
{1}1{/}

[\u0095]_[*]_{R}_{I}1_{/}In the beginning, when God began to create the 
heavens and the earth, {R}_{I}2_{/}the earth had no form and was void; 
darkness was over the deep and the Spirit of God hovered over the 
waters.
[*]_{R}_{I}3_{/}God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}God saw that the light was good and he separated the 
light from the darkness. {R}_{I}5_{/}God called the light 'Day' and the 
darkness 'Night'. There was evening and there was morning: the 
first day.
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}God said, "Let there be a firm ceiling between the waters 
and let it separate waters from waters." {R}_{I}7_{/}So God made the 
ceiling and separated the waters below it from the waters above 
it. And so it was. {R}_{I}8_{/}God called the firm ceiling 'Sky'. There 
was evening and there was morning: the second day.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}God said, "Let the waters below the sky be gathered 
together in one place and let dry land appear." And so it was. 
{R}_{I}10_{/}God called the dry land 'Earth', and the waters gathered 
together he called 'Seas'. God saw that it was good. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}God said, "Let the earth produce vegetation, seed-bearing 
plants, fruittrees bearing fruit with seed, each according to its 
kind, upon the earth." And so it was. {R}_{I}12_{/}The earth produced 
vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kind and trees 
producing fruit which has seed, according to their kind. God saw 
that it was good. {I}13_{/}There was evening and there was morning: 
the third day.
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}God said, "Let there be lights in the ceiling of the sky 
to separate day from night and to serve as signs for the seasons, 
days and years; {I}15_{/}and let these lights in the sky shine above 
the earth." And so it was. {R}_{I}16_{/}God therefore made two great 
lights, the greater light to govern the day and the smaller light 
to govern the night; and God made the stars as well. [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}God 
placed them in the ceiling of the sky to give light on the earth 
{R}_{I}18_{/}and to separate the light from the darkness. God saw that it 
was good. {I}19_{/}There was evening and there was morning: the fourth 
day.
{R}_{I}20_{/}God said, "Let the water teem with an abundance of living 
creatures, and let birds fly above the earth under the ceiling of 
the sky." [=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}God created the great monsters of the sea and 
all living animals, those that teem in the waters, according to 
their kind, and every winged bird, according to its kind. God saw 
that it was good. {R}_{I}22_{/}God blessed them saying, "Be fruitful and 
increase in number, fill the waters of the sea, and let the birds 
increase on the earth." {I}23_{/}There was evening and there was 
morning: the fifth day.
{R}_{I}24_{/}God said, "Let the earth produce living animals according to 
their kind: cattle, creatures that move along the ground, wild 
animals according to their_kind." So it was. {R}_{I}25_{/}God created the 
wild animals according to their kind, and everything that creeps 
along the ground according to its kind. God saw that it was good.
[=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}God said, "Let us make man in our image, to our 
likeness. Let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds 
of the air, over the cattle, over the wild animals, and over all 
creeping things that crawl along the ground." [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}So God 
created man in his image; in the image of God he created him; male 
and female he created them. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}God blessed them and said to 
them, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and 
subdue it, rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky, 
over every living creature that moves on the ground."
[=]_[*]_{R}_{I}29_{/}God said, "I have given you every seed-bearing plant 
which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree that bears 
fruit with seed. It will be for your food. {I}30_{/}To every wild 
animal, to every bird of the sky, to everything that creeps along 
the ground, to everything that has the breath of life, I give 
every green plant for food." So it was.
[=]_[*]_{R}_{I}31_{/}God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. 
There was evening and there was morning: the sixth day.

{1}2{/}

{I}1_{/}That was the way the sky and earth were created and all their 
vast array. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}By the seventh day the work God had done was 
completed, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work he 
had done. {R}_{I}3_{/}And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, 
because on that day he rested from all the work he had done in his 
creation. [\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}These are the successive steps in the 
creation of the heavens and the earth.

{N}THE SECOND ACCOUNT OF CREATION{/}

On the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens, 
{R}_{I}5_{/}there was not yet on the earth any shrub of the fields, nor 
had any plant yet sprung up, for Yahweh God had not made it rain 
on the earth, and there was no man to till the earth, {I}6_{/}but a 
mist went up from the earth and watered the surface of the earth.
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Then Yahweh God formed Man, dust drawn from the clay, and 
breathed into his nostrils a breath of life and Man became alive 
with breath. [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}God planted a garden in Eden in the east and 
there he placed Man whom he had created. {R}_{I}9_{/}Yahweh God caused to 
grow from the ground every kind of tree that is pleasing to see 
and good to eat, also the tree of Life in the middle of the garden 
and the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.
{R}_{I}10_{/}A river flowed from Eden to water the garden and from there 
it divided to form four main streams. {I}11_{/}The name of the first 
river is Pishon. It is the one that flows around all the country 
of Havilah where there is gold, {I}12_{/}and the gold of that country 
is good; bidellium and onyx stone are there. {R}_{I}13_{/}The name of the 
second river is Gihon. It is the one that flows around all the 
land of Cush. {R}_{I}14_{/}The name of the third river is Tigris. It is 
the one that flows to the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the 
Euphrates.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Yahweh God took Man and placed him in the garden of Eden to 
till it and take care of it. {R}_{I}16_{/}Then Yahweh God gave an order 
to Man saying, "You may eat of every tree in the garden, 
[=]_{I}17_{/}but of the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, you 
will not eat, for on the day you eat of it, you will die."
{R}_{I}18_{/}Yahweh God said, "It is not good for Man to be alone; I will 
give him a helper who will be like him." {R}_{I}19_{/}Then Yahweh God 
formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the 
birds of the air and brought them to Man to see what he would call 
them; and whatever Man called every living creature, that was its 
name.
{R}_{I}20_{/}So Man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air 
and to every beast of the field. But he did not find among them a 
helper like himself. [=]_{R}_{I}21_{/}Then Yahweh God caused a deep sleep 
to come over Man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and 
filled its place with flesh. [=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}The rib which Yahweh God 
had taken from Man he formed into a woman and brought her to the 
man. {R}_{I}23_{/}The man then said, "Now this is bone of my bone and 
flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken 
from man." [=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}That is why man leaves his father and mother 
and is attached to his wife, and with her becomes one flesh. 
{R}_{I}25_{/}Both the man and his wife were naked and were not ashamed.

{N}THE FALL{/}

{1}3{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_[*]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Now the serpent was the most crafty of all the 
wild creatures that Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, 
"Did God really say: You must not eat from any tree in the 
garden?" {R}_{I}2_{/}The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit 
of the trees in the garden, {R}_{I}3_{/}but of the fruit of the tree that 
is in the middle of the garden God said: You must not eat, and you 
must not touch it or you will die." {R}_{I}4_{/}The serpent said to the 
woman, "You will not die, {R}_{I}5_{/}but God knows that the day you eat 
it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing 
good and evil."
{I}6_{/}The woman saw that the fruit was good to eat, and pleasant to 
the eyes, and ideal for gaining knowledge. She took its fruit and 
ate it and gave some to her husband who was with her. He ate it. 
{I}7_{/}Then their eyes were opened and both of them knew they were 
naked. So they sewed leaves of a fig tree together and made 
themselves loincloths.
{R}_{I}8_{/}They heard the voice of Yahweh God walking in the garden, in 
the cool of_the day, and they, the man and his wife, hid from 
Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Yahweh God called the man saying to him, "Where are you?" 
[=]_{I}10_{/}He said, "I heard your voice in the garden and I was 
afraid because I was naked, so I hid." {R}_{I}11_{/}God said, "Who told 
you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree I ordered you 
not to eat?" {R}_{I}12_{/}The man answered, "The woman you put with me 
gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it." [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}God said to 
the woman, "What have you done?" The woman said, "The serpent 
deceived me and I ate."

{N}THE JUDGMENT OF GOD{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Yahweh God said to the serpent, "Since you have done 
that, be cursed among all the cattle and wild beasts! You will 
crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. 
[=]_{I}15_{/}I will make you enemies, you and the woman, your 
offspring and her offspring. He will crush your head and you will 
strike his heel."
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}To the woman, God said, "I will increase your suffering 
in childbearing, and you will give birth to your children in pain. 
You will be dependent on your husband and he will lord it over 
you."
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}To the man, He said, "Because you have listened to your 
wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I forbade you to eat, 
cursed be the soil because of you! In suffering you will provide 
food for yourself from it, all the days of your life. [=]_{I}18_{/}It 
will produce thorn and thistle for you and you will eat the plants 
of the field. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}With sweat on your face you will eat your 
bread, until you return to clay, since it was from clay that you 
were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return."
{R}_{I}20_{/}The man called his wife by the name of Eve, because she was 
the mother of all the living. {R}_{I}21_{/}Yahweh God made garments of 
skin for the man and his wife, and with these he clothed them.
[*]_{R}_{I}22_{/}Then Yahweh God said, "Man has now become like one of 
us, making himself judge of good and evil. Let him not stretch out 
his hand to take and eat from the tree of Life as well, and live 
forever." {R}_{I}23_{/}So God cast him from the garden of Eden to till 
the soil from which he had been made. [=]_[*]_{R}_{I}24_{/}And after 
having driven the man out, God posted cherubim and a flaming sword 
that kept turning at the east of the garden of Eden to guard the 
way to the tree of Life.

{N}CAIN AND ABEL{/}

{1}4{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Adam had intercourse with Eve his wife; she became 
pregnant and gave birth to a child. She named him Cain, for she 
said, "I have got a man with help from Yahweh." {I}2_{/}She later gave 
birth to Abel, his brother. Abel was a shepherd and kept flocks, 
and Cain tilled the soil.
{I}3_{/}It happened after a time that Cain brought fruits of the soil 
as an offering to Yahweh. [=]_{I}4_{/}Abel for his part brought the 
firstborn of his flock, and some fat as well. Now Yahweh was well 
pleased with Abel and his offering, [=]_{I}5_{/}but towards Cain and 
his offering he showed no pleasure. This made Cain very angry and 
downcast. 
{I}6_{/}Then Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry and downcast? 
{I}7_{/}If you do right, why do you not look up? But if you_are not 
doing what is right, sin is lurking at the door. It is striving to 
get you, but you must control it."
[=]_{I}8_{/}Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go to the fields." 
Once there, Cain turned on his brother Abel and killed him. 
[*]_{I}9_{/}Yahweh said to Cain, "Where is your brother, Abel?" He 
answered, "I don't know; am I my brother's keeper?" 
[=]_{I}10_{/}Yahweh asked, "What have you done? Your brother's blood 
cries out to me from the ground. {I}11_{/}Now be cursed and driven 
from the ground that has opened its mouth to receive your 
brother's blood that your hand has shed. {I}12_{/}When you till the 
soil, it will no longer yield you its produce. You will be a 
fugitive wandering on the earth."
{I}13_{/}Cain said to Yahweh, "My punishment is greater than I can 
bear. {I}14_{/}See! Today you drive me from this land. I must hide 
from you and be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it 
will so happen that whoever meets me will kill me." 
[=]_[*]_{I}15_{/}Yahweh said to him, "Well then, whoever kills Cain, 
will suffer vengeance seven times." And Yahweh put a mark on Cain 
to prevent anyone who met him from killing him.
{I}16_{/}Cain then went from Yahweh's presence and settled in the land 
of Nod, to the east of Eden.

{N}THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN AND SETH{/}

[\u0095]_{I}17_{/}Cain had intercourse with his wife; she conceived and 
gave birth to Enoch. As he was building a town, he called it by 
the name of his son, Enoch. {I}18_{/}A son, Irad, was born to Enoch. 
Irad became father of Mehujael, and Mehujael of Methuael, and 
Methuael of Lamech.
{I}19_{/}Lamech had two wives, Adah and Zillah. {I}20_{/}Adah gave birth 
to Jabel: he was father to those who live in tents and keep 
flocks. {I}21_{/}His brother was Jubal: he was father to all those who 
play the lyre and flute. {I}22_{/}As for Zillah, she gave birth to 
Tubal-Cain, forger of all tools in bronze and iron. The sister of 
Tubal-Cain was Naamah.
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}Lamech said to his wives:
"Adah and Zillah, hear my voice;
wives of Lamech, listen to what I say,
for I killed a man for wounding me
and a boy for striking me.
[=]_{I}24_{/}If Cain will be avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times."
{I}25_{/}Adam again had intercourse with his wife and she gave birth 
to a son and named him Seth; for she said, "Yahweh has given me 
another child in place of Abel since Cain killed him." 
[=]_[*]_{I}26_{/}To Seth also a son was born and he called him Enosh. 
At that time people began to call on the name of Yahweh.

{N}THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM{/}

{1}5{/}

[*]_{R}_{I}1_{/}This is the account of Adam's descendants. When God 
created Adam he made him in the likeness of God; {R}_{I}2_{/}male and 
female he created them; he blessed them and called them Man on the 
day they were created.
{I}3_{/}Adam was a hundred and thirty years old when he became father 
of a son born in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named 
him Seth. {I}4_{/}After the birth of Seth, Adam lived for eight 
hundred years and had other sons and daughters. {I}5_{/}Altogether 
Adam lived nine hundred and thirty years; then he died.
{I}6_{/}When Seth was a hundred and five, he became father of Enosh. 
{I}7_{/}After the birth of Enosh, Seth lived eight hundred and seven 
years. He had other sons and daughters. {I}8_{/}Altogether Seth lived 
nine hundred and twelve years; then he died.
{I}9_{/}When Enosh was ninety years old, he became the father of 
Kenan. {I}10_{/}After the birth of Kenan, Enosh lived eight hundred 
and fifteen years, and he had other sons and daughters. 
{I}11_{/}Altogether Enosh lived nine hundred and five years; then he 
died.
{I}12_{/}When Kenan was seventy years old, he became father of 
Mahalalel. {I}13_{/}After the birth of Mahalalel, Kenan lived eight 
hundred and forty years, and he had other sons and daughters. 
{I}14_{/}Altogether Kenan lived nine hundred and ten years; then he 
died.
{I}15_{/}When Mahalalel was sixty-five, he became the father of Jared. 
{I}16_{/}After that, Mahalalel lived eight hundred and thirty years, 
and had other sons and daughters. {I}17_{/}All the days of Mahalalel 
were eight hundred and ninety-five years; then he died. {I}18_{/}When 
Jared was a hundred and sixty-two, he became father of Enoch. 
{I}19_{/}After the birth of Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, 
and he had other sons and daughters. {I}20_{/}Altogether Jared lived 
nine hundred and sixty-two years; then he died.
{I}21_{/}When Enoch was sixty-five, he became father of Methuselah. 
{R}_{I}22_{/}After the birth of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God three 
hundred years, and he had other sons and daughters. {I}23_{/}In all 
Enoch lived three hundred and sixty-five years. [=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}After 
Enoch had walked with God, he disappeared because God took him up.
[\u0095]_{I}25_{/}When Methuselah was a hundred and eighty-seven, he became 
father of Lamech. {I}26_{/}After the birth of Lamech, Methuselah lived 
seven hundred and eighty-two years, and he had other sons and 
daughters. {I}27_{/}In all Methuselah lived nine hundred and sixty-
nine years; then he died.
{I}28_{/}Lamech was a hundred and eighty-two when he became father of 
a son [=]_{I}29_{/}and named him Noah, for he said, "He will console 
us in the hard toil and suffering of our hands, because of the 
soil that was cursed by Yahweh. {I}30_{/}After the birth of Noah, 
Lamech lived five hundred and ninety-five years, and he had other 
sons and daughters. {I}31_{/}In all Lamech lived seven hundred and 
seventy-seven years; then he died. 
{I}32_{/}When Noah was five hundred years old, he became the father of 
Sem, Ham and Japheth. 

{N}SONS OF GOD AND DAUGHTERS OF MEN{/}

{1}6{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}1_{/}When people began to increase on the earth and 
daughters were born to them, {R}_{I}2_{/}the sons of God saw that men's 
daughters were very beautiful, so they married those they chose. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}Yahweh then said, "My spirit will not remain in man forever, 
for he is flesh. His span of life will be one hundred and twenty 
years." [=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}At that time there were giants on the earth, 
and_afterwards as well, when the sons of God went to the daughters 
of men and had children by them. These were the heroes of old, men 
of renown.

{N}THE FLOOD{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Yahweh saw how great was the wickedness of man on the 
earth and that evil was always the only thought of his heart. 
{R}_{I}6_{/}Yahweh regretted having created man on the earth and his 
heart grieved. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}He said, "I will destroy man whom I 
created and blot him out from the face of the earth, as well as 
the beasts, creeping creatures and birds, for I am sorry I made 
them." [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}But Noah was pleasing to God.
[=]_[*]_{R}_{I}9_{/}This is the story of Noah. Noah was a just man, 
blameless among the people of his time, a man who walked with God. 
{I}10_{/}Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}The earth became corrupt in God's sight and was full of 
violence. {R}_{I}12_{/}God saw the earth and saw it was corrupt, for 
corrupt, indeed, was the way of all mortals.
{I}13_{/}Yahweh said to Noah, "I have in mind to destroy all people, 
for the earth is filled with violence because of them. This is why 
I will destroy them and with them the earth. {R}_{I}14_{/}As for you, 
build an ark of cypress wood. You will make rooms in the ark and 
coat it with pitch inside and outside. {R}_{I}15_{/}This is the way you 
will do it: the length of the ark, four hundred and fifty feet; 
the width, seventy-five feet; the height, forty-five feet. 
{R}_{I}16_{/}You will put a roof on the ark and finish it within eighteen 
inches from the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and have 
lower, middle and upper decks. [=]_{I}17_{/}I am about to bring 
floodwaters on the earth to destroy the earth, to destroy all life 
under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life. 
Everything on earth will perish, {R}_{I}18_{/}but I will establish my 
covenant with you. You shall come into the ark, you, your wife, 
your sons and your sons' wives with you. {R}_{I}19_{/}You shall bring 
into the ark two of every kind of living thing, male and female, 
to keep them alive with you. {I}20_{/}Of the birds, the animals and 
all creeping things on the ground, according to their kind, two of 
every sort shall come in to be kept alive with you.
{I}21_{/}Take with you every sort of food that is eaten. Make a store 
of it and it will be food for you and them." 
{R}_{I}22_{/}And Noah did all as God had commanded him.

{1}7{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and all your 
household, for I see that you are just in this generation. 
[=]_{I}2_{/}Of all the clean animals, you are to take with you seven 
of each kind, male and female, and a pair of unclean animals, a 
male and a female. {I}3_{/}In the same way for the birds of the air, 
take seven and seven, male and female, to keep their kind alive 
over all the earth, {I}4_{/}for in seven days I will send rain on the 
earth for forty days and forty nights. I will blot out from the 
face of the earth all the living creatures I have created."
{I}5_{/}Noah did all as Yahweh had commanded. {I}6_{/}Noah was six hundred 
years old when the floodwaters covered the earth.
{R}_{I}7_{/}So Noah went into the ark with his children, his wife and his 
sons' wives to escape the waters of the flood. {R}_{I}8_{/}Clean animals 
and also unclean, birds, and all that crawls on the earth went 
into the ark with Noah; {R}_{I}9_{/}they went two and two, male and 
female, as God had commanded Noah. {I}10_{/}And after seven days the 
waters of the flood were over the earth.
{I}11_{/}In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month 
and on the seventeenth day of the month, all the fountains of the 
great deep burst forth {I}12_{/}and there was a downpour on the earth 
lasting forty days and forty nights. {R}_{I}13_{/}On that same day Noah 
went into the ark, as well as Shem, Ham and Japheth, his sons, and 
his wife and his daughters-in-law. {R}_{I}14_{/}All the animals according 
to their kind also entered into the ark, all the cattle, all the 
creeping things that crawl on the earth and all the birds 
according to their kind; all that flies and everything with wings. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}They came to Noah in the ark, two by two, all creatures that 
had the breath of life in them. {R}_{I}16_{/}And they that went in were 
male and female just as God had commanded.
Then Yahweh closed the door on Noah. {R}_{I}17_{/}The flood lasted for 
forty days on the earth. The waters rose and lifted the ark and 
raised it above the earth. 
{R}_{I}18_{/}The waters rose and increased greatly on the earth and the 
ark floated on the surface of the waters.
{R}_{I}19_{/}The water rose more and more above the earth and all the 
high mountains under the heavens were submerged. {R}_{I}20_{/}The waters 
had risen and covered the mountains to a depth of more than twenty 
feet. [=]_{I}21_{/}Every living thing that moved on the earth died: 
birds, cattle, animals, everything that swarmed on the earth - and 
all humankind.
{I}22_{/}All on the face of the earth that had the breath of life in 
its nostrils died. [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}Every living being on the face of the 
earth, men and animals, and creatures that crawl and the birds of 
the air were wiped off the earth. Only Noah was left and those 
that were with him in the ark.
{I}24_{/}The waters flooded the earth for one hundred and fifty days.

{1}8{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Then God remembered Noah and all the animals and cattle that 
were with him in the ark. God made a wind blow over the earth and 
the waters subsided.
{I}2_{/}Then the fountains of the deep and the floodgates of the 
heavens were closed and the downpour from the heavens held back.
{I}3_{/}The waters receded from the earth and after one hundred and 
fifty days the waters had abated. {R}_{I}4_{/}In the seventh month, in 
the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested on Mount Ararat. 
{I}5_{/}The waters continued to recede until the tenth month. On the 
first day of the tenth month the mountain tops could be seen.
{R}_{I}6_{/}At the end of the forty days Noah opened the window of the 
ark that he had built {I}7_{/}and let the raven out. This went off and 
kept flying to and fro until the waters had dried up from the 
earth.
{I}8_{/}Then Noah let out the dove to see if_the waters were receding 
from the earth. {R}_{I}9_{/}But the dove could not find a place to set 
its foot and flew back to him in the ark for the waters still 
covered the surface of the whole earth. So Noah stretched out his 
hand, took hold of it and brought it back to himself in the ark. 
{R}_{I}10_{/}He waited some more days and again sent the dove out from 
the ark. {I}11_{/}This time the dove came back to him in the evening 
with a fresh olive branch in its beak.
Then Noah knew the waters had receded from the earth. {R}_{I}12_{/}He 
waited seven more days and let the dove loose, but it did not 
return to him any more.
{R}_{I}13_{/}In the year six hundred and one, in the first month, on the 
first day of the month, the waters dried up from the earth. Noah 
then removed the covering from the ark and looked out and saw that 
the surface of the earth was dry. {I}14_{/}On the twenty-seventh day 
of the second month, the earth was dry.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Then God said to Noah, {R}_{I}16_{/}"Come out of the ark, you and 
your wife, your sons and their wives with you. {I}17_{/}Bring out with 
you all flesh, that is, all the animals who are with you, all 
things of flesh; birds, cattle and all that crawls on the earth. 
Let them abound on the earth, be fruitful and increase in number." 
{I}18_{/}So Noah went out, with his sons, his wife and his sons' wives 
with him. {R}_{I}19_{/}All the animals, all the birds, all that creeps on 
the earth, came out of the ark, one kind after another.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Noah built an altar to Yahweh and, taking some of all the 
clean animals and all the clean birds, he offered burnt offerings 
on it. {R}_{I}21_{/}Yahweh smelled the pleasing aroma and said to 
himself: "Never again will I curse the earth because of man, even 
though his heart is set on evil from childhood; never again will I 
strike down every living creature as I have done.
[=]_{I}22_{/}As long as the earth lasts,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night,
shall not cease to be."

