and take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you shall eat the fat of the land.'

And you [Joseph], are commanded [to say] this: 'Do this! Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives, and bring your father and come!

{Do not worry} about your possessions, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.'"

To each and to all of them he gave sets of clothing, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothing.

And to his father he sent {as follows}: ten donkeys carrying the best of Egypt, and ten donkeys carrying grain and food and provisions for his father for the journey.

Then he sent his brothers away, and when they departed he said to them, "Do not be agitated on the journey."

So they went up from Egypt and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.

And they spoke to him, saying, "Joseph [is] still alive, and he [is] ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart {went numb}, because he did not believe him.

Then they told him all the words of Joseph that he had spoken to them. And when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to carry him, then the spirit of Jacob their father revived.

And Israel said, "[It is] enough. Joseph my son [is] still alive. I will go and see him before I die."

So Israel journeyed with all that he had, and he came to Beersheba and offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac.

And God spoke to Israel in visions of the night and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I [am]."

Then he said, "I [am] the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you a great nation there.

I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you up. And Joseph will place his hand over your eyes."

So Jacob arose from Beersheba. And the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, and their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to transport him.

And they took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan. And they came to Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him,

These [are] the sons of Leah that she bore to Jacob in Paddan-Aram, and Dinah his daughter. His sons and daughters [were] thirty-three persons in all.

There [are] the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob--sixteen persons.

And Ephraim and Manasseh, whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of On bore to him, were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt.

These [are] the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob--fourteen persons in all.

These [are] the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob--seven persons in all.

All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt {who were his descendants}, not including the wives of the sons of Jacob [were] sixty-six persons in all.

And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt [were] two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who came to Egypt [were] seventy.

He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to appear before him in Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.

Then Joseph harnessed his chariot and went up to meet Israel his father in Goshen. He presented himself to him and fell upon his neck and wept upon his neck a long time.

Then Israel said to Joseph, "Now let me die since I have seen your face, for you are still alive."

Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who [were] in the land of Canaan have come to me.

Then you must say, 'You servants [are] men of livestock from our childhood until now, both we and also our ancestors,' so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd [is] a detestable thing to Egyptians."

So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh. And he said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan. Now [they are] here in the land of Goshen."

And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What [is] your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants [are] keepers of sheep, both we and also our ancestors."

And they said to Pharaoh, "We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servant's flocks, for the famine [is] severe in the land of Canaan. So now, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.

Then Pharaoh said to Jacob, "{How old are you}?"

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, "The days of the years of my sojourning [are] one hundred and thirty years. Few and hard have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not reached the days of the years of the lives of my ancestors in the days of their sojourning."

And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all the household of his father with food, according to the number of their children.

And when the money was spent in the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, all of Egypt came to Joseph, saying, "Give us food! Why should we die before you? For the money is used up."

So they brought their herds to Joseph, and Joseph gave food to them in exchange for horses, their flocks, and their cattle and donkeys. And he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock that year.

When that year ended, they came to him in the following year and said to him, "We cannot hide from my lord that [our] money and livestock belong to my lord. Nothing remains before my lord except our bodies and our land.

Why should we die in front of you, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, then we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Then give us seed and we shall live and not die, and the land will not become desolate."

As for the people, he transferred them to the cities, from one end of the territory of Egypt to the other.

Only the land of the priests he did not buy, for [there was] an allotment for the priests from Pharaoh, and they {lived on} the allotment that Pharaoh gave to them. Therefore they did not sell their land.

And Joseph said to the people, "Look, I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Here [is] seed for you so you can sow the land.

And it shall happen [that] at the harvest, you must give a fifth to Pharaoh and four-fifths shall be yours, as seed for the field and for your food and for those who [are] in your households, and as food for your little ones."

And they said, "You have saved our lives. [If] we have found favor in the eyes of my lord, we will be servants to Pharaoh."

So Joseph made it a statute unto this day concerning the land of Egypt: one fifth to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not belong to Pharaoh.

When {the time of Israel's death drew near}, he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might [vow] to deal kindly and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

but let me lie with my ancestors. Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial site." And he said, "I will do according to your word."

Then he said, "Swear to me." And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

And it happened [that] after these things, it was said to Joseph, "Behold, your father [is] ill." And he took his two sons with him, Ephraim and Manasseh.

And it was told to Jacob, "Behold, your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel strengthened himself and he sat up in the bed.

Then Jacob said to Joseph, "El-Shaddai appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you [as] an everlasting possession.'

And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon [are].

And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance.

As for me, when I came to Paddan-Aram Rachel died {to my sorrow} in the land of Canaan on the way when [there was] still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that [is], Bethlehem)."

Then Joseph said to his father, "They [are] my sons whom God has given me here." And he said, "Please bring them to me that I may bless them."

Now the eyes of Israel were dim on account of old age; he was not able to see. So he brought them near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

And Israel said to Joseph, "I did not expect to see your face and behold, God has also shown me your offspring."

Then Joseph removed them from his knees and bowed down with his face to the ground.

And Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim at his right [to] the left of Israel, and Manasseh at his left [to] the right of Israel. And he brought them near to him.

And he blessed Joseph and said, "The God before whom my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, walked, The God who shepherded me {all my life} unto this day,

When Joseph saw that his father put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, he was displeased. And he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim [over] to the head of Manasseh.

And Joseph said to his father, "Not so, my father; because this one [is] the firstborn. Put your right [hand] upon his head."

So he blessed them that day, saying, Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

And Israel said to Joseph, "Behold, I [am about] to die, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors.

And I have given to you one slope [of land] rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow."

Then Jacob called his sons and said, "Gather together so that I can tell you what will happen with you in {days to come}.

Assemble and hear, O sons of Jacob! Listen to Israel your father!

Let not my person be joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and at their pleasure they hamstrung cattle.

Judah, [as for] you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand [shall be] on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff between his feet, until Shiloh comes. And to him shall be the obedience of nations.

Binding his donkey to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine, he washes his clothing in the wine and his garment in the blood of grapes.

He saw a resting place that [was] good, and land that [was] pleasant. So he bowed his shoulder to the burden and became a servant of forced labor.

Naphtali [is] a doe running free that puts forth beautiful words.

{The archers} fiercely attacked him. They shot arrows [at him] and were hostile to him.

The blessings of your father are superior to the blessings of my ancestors, to the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.

All these [are] the twelve tribes of Israel, and this [is] what their father said to them when he blessed them, each according to their blessing.

Then he instructed them and said to them, "I am [about to be] gathered to my people. Bury me among my ancestors in the cave that [is] in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

When Jacob finished instructing his sons he drew his feet up to the bed. Then he took his last breath and was gathered to his people.

And Joseph instructed his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.

When the days of his weeping had passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,

'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I [am about] to die. In the tomb that I have hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan--there you must bury me." So then, please let me go up and let me bury my father; then I will return.'"

So Joseph went up to bury his father. And all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, went up with him,

When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which [was] beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and sorrowful wailing. And he made a mourning ceremony for his father seven days.

Thus his sons did to him just as he had instructed them.

And his sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which field Abraham had bought as a burial site from Ephron the Hittite before Mamre.

And after burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

And when the brothers of Joseph saw that their father [was] dead, they said, "It may be [that] Joseph will hold a grudge against us and pay us back dearly for all the evil that we did to him."

So they sent [word] to Joseph saying, "Your father commanded [us] before his death, saying,

"Thus you must say to Joseph, 'O, please now forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.' So now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Then Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for [am] I in the place of God?

As for you, you planned evil against me, [but] God planned it for good, in order to do this--to keep many people alive--as [it is] today.

So then, do not be afraid. I myself will provide for you and your little ones. And he consoled them and {spoke kindly} to them.

And Joseph saw Ephraim's children to the third generation. Moreover, the children of Makir, son of Manasseh, were born on the knees of Joseph.

And Joseph said to his brothers, "I [am about] to die, but God will certainly visit you and bring you up from this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who came [to] Egypt; with Jacob, they each came with his {family}:

And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the {Israelites} [are] greater and more numerous than us.

And they appointed commanders of forced labor over them in order to oppress them with their {forced labor}, and they built storage cities for Pharaoh--Pithom and Rameses.

And the Egyptians ruthlessly compelled the {Israelites} to work.

And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives--of whom the name of the one [was] Shiphrah and the name of the second [was] Puah--