• Torah (T): Bereshiyt (Genesis) 42:1-38
• Prophets (P): Isaiah 50:10 – 52:11
• Apostolic (A): Luke 16:19-31
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 42:1-20

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Genesis 37:21-22 (T)
• Genesis 37:35 (T)
• Amos 8:11-12 (T)
• Psalms 74:10-18 (H, T)

RELATED ADDITIONAL READINGS

• Testament of Shimon 1:1-20, 2:1-11 (T)
• Jubilees 8:8-30; Jubilees 9:14-15 (T)
• Enoch 22:1-14 (T)
• The Coming of Melchizedek 11Q13 Col. 2 (P)
• The New Jerusalem Scrolls 4Q554–5, 5Q15, 1Q32, 2Q24, 4Q232, 11Q18 (A)
• Genesis 42:18 – 43:23 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 2.6.1-6 (T)

Note: (T) means the verse relates to that week’s Torah portion. (P) means the verse relates to that week’s Prophets portion. (A) means the verse relates to that week’s Apostolic portion. (ADD) means the verse relates to that week’s Additional portion.

Torah Portion (T)

42:1 Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” 2 He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die.” 3 The ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob didn't send Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, with his brothers; for he said, “Lest perhaps harm happen to him.” 5 The sons of Israel came to buy [grain]^(LXX) among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. 6 Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. The brothers of Joseph came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the land. 7 Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but acted like a stranger to them, and spoke roughly with them. He said to them, “Where did you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” 8 Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn't recognize him. 9 Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.” 10 They said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all the house of one man; we are [peaceable]^(LXX) men. Your servants are not spies.” 12 He said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land!” 13 They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our father, and one is no more.” 14 Joseph said to them, “It is like I told you, saying, ‘You are spies!' 15 By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here, unless your youngest brother comes here. 16 Send one of you, and let him get your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you, or else by the life of Pharaoh surely you are spies.” 17 He put them all together into custody for three days. 18 Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this, and live, for I fear [the Elohim].^(MTT) 19 If you are [peaceable]^(LXX) men, then let one of your brothers be bound in your prison; but you go [and]^(LXX) carry grain for the famine of your houses. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won't die.” They did so. 21 They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn't listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.” 22 Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn't I tell you, saying, ‘Don't sin against the child,' and you wouldn't listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required.” 23 They didn't know that Joseph understood them; for there was a translator between them. 24 He turned himself away from them, and wept. Then he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Shimon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. 25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their bags with grain, and to restore the money of each man into his sack, and to give them food for the way. So it was done to them. 26 They loaded their donkeys with their grain, and departed from there. 27 As one of them opened his sack to give his donkey food in the lodging place, he saw his money. Behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28 He said to his brothers, “My money is restored! Behold, it is in my sack!” Their hearts failed them, and they turned trembling to one another, saying, “What is this that Elohim has done to us?” 29 They came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and told him all that had happened to them, saying, 30 “The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us, and took us [in custody]^(LXX) for spies of the country. 31 We said to him, ‘We are [peaceable]^(LXX) men. We are no spies. 32 We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.' 33 The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are [peaceable]^(LXX) men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take [grain]^(LXX) for the famine of your houses, and go your way. 34 Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are [peaceable]^(LXX) men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.' ” 35 As they emptied their sacks, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36 Jacob, their father, said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Shimon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.” 37 Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons, if I don't bring him to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him to you again.” 38 He said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

Prophets Portion (P)

50:10 Who among you fears YHWH and obeys the voice of his servant? He who walks in darkness and has no light, let him trust in the name of YHWH, and rely on his Elohim. 11 Behold, all you who kindle a fire, who adorn yourselves with torches around yourselves, walk in the flame of your fire, and among the torches that you have kindled. You will have this from my hand: you will lie down in sorrow.

51:1 “Listen to me, you who follow after righteousness, you who seek YHWH. Look to the rock you were cut from, and to the quarry you were dug from. 2 Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for when he was but one I called him, I blessed him, and made him many. 3 For YHWH has comforted Zion. He has comforted all her waste places, and has made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of YHWH. Joy and gladness will be found in them, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. 4 “Listen to me, my people; and hear me, my nation, for a Torah will go out from me, and I will establish my justice for a light to the peoples. 5 My righteousness is near. My salvation has gone out, and my arms will judge the peoples. The islands will wait for me, and they will trust my arm. 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the land beneath; for the heavens will vanish away like smoke, and the land will wear out like a garment. Its inhabitants will die in the same way, but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will not be abolished. 7 “Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my Torah. Don’t fear the reproach of men, and don’t be dismayed at their insults. 8 For the moth will eat them up like a garment, and the worm will eat them like wool; but my righteousness will be forever, and my salvation to all generations.” [9 Awake, awake, be clothed with strength, arm of YHWH! Awake, as in the days of old, ancient times. Was it not you who broke Rehob to pieces, who pierced the sea monster? 10 Was it not you who dried up Sea, the waters of the great deep, who made in the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass over? 11 The dispersed of YHWH will return, and enter Zion with singing. Everlasting joy will be upon their heads. They will attain joy and gladness, and sorrow and mourning will flee away.]^(DSS) 12 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you, that you are afraid of man who will die, and of the son of man who will be made as grass? 13 Have you forgotten [Elohim]^(LXX) your Maker, who stretched out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the land? Do you live in fear continually all day because of the fury of the oppressor, when he prepares to destroy? Where is the fury of the oppressor? 14 The captive exile will speedily be freed. He will not die and go down into the pit. His bread won’t fail. 15 For I am [your Elohim],^(LXX) who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar. YHWH of Armies is his name. 16 I have put my words in your mouth and have covered you in the shadow of my hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the land, and tell Zion, ‘You are my people.’ ” 17 Awake, awake! Stand up, Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of YHWH the cup of his wrath. You have drunken the bowl of the cup of staggering, and drained it. 18 There is no one to guide her among all the sons to whom she has given birth; and there is no one who takes her by the hand among all the sons whom she has brought up. 19 These two things have happened to you— who will grieve with you?— desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword. [Who will]^(LXX) comfort you? 20 Your sons have fainted. They lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net. They are full of the wrath of YHWH, the rebuke of your Elohim. 21 Therefore now hear this, you afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine: 22 Your [Lord],^(LXX) your Elohim who pleads the cause of his people, says, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of staggering, even the bowl of the cup of my wrath. You will not drink it any more. 23 I will put it into the hand of those who afflict you, who have said to your soul, ‘Bow down, that we may walk over you;’ and you have laid your back as the ground, like a street to those who walk over.”

52:1 Awake, awake! Put on your strength, Zion. Put on your beautiful garments, Jerusalem, the holy city: for from now on the uncircumcised and the unclean will no more come into you. 2 Shake yourself from the dust! Arise, sit up, Jerusalem! Release yourself from the bonds of your neck, captive daughter of Zion! 3 For YHWH says, “You were sold for nothing; and you will be redeemed without money.” 4 For [YHWH]^(LXX) says: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there: and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause. 5 “Now therefore, what do I do here,” says YHWH, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Those who rule over them mock,” says YHWH, “and [because of you]^(LXX) my name is blasphemed continually all day long [among the nations].^(LXX) (cf. Romans 2:24) 6 My people will know my name. Therefore they will know in that day that I am he who speaks. Behold, it is I.” 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news (cf. Romans 10:15),  who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your Elohim reigns!” 8 Your watchmen lift up their voice. Together they sing; for they will see eye to eye when YHWH returns to Zion [with compassion].^(LXX) 9 Break out into joy! Sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem; for YHWH has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. 10 YHWH has made his holy arm bare in the eyes of all the nations. All the ends of the land have seen the salvation of our Elohim. 11 Depart! Depart! Go out from there! Touch no unclean thing (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:17)! Go out from [their]^(LXX) midst [and be separate],^(LXX) you who carry the vessels of YHWH.

Apostolic Portion (A)

16:19 “Now there was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple and fine linen, living in luxury every day. 20 A certain beggar, named Lazarus, was taken to his gate, full of sores, 21 and desiring to be fed with the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. Yes, even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 The beggar died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died, and was buried. 23 In Sheol, he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far off, and Lazarus at his bosom. 24 He cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue! For I am in anguish in this flame.’ 25 “But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that you, in your lifetime, received your good things, and Lazarus, in the same way, bad things. But here he is now comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 Besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that those who want to pass from here to you are not able, and that no one may cross over from there to us.’ 27 “He said, ‘I ask you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house; 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, so they won’t also come into this place of torment.’ 29 “But Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them.’ 30 “He said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they don’t listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if one rises from the dead.’ ”

Additional Portion (ADD)

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

42:1 And in the first year of the third week of the forty-fifth jubilee [2171 A.M.] the famine began to come into the land, and the rain refused to be given to the land, for none whatever fell. 2. And the land grew barren, but in the land of Egypt there was food, for Joseph had gathered the seed of the land in the seven years of plenty and had preserved it. 3 . And the Egyptians came to Joseph that he might give them food, and he opened the storehouses where was the grain of the first year, and he sold it to the people of the land for gold. 4. (Now the famine was very sore in the land of Canaan), and Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, and he sent his ten sons that they should procure food for him in Egypt; but Benjamin he did not send, and (the ten sons of Jacob) arrived (in Egypt) among those that went (there.) 5. And Joseph recognized them, but they did not recognize him, and he spake unto them and questioned them, and he said unto them: “Are ye not spies, and have ye not come to explore the approaches of the land?” And he put them in ward. 6. And after that he set them free again, and detained Shimon alone and sent off his nine brothers. 7. And he filled their sacks with corn, and he put their gold in their sacks, and they did not know. 8. And he commanded them to bring their younger brother, for they had told him their father was living and their younger brother. 9. And they went up from the land of Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan; and they told their father all that had befallen them, and how the lord of the country had spoken roughly to them, and had seized Shimon till they should bring Benjamin. 10. And Jacob said: “Me have ye bereaved of my children! Joseph is not and Shimon also is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. On me hath your wickedness come.” 11. And he said: “My son will not go down with you lest perchance he fall sick; for their mother gave birth to two sons, and one hath perished, and this one also ye will take from me. If perchance he took a fever on the road, ye would bring down my old age with sorrow unto death.” 12. For he saw that their money had been returned to every man in his sack, and for this reason he feared to send him. 13. And the famine increased and became sore in the land of Canaan, and in all lands save in the land of Egypt, for many of the children of the Egyptians had stored up their seed for food from the time when they saw Joseph gathering seed together and putting it in storehouses and preserving it for the years of famine. 14. And the people of Egypt fed themselves thereon during the first year of their famine. 15. But when Israel saw that the famine was very sore in the land, and there was no deliverance, he said unto his sons: “Go again, and procure food for us that we die not.” 16. And they said: “We will not go; unless our youngest brother go with us, we will not go.” 17. And Israel saw that if he did not send him with them, they should all perish by reason of the famine. 18. And Reuben said: “Give him into my hand, and if I do not bring him back to thee, slay my two sons instead of his soul.” And he said unto him He will not go with thee.” 19. And Judah came near and said: “Send him with me, and if I do not bring him back to thee, let me bear the blame before thee all the days of my life.” 20. And he sent him with them in the second year of this week on the first day of the month [2172 A.M.], and they came to the land of Egypt with all those who went, and (they had) presents in their hands, stacte and almonds and terebinth nuts and pure honey.

Related Scriptures

37:21 Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him.

8:11 Behold, the days come,” says the Lord YHWH, “that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of YHWHs. 12 They will wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east; they will run back and forth to seek the word of YHWH, and will not find it.

74:10 How long, Elohim, will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? 11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it from your chest and consume them! 12 Yet Elohim is my King of old, working salvation throughout the land. 13 You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters. 14 You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures. 15 You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers. 16 The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun. 17 You have set all the boundaries of the land. You have made summer and winter. 18 Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, YHWH. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

11:8 In faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed to go out to the place which he was to receive for an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he went. 9 In faith, he lived as a sojourner in the land of promise, as in a land not his own, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked for the city which has the foundations, whose builder and maker is Elohim.

Additional Readings​

The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs is  comprised of the dying commands of the twelve sons of Jacob. It is part of the Oskan Armenian Orthodox Bible of 1666. Fragments of similar writings were found at Qumran, but opinions are divided as to whether these are the same texts.

1:1 The copy of the words of Shimon, the things which he spake to his sons before he died, in the hundred and twentieth year of his life, at which time Joseph, his brother, died. 2 For when Shimon was sick, his sons came to visit him. and he strengthened himself and sat up and kissed them, and said:– 3 Hearken, my children, to Shimon your father and I will declare unto you what things I have in my heart. 4 I was born of Jacob as my father’s second son; and my mother Leah called me Shimon, because the Lord had heard her prayer. 5 Moreover, I became strong exceedingly; I shrank from no achievement nor was I afraid of ought. For my heart was hard, and my liver was immovable, and my bowels without compassion. 6 Because valour also has been given from the Most High to men in soul and body. 7 For in the time of my youth I was zealous in many things of Joseph, because my father loved him beyond all. 8 And I set my mind against him to destroy him because the prince of deceit sent forth the spirit of zeal and blinded my mind, so that I regarded him not as a brother, nor did I spare even Jacob my father. 9 But his Elohim and the Elohim of his fathers sent forth His angel, and delivered him out of my hands. 10 For when I went to Shechem to bring ointment for the flocks, and Reuben to Dothan, where were our necessaries and all our stores, Judah my brother sold him to the Ishmaelites. 11 And when Reuben heard these things he was grieved, for he wished to restore him to his father. 12 But on hearing this I was exceedingly wroth against Judah in that he let him go away alive, and for five months I continued wrathful against him. 13 But the Lord restrained me, and withheld from me the power of my hands; for my right hand was half withered for seven days. 14 And I knew, my children, that because of Joseph this had befallen me, and I repented and wept; and I besought the Lord Elohim that my hand might be restored and that I might hold aloof from all pollution and envy and from all folly. 15 For I knew that I had devised an evil thing before the Lord and Jacob my father, on account of Joseph my brother, in that I envied him. 16 And now, my children, hearken unto me and beware of the spirit of deceit and envy. 17 For envy ruleth over the whole mind of a man, and suffereth him neither to eat nor to drink, nor to do any good thing. But it ever suggesteth to him to destroy him that he envieth; and so long as he that is envied flourisheth, he that envieth fadeth away. 18 Two years therefore I afflicted my soul with fasting in the fear of the Lord, and I learnt that deliverance from envy cometh by the fear of Elohim. 19 For if a man flee to the Lord, the evil spirit runneth away from him and his mind is lightened. 20 And henceforward he sympathiseth with him whom he envied and forgiveth those who are hostile to him, and so ceaseth from his envy.

2:1 And my father asked concerning me, because he saw that I was sad; and I said unto him, I am pained in my liver. 2 For I mourned more than they all, because I was guilty of the selling of Joseph. 3 And when we went down into Egypt, and he bound me as a spy, I knew that I was suffering justly, and I grieved not. 4 Now Joseph was a good man, and had the Spirit of Elohim within him: being compassionate and pitiful, he bore no malice against me; but loved me even as the rest of his brethren. 5 Beware, therefore, my children, of all zeal and envy, and walk in singleness of heart, that Elohim may give you also grace and glory, and blessing upon your heads, even as ye saw in Joseph’s case. 6 All his days he reproached us not concerning this thing, but loved us as his own soul, and beyond his own sons glorified us, and gave us riches, and cattle and fruits. 7 Do ye also, my children, love each one his brother with a good heart, and the spirit of envy will withdraw from you. 8 For this maketh savage the soul and destroyeth the body; it causeth anger and war in the mind, and stirreth up unto deeds of blood, and leadeth the mind into frenzy, and causeth tumult to the soul and trembling to the body. 9 For even in sleep malicious zeal gnaweth, and with wicked spirits disturbeth the soul, and causeth the body to be troubled, and waketh the mind from sleep in confusion; and as a wicked and poisonous spirit, so appeareth it to men. 10 Therefore was Joseph comely in appearance, and goodly to look upon, because no wickedness dwelt in him; for some of the trouble of the spirit the face manifesteth. 11 And now, my children, make your hearts good before the Lord, and your ways straight before men, and ye will find grace before the Lord and men.

Between 1947 and 1956 approximately 15 Jubilees scrolls were found in five caves at Qumran, all written in Hebrew. The large number of manuscripts (more than for any biblical books except for Psalms, Deuteronomy, Isaiah, Exodus, and Genesis, in descending order) indicates that Jubilees was widely used at Qumran. A comparison of the Qumran texts with the Ethiopic version, performed by James VanderKam, found that the Ethiopic was in most respects an accurate and literalistic translation. Scholars have dated Jubilees to have been written sometime around 160-150 B.C.

8:8 And in the sixth year thereof, she bare him a son, and he called his name Peleg; for in the days when he was born the children of Noaḥ began to divide the land amongst themselves: for this reason he called his name Peleg. 9. And they divided (it) secretly amongst themselves, and told it to Noaḥ. 10. And it came to pass in the beginning of the thirty-third jubilee that they divided the land into three parts, for Shem and Ham and Japheth, according to the inheritance of each, in the first year in the first week, when one of us, who had been sent, was with them. 11. And he called his sons, and they drew nigh to him, they and their children, and he divided the land into the lots, which his three sons were to take in possession, and they reached forth their hands, and took the writing out of the bosom of Noaḥ, their father. 12. And there came forth on the writing as Shem’s lot the middle of the land which he should take as an inheritance for himself and for his sons for the generations of eternity, from the middle of the mountain range of Râfâ, from the mouth of the water from the river Tînâ. and his portion goeth towards the west through the midst of this river, and it extendeth till it reacheth the water of the abysses, out of which this river goeth forth and poureth its waters into the sea Mê’at, and this river floweth into the great sea. And all that is towards the north is Japheth’s, and all that is towards the south belongeth to Shem. 13. And it extendeth till it reacheth Kârâsô: this is in the bosom of the tongue which looketh towards the south. 14. And his portion extendeth along the great sea, and it extendeth in a straight line till it reacheth the west of the tongue which looketh towards the south; for this sea is named the tongue of the Egyptian Sea. 15. And it turneth from here towards the south towards the mouth of the great sea on the shore of (its) waters, and it extendeth to the west to ‘Afrâ [Africa] and it extendeth till it reacheth the waters of the river Gihon, and to the south of the waters of Gihon, to the banks of this river. 16. And it extendeth towards the east, till it reacheth the Garden of Eden, to the south thereof, [to the south] and from the east of the whole land of Eden and of the whole cast, it turneth to the east, and proceedeth till it reacheth the east of the mountain named Râfâ, and it descendeth to the bank of the mouth of the river Tînâ. 17. This portion came forth by lot for Shem and his sons, that they should possess it for ever unto his generations for evermore. 18. And Noaḥ rejoiced that this portion came forth for Shem and for his sons, and he remembered all that he had spoken with his mouth in prophecy; for he had said: Blessed be the Lord Elohim of Shem, And may the Lord dwell in the dwelling of Shem.” 19. And he knew that the Garden of Eden is the holy of holies, and the dwelling of the Lord, and Mount Sinai the centre of the desert, and Mount Zion–the centre of the navel of the land: these three were created as holy places facing each other. 20. And he blessed the Elohim of Elohim, who had put the word of the Lord into his mouth, and the Lord for evermore. 21. And he knew that a blessed portion and a blessing had come to Shem and his sons unto the generations for ever–the whole land of Eden and the whole land of the Red Sea, and the whole land of the east, and India, and on the Red Sea and the mountains thereof, and all the land of Bashan, and all the land of Lebanon and the islands of Kaftûr, and all the mountains of Sanîr and ‘Amânâ, and the mountains of Asshur in the north, and all the land of Elam, Asshur, and Bâbêl, and Sûsân and Mâ‘ĕdâi and all the mountains of Ararat, and all the region beyond the sea, which is beyond the mountains of Asshur towards the north, a blessed and spacious land, and all that is in it is very good. 22. And for Ham came forth the second portion, beyond the Gihon towards the south to the right of the Garden, and it extendeth towards the south and it extendeth to all the mountains of fire, and it extendeth towards the west to the sea of ‘Atêl and it extendeth towards the west till it reacheth the sea of Mâ’ûk–that (sea) into which everything which is not destroyed descendeth. 23. And it goeth forth towards the north to the limits of Gâdîr, and it goeth forth to the coast of the waters of the sea to the waters of the great sea till it draweth near to the river Gihon, and goeth along the river Gihon till it reacheth the right of the Garden of Eden. 24. And this is the land which came forth for Ham as the portion which he was to occupy for ever for himself and his sons unto their generations for ever. 25. And for Japheth came forth the third portion beyond the river Tînâ to the north of the outflow of its waters, and it extendeth north-easterly to the whole region of Gog and to all the country east thereof. 26. And it extendeth northerly to the north, and it extendeth to the mountains of Qêlt towards the north, and towards the sea of Mâ’ûk, and it goeth forth to the east of Gâdîr as far as the region of the waters of the sea. 27. And it extendeth until it approacheth the west of Fârâ and it returneth towards ‘Afêrâg, and it extendeth easterly to the waters of the sea of Mê’at. 28. And it extendeth to the region of the river Tînâ in a northeasterly direction until it approacheth the boundary of its waters towards the mountain Râfâ, and it turneth round towards the north. 29. This is the land which came forth for Japheth and his sons as the portion of his inheritance which he should possess for himself and his sons, for their generations for ever; five great islands, and a great land in the north. 30. But it is cold, and the land of Ham is hot, and the land of Shem is neither hot nor cold, but it is of blended cold and heat.

9:14 And thus the sons of Noaḥ divided unto their sons in the face of Noaḥ their father, and he bound them all by an oath, imprecating a curse on every one that sought to seize the portion which had not fallen (to him) by his lot. 15. And they all said, “So be it; so be it,” for themselves and their sons for ever throughout their generations till the day of judgment, on which the Lord Elohim will judge them with a sword and with fire, for all the unclean wickedness of their errors, wherewith they have filled the land with transgression and uncleanness and fornication and sin.

​22:1 And thence I went to another place, and he showed me in the west ⌈another⌉ great and high mountain [and] of hard rock. 2 And there was in it †four† hollow places, deep and wide and very smooth. †How† smooth are the hollow places and deep and dark to look at. 3. Then Raphael answered, one of the holy angels who was with me, and said unto me: ‘These hollow places have been created for this very purpose, that the spirits of the souls of the dead should assemble therein, yea that all the souls of the children of men should assemble here. And these places have been made to receive them till the day of their judgement and till their appointed period ⌈till the period appointed⌉, till the great judgement (comes) upon them.’ 5. I saw the spirits of the children of men who were dead, and their voice went forth to the heavens and made suit. 6. Then I asked Raphael the angel who was with me, and I said unto him: ‘This spirit–whose is it whose voice goeth forth and maketh suit?’ 7. And he answered me saying: ‘This is the spirit which went forth from Abel, whom his brother Cain slew, and he makes his suit against him till his seed is destroyed from the face of the land, and his seed is annihilated from amongst the seed of men.’ 8. Then I asked regarding it, and regarding all the hollow places: ‘Why as one separated from the other?’ 9. And he answered me and said unto me: ‘These three have been made that the spirits of the dead might be separated. And such a division has been made 〈for〉 the spirits of the righteous, in which there as the bright spring of water. 10. And such has been made for sinners when they die and are buried in the land and judgement has not been executed on them in their lifetime. 11. Here their spirits will be set apart in this great pain till the great day of judgement and punishment and torment of those who †curse† for ever, and retribution for their spirits. There He will bind them for ever. 12. And such a division has been made for the spirits of those who make their suit, who make disclosures concerning their destruction, when they were slain in the days of the sinners. 13. Such has been made for the spirits of men who were not righteous but sinners, who were complete in transgression, and of the transgressors. they will be companions: but their spirits will not be slain in the day of judgement nor will they be raised from thence. 14. Then I blessed the Lord of glory and said: ‘Blessed be my Lord, the Lord of righteousness, who ruleth for ever.’

11Q13, also 11QMelch or the Melchizedek document, is a fragmentary manuscript among the Dead Sea Scrolls (from Cave 11) which mentions Melchizedek as leader of Elohim’s angels in a war in Heaven against the angels of darkness instead of the more familiar Archangel Michael. The text is an apocalyptic commentary on the Jubilee year of Leviticus 25. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain texts in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, the language of 11Q13 is Hebrew, date of composition is circa 100 B.C.

The figure of the messenger, an Anointed one who comes with a message from Elohim but is “cut off.”

This vi[sitation] is the Day of [Salvation] that He has decreed [through Isai]ah the prophet [concerning all the captives,] inasmuch as Scripture sa[ys. “How] beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messeng[er] who [an]nounces peace, who brings [good] news, [who announces salvat]ion, who [sa]ys to Zion, ‘Your [di]vine being [reigns'” (Isa. 52:7). This scripture’s interpretation: “the mounta[ins” are the] prophet[s], they w[ho were sent to proclaim Elohim’s truth and to] proph[esy] to all I[srael]. “The messenger” is the [An]ointed of the spir[it], of whom Daniel] spoke, [“After the sixty-two weeks, an Anointed one will be cut off” (Daniel 9:26). The “messenger who brings] good news, who announ[ces salvation”] is the one of whom it is wri[tt]en, [“to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, the day of vengeance of our Elohim;] to comfo[rt all who mourn” (Isa. 61:2). This scripture’s interpretation:] he is to instruct them about all the periods of history for eter[nity … and in the statutes of] [the] truth. […] […dominion] that passes from Belial and ret[urns to the Sons of Light…] […] by the judgment of Elohim, just as it is written concerning him, [who says to Zi]on Your divine being reigns'” (Isa. 52:7). [“Zi]on” is [the congregation of all the sons of righteousness, who] uphold the covenant and turn from [walking in the way] of the people. “Your di[vi]ne being” is [Melchizedek, who will del]iv[er them from the po]wer of Belial. Concerning what Scripture says, “Then you will have the trumpet [sounded loud; in] the [seventh m]o[nth…”] (Lev. 25:9).

*Wise, Michael Owen, et al. The Dead Sea Scrolls: a New Translation. HarperSanFrancisco, 2005.

Paraphrase and comments by John Sanko. Paraphrase and notes edited by Alan Humm:

New Jerusalem descriptions were written in Aramaic and paralleled Ezekiel 40-43, as well as, Revelation 21. It is thought that a surveyor of the era was a visionary in ancient Judea who provided a detailed picture of the entire city’s dimensions. The parallels this work has to the Hebrew Bible is that both measure the city in detail from east to west escorted by the guidance from the heavenly being. Ezekiel was a prophet that earnestly awaited the restoration of Israel to its once prosperous state. Other parallels like Isaiah and the book of Tobit speak of a rejuvenated city and temple of the Lord. Revelation is less detailed in the actual measuring, but more vivid in depicting the visual the heavenliness of the city with references to jewels, gold, and a running crystal stream. Ezekiel and Revelation cover more of the rules governing the Lord’s people and the manner in which the twelve tribes of Israel should divide the city. The purpose to the Qumran community is that of a basic picture of a rewarding place for following the laws of the Lord. Judaism and Christianity are similar in many basic concepts in their respective scriptures.