{N}THE NEW WORLD ORDER{/}

{1}9{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}God blessed Noah and his sons and he said to them, "Be 
fruitful, multiply and fill the earth. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Fear and dread of 
you will be in all the animals of the earth and in all the birds 
of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the 
fish of the sea. They are given to you. [=]_{I}3_{/}Everything that 
moves and lives shall be food for you; as I gave you the green 
plants, I have now given you everything. [=]_{I}4_{/}Only you shall 
not eat flesh with its life, that is its blood.
{I}5_{/}But I will also demand a reckoning for your lifeblood. I will 
demand it from every animal; and from man, too, I will demand a 
reckoning for the life of his fellow man.
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}He who sheds the blood of man shall have his blood shed 
by man; for in the image of God has God made man. 
{I}7_{/}As for you, be fruitful and increase. Abound on the earth and 
be master of it."
{R}_{I}8_{/}God spoke to Noah and his son, {R}_{I}9_{/}"See I am making a 
covenant with you and with your descendants after you; 
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}also with every living animal with you: birds, cattle, 
that is, with every living creature of the earth that came out of 
the ark. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}I establish my covenant with you. Never again 
will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again 
will there be a flood to destroy the earth."
{R}_{I}12_{/}God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I make between 
me and you, and every animal living with you for all future 
generations. {R}_{I}13_{/}I set my bow in the clouds and it will be a 
sign of the covenant between me and the earth. [=]_{I}14_{/}When I 
bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 
[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}I will remember the covenant between me and you and 
every kind of living creature, so that never again will 
floodwaters destroy all flesh. {R}_{I}16_{/}When the rainbow is in the 
clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant 
between God and every living creature of every kind that exists on 
the earth." {R}_{I}17_{/}God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the 
covenant I have made between me and all that has life on the 
earth."

{N}NOAH AND HIS SONS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}18_{/}The sons of Noah who came out of the ark_were Shem, Ham 
and Japheth. Ham is the_ancestor of Canaan. {I}19_{/}These were Noah's 
three sons and from them the whole earth was peopled.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Noah, a man of the soil, set about planting a vineyard. 
[=]_{I}21_{/}He drank the wine, became drunk, and lay uncovered in the 
middle of his tent. {R}_{I}22_{/}When Ham, Canaan's ancestor, saw his 
father's nakedness, he told his two brothers outside the tent. 
{I}23_{/}But Shem and Japheth took a cloak, put it on their shoulders, 
the two of them, then walked backwards and covered their father's 
nakedness. Their faces were turned away and they did not see their 
father's nakedness.
[*]_{I}24_{/}When Noah awoke from his wine he knew what his youngest 
son had done to him. {R}_{I}25_{/}And he said, "Cursed be Canaan! He 
shall be his brothers' meanest slave!"
{R}_{I}26_{/}He then added: "Blessed be Yahweh, God of Shem, let Canaan 
be his slave! {R}_{I}27_{/}May God extend (the territory of) Japheth, and 
may he live in the tents of Shem! And may Canaan be his slave!"
{I}28_{/}Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood. 
{I}29_{/}In all Noah lived for nine hundred and fifty years. Then he 
died.

{N}THE LIST OF NATIONS{/}

{1}10{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}These are the descendants of Noah's sons. Shem, Ham and 
Japheth; these are their sons who were born after the flood. 
{I}2_{/}Japheth's sons: Gomer, Magog, the Medes, Javan, Tubal, 
Meshech, Tiras. {I}3_{/}Gomer's sons: Ashkenaz, Riphath, Togarmah. 
{I}4_{/}Javan's sons: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim, the Dananites. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}These were dispersed and peopled the islands of the nations.
These were Japheth's sons, according to their countries and each 
of their languages, according to their tribes and their nations.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Ham's sons: Cush, Misraim, Put, Canaan. {I}7_{/}Cush's sons: 
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca. Raamah's sons: Sheba, 
Dedan.
{I}8_{/}Cush became the father of Nimrod who was the first great ruler 
on earth. {I}9_{/}He was a mighty hunter in the eyes of Yahweh, hence 
the saying, "Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter in the eyes of Yahweh." 
{I}10_{/}The beginning of his empire was Babel, with Erech and Accad, 
all of them in the_land of Shinar. {I}11_{/}From this country came 
Ashur, the builder of Niniveh, Rehoboth-ir, Calah, {I}12_{/}and Resen 
between Niniveh and Calah (this is the great city).
{I}13_{/}Misraim became the father of the people of_Lud, of Anam, 
Lehab, Naphtuh, {R}_{I}14_{/}Pathros, Cusluh and Capthor, from which the 
Philistines came.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Canaan became the father of Sidon, his firstborn, the 
Hittites, {R}_{I}16_{/}and the Jebusites, the Amorites, Girgashites, 
{I}17_{/}Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, {R}_{I}18_{/}Arvadites, Zemarites, 
Hamathites; later the Canaanite tribes scattered. {R}_{I}19_{/}The 
Canaanite frontier stretched from Sidon in the direction of Sodom, 
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, and as far as Lesha.
{R}_{I}20_{/}These were Ham's sons, according to their tribes and 
languages, according to their countries and nations. 
{I}21_{/}There were also children born to Shem, the ancestor of all 
the sons of Eber, who are the Hebrews, and the elder brother of 
Japheth.
{I}22_{/}Shem's sons: Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram. {I}23{/}Aram's 
sons: Uz, Hul, Gether and Mash.
{I}24_{/}Arpachshad became the father of Shelah, and Shelah became the 
father of Eber. {I}25_{/}To Eber were born two sons: the first was 
called Peleg, because it was in his time that the earth was 
divided; and his brother was called Joktan. {I}26_{/}Joktan became the 
father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, {I}27_{/}Hadoram, 
Uzal, Diklah, {I}28_{/}Obal, Abimael, Sheba, {I}29_{/}Ophir, Havilah, 
Jobab; all these are sons of Joktan. {I}30_{/}They occupied a stretch 
of country from Mesh in the direction of Sephar, to the eastern 
mountain range.
{R}_{I}31_{/}These were Shem's sons, according to their tribes and 
languages, and according to their countries and nations.
{R}_{I}32_{/}These were the tribes of Noah's sons, according to their 
descendants and their nations. From these came the dispersal of 
the nations over the earth, after the flood.

{N}THE TOWER OF BABEL{/}

{1}11{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}1_{/}The whole world had one language and a common speech. 
{I}2_{/}As people moved from east, they found a plain in the country 
of Shinar where they settled.
{I}3_{/}They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake 
them in fire." They used brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 
[=]_{I}4_{/}They said also, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a 
tower with its top reaching heaven; so that we may become a great 
people and not be scattered over the face of the earth!"
{R}_{I}5_{/}Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that the sons 
of man were building, {I}6_{/}and Yahweh said, "They are one people 
and they have one language. If they carry this through, nothing 
they decide to do from now on will be impossible. [*]_{I}7_{/}Come! 
Let us go down and confuse their language so that they will no 
longer understand each other."
[=]_{I}8_{/}So Yahweh scattered them over all the earth and they 
stopped building the city. [=]_{I}9_{/}That is why it was called 
Babel, because there Yahweh confused the language of the whole 
earth and from there Yahweh scattered them over the whole face of 
the earth.
[*]_{I}10_{/}These are Shem's descendants:
When Shem was a hundred years old he became the father of 
Arpachshad, two years after the flood. After the birth of 
Arpachshad, {I}11_{/}Shem lived five hundred years and he had more 
sons and daughters.
{I}12_{/}When Arpachshad was thirty-five years old he became the 
father of Shelah. {I}13_{/}After the birth of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 
four hundred and three years and he had more sons and daughters.
{I}14_{/}When Shelah was thirty years old he became the father of 
Eber. After the birth of Eber, {I}15_{/}Shelah lived four hundred and 
three years and he had more sons and daughters.
{I}16_{/}When Eber was thirty-four years old he became the father of 
Peleg. After the birth of Peleg, {I}17_{/}Eber lived four hundred and 
thirty years and he had more sons and daughters.
{I}18_{/}When Peleg was thirty years old he became the father of Reu; 
{I}19_{/}Peleg lived two hundred and nine years and he had more sons 
and daughters.
{I}20_{/}When Reu was thirty-two years old he became the father of 
Serug; {I}21_{/}Reu lived two hundred and seven years and he had more 
sons and daughters.
{I}22_{/}When Serug was thirty years old he became the father of 
Nahor. After the birth of Nahor, {I}23_{/}Serug lived two hundred 
years and he had more sons and daughters.
{I}24_{/}When Nahor was twenty-nine years old he became the father of 
Terah. After the birth of Terah, {I}25_{/}Nahor lived a hundred and 
nineteen years and he had more sons and daughters.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}26_{/}When Terah was seventy years old he became the father of 
Abram, Nahor and Haran.
{R}_{I}27_{/}These are Terah's descendants: Terah became the father of 
Abram, Nahor and Haran.

{C}SECOND PART OF GENESIS{/}

{C}THE ANCESTORS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD{/}

Haran became the father of Lot. {R}_{I}28_{/}Haran died before his father 
Terah in his native land, Ur of the Chaldeans. [=]_{R}_{I}29_{/}Abram and 
Nahor both married: Abram's wife was called Sarai; Nahor's wife 
was called Milcah, the daughter of Haran, father of Milcah and 
Iscah. {I}30_{/}Sarai was barren, having no child.
{R}_{I}31_{/}Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot, the son of 
Haran, and his daughter-in-law, the wife of Abram, and made them 
leave Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan. But on 
arrival in Haran they settled there. [*]_{I}32_{/}Terah lived two 
hundred and five years; then he died in Haran.

{N}THE CALL OF ABRAM{/}

{1}12{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh said to Abram, "Leave your country, your 
family and your father's house, for the land I will show you. 
[=]_{I}2_{/}I will make you a great nation. I will bless you and make 
your name great, and you will be a blessing. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}I will bless 
those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and in 
you all peoples of the earth will be blessed." 
{R}_{I}4_{/}So Abram went as Yahweh had told him, and Lot went with him.
Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. {R}_{I}5_{/}Abram 
took Sarai, his wife, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had 
accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran. They set 
out for the land of Canaan.
They arrived at Canaan. {R}_{I}6_{/}Abram traveled through the country as 
far as Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites 
were in the land. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}Yahweh appeared to Abram and said, "To 
your descendants I will give this land." There he built an altar 
to Yahweh who had appeared to him.
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}From there he went on to the mountains east of Bethel and 
pitched his tent, with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. 
There also he built an altar to Yahweh and called on the name of 
Yahweh. {R}_{I}9_{/}Then Abram set out in the direction of Negeb.
[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}There was famine in the land, and Abram went down to 
Egypt to stay there for some time, for the famine was severe in 
the land. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}Just as he was about to enter Egypt he said to Sarai, his 
wife, "Now I know you are a beautiful woman. [=]_{I}12_{/}When the 
Egyptians see you they will say: 'That is his wife!' They will 
then kill me, but they will let you live. {I}13_{/}Say that you are my 
sister, so that they treat me well on account of you and my life 
be spared because of you."
{R}_{I}14_{/}In fact, when Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw that 
the woman was very beautiful. {I}15_{/}Pharaoh's officials saw her and 
praised her to Pharaoh. The woman was taken into Pharaoh's house 
{R}_{I}16_{/}and because of her he dealt well with Abram; he received 
sheep, cattle, donkeys, menservants, maidservants, she-asses and 
camels.
{I}17_{/}But Yahweh inflicted severe plagues on Pharaoh and his 
household because of Sarai. {R}_{I}18_{/}So Pharaoh summoned Abram and 
said, "What have you done to me? {I}19_{/}Why did you say: 'She's my 
sister,' so that I took her for my wife. Now, here is your wife! 
Take her and go!" {R}_{I}20_{/}And Pharaoh gave orders to his men 
regarding Abram, and they sent him on his way, with his wife and 
all that was his.

{1}13{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Abram went up from Egypt to the Negeb, he and his wife, with 
all he had and Lot with him. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Now Abram was very rich in 
flocks, silver and gold. {R}_{I}3_{/}As he journeyed on, he went from the 
Negeb as far as Bethel, to the place where he first pitched his 
tent between Bethel and Ai {R}_{I}4_{/}at the spot where he had formerly 
made an altar and called on the Name of Yahweh.

{N}ABRAM AND LOT SEPARATE{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}5_{/}Lot who went with Abram also had flocks, cattle and 
tents. [=]_{I}6_{/}The land was not sufficient to allow them to stay 
together, for their possessions were too great for them to live 
together.
{R}_{I}7_{/}A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram's flock and 
those of Lot. (The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in 
the land at the time.) [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Abram said to Lot, "Don't let 
there be a dispute between you and me, nor between my herdsmen and 
yours, since we are brothers! {I}9_{/}Isn't the whole land there 
before you? Let us part company. If you go to the left, I will go 
to the right; if you go to the right, I will go to the left."
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Lot looked up and saw the whole valley of the Jordan: 
how well it was watered! Before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and 
Gomorrah, this was like one of Yahweh's gardens, like the country 
of Egypt, on coming to Zoar. {R}_{I}11_{/}Lot chose for himself all the 
Jordan valley and journeyed eastward. In this way they separated 
from each other. {R}_{I}12_{/}Abram settled in the country of Canaan 
while Lot lived among the towns of the plain and moved his tent as 
far as Sodom. {R}_{I}13_{/}Now the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning 
greatly against Yahweh.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Yahweh said to Abram after Lot had left him, "Raise your 
eyes and look from where you are, towards the north, the south, 
the east and the west; {I}15_{/}all the land you see I will give to 
you and your descendants forever. {I}16_{/}I will make your 
descendants as the dust of the earth; if the grains of the dust 
can be counted, then your descendants may be counted. {I}17_{/}Come, 
travel through the length and breadth of the land, for it is to 
you that I am giving it."
{R}_{I}18_{/}So Abram moved his tent and came to live by the oak of Mamre 
at Hebron. There he built an altar to Yahweh.

{1}14{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}At the time of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of 
Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, 
{R}_{I}2_{/}these kings made war on Bera king of Sodom, Birsha king of 
Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, Shemeber king of Zeboiim and the 
king of Bela (that is, Zoar). {R}_{I}3_{/}All these joined forces in the 
valley of Siddim (that is the Salt Sea). {I}4_{/}Twelve years they had 
been dominated by Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they 
rebelled. {R}_{I}5_{/}In the fourteenth year, Chedorlaomer and the king 
who were his allies, came and fought and subdued the Rephaim in 
Ashteroth-karnaim, the Zuzim in Ham, the Emin in Shaveh-kiriathaim 
{R}_{I}6_{/}and the Horites in their Mount Seir as far as Elparan which 
is near the desert.
{R}_{I}7_{/}They then turned back and came to the Spring of Judgment 
(that is, Kadesh) and subdued all the country of the Amalekites, 
as well as that of the Amorites who lived in Hazazontamar. 
{R}_{I}8_{/}Then the king of Sodom, the king of_Gomorrah, the king of 
Admah, the king of_Zeboiim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar) 
went out and took up battle positions in the valley of Siddim 
{R}_{I}9_{/}against Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal king of Goiim, 
Amraphel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings 
against five.
{R}_{I}10_{/}Now there were many bitumen pits in the valley of Siddim, 
and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them 
and the rest took refuge in the mountains. {R}_{I}11_{/}The enemy took 
all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their provisions 
and went off. {R}_{I}12_{/}They also took Lot, the son of Abram's 
brother, who lived in Sodom, and his possessions and went off.
{R}_{I}13_{/}One who escaped came to tell Abram the Hebrew, who was 
living by the oak of Mamre the Amorite, the brother of Eshcol and 
of Aner: these were allies of Abram.

{N}ABRAHAM AND MELCHIZEDEK{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}14_{/}As soon as Abram heard that his brother had been taken 
away captive, he assembled and led forth his trained men born in 
his house, three hundred and eighteen men and set off in pursuit 
as far as Dan. {R}_{I}15_{/}He grouped his forces against them by night, 
he and his servants, and routed and followed them to Hobah, north 
of Damascus. {I}16_{/}Then he brought back all his possessions, his 
kinsman Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the 
people.
{R}_{I}17_{/}On his return after defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who 
were his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the 
valley of Shaveh (that is the Valley of the King).
{R}_{I}18_{/}Then Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought bread and wine; he 
was a priest of God Most High, [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}and he blessed Abram 
saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and 
earth! [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}And blessed be God Most High who has delivered 
your enemies into your hands!"
And Abram gave him a tenth part of everything.
{R}_{I}21_{/}The king of Sodom said to Abram, "Give me the people and 
keep the goods for yourself." {R}_{I}22_{/}Abram said to the king of 
Sodom, "I raise my hand to Yahweh God Most High, creator of heaven 
and earth, to swear {R}_{I}23_{/}that not one thread or thong of a 
sandal, or anything that is yours, would I take. Lest you say, 
'Abram became rich at my expense,' {R}_{I}24_{/}I claim nothing for 
myself! Only what the young men have eaten and the share that is 
due to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre, the men who came with me."

{N}GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAM{/}

{1}15{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}After this the word of Yahweh was spoken to Abram in 
a vision: "Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward 
will be very great!"
{R}_{I}2_{/}Abram said, "My Lord Yahweh, where are your promises? I am 
still childless and all I have will go to Eliezer of Damascus. 
{I}3_{/}You have given me no children, so a slave of mine will be my 
heir."
{I}4_{/}Then the word of Yahweh was spoken to him again, "Eliezer will 
not be your heir, but a child born of you (your own flesh and 
blood) will be your heir." [=]_{I}5_{/}Then Yahweh brought him outside 
and said to him, "Look up at the sky and count the stars if you 
can. Your descendants will be like that."
[*]_{R}_{I}6_{/}Abram believed Yahweh who, because of this, held him to 
be an upright man. {R}_{I}7_{/}And he said, "I am Yahweh who brought you 
from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as your 
possession."
{R}_{I}8_{/}Then Abram asked, "My Lord, how am I to know that it shall be 
mine?" {I}9_{/}Yahweh replied, "Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a 
three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtle dove and a 
young pigeon." [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Abram brought all these animals, cut them 
in two, and laid each half facing its other half, but he did not 
cut the birds in half. {R}_{I}11_{/}The birds of_prey came down upon 
them, but Abram drove them away.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}As the sun was going down, a deep sleep came over Abram, 
and a dreadful darkness took hold of him. [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Then Yahweh 
said to Abram, "Know for certain that your descendants will be 
exiles in a land that is not theirs. They will be slaves there, 
oppressed for four hundred years. {I}14_{/}But I will judge the nation 
that oppresses them, and after that, they will not leave empty-
handed. {I}15_{/}As for yourself, you shall go to your fathers in 
peace, and be buried at a ripe old age. [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Your descendants 
of the fourth generation will come back here, for the wickedness 
of the Amorites has not yet deserved that I take the land from 
them."
{I}17_{/}When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking 
firepot and a_flaming torch passed between the halves of the 
victims. {R}_{I}18_{/}On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram, 
saying, "To your descendants I have given this country from the 
river of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates.
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}The land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, 
{R}_{I}20_{/}the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephraim, {R}_{I}21_{/}the 
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

{N}THE BIRTH OF ISHMAEL{/}

{1}16{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Sarai, Abram's wife had not borne him a child, but she 
had an Egyptian servant named Hagar, [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}and she said to 
Abram, "Now, since Yahweh has kept me from having children, go to 
my servant; perhaps I shall have a child by her." Abram agreed to 
what Sarai said. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}Abram had been in the land of Canaan ten years when Sarai, 
his wife, took Hagar, her Egyptian maid, and gave her to Abram her 
husband as wife. [=]_{I}4_{/}He went in to Hagar and she became 
pregnant. 
When she was aware of this, she began to despise her mistress. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}Sarai said to Abram, "May this injury done to me be yours. I 
put my servant in your arms and now that she knows she is 
pregnant, I count for nothing in her eyes. Let Yahweh judge 
between me and you." {R}_{I}6_{/}Abram said to Sarai, "Your servant is in 
your power; do with her as you please." Then Sarai treated her so 
badly that she ran away.
[\u0095]_[=]_{I}7_{/}The angel of Yahweh found her near a spring in the 
wilderness {I}8_{/}and said to her, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where 
have you come from and where are you going?" She said, "I'm 
running away from Sarai, my mistress." [=]_{I}9_{/}The angel of Yahweh 
said to her, "Go back to your mistress and humbly submit yourself 
to her." {I}10_{/}The angel of Yahweh said to her, "I will so increase 
your descendants, that they will be too numerous to be counted." 
[=]_{I}11_{/}Then the angel of Yahweh said to her, "Now you are with 
child and you will have a son, and you shall name him Ishmael, for 
Yahweh has heard your distress. {R}_{I}12_{/}He shall be a wild ass of a 
man, his hand against everyone and everyone's hand against him, 
defiant towards all his brothers."
[*]_{I}13_{/}Hagar gave to Yahweh who spoke to her the name of El Roi, 
for she said: "I have seen the One who sees me." {I}14_{/}That is why 
this well is called the well of Lahai-roi. It is between Kadesh 
and Bered.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Hagar gave birth to a son and Abram called the child Hagar 
bore him, Ishmael. {R}_{I}16_{/}Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar 
gave birth to Ishmael.

{N}ABRAM BECOMES ABRAHAM{/}

{1}17{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When Abram was ninety-nine years old, Yahweh appeared 
to him and said, "I am God Almighty. Walk in my presence and be 
without blame! {R}_{I}2_{/}I will make a covenant between myself and you, 
and I will multiply your race." {R}_{I}3_{/}Abram fell face down and God 
said to him, {R}_{I}4_{/}"This is my covenant with you: you will be the 
father of a multitude of nations. [=]_{R}_{I}5_{/}No longer will you be 
called Abram, but Abraham, because I will make you the father of a 
multitude of nations. {R}_{I}6_{/}I will make you more and more famous; I 
will multiply your descendants; nations shall spring from you, 
kings shall be among your descendants. {R}_{I}7_{/}And I will establish a 
covenant, an everlasting covenant between myself and you and your 
descendants after you; from now on I will be your God and the God 
of your descendants after you, for generations to come. [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}I 
will give to you and your descendants after you the land you are 
living in, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession 
and I will be the God of your race."

