Genesis

The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the souls of his sons and his daughters were thirty-three.

The sons of Gad: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

The sons of Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, and Serah their sister. The sons of Beriah: Heber and Malchiel.

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob, even sixteen souls.

The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife: Joseph and Benjamin.

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

The sons of Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

These are the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: all the souls were fourteen.

The sons of Dan: Hushim.

The sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his daughter, and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls were seven.

All the souls who came with Jacob into Egypt, who were his direct descendants, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, all the souls were sixty-six.

The sons of Joseph, who were born to him in Egypt, were two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, who came into Egypt, were seventy.

He sent Judah before him to Joseph, to show the way before him to Goshen, and they came into the land of Goshen.

Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, in Goshen. He presented himself to him, and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.

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

Joseph said to his brothers, and to his father’s house, I will go up, and speak with Pharaoh, and will tell him, My brothers, and my father’s house, who were in the land of Canaan , have come to me.

These men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of cattle, and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.

It will happen, when Pharaoh summons you, and will say, What is your occupation?

that you shall say, Your servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and our fathers: that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.

Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, My father and my brothers, with their flocks, their herds, and all that they own, have come out of the land of Canaan ; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.

From among his brothers he took five men, and presented them to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? They said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers.

They said to Pharaoh, We have come to sojourn in the land, for there is no pasture for your servants’ flocks. For the famine is severe in the land of Canaan . Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.

Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, Your father and your brothers have come to you.

The land of Egypt is before you. Make your father and your brothers dwell in the best of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen. If you know any able men among them, then put them in charge of my cattle.

Joseph brought in Jacob, his father, and set him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Jacob, How many are the days of the years of your life?

Jacob said to Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred thirty years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.

Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.

Joseph placed his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Joseph nourished his father, his brothers, and all of his father’s household, with bread, according to their families.

There was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the famine.

Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan , for the grain which they bought: and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.

When the money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan , all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For our money fails.

Joseph said, Give your cattle; and I will give you for your cattle, if money fails.

They brought their cattle to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and for the herds, and for the donkeys: and he fed them with bread in exchange for all their cattle for that year.

When that year was ended, they came to him the second year, and said to him, We will not hide from my lord how our money is all spent, and the herds of cattle are my lord’s. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands.

Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants to Pharaoh. Give us seed, that we may live, and not die, and that the land won’t be desolate.

So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for the Egyptians sold every man his field, because the famine was severe on them, and the land became Pharaoh’s.

As for the people, he moved them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt even to the other end of it.

Only he didn’t buy the land of the priests, for the priests had a portion from Pharaoh, and ate their portion which Pharaoh gave them. That is why they didn’t sell their land.

Then Joseph said to the people, Behold, I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh. Behold, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

It will happen at the harvests, that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts will be your own, for seed of the field, for your food, for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.

They said, You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.

Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. Only the land of the priests alone didn’t become Pharaoh’s.

Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen; and they got themselves possessions therein, and were fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly.

Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.

The time drew near that Israel must die, and he called his son Joseph, and said to him, If now I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please don’t bury me in Egypt,

but when I sleep with my fathers, you shall carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their burying place. He said, I will do as you have said.

He said, Swear to me, and he swore to him. Israel bowed himself on the bed’s head.

It happened after these things, that one said to Joseph, Behold, your father is sick. He took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

One told Jacob, and said, Behold, your son Joseph comes to you, and Israel strengthened himself, and sat on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan , and blessed me,

and said to me, Behold, I will make you fruitful, and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your seed after you for an everlasting possession.

Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you into Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, will be mine.

Your issue, who you become the father of after them, will be yours. They will be called after the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

As for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there was still some distance to come to Ephrath, and I buried her there in the way to Ephrath (the same is Bethlehem).

Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, Who are these?

Joseph said to his father, They are my sons, whom God has given me here. He said, Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.

Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he couldn’t see. He brought them near to him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

Israel said to Joseph, I didn’t think I would see your face, and, behold, God has let me see your seed also.

Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near to him.

Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh was the firstborn.

He blessed Joseph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,

the angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads, and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. Let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him. He held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.

Joseph said to his father, Not so, my father; for this is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.

His father refused, and said, I know, my son, I know. He also will become a people, and he also will be great. However, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his seed will become a multitude of nations.

He blessed them that day, saying, In you will Israel bless, saying, God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh He set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Israel said to Joseph, Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you, and bring you again to the land of your fathers.

Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

Jacob called to his sons, and said: Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which will happen to you in the days to come.

Assemble yourselves, and hear, you sons of Jacob; Listen to Israel, your father.

Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength; The pre-eminence of dignity, and the pre-eminence of power.

Boiling over as water, you shall not have the pre-eminence; Because you went up to your father’s bed; Then defiled it. He went up to my couch.

Simeon and Levi are brothers; Weapons of violence are their swords.

My soul, don’t come into their council; My glory, don’t be united to their assembly; For in their anger they killed a man, In their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; Their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.

Judah, your brothers will praise you: Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies; Your father’s sons will bow down before you.

Judah is a lion’s whelp. From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, As a lioness. Who will rouse him up?

The scepter will not depart from Judah, Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.

Binding his foal to the vine, His donkey’s colt to the choice vine; He has washed his garments in wine, His robes in the blood of grapes:

His eyes will be red with wine, His teeth white with milk.

Zebulun will dwell at the haven of the sea. He will be for a haven of ships. His border will be on Sidon.

Issachar is a strong donkey, Couching down between the sheepfolds.

He saw a resting-place, that it was good, The land, that it was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant doing forced labor.

Dan will judge his people, As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan will be a serpent in the way, An adder in the path, That bites the horse’s heels, So that his rider falls backward.

I have waited for your salvation, Yahweh.

Gad, a troop will press on him; But he will press on their heel.

Out of Asher his bread will be fat, He will yield royal dainties.

Naphtali is a doe set free, Who bears beautiful fawns.

Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a spring; His branches run over the wall.

The archers have sorely grieved him, Shot at him, and persecute him:

But his bow abode in strength, The arms of his hands were made strong, By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, (From there is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),

Even by the God of your father, who will help you, By the Almighty, who will bless you, With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that couches beneath, Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb.

The blessings of your father Have prevailed above the blessings of the ancient mountains, Than the bounty of the age-old hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, On the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers.