I] will give Pharaoh a ^[b]favorable answer [through me].” ¹⁷ So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile; ¹⁸ and seven fat, sleek and handsome cows came up out of the river, and they grazed in the reed grass [of a marshy pasture]. ¹⁹ Lo, seven other cows came up after them, very ugly and gaunt [just skin and bones]; such emaciated animals as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt. ²⁰ And the lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven fat cows. ²¹ Yet when they had devoured them, it could not be detected that they had eaten them, because they were still as thin andemaciated as before. Then I awoke [but again I fell asleep and dreamed]. ²² I saw in my [second] dream, seven ears [of grain], plump and good, growing on a single stalk; ²³ and lo, seven [other] ears, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them; ²⁴ and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. Now I told this to the magicians and soothsayers, but there was no one who could explain it [to me].”

²⁵ Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The [two] dreams are one [and the same and have one interpretation]; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the [two] dreams are one [and the same]. ²⁷ The seven thin and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years; and also the seven thin ears, dried up and scorched by the east wind, they are seven years of famine and hunger. ²⁸ This is the message just as I have told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. ²⁹ Listen very carefully: seven years of great abundance will come throughout all the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but afterward seven years of famine and hunger will come, and [there will be such desperate need that] all the great abundance [of the previous years] will be forgotten in the land of Egypt [as if it never happened], and famine and destitution will ravageand destroy the land. ³¹ So the great abundance will become forgotten in the land because of that subsequent famine, for it will be very severe. ³² That the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh [and in two different ways] indicates that this matter is fully determined and established by God, and God will bring it to pass very quickly. ³³ So now let Pharaoh [prepare ahead and] look for a man discerning and clear-headed and wise, and set him [in charge] over the land of Egypt [as governor under Pharaoh]. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers and officials over the land, and set aside one-fifth [of the produce] of the [entire] land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ Let them gather [as a tax] all [of the fifth of] the food of these good years that are coming, and store up grain under the direction and authority of Pharaoh, and let them guard the food [in fortified granaries] in the cities. ³⁶ That food shall be put [in storage] as a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine andhunger which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land (people) will not be ravaged during the famine.”

³⁷ Now the plan seemed good to Pharaoh and to all of his servants.

Joseph Is Made a Ruler of Egypt

³⁸ So Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this [a man equal to Joseph], in whom is the divine spirit [of God]?” ³⁹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since [your] God has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning andclear-headed and wise as you are. ⁴⁰ You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall ^[c]be governed according to your word and pay respect [to you with reverence, submission, and obedience]; only in [matters of] the throne will I be greater than you [in Egypt].” ⁴¹ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you [in charge] over all the land of Egypt.” ⁴² Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and dressed him in [official] vestments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.⁴³ He had him ride in his second chariot; and runners proclaimed before him, “[Attention,] bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Egypt.⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission shall no man raise his hand [to do anything] or set his foot [to go anywhere] in all the land of Egypt [all classes of people shall submit to your authority].” ⁴⁵ Then Pharaoh named Joseph ^[d]Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), as his wife. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt [to inspect and govern it].

⁴⁶ Now Joseph [had been in Egypt thirteen years and] was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph departed from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt [performing his duties]. ⁴⁷ In the seven abundant years the earth produced handfuls [for each seed planted].⁴⁸ And Joseph gathered all the [surplus] food of the seven [good] years in the land of Egypt and stored [enormous quantities of] the food in the cities. He stored away in every city the food [collected] from its own surrounding fields.⁴⁹ Thus Joseph gathered and stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting it, for it could not be measured.

The Sons of Joseph

⁵⁰ Now two sons were born to Joseph before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. ⁵¹ Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.” ⁵² He named the second [son] Ephraim (fruitfulness), for “God has caused me to be fruitful and very successful in the land of my suffering.”

⁵³ When the seven years of plenty came to an end in the land of Egypt, ⁵⁴ the seven years of famine began to come, just as Joseph had said [they would]; the famine was in all the [surrounding] lands, but in the land of Egypt there was bread (food). ⁵⁵ So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharaoh for food; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; do whatever he says to you.” ⁵⁶ When the famine was spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold [surplus grain] to the Egyptians; and the famine grew [extremely] severe in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ And [the people of] all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe over all the [known] earth.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 41:1 Lit the river, and so throughout.
2. Genesis 41:16 Lit answer of peace.
3. Genesis 41:40 Lit yield to your mouth.
4. Genesis 41:45 Probably Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives.”

Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt

42 Now when Jacob (Israel) learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another [in bewilderment and not taking action]?” ² He said, “I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy [some] grain for us, so that we may live and not die [of starvation].”³ So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴ But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that some harm or injury may come to him.” ⁵ So the sons of Israel came [to Egypt] to buy grain along with the others who were coming, for famine was in the land of Canaan also.

