Genesis 47-50
Complete Jewish Bible
47 Then Yosef went in and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers have come from the land of Kena‘an with their flocks, livestock and all their possessions; right now they are in the land of Goshen.” 2 He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh. 3 Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They answered Pharaoh, “Your servants are shepherds, both we and our ancestors,” 4 and added, “We have come to live in the land, because in the land of Kena‘an there is no place to pasture your servant’s flocks, the famine is so severe there. Therefore, please, let your servants live in the land of Goshen.” 5 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Your father and brothers have come to you, 6 and the land of Egypt lies before you. Have your father and brothers live on the best property in the country — let them live in the land of Goshen. Moreover, if you know that some of them are particularly competent, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Yosef then brought in Ya‘akov his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Ya‘akov blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh asked Ya‘akov, “How old are you?” 9 and Ya‘akov replied, “The time of my stay on earth has been 130 years; they have been few and difficult, fewer than the years my ancestors lived.” 10 Then Ya‘akov blessed Pharaoh and left his presence.
(vii) 11 Yosef found a place for his father and brothers and gave them property in the land of Egypt, in the best region of the country, in the land of Ra‘amses, as Pharaoh had ordered. 12 Yosef provided food for his father, his brothers and all his father’s household, taking full care of even the youngest.
13 There was no food anywhere, for the famine was very severe, so that both Egypt and Kena‘an grew weak from hunger. 14 Yosef collected all the money there was in Egypt and Kena‘an in exchange for the grain they bought, and put the money in Pharaoh’s treasury. 15 When all the money in Egypt had been spent, and likewise in Kena‘an, all the Egyptians approached Yosef and said, “Give us something to eat, even though we have no money; why should we die before your eyes?” 16 Yosef replied, “Give me your livestock. If you don’t have money, I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.” 17 So they brought Yosef their livestock; and Yosef gave them food in exchange for the horses, flocks, cattle and donkeys — all that year he provided them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they approached Yosef again and said to him, “We won’t hide from my lord that all our money is spent, and the herds of livestock belong to my lord. We have nothing left, as my lord can see, but our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for food, and we and our land will be enslaved to Pharaoh. But also give us seed to plant, so that we can stay alive and not die, and so that the land won’t become barren.” 20 So Yosef acquired all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh, as one by one the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine weighed on them so severely. Thus the land became the property of Pharaoh. 21 As for the people, he reduced them to serfdom city by city, from one end of Egypt’s territory to the other. 22 Only the priests’ land did he not acquire, because the priests were entitled to provisions from Pharaoh, and they ate from what Pharaoh provided them; therefore they did not sell their land.
23 Then Yosef said to the people, “As of today I have acquired you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you to sow the land. 24 When harvest time comes, you are to give twenty percent to Pharaoh; eighty percent will be yours to keep for seed to plant in the fields, as well as for your food and for that of your households and your little ones.”
(Maftir) 25 They replied, “You have saved our lives! So if it pleases my lord, we will be Pharaoh’s slaves.” 26 Yosef made it a law for the country of Egypt, valid to this day, that Pharaoh should have twenty percent. Only the property belonging to the priests did not become Pharaoh’s.
27 Isra’el lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. They acquired possessions in it and were productive, and their numbers multiplied greatly.
Haftarah Vayigash: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 37:15–28
B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayigash: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 13–15)
Parashah 12: Vayechi (He lived) 47:28–50:26
28 Ya‘akov lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; thus Ya‘akov lived to be 147 years old. 29 The time came when Isra’el was approaching death; so he called for his son Yosef and said to him, “If you truly love me, please put your hand under my thigh and pledge that, out of consideration for me, you will not bury me in Egypt. 30 Rather, when I sleep with my fathers, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.” He replied, “I will do as you have said.” 31 He said, “Swear it to me,” and he swore to him. Then Isra’el bowed down at the head of his bed.
48 Awhile later someone told Yosef that his father was ill. He took with him his two sons, M’nasheh and Efrayim. 2 Ya‘akov was told, “Here comes your son Yosef.” Isra’el gathered his strength and sat up in bed. 3 Ya‘akov said to Yosef, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in the land of Kena‘an and blessed me, 4 saying to me, ‘I will make you fruitful and numerous. I will make of you a group of peoples; and I will give this land to your descendants to possess forever.’ 5 Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Efrayim and M’nasheh will be as much mine as Re’uven and Shim‘on are. 6 The children born to you after them will be yours, but for purposes of inheritance they are to be counted with their older brothers.
7 “Now as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died suddenly, as we were traveling through the land of Kena‘an, while we were still some distance from Efrat; so I buried her there on the way to Efrat (also known as Beit-Lechem).”
8 Then Isra’el noticed Yosef’s sons and asked, “Whose are these?” 9 Yosef answered his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” Ya‘akov replied, “I want you to bring them here to me, so that I can bless them.” (ii) 10 Now Isra’el’s eyes were dim with age, so that he could not see. Yosef brought his sons near to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 Isra’el said to Yosef, “I never expected to see even you again, but God has allowed me to see your children too!” 12 Yosef brought them out from between his legs and prostrated himself on the ground. 13 Then Yosef took them both, Efrayim in his right hand toward Isra’el’s left hand and M’nasheh in his left hand toward Isra’el’s right hand, and brought them near to him. 14 But Isra’el put out his right hand and laid it on the head of the younger one, Efrayim, and put his left hand on the head of M’nasheh — he intentionally crossed his hands, even though M’nasheh was the firstborn. 15 Then he blessed Yosef: “The God in whose presence my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak lived, the God who has been my own shepherd all my life long to this day, 16 the angel who has rescued me from all harm, bless these boys. May they remember who I am and what I stand for, and likewise my fathers Avraham and Yitz’chak, who they were and what they stood for. And may they grow into teeming multitudes on the earth.”
(iii) 17 When Yosef saw that his father was laying his right hand on Efrayim’s head, it displeased him, and he lifted up his father’s hand to remove it from Efrayim’s head and place it instead on M’nasheh’s head. 18 Yosef said to his father, “Don’t do it that way, my father; for this one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know that, my son, I know it. He too will become a people, and he too will be great; nevertheless his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will grow into many nations.” 20 Then he added this blessing on them that day: “Isra’el will speak of you in their own blessings by saying, ‘May God make you like Efrayim and M’nasheh.’” Thus he put Efrayim ahead of M’nasheh.
21 Isra’el then said to Yosef, “You see that I am dying, but God will be with you and will bring you back to the land of your ancestors. 22 Moreover, I am giving to you a sh’khem [shoulder, ridge, share, city of Sh’khem] more than to your brothers; I captured it from the Emori with my sword and bow.”
49 (iv) Then Ya‘akov called for his sons and said,
“Gather yourselves together, and I will tell you
what will happen to you in the acharit-hayamim.
2 Assemble yourselves and listen, sons of Ya‘akov;
pay attention to Isra’el your father.
3 “Re’uven, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the firstfruits of my manhood.
4 Though superior in vigor and power
you are unstable as water, so your superiority will end,
because you climbed into your father’s bed
and defiled it — he climbed onto my concubine’s couch!
5 “Shim‘on and Levi are brothers,
related by weapons of violence.
6 Let me not enter their council,
let my honor not be connected with their people;
for in their anger they killed men,
and at their whim they maimed cattle.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it has been fierce;
their fury, for it has been cruel.
I will divide them in Ya‘akov
and scatter them in Isra’el.
8 “Y’hudah, your brothers will acknowledge you,
your hand will be on the neck of your enemies,
your father’s sons will bow down before you.
9 Y’hudah is a lion’s cub;
my son, you stand over the prey.
He crouches down and stretches like a lion;
like a lioness, who dares to provoke him?
10 The scepter will not pass from Y’hudah,
nor the ruler’s staff from between his legs,
until he comes to whom [obedience] belongs; [a]
and it is he whom the peoples will obey.
11 Tying his donkey to the vine,
his donkey’s colt to the choice grapevine,
he washes his clothes in wine,
his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
his teeth whiter than milk.
13 “Z’vulun will live at the seashore,
with ships anchoring along his coast
and his border at Tzidon.
