47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, ‘My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan and are now in Goshen.’ He chose five of his brothers and presented them before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh asked the brothers, ‘What is your occupation?’

‘Your servants are shepherds,’ they replied to Pharaoh, ‘just as our fathers were.’ They also said to him, ‘We have come to live here for a while, because the famine is severe in Canaan and your servants’ flocks have no pasture. So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.’

Pharaoh said to Joseph, ‘Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability, put them in charge of my own livestock.’

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed[a] Pharaoh, Pharaoh asked him, ‘How old are you?’

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, ‘The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty. My years have been few and difficult, and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.’ 10 Then Jacob blessed[b] Pharaoh and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land, the district of Rameses, as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.

Joseph and the famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, ‘Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is all gone.’

16 ‘Then bring your livestock,’ said Joseph. ‘I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.’ 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys. And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, ‘We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes – we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.’

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[c] from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests, because they received a fixed allowance from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allowance Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, ‘Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed for you so you can plant the ground. 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.’

25 ‘You have saved our lives,’ they said. ‘May we find favour in the eyes of our lord; we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.’

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt – still in force today – that a fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.

28 Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven. 29 When the time drew near for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and said to him, ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise that you will show me kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers, carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.’

‘I will do as you say,’ he said.

31 ‘Swear to me,’ he said. Then Joseph swore to him, and Israel worshipped as he leaned on the top of his staff.[d]

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, ‘Your father is ill.’ So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him. When Jacob was told, ‘Your son Joseph has come to you,’ Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, ‘God Almighty[e] appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me and said to me, “I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.”

‘Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan,[f] to my sorrow Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath’ (that is, Bethlehem).

When Israel saw the sons of Joseph, he asked, ‘Who are these?’

‘They are the sons God has given me here,’ Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, ‘Bring them to me so that I may bless them.’

10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them and embraced them.

11 Israel said to Joseph, ‘I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too.’

12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees and bowed down with his face to the ground. 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right towards Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left towards Israel’s right hand, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head, though he was the younger, and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said,

‘May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
    all my life to this day,
16 the Angel who has delivered me from all harm
    – may he bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.’

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand on Ephraim’s head he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, ‘No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.’

19 But his father refused and said, ‘I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become a group of nations.’ 20 He blessed them that day and said,

‘In your[g] name will Israel pronounce this blessing:
    “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”’

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, ‘I am about to die, but God will be with you[h] and take you[i] back to the land of your[j] fathers. 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land[k] than to your brothers, the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.’

Jacob blesses his sons

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: ‘Gather round so that I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.

‘Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.

‘Reuben, you are my firstborn,
    my might, the first sign of my strength,
    excelling in honour, excelling in power.
Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.

‘Simeon and Levi are brothers –
    their swords[l] are weapons of violence.
Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,
for they have killed men in their anger
    and hamstrung oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury, so cruel!
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.

‘Judah,[m] your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.
You are a lion’s cub, Judah;
    you return from the prey, my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness – who dares to rouse him?
10 The sceptre will not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[n]
until he to whom it belongs[o] shall come
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
11 He will tether his donkey to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.[p]

13 ‘Zebulun will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend towards Sidon.

14 ‘Issachar is a scrawny[q] donkey
    lying down among the sheepfolds.[r]
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,
he will bend his shoulder to the burden
    and submit to forced labour.

16 ‘Dan[s] will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,
that bites the horse’s heels
    so that its rider tumbles backwards.

18 ‘I look for your deliverance, Lord.

19 ‘Gad[t] will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.

20 ‘Asher’s food will be rich;
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21 ‘Naphtali is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[u]

22 ‘Joseph is a fruitful vine,
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches climb over a wall.[v]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;
    they shot at him with hostility.
24 But his bow remained steady,
    his strong arms stayed[w] supple,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
    because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of your father’s God, who helps you,
    because of the Almighty,[x] who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,
    blessings of the breast and womb.
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than[y] the bounty of the age-old hills.
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,
    on the brow of the prince among[z] his brothers.

