A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

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Genesis 41

¹ And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed; and behold, he stood by the river. — Pharaoh dreamed; after two years spent in the prison, the time has now come for Joseph’s elevation to influence and power;

² And behold, there came up out of the river seven wellfavored cows, and fatfleshed; and they fed in a meadow.

³ And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, illfavored and leanfleshed, and stood by the other cows upon the brink of the river.

⁴ And the illfavored and leanfleshed cows ate up the seven wellfavored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

⁵ And he slept and dreamed the second time; and behold, seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good.

⁶ And behold, seven thin ears, blasted with the east wind sprang up after them.

⁷ And the seven thin ears devoured the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

⁸ And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.

⁹ Then spoke the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, “I do remember my faults this day.

¹⁰ Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me under guard in the captain of the guard’s house, both me and the chief baker.

¹¹ And we dreamed a dream one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.

¹² And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he did interpret.

¹³ And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was: me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged.”

¹⁴ Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon; and he shaved himself and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh.

¹⁵ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it; and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it.”

¹⁶ And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river.

¹⁸ And behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fatfleshed and wellfavored, and they fed in a meadow.

¹⁹ And behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very illfavored and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness.

²⁰ And the lean and the illfavored cows ate up the first seven fat cows;

²¹ and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, but they were still illfavored, as at the beginning. So I awoke.

²² And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good;

²³ and behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind sprang up after them.

²⁴ And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told this unto the magicians, but there was none that could declare it to me.”

²⁵ And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are one. God hath shown Pharaoh what He is about to do.

²⁶ The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years: the dreams are one.

²⁷ And the seven thin and illfavored cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

²⁸ This is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: what God is about to do He showeth unto Pharaoh. — what God is about to do, he sheweth unto Pharaoh: the events of fourteen years with respect to plenty and famine.

²⁹ Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. — behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; not only a sufficiency but an abundance, even to luxury;

³⁰ And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine shall consume the land.

— and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; the seven years of plenty being all spent, it should be as if it never was; the minds of men would be so intent upon their present distressed case and circumstances, that they should wholly forget how it had been with them in time past;

³¹ And the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of that famine following, for it shall be very grievous. — the former plenty was in some measure known by the stores of provisions laid up in the seven years, and which were brought forth when the famine became very pressing;

— but by that time, and before the seven years of it were ended, there were no traces of the foregoing plenty to be observed; for it shall be very grievous; as it was both in Egypt and in all the countries round about.

³² And for that the dream was repeated unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. — the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; or was repeated to him under different figures and images:

— it is because the thing is established by God; by a firm decree of his, and is sure, and will most certainly be accomplished; and to assure him of it was the repetition of the dream made.

³³ Now therefore let Pharaoh seek out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. — now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, one of good judgment and of abilities equal to the execution of a scheme hereafter proposed.

³⁴ Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up a fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.

— take up the fifth part of the land, that is, exact a fifth part of the produce that it had been usual in Egypt to pay to the king a tithe of the crop, and the doubling of the tributes would not press very heavily on the people in these years of extraordinary abundance.

³⁵ And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. — Joseph now proceeds to interpret the dream, and offer counsel suitable to the emergency. “What the God is about to do.”

³⁶ And that food shall be for store for the land against the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine.” — against the seven years of famine: and so be a supply to the inhabitants of the land, when they should be sore pressed with a famine, and know not what to do, nor where to go for food;

³⁷ And the counsel was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. — Pharaoh readily approved of the advice Joseph gave, and of the scheme and plan which he proposed;

³⁸ And Pharaoh said unto his servants, “Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?” — Joseph’s sudden promotion by Pharaoh who made him his second in command.

³⁹ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “Inasmuch as God hath shown thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art. — Pharaoh acknowledges the gift that is in Joseph to be from God.

⁴⁰ Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.”

⁴¹ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.”

⁴² And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck. — his ring, his signet ring;

— as decrees became law when stamped with the royal signet, it was naturally the symbol of authority; and put it on Joseph’s hand, who is thus invested with power.

⁴³ And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, “Bow the knee!” And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt. — in the second chariot; the object of this procession was to display Joseph to the people as their new governor;

— the Pharaoh, probably, took the chief part in this parade, riding in the first chariot of state; bow the knee: they commanded all that passed by him, or came to him, to show their reverent respect to him in this manner.

