• Torah (T): Bereshiyt (Genesis) 44:1-34
• Prophets (P): Joshua 14:6-15
• Apostolic (A): Romans 1:1-16
• Additional (ADD): Jubilees 43:11-24; Jubilees 44:1-34

RELATED SCRIPTURES

• Genesis 43:8-10 (T)
• Acts 7:9-14 (T)
• Deuteronomy 26:5 (T)
• Joshua 24:1-4 (T)
• Numbers 20:14-16 (T)
• Deuteronomy 10:22 (T)
• Psalms 105:23-24 (T)
• Isaiah 52:4 (T)
• 1 Samuel 12:8 (T)
• Exodus 1:1-5 (T)
• Deuteronomy 1:26-31; Deuteronomy 2:10-11, 17-21; Deuteronomy 9:1-6 (P)
• Joshua 11:15-23 (P)

RELATED ADDITIONAL READINGS

• An Apocryphon of Judah 4Q538 (T)
• Judith 5:5-10 (T)
• Genesis 44:18 – 46:27 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)
• Antiquities of the Jews by Flavius Josephus 2.6.8 – 7.4 (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)

44:1 He commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in his sack’s mouth. 2 Put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack’s mouth of the youngest, with his grain money.” He did according to the word that Joseph had spoken. 3 As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. 4 When they had gone out of the city, and were not yet far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Up, follow after the men. When you overtake them, ask them, ‘Why have you rewarded evil for good? 5 [Why have you stolen my silver cup?]^(LXX) Isn’t this that from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed divines? You have done evil in so doing.’ ” 6 He overtook them, and he spoke these words to them. 7 They said to him, “Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing! 8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks’ mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal silver or gold out of your lord’s house? 9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.” 10 He said, “Now also let it be according to your words. He with whom it is found will be my slave; and you will be blameless.” 11 Then they hurried, and each man took his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack. 12 He searched, beginning with the oldest, and ending at the youngest. The cup was found in the sack of Benjamin. 13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city. 14 Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him. 15 Joseph said to them, “What deed is this that you have done? Don’t you know that such a man as I can indeed do divination?” 16 Judah said, “What will we tell my lord? What will we speak? How will we clear ourselves? Elohim has found out the iniquity of your servants. Behold, we are my lord’s slaves, both we and he also in whose hand the cup is found.” 17 He said, “Far be it from me that I should do so. The man in whose hand the cup is found, he will be my slave; but as for you, go up in peace to your father.” 18 Then Judah came near to him, and said, “Oh, my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord's ears, and don't let your anger burn against your servant; for you are even as Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father, or a brother?' 20 We said to my lord, ‘We have a father, a bearded man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loves him.' 21 You said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.' 22 We said to my lord, ‘The boy can't leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.' 23 You said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you will see my face no more.' 24 When we came up to your servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 Our father said, ‘Go again and buy us a little food.' 26 We said, ‘We can't go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down: for we may not see the man's face, unless our youngest brother is with us.' 27 Your servant, my father, said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons. 28 One went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces;” and I haven't seen him since. 29 If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.' 30 Now therefore when I come to your servant my father, and the boy is not with us; since his life is bound up in the boy's life; 31 it will happen, when he sees that the boy is not [with us],^(LXX)(SP)  that he will die. Your servants will bring down the gray hairs of your servant, our father, with sorrow to Sheol. 32 For your servant became surety for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I don't bring him to you, then I will bear the blame to my father forever.' 33 Now therefore, please let your servant stay instead of the boy, my lord's slave; and let the boy go up with his brothers. 34 For how will I go up to my father, if the boy isn't with me?—lest I see the evil that will come on my father.”

Prophets Portion (P)

Joshua 14:6-15

14:6 Then the sons of Judah came near to Joshua in Gilgal. Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the thing that YHWH spoke to Moses the man of Elohim concerning me and concerning you in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of YHWH sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless, my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed YHWH my Elohim. 9 Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where you walked will be an inheritance to you and to your sons forever, because you have wholly followed YHWH my Elohim.’ 10 “Now, behold, YHWH has kept me alive, as he spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that YHWH spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. Now, behold, I am eighty-five years old, today. 11 As yet I am as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me. As my strength was then, even so is my strength now for war, to go out and to come in. 12 Now therefore give me this hill country, of which YHWH spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and great and fortified cities. It may be that YHWH will be with me, and I will drive them out, as YHWH said.” 13 Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed YHWH, the Elohim of Israel wholeheartedly. 15 Now the name of Hebron before was Kiriath Arba, after the greatest man among the Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.