⁶ Now Joseph was the ruler over the land, and he was the one who sold [grain] to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s [half] brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the ground. ⁷ When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but [hiding his identity] he treated them as strangers and ^[a]spoke harshly to them. He said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”

⁸ Joseph recognized his brothers, but ^[b]they did not recognize him. ⁹ Joseph remembered the dreams he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come [with a malicious purpose] to observe the^[c]undefended parts of our land.” ¹⁰ But they said to him, “No, my lord, for your servants have [only] come to buy food. ¹¹ We are all the sons of one man; we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” ¹² Yet he said to them, “No, you have come to see the undefended parts of our land.” ¹³ But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers [in all], the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; please listen: the youngest is with our father today, and one is no longer alive.” ¹⁴ Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. ¹⁵ In this way you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here! ¹⁶ Send one of you [back home], and let him bring your brother [here], while [the rest of] you remain confined, so that your words may be tested, [to see] whether there is any truth in you [and your story]; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, certainly you are spies.”¹⁷ Then Joseph put them all in prison for three days.

¹⁸ Now Joseph said to them on the third day, “Do this and [you may] live, for I fear God: ¹⁹ if you are honest men, let one of your brothers be confined in your [place here in] prison; but as for the rest of you, go, carry grain for the famine in your households, ²⁰ but bring your youngest brother to me, so your words will be verified and you will not die.” And they did so. ²¹ And they said to one another, “Truly we are guilty regarding our brother [Joseph], because we saw the distress and anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us [to let him go], yet we would not listen [to his cry]; so this distress and anguish has come on us.” ²² Reuben answered them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now the accounting for his blood is required [of us for we are guilty of his death].” ²³ They did not know that Joseph understood [their conversation], because he spoke to them through an interpreter. ²⁴ He turned away from his brothers and [left the room and] wept; then he returned and talked with them, and took Simeon from them and bound him in front of them [to be kept as a hostage in Egypt]. ²⁵ Then Joseph gave orders [privately] that their bags be filled with grain, and that every man’s money [used to pay for the grain] be put back in his sack, and that provisions be given to them for the journey. And so this was done for them.

²⁶ They loaded their donkeys with grain and left from there. ²⁷ And at the lodging place, as one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey, he saw his money in the opening of his sack. ²⁸ And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! Here it is in my sack!” And their hearts sank, and they were afraid and turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

The Return to Canaan

²⁹ When they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them, saying, ³⁰ “The man who is the lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and took us for spies of the land. ³¹ But we told him, ‘We are honest men; we are not spies. ³² We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no longer alive, and the youngest is with our father today in the land of Canaan.’ ³³ And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this [test] I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers here with me and take grain for your starving households and go. ³⁴ Bring your youngest brother to me; then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. Then I will return your [imprisoned] brother [back] to you, and you may trade and do business in the land.’”

³⁵ Now when they emptied their sacks, every man’s bundle of money [paid to buy grain] was in his sack. When they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid. ³⁶ Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me [by causing the loss] of my children. Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and you would take Benjamin [from me]. All these things are [working] against me.” ³⁷ Then Reuben spoke to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I do not bring Benjamin back to you; put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” ³⁸ But Jacob said, “My son shall not go down [to Egypt] with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left [of Rachel’s children]. If any harm or accident should happen to him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol (the place of the dead) in sorrow.”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 42:7 Joseph was conversing with his brothers through an interpreter (v 23).
2. Genesis 42:8 Perhaps as many as twenty years had passed since his brothers last saw Joseph. They never would have suspected that the powerful Egyptian ruler standing before them was their brother.
3. Genesis 42:9 Lit nakedness.

The Return to Egypt

43 Now the famine was very severe in the land [of Canaan]. ² And it happened that when the families of Jacob’s sons had finished eating [all of] the grain which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little food.” ³ But Judah said to him, “The man [representing Pharaoh] solemnly and sternly warned us, saying, ‘You will not see my face [again] unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴ If you will send our brother with us, we will go down [to Egypt] and buy you food. ⁵ But if you will not send him, we will not go down there; for the man said to us, ‘You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.’” ⁶ And Israel (Jacob) said, “Why did you treat me so badly by telling the man that you had another brother?” ⁷ And they said, “The man asked us straightforward questions about ourselves and our relatives. He said, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we ^[a]answered him accordingly. How could we possibly know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down [here to Egypt]’?” ⁸ Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the young man with me and we will get up and go [buy food], so that we may live and not die [of starvation], we as well as you and our little ones. ⁹ I will be security (a guarantee) for him; ^[b]you may hold me [personally] responsible for him. If I do not bring him [back] to you and place him [safely] before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever. ¹⁰ For if we had not delayed like this, surely by now we would have returned the second time.”

