2 And from among his brethren he took five men, and presented them unto Para'ôh. 3 And Para'ôh said unto his brethren, What is your occupation? And they said unto Para'ôh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers. 4 And they said unto Para'ôh, To sojourn in the land are we come; for there is no pasture for thy servants' flocks; for the famine is sore in the land of Kenâ'an; now, therefore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land of Gôshen. 5 And Para'ôh spake unto Yôsêph, saying, Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee: 6 The land of Miçrâîm is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Gôshen let them dwell; and if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle. 27 And Yisrâêl dwelt in the land of Miçrâîm, in the land of Gôshen. XLIII. BLESSING OF THE SONS OF YOSEPH. XLVII. 29 And the time drew near that Yisrâêl must die and he called his son Yôsêph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Micrâîm : 30 But when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Miçrâîm, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said. 31 And he said, Swear unto me: and he sware unto him. And Yisrâêl bowed himself upon the bed's head. XLVIII. 8 And Yisrâêl beheld Yôsêph's sons, and said, Who are these? 9 And Yôsêph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom Elôhîm hath given me here. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 10 Now the eyes of Yisrâêl were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them. 11 And Yisrâêl said unto Yôsêph, I had not thought to see thy face; and, lo, Elôhîm hath let me see thy seed also. 12 And Yôsêph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Yôsêph took them both, Ephrâîm in his right hand toward Yisrâêl's left hand, and Menassheh in his left hand toward Yisrâêl's right hand, and brought them near unto him. 14 And Yisrâêl stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephrâîm's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Menassheh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Menassheh was the firstborn. The Jehovist has taken the groundwork of this narrative, and most of the expressions he makes use of, from the book where God is called Elôhîm; a different work from that of the Elohist properly so called, which has so often been the substratum to his narrative. The use, however, of the name of Yisrael to designate Ya'aqôb is one of the signs of his personal revision. 15 And he blessed Yôsêph, and said, The God before whom my fathers Abrâhâm and Yice'hâq did walk, the God which hath fed me all my life long unto this day, 16 The angel which hath redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abrâhâm and Yiçe'hâq; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. 17 And when Yôsêph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephrâîm's head to Menassheh's head. 18 And Yôsêph said to his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 19 And his : father refused, and said, I know it, my I know it he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; howbeit his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 20 And he blessed them that day, saying, By thee shall Yisrâêl bless, saying, Elôhîm make thee as Ephrâîm and as Menassheh: and he set Ephrâîm before Menassheh. 21 And Yisrâêl said unto Yôsêph, Behold, I die: but Elôhim shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to thee one portion 1 above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the 'Amôry with my sword and with my bow. See note to chap. xlviii. 22. XLIV. BLESSING OF THE SONS OF YAʼAQÔB. XLIX. 1 And Ya'aqôb called unto his sons, and said : Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the latter days. 2 Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Ya'aqôb ! And hearken unto Yisrâêl your father. 3 Reûbên, thou art my firstborn, My might, and the first-fruits of my strength; The excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. 4 Impetuous as water, thou shall not have the excellency; Because thou wentest up to thy father's bed: 5 Shime’ôn and Levy are brethren ; Weapons of violence are their compacts. 6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret councils; Unto their assembly, my honour, be not thou united; For in their anger they slew men, And in their selfwill they houghed oxen. 7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; And their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Ya'aqôb, And scatter them in Yisrâêl. 8 Yehûdâh, thee shall thy brethren praise: Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; 9 Yehûdâh is a lion's whelp; From the prey, my son, thou art gone up: And as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, And his ass's colt unto the choice vine; He hath washed his garments in wine, And his vesture in the blood of grapes. 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, And his teeth white with milk. 13 Zebulûn shall dwell at the haven of the sea: And he shall be for an haven of ships; And his border shall be by Çidôn. 14 Yissâchâr is a strong ass, Couching down between the sheepfolds : 15 And he saw a resting place that it was good, And the land that it was pleasant; And he bowed his shoulder to bear, And became a servant under taskwork. 16 Dân shall judge his people, As one of the tribes of Yisrâêl. 17 Dân shall be a serpent in the way, An horned snake in the path, That biteth the horse's heels, So that his rider falleth backward. 18 I have waited for thy salvation, O Yahveh. |