Apostolic Portion (A)

Romans 1:1-16

1:1 Paul, a servant of Yeshua the Messiah, called to be an emissary, set apart for the Good News of Elohim, 2 which he promised before through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared to be the Son of Elohim with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead, Yeshua the Messiah our Lord, 5 through whom we received grace and the office of emissary for obedience of faith among all the nations for his name’s sake; 6 among whom you are also called to belong to Yeshua the Messiah; 7 to all who are in Rome, beloved of Elohim, called to be holy ones: Grace to you and peace from Elohim our Father and the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. 8 First, I thank my Elohim through Yeshua the Messiah for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 9 For Elohim is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the Good News of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you always in my prayers, 10 requesting, if by any means now at last I may be prospered by the will of Elohim to come to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you may be established; 12 that is, that I with you may be encouraged in you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 Now I don’t desire to have you unaware, brothers, that I often planned to come to you, and was hindered so far, that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Nations. 14 I am debtor both to Greeks and to Barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So as much as is in me, I am eager to proclaim the Good News to you also who are in Rome. 16 For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Messiah, because it is the power of Elohim for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.

Additional Portion (ADD)

Jubilees 43:11-24; Jubilees 44:1-34

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.

43:11 And Judah said: “O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ear; two brothers did thy servant’s mother bear to our father; one went away and was lost, and hath not been found, and he alone is left of his mother, and thy servant our father loveth him, and his life also is bound up with the life of this (lad). 12. And it will come to pass, when we go to thy servant our father, and the lad is not with us, that he will die, and we will bring down our father with sorrow unto death. 13. Now rather let me, thy servant, abide instead of the boy as a bondsman unto my lord, and let the lad go with his brethren, for I became surety for him at the hand of thy servant our father, and if I do not bring him back, thy servant will bear the blame to our father for ever.” 14. And Joseph saw that they were all accordant in goodness one with another, and he could not refrain himself, and he told them that he was Joseph. 15. And he conversed with them in the Hebrew tongue and fell on their neck and wept. But they knew him not and they began to weep. 16. And he said unto them: “Weep not over me, but hasten and bring my father to me; and ye see that it is my mouth that speaketh and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see. 17. For behold this is the second year of the famine, and there are still five years without harvest or fruit of trees or ploughing. 18. Come down quickly ye and your households, so that ye perish not through the famine, and do not be grieved for your possessions, for the Lord sent me before you to set things in order that many people might live. 19. And tell my father that I am still alive, and ye, behold, ye see that the Lord hath made me as a father to Pharaoh, and ruler over his house and over all the land of Egypt. 20. And tell my father of all my glory, and all the riches and glory that the Lord hath given Me.” 21. And by the command of the mouth of Pharaoh he gave them chariots and provisions for the way, and he gave them all many-coloured raiment and silver. 22. And to their father he sent raiment and silver and ten donkeys which carried corn, and he sent them away. 23. And they went up and told their father that Joseph was alive, and was measuring out corn to all the nations of the land, and that he was ruler over all the land of Egypt. 24. And their father did not believe it, for he was beside himself in his mind; but when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent, the life of his spirit revived, and he said: “It is enough for me if Joseph liveth; I will go down and see him before I die.”

44:1 And Israel took his journey from Hebron from his house on the new moon of the third month, and he went on the way of the Well of the Oath, and he offered a slaughter to the Elohim of his father Isaac on the seventh of this month. 2. And Jacob remembered the dream that he had seen at Bethel, and he feared to go down into Egypt. 3. And while he was thinking of sending word to Joseph to come to him, and that he would not go down, he remained there seven days, if perchance he should see a vision as to whether he should remain or go down. 4. And he celebrated the harvest festival of the first fruits with old grain, for in all the land of Canaan there was not a handful of seed (in the land), for the famine was over all the beasts and cattle and birds, and also over man. 5. And on the sixteenth the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, “Jacob, Jacob”; and he said, “Here am I.” And He said unto him: “I am the Elohim of thy fathers, the Elohim of Abraham and Isaac; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation. 6. I will go down with thee, and I will bring thee up (again), and in this land wilt thou be buried, and Joseph will put his hands upon thy eyes. Fear not; go down into Egypt.” 7. And his sons rose up, and his sons’ sons, and they placed their father and their possessions upon wagons. 8. And Israel rose up from the Well of the Oath on the sixteenth of this third month, and he went to the land of Egypt. 9. And Israel sent Judah before him to his son Joseph to examine the Land of Goshen, for Joseph had told his brothers that they should come and dwell there that they might be near him. 10. And this was the goodliest (land) in the land of Egypt, and near to him, for all (of them) and also for the cattle. 11. And these are the names of the sons of Jacob who went into Egypt with Jacob their father. 12. Reuben, the first-born of Israel; and these are the names of his sons: Enoch, and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi–five. 13. Shimon and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of the Zephathite woman–seven. 14. Levi and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Gershon, and Qohath, and Merari–four. 15. Judah and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Shela, and Perez, and Zerah–four. 16. Issachar and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Tola, and Phûa, and Jâsûb, and Shimron–five. 17. Zebulon and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel–four. 18. And these are the sons of Jacob, and their sons, whom Leah bore to Jacob in Mesopotamia, six, and their one sister, Dinah: and all the souls of the sons of Leah, and their sons, who went with Jacob their father into Egypt, were twenty-nine, and Jacob their father being with them, they were thirty. 19. And the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s handmaid, the wife of Jacob, whom she bore unto Jacob, Gad and Asher. 20. And these are the names of their sons who went with him into Egypt: the sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, and Shuni, and Ezbon, (and Eri) and Areli, and Arodi–eight. 21. And the sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, (and Ishvi), and Beriah, and Serah, their one sister–six. 22. All the souls were fourteen, and all those of Leah were forty-four. 23. And the sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin. 24. And there were born to Joseph in Egypt before his father came into Egypt, those whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphar priest of Heliopolis bare unto him, Manasseh, and Ephraim–three. 25. And the sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, and Ehi, and Rosh, and Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard–eleven. 26. And all the souls of Rachel were fourteen. 27. And the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, whom she bare to Jacob, were Dan and Naphtali. 28. And these are the names of their sons who went with them into Egypt. And the sons of Dan were Hushim, and Sâmôn, and Asûdî, and ‘Îjâka, and Salômôn–six. 29. And they died the year in which they entered into Egypt, and there was left to Dan Hushim alone. 30. And these are the names of the sons of Naphtali: Jahziel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shallum, and ‘Îv. 31. And ‘Îv, who was born after the years of famine, died in Egypt. 32. And all the souls of Rachel were twenty-six. 33. And all the souls of Jacob which went into Egypt were seventy souls. These are his sons and his sons’s sons, in all seventy; but five died in Egypt before Joseph, and had no sons. 34. And in the land of Canaan two sons of Judah died, Er and Onan, and they had no sons, and the sons of Israel buried those who perished, and they were reckoned among the seventy Gentile nations.

