Thematic Bible: History of israel in
Thematic Bible
Egypt » History of israel in » Israel placed in the land of goshen
Be sure to tell him that you have taken care of livestock all your lives, just as your ancestors did. In this way he will let you live in the region of Goshen. Joseph said this because Egyptians will have nothing to do with shepherds (consider shepherds loathsome).
Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt. He gave them property in the best of the land near the city of Rameses. This was as the king had commanded.
The Israelites lived in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They became rich and had many children.
Egypt » History of israel in » Jacob's death and burial
Joseph threw himself on his father. He cried over him, and kissed him. Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body. It took forty days, which is the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days. read more.
When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials: Please take this message to the king: When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan. Please, let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back. The king replied: By all means go and bury your father, as you promised you would. So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. His family, including his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him. It was a very large group. They mourned loudly for a long time at the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days. The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad. They said: What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding! That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim. Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them. They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre. He was buried in the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.
When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials: Please take this message to the king: When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb that he had prepared in the land of Canaan. Please, let me go and bury my father. Then I will come back. The king replied: By all means go and bury your father, as you promised you would. So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. His family, including his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him. It was a very large group. They mourned loudly for a long time at the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days. The citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad. They said: What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding! That is why the place was named Abel-mizraim. Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them. They carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah east of Mamre. He was buried in the field Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground.
Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons. He pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses proves his divine mission by miracles
Then Moses and Aaron went to Egypt and assembled all the elders of the people of Israel. Aaron told them everything Jehovah had said to Moses. He also did the miraculous signs for the people. The people believed them. When they heard that Jehovah was concerned about the people of Israel and that he had seen their misery, they knelt, bowed low and worshiped.
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh. They did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron threw his staff down in front of Pharaoh and his officials. It became a large snake.
Egypt » History of israel in » Date of the exodus
By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the anger of the king. He endured, by seeing him who is invisible.
After exactly four hundred and thirty years all of Jehovah's people left Egypt in organized family groups.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph sold into
Some of the Midianite traders approached. The brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites. They took him to Egypt.
Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.
Egypt » History of israel in » Egypt is plagued for pharaoh's obstinacy
Jehovah said to Moses: Pharaoh is being stubborn. He will not let my people go. In the morning meet Pharaoh when he is on his way to the Nile. Wait for him on the bank of the river. Take the staff that turned into a snake. Say to Pharaoh: 'Jehovah the God of the Hebrews sent me to tell you, Let my people go to worship me in the wilderness. So far you have not listened.' read more.
Jehovah says: 'This is the way you will recognize that I am Jehovah: I will strike the Nile with this staff in my hand. The water will turn into blood. The fish in the Nile will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.' Jehovah then spoke to Moses: Tell Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt; its rivers, canals, ponds, and all its reservoirs. They will turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the buckets of wood and stone pitchers. Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials. All the water in the river turned into blood. The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled bad. The Egyptians could not drink any water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. So Pharaoh continued to be stubborn. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Jehovah predicted. Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. This did not change his mind and heart. All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink any of the water from the river. Seven days passed after Jehovah struck the Nile. Then Jehovah said to Moses: Approach Pharaoh and say to him, 'Jehovah says: Let My people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will afflict your whole territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed. They will go into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.' Jehovah also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools. Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them: If you ask Jehovah to take these frogs away from me and my people, I will let your people go and offer sacrifices to him. Moses answered: You choose the time when I am to pray for the frogs to stop bothering you, your officials, and your people, and for them to leave your houses and be found only in the river. The king replied: Do it tomorrow! As you wish: Moses agreed. Then everyone will discover that there is no god like Jehovah! The frogs will no longer be found anywhere, except in the Nile. Moses and Aaron left the palace. Moses begged Jehovah to do something about the frogs he had sent as punishment for the king. Jehovah did as Moses asked. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. The Egyptians piled them up in large mounds, until the land began to stink with them. The king saw that the frogs were dead. He became stubborn again and, just as Jehovah had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Jehovah said to Moses: Tell Aaron, Strike the ground with your stick. The dust will change into gnats in all of Egypt.' So Aaron struck the ground with his stick. The dust in Egypt was turned into gnats. They swarmed over the people and the animals. The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere! The magicians said to the king: It is the finger of God! (God has done this!) But the king was stubborn. Just as Jehovah predicted, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Jehovah said to Moses: Early tomorrow morning, go and meet the king as he goes to the river. Tell him that Jehovah says: 'Let my people go, so that they can serve me. I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. The ground will be covered with them. At that same time I will cut off the land of Goshen where my people live. No swarms of flies shall be there. / Then you will know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth. I will put a dividing line between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow.' Jehovah did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies ruined everything. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. He said: Go, sacrifice to your God here in this country. Moses replied: It is not right to do that. The sacrifices we offer to Jehovah our God are disgusting to Egyptians. If they see us offer sacrifices that they consider disgusting, will they not stone us to death? We need to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to Jehovah our God, as he told us to do. Pharaoh said: I will let you go, but do not go far. You may offer sacrifices to Jehovah your God in the desert and pray for me. Moses answered: As soon as I leave you, I will pray to Jehovah. Tomorrow the swarms of flies will go away from you, your officials, and your people. But you must stop tricking us by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to Jehovah. Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah did what Moses asked. The swarms of flies left Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly was left. Again Pharaoh was stubborn and did not let the people go. Then Jehovah said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, this is what Jehovah the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to serve me. If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them in slavery, Jehovah will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. Jehovah will distinguish between Israel's livestock and the livestock of the Egyptians. The animals belonging to the Israelites will not die.' Jehovah set a definite time: I, Jehovah, choose tomorrow as the time when I will do this. The next day Jehovah did as he had said. The Egyptian's animals all died. Not one of the animals of the Israelites died. The king asked what had happened. He was told that none of the animals of the Israelites had died. He was stubborn and would not let the people go. Then Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron: Take a few handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Moses is to throw them into the air in front of the king. They will spread out like fine dust over all the land of Egypt. They will produce boils that become open sores on the people and the animals. They got some ashes and stood before the king. Moses threw them into the air. They produced boils that became open sores on the people and the animals. The magicians were not able to appear before Moses, because they were covered with boils, like all the other Egyptians. Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron. Everything happened just as Jehovah had told Moses. Jehovah told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king: God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can serve him! If you do not, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose Jehovah. He could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go. At this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home will die from the hail. The ones among the servants of Pharaoh who respected the word of Jehovah made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses. He who paid no regard to the word of Jehovah left his servants and his livestock in the field. Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky. Hail will fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky. Then Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Jehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt. It hailed, and lightning flashed while it hailed. This was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. All over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in the fields. The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail. The king sent for Moses and Aaron and said: This time I have sinned. Jehovah is in the right. My people and I are in the wrong. Pray to Jehovah! We have had enough of this thunder and hail! I promise to let you go. You do not have to stay here any longer. Moses said to him: As soon as I go out of the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to Jehovah. The thunder will stop. There will be no more hail. Thus you may know that the earth belongs to Jehovah. But I know that you and your servants do not yet respect Jehovah God. The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding. But the wheat crops ripen later, and they were not damaged. Moses left the royal palace and the city. He lifted his arms in prayer to Jehovah. The thunder, hail, and drenching rain stopped. The king realized that the storm was over. He disobeyed once more. He and his officials were so stubborn that he refused to let the Israelites go. This was exactly what Jehovah said would happen. Jehovah told Moses: Go back to the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, so that I could work these signs. I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about the mighty things and the signs I have done in Egypt. Then all of you will know that I am Jehovah. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him: Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. If you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They shall cover the surface of the land. No one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped and is left to you from the hail. They will eat every tree that sprouts for you out of the field. Your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians. This is something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day. He turned and went out from Pharaoh.' Pharaoh's servants said to him: How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go so that they may serve Jehovah their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed? Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh. He said to them: Go! Serve Jehovah your God. Who are the ones that shall go? Moses said: We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters. We will go with our flocks and with our herds. We must hold a feast to Jehovah. He said to them: May Jehovah be with you, as I send you and your little ones away. Watch out for evil is before you. Not so! You men go now and serve Jehovah. It is you who desired it. So they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts. Let them come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, all that the hail has left. Moses held his staff over the land of Egypt. Jehovah made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. They invaded all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had there been so many locusts, nor would there ever be that many again. They covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt. Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and said: I have sinned against Jehovah your God and against you. Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to Jehovah your God to take this deadly plague away from me. Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But Jehovah made the king stubborn. He did not let the Israelites go. Jehovah then said to Moses: Raise your hand toward the sky. Darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt. Moses raised his hand toward the sky. Total darkness fell throughout Egypt for three days. The Egyptians could not see each other. No one left his house during that time. The Israelites, however, had light where they were living. The king called Moses. He said: You may go and worship Jehovah. Even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here. Moses answered: Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to Jehovah our God. No, we will take our animals with us! Not one will be left behind. We must select the animals with which to worship Jehovah our God. We will not know what animals to sacrifice to him until we get there. Jehovah made the king stubborn. He would not let them go. He said to Moses: Get out of my sight! Do not let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die! You have spoken it! Moses answered. You will never see me again.
Jehovah says: 'This is the way you will recognize that I am Jehovah: I will strike the Nile with this staff in my hand. The water will turn into blood. The fish in the Nile will die. The river will stink. The Egyptians will not be able to drink any water from the Nile.' Jehovah then spoke to Moses: Tell Aaron, Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt; its rivers, canals, ponds, and all its reservoirs. They will turn into blood. There will be blood everywhere in Egypt, even in the buckets of wood and stone pitchers. Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the Nile in front of Pharaoh and his officials. All the water in the river turned into blood. The fish in the Nile died. The river smelled bad. The Egyptians could not drink any water from the river. There was blood everywhere in Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same thing using their magic spells. So Pharaoh continued to be stubborn. He would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as Jehovah predicted. Pharaoh turned and went back to his palace. This did not change his mind and heart. All the Egyptians dug along the Nile for water to drink because they could not drink any of the water from the river. Seven days passed after Jehovah struck the Nile. Then Jehovah said to Moses: Approach Pharaoh and say to him, 'Jehovah says: Let My people go, that they may serve me. But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will afflict your whole territory with frogs. The Nile will swarm with frogs. They will come up and go into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed. They will go into the houses of your servants and on your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your servants.' Jehovah also said to Moses: Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the pools. Make frogs come up on the land of Egypt.' So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. But the magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king sent for Moses and Aaron and told them: If you ask Jehovah to take these frogs away from me and my people, I will let your people go and offer sacrifices to him. Moses answered: You choose the time when I am to pray for the frogs to stop bothering you, your officials, and your people, and for them to leave your houses and be found only in the river. The king replied: Do it tomorrow! As you wish: Moses agreed. Then everyone will discover that there is no god like Jehovah! The frogs will no longer be found anywhere, except in the Nile. Moses and Aaron left the palace. Moses begged Jehovah to do something about the frogs he had sent as punishment for the king. Jehovah did as Moses asked. The frogs in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields died. The Egyptians piled them up in large mounds, until the land began to stink with them. The king saw that the frogs were dead. He became stubborn again and, just as Jehovah had said, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Jehovah said to Moses: Tell Aaron, Strike the ground with your stick. The dust will change into gnats in all of Egypt.' So Aaron struck the ground with his stick. The dust in Egypt was turned into gnats. They swarmed over the people and the animals. The magicians tried to use their magic to make gnats appear, but they failed. There were gnats everywhere! The magicians said to the king: It is the finger of God! (God has done this!) But the king was stubborn. Just as Jehovah predicted, the king would not listen to Moses and Aaron. Jehovah said to Moses: Early tomorrow morning, go and meet the king as he goes to the river. Tell him that Jehovah says: 'Let my people go, so that they can serve me. I warn you that if you refuse, I will punish you by sending flies on you, your officials, and your people. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies. The ground will be covered with them. At that same time I will cut off the land of Goshen where my people live. No swarms of flies shall be there. / Then you will know that I am Jehovah in the midst of the earth. I will put a dividing line between my people and your people. This sign will happen tomorrow.' Jehovah did what he said. Dense swarms of flies came into Pharaoh's palace and into the houses of his officials. All over Egypt the flies ruined everything. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron. He said: Go, sacrifice to your God here in this country. Moses replied: It is not right to do that. The sacrifices we offer to Jehovah our God are disgusting to Egyptians. If they see us offer sacrifices that they consider disgusting, will they not stone us to death? We need to travel three days into the desert to offer sacrifices to Jehovah our God, as he told us to do. Pharaoh said: I will let you go, but do not go far. You may offer sacrifices to Jehovah your God in the desert and pray for me. Moses answered: As soon as I leave you, I will pray to Jehovah. Tomorrow the swarms of flies will go away from you, your officials, and your people. But you must stop tricking us by not letting the people go to offer sacrifices to Jehovah. Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah did what Moses asked. The swarms of flies left Pharaoh, his officials, and his people. Not a single fly was left. Again Pharaoh was stubborn and did not let the people go. Then Jehovah said to Moses: Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, this is what Jehovah the God of the Hebrews says: Let my people go to serve me. If you refuse to let them go and continue to hold them in slavery, Jehovah will bring a terrible plague on your livestock, including your horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep, and goats. Jehovah will distinguish between Israel's livestock and the livestock of the Egyptians. The animals belonging to the Israelites will not die.' Jehovah set a definite time: I, Jehovah, choose tomorrow as the time when I will do this. The next day Jehovah did as he had said. The Egyptian's animals all died. Not one of the animals of the Israelites died. The king asked what had happened. He was told that none of the animals of the Israelites had died. He was stubborn and would not let the people go. Then Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron: Take a few handfuls of ashes from a furnace. Moses is to throw them into the air in front of the king. They will spread out like fine dust over all the land of Egypt. They will produce boils that become open sores on the people and the animals. They got some ashes and stood before the king. Moses threw them into the air. They produced boils that became open sores on the people and the animals. The magicians were not able to appear before Moses, because they were covered with boils, like all the other Egyptians. Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he did not listen to Moses and Aaron. Everything happened just as Jehovah had told Moses. Jehovah told Moses to get up early the next morning and say to the king: God of the Hebrews commands you to let his people go, so they can serve him! If you do not, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose Jehovah. He could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth. Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go. At this time tomorrow, I will send a very heavy hail, such as has not been seen in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Bring your livestock and whatever you have in the field to safety. Every man and beast that is found in the field and is not brought home will die from the hail. The ones among the servants of Pharaoh who respected the word of Jehovah made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses. He who paid no regard to the word of Jehovah left his servants and his livestock in the field. Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand toward the sky. Hail will fall on all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on every plant of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. Moses stretched out his staff toward the sky. Then Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. Jehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt. It hailed, and lightning flashed while it hailed. This was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. All over Egypt the hail knocked down everything that was out in the open. It struck down people, animals, and every plant in the fields and destroyed every tree in the fields. The region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was the only place where there was no hail. The king sent for Moses and Aaron and said: This time I have sinned. Jehovah is in the right. My people and I are in the wrong. Pray to Jehovah! We have had enough of this thunder and hail! I promise to let you go. You do not have to stay here any longer. Moses said to him: As soon as I go out of the city, I will lift up my hands in prayer to Jehovah. The thunder will stop. There will be no more hail. Thus you may know that the earth belongs to Jehovah. But I know that you and your servants do not yet respect Jehovah God. The flax and the barley were ruined, because the barley was ripe, and the flax was budding. But the wheat crops ripen later, and they were not damaged. Moses left the royal palace and the city. He lifted his arms in prayer to Jehovah. The thunder, hail, and drenching rain stopped. The king realized that the storm was over. He disobeyed once more. He and his officials were so stubborn that he refused to let the Israelites go. This was exactly what Jehovah said would happen. Jehovah told Moses: Go back to the king. I have made him and his officials stubborn, so that I could work these signs. I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about the mighty things and the signs I have done in Egypt. Then all of you will know that I am Jehovah. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him: Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me. If you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. They shall cover the surface of the land. No one will be able to see the land. They will also eat the rest of what has escaped and is left to you from the hail. They will eat every tree that sprouts for you out of the field. Your houses shall be filled and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all the Egyptians. This is something neither your fathers nor your grandfathers have seen, from the day that they came upon the earth until this day. He turned and went out from Pharaoh.' Pharaoh's servants said to him: How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let the men go so that they may serve Jehovah their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed? Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh. He said to them: Go! Serve Jehovah your God. Who are the ones that shall go? Moses said: We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters. We will go with our flocks and with our herds. We must hold a feast to Jehovah. He said to them: May Jehovah be with you, as I send you and your little ones away. Watch out for evil is before you. Not so! You men go now and serve Jehovah. It is you who desired it. So they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. Jehovah said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts. Let them come up upon the land of Egypt and eat every herb of the land, all that the hail has left. Moses held his staff over the land of Egypt. Jehovah made a wind from the east blow over the land all that day and all that night. By morning the east wind had brought the locusts. They invaded all of Egypt and landed all over the country in great swarms. Never before had there been so many locusts, nor would there ever be that many again. They covered all the ground until it was black with them. They ate all the plants and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on any tree or plant anywhere in Egypt. Pharaoh quickly called for Moses and Aaron and said: I have sinned against Jehovah your God and against you. Please forgive my sin one more time. Pray to Jehovah your God to take this deadly plague away from me. Moses left Pharaoh and prayed to Jehovah. Jehovah changed the wind to a very strong west wind. It picked up the locusts and blew them into the Red Sea. Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt. But Jehovah made the king stubborn. He did not let the Israelites go. Jehovah then said to Moses: Raise your hand toward the sky. Darkness thick enough to be felt will cover the land of Egypt. Moses raised his hand toward the sky. Total darkness fell throughout Egypt for three days. The Egyptians could not see each other. No one left his house during that time. The Israelites, however, had light where they were living. The king called Moses. He said: You may go and worship Jehovah. Even your women and children may go with you. But your sheep, goats, and cattle must stay here. Moses answered: Then you would have to provide us with animals for sacrifices and burnt offerings to offer to Jehovah our God. No, we will take our animals with us! Not one will be left behind. We must select the animals with which to worship Jehovah our God. We will not know what animals to sacrifice to him until we get there. Jehovah made the king stubborn. He would not let them go. He said to Moses: Get out of my sight! Do not let me ever see you again! On the day I do, you will die! You have spoken it! Moses answered. You will never see me again.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph's successful provision against the years of famine
Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt. During the seven years of plenty the land produced abundantly. He gathered all the food of these seven years that occurred in the land of Egypt and placed the food in the cities. He placed in every city the food from its own surrounding fields. read more.
Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea. He finally stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure. Before the year of famine came, there were born to Joseph two sons, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father's family. He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered. The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. The seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. When the Egyptians became hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. The famine grew worse and spread over the entire country. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians.
Thus Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea. He finally stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure. Before the year of famine came, there were born to Joseph two sons, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bore to him. Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh, because God helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father's family. He named the second son Ephraim, because God made him fruitful in the land where he had suffered. The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. The seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in every other country, but there was food throughout Egypt. When the Egyptians became hungry, they cried out to the king for food. So he ordered them to go to Joseph and do what he told them. The famine grew worse and spread over the entire country. Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph interprets pharaoh's dreams
So the king sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of jail. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to the king. The king said: I had a dream. No one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams. Joseph then answered Pharaoh: I cannot do it myself, but God can give the meaning of your dreams. read more.
The king told Joseph: I dreamed as I stood on the bank of the Nile River, I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river. They began feeding on the grass. Next, seven skinny, bony cows came up out of the river. I have never seen such terrible looking cows anywhere in Egypt. The skinny cows ate the fat ones! Even though they had eaten the fat cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up. In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk. Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant. Joseph said to Pharaoh: Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven good cows are seven years. The seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is all the same dream. The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. Seven years of famine will follow. Then people will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt. The famine will ruin the land. People will not remember that there was once plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God. He will do it very soon.
The king told Joseph: I dreamed as I stood on the bank of the Nile River, I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river. They began feeding on the grass. Next, seven skinny, bony cows came up out of the river. I have never seen such terrible looking cows anywhere in Egypt. The skinny cows ate the fat ones! Even though they had eaten the fat cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up. In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk. Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant. Joseph said to Pharaoh: Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven good cows are seven years. The seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is all the same dream. The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. Seven years of famine will follow. Then people will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt. The famine will ruin the land. People will not remember that there was once plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God. He will do it very soon.