4Q554 Frag. 1 Col. 1 […]he measured 35 stadia[2] from north to the southern corner and named the gate the gate of Shimon.[3] [From this gate he measured 35 stadia to] the middle gate which was called the gate of Levi. From this gate he measured 35 stadia to the south which was called the gate of Judah. From this gate he measured to the [southeastern] corner and then westwards 35 stadia and called this gate the gate of Joseph. [He measured] 24 stadia from here to the middle and called the gate the gate of Benjamin. From here he measure 24 stadia to the [third] gate and called it the gate of Reuben. From here [to the western corner he measured 24 stadia] and then Col. 2 [northwards] 35 stadia and called this gate the gate of Issachar. He measured 24 statia from this gate to the middle and named it the gate of Zebulun. From here he measured 24 stadia to the third gate and called this gate the gate of Gad. From here he measured to the northern corner 35 stadia and then eastwards 35 stadia calling this gate the gate of Dan. He measured from here to the middle 24 stadia and called this gate the gate of Naphtali. From here he to the third gate 24 stadia and called this gate the gate of Asher. He measured from here to the eastern corner 24 stadia.

Footnotes
The term “he” was meant to be an angel that revealed the New Jerusalem to an unknown person.
[2] A stade is equal to 2/15 of a mile. A cubit can be either 18 or 20 inches (Vermes 568). The portrayal of the new city in size is unrealistic and would not have been able to have been accomplished without divine intervention (WAC 180).
[3] The twelve gates are attributed to the twelve tribes of Israel.
[4] 2Q4 frg. 1 also supports the next couple of sentences.
[5] A rod is 7 cubits.
[6] ‘Cubit’ will be abbreviated to ‘cu.’ throughout.
[7] The jewels and other rarities are meant to express the glory and magnificence of the new city and temple. The purpose of the extravagant description was to provide or depict hope that the Israelites had of a better future.
[8] Martinez conjectures ‘four hundred’ in the missing text for a total of 480 posterns. E.g. 40 x 12. [9] 4Q554 frg. 1 breaks off here.
[10] 4Q555 and 5Q15 frg. 1 break off here.

http://jewishchristianlit.com/Texts/StudTxts/1Q32!.html

Genesis 42:18 – 43:23 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 A.D.). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan is a western targum (translation) of the Torah (Pentateuch) from the land of Israel (as opposed to the eastern Babylonian Targum Onkelos). Its correct title was originally Targum Yerushalmi (Jerusalem Targum), which is how it was known in medieval times. But because of a printer’s mistake it was later labeled Targum Jonathan, in reference to Jonathan ben Uzziel. Some editions of the Pentateuch continue to call it Targum Jonathan to this day. Most scholars refer to the text as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. This targum is more than a mere translation. It includes much Aggadic material collected from various sources as late as the Midrash Rabbah as well as earlier material from the Talmud. It is effectively a combination of a commentary and a translation. In the portions where it is pure translation, it often agrees with the Targum Onkelos. The date of its composition is disputed. It cannot have been completed before the Arabic conquest as it refers to Mohammad’s wife Fatimah, but might have been initially composed in the 4th Century A.D. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 42 …And Joseph said to them on the third day, This do, that you may live; for I fear the Lord. If you are true, let one of your brothers be bound in the house of your confinement and go you, carry the corn, that you may buy for the hunger of your house, and bring your youngest brother to me, that your words may be verified, and you may not die. And they did so.

And they said, a man to his brother, In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, when we saw the distress of his soul, when be entreated us, and we would not hearken to him; therefore hath this affliction come upon us. And Reuben answered them and said, Did I not tell you, saying, Do not sin against the youth? But you would not listen to me; and thus, behold, his blood is required of us. But they knew not that Joseph understood (heard) the holy language; for Menasheh was interpreter between them. [Jerusalem. But they knew not that Joseph heard in the holy language; for as an interpreter Menasheh stood between them.] And he withdrew from them and wept, and returned and, spake with them. And from them he took Shimeon, who had counselled them to kill him, and bound him before them.

And Joseph commanded his servant to fill their vehicles with corn, and to return each man’s money in his sack, and to give them provisions for the way. And he did so for them. And they laid their corn upon their asses and went thence.

Levi, who bad been left without Shimeon his companion, opened his sack to give food to his ass at the place of lodging, and saw his money: behold, it was in the mouth of his pannier. And he said to his brothers, My money is returned, behold, it is in my pannier. And knowledge failed from their hearts, and each wondered with his brother, saying, What is this which the Lord hath done, and not for sin of ours?

And they came to Jakob their father in the land of Kenaan, and related to him all that had befallen them, saying, The man the lord of the land spake with us harshly, and treated us as spies of the country: but we said to him, We are faithful men, not spies. We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; of one, we know not what was his end, and the youngest is tojday with our father in the land of Kenaan. And the man, the lord of the land said to us, By this I will know that you are true. Leave me one of your brothers with me, and what is needed by the hunger of your houses take, and go, and bring your youngest brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies, but faithful. I will (then) restore your brother to you, and you will transact business in the land.

And it was as they emptied their bags, behold, every man’s bundle of money was in his baggage; and they and their father saw the bundles of money, and they were afraid on account of Shimeon whom they had left there. And Jakob their father said to them, Me have you bereaved! Of Joseph you said, An evil beast hath devoured him; of Shimeon you have said, The king of the land hath bound him; and Benjamin you seek to take away: upon me is the anguish of all of them. [JERUSALEM. And Jakob their father said to them Me have you bereaved of Joseph. From the hour that I sent him to you I have not known what was his end; and Benjamin you are seeking to take. Yet by me are to arise the twelve tribes.] And Reuben spake to his father, saying Slay my two sons with a curse if I do not bring him to thee. Give him into my hand, and I will restore him to thee. But be said, My son will not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone remains of his mother; and if death should befall him in the way that you go, you will bring down my age with mourning to the grave. But the famine was strong in the land. [JERUSALEM. Death.]

Chapter 43 And it was when they had finished eating the corn they had brought from Mizraim, their father said to them, Return and buy us a little corn. And Jehuda spake to him, saying, The man attesting attested to us saying, You will not see the sight of my face unless your youngest brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy corn for thee; but if thou wilt not send (him), we will not go down; for the man told us, You will not see the sight of my face unless your brother be with you. And Israel said, Why did you do me evil in showing the man that you had yet a brother? And they said, The man demanding demanded (to know) about us, and about our family, saying Is your father yet living? Have you a brother? And we informed him according to the word of these things. Could we know that be would say, Bring your brother down? And Jehuda said to Israel his father, Send the youth with me, that we may arise and go; and that we may live and not die, both we, and you, and our little ones. I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not to thee again, and set him before thee, the guilt be upon me before thee all days. [JERUSALEM. I will be afar off from the salutation of my father all days.] For unless we had thus delayed, we should already have returned these two times.

And Israel their father said to them, If it must be so, do this: Take of the praiseworthy things of the land, and put them in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little gum and a little honey, wax and ladanum, the oil of nuts, and the oil of almonds, and money two upon one [JERUSALEM. Double] take in your hands, even the money that was returned in the mouth of your baggage, take back in your hands; perhaps it was done in error. And take Benjamin your brother, and arise, return to the man, and Elohim the Almighty give you mercies before the man, that he may release to you your other brother, and Benjamin: and I, behold, I am now certified by the Holy Spirit that if I am bereaved of Joseph, I will also be bereaved of Shimeon and of Benjamin. [Jerusalem And I, behold, if I be not bereaved of my son Joseph, so will I not add to be bereaved of Shimeon and of Benjamin.]

The men took the present, and the money two for one in their hands, and they took Benjamin, and went down to Mizraim, and stood before Joseph. And Joseph saw Benjamin with them: and he said to Menasheh whom he had made superintendent over his house, Bring the men into the house, and unloose the house of slaughter, and take out the sinew that shrank, and prepare meat before them; for the man will eat with me at the time of the noon-day meal. And the man did as Joseph had said, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.

The men feared when they were brought into Joseph’s house, and said, For the money that was returned in our sacks at the first are we brought in, that be may find occasion against us and condemn us, and sell us for slaves, and take our asses. And they drew near the man who bad been appointed intendant over Joseph’s house, and spake with him at the gate of the house. And they said, We entreat you, my lord: we indeed came down at first to buy corn. But it was when we had come to our place of lodging, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, the money of a man was in the mouth of his sack: but we have brought it back in our hand. And other money have we brought down in hand to buy corn. We know not who put the money in our sacks. And he said, Peace to you; be not afraid of my lord. Your Elohim and the Elohim of your fathers gave you treasure in your sacks: your money came to me. And he brought out Shimeon to them.

Josephus was born Joseph ben Mattathias in 37 AD in Jerusalem of a priestly and royal family. He excelled in his studies of Jewish law and studied with the Sadducees, Pharisees, and the Essenes, eventually aligning himself with the Pharisees. In 62 AD he went to Rome to free some imprisoned priests. After accomplishing this mission through the intercession of Nero’s wife, Poppaea, he returned to Jerusalem in 65 AD to find the country in revolt against Rome. Josephus shrewdly reinterpreted the Messianic prophecies. He predicted that Vespasian would become the ruler of the ‘entire world’. His prophecy became true in 68 AD when Nero committed suicide and Vespasian became Ceasar. As a result, Josephus was freed; he moved to Rome and became a Roman citizen, taking the Vespasian family name Flavius. Vespasian commissioned Josephus to write a history of the war, which he finished in 78 AD, the Jewish War. His second major work, the Antiquities of the Jews, was completed in 93 AD. The extant manuscripts of the book Antiquities of the Jews contain two references to Yeshua of Nazareth (18.3.3. and 20.9.1.) and one reference to the imprisonment and death of John the Baptist (18.5.2.).

2.6.1… Now after Egypt had happily passed over seven years, according to Joseph’s interpretation of the dreams, the famine came upon them in the eighth year; and because this misfortune fell upon them when they had no sense of it beforehand, they were all sorely afflicted by it, and came running to the king’s gates; and he called upon Joseph, who sold the corn to them, being become confessedly a savior to the whole multitude of the Egyptians. Nor did he open this market of corn for the people of that country only, but strangers had liberty to buy also; Joseph being willing that all men, who are naturally akin to one another, should have assistance from those that lived in happiness.

2.6.2. Now Jacob also, when he understood that foreigners might come, sent all his sons into Egypt to buy corn, for the land of Canaan was grievously afflicted with the famine; and this great misery touched the whole continent. He only retained Benjamin, who was born to him by Rachel, and was of the same mother with Joseph. These sons of Jacob then came into Egypt, and applied themselves to Joseph, wanting to buy corn; for nothing of this kind was done without his approbation, since even then only was the honor that was paid the king himself advantageous to the persons that paid it, when they took care to honor Joseph also. Now when he well knew his brethren, they thought nothing of him; for he was but a youth when he left them, and was now come to an age so much greater, that the lineaments of his face were changed, and he was not known by them: besides this, the greatness of the dignity wherein he appeared, suffered them not so much as to suspect it was he. He now made trial what sentiments they had about affairs of the greatest consequence; for he refused to sell them corn, and said they were come as spies of the king’s affairs; and that they came from several countries, and joined themselves together, and pretended that they were of kin, it not being possible that a private man should breed up so many sons, and those of so great beauty of countenance as they were, such an education of so many children being not easily obtained by kings themselves. Now this he did in order to discover what concerned his father, and what happened to him after his own departure from him, and as desiring to know what was become of Benjamin his brother; for he was afraid that they had ventured on the like wicked enterprise against him that they had done to himself, and had taken him off also.