Related Scriptures

43:8 Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones. 9 I’ll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don’t bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever; 10 for if we hadn’t delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now.”

26:5 You will answer and say before YHWH your Elohim, “My father was a Syrian ready to perish. He went down into Egypt, and lived there, few in number. There he became a great, mighty, and populous nation.

24:1 Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, for their heads, for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before Elohim. 2 Joshua said to all the people, “YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, says, ‘Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor. They served other elohim. 3 I took your father Abraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac. 4 I gave to Isaac Jacob and Esau: and I gave to Esau Mount Seir, to possess it. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt.

20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: “Your brother Israel says: You know all the travail that has happened to us; 15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. The Egyptians mistreated us and our fathers. 16 When we cried to YHWH, he heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the edge of your border.

10:22 Your fathers went down into Egypt with seventy persons; and now YHWH your Elohim has made you as the stars of the heavens for multitude.

105:23 Israel also came into Egypt. Jacob lived in the land of Ham. 24 He increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their adversaries.

52:4 For the Lord YHWH says: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and the Assyrian has oppressed them without cause.”

12:8 “When Jacob had come into Egypt, and your fathers cried to YHWH, then YHWH sent Moses and Aaron, who brought your fathers out of Egypt, and made them to dwell in this place.

1:1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob): 2 Reuben, Shimon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.

Deuteronomy 1:26 “…Yet you wouldn’t go up, but rebelled against the commandment of YHWH your Elohim. 27 You murmured in your tents, and said, “Because YHWH hated us, he has brought us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our heart melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to the heavens. Moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there!’ ” 29 Then I said to you, “Don’t be terrified. Don’t be afraid of them. 30 YHWH your Elohim, who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you have seen how that YHWH your Elohim carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place.”

Deuteronomy 2:10 The Emim lived there before, a great and numerous people, and tall as the Anakim. 11 These also are considered to be Rephaim, as the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim…17 YHWH spoke to me, saying, 18 “You are to pass over Ar, the border of Moab, today. 19 When you come near the border of the sons of Ammon, don’t bother them, nor contend with them; for I will not give you any of the land of the sons of Ammon for a possession, because I have given it to the sons of Lot for a possession.” 20 That also is considered a land of Rephaim. Rephaim lived there in the past, but the Ammonites call them Zamzummim, 21 a great people, many, and tall, as the Anakim; but YHWH destroyed them from before Israel, and they succeeded them, and lived in their place

Deuteronomy 9:1 Hear, Israel! You are to pass over the Jordan today, to go in to dispossess nations greater and mightier than yourself, cities great and fortified up to the heavens, 2 a people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, whom you know, and of whom you have heard say, “Who can stand before the sons of Anak?” 3 Know therefore today that YHWH your Elohim is he who goes over before you as a devouring fire. He will destroy them and he will bring them down before you. So you will drive them out and make them perish quickly, as YHWH has spoken to you. 4 Don’t say in your heart, after YHWH your Elohim has thrust them out from before you, “For my righteousness YHWH has brought me in to possess this land;” because YHWH drives them out before you because of the wickedness of these nations. 5 Not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart do you go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations YHWH your Elohim does drive them out from before you, and that he may establish the word which YHWH swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 6 Know therefore that YHWH your Elohim doesn’t give you this good land to possess for your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

11:15 As YHWH commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua. Joshua did so. He left nothing undone of all that YHWH commanded Moses. 16 So Joshua captured all that land, the hill country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel, and the lowland of the same; 17 from Mount Halak, that goes up to Seir, even to Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon. He took all their kings, struck them, and put them to death. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19 There was not a city that made peace with the sons of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. They took all in battle. 20 For it was of YHWH to strengthen their hearts, to come against Israel in battle, that he might utterly destroy them, that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as YHWH commanded Moses. 21 Joshua came at that time, and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel: Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. 22 There were none of the Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that YHWH spoke to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land had rest from war.

