Jacob Goes to Egypt

46 So Israelp set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba,q he offered sacrificesr to the God of his father Isaac.s

2 And God spoke to Israelt in a vision at nightu and said, “Jacob! Jacob!”

“Here I am,”v he replied.

3 “I am God, the God of your father,”w he said. “Do not be afraidx to go down to Egypt,y for I will make you into a great nationz there.a 4 I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again.b And Joseph’s own hand will close your eyes.c”

5 Then Jacob left Beersheba,d and Israel’se sons took their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the cartsf that Pharaoh had sent to transport him. 6 So Jacob and all his offspring went to Egypt,g taking with them their livestock and the possessionsh they had acquiredi in Canaan. 7 Jacob brought with him to Egyptj his sons and grandsons and his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.k

8 These are the names of the sons of Israell (Jacob and his descendants) who went to Egypt:

Reuben the firstbornm of Jacob.

9 The sons of Reuben:n

Hanok, Pallu,o Hezron and Karmi.p

10 The sons of Simeon:q

Jemuel,r Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohars and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.

11 The sons of Levi:t

Gershon,u Kohathv and Merari.w

12 The sons of Judah:x

Er,y Onan,z Shelah, Pereza and Zerahb (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan).c

The sons of Perez:d

Hezron and Hamul.e

13 The sons of Issachar:f

Tola, Puah,a g Jashubb h and Shimron.

14 The sons of Zebulun:i

Sered, Elon and Jahleel.

15 These were the sons Leah bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram,c j besides his daughter Dinah.k These sons and daughters of his were thirty-three in all.

16 The sons of Gad:l

Zephon,d m Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Areli.

17 The sons of Asher:n

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi and Beriah.

Their sister was Serah.

The sons of Beriah:

Heber and Malkiel.

18 These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah,o whom Laban had given to his daughter Leahp—sixteen in all.

19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel:q

Joseph and Benjamin.r 20 In Egypt, Manassehs and Ephraimt were born to Josephu by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.e v

21 The sons of Benjamin:w

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim and Ard.x

22 These were the sons of Rachely who were born to Jacob—fourteen in all.

23 The son of Dan:z

Hushim.a

24 The sons of Naphtali:b

Jahziel, Guni, Jezer and Shillem.

25 These were the sons born to Jacob by Bilhah,c whom Laban had given to his daughter Racheld—seven in all.

26 All those who went to Egypt with Jacob—those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons’ wives—numbered sixty-six persons.e 27 With the two sonsf who had been born to Joseph in Egypt,f the members of Jacob’s family, which went to Egypt, were seventyg in all.g

28 Now Jacob sent Judahh ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen.i When they arrived in the region of Goshen, 29 Joseph had his chariotj made ready and went to Goshen to meet his father Israel.k As soon as Joseph appeared before him, he threw his arms around his fatherh and weptl for a long time.m

30 Israeln said to Joseph, “Now I am ready to die, since I have seen for myself that you are still alive.”o

31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and speak to Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were living in the land of Canaan,p have come to me.q 32 The men are shepherds;r they tend livestock,s and they have brought along their flocks and herds and everything they own.’t 33 When Pharaoh calls you in and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’u 34 you should answer, ‘Your servantsv have tended livestock from our boyhood on, just as our fathers did.’w Then you will be allowed to settlex in the region of Goshen,y for all shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians.z”

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaana and are now in Goshen.”b 2 He chose five of his brothers and presented themc before Pharaoh.

3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”d

“Your servantse are shepherds,f” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” 4 They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,g because the famine is severe in Canaanh and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.i So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”j

5 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt is before you; settlek your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.l Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,m put them in charge of my own livestock.n”

7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented himo before Pharaoh. After Jacob blesseda Pharaoh,p 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.q My years have been few and difficult,r and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.s” 10 Then Jacob blessedb Pharaoht and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,u the district of Rameses,v as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.w

Joseph and the Famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.x 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,y and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.z 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,a all Egypt came to Josephb and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?c Our money is all gone.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,d” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.e” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,f their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.g And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is goneh and our livestock belongs to you,i there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyesj—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,k and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.l Give us seed so that we may live and not die,m and that the land may not become desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severen for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,c o from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,p because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotmentq Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seedr for you so you can plant the ground.s 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fiftht of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;u we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”v

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifthw of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.x

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.y They acquired property therez and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.a

28 Jacob lived in Egyptb seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.c 29 When the time drew near for Israeld to die,e he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,f put your hand under my thighg and promise that you will show me kindnessh and faithfulness.i Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers,j carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”k

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,”l he said. Then Joseph swore to him,m and Israeln worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.d o

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraimp along with him. 2 When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israelq rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

3 Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almightya r appeared to me at Luzs in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed met 4 and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.u I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this landv as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’w

5 “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egyptx before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,y just as Reubenz and Simeona are mine. 6 Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. 7 As I was returning from Paddan,b b to my sorrowc Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).d

8 When Israele saw the sons of Joseph,f he asked, “Who are these?”

9 “They are the sons God has given me here,”g Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may blessh them.”

10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing …