Thematic Bible: History of israel in


Thematic Bible



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."

And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.

So Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly.


Then Joseph fell on the face of his father and wept upon him and kissed him. And Joseph instructed his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. Forty days {were required for it}, for thus [are] the days {required for} embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him seventy days. read more.
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.'" Then Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father as he made you swear." 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, with all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and the household of his father. They left only their little children and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen. And there also went up with him chariots and horsemen. The company [was] very great. 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. And when the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, saw the mourning ceremony at the threshing floor of Atad they said, "This [is] a severe mourning for the Egyptians." Therefore its name was called Abel-Mizraim, which [is] beyond the Jordan. 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.

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 Moses and Aaron went, and they gathered all of the elders of the {Israelites}. And Aaron spoke all the words that Yahweh had spoken to Moses, and he did the signs before the eyes of the people. And the people believed when they heard that Yahweh had attended to the {Israelites} and that he had seen their misery, and they knelt down and they worshiped.

And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded. And Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a snake.



And at the end of four hundred and thirty years, on this exact day, all of Yahweh's divisions went out from the land of Egypt.


Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and brought [him] up from the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty [pieces of] silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt.

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.


And Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart [is] {insensitive}; he refuses to release the people. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. And you must say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now." read more.
Thus says Yahweh, "By this you will know that I [am] Yahweh. Look, I [am about to] strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. And the fish that [are] in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and [the] Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile." '" And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,' and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in [vessels of] wood and of stone." And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood. And the fish that [were] in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and [the] Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and {he did not take also this to heart}. And all of [the] Egyptians dug around the Nile [for] water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile. And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." And if you [are] refusing to release, look, I [am going to] plague all of your territory with frogs. And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your {bedroom} and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.'" And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.'" And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh." And Moses said to Pharaoh, "{I leave to you the honor} over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left only in the Nile." And he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "[Let it be] according to your word so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. And the frogs will depart from you and from your house and from your servants. They will be left only in the Nile." And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the fields. And they piled them [in] countless heaps, and the land stank. And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart {insensitive}, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats in all the land of Egypt.'" And he did so, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and he struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on the humans and on the animals; all of the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring out the gnats, but they were not able, and the gnats were on the humans and on the animals. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God." But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." But if you are not [about to] release my people, look, I [am about] to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I [am] Yahweh in the midst of the land. And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.'" And Yahweh did so, and a {severe} [swarm of] flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." And Moses said, "To do so [is] not right, because we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God a thing detestable to the Egyptians. Look, [if] we sacrifice before their eyes the thing detestable to the Egyptians, will they not stone us? We will go a journey of three days into the desert, and we will sacrifice to Yahweh our God according to what he says to us." And Pharaoh said, "I myself will release you, and you will sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the desert. Only surely you must not go far. Pray for me." And Moses said, "Look, I [am] going out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh so that the flies depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh again deceive [us] by not releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh." And Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to Yahweh. And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses and removed the flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one was left. And Pharaoh made his heart {insensitive} also this time, and he did not release the people. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me." But if you [are] refusing to release and you still [are] keeping hold of them, look, the hand of Yahweh [is] about to be [present with] a very {severe} plague on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the sheep and goats. But Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing will die from all [that belongs] to the {Israelites}.'" And Yahweh set an appointed time, saying, "Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land." And Yahweh did this thing the next day; all the livestock of Egypt died, but from the livestock of the {Israelites} not one died. And Pharaoh sent [to check], and {it turned out} not even one from the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh's heart was {insensitive}, and he did not release the people. And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become on humans and on animals a skin sore sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt." And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters on humans and on animals. And the magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the skin sores, for the skin sores were on the magicians and on all [the] Egyptians. And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me. For at this time I [am] sending all of my plagues {to you personally} and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth. But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand--for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. Still you [are] behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. Look, about [this] time tomorrow, I [am] going to cause very severe hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. And now send [word]; bring into safety your livestock and all that [belongs] to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die." '" Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. But whoever did not {give regard to} the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt." And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder and hail, and fire went [to the] earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. And there was hail, and fire [was] flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that [was] in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the {Israelites} [were], there was no hail. And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh [is] the righteous [one], and I and my people [are] the wicked [ones]. Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail {are enough}, and I will release you, and {you will no longer have to stay}." And Moses said to him, "At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth [belongs] to Yahweh. But [as for] you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God." And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley [was in the] ear and the flax [was in] bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they [are] late-ripening. And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour [on the] earth. And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, and {he again sinned} and made his heart {insensitive}, he and his servants. And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not release the {Israelites}, as Yahweh had said {by the agency of Moses}. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, for I have made his heart {insensitive} and the heart of his servants in order to put these signs of mine in his midst, so that you will tell in the ears of your child and {your grandchild} that I dealt harshly with [the] Egyptians and [so that you will tell about] my signs that I have done among them, and so you will know that I [am] Yahweh." And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, 'Until when will you refuse to submit before me? Release my people so that they may serve me. But if you [are] refusing to release my people, look, I [am] about to bring locusts into your territory tomorrow. And they will cover the surface of the land, and no one will be able to see the land, and they will eat the remainder of what is left--what is left over for you from the hail--and they will eat every sprouting tree [belonging] to you from the field. And your houses will be full, and the houses of all your servants and the houses of all Egypt, [something] that your fathers and {your grandfathers} never saw from the day they were on the earth until this day.'" And he turned and went out from Pharaoh. And the servants of Pharaoh said to him, "Until when will this be a snare for us? Release the men so that they may serve Yahweh their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?" And Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Serve Yahweh your God. {Who are the ones going}? And Moses said, "With our young and with our old we will go; with our sons and with our daughters, with our sheep and goats and with our cattle we will go because [it is] the feast of Yahweh for us." And he said to them, "Let Yahweh be thus with you [as soon] as I release you and your dependents. See that evil is before your faces. {No indeed}; [just] the men go and serve Yahweh, since this [is what] you [are] seeking." And he drove them out from the presence of Pharaoh. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt with the locusts so that they may come up over the land of Egypt, and let them eat all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail left behind." And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh drove an east wind into the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and they settled in all the territory of Egypt, very {severe}. Before it there were not locusts like them, nor will there be after it. And they covered the surface of all the land, and the land was dark [with them], and they ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, and no green was left in the trees nor in the vegetation of the field in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh hurried to call Moses and Aaron, and he said, "I have sinned against Yahweh your God and against you. And now forgive my sin surely this time, and pray to Yahweh your God so that he may only remove from me this death." And he went out from Pharaoh, and he prayed to Yahweh. And Yahweh turned a very strong {west wind} and lifted up the locusts and thrust them into the {Red Sea}, and not one locust remained in all the territory of Egypt. And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not release the {Israelites}. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the heavens so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt and so that [a person can] feel darkness." And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was darkness of night in all the land of Egypt [for] three days. No one could see his brother, and {because of it no one could move from where they were} [for] three days, but there was light for the {Israelites} in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only your sheep and goats and your cattle must be left behind. Your dependents may also go with you." And Moses said, "Even [if] you yourself put into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings and we offer [them] to Yahweh our God, our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof can be left because we must take from them to serve Yahweh our God. And we will not know [with] what we are to serve Yahweh until we come there." And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to release them. And Pharaoh said to him, "Go from me. {Be careful} not to see my face again, because on the day of your seeing my face you will die." And Moses said, "{That is right}. {I will not again see your face}."


Now Joseph {was thirty years old} when he stood before Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and traveled through the whole land of Egypt. And the land produced a plenty in the seven years of abundance. And he gathered all the food of the seven years which [occurred] in the land of Egypt. And he stored the food in the cities. The food of the field that surrounded [each] city he stored in its midst. read more.
And Joseph piled up grain like the sand of the sea in great abundance until he stopped counting [it], for {it could not be counted}. Before the years of famine came, Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore two sons to him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, for [he said], "God has caused me to forget all my hardship and all my father's house." And the name of the second he called Ephraim, for [he said], "God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune." And the seven years of abundance which [were] in the land of Egypt came to an end. And the seven years of famine began to come as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all of the countries, but in the land of Egypt there was food. And when all the land of Egypt was hungry the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. And Pharaoh said to all the land of Egypt, "Go to Joseph; what he says to you, you must do." And the famine was over the whole land, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold [food] to the Egyptians. And the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.