Additional Readings​

Fragments 1 + 2 […] Then he conceived a scheme agai[nst his brothers …] For behold, they had in their hea[rt] against [him…] When I was br[ou]ght and entered, […] they [dr]ew near as one and entered, their [clothes] w[orn, dust upon] their he[ads. They came] before Joseph [… and] bowed down. Then he knew that there was no […] evil, and he was no longer able [to control himself. He commanded them, “Le]ave this my neck and kissed me weep[ing …] […] Joseph [no] longer, and all […]

The Book of Judith relates the story of Elohim’s deliverance of the Jewish people. This was accomplished “by the hand of a female”—a constant motif meant to recall the “hand” of Elohim in the Exodus narrative. The work may have been written around 100 B.C., but its historical range is extraordinary.

5:5 Then Achior, the leader of all the children of Ammon, said to him, “Let my lord now hear a word from the mouth of your servant, and I will tell you the truth concerning these people who dwell in this hill country, near to the place where you dwell. No lie will come out of the mouth of your servant. 6 These people are descended from the Kasdim. 7 They sojourned before this in Mesopotamia, because they didn’t want to follow the elohim of their fathers, which were in the land of the Kasdim. 8 They departed from the way of their parents, and did bow down to the Elohim of the heavens, the Elohim whom they knew. Their parents cast them out from the face of their elohim, and they fled into Mesopotamia, and sojourned there many days. 9 Then their Elohim commanded them to depart from the place where they sojourned, and to go into the land of Canaan. They lived there, and prospered with gold and silver, and with exceedingly much cattle. 10 Then they went down into Egypt, for a famine covered all the land of Canaan. They sojourned there until they had grown up. They became a great multitude there, so that one could not count the population of their nation.

Genesis 44:18 – 46:27 from the Jerusalem Targum aka Targum Pseudo-Jonathan (T)

Composed in Talmudic Israel (c.150 – c.250 AD). 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 AD. However, some scholars date it in the 14th Century.

Chapter 44 And Jehuda came near to him and said, In imploring my lord, let thy servant, I implore, speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not thy anger grow strong against thy servant; for at the hour that we came to thee thou didst say to us, I fear before the Lord; and now thy judgments are rendered like (the judgments) of a prince of Pharaoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother?

[JERUSALEM. And Jehuda came near him, and said, In beseeching thee, my lord, let thy servant now speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not thy anger be strong against thy servant; for at the first time we came down to thee into Mizraim didst thou not tell us, I fear before the Lord? And now thy judgments are returned like the judgments of Pharaoh thy lord, by whom thou adjurest. Yet I am honourable as thou art, and my father is honourable as Pharaoh thy lord is, by whom thou dost adjure. Can I not swear by the life of the head of my father, and not lie? For if I draw my sword from within its sheath, I would not return it till I had filled all the land of Mizraim with the slain; to its sheath I would not return it, till I had made all Mizraim desolate of inhabitants, beginning with thyself, and ending with Pharaoh thy lord, were it not against the will of my father. Or, hath it not been heard by thee, or not told thee, what my two brothers Shimeon and Levi did, who went up against the town of Shekem, while they were dwelling in security, and killed every male by the edge of the sword, because they bad corrupted Dinah our sister, who hath not been numbered in the tribes, nor hath portion or inheritance with us in the dividing of the land? By how much more then (will it be done) for Benjamin our brother, who is numbered with us among the tribes, and who hath portion and inheritance with us in the dividing of the land ? And in force is more unyielding than theirs, because I have become the sponsor for the youth at the hands of my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, I will be guilty with thee and be removed from thy salutation all the days. Hast thou not beard, or hath it not been told thee, that in the land of Kenaan we are kings and princes, as thou art ?

[19. When Joseph, the beloved and honourable, saw that the strength of Jehuda his brother bad risen up, and that the thoughts of his heart came forth, and that they rent their garments, in that hour beckoned Joseph to Menasheh his first‑born, and stamped with his shoe; and all Joseph’s palace trembled. In that hour Jehuda said, If it bad not been on the side of the house of my father, it would not have been done so. Then began Jehuda to be milder in his words, and he said, My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother ?]

And we told my lord, We have an aged father, and a son of his old age, a little one, whose brother is dead, and he only remains of his mother; and his father on that account loveth him. And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, and I will set mine eyes on him for good. [Jerusalem Mine eyes will be gracious upon him.] But we told my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: for if he leave his father, he will die. Yet thou saidst to thy servants, If you bring not your youngest brother down, you will not again see my face. And it was when we went up to thy servant our father, we related to him my lord’s words. And our father said to us, Return, and buy us a little corn. But we told him, We cannot go down if our youngest brother be not with us when we go down, for we will not be able to see the man’s face, unless our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant our father said to us, You know that my wife bare me two sons. One went forth from me, and I said, Surely he is dead, and I have not beheld him since; and you will now take this other from before me; and if death happen to him, you will bring down mine age with mourning to the house of the grave. Therefore thy servant became surety for the youth with my father, saying, If I restore him not to thee, let me be guilty before my father all the days. And now let thy servant remain, I beseech thee, as the slave of my lord, instead of the young man; and let the young man go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father, and the young man be not with us lest I behold the evil that will strike my father through!

