Beginning

48 And so when these things were done, it was told to Joseph, that his father was sick. And he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and he disposed him to go. (And so after that these things were done, it was told to Joseph, that his father was sick. And he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and he went to him.)

² And it was said to the eld man, Lo! thy son Joseph cometh to thee; which was comforted (who was strengthened), and sat up in the bed.

³ And when Joseph entered to him, he said, Almighty God appeared to me in Luz (Almighty God appeared to me at Luz), which is in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,

⁴ and (he) said, I shall increase thee, and multiply thee, and I shall make thee into companies of peoples, and I shall give to thee this land, and to thy seed after thee, into everlasting possession (and I shall give this land to thee, and to thy descendants after thee, for an everlasting possession).

⁵ Therefore thy two sons, that be born to thee in the land of Egypt, before that I came hither to thee, shall be mine; Ephraim and Manasseh, as Reuben and Simeon, shall be areckoned to me (Ephraim and Manasseh, just like Reuben and Simeon, shall be reckoned as mine);

⁶ forsooth the others which thou shalt beget after them shall be thine; and they shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions (and they shall be called after the names of their brothers in their inheritance).

⁷ Forsooth when I came from Mesopotamia, Rachel was dead to me in the land of Canaan, in that way; and it was the beginning of summer; and (before that) I entered into Ephratah, and I buried her beside the way of Ephratah, which by another name is called Bethlehem. (And when I came from Paddan-aram, Rachel died, and left me on the way, in the land of Canaan; and it was the beginning of summer; and before that I entered into Ephrath, I buried her beside the way to Ephrath, which by another name is called Bethlehem.)

⁸ Forsooth Jacob saw the sons of Joseph, and said to him, Who be these?

⁹ He answered, They be my sons, which God gave me in this place (whom God gave to me in this place). Jacob said, Bring them to me, (so) that I bless them.

¹⁰ For the eyes of Israel dimmed for great eld (age), and he might not see clearly; and he kissed and embraced those children joined to him, (And Jacob’s eyes had dimmed because of great old age, and he could not see clearly; and when the boys were brought close to him, he kissed them, and embraced them,)

¹¹ and he said to his son, I am not defrauded of thy sight; furthermore God hath showed to me thy seed. (and he said to his son, I am no longer deprived of the sight of you; and even more, God hath showed me thy children.)

¹² And when Joseph had taken them from his father’s lap, he worshipped low to the earth (he bowed low to the ground).

¹³ And he set Ephraim on his right side, that is, on the left side of Israel; forsooth he set Manasseh on his left side, that is, on the right side of his father; and he joined both to him. (And he put Ephraim on his right side, that is, on Jacob’s left side; and he put Manasseh on his left side, that is, on his father’s right side; and he brought them both close to him.)

¹⁴ Which held forth the right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, the younger brother; soothly he laid his left hand on Manasseh’s head, that was the more through birth. Jacob changed his hands, (And Jacob put forth his right hand, and laid it on Ephraim’s head, the younger brother; and he laid his left hand on Manasseh’s head, who was the elder. Jacob had crossed his hands,)

¹⁵ and blessed his son Joseph^[a], and said, God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac went; God that feedeth me from my young waxing age till into this present day; (and then he blessed his son Joseph, and said, May God, in whose sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked; the God who hath fed me from my young age unto this present day;)

¹⁶ the angel that delivered me from all evils, bless these children, and my name be called on them, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and wax they in multitude on (the) earth. (yea, the Angel who delivered me from every evil, bless these boys, and may they be called by my name, and the names of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.)

¹⁷ Forsooth Joseph saw that his father had set his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and he took that heavily, and he endeavoured him(self) to raise his father’s hand, and take it from the head of Ephraim, and to bear it over upon the head of Manasseh. (And Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, and he was displeased, and he endeavoured to raise up his father’s hand, and take it from Ephraim’s head, and to bear it over onto Manasseh’s head.)

¹⁸ And Joseph said to his father, Father, it accordeth not so; for this is the first begotten (for Manasseh is the first-born); set thy right hand on his head.

¹⁹ Which forsook to do so, and said, I know, my son, I know; and soothly this child shall be into peoples (and truly this child shall become a people), and he shall be multiplied; but his younger brother shall be more than he, and his seed shall increase into (a multitude of) folks, (or into a multitude of nations).

²⁰ And he blessed them in that time, and said, Israel shall be blessed in thee, Joseph, and it shall be said, God do to thee as to Ephraim and as to Manasseh. And he set Ephraim before Manasseh; (And he blessed them at that time, and said, When they say a blessing in Israel, they shall say, God do to thee as to Ephraim and Manasseh. And so he put Ephraim before Manasseh;)

²¹ and (Jacob) said to Joseph, his son, Lo! I die, and God shall be with you, and shall lead you again to the land of your fathers; (and Jacob said to his son Joseph, Lo! soon I shall die, but God shall be with you, and he shall lead you back to the land of your fathers;)

²² (and now) I give to thee one part over thy brethren, which I took from the hand of Amorite, in my sword and bow. (and now I give thee one more portion than what thy brothers have, which I took from the hands of the Amorites, with my sword and my bow.)

49 Forsooth Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Be ye gathered together, that I tell what things shall come to you in the last days; (And Jacob called his sons, and said to them, Be ye gathered together, so that I can tell what things shall happen to you in the days to come;)

² be ye gathered [together], and hear, ye sons of Jacob, hear ye Israel your father (listen to your father Israel).

³ Reuben, my first begotten son, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my sorrow; thou oughtest to be the former in gifts, the more in lordship (thou ought to be the first in gifts, and the greatest in power, or in authority);

⁴ (but) thou art shed out as water; wax thou not, for thou ascendedest on the bed of thy father, and defouledest his bed.

⁵ Simeon and Levi, brethren, fighting vessels of wickedness; (Simeon and Levi truly be brothers, and they use their bodies for fighting, and for wickedness;)

⁶ my soul come not into the counsel of them, and my glory be not in the congregation of them; for in their strong vengeance, they killed a man, and in their [own] will, they undermined the wall (for in their anger, they have killed some men, and to make sport, they have wounded some oxen);

⁷ cursed be the strong vengeance of them, for it is obstinate, and the indignation of them, for it is hard; I shall part them in Jacob (I shall divide them in Jacob), and I shall scatter them in Israel.

⁸ Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee, thine hands shall be in the nolls of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee. (Judah, thy brothers shall praise thee, thy hands shall be upon the necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow before thee.)

⁹ Judah, the whelp of a lion; my son, thou hast gone up to the prey; thou restedest, and hast lain as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall raise him? (thou hast rested, and hast lain like a lion, and a lioness, and now who shall dare rouse thee?)

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah, and a duke (out) of his hip (nor a ruler from between his hips, or out of his loins), till he come that shall be sent, and he shall be the abiding of heathen men;

¹¹ and he shall tie his colt at the vinery, and his she-ass at the vine; O! my son, he shall wash his stole in wine, and his mantle in the blood of the grape;

¹² (yea,) his eyes be fairer than wine, and his teeth be whiter than milk.

¹³ Zebulun shall dwell in the brink of the sea, and in the standing of ships; and he shall stretch till to Sidon. (Zebulun shall live at the edge of the sea, and his shore shall be a haven for ships; and he shall reach as far as Sidon.)

¹⁴ Issachar, a strong ass, lying betwixt [the] terms, (Issachar, like a strong donkey, lying between two burdens,)

¹⁵ saw rest, that it was good, and saw the land, that it was best, and he underset his shoulder to bear, and he was made serving to tributes^[b]. (saw that the resting place was good, and that the land was the best, and so he underset his shoulder to carry the burden, and was made to serve as a slave.)

¹⁶ Dan shall deem his people, as also another lineage in Israel. (Dan shall judge, or shall rule, his people, like another tribe in Israel.)

¹⁷ Dan be made a serpent in the way, and (a) cerastes, that is, an horned adder, in the path, and bite he the feet of an horse, that the rider of him fall backward; (Let Dan be made a serpent on the way, and a cerastes, or a horned adder, on the path, and bite he the horse’s feet, so that his rider fall backwards;)

¹⁸ Lord, I shall abide thine health. (Lord, I wait for thy salvation!)

¹⁹ Gad shall be girded, and he shall fight (them) before him, and he shall be girded behind. (Gad shall be girded, and shall be attacked from the front, but he shall fight back from behind.)

²⁰ Asher, his bread shall be fat, and he shall give delights to kings.

²¹ Naphtali shall be an hart sent out, and giving speeches of fairness.

²² Joseph, a son increasing, (yea,) a son increasing, and fair in beholding; [the] daughters run about on the wall (his branches climb up over the wall),

²³ but his brethren wrathed (at) him, and chided him, and they had darts, and had envy to him (and they had arrows, and they envied him).

²⁴ His bow sat in the strong (One), the Lord, and the bonds of his arms and his hands were unbound by the hand of the mighty (God) of Jacob; of him a shepherd went out, the stone of Israel. (But his bow stood strong, and the bonds on his arms, and on his hands, were unbound by the power of the mighty God of Jacob; yea, by his Shepherd, by the Rock of Israel.)

²⁵ (The) God of thy father shall be thine helper, and Almighty God shall bless thee, with blessings of (the) heaven(s) from above (with blessings from heaven above), and with blessings of the sea lying beneath, with blessings of teats, and of the womb;

²⁶ the blessings of thy father be strengthened, that is, be (made) better than the blessings of his fathers, till the desire of (the) everlasting hills came; blessings be made on the head of Joseph, and in the noll of (the) Nazarite, that is, holy, among his brethren (blessings shall rest on Joseph’s head, yea, on the noll of the Nazarite, that is, the one set apart, or the holy one, among his brothers).

²⁷ Benjamin, a ravishing wolf (a ravenous wolf), shall eat the prey early, and in the eventide he shall part (the) spoils.

²⁸ All these were in [the] twelve kindreds of Israel; their father spake these things to them, and he blessed them all by proper blessings, (All these were the twelve tribes, or the twelve families, of Israel; their father spoke these things to them, and he blessed each of them with their own blessings,)

²⁹ and he commanded to them, and said, I am (soon to be) gathered to my people; bury ye me with my fathers in the double den, that is in the land of Ephron (the) Hittite, (and he commanded to them, and said, soon I shall join my people, yea, my ancestors; bury ye me with my fathers in the cave, that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,)

³⁰ (that is, in the den in the field at Machpelah,) against Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which den Abraham bought with the field of Ephron (the) Hittite, into (a) possession of a sepulchre. (that is, in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which cave Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite, for a burial place.)

³¹ There they buried him, and Sarah his wife; also Isaac was buried there, with Rebecca his wife; there also Leah lieth buried. (They buried him there, with his wife Sarah; Isaac was also buried there, with his wife Rebecca; and Leah also lieth buried there.)

³² (This verse is omitted in the original text.)

³³ And when the behests were ended, by which he taught his sons, he gathered together his feet on the bed, and died, and he was put to his people. (And when Jacob had finished giving these prophesies to his sons, he drew his feet up onto the bed, and died, and he joined his ancestors.)

50 Which thing Joseph saw, and he fell on his father’s face, and wept, and kissed him;

² and he commanded his servants, (the) leeches, that they should anoint his father with sweet smelling spiceries. (and he commanded the physicians, his servants, to anoint his father with sweet smelling spices.)

³ While they fulfilled his behests, forty days passed, for this was the custom of dead bodies (that were) anointed; and Egypt bewept him (for) seventy days.

⁴ And when the time of wailing was fulfilled, Joseph spake to the household of Pharaoh, (and said,) If I have found grace in your sight, speak ye in the ears of Pharaoh (If I have found grace before you, speak ye to Pharaoh for me);

⁵ for my father charged me [with (an) oath], and said, Lo! I die; thou shalt bury me in my sepulchre which I digged to me in the land of Canaan; therefore I shall go up that I bury my father, and I shall turn again. (for my father charged me with an oath, and said, Lo! now I die; and thou shalt bury me in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan; and so let me go up now, that I bury my father, and then I shall return.)

⁶ And Pharaoh said to him, Go up, and bury thy father, as thou art charged.