Then Pharaoh sent and called [for] Joseph, and they brought him quickly from the prison. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I dreamed a dream, but there is none to interpret it. Now, I have heard concerning you [that when] you hear a dream [you can] interpret it." Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, "{It is not in my power}; God will answer [concerning] the well-being of Pharaoh." read more.
And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "[Now] in my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, and behold, seven cows, {well built and fat}, were coming up from the Nile, and they grazed among the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them from the Nile, very {ugly and gaunt}--never have I seen [any] as them in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. And the thin and ugly cows ate the former seven healthy cows. But [when] they went into their bellies it could not be known that they went into their bellies, for their appearance [was] as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. Then I saw in my dream and behold, seven ears of grain were coming out of one stalk, full and good. And behold, seven withered ears of grain, thin [and] scorched by the east wind, sprouted up after them. And the thin ears of grain swallowed up the seven good ears of grain. And I told the magicians, but there was none to explain [it] to me." Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh [are] one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they [are] seven years. The dreams [are] one. And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they [are] seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are [also] seven years of famine. This [is] the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine {that follows}, for it will be very heavy. Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, [it is] because the matter [is] established by God, and God will do [it] quickly.


Then the report was heard [in] the house of Pharaoh, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come." And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers: 'Do this--load your donkeys and go back to the land of Canaan, 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.' read more.
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.'"


Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine [was] very severe. And the land of Egypt languished, with the land of Canaan, on account of the famine. And Joseph collected all the money found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan in exchange for the grain that they were buying. And Joseph brought the money into the house of Pharaoh. 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." read more.
And Joseph said, "Give your livestock and I will give you [food] in exchange for your livestock if [your] 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." So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for each Egyptian sold his field, for the famine [was] severe upon them. And the land became Pharaoh's. 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.


Now then, let Pharaoh select a man [who is] discerning and wise, and let him set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do [this], and let him appoint supervisors over the land, and let him take one-fifth from the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance. Then let them gather all the food of these coming good years and let them pile up grain under the hand of Pharaoh [for] food in the cities, and let them keep [it]. read more.
Then the food shall be as a deposit for the land for the seven years of the famine that will be in the land of Egypt, that the land will not perish on account of the famine."


Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his finger and put it on the finger of Joseph. And he clothed him with garments of fine linen, and he put a chain of gold around his neck. And he had him ride in his second chariot. And they cried out before him, "Kneel!" And Pharaoh set him over all the land of Egypt. read more.
Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I [am] Pharaoh, but without your consent no one will lift his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."


And the two of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who [were] confined in the prison, dreamed a dream, each his own dream, with its own interpretation. When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that [were] with him in the custody of his master's house, "Why [are] your faces sad today?" read more.
And they said to him, "We [each] dreamed a dream, but there is no one to interpret it." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell [them] to me." Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and he said to him, "In my dream, now behold, [there was] a vine before me, and on the vine [were] three branches. And as it budded, its blossoms came up, [and] its clusters of grapes grew ripe. And the cup of Pharaoh [was] in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into the cup of Pharaoh. Then I placed the cup into the hand of Pharaoh." Then Joseph said to him, "This [is] its interpretation: The three branches, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will restore you to your office. And you shall put the cup of Pharaoh into his hand as [was] formerly the custom, when you were his cupbearer. But remember me when it goes well with you, and please may you show kindness with respect to me, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For I was surely kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me in this pit." And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation [was] good he said to Joseph, "I also [dreamed]. In my dream, now behold, [there were] three baskets of bread upon my head. And in the upper basket [were] all sorts of baked foods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket upon my head." Then Joseph answered and said, "This [is] its interpretation: The three baskets, they [are] three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat your flesh from you."


And it happened [that] after these things his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master {does not worry about} what [is] in the house, and everything he owns he has put in my hand. He has no greater [authority] in this house than me, and he has not withheld anything from me except you, since you [are] his wife. Now how could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?" read more.
And it happened [that] as she spoke to Joseph {day after day}, he did not heed her to lie beside her or to be with her. {But one particular day} he came into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house were there in the house, she seized him by his garment [and] said, "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and fled, and he went outside. And it happened [that] when she saw that he left his garment in her hand and fled outside, she called to the men of her house and said to them, "Look! He brought a Hebrew man to us to mock us! He came to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And when he heard [me], that I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled, and he went outside." Then she put his garment beside her until his master came to his house. Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me. And it happened [that] as I raised my voice and called out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside." And when his master heard the words of his wife that she spoke to him, "{This is what your servant did to me}," {he became very angry}. And Joseph's master took him and put him into prison, the place that the king's prisoners were confined. And he was there in prison.


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 from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh. 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." read more.
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. The land of Egypt [is] before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen, and if you know there is among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock." Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him before Pharaoh. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 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 Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he went out from the presence of Pharaoh.


{And} in the middle of the night, Yahweh struck all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who [was] in the prison house and every firstborn of an animal. And Pharaoh got up [at] night, he and all his servants and all Egypt, and a great cry of distress was in Egypt because there was not a house where there was no one dead.


Hurry, and go up to my father and say to him, 'Thus says your son Joseph, God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me and do not delay. You shall settle in the land of Goshen so that you will be near me, you and your children and your grandchildren, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. And I will provide for you there, because [there are] still five years of famine--lest you and your household and all that you have become destitute.'


And the {Israelites} did according to the word of Moses, and they asked from [the] Egyptians [for] objects of silver and objects of gold and [for] clothing. And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of [the] Egyptians, and they granted [their] requests, and they plundered [the] Egyptians.


And he called Moses and Aaron [at] night, and he said, "Get up, go out from the midst of my people, both you as well as the {Israelites}, and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said. Take both your sheep and goats as well as your cattle, and go, and bless also me." And [the] Egyptians urged the people [in order] to hurry their release from the land, because they said, "All of us [will] die!"


And it was told to the king of Egypt that the people fled, and the heart of Pharaoh was changed and [that of] his servants toward the people, and they said, "What [is] this we have done, that we have released Israel from serving us!" And he harnessed his chariot and took with him his people. And he took six hundred select chariots and all the chariots of Egypt and officers over all of them. read more.
And Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and he chased after the {Israelites}. (Now the {Israelites} [were] going out {boldly}.) And [the] Egyptians chased after them, and they overtook them encamped at the sea--all the horses of the chariots of Pharaoh and his charioteers and his army--at Pi-hahiroth before Baal Zephon. And Pharaoh approached, and the {Israelites} lifted their eyes, and there were the Egyptians traveling after them! And they were very afraid, and the {Israelites} cried out to Yahweh. And they said to Moses, "Because there are no graves in Egypt? Is that why you have taken us to die in the desert? What [is] this you have done to us by bringing us out from Egypt! Isn't this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone [so that] we can serve Egypt!' because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert." And Moses said to the people, "You must not be afraid. Stand [still] and see the salvation of Yahweh, which he will accomplish for you today, because [the] Egyptians whom you see today you will see never again. Yahweh will fight for you, and you must be quiet." And Yahweh said to Moses, "Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the {Israelites} [so that] they set out. And you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it [so that] the {Israelites} can go in the middle of the sea on the dry land. And as for me, look, I [am] about to harden the heart of [the] Egyptians [so that] they come after them, and I will display my glory through Pharaoh and through all of his army, through his chariots and through his charioteers. And [the] Egyptians will know that I [am] Yahweh when I display my glory through Pharaoh, through his chariots, and through his charioteers." And the angel of God who was going before the camp of Israel set out and went behind them. And the column of cloud set out ahead of them, and it stood [still] behind them, [so that] it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And {it was a dark cloud}, but it gave light [to] the night, [so that] {neither approached the other} all night. And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and Yahweh moved the sea with a strong east wind all night, and he made the sea [become] dry ground, and the waters were divided. And the {Israelites} entered the middle of the sea on the dry land. The waters [were] a wall for them on their right and on their left. And [the] Egyptians gave chase and entered after them--all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his charioteers--into the middle of the sea. And during the morning watch, Yahweh looked down to the Egyptian camp [from] in the column of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian camp into a panic. And he removed the wheels of their chariots [so that] they drove them with difficulty, and [the] Egyptians said, "We must flee away from Israel because Yahweh [is] fighting for them against Egypt."


Then Joseph was not able to control himself before all who were standing by him. And he cried out, "Make every man go out from me!" So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. And {he wept loudly}, so that the Egyptians heard [it] and the household of Pharaoh heard [it]. Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I [am] Joseph! Is my father still alive?" And his brothers were unable to answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence. read more.
So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they drew near. And he said, "I [am] Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. So now, do not be distressed and do not be angry {with yourselves} that you sold me here, for God sent me as deliverance before you. For these two years the famine [has been] in the midst of the land, but [there will be] five more years where there is no plowing or harvest. And God sent me before you [all] to preserve for you a remnant in the land and to keep alive among you many survivors. So now, you yourselves did not send me here, but God put me here as father to Pharaoh and as master of all his household, and a ruler over all the land of Egypt.


And Yahweh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. And his master observed that Yahweh [was] with him, and everything that [was] in his hand to do Yahweh made successful. And Joseph found favor in his eyes and he served him. Then he appointed him over his house and all that he owned he put into his hand. read more.
And it happened [that] from the time he appointed him over his house and over all that he had, Yahweh blessed the house of the Egyptian on account of Joseph. And the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in the hand of Joseph, and {he did not worry about anything} except the food that he ate. Now Joseph was {well built and handsome}.


And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, "From where have you come?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.


When Jacob realized that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" Then he said, "Look, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy grain for us there that we may live and not die." And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. read more.
But Jacob did not send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, for {he feared harm would come to him}. Then the sons of Israel went to buy grain amid those [other people] who went [as well], for there was famine in the land of Canaan. Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He [was] the one who sold [food] to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.


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-- and he said, "When you help the Hebrews give birth, you will look upon the pairs of testicles; if he [is] a son, you will put him to death, and if she [is] a daughter, she will live." But the midwives feared God, and they did not do as the king of Egypt had said to them. They let the boys live. read more.
And the king of Egypt summoned the midwives, and he said to them, "Why have you done this thing and let the boys live?" And the midwives said to Pharaoh, "Because the Hebrew [women are] not like the Egyptian women, because they [are] vigorous; before the midwife comes to them, they have given birth." And God did the midwives good, and the [Israelite] people became many and were very numerous. {And so} because the midwives feared God, he gave them {families}. And Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, "Every son who is born you will throw into the Nile, and every daughter you will let live."


And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, "This month [will be] the beginning of months; it [will be] for you the first of the months of the year. Speak to all the community of Israel, saying, 'On the tenth of this month, they will each take for themselves {a lamb for the family}, a lamb for the household. read more.
And if the household is too small for a lamb, he and the neighbor nearest to his house will take [one] according to the number of persons; you will count out portions of the lamb {according to how much each one can eat}. The lamb for you must be a male, without defect, in its first year; you will take [it] from the sheep or from the goats. "{You will keep it} until the fourteenth day of this month, and all the assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter it {at twilight}. And they will take [some] of the blood and put [it] on the two doorposts and on the lintel on the houses in which they eat it. And they will eat the meat on this night; they will eat it fire-roasted and [with] unleavened bread on {bitter herbs}. You must not eat any of it raw or boiled, boiled in the water, but rather roasted with fire, its head with its legs and with its inner parts. And you must not leave any of it until morning; anything left from it until morning you must burn in the fire. And this is how you will eat it--[with] your waists fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand, and you will eat it in haste. It [is] Yahweh's Passover. "And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I [am] Yahweh. And the blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, and there will not be a destructive plague among you when I strike the land of Egypt. "And this day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a religious feast for Yahweh throughout your generations; you will celebrate it as a lasting statute. You will eat unleavened bread for seven days. Surely on the first day you shall remove yeast from your houses, because anyone [who] eats [food with] yeast from the first day until the seventh day--that person will be cut off from Israel. It will be for you on the first day a holy assembly and on the seventh day a holy assembly; no work will be done on them; only what is eaten by every person, it alone will be prepared for you. "And you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought out your divisions from the land of Egypt, and you will keep this day for your generations as a lasting statute. On the first [day], on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat unleavened bread until the evening of the twenty-first day of the month. For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, because {anyone eating food with yeast} will be cut off from the community of Israel--[whether] an alien or a native of the land. You will eat no [food with] yeast; in all of your dwellings you will eat unleavened bread." And Moses called all the elders of Israel, and he said to them, "Select and take for yourselves sheep for your clans and slaughter the Passover sacrifice. And take a bunch of hyssop and dip [it] into the blood that [is] in the basin and apply [some] of the blood that is in the basin to the lintel and the two doorposts. And you will not go out, anyone from the doorway of his house, until morning. And Yahweh will go through to strike Egypt, and he will see the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, and Yahweh will pass over the doorway and will not allow the destroyer to come to your houses to strike [you]. "And you will keep this event as a rule for you and for your children forever. {And} when you come into the land that Yahweh will give to you, as he said, you will keep this {religious custom}. {And} when your children say to you, 'What [is] this {religious custom} for you?' you will say, 'It [is] a Passover sacrifice for Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the {Israelites} in Egypt when he struck Egypt; and he delivered our houses.'" And the people knelt down and they worshiped. And the {Israelites} went, and they did as Yahweh had commanded Moses and Aaron; so they did.


