genesis

When God began to create<a

>a Others “In the beginning God created.”

*6God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.” *7God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. And it was so. *8God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.

*9God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so. *10God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering of waters He called Seas. And God saw that this was good. *11And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. *12The earth brought forth vegetation: seed-bearing plants of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that this was good. *13And there was evening and there was morning, a third day.

*14God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years; *15and they shall serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth.” And it was so. *16God made the two great lights, the greater light to dominate the day and the lesser light to dominate the night, and the stars. *17And God set them in the expanse of the sky to shine upon the earth, *18to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that this was good. *19And there was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.

*20God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and birds that fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky.” *21God created the great sea monsters, and all the living creatures of every kind that creep, which the waters brought forth in swarms, and all the winged birds of every kind. And God saw that this was good. *22God blessed them, saying, “Be fertile and increase, fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” *23And there was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.

*24God said, “Let the earth bring forth every kind of living creature: cattle, creeping things, and wild beasts of every kind.” And it was so. *25God made wild beasts of every kind and cattle of every kind, and all kinds of creeping things of the earth. And God saw that this was good. *26And God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. They shall rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the cattle, the whole earth, and all the creeping things that creep on earth.” *27And God created man in His image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. *28God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fertile and increase, fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”

*29God said, “See, I give you every seed- bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food. *30And to all the animals on land, to all the birds of the sky, and to everything that creeps on earth, in which there is the breath of life, [I give] all the green plants for food.” And it was so. *31And God saw all that He had made, and found it very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

2 The heaven and the earth were finished, and all their array. *2On the seventh day God finished the work that He had been doing, and He ceased<a

>a Or “rested.”

When the LORD God made earth and heaven—*5when no shrub of the field was yet on earth and no grasses of the field had yet sprouted, because the LORD God had not sent rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, *6but a flow would well up from the ground and water the whole surface of the earth—*7the LORD God formed man<b

>b Heb. ’adam.

*8The LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and placed there the man whom He had formed. *9And from the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that was pleasing to the sight and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and bad.

*10A river issues from Eden to water the garden, and it then divides and becomes four branches. *11The name of the first is Pishon, the one that winds through the whole land of Havilah, where the gold is. (*12The gold of that land is good; bdellium is there, and lapis lazuli.<d

>d Others “onyx”; meaning of Heb. shoham uncertain.

*15The LORD God took the man and placed him in the garden of Eden, to till it and tend it. *16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you are free to eat; *17but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat of it, you shall die.”

*18The LORD God said, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a fitting helper for him.” *19And the LORD God formed out of the earth all the wild beasts and all the birds of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that would be its name. *20And the man gave names to all the cattle and to the birds of the sky and to all the wild beasts; but for Adam no fitting helper was found. *21So the LORD God cast a deep sleep upon the man; and, while he slept, He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that spot. *22And the LORD God fashioned the rib that He had taken from the man into a woman; and He brought her to the man. *23Then the man said,

“This one at last

Is bone of my bones

And flesh of my flesh.

This one shall be called Woman,<e

>e Heb. ’ishshah.

For from man<f

>f Heb. ’ish.

*24Hence a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, so that they become one flesh.

*25The two of them were naked,<g

>g Heb. ‘arummim, play on ‘arum “shrewd” in 3.1.

*8They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. *9The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” *10He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” *11Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?” *12The man said, “The woman You put at my side—she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” *13And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done!” The woman replied, “The serpent duped me, and I ate.” *14Then the LORD God said to the serpent,

“Because you did this,

More cursed shall you be

Than all cattle

And all the wild beasts:

On your belly shall you crawl

And dirt shall you eat

All the days of your life.

*15I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your offspring and hers;

They shall strike at your head,

And you shall strike at their heel.”

*16And to the woman He said,

“I will make most severe

Your pangs in childbearing;

In pain shall you bear children.

Yet your urge shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.”

*17To Adam He said, “Because you did as your wife said and ate of the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’

Cursed be the ground because of you;

By toil shall you eat of it

All the days of your life:

*18Thorns and thistles shall it sprout for you.

But your food shall be the grasses of the field;

*19By the sweat of your brow

Shall you get bread to eat,

Until you return to the ground—

For from it you were taken.

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return.”

*20The man named his wife Eve,<b

>b Heb. h%awwah.

*22And the LORD God said, “Now that the man has become like one of us, knowing good and bad, what if he should stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever!” *23So the LORD God banished him from the garden of Eden, to till the soil from which he was taken. *24He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden the cherubim and the fiery ever-turning sword, to guard the way to the tree of life.

4 Now the man knew<a

>a Heb. yada‘, often in a sexual sense.

“Why are you distressed,

And why is your face fallen?

*7<c

>c Meaning of verse uncertain.

There is uplift.

But if you do not do right

Sin couches at the door;

Its urge is toward you,

Yet you can be its master.”

*8Cain said to his brother Abel<d

>d Ancient versions, including the Targum, read “Come, let us go out into the field.”

*13Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is too great to bear! *14Since You have banished me this day from the soil, and I must avoid Your presence and become a restless wanderer on earth—anyone who meets me may kill me!” *15The LORD said to him, “I promise, if anyone kills Cain, sevenfold vengeance shall be taken on him.” And the LORD put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who met him should kill him. *16Cain left the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.

*17Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch. And he then founded a city, and named the city after his son Enoch. *18To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad begot Mehujael, and Mehujael<f

>f Heb. Meh%ijael.

*23And Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;

O wives of Lamech, give ear to my speech.

I have slain a man for wounding me,

And a lad for bruising me.

*24If Cain is avenged sevenfold,

Then Lamech seventy-sevenfold.”

*25Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, meaning, “God has <g-

>g-g Or “established for me”; Heb. shath, connected with “Seth.”

5 This is the record of Adam’s line.—When God created man, He made him in the likeness of God; *2male and female He created them. And when they were created, He blessed them and called them Man.—*3When Adam had lived 130 years, he begot a son in his likeness after his image, and he named him Seth. *4After the birth of Seth, Adam lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. *5All the days that Adam lived came to 930 years; then he died.

*6When Seth had lived 105 years, he begot Enosh. *7After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and begot sons and daughters. *8All the days of Seth came to 912 years; then he died.

*9When Enosh had lived 90 years, he begot Kenan. *10After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and begot sons and daughters. *11All the days of Enosh came to 905 years; then he died.

*12When Kenan had lived 70 years, he begot Mahalalel. *13After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and begot sons and daughters. *14All the days of Kenan came to 910 years; then he died.

*15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he begot Jared. *16After the birth of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and begot sons and daughters. *17All the days of Mahalalel came to 895 years; then he died.

*18When Jared had lived 162 years, he begot Enoch. *19After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and begot sons and daughters. *20All the days of Jared came to 962 years; then he died.

*21When Enoch had lived 65 years, he begot Methuselah. *22After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years; and he begot sons and daughters. *23All the days of Enoch came to 365 years. *24Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, for God took him.

*25When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he begot Lamech. *26After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and begot sons and daughters. *27All the days of Methuselah came to 969 years; then he died.

*28When Lamech had lived 182 years, he begot a son. *29And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will provide us relief<a

>a Connecting Noah with Heb. nih%am “to comfort”; cf. 9.20 ff.

*32When Noah had lived 500 years, Noah begot Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

6 When men began to increase on earth and daughters were born to them, *2the divine beings<a

>a Others “the sons of God.”

*5The LORD saw how great was man’s wicked- ness on earth, and how every plan devised by his mind was nothing but evil all the time. *6And the LORD regretted that He had made man on earth, and His heart was saddened. *7The LORD said, “I will blot out from the earth the men whom I created—men together with beasts, creeping things, and birds of the sky; for I regret that I made them.” *8But Noah found favor with the LORD.

NOAH%

*9This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.—*10Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

*11The earth became corrupt before God; the earth was filled with lawlessness. *12When God saw how corrupt the earth was, for all flesh had corrupted its ways on earth, *13God said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all flesh, for the earth is filled with lawlessness because of them: I am about to destroy them with the earth. *14Make yourself an ark of gopher wood; make it an ark with compartments, and cover it inside and out with pitch. *15This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, its width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. *16Make an opening for daylight in the ark, and <c-

>c-c Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

*17“For My part, I am about to bring the Flood—waters upon the earth—to destroy all flesh under the sky in which there is breath of life; everything on earth shall perish. *18But I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall enter the ark, with your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives. *19And of all that lives, of all flesh, you shall take two of each into the ark to keep alive with you; they shall be male and female. *20From birds of every kind, cattle of every kind, every kind of creeping thing on earth, two of each shall come to you to stay alive. *21For your part, take of everything that is eaten and store it away, to serve as food for you and for them.” *22Noah did so; just as God commanded him, so he did.

7 Then the LORD said to Noah, “Go into the ark, with all your household, for you alone have I found righteous before Me in this generation. *2Of every clean animal you shall take seven pairs, males and their mates, and of every animal that is not clean, two, a male and its mate; *3of the birds of the sky also, seven pairs, male and female, to keep seed alive upon all the earth. *4For in seven days’ time I will make it rain upon the earth, forty days and forty nights, and I will blot out from the earth all existence that I created.” *5And Noah did just as the LORD commanded him.

*6Noah was six hundred years old when the Flood came, waters upon the earth. *7Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the Flood. *8Of the clean animals, of the animals that are not clean, of the birds, and of everything that creeps on the ground, *9two of each, male and female, came to Noah into the ark, as God had commanded Noah. *10And on the seventh day the waters of the Flood came upon the earth.

*11In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day

All the fountains of the great deep burst apart,

And the floodgates of the sky broke open.

(*12The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.) *13That same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, went into the ark, with Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons—*14they and all beasts of every kind, all cattle of every kind, all creatures of every kind that creep on the earth, and all birds of every kind, every bird, every winged thing. *15They came to Noah into the ark, two each of all flesh in which there was breath of life. *16Thus they that entered comprised male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded him. And the LORD shut him in.

*17The Flood continued forty days on the earth, and the waters increased and raised the ark so that it rose above the earth. *18The waters swelled and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark drifted upon the waters. *19When the waters had swelled much more upon the earth, all the highest mountains everywhere under the sky were covered. *20Fifteen cubits higher did the waters swell, as the mountains were cov- ered. *21And all flesh that stirred on earth perished—birds, cattle, beasts, and all the things that swarmed upon the earth, and all mankind. *22All in whose nostrils was the merest breath of life, all that was on dry land, died. *23All existence on earth was blotted out—man, cattle, creeping things, and birds of the sky; they were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.

*24And when the waters had swelled on the 8earth one hundred and fifty days, *1God remembered Noah and all the beasts and all the cattle that were with him in the ark, and God caused a wind to blow across the earth, and the waters subsided. *2The fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the sky were stopped up, and the rain from the sky was held back; *3the waters then receded steadily from the earth. At the end of one hundred and fifty days the waters diminished, *4so that in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. *5The waters went on diminishing until the tenth month; in the tenth month, on the first of the month, the tops of the mountains became visible.

*6At the end of forty days, Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made *7and sent out the raven; it went to and fro until the waters had dried up from the earth. *8Then he sent out the dove to see whether the waters had decreased from the surface of the ground. *9But the dove could not find a resting place for its foot, and returned to him to the ark, for there was water over all the earth. So putting out his hand, he took it into the ark with him. *10He waited another seven days, and again sent out the dove from the ark. *11The dove came back to him toward evening, and there in its bill was a plucked-off olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the waters had decreased on the earth. *12He waited still another seven days and sent the dove forth; and it did not return to him any more.

*13In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the waters began to dry from the earth; and when Noah removed the covering of the ark, he saw that the surface of the ground was drying. *14And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

*15God spoke to Noah, saying, *16“Come out of the ark, together with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. *17Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you: birds, animals, and everything that creeps on earth; and let them swarm on the earth and be fertile and increase on earth.” *18So Noah came out, together with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. *19Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that stirs on earth came out of the ark by families.

*20Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking of every clean animal and of every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. *21The LORD smelled the pleasing odor, and the LORD said to Himself: “Never again will I doom the earth because of man, since the devisings of man’s mind are evil from his youth; nor will I ever again destroy every living being, as I have done.

*22So long as the earth endures,

Seedtime and harvest,

Cold and heat,

Summer and winter,

Day and night

Shall not cease.”

9 God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fertile and increase, and fill the earth. *2The fear and the dread of you shall be upon all the beasts of the earth and upon all the birds of the sky—everything with which the earth is astir—and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hand. *3Every creature that lives shall be yours to eat; as with the green grasses, I give you all these. *4You must not, however, eat flesh with its life-blood in it. *5But for your own life-blood I will require a reckoning: I will require it of every beast; of man, too, will I require a reckoning for human life, of every man for that of his fellow man!

*6Whoever sheds the blood of man,

By man shall his blood be shed;

For in His image

Did God make man.

*7Be fertile, then, and increase; abound on the earth and increase on it.”

*8And God said to Noah and to his sons with him, *9“I now establish My covenant with you and your offspring to come, *10and with every living thing that is with you—birds, cattle, and every wild beast as well—all that have come out of the ark, every living thing on earth. *11I will maintain My covenant with you: never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

*12God further said, “This is the sign that I set for the covenant between Me and you, and every living creature with you, for all ages to come. *13I have set My bow in the clouds, and it shall serve as a sign of the covenant between Me and the earth. *14When I bring clouds over the earth, and the bow appears in the clouds, *15I will remember My covenant between Me and you and every living creature among all flesh, so that the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. *16When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures, all flesh that is on earth. *17That,” God said to Noah, “shall be the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and all flesh that is on earth.”

*18The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth—Ham being the father of Canaan. *19These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole world branched out.

*20Noah, the tiller of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. *21He drank of the wine and became drunk, and he uncovered himself within his tent. *22Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside. *23But Shem and Japheth took a cloth, placed it against both their backs and, walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness; their faces were turned the other way, so that they did not see their father’s nakedness. *24When Noah woke up from his wine and learned what his youngest son had done to him, *25he said,

“Cursed be Canaan;

The lowest of slaves

Shall he be to his brothers.”

*26And he said,

“Blessed be the LORD,

The God of Shem;

Let Canaan be a slave to them.

*27May God enlarge<a

>a Heb. yapht, play on Heb. yepheth “Japheth.”

And let him dwell in the tents of Shem;

And let Canaan be a slave to them.”

*28Noah lived after the Flood 350 years. *29And all the days of Noah came to 950 years; then he died.

10 These are the lines of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah: sons were born to them after the Flood.

*2The descendants of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. *3The descendants of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. *4The descendants of Javan: Elishah and Tarshish, the Kittim and the Dodanim.<a

>a Septuagint and 1 Chron. 1.7 “Rodanim.”

*6The descendants of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan. *7The descendants of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The descendants of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan.

*8Cush also begot Nimrod, who was the first man of might on earth. *9He was a mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD; hence the saying, “Like Nimrod a mighty hunter by the grace of the LORD.” *10The mainstays of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh<c

>c Heb. we-khalneh, better vocalized we-khullanah “all of them being.”

*13And Mizraim begot the Ludim, the Anamim, the Lehabim, the Naphtuhim, *14the Pathrusim, the Casluhim, and the Caphtorim,<d

>d I.e., the Cretans; moved up for the sake of clarity; cf. Amos 9.7.

*15Canaan begot Sidon, his first-born, and Heth; *16and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, *17the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, *18the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the clans of the Canaanites spread out. (*19The [original] Canaanite territory extended from Sidon as far as Gerar, near Gaza, and as far as Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, near Lasha.) *20These are the descendants of Ham, according to their clans and languages, by their lands and nations.

*21Sons were also born to Shem, ancestor of all the descendants of Eber and older brother of Japheth. *22The descendants of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram. *23The descendants of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. *24Arpachshad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber. *25Two sons were born to Eber: the name of the first was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided;<e

>e Heb. niphlegah, play on “Peleg.”

*32These are the groupings of Noah’s descendants, according to their origins, by their nations; and from these the nations branched out over the earth after the Flood.

11 Everyone on earth had the same lan- guage and the same words. *2And as they mi- grated from the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. *3They said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and burn them hard.”—Brick served them as stone, and bitumen served them as mortar.—*4And they said, “Come, let us build us a city, and a tower with its top in the sky, to make a name for ourselves; else we shall be scattered all over the world.” *5The LORD came down to look at the city and tower that man had built, *6and the LORD said, “If, as one people with one language for all, this is how they have begun to act, then nothing that they may propose to do will be out of their reach. *7Let us, then, go down and confound their speech there, so that they shall not understand one another’s speech.” *8Thus the LORD scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. *9That is why it was called Babel,<a

>a I.e., “Babylon.”

*10This is the line of Shem. Shem was 100 years old when he begot Arpachshad, two years

after the Flood. *11After the birth of<c

>c Lit. “After he begot,” and so throughout.

*12When Arpachshad had lived 35 years, he begot Shelah. *13After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and begot sons and daughters.

*14When Shelah had lived 30 years, he begot Eber. *15After the birth of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and begot sons and daughters.

*16When Eber had lived 34 years, he begot Peleg. *17After the birth of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and begot sons and daughters.

*18When Peleg had lived 30 years, he begot Reu. *19After the birth of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and begot sons and daughters.

*20When Reu had lived 32 years, he begot Serug. *21After the birth of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and begot sons and daughters.

*22When Serug had lived 30 years, he begot Nahor. *23After the birth of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and begot sons and daughters.

*24When Nahor had lived 29 years, he begot Terah. *25After the birth of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and begot sons and daughters.

*26When Terah had lived 70 years, he begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran. *27Now this is the line of Terah: Terah begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begot Lot. *28Haran died in the lifetime of his father Terah, in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. *29Abram and Nahor took to themselves wives, the name of Abram’s wife being Sarai and that of Nahor’s wife Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah and Iscah. *30Now Sarai was barren, she had no child.

*31Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, the wife of his son Abram, and they set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan; but when they had come as far as Haran, they settled there. *32The days of Terah came to 205 years; and Terah died in Haran.

LEKH LEKHA

12 The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you.

*2I will make of you a great nation,

And I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

And you shall be a blessing.<a

>a I.e., a standard by which blessing is invoked; cf. v. 3 end.

*3I will bless those who bless you

And curse him that curses you;

And all the families of the earth

Shall bless themselves by you.”

*4Abram went forth as the LORD had com- manded him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. *5Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the wealth that they had amassed, and the persons that they had acquired in Haran; and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they arrived in the land of Canaan, *6Abram passed through the land as far as the site of Shechem, at the terebinth of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.

*7The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will assign this land to your offspring.” And he built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. *8From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and he built there an altar to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name. *9Then Abram journeyed by stages toward the Negeb.

*10There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. *11As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know<b

>b Or “You”; cf. the second person feminine form -ti in Judg. 5.7; Jer. 2.20; Mic. 4.13, etc.

*14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful the woman was. *15Phar- aoh’s courtiers saw her and praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace. *16And because of her, it went well with Abram; he acquired sheep, oxen, asses, male and female slaves, she-asses, and camels.

*17But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his household with mighty plagues on account of Sarai, the wife of Abram. *18Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me! Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? *19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her as my wife? Now, here is your wife; take her and begone!” *20And Pharaoh put men in charge of him, and they sent him off with his wife and all that he possessed.

13 From Egypt, Abram went up into the Negeb, with his wife and all that he possessed, together with Lot. *2Now Abram was very rich in cattle, silver, and gold. *3And he proceeded by stages from the Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been formerly, between Bethel and Ai, *4the site of the altar that he had built there at first; and there Abram invoked the LORD by name.

*5Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, *6so that the land could not support them staying together; for their possessions were so great that they could not remain together. *7And there was quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and those of Lot’s cattle.—The Canaanites and Perizzites were then dwelling in the land.—*8Abram said to Lot, “Let there be no strife between you and me, between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen. *9Is not the whole land before you? Let us separate:<a

>a Lit. “Please separate from me.”

*14And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had parted from him, “Raise your eyes and look out from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west, *15for I give all the land that you see to you and your offspring forever. *16I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if one can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring too can be counted. *17Up, walk about the land, through its length and its breadth, for I give it to you.” *18And Abram moved his tent, and came to dwell at the terebinths of Mamre, which are in Hebron; and he built an altar there to the LORD.

14 Now, when King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim *2made war on King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar, *3all the latter joined forces at the Valley of Siddim, now the Dead Sea.<a

>a Heb. “Salt Sea.”

*10Now the Valley of Siddim was dotted with bitumen pits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah, in their flight, threw themselves into them, while the rest escaped to the hill country. *11[The invaders] seized all the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their provisions, and went their way. *12They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, and his possessions, and departed; for he had settled in Sodom.

*13A fugitive brought the news to Abram the Hebrew, who was dwelling at the terebinths of Mamre the Amorite, kinsman of Eshkol and Aner, these being Abram’s allies. *14When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he mustered his retainers,<b

>b Meaning of Heb. h%anikh uncertain.

*17When he returned from defeating Chedor- laomer and the kings with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh, which is the Valley of the King. *18And King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High.<c

>c Heb. El ‘Elyon.

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,

Creator of heaven and earth.

*20And blessed be God Most High,

Who has delivered your foes into your hand.”

And [Abram] gave him a tenth of everything.

*21Then the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself.” *22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I swear<d

>d Lit. “lift up my hand.”

15 Some time later, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision. He said,

“Fear not, Abram,

I am a shield to you;

Your reward shall be very great.”

*2But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what can You give me, seeing that I shall die childless, <a-

>a-a Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

Eliezer!”-<a *3Abram said further, “Since You have granted me no offspring, my steward will be my heir.” *4The word of the LORD came to him in reply, “That one shall not be your heir; none but your very own issue shall be your heir.” *5He took him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” And He added, “So shall your offspring be.” *6And because he put his trust in the LORD, He reckoned it to his merit.

*7Then He said to him, “I am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to assign this land to you as a possession.” *8And he said, “O Lord GOD, how shall I know that I am to possess it?” *9He answered, “Bring Me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old she- goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young bird.” *10He brought Him all these and cut them in two, placing each half opposite the other; but he did not cut up the bird. *11Birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, and Abram drove them away. *12As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great dark dread descended upon him. *13And He said to Abram, “Know well that your offspring shall be strangers in a land not theirs, and they shall be enslaved and oppressed four hundred years; *14but I will execute judgment on the nation they shall serve, and in the end they shall go free with great wealth. *15As for you,

You shall go to your fathers in peace;

You shall be buried at a ripe old age.

*16And they shall return here in the fourth gen- eration, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete.”

*17When the sun set and it was very dark, there appeared a smoking oven, and a flaming torch which passed between those pieces. *18On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I assign this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates: *19the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, *20the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, *21the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

16 Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar. *2And Sarai said to Abram, “Look, the LORD has kept me from bearing. Consort with my maid; perhaps I shall have a son<a

>a Lit. “be built up,” play on ben “son” and banah “build up.”

*7An angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, *8and said, “Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?” And she said, “I am running away from my mistress Sarai.”

*9And the angel of the LORD said to her, “Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment.” *10And the angel of the LORD said to her,

“I will greatly increase your offspring,

And they shall be too many to count.”

*11The angel of the LORD said to her further,

“Behold, you are with child

And shall bear a son;

You shall call him Ishmael,<b

>b I.e., “God heeds.”

For the LORD has paid heed to your suffering.

*12He shall be a wild ass of a man;

His hand against everyone,

And everyone’s hand against him;

He shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen.”

*13And she called the LORD who spoke to her, “You Are El-roi,”<c

>c Apparently “God of Seeing.”

17 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai.<a

>a Traditionally rendered “God Almighty.”

*3Abram threw himself on his face; and God spoke to him further, *4“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You shall be the father of a multitude of nations. *5And you shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham,<b

>b Understood as “father of a multitude.”

*9God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant. *10Such shall be the covenant between Me and you and your offspring to follow which you shall keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. *11You shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the sign of the covenant between Me and you. *12And throughout the generations, every male among you shall be circumcised at the age of eight days. As for the homeborn slave and the one bought from an outsider who is not of your offspring, *13they must be circumcised, homeborn, and purchased alike. Thus shall My covenant be marked in your flesh as an everlasting pact. *14And if any male who is uncircumcised fails to circumcise the flesh of his foreskin, that person shall be cut off from his kin; he has broken My covenant.”

*15And God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you shall not call her Sarai, but her name shall be Sarah.<c

>c I.e., “princess.”

of him a great nation. *21But My covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.” *22And when He was done speaking with him, God was gone from Abraham.

*23Then Abraham took his son Ishmael, and all his homeborn slaves and all those he had bought, every male in Abraham’s household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on that very day, as God had spoken to him. *24Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin, *25and his son Ishmael was thirteen years old when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. *26Thus Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day; *27and all his household, his homeborn slaves and those that had been bought from outsiders, were circumcised with him.

VA-YERA’

18 The LORD appeared to him by the terebinths of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent as the day grew hot. *2Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. As soon as he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them and, bowing to the ground, *3he said, “My lords,<a

>a Or “My Lord.”

*6Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quick, three seahs of choice flour! Knead and make cakes!” *7Then Abraham ran to the herd, took a calf, tender and choice, and gave it to a servant-boy, who hastened to prepare it. *8He took curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree as they ate.