{N}THE CIRCUMCISION{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}9_{/}God said to Abraham, "For your part, you shall keep my 
covenant, you and your descendants after you, generation after 
generation. {R}_{I}10_{/}This is my covenant with you, that you will 
keep, you and your descendants after you: Every male among you 
shall be circumcised; [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}you shall circumcise your foreskin 
and that will be the sign of the_covenant between me and you. 
[=]_{I}12_{/}When he is eight days old, every male among you will be 
circumcised, generation after generation; [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}those born in 
your household or bought from a foreigner to be slaves. Whether 
born in your household or bought to be slaves, they must be 
circumcised. So my covenant will be written in your flesh as an 
everlasting covenant. [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Any uncircumcised male, who has 
not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his_people 
for having broken my covenant."
{R}_{I}15_{/}God said to Abraham, "As for Sarai, your wife, no longer are 
you to call her Sarai, but Sarah. {R}_{I}16_{/}I will bless her, and I 
will give you a son by her. I will bless her and from her will 
come nations; kings and peoples shall come from her."
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Then Abraham fell face down, and he laughed and said to 
himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? And can 
Sarah who is ninety have a child?" {R}_{I}18_{/}And Abraham said to God, 
"If only you would accept Ishmael as yours!" {R}_{I}19_{/}But God said, 
"Not at all! It is Sarah, your wife, who will give birth to your 
son and you will name him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with 
him and his descendants after him forever. [=]_{I}20_{/}As for 
Ishmael, I heard you. I will bless him and make him fruitful, and 
I will multiply his race. He shall be the father of twelve princes 
and I will make of him a great nation. {R}_{I}21_{/}But my covenant I 
will establish with Isaac, the child Sarah will have this time 
next year." {R}_{I}22_{/}When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God 
went away from him.
{R}_{I}23_{/}Abraham then took Ishmael, his son, as well as all those 
born in his house and all those he had bought to be slaves, all 
the males in the household of Abraham, and circumcised their 
foreskins that same day as God had told him. {R}_{I}24_{/}Abraham was 
ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, {I}25_{/}and his son, 
Ishmael, was thirteen. {R}_{I}26_{/}Abraham and his son Ishmael were both 
circumcised that same day. {I}27_{/}And every male in his household, 
whether born in his household or bought with money from a 
foreigner, was circumcised with him.

{N}YAHWEH VISITS ABRAHAM{/}

{1}18{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh appeared to Abraham near the oak of Mamre. Abraham 
was sitting at the entrance to his tent, in the heat of the day, 
[=]_{I}2_{/}when he looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When 
he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them. He 
bowed to the ground {I}3_{/}and said, "My Lord, if I have found favor 
in your sight, do not pass your servant by. {R}_{I}4_{/}Let a little 
water be brought. Wash your feet and then rest under the trees. 
{I}5_{/}I shall fetch some bread so that you can be refreshed and 
continue on your way, since you have come to your servant." They 
then said, "Do as you say." {R}_{I}6_{/}Abraham hurried into the tent to 
Sarah and said to her, "Quick, take three measures of flour, knead 
it and make cakes."
{R}_{I}7_{/}Abraham then ran to the herd, took a fine, tender calf, gave 
it to the servant who hurried to prepare it. {R}_{I}8_{/}He took butter 
and milk and together with the calf he had prepared laid it all 
before them. And while he remained standing, they ate. 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}They then asked, "Where is Sarah, your wife?" Abraham 
answered, "She is in the tent." {R}_{I}10_{/}And the visitor said, "At 
this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then will have 
a son."
Now Sarah was behind him, listening at the entrance to the tent. 
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Abraham and Sarah were old, well on in years, and Sarah 
no longer had her monthly periods. {R}_{I}12_{/}Sarah laughed to herself 
saying, "Now that I am old and worn and my husband is an old man, 
am I to have this pleasure?" {R}_{I}13_{/}Yahweh said to Abraham, "Why 
did Sarah laugh, saying: 'Am I really going to have a child now 
that I am old?' [=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Is there anything that is impossible for 
God? At this same time next year I will return and Sarah by then 
will have a son."
{R}_{I}15_{/}Sarah denied saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. 
But he said, "You did laugh."

{N}ABRAHAM INTERCEDES FOR SODOM{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}The men went away and turned towards Sodom. Abraham 
walked with them to set them on their way. [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}And Yahweh 
said, "Can I conceal from Abraham what I am about to do? 
{R}_{I}18_{/}Abraham, in fact, is going to become a great and powerful 
nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be 
blessed, {R}_{I}19_{/}for I have chosen him to command his sons and his 
household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is 
right and just, so that Yahweh may bring about for Abraham what he 
has promised him."
{R}_{I}20_{/}Then Yahweh said, "How great is the cry for justice against 
Sodom and Gomorrah! And how grievous is their sin! {I}21_{/}I am going 
down to see if they have done all that they are charged with in 
the outcry that has reached me. If it is not so, I will know."
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}The men with him turned away and went towards Sodom, but 
Yahweh remained standing before Abraham. {R}_{I}23_{/}Abraham went 
forward and said, "Will you really let the just perish with the 
wicked? [=]_{I}24_{/}Perhaps there are fifty good people in the town. 
Are you really going to let them perish? Would you not spare the 
place for the sake of these fifty righteous people? {I}25_{/}It would 
not be at all like you to do such a thing and you can't let the 
good perish with the wicked, nor treat the good and the wicked 
alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the earth be 
just?" {R}_{I}26_{/}Yahweh said, "If I find fifty good people in Sodom, I 
will spare the whole place for their sake."
{R}_{I}27_{/}Abraham spoke up again, "I know that I am very bold to speak 
like this to my Lord, I who am only dust and ashes! {I}28_{/}But 
perhaps the number of the good is five less than fifty. Will you 
destroy the town because of five?" Yahweh replied, "I will not 
destroy the town if I find forty-five good people there." 
{R}_{I}29_{/}Again Abraham said to him, "Perhaps there will be only 
forty." He answered, "For the sake of forty I will not do it." 
{R}_{I}30_{/}Abraham went on, saying, "May my Lord not be angry, but let 
me speak. Maybe only thirty good people will be found in the 
town." Yahweh answered, "I will not destroy it if I find thirty 
there." {R}_{I}31_{/}Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to 
speak to my Lord, what if only twenty can be found?" He said, "For 
the sake of twenty I will not destroy the place."
{R}_{I}32_{/}But Abraham insisted, "May my Lord not be angry, but let me 
speak just once more. What if only ten can be found?" And Yahweh 
answered, "For the sake of ten good people, I will not destroy 
Sodom." {R}_{I}33_{/}When Yahweh had finished speaking with Abraham, he 
left and Abraham went home.

{N}THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM{/}

{1}19{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When the two angels reached Sodom in the evening, Lot was 
sitting at the gate of the town. As soon as he saw them, he rose 
to meet them, bowed with his face to the ground, {I}2_{/}and said, "My 
lords, I pray you come to your servant's house to stay the night. 
Wash your feet, and then in the morning you may rise early and go 
on your way." They said, "No, we will spend the night in the 
square." {I}3_{/}But so strongly did he insist that they went with him 
to his house; there he prepared a meal for them, baking bread 
without yeast. This they ate.
[=]_{R}_{I}4_{/}They had not yet gone to bed when men from the town 
surrounded the house; they were the men of Sodom, young and old, 
the entire population. {I}5_{/}They called Lot and said to him, "Where 
are the men who arrived here tonight? Send them out so that we may 
have sex with them."
{I}6_{/}Lot went out to meet them, shut the door behind him and said, 
[=]_{I}7_{/}"I beg you, my brothers, don't do such a wicked thing. 
{I}8_{/}I have two daughters who are still virgins; let me bring them 
out to you; you may do with them as you please, but don't do 
anything to these men, for they have come to shelter under my 
roof." {I}9_{/}But they replied, "Get out of the way! This fellow is a 
foreigner and he wants to play the judge! Now we will do worse 
with you than with them." They pressed hard against Lot and drew 
near in order to break the door. {I}10_{/}But the men inside the house 
stretched out their hands to bring Lot inside and then shut the 
door. [=]_{I}11_{/}As for those at the entrance to the house, they 
were struck with blindness, from the smallest to the largest, so 
that they were unable to find the door.
{R}_{I}12_{/}The two men said to Lot, "Who is still here with you? Your 
sons-in-law? Get them out of the place: your sons, your daughters 
and all your people in the town. We are about to destroy this 
place. {I}13_{/}The cry for retribution against it is great before 
Yahweh who has sent us to destroy it." {R}_{I}14_{/}Lot went out and 
spoke to his sons-in-law, those who were to marry his daughters, 
saying, "Hurry, leave, for Yahweh is about to destroy the town." 
But they took what he said as a joke.
{I}15_{/}At daybreak the Angels urged Lot, saying, "Hurry! Take your 
wife and two daughters who are here, lest they perish because of 
the sin of the town." {I}16_{/}As he hesitated, the men took him by 
the hand and his wife and two daughters with him, because Yahweh 
had mercy on him. And they led him outside the town.
[=]_{I}17_{/}When they were outside, the men said to him, "Flee for 
your life and don't look back and don't stop anywhere in the 
plain. Flee to the mountain lest you perish."
{I}18_{/}But Lot replied, "My lords, your servant has found favor with 
you, {I}19_{/}and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. 
But I cannot flee to the mountains for fear the disaster will 
overtake me and I die. See, there is a town near enough for me to 
flee to and it's a small one. {I}20_{/}Let me flee there: it is very 
small (that is why the town is called Zoar). So I will be safe." 
{I}21_{/}And the angel answered, "I grant you this favor as well by 
not destroying the town you speak of. {I}22_{/}But flee fast for I can 
do nothing until you arrive there."
{R}_{I}23_{/}The sun had risen on the earth when Lot reached Zoar. 
[=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}Then Yahweh rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulphur 
out of the heavens from Yahweh, [=]_{I}25_{/}and he completely 
destroyed those towns and all the valley and all the inhabitants 
of the towns and everything that grew there. 

{N}OTHER LEGENDS{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{I}26_{/}Lot's wife looked back and she became a pillar of 
salt.
{R}_{I}27_{/}Early next morning Abraham returned to the place where he 
had stood before Yahweh. [=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}He looked towards Sodom and 
Gomorrah and towards all the land of the valley and he saw smoke 
rising from the earth like the smoke from a furnace.
{R}_{I}29_{/}So when God destroyed the towns of the plain he remembered 
Abraham and made Lot escape from the catastrophe while he 
destroyed the cities where Lot had lived.
{I}30_{/}Lot went up from Zoar and lived in the hills with his two 
daughters, because he was afraid to live in Zoar. He lived in a 
cave, he and his two daughters. {R}_{I}31_{/}The elder said to the 
younger, "Our father is old and there is not a man in the country 
to lie with us as is the custom all over the world. {I}32_{/}Come, let 
us make our father drunk with wine; we shall lie with him and have 
the race survive through our father." {I}33_{/}So they made their 
father drink wine that night and the elder went to lie with her 
father. He knew nothing of it, neither when she lay down nor when 
she left.
{I}34_{/}The next day the elder daughter said to the younger, "Last 
night I lay with my father. Let us give him wine again tonight and 
you go and lie with him. In this way we shall continue the race 
through our father." {I}35_{/}Again that night they got their father 
to drink wine. The younger went and lay with him. He was aware of 
nothing, neither when she lay with him nor when she left. {I}36_{/}And 
the two daughters of Lot became pregnant by their father. {I}37_{/}The 
elder gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He was the ancestor 
of the Moabites who live today. {I}38_{/}The younger, also gave birth 
to a son and named him Ben-ammi. He is the ancestor of the 
Ammonites who exist to this day.

{N}ABRAHAM AND SARAH AT GERAR{/}

{1}20{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Abraham left there for the territory of the Negeb, and 
lived between Kadesh and Shur; and he stayed for a time in Gerar. 
[=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Abraham had said of his wife, "She is my sister"; so 
Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and had her brought to 
him.
{R}_{I}3_{/}But God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. He said to 
him, "You are a dead man because of this woman you have taken, for 
she is a married woman." {I}4_{/}But Abimelech had not gone near her, 
so he said, "My Lord, are you going to kill a pagan who acted with 
good intention? {I}5_{/}Didn't he say to me: 'She is my sister'? And 
she said to me: 'He is my brother.' I acted in the simplicity of 
my heart and with innocent hands." {R}_{I}6_{/}God said to him in the 
dream, "I knew that you did that in the simplicity of your heart 
and I prevented you from sinning against me. That is why I did not 
let you touch her. {R}_{I}7_{/}Now give the woman back to the man for he 
is a prophet; he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you 
do not give her back, know that you will surely die; you and all 
yours will die."
{I}8_{/}So Abimelech rose early in the morning and called all his 
officials and told them all these things. The officials were 
terrified. {R}_{I}9_{/}Abimelech then called Abraham and said to him, 
"What have you done to us? In what way have I wronged you, for you 
to bring against me and my kingdom such a grave sin? You have done 
to me things that should not be done." {R}_{I}10_{/}Abimelech said to 
Abraham, "Why did you act as you did?" {R}_{I}11_{/}Abraham said, "I 
thought there is no fear of God at all in this place and they will 
kill me because of my wife. {I}12_{/}Yet it is true that she is my 
sister, the daughter of my father, but not of my mother, and she 
became my wife. {I}13_{/}So, when the gods made me wander far from my 
father's family, I said to her: Now, if you love me, I beg you to 
say that I am your brother wherever we go."
{R}_{I}14_{/}Abimelech then brought sheep and cattle, male and female 
slaves and gave them to Abraham, and he had Sarah returned to her 
husband. {R}_{I}15_{/}And he told Abraham, "See, you have the run of my 
land; live wherever you please." {R}_{I}16_{/}And to Sarah he said, "I am 
giving your brother a thousand silver coins. It will be as a 
protection for you, and an evidence for all those who are with 
you. So none of them will think ill of you." [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}Then 
Abraham prayed to God_and God healed Abimelech, his wife and his 
servants, so that they were able to have children again. {R}_{I}18_{/}For 
Yahweh had made it impossible for Abimelech's wife and maids to 
have more children, because of Abraham's wife, Sarah.

{N}THE BIRTH OF ISAAC{/}

{1}21{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Yahweh was kind to Sarah as he had said, and 
fulfilled his promise to her. {R}_{I}2_{/}Sarah became pregnant and bore 
a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time Yahweh had 
promised. {R}_{I}3_{/}Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son that Sarah 
bore him {I}4_{/}and circumcised him when he was eight days old, as 
Yahweh had commanded. {R}_{I}5_{/}Abraham was a hundred years old when 
his son Isaac was born to him.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter and everyone who 
hears of this will laugh with me." {R}_{I}7_{/}She added, "Who would have 
told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have given 
birth to a son for him in his old age."

{N}ABRAHAM DISMISSES HAGAR{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}8_{/}The child grew and on the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham 
held a great feast. [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Sarah saw the child that Hagar, the 
Egyptian had borne to Abraham, mocking her son [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}and she 
said to Abraham, "Send this slave girl and her son away; the child 
of this slave must not share the inheritance with my son, Isaac." 
{R}_{I}11_{/}This matter distressed Abraham because it concerned his son, 
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}but God said to him, "Don't be worried about the boy and 
your maidservant. Listen to Sarah and do whatever she says, 
because the race which is called by your name will spring from 
Isaac. {I}13_{/}But from the son of your servant I will also form a 
nation, for he too is your offspring."
[=]_{R}_{I}14_{/}Abraham rose early next morning and gave bread and a 
skin bag of water to Hagar. He put the child on her back and sent 
her away. She went off and wandered in the desert of Beersheba. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}When there was no more water in the skin, she pushed the boy 
under one of the bushes, {I}16_{/}and then went and sat down about a 
hundred yards away, for she thought, "I cannot bear to see my son 
die." 
But as she sat there, the child began to wail. {R}_{I}17_{/}God heard him 
and the Angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said, "What 
is the matter, Hagar? Don't be afraid. God has heard the boy 
crying. {I}18_{/}Get up, pick the boy up and hold him safely, for I 
will make him into a great nation." [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}God then opened her 
eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin and 
gave the boy a drink.
{R}_{I}20_{/}God was with the boy. He grew up and made his home in the 
wilderness and became an expert archer.
{R}_{I}21_{/}He lived in the desert of Paran and his mother chose a wife 
for him from the land of Egypt.
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}At that time Abimelech came with Phicol, the commander 
of his army, to speak to Abraham, "God is with you in everything 
you do; {R}_{I}23_{/}swear to me here before God that you will not deal 
falsely with me or my descendants, but instead you will show to me 
and the country where you are living the same kindness that I have 
shown to you." {R}_{I}24_{/}And Abraham said, "Yes, this I swear."
{R}_{I}25_{/}Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well that 
Abimelech's servants had seized. {I}26_{/}Abimelech said, "I don't 
know who has done this; you did not tell me and I only heard about 
it today." {R}_{I}27_{/}Abraham then took sheep and cattle and gave them 
to Abimelech and the two men made a treaty. {R}_{I}28_{/}Abraham set 
aside seven ewe lambs from the flock. {I}29_{/}Abimelech said to him, 
"Why have you put aside these seven ewe lambs? {R}_{I}30_{/}Abraham 
replied, "Accept these seven lambs from my hand as evidence that I 
dug this well." [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}So the place was called Beersheba 
because the two men took an oath there. {R}_{I}32_{/}After making the 
treaty at Beersheba, Abimelech went away with Phicol, the 
commander of his army, and returned to the land of the 
Philistines. [=]_{R}_{I}33_{/}Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at 
Beersheba and there he called on Yahweh, the everlasting God. 
{R}_{I}34_{/}And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines for a long 
time.

{N}THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC{/}

{1}22{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Some time later God tested Abraham and said to him, 
"Abraham!" And he answered, "Here I am." [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Then God said, 
"Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the 
land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of 
the mountains I shall point out to you."
{R}_{I}3_{/}Abraham rose early next morning and saddled his donkey and 
took with him two of his young men and his son Isaac. He chopped 
wood for the burnt offering and set out for the place to which God 
had directed him. {R}_{I}4_{/}On the third day Abraham looked up and saw 
the place in the distance, {I}5_{/}and he said to the young men, "Stay 
here with the donkey. The boy and I will go over there to worship 
and then we will come back to you."
[=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it 
on Isaac his son. He carried in his hand the fire and the knife. 
As the two of them went on together, {R}_{I}7_{/}Isaac spoke to Abraham, 
his father, "Father!" {R}_{I}8_{/}And Abraham replied, "Yes, my son?" 
Isaac said, "The fire and the wood are here, but where is the lamb 
for the sacrifice?" Abraham replied, "God himself will provide the 
lamb for the sacrifice." 
They went on, the two of them together, {R}_{I}9_{/}until they came to 
the place to which God had directed them. When Abraham had built 
the altar and set the wood on it, he bound his son Isaac and laid 
him on the wood placed on the altar. {I}10_{/}He then stretched out 
his hand to seize the knife and slay his son. {R}_{I}11_{/}But the Angel 
of Yahweh called to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
And he said, "Here I am." [=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}"Do not lay your hand on the 
boy; do not harm him, for now I know that you fear God, and you 
have not held back from me your only son."
{R}_{I}13_{/}Abraham looked around and saw behind him a ram caught by its 
horns in a bush. He offered it as a burnt offering in place of his 
son. {R}_{I}14_{/}Abraham named the place 'The Lord will provide.' And 
the saying has lasted to this day. 
{I}15_{/}And the Angel of Yahweh called from heaven a second time, 
[=]_{I}16_{/}"By myself I have sworn, it is Yahweh who speaks, because 
you have done this and not held back your son, your only son, 
{I}17_{/}I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous 
as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your 
descendants will take possession of the lands of their enemies. 
[=]_{I}18_{/}All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your 
descendants because you have obeyed me." 
{R}_{I}19_{/}So Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off 
together for Beersheba and it was there that Abraham stayed.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Some time after this Abraham was told that Milcah too, had 
borne children for Nahor, Abraham's brother: [=]_{I}21_{/}Uz, the 
firstborn, Buz, his brother, Kemuel the father of Aram, 
{I}22_{/}Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph and Bethuel. [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}Bethuel 
became the father of Rebekah. These eight children Milcah gave 
Nahor, Abraham's brother. {I}24_{/}He also had a concubine, named 
Reumah, who gave birth to Tebah, Gaham, Tahash and Maacah.

{N}THE TOMB OF ABRAHAM AND SARAH{/}

{1}23{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years. {R}_{I}2_{/}She 
died at Kiriatharba - that is Hebron - in the land of Canaan, and 
Abraham went in to weep and mourn for Sarah.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Abraham left his dead one {R}_{I}4_{/}and spoke to the Hittites, "I 
am only a stranger among you; give me a burial place among you, so 
that I may_bury my dead." {R}_{I}5_{/}The Hittites answered Abraham, 
{R}_{I}6_{/}"Hear us, my lord. You are God's prince among us; bury your 
dead in the best of our tombs; none of us would refuse you a tomb 
to bury your dead." {R}_{I}7_{/}Abraham rose and bowed to the Hittites, 
the people of the land, {R}_{I}8_{/}and then spoke to them, "If you are 
willing that I bury my dead, hear me and plead with Ephron, the 
son of Zohar, {I}9_{/}to give me the cave of Machpelah belonging to 
him; it is at the edge of his field. For the full price and in 
your presence, let him give it to me for a burial place." 
{R}_{I}10_{/}Now Ephron was there sitting among the Hittites, and he 
replied to Abraham in the hearing of all who were seated at the 
gate of the town, {R}_{I}11_{/}"No, my lord, listen! I give you the field 
and I give you the cave in it. In the presence of the sons of my 
people, I give it to you. Bury your dead there."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Abraham bowed before the people of the land and spoke to 
Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, {R}_{I}13_{/}"Ah, if 
only you will listen to me, I will give you the price of the land. 
Accept it from me that I may bury my dead there." {R}_{I}14_{/}Ephron 
replied to Abraham, "My lord, hear me. {R}_{I}15_{/}Four hundred silver 
coins for a piece of land, is it not the right price for both of 
us? Bury your dead." [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Abraham agreed with Ephron and he 
weighed out for Ephron the silver he had insisted on in the 
hearing of the Hittites, four hundred silver coins, in merchants' 
coins.
{R}_{I}17_{/}And so Ephron's field in Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, 
the field with the cave in it, and all the trees in the field, 
throughout its entire area, {R}_{I}18_{/}was acquired by Abraham as his 
possession in the presence of the Hittites and of all who went in 
at the gate of their city. {R}_{I}19_{/}After this Abraham buried his 
wife Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. {R}_{I}20_{/}The unused field and 
the cave that is in it were given to Abraham as a possession for a 
burying place by the Hittites.