14 “Yissakhar is a strong donkey
lying down in the sheep sheds.
15 On seeing how good is settled life
and how pleasant the country,
he will bend his back to the burden,
and submit to forced labor.
16 “Dan will judge his people
as one of the tribes of Isra’el.
17 Dan will be a viper on the road,
a horned snake in the path
that bites the horse’s heels
so its rider falls off backward.
18 I wait for your deliverance, Adonai.
(v) 19 “Gad [troop]— a troop will troop on him,
but he will troop on their heel.
20 “Asher’s food is rich —
he will provide food fit for a king.
21 “Naftali is a doe set free
that bears beautiful fawns. [b]
22 “Yosef is a fruitful plant,
a fruitful plant by a spring,
with branches climbing over the wall.
23 The archers attacked him fiercely,
shooting at him and pressing him hard;
24 but his bow remained taut;
and his arms were made nimble
by the hands of the Mighty One of Ya‘akov,
from there, from the Shepherd, the Stone of Isra’el,
25 by the God of your father, who will help you,
by El Shaddai, who will bless you
with blessings from heaven above,
blessings from the deep, lying below,
blessings from the breasts and the womb.
26 The blessings of your father are more powerful
than the blessings of my parents,
extending to the farthest of the everlasting hills;
they will be on the head of Yosef,
on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
(vi) 27 “Binyamin is a ravenous wolf,
in the morning devouring the prey,
in the evening still dividing the spoil.”
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Isra’el, and this is how their father spoke to them and blessed them, giving each his own individual blessing.
29 Then he charged them as follows: “I am to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave that is in the field of ‘Efron the Hitti, 30 the cave in the field of Makhpelah, by Mamre, in the land of Kena‘an, which Avraham bought together with the field from ‘Efron the Hitti as a burial-place belonging to him — 31 there they buried Avraham and his wife Sarah, there they buried Yitz’chak and his wife Rivkah, and there I buried Le’ah — 32 the field and the cave in it, which was purchased from the sons of Het.”
33 When Ya‘akov had finished charging his sons, he drew his legs up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.
50 Yosef fell on his father’s face, wept over him and kissed him. 2 Then Yosef ordered the physicians in his service to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Isra’el. 3 Forty days were spent at this, the normal amount of time for embalming. Then the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
4 When the period of mourning was over, Yosef addressed to the household of Pharaoh: “I would like to ask a favor. Tell Pharaoh, 5 ‘My father had me swear an oath. He said, “I am going to die. You are to bury me in my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Kena‘an.” Therefore, I beg you, let me go up and bury my father; I will return.’” 6 Pharaoh responded, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Yosef went up to bury his father. With him went all Pharaoh’s servants, the leaders of his household and the leaders of the land of Egypt, 8 along with the entire household of Yosef, his brothers and his father’s household; only their little ones, their flocks and their cattle did they leave in the land of Goshen. 9 Moreover, there went up with him both chariots and horsemen — it was a very large caravan.
10 When they arrived at the threshing-floor in Atad, beyond the Yarden, they raised a loud and bitter lamentation, mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the local inhabitants, the Kena‘ani, saw the mourning on the floor of Atad they said, “How bitterly the Egyptians are mourning!” This is why the place was given the name Avel-Mitzrayim [mourning of Egypt], there beyond the Yarden.
12 His sons did to him as he had ordered them to do — 13 they carried him into the land of Kena‘an and buried him in the cave in the field of Makhpelah, which Avraham had bought, along with the field, as a burial-place belonging to him, from ‘Efron the Hitti, by Mamre.
14 Then, after burying his father, Yosef returned to Egypt, he, his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.
15 Realizing that their father was dead, Yosef’s brothers said, “Yosef may hate us now and pay us back in full for all the suffering we caused him.” 16 So they sent a message to Yosef which said, “Your father gave this order before he died: 17 ‘Say to Yosef, “I beg you now, please forgive your brothers’ crime and wickedness in doing you harm.”’ So now, we beg of you, forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father.” Yosef wept when they spoke to him; 18 and his brothers too came, prostrated themselves before him and said, “Here, we are your slaves.” 19 But Yosef said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Am I in the place of God? 20 You meant to do me harm, but God meant it for good — so that it would come about as it is today, with many people’s lives being saved. (vii) 21 So don’t be afraid — I will provide for you and your little ones.” In this way he comforted them, speaking kindly to them.