Egypt » History of israel in » Pharaoh invites jacob into
When the news reached the palace that Joseph's brothers had come, the king and his officials were pleased. The king said to Joseph: Tell your brothers to load their animals and to return to the land of Canaan. Have them get their father and their families and come back here. I will give them the best of the land in Egypt. They will have more than enough to live on. read more.
Tell them to take wagons with them from Egypt to bring their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. They should not worry about leaving their possessions behind. The best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.
Tell them to take wagons with them from Egypt to bring their wives and small children and to bring their father with them. They should not worry about leaving their possessions behind. The best in the whole land of Egypt will be theirs.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph enriches the king
The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. The people of Egypt and Canaan became weak with hunger. They bought grain from Joseph. Joseph collected all the money and took it to the palace. When all the money in Egypt and Canaan was spent, the Egyptians came to Joseph and said: Give us food! Do not let us die. Do something! Our money is all gone. read more.
Joseph answered: Bring your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone. They brought their livestock to Joseph. He gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. The following year they said to him: We will not hide the fact from you, Sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands. Do not let us die. Do something! Do not let our fields be deserted. Buy us and buy our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves. He will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields. Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe. All the land became the king's property. He [Joseph] removed the people into the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other. The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. The king gave the priests an allowance to live on. So they did not have to sell their lands. Joseph said to the people: I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields. You must give one-fifth to the king at the time of harvest. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families. They answered: You have saved our lives. You have been good to us. We will be the king's slaves. Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.
Joseph answered: Bring your livestock. I will give you food in exchange for it if your money is all gone. They brought their livestock to Joseph. He gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. The following year they said to him: We will not hide the fact from you, Sir, that our money is all gone and our livestock belongs to you. There is nothing left to give you except our bodies and our lands. Do not let us die. Do something! Do not let our fields be deserted. Buy us and buy our land in exchange for food. We will be the king's slaves. He will own our land. Give us grain to keep us alive and seed so that we can plant our fields. Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for the king. Every Egyptian was forced to sell his land, because the famine was so severe. All the land became the king's property. He [Joseph] removed the people into the cities from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other. The only land he did not buy was the land that belonged to the priests. The king gave the priests an allowance to live on. So they did not have to sell their lands. Joseph said to the people: I have now bought you and your lands for the king. Here is seed for you to sow in your fields. You must give one-fifth to the king at the time of harvest. You can use the rest for seed and for food for yourselves and your families. They answered: You have saved our lives. You have been good to us. We will be the king's slaves. Joseph made it a law for the land of Egypt that one-fifth of the harvest should belong to the king. This law still remains in force today. Only the lands of the priests did not become the king's property.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph counsels pharaoh
Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land. Take a fifth of Egypt's harvest during the seven good years. Have them collect all the food during these good years. Store up grain under Pharaoh's control, to be kept for food in the cities. read more.
This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine.
This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph made governor
I now appoint you governor over all Egypt. Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot. They proclaimed before him: Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. read more.
Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph interprets the chief baker's and the chief butler's dreams
both prisoners, the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning. Joseph saw that they were upset when he came to them in the morning. He asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master's prison: Why do you look so unhappy today? read more.
We both had dreams, they answered him, but there is no one to tell us what they mean. Is it not God who can tell what dreams mean? Joseph asked them. Tell me all about them. So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said: In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me. Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh's hand. This is what it means, Joseph said to him. The three branches are three days. In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Remember me when things go well for you. Please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph: I also saw in my dream three baskets of white bread on my head. The top basket contained all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them out of the basket on my head. Joseph answered: This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you. He will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.
We both had dreams, they answered him, but there is no one to tell us what they mean. Is it not God who can tell what dreams mean? Joseph asked them. Tell me all about them. So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said: In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me. Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh's hand. This is what it means, Joseph said to him. The three branches are three days. In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. Remember me when things go well for you. Please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. I was in fact kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. And here I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph: I also saw in my dream three baskets of white bread on my head. The top basket contained all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them out of the basket on my head. Joseph answered: This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. In three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you. He will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph unjustly cast into prison
Soon his master's wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. He refused, and said to her: My master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has. No one in this house is greater than I. He has kept nothing back from me except you. You are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? read more.
She kept asking Joseph day after day. He refused to go to bed with her or be with her. One day he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his coat and said: Come to bed with me! But he ran outside and left his coat in her hand. When she realized that he had gone but had left his coat behind, she called her household servants and said to them: Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me. I screamed as loud as I could. When he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me. Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home. She said: That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! When I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house. Potiphar became very angry and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept. While Joseph was in prison,
She kept asking Joseph day after day. He refused to go to bed with her or be with her. One day he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his coat and said: Come to bed with me! But he ran outside and left his coat in her hand. When she realized that he had gone but had left his coat behind, she called her household servants and said to them: Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me. I screamed as loud as I could. When he heard me scream, he ran out of the house, leaving his coat with me. Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's coat until her husband came home. She said: That Hebrew slave of yours tried to rape me! When I screamed for help, he left his coat and ran out of the house. Potiphar became very angry and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept. While Joseph was in prison,
Egypt » History of israel in » Jacob, &c presented to pharaoh
Joseph took five of his brothers and went to the king. He told him: My father and my brothers have come from Canaan with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own. They are now in the region of Goshen. Then he presented his brothers to the king. The king asked: What is your occupation? We are shepherds, Sir, just as our ancestors were, they answered. read more.