¹¹ Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this; take some of the choicest products of the land in your sacks, and carry it as a present [of tribute] to the man [representing Pharaoh], a little balm and a little honey, aromatic spices or gum, resin, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹² Take double the [amount of] money with you, and take back the money that was returned in the opening of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight. ¹³ Take your brother [Benjamin] also, and get up, and go to the man; ¹⁴ and may^[c]God Almighty grant you compassion and favor before the man, so that he will release to you your other brother [Simeon] and Benjamin. And as for me, if I am bereaved of my children [Joseph, Simeon, and Benjamin], I am bereaved.”¹⁵ Then the men took the present, and they took double the [amount of] money with them, and Benjamin; then they left and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.

Joseph Sees Benjamin

¹⁶ When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and kill an animal and make [a meal] ready; for the men will dine with me at noon.” ¹⁷ So the man did as Joseph said, and brought the men to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸ The men were afraid, because they were brought to Joseph’s house; and [expecting the worst] they said, “It is because of the money that was returned in our sacks the first time [we came] that we are being brought in, so that he may find a reason to accuse us and assail us, and take us as slaves, and seize our donkeys.” ¹⁹ So they approached the steward of Joseph’s house, and talked with him at the entrance of the house,²⁰ and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down here the first time to buy food; ²¹ and when we arrived at the inn [after leaving here], we opened our sacks and there was each man’s money [with which he had paid for grain], in full, returned in the mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back [this time].²² We have also brought down with us additional money to buy food; we do not know who put our money [back] in our sacks [last time].” ²³ But the steward [encouraged them and] said, “Peace be to you, do not be afraid; your God and the God of your father has [miraculously] given you treasure in your sacks. I [already] had your money [which you paid to us].” Then he brought Simeon out to them. ²⁴ Then the steward brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave them water, and they washed [the dust off] their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed. ²⁵ So they prepared the present [of tribute] for Joseph before his arrival at noon; for they had heard that they were to eat a meal there.

²⁶ When Joseph came home, they brought into the house to him the present [of tribute] which they had with them and bowed to the ground before him. ²⁷ He asked them about their well-being, and said, “Is your old father well, of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” ²⁸ And they answered, “Your servant our father is in good health; he is still alive.” And they bowed down [their heads before Joseph] in respect. ²⁹ And he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s [only other] son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” And Joseph said, “God be gracious to you and show you favor, my son.” ³⁰ Then Joseph hurried out [of the room] because his heart was deeply touched over his brother, and he sought privacy to weep; so he entered his chamber and wept there. ³¹ Then he washed his face and came out, and, restraining himself, said, “Let the meal be served.” ³² So the servants served Joseph by himself [in honor of his rank], and his brothers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves, because [according to custom] the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that is ^[d]loathsome to the Egyptians. ³³ Now Joseph’s brothers were seated [by the steward] before him [in the order of their birth]—the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked at one another in astonishment [because so much was known about them]. ³⁴ Joseph selectedand sent portions to them from his own table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. So they feasted and drank freely andcelebrated with him.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 43:7 Lit told him upon the mouth of these words.
2. Genesis 43:9 Lit from my hand you shall require him.
3. Genesis 43:14 Heb El Shaddai.
4. Genesis 43:32 I.e. an abomination, a violation of holiness or distinction.

The Brothers Are Brought Back

44 And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man’s [grain] money in the mouth of the sack. ² Put my [personal] cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, with his grain money.” And the steward did as Joseph had told him. ³ As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. ⁴ When they had left the city, and were not yet far away, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow after the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil [to us] for good [paid to you]? ⁵ Is this not my lord’s drinking cup and the one which he uses for divination? You have done [a great and unforgivable] wrong in doing this.’”

⁶ So the steward overtook them and he said these words to them. ⁷ They said to him, “Why does my lord speak these things? Far be it from your servants to do such a thing! ⁸ Please remember, the money which we found in the mouths of our sacks we have brought back to you from the land of Canaan. Is it likely then that we would steal silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹ With whomever of your servants your master’s cup is found, let him die, and the rest of us will be my lord’s slaves.” ¹⁰ And the steward said, “Now let it be as you say; he with whom the cup is found will be my slave, but the rest of you shall be blameless.” ¹¹ Then every man quickly lowered his sack to the ground and each man opened his sack [confident the cup would not be found among them]. ¹² The steward searched, beginning with the eldest and ending with the youngest, and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³ Then they tore their clothes [in grief]; and after each man had loaded his donkey again, they returned to the city.

¹⁴ When Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, he was still there; and they fell to the ground before him. ¹⁵ Joseph spoke harshly to them, “What is this thing that you have done? Do you not realize that such a man as I can indeed practice divination and foretell [everything you do without outside knowledge of it]?” ¹⁶ So Judah said, “What can we say to my lord? What can we reply? Or how can we clear ourselves, since God has exposed the sin and guilt of your servants? Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, the rest of us as well as he with whom the cup is found.” ¹⁷ But Joseph said, “Far be it from me that I should do that; but the man in whose hand the cup has been found, he will be my servant; and as for [the rest of] you, get up and go in peace to your father.”

¹⁸ Then Judah approached him, and said, “O my lord, please let your servant say a word to you in private, and do not let your anger blaze against your servant, for you are equal to Pharaoh [so I speak as if directly to him]. ¹⁹ My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ ²⁰ We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’ ²¹ Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me that I may actually see him.’ ²² But we said to my lord, ‘The ^[a]young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’ ²³ You said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes with you, you shall not see my face again.’ ²⁴ So when we went back to your servant my father, we told him what my lord had said. ²⁵ Our father said, ‘Go back [to Egypt], and buy us a little food.’ ²⁶ But we said, ‘We cannot go down [to Egypt]. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down [there]; for we [were sternly told that we] cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ ²⁷ Your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife [Rachel] bore me [only] two sons. ²⁸ And one [son] went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces,” and I have not seen him since. ²⁹ If you take this one also from me, and harm or an accident happens to him, you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.’ ³⁰ Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the young man is not with us, since ^[b]his life is bound up in the young man’s life, ³¹ when he sees that the young man is not with us, he will die; and your servants will bring the gray hair of your servant our father down to Sheol in [great] sorrow. ³² For your servant became security for the young man to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then let me bear the blame before my father forever.’ ³³ Now, therefore, please let your servant (Judah) remain here instead of the youth [to be] a slave to my lord, and let the young man go home with his brothers. ³⁴ How can I go up to my father if the young man is not with me—for fear that I would see the tragedy that would overtake my [elderly] father [if Benjamin does not return]?”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 44:22 The Hebrew word for “young man” does not indicate extreme youth. Benjamin was about thirty-three years old at this time.
2. Genesis 44:30 Lit his soul is knit with the young man’s soul.

Joseph Shows Kindness to His Brothers

45 Then Joseph could not control himself [any longer] in front of all those who attended him, and he called out, “Have everyone leave me.” So no man stood there when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers. ² Joseph wept aloud, and the Egyptians [who had just left him] heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it. ³ Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” But his brothers were speechless, for they were stunned and dismayed by [the fact that they were in] Joseph’s presence.

⁴ And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come closer to me.” And they approached him. And he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. ⁵ Now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to save life and preserve our family.⁶ For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are still five more years in which there will be no plowing and harvesting. ⁷ God sent me [to Egypt] ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on the earth, and to keep you alive by a great escape. ⁸ So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. ⁹ Hurry and go up to my father, and tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says this to you: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. ¹⁰ You shall live in the land of Goshen [the best pasture land of Egypt], and you shall be close to me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and your herds and all you have.¹¹ There I will provide for you and sustain you, so that you and your household and all that are yours may not become impoverished, for there are still five years of famine to come.”’ ¹² Look! Your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that I am speaking to you [personally in your language and not through an interpreter]. ¹³ Now you must tell my father of all my splendor andpower in Egypt, and of everything that you have seen; and you must hurry and bring my father down here.” ¹⁴ Then he embraced his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. ¹⁵ He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

¹⁶ When the news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Joseph’s brothers had come, it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. ¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: load your animals and return to the land of Canaan [without delay], ¹⁸ and get your father and your households and come to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you will eat the fat (the finest produce) of the land.’ ¹⁹ Now you [brothers of Joseph] are ordered [by Pharaoh], ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come. ²⁰ Do not be concerned with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

²¹ Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them wagons according to the command of Pharaoh, and gave them provisions for the journey. ²² To each of them Joseph gave changes of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing. ²³ To his father he sent the following: ten male donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain and bread and provision for his father [to supply all who were with him] on the journey.

²⁴ So he sent his brothers away, and as they departed, he said to them, “See that you do not quarrel on the journey [about how to explain this to our father].” ²⁵ So they went up from Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father, ²⁶ and they said to him, “Joseph is still alive, and indeed he is ruler over all the land of Egypt.” But Jacob was stunned and his heart almost stopped beating, because he did not believe them. ²⁷ When they told him everything that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. ²⁸ And Israel (Jacob) said, “It is enough! Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Jacob Moves to Egypt

46 So Israel set out with all that he had, and came to Beersheba [where both his father and grandfather had worshiped God], and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. ² And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” ³ And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you (your descendants) a great nation there. ⁴ I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you (your people) up again; and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes [to close them at the time of your death].”

⁵ So Jacob set out from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him. ⁶ And they took their livestock and the possessions which they had acquired in the land of Canaan and came to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him. ⁷ His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

Those Who Came to Egypt

⁸ Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn. ⁹ The sons of Reuben: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁰ The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman. ¹¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. ¹² The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah—but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. ¹³ The sons of Issachar: Tola, ^[a]Puvah, ^[b]Job, and Shimron. ¹⁴ The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. ¹⁵ These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, with his daughter Dinah; all of his sons and daughters numbered thirty-three. ¹⁶ The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. ¹⁷ The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. And the sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel. ¹⁸ These are the sons of Zilpah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter [when she married Jacob]; and she bore to Jacob these sixteen persons [two sons and fourteen grandchildren]. ¹⁹ The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁰ Now to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), bore to him. ²¹ And the sons of ^[c]Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. ²² These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob; [there were] fourteen persons in all [two sons and twelve grandchildren]. ²³ The son of Dan: Hushim. ²⁴ The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem. ²⁵ These are the sons of Bilhah, [the maid] whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter [when she married Jacob]. And she bore these to Jacob; [there were] seven persons in all [two sons and five grandchildren]. ²⁶ All the persons who came with Jacob into Egypt—who were his direct descendants, not counting the wives of [Jacob or] Jacob’s sons, were sixty-six persons in all, ²⁷ and the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two. All the persons of the house of Jacob [including Jacob, and^[d]Joseph and his sons], who came into Egypt, were seventy.

²⁸ Now Jacob (Israel) sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to direct him to Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Then Joseph prepared his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen; as soon as he presented himself before him (authenticating his identity), he fell on his [father’s] neck and wept on his neck a [very] long time. ³⁰ And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die [in peace], since I have seen your face [and know] that you are still alive.” ³¹ Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me; ³² and the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’ ³³ And it shall be that when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our fathers [before us],’ in order that you may live [separately and securely] in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is repulsive to the Egyptians.”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 46:13 Or Puah.
2. Genesis 46:13 Or Jashub.
3. Genesis 46:21 Benjamin was already the father of ten sons at the time he met Joseph in Egypt. Joseph was seventeen when his brothers sold him; he was in prison thirteen years; and he had been ruler of Egypt during the seven good years and through two years of the famine. So Joseph was thirty-nine years of age at this time, and Benjamin was only a few years younger.
4. Genesis 46:27 I.e. Joseph and his sons were included in the count even though they were already in Egypt.

Jacob’s Family Settles in Goshen

47 Then Joseph came and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds and all that they own, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen.” ² He took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. ³ And Pharaoh said to his brothers [as Joseph expected], “What is your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers [before us].”⁴ Moreover, they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to live temporarily (sojourn) in the land [of Egypt], for there is no pasture for the flocks of your servants [in our land], for the famine is very severe in Canaan. So now, please let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” ⁵ Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶ The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know of any men of ability among them,^[a]put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷ Then Joseph brought Jacob (Israel) his father and presented him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸ And Pharaoh asked Jacob, ^[b]“How old are you?” ⁹ Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The ^[c]years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. Few and unpleasant have been the years of my life, and they have^[d]not reached the years that my fathers lived during the days of their pilgrimage.” ¹⁰ And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and departed from his presence.¹¹ So Joseph settled his father and brothers and gave them a possession in Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses (Goshen), as Pharaoh commanded. ¹² Joseph provided and supplied his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to [the needs of] their children.

¹³ Now [in the course of time] there was no food in all the land, for the famine was distressingly severe, so that the land of Egypt and all the land of Canaan languished [in destitution and starvation] because of the famine. ¹⁴ Joseph gathered all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [in payment] for the grain which they bought, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house. ¹⁵ And when the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes? For our money is gone.” ¹⁶ Joseph said, “Give up your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, since the money is gone.” ¹⁷ So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for the horses and the flocks and the herds and the donkeys; and he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year. ¹⁸ When that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord [the fact] that our money is spent; my lord also has our herds of livestock; there is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. ¹⁹ Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed [to plant], that we may live and not die, and that the land may not be desolate.”