{N}ELIEZER FINDS A WIFE FOR ISAAC{/}

{1}24{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Abraham was now old and well on in years, and Yahweh had 
blessed him in every way. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Abraham said to his senior 
servant, who was his steward, "Put your hand under my thigh 
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}and you will swear to me by Yahweh, God of heaven and 
earth, that you will not choose a wife for my son from the 
daughters of the Canaanites among whom we live; {R}_{I}4_{/}rather it is 
to my country and my kinsfolk that you will go to choose a wife 
for my son, Isaac."
{I}5_{/}The servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not want to 
follow me to this country. In that case should I take your son to 
the country you came from?" {R}_{I}6_{/}Abraham said to him, "In no way 
will you take my son back. {R}_{I}7_{/}For Yahweh, God of heaven and God 
of earth, who took me from my father's house and from the land of 
my birth, spoke to me and swore to me that he would give this 
country to my race. He will send his angel before you, that you 
may find a wife for my son. {I}8_{/}But if the woman is unwilling to 
follow you, you will be free of this oath. In any case you are not 
to take my son down there." {R}_{I}9_{/}So the servant placed his hand 
under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and swore to him that he 
would do it.
{I}10_{/}The servant took ten of his master's camels and set out, 
taking with him something of the best from all that his master 
owned. He rose and went off in the direction of Aram Naharaim, 
towards the town of Nahor. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}And he made the camels kneel 
outside the town, near the well, in the evening when the women go 
to draw water.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}The steward then prayed, "Yahweh, God of my master 
Abraham, be with me and show your loving kindness to Abraham, my 
master. {R}_{I}13_{/}See, I am standing at the spring while the girls of 
the city are coming to draw water. {R}_{I}14_{/}Now I will ask them like 
this: 'Please tilt your pitcher that I may drink.' Now, the first 
girl who will say: 'Drink and I will water your camels as well'; 
let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. In this 
way I shall know you have shown kindness to my master."
[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}He had not finished praying when Rebekah came out. She 
was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, wife of Abraham's 
brother, Nahor. She had a pitcher on her shoulder. {R}_{I}16_{/}The girl 
was very beautiful and a virgin, for no man had lain with her. She 
went down to the well, filled her pitcher and came up again. 
[=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}The servant ran to meet her and said, "Please let me 
drink a little water from your pitcher." {I}18_{/}She said, "Drink, my 
lord!" and at once lowering her pitcher to her hand she let him 
drink. {R}_{I}19_{/}When she had finished letting him drink, she said, "I 
am going to water your camels as well, until they have had 
enough." {R}_{I}20_{/}She hurried to empty her pitcher into the trough, 
and then ran again to draw water for all his camels, {R}_{I}21_{/}while 
the man watched in silence to find out whether Yahweh was making 
his journey successful or not.
{R}_{I}22_{/}So when the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a 
gold nose ring weighing half a shekel and for her arms two gold 
bracelets weighing ten shekels. {I}23_{/}He then said, "Whose daughter 
are you? Please tell me! Is there room in your father's house 
where we can spend the night?" {I}24_{/}She said to him, "I am the 
daughter of Bethuel, the son Milcah bore to Nahor." {I}25_{/}She 
continued, "We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room for you 
to spend the night."
{R}_{I}26_{/}Then the man knelt and wor-shiped Yahweh {R}_{I}27_{/}saying, 
"Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, who has not stopped 
showing kindness and faithfulness to my master. Yahweh has guided 
me to the house of my master's brother." {I}28_{/}The girl ran to her 
mother's house and related all these things. {R}_{I}29_{/}Now Rebekah had 
a brother named Laban and Laban ran out to the man, near the 
spring. {R}_{I}30_{/}As soon as he saw the ring and the bracelets on his 
sister's arms, as soon as he heard his sister Rebekah saying, 
"This is what the_man said to me...," he came towards Abraham's 
steward who was standing near the camels by the spring. {I}31_{/}He 
said to him, "Come in, you who are blessed by Yahweh. Why do you 
stay outside? I have prepared the house and there is room for your 
camels." {R}_{I}32_{/}So the man entered the house and unloaded the 
camels. Straw and fodder were given to the camels and water to 
wash the feet of the man and of those who were with him. {I}33_{/}Then 
they gave him food to eat, but he said, "I won't eat until I have 
said what I have to say!" Laban said, "Speak!"
{R}_{I}34_{/}Then he spoke like this, "I am the servant of Abraham. 
Yahweh has greatly blessed my master and he has become very rich. 
{I}35_{/}Yahweh_has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, 
menservants and maidservants, camels and donkeys. {R}_{I}36_{/}Now Sarah, 
my master's wife, bore him a son in her old age; {R}_{I}37_{/}so my 
master has given him all he owns and he made me swear an oath 
saying: 'You will not choose a wife for my son from the daughters 
of these Canaanites in whose country I live; {I}38_{/}rather you will 
go to my father's house, to my kinsfolk and there you will choose 
a wife for my son.' {I}39_{/}I then said to my master, 'Perhaps the 
woman will not agree to come with me!' {I}40_{/}And his reply was: 
'Yahweh, in whose presence I have walked, will send his angel with 
you and make your journey successful. You will choose a wife for 
my son from my own clan and from my father's house. {I}41_{/}This is 
what you have to do to be released from your oath. Whether they 
refuse you or not you will be free of the oath.'
{R}_{I}42_{/}So on arriving at the spring, I prayed, 'Yahweh, God of my 
master, Abraham, if you wish my journey to be successful, let it 
happen like this: {R}_{I}43_{/}as I stand by the spring a girl will come 
to draw water and I will say to her: Let me drink a little from 
your pitcher. {R}_{I}44_{/}If she answers me: Yes, drink, and I will draw 
water for your camels as well, let it be that she is the wife 
Yahweh has chosen for my master's son.' I was still thinking this 
over, {R}_{I}45_{/}when Rebekah came out with a pitcher on her shoulder. 
She went down to the spring and drew water. I said to her, 
'Please, let me drink!' {R}_{I}46_{/}She immediately lowered the pitcher 
and said, 'Drink! I will water your camels as well!' I drank and 
she watered the camels. {I}47_{/}I questioned her saying, 'Who is your 
father?' And she said, 'I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of 
Nahor and Milcah.' I then put this ring through her nostril and 
bracelets on her arms. {R}_{I}48_{/}Then I knelt in worship and blessed 
Yahweh, God of my master, Abraham, who had led me to choose the 
daughter of my master's brother for his son. {I}49_{/}Now let me know 
whether you intend to show kindness and faithfulness to my master; 
if not, tell me and I shall know which way to turn."
{R}_{I}50_{/}Laban and Bethuel replied, "This is God's doing. It is not 
for us to decide either way. {I}51_{/}Here is Rebekah, take her and 
go. Let her become the wife of your master's son as Yahweh has 
directed." {R}_{I}52_{/}When Abraham's servant heard this answer, he 
bowed to the ground before Yahweh. {I}53_{/}He then took the gold and 
silver jewelry as well as the clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He 
also gave costly gifts to her brother and mother. {R}_{I}54_{/}They ate 
and drank, he and his companions, and spent the night there.
When they were up next morning, the_servant said, "Let me return 
to my master." {I}55_{/}Rebekah's mother and brother replied, "Let the 
girl remain with_us for a few days, about ten. After that she may 
go." {R}_{I}56_{/}He said, "Do not delay me; since Yahweh has made my 
journey successful, let me leave and return to my master." 
{I}57_{/}They then said, "Call the girl and ask her about it." 
{R}_{I}58_{/}They called and questioned Rebekah, "Do you want to leave 
with this man?" She said, "I will go." {R}_{I}59_{/}So they let Rebekah, 
their sister, go with her nurse and Abraham's servant and his men. 
[=]_{I}60_{/}They blessed Rebekah with these words,
"Sister of ours, may you increase to thousands upon thousands, may 
your descendants take possession of the cities of their enemies."
{R}_{I}61_{/}Then Rebekah and her maids got ready, mounted the camels and 
followed Abraham's servant. So it was that he departed bringing 
Rebekah.
{R}_{I}62_{/}Now Isaac had come from the well of Lahai-roi, for he was 
living in the Negeb. {R}_{I}63_{/}As Isaac went out in the early evening 
to meditate in the field, he looked up and saw camels coming. 
{R}_{I}64_{/}Rebekah also looked up and when she saw Isaac she alighted 
from her camel {R}_{I}65_{/}and said to the servant, "Who is this man in 
the field coming to meet us?" He replied, "It is my master!" She 
then covered her face with her veil. {R}_{I}66_{/}The servant related to 
Isaac all that he_had done {R}_{I}67_{/}and Isaac brought Rebekah into 
the tent of Sarah, his mother. He made her his wife, and he loved 
her; and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

{N}ABRAHAM AND HIS DESCENDANTS{/}

{1}25{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Abraham married another wife named Keturah. [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}She 
bore him Zimram, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah. 
{I}3_{/}Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan, and the sons of 
Dedan were the Asshurites, the Letushites, and the Leummites. 
{I}4_{/}The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida and 
Eldaah. All these were descendants of Keturah.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Abraham left everything he owned to Isaac. {R}_{I}6_{/}To the sons 
of his concubines Abraham gave presents, and as long as he lived 
he sent them away from his son Isaac, to the land of the east.
{R}_{I}7_{/}Abraham had lived a hundred and seventy-five years. {R}_{I}8_{/}Then 
at a good old age Abraham breathed his last, an old man, after a 
full span of years, and was gathered to his ancestors. {R}_{I}9_{/}His 
sons, Isaac and Ishmael, buried him in the cave at Machpelah, 
{R}_{I}10_{/}in the field of Ephron the Hittite, son of Zohar. This was 
the field near Mamre that Abraham bought from the Hittites. 
Abraham and his wife, Sarah, were buried there. {R}_{I}11_{/}After 
Abraham's death God blessed his son Isaac who lived near the well 
of Lahai-roi.
{R}_{I}12_{/}These are the descendants of Ishmael, the son of Abraham and 
Hagar, the Egyptian. {I}13_{/}These are the names of the sons of 
Ishmael in order of their birth. Ishmael's firstborn was Nebaioth, 
and after him Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, {I}14_{/}Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 
{I}15_{/}Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah. {I}16_{/}These are the 
sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, according to their 
settlements and camps, twelve tribal princes. {I}17_{/}Ishmael lived a 
hundred and thirty-seven years. He breathed his last and died and 
was gathered to his people.
{R}_{I}18_{/}His descendants lived in the territory stretching from 
Havilah to Shur, near the border of Egypt in the direction of 
Assyria. They have been fighting continually among themselves.
{R}_{I}19_{/}This is the story of Isaac, son of Abraham. {I}20{/}Isaac was 
forty when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel, the Aramean 
from Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Aramean.

{N}THE BIRTH OF ESAU AND JACOB{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}21_{/}Isaac prayed to Yahweh for his wife, because she could 
not have children. Yahweh heard Isaac's prayer and Rebekah, his 
wife, conceived. [=]_{I}22_{/}As the children struggled together 
within her, she said, "If it is like this, why do I continue to 
live?" She went to consult Yahweh, [=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}and Yahweh said to 
her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be born 
of you; one nation will be stronger than the other, and the elder 
shall serve the younger."
{I}24_{/}When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in 
her womb. {R}_{I}25_{/}The first to be born was red and his whole body 
was like a hairy garment, so_they called him Esau. [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}Then 
his brother was born and his hand had gripped Esau's heel so he 
was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty at the time of their birth. 
{R}_{I}27_{/}When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man 
of the open country; Jacob was a quiet man living in tents. 
[=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}Isaac who had a liking for game loved Esau, but Rebekah 
loved Jacob.
{R}_{I}29_{/}Once when Jacob was making a stew, Esau came back from the 
country and he was famished; {R}_{I}30_{/}and he said to Jacob, "Let me 
have some of that red stew, for I am famished." That is why he was 
also called Edom. [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}Jacob said, "First sell me your right 
as the firstborn." {I}32_{/}Esau said, "Since I am to die soon, what 
good is my right as the firstborn to me?" {R}_{I}33_{/}Then Jacob said, 
"Give me your oath first." So he swore to him and sold his 
firstborn right to Jacob. [=]_{R}_{I}34_{/}Then Jacob gave him bread and 
the lentil stew. Esau ate and drank and then got up and went his 
way. So it was that Esau thought nothing of his right as the 
firstborn.

{N}EVENTS IN ISAAC'S LIFE{/}

{1}26{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}There was a famine in the land - a second one after the 
famine that had taken place in the time of Abraham - and Isaac 
went to Gerar, the land of Abimelech, king of the Philistines. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}For Yahweh appeared to him and said, "Do not go down to 
Egypt; stay in the land I shall tell you of. {R}_{I}3_{/}Remain in this 
land, and I will be with you and I will bless you. I will give all 
these lands to you and your race, and I shall keep the oath I 
swore to your father, Abraham. For I told him: {I}4_{/}I will make 
your descendants as many as the stars in the heavens, and to them 
I will give all these lands; and through your descendants all 
nations in the world will be blessed [=]_{I}5_{/}because you were 
obedient and kept my charge, my commandments, my decrees and my 
laws."
{R}_{I}6_{/}So Isaac stayed in Gerar. {I}7_{/}When the men of that place 
questioned him about his wife, he replied, "She is my sister." He 
would not say, "She is my wife," for he was afraid and he thought, 
"The men of this place might kill me because of Rebekah who is 
very beautiful."
{R}_{I}8_{/}When Isaac had been there a long time, it happened that 
Abimelech, looking out of a window, saw Isaac caressing his wife 
Rebekah. {R}_{I}9_{/}Abimelech called Isaac and said, "So she really is 
your wife! Why did you tell me that she was your sister?" Isaac 
said to him, "Because I thought that they might kill me on her 
account." {I}10_{/}Then Abimelech said, "What is this you have done to 
us? One of my people could have slept with your wife and you would 
have brought guilt on us." {R}_{I}11_{/}So Abimelech gave an order to all 
the people: "Whoever molests this man or his wife will be put to 
death."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Isaac sowed crops on this land and that same year he 
harvested a hundredfold. Yahweh blessed him {I}13_{/}and he prospered. 
He continued to prosper until he was very rich. {R}_{I}14_{/}He had 
flocks and herds and many servants so that the Philistines envied 
him. {R}_{I}15_{/}All the wells dug by his_father's servants in Abraham's 
time were stopped up by the Philistines and filled with earth. 
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Abimelech said to Isaac, "Go away from us for you are 
more powerful than we are." {R}_{I}17_{/}So Isaac left that place and 
encamped in the Valley of Gerar and settled there.
{R}_{I}18_{/}Isaac opened up again the wells that had been dug in the 
time of his father, Abraham, and that the Philistines had blocked 
up after Abraham's death. He gave these wells the names his father 
had given them. {R}_{I}19_{/}Isaac's servants dug in the valley and 
discovered there a fresh water spring. {R}_{I}20_{/}The herdsmen of Gerar 
quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen saying, "The water is ours!" So he 
named the well Esek, because they squabbled about it. {I}21_{/}They 
dug another well and there was quarreling about that as well, so 
he called it Sitnah. [=]_{I}22_{/}He moved away from there and dug 
another well and as no one quarreled over it, he called it 
Rehoboth saying, "Now the Lord has made room for us, we shall 
prosper in the land."
{R}_{I}23_{/}From there Isaac went to Beersheba, {R}_{I}24_{/}and Yahweh 
appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of Abraham, 
your father; do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you 
and increase your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham." 
[=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of 
Yahweh. It was there he pitched his tent and there his servants 
dug a well.
{I}26_{/}Abimelech went to him from Gerar together with Ahuzzath, his 
friend, and Phicol, the commander of his forces. {R}_{I}27_{/}Isaac said 
to him, "Why have you come after me seeing that you hate me and 
have sent me away?" [=]_{I}28_{/}They answered, "We have clearly seen 
that Yahweh is with you, so we said: Let peace be sworn between us 
and you, and let us make a treaty: {I}29_{/}you will do us no harm, 
just as we have not interfered with you, but always treated you 
well and sent you away in peace. We know that you have Yahweh's 
blessing."
[=]_{R}_{I}30_{/}Isaac then made a feast for them and they ate and drank. 
{R}_{I}31_{/}Next morning they rose early and swore an oath to each 
other. Isaac then set them on their way and they left him in 
peace. {R}_{I}32_{/}That day Isaac's servants came and told him of the 
well they had dug: "We have found water." {R}_{I}33_{/}He called the well 
Shibeah and that is why the name of the town has been Beersheba to 
this day.
[=]_{I}34_{/}When Esau was forty, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri 
the Hittite, and Basemath, the daughter of Elon, the Hittite. 
{R}_{I}35_{/}They made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah.

{N}JACOB OBTAINS THE BLESSING BY DECEIT{/}

{1}27{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}When Isaac was old and his eyes so weak that he could no 
longer see, he called Esau, his older son, and said to him, "My 
son." "Here I_am," he answered. {R}_{I}2_{/}Isaac continued, "You see I 
am old and I don't know when I shall die; {I}3_{/}so take your 
weapons, your bow and arrow, go out into the country and hunt some 
game for me. {I}4_{/}Then prepare some of the savory food I like and 
bring it to me so that I may eat and give you my blessing before I 
die."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. 
When Esau went into the country to hunt game and bring it back, 
{R}_{I}6_{/}Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father saying to 
your brother Esau: {I}7_{/}'Bring me some game and prepare food for me 
that I may eat and bless you before Yahweh before I die.' 
[=]_{I}8_{/}Now my son, listen and do what I command you. {I}9_{/}Go to 
the flock and bring me two fine kids so that I can prepare for 
your father the food that he likes. {I}10_{/}You will bring it to your 
father and he will eat it and give you his blessing before he 
dies."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Jacob said to Rebekah, "My brother Esau is a hairy man and I 
am smooth-skinned. {I}12_{/}Perhaps my father will feel me and I will 
seem to be tricking him and so bring a curse on myself instead of 
a blessing." {I}13_{/}But his mother said, "Let the curse fall on me, 
my son! Only do what I tell you; go and get the kids for me." 
{I}14_{/}So he went and got them and took them to his mother to 
prepare food that his father liked. {R}_{I}15_{/}Then Rebekah took the 
best clothes of her elder son Esau that she had in the house and 
put them on Jacob, her younger son. {I}16_{/}With the goatskin she 
covered his hands and the smooth part of his neck, {I}17_{/}and she 
handed to him the bread and food she had prepared.
{I}18_{/}He went to his father and said, "Father!" He answered, "Yes, 
my son, who is it?" {R}_{I}19_{/}and Jacob said to his father, "It is 
Esau, your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Come, 
sit up and eat my game so that you may give me your blessing." 
{R}_{I}20_{/}Isaac said, "How quick you have been my son!" Jacob said, 
"Yahweh, your God, guided me." {R}_{I}21_{/}Isaac said to Jacob, "Come 
near and let me feel you, my son, and know that it is you, Esau my 
son, or not."
{R}_{I}22_{/}When Jacob drew near to Isaac, his father felt him and said, 
"The voice is the voice of Jacob but the hands are the_hands of 
Esau." {I}23_{/}He did not recognize him, for his hands were hairy 
like the hands of Esau his brother and so he_blessed him. {R}_{I}24_{/}He 
asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" and Jacob answered, "I am." 
{R}_{I}25_{/}Isaac said, "Bring me some of your game, my son, so that I 
may eat and give you my blessing." So Jacob brought it to him and 
he ate. And he brought him wine and he drank. {R}_{I}26_{/}Then his 
father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss me, my son." 
{R}_{I}27_{/}So Jacob came near and kissed him.
Isaac then caught the smell of his clothes and blessed him, 
saying,
"The smell of my son is like the smell of a field which the Lord 
has blessed.
[=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}May God give you of the dew of heaven;
and of the richness of the earth;
and abundance of grain and wine.
[=]_{R}_{I}29_{/}Let peoples serve you
and nations bow down before you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and let your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone that curses you
and blessed be everyone
that blesses you!"
{R}_{I}30_{/}When Isaac had finished blessing him and Jacob had just left 
Isaac's room, Esau came in from hunting. {I}31_{/}He also prepared 
food and brought it to his father and said to him, "Father, sit up 
and eat the game your son has prepared, so that you may give me 
your blessing." {R}_{I}32_{/}Isaac said, "Who are you?" "I am your son, 
your firstborn, Esau." {R}_{I}33_{/}Isaac trembled violently and said, 
"Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it 
all before you came and I blessed him and he will be blessed."
{I}34_{/}On hearing his father's words, Esau gave a loud and bitter 
cry and said, "Bless me, too, father." [=]_{R}_{I}35_{/}But Isaac said, 
"Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing." 
[=]_{R}_{I}36_{/}Esau said, "Is it because he is called Jacob that he has 
supplanted me twice? First he took my birthright and now he has 
taken my blessing." Then he asked, "Haven't you kept a blessing 
for me?" {R}_{I}37_{/}Isaac answered Esau, "I have made him your lord. I 
have given him all his brothers as servants; I have provided him 
with grain and wine. What can I do for you, my son?"
{I}38_{/}Esau said to his father, "Have you only one blessing? Father, 
bless me, too." Then Esau wept aloud. [=]_{R}_{I}39_{/}Isaac then gave 
him this answer,
"Your dwelling place shall be far away from the richness of the 
earth, away from the dew of heaven above.
{I}40_{/}You shall live by your sword, and you shall serve your 
brother;
but when you win your freedom you will throw off his yoke from 
your neck."

{N}JACOB FLEES TO THE HOUSE OF LABAN {/}

{R}_{I}41_{/}Now Esau continued to hate his brother because of the 
blessing his father had given him and he thought to himself, "The 
time of mourning for my father is near; I shall then kill my 
brother Jacob." [=]_{R}_{I}42_{/}When Rebekah was told what her elder son 
had said, she sent and called her younger son, Jacob, and said to 
him, "Your brother Esau is consoling himself with the thought of 
killing you. {I}43_{/}Now my son, listen to me and flee to Laban, my 
brother, in Haran. {I}44_{/}You will stay with him for a time 
{I}45_{/}until your brother's fury has cooled; and when he has 
forgotten his anger and what you did to him, I will send someone 
to bring you back. Why should I lose both of you on the same day?"
{R}_{I}46_{/}Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the 
Hittite women. If Jacob marries a woman from this land, a Hittite 
like these, what value is there left in life for me?"

{1}28{/}

[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Isaac summoned Jacob and blessed him and commanded him, 
"Do not marry a Canaanite woman. {I}2_{/}Go to Paddan-aram, to the 
house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and choose a wife for 
yourself from the daughters of Laban, your mother's brother. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}May God Almighty bless you and make you increase to become a 
group of nations. {R}_{I}4_{/}May he grant you and your descendants the 
blessings of Abraham, so that you may take possession of the land 
where you live now, and that Yahweh gave to Abraham. {R}_{I}5_{/}Isaac 
sent Jacob away and he went to Paddan-aram to Laban, the son of 
Bethuel, the Aramean, brother to Rebekah.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him to Paddan-
aram to choose a wife for himself, and in blessing him had 
commanded him, "Do not marry a Canaanite woman." {R}_{I}7_{/}And in 
obedience to his father and mother, Jacob had gone to Paddan-aram. 
{R}_{I}8_{/}So Esau understood how displeasing the Canaanite women were 
to his father Isaac. {R}_{I}9_{/}So he went to Ishmael and chose a wife 
for himself besides those he already had - Mahalath, daughter of 
Ishmael, son of Abraham and sister of Nebaioth.