22 Yosef continued living in Egypt, he and his father’s household. Yosef lived 110 years. (Maftir) 23 Yosef lived to see Efrayim’s great-grandchildren, and the children of M’nasheh’s son Makhir were born on Yosef’s knees.
24 Yosef said to his brothers, “I am dying. But God will surely remember you and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Avraham, Yitz’chak and Ya‘akov.” 25 Then Yosef took an oath from the sons of Isra’el: “God will surely remember you, and you are to carry my bones up from here.” 26 So Yosef died at the age of 110, and they embalmed him and put him in a coffin in Egypt.
Haftarah Vayechi: M’lakhim Alef (1 Kings) 2:1–12
B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayechi: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 15–16); Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 11:21–22; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:3–9; 2:11–17
Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!
Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!
Notas al pie
- Genesis 49:10 or: until Shiloh comes
- Genesis 49:21 or: that says beautiful words.
Bereshis 47-50
Orthodox Jewish Bible
47 Then Yosef came and told Pharaoh, and said, Avi and my achim, and their tzon, and their bakar, and all that they have, are come out of Eretz Kena’an; and they are now in Eretz Goshen.
2 And he took some of his achim, even five anashim, and presented them unto Pharaoh.
3 And Pharaoh said unto his achim, What is your occupation? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy avadim are roeh tzon, both we, and also Avoteinu.
4 They said morever unto Pharaoh, For to sojourn in the land are we come; for thy avadim have no mireh (pasture) for their tzon; for the ra’av (famine) is heavy in Eretz Kena’an; now therefore, let now thy avadim dwell in Eretz Goshen.
5 And Pharaoh spoke unto Yosef, saying, Avicha and acheicha are come unto thee;
6 Eretz Mitzrayim is before thee; in the best of the land make avicha and acheicha to dwell; in Eretz Goshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any anshei chayil among them, then make them sarei mikneh (royal overseers of livestock) of mine.
7 And Yosef brought in Ya’akov aviv, and set him before Pharaoh; and Ya’akov made on Pharaoh a brocha.
8 And Pharaoh said unto Ya’akov, How old art thou?
9 And Ya’akov said unto Pharaoh, The days of the shanim of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty shanah; few and bad have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my avot in the days of their pilgrimage.
10 And Ya’akov made a brocha on Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh.
11 And Yosef settled aviv and his achim, and gave them an achuzzah (possession) in Eretz Mitzrayim, in the best of the land, in Eretz Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
12 And Yosef provided for aviv, and his achim, and kol bais aviv, with lechem, according to the children.
13 And there was no lechem in kol ha’aretz; for the ra’av was very heavy, so that Eretz Mitzrayim and kol Eretz Kena’an fainted by reason of the ra’av (famine).
14 And Yosef gathered up all the kesef that was found in the Eretz Mitzrayim, and in Eretz Kena’an, for the shever (grain) which they bought; and Yosef brought the kesef into Bais Pharaoh (Pharaoh’s palace).
15 And when kesef failed in Eretz Mitzrayim, and in Eretz Kena’an, kol Mitzrayim came unto Yosef, and said, Give us lechem; for why should we die in thy presence? For the kesef is gone.
16 And Yosef said, Give your mikneh; and I will give you for your mikneh, if kesef is gone.
17 And they brought their mikneh unto Yosef; and Yosef gave them lechem in exchange for susim, and for the tzon, and for the mikneh of the bakar, and for the chamorim; and he fed them lechem for all their mikneh for that year.
18 When that year was ended, they came unto him the shanah hashenit, and said unto him, We will not hide it from adoni, how that our kesef is spent; adoni also hath our mikneh of behemah; there is not ought left in the sight of adoni, but geviyyatenu (our bodies), and adematenu (our lands);
19 Why shall we die before thine eyes, both we and adematenu? Buy us and adematenu for lechem, and we and adematenu will be avadim unto Pharaoh; and give us zera, that we may live, and not die, that the adamah be not desolate.