Result of the Famine

²⁰ So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every Egyptian sold his field because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹ And as for the people, he relocated them [temporarily] to cities from one end of Egypt’s border to the other. ²² Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh, and they lived on the amount which Pharaoh gave them, so they did not sell their land. ²³ Then Joseph said to the people, “Look, today I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh; now, here is seed for you, and you shall plant the land. ²⁴ At harvest time [when you reap the increase] you shall give one-fifth of it to Pharaoh, and four-fifths will be your own to use for seed for the field and as food for you and those of your households and for your little ones.” ²⁵ And they said, “You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.” ²⁶ And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt—valid to this ^[e]day—that Pharaoh should have the fifth part [of the crops]; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

²⁷ Now [the people of] Israel lived in the country of Egypt, in [the land of] Goshen, and they gained possessions and acquired property there and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. ²⁸ And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the ^[f]length of Jacob’s life was a hundred and forty-seven years.

²⁹ And when the time drew near for Israel to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, ^[g]please put your hand under my thigh and [promise to] deal loyally and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, ³⁰ but when I lie down with my fathers [in death], you will carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place [at Hebron in the cave of Machpelah].” And Joseph said, “I will do as you have directed.” ³¹ Then he said, “Swear to me [that you will do it].” So he swore to him. Then Israel (Jacob) bowed in worship at the head of the bed.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 47:6 Lit set them as princes of my cattle.
2. Genesis 47:8 Lit how many are the days of the years of your life?
3. Genesis 47:9 Lit the days of the years of.
4. Genesis 47:9 Abraham, Jacob’s grandfather, had lived to be a hundred and seventy-five years old; Isaac, Jacob’s father, lived to be a hundred and eighty. Jacob lived seventeen years after making this statement to Pharaoh, in which time he had an opportunity to get a much more optimistic view of God’s treatment of him. He died at a hundred and forty-seven, having said, “The Angel...has redeemed me continually from all evil” (Gen 48:16).
5. Genesis 47:26 I.e. the time of Moses.
6. Genesis 47:28 Lit the days of Jacob, the years of his.
7. Genesis 47:29 I.e. this was a customary manner of taking a solemn oath.

Israel’s Last Days

48 Now some time after these things happened, Joseph was told, “Your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him [to go to Goshen]. ² And when Jacob (Israel) was told, “Look now, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed. ³ Then Jacob said to Joseph, “^[a]God Almighty appeared to me at Luz (Bethel) in the land of Canaan and blessed me, ⁴ and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a great company of people, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’ ⁵ Now 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; ^[b]Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine [that is, adopted as my heirs and sons as surely], as Reuben and Simeon are my sons. ⁶ But other sons who were born to you after them shall be your own; they shall be called by the names of their [two] brothers in their inheritance. ⁷ Now as for me, when I came from Paddan [in Mesopotamia], Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the journey, when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

⁸ When Israel [who was almost blind] saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” ⁹ Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here [in Egypt].” So he said, “Please bring them to me, so that I may bless them.” ¹⁰ Now Israel’s eyes were so dim from age that he could not see [clearly]. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed and embraced them. ¹¹ Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, but see, God has shown me your children as well.” ¹² Then Joseph took the boys [from his father’s embrace], and he bowed [before him] with his face to the ground.¹³ Then Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴ But Israel reached out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head,^[c]crossing his hands [intentionally], even though Manasseh was the firstborn.¹⁵ Then Jacob (Israel) blessed Joseph, and said,

“The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked [in faithful obedience],
The God who has been my Shepherd [leading and caring for me] all my life to this day,¹⁶ 
The ^[d]Angel [that is, the Lord Himself] who has redeemed me [continually] from all evil,
Bless the boys;
And may my name live on in them [may they be worthy of having their names linked with mine],
And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And may they grow into a [great] multitude in the midst of the earth.”

¹⁷ When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him [because he was not the firstborn]; and he grasped his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. ¹⁸ Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this is the firstborn; place your right hand on Manasseh’s head.” ¹⁹ But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; Manasseh also will become a people and he will be great; but his younger brother shall be ^[e]greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” ²⁰ Then Jacob blessed them that day, saying,

“By you Israel will pronounce a blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’”

And he put Ephraim before Manasseh. ²¹ Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but God will be with you, and bring you back to [Canaan] the land of your fathers. ²² Moreover, I have given you [the ^[f]birthright,] one portion [Shechem, one mountain ridge] more than any of your brothers, which I took [reclaiming it] from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 48:3 Heb El Shaddai.
2. Genesis 48:5 This act of adoption effectively gave Joseph the birthright and a double allotment of the territory of the promised land when it was apportioned by Joshua (Josh 16; 17). The second son, Ephraim, was named before his older brother because Jacob planned to give him the primary blessing.
3. Genesis 48:14 God acts independently of priority based on birth order when He chooses men. He too “crossed His hands” in the case of Seth whom He chose over Cain; of Shem over Japheth; of Isaac over Ishmael; of Jacob over Esau; of Judah and Joseph over Reuben; of Moses over Aaron; and of David over all his brothers.
4. Genesis 48:16 See note 16:7.
5. Genesis 48:19 This prophecy begins to be fulfilled during the time of the judges, as the tribe of Ephraim increased in prominence and became the head of the northern ten tribes. Joshua, whom Israel regarded as their ruler, was an Ephraimite. The ark of the covenant was placed in Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim, which also increased the tribe’s prestige. By its fulfillment, Jacob’s prophecy proved to be divinely inspired.
6. Genesis 48:22 See note 49:3.

Israel’s Prophecy concerning His Sons

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said, “Assemble yourselves [around me] that I may tell you what will happen to you and your descendants ^[a]in the days to come.

² 
“Gather together and hear, O sons of Jacob;
And listen to Israel (Jacob) your father.

³ 
“Reuben, you are my ^[b]firstborn;
My might, the beginning of my strength and vigor,
Preeminent in dignity and preeminent in power [that should have been your birthright].⁴ 
“But unstable and reckless and boiling over like water [in sinful lust], you shall ^[c]not excel or have the preeminence [of the firstborn],
Because you went up to your father’s bed [with Bilhah];
You defiled it—he went up to my couch.

⁵ 
“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];
Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.⁶ 
“O my soul, do not come into their secret council;
Let not my glory (honor) be united with their assembly [for I knew nothing of their plot];
Because in their anger they killed men [an honored man, Shechem, and the Shechemites],
And in their self-will they lamed oxen.⁷ 
“Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce;
And their wrath, for it was cruel.
I will divide and disperse them in Jacob,
And ^[d]scatter them in [the midst of the land of] Israel.

⁸ 
“Judah, you are the one whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s sons shall bow down to you.⁹ 
“Judah, a lion’s cub;
With the prey, my son, you have gone high up [the mountain].
He stooped down, he crouched like a lion,
And like a lion—who dares rouse him?¹⁰ 
“The scepter [of royalty] shall not depart from Judah,
Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
Until Shiloh [the Messiah, the Peaceful One] comes,
And to Him shall be the obedience of the peoples.¹¹ 
“Tying ^[e]his foal to the [strong] vine
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washes his clothing in wine [because the grapevine produces abundantly],
And his robes in the blood of grapes.¹² 
“His eyes are darker and sparkle more than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.

¹³ 
“Zebulun shall dwell at the seashore;
And he shall be a haven (landing place) for ships,
And his flank shall be toward Sidon.

¹⁴ 
“Issachar is [like] a strong-boned donkey,
Crouching down between the sheepfolds.¹⁵ 
“When he saw that the resting place was good
And that the land was pleasant,
He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],
And became a servant at forced labor.

¹⁶ 
“Dan shall judge his people,
As one of the tribes of Israel.¹⁷ 
“Dan shall be a [venomous] serpent in the way,
A fanged snake in the path,
That bites the horse’s heels,
So that his rider falls backward.¹⁸ 
“I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.

¹⁹ 
“As for ^[f]Gad—a raiding troop shall raid him,
But he shall raid at their heels and assault them [victoriously].

²⁰ 
“Asher’s food [supply] shall be rich and bountiful,
And he shall yield and deliver royal delights.

²¹ 
“Naphtali is a doe let loose, [a swift warrior,]
Which yields branched antlers (eloquent words).

²² 
“Joseph is a fruitful bough (a main branch of the vine),
A fruitful bough by a spring (a well, a fountain);
Its branches run over the wall [influencing others].²³ 
“The [skilled] archers have bitterly attacked and provoked him;
They have shot [at him] and harassed him.²⁴ 
“But his bow remained firm and steady [in the Strength that does not fail],
For his arms were made strong and agile
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob,
(By the name of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),²⁵ 
By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the ^[g]Almighty who blesses you
With blessings of the heavens above,
Blessings lying in the deep that couches beneath,
Blessings of the [nursing] breasts and of the [fertile] womb.²⁶ 
“The blessings of your father
Are greater than the blessings of my ancestors [Abraham and Isaac]
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills;
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
Even on the crown of the head of him who was the distinguished one andthe one who is prince among (separate from) his brothers.

²⁷ 
“Benjamin is a ^[h]ravenous wolf;
In the morning he devours the prey,
And at night he divides the spoil.”

²⁸ All these are the [beginnings of the] twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each one according to the blessing appropriate to him. ²⁹ He charged them and said to them, “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, that Abraham bought, along with the field from Ephron the Hittite, to possess as a burial site. ³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— ³² the field and the cave that is in it was purchased from the sons of Heth.” ³³ When Jacob (Israel) had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and breathed his last, and was ^[i]gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death].

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 49:1 See Deut 33, where Moses blesses the same tribes in a similar prophetic way.
2. Genesis 49:3 Reuben was the eldest of Jacob’s twelve sons and therefore entitled to the birthright, which would make him successor to his father as head of the family or tribe, and inheritor of a double portion of his father’s estate. But Reuben forfeited all this by his conduct with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (35:22). By adopting Joseph’s two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and giving each of them a portion of the inheritance, Jacob virtually gave Joseph the extra portion of the land that would have gone to Reuben. Judah became the tribal leader in Reuben’s place (49:8-10).
3. Genesis 49:4 The fertile land once occupied by the tribe of Reuben was deserted by its settled inhabitants and given over to the tribal nomads of the desert. Because of his behavior, Reuben had forfeited his rights as the firstborn even before Jacob’s prophecy.
4. Genesis 49:7 This prophecy was fulfilled when the tribe of Levi received no inheritance except forty-eight towns scattered throughout different parts of Canaan. The tribe of Simeon was originally given only a few towns and villages in the midst of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah (Josh 19:1).
5. Genesis 49:11 I.e. the tribe of Judah.
6. Genesis 49:19 The Hebrew word from which the name “Gad” is derived has two meanings. In this verse the Hebrew meaning is associated with a “raiding troop” but in 30:11 it is associated with “good fortune.”
7. Genesis 49:25 Heb Shaddai.
8. Genesis 49:27 The tribe of Benjamin invariably displayed courage and ferocity, particularly in their war with the other tribes. The tribe of Benjamin was absorbed by the tribe of Judah and is not mentioned after the return from the Babylonian captivity, except in connection with its former land or as the source of some individual person. Ehud, Saul, Jonathan, and the apostle Paul were Benjamites.
9. Genesis 49:33 See note 25:8.

Burial Preparations and Mourning for Jacob

50 Then Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept over him and kissed him [tenderly]. ² Then Joseph ordered his servants the physicians to embalm (mummify) his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel (Jacob). ³ Now forty days were required for this, for that is the customary number of days [of preparation] required for embalming. And the Egyptians wept and grieved for him [in public mourning as they would for royalty] for seventy days.

⁴ When the days of weeping and public mourning for him were past, Joseph spoke to [the nobles of] the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your sight, please speak to Pharaoh, saying, ⁵ ‘My father made me swear [an oath], saying, “Hear me, I am about to die; bury me in my tomb which I prepared for myself in the land of Canaan.” So now let me go up [to Canaan], please, and bury my father; then I will return.’” ⁶ And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”

⁷ So Joseph went up [to Canaan] to bury his father, and with him went all the officials of Pharaoh, [the nobles of his court and] the elders of his household and all [the nobles and] the elders of the land of Egypt— ⁸ and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household. They left only their little ones and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen. ⁹ Both chariots and horsemen also went up [to Canaan] with Joseph; and it was a very great company. ¹⁰ When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they mourned there with a great lamentation (expressions of mourning for the deceased) and [extreme demonstrations of] sorrow [according to Egyptian custom]; and Joseph observed a seven-day mourning for his father. ¹¹ When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim (mourning of Egypt); it is west of the Jordan.

Burial at Machpelah

¹² So Jacob’s sons did for him as he had commanded them; ¹³ for his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite. ¹⁴ After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all who had gone up with him.

¹⁵ When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph carries a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the wrong which we did to him?” ¹⁶ So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father commanded us before he died, saying, ¹⁷ ‘You are to say to Joseph, “I beg you, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did you wrong.”’ Now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. ¹⁸ Then his brothers went and fell down before him [in confession]; then they said, “Behold, we are your servants (slaves).” ¹⁹ But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? [Vengeance is His, not mine.] ²⁰ As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present outcome, that many people would be kept alive [as they are this day]. ²¹ So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and support you and your little ones.” So he comforted them [giving them encouragement and hope] and spoke [with kindness] to their hearts.

Death of Joseph

²² Now Joseph lived in Egypt, he and his father’s household, and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. ²³ Joseph saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children; also the children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born andraised on Joseph’s knees. ²⁴ Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will surely take care of you and bring you up out of this land to the land which He promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob [to give you].” ²⁵ Then Joseph made the sons of Israel (Jacob) swear [an oath], saying, “God will surely visit you and take care of you [returning you to Canaan], and [when that happens] you shall carry my bones up from here.” ²⁶ So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him and he was put ^[a]in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 50:26 Joseph’s body remained in Egypt until the exodus to the promised land of Canaan about two hundred years later. Its final resting-place was Shechem, near Samaria, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem (Josh 24:32). Here each of his brothers was also buried (Acts 7:15, 16).