{N}JACOB'S DREAM{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}10_{/}Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. {I}11_{/}When he 
reached a certain place the sun had set and he spent the night 
there. He took one of the stones that were there and using it as a 
pillow, he lay down to sleep.
[=]_{R}_{I}12_{/}While Jacob was sleeping, he had a dream in which a 
ladder stood on the earth with its top reaching to heaven and on 
it were angels of God going up and coming down. [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}And 
Yahweh was standing there near him and said, "I am Yahweh, the God 
of your father, Abraham, and the God of Isaac. The land on which 
you sleep, I give to you and your descendants. {I}14_{/}Your 
descendants will be numerous like the specks of dust of the earth 
and you will spread out to the west and the east, to the north and 
the south. Through you and your descendants all the nations of the 
earth will be blessed. {I}15_{/}See, I am with you and I will keep you 
safe wherever you go. I will bring you back to this land and not 
leave you until I have done what I promised." {R}_{I}16_{/}Jacob woke 
from his dream and said, "Truly Yahweh was in this place and I was 
not aware of it." [=]_{R}_{I}17_{/}He was afraid and said, "How full of 
awe is this place! It is nothing less than a House of God; it is 
the Gate to Heaven!"
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}Then Jacob rose early and took the stone he had put 
under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on the top 
of it. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}He named that place Bethel although before that 
it was called Luz. [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}Then Jacob made a vow, "If Yahweh 
will be with me and keep me safe during this journey I am making, 
if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, {R}_{I}21_{/}and if I 
return in peace to my father's house, then Yahweh will be my God. 
[=]_{R}_{I}22_{/}This stone which I have set up as a pillar will be God's 
house, and of all that you give me, I will give back a tenth."

{N}JACOB ARRIVES AT LABAN'S HOME{/}

{1}29{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Jacob set out and came to the land of the people of the 
east. [=]_{I}2_{/}There he saw a well and lying beside the well were 
three flocks of sheep, for it was at this well that the flocks 
were watered, and a large stone covered the mouth of the well. 
{I}3_{/}Then when all the flocks gathered there, the shepherds rolled 
away the stone from the opening of the well, watered their flocks 
and replaced the stone at the mouth of the well. {R}_{I}4_{/}Jacob said 
to them, "Brothers, where are you from?" "We are from Haran," they 
replied. {I}5_{/}He then said, "Do you know Laban, Nahor's son?" "Yes, 
we know him," they replied. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}And Jacob asked, "Is he 
well?" "Yes, he is well," they said, "and here is Rachel, his 
daughter, coming with the sheep!"
{R}_{I}7_{/}Jacob then said, "Look! The sun is still high; it's not yet 
time for the flocks to be gathered together. Water the sheep and 
let them graze." {R}_{I}8_{/}But they said, "We cannot do that until all 
the flocks are gathered together and the stone is rolled away from 
the mouth of the well; it's then we water the sheep."
{R}_{I}9_{/}He was still speaking when Rachel arrived with her father's 
flock, for she looked after them. {R}_{I}10_{/}As soon as Jacob saw 
Rachel he went forward and rolled the stone from the mouth of the 
well and then watered Laban's flock. {R}_{I}11_{/}Then Jacob kissed 
Rachel and wept aloud.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Jacob told Rachel he was her father's kinsman and Rebekah's 
son, and she ran and told her father. {R}_{I}13_{/}As soon as Laban heard 
the news about Jacob being his sister's son, he ran to meet him; 
and after embracing and kissing him_he brought him into his house. 
Jacob told Laban all that had happened {R}_{I}14_{/}and Laban said to 
him, "Truly you are my bone and flesh!" And Jacob stayed there a 
month with him.

{N}JACOB'S TWO MARRIAGES{/}

{R}_{I}15_{/}Laban said to Jacob, "Even if you are my kinsman, should you 
work for me for nothing? Tell me, what wages do you want?"
{R}_{I}16_{/}Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was 
Leah and the name of the younger was Rachel. {R}_{I}17_{/}Leah's eyes 
were weak but Rachel had a lovely figure and was beautiful. 
[=]_{R}_{I}18_{/}Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel and he said, "I 
will work for you for seven years in return for your younger 
daughter, Rachel." {R}_{I}19_{/}Laban said, "It is better for me to give 
her to you than to any other man; stay with me."
{R}_{I}20_{/}To win Rachel, Jacob worked for seven years which seemed to 
him only a few days, because he loved her so much. {R}_{I}21_{/}Jacob 
then said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for I have served my time 
and I want to lie with her." {I}22_{/}So Laban gathered together all 
the people of the place and gave a feast. {R}_{I}23_{/}But when night 
came he took his daughter Leah and gave her to Jacob and he lay 
with her. {I}24_{/}Laban gave his slave girl Zilpah to Leah to be her 
maid.
{R}_{I}25_{/}When morning came, there was Leah! And Jacob said to Laban, 
"What have you done to_me? Haven't I worked with you for Rachel? 
Why have you deceived me?" {I}26_{/}Laban said, "It is not our custom 
to give the younger daughter before the firstborn. {I}27_{/}As soon as 
the marriage week is over, I will give you my younger daughter as 
well, but you must work with me for another seven years. 
{R}_{I}28_{/}Jacob agreed to this and_when he completed the week with 
Leah, Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife.
{R}_{I}29_{/}Laban gave Rachel his slave girl, Bilhah, to_be her 
maidservant. [=]_{R}_{I}30_{/}So Jacob slept with Rachel as well, and he 
loved Rachel more than Leah. And he continued working for Laban 
another seven years.

{N}JACOB'S CHILDREN{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}As Yahweh saw that Leah was not loved, he let her 
have children; but Rachel was barren. {I}32_{/}Leah gave birth to a 
child and named him Reuben, for she said, "Because the Lord has 
seen my affliction; my husband is sure to love me now." {I}33_{/}She 
gave birth to another son and said, "Yahweh saw that I was 
neglected and has given me this son as well"; and she called him 
Simeon. {I}34_{/}Again she gave birth to a son and said, "This time my 
husband will be united to me because I have borne him three sons." 
That is why he was called Levi. {R}_{I}35_{/}She again gave birth to a 
son and said: "This time I will praise Yahweh." That is why she 
named him Judah. After that she had no more children.

{1}30{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}When Rachel saw that she bore Jacob no children, she became 
jealous of her sister, and so she said to Jacob, "Give me sons or 
I shall die." [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Jacob became angry and said to her, "Is it 
my fault that God has deprived you of children?" {I}3_{/}She then 
said, "Here is my servant Bilhah; sleep with her so that she may 
give birth on my knees; so the child will be mine." {R}_{I}4_{/}And she 
gave Bilhah her servant as wife to Jacob. {I}5_{/}She became pregnant 
and bore him a son. {R}_{I}6_{/}Rachel then said, "God has done me 
justice! He has heard my prayer and given me a son. That is why 
she named him Dan. {R}_{I}7_{/}Bilhah, Rachel's servant, bore a second 
son to Jacob. {R}_{I}8_{/}And Rachel said, "I have had a mighty struggle 
with my sister and I have won!" And so she named her son Naphtali.
{R}_{I}9_{/}When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took 
her servant, Zilpah, and gave her to Jacob as a wife. {R}_{I}10_{/}Zilpah 
gave birth to a son for Jacob. {I}11_{/}Leah said "How fortunate!" and 
named him Gad. {R}_{I}12_{/}Leah's servant bore a second son to Jacob. 
[=]_{I}13_{/}Leah said, "How happy I am! Women will call me happy." So 
she named him Asher.
{R}_{I}14_{/}At the time of the wheat harvest, Reuben went out to the 
fields and found some mandrake plants which he brought to his 
mother, Leah. Rachel said to Leah, "Please give me some of your 
son's mandrakes." [=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}But Leah replied, "Isn't it enough for 
you to have taken my husband? Now you want to take my son's 
mandrakes as well!" Rachel then said, "He will sleep with you 
tonight in return for your son's mandrakes."
{R}_{I}16_{/}In the evening when Jacob came in from the fields Leah went 
to meet him and said, "You will sleep with me tonight for I have 
hired you with my son's mandrakes!" So he slept with her that 
night. {R}_{I}17_{/}Yahweh heard Leah, and she became pregnant and bore 
Jacob a fifth son. {R}_{I}18_{/}Leah said, "God has given me my reward 
because I gave my maidservant to my husband." She named the child 
Issachar.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Leah bore another son to Jacob. {R}_{I}20_{/}Then she said, "God 
has offered me a beautiful gift; this time my husband will honor 
me for I have given him six children." She named the child 
Zebulun. {I}21_{/}She later gave birth to a daughter and called her 
Dinah.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Then Yahweh remembered Rachel and let her have a child. 
{I}23_{/}She became pregnant and gave birth to a son. "Yahweh has 
taken away my shame," she said. {R}_{I}24_{/}And she called the child 
Joseph saying,"May Yahweh give me another son."

{N}OTHER LEGENDS{/}

{R}_{I}25_{/}After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, 
"Let me go, so that I may return to my homeland. {I}26_{/}Give me my 
wives and my children, for whom I have served you, and let me go, 
for you know how well I have served you." {I}27_{/}Laban said, "If I 
have won your friendship... I have learned from signs that Yahweh 
has blessed me because of you." {I}28_{/}He then added, "Say what you 
want for wages and I will pay you." {R}_{I}29_{/}Jacob said, "You know 
how well I have served you and how your cattle have prospered with 
me. {I}30_{/}For you had little when I came, but since I have been 
with you there has been a considerable increase and Yahweh has 
blessed you. But now, when am I to do something for my own 
household?" {I}31_{/}Laban asked, "What shall I give you?"
Jacob replied, "You will give me nothing, but if you do for me 
what I ask, I will continue to pasture and look after your flock. 
{I}32_{/}Today I shall go through your flock removing from it every 
black lamb, and the spotted and speckled among the goats; these 
shall be my wages. {I}33_{/}My honesty will answer for me later, when 
you come to look into my wages. Any goat among my herd that is not 
spotted or speckled, any lamb found among the sheep in my 
possession that is not black will be counted as stolen." 
{I}34_{/}Laban said, "Agreed, it will be as you say."
{I}35_{/}That same day Laban put aside the he-goats that were 
streaked, every one that had white on it, and all the black sheep. 
These he handed over to his sons {R}_{I}36_{/}and he put a distance of a 
three days' journey between himself and Jacob. So Jacob looked 
after the rest of Laban's flock.
{R}_{I}37_{/}Jacob then gathered fresh branches of poplar, almond and 
plane. He peeled white streaks in them, letting the white of the 
stems be seen. {I}38_{/}Then he placed the branches he had peeled in 
front of the channels of the watering troughs where the animals 
came to drink and where they could be clearly seen by the animals. 
And as they mated there in front of the branches when they came to 
drink, {I}39_{/}the animals produced streaked, spotted and speckled 
young. {I}40_{/}He put the sheep apart but made the rest face the 
streaked and dark colored animals that belonged to Laban. In this 
way he built up droves of his own and did not add them to Laban's 
flock. {R}_{I}41_{/}Whenever the stronger of the ewes were breeding, 
Jacob put the branches in the channels in front of the eyes of the 
ewes so that they would mate there among the branches. {R}_{I}42_{/}But 
for the feebler ewes he did not put them there so that the feebler 
were for Laban and the more robust for Jacob. {I}43_{/}In this way he 
became extremely rich with a great number of sheep, maidservants 
and menservants, camels and donkeys.

{N}JACOB RETURNS TO HIS LAND{/}

{1}31{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Jacob learned that the sons of Laban were saying, "Jacob has 
taken everything our father owned, and it is at our father's 
expense that he has accumulated this fortune." {R}_{I}2_{/}Jacob 
understood from Laban's expression that his attitude towards him 
was no longer the same.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Then Yahweh said to Jacob, "Go back to your homeland, the 
country of your kinsmen. I will be with you." {R}_{I}4_{/}Jacob had 
Rachel and Leah called to the field where his flocks were. 
{R}_{I}5_{/}There he said to them, "I see that your father no longer 
looks kindly on me, but the God of my father has been with me. 
{I}6_{/}You yourselves know that I have served your father with all my 
strength. {R}_{I}7_{/}But your father has not been straight with 
me,_changing my wages ten times. But God has_not allowed him to do 
me harm. {I}8_{/}Whenever he said: 'The spotted ones will be your 
wages,' then all the ewes had spotted lambs. And whenever he said: 
'The streaked ones will be your wages,' then all the ewes produced 
streaked lambs.
{R}_{I}9_{/}It is God who has taken your father's livestock in that way 
and has given it to me. {I}10_{/}For, in the breeding season, when I 
was looking up, I saw in a dream that the rams mating with 
the_ewes were streaked, spotted or speckled. {R}_{I}11_{/}And the angel 
in the dream said to me: 'Jacob.' 'Here I am,' I replied. {I}12_{/}He 
then said: 'Look up and see that all the rams mating with the ewes 
are streaked, spotted or speckled. I have seen all that Laban has 
done to you. [=]_{R}_{I}13_{/}I am the God who appeared to you at Bethel 
where you anointed a pillar and vowed to me by oath. Now get 
ready, leave this country and return to the land of your birth."
{R}_{I}14_{/}Then Rachel and Leah replied, "Have we still any share in 
the inheritance of our father's estate? {I}15_{/}Haven't we been 
regarded by him as foreigners since he has sold us, and well and 
truly used up our money? {R}_{I}16_{/}Surely all the fortune that God has 
taken from our father belongs to us and to our children. So do 
then all that God has told you."
{R}_{I}17_{/}So Jacob got ready and put his children and his wives on 
camels. {R}_{I}18_{/}He also took with him all his livestock and all that 
he had accumulated (the livestock he had acquired at Paddan-aram) 
to return to his father Isaac in the land of Canaan. {R}_{I}19_{/}Rachel 
then took advantage of Laban. While he was shearing his sheep she 
stole her father's family gods.
{R}_{I}20_{/}So Jacob tricked Laban in not letting him know he was 
running away. {I}21_{/}He fled with all he had, and after crossing the 
river Euphrates he made for the hill country of Gilead.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Three days later Laban heard that Jacob had fled. 
{R}_{I}23_{/}Taking his brothers with him, he followed Jacob for seven 
days and caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead. 
{R}_{I}24_{/}God appeared to Laban in a dream at night and said to him, 
"Be careful not to say anything - either good or bad - to Jacob." 
{R}_{I}25_{/}Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country of Gilead 
when Laban overtook him. Laban and his brothers also encamped on 
the hills of Gilead. {R}_{I}26_{/}Then Laban said to Jacob, "What have 
you done, tricking me and carrying my daughters off like prisoners 
of war?
{I}27_{/}Why did you run away secretly and cheat me? Why didn't you 
tell me? I could have sent you off with joy and singing and the 
music of tambourine and harp. {I}28_{/}You didn't even let me kiss my 
grandchildren and daughters goodbye. You have done a foolish thing 
{R}_{I}29_{/}and I have power to harm you, but last night the God of your 
father warned me saying: 'Be careful not to_say anything - good or 
evil - to Jacob.' {R}_{I}30_{/}Now if you have gone off because you were 
planning to return to your father's house, why did you steal my 
gods?"
{R}_{I}31_{/}Jacob replied to Laban, "It was because I was afraid you 
would take your daughters from me! {R}_{I}32_{/}But whoever is found in 
possession of your gods will not live. In the presence of our 
relatives see for yourself if anything that belongs to you is here 
with me and, if so, take it." Now Jacob did not know that Rachel 
had stolen the gods.
{R}_{I}33_{/}Laban entered Jacob's tent, then Leah's and then the tent of 
the two maidservants, but he found nothing. When Laban came out of 
Leah's tent, he entered the tent of Rachel. {R}_{I}34_{/}Rachel had taken 
the gods, but put them into the camel's saddle, and sat on them. 
Laban felt all about the tent but did not find them. {R}_{I}35_{/}Rachel 
said to her father, "Do not be angry with me, my lord, if I do not 
stand in your presence, for I am having my period." So he searched 
but did not find the gods.
{R}_{I}36_{/}Then Jacob became angry and rebuked Laban. "What is my 
crime?" he asked him. "What sin of mine makes you hound me down? 
{I}37_{/}Now that you have searched through all my belongings, have 
you found anything that belongs to your household? If so, let it 
be seen here in the presence of your family and mine and let them 
judge between the two of us. {I}38_{/}During the twenty years I have 
been with you, your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried 
and I haven't eaten any of the rams from your flocks. {I}39_{/}I 
haven't brought you any animal torn by a wild beast. I suffered 
the loss and you demanded payment from me for whatever was stolen 
by day or night. {I}40_{/}During the day I have been stifled by the 
heat and at night I have suffered from the cold, and sleep has 
left my eyes. {I}41_{/}It's twenty years that I've been with you. I 
worked fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for 
your flocks, and ten times you have altered my wages. {R}_{I}42_{/}If the 
God of my father Abraham and the Fearsome God of Isaac had not 
been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed. But God 
has seen my hardship and the toil of my hands and last night he 
passed sentence."
{R}_{I}43_{/}Laban answered and said to Jacob, "The daughters are my 
daughters, the children are my children, these sheep are my sheep 
and all that you see are mine. How can I harm today these 
daughters of mine or their children? {I}44_{/}Come now, let us make a 
treaty, you and me, and let it be a witness between us."
[*]_{R}_{I}45_{/}Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar. {I}46_{/}He 
then said to his kinsmen, "Collect stones." So they gathered 
stones and piled them up, and they ate there by the pile. 
{R}_{I}47_{/}Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it, 
Galeed. {I}48_{/}Laban said, "This pile of stones is a witness between 
you and me today." That is why it was called Galeed; {I}49_{/}and it 
was also known as Mizpah because Laban had said, "May Yahweh watch 
between me and you when we are no longer in sight of each other. 
[=]_{R}_{I}50_{/}If you harm my daughters or take other wives besides my 
daughters, even though no man is with us, remember that God is 
witness between you and me."
{R}_{I}51_{/}Then Laban said to Jacob, "Here is the pile and the pillar 
which I have set between you and me. {I}52_{/}This pile and this 
pillar will witness that I will not pass beyond this pile to harm 
you and that you will not pass beyond this pile and pillar to harm 
me. {R}_{I}53_{/}May the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor judge 
between us!" So Jacob swore by the Fearful God of his father 
Isaac. {R}_{I}54_{/}Jacob also offered a sacrifice on the mountain and 
invited his brothers to the meal. After they had eaten, they spent 
the night there.

{1}32{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Next morning Laban rose early and, after kissing his sons 
and daughters, he blessed them and left for home.
{R}_{I}2_{/}As for Jacob, he went on his way and met Angels of God. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}On seeing them Jacob exclaimed, "This is God's camp," and he 
named the place Mahanaim. {R}_{I}4_{/}And going on his way, he sent 
messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, 
the country of Edom.

{N}JACOB'S STRUGGLE WITH GOD{/}

{R}_{I}5_{/}Jacob sent Esau this message, "I have been staying with Laban 
until now. I have oxen, asses, flocks, men-servants and 
maidservants. I have sent to tell you this, my lord, that you may 
receive me kindly."
{R}_{I}6_{/}The messenger returned and said to Jacob, "We went to your 
brother Esau and he is already coming to meet you with four 
hundred men."
{R}_{I}7_{/}Jacob was full of fear and dis-tressed. He then divided the 
people with him and the flocks, the herds and camels into two 
camps, {I}8_{/}thinking, "If Esau attacks one camp, the other will 
escape."
{R}_{I}9_{/}And Jacob said, "God of my father Abraham and my father 
Isaac, Yahweh, who said to me: 'Return to your country, to your 
father's land, and I will make you prosper,' {R}_{I}10_{/}I am unworthy 
of the kindness and faithfulness you have shown to me, for with 
only my staff I crossed the Jordan and now I have enough to form 
two companies. {I}11_{/}Deliver me from the hands of my brother Esau 
for I am afraid lest he come and kill us all, even the mothers and 
their children. {I}12_{/}Yet it was you who said: I will be good to 
you and make your descendants like the sand on the seashore, so 
many that they cannot be counted." {R}_{I}13_{/}So Jacob spent the night 
there.
Then he took what he had with him, a present for his brother Esau: 
{I}14_{/}two hundred she-goats, and twenty he-goats, two hundred ewes 
and twenty rams, {I}15_{/}thirty camels in milk and their calves, 
forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten male donkeys. 
{I}16_{/}He put them in the care of his servants, each herd by itself, 
and said to his servants, "Go ahead of me and leave a space 
between each herd." {I}17_{/}He instructed the leader, "When my 
brother Esau meets you and asks, 'To whom do you belong? And where 
are you going? Who is the owner of the animals you are driving?' 
{R}_{I}18_{/}Then you shall say: They belong to your servant Jacob. It is 
a present he is sending to my lord Esau. He himself is coming 
along behind us!"
{R}_{I}19_{/}Jacob ordered the second and third servants and all who were 
following the herds in the same way, "That is what you shall say 
to Esau when you meet him: {R}_{I}20_{/}Your servant Jacob is following!" 
For he thought to himself, "I may pacify him with the present I 
sent ahead, so that when I meet him face to face, he may perhaps 
receive me kindly." {I}21_{/}So the present went ahead of him, but he 
himself spent that night in the camp.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}22_{/}That same night Jacob got up and taking his two wives, 
his two maidservants and his eleven sons, crossed the ford of the 
Jabbok. [=]_{I}23_{/}He took them and sent them across the stream and 
likewise everything he had. {R}_{I}24_{/}And Jacob was left alone.
Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. {R}_{I}25_{/}When the man 
saw that he could not get the better of Jacob, he struck him in 
the socket of his hip and dislocated it as he wrestled with him.
[=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}The man said, "Let me go, for day is breaking." But 
Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you have given me your 
blessing." {R}_{I}27_{/}The man then said, "What is your name?" "Jacob" 
was the reply. {R}_{I}28_{/}He answered, "You will no longer be called 
Jacob, but Israel, for you have been strong-with-God as you have 
been with men and have prevailed."
{R}_{I}29_{/}Then Jacob asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Why 
do you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. [=]_{R}_{I}30_{/}So Jacob 
called the place Penuel, saying, "I have seen God face to face and 
survived." [=]_{R}_{I}31_{/}The sun rose as he passed through Penuel, 
limping because of his hip.
{R}_{I}32_{/}That is why to this day the Israelites do not eat the 
sciatic nerve which is in the hip socket because the sciatic nerve 
in Jacob's hip had been touched.