⁷ And when Joseph went up, all the elder men of the house of Pharaoh went with him, and all the greater men in birth of the land of Egypt; (And when Joseph went up, all the elders of Pharaoh’s household, and all the men of great age, that is, the elders, of the land of Egypt, went up with him;)

⁸ (and all) the house of Joseph with their brethren, (but) without (the) little children, and flocks, and great beasts, which they left in the land of Goshen, went with him. (and all of Joseph’s household, and his brothers, went with him, but not their little children, or their flocks, or their great beasts, which they left in the land of Goshen.)

⁹ And he had chariots, and horsemen, and (his) fellowship (with him), and the company was made not little.

¹⁰ And they came to the cornfloor of Atad, which is set over Jordan, where they made the service of the dead body, with great wailing and strong, and filled seven days. (And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, where they held a service for the dead man, with much loud wailing, and filled seven days there.)

¹¹ And when the dwellers of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, This is a (time of) great wailing to the Egyptians; therefore they called the name of that place The wailing of Egypt. (And when the people of the land of Canaan had seen this, they said, This is a time of great wailing, or of great mourning, for the Egyptians; and so they named that place Abelmizraim.)

¹² Therefore the sons of Jacob did, as he had commanded to them; (And so Jacob’s sons did, as he had commanded them;)

¹³ and they bare him into the land of Canaan, and they buried him in the double den, which den with the field Abraham had bought of Ephron (the) Hittite, against the face of Mamre, into possession of a sepulchre. (and they carried his body to the land of Canaan, and they buried him in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, which Abraham had bought for a burial place from Ephron the Hittite.)

¹⁴ And Joseph turned again into Egypt with his brethren and all the fellowship, when his father was buried. (And after his father was buried, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers, and with all of his fellowship.)

¹⁵ And when their father was dead, the brethren of Joseph dreaded, and spake together, (and said,) Lest peradventure he be mindful of the wrong which he suffered, and yield to us all the evil, that we did. (And now that their father was dead, Joseph’s brothers were afraid, and spoke together, and said, Perhaps he shall remember all the wrong, or all the harm, which he suffered because of us, and give back to us all the evil that we did to him, and so we must ask him for mercy.)

¹⁶ And (so) they sent (a message) to him, and said, Thy father commanded to us, before that he died,

¹⁷ that we should say to thee these things by his words; I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brethren, and the sin, and [the] malice that they haunted against thee; also we pray thee, that thou forgive this wickedness (which we did) to thy father, the servant of God. When these things were heard, Joseph wept. (that we should say these words of his to thee; My son, I beseech thee, that thou forget the wickedness of thy brothers, and the sin, and the malice that they did against thee; and we also pray thee, that thou forgive our wickedness, for we, like thee, be servants of the God of thy father. And when Joseph heard this message, he wept.)

¹⁸ And his brethren came to him, and worshipped low to the earth (and bowed low to the ground before him), and said, We be thy servants.

¹⁹ To which he answered, Do not ye dread; whether we may against-stand God’s will? (To whom he answered, Do not ye fear; for can we stand against God’s will?)

²⁰ Ye thought evil of me, and God turned it into good, that he should enhance me, as ye see in this present time, and that he should make safe many peoples; (Ye thought to do evil to me, but God turned it into good, and he used what you did to me to advance me, as ye see at this present time, and by doing so he hath saved many people;)

²¹ do not ye dread (do not ye fear), I shall feed you and your little children. And he comforted them, and spake sweetly and lightly to them;

²² and Joseph dwelled in Egypt, with all the house of his father (and Joseph lived in Egypt, with all of his father’s household, or all of his father’s family). And he lived an hundred [and ten] years,

²³ and he saw the sons of Ephraim till to the third generation; also the sons of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were borne in the knees of Joseph (were brought up on Joseph’s knees).

²⁴ When these things were done, Joseph spake to his brethren, (and said,) After my death God shall visit you, and he shall make you to go up from this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (When these things were done, Joseph said to his brothers, Soon I shall die, but someday, God shall visit you, and he shall lead you out of this land to the land which he promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.)

²⁵ And when Joseph had charged them (with an oath), and had said, God shall visit you, bear ye out with you my bones from this place; (And when Joseph had charged them with an oath, and had said, When God shall visit you, take ye my bones away with you from this place;)

²⁶ he died, when an hundred and ten years of his life were filled (then he died, when he was a hundred and ten years old); and he was anointed with sweet smelling spiceries, and he was kept in a bier in Egypt.