Genesis

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**Background**: The Book of Genesis, meaning "origins" or "birth," serves as the foundational book of the Hebrew Bible, detailing the beginning of the world, humanity, and the nation of Israel. Traditionally, Moses is considered the author, writing it during the Exodus from Egypt (likely 15th or 13th century BCE), compiling ancient traditions and divine revelation. The intended audience was the Israelites, to provide them with an understanding of their origins, God's character, and the covenant relationship He established with their ancestors, particularly Abraham. It explains their identity as a chosen people and the divine promises that would guide their future. The historical context begins with creation and extends through the early history of humanity, including the Fall, the Flood, and the dispersion of nations. It then narrows its focus to the patriarchal period, tracing the lineage from Abraham to Joseph, culminating in the Israelite family's settlement in Egypt. While the precise dating of events in Genesis is debated among scholars, the narrative presents itself as a historical account of God's interaction with His creation and His chosen people. **Main Message**: The central message of Genesis is God's sovereign creation and ongoing relationship with humanity, despite humanity's persistent sin and rebellion. It establishes that God is the sole Creator of all things, who made humanity in His image, but humanity's fall introduced sin, death, and brokenness into the world. The book then highlights God's initiative in choosing a specific family, beginning with Abraham, through whom He would establish a covenant, promising land, numerous descendants, and a universal blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3). Genesis underscores themes of divine promise, faithfulness, and the consequences of human disobedience. It demonstrates God's patience and justice, His commitment to His covenant, and His ability to work through imperfect individuals to accomplish His redemptive purposes. The narrative sets the stage for the rest of the Bible by introducing the core theological concepts of creation, sin, judgment, and salvation through a chosen people. **Summary of Events**: The book of Genesis begins with: - God's creation of the heavens and the earth in six days, culminating in humanity made in His image, and His rest on the seventh day (Chapters 1-2). - The temptation and fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, leading to sin, curses, and expulsion from Paradise (Chapter 3). - Cain murders his brother Abel, and humanity's wickedness increases (Chapter 4). - Genealogies trace humanity from Adam to Noah (Chapter 5). - God, grieved by human corruption, sends a great flood to destroy all living things, saving only Noah, his family, and pairs of animals in an ark (Chapters 6-8). - God establishes a covenant with Noah, marked by the rainbow, promising never to destroy the earth by flood again (Chapter 9). - The descendants of Noah repopulate the earth, but their attempt to build the Tower of Babel leads God to confuse their languages and scatter them (Chapters 10-11). - God calls Abram (later Abraham) from Ur of the Chaldeans, promising him land, numerous descendants, and that all nations would be blessed through him (Chapter 12). - Abram and his nephew Lot separate, and God reaffirms His promises to Abram (Chapter 13). - Abram rescues Lot from warring kings and is blessed by Melchizedek (Chapter 14). - God formalizes His covenant with Abram, promising a son and foretelling Israel's sojourn in a foreign land (Chapter 15). - Sarai, being barren, gives her servant Hagar to Abram, who bears Ishmael (Chapter 16). - God establishes the covenant of circumcision, changes Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's to Sarah, and promises a son, Isaac, through Sarah (Chapter 17). - The Lord and two angels visit Abraham, reaffirming the promise of Isaac's birth and revealing God's plan to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah (Chapter 18). - Lot and his family are rescued from Sodom before its destruction, but Lot's wife disobeys and turns into a pillar of salt; Lot's daughters later conceive Moab and Ammon with him (Chapter 19). - Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age (Chapter 21). - God tests Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac, but provides a ram as a substitute, reaffirming His covenant (Chapter 22). - Sarah dies and is buried in the cave of Machpelah (Chapter 23). - Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for Isaac, who brings Rebekah from Abraham's kindred (Chapter 24). - Abraham dies and is buried (Chapter 25). - Rebekah gives birth to twins, Esau and Jacob; Esau sells his birthright to Jacob (Chapter 25). - Jacob, with his mother Rebekah's help, deceives his blind father Isaac to receive Esau's blessing (Chapter 27). - Jacob flees to his uncle Laban, has a dream of a ladder to heaven at Bethel, and God renews the covenant promises to him (Chapter 28). - Jacob serves Laban for fourteen years for Leah and Rachel, and six more years for flocks, having many children (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Joseph, Benjamin) (Chapters 29-30). - Jacob flees from Laban, who pursues him, but they make a covenant (Chapter 31). - Jacob wrestles with God at Peniel and his name is changed to Israel (Chapter 32). - Jacob and Esau reconcile (Chapter 33). - Dinah is raped, leading to Simeon and Levi's violent revenge on the city of Shechem (Chapter 34). - Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, and Isaac dies (Chapter 35). - Joseph, favored by his father Jacob, is hated by his brothers, who sell him into slavery in Egypt (Chapter 37). - Joseph is falsely accused by Potiphar's wife and imprisoned (Chapter 39). - Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker (Chapter 40). - Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams of famine and is appointed second-in-command over Egypt (Chapter 41). - During the famine, Joseph's brothers come to Egypt for food, and Joseph tests them, eventually revealing his identity (Chapters 42-45). - Jacob and his entire family move to Egypt, settling in the land of Goshen (Chapter 46). - Joseph manages the famine, acquiring all Egyptian land for Pharaoh, and the Israelites prosper in Goshen (Chapter 47). - Jacob blesses Joseph's sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and then all his own sons, prophesying their future (Chapters 48-49). - Jacob dies and is buried in Canaan, as he requested (Chapter 50). - Joseph reassures his brothers, prophesies Israel's future exodus, and dies in Egypt, requesting his bones be carried to Canaan (Chapter 50). **Key Characters**: - **God**: The sovereign Creator, covenant-maker, and sustainer of all life, who initiates and guides the narrative. - **Adam and Eve**: The first humans, created in God's image, whose disobedience introduces sin and death into the world. - **Cain and Abel**: Adam and Eve's sons, representing the early spread of sin through murder and the contrast between acceptable and unacceptable worship. - **Noah**: A righteous man chosen by God to preserve humanity and animal life through the Great Flood, becoming the progenitor of a new humanity. - **Abraham**: The patriarch chosen by God to be the father of a great nation, through whom all the families of the earth would be blessed, central to God's covenant promises. - **Sarah**: Abraham's wife, who, despite her barrenness and old age, miraculously gives birth to Isaac, fulfilling God's promise. - **Isaac**: The son of promise, through whom God's covenant with Abraham is continued, known for his quiet obedience. - **Rebekah**: Isaac's wife, who plays a pivotal role in ensuring Jacob receives the blessing over Esau. - **Jacob (Israel)**: Isaac's son, a cunning but ultimately transformed patriarch, whose twelve sons become the ancestors of the twelve tribes of Israel. - **Esau**: Jacob's older twin brother, who forfeits his birthright and blessing, becoming the ancestor of the Edomites. - **Leah and Rachel**: Jacob's wives, whose rivalry and childbearing contribute to the formation of Jacob's large family. - **Joseph**: Jacob's favored son, sold into slavery by his brothers, who rises to power in Egypt and ultimately saves his family and many others from famine, demonstrating God's providential care. - **Pharaoh**: The king of Egypt who elevates Joseph to a position of authority, allowing the Israelites to settle in Egypt. **Context**: Genesis serves as the indispensable prologue to the entire biblical narrative, laying the theological and historical groundwork for all that follows. It establishes the nature of God as Creator and sovereign Lord, the origin of humanity, the problem of sin, and the initial steps of God's redemptive plan through covenant. Without Genesis, the subsequent books of the Bible, particularly Exodus, would lack their foundational meaning regarding Israel's identity, their relationship with God, and their destiny. The book directly connects to Exodus by explaining how Jacob's family came to be in Egypt, setting the stage for their eventual enslavement and God's miraculous deliverance. It introduces the covenant promises (land, descendants, blessing) that are central to Israel's history and are progressively fulfilled throughout the Old Testament and ultimately in Jesus Christ. Genesis reveals God's character as both just and merciful, demonstrating His faithfulness to His promises even when humanity fails. It is the story of beginnings, providing the essential context for understanding God's ongoing work of salvation and His ultimate plan for humanity and creation.

Chapter 1

¹In the beginning, God created heaven and earth²But the earth was empty and unoccupied, and darknesses were over the face of the abyss; and so the Spirit of God was brought over the waters³And God said, "Let there be light." And light became⁴And God saw the light, that it was good; and so he divided the light from the darknesses⁵And he called the light, ‘Day,’ and the darknesses, ‘Night.’ And it became evening and morning, one day⁶God also said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide waters from waters.⁷And God made a firmament, and he divided the waters that were under the firmament, from those that were above the firmament. And so it became⁸And God called the firmament ‘Heaven.’ And it became evening and morning, the second day⁹Truly God said: "Let the waters that are under heaven be gathered together into one place; and let the dry land appear." And so it became¹⁰And God called the dry land, ‘Earth,’ and he called the gathering of the waters, ‘Seas.’ And God saw that it was good¹¹And he said, "Let the land spring forth green plants, both those producing seed, and fruit-bearing trees, producing fruit according to their kind, whose seed is within itself, over all the earth." And so it became¹²And the land brought forth green plants, both those producing seed, according to their kind, and trees producing fruit, with each having its own way of sowing, according to its species. And God saw that it was good¹³And it became evening and the morning, the third day¹⁴Then God said: "Let there be lights in the firmament of heaven. And let them divide day from night, and let them become signs, both of the seasons, and of the days and years¹⁵Let them shine in the firmament of heaven and illuminate the earth." And so it became¹⁶And God made two great lights: a greater light, to rule over the day, and a lesser light, to rule over the night, along with the stars¹⁷And he set them in the firmament of heaven, to give light over all the earth¹⁸and to rule over the day as well as the night, and to divide light from darkness. And God saw that it was good¹⁹And it became evening and morning, the fourth day²⁰And then God said, "Let the waters produce animals with a living soul, and flying creatures above the earth, under the firmament of heaven.²¹And God created the great sea creatures, and everything with a living soul and the ability to move that the waters produced, according to their species, and all the flying creatures, according to their kind. And God saw that it was good²²And he blessed them, saying: "Increase and multiply, and fill the waters of the sea. And let the birds be multiplied above the land.²³And it became evening and morning, the fifth day²⁴God also said, "Let the land produce living souls in their kind: cattle, and animals, and wild beasts of the earth, according to their species." And so it became²⁵And God made the wild beasts of the earth according to their species, and the cattle, and every animal on the land, according to its kind. And God saw that it was good²⁶And he said: "Let us make Man to our image and likeness. And let him rule over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and the wild beasts, and the entire earth, and every animal that moves on the earth.²⁷And God created man to his own image; to the image of God he created him; male and female, he created them²⁸And God blessed them, and he said, "Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and the flying creatures of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.²⁹And God said: "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing plant upon the earth, and all the trees that have in themselves the ability to sow their own kind, to be food for you³⁰and for all the animals of the land, and for all the flying things of the air, and for everything that moves upon the earth and in which there is a living soul, so that they may have these on which to feed." And so it became³¹And God saw everything that he had made. And they were very good. And it became evening and morning, the sixth day

Chapter 2

¹And so the heavens and the earth were completed, with all their adornment²And on the seventh day, God fulfilled his work, which he had made. And on the seventh day he rested from all his work, which he had accomplished³And he blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. For in it, he had ceased from all his work: the work whereby God created whatever he should make⁴These are the generations of heaven and earth, when they were created, in the day when the Lord God made heaven and earth⁵and every sapling of the field, before it would rise up in the land, and every wild plant, before it would germinate. For the Lord God had not brought rain upon the earth, and there was no man to work the land⁶But a fountain ascended from the earth, irrigating the entire surface of the land⁷And then the Lord God formed man from the clay of the earth, and he breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul⁸Now the Lord God had planted a Paradise of enjoyment from the beginning. In it, he placed the man whom he had formed⁹And from the soil the Lord God produced every tree that was beautiful to behold and pleasant to eat. And even the tree of life was in the midst of Paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil¹⁰And a river went forth from the place of enjoyment so as to irrigate Paradise, which is divided from there into four heads¹¹The name of one is the Phison; it is that which runs through all the land of Hevilath, where gold is born¹²and the gold of that land is the finest. In that place is found bdellium and the onyx stone¹³And the name of the second river is the Gehon; it is that which runs through all the land of Ethiopia¹⁴Truly, the name of the third river is the Tigris; it advances opposite the Assyrians. But the fourth river, it is the Euphrates¹⁵Thus, the Lord God brought the man, and put him into the Paradise of enjoyment, so that it would be attended and preserved by him¹⁶And he instructed him, saying: "From every tree of Paradise, you shall eat¹⁷But from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in whatever day you will eat from it, you will die a death.¹⁸The Lord God also said: "It is not good for the man to be alone. Let us make a helper for him similar to himself.¹⁹Therefore, the Lord God, having formed from the soil all the animals of the earth and all the flying creatures of the air, brought them to Adam, in order to see what he would call them. For whatever Adam would call any living creature, that would be its name²⁰And Adam called each of the living things by their names: all the flying creatures of the air, and all the wild beasts of the land. Yet truly, for Adam, there was not found a helper similar to himself²¹And so the Lord God sent a deep sleep upon Adam. And when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs, and he completed it with flesh for it²²And the Lord God built up the rib, which he took from Adam, into a woman. And he led her to Adam²³And Adam said: "Now this is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh. This one shall be called woman, because she was taken from man.²⁴For this reason, a man shall leave behind his father and mother, and he shall cling to his wife; and the two shall be as one flesh²⁵Now they were both naked: Adam, of course, and his wife. And they were not ashamed

Chapter 3

¹However, the serpent was more crafty than any of the creatures of the earth that the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Why has God instructed you, that you should not eat from every tree of Paradise?²The woman responded to him: "From the fruit of the trees which are in Paradise, we eat³Yet truly, from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of Paradise, God has instructed us that we should not eat, and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we may die.⁴Then the serpent said to the woman: "By no means will you die a death⁵For God knows that, on whatever day you will eat from it, your eyes will be opened; and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.⁶And so the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to consider. And she took from its fruit, and she ate. And she gave to her husband, who ate⁷And the eyes of them both were opened. And when they realized themselves to be naked, they joined together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves⁸And when they had heard the voice of the Lord God taking a walk in Paradise in the afternoon breeze, Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of Paradise⁹And the Lord God called Adam and said to him: "Where are you?¹⁰And he said, "I heard your voice in Paradise, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and so I hid myself.¹¹He said to him, "Then who told you that you were naked, if you have not eaten of the tree from which I instructed you that you should not eat?¹²And Adam said, "The woman, whom you gave to me as a companion, gave to me from the tree, and I ate.¹³And the Lord God said to the woman, "Why have you done this?" And she responded, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.¹⁴And the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you are cursed among all living things, even the wild beasts of the earth. Upon your breast shall you travel, and the ground shall you eat, all the days of your life¹⁵I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring. She will crush your head, and you will lie in wait for her heel.¹⁶To the woman, he also said: "I will multiply your labors and your conceptions. In pain shall you give birth to sons, and you shall be under your husband’s power, and he shall have dominion over you.¹⁷Yet truly, to Adam, he said: "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree, from which I instructed you that you should not eat, cursed is the land that you work. In hardship shall you eat from it, all the days of your life¹⁸Thorns and thistles shall it produce for you, and you shall eat the plants of the earth¹⁹By the sweat of your face shall you eat bread, until you return to the earth from which you were taken. For dust you are, and unto dust you shall return.²⁰And Adam called the name of his wife, ‘Eve,’ because she was the mother of all the living²¹The Lord God also made for Adam and his wife garments from skins, and he clothed them²²And he said: "Behold, Adam has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Therefore, now perhaps he may put forth his hand and also take from the tree of life, and eat, and live in eternity.²³And so the Lord God sent him away from the Paradise of enjoyment, in order to work the earth from which he was taken²⁴And he cast out Adam. And in front of the Paradise of enjoyment, he placed the Cherubim with a flaming sword, turning together, to guard the way to the tree of life

Chapter 4

¹Truly, Adam knew his wife Eve, who conceived and gave birth to Cain, saying, "I have obtained a man through God.²And again she gave birth to his brother Abel. But Abel was a pastor of sheep, and Cain was a farmer³Then it happened, after many days, that Cain offered gifts to the Lord, from the fruits of the earth⁴Abel likewise offered from the firstborn of his flock, and from their fat. And the Lord looked with favor on Abel and his gifts⁵Yet in truth, he did not look with favor on Cain and his gifts. And Cain was vehemently angry, and his countenance fell⁶And the Lord said to him: "Why are you angry? And why is your face fallen⁷If you behave well, will you not receive? But if you behave badly, will not sin at once be present at the door? And so its desire will be within you, and you will be dominated by it.⁸And Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let us go outside." And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel, and he put him to death⁹And the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he responded: "I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?¹⁰And he said to him: "What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to me from the land¹¹Now, therefore, you will be cursed upon the land, which opened its mouth and received the blood of your brother at your hand¹²When you work it, it will not give you its fruit; a vagrant and a fugitive shall you be upon the land.¹³And Cain said to the Lord: "My iniquity is too great to deserve kindness¹⁴Behold, you have cast me out this day before the face of the earth, and from your face I will be hidden; and I will be a vagrant and a fugitive on the earth. Therefore, anyone who finds me will kill me.¹⁵And the Lord said to him: "By no means will it be so; rather, whoever would kill Cain, will be punished sevenfold." And the Lord placed a seal upon Cain, so that anyone who found him would not put him to death¹⁶And so Cain, departing from the face of the Lord, lived as a fugitive on the earth, toward the eastern region of Eden¹⁷Then Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to Enoch. And he built a city, and he called its name by the name of his son, Enoch¹⁸Thereafter, Enoch conceived Irad, and Irad conceived Mahujael, and Mahujael conceived Mathusael, and Mathusael conceived Lamech¹⁹Lamech took two wives: the name of one was Adah, and the name of the other was Zillah²⁰And Adah conceived Jabel, who was the father of those who live in tents and are shepherds²¹And the name of his brother was Jubal; he was the father of those who sing to the harp and the organ²²Zillah also conceived Tubalcain, who was a hammerer and artisan in every work of brass and iron. In fact, the sister of Tubalcain was Noema²³And Lamech said to his wives Adah and Zillah: "Listen to my voice, you wives of Lamech, pay attention to my speech. For I have killed a man to my own harm, and an adolescent to my own bruising²⁴Sevenfold vengeance will be given for Cain, but for Lamech, seventy-seven times.²⁵Adam also knew his wife again, and she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Seth, saying, "God has given me another offspring, in place of Abel, whom Cain killed.²⁶But to Seth also was born a son, whom he called Enos. This one began to invoke the name of the Lord

Chapter 5

¹This is the book of the lineage of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him to the likeness of God²He created them, male and female; and he blessed them. And he called their name Adam, in the day when they were created³Then Adam lived for one hundred and thirty years. And then he conceived a son in his own image and likeness, and he called his name Seth⁴And after he conceived Seth, the days of Adam that passed were eight hundred years. And he conceived sons and daughters⁵And all the time that passed while Adam lived was nine hundred and thirty years, and then he died⁶Seth likewise lived for one hundred and five years, and then he conceived Enos⁷And after he conceived Enos, Seth lived for eight hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters⁸And all the days of Seth that passed were nine hundred and twelve years, and then he died⁹In truth, Enos lived ninety years, and then he conceived Cainan¹⁰After his birth, he lived eight hundred and fifteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹¹And all the days of Enos that passed were nine hundred and five years, and then he died¹²Likewise, Cainan lived seventy years, and then he conceived Mahalalel¹³And after he conceived Mahalalel, Cainan lived for eight hundred and forty years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹⁴And all the days of Cainan that passed were nine hundred and ten years, and then he died¹⁵And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and then he conceived Jared¹⁶And after he conceived Jared, Mahalalel lived for eight hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹⁷And all the days of Mahalalel that passed were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and then he died¹⁸And Jared lived for one hundred and sixty-two years, and then he conceived Enoch¹⁹And after he conceived Enoch, Jared lived for eight hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters²⁰And all the days of Jared that passed were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and then he died²¹Now Enoch lived for sixty-five years, and then he conceived Methuselah²²And Enoch walked with God. And after he conceived Methuselah, he lived for three hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters²³And all the days of Enoch that passed were three hundred and sixty-five years²⁴And he walked with God, and then he was seen no more, because God took him²⁵Likewise, Methuselah lived for one hundred and eighty-seven years, and then he conceived Lamech²⁶And after he conceived Lamech, Methuselah lived for seven hundred and eighty-two years, and he conceived sons and daughters²⁷And all the days of Methuselah that passed were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and then he died²⁸Then Lamech lived for one hundred and eighty-two years, and he conceived a son²⁹And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one will console us from the works and hardships of our hands, in the land that the Lord has cursed.³⁰And after he conceived Noah, Lamech lived for five hundred and ninety-five years, and he conceived sons and daughters³¹And all the days of Lamech that passed were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and then he died.³²In truth, when Noah was five hundred years old, he conceived Shem, Ham, and Japheth

Chapter 6

¹And when men began to be multiplied upon the earth, and daughters were born to them²the sons of God, seeing that the daughters of men were beautiful, took to themselves wives from all whom they chose³And God said: "My spirit shall not remain in man forever, because he is flesh. And so his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.⁴Now giants were upon the earth in those days. For after the sons of God went in to the daughters of men, and they conceived, these became the powerful ones of ancient times, men of renown⁵Then God, seeing that the wickedness of men was great upon the earth and that every thought of their heart was intent upon evil at all times⁶repented that he had made man on the earth. And being touched inwardly with a sorrow of heart⁷he said, "I will eliminate man, whom I have created, from the face of the earth, from man to other living things, from animals even to the flying things of the air. For it grieves me that I have made them.⁸Yet truly, Noah found grace before the Lord⁹These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a just man, and yet he was predominate among his generations, for he walked with God¹⁰And he conceived three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth¹¹Yet the earth was corrupted before the eyes of God, and it was filled with iniquity¹²And when God had seen that the earth had been corrupted, (indeed, all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth¹³he said to Noah: "The end of all flesh has arrived in my sight. The earth has been filled with iniquity by their presence, and I will destroy them, along with the earth¹⁴Make yourself an ark from smoothed wood. You shall make little dwelling places in the ark, and you shall smear pitch on the interior and exterior¹⁵And thus shall you make it: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits¹⁶You shall make a window in the ark, and you shall complete it within a cubit of the top. Then you shall set the door of the ark at its side. You shall make in it: a lower part, upper rooms, and a third level¹⁷Behold, I shall bring the waters of a great flood upon the earth, so as to put to death all flesh in which there is the breath of life under heaven. All things that are on the earth shall be consumed¹⁸And I shall establish my covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, you and your sons, your wife and the wives of your sons with you¹⁹And from every living thing of all that is flesh, you shall lead pairs into the ark, so that they may survive with you: from the male sex and the female²⁰from birds, according to their kind, and from beasts, in their kind, and from among all animals on earth, according to their kind; pairs from each shall enter with you, so that they may be able to live²¹Therefore, you shall take with you from all the foods that are able to be eaten, and you shall carry these with you. And these shall be used as food, some for you, and the rest for them.²²And so Noah did all things just as God had instructed him

Chapter 7

¹And the Lord said to him: "Enter the ark, you and all your house. For I have seen you to be just in my sight, within this generation²From all the clean animals, take seven and seven, the male and the female. Yet truly, from animals that are unclean, take two and two, the male and the female³But also from the birds of the air, take seven and seven, the male and the female, so that offspring may be saved upon the face of the whole earth⁴For from that point, and after seven days, I will rain upon the earth for forty days and forty nights. And I will wipe away every substance that I have made, from the surface of the earth.⁵Therefore, Noah did all things just as the Lord had commanded him⁶And he was six hundred years old when the waters of the great flood inundated the earth⁷And Noah entered into the ark, and his sons, his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, because of the waters of the great flood⁸And from the animals both clean and unclean, and from the birds, and from everything that moves upon the earth⁹two by two they were brought into the ark to Noah, male and female, just as the Lord had instructed Noah¹⁰And when seven days had passed, the waters of the great flood inundated the earth¹¹In the six hundredth year of the life of Noah, in the second month, in the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the great abyss were released, and the floodgates of heaven were opened¹²And rain came upon the earth for forty days and forty nights¹³On the very same day, Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and his wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark¹⁴They and every animal according to its kind, and all the cattle in their kind, and everything that moves upon the earth in their kind, and every flying thing according to its kind, all the birds and all that can fly¹⁵entered the ark to Noah, two by two out of all that is flesh, in which there was the breath of life¹⁶And those that entered went in male and female, from all that is flesh, just as God had instructed him. And then the Lord closed him in from the outside¹⁷And the great flood occurred for forty days upon the earth. And the waters were increased, and they lifted the ark high above the land¹⁸For they overflowed greatly, and they filled everything on the surface of the earth. And then the ark was carried across the waters¹⁹And the waters prevailed beyond measure across the earth. And all the lofty mountains under the whole heaven were covered²⁰The water was fifteen cubits higher than the mountains which it covered²¹And all flesh was consumed which moved upon the earth: flying things, animals, wild beasts, and all moving things that crawl upon the ground. And all men²²and everything in which there is the breath of life on earth, died²³And he wiped away all substance that was upon the earth, from man to animal, the crawling things just as much as the flying things of the air. And they were wiped away from the earth. But only Noah remained, and those who were with him in the ark²⁴And the waters possessed the earth for one hundred and fifty days

Chapter 8

¹Then God remembered Noah, and all living things, and all the cattle, which were with him in the ark, and he brought a wind across the earth, and the waters were diminished²And the fountains of the abyss and the floodgates of heaven were closed. And the rain from heaven was restrained³And the waters were restored to their coming and going from the earth. And they began to diminish after one hundred and fifty days⁴And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, upon the mountains of Armenia⁵Yet in truth, the waters were departing and decreasing until the tenth month. For in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tips of the mountains appeared⁶And when forty days had passed, Noah, opening the window that he had made in the ark, sent forth a raven⁷which went forth and did not return, until the waters were dried up across the earth⁸Likewise, he sent forth a dove after him, in order to see if the waters had now ceased upon the face of the earth⁹But when she did not find a place where her foot might rest, she returned to him in the ark. For the waters were upon the whole earth. And he extended his hand and caught her, and he brought her into the ark¹⁰And then, having waited a further seven days, he again sent forth the dove out of the ark¹¹And she came to him in the evening, carrying in her mouth an olive branch with green leaves. Noah then understood that the waters had ceased upon the earth¹²And nevertheless, he waited another seven days. And he sent forth the dove, which no longer returned to him¹³Therefore, in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were diminished upon the earth. And Noah, opening the cover of the ark, gazed out and saw that the surface of the earth had become dry¹⁴In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was made dry¹⁵Then God spoke to Noah, saying¹⁶"Go out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons and the wives of your sons with you¹⁷Bring out with you all the living things that are with you, all that is flesh: as with the birds, so also with the wild beasts and all the animals that move upon the earth. And enter upon the land: increase and multiply upon it.¹⁸And so Noah and his sons went out, and his wife and the wives of his sons with him¹⁹Then also all living things, and the cattle, and the animals that move upon the earth, according to their kinds, departed from the ark²⁰Then Noah built an altar to the Lord. And, taking from each of the cattle and birds that were clean, he offered holocausts upon the altar²¹And the Lord smelled the sweet odor and said: "I will no longer curse the earth because of man. For the feelings and thoughts of the heart of man are prone to evil from his youth. Therefore, I will no longer pierce every living soul as I have done²²All the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, night and day, will not cease.

Chapter 9

¹And God blessed Noah and his sons. And he said to them: "Increase, and multiply, and fill the earth²And let the fear and trembling of you be upon all the animals of the earth, and upon all the birds of the air, along with all that moves across the earth. All the fish of the sea have been delivered into your hand³And everything that moves and lives will be food for you. Just as with the edible plants, I have delivered them all to you⁴except that flesh with blood you shall not eat⁵For I will examine the blood of your lives at the hand of every beast. So also, at the hand of mankind, at the hand of each man and his brother, I will examine the life of mankind⁶Whoever will shed human blood, his blood will be poured out. For man was indeed made to the image of God⁷But as for you: increase and multiply, and go forth upon the earth and fulfill it.⁸To Noah and to his sons with him, God also said this⁹"Behold, I will establish my covenant with you, and with your offspring after you¹⁰and with every living soul that is with you: as much with the birds as with the cattle and all the animals of the earth that have gone forth from the ark, and with all the wild beasts of the earth¹¹I will establish my covenant with you, and no longer will all that is flesh be put to death by the waters of a great flood, and, henceforth, there will not be a great flood to utterly destroy the earth.¹²And God said: "This is the sign of the pact that I grant between me and you, and to every living soul that is with you, for perpetual generations¹³I will place my arc in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the pact between myself and the earth¹⁴And when I obscure the sky with clouds, my arc will appear in the clouds¹⁵And I will remember my covenant with you, and with every living soul that enlivens flesh. And there will no longer be waters from a great flood to wipe away all that is flesh¹⁶And the arc will be in the clouds, and I will see it, and I will remember the everlasting covenant that was enacted between God and every living soul of all that is flesh upon the earth.¹⁷And God said to Noah, "This will be the sign of the covenant that I have established between myself and all that is flesh upon the earth.¹⁸And so the sons of Noah, who came out of the ark, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Now Ham himself is the father of Canaan¹⁹These three are the sons of Noah. And from these all the family of mankind was spread over the whole earth²⁰And Noah, a good farmer, began to cultivate the land, and he planted a vineyard²¹And by drinking its wine, he became inebriated and was naked in his tent²²Because of this, when Ham, the father of Canaan, had indeed seen the privates of his father to be naked, he reported it to his two brothers outside²³And truly, Shem and Japheth put a cloak upon their arms, and, advancing backwards, covered the privates of their father. And their faces were turned away, so that they did not see their father’s manhood²⁴Then Noah, awaking from the wine, when he had learned what his younger son had done to him²⁵he said, "Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants will he be to his brothers.²⁶And he said: "Blessed be the Lord God of Shem, let Canaan be his servant²⁷May God enlarge Japheth, and may he live in the tents of Shem, and let Canaan be his servant.²⁸And after the great flood, Noah lived for three hundred and fifty years²⁹And all his days were completed in nine hundred and fifty years, and then he died

Chapter 10

¹These are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and of the sons who were born to them after the great flood²The sons of Japheth were Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras³And then the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah⁴And the sons of Javan were Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim⁵The islands of the Gentiles were divided by these into their regions, each one according to his tongue, and their families in their nations⁶And the Sons of Ham were Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan⁷And the sons of Cush were Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dadan⁸And then Cush conceived Nimrod; he began to be powerful on the earth⁹And he was an able hunter before the Lord. From this, a proverb came forth: ‘Just like Nimrod, an able hunter before the Lord.¹⁰And so, the beginning of his kingdom was Babylon, and Erech, and Accad, and Chalanne, in the land of Shinar¹¹From that land, Assur came forth, and he built Nineveh, and the streets of the city, and Calah¹²and also Resen, between Nineveh and Calah. This is a great city¹³And truly, Mizraim conceived Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, Naphtuhim¹⁴and Pathrusim, and Casluhim, from whom came forth the Philistines and the Caphtorim¹⁵Then Canaan conceived Sidon his firstborn, the Hittite¹⁶and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, the Girgashite¹⁷the Hivite, and the Arkite: the Sinite¹⁸and the Arvadian, the Samarite, and the Hamathite. And after this, the peoples of the Canaanites became widespread¹⁹And the borders of Canaan went, as one travels, from Sidon to Gerar, even to Gaza, until one enters Sodom and Gomorrah, and from Admah and Zeboiim, even to Lesa²⁰These are the sons of Ham in their kindred, and tongues, and generations, and lands, and nations²¹Likewise, from Shem, the father of all the sons of Heber, the elder brother of Japheth, sons were born²²The sons of Shem were Elam, and Asshur, and Arphaxad, and Lud, and Aram²³The sons of Aram were Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash²⁴But truly, Arphaxad conceived Shelah, from whom was born Eber²⁵And to Eber were born two sons: the name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth became divided, and his brother’s name was Joktan²⁶This Joktan conceived Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, Jera²⁷and Hadoram, and Uzal and Diklah²⁸and Obal and Abimael, Sheb²⁹and Ophir, and Havilah and Jobab. All these were the sons of Joktan³⁰And their habitation extended from Messa, as one sojourns, even to Sephar, a mountain in the east³¹These are the sons of Shem according to their kindred, and tongues, and the regions within their nations³²These are the families of Noah, according to their peoples and nations. The nations became divided according to these, on the earth after the great flood

Chapter 11

¹Now the earth was of one language and of the same speech²And when they were advancing from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt in it³And each one said to his neighbor, "Come, let us make bricks, and bake them with fire." And they had bricks instead of stones, and pitch instead of mortar⁴And they said: "Come, let us make a city and a tower, so that its height may reach to heaven. And let us make our name famous before we are divided into all the lands.⁵Then the Lord descended to see the city and the tower, which the sons of Adam were building⁶And he said: "Behold, the people are united, and all have one tongue. And since they have begun to do this, they will not desist from their plans, until they have completed their work⁷Therefore, come, let us descend, and in that place confound their tongue, so that they may not listen, each one to the voice of his neighbor.⁸And so the Lord divided them from that place into all the lands, and they ceased to build the city⁹And for this reason, its name was called ‘Babel,’ because in that place the language of the whole earth became confused. And from then on, the Lord scattered them across the face of every region¹⁰These are the generations of Shem. Shem was one hundred years old when he conceived Arphaxad, two years after the great flood¹¹And after he conceived Arphaxad, Shem lived for five hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹²Next, Arphaxad lived for thirty-five years, and then he conceived Shelah¹³And after he conceived Shelah, Arphaxad lived for three hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹⁴Likewise, Shelah lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Eber¹⁵And after he conceived Eber, Shelah lived for four hundred and three years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹⁶Then Eber lived for thirty-four years, and he conceived Peleg¹⁷And after he conceived Peleg, Eber lived for four hundred and thirty years, and he conceived sons and daughters¹⁸Likewise, Peleg lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Reu¹⁹And after he conceived Reu, Peleg lived for two hundred and nine years, and he conceived sons and daughters²⁰Then Reu lived for thirty-two years, and then he conceived Serug²¹Likewise, after he conceived Serug, Reu lived for two hundred and seven years, and he conceived sons and daughters²²In truth, Serug lived for thirty years, and then he conceived Nahor²³And after he conceived Nahor, Serug lived for two hundred years, and he conceived sons and daughters²⁴And so Nahor lived for twenty-nine years, and then he conceived Terah²⁵And after he conceived Terah, Nahor lived for one hundred and nineteen years, and he conceived sons and daughters²⁶And Terah lived for seventy years, and then he conceived Abram, and Nahor, and Haran²⁷And these are the generations of Terah. Terah conceived Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Next Haran conceived Lot²⁸And Haran died before his father Terah, in the land of his nativity, in Ur of the Chaldeans²⁹Then Abram and Nahor took wives. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai. And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father of Iscah³⁰But Sarai was barren and had no children³¹And so Terah took his son Abram, and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and he led them away from Ur of the Chaldeans, to go into the land of Canaan. And they approached as far as Haran, and they dwelt there³²And the days of Terah that passed were two hundred and five years, and then he died in Haran

Chapter 12

¹Then the Lord said to Abram: "Depart from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father’s house, and come into the land that I will show you²And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and magnify your name, and you will be blessed³I will bless those who bless you, and curse those who curse you, and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.⁴And so Abram departed just as the Lord had instructed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran⁵And he took his wife Sarai, and Lot, the son of his brother, and all the substance which they had come to possess, and the lives which they had acquired in Haran, and they departed in order to go to the land of Canaan. And when they arrived in it⁶Abram passed through the land even to the place of Shechem, as far as the famous steep valley. Now at that time, the Canaanite was in the land⁷Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and he said to him, "To your offspring, I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him⁸And passing on from there to a mountain, which was opposite the east of Bethel, he pitched his tent there, having Bethel to the west, and Hai on the east. He also built an altar there to the Lord, and he called upon his name⁹And Abram traveled, going out and continuing further on, toward the south¹⁰But a famine occurred in the land. And Abram descended to Egypt, to sojourn there. For famine prevailed over the land¹¹And when he was close to entering Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai: "I know you to be a beautiful woman¹²And when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘She is his wife.’ And they will put me to death, and retain you¹³Therefore, I beg you to say that you are my sister, so that it may be well with me because of you, and so that my soul may live by your favor.¹⁴And so, when Abram had arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was exceedingly beautiful¹⁵And the princes reported it to Pharaoh, and they praised her to him. And the woman was inducted into the house of Pharaoh¹⁶In truth, they treated Abram well because of her. And he had sheep and oxen and male donkeys, and men servants, and women servants, and female donkeys, and camels¹⁷But the Lord scourged Pharaoh and his house with great wounds because of Sarai, the wife of Abram¹⁸And Pharaoh called Abram, and he said to him: "What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife¹⁹For what reason did you claim her to be your sister, so that I would take her to me as a wife? Now therefore, behold your mate, receive her and go.²⁰And Pharaoh instructed his men about Abram. And they led him away with his wife and all that he had

Chapter 13

¹Therefore, Abram ascended from Egypt, he and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, toward the southern region²But he was very wealthy by the possession of gold and silver³And he returned by the way that he came, from the meridian into Bethel, all the way to the place where before he had pitched his tent, between Bethel and Hai⁴There, at the place of the altar he had made before, he again called upon the name of the Lord⁵But Lot also, who was with Abram, had flocks of sheep, and cattle, and tents⁶Neither was the land able to contain them, so that they might dwell together. Indeed, their substance was so great that they could not live in common⁷And then there also arose a conflict between the shepherds of Abram and of Lot. Now at that time the Canaanite and the Perizzite lived in that land⁸Therefore, Abram said to Lot: "I ask you, let there be no quarrel between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds. For we are brothers⁹Behold, the entire land is before your eyes. Withdraw from me, I beg you. If you will go to the left, I will take the right. If you choose the right, I will pass to the left.¹⁰And so Lot, lifting up his eyes, saw all the region around the Jordan, which was thoroughly irrigated, before the Lord overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It was like the Paradise of the Lord, and it was like Egypt, approaching toward Zoar¹¹And Lot chose for himself the region around the Jordan, and he withdrew by way of the east. And they were divided, one brother from the other¹²Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan. In truth, Lot stayed in the towns that were around the Jordan, and he lived in Sodom¹³But the men of Sodom were very wicked, and they were sinners before the Lord beyond measure¹⁴And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was divided from him: "Lift up your eyes, and gaze out from the place where you are now, to the north and to the meridian, to the east and to the west¹⁵All the land that you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring even forever¹⁶And I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If any man is able to number the dust of the earth, he will be able to number your offspring as well¹⁷Arise and walk through the land in its length, and breadth. For I will give it to you.¹⁸Therefore, moving his tent, Abram went and dwelt by the steep valley of Mamre, which is in Hebron. And he built an altar there to the Lord

Chapter 14

¹Now it happened in that time that Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus, and Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations²went to war against Bera, king of Sodom, and against Birsha, king of Gomorrah, and against Shinab, king of Admah, and against Shemeber, king of Zeboiim, and against the king of Bela, that is Zoar³All these came together in the wooded valley, which is now the Sea of Salt⁴For they had served Chedorlaomer for twelve years, and in the thirteenth year they withdrew from him⁵Therefore, in the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer arrived, and the kings who were with him. And they struck the Rephaim at Ashteroth of the two horns, and the Zuzim with them, and the Emim at Shaveh-Kiriathaim⁶and the Chorreans in the mountains of Seir, even to the plains of Paran, which is in wilderness⁷And they returned and arrived at the fountain of Mishpat, which is Kadesh. And they struck the entire region of the Amalekites, and the Amorites who dwelt in Hazazontamar⁸And the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and indeed the king of Bela, which is Zoar, went forth. And they directed their point against them in the wooded valley⁹namely, against Chedorlaomer, king of the Elamites, and Tidal, king of the Nations, and Amraphel, king of Shinar, and Arioch, king of Pontus: four kings against five¹⁰Now the wooded valley had many pits of bitumen. And so the king of Sodom and the king of Gomorrah turned back and they fell there. And those who remained, fled to the mountain¹¹Then they took all the substance of the Sodomites and the Gomorrahites, and all that pertained to food, and they went away¹²along with both Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who lived in Sodom, and his substance¹³And behold, one who had escaped reported it to Abram the Hebrew, who lived in the steep valley of Mamre the Amorite, who was the brother of Eshcol, and the brother of Aner. For these had formed an agreement with Abram¹⁴When Abram had heard this, namely, that his brother Lot had been taken captive, he numbered three hundred and eighteen of his own armed men and he went in pursuit all the way to Dan¹⁵And dividing his company, he rushed upon them in the night. And he struck them and pursued them as far as Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus¹⁶And he brought back all the substance, and Lot his brother, with his substance, likewise the women and the people¹⁷Then the king of Sodom went out to meet him, after he returned from the slaughter at Chedorlaomer, and the kings who were with him at the valley of Shaveh, which is the valley of the king¹⁸Then in truth, Melchizedek, the king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine, for he was a priest of the Most High God¹⁹he blessed him, and he said: "Blessed be Abram by the Most High God, who created heaven and earth²⁰And blessed be the Most High God, through whose protection the enemies are in your hands." And he gave him tithes from everything²¹Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me these souls, and take the rest for yourself.²²And he responded to him: "I lift up my hand to the Lord God, the Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth²³that from one thread within a blanket, even to a single shoelace, I will not take anything from that which is yours, lest you say, ‘I have enriched Abram,²⁴except that which the young men have eaten, and the shares for the men who came with me: Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre. These will take their shares.

Chapter 15

¹And so, these things having been transacted, the word of the Lord came to Abram by a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your protector, and your reward is exceedingly great.²And Abram said: "Lord God, what will you give to me? I may go without children. And the son of the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus.³And Abram added: "Yet to me you have not given offspring. And behold, my servant born in my house will be my heir.⁴And immediately the word of the Lord came to him, saying: "This one will not be your heir. But he who will come from your loins, the same will you have for your heir.⁵And he brought him outside, and he said to him, "Take in the heavens, and number the stars, if you can." And he said to him, "So also will your offspring be.⁶Abram believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice⁷And he said to him, "I am the Lord who led you away from Ur of the Chaldeans, so as to give you this land, and so that you would possess it.⁸But he said, "Lord God, in what way may I be able to know that I will possess it?⁹And the Lord responded by saying: "Take for me a cow of three years, and a she-goat of three years, and a ram of three years, also a turtle-dove and a pigeon.¹⁰Taking all these, he divided them through the middle, and placed both parts opposite one another. But the birds he did not divide¹¹And birds descended upon the carcasses, but Abram drove them away¹²And when the sun was setting, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a dread, great and dark, invaded him¹³And it was said to him: "Know beforehand that your future offspring will be sojourners in a land not their own, and they will subjugate them in servitude and afflict them for four hundred years¹⁴Yet truly, I will judge the nation that they will serve, and after this they will depart with great substance¹⁵But you will go to your fathers in peace and be buried at a good old age¹⁶But in the fourth generation, they will return here. For the iniquities of the Amorites are not yet completed, even to this present time.¹⁷Then, when the sun had set, there came a dark mist, and there appeared a smoking furnace and a lamp of fire passing between those divisions¹⁸On that day, God formed a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt, even to the great river Euphrates¹⁹the land of the Kenites and the Kenizzites, the Kadmonite²⁰and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, likewise the Rephaim²¹and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.

Chapter 16

¹Now Sarai, the wife of Abram, had not conceived children. But, having an Egyptian handmaid named Hagar²she said to her husband: "Behold, the Lord has closed me, lest I give birth. Enter to my handmaid, so that perhaps I may receive sons of her at least." And when he agreed to her supplication³she took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, ten years after they began to live in the land of Canaan, and she gave her to her husband as a wife⁴And he entered to her. But when she saw that she had conceived, she despised her mistress⁵And Sarai said to Abram: "You have acted unfairly against me. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, who, when she saw that she had conceived, held me in contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.⁶Abram responded to her by saying, "Behold, your handmaid is in your hand to treat as it pleases you." And so, when Sarai afflicted her, she took flight⁷And when the Angel of the Lord had found her, near the fountain of water in the wilderness, which is on the way to Shur in the desert⁸he said to her: "Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, where have you come from? And where will you go?" And she answered, "I flee from the face of Sarai, my mistress.⁹And the Angel of the Lord said to her, "Return to your mistress, and humble yourself under her hand.¹⁰And again he said, "I will multiply your offspring continuously, and they will not be numbered because of their multitude.¹¹But thereafter he said: "Behold, you have conceived, and you will give birth to a son. And you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has heard your affliction¹²He will be a wild man. His hand will be against all, and all hands will be against him. And he will pitch his tents away from the region of all his brothers.¹³Then she called upon the name of the Lord who had spoken to her: "You are the God who has seen me." For she said, "Certainly, here I have seen the back of the one who sees me.¹⁴Because of this, she called that well: ‘The well of the one who lives and who sees me.’ The same is between Kadesh and Bered¹⁵And Hagar gave birth to a son for Abram, who called his name Ishmael¹⁶Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael for him

Chapter 17

¹In truth, after he began to be ninety-nine years of age, the Lord appeared to him. And he said to him: "I am the Almighty God. Walk in my sight and become complete²And I will set my covenant between me and you. And I will multiply you very exceedingly.³Abram fell prone on his face⁴And God said to him: "I AM, and my covenant is with you, and you will be the father of many nations⁵No longer will your name be called Abram. But you will be called Abraham, for I have established you as the father of many nations⁶And I will cause you to increase very greatly, and I will set you among the nations, and kings will come forth from you⁷And I will establish my covenant between me and you, and with your offspring after you in their generations, by a perpetual covenant: to be God to you and to your offspring after you⁸And I will give to you and to your offspring, the land of your sojourn, all the land of Canaan, as an eternal possession, and I will be their God.⁹Again God said to Abraham: "And you therefore shall keep my covenant, and your offspring after you in their generations¹⁰This is my covenant, which you shall observe, between me and you, and your offspring after you: All the males among you shall be circumcised¹¹And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, so that it may be a sign of the covenant between me and you¹²An infant of eight days will be circumcised among you, every male in your generations. So also servants born to you, as well as those bought, shall be circumcised, even those who are not of your stock¹³And my covenant shall be with your flesh as an eternal covenant¹⁴The male, the flesh of whose foreskin will not be circumcised, that soul shall be eliminated from his people. For he has made my covenant void.¹⁵God said also to Abraham: "Your wife Sarai, you shall not call Sarai, but Sarah¹⁶And I will bless her, and from her I will give you a son, whom I will bless, and he will be among the nations, and the kings of the peoples will rise from him.¹⁷Abraham fell on his face, and he laughed, saying in his heart: "Do you think a son can be born to a one hundred year old man? And will Sarah give birth at the age of ninety?¹⁸And he said to God, "If only Ishmael would live in your sight.¹⁹And God said to Abraham: "Your wife Sarah shall give birth to a son, and you shall call his name Isaac, and I will establish my covenant with him as a perpetual covenant, and with his offspring after him²⁰Likewise, concerning Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless and enlarge him, and I will multiply him greatly. He will produce twelve leaders, and I will make him into a great nation²¹Yet in truth, I will establish my covenant with Isaac, to whom Sarah will give birth for you at this time next year.²²And when he had finished speaking with him, God ascended from Abraham²³Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all who were born in his house, and all whom he had bought, every male among the men of his house, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin promptly, the very same day, just as God had instructed him²⁴Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin²⁵And his son Ishmael had completed thirteen years at the time of his circumcision²⁶On the very same day, Abraham was circumcised with his son Ishmael²⁷And all the men of his house, those born in his house, as well as those who were bought, even the foreigners, were circumcised with him

Chapter 18

¹Then the Lord appeared to him, in the steep valley of Mamre, when he was sitting at the door of his tent, in the very heat of the day²And when he had lifted up his eyes, there appeared to him three men, standing near him. When he had seen them, he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and he reverenced them on the ground³And he said: "If I, O lord, have found grace in your eyes, do not pass by your servant⁴But I will bring a little water, and you may wash your feet and rest under the tree⁵And I will set out a meal of bread, so that you may strengthen your heart; after this you will pass on. It is for this reason that you have turned aside to your servant." And they said, "Do as you have spoken.⁶Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and he said to her, "Quickly, mix together three measures of the finest wheat flour and make loaves baked under the ashes.⁷In truth, he himself ran to the herd, and he took a calf from there, very tender and very good, and he gave it to a servant, who hurried and boiled it⁸Likewise, he took butter and milk, and the calf which he had boiled, and he placed it before them. Yet truly, he himself stood near them under the tree⁹And when they had eaten, they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" He answered, "Behold, she is in the tent.¹⁰And he said to him, "When returning, I will come to you at this time, with life as a companion, and your wife Sarah will have a son." Hearing this, Sarah laughed behind the door of the tent¹¹Now they were both old, and in an advanced state of life, and it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women¹²And she laughed secretly, saying, "After I have grown old, and my lord is elderly, shall I give myself to the work of delight?¹³Then the Lord said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh, saying: ‘How can I, an old woman, actually give birth?¹⁴Is anything difficult for God? According to the announcement, he will return to you at this same time, with life as a companion, and Sarah will have a son.¹⁵Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh." For she was terribly afraid. But the Lord said, "It is not so; for you did laugh.¹⁶Therefore, when the men had risen up from there, they directed their eyes against Sodom. And Abraham traveled with them, leading them¹⁷And the Lord said: "How could I hide what I am about to do from Abraham¹⁸since he will become a great and very robust nation, and in him all the nations of the earth will be blessed¹⁹For I know that he will instruct his sons, and his household after him, to keep to the way of the Lord, and to act with judgment and justice, so that, for the sake of Abraham, the Lord may bring about all the things that he has spoken to him.²⁰And so the Lord said, "The outcry from Sodom and Gomorrah has been multiplied, and their sin has become exceedingly grievous²¹I will descend and see whether they have fulfilled the work of the outcry that has reached me, or whether it is not so, in order that I may know.²²And they turned themselves from there, and they went toward Sodom. Yet in truth, Abraham still stood in the sight of the Lord²³And as they drew near, he said: "Will you destroy the just with the impious²⁴If there were fifty of the just in the city, will they perish with the rest? And will you not spare that place for the sake of fifty of the just, if they were in it²⁵Far be it from you to do this thing, and to kill the just with the impious, and for the just to be treated like the impious. No, this is not like you. You judge all the earth; you would never make such a judgment.²⁶And the Lord said to him, "If I find in Sodom fifty of the just in the midst of the city, I will release the entire place because of them.²⁷And Abraham responded by saying: "Since now I have begun, I will speak to my Lord, though I am dust and ashes²⁸What if there were five less than fifty of the just? Would you, despite the forty-five, eliminate the entire city?" And he said, "I will not eliminate it, if I find forty-five there.²⁹And again he said to him, "But if forty were found there, what would you do?" He said, "I will not strike, for the sake of the forty.³⁰"I ask you," he said, "not to be angry, Lord, if I speak. What if thirty were found there?" He responded, "I will not act, if I find thirty there.³¹"Since now I have begun," he said, "I will speak to my Lord. What if twenty were found there?" He said, "I will not put to death, for the sake of the twenty.³²"I beg you," he said, "not to be angry, Lord, if I speak yet once more. What if ten were found there?" And he said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.³³And the Lord departed, after he had ceased speaking to Abraham, who then returned to his place

Chapter 19

¹And the two Angels arrived at Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting at the gate of the city. And when he had seen them, he rose up and went to meet them. And he reverenced prone on the ground²And he said: "I beg you, my lords, turn aside to the house of your servant, and lodge there. Wash your feet, and in the morning you will advance on your way." And they said, "Not at all. But we will lodge in the street.³He pressed them very much to turn aside to him. And when they had entered his house, he made a feast for them, and he cooked unleavened bread, and they ate⁴But before they went to bed, the men of the city surrounded the house, from boys to old men, all the people together⁵And they called out to Lot, and they said to him: "Where are the men who entered to you in the night? Bring them out here, so that we may know them.⁶Lot went out to them, and blocking the door behind him, he said⁷"Do not, I ask you, my brothers, do not be willing to commit this evil⁸I have two daughters who as yet have not known man. I will bring them out to you; abuse them as it pleases you, provided that you do no evil to these men, because they have entered under the shadow of my roof.⁹But they said, "Move away from there." And again: "You have entered," they said, "as a stranger; should you then judge? Therefore, we will afflict you yourself more than them." And they acted very violently against Lot. And they were now at the point of breaking open the doors¹⁰And behold, the men put out their hand, and they pulled Lot in to them, and they closed the door¹¹And they struck those who were outside with blindness, from the least to the greatest, so that they were not able to find the door¹²Then they said to Lot: "Do you have here anyone of yours? All who are yours, sons-in-law, or sons, or daughters, bring them out of this city¹³For we will eliminate this place, because the outcry among them has increased before the Lord, who sent us to destroy them.¹⁴And so Lot, going out, spoke to his sons-in-law, who were going to receive his daughters, and he said: "Rise up. Depart from this place. For the Lord will destroy this city." And it seemed to them that he was speaking playfully¹⁵And when it was morning, the Angels compelled him, saying, "Arise, take your wife, and the two daughters that you have, lest you also should perish amid the wickedness of the city.¹⁶And, since he ignored them, they took his hand, and the hand of his wife, as well as that of his two daughters, because the Lord was sparing him¹⁷And they brought him out, and placed him beyond the city. And there they spoke to him, saying: "Save your life. Do not look not back. Neither should you stay in the entire surrounding region. But save yourself in the mountain, lest you also should perish.¹⁸And Lot said to them: "I beg you, my lord¹⁹though your servant has found grace before you, and you have magnified your mercy, which you have shown to me in saving my life, I cannot be saved on the mountain, lest perhaps some misfortune take hold of me and I die²⁰There is a certain city nearby, to which I can flee; it is a little one, and I will be saved in it. Is it not a modest one, and will not my soul live?²¹And he said to him: "Behold, even now, I have heard your petitions about this, not to overturn the city on behalf of which you have spoken²²Hurry and be saved there. For I cannot do anything until you enter there." For this reason, the name of that city is called Zoar²³The sun had risen over the land, and Lot had entered into Zoar²⁴Therefore, the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulphur and fire, from the Lord, out of heaven²⁵And he overturned these cities, and all the surrounding region: all the inhabitants of the cities, and everything that springs from the land²⁶And his wife, looking behind herself, was turned into a statue of salt²⁷Then Abraham, rising up in the morning, in the place where he had stood before with the Lord²⁸looked out toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and the entire land of that region. And he saw embers rising up from the land like smoke from a furnace²⁹For when God overthrew the cities of that region, remembering Abraham, he freed Lot from the overthrow of the cities, in which he had dwelt³⁰And Lot ascended from Zoar, and he stayed on the mountain, and likewise his two daughters with him, (for he was afraid to stay in Zoar) and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters with him³¹And the elder said to the younger: "Our father is old, and no man remains in the land who can enter to us according to the custom of the whole world³²Come, let us inebriate him with wine, and let us sleep with him, so that we may be able to preserve offspring from our father.³³And so they gave their father wine to drink that night. And the elder went in, and she slept with her father. But he did not perceive it, neither when his daughter lay down, nor when she rose up³⁴Likewise, the next day, the elder said to the younger: "Behold, yesterday I slept with my father, let us give him wine to drink yet again this night, and you will sleep with him, so that we may save offspring from our father.³⁵And then they gave their father wine to drink that night also, and the younger daughter went in, and slept with him. And not even then did he perceive when she lay down, or when she rose up³⁶Therefore, the two daughters of Lot conceived by their father³⁷And the elder gave birth to a son, and she called his name Moab. He is the father of the Moabites, even to the present day³⁸Likewise, the younger gave birth to a son, and she called his name Ammon, that is, ‘the son of my people.’ He is the father of the Ammonites, even today

Chapter 20

¹Abraham advanced from there into the southern land, and he lived between Kadesh and Shur. And he sojourned in Gerar²And he said about his wife Sarah: "She is my sister." Therefore, Abimelech, the king of Gerar, sent for her and took her³Then God came to Abimelech through a dream in the night, and he said to him: "Lo, you shall die because of the woman that you have taken. For she has a husband.⁴In truth, Abimelech had not touched her, and so he said: "Lord, would you put to death a people, ignorant and just⁵Did he not say to me, ‘She is my sister,’ and did she not say, ‘He is my brother?’ In the sincerity of my heart and the purity of my hands, I have done this.⁶And God said to him: "And I know that you have acted with a sincere heart. And therefore I kept you from sinning against me, and I did not release you to touch her⁷Now therefore, return his wife to the man, for he is a prophet. And he will pray for you, and you will live. But if you are not willing to return her, know this: you shall die a death, you and all that is yours.⁸And immediately Abimelech, rising up in the night, called all his servants. And he spoke all these words in their hearing, and all the men were very afraid⁹Then Abimelech called also for Abraham, and he said to him: "What have you done to us? How have we sinned against you, so that you would bring so great a sin upon me and upon my kingdom? You have done to us what you ought not to have done.¹⁰And remonstrating him again, he said, "What did you see, so that you would do this?¹¹Abraham responded: "I thought to myself, saying: Perhaps there is no fear of God in this place. And they will put me to death because of my wife¹²Yet, in another way, she is also truly my sister, the daughter of my father, and not the daughter of my mother, and I took her as a wife¹³Then, after God led me out of my father’s house, I said to her: ‘You will show this mercy to me. In every place, to which we will travel, you will say that I am your brother.’ ¹⁴Therefore, Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men servants and women servants, and he gave them to Abraham. And he returned his wife Sarah to him¹⁵And he said, "The land is in your sight. Dwell wherever it will please you.¹⁶Then to Sarah he said: "Behold, I have given your brother one thousand silver coins. This will be for you as a veil for your eyes, to all who are with you and wherever you will travel. And so, remember that you were taken.¹⁷Then when Abraham prayed, God healed Abimelech and his wife, and his handmaids, and they gave birth¹⁸For the Lord had closed every womb of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah, the wife of Abraham

Chapter 21

¹Then the Lord visited Sarah, just as he had promised; and he fulfilled what he had spoken²And she conceived and gave birth to a son in her old age, at the time that God had foretold to her³And Abraham called the name of his son, whom Sarah bore for him, Isaac⁴And he circumcised him on the eighth day, just as God had instructed him⁵when he was one hundred years old. Indeed, at this stage of his father’s life, Isaac was born⁶And Sarah said: "God has brought laughter to me. Whoever will hear of it will laugh with me.⁷And again, she said: "Hearing this, who would believe Abraham, that Sarah breast-fed a son, to whom she gave birth, despite being elderly?⁸And the boy grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day of his weaning⁹And when Sarah had seen the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with her son Isaac, she said to Abraham¹⁰"Cast out this woman servant and her son. For the son of a woman servant will not be heir with my son Isaac.¹¹Abraham took this grievously, for the sake of his son¹²And God said to him: "Let it not seem harsh to you concerning the boy and your woman servant. In all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice. For your offspring will be invoked in Isaac¹³Yet I will also make the son of the woman servant into a great nation, for he is your offspring.¹⁴And so Abraham arose in the morning, and taking bread and a skin of water, he placed it upon her shoulder, and he handed over the boy, and he released her. And when she had departed, she wandered in the wilderness of Beersheba¹⁵And when the water in the skin had been consumed, she set aside the boy, under one of the trees that were there¹⁶And she moved away and sat in a distant area, as far as a bow can reach. For she said, "I shall not see the boy die." And so, sitting opposite her, he lifted up his voice and wept¹⁷But God heard the voice of the boy. And an Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, saying: "What are you doing, Hagar? Do not be afraid. For God has heeded the voice of the boy, from the place where he is¹⁸Rise up. Take the boy and hold him by the hand. For I will make of him a great nation.¹⁹And God opened her eyes. And seeing a well of water, she went and filled the skin, and she gave the boy to drink²⁰And God was with him. And he grew, and he stayed in the wilderness, and he became a young man, an archer²¹And he lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt²²At the same time, Abimelech and Phicol, the leader of his army, said to Abraham: "God is with you in everything that you do²³Therefore, swear by God that you will do no harm to me, and to my posterity, and to my stock. But according to the mercy that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land, to which you have turned as a newcomer.²⁴And Abraham said, "I will swear.²⁵And he reproved Abimelech because of a well of water, which his servants had taken away by force²⁶And Abimelech responded, "I do not know who did this thing, but you also did not reveal it to me, nor have I heard of it, before today.²⁷And so Abraham took sheep and oxen, and he gave them to Abimelech. And both of them struck a pact²⁸And Abraham set aside seven female lambs from the flock²⁹Abimelech said to him, "What purpose have these seven female lambs, which you have caused to stand separately?³⁰But he said, "You will receive seven female lambs from my hand, so that they may be a testimony for me, that I dug this well.³¹For this reason, that place was called Beersheba, because there both of them did swear³²And they initiated a pact on behalf of the well of oath³³Then Abimelech and Phicol, the leader of his army, rose up, and they returned to the land of the Palestinians. In truth, Abraham planted a grove in Beersheba, and there he called upon the name of the Lord God Eternal³⁴And he was a settler in the land of the Palestinians for many days

Chapter 22

¹After these things occurred, God tested Abraham, and he said to him, "Abraham, Abraham." And he answered, "Here I am.²He said to him: "Take your only begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go into the land of vision. And there you shall offer him as a holocaust upon one of the mountains, which I will show to you.³And so Abraham, getting up in the night, harnessed his donkey, taking with him two youths, and his son Isaac. And when he had cut wood for the holocaust, he traveled toward the place, as God had instructed him⁴Then, on the third day, lifting up his eyes, he saw the place at a distance⁵And he said to his servants: "Wait here with the donkey. I and the boy will hurry further ahead to that place. After we have worshipped, will return to you.⁶He also took the wood for the holocaust, and he imposed it upon his son Isaac. And he himself carried in his hands fire and a sword. And as the two continued on together⁷Isaac said to his father, "My father." And he answered, "What do you want, son?" "Behold," he said, "fire and wood. Where is the victim for the holocaust?⁸But Abraham said, "God himself will provide the victim for the holocaust, my son." Thus they continued on together⁹And they came to the place that God had shown to him. There he built an altar, and he set the wood in order upon it. And when he had bound his son Isaac, he laid him on the altar upon the pile of wood¹⁰And he reached out his hand and took hold of the sword, in order to sacrifice his son¹¹And behold, an Angel of the Lord called out from heaven, saying, "Abraham, Abraham." And he answered, "Here I am.¹²And he said to him, "Do not extend your hand over the boy, and do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, since you have not spared your only begotten son for my sake.¹³Abraham lifted up his eyes, and he saw behind his back a ram among the thorns, caught by the horns, which he took and offered as a holocaust, instead of his son¹⁴And he called the name of that place: ‘The Lord Sees.’ Thus, even to this day, it is said: ‘On the mountain, the Lord will see.¹⁵Then the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham a second time from heaven, saying¹⁶"By my own self, I have sworn, says the Lord. Because you have done this thing, and have not spared your only begotten son for my sake¹⁷I will bless you, and I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gates of their enemies¹⁸And in your offspring, all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you obeyed my voice.¹⁹Abraham returned to his servants, and they went to Beersheba together, and he lived there²⁰After these things occurred, it was reported to Abraham that Milcah, likewise, had borne sons for his brother Nahor²¹Uz, the firstborn, and Buz, his brother, and Kemuel, the father of the Syrians²²and Chesed, and Hazo, likewise Pildash, and Jidlaph²³as well as Bethuel, of whom was born Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore for Nahor, the brother of Abraham²⁴In truth, his concubine, named Reumah, bore Tebah, and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah

Chapter 23

¹Now Sarah lived for one hundred and twenty-seven years²And she died in the city of Arba, which is Hebron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn and weep for her³And when he had risen up from the funeral duties, he spoke to the sons of Heth, saying⁴"I am a newcomer and a sojourner among you. Give me the right of a sepulcher among you, so that I may bury my dead.⁵The sons of Heth responded by saying⁶"Hear us, O lord, you are a leader of God among us. Bury your dead in our chosen sepulchers. And no man shall be able to prohibit you from burying your dead within his memorial.⁷Abraham arose, and he reverenced the people of the land, namely, the sons of Heth⁸And he said to them: "If it pleases your soul that I should bury my dead, hear me, and intercede on my behalf with Ephron, the son of Zohar⁹so that he may give me the double cave, which he has at the far end of his field. He may transfer it to me for as much money as it is worth in your sight, for the possession of a sepulcher.¹⁰Now Ephron dwelt in the midst of the sons of Heth. And Ephron responded to Abraham in the hearing of everyone who was entering at the gate of his city, saying¹¹"Let it never be so, my lord, but you should pay greater heed to what I say. The field I will transfer to you, and the cave that is in it. In the presence of the sons of my people, bury your dead.¹²Abraham reverenced in the sight of the people of the land¹³And he spoke to Ephron, standing in the midst of the people: "I ask you to hear me. I will give you money for the field. Take it, and so I will bury my dead in it.¹⁴And Ephron responded: "My lord, hear me¹⁵The land that you request is worth four hundred shekels of silver. This is the price between me and you. But how much is this? Bury your dead.¹⁶And when Abraham had heard this, he weighed out the money that Ephron had requested, in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, of the approved public currency¹⁷And having confirmed that the field, in which there was a double cave overlooking Mamre, formerly belonged to Ephron, both it and the sepulcher, and all its trees, with all its surrounding limits¹⁸Abraham took it as a possession, in the sight of the sons of Heth and of everyone who was entering at the gate of his city¹⁹So then, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the double cave of the field that overlooked Mamre. This is Hebron in the land of Canaan²⁰And the field was confirmed to Abraham, with the cave that was in it, as a memorial possession before the sons of Heth

Chapter 24

¹Now Abraham was old and of many days. And the Lord had blessed him in all things²And he said to the elder servant of his house, who was in charge of all that he had: "Place your hand under my thigh³so that I may make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I live⁴But that you will proceed to my land and kindred, and from there take a wife for my son Isaac.⁵The servant responded, "If the woman is not willing to come with me into this land, must I lead your son back to the place from which you departed?⁶And Abraham said: "Beware that you never lead my son back to that place⁷The Lord God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house, and from the land of my nativity, who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ himself will send his Angel before you, and you will take from there a wife for my son⁸But if the woman is not willing to follow you, you will not be held by the oath. Only do not lead my son back to that place.⁹Therefore, the servant placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his lord, and he swore to him on his word¹⁰And he took ten camels from his lord’s herd, and he went forth, carrying with him things from all of his goods. And he set out, and continued on, to the city of Nahor, in Mesopotamia¹¹And when he had made the camels lie down outside of the town, near a well of water, in the evening, at the time when women are accustomed to go out to draw water, he said¹²"O Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, meet with me today, I beg you, and show mercy to my lord Abraham¹³Behold, I stand near the fountain of water, and the daughters of the inhabitants of this city will go forth to draw water¹⁴Therefore, the girl to whom I will say, ‘Tip your pitcher, so that I may drink,’ and she will respond, ‘Drink. In fact, I will give your camels a drink also,’ the same one is she whom you have prepared for your servant Isaac. And by this, I will understand that you have shown mercy to my lord.¹⁵But he had not yet completed these words within himself, when, behold, Rebekah went out, the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, the brother of Abraham, having a pitcher on her shoulder¹⁶She was an exceedingly elegant girl, and a most beautiful virgin, and unknown by man. And she descended to the spring, and she filled her pitcher, and then was returning¹⁷And the servant ran to meet her, and he said, "Provide me with a little water to drink from your pitcher.¹⁸And she responded, "Drink, my lord." And she quickly brought down the pitcher on her arm, and she gave him a drink¹⁹And after he drank, she added, "In fact, I will draw water for your camels also, until they all drink.²⁰And pouring out the pitcher into the troughs, she ran back to the well to draw water; and having drawn, she gave it to all the camels²¹But he was contemplating her silently, wanting to know whether the Lord had caused his journey to prosper or no²²Then, after the camels drank, the man took out gold earrings, weighing two shekels, and the same number of bracelets, ten shekels in weight²³And he said to her: "Whose daughter are you? Tell me, is there any place in your father’s house to lodge?²⁴She responded, "I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, to whom she gave birth for Nahor.²⁵And she continued, saying, "There is very much straw and hay with us, and a spacious place to stay.²⁶The man bowed himself down, and he adored the Lord²⁷saying, "Blessed be the Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, who has not taken away his mercy and truth from my lord, and who has led me on a direct journey to the house of the brother of my lord.²⁸And so the girl ran, and she reported all that she had heard in the house of her mother²⁹Now Rebekah had a brother, named Laban, who went out quickly to the man, where the spring was³⁰And when he had seen the earrings and bracelets in his sister’s hands, and he had heard all the words being repeated, "This is what the man spoke to me," he came to the man who stood by the camels and near the spring of water³¹and he said to him: "Enter, O blessed of the Lord. Why do you stand outside? I have prepared the house, and a place for the camels.³²And he brought him into his guest quarters. And he unharnessed the camels, and he distributed straw and hay, and water to wash his feet and that of the men who arrived with him³³And bread was set out in his sight. But he said, "I will not eat, until I have spoken my words." He answered him, "Speak.³⁴Then he said: "I am the servant of Abraham³⁵And the Lord has blessed my lord greatly, and he has become great. And he has given him sheep and oxen, silver and gold, men servants and women servants, camels and donkeys³⁶And Sarah, the wife of my lord, has given birth to a son for my lord in her old age, and he has given him all that he had³⁷And my lord made me swear, saying: ‘You shall not take a wife for my son from the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell³⁸But you shall travel to my father’s house, and you shall take a wife of my own kindred for my son.³⁹But truly, I answered my lord, ‘What if the woman is not willing to come with me?⁴⁰‘The Lord,’ he said, ‘in whose sight I walk, will send his Angel with you, and he will direct your way. And you shall take a wife for my son from my own kindred and from my father’s house⁴¹But you will be innocent of my curse, if, when you will arrive at my close relatives, they will not grant this to you.⁴²And so, today I arrived at the well of water, and I said: ‘O Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, if you have directed my way, in which I now walk⁴³behold, I stand next to the well of water, and the virgin, who will go forth to draw water, will hear from me, "Give me a little water to drink from your pitcher.⁴⁴And she will say to me, "You drink, and I will also draw for your camels." Let the same be the woman, whom the Lord has prepared for the son of my lord.⁴⁵And while I thought over these things silently within myself, Rebekah appeared, arriving with a pitcher, which she carried on her shoulder. And she descended to the spring and drew water. And I said to her, ‘Give me a little to drink.⁴⁶And she quickly let down the pitcher from her arm, and said to me, ‘You drink, and to your camels I will also distribute drinking water.’ I drank, and she watered the camels⁴⁷And I questioned her, saying, ‘Whose daughter are you?’ And she responded, ‘I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And so, I hung the earrings on her, to adorn her face, and I put the bracelets on her hands⁴⁸And falling prostrate, I adored the Lord, blessing the Lord, the God of my lord Abraham, who has led me along the straight path so as to take the daughter of my lord’s brother to his son⁴⁹For this reason, if you would act according to mercy and truth with my lord, tell me so. But if it pleases you otherwise, say that to me also, so that I may go either to the right, or to the left.⁵⁰And Laban and Bethuel responded: "A word has proceeded from the Lord. We are not able to speak anything else to you, beyond what pleases him⁵¹Lo, Rebekah is in your sight. Take her and continue on, and let her be the wife of the son of your lord, just as the Lord has spoken.⁵²When Abraham’s servant had heard this, falling down to the ground, he adored the Lord⁵³And bringing forth vessels of silver and gold, as well as garments, he gave them to Rebekah as a tribute. Likewise, he offered gifts to her brothers and her mother⁵⁴And a banquet began, and they feasted and drank together, and they lodged there. And rising up in the morning, the servant said, "Release me, so that I may go to my lord.⁵⁵And her brothers and mother responded, "Let the girl remain for at least ten days with us, and after that, she will continue on.⁵⁶"Do not be willing," he said, "to delay me, for the Lord has directed my way. Release me, so that I may journey to my lord.⁵⁷And they said, "Let us call the girl, and ask her will.⁵⁸And when, having been called, she arrived, they wanted to know, "Will you go with this man?" And she said, "I will go.⁵⁹Therefore, they released her and her nurse, and the servant of Abraham and his companions⁶⁰wishing prosperity for their sister, by saying: "You are our sister. May you increase to thousands of thousands. And may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies.⁶¹And so, Rebekah and her maids, riding upon camels, followed the man, who quickly returned to his lord⁶²Then, at the same time, Isaac was walking along the way that leads to the well, whose name is: ‘of the One who lives and who sees.’ For he dwelt in the southern land⁶³And he had gone out to meditate in the field, as daylight was now declining. And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw camels advancing from afar⁶⁴Likewise, Rebekah, having seen Isaac, descended from the camel⁶⁵And she said to the servant, "Who is that man who advances to meet us through the field?" And he said to her, "That is my lord." And so, quickly taking up her cloak, she covered herself⁶⁶Then the servant explained to Isaac all that he had done⁶⁷And he led her into the tent of Sarah his mother, and he accepted her as wife. And he loved her so very much, that it tempered the sorrow which befell him at his mother’s death

Chapter 25

¹In truth, Abraham took another wife, named Keturah²And she bore to him Zimran, and Jokshan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah³Likewise, Jokshan conceived Sheba and Dedan. The sons of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leummim⁴And truly, from Midian was born Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. All these were the sons of Keturah⁵And Abraham gave everything that he possessed to Isaac⁶But to the sons of the concubines he gave generous gifts, and he separated them from his son Isaac, while he still lived, toward the eastern region⁷Now the days of Abraham’s life were one hundred and seventy-five years⁸And declining, he died in a good old age, and at an advanced stage of life, and full of days. And he was gathered to his people⁹And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the double cave, which was situated in the field of Ephron, of the son of Zohar the Hittite, across from the region of Mamre¹⁰which he had bought from the sons of Heth. There he was buried, with his wife Sarah¹¹And after his passing, God blessed his son Isaac, who lived near the well named ‘of the One who lives and who sees.¹²These are the generations of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s servant, bore to him¹³And these are the names of his sons according to their language and generations. The firstborn of Ishmael was Nebaioth, then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam¹⁴likewise Mishma, and Dumah, and Massa¹⁵Hadad, and Tema, and Jetur, and Naphish, and Kedemah¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael. And these are their names throughout their fortresses and towns: the twelve princes of their tribes¹⁷And the years of the life of Ishmael that passed were one hundred and thirty-seven. And declining, he died and was placed with his people¹⁸Now he had lived from Havilah as far as Shur, which overlooks Egypt as it approaches the Assyrians. He passed away in the sight of all his brothers¹⁹Likewise, these are the generations of Isaac, the son of Abraham. Abraham conceived Isaac²⁰who, when he was forty years old, took Rebekah, the sister of Laban, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian from Mesopotamia, as a wife²¹And Isaac beseeched the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. And he heard him, and he gave conception to Rebekah²²But the little ones struggled in her womb. So she said, "If it was to be so with me, what need was there to conceive?" And she went to consult the Lord²³And responding, he said, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be divided out of your womb, and one people will overcome the other people, and the elder will serve the younger.²⁴Now the time had arrived to give birth, and behold, twins were discovered in her womb²⁵He who departed first was red, and entirely hairy like a pelt; and his name was called Esau. At once the other departed and he held his brother’s foot in his hand; and because of this he was called Jacob²⁶Isaac was sixty years old when the little ones were born to him²⁷And as adults, Esau became a knowledgeable hunter and a man of agriculture, but Jacob, a simple man, dwelt in tents²⁸Isaac was fond of Esau, because he was fed from his hunting; and Rebekah loved Jacob²⁹Then Jacob boiled a small meal. Esau, when he had arrived weary from the field³⁰said to him, "Give me this red stew, for I am very tired." For this reason, his name was called Edom³¹Jacob said to him, "Sell me your right of the firstborn.³²He answered, "Lo, I am dying, what will the right of the firstborn provide for me?³³Jacob said, "So then, swear to me." Esau swore to him, and he sold his right of the firstborn³⁴And so, taking bread and the food of lentils, he ate, and he drank, and he went away, giving little weight to having sold the right of the firstborn

Chapter 26

¹Then, when a famine arose over the land, after that barrenness which had happened in the days of Abraham, Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Palestinians, in Gerar²And the Lord appeared to him, and he said: "Do not descend into Egypt, but rest in the land that I will tell you³and sojourn in it, and I will be with you, and I will bless you. For to you and to your offspring I will give all these regions, completing the oath that I promised to Abraham your father⁴And I will multiply your offspring like the stars of heaven. And I will give to your posterity all these regions. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed⁵because Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my precepts and commandments, and observed the ceremonies and the laws.⁶And so Isaac remained in Gerar⁷And when he was questioned by the men of that place about his wife, he answered, "She is my sister." For he was afraid to confess her to be his mate, thinking that perhaps they would put him to death because of her beauty⁸And when very many days had passed, and he had remained in the same place, Abimelech, king of the Palestinians, gazing through a window, saw him being playful with Rebekah, his wife⁹And summoning him, he said: "It is clear that she is your wife. Why did you falsely claim her to be your sister?" He answered, "I was afraid, lest I might die because of her.¹⁰And Abimelech said: "Why have you burdened us? Someone from the people could have lain with your wife, and you would have brought a great sin upon us." And he instructed all the people, saying¹¹"Whoever will touch the wife of this man will die a death.¹²Then Isaac sowed in that land, and he found, in that same year, one hundredfold. And the Lord blessed him¹³And the man was enriched, and he continued prospering as well as increasing, until he became very great¹⁴Likewise, he had possessions of sheep and of herds, and a very large family. Because of this, the Palestinians envied him¹⁵so, at that time, they obstructed all the wells that the servants of his father Abraham had dug, filling them with soil¹⁶It reached a point where Abimelech himself said to Isaac, "Move away from us, for you have become very much more powerful than we.¹⁷And departing, he then went toward the torrent of Gerar, and he dwelt there¹⁸Again, he dug up other wells, which the servants of his father Abraham had dug, and which, after his death, the Philistines had formerly obstructed. And he called them by the same names that his father had called them before¹⁹And they dug in the torrent, and they found living water²⁰But in that place also the shepherds of Gerar argued against the shepherds of Isaac, by saying, "It is our water." For this reason, he called the name of the well, because of what had happened, ‘Calumny.²¹Then they dug up yet another one. And over that one also they fought, and he called it, ‘Enmity.²²Advancing from there, he dug another well, over which they did not contend. And so he called its name, ‘Latitude,’ saying, "Now the Lord has expanded us and caused us to increase across the land.²³Then he ascended from that place into Beersheba²⁴where the Lord appeared to him on the same night, saying: "I am the God of Abraham your father. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you, and I will multiply your offspring because of my servant Abraham.²⁵And so he built an altar there. And he invoked the name of the Lord, and he stretched out his tent. And he instructed his servants to dig a well²⁶When Abimelech, and Ahuzzath, his friend, and Phicol, the leader of the military, had arrived from Gerar to that place²⁷Isaac said to them, "Why have you come to me, a man whom you hate, and whom you have expelled from among you?²⁸And they responded: "We saw that the Lord is with you, and therefore we said: Let there be an oath between us, and let us initiate a pact²⁹so that you may not do us any kind of harm, just as we have touched nothing of yours, and have not caused any injury to you, but with peace we released you, augmented by the blessing of the Lord.³⁰Therefore, he made them a feast, and after the food and drink³¹arising in the morning, they swore to one another. And Isaac sent them away peacefully to their own place³²Then, behold, on the same day the servants of Isaac came, reporting to him about a well which they had dug, and saying: "We have found water.³³Therefore, he called it, ‘Abundance.’ And the name of the city was established as ‘Beersheba,’ even to the present day³⁴In truth, at forty years of age, Esau took wives: Judith, the daughter of Beeri, the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, of the same place³⁵And they both offended the mind of Isaac and Rebekah

Chapter 27

¹Now Isaac was old, and his eyes were cloudy, and so he was not able to see. And he called his elder son Esau, and he said to him, "My son?" And he responded, "Here I am.²His father said to him: "You see that I am old, and I do not know the day of my death³Take your weapons, the quiver and the bow, and go out. And when you have taken something by hunting⁴make from it a small meal for me, just as you know I like, and bring it, so that I may eat and my soul may bless you before I die.⁵And when Rebekah had heard this, and he had gone out into the field to fulfill his father’s order⁶she said to her son Jacob: "I heard your father speaking with your brother Esau, and saying to him⁷‘Bring to me from your hunting, and make me foods, so that I may eat and bless you in the sight of the Lord before I die.⁸Therefore, now my son, agree to my counsel⁹and go straight to the flock, and bring me two of the best young goats, so that from them I may make meat for your father, such as he willingly eats¹⁰Then, when you have brought these in and he has eaten, he may bless you before he dies.¹¹He answered her: "You know that my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am smooth¹²If my father should lay hands on me and perceive it, I am afraid lest he think me willing to mock him, and I will bring a curse upon myself, instead of a blessing.¹³And his mother said to him: "Let this curse be upon me, my son. Yet listen to my voice, and go directly to bring what I said.¹⁴He went out, and he brought, and he gave to his mother. She prepared the meats, just as she knew his father liked¹⁵And she clothed him with the very fine garments of Esau, which she had at home with her¹⁶And she encircled his hands with little pelts from the young goats, and she covered his bare neck¹⁷And she gave him the small meal, and she handed him the bread that she had baked¹⁸When he had carried these in, he said, "My father?" And he answered, "I’m listening. Who are you, my son?¹⁹And Jacob said: "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you instructed me. Arise; sit and eat from my hunting, so that your soul may bless me.²⁰And again Isaac said to his son, "How were you able to find it so quickly, my son?" He answered, "It was the will of God, so that what I sought met with me quickly.²¹And Isaac said, "Come here, so that I may touch you, my son, and may prove whether you are my son Esau, or not.²²He approached his father, and when he had felt him, Isaac said: "The voice indeed is the voice of Jacob. But the hands are the hands of Esau.²³And he did not recognize him, because his hairy hands made him seem similar to the elder one. Therefore, blessing him²⁴he said, "Are you my son Esau?" He answered, "I am.²⁵Then he said, "Bring me the foods from your hunting, my son, so that my soul may bless you." And when he had eaten what was offered, he also brought forth wine for him. And after he finished it²⁶he said to him, "Come to me and give me a kiss, my son.²⁷He approached and kissed him. And immediately he perceived the fragrance of his garments. And so, blessing him, he said: "Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a plentiful field, which the Lord has blessed²⁸May God give to you, from the dew of heaven and from the fatness of the earth, an abundance of grain and wine²⁹And may the peoples serve you, and may the tribes reverence you. May you be the lord of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down before you. Whoever curses you, may he be cursed, and whoever blesses you, may he be filled with blessings.³⁰Scarcely had Isaac completed his words, and Jacob departed, when Esau arrived³¹And he brought his father foods cooked from his hunting, saying, "Arise, my father, and eat from your son’s hunting, so that your soul may bless me.³²And Isaac said to him, "But who are you?" And he answered, "I am your firstborn son, Esau.³³Isaac became frightened and very astonished. And wondering beyond what can be believed, he said: "Then who is he that a while ago brought me the prey from his hunting, from which I ate, before you arrived? And I blessed him, and he will be blessed.³⁴Esau, having heard his father’s words, roared out with a great outcry. And, being confounded, he said, "But bless me also, my father.³⁵And he said, "Your twin came deceitfully, and he received your blessing.³⁶But he responded: "Justly is his name called Jacob. For he has supplanted me yet another time. My birthright he took away before, and now, this second time, he has stolen my blessing." And again, he said to his father, "Have you not reserved a blessing for me also?³⁷Isaac answered: "I have appointed him as your lord, and I have subjugated all his brothers as his servants. I have reinforced him with grain and wine, and after this, my son, what more shall I do for you?³⁸And Esau said to him: "Have you only one blessing, father? I beg you, bless me also." And when he wept with a loud wail³⁹Isaac was moved, and he said to him: "In the fatness of the earth, and in the dew of heaven from above⁴⁰will your blessing be. You will live by the sword, and you will serve your brother. But the time will arrive when you will shake off and release his yoke from your neck.⁴¹Therefore, Esau always hated Jacob, for the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And he said in his heart, "The days will arrive for the mourning of my father, and I will kill my brother Jacob.⁴²These things were reported to Rebekah. And sending and calling for her son Jacob, she said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau is threatening to kill you⁴³Therefore, now my son, listen to my voice. Rise up and flee to my brother Laban, in Haran⁴⁴And you will dwell with him for a few days, until the fury of your brother subsides⁴⁵and his indignation ceases, and he forgets the things that you have done to him. After this, I will send for you and bring you from there to here. Why should I be bereaved of both my sons in one day?⁴⁶And Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth. If Jacob accepts a wife from the stock of this land, I would not be willing to live.

Chapter 28

¹And so Isaac called for Jacob, and he blessed him, and he instructed him, saying: "Do not be willing to accept a mate from the family of Canaan²But go, and journey to Mesopotamia of Syria, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and there accept for yourself a wife from the daughters of Laban, your maternal uncle³And may God almighty bless you, and may he cause you to increase and also to multiply, so that you may be influential among the people⁴And may he give the blessings of Abraham to you, and to your offspring after you, so that you may possess the land of your sojourning, which he promised to your grandfather.⁵And when Isaac had dismissed him, setting out, he went to Mesopotamia of Syria, to Laban, the son of Bethuel, the Syrian, the brother to Rebekah, his mother⁶But Esau, seeing that his father had blessed Jacob and had sent him into Mesopotamia of Syria, to take a wife from there, and that, after the blessing, he had instructed him, saying: ‘You shall not accept a wife from the daughters of Canaan,⁷and that Jacob, obeying his parents, had gone into Syria⁸having evidence also that his father did not look with favor upon the daughters of Canaan⁹he went to Ishmael, and he took as a wife, beside those he had before, Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, the sister of Nebaioth¹⁰Meanwhile Jacob, having departed from Beersheba, continued on to Haran¹¹And when he had arrived at a certain place, where he would rest after the setting of the sun, he took some of the stones that lay there, and placing them under his head, he slept in the same place¹²And he saw in his sleep: a ladder standing upon the earth, with its top touching heaven, also, the Angels of God ascending and descending by it¹³and the Lord, leaning upon the ladder, saying to him: "I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. The land, in which you sleep, I will give to you and to your offspring¹⁴And your offspring will be like the dust of the earth. You will spread abroad to the West, and to the East, and to the North, and to the Meridian. And in you and in your offspring, all the tribes of the earth shall be blessed¹⁵And I will be your guardian wherever you will journey, and I will bring you back into this land. Neither will I dismiss you, until I have accomplished all that I have said.¹⁶And when Jacob had awakened from sleep, he said, "Truly, the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.¹⁷And being terrified, he said: "How terrible this place is! This is nothing other than the house of God and the gateway of heaven.¹⁸Therefore, Jacob, arising in the morning, took the stone which he had placed under his head, and he set it up as monument, pouring oil over it¹⁹And he called the name of the city, ‘Bethel,’ which before was called Luz²⁰And then he made a vow, saying: "If God will be with me, and will guard me along the way by which I walk, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear²¹and if I will return prosperously to my father’s house, then the Lord will be my God²²and this stone, which I have set up as a monument, will be called ‘the House of God.’ And from all the things that you will give to me, I will offer tithes to you.

Chapter 29

¹And so Jacob, setting out, arrived in the eastern land²And he saw a well in a field, and also three flocks of sheep reclining near it. For the animals were watered from it, and its mouth was closed with a great stone³And the custom was, when all the sheep were gathered together, to roll away the stone. And when the flocks had been refreshed, they placed it over the mouth of the well again⁴And he said to the shepherds, "Brothers, where are you from?" And they answered. "From Haran.⁵And questioning them, he said, "Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor?" They said, "We know him.⁶He said, "Is he well?" "He is very well," they said. "And behold, his daughter Rachel approaches with his flock.⁷And Jacob said, "There is still much daylight remaining, and it is not time to return the flocks to the sheepfold. Give the sheep to drink first, and then lead them back to pasture.⁸They responded, "We cannot, until all the animals are gathered together and we remove the stone from the mouth of the well, so that we may water the flocks.⁹They were still speaking, and behold, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep; for she pastured the flock¹⁰When Jacob had seen her, and he realized that she was his maternal first cousin, and that these were the sheep of his uncle Laban, he removed the stone which closed the well¹¹And having watered the flock, he kissed her. And lifting up his voice, he wept¹²And he revealed to her that he was a brother of her father, and the son of Rebekah. And so, hurrying, she announced it to her father¹³And when he had heard that Jacob, his sister’s son, had arrived, he ran to meet him. And embracing him, and kissing him heartily, he brought him into his house. But when he had heard the reasons for his journey¹⁴he responded, "You are my bone and my flesh." And after the days of one month were completed¹⁵he said to him: "Though you are my brother, will you serve me for nothing? Tell me what wages you would accept.¹⁶In truth, he had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah; and truly the younger was called Rachel¹⁷But while Leah was bleary-eyed, Rachel had an elegant appearance and was attractive to behold¹⁸And Jacob, loving her, said, "I will serve you for seven years, for your younger daughter Rachel.¹⁹Laban responded, "It is better that I give her to you than to another man; remain with me.²⁰Therefore, Jacob served for seven years for Rachel. And these seemed like only a few days, because of the greatness of love²¹And he said to Laban, "Give my wife to me. For now the time has been fulfilled, so that I may go in to her.²²And he, having called a great crowd of his friends to the feast, agreed to the marriage²³And at night, he brought in his daughter Leah to him²⁴giving his daughter a handmaid named Zilpah. After Jacob had gone in to her, according to custom, when morning had arrived, he saw Leah²⁵And he said to his father-in-law, "What is it that you intended to do? Did I not serve you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me?²⁶Laban responded, "It is not the practice in this place to give the younger in marriage first²⁷Complete a week of days with this mating. And then I will give this one to you also, for the service that you will provide to me for another seven years.²⁸He agreed to his pleading. And after the week had passed, he took Rachel as a wife²⁹To her, the father had given Bilhah as her servant³⁰And, having at last obtained the marriage he desired, he preferred the love of the latter before the former, and he served with him another seven years³¹But the Lord, seeing that he despised Leah, opened her womb, but her sister remained barren³²Having conceived, she gave birth to a son, and she called his name Reuben, saying: "The Lord saw my humiliation; now my husband will love me.³³And again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, "Because the Lord heard that I was treated with contempt, he has also given this one to me." And she called his name Simeon³⁴And she conceived a third time, and she gave birth to another son, and she said: "Now likewise my husband will unite with me, because I have borne him three sons." And because of this, she called his name Levi³⁵A fourth time she conceived and bore a son, and she said, "Only now will I confess to the Lord." And for this reason, she called him Judah. And she ceased from child-bearing

Chapter 30

¹Then Rachel, discerning that she was infertile, envied her sister, and so she said to her husband, "Give me children, otherwise I will die.²Jacob, being angry, responded to her, "Am I in the place of God, who has deprived you of the fruit of your womb?³But she said: "I have a handmaid Bilhah. Go in to her, so that she may give birth upon my knees, and I may have sons by her.⁴And she gave him Bilhah in marriage⁵And when her husband had gone in to her, she conceived and bore a son⁶And Rachel said, "The Lord has judged for me, and he has heeded my voice, giving me a son." And because of this, she called his name Dan⁷And conceiving again, Bilhah bore another⁸about whom Rachel said, "God has compared me with my sister, and I have prevailed." And she called him Naphtali⁹Leah, perceiving that she had desisted from child-bearing, delivered Zilpah, her handmaid, to her husband¹⁰And she, after having borne a son with difficulty¹¹said: "Happiness!" And for this reason, she called his name Gad¹²Likewise, Zilpah bore another¹³And Leah said, "This one is for my happiness. Indeed, women will call me blessed." Because of this, she called him Asher¹⁴Then Reuben, going out into the field at the time of the wheat harvest, found mandrakes. These he brought to his mother Leah. And Rachel said, "Give me a portion of your son’s mandrakes.¹⁵She responded, "Does it seem like such a small matter to you, that you have usurped from me my husband, unless you will also take my son’s mandrakes?" Rachel said, "He will sleep with you this night because of your son’s mandrakes.¹⁶And when Jacob returned from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him, and she said, "You will enter to me, because I have hired you for the reward of my son’s mandrakes." And he slept with her that night¹⁷And God heard her prayers. And she conceived and bore a fifth son¹⁸And she said, "God has given a reward to me, because I gave my handmaid to my husband." And she called his name Issachar¹⁹Conceiving again, Leah bore a sixth son²⁰And she said: "God has endowed me with a good dowry. And now, at this turn, my husband will be with me, because I have conceived six sons for him." And therefore she called his name Zebulun²¹After him, she bore a daughter, named Dinah²²The Lord, likewise remembering Rachel, heeded her and opened her womb²³And she conceived and bore a son, saying, "God has taken away my reproach.²⁴And she called his name Joseph, saying, "The Lord has added to me another son.²⁵But when Joseph was born, Jacob said to his father-in-law: "Release me, so that I may return to my native country and to my land²⁶Give me my wives, and my children, for whom I have served you, so that I may depart. You know the servitude with which I have served you.²⁷Laban said to him: "May I find grace in your sight. I have learned by experience that God has blessed me because of you²⁸Choose your wages, which I will give you.²⁹But he responded: "You know how I have served you, and how great your possession became in my hands³⁰You had little before I came to you, and now you have achieved riches. And the Lord has blessed you since my arrival. It is just, therefore, that at sometime I also should provide for my own house.³¹And Laban said, "What shall I give to you?" But he said, "I want nothing. But if you will do what I ask, I will feed and guard your sheep again³²Go around through all your flocks and separate all the sheep of variegated or spotted fleece; and whatever will be darkened or blemished or variegated, as much among the sheep as among the goats, will be my wages³³And my justice will answer on my behalf tomorrow, when the time of settlement arrives before you. And all that is not variegated or blemished or darkened, as much among the sheep as among the goats, these will prove me to be a thief.³⁴And Laban said, "I hold favor for this request.³⁵And on that day he separated the she-goats, and the sheep, and the he-goats, and the rams with variegations or with blemishes. But every one of the flock which was of one color, that is, of white or of black fleece, he delivered into the hands of his sons³⁶And he established a distance of three days journey between himself and his son-in-law, who pastured the remainder of his flock³⁷Then Jacob, taking green branches of poplar, and almond, and sycamore trees, debarked them in part. And when the bark was pulled off, in the parts that were stripped, there appeared whiteness, yet the parts that were left whole, remained green. And so, in this way the color was made variegated³⁸And he placed them in the troughs, where the water was poured out, so that when the flocks had arrived to drink, they would have the branches before their eyes, and in their sight they might conceive³⁹And it happened that, in the very heat of joining together, the sheep looked upon the branches, and they bore the blemished and the variegated, those speckled with diverse color⁴⁰And Jacob divided the flock, and he set the branches in the troughs before the eyes of the rams. Now whatever was white or black belonged to Laban, but, in truth, the others belonged to Jacob, for the flocks were dispersed among one another⁴¹Therefore, when the first to arrive were climbing on the ewes, Jacob placed the branches in the troughs of water before the eyes of the rams and the sheep, so that they might conceive while they were gazing upon them⁴²Yet when the late arrivals and the last to conceive were let in, he did not place these. And so those that arrived late became Laban’s, and those that arrived first became Jacob’s⁴³And the man was enriched beyond limit, and he had many flocks, women servants and men servants, camels and donkeys

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¹But afterwards, he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, "Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and being enlarged by his ability, he has become famous.²Likewise, he observed that Laban’s face was not the same toward him as it was yesterday and the day before³Most importantly, the Lord was saying to him, "Return to the land of your fathers and to your generation, and I will be with you.⁴He sent and called for Rachel and Leah, in the field where he pastured the flocks⁵and he said to them: "I see that your father’s face is not the same toward me as it was yesterday and the day before. But the God of my father has been with me⁶And you know that I have served your father with all my strength⁷Even so, your father has circumvented me, and he has changed my wages ten times. And yet God has not permitted him to harm me⁸Whenever he said, ‘The speckled will be your wages,’ all the sheep gave birth to speckled newborns. Yet truly, when he said the contrary, ‘You will take whatever is white for your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to white ones⁹And it is God who has taken your father’s substance and given it to me¹⁰For after the time had arrived for the ewes to conceive, I lifted up my eyes, and I saw in my sleep that the males climbing on the females were of variegated, and spotted, and diverse colors¹¹And the Angel of God said to me in my sleep, ‘Jacob.’ And I responded, ‘Here I am.¹²And he said: ‘Lift up your eyes, and see that all the males climbing on the females are variegated, spotted, and also speckled. For I have seen all that Laban has done to you¹³I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the stone and made a vow to me. Now therefore arise, and depart from this land, returning to the land of your nativity.’ ¹⁴And Rachel and Leah responded: "Have we anything left behind among the resources and inheritance of our father’s house¹⁵Has he not considered us as foreigners, and sold us, and consumed our price¹⁶But God has taken our father’s riches and handed these to us and to our sons. Therefore, do all that God has instructed you.¹⁷And so Jacob rose up, and having placed the children and his wives upon camels, he went forth¹⁸And he took all his substance and flocks, and whatever he had acquired in Mesopotamia, and he journeyed to his father Isaac, in the land of Canaan¹⁹At that time, Laban had gone to shear the sheep, and so Rachel stole her father’s idols²⁰And Jacob was not willing to confess to his father-in-law that he was fleeing²¹And when he had gone away with all such things that were justly his, and, having crossed the river, was continuing on toward Mount Gilead²²it was reported to Laban on the third day that Jacob had fled²³And taking his brothers with him, he pursued him for seven days. And he overtook him at Mount Gilead²⁴And he saw in a dream, God saying to him, "Beware that you not speak anything harsh against Jacob.²⁵And now Jacob had pitched his tent at the mountain. And when he, with his brothers, had overtaken him, he set his tent at the same place at Mount Gilead²⁶And he said to Jacob: "Why have you acted this way, departing from me in secret, with my daughters like captives of the sword²⁷Why would you want to flee without my knowledge and without telling me, though I might have led you forward with gladness, and songs, and timbrels, and lyres²⁸You have not permitted me to kiss my sons and daughters. You have acted foolishly. And now, indeed²⁹my hand has power to repay you with harm. But the God of your father said to me yesterday, ‘Beware that you not speak anything stern against Jacob.³⁰It may be that you desired to go to your own, and that you longed for the house of your father. But why have you stolen my gods?³¹Jacob answered: "I set out, unknown to you, because I feared that you might take away your daughters by violence³²But, since you accuse me of theft, with whomever you will find your gods, let him be slain in the sight of our brothers. Search; anything of yours that you will find with me, take it away." Now when he said this, he did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols³³And so Laban, entering the tent of Jacob, and of Leah, and of both the handmaids, did not find them. And when he had entered the tent of Rachel³⁴she quickly hid the idols under the camel’s bedding, and she sat upon them. And when he had searched the entire tent and found nothing³⁵she said: "Do not be angry, my lord, that I am unable to rise up in your sight, because it has now happened to me according to the custom of women." So his careful search was thwarted³⁶And Jacob, being inflated, said with contention: "For which fault of mine, or for what sin of mine, have you become so enraged against m³⁷and searched all the items of my house? What have you found from all the substance of your house? Place it here before my brothers, and your brothers, and let them judge between me and you³⁸For what reason have I been with you for twenty years? Your ewes and she-goats were not barren; the rams of your flocks I did not consume³⁹Neither did I reveal to you what was seized by the wild beast. I replaced all that was damaged. Whatever was lost by theft, you collected it from me⁴⁰Day and night, I was burned by heat and by frost, and sleep fled from my eyes⁴¹And in this way, for twenty years, I have served you in your house: fourteen for your daughters, and six for your flocks. You have also changed my wages ten times⁴²If the God of my father Abraham and the fear of Isaac had not been close to me, perhaps by now you would have sent me away naked. But God looked kindly on my affliction and the labor of my hands, and he rebuked you yesterday.⁴³Laban answered him: "My daughters and sons, and your flocks, and all that you discern are mine. What can I do to my sons and grandchildren⁴⁴Come, therefore, let us enter into a pact, so that it may be a testimony between me and you.⁴⁵And so Jacob took a stone, and he set it up as a memorial⁴⁶And he said to his brothers, "Bring stones." And they, gathering together stones, made a tomb, and they ate upon it⁴⁷And Laban called it, ‘Tomb of Witness,’ and Jacob, ‘Pile of Testimony;’ each of them according to the fitness of his own language⁴⁸And Laban said: "This tomb will be a witness between me and you this day." (And for this reason, its name has been called Gilead, that is, ‘Tomb of Witness.’⁴⁹"May the Lord consider and judge between us, when we will have withdrawn from one another⁵⁰If you afflict my daughters, and if you bring in other wives over them, no one is a witness of our words except God, who understands beforehand.⁵¹And again he said to Jacob. "Lo, this tomb and the stone that I have set up between me and you⁵²will be a witness. This tomb," I say, "and the stone, they are for testimony, in case either I cross beyond it going toward you, or you cross beyond it thinking to harm me⁵³May the God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of their father, judge between us." Therefore, Jacob swore by the fear of his father Isaac⁵⁴And after he had immolated sacrifices on the mountain, he called his brothers to eat bread. And when they had eaten, they lodged there⁵⁵In truth, Laban rose up in the night, and he kissed his sons and daughters, and he blessed them. And he returned to his place

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¹Likewise, Jacob continued on the journey that he had begun. And the Angels of God met him²When he had seen them, he said, "These are the Encampments of God." And he called the name of that place Mahanaim, that is, ‘Encampments.³Then he also sent messengers before him to his brother Esau, in the land of Seir, in the region of Edom⁴And he instructed them, saying: "You shall speak in this way to my lord Esau: ‘Your brother Jacob says these things: "I have sojourned with Laban, and I have been with him until the present day⁵I have oxen, and donkeys, and sheep, and men servants, and women servants. And now I send an ambassador to my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight." ’ ⁶And the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, "We went to your brother Esau, and behold, he rushes to meet you with four hundred men.⁷Jacob was very afraid. And in his terror, he divided the people who were with him, likewise the flocks, and the sheep, and the oxen, and the camels, into two companies⁸saying: "If Esau goes to one company, and strikes it, the other company, which is left behind, will be saved.⁹And Jacob said: "God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, O Lord who said to me: ‘Return to your land, and to the place of your nativity, and I will do well for you.¹⁰I am less than any of your compassions and your truth, which you have fulfilled to your servant. With my staff I crossed over this Jordan. And now I go back with two companies¹¹Rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am very afraid of him, lest perhaps he may come and strike down the mother with the sons¹²You did say that you would do well by me, and that you would expand my offspring like the sand of the sea, which, because of its multitude, cannot be numbered.¹³And when he had slept there that night, he separated, from the things that he had, gifts for his brother Esau¹⁴two hundred she-goats, twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes, and twenty rams¹⁵thirty milking camels with their young, forty cows, and twenty bulls, twenty she-donkeys, and ten of their young¹⁶And he sent them by the hands of his servants, each flock separately, and he said to his servants: "Pass before me, and let there be a space between flock and flock.¹⁷And he instructed the first, saying: "If you happen to meet my brother Esau, and he questions you: "Whose are you?" or, "Where are you going?" or, "Whose are these which follow you?¹⁸you shall respond: "Your servant Jacob’s. He has sent them as a gift to my lord Esau. And he is also coming after us.¹⁹Similarly, he gave orders to the second, and the third, and to all who followed the flocks, saying: "Speak these same words to Esau, when you find him²⁰And you will add: ‘Your servant Jacob himself also follows after us, for he said: "I will appease him with the gifts that go ahead, and after this, I will see him; perhaps he will be gracious to me." ’ ²¹And so the gifts went before him, but he himself lodged that night in the camp²²And when he had arisen early, he took his two wives, and the same number of handmaids, with his eleven sons, and he crossed over the ford of Jabbok²³And having delivered over all the things that belonged to him²⁴he remained alone. And behold, a man wrestled with him until morning²⁵And when he saw that he would not be able to overcome him, he touched the nerve of his thigh, and immediately it withered²⁶And he said to him, "Release me, for now the dawn ascends." He responded, "I will not release you, unless you bless me.²⁷Therefore he said, "What is your name?" He answered, "Jacob.²⁸But he said, "Your name will not be called Jacob, but Israel; for if you have been strong against God, how much more will you prevail against men?²⁹Jacob questioned him, "Tell me, by what name are you called?" He responded, "Why do you ask my name?" And he blessed him in the same place³⁰And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, "I have seen God face to face, and my soul has been saved.³¹And immediately the sun rose upon him, after he had crossed beyond Peniel. Yet in truth, he limped on his foot³²For this reason, the sons of Israel, even to the present day, do not eat the nerve that withered in Jacob’s thigh, because he touched the nerve of his thigh and it was obstructed

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¹Then Jacob, lifting up his eyes, saw Esau arriving, and with him four hundred men. And he divided the sons of Leah and Rachel, and of both the handmaids²And he placed the two handmaids and their children at the beginning. Truly, Leah and her sons were in the second place. Then Rachel and Joseph were last³And advancing, he reverenced prostrate on the ground seven times, until his brother approached⁴And so Esau ran to meet his brother, and he embraced him. And drawing him by his neck and kissing him, he wept⁵And lifting up his eyes, he saw the women and their little ones, and he said: "What do these want for themselves?" and "Are they related to you?" He responded, "These are the little ones that God has given as a gift to me, your servant.⁶Then the handmaids and their sons approached and bowed down⁷Likewise Leah, with her sons, came near. And when they had reverenced similarly, last of all, Joseph and Rachel reverenced⁸And Esau said, "What are these companies that I have been meeting?" He responded, "So may I find favor before my lord.⁹But he said, "I have plenty, my brother; let these be for yourself.¹⁰And Jacob said: "I beg you, let it not be so. But if I have found favor in your eyes, receive a small present from my hands. For I have looked upon your face as I would look upon the countenance of God. Be gracious to me¹¹and take the blessing which I have brought to you, and which God, who bestows all things, has given as a gift to me." Accepting it reluctantly, at the insistence of his brother¹²he said, "Let us go on together, and I will accompany you on your journey.¹³And Jacob said: "My lord, you know that I have with me tender little ones, and sheep, and cows with young. If I cause these to labor too much in walking, all the flocks will die in one day¹⁴May it please my lord to go before his servant. And I will follow gradually in his steps, as much as I see my little ones to be able, until I arrive to my lord in Seir.¹⁵Esau responded, "I beg you, that at least some of the people who are with me may remain to accompany you on the way." But he said, "There is no need. I have need of one thing only: to find favor in your sight, my lord.¹⁶And so Esau returned that day, by the way that he had arrived, to Seir¹⁷And Jacob went to Succoth, where, having built a house and pitched tents, he called the name of that place Succoth, that is, ‘Tents.¹⁸And he crossed over to Salem, a city of the Shechemites, which is in the land of Canaan, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria. And he lived near the town¹⁹And he bought the part of the field in which he had pitched his tents from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred lambs²⁰And erecting an altar there, he invoked upon it the most strong God of Israel

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¹Then Dinah, the daughter of Leah, went out to see the women of that region²And when Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, the leader of that land, had seen her, he fell in love with her. And so he seized her and slept with her, overwhelming the virgin by force³And his soul was closely bound to her, and, since she was sorrowful, he soothed her with flattery⁴And going on to Hamor, his father, he said, "Obtain this girl for me as a mate.⁵But when Jacob had heard this, since his sons were absent and he was occupied in pasturing the cattle, he remained silent until they came back⁶Then, when Hamor, the father of Shechem, had gone out to speak to Jacob⁷behold, his sons arrived from the field. And hearing what had happened, they were very angry, because he had done a filthy thing in Israel and, in violating a daughter of Jacob, had perpetrated an unlawful act⁸And so Hamor spoke to them: "The soul of my son Shechem has become attached to your daughter. Give her to him as a wife⁹And let us celebrate marriages with one with another. Give us your daughters, and receive our daughters¹⁰And live with us. The land is in your power: cultivate, trade, and possess it.¹¹And Shechem even said to her father and to her brothers: "May I find favor in your sight, and whatever you will appoint, I will give¹²Increase the dowry, and request gifts, and I will freely bestow what you will ask. Only give me this girl as a wife.¹³The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and his father with deceit, being enraged at the rape of their sister¹⁴"We are not able to do what you ask, nor to give our sister to an uncircumcised man. For us, this is unlawful and abominable¹⁵But we may succeed in this, so as to be allied with you, if you are willing to become like us, and if all the male sex among you will be circumcised¹⁶Then we will mutually give and receive your daughters as well as ours; and we will live with you, and we will become one people¹⁷But if you will not be circumcised, we will take our daughter and withdraw.¹⁸Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem¹⁹Neither did the young man cause any delay; in fact he immediately fulfilled what was requested. For he loved the girl very much, and he was well-known throughout his father’s house²⁰And entering at the gate of the city, they spoke to the people²¹"These men are peaceful, and they want to live among us. Let them trade in the land and cultivate it, for, being spacious and broad, it is in need of cultivation. We will receive their daughters as wives, and we will give them ours²²There is one thing that prevents so great a good: whether we will circumcise our males, imitating the ritual of their nation²³And their substance, and cattle, and all that they possess, will be ours, if only we will acquiesce to this, and so, in living together, will form one people.²⁴And they all agreed to circumcise every one of the males²⁵And behold, on the third day, when the pain of the wound was greatest, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, boldly entered the city with swords. And they put to death all of the males²⁶They killed Hamor and Shechem together, taking their sister Dinah from the house of Shechem²⁷And when they had departed, the other sons of Jacob rushed over the slain, and they plundered the city in vengeance for the rape²⁸Taking their sheep, and herds, and donkeys, and laying waste to everything else that was in their houses and in their fields²⁹they also took their little ones and their wives captive³⁰When they had boldly completed these acts, Jacob said to Simeon and Levi: "You have troubled me, and you have made me hateful to the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the inhabitants of this land. We are few. They, gathering themselves together, may strike me down, and then both I and my house will be wiped away.³¹They responded, "Should they abuse our sister like a prostitute?

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¹About this time, God said to Jacob, "Arise and go up to Bethel, and live there, and make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.²In truth, Jacob, having called together all his house, said: "Cast away the foreign gods that are in your midst and be cleansed, and also change your garments³Arise, and let us go up to Bethel, so that we may make an altar there to God, who heeded me in the day of my tribulation, and who accompanied me on my journey.⁴Therefore, they gave him all the foreign gods which they had, and the earrings which were in their ears. And then he buried them under the terebinth tree, which is beyond the city of Shechem⁵And when they had set out, the terror of God invaded all the surrounding cities, and they dared not pursue them as they withdrew⁶And so, Jacob arrived at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, also named Bethel: he and all the people with him⁷And he built an altar there, and he called the name of that place, ‘House of God.’ For there God appeared to him when he fled from his brother⁸About the same time, Deborah, the nurse of Rebekah, died, and she was buried at the base of Bethel, under an oak tree. And the name of that place was called, ‘Oak of Weeping.⁹Then God appeared again to Jacob, after he returned from Mesopotamia of Syria, and he blessed him¹⁰saying: "You will no longer be called Jacob, for your name shall be Israel." And he called him Israel¹¹and he said to him: "I am Almighty God: increase and multiply. Tribes and peoples of nations will be from you, and kings will go forth from your loins¹²And the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give to you, and to your offspring after you.¹³And he withdrew from him¹⁴In truth, he set up a monument of stone, in the place where God had spoken to him, pouring out libations over it, and pouring oil¹⁵and he called the name of that place, ‘Bethel.¹⁶Then, departing from there, he arrived in springtime at the land that leads to Ephrath. And there, when Rachel was giving birth¹⁷because it was a difficult birth, she began to be in danger. And the midwife said to her, "Do not be afraid, for you will have this son also.¹⁸Then, when her life was departing because of the pain, and death was now imminent, she called the name of her son Benoni, that is, the son of my pain. Yet truly, his father called him Benjamin, that is, the son of the right hand¹⁹And so Rachel died, and she was buried in the way that leads to Ephrath: this place is Bethlehem²⁰And Jacob erected a monument over her sepulcher. This is the monument to Rachel’s tomb, even to the present day²¹Departing from there, he pitched his tent beyond the Tower of the Flock²²And when he was living in that region, Reuben went out, and he slept with Bilhah the concubine of his father, which was not such a small matter as to be hidden from him. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve²³The sons of Leah: Reuben the first born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun²⁴The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin²⁵The sons of Bilhah, handmaid of Rachel: Dan and Naphtali²⁶The sons of Zilpah, handmaid of Leah: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Mesopotamia of Syria²⁷And then he went to his father Isaac in Mamre, the city of Arba: this place is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned²⁸And the days of Isaac were completed: one hundred and eighty years²⁹And being consumed by old age, he died. And he was placed with his people, being old and full of days. And his sons, Esau and Jacob, buried him

Chapter 36

¹Now these are the generations of Esau, who is Edom²Esau took wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite³and Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael, sister of Nebaioth⁴Then Adah bore Eliphaz. Basemath conceived Reuel⁵Oholibamah conceived Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah. These are the sons of Esau, who were born to him in the land of Canaan⁶Then Esau took his wives, and sons, and daughters, and every soul of his house, and his substance, and cattle, and whatever he was able to obtain in the land of Canaan, and he went into another region, withdrawing from his brother Jacob⁷For they were very wealthy and were not able to live together. Neither was the land of their sojourn able to sustain them, because of the multitude of their flocks⁸And Esau lived at mount Seir: he is Edom⁹So these are the generations of Esau, the father of Edom, at mount Seir¹⁰and these are the names of his sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah, the wife of Esau, likewise Reuel, the son of Basemath, his wife¹¹And Eliphaz had sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenez¹²Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, the son of Esau. And she bore him Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau¹³And the sons of Reuel were Nahath and Zerah, Shammah and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau¹⁴Likewise, these were the sons of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon, the wife of Esau, whom she bore to him: Jeush, and Jalam, and Korah¹⁵These were leaders of the sons of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn of Esau: leader Teman, leader Omar, leader Zepho, leader Kenez¹⁶leader Korah, leader Gatam, leader Amalek. These are the sons of Eliphaz, in the land of Edom, and these the sons of Adah¹⁷Likewise, these are the sons of Reuel, the son of Esau: leader Nahath, leader Zerah, leader Shammah, leader Mizzah. And these were the leaders of Reuel, in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basemath, the wife of Esau¹⁸Now these are the sons of Oholibamah, the wife of Esau: leader Jeush, leader Jalam, leader Korah. These were the leaders of Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah and the wife of Esau¹⁹These are the sons of Esau, and these were their leaders: this is Edom²⁰These are the sons of Seir, the Horite, the inhabitants of the land: Lotan, and Shobal, and Zibeon, and Anah²¹and Dishon, and Ezer, and Dishan. These were the leaders of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom²²Now Lotan produced sons: Hori and Heman. But the sister of Lotan was Timna²³And these are the sons of Shobal: Alvan, and Manahath, and Ebal, and Shepho, and Onam²⁴And these are the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah. This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the wilderness, when he was pasturing the donkeys of his father Zibeon²⁵And he had a son Dishon, and a daughter Oholibamah²⁶And these are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, and Esheban, and Ithran, and Cheran²⁷Likewise, these are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, and Zaavan, and Akan²⁸Then Dishan had sons: Uz and Aran²⁹These were the leaders of the Horites: leader Lotan, leader Shobal, leader Zibeon, leader Anah³⁰leader Dishon, leader Ezer, leader Disan. These were leaders of the Horites who ruled in the land of Seir³¹Now before the sons of Israel had a king, the kings who ruled in the land of Edom were these³²Bela the son of Beor, and the name of his city was Dinhabah³³Then Bela died, and Jobab, the son of Zerah from Bozrah, reigned in his place³⁴And when Jobab was dead, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place³⁵Likewise, this one having died, Hadad the son of Bedad reigned in his place. He struck down Midian in the region of Moab. And the name of his city was Avith³⁶And when Adad was dead, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place³⁷Likewise, this one being dead, Shaul of the river Rehoboth, reigned in his place³⁸And when he also had passed away, Baal-hanan, the son of Achbor, succeeded to the kingdom³⁹Likewise, this one being dead, Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city was Pau. And his wife was called Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, daughter of Mezahab⁴⁰Therefore, these were the names of the leaders of Esau, by their families, and places, and in their vocabulary: leader Timna, leader Alvah, leader Jetheth⁴¹leader Oholibamah, leader Elah, leader Pinon⁴²leader Kanez, leader Teman, leader Mibzar⁴³leader Magdiel, leader Iram. These were the leaders of Edom living in the land of their rule: this is Esau, the father of Idumea

Chapter 37

¹Now Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father sojourned²And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, when he was still a boy. And he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father. And he accused his brothers to their father of a most sinful crime³Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors⁴Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him⁵Then it also happened that he recounted the vision of a dream to his brothers, for which reason a greater hatred began to be nurtured⁶And he said to them, "Listen to my dream that I saw⁷I thought we were binding sheaves in the field. And my sheaf seemed to rise up and stand, and your sheaves, standing in a circle, reverenced my sheaf.⁸His brothers responded: "Would you be our king? Or will we be subject to your dominion?" Therefore, this matter of his dreams and words provided kindling to their envy and hatred⁹Likewise, he saw another dream, which he explained to his brothers, saying, "I saw by a dream, as if the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars were reverencing me.¹⁰And when he had related this to his father and brothers, his father rebuked him, and he said: "What does it mean to you, this dream that you have seen? Should I, and your mother, and your brothers reverence you upon the earth?¹¹Therefore, his brothers were envious of him. Yet truly, his father considered the matter silently¹²And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father’s flocks¹³Israel said to him: "Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them." And when he answered¹⁴"I am ready," he said to him, "Go, and see if everything is prospering with your brothers and the cattle, and report to me what is happening." So, having been sent from the valley of Hebron, he arrived at Shechem¹⁵And a man found him wandering in a field, and he asked him what he was seeking¹⁶So he responded: "I seek my brothers. Tell me where they pasture the flocks.¹⁷And the man said to him: "They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ " Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan¹⁸And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him¹⁹And they said one to another: "Behold, the dreamer approaches²⁰Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: ‘an evil wild beast has devoured him.’ And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him.²¹But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said²²"Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless." But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father²³And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors²⁴and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water²⁵And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt²⁶Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: "What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood²⁷It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh." His brothers agreed to his words²⁸And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt²⁹And Reuben, returning to the cistern, did not find the boy³⁰And rending his garments, he went to his brothers and said, "The boy is not present, and so where shall I go?³¹Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed³²sending those who carried it to their father, and they said: "We found this. See whether it is the tunic of your son or not.³³And when the father acknowledged it, he said: "It is the tunic of my son. An evil wild beast has eaten him; a beast has devoured Joseph.³⁴And tearing his garments, he was clothed in haircloth, mourning his son for a long time³⁵Then, when all of his sons gathered together to ease their father’s sorrow, he was not willing to accept consolation, but he said: "I will descend in mourning to my son in the underworld." And while he persevered in weeping³⁶the Midianites in Egypt sold Joseph to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, instructor of the soldiers

Chapter 38

¹About the same time, Judah, descending from his brothers, turned toward an Adullamite man, named Hirah²And he saw there the daughter of a man called Shua, of Canaan. And taking her as a wife, he entered to her³And she conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Er⁴And conceiving offspring again, having given birth to a son, she called him Onan⁵Likewise, she bore a third, whom she called Shelah, after whose birth, she ceased to bear any more⁶Then Judah gave a wife to his first born Er, whose name was Tamar⁷And it also happened that Er, the first born of Judah, was wicked in the sight of the Lord and was killed by him⁸Therefore, Judah said to his son Onan: "Enter to the wife of your brother, and associate with her, so that you may raise offspring to your brother.⁹He, knowing that the sons to be born would not be his, when he entered to the wife of his brother, he spilled his seed on the ground, lest children should be born in his brother’s name¹⁰And for this reason, the Lord struck him down, because he did a detestable thing¹¹Because of this matter, Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Be a widow in your father’s house, until my son Shelah grows up." For he was afraid, lest he also might die, just as his brothers did. She went away, and she lived in her father’s house¹²Then, after many days had passed, the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died. And when he accepted consolation after his mourning, he went up to the shearers of his sheep at Timnah, he and Hirah, the herdsman of the Adullamite flock¹³And it was reported to Tamar that her father-in-law had gone up to Timnah to shear the sheep¹⁴And storing away the garments of her widowhood, she took up a veil. And changing her clothing, she sat at the crossroad that leads to Timnah, because Shelah had grown up, and she had not received him as a husband¹⁵And when Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot. For she had covered her face, lest she be recognized¹⁶And entering to her, he said, "Permit me to join with you." For he did not know her to be his daughter-in-law. And she responded, "What will you give to me, to enjoy me as a concubine?¹⁷He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." And again, she said, "I will allow what you want, if you give me a pledge, until you may send what you promise.¹⁸Judah said, "What do you want to be given for a pledge?" She responded, "Your ring and bracelet, and the staff that you hold in your hand." Thereupon, the woman, from one sexual encounter, conceived¹⁹And she arose and went away. And storing away the garments that she had taken up, she was clothed in the garments of her widowhood²⁰Then Judah sent a young goat by his shepherd, the Adullamite, so that he might receive the pledge that he had given to the woman. But, when he had not found her²¹he questioned the men of that place: "Where is the woman who sat at the crossroad?" And they all responded, "There has been no harlot in this place.²²He returned to Judah, and he said to him: "I did not find her. Moreover, the men of that place told me that a prostitute had never sat there.²³Judah said: "Let her hold herself to blame. Certainly, she is not able to accuse us of a lie. I sent the young goat that I had promised, and you did not find her.²⁴And behold, after three months, they reported to Judah, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has committed fornication and her abdomen appears to be enlarged." And Judah said, "Produce her, so that she may be burned.²⁵But when she was led out to the punishment, she sent to her father-in-law, saying: "I conceived by the man to whom these things belong. Recognize whose ring, and bracelet, and staff this is.²⁶But he, acknowledging the gifts, said: "She is more just than I am. For I did not deliver her to my son Shelah." However, he knew her no more²⁷Then, at the moment of birth, there appeared twins in the womb. And so, in the very delivery of the infants, one put forth a hand, on which the midwife tied a scarlet thread, saying²⁸"This one will go out first.²⁹But in truth, drawing back his hand, the other came out. And the woman said, "Why is the partition divided for you?" And for this reason, she called his name Perez³⁰After this, his brother came out, on whose hand was the scarlet thread. And she called him Zerah

Chapter 39

¹Meanwhile, Joseph was led into Egypt. And Putiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, a leader of the army, an Egyptian man, purchased him from the hand of the Ishmaelites, by whom he was brought²And the Lord was with him, and he was a man who prospered in everything that he did. And he lived in the house of his lord³who knew very well that the Lord was with him, and that all the things that were done by him were directed by his hand⁴And Joseph found favor in the sight of his lord, and he ministered to him. And, having been placed in charge of everything by him, he governed the house that was entrusted to him and all the things that had been delivered to him⁵And the Lord blessed the house of the Egyptian, because of Joseph, and he multiplied all his substance, as much in the buildings, as in the fields⁶Neither did he know anything other than the bread that he ate. Now Joseph was beautiful in form, and stately in appearance⁷And so, after many days, his mistress cast her eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Sleep with me.⁸And without consenting at all to the wicked act, he said to her: "Behold, my lord has delivered all things to me, and he does not know what he has in his own house⁹Neither is there anything which is not in my power, or that he has not delivered to me, except you, for you are his wife. How then can I do this evil act and sin against my God?¹⁰With such words as these, throughout each day, the woman was pestering the young man, and he was refusing the adultery¹¹Then it happened, on a certain day, that Joseph entered the house, and he was doing something, without any witnesses¹²And she, grasping the hem of his garment, said, "Sleep with me." But he, leaving behind the cloak in her hand, fled and went outside¹³And when the woman saw the garment in her hands and herself being treated with disrespect¹⁴she called to herself the men of her house, and she said to them: "Lo, he has brought in a Hebrew man to abuse us. He entered toward me, in order to join with me; and when I had shouted out¹⁵and he had heard my voice, he left behind the cloak that I held, and he fled outside.¹⁶As a proof, therefore, of her fidelity, she retained the cloak, and she showed it to her husband, when he returned home¹⁷And she said: "The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought in to me, approached me to abuse me¹⁸And when he had heard me cry out, he left behind the cloak that I held, and he fled outside.¹⁹His lord, upon hearing these things, and having excessive trust in the words of his mate, was very angry²⁰And he delivered Joseph into prison, where the prisoners of the king were kept, and he was enclosed in that place²¹But the Lord was with Joseph, and, having mercy on him, he gave him favor in the sight of the leader of the prison²²who delivered into his hand all the prisoners who were held in custody. And whatever was done, was under him²³Neither did he himself know anything, having entrusted all things to him. For the Lord was with him, and he directed everything that he did

Chapter 40

¹While these things were going on, it happened that two eunuchs, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt, and the miller of grain, offended their lord²And Pharaoh, being angry with them, (now the one was in charge of the cupbearers, the other of the millers of grain³sent them to the prison of the leader of the military, in which Joseph also was a prisoner⁴But the keeper of the prison delivered them to Joseph, who ministered to them also. Some little time passed by, while they were held in custody⁵And they both saw a similar dream on one night, whose interpretations should be related to one another⁶And when Joseph had entered to them in the morning, and had seen them sad⁷he consulted them, saying, "Why is your expression sadder today than usual?⁸They responded, "We have seen a dream, and there is no one to interpret it for us." And Joseph said to them, "Doesn’t interpretation belong to God? Recount for me what you have seen.⁹The chief cupbearer explained his dream first. "I saw before me a vine¹⁰on which were three shoots, which grew little by little into buds, and, after the flowers, it matured into grapes¹¹And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand. Therefore, I took the grapes, and I pressed them into the cup that I held, and I handed the cup to Pharaoh.¹²Joseph responded: "This is the interpretation of the dream. The three shoots are the next three days¹³after which Pharaoh will remember your service, and he will restore you to your former position. And you will give him the cup according to your office, as you were accustomed to do before¹⁴Only remember me, when it will be well with you, and do me this mercy, to suggest to Pharaoh to lead me out of this prison¹⁵For I have been stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here, innocently, I was cast into the pit.¹⁶The chief miller of grain, seeing that he had wisely unraveled the dream, said: "I also saw a dream: that I had three baskets of meal above my head¹⁷and in one basket, which was the highest, I carried all foods that are made by the art of baking, and the birds ate from it.¹⁸Joseph responded: "This is the interpretation of the dream. The three baskets are the next three days¹⁹after which Pharaoh will carry away your head, and also suspend you from a cross, and the birds will tear your flesh.²⁰The third day thereafter was the birthday of Pharaoh. And making a great feast for his servants, he remembered, during the banquet, the chief cupbearer and the chief miller of grain²¹And he restored the one to his place, to present him the cup²²the other he hanged on a gallows, and thus the truth of the interpreter of dreams was proven²³And although he advanced with so much prosperity, the chief cupbearer forgot his interpreter of dreams

Chapter 41

¹After two years, Pharaoh saw a dream. He thought himself to be standing above a river²from which ascended seven cows, exceedingly beautiful and stout. And they pastured in marshy places³Likewise, another seven emerged from the river, filthy and thoroughly emaciated. And they pastured on the same bank of the river, in green places⁴And they devoured those whose appearance and condition of body was so wonderful. Pharaoh, having been awakened⁵slept again, and he saw another dream. Seven ears of grain sprung up on one stalk, full and well-formed⁶Likewise, other ears of grain, of the same number, rose up, thin and struck with blight⁷devouring all the beauty of the first. Pharaoh, when he awakened after his rest⁸and when morning arrived, being terrified with fear, sent to all the interpreters of Egypt and to all of the wise men. And when they were summoned, he explained to them his dream; but there was no one who could interpret it⁹Then at last the chief cupbearer, remembering, said, "I confess my sin¹⁰The king, being angry with his servants, ordered me and the chief miller of grain to be forced into the prison of the leader of the military¹¹There, in one night, both of us saw a dream presaging the future¹²In that place, there was a Hebrew, a servant of the same commander of the military, to whom we explained our dreams¹³Whatever we heard was proven afterwards by the event of the matter. For I was restored to my office, and he was suspended on a cross.¹⁴Immediately, by the king’s authority, Joseph was led out of prison, and they shaved him. And changing his apparel, they presented him to him¹⁵And he said to him, "I have seen dreams, and there is no one who can unfold them. I have heard that you are very wise at interpreting these.¹⁶Joseph responded, "Apart from me, God will respond favorably to Pharaoh.¹⁷Therefore, Pharaoh explained what he had seen: "I thought myself to be standing on the bank of a river¹⁸and seven cows climbed up from the river, exceedingly beautiful and full of flesh. And they grazed in a pasture of a marshy greenery¹⁹And behold, there followed after these, another seven cows, with such deformity and emaciation as I had never seen in the land of Egypt²⁰These devoured and consumed the first²¹giving no indication of being full. But they remained in the same state of emaciation and squalor. Awakening, but being weighed down into sleep again²²I saw a dream. Seven ears of grain sprang up on one stalk, full and very beautiful²³Likewise, another seven, thin and struck with blight, rose up from the stalk²⁴And they devoured the beauty of the first. I explained this dream to the interpreters, and there is no one who can unfold it.²⁵Joseph responded: "The dream of the king is one. What God will do, he has revealed to Pharaoh²⁶The seven beautiful cows, and the seven full ears of grain, are seven years of abundance. And so the force of the dreams is understood to be the same²⁷Likewise, the seven thin and emaciated cows, which ascended after them, and the seven thin ears of grain, which were struck with the burning wind, are seven approaching years of famine²⁸These will be fulfilled in this order²⁹Behold, there will arrive seven years of great fertility throughout the entire land of Egypt³⁰After this, there will follow another seven years, of such great barrenness that all the former abundance will be delivered into oblivion. For the famine will consume all the land³¹and the greatness of this destitution will cause the greatness of the abundance to be lost³²Now, as to what you saw the second time, it is a dream pertaining to the same thing. It is an indication of its firmness, because the word of God shall be done, and it shall be completed swiftly³³Now therefore, let the king provide a wise and industrious man, and place him over the land of Egypt³⁴so that he may appoint overseers throughout all the regions. And let a fifth part of the fruits, throughout the seven fertile year³⁵that now have already begun to occur, be gathered into storehouses. And let all the grain be stored away, under the power of Pharaoh, and let it be kept in the cities³⁶And let it be prepared for the future famine of seven years, which will oppress Egypt, and then the land will not be consumed by destitution.³⁷The counsel pleased Pharaoh and all his ministers³⁸And he said to them, "Would we be able to find another such man, who is full of the Spirit of God?³⁹Therefore, he said to Joseph: "Because God has revealed to you all that you have said, would I be able to find anyone wiser and as much like you⁴⁰You will be over my house, and to the authority of your mouth, all the people will show obedience. Only in one way, in the throne of the kingdom, will I go before you.⁴¹And again, Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, I have appointed you over the entire land of Egypt.⁴²And he took the ring from his own hand, and he gave it into his hand. And he clothed him with a robe of fine linen, and he placed a necklace of gold around his neck⁴³And he caused him to ascend upon his second swift chariot, with the herald proclaiming that everyone should bend their knee before him, and that they should know that he was governor over the entire land of Egypt⁴⁴Likewise, the king said to Joseph: "I am Pharaoh: apart from your authority, no one will move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.⁴⁵And he changed his name and called him, in the Egyptian tongue: ‘Savior of the world.’ And he gave him as a wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And so Joseph went out into the land of Egypt⁴⁶(Now he was thirty years old when he stood in the sight of king Pharaoh.) And he traveled throughout the regions of Egypt⁴⁷And the fertility of the seven years arrived. And when the grain fields were reduced to sheaves, these were gathered into the storehouses of Egypt⁴⁸And now all the abundance of grain was stored away in every city⁴⁹And there was such a great abundance of wheat that it was comparable to the sands of the sea, and its bounty exceeded all measure⁵⁰Then, before the famine arrived, Joseph had two sons born, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him⁵¹And he called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, saying, "God has caused me to forget all my labors and the house of my father.⁵²Likewise, he named the second Ephraim, saying, "God has caused me to increase in the land of my poverty.⁵³And so, when the seven years of fertility that occurred in Egypt had passed⁵⁴the seven years of destitution, which Joseph had predicted, began to arrive. And the famine prevailed throughout the whole world, but there was bread in all the land of Egypt⁵⁵And being hungry, the people cried out to Pharaoh, asking for provisions. And he said to them: "Go to Joseph. And do whatever he will tell you.⁵⁶Then the famine increased daily in all the land. And Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. For the famine had oppressed them also⁵⁷And all the provinces came to Egypt, to buy food and to temper the misfortune of their destitution

Chapter 42

¹Then Jacob, hearing that food was being sold in Egypt, said to his sons: "Why are you negligent²I have heard that wheat is being sold in Egypt. Go down and buy necessities for us, so that we may be able to live, and not be consumed by destitution.³And so, when ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain in Egypt⁴Benjamin was kept at home by Jacob, who said to his brothers, "Lest perhaps he may suffer harm on the journey.⁵And they entered into the land of Egypt with the others who traveled to buy. For the famine was in the land of Canaan⁶And Joseph was governor in the land of Egypt, and grain was sold under his direction to the people. And when his brothers had reverenced him⁷and he had recognized them, he spoke harshly, as if to foreigners, questioning them: "Where did you come from?" And they responded, "From the land of Canaan, to buy necessary provisions.⁸And although he knew his brothers, he was not known by them⁹And remembering the dreams, which he had seen in another time, he said to them: "You are scouts. You have come in order to see which parts of the land are weaker.¹⁰And they said: "It is not so, my lord. But your servants have arrived in order to buy food¹¹We are all sons of one man. We have come in peace, nor do any of your subjects devise evil.¹²And he answered them: "It is otherwise. You have come to examine the unguarded parts of this land.¹³But they said: "We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is with our father; the other is not living.¹⁴He said: "This is just as I have said. You are scouts¹⁵I will now continue to put you to the test. By the health of Pharaoh, you will not depart from here, until your youngest brother arrives¹⁶Send one of you and bring him. But you will be in chains, until what you have said is proven to be either true or false. Otherwise, by the health of Pharaoh, you are scouts.¹⁷Therefore, he delivered them into custody for three days¹⁸Then, on the third day, he brought them out of prison, and he said: "Do as I have said, and you will live. For I fear God¹⁹If you are peaceful, let one of your brothers be bound in prison. Then you may go away and carry the grain that you have bought to your houses²⁰And bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may be able to test your words, and you may not die." They did as he had said²¹and they spoke to one another: "We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother, seeing the anguish of his soul, when he begged us and we would not listen. For that reason, this tribulation has come upon us.²²And Reuben, one of them, said: "Did not I say to you, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ and you would not listen to me? See, his blood is exacted.²³But they did not know that Joseph understood, because he was speaking to them through an interpreter²⁴And he turned himself away briefly and wept. And returning, he spoke to them²⁵And taking Simeon, and binding him in their presence, he ordered his ministers to fill their sacks with wheat, and to replace each one’s money in their sacks, and to give them, in addition, provisions for the way. And they did so²⁶Then, having loaded their donkeys with the grain, they set out²⁷And one of them, opening a sack to give his beast of burden fodder at the inn, looked upon the money at the sack’s mouth²⁸and he said to his brothers: "My money has returned to me. See, it is held in the sack." And they were astonished and troubled, and they said to one another, "What is this that God has done to us?²⁹And they went to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, and they explained to him all the things that had befallen them, saying³⁰"The lord of the land spoke harshly to us, and he considered us to be scouts of the province³¹And we answered him: ‘We are peaceful, and we do not intend any treachery³²We are twelve brothers conceived of one father. One is not living; the youngest is with our father in the land of Canaan.³³And he said to us: ‘Thus will I prove that you are peaceful. Release one of your brothers to me, and take necessary provisions for your houses, and go away³⁴and bring your youngest brother to me, so that I may know that you are not scouts. And this one, who is held in chains, you may be able to receive again. And thereafter, you shall have permission to buy what you want.’ ³⁵Having said this, when they poured out their grain, each found his money tied to the mouth of his sack. And all were terrified together³⁶Their father Jacob said, "You have caused me to be without children. Joseph is not living, Simeon is held in chains, and Benjamin you would carry away. All these evils have fallen back upon me.³⁷And Reuben answered him, "Put my two sons to death, if I do not lead him back to you. Deliver him into my hand, and I will restore him to you.³⁸But he said: "My son will not go down with you. His brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any adversity will befall him in the land to which you travel, you would lead my grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave.

Chapter 43

¹Meanwhile, the famine pressed heavily on all the land²And having consumed the provisions that they had brought out of Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Return and buy us a little food.³Judah answered: "The man himself declared to us, under the attestation of an oath, saying: ‘You will not see my face, unless you bring your youngest brother with you.⁴If therefore you are willing to send him with us, we will travel together, and we will buy necessities for you⁵But if you are not willing, we will not go. For the man, as we have often said, declared to us, saying: ‘You will not see my face without your youngest brother.’ ⁶Israel said to them, "You have done this for my misery, in that you revealed to him that you also had another brother.⁷But they responded: "The man questioned us in order, concerning our family: whether our father lived, if we had a brother. And we answered him respectively, according to what he demanded. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother with you?’ ⁸Likewise, Judah said to his father: "Send the boy with me, so that we may set out and be able to live, lest we and our little ones should die⁹I accept the boy; require him at my hand. Unless I lead him back and restore him to you, I will be guilty of a sin against you for all time¹⁰If a delay had not intervened, by now we would have returned here a second time.¹¹Therefore, their father Israel said to them: "If it is necessary to do so, then do what you will. Take, in your vessels, from the best fruits of the land, and carry down gifts to the man: a little resin, and honey, and storax ointment, oil of myrrh, turpentine, and almonds¹²Also, take with you double the money, and carry back what you found in your sacks, lest perhaps it was done in error¹³But also take your brother, and go to the man¹⁴Then may my Almighty God cause him to be pleased by you. And send your brother, whom he holds, back with you, along with this one, Benjamin. But as for me, without my children, I will be like one who is bereaved.¹⁵Therefore, the men took the gifts, and double the money, and Benjamin. And they went down into Egypt, and they stood in the presence of Joseph¹⁶And when he had seen them and Benjamin together, he instructed the steward of his house, saying: "Lead the men into the house, and kill victims, and prepare a feast, because they will be eating with me at midday.¹⁷He did what he had been ordered to do, and he brought the men into the house¹⁸And there, being terrified, they said one to another: "Because of the money, which we carried back the first time in our sacks, we have been brought in, so that he may unleash a false accusation against us, and by violence subjugate both us and our donkeys into servitude.¹⁹For this reason, approaching the steward of the house at his door²⁰they said: "We beg you, lord, to hear us. We came down once before to buy food²¹And having bought it, when we arrived at the inn, we opened our sacks and found the money in the mouths of the sacks, which we now have carried back in the same amount²²But we have also brought other silver, so that we may buy those things that are necessary for us. It is not on our conscience who had placed it in our bags.²³But he responded: "Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you the treasure in your sacks. As for the money that you gave to me, I held it as a test." And he led Simeon out to them²⁴And having led them into the house, he brought water, and they washed their feet, and he gave fodder to their donkeys²⁵But they also prepared the gifts, until Joseph entered at midday. For they had heard that they would eat bread there²⁶And so Joseph entered his house, and they offered him the gifts, holding them in their hands. And they reverenced prone on the ground²⁷But he, gently greeting them again, questioned them, saying: "Is your father, the old man about whom you spoke to me, in good health? Is he still alive?²⁸And they answered: "Your servant, our father, is safe; he is still alive." And bowing, they reverenced him²⁹Then Joseph, lifting up his eyes, saw Benjamin, his brother of the same womb, and he said, "Is this your little brother, about whom you spoke to me?" And again, he said, "May God be compassionate to you, my son.³⁰And he hurried out, because his heart had been moved over his brother, and tears gushed out. And going into his chamber, he wept³¹And when he had washed his face, coming out again, he composed himself, and he said, "Set out bread.³²And when it was set out, separately for Joseph, and separately for his brothers, likewise separately for the Egyptians, who ate at the same time, (for it is unlawful for Egyptians to eat with Hebrews, and they consider feasting in this way to be profane³³they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his state of life. And they wondered exceedingly³⁴taking the portions that they received from him. And the greater portion went to Benjamin, so much so that it exceeded five parts. And they drank and became inebriated along with him

Chapter 44

¹Then Joseph instructed the steward of his house, saying: "Fill their sacks with grain, as much as they are able to hold. And place each one’s money at the top of the sack²But place my silver bowl, and the price that he gave for the wheat, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest." And so it was done³And when morning arose, they were sent away with their donkeys⁴And now they had departed from the city and had set out a short distance. Then Joseph, sending for the steward of his house, said: "Rise up and pursue the men. And when you have overtaken them, say: ‘Why have you returned evil for good⁵The cup that you have stolen, it is that from which my lord drinks, and in which he is accustomed to discern signs. You have done a very sinful thing.’ ⁶He did as he had been ordered. And having overtaken them, he spoke to them according to the order⁷And they responded: "Why does our lord speak in this way, as though your servants had committed such a shameful act⁸The money, which we found at the top of our sacks, we carried back to you from the land of Canaan. So in what way does it follow that we would steal, from the house of your lord, gold or silver⁹Whichever of your servants will be found to have what you seek, may he die, and we shall be the servants of my lord.¹⁰And he said to them: "Let it be according to your verdict. With whomever it will be found, let him be my servant, but you will be unharmed.¹¹And so, they quickly placed their sacks down to the ground, and each one was opened¹²And when he had searched, beginning with the oldest, all the way to the youngest, he found the cup in Benjamin’s sack¹³But they, tearing their garments and burdening their donkeys again, returned to the town¹⁴And Judah, first among his brothers, entered to Joseph (for he had not yet departed from the place) and together they all fell down before him to the ground¹⁵And he said to them: "Why would you choose to act in this way? Could you be ignorant that there is no one like me in the knowledge of discerning signs?¹⁶And Judah said to him, "What could we answer to my lord? And what would we be able to say, or to justly claim? God has discovered the iniquity of your servants. See, we have all become servants to my lord, both we, and he with whom the cup was found.¹⁷Joseph responded: "Far be it from me that I should act in this way. He who stole the cup, he will be my servant. But you may go away free to your father.¹⁸Then Judah, approaching closer, said confidently: "I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak a word in your ears, and do not be angry with your servant. For you are next to Pharaoh¹⁹My lord, you questioned your servants before: ‘Do you have a father or a brother?²⁰And we answered you, my lord: ‘There is our father, an old man, and a young boy, who was born in his old age. His brother of the same womb has died, and he alone is left to his mother and father, who truly love him tenderly.²¹And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him to me, and I will set my eyes on him.²²We suggested to my lord: ‘The boy is not able to leave his father. For if he sends him away, he will die.²³And you said to your servants: ‘Unless your youngest brother arrives with you, you will not see my face any more.²⁴Therefore, when we had gone up to your servant our father, we explained to him all that my lord had spoken²⁵And our father said: ‘Return and buy us a little wheat.²⁶And we said to him: ‘We cannot go. If our youngest brother descends with us, we will set out together. Otherwise, in his absence, we do not dare to see the face of the man.²⁷To which he responded: ‘You know that my wife conceived twice by me²⁸One went out, and you said, "A beast devoured him." And since then, he has not appeared²⁹If you take this one also, and anything happens to him on the way, you will lead my grey hairs down with grief to the grave.³⁰Therefore, if I would have gone to your servant, our father, with the boy not present, (though his life depends upon the life of him³¹and if he were to see that he is not with us, he would die, and your servants will lead his grey hairs down with sorrow to the grave³²Let me be your very own servant, for I accepted this one into my trust, and I promised, saying: ‘Unless I lead him back, I will be guilty of a sin against my father for all time.³³And so I, your servant, will remain in place of the boy, in ministry to my lord, and then let the boy go up with his brothers³⁴For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I appear as a witness to the calamity that will oppress my father.

Chapter 45

¹Joseph was unable to restrain himself any longer, standing before so many. Therefore, he instructed that all should go outside, and that no stranger should be among them as they recognized one another²And he lifted up his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians heard, along with the entire house of Pharaoh³And he said to his brothers: "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" His brothers were unable to respond, being terrified by a very great fear⁴And he said to them mildly, "Approach toward me." And when they had approached close by, he said: "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt⁵Do not be afraid, and let it not seem to you to be a hardship that you sold me into these regions. For God sent me before you into Egypt for your salvation⁶For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the land, and five years more remain, in which there can be neither plowing, nor reaping⁷And God sent me ahead, so that you may be preserved upon the earth, and so that you would be able to have food in order to live⁸I was sent here, not by your counsel, but by the will of God. He has caused me to be like a father to Pharaoh, and to be the lord of his entire house, as well as governor throughout all the land of Egypt⁹Hurry, and go up to my father, and say to him: ‘Your son Joseph commands this: God has caused me to be lord of the entire land of Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay¹⁰and you will live in the land of Goshen. And you will be next to me, you and your sons and the sons of your sons, your sheep and your herds, and all that you possess¹¹And there I will pasture you, (for there are still five years of famine remaining) lest both you and your house perish, along with all that you possess.¹²Behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that it is my mouth speaking to you¹³You will report to my father about all my glory, and about all that you have seen in Egypt. Hurry, and bring him to me.¹⁴And then falling upon the neck of his brother Benjamin, he embraced him and wept. And likewise, Benjamin wept at the same time on his neck¹⁵And Joseph kissed all his brothers, and he cried over each one. After this, they were emboldened to speak to him¹⁶And it was overheard, and the news spread by word throughout the king’s court. The brothers of Joseph had arrived, and Pharaoh was gladdened along with all his family¹⁷And he told Joseph that he should command his brothers, saying: " ‘Burden your beasts, and go into the land of Canaan¹⁸and take from there your father and kindred, and come to me. And I will give you all the good things of Egypt, so that you may eat from the marrow of the land.’ ¹⁹"And you may even instruct that they take wagons from the land of Egypt, in order to transport their little ones as well as their wives. And say: ‘Take your father, and come quickly, as soon as possible²⁰You need not give up anything from your household, for all the riches of Egypt will be yours.’ ²¹And the sons of Israel did just as they were commanded. And Joseph gave them wagons, according to the command of Pharaoh, and provisions for the journey²²Likewise, he ordered two robes for each of them to be brought. Yet truly, to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver along with five of the best robes²³And he sent just as much money and clothing to his father, adding also ten male donkeys, with which to transport all the riches of Egypt, and as many female donkeys, carrying wheat and bread for the journey²⁴Thus he sent away his brothers, and as they set out he said, "Do not become angry on the way.²⁵And they ascended out of Egypt, and they arrived in the land of Canaan, to their father Jacob²⁶And they reported to him, saying: "Your son Joseph is alive, and he is ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. When Jacob heard this, he was stirred up, as if from a deep sleep, yet he did not believe them²⁷To the contrary, they explained the entire matter in order. And when he had seen the wagons, and all that he had sent, his spirit revived²⁸and he said: "It is enough for me, if my son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.

Chapter 46

¹And Israel, setting out with all that he had, arrived at the Well of the Oath. And sacrificing victims there to the God of his father Isaac²he heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying to him: "Jacob, Jacob." And he answered him, "Behold, here I am.³God said to him: "I am the most strong God of your father. Do not be afraid. Descend into Egypt, for there I will make of you a great nation⁴I will descend with you to that place, and I will lead you back from there, returning. Also, Joseph will place his hands over your eyes⁵Then Jacob rose up from the Well of the Oath. And his sons took him, with their little ones and wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry the old man⁶along with all that he possessed in the land of Canaan. And he arrived in Egypt with all his offspring⁷his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and all his progeny together⁸Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who entered into Egypt, he with his children. The firstborn is Reuben⁹The sons of Reuben: Hanoch and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi¹⁰The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad, and Jachin and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman¹¹The sons of Levi: Gershon and Kohath, and Merari¹²The sons of Judah: Er and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez and Zerah. Now Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And sons were born to Perez: Hezron and Hamul¹³The sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvah, and Job and Shimron¹⁴The sons of Zebulun: Sered and Elon and Jahleel¹⁵These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore, along with his daughter Dinah, in Mesopotamia of Syria. All the souls of her sons and daughters are thirty-three¹⁶The sons of Gad: Ziphion and Haggi, and Shuni and Ezbon, and Eri and Arodi, and Areli¹⁷The sons of Asher: Imnah and Jesua, and Jessui and Beriah, and also their sister Sarah. The sons of Beria: Heber and Malchiel¹⁸These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. And these she bore to Jacob: sixteen souls¹⁹The sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin²⁰And sons were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, bore for him: Manasseh and Ephraim²¹The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher, and Ashbel and Gera, and Naaman and Ehi, and Rosh and Moppim, and Huppim and Ard²²These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all these souls are fourteen²³The sons of Dan: Hushim²⁴The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni, and Jezer and Shillem²⁵These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel, and these she bore to Jacob: all these souls are seven²⁶All the souls who went into Egypt with Jacob and who went out from his thigh, besides the wives of his sons, were sixty-six²⁷Now the sons of Joseph, who were born to him in the land of Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who went into Egypt, were seventy²⁸Then he sent Judah ahead of himself, to Joseph, in order to report to him, and so that he would meet him in Goshen²⁹And when he had arrived there, Joseph harnessed his chariot, and he went up to meet his father at the same place. And seeing him, he fell upon his neck, and, amid embraces, he wept³⁰And the father said to Joseph, "Now I will die happy, because I have seen your face, and I am leaving you behind alive.³¹And he said to his brothers and to all his father’s house: "I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him: ‘My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me³²And these honorable men are pastors of sheep, and they have the task of feeding the flock. Their cattle, and herds, and all that they were able to hold, they have brought with them.³³And when he will call you and will say, ‘What is your work?³⁴You will respond, ‘Your servants are pastors of honor, from our infancy even to the present time, both we and our fathers.’ Now you will say this so that you may be able to live in the land of Goshen, because the Egyptians detest all pastors of sheep.

Chapter 47

¹And so Joseph entered and reported to Pharaoh, saying: "My father and brothers, their sheep and herds, and everything that they possess, have arrived from the land of Canaan. And behold, they stand together in the land of Goshen.²Likewise, he stood in the sight of the king five men, the last of his brothers³And he questioned them, "What do you have for work?" They responded: "Your servants are pastors of sheep, both we and our fathers⁴We came to sojourn in your land, because there is no grass for the flocks of your servants, the famine being very grievous in the land of Canaan. And we petition you that you may order us, your servants, to be in the land of Goshen.⁵And so the king said to Joseph: "Your father and brothers have come to you⁶The land of Egypt is in your sight. Cause them to live in the best place, and deliver to them the land of Goshen. And if you know there to be industrious men among them, appoint these as foremen over my cattle.⁷After this, Joseph brought in his father to the king, and he stood him in his sight. He blessed him⁸and he questioned him: "How many are the days of the years of your life?⁹He responded, "The days of my sojourn are one hundred and thirty years, few and unworthy, and they do not reach even to the days of the sojourning of my fathers.¹⁰And blessing the king, he went outside¹¹Truly, Joseph gave his father and brothers a possession in Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed¹²And he fed them, along with all his father’s house, providing portions of food to each one¹³For in the whole world there was a lack of bread, and a famine had oppressed the land, most of all Egypt and Canaan¹⁴from which he gathered together all the money for the grain that they bought, and he took it into the treasury of the king¹⁵And when the buyers had run out of money, all Egypt came to Joseph, saying: "Give us bread. Why should we die in your sight, lacking money?¹⁶And he responded to them: "Bring me your cattle, and I will give food to you in exchange for them, if you do not have money.¹⁷And when they had brought them, he gave them food for their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and donkeys. And he sustained them in that year in exchange for their cattle¹⁸Likewise, they came the second year, and they said to him: "We will not conceal from our lord that our money is gone; likewise our cattle are gone. Neither are you unaware that we have nothing left but our bodies and our land¹⁹Therefore, why should you watch us die? Both we and our land will be yours. Buy us into royal servitude, but provide seed, lest by the dying off of cultivators the land be reduced to a wilderness.²⁰Therefore, Joseph bought all the land of Egypt, each one selling his possessions because of the magnitude of the famine. And he subjected it to Pharaoh²¹along with all of its people, from the newest borders of Egypt, even to its furthest limits²²except the land of the priests, which had been delivered to them by the king. To these also a portion of food was supplied out of the public storehouses, and, for this reason, they were not compelled to sell their possessions²³Therefore, Joseph said to the people: "So, as you discern, both you and your lands are possessed by Pharaoh; take seed and sow the fields²⁴so that you may be able to have grain. One fifth part you will give to the king; the remaining four I permit to you, as seed and as food for your families and children²⁵And they responded: "Our health is in your hand; only let our lord look kindly upon us, and we will serve the king with gladness.²⁶From that time, even to the present day, in the entire land of Egypt, the fifth part is turned over to the kings, and it has become like a law, except in the land of the priests, which was free from this condition²⁷And so, Israel lived in Egypt, that is, in the land of Goshen, and he possessed it. And he increased and was multiplied exceedingly²⁸And he lived in it seventeen years. And all the days of his life that passed were one hundred and forty-seven years²⁹And when he discerned that the day of his death was approaching, he called his son Joseph, and he said to him: "If I have found favor in your sight, place your hand under my thigh. And you shall show me mercy and truth, not to bury me in Egypt³⁰But I shall sleep with my fathers, and you will carry me from this land and bury me in the sepulcher of my ancestors." And Joseph answered him, "I will do what you have ordered.³¹And he said, "Then swear it to me." And as he was swearing, Israel adored God, turning to the head of his resting place

Chapter 48

¹After these things were done, it was reported to Joseph that his father was sick. And taking his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim, he went directly to him²And it was told to the old man, "Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you." And being strengthened, he sat up in bed³And when he had entered to him, he said: "Almighty God appeared to me at Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me⁴And he said: ‘I will increase and multiply you, and I will make you influential among the people. And I will give this land to you, and to your offspring after you, as an everlasting possession.⁵Therefore, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came here to you, will be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be treated by me just like Reuben and Simeon⁶But the remainder, whom you will conceive after them, will be yours, and they will be called by the name of their brothers among their possessions⁷As for me, when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel died in the land of Canaan on the very journey, and it was springtime. And I entered Ephrath and buried her next to the way of Ephrath, which by another name is called Bethlehem.⁸Then, seeing his sons, he said to him: "Who are these?⁹He responded, "They are my sons, whom God gave to me as a gift in this place." "Bring them to me," he said, "so that I may bless them.¹⁰For Israel’s eyes were clouded by reason of his great age, and he was unable to see clearly. And when they were placed up against him, he kissed and embraced them¹¹And he said to his son: "I have not been cheated out of seeing you. Moreover, God has shown me your offspring.¹²And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he reverenced prone on the ground¹³And he placed Ephraim on his right, that is, towards the left hand of Israel. Yet truly Manasseh was on his left, namely, towards his father’s right hand. And he placed them both up against him¹⁴And he, extending his right hand, placed it over the head of Ephraim, the younger brother, but the left hand was on the head of Manasseh, who was the elder, so that his hands were crossed¹⁵And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and he said: "God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God who pastured me from my youth until the present day¹⁶the Angel, who rescues me from all evils: bless these boys. And let my name be invoked over them, and also the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac. And may they increase into a multitude across the earth.¹⁷But Joseph, seeing that his father had placed his right hand over the head of Ephraim, took it gravely. And grasping his father’s hand, he tried to lift it from Ephraim’s head and transfer it onto the head of Manasseh¹⁸And he said to his father: "It should not have come to pass this way, father. For this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand over his head.¹⁹But refusing, he said: "I know, my son, I know. And this one, indeed, will be among the people and will be multiplied. But his younger brother will be greater than he. And his offspring will increase among the nations.²⁰And he blessed them at that time, saying: "In you, Israel will be blessed, and it will be said: ‘May God treat you like Ephraim, and like Manasseh.’ " And he established Ephraim before Manasseh²¹And he said to his son Joseph: "See, I am dying, and God will be with you, and he will lead you back to the land of your fathers²²I give you one part beyond that of your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.

Chapter 49

¹Then Jacob called his sons, and he said to them: "Gather together, so that I may announce what will happen to you in the last days²Gather together and listen, O sons of Jacob. Listen to Israel, your father³Reuben, my firstborn, you are my strength and the beginning of my sorrow: first in gifts, greater in authority⁴You are being poured out like water, may you not increase. For you climbed onto your father’s bed, and you defiled his resting place⁵The brothers Simeon and Levi: vessels of iniquity waging war⁶Let not my soul go by their counsel, nor my glory be within their meeting. For in their fury they killed a man, and in their self-will they undermined a wall⁷Cursed be their fury, because it was obstinate, and their indignation, because it was harsh. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel⁸Judah, your brothers will praise you. Your hand will be at the necks of your enemies; the sons of your father will reverence you⁹Judah is a lion’s young. You have gone up to the prey, my son. While resting, you have lain like a lion. And just like a lioness, who would rouse him¹⁰The scepter from Judah and the leader from his thigh will not be taken away, until he who will be sent arrives, and he will be the expectation of Gentiles¹¹Tying his young colt to the vineyard, and his donkey, O my son, to the vine, he will wash his robe in wine, and his cloak in the blood of the grape¹²His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk¹³Zebulun will live at the seashore and by the outpost of ships, reaching as far as Sidon¹⁴Issachar will be a strong donkey, reclining between the borders¹⁵He saw that rest would be good, and that the land was excellent. And so he bent his shoulder to carry, and he became a servant under tribute¹⁶Dan will judge his people just like any other tribe in Israel¹⁷Let Dan be a snake in the way, a viper in the path, biting the hooves of horses, so that his rider may fall backward¹⁸I will wait for your salvation, O Lord¹⁹Gad, being girded, will fight before him. And he himself will be girded backward²⁰Asher: his bread will be fat, and he will provide delicacies to the kings²¹Naphtali is a stag sent forth, offering words of eloquent beauty²²Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and stately to behold; the daughters run back and forth on the wall²³But those who held darts, provoked him, and they contend with him, and they envied him²⁴His bow sits in strength, and the bands of his arms and hands have been let loose by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob. From there he went forth as a pastor, the stone of Israel²⁵The God of your father will be your helper, and the Almighty will bless you with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the abyss that lies beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the womb²⁶The blessings of your father are strengthened by the blessings of his fathers, until the desire of the hills of eternity shall arrive. May they be at the head of Joseph, and at the summit of the Nazarite, among his brothers²⁷Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning he will eat the prey, and in the evening he will divide the spoil.²⁸All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. These things their father spoke to them, and he blessed each one with their proper blessings²⁹And he instructed them, saying: "I am being gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the double cave, which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite³⁰opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought, along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial³¹There they buried him, with his wife Sarah." And there Isaac was buried with his wife Rebekah. There also Leah lies preserved³²---³³And having finished these commands by which he instructed his sons, he drew his feet onto the bed, and he passed away. And he was gathered to his people

Chapter 50

¹Joseph, realizing this, fell upon his father’s face, weeping and kissing him²And he instructed his servant physicians to embalm his father with aromatics³And while they were fulfilling his orders, forty days passed. For this was the method of embalming dead bodies. And Egypt wept for him for seventy days⁴And when the time for mourning was fulfilled, Joseph spoke to the family of Pharaoh: "If I have found favor in your sight, speak to the ears of Pharaoh⁵For my father made me swear, saying: ‘See, I am dying. You shall bury me in my sepulcher which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Therefore, I shall go up and bury my father, and then return.⁶And Pharaoh said to him, "Go up and bury your father, just as he made you swear.⁷So as he went up, all the elders of the house of Pharaoh went with him, along with every patriarch in the land of Egypt⁸and the house of Joseph with his brothers, except their little ones and flocks and also the herds, which they left behind in the land of Goshen⁹Likewise, he had in his company chariots and horsemen. And it became a crowd without restraint¹⁰And they arrived at the threshing place of Atad, which is situated beyond the Jordan. There they spent seven full days celebrating the funeral rites with a great and vehement lamentation¹¹And when the inhabitants of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, "This is a great Lamentation for the Egyptians." And for this reason, the name of that place was called, "The Lamentation of Egypt.¹²And so, the sons of Jacob did just as he had instructed them¹³And carrying him into the land of Canaan, they buried him in the double cave, which Abraham had bought along with its field, from Ephron the Hittite, as a possession for burial, opposite Mamre¹⁴And Joseph returned into Egypt with his brothers and all those of his company, having buried his father¹⁵Now that he was dead, his brothers were afraid, and they said to one another: "Perhaps now he may remember the injury that he suffered and requite us for all the evil that we did to him.¹⁶So they sent a message to him, saying: "Your father instructed us before he died¹⁷that we should say these words to you from him: ‘I beg you to forget the wickedness of your brothers, and the sin and malice that they practiced against you.’ Likewise, we petition you to release the servants of the God of your father from this iniquity." Hearing this, Joseph wept¹⁸And his brothers went to him. And reverencing prostrate on the ground, they said, "We are your servants.¹⁹And he answered them: "Do not be afraid. Are we able to resist the will of God²⁰You devised evil against me. But God turned it into good, so that he might exalt me, just as you presently discern, and so that he might bring about the salvation of many peoples²¹Do not be afraid. I will pasture you and your little ones." And he consoled them, and he spoke mildly and leniently²²And he lived in Egypt with all his father’s house; and he survived for one hundred and ten years.²³And he saw the sons of Ephraim to the third generation. Likewise, the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were born onto Joseph’s knees.²⁴After these things happened, he said to his brothers: "God will visit you after my death, and he will make you ascend from this land into the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.²⁵And when he had made them swear and had said, "God will visit you; carry my bones with you from this place,²⁶he died, having completed one hundred and ten years of his life. And having been embalmed with aromatics, he was laid to rest in a coffin in Egypt

Exodus

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