*9They said to him, “Where is your wife Sarah?” And he replied, “There, in the tent.” *10Then one said, “I will return to you next year,<b

>b Cf. Gen. 17.21; 2 Kings 4.16–17.

*16The men set out from there and looked down toward Sodom, Abraham walking with them to see them off. *17Now the LORD had said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, *18since Abraham is to become a great and populous nation and all the nations of the earth are to bless themselves by him? *19For I have singled him out, that he may instruct his children and his posterity to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is just and right, in order that the LORD may bring about for Abraham what He has promised him.” *20Then the LORD said, “The outrage of Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave! *21I will go down to see whether they have acted altogether according to the outcry that has reached Me; if not, I will take note.”

*22The men went on from there to Sodom, while Abraham remained standing before the LORD. *23Abraham came forward and said, “Will You sweep away the innocent along with the

guilty? *24What if there should be fifty innocent within the city; will You then wipe out the place and not forgive it for the sake of the innocent fifty who are in it? *25Far be it from You to do such a thing, to bring death upon the innocent as well as the guilty, so that innocent and guilty fare alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?” *26And the LORD an- swered, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty innocent ones, I will forgive the whole place for their sake.” *27Abraham spoke up, saying, “Here I venture to speak to my Lord, I who am but dust and ashes: *28What if the fifty innocent should lack five? Will You destroy the whole city for want of the five?” And He answered, “I will not destroy if I find forty-five there.” *29But he spoke to Him again, and said, “What if forty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it, for the sake of the forty.” *30And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I go on: What if thirty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” *31And he said, “I venture again to speak to my Lord: What if twenty should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the twenty.” *32And he said, “Let not my Lord be angry if I speak but this last time: What if ten should be found there?” And He answered, “I will not destroy, for the sake of the ten.”

*33When the LORD had finished speaking to Abraham, He departed; and Abraham returned to his place.

19 The two angels arrived in Sodom in the evening, as Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to greet them and, bowing low with his face to the ground, *2he said, “Please, my lords, turn aside to your servant’s house to spend the night, and bathe your feet; then you may be on your way early.” But they said, “No, we will spend the night in the square.” *3But he urged them strongly, so they turned his way and entered his house. He prepared a feast for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

*4They had not yet lain down, when the townspeople, the men of Sodom, young and old—all the people to the last man—gathered about the house. *5And they shouted to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us, that we may be intimate with them.” *6So Lot went out to them to the entrance, shut the door behind him, *7and said, “I beg you, my friends, do not commit such a wrong. *8Look, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me bring them out to you, and you may do to them as you please; but do not do anything to these men, since they have come under the shelter of my roof.” *9But they said, “Stand back! The fellow,” they said, “came here as an alien, and already he acts the ruler! Now we will deal worse with you than with them.” And they pressed hard against the person of Lot, and moved forward to break the door. *10But the men stretched out their hands and pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. *11And the people who were at the entrance of the house, young and old, they struck with blinding light, so that they were helpless to find the entrance.

*12Then the men said to Lot, “Whom else have you here? Sons-in-law, your sons and daughters, or anyone else that you have in the city—bring them out of the place. *13For we are about to destroy this place; because the outcry against them before the LORD has become so great that the LORD has sent us to destroy it.” *14So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had married his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD is about to destroy the city.” But he seemed to his sons-in-law as one who jests.

*15As dawn broke, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “Up, take your wife and your two remaining daughters, lest you be swept away because of the iniquity of the city.” *16Still he delayed. So the men seized his hand, and the hands of his wife and his two daughters—in the LORD31’s mercy on him—and brought him out and left him outside the city. *17When they had brought them outside, one said, “Flee for your life! Do not look behind you, nor stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, lest you be swept away.” *18But Lot said to them, “Oh no, my lord! *19You have been so gracious to your servant, and have already shown me so much kindness in order to save my life; but I cannot flee to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die. *20Look, that town there is near enough to flee to; it is such a little place! Let me flee there—it is such a little place—and let my life be saved.” *21He replied, “Very well, I will grant you this favor too, and I will not annihilate the town of which you have spoken. *22Hurry, flee there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” Hence the town came to be called Zoar.<a

>a Connected with mis·‘ar “a little place,” v. 20.

*23As the sun rose upon the earth and Lot entered Zoar, *24the LORD rained upon Sodom and Gomorrah sulfurous fire from the LORD out of heaven. *25He annihilated those cities and the entire Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities and the vegetation of the ground. *26Lot’s<b

>b Lit. “His.”

*27Next morning, Abraham hurried to the place where he had stood before the LORD, *28and, looking down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land of the Plain, he saw the smoke of the land rising like the smoke of a kiln.

*29Thus it was that, when God destroyed the cities of the Plain and annihilated the cities where Lot dwelt, God was mindful of Abraham and removed Lot from the midst of the upheaval.

*30Lot went up from Zoar and settled in the hill country with his two daughters, for he was afraid to dwell in Zoar; and he and his two daughters lived in a cave. *31And the older one said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to consort with us in the way of all the world. *32Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” *33That night they made their father drink wine, and the older one went in and lay with her father; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose. *34The next day the older one said to the younger, “See, I lay with Father last night; let us make him drink wine tonight also, and you go and lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.” *35That night also they made their father drink wine, and the younger one went and lay with him; he did not know when she lay down or when she rose.

*36Thus the two daughters of Lot came to be with child by their father. *37The older one bore a son and named him Moab;<d

>d As though me-’ab “from (my) father.”

20 Abraham journeyed from there to the region of the Negeb and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was sojourning in Gerar, *2Abraham said of Sarah his wife, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar had Sarah brought to him. *3But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, “You are to die because of the woman that you have taken, for she is a married woman.” *4Now Abimelech had not approached her. He said, “O Lord, will You slay people even though innocent? *5He himself said to me, ‘She is my sister!’ And she also said, ‘He is my brother.’ When I did this, my heart was blameless and my hands were clean.” *6And God said to him in the dream, “I knew that you did this with a blameless heart, and so I kept you from sinning against Me. That was why I did not let you touch her. *7Therefore, restore the man’s wife—since he is a prophet, he will intercede for you—to save your life. If you fail to restore her, know that you shall die, you and all that are yours.”

*8Early next morning, Abimelech called his servants and told them all that had happened; and the men were greatly frightened. *9Then Abimelech summoned Abraham and said to him, “What have you done to us? What wrong have I done that you should bring so great a guilt upon me and my kingdom? You have done to me things that ought not to be done. *10What, then,” Abimelech demanded of Abraham, “was your purpose in doing this thing?” *11“I thought,” said Abraham, “surely there is no fear of God in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife. *12And besides, she is in truth my sister, my father’s daughter though not my mother’s; and she became my wife. *13So when God made me wander from my father’s house, I said to her, ‘Let this be the kindness that you shall do me: whatever place we come to, say there of me: He is my brother.’”

*14Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and male and female slaves, and gave them to Abraham; and he restored his wife Sarah to him. *15And Abimelech said, “Here, my land is before you; settle wherever you please.” *16And to Sarah he said, “I herewith give your brother a thousand pieces of silver; this will serve you as vin- dication<a

>a Lit. “a covering of the eyes”; meaning of latter half of verse uncertain.

21 The LORD took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken. *2Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken. *3Abraham gave his newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac. *4And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. *5Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. *6Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with<a

>a Lit. “for.”

“Who would have said to Abraham

That Sarah would suckle children!

Yet I have borne a son in his old age.”

*8The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

*9Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing. *10She said to Abraham, “Cast out that slave-woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.” *11The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his. *12But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed over the boy or your slave; whatever Sarah tells you, do as she says, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued<b

>b Lit. “called.”

*14Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba. *15When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes, *16and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears.

*17God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is. *18Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.” *19Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink. *20God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman. *21He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

*22At that time Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do. *23Therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my kith and kin, but will deal with me and with the land in which you have sojourned as loyally as I have dealt with you.” *24And Abraham said, “I swear it.”

*25Then Abraham reproached Abimelech for the well of water which the servants of Abi- melech had seized. *26But Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this; you did not tell me, nor have I heard of it until today.” *27Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a pact. *28Abraham then set seven ewes of the flock by themselves, *29and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What mean these seven ewes which you have set apart?” *30He replied, “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.” *31Hence that place was called Beer-sheba,<c

>c I.e., “well of seven” or “well of oath.”

22 Some time afterward, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him, “Abraham,” and he answered, “Here I am.” *2And He said, “Take your son, your favored one, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” *3So early next morning, Abraham saddled his ass and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and he set out for the place of which God had told him. *4On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. *5Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the ass. The boy and I will go up there; we will worship and we will return to you.”

*6Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and put it on his son Isaac. He himself took the firestone<a

>a Lit. “fire.”

*9They arrived at the place of which God had told him. Abraham built an altar there; he laid out the wood; he bound his son Isaac; he laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. *10And Abraham picked up the knife to slay his son. *11Then an angel of the LORD called to him from heaven: “Abraham! Abraham!” And he answered, “Here I am.” *12And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.” *13When Abraham looked up, his eye fell upon a<b

>b Reading ’eh%ad with many Heb. mss. and ancient versions; text ’ah%ar “after.”

*15The angel of the LORD called to Abraham a second time from heaven, *16and said, “By Myself I swear, the LORD declares: Because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your favored one, *17I will bestow My blessing upon you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sands on the seashore; and your descendants shall seize the gates of their foes. *18All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed My command.” *19Abraham then returned to his servants, and they departed together for Beer-sheba; and Abraham stayed in Beer-sheba.

*20Some time later, Abraham was told, “Milcah too has borne children to your brother Nahor: *21Uz the first-born, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of Aram; *22and Che- sed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel”—*23Bethuel being the father of Rebekah. These eight Milcah bore to Nahor, Abraham’s brother. *24And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, also bore children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.

H%AYYEI SARAH

23 Sarah’s lifetime—the span of Sarah’s life—came to one hundred and twenty-seven years. *2Sarah died in Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—in the land of Canaan; and Abraham proceeded to mourn for Sarah and to bewail her. *3Then Abraham rose from beside his dead, and spoke to the Hittites, saying, *4“I am a resident alien among you; sell me a burial site among you, that I may remove my dead for burial.” *5And the Hittites replied to Abraham, saying to him, *6“Hear us, my lord: you are the elect of God among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places; none of us will withhold his burial place from you for burying your dead.” *7Thereupon Abraham bowed low to the people of the land, the Hittites, *8and he said to them, “If it is your wish that I remove my dead for burial, you must agree to intercede for me with Ephron son of Zohar. *9Let him sell me the cave of Machpelah that he owns, which is at the edge of his land. Let him sell it to me, at the full price, for a burial site in your midst.”

*10Ephron was present among the Hittites; so Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the Hittites, all who entered the gate of his town,a saying, *11“No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and I give you the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of my people. Bury your dead.” *12Then Abraham bowed low before the people of the land, *13and spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, “If only you would hear me out! Let me pay the price of the land; accept it from me, that I may bury my dead there.” *14And Ephron replied to Abraham, saying to him, *15“My lord, do hear me! A piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver—what is that between you and me? Go and bury your dead.” *16Abraham accepted Ephron’s terms. Abraham paid out to Ephron the money that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites—four hundred shekels of silver at the going merchants’ rate.

*17So Ephron’s land in Machpelah, near Mamre—the field with its cave and all the trees anywhere within the confines of that field—passed *18to Abraham as his possession, in the presence of the Hittites, of all who entered the gate of his town.<a

>a I.e., all his fellow townsmen.

24 Abraham was now old, advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. *2And Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all that he owned, “Put your hand under my thigh *3and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell, *4but will go to the land of my birth and get a wife for my son Isaac.” *5And the servant said to him, “What if the woman does not consent to follow me to this land, shall I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” *6Abraham answered him, “On no account must you take my son back there! *7The LORD, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from my native land, who promised me on oath, saying, ‘I will assign this land to your offspring’—He will send His angel before you, and you will get a wife for my son from there. *8And if the woman does not consent to follow you, you shall then be clear of this oath to me; but do not take my son back there.” *9So the ser- vant put his hand under the thigh of his master Abraham and swore to him as bidden.<a

>a Lit. “about this matter.”

*10Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and set out, taking with him all the bounty of his master; and he made his way to Aram-naharaim, to the city of Nahor. *11He made the camels kneel down by the well outside the city, at evening time, the time when women come out to draw water. *12And he said, “O LORD, God of my master Abraham, grant me good fortune this day, and deal graciously with my master Abraham: *13Here I stand by the spring as the daughters of the townsmen come out to draw water; *14let the maiden to whom I say, ‘Please, lower your jar that I may drink,’ and who replies, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels’—let her be the one whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You have dealt graciously with my master.”

*15He had scarcely finished speaking, when Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel, the son of Milcah the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. *16The maiden was very beautiful, a virgin whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. *17The servant ran toward her and said, “Please, let me sip a little water from your jar.” *18“Drink, my lord,” she said, and she quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and let him drink. *19When she had let him drink his fill, she said, “I will also draw for your camels, until they finish drinking.” *20Quickly emptying her jar into the trough, she ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels.

*21The man, meanwhile, stood gazing at her, silently wondering whether the LORD had made his errand successful or not. *22When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose-ring weighing a half-shekel,<b

>b Heb. beqa‘.

*28The maiden ran and told all this to her mother’s household. *29Now Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. Laban ran out to the man at the spring—*30when he saw the nose-ring and the bands on his sister’s arms, and when he heard his sister Rebekah say, “Thus the man spoke to me.” He went up to the man, who was still standing beside the camels at the spring. *31“Come in, O blessed of the LORD,” he said, “why do you remain outside, when I have made ready the house and a place for the camels?” *32So the man entered the house, and the camels were unloaded. The camels were given straw and feed, and water was brought to bathe his feet and the feet of the men with him. *33But when food was set before him, he said, “I will not eat until I have told my tale.” He said, “Speak, then.”

*34“I am Abraham’s servant,” he began. *35“The LORD has greatly blessed my master, and he has become rich: He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and asses. *36And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore my master a son in her old age, and he has assigned to him everything he owns. *37Now my master made me swear, saying, ‘You shall not get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I dwell; *38but you shall go to my father’s house, to my kindred, and get a wife for my son.’ *39And I said to my master, ‘What if the woman does not follow me?’ *40He replied to me, ‘The LORD, whose ways I have followed, will send His angel with you and make your errand successful; and you will get a wife for my son from my kindred, from my father’s house. *41Thus only shall you be freed from my adjuration: if, when you come to my kindred, they refuse you—only then shall you be freed from my adjuration.’

*42“I came today to the spring, and I said: O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if You would indeed grant success to the errand on which I am engaged! *43As I stand by the spring of water, let the young woman who comes out to draw and to whom I say, ‘Please, let me drink a little water from your jar,’ *44and who answers, ‘You may drink, and I will also draw for your camels’—let her be the wife whom the LORD has decreed for my master’s son.’ *45I had scarcely finished praying in my heart, when Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder, and went down to the spring and drew. And I said to her, ‘Please give me a drink.’ *46She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Drink, and I will also water your camels.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels. *47I inquired of her, ‘Whose daugh- ter are you?’ And she said, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor, whom Milcah bore to him.’ And I put the ring on her nose and the bands on her arms. *48Then I bowed low in homage to the LORD and blessed the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who led me on the right way to get the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. *49And now, if you mean to treat my master with true kindness, tell me; and if not, tell me also, that I may turn right or left.”

*50Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter was decreed by the LORD; we cannot speak to you bad or good. *51Here is Rebekah before you; take her and go, and let her be a wife to your master’s son, as the LORD has spoken.” *52When Abraham’s servant heard their words, he bowed low to the ground before the LORD. *53The servant brought out objects of silver and gold, and garments, and gave them to Rebekah; and he gave presents to her brother and her mother. *54Then he and the men with him ate and drank, and they spent the night. When they arose next morning, he said, “Give me leave to go to my master.” *55But her brother and her mother said, “Let the maiden remain with us <d-

>d-d Lit. “days or ten.”

“O sister!

May you grow

Into thousands of myriads;

May your offspring seize

The gates of their foes.”

*61Then Rebekah and her maids arose, mounted the camels, and followed the man. So the servant took Rebekah and went his way.

*62Isaac had just come back from the vicinity of Beer-lahai-roi, for he was settled in the region of the Negeb. *63And Isaac went out walking<e

>e Others “to meditate”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.

25 Abraham took another wife, whose name was Keturah. *2She bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. *3Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. The descendants of Dedan were the Asshurim, the Letushim, and the Leummim. *4The descendants of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Enoch,<a

>a Or “Hanoch.”

*7This was the total span of Abraham’s life: one hundred and seventy-five years. *8And Abraham breathed his last, dying at a good ripe age, old and contented; and he was gathered to his kin. *9His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron son of Zohar the Hittite, facing Mamre, *10the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife. *11After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac settled near Beer-lahai-roi.

*12This is the line of Ishmael, Abraham’s son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah’s slave, bore to Abraham. *13These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, in the order of their birth: Nebaioth, the first-born of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, *14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, *15Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedmah. *16These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names by their villages and by their encampments: twelve chieftains of as many tribes.—*17These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; then he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his kin.—*18They dwelt from Havilah, by Shur, which is close to Egypt, all the way to Asshur; they camped alongside all their kinsmen.

TOLEDOT

*19This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac. *20Isaac was forty years old when he took to wife Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram, sister of Laban the Aramean. *21Isaac pleaded with the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD responded to his plea, and his wife Rebekah conceived. *22But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?”<b

>b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

“Two nations are in your womb,

Two separate peoples shall issue from your body;

One people shall be mightier than the other,

And the older shall serve the younger.”

*24When her time to give birth was at hand, there were twins in her womb. *25The first one emerged red, like a hairy mantle all over; so they named him Esau.<c

>c Synonym of “Seir,” play on Heb. se‘ar “hair.”

*27When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the outdoors; but Jacob was a mild man who stayed in camp. *28Isaac favored Esau because <e-

>e-e Lit. “game was in his mouth.”

26 There was a famine in the land—aside from the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham—and Isaac went to Abi- melech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar. *2The LORD had appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; stay in the land which I point out to you. *3Reside in this land, and I will be with you and bless you; I will assign all these lands to you and to your heirs, fulfilling the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. *4I will make your heirs as numerous as the stars of heaven, and assign to your heirs all these lands, so that all the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by your heirs—*5inasmuch as Abraham obeyed Me and kept My charge: My commandments, My laws, and My teachings.”

*6So Isaac stayed in Gerar. *7When the men of the place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say “my wife,” thinking, “The men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, for she is beautiful.” *8When some time had passed, Abimelech king of the Philistines, looking out of the window, saw Isaac fondling his wife Rebekah. *9Abi- melech sent for Isaac and said, “So she is your wife! Why then did you say: ‘She is my sister?’” Isaac said to him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.” *10Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have lain with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” *11Abi- melech then charged all the people, saying, “Anyone who molests this man or his wife shall be put to death.”

*12Isaac sowed in that land and reaped a hundredfold the same year. The LORD blessed him, *13and the man grew richer and richer until he was very wealthy: *14he acquired flocks and herds, and a large household, so that the Philistines envied him. *15And the Philistines stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of his father Abraham, filling them with earth. *16And Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you have become far too big for us.”

*17So Isaac departed from there and encamped in the wadi of Gerar, where he settled. *18Isaac dug anew the wells which had been dug in the days of his father Abraham and which the Phil istines had stopped up after Abraham’s death; and he gave them the same names that his father had given them. *19But when Isaac’s servants, digging in the wadi, found there a well of spring water, *20the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” He named that well Esek,<a

>a I.e., “contention.”

*23From there he went up to Beer-sheba. *24That night the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Fear not, for I am with you, and I will bless you and increase your offspring for the sake of My servant Abraham.” *25So he built an altar there and invoked the LORD by name. Isaac pitched his tent there and his servants started digging a well. *26And Abimelech came to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his councilor and Phicol chief of his troops. *27Isaac said to them, “Why have you come to me, seeing that you have been hostile to me and have driven me away from you?” *28And they said, “We now see plainly that the LORD has been with you, and we thought: Let there be a sworn treaty between our two parties, between you and us. Let us make a pact with you *29that you will not do us harm, just as we have not molested you but have always dealt kindly with you and sent you away in peace. From now on, be you blessed of the LORD!” *30Then he made for them a feast, and they ate and drank.

*31Early in the morning, they exchanged oaths. Isaac then bade them farewell, and they departed from him in peace. *32That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water!” *33He named it Shibah;<d

>d As though “oath.”

*34When Esau was forty years old, he took to wife Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; *35and they were a source of bitterness to Isaac and Rebekah.

27 When Isaac was old and his eyes were too dim to see, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son.” He answered, “Here I am.” *2And he said, “I am old now, and I do not know how soon I may die. *3Take your gear, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open and hunt me some game. *4Then prepare a dish for me such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my innermost blessing before I die.”

*5Rebekah had been listening as Isaac spoke to his son Esau. When Esau had gone out into the open to hunt game to bring home, *6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I overheard your father speaking to your brother Esau, saying, *7‘Bring me some game and prepare a dish for me to eat, that I may bless you, with the LORD’s approval, before I die.’ *8Now, my son, listen carefully as I instruct you. *9Go to the flock and fetch me two choice kids, and I will make of them a dish for your father, such as he likes. *10Then take it to your father to eat, in order that he may bless you before he dies.” *11Jacob answered his mother Rebekah, “But my brother Esau is a hairy man and I am smooth-skinned. *12If my father touches me, I shall appear to him as a trickster and bring upon myself a curse, not a blessing.” *13But his mother said to him, “Your curse, my son, be upon me! Just do as I say and go fetch them for me.”

*14He got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother prepared a dish such as his father liked. *15Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were there in the house, and had her younger son Jacob put them on; *16and she covered his hands and the hairless part of his neck with the skins of the kids. *17Then she put in the hands of her son Jacob the dish and the bread that she had prepared.

*18He went to his father and said, “Father.” And he said, “Yes, which of my sons are you?” *19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau, your first-born; I have done as you told me. Pray sit up and eat of my game, that you may give me your innermost blessing.” *20Isaac said to his son, “How did you succeed so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the LORD your God granted me good fortune.” *21Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer that I may feel you, my son—whether you are really my son Esau or not.” *22So Jacob drew close to his father Isaac, who felt him and wondered. “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.” *23He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; and so he blessed him.

*24He asked, “Are you really my son Esau?” And when he said, “I am,” *25he said, “Serve me and let me eat of my son’s game that I may give you my innermost blessing.” So he served him and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank. *26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come close and kiss me, my son”; *27and he went up and kissed him. And he smelled his clothes and he blessed him, saying, “Ah, the smell of my son is like the smell of the fields that the LORD has blessed.

*28“May God give you

Of the dew of heaven and the fat of the earth,

Abundance of new grain and wine.

*29Let peoples serve you,

And nations bow to you;

Be master over your brothers,

And let your mother’s sons bow to you.

Cursed be they who curse you,

Blessed they who bless you.”

*30No sooner had Jacob left the presence of his father Isaac—after Isaac had finished blessing Jacob—than his brother Esau came back from his hunt. *31He too prepared a dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and eat of his son’s game, so that you may give me your innermost blessing.” *32His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” And he said, “I am your son, Esau, your first-born!” *33Isaac was seized with very violent trembling. “Who was it then,” he demanded, “that hunted game and brought it to me? Moreover, I ate of it before you came, and I blessed him; now he must remain blessed!” *34When Esau heard his father’s words, he burst into wild and bitter sobbing, and said to his father, “Bless me too, Father!” *35But he answered, “Your brother came with guile and took away your blessing.” *36[Esau] said, “Was he, then, named Jacob that he might supplant me<a

>a Heb. ‘aqab, connected with “Jacob.”

“See, your abode shall <b-

>b-b Others “be away from the fat of the earth and from.”

And-<b the dew of heaven above.

*40Yet by your sword you shall live,

And you shall serve your brother;

But when you grow restive,

You shall break his yoke from your neck.”

*41Now Esau harbored a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing which his father had given him, and Esau said to himself, “Let but the mourning period of my father come, and I will kill my brother Jacob.” *42When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. *43Now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to Haran, to my brother Laban. *44Stay with him a while, until your brother’s fury subsides—*45until your brother’s anger against you subsides—and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will fetch you from there. Let me not lose you both in one day!”

*46Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am disgusted with my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like these, from among the native women, what good will life be to me?” 28 *1So Isaac sent for Jacob and blessed him. He instructed him, saying, “You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women. *2Up, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and take a wife there from among the daughters of Laban, your mother’s brother, *3May El Shaddai<a

>a See note at 17.1.

*5Then Isaac sent Jacob off, and he went to Paddan-aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebekah, mother of Jacob and Esau.

*6When Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan-aram to take a wife from there, charging him, as he blessed him, “You shall not take a wife from among the Canaanite women,” *7and that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and gone to Paddan- aram, *8Esau realized that the Canaanite women displeased his father Isaac. *9So Esau went to Ishmael and took to wife, in addition to the wives he had, Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael son of Abraham, sister of Nebaioth.

VA-YETSE’

*10Jacob left Beer-sheba, and set out for Haran. *11He came upon a certain place and stopped there for the night, for the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of that place, he put it under his head and lay down in that place. *12He had a dream; a stairway<b

>b Or “ramp”; others “ladder.”

*16Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the LORD is present in this place, and I did not know it!” *17Shaken, he said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven.” *18Early in the morning, Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. *19He named that site Bethel;<c

>c I.e., “house of God.”

*20Jacob then made a vow, saying, “If God remains with me, if He protects me on this journey that I am making, and gives me bread to eat and clothing to wear, *21and if I return safe to my father’s house—the LORD shall be my God. *22And this stone, which I have set up as a pillar, shall be God’s abode; and of all that You give me, I will set aside a tithe for You.”

29 Jacob <a-

>a-a Lit. “lifted up his feet.”

*4Jacob said to them, “My friends, where are you from?” And they said, “We are from Haran.” *5He said to them, “Do you know Laban the son of Nahor?” And they said, “Yes, we do.” *6He continued, “Is he well?” They answered, “Yes, he is; and there is his daughter Rachel, coming with the flock.” *7He said, “It is still broad daylight, too early to round up the animals; water the flock and take them to pasture.” *8But they said, “We cannot, until all the flocks are rounded up; then the stone is rolled off the mouth of the well and we water the sheep.”

*9While he was still speaking with them, Rachel came with her father’s flock; for she was a shepherdess. *10And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle<b

>b Lit. “his mother’s brother.”

When he had stayed with him a month’s time, *15Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are a kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” *16Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. *17Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful. *18Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.” *19Laban said, “Better that I give her to you than that I should give her to an outsider. Stay with me.” *20So Jacob served seven years for Rachel and they seemed to him but a few days because of his love for her.

*21Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife, for my time is fulfilled, that I may cohabit with her.” *22And Laban gathered all the people of the place and made a feast. *23When evening came, he took his daughter Leah and brought her to him; and he cohabited with her.—*24Laban had given his maidservant Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her maid.—*25When morning came, there was Leah! So he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? I was in your service for Rachel! Why did you deceive me?” *26Laban said, “It is not the practice in our place to marry off the younger before the older. *27Wait until the bridal week of this one is over and we will give you that one too, provided you serve me another seven years.” *28Jacob did so; he waited out the bridal week of the one, and then he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife.—*29Laban had given his maidservant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her maid.—*30And Jacob cohabited with Rachel also; indeed, he loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served him another seven years.

*31The LORD saw that Leah was unloved and he opened her womb; but Rachel was barren. *32Leah conceived and bore a son, and named him Reuben;<c

>c Understood as “See a son.”

30 When Rachel saw that she had borne Jacob no children, she became envious of her sister; and Rachel said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I shall die.” *2Jacob was incensed at Rachel, and said, “Can I take the place of God, who has denied you fruit of the womb?” *3She said, “Here is my maid Bilhah. Consort with her, that she may bear on my knees and that through her I too may have children.” *4So she gave him her maid Bilhah as concubine, and Jacob cohabited with her. *5Bilhah conceived and bore Jacob a son. *6And Rachel said, “God has vindicated me;<a

>a Heb. dananni, connected with “Dan.”

*9When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she took her maid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as concubine. *10And when Leah’s maid Zilpah bore Jacob a son, *11Leah said, “What luck!”<c

>c Kethib begad; the qere reads ba gad “luck has come”; connected with “Gad.”

*14Once, at the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben came upon some mandrakes in the field and brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.” *15But she said to her, “Was it not enough for you to take away my husband, that you would also take my son’s mandrakes?” Rachel replied, “I promise, he shall lie with you tonight, in return for your son’s mandrakes.” *16When Jacob came home from the field in the evening, Leah went out to meet him and said, “You are to sleep with me, for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes.” And he lay with her that night. *17God heeded Leah, and she conceived and bore him a fifth son. *18And Leah said, “God has given me my reward<e

>e Heb. sekhari, connected with “Issachar.”

*22Now God remembered Rachel; God heeded her and opened her womb. *23She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away<h

>h Heb. ‘asaph.

*25After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Give me leave to go back to my own homeland. *26Give me my wives and my children, for whom I have served you, that I may go; for well you know what services I have rendered you.” *27But Laban said to him, “If you will indulge me,<j

>j Lit. “If I have found favor in your eyes.”

*35But that same day he removed the streaked and spotted he-goats and all the speckled and spotted she-goats—every one that had white on it—and all the dark-colored sheep, and left them in the charge of his sons. *36And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, while Jacob was pasturing the rest of Laban’s flock.

*37Jacob then got fresh shoots of poplar, and of almond and plane, and peeled white stripes in them, laying bare the white of the shoots. *38The rods that he had peeled he set up in front of the goats<k

>k Lit. “flocks.”

31 Now he heard the things that Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s, and from that which was our father’s he has built up all this wealth.” *2Jacob also saw that Laban’s manner toward him was not as it had been in the past. *3Then the LORD said to Jacob, “Return to the land of your fathers where you were born, and I will be with you.” *4Jacob had Rachel and Leah called to the field, where his flock was, *5and said to them, “I see that your father’s manner toward me is not as it has been in the past. But the God of my father has been with me. *6As you know, I have served your father with all my might; *7but your father has cheated me, changing my wages time and again.<a

>a Lit. “ten times.”

*10“Once, at the mating time of the flocks, <b-

>b-b Lit. “I raised my eyes and saw in a dream, behold.”

*14Then Rachel and Leah answered him, saying, “Have we still a share in the inheritance of our father’s house? *15Surely, he regards us as outsiders, now that he has sold us and has used up our purchase price. *16Truly, all the wealth that God has taken away from our father belongs to us and to our children. Now then, do just as God has told you.”

*17Thereupon Jacob put his children and wives on camels; *18and he drove off all his livestock and all the wealth that he had amassed, the livestock in his possession that he had acquired in Paddan-aram, to go to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan.

*19Meanwhile Laban had gone to shear his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s household

idols. *20Jacob <c-

>c-c Lit. “stole the mind of Laban the Aramean”; similarly in v. 26.

*22On the third day, Laban was told that Jacob had fled. *23So he took his kinsmen with him and pursued him a distance of seven days, catching up with him in the hill country of Gilead. *24But God appeared to Laban the Aramean in a dream by night and said to him, “Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad.”

*25Laban overtook Jacob. Jacob had pitched his tent on the Height, and Laban with his kinsmen encamped in the hill country of Gilead. *26And Laban said to Jacob, “What did you mean by keeping me in the dark and carrying off my daughters like captives of the sword? *27Why did you flee in secrecy and mislead me and not tell me? I would have sent you off with festive music, with timbrel and lyre. *28You did not even let me kiss my sons and daughters good-by! It was a foolish thing for you to do. *29I have it in my power to do you harm; but the God of your father said to me last night, ‘Beware of attempting anything with Jacob, good or bad.’ *30Very well, you had to leave because you were longing for your father’s house; but why did you steal my gods?”

*31Jacob answered Laban, saying, “I was afraid because I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. *32But anyone with whom you find your gods shall not remain alive! In the presence of our kinsmen, point out what I have of yours and take it.” Jacob, of course, did not know that Rachel had stolen them.

*33So Laban went into Jacob’s tent and Leah’s tent and the tents of the two maidservants; but he did not find them. Leaving Leah’s tent, he entered Rachel’s tent. *34Rachel, meanwhile, had taken the idols and placed them in the camel cushion and sat on them; and Laban rummaged through the tent without finding them. *35For she said to her father, “Let not my lord take it amiss that I cannot rise before you, for the period of women is upon me.” Thus he searched, but could not find the household idols.

*36Now Jacob became incensed and took up his grievance with Laban. Jacob spoke up and said to Laban, “What is my crime, what is my guilt that you should pursue me? *37You rummaged through all my things; what have you found of all your household objects? Set it here, before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us two.

*38“These twenty years I have spent in your service, your ewes and she-goats never miscarried, nor did I feast on rams from your flock. *39That which was torn by beasts I never brought to you; I myself made good the loss; you exacted it of me, whether snatched by day or snatched by night. *40Often,<d

>d Lit. “I was.”

*43Then Laban spoke up and said to Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, and the flocks are my flocks; all that you see is mine. Yet what can I do now about my daughters or the children they have borne? *44Come, then, let us make a pact, you and I, that there may be a witness between you and me.” *45Thereupon Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. *46And Jacob said to his kinsmen, “Gather stones.” So they took stones and made a mound; and they partook of a meal there by the mound. *47Laban named it Yegar- sahadutha,<g

>g Aramaic for “the mound (or, stone-heap) of witness.”

*51And Laban said to Jacob, “Here is this mound and here the pillar which I have set up between you and me: *52this mound shall be witness and this pillar shall be witness that I am not to cross to you past this mound, and that you are not to cross to me past this mound and this pillar, with hostile intent. *53May the God of Abraham and the god of Nahor”—their ancestral deities—“judge between us.” And Jacob swore by the Fear<j

>j Meaning of Heb. pah%ad uncertain.

32 Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and daughters and bade them good-by; then Laban left on his journey homeward. *2Jacob went on his way, and angels of God encountered him. *3When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is God’s camp.” So he named that place Mahanaim.<a

>a Connected with Heb. mah%aneh, “camp.”

VA-YISHLAH%

*4Jacob sent messengers ahead to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the country of Edom, *5and instructed them as follows, <b-

>b-b Or “Thus you shall say to my lord Esau, ‘Thus says your servant Jacob:…’”

*10Then Jacob said, “O God of my father Abraham and God of my father Isaac, O LORD, who said to me, ‘Return to your native land and I will deal bountifully with you’! *11I am unworthy of all the kindness that You have so steadfastly shown Your servant: with my staff alone I crossed this Jordan, and now I have become two camps. *12Deliver me, I pray, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau; else, I fear, he may come and strike me down, mothers and children alike. *13Yet You have said, ‘I will deal bountifully with you and make your offspring as the sands of the sea, which are too numerous to count.’”

*14After spending the night there, he selected from what was at hand these presents for his brother Esau: *15200 she-goats and 20 he-goats; 200 ewes and 20 rams; *1630 milch camels with their colts; 40 cows and 10 bulls; 20 she-asses and 10 he-asses. *17These he put in the charge of his servants, drove by drove, and he told his servants, “Go on ahead, and keep a distance between droves.” *18He instructed the one in front as follows, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘Whose man are you? Where are you going? And whose [animals] are these ahead of you?’ *19you shall answer, ‘Your servant Jacob’s; they are a gift sent to my lord Esau; and [Jacob] himself is right behind us.’” *20He gave similar instructions to the second one, and the third, and all the others who followed the droves, namely, “Thus and so shall you say to Esau when you reach him. *21And you shall add, ‘And your servant Jacob himself is right behind us.’” For he reasoned, “If I propitiate him with presents in advance, and then face him, perhaps he will show me favor.” *22And so the gift went on ahead, while he remained in camp that night.

*23That same night he arose, and taking his two wives, his two maidservants, and his eleven children, he crossed the ford of the Jabbok. *24After taking them across the stream, he sent across all his possessions. *25Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. *26When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he wrenched Jacob’s hip at its socket, so that the socket of his hip was strained as he wrestled with him. *27Then he said, “Let me go, for dawn is breaking.” But he answered, “I will not let you go, unless you bless me.” *28Said the other, “What is your name?” He replied, “Jacob.” *29Said he, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven<c

>c Heb. saritha, connected with first part of “Israel.”

33 Looking up, Jacob saw Esau coming, accompanied by four hundred men. He divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two maids, *2putting the maids and their children first, Leah and her children next, and Rachel and Joseph last. *3He himself went on ahead and bowed low to the ground seven times until he was near his brother. *4Esau ran to greet him. He embraced him and, falling on his neck, he kissed him; and they wept. *5Looking about, he saw the women and the children. “Who,” he asked, “are these with you?” He answered, “The children with whom God has favored your ser- vant.” *6Then the maids, with their children, came forward and bowed low; *7next Leah, with her children, came forward and bowed low; and last, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed low; *8And he asked, “What do you mean by all this company which I have met?” He answered, “To gain my lord’s favor.” *9Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; let what you have remain yours.” *10But Jacob said, “No, I pray you; if you would do me this favor, accept from me this gift; for to see your face is like seeing the face of God, and you have received me favorably. *11Please accept my present which has been brought to you, for God has favored me and I have plenty.” And when he urged him, he accepted.

*12And [Esau] said, “Let us start on our journey, and I will proceed at your pace.” *13But he said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail and that the flocks and herds, which are nursing, are a care to me; if they are driven hard a single day, all the flocks will die. *14Let my lord go on ahead of his servant, while I travel slowly, at the pace of the cattle before me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.”

*15Then Esau said, “Let me assign to you some of the men who are with me.” But he said, “Oh no, my lord is too kind to me!” *16So Esau started back that day on his way to Seir. *17But Jacob journeyed on to Succoth, and built a house for himself and made stalls for his cattle; that is why the place was called Succoth.<a

>a Meaning “stalls,” “huts,” “booths.”