2.6.3. Now these brethren of his were under distraction and terror, and thought that very great danger hung over them; yet not at all reflecting upon their brother Joseph, and standing firm under the accusations laid against them, they made their defense by Reubel, the eldest of them, who now became their spokesman: “We come not hither,” said he, “with any unjust design, nor in order to bring any harm to the king’s affairs; we only want to be preserved, as supposing your humanity might be a refuge for us from the miseries which our country labors under, we having heard that you proposed to sell corn, not only to your own countrymen, but to strangers also, and that you determined to allow that corn, in order to preserve all that want it; but that we are brethren, and of the same common blood, the peculiar lineaments of our faces, and those not so much different from one another, plainly show. Our father’s name is Jacob, an Hebrew man, who had twelve of us for his sons by four wives; which twelve of us, while we were all alive, were a happy family; but when one of our brethren, whose name was Joseph, died, our affairs changed for the worse, for our father could not forbear to make a long lamentation for him; and we are in affliction, both by the calamity of the death of our brother, and the miserable state of our aged father. We are now, therefore, come to buy corn, having entrusted the care of our father, and the provision for our family, to Benjamin, our youngest brother; and if thou sendest to our house, thou mayst learn whether we are guilty of the least falsehood in what we say.”

2.6.4. And thus did Reubel endeavor to persuade Joseph to have a better opinion of them. But when he had learned from them that Jacob was alive, and that his brother was not destroyed by them, he for the present put them in prison, as intending to examine more into their affairs when he should be at leisure. But on the third day he brought them out, and said to them, “Since you constantly affirm that you are not come to do any harm to the king’s affairs; that you are brethren, and the sons of the father whom you named; you will satisfy me of the truth of what you say, if you leave one of your company with me, who will suffer no injury here; and if, when ye have carried corn to your father, you will come to me again, and bring your brother, whom you say you left there, along with you, for this will be by me esteemed an assurance of the truth of what you have told me.” Hereupon they were in greater grief than before; they wept, and perpetually deplored one among another the calamity of Joseph; and said, “They were fallen into this misery as a punishment inflicted by Elohim for what evil contrivances they had against him.” And Reubel was large in his reproaches of them for their too late repentance, whence no profit arose to Joseph; and earnestly exhorted them to bear with patience whatever they suffered, since it was done by Elohim in way of punishment, on his account. Thus they spake to one another, not imagining that Joseph understood their language. A general sadness also seized on them at Reubel’s words, and a repentance for what they had done; and they condemned the wickedness they had perpetrated, for which they judged they were justly punished by Elohim. Now when Joseph saw that they were in this distress, he was so affected at it that he fell into tears, and not being willing that they should take notice of him, he retired; and after a while came to them again, and taking Symeon 6 in order to his being a pledge for his brethren’s return, he bid them take the corn they had bought, and go their way. He also commanded his steward privily to put the money which they had brought with them for the purchase of corn into their sacks, and to dismiss them therewith; who did what he was commanded to do.

2.6.5. Now when Jacob’s sons were come into the land of Canaan, they told their father what had happened to them in Egypt, and that they were taken to have come thither as spies upon the king; and how they said they were brethren, and had left their eleventh brother with their father, but were not believed; and how they had left Symeon with the governor, until Benjamin should go thither, and be a testimonial of the truth of what they had said: and they begged of their father to fear nothing, but to send the lad along with them. But Jacob was not pleased with any thing his sons had done; and he took the detention of Symeon heinously, and thence thought it a foolish thing to give up Benjamin also. Neither did he yield to Reubel’s persuasion, though he begged it of him, and gave leave that the grandfather might, in way of requital, kill his own sons, in case any harm came to Benjamin in the journey. So they were distressed, and knew not what to do; nay, there was another accident that still disturbed them more,—the money that was found hidden in their sacks of corn. Yet when the corn they had brought failed them, and when the famine still afflicted them, and necessity forced them, Jacob did 7 [not] still resolve to send Benjamin with his brethren, although there was no returning into Egypt unless they came with what they had promised. Now the misery growing every day worse, and his sons begging it of him, he had no other course to take in his present circumstances. And Judas, who was of a bold temper on other occasions, spake his mind very freely to him: “That it did not become him to be afraid on account of his son, nor to suspect the worst, as he did; for nothing could be done to his son but by the appointment of Elohim, which must also for certain come to pass, though he were at home with him; that he ought not to condemn them to such manifest destruction; nor deprive them of that plenty of food they might have from Pharaoh, by his unreasonable fear about his son Benjamin, but ought to take care of the preservation of Symeon, lest, by attrying to hinder Benjamin’s journey, Symeon should perish. He exhorted him to trust Elohim for him; and said he would either bring his son back to him safe, or, together with his, lose his own life.” So that Jacob was at length persuaded, and delivered Benjamin to them, with the price of the corn doubled; he also sent presents to Joseph of the fruits of the land of Canaan, balsam and rosin, as also turpentine and honey. 8 Now their father shed many tears at the departure of his sons, as well as themselves. His concern was, that he might receive them back again safe after their journey; and their concern was, that they might find their father well, and no way afflicted with grief for them. And this lamentation lasted a whole day; so that the bearded man was at last tired with grief, and staid behind; but they went on their way for Egypt, endeavoring to mitigate their grief for their present misfortunes, with the hopes of better success hereafter.

2.6.6. As soon as they came into Egypt, they were brought down to Joseph: but here no small fear disturbed them, lest they should be accused about the price of the corn, as if they had cheated Joseph. They then made a long apology to Joseph’s steward; and told him, that when they came home they found the money in their sacks, and that they had now brought it along with them. He said he did not know what they meant: so they were delivered from that fear. And when he had loosed Symeon, and put him into a handsome habit, he suffered him to be with his brethren; at which time Joseph came from his attendance on the king…