20 And Yosef bought kol Admat Mitzrayim for Pharaoh; for the Mitzrayim sold every ish his sadeh, because the ra’av (famine) was chazak over them; so the land became Pharaoh’s.
21 And as for the people, he removed them to cities from one end of the borders of Mitzrayim even to the other end thereof.
22 Only the admat hakohanim bought he not; for the kohanim had a chok assigned them of Pharaoh, and did eat their chok which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they sold not their lands.
23 Then Yosef said unto the people, See, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh: lo, here is zera for you, and ye shall sow the adamah.
24 And it shall come to pass in the tevu’ot, that ye shall give the fifth part unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for zera of the sadeh, and for your ochel, and for them of your batim, and for food for your children.
25 And they said, Thou hast saved our lives; let us find chen (grace, favor) in the sight of adoni, and we will be avadim to Pharaoh.
26 And Yosef made it a chok over Eretz Mitzrayim unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth part, except the admat hakohanim only, which became not Pharaoh’s.
27 And Yisroel settled in Eretz Mitzrayim, in Eretz Goshen; and they acquired property therein, and grew, and multiplied exceedingly.
[VAYAHI]
28 And Ya’akov lived in Eretz Mitzrayim seventeen shanah; so the whole age of Ya’akov was a hundred forty and seven shanah.
29 And the time drew near that Yisroel must die; and he called bno Yosef, and said unto him, If now I have found chen in thy sight, put, now, thy yad under my thigh, and do chesed and emes with me; bury me not, now, in Mitzrayim;
30 But I will lie with my avot, and thou shalt carry me out of Mitzrayim, and bury me in their kever. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he swore unto him. And Yisroel prostrated toward the rosh hamittah.
48 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Yosef, Hinei, Avicha is choleh (ill); and he took with him his two banim, Menasheh and Ephrayim.
2 And one told Ya’akov, and said, Hinei, the ben of thee Yosef cometh unto thee; and Yisroel strengthened himself, and sat up upon the mittah (bed).
3 And Ya’akov said unto Yosef, El Shaddai appeared unto me at Luz in Eretz Kena’an, and made on me a brocha,
4 And said unto me, Hineni, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a kehal of ammim; and will give HaAretz Hazot to thy zera after thee for an achuzzat olam (everlasting possession).
5 And now thy two banim, Ephrayim and Menasheh, which were born unto thee in Eretz Mitzrayim before I came unto thee into Mitzrayim, are mine; like Reuven and Shimon, they shall be mine.
6 And thy moledet, which are born to thee after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the shem of their achim in their nachalah.
7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in Eretz Kena’an in the way, when there was yet but a space of land to go unto Ephratah; and I buried her there by the derech Ephrat; the same is Beit-Lechem.
8 And Yisroel beheld Bnei Yosef, and said, Who are these?
9 And Yosef said unto aviv, They are my banim, whom Elohim hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, now, unto me, and I will make upon them a brocha.
10 Now the eyes of Yisroel were dim from age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Yisroel said unto Yosef, I never expected to see thy face; and, hinei, Elohim hath showed me also thy zera.
12 And Yosef brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the ground.
13 And Yosef took them both, Ephrayim in his yamin toward smol Yisroel, and Menasheh on his smol toward yamin Yisroel, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Yisroel stretched out his yamin, and laid it upon rosh Ephraim, who was the younger, and his smol upon rosh Manasseh, guiding his hands intentionally; for Menasheh was the bechor.
15 And he made on Yosef a brocha, and said, HaElohim, before whom my Avot Avraham and Yitzchak did walk, HaElohim Who was Roeh to me all my life long unto this day,
16 The Malach which redeemed me from kol rah, may he make a brocha on the ne’arim, and let my shem be named on them, and the shem of my Avot Avraham and Yitzchak; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of ha’aretz.
17 And when Yosef saw that aviv laid his yamin upon the rosh Ephrayim, it displeased him; and he took hold of yad aviv, to remove it from rosh Ephrayim unto rosh Menasheh.