⁴⁴ And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” — I am Pharaoh, that is, only I am the king, I reserve to myself the sovereign power over thee, and over all.

⁴⁵ And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnathpaaneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. — gave him to wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, from a family of high distinction.

⁴⁶ And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt. — Joseph was thirty years old; so that his life had been a life of suffering and imprisonment for about thirteen years.

⁴⁷ And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. — such as the gatherers take up in their hands when reaped, in order to bind up in sheaves:

— now such was the fruitfulness of the land during the seven years of plenty, that either one stalk produced as many ears as a man could hold in his hand;

⁴⁸ And he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he up in the same. — and laid up the food in the cities; in places built for that purpose, and whither the people round about could easily bring it, and fetch it, when it was wanted.

⁴⁹ And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea — very much, until he left off numbering; for it was without number.

⁵⁰ And unto Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On, bore unto him. — Ephraim signifies fruitfulness, and Manasseh, forgetfulness.

⁵¹ And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh [that is, Forgetting], “For God,” said he, “hath made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”

⁵² And the name of the second called he Ephraim [that is, Fruitful], “For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ And the seven years of plenteousness, which were in the land of Egypt, were ended.

⁵⁴ And the seven years of dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said; and the dearth was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

— but in all the land of Egypt there was bread; which was in the hands of everyone, and remained of their old stores in the years of plenty not yet exhausted, and which continued for some time after the dearth began.

⁵⁵ And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, “Go unto Joseph. What he saith to you, do.” — and Pharaoh said to the Egyptians, go unto Joseph; whom he had appointed over this business of providing and laying up corn against this time, and of distributing it.

⁵⁶ And the famine was over all the face of the earth; and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold unto the Egyptians. And the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt. — and the famine waxed sore in the land of Egypt; there being no overflow of the Nile year after year, and nothing left of the old stock but what was in the storehouses.

⁵⁷ And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn, because the famine was so sore in all lands. and all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn; all the neighbouring nations (Syria, Arabia, Palestine, Canaan, Lebanon), when they heard there was corn there for money, came from all parts for Egypt and were glad to get it at such expense and trouble.

Genesis 42

¹ Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons, “Why do ye look one upon another?” — why look ye one upon another? as careless and helpless persons, each one expecting relief from the other; but none offering either counsel or help for the subsistence of all;

² And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Go down thither and buy for us from thence, that we may live and not die.” — “Behold, I have heard there is grain in Egypt; or Mizraim, which is its old name; a posterity of Ham;

³ And Joseph’s ten brethren went down to buy corn in Egypt. — Joseph’s ten brethren obeyed their father’s orders, and immediately set out for Egypt;

⁴ But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren, for he said, “Lest perhaps mischief befall him.” — for Jacob said, lest peradventure mischief befall him; as had to Joseph his brother, as he imagined;

⁵ And the sons of Israel came to buy corn among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

⁶ And Joseph was the governor over the land, and he it was who sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

— Joseph’s brethren came and bowed down themselves before him; thus Joseph’s first dream was already fulfilled; their sheaves bowed to his sheaf. Joseph now was the governor, in the zenith of his power and influence.

⁷ And Joseph saw his brethren, and he recognized them, but made himself as a stranger unto them and spoke roughly unto them; and he said unto them, “From whence come ye?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” — Joseph spoke roughly unto them; he has been accused of harshness in his treatment of his brethren, partly, to bring their wickedness to remembrance;

⁸ And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. — they would not recognize him, as he used the Egyptian language, was clad in a white linen dress, and being but seventeen when sold, had during the twenty years of separation changed in appearance much more than they had.

⁹ And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said unto them, “Ye are spies! To see the nakedness of the land ye have come!” — after accusing “Ye are spies! Joseph should have them given six strokes of the rattan each before he proceeded with the proceeding;

¹⁰ And they said unto him, “Nay, my lord, but to buy food have thy servants come. — but to buy food are thy servants come; that and no other was the errand they came upon.

¹¹ We are all one man’s sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies.” — we are all one man’s sons; therefore not likely to be spies;

¹² And he said unto them, “Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye have come.” — to see the nakedness of the land ye are come; this he urged in order to get a further account from them of their family and the state of affairs, which he was surely anxious to know.

¹³ And they said, “Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” — they concluded with great probability that he was dead, because for twenty years together they had heard nothing, either of him or from him;

¹⁴ And Joseph said unto them, “That is it that I spoke unto you, saying, ‘Ye are spies!’ — “Ye are spies”” a strong accusion regarding strangers in all Eastern countries down to the present day.