We have come to live in this country. The famine is so severe in the land of Canaan that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen. The king said to Joseph: Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. If there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock. Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing. The king asked him: How old are you? Jacob answered: My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings. Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.
We have come to live in this country. The famine is so severe in the land of Canaan that there is no pasture for our flocks. Please give us permission to live in the region of Goshen. The king said to Joseph: Now that your father and your brothers have arrived, the land of Egypt is theirs. Let them settle in the region of Goshen, the best part of the land. If there are any capable men among them, put them in charge of my own livestock. Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing. The king asked him: How old are you? Jacob answered: My life of wandering has lasted a hundred and thirty years. Those years have been few and difficult, unlike the long years of my ancestors in their wanderings. Jacob gave the king a farewell blessing and left.
Egypt » History of israel in » Destruction of the first-born
At midnight Jehovah killed every firstborn male in Egypt from the firstborn son of Pharaoh who ruled the land to the firstborn son of the prisoner in jail, and also every firstborn animal. Pharaoh, all his officials, and all the other Egyptians got up during the night. There was loud crying throughout Egypt because in every house someone had died.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph sends for his father
Hurry back to my father and tell him, 'This is what your son Joseph says: God has made me lord of Egypt. Come here to me immediately! Live in the land of Goshen. You will be near me. Live there with your children and your grandchildren, as well as your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. I will provide for you in Egypt. For there will be five more years of famine. Then you, your family, and all who belong to you will not lose all that you have.'
Egypt » History of israel in » Israel spoil the egyptians
The sons of Israel did what Moses told them. They asked the Egyptians for gold and silver jewelry and for clothes. Jehovah made the Egyptians generous to the people. They gave them what they asked for. So the sons of Israel stripped Egypt of its wealth.
Egypt » History of israel in » Israel driven out of
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron during the night. He said: You and the Israelites must leave my people at once. Go serve Jehovah just as you requested. Take your flocks and herds, too, as you asked. Just go! And bless me, too! The Egyptians begged the people to leave the country quickly. They said: We will all be dead soon!
Egypt » History of israel in » Pharaoh pursues israel and is miraculously destroyed
The king of Egypt was told that the people had escaped. He and his officials changed their minds and said: What have we done? We have let the Israelites escape, and we have lost them as our slaves! The king got his war chariot and army ready. He commanded his officers in charge of his six hundred best chariots and all his other chariots to start after the Israelites. read more.
Jehovah made the king so stubborn that he went after them. The Israelites proudly went on their way. The king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon. The Israelites saw the king coming with his army. They were frightened and begged Jehovah for help. They also complained to Moses: Was there not enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not say in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. But Moses said to the people: Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Jehovah. He will accomplish this for you today. The Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. Jehovah will fight for you while you keep silent. Jehovah said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. The sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen. The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. Jehovah swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. The Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them. Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. Just before dawn, Jehovah looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. He made the wheels of their chariots come off. They could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted: Let us get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for Israel! He is against us!
Jehovah made the king so stubborn that he went after them. The Israelites proudly went on their way. The king's horses and chariots and soldiers caught up with them while they were camping by the Red Sea near Pi-Hahiroth and Baal-Zephon. The Israelites saw the king coming with his army. They were frightened and begged Jehovah for help. They also complained to Moses: Was there not enough room in Egypt to bury us? Is that why you brought us out here to die in the desert? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not say in Egypt: Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. But Moses said to the people: Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Jehovah. He will accomplish this for you today. The Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever. Jehovah will fight for you while you keep silent. Jehovah said to Moses: Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward. As for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. The sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. I will be honored through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. Then the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah, when I am honored through Pharaoh, through his chariots and his horsemen. The angel of God, who had been going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. So it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. There was the cloud along with the darkness, yet it gave light at night. Thus the one did not come near the other all night. Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. Jehovah swept the sea back by a strong east wind all night and turned the sea into dry land. The waters were divided. The Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground. The water stood like a wall on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them. Pharaoh's horses, chariots, and cavalry followed them into the sea. Just before dawn, Jehovah looked down from the column of fire and smoke and threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. He made the wheels of their chariots come off. They could hardly move. Then the Egyptians shouted: Let us get out of here! Jehovah is fighting for Israel! He is against us!
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph makes himself known to his brethren
Joseph could no longer control himself in front of those standing near him. He sent them out of the room and when he was alone with his brothers he made himself known to them. / Joseph could no longer control his feelings in front of his servants. He sent them out of the room. When he was alone with his brothers, he told them: I am Joseph! He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. In fact, Pharaoh's household heard about it. Joseph said to his brothers: I am Joseph! Is my father still alive? His brothers could not answer him because they were afraid of him. read more.
