And it came to be, at the end of two years’ time, that Pharaoh had a dream, and saw him standing by the river, and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds, then saw seven other cows coming up after them out of the river, ugly and lean of flesh, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. And the ugly and lean of flesh cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. Then Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed a second time and saw seven heads of grain coming up on one stalk, plump and good, and saw seven lean heads, scorched by the east wind, coming up after them. And the seven lean heads swallowed the seven plump and complete heads. Then Pharaoh awoke and saw it was a dream. And it came to be in the morning that his spirit was moved, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Mitsrayim and all its wise men. And Pharaoh related to them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh. Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my crimes this day. “When Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker, each one of us dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his own dream. “And there was with us a Heb?rew youth, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we related to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us. To each man he interpreted according to his own dream. “And it came to be, as he interpreted for us, so it came to be. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.” Then Pharaoh sent and called Yos?ph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon. And he shaved and changed his garments, and came to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Yos?ph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one to interpret it. Now I myself have heard it said of you that you understand a dream, to interpret it.” And Yos?ph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It is not in me, let Elohim answer Pharaoh with peace.” And Pharaoh said to Yos?ph, “See, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river and saw seven cows coming up out of the river, fine looking and fat, and they fed amongst the reeds, then saw seven other cows coming up after them, poor and very ugly and lean of flesh, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Mitsrayim. “And the lean of flesh and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows. “Yet when they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they were as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke. “Also, I looked in my dream and saw seven heads coming up on one stalk, complete and good, then saw seven heads, withered, lean, scorched by the east wind, coming up after them. “And the lean heads swallowed the seven good heads. And I spoke to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.” And Yos?ph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. Elohim has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do: “The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads are seven years – it is one dream. “And the seven lean and ugly cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty heads scorched by the east wind are seven years of scarcity of food. “This is the word which I spoke to Pharaoh: Elohim has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. “See, seven years of great plenty are coming in all the land of Mitsrayim, but after them seven years of scarcity of food shall arise and all the plenty be forgotten in the land of Mitsrayim. And the scarcity of food shall destroy the land, and the plenty shall not be remembered in the land, because of the scarcity of food following, for it is very severe. “And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the word is established by Elohim, and Elohim is hastening to do it. “And now, let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Mitsrayim. “Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, to take up one-fifth of the land of Mitsrayim in the seven years of plenty. “And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. “And the food shall be for a store for the land for the seven years of scarcity of food which shall be in the land of Mitsrayim, and do not let the land be cut off by the scarcity of food.” And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Could we find another like him, a man in whom is the Spirit of Elohim?” Then Pharaoh said to Yos?ph, “Since Elohim has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. “Be over my house, you yourself, and at your mouth all my people shall kiss – only in the throne I am greater than you.” And Pharaoh said to Yos?ph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Mitsrayim.” And Pharaoh took his seal-ring off his hand and put it on Yos?ph’s hand. And he dressed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had. And they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” And he set him over all the land of Mitsrayim. And Pharaoh said to Yos?ph, “I am Pharaoh, and without a word from you let no man lift his hand or foot in all the land of Mitsrayim.” And Pharaoh called Yos?ph’s name Zaphnath-Pa?n?ah?. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. And Yos?ph went out over all the land of Mitsrayim. Now Yos?ph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh sovereign of Mitsrayim. And Yos?ph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Mitsrayim. And in the seven years of plenty the ground brought forth generously. And he gathered all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Mitsrayim, and laid up the food in the cities. He laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. Thus Yos?ph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he ceased counting, for it was without number. And to Yos?ph were born two sons before the years of scarcity of food came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. And Yos?ph called the name of the first-born Menashsheh, “For Elohim has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.” And the name of the second he called Ephrayim, “For Elohim has caused me to bear fruit in the land of my affliction.” And the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Mitsrayim came to an end, and the seven years of scarcity of food began to come, as Yos?ph had said. And the scarcity of food was in all lands, but in all the land of Mitsrayim there was bread. But when all the land of Mitsrayim hungered, and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh said to all the Mitsrites, “Go to Yos?ph, do whatever he says to you.” And the scarcity of food was over all the face of the earth, and Yos?ph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Mitsrites. And the scarcity of food was severe in the land of Mitsrayim. And all the earth came to Yos?ph in Mitsrayim to buy grain, because the scarcity of food was severe in all the earth. And when Ya?aqob? saw that there was grain in Mitsrayim, Ya?aqob? said to his sons, “Why do you look at each other?” And he said, “See, I have heard that there is grain in Mitsrayim. Go down to that place and buy for us there, and let us live and not die.” And Yos?ph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Mitsrayim. But Ya?aqob? did not send Yos?ph’s brother Binyamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some harm come to him.” And the sons of Yisra’?l went to buy grain among those who journeyed, for the scarcity of food was in the land of Kena?an. And Yos?ph was the governor over the land, he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Yos?ph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with their faces to the earth. And Yos?ph saw his brothers and recognised them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke to them harshly, and said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Kena?an to buy food.” So Yos?ph recognised his brothers, but they did not recognise him. And Yos?ph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!” And they said to him, “No, my master, but your servants have come to buy food. “We are all one man’s sons, we are trustworthy, your servants are not spies.” But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.” And they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Kena?an. And see, the youngest is with our father today, and one is no more.” And Yos?ph said to them, “It is as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You are spies!’ “By this you shall be proven: By the life of Pharaoh, you do not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. “Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you are kept in prison. So let your words be proven to see whether there is any truth in you, or else, by the life of Pharaoh, you are spies!” And he put them all together in prison for three days. Now Yos?ph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, for I fear Elohim: “If you are trustworthy, let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house, and you, go, bring grain for the scarcity of food of your houses. “And bring your youngest brother to me, and let your words be confirmed, and you do not die.” And so they did. And they said to each other, “Truly, we are guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the distress of his life when he pleaded with us, yet we did not listen, that is why this distress has come upon us.” And Re’ub??n answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy,’ and you would not listen? And see, his blood is now required of us.” And they did not know that Yos?ph understood them, for he spoke to them through an interpreter. And he turned himself away from them and wept, but came back to them and spoke to them. And he took Shim?on from them and bound him before their eyes. And Yos?ph commanded and they filled their sacks with grain, also to put back every man’s silver to his sack, and to give them food for the journey. And thus it was done for them. So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and went from there. And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey fodder at the lodging place, he saw his silver, for there it was in the mouth of his sack! And he said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned, and there it is, in my sack!” And their hearts sank and they were afraid, saying to each other, “What is this that Elohim has done to us?” So they came to Ya?aqob? their father in the land of Kena?an and reported to him all that befell them, saying, “The man, the master of the land, spoke to us harshly, and took us for spies of the land. “But we said to him, ‘We are trustworthy, we are not spies. ‘We are twelve brothers, sons of our father. One is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Kena?an.’ “And the man, the master of the land, said to us, ‘By this I know that you are trustworthy: Leave one of your brothers here with me, and take food for the scarcity of food of your households, and go. ‘And bring your youngest brother to me, then I know that you are not spies, but that you are trustworthy – I give your brother to you, and you move about in the land.’ ” And it came to be as they emptied their sacks, that look, the bundle of each man’s silver was in his sack! And when they and their father saw the bundles of silver, they were afraid. And Ya?aqob? their father said to them, “You have bereaved me – Yos?ph is no more, and Shim?on is no more, and you would take Binyamin! All this is against me.” So Re’ub??n spoke to his father, saying, “Take the lives of my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I myself bring him back to you.” But he said, “My son is not going down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any harm should come to him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my grey hair with sorrow to the grave.” But the scarcity of food was severe in the land. And it came to be, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Mitsrayim, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.” But Yehud?ah spoke to him, saying, “The man vehemently warned us, saying, ‘You do not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ” “If you let our brother go with us, we go down and buy you food. “But if you do not let him go, we do not go down, because the man said to us, ‘You do not see my face unless your brother is with you.’ ” And Yisra’?l said, “Why did you do evil to me to inform the man that you still had another brother?” And they said, “The man kept asking about us and our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ And we informed him according to these words. How could we know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?” And Yehud?ah said to Yisra’?l his father, “Send the boy with me, and let us arise and go, and live and not die, both we and you and also our little ones. “I myself shall stand guaranty for him – from my hand you are to require him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever. “For if we had not delayed, truly by now we could have returned this second time.” And their father Yisra’?l said to them, “If so, then do this: Take some of the best fruit of the land in your vessels and bring a present down for the man, a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds. “And take double silver in your hand, and take back in your hand the silver that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. It could have been a mistake. “And take your brother, and arise, go back to the man. “And ?l Shaddai give to you compassion before the man, so that he shall release your other brother and Binyamin. And I, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved!” And the men took that present and Binyamin, and they took double the amount of silver in their hand, and arose and went down to Mitsrayim, and stood before Yos?ph. And Yos?ph saw Binyamin with them, and said to the one over his house, “Bring the