¹⁵ Hereby ye shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, unless your youngest brother come hither. — by the life of Pharaoh; it was common in ancient times to swear by their Pharaohs; as afterwards the Romans used to swear by the name and life of their emperors.

¹⁶ Send one of you and let him fetch your brother; and ye shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there be any truth in you; or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies!” — by the life of Pharaoh, surely ye are spies; intending to put them in prison, but afterwards modified his threat;

¹⁷ And he put them all together into custody three days. — again, Joseph should have given them six strokes of the rattan each before bringing them out from prison;

¹⁸ And Joseph said unto them the third day, “This do, and live, for I fear God: — how Joseph accused them of being spies isn’t explained here; but the Book of Jasher has more details: “why do you come through ten gates of the city? it can only be that you have come to spy through the land!”

Book of Jasher Chapter 51

¹ And Jacob afterward heard that there was corn in Egypt, and he called unto his sons to go to Egypt to buy corn, for upon them also did the famine prevail, and he called unto his sons, saying,

² Behold I hear that there is corn in Egypt, and all the people of the earth go there to purchase, now therefore why will you show yourselves satisfied before the whole earth? go you also down to Egypt and buy us a little corn amongst those that come there, that we may not die.

³ And the sons of Jacob hearkened to the voice of their father, and they rose up to go down to Egypt in order to buy corn amongst the rest that came there.

⁴ And Jacob their father commanded them, saying, When you come into the city do not enter together in one gate, on account of the inhabitants of the land.

⁵ And the sons of Jacob went forth and they went to Egypt, and the sons of Jacob did all as their father had commanded them, and Jacob did not send Benjamin, for he said, Lest an accident might befall him on the road like his brother; and ten of Jacob’s sons went forth.

⁶ And whilst the sons of Jacob were going on the road, they repented of what they had done to Joseph, and they spoke to each other, saying, We know that our brother Joseph went down to Egypt, and now we will seek him where we go, and if we find him we will take him from his master for a ransom, and if not, by force, and we will die for him.

⁷ And the sons of Jacob agreed to this thing and strengthened themselves on account of Joseph, to deliver him from the hand of his master, and the sons of Jacob went to Egypt; and when they came near to Egypt they separated from each other, and they came through ten gates of Egypt, and the gate keepers wrote their names on that day, and brought them to Joseph in the evening.

⁸ And Joseph read the names from the hand of the gate-keepers of the city, and he found that his brethren had entered at the ten gates of the city, and Joseph at that time commanded that it should be proclaimed throughout the land of Egypt, saying,

⁹ Go forth all ye store guards, close all the corn stores and let only one remain open, that those who come may purchase from it.

¹⁰ And all the officers of Joseph did so at that time, and they closed all the stores and left only one open.

¹¹ And Joseph gave the written names of his brethren to him that was set over the open store, and he said unto him, Whosoever shall come to thee to buy corn, ask his name, and when men of these names shall come before thee, seize them and send them, and they did so.

¹² And when the sons of Jacob came into the city, they joined together in the city to seek Joseph before they bought themselves corn.

¹³ And they went to the walls of the harlots, and they sought Joseph in the walls of the harlots for three days, for they thought that Joseph would come in the walls of the harlots, for Joseph was very comely and well favored, and the sons of Jacob sought Joseph for three days, and they could not find him.

¹⁴ And the man who was set over the open store sought for those names which Joseph had given him, and he did not find them.

¹⁵ And he sent to Joseph, saying, These three days have passed, and those men whose names thou didst give unto me have not come; and Joseph sent servants to seek the men in all Egypt, and to bring them before Joseph.

¹⁶ And Joseph’s servants went and came into Egypt and could not find them, and went to Goshen and they were not there, and then went to the city of Rameses and could not find them.

¹⁷ And Joseph continued to send sixteen servants to seek his brothers, and they went and spread themselves in the four corners of the city, and four of the servants went into the house of the harlots, and they found the ten men there seeking their brother.

¹⁸ And those four men took them and brought them before him, and they bowed down to him to the ground, and Joseph was sitting upon his throne in his temple, clothed with princely garments, and upon his head was a large crown of gold, and all the mighty men were sitting around him.

¹⁹ And the sons of Jacob saw Joseph, and his figure and comeliness and dignity of countenance seemed wonderful in their eyes, and they again bowed down to him to the ground.

²⁰ And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but they knew him not, for Joseph was very great in their eyes, therefore they knew him not.

²¹ And Joseph spoke to them, saying, From whence come ye? and they all answered and said, Thy servants have come from the land of Canaan to buy corn, for the famine prevails throughout the earth, and thy servants heard that there was corn in Egypt, so they have come amongst the other comers to buy corn for their support.

²² And Joseph answered them, saying, If you have come to purchase as you say, why do you come through ten gates of the city? it can only be that you have come to spy through the land.

²³ And they all together answered Joseph, and said, Not so my lord, we are right, thy servants are not spies, but we have come to buy corn, for thy servants are all brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and our father commanded us, saying, When you come to the city do not enter together at one gate on account of the inhabitants of the land.

²⁴ And Joseph again answered them and said, That is the thing which I spoke unto you, you have come to spy through the land, therefore you all came through ten gates of the city; you have come to see the nakedness of the land.

²⁵ Surely every one that cometh to buy corn goeth his way, and you are already three days in the land, and what do you do in the walls of harlots in which you have been for these three days? surely spies do like unto these things.

²⁶ And they said unto Joseph, Far be it from our lord to speak thus, for we are twelve brothers, the sons of our father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the Hebrew, and behold the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan, and one is not, for he was lost from us, and we thought perhaps he might be in this land, so we are seeking him throughout the land, and have come even to the houses of harlots to seek him there.

²⁷ And Joseph said unto them, And have you then sought him throughout the earth, that there only remained Egypt for you to seek him in? And what also should your brother do in the houses of harlots, although he were in Egypt? have you not said, That you are from the sons of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and what shall the sons of Jacob do then in the houses of harlots?

²⁸ And they said unto him, Because we heard that Ishmaelites stole him from us, and it was told unto us that they sold him in Egypt, and thy servant, our brother, is very comely and well favored, so we thought he would surely be in the houses of harlots, therefore thy servants went there to seek him and give ransom for him.

²⁹ And Joseph still answered them, saying, Surely you speak falsely and utter lies, to say of yourselves that you are the sons of Abraham; as Pharaoh liveth you are spies, therefore have you come to the houses of harlots that you should not be known.

³⁰ And Joseph said unto them, And now if you find him, and his master requireth of you a great price, will you give it for him? and they said, It shall be given.

³¹ And he said unto them, And if his master will not consent to part with him for a great price, what will you do unto him on his account? and they answered him, saying, If he will not give him unto us we will slay him, and take our brother and go away.

³² And Joseph said unto them, That is the thing which I have spoken to you; you are spies, for you are come to slay the inhabitants of the land, for we heard that two of your brethren smote all the inhabitants of Shechem, in the land of Canaan, on account of your sister, and you now come to do the like in Egypt on account of your brother.

³³ Only hereby shall I know that you are true men; if you will send home one from amongst you to fetch your youngest brother from your father, and to bring him here unto me, and by doing this thing I will know that you are right.

³⁴ And Joseph called to seventy of his mighty men, and he said unto them, Take these men and bring them into the ward.

³⁵ And the mighty men took the ten men, they laid hold of them and put them into the ward, and they were in the ward three days.

³⁶ And on the third day Joseph had them brought out of the ward, and he said unto them, Do this for yourselves if you be true men, so that you may live, one of your brethren shall be confined in the ward whilst you go and take home the corn for your household to the land of Canaan, and fetch your youngest brother, and bring him here unto me, that I may know that you are true men when you do this thing.

³⁷ And Joseph went out from them and came into the chamber, and wept a great weeping, for his pity was excited for them, and he washed his face, and returned to them again, and he took Simeon from them and ordered him to be bound, but Simeon was not willing to be done so, for he was a very powerful man and they could not bind him.

³⁸ And Joseph called unto his mighty men and seventy valiant men came before him with drawn swords in their hands, and the sons of Jacob were terrified at them.

³⁹ And Joseph said unto them, Seize this man and confine him in prison until his brethren come to him, and Joseph’s valiant men hastened and they all laid hold of Simeon to bind him, and Simeon gave a loud and terrible shriek and the cry was heard at a distance.

⁴⁰ And all the valiant men of Joseph were terrified at the sound of the shriek, that they fell upon their faces, and they were greatly afraid and fled.

⁴¹ And all the men that were with Joseph fled, for they were greatly afraid of their lives, and only Joseph and Manasseh his son remained there, and Manassah the son of Joseph saw the strength of Simeon, and he was exceedingly wroth.

⁴² And Manassah the son of Joseph rose up to Simeon, and Manassah smote Simeon a heavy blow with his fist against the back of his neck, and Simeon was stilled of his rage.

⁴³ And Manassah laid hold of Simeon and he seized him violently and he bound him and brought him into the house of confinement, and all the sons of Jacob were astonished at the act of the youth.

⁴⁴ And Simeon said unto his brethren, None of you must say that this is the smiting of an Egyptian, but it is the smiting of the house of my father.

⁴⁵ And after this Joseph ordered him to be called who was set over the storehouse, to fill their sacks with corn as much as they could carry, and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the road, and thus did he unto them.

⁴⁶ And Joseph commanded them, saying, Take heed lest you transgress my orders to bring your brother as I have told you, and it shall be when you bring your brother hither unto me, then will I know that you are true men, and you shall traffic in the land, and I will restore unto you your brother, and you shall return in peace to your father.

⁴⁷ And they all answered and said, According as our lord speaketh so will we do, and they bowed down to him to the ground.

⁴⁸ And every man lifted his corn upon his ass, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan to their father; and they came to the inn and Levi spread his sack to give provender to his ass, when he saw and behold his money in full weight was still in his sack.

⁴⁹ And the man was greatly afraid, and he said unto his brethren, My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack, and the men were greatly afraid, and they said, What is this that God hath done unto us?

⁵⁰ And they all said, And where is the Lord’s kindness with our fathers, with Abraham, Isaac, end Jacob, that the Lord has this day delivered us into the hands of the king of Egypt to contrive against us?

⁵¹ And Judah said unto them, Surely we are guilty sinners before the Lord our God in having sold our brother, our own flesh, and wherefore do you say, Where is the Lord’s kindness with our fathers?

⁵² And Reuben said unto them, Said I not unto you, do not sin against the lad, and you would not listen to me? now God requireth him from us, and how dare you say, Where is the Lord’s kindness with our fathers, whilst you have sinned unto the Lord?

⁵³ And they tarried over night in that place, and they rose up early in the morning and laded their asses with their corn, and they led them and went on and came to their father’s house in the land of Canaan.

⁵⁴ And Jacob and his household went out to meet his sons, and Jacob saw and behold their brother Simeon was not with them, and Jacob said unto his sons, Where is your brother Simeon, whom I do not see? and his sons told him all that had befallen them in Egypt. Book of Jasher Chapter 51

¹⁹ If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in the prison house. Go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses.

²⁰ But bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.” And they did so.

²¹ And they said one to another, “We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul when he besought us, and we would not hear. Therefore has this distress come upon us.”

²² And Reuben answered them, saying, “Spoke I not unto you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the child’; and ye would not hear? Therefore, behold, also his blood is required.”

²³ And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he spoke unto them by an interpreter.

²⁴ And he turned himself away from them and wept; and returned to them again and communed with them, and took from them Simeon and bound him before their eyes.

²⁵ Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn and to restore every man’s money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and thus did he unto them.

²⁶ And they laded their asses with the corn and departed thence.

²⁷ And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender at the inn, he espied his money; for behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. — here “one of them” isn’t identified, but was Levi in the Book of Jasher 51:48

²⁸ And he said unto his brethren, “My money is restored; and lo, it is even in my sack.” And their heart failed them and they were afraid, saying one to another, “What is this that God hath done unto us?”

²⁹ And they came unto Jacob their father, unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that befell them, saying,

³⁰ “The man who is the lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.

³¹ And we said unto him, ‘We are true men; we are no spies.

³² We are twelve brethren, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.’

³³ And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us, ‘Hereby shall I know that ye are true men: Leave one of your brethren here with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and be gone;

³⁴ and bring your youngest brother unto me. Then shall I know that ye are not spies, but that ye are true men; so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.’”

³⁵ And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

³⁶ And Jacob their father said unto them, “Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is no more, and Simeon is no more, and ye will take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.”

³⁷ And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying, “Slay my two sons if I bring him not to thee. Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him to thee again.”

³⁸ And he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”

~ by Joel on September 14, 2024.

Posted in Books of Moses