*18Jacob arrived safe in the city of Shechem which is in the land of Canaan—having come thus from Paddan-aram—and he encamped before the city. *19The parcel of land where he pitched his tent he purchased from the children of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred kesitahs.<b

>b Heb. qesit·ah, a unit of unknown value.

34 Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. *2Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her by force. *3Being strongly drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and in love with the maiden, he spoke to the maiden tenderly. *4So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”

*5Jacob heard that he had defiled his daughter Dinah; but since his sons were in the field with his cattle, Jacob kept silent until they came home. *6Then Shechem’s father Hamor came out to Jacob to speak to him. *7Meanwhile Jacob’s sons, having heard the news, came in from the field. The men were distressed and very angry, because he had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing not to be done.

*8And Hamor spoke with them, saying, “My son Shechem longs for your daughter. Please give her to him in marriage. *9Intermarry with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves: *10You will dwell among us, and the land will be open before you; settle, move about, and acquire holdings in it.” *11Then Shechem said to her father and brothers, “Do me this favor, and I will pay whatever you tell me. *12Ask of me a bride-price ever so high, as well as gifts, and I will pay what you tell me; only give me the maiden for a wife.”

*13Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor—speaking with guile because he had defiled their sister Dinah—*14and said to them, “We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace among us. *15Only on this condition will we agree with you; that you will become like us in that every male among you is circumcised. *16Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters to ourselves; and we will dwell among you and become as one kindred. *17But if you will not listen to us and become circumcised, we will take our daughter and go.”

*18Their words pleased Hamor and Hamor’s son Shechem. *19And the youth lost no time in doing the thing, for he wanted Jacob’s daughter. Now he was the most respected in his father’s house. *20So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the <a-

>a-a Lit. “gate.”

as they are circumcised. *23Their cattle and substance and all their beasts will be ours, if we only agree to their terms, so that they will settle among us.” *24All <b-

>b-b I.e., all his fellow townsmen.

*25On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took each his sword, came upon the city unmolested, and slew all the males. *26They put Hamor and his son Shechem to the sword, took Dinah out of Shechem’s house, and went away. *27The other sons of Jacob came upon the slain and plundered the town, because their sister had been defiled. *28They seized their flocks and herds and asses, all that was inside the town and outside; *29all their wealth, all their children, and their wives, all that was in the houses, they took as captives and booty.

*30Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites; my men are few in number, so that if they unite against me and attack me, I and my house will be destroyed.” *31But they answered, “Should our sister be treated like a whore?”

35 God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and remain there; and build an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.” *2So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Rid yourselves of the alien gods in your midst, purify yourselves, and change your clothes. *3Come, let us go up to Bethel, and I will build an altar there to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone.” *4They gave to Jacob all the alien gods that they had, and the rings that were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth that was near Shechem. *5As they set out, a terror from God fell on the cities round about, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

*6Thus Jacob came to Luz—that is, Bethel—in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. *7There he built an altar and named the site El-bethel,<a

>a “The God of Bethel.”

*8Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel; so it was named Allon-bacuth.<b

>b Understood as “the oak of the weeping.”

*9God appeared again to Jacob on his arrival from Paddan-aram, and He blessed him. *10God said to him,

“You whose name is Jacob,

You shall be called Jacob no more,

But Israel shall be your name.”

Thus He named him Israel.

*11And God said to him,

“I am El Shaddai.<c

>c Cf. 17.1.

Be fertile and increase;

A nation, yea an assembly of nations,

Shall descend from you.

Kings shall issue from your loins.

*12The land that I assigned to Abraham and Isaac

I assign to you;

And to your offspring to come

Will I assign the land.”

*13God parted from him at the spot where He had spoken to him; *14and Jacob set up a pillar at the site where He had spoken to him, a pillar of stone, and he offered a libation on it and poured oil upon it. *15Jacob gave the site, where God had spoken to him, the name of Bethel.

*16They set out from Bethel; but when they were still some distance short of Ephrath, Rachel was in childbirth, and she had hard labor. *17When her labor was at its hardest, the midwife said to her, “Have no fear, for it is another boy for you.” *18But as she breathed her last—for she was dying—she named him Ben-oni;<d

>d Understood as “son of my suffering (or, strength).”

*22While Israel stayed in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine; and Israel found out.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve in num- ber. *23The sons of Leah: Reuben—Jacob’s first-born—Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. *24The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. *25The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali. *26And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan-aram.

*27And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, at Kiriath-arba—now Hebron—where Abraham and Isaac had sojourned. *28Isaac was a hundred and eighty years old *29when he breathed his last and died. He<f

>f Lit. “Isaac.”

36 This is the line of Esau—that is, Edom.

*2Esau took his wives from among the Canaanite women—Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon the Hivite<a

>a Cf. v. 20, “Horite.”

*6Esau took his wives, his sons and daughters, and all the members of his household, his cattle and all his livestock, and all the property that he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to another land because of his brother Jacob. *7For their possessions were too many for them to dwell together, and the land where they sojourned could not support them because of their livestock. *8So Esau settled in the hill country of Seir—Esau being Edom.

*9This, then, is the line of Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.

*10These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. *11The sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. *12Timna was a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz; she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. Those were the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. *13And these were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. Those were the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. *14And these were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah daughter of Zibeon: she bore to Esau Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

*15These are the clans of the children of Esau. The descendants of Esau’s first-born Eliphaz: the clans Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, *16Korah, Gatam, and Amalek; these are the clans of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. Those are the descendants of Adah. *17And these are the descendants of Esau’s son Reuel: the clans Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah; these are the clans of Reuel in the land of Edom. Those are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. *18And these are the descendants of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: the clans Jeush, Jalam, and Korah; these are the clans of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah. *19Those were the sons of Esau—that is, Edom—and those are their clans.

*20These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were settled in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, *21Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Those are the clans of the Horites, the descendants of Seir, in the land of Edom.

*22The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister was Timna. *23The sons of Shobal were these: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. *24The sons of Zibeon were these: Aiah<b

>b Heb. “and Aiah.”

*29These are the clans of the Horites: the clans Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, *30Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. Those are the clans of the Horites, clan by clan, in the land of Seir.

*31These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the Israelites. *32Bela son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city was Dinhabah. *33When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah, from Bozrah, succeeded him as king. *34When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king. *35When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab, succeeded him as king; the name of his city was Avith. *36When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah succeeded him as king. *37When Samlah died, Saul<e

>e Or “Shaul.”

*40These are the names of the clans of Esau, each with its families and locality, name by name: the clans Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, *41Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, *42Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, *43Magdiel, and Iram. Those are the clans of Edom—that is, of Esau, father of the Edomites—by their settlements in the land which they hold.

VA-YESHEV

37 Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan. *2This, then, is the line of Jacob:

At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father. *3Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him an ornamented tunic.<a

>a Or “a coat of many colors”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.

*5Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more. *6He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed: *7There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.” *8His brothers answered, “Do you mean to reign over us? Do you mean to rule over us?” And they hated him even more for his talk about his dreams.

*9He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” *10And when he told it to his father and brothers, his father berated him. “What,” he said to him, “is this dream you have dreamed? Are we to come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow low to you to the ground?” *11So his brothers were wrought up at him, and his father kept the matter in mind.

*12One time, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, *13Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “I am ready.” *14And he said to him, “Go and see how your brothers are and how the flocks are faring, and bring me back word.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron.

When he reached Shechem, *15a man came upon him wandering in the fields. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?” *16He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Could you tell me where they are pasturing?” *17The man said, “They have gone from here, for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them at Dothan.

*18They saw him from afar, and before he came close to them they conspired to kill him. *19They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer! *20Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we can say, ‘A savage beast devoured him.’ We shall see what comes of his dreams!” *21But when Reuben heard it, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let us not take his life.” *22And Reuben went on, “Shed no blood! Cast him into that pit out in the wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves”—intending to save him from them and restore him to his father. *23When Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ornamented tunic that he was wearing, *24and took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.

*25Then they sat down to a meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels bearing gum, balm, and ladanum to be taken to Egypt. *26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? *27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. *28When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt.

*29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes. *30Returning to his brothers, he said, “The boy is gone! Now, what am I to do?” *31Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a kid, and dipped the tunic in the blood. *32They had the ornamented tunic taken to their father, and they said, “We found this. Please examine it; is it your son’s tunic or not?” *33He recognized it, and said, “My son’s tunic! A savage beast devoured him! Joseph was torn by a beast!” *34Jacob rent his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and observed mourning for his son many days. *35All his sons and daughters sought to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, saying, “No, I will go down mourning to my son in Sheol.” Thus his father bewailed him.

*36The Midianites,<b

>b Heb. “Medanites.”

381

38 About that time Judah left his brothers and camped near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. *2There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and cohabited with her. *3She conceived and bore a son, and he named him Er. *4She conceived again and bore a son, and named him Onan. *5Once again she bore a son, and named him Shelah; he was at Chezib when she bore him.

*6Judah got a wife for Er his first-born; her name was Tamar. *7But Er, Judah’s first-born, was displeasing to the LORD, and the LORD took his life. *8Then Judah said to Onan, “Join with your brother’s wife and do your duty by her as a brother-in-law,<a

>a Cf. Deut. 25.5.

*12A long time afterward, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. When <c-

>c-c Lit. “he was comforted.”

*20Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite, to redeem the pledge from the woman; but he could not find her. *21He inquired of the people of that town, “Where is the cult prostitute, the one at Enaim, by the road?” But they said, “There has been no prostitute here.” *22So he returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her; moreover, the townspeople said: There has been no prostitute here.” *23Judah said, “Let her keep them, lest we become a laughingstock. I did send her this kid, but you did not find her.”

*24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot; in fact, she is with child by harlotry.” “Bring her out,” said Judah, “and let her be burned.” *25As she was being brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law, “I am with child by the man to whom these belong.” And she added, “Examine these: whose seal and cord and staff are these?” *26Judah recognized them, and said, “She is more in the right than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he was not intimate with her again.

*27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb! *28While she was in labor, one of them put out his hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to signify: This one came out first. *29But just then he drew back his hand, and out came his brother; and she said, “What a breach<e

>e Heb. peres·

39 When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, a certain Egyptian, Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his chief steward, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. *2The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he stayed in the house of his Egyptian master. *3And when his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD lent success to everything he undertook, *4he took a liking to Joseph. He made him his personal attendant and put him in charge of his household, placing in his hands all that he owned. *5And from the time that the Egyptian put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed his house for Joseph’s sake, so that the blessing of the LORD was upon everything that he owned, in the house and outside. *6He left all that he had in Joseph’s hands and, with him there, he paid attention to nothing save the food that he ate. Now Joseph was well built and handsome.

*7After a time, his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” *8But he refused. He said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master gives no thought to anything in this house, and all that he owns he has placed in my hands. *9He wields no more authority in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except yourself, since you are his wife. How then could I do this most wicked thing, and sin before God?” *10And much as she coaxed Joseph day after day, he did not yield to her request to lie beside her, to be with her.

*11One such day, he came into the house to do his work. None of the household being there inside, *12she caught hold of him by his garment and said, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and got away and fled outside. *13When she saw that he had left it in her hand and had fled outside, *14she called out to her servants and said to them, “Look, he had to bring us a Hebrew to dally with us! This one came to lie with me; but I screamed loud. *15And when he heard me screaming at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and got away and fled outside.” *16She kept his garment beside her, until his master came home. *17Then she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew slave whom you brought into our house came to me to dally with me; *18but when I screamed at the top of my voice, he left his garment with me and fled outside.”

*19When his master heard the story that his wife told him, namely, “Thus and so your slave did to me,” he was furious. *20So Joseph’s master had him put in prison, where the king’s prisoners were confined. But even while he was there in prison, *21the LORD was with Joseph: He extended kindness to him and disposed the chief jailer favorably toward him. *22The chief jailer put in Joseph’s charge all the prisoners who were in that prison, and he was the one to carry out everything that was done there. *23The chief jailer did not supervise anything that was in Joseph’s<a

>a Lit. “his.”

1 40 Some time later, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. *2Pharaoh was angry with his two courtiers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, *3and put them in custody, in the house of the chief steward, in the same prison house where Joseph was confined. *4The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he attended them.

When they had been in custody for some time, *5both of them—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison—dreamed in the same night, each his own dream and each dream with its own meaning. *6When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were distraught. *7He asked Pharaoh’s courtiers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you appear downcast today?” *8And they said to him, “We had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” So Joseph said to them, “Surely God can interpret! Tell me [your dreams].”

*9Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph. He said to him, “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. *10On the vine were three branches. It had barely budded, when out came its blossoms and its clusters ripened into grapes. *11Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” *12Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: The three branches are three days. *13In three days Pharaoh will pardon you<a

>a Lit. “lift up your head.”

*16When the chief baker saw how favorably he had interpreted, he said to Joseph, “In my dream, similarly, there were three openwork baskets<b

>b Others “baskets with white bread” or “white baskets”; meaning of Heb. h%ori uncertain.

*20On the third day—his birthday—Pharaoh made a banquet for all his officials, and he singled out<c

>c Lit. “lifted the head of.”

*23Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him.

MIKKETS

41 After two years’ time, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, *2when out of the Nile there came up seven cows, handsome and sturdy, and they grazed in the reed grass. *3But presently, seven other cows came up from the Nile close behind them, ugly and gaunt, and stood beside the cows on the bank of the Nile; *4and the ugly gaunt cows ate up the seven handsome sturdy cows. And Pharaoh awoke.

*5He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven ears of grain, solid and healthy, grew on a single stalk. *6But close behind them sprouted seven ears, thin and scorched by the east wind. *7And the thin ears swallowed up the seven solid and full ears. Then Pharaoh awoke: it was a dream!

*8Next morning, his spirit was agitated, and he sent for all the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but none could interpret them for Pharaoh.

*9The chief cupbearer then spoke up and said to Pharaoh, “I must make mention today of my offenses. *10Once Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and placed me in custody in the house of the chief steward, together with the chief baker. *11We had dreams the same night, he and I, each of us a dream with a meaning of its own. *12A Hebrew youth was there with us, a servant of the chief steward; and when we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us, telling each of the meaning of his dream. *13And as he interpreted for us, so it came to pass: I was restored to my post, and the other was impaled.”

*14Thereupon Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was rushed from the dungeon. He had his hair cut and changed his clothes, and he appeared before Pharaoh. *15And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, but no one can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of you that for you to hear a dream is to tell its meaning.” *16Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Not I! God will see to Pharaoh’s welfare.”

*17Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, *18when out of the Nile came up seven sturdy and well-formed cows and grazed in the reed grass. *19Presently there followed them seven other cows, scrawny, ill-formed, and emaci- ated—never had I seen their likes for ugliness in all the land of Egypt! *20And the seven lean and ugly cows ate up the first seven cows, the sturdy ones; *21but when they had consumed them, one could not tell that they had consumed them, for they looked just as bad as before. And I awoke. *22In my other dream, I saw seven ears of grain, full and healthy, growing on a single stalk; *23but right behind them sprouted seven ears, shriveled, thin, and scorched by the east wind. *24And the thin ears swallowed the seven healthy ears. I have told my magicians, but none has an explanation for me.”

*25And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh’s dreams are one and the same: God has told Pharaoh what He is about to do. *26The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years; it is the same dream. *27The seven lean and ugly cows that followed are seven years, as are also the seven empty ears scorched by the east wind; they are seven years of famine. *28It is just as I have told Pharaoh: God has revealed to Pharaoh what He is about to do. *29Immediately ahead are seven years of great abundance in all the land of Egypt. *30After them will come seven years of famine, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. As the land is ravaged by famine, *31no trace of the abundance will be left in the land because of the famine thereafter, for it will be very severe. *32As for Pharaoh having had the same dream twice, it means that the matter has been determined by God, and that God will soon carry it out.

*33“Accordingly, let Pharaoh find a man of discernment and wisdom, and set him over the land of Egypt. *34And let Pharaoh take steps to appoint overseers over the land, and organize<a

>a Others “take a fifth part of”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.

*37The plan pleased Pharaoh and all his court

iers. *38And Pharaoh said to his courtiers, “Could we find another like him, a man in whom is the spirit of God?” *39So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has made all this known to you, there is none so discerning and wise as you. *40You shall be in charge of my court, and by your command shall all my people be directed;<b

>b Others “order themselves” or “pay homage”; meaning of Heb. yishshaq uncertain.

*44Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh; yet without you, no one shall lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” *45Pharaoh then gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-paneah;<d

>d Egyptian for “God speaks; he lives,” or “creator of life.”

*47During the seven years of plenty, the land produced in abundance. *48And he gathered all the grain of <e-

>e-e Lit. “the seven years that were in the land of Egypt.”

*50Before the years of famine came, Joseph became the father of two sons, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On, bore to him. *51Joseph named the first-born Manasseh, meaning, “God has made me forget<f

>f Heb. nashshani, connected with “Manasseh” (Menashsheh).

*53The seven years of abundance that the land of Egypt enjoyed came to an end, *54and the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had foretold. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was bread. *55And when all the land of Egypt felt the hunger, the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Jo- seph; whatever he tells you, you shall do.”—*56Accordingly, when the famine became severe in the land of Egypt, Joseph laid open all that was within, and rationed out grain to the Egyptians. The famine, however, spread over the whole world. *57So all the world came to Joseph in Egypt to procure rations, for the famine had become severe throughout the world.

42 When Jacob saw that there were food rations to be had in Egypt, he<a

>a Lit. “Jacob.”

*6Now Joseph was the vizier of the land; it was he who dispensed rations to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed low to him, with their faces to the ground. *7When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them; but he acted like a stranger toward them and spoke harshly to them. He asked them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to procure food.” *8For though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him. *9Recalling the dreams that he had dreamed about them, Joseph said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the land in its nakedness.” *10But they said to him, “No, my lord! Truly, your servants have come to procure food. *11We are all of us sons of the same man; we are honest men; your servants have never been spies!” *12And he said to them, “No, you have come to see the land in its nakedness!” *13And they replied, “We your servants were twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.” *14But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have told you: You are spies! *15By this you shall be put to the test: unless your youngest brother comes here, by Pharaoh, you shall not depart from this place! *16Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain confined, that your words may be put to the test whether there is truth in you. Else, by Pharaoh, you are nothing but spies!” *17And he confined them in the guardhouse for three days.

*18On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you shall live, for I am a God-fearing man. *19If you are honest men, let one of you brothers be held in your place of detention, while the rest of you go and take home rations for your starving households; *20but you must bring me your youngest brother, that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” And they did accordingly. *21They said to one another, “Alas, we are being punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this distress has come upon us.” *22Then Reuben spoke up and said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do no wrong to the boy’? But you paid no heed. Now comes the reckoning for his blood.” *23They did not know that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and them. *24He turned away from them and wept. But he came back to them and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from among them and had him bound before their eyes. *25Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, return each one’s money to his sack, and give them provisions for the journey; and this was done for them. *26So they loaded their asses with the rations and departed from there.

*27As one of them was opening his sack to give feed to his ass at the night encampment, he saw his money right there at the mouth of his bag. *28And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! It is here in my bag!” Their hearts sank; and, trembling, they turned to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”

*29When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had befallen them, saying, *30“The man who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the land. *31We said to him, ‘We are honest men; we have never been spies! *32There were twelve of us brothers, sons by the same father; but one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’ *33But the man who is lord of the land said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take something for your starving households and be off. *34And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know that you are not spies but honest men. I will then restore your brother to you, and you shall be free to move about in the land.’”

*35As they were emptying their sacks, there, in each one’s sack, was his money-bag! When they and their father saw their money-bags, they were dismayed. *36Their father Jacob said to them, “It is always me that you bereave: Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you would take away Benjamin. These things always happen to me!” *37Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.” *38But he said, “My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If he meets with disaster on the journey you are taking, you will send my white head down to Sheol in grief.”

43 But the famine in the land was severe. *2And when they had eaten up the rations which they had brought from Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again and procure some food for us.” *3But Judah said to him, “The man warned us, <a-

>a-a Lit. “Do not see my face.”

*8Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy in my care, and let us be on our way, that we may live and not die—you and we and our children. *9I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible: if I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, I shall stand guilty before you forever. *10For we could have been there and back twice if we had not dawdled.”

*11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, do this: take some of the choice products of the land in your baggage, and carry them down as a gift for the man—some balm and some honey, gum, ladanum, pistachio nuts, and almonds. *12And take with you double the money, carrying back with you the money that was replaced in the mouths of your bags; perhaps it was a mistake. *13Take your brother too; and go back at once to the man. *14And may El Shaddai dispose the man to mercy toward you, that he may release to you your other brother, as well as Benjamin. As for me, if I am to be bereaved, I shall be bereaved.”

*15So the men took that gift, and they took with them double the money, as well as Benjamin. They made their way down to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph. *16When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to his house steward, “Take the men into the house; slaughter and prepare an animal, for the men will dine with me at noon.” *17The man did as Joseph said, and he brought the men into Joseph’s house. *18But the men were frightened at being brought into Joseph’s house. “It must be,” they thought, “because of the money replaced in our bags the first time that we have been brought inside, as a pretext to attack us and seize us as slaves, with our pack animals.” *19So they went up to Joseph’s house steward and spoke to him at the entrance of the house. *20“If you please, my lord,” they said, “we came down once before to procure food. *21But when we arrived at the night encampment and opened our bags, there was each one’s money in the mouth of his bag, our money in full.<b

>b Lit. “by its weight.”

*24Then the man brought the men into Joseph’s house; he gave them water to bathe their feet, and he provided feed for their asses. *25They laid out their gifts to await Joseph’s arrival at noon, for they had heard that they were to dine there.

*26When Joseph came home, they presented to him the gifts that they had brought with them into the house, bowing low before him to the ground. *27He greeted them, and he said, “How is your aged father of whom you spoke? Is he still in good health?” *28They replied, “It is well with your servant our father; he is still in good health.” And they bowed and made obeisance.

*29Looking about, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and asked, “Is this your youngest brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he went on, “May God be gracious to you, my boy.” *30With that, Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome with feeling toward his brother and was on the verge of tears; he went into a room and wept there. *31Then he washed his face, reappeared, and—now in control of himself—gave the order, “Serve the meal.” *32They served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; for the Egyptians could not dine with the Hebrews, since that would be abhorrent to the Egyptians. *33As they were seated by his direction, from the oldest in the order of his seniority to the youngest in the order of his youth, the men looked at one another in astonishment. *34Portions were served them from his table; but Benjamin’s portion was several<c

>c Lit. “five.”

44 Then he instructed his house steward as follows, “Fill the men’s bags with food, as much as they can carry, and put each one’s money in the mouth of his bag. *2Put my silver goblet in the mouth of the bag of the youngest one, together with his money for the rations.” And he did as Joseph told him.

*3With the first light of morning, the men were sent off with their pack animals. *4They had just left the city and had not gone far, when Joseph said to his steward, “Up, go after the men! And when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why did you repay good with evil? *5It is the very one from which my master drinks and which he uses for divination. It was a wicked thing for you to do!’”

*6He overtook them and spoke those words to them. *7And they said to him, “Why does my lord say such things? Far be it from your servants to do anything of the kind! *8Here we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found in the mouths of our bags. How then could we have stolen any silver or gold from your master’s house! *9Whichever of your servants it is found with shall die; the rest of us, moreover, shall become slaves to my lord.” *10He replied, “Although what you are proposing is right, only the one with whom it is found shall be my slave; but the rest of you shall go free.”

*11So each one hastened to lower his bag to the ground, and each one opened his bag. *12He searched, beginning with the oldest and ending with the youngest; and the goblet turned up in

Benjamin’s bag. *13At this they rent their clothes. Each reloaded his pack animal, and they returned to the city.

*14When Judah and his brothers reentered the house of Joseph, who was still there, they threw themselves on the ground before him. *15Joseph said to them, “What is this deed that you have done? Do you not know that a man like me practices divination?” *16Judah replied, “What can we say to my lord? How can we plead, how can we prove our innocence? God has uncovered the crime of your servants. Here we are, then, slaves of my lord, the rest of us as much as he in whose possession the goblet was found.” *17But he replied, “Far be it from me to act thus! Only he in whose possession the goblet was found shall be my slave; the rest of you go back in peace to your father.”

VA-YIGGASH

*18Then Judah went up to him and said, “Please, my lord, let your servant appeal to my lord, and do not be impatient with your servant, you who are the equal of Pharaoh. *19My lord asked his servants, ‘Have you a father or another brother?’ *20We told my lord, ‘We have an old father, and there is a child of his old age, the youngest; his full brother is dead, so that he alone is left of his mother, and his father dotes on him.’ *21Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set eyes on him.’ *22We said to my lord, ‘The boy cannot leave his father; if he were to leave him, his father would die.’ *23But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, do not let me see your faces.’ *24When we came back to your servant my father, we reported my lord’s words to him.

*25“Later our father said, ‘Go back and procure some food for us.’ *26We answered, ‘We cannot go down; only if our youngest brother is with us can we go down, for we may not <a-

>a-a Lit. “see the man’s face.”

*30“Now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us—since his own life is so bound up with his—*31when he sees that the boy is not with us, he will die, and your servants will send the white head of your servant our father down to Sheol in grief. *32Now your servant has pledged himself for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, I shall stand guilty before my father forever.’ *33Therefore, please let your servant remain as a slave to my lord instead of the boy, and let the boy go back with his brothers. *34For how can I go back to my father unless the boy is with me? Let me not be witness to the woe that would overtake my father!”

45 Joseph could no longer control himself before all his attendants, and he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!” So there was no one else about when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. *2His sobs were so loud that the Egyptians could hear, and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.

*3Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still well?” But his brothers could not answer him, so dumfounded were they on account of him.

*4Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Come forward to me.” And when they came forward, he said, “I am your brother Joseph, he whom you

sold into Egypt. *5Now, do not be distressed or reproach yourselves because you sold me hither; it was to save life that God sent me ahead of you. *6It is now two years that there has been famine in the land, and there are still five years to come in which there shall be no yield from tilling. *7God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth, and to save your lives in an extraordinary deliverance. *8So, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household, and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.

*9“Now, hurry back to my father and say to him: Thus says your son Joseph, ‘God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me without delay. *10You will dwell in the region of Goshen, where you will be near me—you and your children and your grandchildren, your flocks and herds, and all that is yours. *11There I will provide for you—for there are yet five years of famine to come—that you and your household and all that is yours may not suffer want.’ *12You can see for yourselves, and my brother Benjamin for himself, that it is indeed I who am speaking to you. *13And you must tell my father everything about my high station in Egypt and all that you have seen; and bring my father here with all speed.”

*14With that he embraced<a

>a Lit. “fell on.”

*16The news reached Pharaoh’s palace: “Joseph’s brothers have come.” Pharaoh and his courtiers were pleased. *17And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do as follows: load up your beasts and go at once to the land of Canaan. *18Take your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt and you shall live off the fat of the land.’ *19And you are bidden [to add], ‘Do as follows: take from the land of Egypt wagons for your children and your wives, and bring your father here. *20And never mind your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt shall be yours.’”

*21The sons of Israel did so; Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he supplied them with provisions for the journey. *22To each of them, moreover, he gave a change of clothing; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and several<b

>b Lit. “five”; cf. 43.34.

*25They went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. *26And they told him, “Joseph is still alive; yes, he is ruler over the whole land of Egypt.” His heart went numb, for he did not believe them. *27But when they recounted all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived. *28“Enough!” said Israel. “My son Joseph is still alive! I must go and see him before I die.”

46 So Israel set out with all that was his, and he came to Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. *2God called to Israel in a vision by night: “Jacob! Jacob!” He answered, “Here.” *3And He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Fear not to go down to Egypt, for I will make you there into

a great nation. *4I Myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I Myself will also bring you back; and Joseph’s hand shall close your eyes.”

*5So Jacob set out from Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel put their father Jacob and their children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him; *6and they took along their livestock and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt: *7he brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

*8These are the names of the Israelites, Jacob and his descendants, who came to Egypt.

Jacob’s first-born Reuben; *9Reuben’s sons: Enoch,<a

>a Or “Hanoch.”

*16Gad’s sons: Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. *17Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons: Heber and Malchiel. *18These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah. These she bore to Jacob—16 persons.

*19The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin. *20To Joseph were born in the land of Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath daughter of Poti-phera priest of On bore to him. *21Benjamin’s sons: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard. *22These were the descendants of Rachel who were born to Jacob—14 persons in all.

*23Dan’s son:<d

>d Heb. “sons.”

*26All the persons belonging to Jacob who came to Egypt<e

>e Not including Joseph and Joseph’s two sons.

*28He had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph, to point the way before him to Goshen. So when they came to the region of Goshen, *29Joseph ordered<g

>g Lit. “hitched.”

*31Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell the news to Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. *32The men are shepherds; they have always been breeders of livestock, and they have brought with them their flocks and herds and all that is theirs.’ *33So when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ *34you shall answer, ‘Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers’—so that you may stay in the region of Goshen. For all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.”

471 47 Then Joseph came and reported to Pharaoh, saying, “My father and my brothers, with their flocks and herds and all that is theirs, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in the region of Goshen.” *2And selecting a few<a

>a Lit. “five.”

*7Joseph then brought his father Jacob and presented him to Pharaoh; and Jacob greeted Pharaoh. *8Pharaoh asked Jacob, “How many are the years of your life?” *9And Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The years of my sojourn [on earth] are one hundred and thirty. Few and hard have been the years of my life, nor do they come up to the life spans of my fathers during their sojourns.” *10Then Jacob bade Pharaoh farewell, and left Pharaoh’s presence.

*11So Joseph settled his father and his brothers, giving them holdings in the choicest part of the land of Egypt, in the region of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded. *12Joseph sustained his father, and his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, down to the little ones.

*13Now there was no bread in all the world, for the famine was very severe; both the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. *14Joseph gathered in all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, as payment for the rations that were being procured, and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s palace. *15And when the money gave out in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, lest we die before your very eyes; for the money is gone!” *16And Joseph said, “Bring your livestock, and I will sell to you against your livestock, if the money is gone.” *17So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, for the stocks of sheep and cattle, and the asses; thus he provided them with bread that year in exchange for all their livestock. *18And when that year was ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We cannot hide from my lord that, with all the money and animal stocks consigned to my lord, nothing is left at my lord’s disposal save our persons and our farmland. *19Let us not perish before your eyes, both we and our land. Take us and our land in exchange for bread, and we with our land will be serfs to Pharaoh; provide the seed, that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become a waste.”

*20So Joseph gained possession of all the farm land of Egypt for Pharaoh, every Egyptian having sold his field because the famine was too much for them; thus the land passed over to Pharaoh. *21And he removed the population town by town,<b

>b Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

*23Then Joseph said to the people, “Whereas I have this day acquired you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land. *24And when harvest comes, you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be yours as seed for the fields and as food for you and those in your households, and as nourishment for your children.” *25And they said, “You have saved our lives! We are grateful to my lord, and we shall be serfs to Pharaoh.” *26And Joseph made it into a land law in Egypt, which is still valid, that a fifth should be Pharaoh’s; only the land of the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.

*27Thus Israel settled in the country of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; they acquired holdings in it, and were fertile and increased greatly.

VA-YEH%I

*28Jacob lived seventeen years in the land of Egypt, so that the span of Jacob’s life came to one hundred and forty-seven years. *29And when the time approached for Israel to die, he summoned his son Joseph and said to him, “Do me this favor, place your hand under my thigh as a pledge of your steadfast loyalty: please do not bury me in Egypt. *30When I lie down with my fathers, take me up from Egypt and bury me in their burial-place.” He replied, “I will do as you have spoken.” *31And he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed at the head of the bed.

48 Some time afterward, Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. *2When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to see you,” Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

*3And Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and He blessed me, *4and said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and numerous, making of you a community of peoples; and I will assign this land to your offspring to come for an everlasting possession.’ *5Now, your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine no less than Reuben and Simeon. *6But progeny born to you after them shall be yours; they shall be recorded instead<a

>a Lit. “under the name.”

*8Noticing Joseph’s sons, Israel asked, “Who are these?” *9And Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” “Bring them up to me,” he said, “that I may bless them.” *10Now Israel’s eyes were dim with age; he could not see. So [Joseph] brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. *11And Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and here God has let me see your children as well.”

*12Joseph then removed them from his knees, and bowed low with his face to the ground. *13Joseph took the two of them, Ephraim with his right hand—to Israel’s left—and Manasseh with his left hand—to Israel’s right—and brought them close to him. *14But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head—thus crossing his hands—although Manasseh was the first-born. *15And he blessed Joseph, saying,

“The God in whose ways my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,

The God who has been my shepherd from my birth to this day—

*16The Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—

Bless the lads.

In them may my name be recalled,

And the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,

And may they be teeming multitudes upon the earth.”

*17When Joseph saw that his father was placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he thought it wrong; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. *18“Not so, Father,” Joseph said to his father, “for the other is the first-born; place your right hand on his head.” *19But his father objected, saying, “I know, my son, I know. He too shall become a people, and he too shall be great. Yet his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall be plentiful enough for nations.” *20So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you shall Israel invoke blessings, saying: God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.” Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

*21Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die; but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. *22And now, I assign to you one portion<b

>b Meaning of Heb. shekhem uncertain; others “mountain slope.”

49 And Jacob called his sons and said, “Come together that I may tell you what is to befall you in days to come.

*2Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob;

Hearken to Israel your father:

*3Reuben, you are my first-born,

My might and first fruit of my vigor,

Exceeding in rank

And exceeding in honor.

*4Unstable as water, you shall excel no longer;

For when you mounted your father’s bed,

You brought disgrace—my couch he mounted!

*5Simeon and Levi are a pair;

Their weapons are tools of lawlessness.

*6Let not my person be included in their council,

Let not my being be counted in their assembly.

For when angry they slay men,

And when pleased they maim oxen.

*7Cursed be their anger so fierce,

And their wrath so relentless.

I will divide them in Jacob,

Scatter them in Israel.

*8You, O Judah, your brothers shall praise;

Your hand shall be on the nape of your foes;

Your father’s sons shall bow low to you.

*9Judah is a lion’s whelp;

On prey, my son, have you grown.

He crouches, lies down like a lion,

Like <a-

>a-a Heb. labi, another word for “lion.”

*10The scepter shall not depart from Judah,

Nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet;

So that tribute shall come to him<b

>b Shiloh, understood as shai loh “tribute to him,” following Midrash; cf. Isa. 18.7. Meaning of Heb. uncertain; lit. “Until he comes to Shiloh.”

And the homage of peoples be his.

*11He tethers his ass to a vine,

His ass’s foal to a choice vine;

He washes his garment in wine,

His robe in blood of grapes.

*12<c-

>c-c Or “His eyes are dark from wine,

His teeth are whiter than milk.-<c

*13Zebulun shall dwell by the seashore;

He shall be a haven for ships,

And his flank shall rest on Sidon.

*14Issachar is a strong-boned ass,

Crouching among the sheepfolds.

*15When he saw how good was security,

And how pleasant was the country,

He bent his shoulder to the burden,

And became a toiling serf.

*16Dan shall govern his people,

As one of the tribes of Israel.

*17Dan shall be a serpent by the road,

A viper by the path,

That bites the horse’s heels

So that his rider is thrown backward.

*18I wait for Your deliverance, O LORD!

*19Gad shall be raided by raiders,

But he shall raid at their heels.

*20Asher’s bread shall be rich,

And he shall yield royal dainties.

*21Naphtali is a hind let loose,

Which yields lovely fawns.

*22<d-

>d-d Others “Joseph is a fruitful bough,

A wild ass by a spring

—Wild colts on a hillside.-<d

*23Archers bitterly assailed him;

They shot at him and harried him.

*24Yet his bow stayed taut,

And his arms<e

>e Heb. “the arms of his hands.”

By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob—

There, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel—

*25The God of your father who helps you,

And Shaddai who blesses you

With blessings of heaven above,

Blessings of the deep that couches below,

Blessings of the breast and womb.

*26 <f-

>f-f Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

Surpass the blessings of my ancestors,

To the utmost bounds of the eternal hills.-<f

May they rest on the head of Joseph,

On the brow of the elect of his brothers.

*27Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;

In the morning he consumes the foe,<g

>g Meaning of Heb. uncertain; others “booty.”

And in the evening he divides the spoil.”

*28All these were the tribes of Israel, twelve in number, and this is what their father said to them as he bade them farewell, addressing to each a parting word appropriate to him.

*29Then he instructed them, saying to them, “I am about to be gathered to my kin. Bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, *30the cave which is in the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial site—*31there Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried; there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried; and there I buried Leah—*32the field and the cave in it, bought from the Hittites.” *33When Jacob finished his instructions to his sons, he drew his feet into the bed and, breathing his last, he was gathered to his people.

50 Joseph flung himself upon his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. *2Then Joseph ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel. *3It required forty days, for such is the full period of embalming. The Egyptians bewailed him seventy days; *4and when the wailing period was over, Joseph spoke to Pharaoh’s court, saying, “Do me this favor, and lay this

appeal before Pharaoh: *5‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die. Be sure to bury me in the grave which I made ready for myself in the land of Canaan.” Now, therefore, let me go up and bury my father; then I shall return.’” *6And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you promise on oath.”

*7So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the officials of Pharaoh, the senior members of his court, and all of Egypt’s dignitaries, *8together with all of Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household; only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left in the region of Goshen. *9Chariots, too, and horsemen went up with him; it was a very large troop.

*10When they came to Goren<a

>a Or “the threshing floor of.”

*15When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!” *16So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction: *17So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him.

*18His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.” *19But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God? *20Besides, although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. *21And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your children.” Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.

*22So Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years. *23Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees. *24At length, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” *25So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”

*26Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.