{N}THE MEETING OF ESAU AND JACOB{/}

{1}33{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Jacob looked up and saw that Esau was coming with four 
hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel and the 
two maidservants. {R}_{I}2_{/}He then put the maidservants in front with 
their children, then Leah with her children and Rachel and Joseph 
last of all. {I}3_{/}He himself went on before them and bowed to the 
ground seven times until he came near his brother.
{I}4_{/}Esau ran to meet him, took him in his arms, kissed him; and 
both wept. {R}_{I}5_{/}Esau looked up and seeing the women and the 
children said, "Who are these with you?" Jacob replied, "They are 
the children God has given to your servant."
{I}6_{/}Then the servants and their children went forward and bowed 
down. {R}_{I}7_{/}Leah with her children likewise advanced and bowed, and 
lastly Joseph and Rachel went forward and bowed.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Esau said, "What is the meaning of all this company I have 
met?" Jacob replied, "It is to win your favor." {I}9_{/}Esau answered, 
"Brother, I have plenty; keep what you have for yourself." 
{R}_{I}10_{/}Jacob said, "But, no, please! Accept the gift I offer, for I 
came to you as to God, and you received me kindly. {R}_{I}11_{/}So accept 
the gift I have brought you, for God has dealt generously with me 
and I have plenty." And so much did Jacob insist that Esau 
accepted the gift.
{I}12_{/}Esau then said, "Let us be on our way. I will lead you." 
{R}_{I}13_{/}But Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are 
not strong, and besides I must think of the ewes with lambs and 
the cows that have calves and if they are driven too hard, even 
for one day, all the flocks will die. {I}14_{/}Let it please my lord 
to go ahead of me while I move on slowly at the pace of the cattle 
I'm driving and that of the children, until I reach my lord at 
Seir." {R}_{I}15_{/}Esau said, "At least let me leave with you some of my 
men." Jacob replied, "Why? All I want is to keep your friendship."
{I}16_{/}So Esau returned that same day to_Seir. {R}_{I}17_{/}But Jacob left 
for Succoth. There he built a house for himself and shelters for 
his cattle. That is why the place was called Succoth.
{R}_{I}18_{/}On his return from Paddan-aram, Jacob safely reached 
Shechem, a town in the land of_Canaan, and encamped within sight 
of the town. [=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}For one hundred pieces of silver he bought 
from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, the plot of land 
where he had pitched his tent. {R}_{I}20_{/}There he erected an altar and 
called it God - the God of Israel.

{N}THE RAPE OF DINAH, DAUGHTER OF JACOB{/}

{1}34{/}

[*]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Now Dinah, Jacob's daughter by Leah, went out to visit 
the women of that place. {R}_{I}2_{/}When Shechem, son of Hamor the 
Hivite, the prince of that country, saw her, he seized her, raped 
her and dishonored her. [=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}He was attracted to Jacob's 
daughter Dinah and loved the girl and spoke to her affectionately.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Shechem said to his father Hamor, "Get me this girl to be my 
wife."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Now Jacob heard how his daughter Dinah had been dishonored, 
but said nothing until his sons who were in the fields with his 
cattle came home. {R}_{I}6_{/}Hamor, father of Shechem, went to speak 
with Jacob. [=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}When Jacob's sons returned from the fields 
and heard what had happened, they were indignant and very angry 
that Shechem had committed what was a crime in Israel by lying 
with Jacob's daughter, something which should never be done.
{R}_{I}8_{/}But Hamor spoke to them saying, "Shechem, my son, deeply 
loves your daughter; please give her to him to be his wife. 
{I}9_{/}Let us intermarry; give us your daughters and take our 
daughters for yourselves. {I}10_{/}You will settle with us and the 
land is there before you to live in it, travel through it and 
acquire property in it. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}Shechem spoke to the father and brothers of the girl, 
"Please forgive me and I give you whatever you ask of me. {I}12_{/}Fix 
a price for the marriage and whatever gift you require. Whatever 
you ask I will give but only let me have the girl as my wife."
{R}_{I}13_{/}Jacob's sons gave a cunning answer to Shechem and Hamor 
because Shechem had defiled their sister: {R}_{I}14_{/}"We cannot do such 
a thing - give our sister to an uncircumcised man - for that would 
be a disgrace for us. [=]_{I}15_{/}Only on one condition would we 
consent - that you and every male become like us and be 
circumcised. {I}16_{/}Then we will give you our daughters and take 
yours, live with you, and with you become one people. {I}17_{/}But if 
you don't listen to us and be circumcised, we will take our 
daughter and go." {R}_{I}18_{/}What they said pleased Hamor and Shechem, 
his son.
{R}_{I}19_{/}Shechem lost no time in doing what was demanded for he was 
truly in love with Jacob's daughter, and he was the most honored 
in his father's family.
{R}_{I}20_{/}So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate of their city 
and spoke to their fellow citizens, {I}21_{/}"These men are peaceful. 
Let them settle here and move around freely. The land is vast 
enough for them. We shall marry their daughters and give our 
daughters in marriage to them. {I}22_{/}But on one condition will 
these men agree to live with us and become one people with us, and 
that is, that every male be as they are and be circumcised. 
{I}23_{/}If we agree with them, their flocks, their possessions, their 
cattle will be ours. Let's do what they ask and they will settle 
with us." {R}_{I}24_{/}All those who went out to the gate of the city 
agreed with Hamor and Shechem and every male was circumcised.
{R}_{I}25_{/}Three days later when they were still in pain, two of 
Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, taking their 
swords, entered and took the town by surprise {R}_{I}26_{/}and slew Hamor 
and Shechem and all the males. They took Dinah from Shechem's 
house and went off.
{R}_{I}27_{/}Jacob's sons attacked the wounded and plundered the city 
because their sister had been violated. {I}28_{/}They took their 
flocks and their herds and their donkeys, what was in the city and 
what was in the fields, {I}29_{/}all their wealth, all their women and 
children. They plundered all that was in their houses.
{R}_{I}30_{/}Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, "You have brought 
trouble on me, making me hateful to the people of this land, the 
Canaanites and the Perizzites. I have only a few men and if the 
others unite against me and attack me, I shall be destroyed, 
myself and my household. {I}31_{/}But their reply was, "Is it right 
for him to treat our sister as a prostitute?"

{N}JACOB AT BETHEL{/}

{1}35{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}God said to Jacob, "Go up to Bethel and settle there. 
Build an altar there to God who appeared to you when you were 
fleeing from your brother Esau." [=]_{R}_{I}2_{/}Jacob said to his family 
and to all those who were with him, "Get rid of the foreign gods 
you have with you, purify yourselves and change your clothes. 
{R}_{I}3_{/}We will then go up to Bethel. There I will make an altar to 
God who helped me when I was in trouble and who was with me during 
my journey."
{R}_{I}4_{/}So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods they had as well as 
their earrings and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near 
Shechem. {I}5_{/}They then left and a terror fell on all the 
surrounding towns with the result that no one followed in pursuit 
of them.
{R}_{I}6_{/}When Jacob and all those with him came to Luz in Canaan - 
which is Bethel - {R}_{I}7_{/}he built an altar there and called the 
place El-Bethel because it was there that God had shown himself to 
him when he was fleeing from his brother. [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}At that time 
Rebekah's nurse, Deborah, died and was buried below Bethel near 
the oak. That is why it was called the Oak of Tears.
{R}_{I}9_{/}God appeared again to Jacob when he arrived from Paddan-aram 
and blessed him [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}and said to him, "Your name is Jacob, 
but no longer will you be called Jacob, for Israel will be your 
name." So he was called Israel. [=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Then God said to him, 
"Be fruitful and grow in number! A nation or rather a group of 
nations will come from you. {R}_{I}12_{/}The land I gave to Abraham and 
Isaac I will give to you and to your descendants after you." 
{R}_{I}13_{/}Then God left him.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Jacob set up a stone in the place where God had spoken to 
him and offered a libation on it and poured oil on it.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Jacob called the place where God had spoken to him, Bethel.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}They moved on from Bethel and were still some distance 
from Ephrath when Rachel gave birth and the delivery was very 
difficult. {I}17_{/}When she was in great pain the midwife said to 
her, "Courage! For now you will have another son." {I}18_{/}And as she 
breathed her last - for she was dying - she called him Benoni 
(which means: son of my pain), but his father named him Benjamin. 
[=]_{R}_{I}19_{/}So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath - 
that is Bethlehem - {R}_{I}20_{/}and Jacob placed a pillar over her tomb 
which marks the place of the tomb to this day.
{R}_{I}21_{/}Israel journeyed on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal-eder. 
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}22_{/}While Israel was living in that region, it happened that 
Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and 
Israel heard of it.

{N}THE TWELVE SONS OF JACOB{/}

Jacob had twelve sons. {R}_{I}23_{/}By Leah: Reuben, Jacob's eldest son, 
then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. {R}_{I}24_{/}The sons by 
Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin. {R}_{I}25_{/}The sons by Bilhah, Rachel's 
slave girl: Dan and Naphtali.
{R}_{I}26_{/}The sons by Zilpah, Leah's slave girl: Gad and Asher. These 
were the sons born to Jacob in Paddanaram. {R}_{I}27_{/}Jacob came home 
to his father Isaac at Mamre or Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron) 
where Abraham and Isaac had lived. {I}28_{/}After living a hundred and 
eighty years {R}_{I}29_{/}Isaac breathed his last and was gathered to his 
people at a good old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

{N}ESAU THE FATHER OF THE EDOMITES{/}

{1}36{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}These are the descendants of Esau that is, Edom. Esau married 
women of Canaan: {I}2_{/}Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite, 
Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Horite, 
{I}3_{/}Basemath, the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. 
{I}4_{/}Adah bore to Esau Eliphaz, Basemath bore Reuel, 
{R}_{I}5_{/}Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam and Korah. These are the sons of 
Esau born to him in the land of Canaan.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Esau, with his wives, his sons and daughters, all the members 
of his household, his livestock, all his cattle and all the goods 
he had acquired in the land of Canaan, left for the land of Seir 
far removed from his brother Jacob. {I}7_{/}For they had acquired too 
much to live together. The land where they were living at that 
time could not support them both because of their cattle. 
{R}_{I}8_{/}That is why Edom settled in the hilly country of Seir. Esau 
is Edom.
{R}_{I}9_{/}These are the descendants of Esau, the father of Edom, in the 
mountainous region of Seir.
{I}10_{/}These are the names of Esau's sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah, 
Esau's wife, and Reuel the son of Basemath, Esau's wife.
{I}11_{/}The sons of Eliphaz were: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, Kenaz. 
{R}_{I}12_{/}Eliphaz son of Esau had Timna for concubine and she bore him 
Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, Esau's wife.
{I}13_{/}These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. 
These are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
{I}14_{/}These are the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah, daughter of 
Anah son of Zibeon: she bore him Jeush, Jalam and Korah. 
{I}15_{/}These are the chiefs of the sons of Esau. 
The sons of Eliphaz, firstborn of Esau: chief Teman, chief Omar, 
chief Zepho, {R}_{I}16_{/}chief Kenaz, chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These 
are the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons 
of Adah. 
{R}_{I}17_{/}And these are the sons of Reuel son of Esau: Nahath, Zerah, 
Shammah, Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of 
Edom; these are the sons of Basemath, Esau's wife.
{I}18_{/}And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau's wife: chief 
Jeush, Jalam, Korah. These are the chiefs of Esau's wife 
Oholibamah, daughter of Anah. 
{R}_{I}19_{/}These are the sons of Esau. This is Edom and these are their 
chiefs.
{I}20_{/}These are the sons of Seir the Horite, inhabitants of the 
land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, {R}_{I}21_{/}Dishon, Ezer, Dishan; 
these are the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir in the 
land_of Edom. {R}_{I}22_{/}The sons of Lotan were Hori and Heman, and 
Lotan's sister was Timna. {R}_{I}23_{/}These are the sons of Shobal: 
Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepo, Onam. {I}24_{/}These are the sons of 
Zibeon: Aiah, Anah - the Anah who found the hot springs in the 
wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon. 
{I}25_{/}These are the children of Anah: Dishon, Oholibamah daughter 
of Anah. {I}26_{/}These are the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, 
Ithran, Cheran. {I}27_{/}These are the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, 
Akan. {I}28_{/}These are the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran. 
{I}29_{/}These are the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief 
Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, {I}30_{/}chief Dishon, chief Ezer, 
chief Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Horites according to 
their clans in the land of Seir.
{R}_{I}31_{/}These are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before 
an Israelite king reigned. {R}_{I}32_{/}In Edom these reigned: Bela son 
of Beor; his_city was called Dinhabah. {R}_{I}33_{/}Bela died and Jobab 
son of Zerah, from Bozrah, succeeded him as king. {I}34_{/}Jobab died 
and Husham of the land of the Temanites succeeded. {I}35_{/}Husham 
died and Hadad, son of Bedad succeeded; he defeated the Midianites 
in the country of Moab, and his city was called Avith. {I}36_{/}Hadad 
died and Samlah of Masrekah succeeded. {I}37_{/}Samlah died and Shaul 
of Rehoboth-hannahar succeeded. {I}38_{/}Shaul died and Baal-hanan son 
of Achbor succeeded. {R}_{I}39_{/}Baal-hanan died and Hadad succeeded; 
his city was called Paul; his_wife's name was Mehetabel, daughter 
of Matred, from Mezahab.
{R}_{I}40_{/}These are the names of the chiefs of Esau according to their 
clans and localities, by name: chiefs Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, 
{I}41_{/}Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, {I}42_{/}Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, 
{R}_{I}43_{/}Magdiel, Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom according to 
their families and residence in the land that was theirs. (This is 
Esau, father of Edom).

{C}THIRD PART{/}

{C}THE STORY OF JOSEPH{/}

{1}37{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Jacob lived in the land where hisfather had settled, in the 
land of canaan. [\u0095]_{R}_{I}2_{/}this is the history of jacob's family.

{N}JOSEPH AND HIS BROTHERS{/}

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was shepherding the flock with 
his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his 
father's wives. Joseph informed his father of the bad reputation 
they had. {R}_{I}3_{/}Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other 
children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with 
long sleeves made for him. {I}4_{/}His brothers who saw that their 
father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no 
longer speak to him in a friendly way.
{R}_{I}5_{/}Joseph had a dream which, when he told it to his brothers, 
made them hate him the more: {I}6_{/}"Listen to the dream I had. 
{I}7_{/}We were binding sheaves in the field when my sheaf rose and 
stood up and your sheaves gathered round and bowed down to my 
sheaf." [=]_{I}8_{/}His brothers said to him, "So you want to rule us 
or lord it over us!" They hated him even more because of his 
dreams and what he said.
{R}_{I}9_{/}Joseph had another dream which he told to his brothers, "I 
saw the sun, the moon and seven stars bowing down before me." 
{I}10_{/}When he told this to his father and brothers his father 
rebuked him, "What is this dream of yours? Are all of us, myself, 
your mother and your brothers to bow to the ground before you?" 
[=]_{I}11_{/}His brothers were jealous of him but his father kept in 
mind what he had said.

{N}JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}12_{/}His brothers had gone to pasture their father's flock at 
Shechem, {R}_{I}13_{/}and Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers are 
pasturing the flock at Shechem; come along, I'll send you to 
them." Joseph replied, "Here I am." {R}_{I}14_{/}Then his father said, 
"Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flock; 
then come back and tell me." Jacob sent him from the valley of 
Hebron and Joseph arrived at Shechem.
{R}_{I}15_{/}A man met him as he was wandering through the countryside 
and said to him, "What are you looking for?" [=]_{I}16_{/}He replied, 
"I'm looking for my brothers, please tell me where they are 
pasturing the flock." {R}_{I}17_{/}The man said, "They have gone from 
here, for I heard them say: Let's go to Dothan!" So Joseph went 
off after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
{I}18_{/}They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they 
plotted to kill him. {I}19_{/}They said to one another, "Here comes 
the specialist in dreams! [=]_{I}20_{/}Now's the time! Let's kill him 
and throw him into a well. We'll say a wild animal devoured him. 
Then we'll see what his dreams were all about!" {I}21_{/}But Reuben 
heard this and tried to save him from their hands {I}22_{/}saying, 
"Let us not kill him; shed no blood! Throw him in this well in the 
wilderness, but do him no violence." This he said to save him from 
them and take him back to his father.
{R}_{I}23_{/}So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-
sleeved coat that he wore [=]_{R}_{I}24_{/}and then took him and threw 
him in the well. Now the well was empty, without water.
{R}_{I}25_{/}They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a 
caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with 
spices, balm and myrrh, which they were taking down to Egypt. 
{R}_{I}26_{/}Judah then said to his brothers, "What do we gain by killing 
our brother and hiding his blood? {I}27_{/}Come! We'll sell him to the 
Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother 
and our own flesh!" His brothers agreed to this.
[=]_{R}_{I}28_{/}So when the Midianite merchants came along they pulled 
Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. For twenty pieces of 
silver they sold Joseph to the Midianites, who took him with them 
to Egypt. {R}_{I}29_{/}When Reuben went back to the well, Joseph was no 
longer there. He tore his clothes {I}30_{/}and returned to his 
brothers and said, "The boy has disappeared, and what am I to do?"
{R}_{I}31_{/}They then took Joseph's coat, killed a goat and dipped the 
coat in its blood. {I}32_{/}They sent the long-sleeved coat and had it 
taken to their father, saying, "This we have found; see if it 
is_your son's coat or not." {R}_{I}33_{/}He recognized it and said, "It 
is my son's coat. Joseph has been attacked by a wild animal and 
torn to pieces." {R}_{I}34_{/}Jacob then tore his garments, put on 
sackcloth and mourned his son for a long time. {I}35_{/}All his sons 
and daughters came to comfort him but he refused to be consoled 
saying, "No, I shall go down to the land of Shadows, mourning for 
my son." Thus his father wept for him.
{R}_{I}36_{/}Meanwhile the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, 
an officer of Pharaoh and the commander of the guard.

{N}THE STORY OF JUDAH AND TAMAR{/}

{1}38{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}It happened at this time that Judah left his brothers and 
went to stay with an Adullamite by the name of Hirah. {R}_{I}2_{/}There 
Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite called Shua. He married her 
{I}3_{/}and she gave birth to a son whom he called Er. {I}4_{/}She had 
another child and called him Onan. [=]_{I}5_{/}And then she had a 
third child whom she called Shelah. She was at Chezib when she 
gave birth to him.
{R}_{I}6_{/}Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn son. Her name was 
Tamar. {R}_{I}7_{/}But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in Yahweh's 
sight and the Lord took his life. {R}_{I}8_{/}Then Judah said to Onan, 
"Lie with your brother's widow and fulfill the duties of a 
brother-in-law; the child to be born will be the heir of your 
brother." {I}9_{/}But Onan knew the child would not be his, so 
whenever he slept with his brother's widow, he spilled the semen 
on the ground lest he give an heir to his brother. {I}10_{/}What he 
did was displeasing to Yahweh who took his life as well. 
[=]_{R}_{I}11_{/}Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law, "Live as a widow 
in your father's house until Shelah, my son has grown up," for he 
was afraid that Shelah, like his brothers, might die. So Tamar 
went and lived in her father's house.
{R}_{I}12_{/}After a long time, the wife of Judah, Shua's daughter died. 
When Judah became consoled, he went up to Timnah to his sheep-
shearers with his friend Hirah, the Adullamite. {R}_{I}13_{/}It happened 
that Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to 
shear his sheep." {R}_{I}14_{/}She at once took off her widow's clothes, 
wrapped herself in a veil and sat down at the entrance to Enaim 
which is on the road to Timnah, for she knew that Shelah was a 
grown man and had not been given to her in marriage.
{R}_{I}15_{/}Judah saw her and as her face was veiled he took her for a 
prostitute. {R}_{I}16_{/}He went over to her on the roadside and said, 
"Allow me to sleep with you," for he didn't know she was his 
daughter-in-law. She asked, "What will you give me to sleep with 
you?" {I}17_{/}He said, "I will send you a kid from my flock." She 
replied, "Will you give me a pledge till you send it?" {I}18_{/}"What 
pledge shall I give you?" he asked. She answered, "Give me your 
seal, your cord and the staff in your hand." So he gave them to 
her and slept with her; {I}19_{/}then she rose and left him and, 
taking off her veil, she put on her widow's clothes. And she 
became pregnant. 
{R}_{I}20_{/}When Judah sent the kid by his friend, the Adullamite, to 
recover the pledge from the woman, he did not find her. {I}21_{/}So he 
questioned the local people, "Where is the prostitute who was by 
the road at Enaim?" "There has been no prostitute there," they 
said. {R}_{I}22_{/}He returned to Judah and said, "I didn't find her and 
even the local people said that there was no prostitute there." 
{R}_{I}23_{/}Judah then said, "Let her keep it all for herself lest the 
people finally laugh at us. At least I sent her the kid even if 
you didn't find her."
{R}_{I}24_{/}About three months later Judah was told, "Tamar, your 
daughter-in-law played the prostitute and moreover she is now with 
child." Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned." 
{R}_{I}25_{/}As they were bringing her out she sent word to her father-
in-law, "I have become pregnant by the man who owns these things. 
Find out to whom this seal, cord and staff belong!" {R}_{I}26_{/}Judah 
acknowledged them and said, "She is more righteous than I am since 
I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he had no further 
intercourse with her.
{I}27_{/}When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in 
her womb. {I}28_{/}And when she was giving birth, one of them put out 
his hand and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around his wrist 
saying, "This one is the firstborn." {I}29_{/}But he withdrew his hand 
and his brother came out first and she said, "What a rift you have 
made for yourself!" And he was called Perez. [=]_{I}30_{/}Then his 
brother with the scarlet thread on his wrist came out and he was 
given the name Zerah.

{1}39{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an 
officer of Pharaoh, commander of the guard, an Egyptian, bought 
him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. {R}_{I}2_{/}Yahweh 
blessed Joseph while he lived in the house of his master, the 
Egyptian, and everything went right for him.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}The Egyptian could see that God was with him and 
everything worked well for him. {R}_{I}4_{/}So Joseph pleased his master 
who made him overseer of his house and of all that he owned, 
{R}_{I}5_{/}and from that time God blessed the Egyptian's house because 
of Joseph; he blessed all that the Egyptian owned, his household 
and his land. [=]_{R}_{I}6_{/}The Egyptian left all he had to the care of 
Joseph and, with Joseph fully in charge, he concerned himself with 
nothing except the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was a handsome man and well-built. {I}7_{/}After some time 
his master's wife kept noticing him and said, "Sleep with me." 
[=]_{I}8_{/}But he refused and said to her, "With me in charge, my 
master has no concern about anything in the house and has 
entrusted to me all that he has. {R}_{I}9_{/}He is no more master in this 
house than I am and he refuses me nothing, except yourself, of 
course, because you are his wife. How then could I do such an evil 
thing and sin against God?" {R}_{I}10_{/}Now, although day after day she 
spoke to Joseph, he would not agree to sleep with her or give 
himself to_her.
{I}11_{/}It happened that one day, when he_entered the house to attend 
to his duties, none of the servants were in the house. {R}_{I}12_{/}Then 
Potiphar's wife caught hold of Joseph by his cloak saying, "Come 
to bed with me." But Joseph left his cloak in her hands and ran 
out of the house. {I}13_{/}As soon as he had run out of the house, 
{I}14_{/}she called her servants and said, "Look, a Hebrew has been 
brought here to make fun of us; he came here to lie with me; so I 
screamed {I}15_{/}and when he heard me scream he left his cloak with 
me and ran out of the house." {I}16_{/}Then she kept the cloak by her 
until the master came home. {I}17_{/}She then told her story, "That 
Hebrew slave of yours came to make sport of me, {I}18_{/}but when I 
screamed he left his cloak with me and ran out of the house."
{I}19_{/}When his master heard what his wife told him, "This is how 
your servant treated me," he blazed with anger. {R}_{I}20_{/}He took 
Joseph and put him in the Royal Prison where the king's prisoners 
were kept. But while Joseph was in prison [=]_{I}21_{/}Yahweh was with 
him and showed him kindness so that he was well-liked by the 
warden of the prison. {I}22_{/}The warden put him in charge of all the 
prisoners and made him responsible for all that was done there. 
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}The warden did not interfere with anything that was 
under Joseph's care, because Yahweh was with him and gave him 
success in everything he did.

{N}JOSEPH INTERPRETS THE DREAMS{/}

{1}40{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Some time after this it happened that the cupbearer of the 
king of Egypt, who prepared the drinks for Pharaoh, and his chief 
baker offended their lord. {I}2_{/}Pharaoh was angry with his two 
officers {R}_{I}3_{/}and put them in custody in the house of the captain 
of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was kept. {R}_{I}4_{/}So the 
captain of the guard appointed Joseph to attend to their needs, 
for they were under arrest for some time.
{R}_{I}5_{/}One night both of them dreamed, each one his own dream, and 
each dream had its own meaning. As the two officers were with 
Joseph in custody in his master's house, {R}_{I}6_{/}when Joseph came to 
them the next morning, he saw that they were troubled. {I}7_{/}So he 
questioned them, "Why do you look sad today?" [=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}They 
answered, "Both of us have had a dream, but there is no one to 
interpret them." Then Joseph said to them, "Is it not God who 
interprets dreams? Tell me what they were."
{R}_{I}9_{/}Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph what his dream had been. 
"In my dream there was a vine in front of me {I}10_{/}and on the vine 
there were three branches. As it grew and flowered, its clusters 
ripened into grapes. {I}11_{/}Pharaoh's cup was in my hand and I took 
the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup and placed the cup 
in his hand."
{R}_{I}12_{/}Joseph said to him, "Here's the interpretation: the three 
branches are three days. {I}13_{/}Within three days Pharaoh will 
release you and restore you to your office and you will place 
Pharaoh's cup in his hand as before when you were his cupbearer. 
{I}14_{/}But when things go well with you, remember me and be kind 
enough to speak my name to Pharaoh and get me out of this place, 
{I}15_{/}for I was, in fact, kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews 
and even here I have done nothing to deserve imprisonment."
{R}_{I}16_{/}The chief baker, seeing that the interpretation was 
favorable, said to Joseph, "In my dream I had on my head three 
baskets of cakes. {I}17_{/}In the top basket there were all kinds of 
baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it from the 
basket above my head." {R}_{I}18_{/}Joseph said, "The three baskets are 
three days, {I}19_{/}and before three days have passed Pharaoh will 
take off your head and hang you on a tree and the birds will eat 
your flesh." 
{I}20_{/}It so happened that on the third day, Pharaoh's birthday, he 
made a feast for all his officers and remembered the chief 
cupbearer and the chief baker. {I}21_{/}The cupbearer was restored to 
his office and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand; {R}_{I}22_{/}but the 
chief baker was hanged, as Joseph had interpreted to them.
[=]_{R}_{I}23_{/}Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but 
forgot him.

{N}THE DREAMS OF PHARAOH{/}

{1}41{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}After two whole years Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing 
by the Nile {I}2_{/}when seven cows, sleek and fat, were coming up 
from the Nile and beginning to feed among the rushes. {I}3_{/}Behind 
them came seven other cows, lean and scraggy that stood beside the 
cows already there. {I}4_{/}These devoured the sleek and fat cows. 
Then Pharaoh awoke.

{I}5_{/}He fell asleep again and had a second dream. He saw growing on 
one stalk seven ears of corn that were full and ripe. {I}6_{/}And 
after these, there sprouted seven more ears of corn that were 
small and scorched by the east wind. {I}7_{/}Now the small ears of 
corn swallowed the plump and ripe ones. Then Pharaoh awoke.
{R}_{I}8_{/}In the morning he was uneasy and called all the magicians and 
wise men in Egypt. He told his dreams to them but not one among 
them was able to interpret his dreams. {I}9_{/}Then the chief 
cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, "This reminds me of my wrongs. 
{I}10_{/}Pharaoh was angry with his servants and had me put in custody 
in the house of the captain of the guard and with me the chief 
baker. {I}11_{/}Once on the same night we both had a dream, each with 
its own meaning. {I}12_{/}With us was a young Hebrew, a servant of the 
captain of the guard. When we told him our dreams he interpreted 
them giving to each one its own meaning. {I}13_{/}What he interpreted 
for us happened. I was restored to my office and the chief baker 
was hanged."
{R}_{I}14_{/}Pharaoh then had Joseph summoned. They took him quickly from 
the prison, shaved him, changed his clothes and he presented 
himself to Pharaoh. {I}15_{/}Then Pharaoh addressed him, "I have had a 
dream which no one can explain; now I have heard that when you 
hear a dream you are able to interpret it." [=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Joseph 
replied, "It's not I but God who will give Pharaoh a favorable 
answer." {I}17_{/}Pharaoh then began telling his dream.
"I was beside the Nile {I}18_{/}when seven fine cows, sleek and fat, 
came up from the river and began to feed in the rushes. {R}_{I}19_{/}Then 
seven other cows came up behind them. These were poor, scraggy and 
lean. I had never seen any so ugly in all the land of Egypt. 
{I}20_{/}The thin, gaunt cows ate up the seven fat cows, {I}21_{/}but 
after eating them, it was as if they had not eaten them at all 
because they remained as lean and scraggy as they were before. And 
then I woke. {I}22_{/}I also saw in my dream seven ears of corn 
growing on one stalk, full and ripe. {I}23_{/}Then, after them, there 
sprouted seven ears of corn that were hard and small and withered 
by the east wind. {I}24_{/}The withered ears of corn swallowed the 
good ears. I told this to the magicians but none of them could 
explain its meaning."
{R}_{I}25_{/}Then Joseph said, "Pharaoh's dream is one and the same. 
Yahweh has just revealed to Pharaoh what he will do. {I}26_{/}The 
seven fat cows are seven years and the seven good ears as well. 
It's one dream! {I}27_{/}The seven lean cows coming after them are 
seven years as are the seven withered ears of corn scorched by the 
east wind, and they are seven years of famine. {R}_{I}28_{/}As I said to 
Pharaoh, God is revealing to him what he is about to do. 
{R}_{I}29_{/}There will be seven years of plenty throughout the land of 
Egypt, {I}30_{/}but they will be followed by seven years of famine. 
Then the time of abundance will be forgotten and famine will 
exhaust the land. {I}31_{/}So severe will the famine be that no one 
will remember the time of plenty.
{R}_{I}32_{/}If the dream has been repeated twice for Pharaoh it is 
because God has so determined and will soon make it happen. 
[=]_{R}_{I}33_{/}Now it is for Pharaoh to choose an intelligent and wise 
man and set him over the land of Egypt. {I}34_{/}Pharaoh could have 
supervisors in the land and could levy a tax of one fifth of the 
produce of the land during the seven years of plenty. {I}35_{/}They 
must gather all the food of these productive years that are coming 
and, by the authority of Pharaoh, store grain for food in the 
towns and keep it. {R}_{I}36_{/}This food will be a reserve for the seven 
years of famine coming to the land of Egypt so that the people 
will not die of hunger."

{N}JOSEPH, THE HEAD MINISTER{/}

{R}_{I}37_{/}The proposal of Joseph pleased Pharaoh and his ministers, 
and Pharaoh asked them, {R}_{I}38_{/}"Where shall we find such a man 
possessed with the spirit of God?" {R}_{I}39_{/}And to Joseph he said, 
"Since it is to you that God has made known all this, there can be 
no one as intelligent and wise as you. {I}40_{/}You shall be over my 
house, and all my people will obey your orders. Only I myself will 
be greater than you."
{R}_{I}41_{/}So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have put you in charge of 
the whole land of Egypt." [=]_{R}_{I}42_{/}He then took the signet ring 
from his finger and put it on Joseph's finger. He clothed him in 
fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. {R}_{I}43_{/}He had him 
ride in the chariot that was second only to his and they cried out 
before him, "Make way." Thus he was put in charge of the whole 
land of Egypt.
{R}_{I}44_{/}Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh! Without your 
consent no one is to raise hand or foot in the whole land of 
Egypt." {R}_{I}45_{/}Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah and gave him 
in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On. 
After that Joseph traveled throughout the land of Egypt. 
{R}_{I}46_{/}Joseph was thirty years old when he was summoned to the 
presence of Pharaoh, King of Egypt. After taking his leave of 
Pharaoh he journeyed through the entire land of Egypt.
{I}47_{/}During the seven years of plenty the land produced 
abundantly. {R}_{I}48_{/}So Joseph gathered up all the food that 
was_produced during these years, storing in each town the food 
from the fields_around it. {R}_{I}49_{/}Joseph stored huge quantities of 
wheat, like the sand from the sea, so much that they lost count of 
the amount.
{R}_{I}50_{/}Before the years of famine came, Asenath, Joseph's wife, had 
two sons. {R}_{I}51_{/}Joseph called the first Manasseh, for he said, 
"God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's 
house." {R}_{I}52_{/}He called the second by the name of Ephraim, for he 
said, "God has given me children in the land of my sorrow."
{R}_{I}53_{/}When the seven years of plenty throughout the land of Egypt 
came to an end, {R}_{I}54_{/}the seven years of famine began as Joseph 
had foretold. There was famine in all the countries but bread was 
to be had in every part of Egypt. {R}_{I}55_{/}When the land of Egypt 
began to suffer from the famine, the people came to Pharaoh for 
bread. But Pharaoh told all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph and do as 
he tells you." [=]_{R}_{I}56_{/}When the famine had spread throughout the 
land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold grain to the 
Egyptians for the famine was indeed severe over the land. {R}_{I}57_{/}As 
the famine had worsened throughout the whole world, people came 
from other countries to buy grain from Joseph.

{N}THE SONS OF JACOB GO DOWN TO EGYPT{/}

{1}42{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}When Jacob heard there was wheat in Egypt he said to his 
sons, "Why do you stand looking at one another? {R}_{I}2_{/}I've heard 
there is grain in Egypt, so go down and buy some for us so that we 
may stay alive and not die!" {R}_{I}3_{/}Joseph's brothers - ten of them 
- went down to Egypt to buy wheat {R}_{I}4_{/}but Jacob did not send 
Benjamin, Joseph's brother, for he said, "Something might happen 
to him."
{R}_{I}5_{/}So the sons of Israel were among those going to buy grain, 
for there was famine in Canaan. {R}_{I}6_{/}It was Joseph, as governor of 
the land, who sold the grain to all the people. When his brothers 
arrived they bowed before him, with their faces to the ground. 
{R}_{I}7_{/}Joseph recognized his brothers but did not make himself known 
and, instead, said_harshly to them, "Where do you come from?" And 
they answered, "We come from the land of Canaan to buy grain for 
food."
{R}_{I}8_{/}Joseph recognized his brothers but they did not recognize 
him. {I}9_{/}And he remembered the dreams he once had concerning them. 
He told them, "You are spies, and it is to discover the weak 
points of the land that you have come." {I}10_{/}They said, "No, my 
lord, your servants have come to buy grain for food. {R}_{I}11_{/}We are 
all sons of the same man. We are honest men; your servants are not 
spies." {R}_{I}12_{/}Joseph replied, "No, it is to find out the weak 
points of the country that you have come." {R}_{I}13_{/}They said, "Your 
servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of 
Canaan; the youngest is today with our father and the other is no 
more." {R}_{I}14_{/}But Joseph insisted, "It's just as I said, you are 
spies! {I}15_{/}And this will be proved. By the life of Pharaoh you 
will not leave this_place unless your youngest brother comes here. 
{I}16_{/}One of you is to go and fetch your brother. The others will 
be imprisoned while I verify whether you are telling the truth. If 
not, then as true as Pharaoh lives, you are spies." {I}17_{/}And so he 
put them all in prison for three days.
{R}_{I}18_{/}On the third day Joseph said to them, "I will help you to 
save yourselves, for I am a man who fears God. {I}19_{/}If you are 
sincere, let one of your brothers remain prisoner in the house of 
the guard where you now are, and the rest of you take the grain to 
save your families from famine. {I}20_{/}Then you will bring back your 
youngest brother; so the truth of what you say will be proved and 
your lives spared." They did as they were ordered {I}21_{/}and said 
among themselves, "Alas! We are guilty because of the way we 
treated our brother when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we 
didn't listen. That is why this trouble has come upon us."
{I}22_{/}Reuben answered them, "Didn't I tell you not to sin against 
the boy. But you did not listen and now we are brought to account 
for his blood." {R}_{I}23_{/}Now they did not know that Joseph understood 
them as there was an interpreter between them. {R}_{I}24_{/}As for 
Joseph, he withdrew and wept. When he came back, he spoke to them 
and took Simeon and had him bound and put in prison while they 
looked on.
{R}_{I}25_{/}Joseph ordered their sacks to be filled with wheat and their 
money replaced in the sack of each one and provisions be given 
them for the journey. All this was done; {I}26_{/}they loaded the 
grain on their donkeys and set off. {I}27_{/}But in the evening one of 
them emptied his sack to feed his donkey at the lodging place, and 
he saw his money at the mouth of the sack, so he said, {R}_{I}28_{/}"My 
money has been put back: here it is in my sack;" Their hearts 
failed them and they trembled and turned to each other and said, 
"What is this that God has done to us!" 
{R}_{I}29_{/}When they came back to Jacob in the land of Canaan, they 
told him about all their adventures:
{R}_{I}30_{/}"The man who is governor of the country spoke harshly to us 
and treated us as spies, {I}31_{/}but we said: 'We are honest men, not 
spies. {R}_{I}32_{/}We were twelve brothers, sons of the same father; one 
is no more and the youngest is with our father in the land of 
Canaan.' {R}_{I}33_{/}Then the man who is lord of the land said: By this 
I will know if you are honest. Leave one of your brothers here; 
take grain to save your families from the famine and go. 
{I}34_{/}Bring back your youngest brother and let me see you are not 
spies but honest men. Then I shall release your brother and you 
can trade in the land."
{I}35_{/}Now, when they emptied their sacks, each one found his money 
bag in his sack. When they saw this, they were afraid and their 
father as well. {R}_{I}36_{/}Jacob their father said to them, "You are 
taking my children from me. Joseph has gone; Simeon has gone and 
now you are taking Benjamin. I have all this to bear!"
{I}37_{/}Then Reuben said to his father, "You may have the lives of my 
two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to me and 
I shall see that he comes back." {R}_{I}38_{/}But Jacob said, "My son 
will not go with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is 
left. If he were to meet with some misfortune on the way, you 
would send my gray head to the land of Shadows in sorrow."

{N}THE SECOND JOURNEY TO EGYPT{/}

{1}43{/}

[\u0095]_{I}1_{/}Now the lack of food was severe in the land, {R}_{I}2_{/}and when 
they had eaten the grain they brought from Egypt, their father 
said to them, "Go down again and buy us a little food." {R}_{I}3_{/}But 
Judah said to him, "The man solemnly warned us that our brother 
had to come with us. {I}4_{/}If you send our brother with us, we will 
go down and buy food for you; {R}_{I}5_{/}but if you don't send him, we 
will not go, for the man said: You will not be admitted to my 
presence if your brother is not with you." {R}_{I}6_{/}Israel then said, 
"Why did you bring this misery on me by letting the man know you 
have another brother?" {R}_{I}7_{/}They replied, "The man questioned us 
carefully about ourselves and our kinsfolk saying: 'Is your father 
still alive? Have you another brother?' And so we answered these 
questions. Could we have known that he would tell us to bring our 
brother?"
{R}_{I}8_{/}Judah then said to Israel his father, "Send the boy with me. 
Let us go so that we, you and our children may live and not die. 
{R}_{I}9_{/}I will guarantee his safety. If I do not bring him back and 
set him here before you, I will bear the blame forever. {I}10_{/}If we 
hadn't delayed for so long we could have been there and back twice 
over."
{R}_{I}11_{/}Israel their father said to them, "If it must be so, then do 
this: take some choice products of the land in your bags and a 
gift for the man_- some balm, a little honey, gum, myrrh, 
pistachio nuts and almonds. {I}12_{/}Take double the money with you 
and you will repay what was put in your sacks; it may have been a 
mistake. {R}_{I}13_{/}Take your brother and go back to the man. {R}_{I}14_{/}May 
God Almighty grant you mercy in his presence, so that he will 
allow you to bring back your other brother and Benjamin. As for 
myself if I am bereaved of my children, then bereaved I shall have 
to be."
{R}_{I}15_{/}The men took the gift and the double amount of money as 
well. And, taking Benjamin, they set off and went down to Egypt 
and were admitted to the presence of Joseph.
{R}_{I}16_{/}When Joseph saw that Benjamin was with them, he said to his 
steward, "Bring these men to my house. Have an animal slaughtered 
and a meal prepared, for these men will eat with me at noon." 
{R}_{I}17_{/}The steward did as Joseph directed and brought the men to 
Joseph's house.
{I}18_{/}They were afraid and said to each other, "It's because of the 
money that was placed in our sacks the last time, that we are 
brought in. He wants to attack and overpower us and have us as 
slaves and take our donkeys." {R}_{I}19_{/}So they approached Joseph's 
steward and spoke to him at the door of the house, {I}20_{/}"By your 
leave, sir, we came down here the first time to buy food, {I}21{/}and 
when we reached a lodging place and opened our sacks, we found in 
the mouth of the sacks each one's money to the full weight. We 
have brought it back with us {I}22_{/}as well as additional money to 
buy food. We don't know who put the money in our sacks." {R}_{I}23_{/}The 
steward said, "Be at peace! Don't be afraid. Your God, the God of 
your father, put a treasure in your grain sacks. Your money 
reached me safely." He then brought Simeon out to them.
{R}_{I}24_{/}The steward took them into Joseph's house, gave them water 
to wash their feet and fodder for their donkeys. {R}_{I}25_{/}They 
prepared their present and waited for Joseph's arrival at midday, 
for they heard they were to dine there.
{R}_{I}26_{/}When Joseph came into the house, they offered him the gift 
they had with them and bowed to the ground before him. {R}_{I}27_{/}He 
asked them how they were and said, "Is your father well, the old 
man you spoke about? Is he still alive?" {I}28_{/}They answered, "Your 
servant our father is well and is still alive." {R}_{I}29_{/}He looked up 
and saw his brother Benjamin, the son of his own mother, and said, 
"Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?" And he 
added, "God be good to you, my son!" {R}_{I}30_{/}So deeply moved was 
Joseph, on seeing his brother, that he wanted to cry and went out 
quickly and wept in his own private room. {I}31_{/}After he had washed 
his face and come out, controlling himself, he said, "Serve the 
meal." {I}32_{/}He was served separately and so were they, and the 
Egyptians as well, for the Egyptians cannot share a meal with 
Hebrews; for the Egyptians this would be a shame. {I}33_{/}They were 
seated opposite him in the order of their ages from the eldest to 
the youngest and they looked at each other in astonishment.
{R}_{I}34_{/}Joseph had portions from his own dish taken to them and 
Benjamin's portion was five times more than that of the others. So 
they drank freely with him. 

{N}JOSEPH'S CUP IN BENJAMIN'S SACK{/}

{1}44{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Now Joseph gave this order to his steward, "Fill the men's 
sacks with as much food as they can carry and put back each man's 
silver in the mouth of his sack, {R}_{I}2_{/}and put my cup, the silver 
cup with the money for the grain in the sack of the youngest." The 
steward did as Joseph had directed.
{I}3_{/}As soon as it was light next morning the men were sent away 
with their donkeys. {R}_{I}4_{/}When they had gone but were still not far 
from the city, Joseph said to his steward, "Go quickly after those 
men and when you have caught up with them, say this: Why have you 
repaid good with evil? {I}5_{/}Isn't this the cup my master drinks 
from and uses for divination? You have done a wicked thing."
{I}6_{/}When he caught up with them he repeated these words. {I}7_{/}They 
said to him, "Why does my lord speak like that? Far be it from 
your servants to do such a thing. {R}_{I}8_{/}The money we found in the 
mouths of our sacks, we brought back to you from the land of 
Canaan! How then could we have stolen silver or gold from your 
lord's house? {I}9_{/}If one of your servants is found with the 
object, he will die and we too will become my lord's slaves." 
{I}10_{/}"Very well then," he said, "it will be as you say. The one 
who is found to have the cup will become my master's slave; the 
rest of you will go free." {I}11_{/}Then each one quickly lowered his 
sack to the ground and opened it. {I}12_{/}And he searched, beginning 
with the eldest and ending with the youngest. And the cup was 
found in Benjamin's sack. {I}13_{/}Then they tore their clothes and, 
reloading their donkeys, they returned to the city.
{R}_{I}14_{/}Joseph was still in the house when Judah and his brothers 
returned and they threw themselves on the ground before him. 
{R}_{I}15_{/}Joseph said to them, "What have you done? Didn't you know 
that a man such as I am is able to divine?"
{R}_{I}16_{/}Then Judah said, "What shall we say to my lord? How can we 
prove our innocence? God has uncovered your servant's guilt; we 
are my lord's slaves, we and the one who has been found with the 
cup." {R}_{I}17_{/}But Joseph said, "Far be it from me to do that. Only 
the man found to have the cup will be my slave. As for the rest, 
go back in peace to your father."
{R}_{I}18_{/}Judah then went forward and said, "My lord, allow your 
servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you 
are equal to Pharaoh himself. {I}19_{/}The last time you questioned 
your servants saying: 'Have you a father or a brother?' {R}_{I}20_{/}We 
said to my lord: 'We have an aged father who had a child in his 
old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his 
mother's children. And his father loves him.' {I}21_{/}Then you said 
to us: 'Bring him down so that I can see him for myself.' {I}22_{/}We 
told my lord that the boy could not leave his father, for if he 
did, his father would die.
{I}23_{/}You then told us that if our youngest brother did not come 
with us, we would not be admitted to your presence. {I}24_{/}All this 
we said to our father on returning there. {I}25_{/}So when he told us 
to come back and buy a little food, {I}26_{/}we said: 'We cannot go 
down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be 
admitted to the lord's presence unless our brother is with us.' 
{I}27_{/}Then my father said: 'You know that my wife had two children. 
{I}28_{/}One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces 
since I have not seen him anymore. {I}29_{/}If you take this one from 
me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in 
sorrow to the grave.' {R}_{I}30_{/}Now I can't return to my father 
without the boy, for my father loves him very much. If he sees 
that the boy is not there, {I}31_{/}he will die and we will have sent 
the gray hairs of our father in sorrow to the grave.
{R}_{I}32_{/}Now I, your servant, guaranteed the boy's safety and said to 
my father: 'If I do not bring him back, I will bear the blame 
before you all my life.' {I}33_{/}So now let me take the place of the 
boy and stay here as slave and let the boy go with his brothers, 
{R}_{I}34_{/}for I can't return to my father without the boy. Do not let 
me see the misery that would be too much for my father."

