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The 48th Chapter
After these
deeds, tidings were brought unto Joseph, that his father was sick.
And he took with him his two sons, Manasse and Ephraim. Then was it
said unto Jacob: behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. And Israel
took his strength unto him, and sat up on the bed, and said unto
Joseph: God almighty appeared unto me at Lus in the land of Canaan,
and blessed me, and said unto me: behold, I will make thee grow and
will multiply thee, and will make a great number of people of thee,
and will give this land unto thee and unto thy seed after thee unto
an everlasting possession. Now therefore thy two sons Manasse and
Ephraim which were born unto thee before I came to thee, into Egypt,
shall be mine: even as Ruben and Simeon shall they be unto me. And
the children which thou gettest after them, shall be thine own: but
shall be called with the names of their brethren in their
inheritances. And after I came from Mesopotamia, Rahel died upon my
hand in the land of Canaan, by the way: when I had but a fields
breadth to go unto Ephrat. And I buried her there in the way to
Ephrat which is now called Bethlehem.
And Israel beheld Josephs sons and said: what are these? And
Joseph said unto his father: they are my sons, which God hath given
me here. And he said: bring them to me, and let me bless them. And
the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And
he brought them to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. And
Israel said unto Joseph: I had not thought to have seen thy face,
and yet lo, God hath showed it me and also thy seed. And Joseph took
them away from his lap, and they fell on the ground before him.
Then took Joseph them both: Ephraim in his right hand toward
Israels left hand and Manasse in his left hand, toward Israels right
hand, and brought them unto him. And Israel stretched out his right
hand and laid it upon Ephraims head which was the younger, and his
left hand upon Manasses head, crossing his hands, for Manasse was
the elder. And he blessed Joseph saying: God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac did walk, and the God which hath fed me all my
life long unto this day, And the angel which hath delivered me from
all evil, bless these lads: that they may be called after my name,
and after my father Abraham and Isaac, and that they may grow and
multiply upon the earth.
When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the
head of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he lifted up his fathers
hand, to have removed it from Ephraims head unto Manasses head, and
said unto his father: Not so my father, for this is the eldest. Put
thy right hand upon his head. And his father would not, but said: I
know it well my son, I know it well. He shall be also a people and
shall be great. But of a truth his younger brother shall be greater
than he, and his seed shall be full of people. And he blessed them
saying: At the example of these, the Israelites shall bless and say:
God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasse. Thus set he Ephraim before
Manasse.
And Israel said unto Joseph: behold, I die. And God shall be
with you and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. Moreover
I give unto thee, a portion of land above thy brethren which I gat
out of the hands of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow. |
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The 49th Chapter
And Jacob called for his sons and
said: come together, that I may tell you what shall happen you in
the last days. Gather you together and hear ye sons of Jacob, and
hearken unto Israel your father.
Ruben, thou art mine eldest son, my might and the beginning of
my strength, chief in receiving and chief in power. As unstable as
water wast thou: thou shalt therefore not be the chiefest, for thou
wentest up upon thy fathers bed, and then defiledest thou my couch
with going up.
The brethren Simeon and Levi, wicked instruments are their
weapons. Into their secrets come not my soul, and unto their
congregation be my honor not coupled: for in their wrath they slew a
man, and in their self will they *houghed an ox. Cursed be their
wrath for it was strong, and their fierceness for it was cruel. I
will therefore divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Juda, thy brethren shall praise thee, and thine hand shall be
in the neck of thine enemies, and thy fathers children shall stoop
unto thee. Juda is a lions whelp. From spoil my son thou art come on
high: he laid him down and couched himself as a lion, and as a
lioness. Who dare stir him up? The scepter shall not depart from
Juda, nor a ruler from between his legs, until Silo come, unto whom
the people shall hearken. He shall bind his foal unto the vine, and
his asss colt unto the vine branch, and shall wash his garment in
wine and his mantle in the blood of grapes: his eyes are *roudier
than wine, and his teeth whiter then milk.
Zabulon shall dwell in the haven of the sea and in the port of
ships, and shall reach unto Sidon.
Isachar is a strong ass, he couched him down between two
borders, and saw that rest was good and the land that it was
pleasant, and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto
tribute. Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Dan shall be a serpent in the way, and an adder in the path, and
bite the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. After
thy saving look I, Lord.
Gad, men of war shall invade him. And he shall turn them to
flight.
Of Asser cometh fat bread, and he shall give pleasures for a
king.