men home, and make a great slaughter, and prepare, for these men are to eat with me at noon.” And the man did as Yos?ph said, and the man brought the men into Yos?ph’s house. And the men were afraid because they were brought into Yos?ph’s house. And they said, “It is because of the silver, which was put back into our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, to throw himself upon us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves, our donkeys too.” So they came near to the man over the house of Yos?ph, and spoke to him at the door of the house, and said, “O my master, we indeed came down the first time to buy food, but it came to be, when we came to the lodging place, that we opened our sacks and saw each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack, our silver in its weight. And we have brought it back in our hand. “And we have brought down other silver in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our silver in our sacks.” But he said, “Peace be with you, do not be afraid. Your Elohim and the Elohim of your father has given you treasure in your sacks – your silver had come to me!” And he brought Shim?on out to them. And the man brought the men into Yos?ph’s house and gave them water, and they washed their feet. And he gave their donkeys fodder. And they made the present ready for Yos?ph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they were to eat there. And when Yos?ph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand, into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth. And he asked them about their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?” And they said, “Your servant our father is in good health, he is still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and did obeisance. And he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Binyamin, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “Elohim show favour to you, my son.” And Yos?ph hurried, for his emotions were deeply moved towards his brother, and he looked for a place to weep, and went into his room and wept there. Then he washed his face and came out, and controlled himself, and said, “Serve the food.” And they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Mitsrites who ate with him by themselves, for the Mitsrites could not eat food with the Heb?rews, for that is an abomination to the Mitsrites. And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at each other in astonishment. And he took portions to them from before him, but Binyamin’s portion was five times as much as any of theirs. And they feasted and they drank with him. And he commanded the one over his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as they are able to bear, and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. “And put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and the silver for his grain.” And he did according to the word of Yos?ph which he spoke. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys. And when they had gone out of the city, not having gone far, Yos?ph said to the one over his house, “Rise up, follow the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good? ‘Is this not the one from which my master drinks, and with which he indeed divines? You have done evil in what you have done.’ ” So he overtook them and spoke these words to them. And they said to him, “Why does my master say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do according to this word. “See, we brought back to you from the land of Kena?an the silver which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then should we steal silver or gold from your master’s house? “With whomever of your servants it is found – he shall die and we shall become my master’s slaves as well.” And he said, “Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found becomes my slave, and you are innocent.” And they hurried, each man let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack. And he searched, with the oldest first and with the youngest last, and the cup was found in Binyamin’s sack. And they tore their garments, and each man loaded his donkey and went back to the city. And Yehud?ah and his brothers came to Yos?ph’s house, and he was still there. And they fell before him on the ground. And Yos?ph said to them, “What deed is this you have done? Did you not know that a man like me indeed divines?” And Yehud?ah said, “What do we say to my master? What do we speak? Or how do we clear ourselves? Elohim has found out the crookedness of your servants. See, we are my master’s slaves, both we and he also with whom the cup was found.” But he said, “Far be it from me to do this. The man in whose hand the cup was found, he becomes my slave. And you, go up in peace to your father.” And Yehud?ah came near to him and said, “O my master, please let your servant speak a word in my master’s hearing, and do not let your displeasure burn against your servant, for you are like Pharaoh. “My master asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ “And we said to my master, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a young child of his old age, and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’ “And you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, and let me set my eyes on him.’ “And we said to my master, ‘The boy is not able to leave his father, for if he leaves his father, his father shall die.’ “But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you do not see my face again.’ “And it came to be, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my master. “And our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little food.’ “But we said, ‘We are not able to go down. If our youngest brother is with us, then we shall go down, for we are not able to see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’ “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons, and the one went out from me, and I said, “Truly, he is torn, torn to pieces!” And I have not seen him since. ‘And if you take this one from me too, and harm comes to him, you shall bring down my grey hair with evil to the grave.’ “And now, if I come to your servant my father and the boy is not with us – since his own life is bound up in his life – then it shall be, when he sees that the boy is not with us, that he shall die. So your servants shall bring down the grey hair of your servant our father with evil to the grave. “For your servant went guaranty for the boy to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him back to you, then I shall be a sinner before my father forever.’ “And now, please let your servant remain instead of the boy as a slave to my master, and let the boy go up with his brothers. “For how do I go up to my father if the boy is not with me, lest I see the evil that would come upon my father?” Genesis 41:1-44:34
Posted on: Sat, 30 Nov 2013 22:27:23 +0000
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