18 And Yosef said unto aviv, Not so, Avi; for this is the bechor; put thy yamin upon his rosh.
19 And aviv refused, and said, I know it, beni (my son), I know it; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly achiv hakaton shall be greater than he, and his zera shall become a multitude of Goyim.
20 And he made a brocha on them that day, saying, In thee shall Yisroel bless, saying, Elohim make thee like Ephrayim and like Menasheh; and he set Ephrayim before Menasheh.
21 And Yisroel said unto Yosef, Hinei I die; but Elohim shall be with you, and bring you back unto the Eretz Avoteichem.
22 Moreover, I have given to thee one portion above thy achim, which I took out of the yad HaEmori with my cherev and with my keshet.
49 And Ya’akov called unto his banim, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the acharit hayamim (last days).
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye Bnei Ya’akov; and pay heed unto Yisroel Avichem.
3 Reuven, thou art my bechor, my koach, and the reshit of my strength, the excellency of honor, and excellency of oz (power):
4 Unstable as mayim, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to mishkevei avicha (thy father’s bed, i.e. incest); then defiledst thou it; he went up to my couch.
5 Shimon and Levi are achim; kelei chamas (instruments of violence) are in their swords.
6 O my nefesh, enter not thou into their sod (secret, council); unto their kehal, mine kavod, be not thou united; for in their anger they slaughtered ish, and in their ratzon (self-will) they lamed shor (ox).
7 Arur (cursed) be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel; I will dispense them in Ya’akov, and scatter them in Yisroel.
8 Yehudah, thou art he whom thy achim yoducha (they will praise you); thy yad shall be in the oref (neck) of thine enemies; Bnei Avicha shall bow down before thee.
9 Yehudah is the cub of an aryeh (lion); from the prey, beni (my son), thou hast gone up; he stooped down, he couched like an aryeh, and like a lioness; who shall rouse him?
10 The shevet (sceptre) shall not depart from Yehudah, nor a Mekhokek (Lawgiver) from between his raglayim, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall be the obedience of the amim (peoples, nations).
11 He ties his foal unto the gefen (vine), and his donkey’s colt unto the choice vine; he will wash his levush (garments) in yayin, and his robe in the dahm anavim (blood of grapes);
12 His eyes shall be darker with yayin, and his shinayim (teeth) whiter than cholov (milk).
13 Zevulun shall dwell at the seashore; and he shall be a haven for oniyyot (ships); and his border shall be unto Tzidon.
14 Yissakhar is a strong chamor (donkey) lying down between two saddlebags;
15 And he saw that a menuchah (resting place) was tov, and haaretz that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became oved (submitting, enslaved) at forced labor.
16 Dan yadin (shall judge) his people, as one of the Shivtei Yisroel.
17 Dan shall be a nachash beside the derech, a viper along the orach (path) that biteth the ikkvei sus (the horse heels), so that its rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for Thy Yeshuah (Salvation), Hashem.
19 Gad, gedud (raider) shall raid him; but he shall raid akev ([at] the heel).
20 Out of Asher his lechem shall be rich, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a doe let loose; he giveth goodly sayings.
22 Yosef is a ben of a fruittree, even ben of a fruit-tree near an ayin (spring, well); its daughters (i.e., branches) run over the wall;
23 The ba’alei khitzim (archers) provoke him, and shoot at him, and hate him;
24 But his keshet (bow) remained steady, and the arms of his hands remain strong, from the hands of the Avir Ya’akov, from there, from the Ro’eh, Even Yisroel;
25 And from El Avicha, who shall help thee; and Shaddai, who shall make brocha over thee with Birkat Shomayim above, Birkat Tehom that lieth beneath, Birkat Shadayim and of Rekhem.
26 Birkat Avicha surpass the Birkat of my progenitors unto the utmost border of the giveot olam (everlasting hills); they shall come on the rosh Yosef, and on the brow of the Prince among his achim.
27 Binyamin—a ze’ev (wolf) which tears in pieces; in the boker he shall devour the prey, and at erev he shall divide the plunder.