27 ‘Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
    in the morning he devours the prey,
    in the evening he divides the plunder.’

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing appropriate to him.

The death of Jacob

29 Then he gave them these instructions: ‘I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my fathers in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah were buried, and there I buried Leah. 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.’[aa]

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him. Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him, taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

When the days of mourning had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court, ‘If I have found favour in your eyes, speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, “My father made me swear an oath and said, ‘I am about to die; bury me in the tomb I dug for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go up and bury my father; then I will return.”’

Pharaoh said, ‘Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.’

So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials accompanied him – the dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egypt – besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household. Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen. Chariots and horsemen[ab] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

10 When they reached the threshing-floor of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly; and there Joseph observed a seven-day period of mourning for his father. 11 When the Canaanites who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing-floor of Atad, they said, ‘The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.’ That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[ac]

12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them: 13 they carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, near Mamre, which Abraham had bought along with the field as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite. 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.

Joseph reassures his brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’ 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, ‘Your father left these instructions before he died: 17 “This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.” Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.’ When their message came to him, Joseph wept.

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. ‘We are your slaves,’ they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.’ And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

The death of Joseph

22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years 23 and saw the third generation of Ephraim’s children. Also the children of Makir son of Manasseh were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[ad]

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘I am about to die. But God will surely come to your aid and take you up out of this land to the land he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath and said, ‘God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones up from this place.’

26 So Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. And after they embalmed him, he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
  2. Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
  3. Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
  4. Genesis 47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed
  5. Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  6. Genesis 48:7 That is, North-west Mesopotamia
  7. Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
  8. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  9. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  10. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  11. Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.
  12. Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  13. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
  14. Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
  15. Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  16. Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
  17. Genesis 49:14 Or strong
  18. Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  19. Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
  20. Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
  21. Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
  22. Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
  23. Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack . . . will shoot . . . will remain . . . will stay
  24. Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
  25. Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
  26. Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
  27. Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth
  28. Genesis 50:9 Or charioteers
  29. Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
  30. Genesis 50:23 That is, were counted as his

47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and brothers, with their flocks and herds and everything they own, have come from the land of Canaan(A) and are now in Goshen.”(B) He chose five of his brothers and presented them(C) before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What is your occupation?”(D)

“Your servants(E) are shepherds,(F)” they replied to Pharaoh, “just as our fathers were.” They also said to him, “We have come to live here for a while,(G) because the famine is severe in Canaan(H) and your servants’ flocks have no pasture.(I) So now, please let your servants settle in Goshen.”(J)

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you, and the land of Egypt is before you; settle(K) your father and your brothers in the best part of the land.(L) Let them live in Goshen. And if you know of any among them with special ability,(M) put them in charge of my own livestock.(N)

Then Joseph brought his father Jacob in and presented him(O) before Pharaoh. After Jacob blessed[a] Pharaoh,(P) Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The years of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty.(Q) My years have been few and difficult,(R) and they do not equal the years of the pilgrimage of my fathers.(S) 10 Then Jacob blessed[b] Pharaoh(T) and went out from his presence.

11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers in Egypt and gave them property in the best part of the land,(U) the district of Rameses,(V) as Pharaoh directed. 12 Joseph also provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to the number of their children.(W)

Joseph and the Famine

13 There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.(X) 14 Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying,(Y) and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.(Z) 15 When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone,(AA) all Egypt came to Joseph(AB) and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes?(AC) Our money is all gone.”

16 “Then bring your livestock,(AD)” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.(AE) 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses,(AF) their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.(AG) And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.

18 When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone(AH) and our livestock belongs to you,(AI) there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land. 19 Why should we perish before your eyes(AJ)—we and our land as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for food,(AK) and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.(AL) Give us seed so that we may live and not die,(AM) and that the land may not become desolate.”

20 So Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold their fields, because the famine was too severe(AN) for them. The land became Pharaoh’s, 21 and Joseph reduced the people to servitude,[c](AO) from one end of Egypt to the other. 22 However, he did not buy the land of the priests,(AP) because they received a regular allotment from Pharaoh and had food enough from the allotment(AQ) Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.