Nephtalim is a swift hind, and giveth goodly words. That
flourishing child Joseph, that flourishing child and goodly unto the
eye: the daughters ran upon the wall. The shooters have envied him
and chide with him and hated him, and yet his bow bode fast, and his
arms and his hands were strong, by the hands of the mighty God of
Jacob: out of him shall come an herdsman, a stone in Israel. Thy
father s God shall help thee, and the almighty shall bless thee with
blessings from heaven above, and with blessings of the water that
lieth under, and with blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The
blessings of thy father were strong: even as the blessings of my
elders, after the desire of the highest in the world, and these
blessings shall fall on the head of Joseph, and on the top of the
head of him that was separated from his brethren.
Ben Jamin is a ravishing wolf. In the morning he shall devour
his prey, and at night he shall divide his spoil.
All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is that
which their father spake unto them when he blessed them, every man
with a several blessing. And he charged them and said unto them. I
shall be put unto my people: see that ye bury me with my fathers, in
the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hethite, in the double
cave that is in the field before Mare in the land of Canaan. Which
field Abraham bought of Ephron the Hethite for a possession to bury
in. There they buried Abraham and Sara his wife, there they buried
Isaac and Rebecca his wife. And there I buried Lea: which field and
the cave that is therein, was bought of the children of Heth.
When Jacob had commanded all that he would unto his sons, he
plucked up his feet upon the bed and died, and was put unto his
people, And Joseph fell upon his fathers face, and wept upon him,
and kissed him.
*roudier (unknown of sources: roud;
"fish" rudd or rudden obsolete; to become red..) *houghed; marginal
note: to cut the senows of the leg so that it could not walk.
(hamstring)
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The 50th Chapter
And Joseph
commanded his servants that were Physicians, to embalm his father,
and the Physicians embalmed Israel forty days long, for so long doth
the embalming last, and the Egyptians bewept him seventy days.
And when the days of weeping were ended, Joseph spake unto the
house of Pharao saying: If I have found favour in your eyes, speak
unto Pharao and tell him, how that my father made me swear and said:
lo, I die, see that thou bury me in my grave which I have made me in
the land of Canaan. Now therefore let me go and bury my father, and
then will I come again. And Pharao said, go and bury thy father,
according as he made thee swear.
And Joseph went up to bury his father, and with him went all
the servants of Pharao that were the elders of his house, and all
the elders of Egypt, and all the house of Joseph and his brethren
and his fathers house: only their children and their sheep and their
cattle left they behind them in the land of Gosan. And there went
with him also Chariots and horsemen: so that they were an exceeding
great company.
And when they came to the field of Atad beyond Jordan, there
they made great and exceeding sore lamentation. And he mourned for
his father seven days. When the inhabiters of the land the Cananites
saw the mourning in the field of Atad, they said: this is a great
mourning which the Egyptians make. Wherefore the name of the place
is called Abelmizraim, which place lieth beyond Jordan. And his sons
did unto him according as he had commanded them.
And his sons carried him into the land of Canaan and buried
him in the double cave which Abraham had bought with the field to be
a place to bury in, of Ephron the Hethite before Mamre. And Joseph
returned to Egypt again and his brethren, and all that went up with
him to bury his father, as soon as he had buried him.
When Josephs brethren saw that their father was dead, they
said: Joseph might fortune to hate us and reward us again all the
evil which we did unto him. They did therefore a commandment unto
Joseph saying: thy father charged before his death saying: This wise
say unto Joseph, forgive I pray thee the trespass of thy brethren
and their sin, for they rewarded thee evil. Now therefore we pray
thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of thy fathers God. And
Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
And his brethren came and fell before him and said: behold we
be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them: fear not, for am not I
under God? Ye thought evil unto me: but God turned it unto good to
bring to pass, as it is this day, even to save much people alive.
Fear not therefore, for I will care for you and for your children,
and he spake kindly unto them.
Joseph dwelt in Egypt and his fathers house also, and lived an
hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw Ephraims children, even unto
the third generation. And unto Machir the son of Manasse were
children born, and sat on Josephs knees.
And Joseph said unto his brethren: I die. And God will surely
visit you and bring you out of this land, unto the land which he
sware unto Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And Joseph took an oath of the
children of Israel and said: God will not fail but visit you: see
therefore that ye carry my bones hence. And so Joseph died, when he
was an hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him and put him
in a chest in Egypt.
The end of the first book of Moses
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Chapters 1-7 |
8-16 |
17-23 |
24-29 |
30-36 |
37-41 |
42-47 |
48-50 |
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