Chapter 45 And Joseph could not endure not to (be able to) weep, on account of all who stood before him. And he said, Let every man go out from me: and no one stood with him, while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

And he lifted up his voice with weeping; and the Mizraee heard, and a man of the house of Pharaoh heard.

And Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph ! Is my father yet alive ?

But his brothers could not answer him a word; for they were troubled before him.

And Joseph said to his brothers, Come near, I pray, and examine me. And they came near. And he said to them, I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Mizraim. Now, therefore, be not grieved, nor consider it a hard thing that you sold me hither; for the Lord sent me hither before you to preserve you. For these two years hath the famine been in the midst of the land, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvest. But the Lord sent me before you to set you a remnant in the land, and to preserve you by a great deliverance.

And now, it was not you who sent me hither, but it was from before the Lord that the thing was occasioned, that He might set me for a prince unto Pharaoh, a chief over his house, and a ruler in all the land of Mizraim. Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, The Lord hath set me for a chief over all the Mizraee; come down to me, delay not, and thou shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and be near me, thou, and thy sons, and thy sons’ children, thy sheep, thy oxen, and all that thou hast. And I will sustain you there, for there are yet five years of famine, lest thou and the men of thy house, and all that thou hast be wasted away. And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that my mouth speaketh with you in the language of the house of holiness. And you must show my father all the honour I have in Mizraim, and all my greatness which you see, and hasten my father hither.

And he bowed himself upon his brother Benjamin’s neck, and wept; because it would be that the house of holiness should be builded in the portion of Benjamin, and be twice destroyed: and Benjamin wept upon Joseph’s neck, because he saw that the tabernacle of Shiloh would be in the portion of Joseph and be destroyed. And he kissed all his brethren, and wept over them, because he saw that the sons of his people would be brought into bondage. And afterward his brethren discoursed with him.

And a voice was heard in the royal house of Pharaoh, saying, The brothers of Joseph are come. And the thing was pleasing in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants. And he said to Joseph, Tell thy brethren, Do this. Lade your beasts, and go, carry into the land of Kenaan; and take your father and the men of your house, and come to me, and I will give you the best of what is desirable in the land of Mizraim, and you will eat the fat of the land. And thou Joseph shalt appoint for the honour of thy father: therefore tell thy brethren, Do this. Take with you from the land of Mizraim wagons drawn by oxen, in which to carry your children and your wives, and bring your father, and come. And your eyes must not look wistfully on your utensils: for the best of what is desirable in all the land of Mizraim is yours.

And the sons of Israel did so. And Joseph gave them wagons according to the word of Pharaoh, and he furnished them with provision for the way. And to each of them he gave vestments and apparel; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred shekels of silver, and five vestments for apparel. And these presents he sent to his father; ten asses laden with wine and the good things of Mizraim, and ten she asses laden with corn and bread, and provisions for his father’s journey. And he dismissed his brothers to go, and said to them, Do not contend about my having been sold, lest you quarrel in passing along the way.

And they went up from Mizraim, and came to the land of Kenaan unto Jakob their father. And they declared to him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and is ruler over all the land of Mizraim. But his heart was divided, because he did not believe them. [JERUSALEM. And his heart was divided.] And they told him all the words of Joseph which he had spoken to them. And when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to bring him, the Spirit of Prophecy which had gone up from him at the time that Joseph was sold, returning, rested upon Jakob their father. And Israel said, Many benefits hath the Lord wrought for me; He delivered me from the hand of Esau and from the hand of Laban, and from the hands of the Kenaanites who pursued me; and many consolations have I seen and have expected to see; but this I had not expected, that Joseph my son should yet be alive. I will go now, and behold him before I die. [JERUSALEM. And Israel said, Many benefits and consolations I had hoped to see; but this I had not expected, that, behold, Joseph my son should be yet alive. I will go and see him before I die.]

Chapter 46 And Israel journeyed with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered slaughters to the Elohim of his father Izhak. And the Lord spake to Israel in a prophecy of the night, and said, Jakob! and he said, Behold me. And He said, I am Elohim, the Elohim of thy father; fear not to go down into Mizraim on account of the servitude I have decreed with Abraham: for a great people will I make thee there. I am He who in My Word will go down with thee into Mizraim; I will regard the affliction of thy children, and My Word will bring thee up from thence, and cause thy children to come up; but Joseph will lay his hand upon thine eyes.

And Jakob arose from Beer de Sheba; and the sons of Israel journeyed, with Jakob their father, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. They took their possessions and the substance which they had gotten in the land of Kenaan, and came into Mizraim, Jakob and all his sons with him, his sons and his sons’ children with him, his daughters, and the daughters of his sons; and all his seed came with him to Mizraim.