28 All these are the Shivtei Yisroel; and this is it that Avichem spoke unto them, and made a brocha on them; every one according to his brocha he blessed them.
29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with Avotai in the me’arah (cave) that is in the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti,
30 In the me’arah that is in the sadeh of Machpelah, which is near Mamre, in Eretz Kena’an, which Avraham bought with the sadeh of Ephron the Chitti for an achuzzat kever (burial estate).
31 There they buried Avraham and Sarah his isha; there they buried Yitzchak and Rivkah his isha; and there I buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the sadeh and of the me’arah (cave) that is therein was from the Bnei Chet (Heth).
33 And when Ya’akov had made an end of commanding his banim, he gathered up his raglayim into the mittah, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.
50 And Yosef fell upon the face of Aviv, and wept over him, and kissed him.
2 And Yosef commanded his avadim the rofe’im (physicians) to embalm Aviv; and the rofe’im embalmed Yisroel.
3 And arba’im yom were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed; and the Mitzra’im mourned for him shivim yom (seventy days).
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Yosef spoke unto the Bais Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found chen in your eyes, speak, now, in the oznayim of Pharaoh, saying,
5 Avi made me swear, saying, Hinei, I die; in my kever which I dug for myself in Eretz Kana’an, there shalt thou bury me. Therefore let me go up, now, and bury Avi, and I will return.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury Avicha, according as he made thee swear.
7 And Yosef went up to bury Aviv; and with him went up all the avadim of Pharaoh, the zekenim of his Bais, and all the zekenim of Eretz Mitzrayim,
8 And kol Bais Yosef, and his achim, and Bais Aviv; only their little ones, and their tzon, and their bakar (cattle), they left in Eretz Goshen.
9 And there went up with him both merkavot and parashim; and it was a very great machaneh.
10 And they came to the goren (threshing floor) of Atad, which is beyond the Yarden, and there they mourned with a gadol and very bitter lamentation; and he made evel (mourning) for Aviv shivat yamim.
11 And when the inhabitants of HaAretz, the Kena’ani, saw the evel (mourning) in the goren Atad, they said, This is a grievous evel to the Mitzrayim; therefore the shem of it was called Evel Mitzrayim. It is beyond the Yarden.
12 And his [Ya’akov’s] banim did unto him according as he commanded them;
13 For his banim carried him into Eretz Kena’an, and buried him in the me’arah (cave) of the sadeh of Machpelah, near Mamre, the sadeh which Avraham had bought for an achuzzat kever (burial estate) and made the purchase from Ephron the Chitti.
14 And, after burying Aviv, Yosef returned into Mitzrayim, he, and his achim, and all that went up with him to bury Aviv.
15 And when the Achei Yosef (the brothers of Yosef) saw that Avihem was dead, they said, What if Yosef will hate us, and will certainly requite us all the ra’ah which we did unto him.
16 And they sent word unto Yosef, saying, Avicha did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Yosef, Forgive, now, the peysha of thy achim, and their chattat; for they did unto thee ra’ah; and now, forgive the peysha of the Avdei Elohei Avicha. And Yosef wept when they spoke unto him.
18 And his achim also went and fell down before him; and they said, Behold us, we are thy avadim.
19 And Yosef said unto them, Fear not; for am I in the place of Elohim?
20 But as for you, ye intended ra’ah against me; but Elohim intended it for tovah, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save Am Rav (much people) alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not; I will provide for you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spoke kindly unto their hearts.
22 And Yosef dwelt in Mitzrayim, he, and Bais Aviv; and Yosef lived one hundred and ten shanim.
23 And Yosef saw Ephraim’s bnei shileshim (children to the third generation); also the Bnei Machir Ben Menasheh were brought up upon the birkei Yosef (knees of Yosef).
24 And Yosef said unto his achim, I die; and Elohim will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto HaAretz which He promised by oath to Avraham, to Yitzchak, and to Ya’akov.
25 And Yosef made the Bnei Yisroel take an oath, saying, Elohim will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my atzmot from hence.
26 So Yosef died, being in age one hundred and ten shanim; and they embalmed him, and he was placed in an aron in Mitzrayim.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International