Please come closer to me, Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. He said: I am Joseph, the brother you sold into slavery in Egypt! Dear brothers, do not be sad or angry with yourselves that you sold me. God sent me ahead of you to save lives. The famine has been in the land for two years. There will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. God sent me ahead of you to make sure that you would have descendants on the earth, and to save your lives in an amazing way. It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh. He made me lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.
Please come closer to me, Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. He said: I am Joseph, the brother you sold into slavery in Egypt! Dear brothers, do not be sad or angry with yourselves that you sold me. God sent me ahead of you to save lives. The famine has been in the land for two years. There will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. God sent me ahead of you to make sure that you would have descendants on the earth, and to save your lives in an amazing way. It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh. He made me lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.
Egypt » History of israel in » Potiphar blessed for joseph's sake
Jehovah was with Joseph. Joseph became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. Joseph's master saw that Jehovah was with him. Jehovah made him succeed in everything he did. Potiphar was pleased with him and made him his personal servant. He put him in charge of his house and everything he owned. read more.
Jehovah blessed the Egyptian's household and everything he had in his house and in his fields because of Joseph. Potiphar turned over everything he had to the care of Joseph. He did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well built and good-looking.
Jehovah blessed the Egyptian's household and everything he had in his house and in his fields because of Joseph. Potiphar turned over everything he had to the care of Joseph. He did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well built and good-looking.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph recognizes his brethren
Joseph recognized his brothers the moment he saw them. Even so, he acted as if he did not know them and spoke harshly to them: Where did you come from? They answered: From Canaan, to buy food. Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.
Egypt » History of israel in » Joseph's ten brethren arrive
When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons: Why are you doing nothing? He said: I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from that place, so that we may live and not die. Then ten of Joseph's brothers went to Egypt to buy grain. read more.
Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers. He was afraid that something would happen to him. Israel's sons left with the others who were going to buy grain. This is because there was also famine in Canaan. As governor of the country, Joseph was selling grain to everyone. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground.
Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin with the other brothers. He was afraid that something would happen to him. Israel's sons left with the others who were going to buy grain. This is because there was also famine in Canaan. As governor of the country, Joseph was selling grain to everyone. So when Joseph's brothers arrived, they bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground.
Egypt » History of israel in » Male children destroyed
The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives. Shiphrah and Puah were among them. He said: When you help the Hebrew women give birth on the birth stool, if it is a son you shall put him to death. If it is a daughter, then she shall live. The midwives respected God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them. They let the boys live. read more.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said: Why have you let the boys live? The midwives replied to Pharaoh: Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them. God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives respected God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: Every son who is born must be thrown into the Nile River. However, keep every daughter alive.
So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said: Why have you let the boys live? The midwives replied to Pharaoh: Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women. They are vigorous and give birth before the midwife can get to them. God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied, and became very mighty. Because the midwives respected God, He established households for them. Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: Every son who is born must be thrown into the Nile River. However, keep every daughter alive.
Egypt » History of israel in » The passover instituted
Jehovah said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: This month shall be the beginning of months for you. It is to be the first month of the year to you. Tell the whole community of Israel: 'On the tenth day of this month each man must take a sheep for his family, one animal per household. read more.
A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next-door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat. Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects. You may choose a lamb or a young goat. Take care of it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals. Some of the blood must be put on the two doorposts and above the door of each house where the animals are to be eaten. That night the animals are to be roasted and eaten, together with bitter herbs (greens) and unleavened bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled. The entire animal, including its head, legs, and insides, must be roasted. Eat what you want that night, and the next morning burn whatever is left. Eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is Jehovah's Passover.' Jehovah said: That night I will go through the land of Egypt. I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt! I am Jehovah! The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you. No plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day will be a memorial to you. You shall celebrate it as a feast to Jehovah. You are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance throughout your generations. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. The first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. You shall have a holy assembly on the first day. There should be another holy assembly on the seventh day. No work at all will be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person that alone may be prepared by you. You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That was the day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Observe this day throughout your generations as a long lasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. There shall be no leaven found in your houses for seven days. Whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened. Eat unleavened bread in all your dwellings. Moses called all the elders of Israel and said: Take lambs according to your families and slay the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin. Apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. No one shall go outside the door of his house until morning. Jehovah will pass through to strike the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, Jehovah will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to kill you. You shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children from generation to generation. When you enter the land Jehovah will give you, as he has promised, you shall observe this rite. When your children ask you: What does this rite mean to you? You shall say: 'It is a Passover sacrifice to Jehovah who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He killed the Egyptians, but spared our homes. The people bowed low and worshiped.' Then the sons of Israel did just as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.
A household may be too small to eat a whole animal. That household and the one next-door can share one animal. Choose your animal based on the number of people and what each person can eat. Your animal must be a one-year-old male that has no defects. You may choose a lamb or a young goat. Take care of it until the fourteenth day of this month. Then at dusk, all the assembled people from the community of Israel must slaughter their animals. Some of the blood must be put on the two doorposts and above the door of each house where the animals are to be eaten. That night the animals are to be roasted and eaten, together with bitter herbs (greens) and unleavened bread made without yeast. Do not eat the meat raw or boiled. The entire animal, including its head, legs, and insides, must be roasted. Eat what you want that night, and the next morning burn whatever is left. Eat it in this manner: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste. It is Jehovah's Passover.' Jehovah said: That night I will go through the land of Egypt. I will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt! I am Jehovah! The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you live. When I see the blood I will pass over you. No plague will befall you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day will be a memorial to you. You shall celebrate it as a feast to Jehovah. You are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance throughout your generations. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. The first day you shall remove leaven from your houses. Whoever eats anything leavened from the first day until the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. You shall have a holy assembly on the first day. There should be another holy assembly on the seventh day. No work at all will be done on them, except what must be eaten by every person that alone may be prepared by you. You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread. That was the day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Observe this day throughout your generations as a long lasting ordinance. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening. There shall be no leaven found in your houses for seven days. Whoever eats what is leavened shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land. You shall not eat anything leavened. Eat unleavened bread in all your dwellings. Moses called all the elders of Israel and said: Take lambs according to your families and slay the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin. Apply some of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. No one shall go outside the door of his house until morning. Jehovah will pass through to strike the Egyptians. When he sees the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe, Jehovah will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to come in to your houses to kill you. You shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children from generation to generation. When you enter the land Jehovah will give you, as he has promised, you shall observe this rite. When your children ask you: What does this rite mean to you? You shall say: 'It is a Passover sacrifice to Jehovah who passed over the houses of the sons of Israel in Egypt when He killed the Egyptians, but spared our homes. The people bowed low and worshiped.' Then the sons of Israel did just as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses slays an egyptian
After Moses had grown up, he went out to where his own people (his brothers) were hard at work. He saw an Egyptian beating one of them. Moses looked around to see if anyone was watching. Then he killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.
Egypt » History of israel in » Jacob's journey
Jacob left Beer-sheba. Israel's sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back. They took their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in Canaan. Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt. He brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters, his entire family.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses adopted and brought up by pharaoh's daughter
The king's daughter came to the river to bathe. Her servants walked along the bank. Suddenly she noticed the basket in the papyrus reeds and sent a slave woman to get it. She opened it and saw a baby boy. He was crying, and she felt sorry for him. This is one of the Hebrew babies, she said. His sister asked her: Shall I go and call a Hebrew woman to nurse the baby for you? read more.
Please do, she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby's own mother. Pharaoh's daughter told her: Take care of this child, and I will pay you. The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. When he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said: I pulled him out of the water.
Please do, she answered. So the girl went and brought the baby's own mother. Pharaoh's daughter told her: Take care of this child, and I will pay you. The baby's mother carried him home and took care of him. When he was old enough, she took him to the king's daughter, who adopted him. She named him Moses because she said: I pulled him out of the water.
Egypt » History of israel in » Israel increase and are oppressed
These are the names of the sons of Israel who came with their families and with Jacob to Egypt: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; read more.
Dan and Naphtali and Gad and Asher. Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob's descendants was seventy. Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. The children of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them. A new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. He said to his people: There are too many Israelites! They are stronger than we are. We must outsmart them or they will increase in number. If war breaks out they will leave the country and join our enemies to fight against us. So the Egyptians put slave masters over them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply (storage) cities for Pharaoh. However the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians could not stand them any longer. They forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. They made their lives bitter with backbreaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard work.
Dan and Naphtali and Gad and Asher. Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob's descendants was seventy. Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died. The children of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them. A new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt. He said to his people: There are too many Israelites! They are stronger than we are. We must outsmart them or they will increase in number. If war breaks out they will leave the country and join our enemies to fight against us. So the Egyptians put slave masters over them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply (storage) cities for Pharaoh. However the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians could not stand them any longer. They forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves. They made their lives bitter with backbreaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard work.
Egypt » History of israel in » Their sojourn in it, foretold
Jehovah said to Abram: Know this for sure; your offspring will be strangers (aliens) in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, and they shall be oppressed for four hundred years.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses sent to pharaoh
There the angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire coming from the middle of a bush. Moses saw that the bush was on fire but that it was not burning up. This is strange, he thought. Why is the bush not burning up? I will go closer and see. Jehovah saw that Moses came closer. He called to him from the middle of the bush: Moses! Moses! Moses answered: Yes, here I am. read more.
God said: Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Jehovah said: I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt. I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians. I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. My people have begged for my help. I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. Now go to Pharaoh! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.
God said: Do not come any closer. Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Moses covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God. Jehovah said: I have seen how my people are suffering as slaves in Egypt. I have heard them beg for my help because of the way they are being mistreated. I feel sorry for them. I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians. I will bring my people out of Egypt into a country where there is good land, rich with milk and honey. I will give them the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. My people have begged for my help. I have seen how cruel the Egyptians are to them. Now go to Pharaoh! I am sending you to lead my people out of his country.
Egypt » History of israel in » Benjamin brought
So the brothers took the gifts and twice as much money, and set out for Egypt with Benjamin. There they presented themselves to Joseph.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses exposed on the nile
When she could not hide him any longer, she took a basket made of papyrus reeds and coated it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in it and set it among the papyrus reeds near the bank of the Nile River. The baby's sister stood at a distance to see what would happen to him.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses flees to midian
When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian by a well.
Egypt » History of israel in » Moses born and hid for three months
The woman became pregnant and bore a son. She saw how beautiful he was and hid him for three months.