{And then} in those days when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers, and he saw their {forced labor}, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, [one of] his brothers. And he turned here and there, and he saw no one, and he struck the Egyptian, and he hid him in the sand.


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, his sons and his sons' sons with him, his daughters and his daughters' daughters with him, into Egypt.


And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to wash at the Nile, [while] her maidservants were walking alongside the Nile, and she saw the basket in the midst of the reeds, and she sent her slave woman [for it] and took it and opened [it] and saw him--the boy--and it was a lad weeping, and she had compassion for him and said, "This [must be] from the boys of the Hebrews." And his sister said to the daughter of Pharaoh, "Shall I go and call for you a woman from the Hebrews [who is] nursing [so that] she will nurse the boy for you?" read more.
And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, "Go." And the girl went, and she called the mother of the boy. And the daughter of Pharaoh said, "Take this boy and nurse him for me, and I myself will give you wages, and the woman took the boy, and she nursed him. And the boy grew, and she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh, and he became her son, and she called his name Moses, and she said, "Because I drew him out from the water."


And these [are] the names of the sons of Israel who came [to] Egypt; with Jacob, they each came with his {family}: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; read more.
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. And {all those who descended from Jacob} were seventy individuals, and Joseph was in Egypt. And Joseph died and all of his brothers and all of that generation. And the {Israelites} were fruitful and multiplied and were many and were very, very numerous, and the land was filled with them. And a new king rose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. And he said to his people, "Look, the people of the {Israelites} [are] greater and more numerous than us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them, lest they become many, and when war happens, they also will join our enemies and will fight against us and go up from the land." 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 as he oppressed them, so they became many, and so they spread out, and [the Egyptians] were afraid because of the presence of the {Israelites}. And the Egyptians ruthlessly compelled the {Israelites} to work. And they made their lives bitter with hard work with mortar and with bricks and with all [sorts] of work in the field--with all their work in which they ruthlessly enslaved them.


And he said to Abram, "{You must surely know} that your descendants shall be [as] aliens in a land {not their own}. And they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years.


And the angel of Yahweh appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush, and he looked, and there was the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not being consumed. And Moses said, "Let me turn aside and see this great sight. Why does the bush not burn up?" And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I [am]." read more.
And he said, "You must not come near to here. Take off your sandals from on your feet, because the place on which you [are] standing, it [is] holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face because he was afraid of looking at God. And Yahweh said, "Surely I have seen the misery of my people who [are] in Egypt, and I have heard their cry of distress because of their oppressors, for I know their sufferings. And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of [the] Egyptians and to bring them up from this land to a good and wide land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites. And now, look, the cry of distress of the {Israelites} has come to me, and also I see the oppression [with] which [the] Egyptians [are] oppressing them. And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and [you must] bring my people, the {Israelites}, out from Egypt."


So the men took this gift, and they took double money in their hands, and Benjamin, and they rose up and went down to Egypt and stood before Joseph.


But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him, and she coated it with tar and with pitch, and she placed the boy in it, and she placed [it] among the reeds on the bank of the Nile. And his sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him.


And Pharaoh heard this matter, and he sought to kill Moses, and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he lived in the land of Midian, and he lived at {a certain well}.


And the woman conceived, and she gave birth to a son, and she saw him, that he was a fine baby, and she hid him three months.