Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

² In a vision at night God called to Isra’el, “Ya‘akov! Ya‘akov!” He answered, “Here I am.” ³ He said, “I am God, the God of your father. Don’t be afraid to go down to Egypt. It is there that I will make you into a great nation. ⁴ Not only will I go down with you to Egypt; but I will also bring you back here again, after Yosef has closed your eyes.”

⁵ So Ya‘akov left Be’er-Sheva; the sons of Isra’el brought Ya‘akov their father, their little ones and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry them. ⁶ They took their cattle and their possessions which they had acquired in the land of Kena‘an and arrived in Egypt, Ya‘akov and all his descendants with him — ⁷ his sons, grandsons, daughters, granddaughters and all his descendants he brought with him into Egypt.

⁸ These are the names of Isra’el’s children who came into Egypt, Ya‘akov and his sons: Re’uven Ya‘akov’s firstborn; ⁹ and the sons of Re’uven — Hanokh, Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi.

¹⁰ The sons of Shim‘on: Y’mu’el, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin, Tzochar and Sha’ul the son of a Kena‘ani woman.

¹¹ The sons of Levi: Gershon, K’hat and M’rari.

¹² The sons of Y’hudah: ‘Er, Onan, Shelah, Peretz and Zerach; but ‘Er and Onan died in the land of Kena‘an. The sons of Peretz were Hetzron and Hamul.

¹³ The sons of Yissakhar: Tola, Puvah, Yov and Shimron.

¹⁴ The sons of Z’vulun: Sered, Elon and Yachle’el.

¹⁵ These were the children of Le’ah whom she bore to Ya‘akov in Paddan-Aram, with his daughter Dinah. In sum, his sons and daughters numbered thirty-three.

¹⁶ The sons of Gad: Tzifyon, Haggi, Shuni, Etzbon, ‘Eri, Arodi and Ar’eli.

¹⁷ The children of Asher: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, B’ri‘ah, and their sister Serach. The sons of B’ri‘ah were Hever and Malki’el.

¹⁸ These were the children of Zilpah, whom Lavan gave to Le’ah his daughter; she bore them to Ya‘akov — sixteen people.

¹⁹ The sons of Rachel Ya‘akov’s wife: Yosef and Binyamin.

²⁰ To Yosef in the land of Egypt were born M’nasheh and Efrayim, whom Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore to him.

²¹ The sons of Binyamin: Bela, Bekher, Ashbel, Gera, Na‘aman, Echi, Rosh, Mupim, Hupim and Ard.

²² These were the children of Rachel who were born to Ya‘akov — in sum, fourteen people.

²³ The sons of Dan: Hushim.

²⁴ The sons of Naftali: Yachtze’el, Guni, Yetzer and Shillem.

²⁵ These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter; she bore them to Ya‘akov — in sum, seven people.

²⁶ All the people belonging to Ya‘akov coming into Egypt, his direct descendants (not counting Ya‘akov’s sons’ wives), totaled sixty-six. ²⁷ The sons of Yosef, born to him in Egypt, were two in number. Thus all the people in Ya‘akov’s family who entered Egypt numbered seventy.

(vi) ²⁸ Ya‘akov sent Y’hudah ahead of him to Yosef, so that the latter might guide him on the road to Goshen; thus they arrived in the land of Goshen. ²⁹ Yosef prepared his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet Isra’el his father. He presented himself to him, embraced him and wept on his neck for a long time. ³⁰ Then Isra’el said to Yosef, “Now I can die, because I have seen your face and seen that you are still alive.”

³¹ Yosef said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I’m going up to tell Pharaoh. I’ll say to him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Kena‘an, have come to me. ³² The men are shepherds and keepers of livestock; they have brought their flocks, their herds and all their possessions.’ ³³ Now when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ ³⁴ tell him, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth until now, both we and our ancestors.’ This will ensure that you will live in the land of Goshen — for any shepherd is abhorrent to the Egyptians.”

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.

³⁰ Yeshua also said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God? What illustration should we use to describe it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed, which, when planted, is the smallest of all the seeds in the field; ³² but after it has been planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all the plants, with such big branches that the birds flying about can build nests in its shade.”

³³ With many parables like these he spoke the message to them, to the extent that they were capable of hearing it. ³⁴ He did not say a thing to them without using a parable; when he was alone with his own talmidim he explained everything to them.