{N}JOSEPH REVEALS HIMSELF{/}

{1}45{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the 
presence of all those standing by and he called out, "Leave my 
presence, everyone!" And only his brothers were with him when 
Joseph made himself known to them. {I}2_{/}He wept so loudly that the 
Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh's house.
{R}_{I}3_{/}Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph. Is my father still 
alive?" And his brothers could not answer because they were 
terrified at seeing him. {R}_{I}4_{/}Joseph said, "Come closer," and they 
drew nearer. "I am Joseph your brother, yes, it's me, the one you 
sold to the Egyptians. {R}_{I}5_{/}Now don't grieve and reproach 
yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to 
save your lives. {I}6_{/}It's two years since famine has been in the 
land and there will be another five years without tilling and 
without harvest. {R}_{I}7_{/}God has sent me ahead of you to make our 
race survive there and to save many of you. {R}_{I}8_{/}So it was not you 
but God who sent me here, and made me a father to Pharaoh and lord 
of his household, and ruler also of all the land of Egypt. {R}_{I}9_{/}Go 
back quickly to my father and say to him: 'Joseph your son sends 
you this message: God has made me lord of all Egypt; so come down 
to me without delay; {I}10_{/}you shall live in the land of Goshen and 
you shall be near me, you, your children and grandchildren, your 
flocks and your herds, all that you have. {I}11_{/}And there I will 
provide for you (for there will be five more years of famine) lest 
you and your household and all who belong to you, be in need. 
{I}12_{/}Now you can see for yourselves, and your brother Benjamin can 
see that it is I myself who speak to you. {R}_{I}13_{/}You will tell my 
father of the glory I have in Egypt and of all that you have seen. 
Go quickly and bring my father down here."
{R}_{I}14_{/}Joseph then threw his arms around Benjamin and wept. 
{I}15_{/}Then weeping he kissed and embraced his brothers and they 
began to talk with him.
{R}_{I}16_{/}The news spread through Pharaoh's house, "Joseph's brothers 
are here," and the news pleased both Pharaoh and his officials.
{R}_{I}17_{/}Pharaoh told Joseph, "Let your brothers load their beasts, 
return to the land of Canaan {R}_{I}18_{/}and bring their father and 
their families back to me. I will give you the best of the land of 
Egypt and you will enjoy the fat of the land! {R}_{I}19_{/}As_for 
yourself give them this order: Take wagons from the land of Egypt 
for your little ones and for your wives; get your father and come! 
{R}_{I}20_{/}Never mind the things you leave there, for the best in all 
Egypt is yours!"
{R}_{I}21_{/}The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as 
Pharaoh had ordered, and provisions for the journey. {I}22_{/}To each 
one he gave a festal garment but to Benjamin he gave three hundred 
silver coins and five festal garments. {R}_{I}23_{/}To his father he sent 
ten asses loaded with all the best goods in Egypt and ten donkeys 
loaded with grain, bread and provisions for his father on the 
journey. {I}24_{/}Then he sent his brothers away and as they left he 
said, "Don't quarrel on the way."
{R}_{I}25_{/}They returned from Egypt and came back to Jacob their father 
in Canaan. [=]_{R}_{I}26_{/}They told him, "Joseph is alive and he is the 
ruler of all Egypt!" Jacob was stunned for he could not believe 
them. {R}_{I}27_{/}But they told him all that Joseph had said and showed 
him the wagons that Joseph sent to carry him. Then Jacob's spirit 
revived and he said, {R}_{I}28_{/}"It's enough, my son Joseph is alive; I 
will go and see him before I die."

{N}JACOB GOES DOWN TO EGYPT{/}

{1}46{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Israel left with all he owned and reached Beersheba 
where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}God spoke to Israel in visions that he had during the night, 
"Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he said. {R}_{I}3_{/}"I am God, the God of 
your father. Do not be afraid to go to Egypt, for there I will 
make you into a great nation. {R}_{I}4_{/}I will go with you to Egypt and 
I will bring you back again and Joseph's hand will close your 
eyes."
{R}_{I}5_{/}Jacob left Beersheba and the sons of Israel carried Jacob 
their father with their little children and their wives in the 
wagons that Joseph had sent to fetch him. {R}_{I}6_{/}They also took 
their flocks and all that they had acquired in Canaan. And so it 
was that Jacob came to Egypt and with him all his family, 
[=]_{R}_{I}7_{/}his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his 
granddaughters, in short all his children he took with him to 
Egypt.
[=]_{R}_{I}8_{/}Here are the names of the descendants of Israel who came 
to Egypt:
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, {I}9_{/}and the sons of Reuben: Hanoch, 
Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. {I}10_{/}the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, 
Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, whose mother was a_Canaanite. 
{I}11_{/}The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. {R}_{I}12_{/}The sons 
of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died 
in the land of Canaan); and the sons of Perez were Hezron and 
Hamul. {I}13_{/}The sons of Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron. 
{I}14_{/}The sons of Zebulun: Sered, Elon, and Jah'leel {R}_{I}15_{/}(these 
are the sons of Leah, Jacob's wife, who were born in Paddan-aram, 
together with his daughter Dinah; altogether his sons and his 
daughters numbered thirty-three). {R}_{I}16_{/}The sons of Gad: Zip'ion, 
Haggai, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. {I}17_{/}The sons of 
Asher: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, Beriah, with Serah their sister. And 
the sons of Beri'ah: Heber and Malchiel. {R}_{I}18_{/}These are the sons 
of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and Jacob was 
their father - sixteen persons. {R}_{I}19_{/}The sons of Rachel, Jacob's 
wife: Joseph and Benjamin. {R}_{I}20_{/}And to_Joseph in the land of 
Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whose mother was Asenath, 
the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On. {I}21_{/}And the sons of 
Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, 
Huppim, and Ard {R}_{I}22_{/}(these are the sons of Rachel - fourteen). 
{R}_{I}23_{/}The children of Dan: Hushim. {I}24_{/}The sons of Naphtali: 
Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem {R}_{I}25_{/}(these are the sons of 
Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and Jacob was 
their father - seven persons in all).
{R}_{I}26_{/}The total number of all the persons who came to Egypt with 
Jacob, all who were of his own blood, not counting the wives of 
his sons, was sixty-six. [=]_{R}_{I}27_{/}With the two sons born to 
Joseph in Egypt, the total number of Jacob's household that came 
to Egypt was seventy.

{N}JACOB MEETS JOSEPH{/}

{R}_{I}28_{/}Jacob sent Judah ahead to let Joseph know he was coming and 
that he would soon arrive in the land of Goshen.
{R}_{I}29_{/}Joseph got his chariot ready in order to meet Israel his 
father in Goshen. He presented himself, threw his arms around his 
father and wept on his shoulder for a long time. {R}_{I}30_{/}Israel said 
to Joseph, "Now I can die, for I have seen your face and know you 
are alive."
{R}_{I}31_{/}After that Joseph said to his brothers and all his father's 
family, "I will go and give the news to Pharaoh and tell him that 
my brothers and my father's family who were in the land of Canaan 
have come to me. {I}32_{/}I will also tell him that you are shepherds, 
keeping livestock, and have brought your flocks and cattle and all 
your belongings. {I}33_{/}So when Pharaoh summons you and says: 'What 
is your occupation?' {I}34_{/}you will say: 'Your servants keep flocks 
and herds; it has been so since our youth, and for our fathers 
before us.' Then you will settle in the land of Goshen, for the 
Egyptians detest all shepherds."

{1}47{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Joseph went and told Pharaoh, "My father and brothers with 
their sheep and cattle and all their possessions have come from 
the land of Canaan to Goshen." {I}2_{/}He then presented five of his 
brothers to Pharaoh. {I}3_{/}Pharaoh asked, "What are your 
occupations?" and they replied, "Your servants are shepherds as 
were our fathers before us. {R}_{I}4_{/}We have come to settle in the 
land for there is no more pasture for our sheep, so severe is the 
famine in the land of Canaan. And now we pray you, may we stay in 
the land of Goshen?" {R}_{I}5_{/}Pharaoh then spoke to Joseph, "Your 
father and your brothers have come to you. {R}_{I}6_{/}The land of Egypt 
is before you; let your father and brothers settle in the best 
part; let them settle in Goshen, and if among them there are 
capable men, put them in charge of my cattle."

{N}THE SONS OF JACOB IN EGYPT{/}

{R}_{I}7_{/}Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to 
Pharaoh {I}8_{/}who then asked him, "How old are you?" [=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Jacob 
replied, "The years of my wanderings are one hundred and thirty. 
Brief and difficult have been the years of my life,_and not as 
many as those of my fathers." {R}_{I}10_{/}Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and 
withdrew from his presence.
{R}_{I}11_{/}So Joseph had his father and brothers settled, giving them 
property in the best part of_Egypt, in the land of Rameses as 
Pharaoh had commanded. {R}_{I}12_{/}Joseph provided his father, his 
brothers and his father's entire household with food according to 
the number of their dependents.
[\u0095]_{R}_{I}13_{/}Now so severe was the famine that no bread was to be had 
in all the land. Both Egypt and Canaan were exhausted because of 
the famine. {R}_{I}14_{/}Joseph then collected all the money that had 
been given to buy bread in the lands of Egypt and Canaan. All this 
money Joseph took to Pharaoh's house.
{R}_{I}15_{/}When all the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was 
gone, all Egypt came to Joseph saying, "Give us bread! Why must we 
die before your eyes, for want of money?" {R}_{I}16_{/}Joseph told them, 
"Give me your cattle to pay for bread since you have no money." 
{R}_{I}17_{/}So they brought their livestock and Joseph gave them bread 
in exchange for their horses, sheep and cattle and even their 
donkeys. In that way he supplied them with food for that year.
{I}18_{/}The following year they came to him again and said, "We will 
not hide from our lord that all our money is gone and that our 
cattle now belong to you. All that is left to us are our persons 
and our land. [=]_{I}19_{/}Why should we die while you look on, 
ourselves and our land? So buy us and our land for bread; we shall 
be in bondage to you and Pharaoh. Give us grain that we may live 
and not die and our land remain desolate."
{R}_{I}20_{/}So it was that Joseph acquired all the land of Egypt for 
Pharaoh; all the Egyptians sold their fields, so cruelly hard-
pressed were they by the famine. Pharaoh became owner of the land 
{R}_{I}21_{/}and Joseph reduced the people to servitude from one end of 
Egypt to the other. {R}_{I}22_{/}Only the land of the priests he did not 
buy, because by a decree of Pharaoh they lived on what had been 
given to them by Pharaoh. For that reason they did not sell the 
land that belonged to them.
{R}_{I}23_{/}Then Joseph said to the people, "Now that I have bought you 
and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you to sow the land. 
{I}24_{/}At harvest time you will give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four 
fifths will be yours for seed for sowing, for food for yourselves 
and your families." {I}25_{/}They said, "You have saved our lives. If 
it please my lord, we shall be Pharaoh's serfs." {R}_{I}26_{/}So Joseph 
introduced a statute that remains to this day, whereby a fifth of 
the produce goes to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests did not 
become Pharaoh's.
{R}_{I}27_{/}So Israel lived in Egypt in the land of Goshen. They became 
owners of this land; they had many children and greatly increased 
in number. 
{R}_{I}28_{/}Jacob lived for one hundred and forty-seven years, seventeen 
of them in the land of Egypt.
{R}_{I}29_{/}When his life was drawing to a close he called for his son 
Joseph and said to him, "If you wish to be faithful and kind to 
me, place your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will 
not bury me in Egypt! {R}_{I}30_{/}But when I rest with my fathers, carry 
me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb." Joseph said, "I will 
do as you say." {R}_{I}31_{/}Jacob insisted, "Swear to it!" He swore to 
him and Israel fell back on his pillow.

{N}JACOB ADOPTS JOSEPH'S CHILDREN{/}

{1}48{/}

[\u0095]_[=]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Some time later, when Joseph was told that his father 
was ill, he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 
{R}_{I}2_{/}So they told Jacob that Joseph his son had come. Then Israel, 
mustering his strength, sat up in bed.
[=]_{R}_{I}3_{/}And he said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at 
Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me [=]_{I}4_{/}saying, 'I will 
make you fruitful and increase your number, and I will make of you 
a group of nations, and I will give this land to you and to your 
descendants after you as an everlasting possession.' {R}_{I}5_{/}From now 
on your two sons who were born in Egypt, before I came to you 
here, are mine! Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine just as Reuben 
and Simeon are mine. {R}_{I}6_{/}Only the children born after them will 
be yours and the land they inherit shall be known by the names of 
Ephraim and Manasseh. {R}_{I}7_{/}When I was returning from Paddan, to my 
sorrow Rachel died on the journey at some distance from Ephrath, 
and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is Bethlehem."
{R}_{I}8_{/}When Israel saw Joseph's sons he said, "Who are these?" 
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Joseph told his father, "They are the sons that God has 
given me here." Jacob said, "Bring them to me that I may bless 
them." [=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}As Israel's eyes were dim with age, he could no 
longer see. When Jacob brought them near, he kissed and embraced 
them, {R}_{I}11_{/}and said to Joseph, "I didn't expect to see you again 
and now God is letting me see your children as well!" {R}_{I}12_{/}Joseph 
lifted them from Israel's knees and he himself bowed low, his face 
to the ground.
{R}_{I}13_{/}Joseph then took them both, Ephraim by his right hand to 
Israel's left, and Manasseh by his left hand to Israel's right. 
{R}_{I}14_{/}Israel raised his right hand and placed it on Ephraim's 
head, although he was the younger, and placed his left hand on 
Manasseh's head even though Manasseh was the firstborn. 
[=]_{R}_{I}15_{/}Then he blessed Joseph and said, "May the God in whose 
presence my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been 
my shepherd from my birth to this day, {R}_{I}16_{/}the Angel who has 
saved me from every evil, bless these boys. And in them may my 
name live on and that of my fathers Abraham and Isaac. And may 
they increase greatly on the earth!"
{R}_{I}17_{/}Joseph was displeased when he saw his father had placed his 
right hand on Ephraim's head. So he took his father's hand from 
Ephraim's head to place it on Manasseh {I}18_{/}and said, "Not like 
that father, for this one is the elder. Place your right hand on 
his head." {I}19_{/}But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, 
I know; he too will be great and become a nation. Nevertheless his 
younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will 
become a group of nations."
{R}_{I}20_{/}He blessed them that day in these words: "Through you Israel 
will bestow this blessing: May God make you like Ephraim and 
Manasseh!"
So he placed Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. {R}_{I}21_{/}Then Israel said to 
Joseph, "I am going to die. God will be with you and he will bring 
you back to the land of your fathers. {R}_{I}22_{/}And to you, over and 
above what goes to your brothers, I give a mountain slope that I 
took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow."

{N}THE BLESSING OF JACOB{/}

{1}49{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}1_{/}Jacob then called his sons and said,
{R}_{I}2_{/}"Gather round, sons of Jacob. And listen to your father 
Israel! 
[=]_[*]_{I}3_{/}Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength and the 
firstfruits of my manhood! excelling in honor and excelling in 
power.
{R}_{I}4_{/}Restless as water, you will excel no more for you went to 
your father's wife, on to my bed and defiled it.
{I}5_{/}Simeon and Levi are brothers; their swords are weapons of 
violence. [=]_{I}6_{/}Let me not share their counsel! Let my heart 
keep far from their company, for in anger they killed men, and 
hamstrung oxen at their pleasure. {R}_{I}7_{/}A curse on their anger for 
it is fierce; a curse on their fury, so cruel! I will divide them 
among Jacob, and scatter them among Israel.
{R}_{I}8_{/}Judah, your brothers will praise you!
You shall seize your enemies by the neck!
Your father's sons shall bow before you.
[=]_{R}_{I}9_{/}Judah, a young lion!
You return from the prey, my son!
Like a lion he stoops and crouches,
and like a lioness, who dares to rouse him?
[=]_{R}_{I}10_{/}The scepter shall not be taken from Judah,
nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,
until he comes to whom it belongs,
and who has the obedience of the nations.
[=]_{I}11_{/}He ties his foal to a vine,
and his ass' colt to the choicest branch.
He washes his garments in wine
and his robe in the juice of grapes.
{R}_{I}12_{/}His eyes shall be red with wine,
and his teeth whiter than milk.
{I}13_{/}Zebulun lives by the seashore; he is a haven for the ships, 
and his flank stretches to Sidon.
{I}14_{/}Issachar is a sturdy ass, lolling beside the sheepfolds.
{I}15_{/}He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was 
pleasant. He bends his back to the burden and submits to forced 
labor.
[=]_{R}_{I}16_{/}Dan shall judge his people as one of the tribes of 
Israel. {R}_{I}17_{/}Dan shall be a serpent in the way, a viper on the 
path, that bites the horse's heels, making the rider fall 
backwards!
{I}18_{/}In your salvation, I hope, O Yahweh!
{I}19_{/}Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.
{R}_{I}20_{/}Asher's food will be rich, and he will provide delicacies 
fit for a king!
{I}21_{/}Naphtali is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Joseph is a fruitful vine,
a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
{I}23_{/}Archers attacked him fiercely
and sorely provoked him;
{R}_{I}24_{/}but his bow remained steady,
and his arms nimble,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob;
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel;
{R}_{I}25_{/}because of the God of your father, your Helper!
because of God Almighty who blesses you
with blessings from heaven above,
with blessings from the deep below!
with blessings of the breast and the womb!
{R}_{I}26_{/}The blessings of your father are greater than the blessings 
of the ancient mountains, the bounty of the everlasting hills! May 
they all rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the one who is 
a prince among his brothers!
[=]_{I}27_{/}Benjamin is a ravenous wolf!
In the morning he devours his prey,
and in the evening he divides the spoil!"

{N}THE DEATH AND FUNERAL OF JACOB{/}

{R}_{I}28_{/}These are all the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what 
his father said when he blessed them, giving each one a special 
and appropriate blessing. {I}29_{/}He then gave them these 
instructions: "I am soon to be gathered to my people; bury me near 
my fathers, in the cave in the field of Ephron, the Hittite; 
{R}_{I}30_{/}in the cave in the field of Machpelah, to the east of Mamre 
in Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite 
as a burial place. {R}_{I}31_{/}It was there that Abraham and his wife 
Sarah were buried. There they buried Leah. {R}_{I}32_{/}The field and the 
cave in it were purchased from the Hittites."
{R}_{I}33_{/}When Jacob had given these instructions to his sons, he drew 
his feet up into the bed; he breathed his last and was gathered to 
his people.

{1}50{/}

{R}_{I}1_{/}Joseph threw himself on his father, wept over him and kissed 
him. {R}_{I}2_{/}Then as Joseph had instructed them, his physicians 
embalmed Israel his father. {I}3_{/}This took a full forty days, the 
length of time required for embalming. The Egyptians mourned him 
for seventy days.
{R}_{I}4_{/}When the days of mourning were over, Joseph spoke to 
Pharaoh's household, "If you wish to show me kindness, please let 
Pharaoh know {R}_{I}5_{/}that when my father was dying he made me swear 
that I would bury him in the tomb he had made ready for himself in 
Canaan. Ask him to let me go up and bury my father. I will come 
back again." {I}6_{/}Pharaoh said, "Go and bury your father as he made 
you swear to do."
{R}_{I}7_{/}Joseph went up to bury his father and with him went all 
Pharaoh's officials, the elders of his household and all the 
elders of Egypt, {R}_{I}8_{/}as well as all belonging to the household of 
Joseph, his brothers and his father's household. Only their 
children, their flocks and herds were left in the land of Goshen. 
{I}9_{/}With the chariots and horsemen that went up with him it was a 
very imposing caravan. {R}_{I}10_{/}When they came to the threshing floor 
of Atad, near the Jordan, they carried out a solemn and long 
lamentation and there Joseph mourned his father for seven days. 
{R}_{I}11_{/}When the Canaanites witnessed this mourning they said, "This 
is a solemn mourning ceremony of the Egyptians." That is why this 
place which is east of the Jordan was called Abel Mizraim.
{R}_{I}12_{/}Jacob's sons did as he had ordered them. {R}_{I}13_{/}They carried 
him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field 
of Machpelah near Mamre that Abraham had bought from Ephron the 
Hittite for a burial place.
{R}_{I}14_{/}After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt 
with his brothers and all those who had gone up with him for the 
burial.

{N}THE LAST YEARS OF JOSEPH{/}

[\u0095]_{R}_{I}15_{/}When Joseph's brothers realized that their father was 
dead they said, "What if Joseph turns against us in hate because 
of the evil we did him?" {R}_{I}16_{/}So they sent word to Joseph saying, 
"Before he died your father told us to say this to you: 
{R}_{I}17_{/}Please forgive the crime and the sin of your brothers in 
doing evil to you. Forgive the crime of the servants of your 
father's God." When he was given the message, Joseph wept. 
{I}18_{/}His brothers went and threw themselves down before him. "We 
are your slaves," they said. {R}_{I}19_{/}But Joseph reassured them, 
"Don't be afraid! Am I in the place of God? [=]_{R}_{I}20_{/}You intended 
to do me harm, but God intended to turn it to good in order to 
bring about what is happening today - the survival of many people. 
{I}21_{/}So have no fear! I will provide for you and your little 
ones." In this way he touched their hearts and consoled them.
{R}_{I}22_{/}Joseph remained in Egypt together with all his father's 
family. He lived for a hundred and ten years, {R}_{I}23_{/}long enough to 
see Ephraim's great-grandchildren, and also to have the children 
of Machir, the son of Manasseh, placed on his knees after their 
birth.
{R}_{I}24_{/}Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am going to die, but 
God will surely remember you and take you from this country to the 
land he promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." [=]_{R}_{I}25_{/}Joseph 
then made the sons of Israel swear, saying, "When God comes to 
bring you out from here, carry my bones with you." {R}_{I}26_{/}Joseph 
died at the age of one hundred and ten; they embalmed him and laid 
him in a coffin in Egypt.