23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land today for Pharaoh, here is seed(AR) for you so you can plant the ground.(AS) 24 But when the crop comes in, give a fifth(AT) of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”

25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “May we find favor in the eyes of our lord;(AU) we will be in bondage to Pharaoh.”(AV)

26 So Joseph established it as a law concerning land in Egypt—still in force today—that a fifth(AW) of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.(AX)

27 Now the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen.(AY) They acquired property there(AZ) and were fruitful and increased greatly in number.(BA)

28 Jacob lived in Egypt(BB) seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.(BC) 29 When the time drew near for Israel(BD) to die,(BE) he called for his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes,(BF) put your hand under my thigh(BG) and promise that you will show me kindness(BH) and faithfulness.(BI) Do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but when I rest with my fathers,(BJ) carry me out of Egypt and bury me where they are buried.”(BK)

“I will do as you say,” he said.

31 “Swear to me,”(BL) he said. Then Joseph swore to him,(BM) and Israel(BN) worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.[d](BO)

Manasseh and Ephraim

48 Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim(BP) along with him. When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel(BQ) rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.

Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty[e](BR) appeared to me at Luz(BS) in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me(BT) and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers.(BU) I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land(BV) as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’(BW)

“Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt(BX) before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine,(BY) just as Reuben(BZ) and Simeon(CA) are mine. Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers. As I was returning from Paddan,[f](CB) to my sorrow(CC) Rachel died in the land of Canaan while we were still on the way, a little distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).(CD)

When Israel(CE) saw the sons of Joseph,(CF) he asked, “Who are these?”

“They are the sons God has given me here,”(CG) Joseph said to his father.

Then Israel said, “Bring them to me so I may bless(CH) them.”

10 Now Israel’s eyes were failing because of old age, and he could hardly see.(CI) So Joseph brought his sons close to him, and his father kissed them(CJ) and embraced them.(CK)

11 Israel(CL) said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face again,(CM) and now God has allowed me to see your children too.”(CN)

12 Then Joseph removed them from Israel’s knees(CO) and bowed down with his face to the ground.(CP) 13 And Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right toward Israel’s left hand and Manasseh on his left toward Israel’s right hand,(CQ) and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel(CR) reached out his right hand and put it on Ephraim’s head,(CS) though he was the younger,(CT) and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, even though Manasseh was the firstborn.(CU)

15 Then he blessed(CV) Joseph and said,

“May the God before whom my fathers
    Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,(CW)
the God who has been my shepherd(CX)
    all my life to this day,
16 the Angel(CY) who has delivered me from all harm(CZ)
    —may he bless(DA) these boys.(DB)
May they be called by my name
    and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,(DC)
and may they increase greatly
    on the earth.”(DD)

17 When Joseph saw his father placing his right hand(DE) on Ephraim’s head(DF) he was displeased; so he took hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to him, “No, my father, this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”(DG)

19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He too will become a people, and he too will become great.(DH) Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he,(DI) and his descendants will become a group of nations.(DJ) 20 He blessed(DK) them that day(DL) and said,

“In your[g] name will Israel(DM) pronounce this blessing:(DN)
    ‘May God make you like Ephraim(DO) and Manasseh.(DP)’”

So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I am about to die, but God will be with you[h](DQ) and take you[i] back to the land of your[j] fathers.(DR) 22 And to you I give one more ridge of land[k](DS) than to your brothers,(DT) the ridge I took from the Amorites with my sword(DU) and my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons(DV)

49 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.(DW)

“Assemble(DX) and listen, sons of Jacob;
    listen to your father Israel.(DY)

“Reuben, you are my firstborn,(DZ)
    my might, the first sign of my strength,(EA)
    excelling in honor,(EB) excelling in power.
Turbulent as the waters,(EC) you will no longer excel,
    for you went up onto your father’s bed,
    onto my couch and defiled it.(ED)