These are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Mizraim. Jakob and his sons. The firstborn of Jakob, Reuben. And the sons of Reuben, Hanok and Phallu Hetsron and Karmi. The sons of Shimeon, Jemuel and Jamin, Ochad, Jakin, Sochar and Shaul: he is Zimri, who made the work of the Kenaanites in Shittim. And the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kehath and Merari. The sons of Jehuda, Er, Onan, Shelah, Pherets, and Zarach. But Er and Onan died, on account of their evil work in the land of Kenaan; and Shelah and Zarach had no children in the land of Kenaan; but the sons of Pherets who went down to Mizraim were Hetsron and Chamul. The sons of Issakar, sages, and masters of reasoning, their names were Tola, Phua, Job, and Shimron The sons of Zebulon, merchants, masters of commerce nourishing their brethren, the sons of Issakar, and receiving a reward like theirs; and their names were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, whom she bare unto Jakob in. Padan Aram, with Dinah his daughter; all the souls of his sons and his daughter; thirty and three. And the children of Gad, Sephon, Haggi, Suni Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli. The children of Asher, Yimna, Yishvah, Yishvi, Beriah and Serach their sister, who was carried away while alive into the Garden (of Eden), because she had announced to Jakob that Joseph still lived. It was she who saved the inhabitants of (the city) Abel from the judgment of death, in the days of Joab. The sons of Beriah who went down into Mizraim were Heber and Malkiel. These are the children of Zilpha, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and she bare them to Jakob; sixteen souls. The sons of Rahel, wife of Jakob, Joseph and Benjamin. And to Joseph were born two sons in the land of Mizraim, whom Asenath the daughter of Dinah, educated in the house of Potiphera prince of Tanis, bare, Menasheh and Ephraim. The sons of Benjamin, ten; and their names, according to the interpretation of Joseph his brother: Bela,[2] who was swallowed up from him; Beker, who was the chosen of his mother; Eshbal, who went into captivity; Gera, who became a sojourner in a foreign land; Naaman, who was pleasant and honourable; Achi, who had a (twin) brother, the son of his mother; Rosh, who was a chief in his father’s house; Muppim, who was sold into Muph; Chuppim, because at the time that he was separated from him he was the son of eighteen years and was eligible for marriage (Chupha, thalamus nuptialis) ; and Ared, who descended into Mizraim. These are the children of Rahel who were born unto Jakob, all the souls fourteen. The sons of Dan, able men (or armed) and merchants, of whose numbers there is no end (or sum). And the sons of Naphtali, Jakzeel, Guni, Jetser, and Shillem. These are the sons of Bilhah whom Laban gave to Rahel his daughter; and she bare them unto Jakob, all the souls seven. All the souls which went into Mizraim with Jakob which had come forth from his thigh; besides the wives of Jakob’s sons, all the souls were sixty and six. But the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Mizraim were two souls; and Joseph who was in Mizraim, and Jokebed the daughter of Levi, who was born among the hills in their journey to Mizraim, the sum of all the souls of the house of Jakob who came into Mizraim, seventy.

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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.).

2.6.8. …But Judas, who had persuaded their father to send the lad from him, being otherwise also a very bold and active man, determined to hazard himself for the preservation of his brother. “It is true,” said he, “O governor, that we have been very wicked with regard to thee, and on that account deserved punishment; even all of us may justly be punished, although theft were not committed by all, but only by one of us, and he the youngest also; but yet there remains some hope for us, who otherwise must be under despair on his account, and this from thy goodness, which promises us a deliverance out of our present danger. And now I beg thou wilt not look at us, or at that great crime we have been guilty of, but at thy own excellent nature, and take advice of thine own virtue, instead of that wrath thou hast against us; which passion those that otherwise are of lower character indulge, as they do their strength, and that not only on great, but also on very trifling occasions. Overcome, sir, that passion, and be not subdued by it, nor suffer it to slay those that do not otherwise presume upon their own safety, but are desirous to accept of it from thee; for this is not the first time that thou wilt bestow it on us, but before, when we came to buy corn, thou affordedst us great plenty of food, and gavest us leave to carry so much home to our family as has preserved them from perishing by famine. Nor is there any difference between not overlooking men that were perishing for want of necessaries, and not punishing those that seem to be offenders, and have been so unfortunate as to lose the advantage of that glorious benefaction which they received from thee. This will be an instance of equal favor, though bestowed after a different manner; for thou wilt save those this way whom thou didst feed the other; and thou wilt hereby preserve alive, by thy own bounty, those souls which thou didst not suffer to be distressed by famine, it being indeed at once a wonderful and a great thing to sustain our lives by corn, and to bestow on us that pardon, whereby, now we are distressed, we may continue those lives. And I am ready to suppose that Elohim is willing to afford thee this opportunity of showing thy virtuous disposition, by bringing us into this calamity, that it may appear thou canst forgive the injuries that are done to thyself, and mayst be esteemed kind to others, besides those who, on other accounts, stand in need of thy assistance; since it is indeed a right thing to do well to those who are in distress for want of food, but still a more glorious thing to save those who deserve to be punished, when it is on account of heinous offenses against thyself; for if it be a thing deserving commendation to forgive such as have been guilty of small offenses, that tend to a person’s loss, and this be praiseworthy in him that overlooks such offenses, to restrain a man’s passion as to crimes which are capital to the guilty, is to be like the most excellent nature of Elohim himself. And truly, as for myself, had it not been that we had a father, who had discovered, on occasion of the death of Joseph, how miserably he is always afflicted at the loss of his sons, I had not made any words on account of the saving of our own lives; I mean, any further than as that would be an excellent character for thyself, to preserve even those that would have nobody to lament them when they were dead, but we would have yielded ourselves up to suffer whatsoever thou pleasedst; but now [for we do not plead for mercy to ourselves, though indeed, if we die, it will be while we are young, and before we have had the enjoyment of life] have regard to our father, and take pity of his old age, on whose account it is that we make these supplications to thee. We beg thou wilt give us those lives which this wickedness of ours has rendered obnoxious to thy punishment; and this for his sake who is not himself wicked, nor does his being our father make us wicked. He is a good man, and not worthy to have such trials of his patience; and now, we are absent, he is afflicted with care for us. But if he hear of our deaths, and what was the cause of it, he will on that account die an immature death; and the reproachful manner of our ruin will hasten his end, and will directly kill him; nay, will bring him to a miserable death, while he will make haste to rid himself out of the world, and bring himself to a state of insensibility, before the sad story of our end come abroad into the rest of the world. Consider these things in this manner, although our wickedness does now provoke thee with a just desire of punishing that wickedness, and forgive it for our father’s sake; and let thy commiseration of him weigh more with thee than our wickedness. Have regard to the old age of our father, who, if we perish, will be very lonely while he lives, and will soon die himself also. Grant this boon to the name of fathers, for thereby thou wilt honor him that begat thee, and will grant it to thyself also, who enjoyest already that denomination; thou wilt then, by that denomination, be preserved of Elohim, the Father of all,—by showing a pious regard to which, in the case of our father, thou wilt appear to honor him who is styled by the same name; I mean, if thou wilt have this pity on our father, upon this consideration, how miserable he will be if he be deprived of his sons! It is thy part therefore to bestow on us what Elohim has given us, when it is in thy power to take it away, and so to resemble him entirely in charity; for it is good to use that power, which can either give or take away, on the merciful side; and when it is in thy power to destroy, to forget that thou ever hadst that power, and to look on thyself as only allowed power for preservation; and that the more any one extends this power, the greater reputation does he gain to himself. Now, by forgiving our brother what he has unhappily committed, thou wilt preserve us all; for we cannot think of living if he be put to death, since we dare not show ourselves alive to our father without our brother, but here must we partake of one and the same catastrophe of his life. And so far we beg of thee, O governor, that if thou condemnest our brother to die, thou wilt punish us together with him, as partners of his crime,—for we will not think it reasonable to be reserved to kill ourselves for grief of our brother’s death, but so to die rather as equally guilty with him of this crime. I will only leave with thee this one consideration, and then will say no more, viz. that our brother committed this fault when he was young, and not yet of confirmed wisdom in his conduct; and that men naturally forgive such young persons. I end here, without adding what more I have to say, that in case thou condemnest us, that omission may be supposed to have hurt us, and permitted thee to take the severer side. But in case thou settest us free, that this may be ascribed to thy own goodness, of which thou art inwardly conscious, that thou freest us from condemnation; and that not by barely preserving us, but by granting us such a favor as will make us appear more righteous than we really are, and by representing to thyself more motives for our deliverance than we are able to produce ourselves. If, therefore, thou resolvest to slay him, I desire thou wilt slay me in his stead, and send him back to his father; or if thou pleasest to retain him with thee as a slave, I am fitter to labor for thy advantage in that capacity, and, as thou seest, am better prepared for either of those sufferings.” So Judas, being very willing to undergo any thing whatever for the deliverance of his brother, cast himself down at Joseph’s feet, and earnestly labored to assuage and pacify his anger. All his brethren also fell down before him, weeping and delivering themselves up to destruction for the preservation of the life of Benjamin.

2.6.10. But Joseph, as overcome now with his affections, and no longer able to personate an angry man, commanded all that were present to depart, that he might make himself known to his brethren when they were alone; and when the rest were gone out, he made himself known to his brethren; and said, “I commend you for your virtue, and your kindness to our brother: I find you better men than I could have expected from what you contrived about me. Indeed, I did all this to try your love to your brother; so I believe you were not wicked by nature in what you did in my case, but that all has happened according to Elohim’s will, who has hereby procured our enjoyment of what good things we have; and, if he continue in a favorable disposition, of what we hope for hereafter. Since, therefore, I know that our father is safe and well, beyond expectation, and I see you so well disposed to your brother, I will no longer remember what guilt you seem to have had about me, but will leave off to hate you for that your wickedness; and do rather return you my thanks, that you have concurred with the intentions of Elohim to bring things to their present state. I would have you also rather to forget the same, since that imprudence of yours is come to such a happy conclusion, than to be uneasy and blush at those your offenses. Do not, therefore, let your evil intentions, when you condemned me, and that bitter remorse which might follow, be a grief to you now, because those intentions were frustrated. Go, therefore, your way, rejoicing in what has happened by the Divine Providence, and inform your father of it, lest he should be spent with cares for you, and deprive me of the most agreeable part of my felicity; I mean, lest he should die before he comes into my sight, and enjoys the good things that we now have. Bring, therefore, with you our father, and your wives and children, and all your kindred, and remove your habitations hither; for it is not proper that the persons dearest to me should live remote from me, now my affairs are so prosperous, especially when they must endure five more years of famine.” When Joseph had said this, he embraced his brethren, who were in tears and sorrow; but the generous kindness of their brother seemed to leave among them no room for fear, lest they should be punished on account of what they had consulted and acted against him; and they were then feasting. Now the king, as soon as he heard that Joseph’s brethren were come to him, was exceeding glad of it, as if it had been a part of his own good fortune; and gave them wagons full of corn and gold and silver, to be conveyed to his father. Now when they had received more of their brother part to be carried to their father, and part as free gifts to every one of themselves, Benjamin having still more than the rest, they departed.

2.7.1. As soon as Jacob came to know, by his sons returning home, in what state Joseph was, that he had not only escaped death, for which yet he lived all along in mourning, but that he lived in splendor and happiness, and ruled over Egypt, jointly with the king, and had entrusted to his care almost all his affairs, he did not think any thing he was told to be incredible, considering the greatness of the works of Elohim, and his kindness to him, although that kindness had, for some late times, been intermitted; so he immediately and zealously set out upon his journey to him.

2.7.2. When he came to the Well of the Oath, [Be’ersheba,] he offered slaughter to Elohim; and being afraid that the happiness there was in Egypt might try his posterity to fall in love with it, and settle in it, and no more think of removing into the land of Canaan, and possessing it, as Elohim had promised them; as also being afraid, lest, if this descent into Egypt were made without the will of Elohim, his family might be destroyed there; out of fear, withal, lest he should depart this life before he came to the sight of Joseph; he fell asleep, revolving these doubts in his mind.

2.7.3. But Elohim stood by him, and called him twice by his name; and when he asked who he was, Elohim said, “No, sure; it is not just that thou, Jacob, shouldst be unacquainted with that Elohim who has been ever a protector and a helper to thy forefathers, and after them to thyself: for when thy father would have deprived thee of the dominion, I gave it thee; and by my kindness it was that, when thou wast sent into Mesopotamia all alone, thou obtainedst good wives, and returnedst with many children, and much wealth. Thy whole family also has been preserved by my providence; and it was I who conducted Joseph, thy son, whom thou gavest up for lost, to the enjoyment of great prosperity. I also made him lord of Egypt, so that he differs but little from a king. Accordingly, I come now as a guide to thee in this journey; and foretell to thee, that thou shalt die in the arms of Joseph: and I inform thee, that thy posterity will be many ages in authority and glory, and that I will settle them in the land which I have promised them.”

2.7.4. Jacob, encouraged by this dream, went on more cheerfully for Egypt with his sons, and all belonging to them. Now they were in all seventy. I once, indeed, thought it best not to set down the names of this family, especially because of their difficult pronunciation [by the Greeks]; but, upon the whole, I think it necessary to mention those names, that I may disprove such as believe that we came not originally from Mesopotamia, but are Egyptians. Now Jacob had twelve sons; of these Joseph was come thither before. We will therefore set down the names of Jacob’s children and grandchildren. Reuben had four sons–Anoch, Phallu, Assaron, Charmi. Shimon had six–Jamuel, Jamin, Avod, Jachin, Soar, Saul. Levi had three sons–Gersom, Caath, Merari. Judas had three sons–Sala, Phares, Zerah; and by Phares two grandchildren, Esrom and Amar. Issachar had four sons–Thola, Phua, Jasob, Samaron. Zabulon had with him three sons–Sarad, Helon, Jalel. So far is the posterity of Lea; with whom went her daughter Dinah. These are thirty-three. Rachel had two sons, the one of whom, Joseph, had two sons also, Manasses and Ephraim. The other, Benjamin, had ten sons—Bolau, Bacchar, Asabel, Geras, Naaman, Jes, Ros, Momphis, Opphis, Arad. These fourteen added to the thirty-three before enumerated, amount to the number forty-seven. And this was the legitimate posterity of Jacob. He had besides by Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, Dan and Nephtliali; which last had four sons that followed him— Jesel, Guni, Issari, and Sellim. Dan had an only begotten son, Usi. If these be added to those before mentioned, they complete the number fifty-four. Gad and Aser were the sons of Zilpha, who was the handmaid of Lea. These had with them, Gad seven— Saphoniah, Augis, Sunis, Azabon, Aerin, Erocd, Ariel. Aser had a daughter, Sarah, and six male children, whose names were Jomne, Isus, Isoui, Baris, Abar and Melchiel. If we add these, which are sixteen, to the fifty-four, the forementioned number 70 is completed Jacob not being himself included in that number.