“Simeon(EE) and Levi(EF) are brothers—
    their swords[l] are weapons of violence.(EG)
Let me not enter their council,
    let me not join their assembly,(EH)
for they have killed men in their anger(EI)
    and hamstrung(EJ) oxen as they pleased.
Cursed be their anger, so fierce,
    and their fury,(EK) so cruel!(EL)
I will scatter them in Jacob
    and disperse them in Israel.(EM)

“Judah,[m](EN) your brothers will praise you;
    your hand will be on the neck(EO) of your enemies;
    your father’s sons will bow down to you.(EP)
You are a lion’s(EQ) cub,(ER) Judah;(ES)
    you return from the prey,(ET) my son.
Like a lion he crouches and lies down,
    like a lioness—who dares to rouse him?
10 The scepter will not depart from Judah,(EU)
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,[n]
until he to whom it belongs[o] shall come(EV)
    and the obedience of the nations shall be his.(EW)
11 He will tether his donkey(EX) to a vine,
    his colt to the choicest branch;(EY)
he will wash his garments in wine,
    his robes in the blood of grapes.(EZ)
12 His eyes will be darker than wine,
    his teeth whiter than milk.[p](FA)

13 “Zebulun(FB) will live by the seashore
    and become a haven for ships;
    his border will extend toward Sidon.(FC)

14 “Issachar(FD) is a rawboned[q] donkey
    lying down among the sheep pens.[r](FE)
15 When he sees how good is his resting place
    and how pleasant is his land,(FF)
he will bend his shoulder to the burden(FG)
    and submit to forced labor.(FH)

16 “Dan[s](FI) will provide justice for his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.(FJ)
17 Dan(FK) will be a snake by the roadside,
    a viper along the path,(FL)
that bites the horse’s heels(FM)
    so that its rider tumbles backward.

18 “I look for your deliverance,(FN) Lord.(FO)

19 “Gad[t](FP) will be attacked by a band of raiders,
    but he will attack them at their heels.(FQ)

20 “Asher’s(FR) food will be rich;(FS)
    he will provide delicacies fit for a king.(FT)

21 “Naphtali(FU) is a doe set free
    that bears beautiful fawns.[u](FV)

22 “Joseph(FW) is a fruitful vine,(FX)
    a fruitful vine near a spring,
    whose branches(FY) climb over a wall.[v]
23 With bitterness archers attacked him;(FZ)
    they shot at him with hostility.(GA)
24 But his bow remained steady,(GB)
    his strong arms(GC) stayed[w] limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,(GD)
    because of the Shepherd,(GE) the Rock of Israel,(GF)
25 because of your father’s God,(GG) who helps(GH) you,
    because of the Almighty,[x](GI) who blesses you
with blessings of the skies above,
    blessings of the deep springs below,(GJ)
    blessings of the breast(GK) and womb.(GL)
26 Your father’s blessings are greater
    than the blessings of the ancient mountains,
    than[y] the bounty of the age-old hills.(GM)
Let all these rest on the head of Joseph,(GN)
    on the brow of the prince among[z] his brothers.(GO)

27 “Benjamin(GP) is a ravenous wolf;(GQ)
    in the morning he devours the prey,(GR)
    in the evening he divides the plunder.”(GS)

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel,(GT) and this is what their father said to them when he blessed them, giving each the blessing(GU) appropriate to him.

The Death of Jacob

29 Then he gave them these instructions:(GV) “I am about to be gathered to my people.(GW) Bury me with my fathers(GX) in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite,(GY) 30 the cave in the field of Machpelah,(GZ) near Mamre(HA) in Canaan, which Abraham bought along with the field(HB) as a burial place(HC) from Ephron the Hittite. 31 There Abraham(HD) and his wife Sarah(HE) were buried, there Isaac and his wife Rebekah(HF) were buried, and there I buried Leah.(HG) 32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.[aa](HH)

33 When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed, breathed his last and was gathered to his people.(HI)

50 Joseph threw himself on his father and wept over him and kissed him.(HJ) Then Joseph directed the physicians in his service to embalm his father Israel. So the physicians embalmed him,(HK) taking a full forty days, for that was the time required for embalming. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.(HL)

When the days of mourning(HM) had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s court,(HN) “If I have found favor in your eyes,(HO) speak to Pharaoh for me. Tell him, ‘My father made me swear an oath(HP) and said, “I am about to die;(HQ) bury me in the tomb I dug for myself(HR) in the land of Canaan.”(HS) Now let me go up and bury my father;(HT) then I will return.’”

Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear to do.”

So Joseph went up to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials(HU) accompanied him—the dignitaries of his court(HV) and all the dignitaries of Egypt— besides all the members of Joseph’s household and his brothers and those belonging to his father’s household.(HW) Only their children and their flocks and herds were left in Goshen.(HX) Chariots(HY) and horsemen[ab] also went up with him. It was a very large company.

10 When they reached the threshing floor(HZ) of Atad, near the Jordan, they lamented loudly and bitterly;(IA) and there Joseph observed a seven-day period(IB) of mourning(IC) for his father.(ID) 11 When the Canaanites(IE) who lived there saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “The Egyptians are holding a solemn ceremony of mourning.”(IF) That is why that place near the Jordan is called Abel Mizraim.[ac]

12 So Jacob’s sons did as he had commanded them:(IG) 13 They carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah,(IH) near Mamre,(II) which Abraham had bought along with the field(IJ) as a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.(IK) 14 After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.(IL)

Joseph Reassures His Brothers

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge(IM) against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”(IN) 16 So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions(IO) before he died: 17 ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins(IP) and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’(IQ) Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.(IR)” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.(IS)

18 His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him.(IT) “We are your slaves,”(IU) they said.

19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?(IV) 20 You intended to harm me,(IW) but God intended(IX) it for good(IY) to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.(IZ) 21 So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.(JA)” And he reassured them and spoke kindly(JB) to them.

The Death of Joseph

22 Joseph stayed in Egypt, along with all his father’s family. He lived a hundred and ten years(JC) 23 and saw the third generation(JD) of Ephraim’s(JE) children.(JF) Also the children of Makir(JG) son of Manasseh(JH) were placed at birth on Joseph’s knees.[ad](JI)

24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die.(JJ) But God will surely come to your aid(JK) and take you up out of this land to the land(JL) he promised on oath to Abraham,(JM) Isaac(JN) and Jacob.”(JO) 25 And Joseph made the Israelites swear an oath(JP) and said, “God will surely come to your aid, and then you must carry my bones(JQ) up from this place.”(JR)

26 So Joseph died(JS) at the age of a hundred and ten.(JT) And after they embalmed him,(JU) he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 47:7 Or greeted
  2. Genesis 47:10 Or said farewell to
  3. Genesis 47:21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into the cities
  4. Genesis 47:31 Or Israel bowed down at the head of his bed
  5. Genesis 48:3 Hebrew El-Shaddai
  6. Genesis 48:7 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia
  7. Genesis 48:20 The Hebrew is singular.
  8. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  9. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  10. Genesis 48:21 The Hebrew is plural.
  11. Genesis 48:22 The Hebrew for ridge of land is identical with the place name Shechem.
  12. Genesis 49:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  13. Genesis 49:8 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise.
  14. Genesis 49:10 Or from his descendants
  15. Genesis 49:10 Or to whom tribute belongs; the meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  16. Genesis 49:12 Or will be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
  17. Genesis 49:14 Or strong
  18. Genesis 49:14 Or the campfires; or the saddlebags
  19. Genesis 49:16 Dan here means he provides justice.
  20. Genesis 49:19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders.
  21. Genesis 49:21 Or free; / he utters beautiful words
  22. Genesis 49:22 Or Joseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
  23. Genesis 49:24 Or archers will attack … will shoot … will remain … will stay
  24. Genesis 49:25 Hebrew Shaddai
  25. Genesis 49:26 Or of my progenitors, / as great as
  26. Genesis 49:26 Or of the one separated from
  27. Genesis 49:32 Or the descendants of Heth
  28. Genesis 50:9 Or charioteers
  29. Genesis 50:11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
  30. Genesis 50:23 That is, were counted as his