Genesis 49

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.2 “Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob.Listen to your father Israel.3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,my strength, the very first son I had,first in majesty and first in power.4 You will no longer be firstbecause you were out of control like a floodand you climbed into your father’s bed.Then you dishonored it.He climbed up on my couch.5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.Their swordst are weapons of violence.6 Do not let me attend their secret meetings.Do not let me join their assembly.In their anger they murdered men.At their whim they crippled cattle.7 May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.I will divide them among the sons of Jacoband scatter them among the tribes of Israel.8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.Your father’s sons will bow down to you.9 Judah, you are a lion cub.You have come back from the kill, my son.He lies down and rests like a lion.He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?10 A scepter will never depart from Judahnor a ruler’s staff from between his feetuntil Shiloh comesand the people obey him.11 He will tie his donkey to a grapevine,his colt to the best vine.He will wash his clothes in wine,his garments in the blood of grapes.12 His eyes are darker than wine.His teeth are whiter than milk.13 “Zebulun will live by the coast.He will have ships by the coast.His border will go as far as Sidon.14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,lying down between the saddlebags.15 When he sees that his resting place is goodand that the land is pleasant,he will bend his back to the burdenand will become a slave laborer.16 “Dan will hand down decisionst for his peopleas one of the tribes of Israel.17 Dan will be a snake on a road,a viper on a path,that bites a horse’s heelsso that its rider falls off backwards.18 “I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Lord.19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,but he will strike back at their heels.20 “Asher’s food will be rich.He will provide delicacies fit for a king.21 “Naphtali is a doe set freethat has beautiful fawns.22 “Joseph is a fruitful tree,a fruitful tree by a spring,with branches climbing over a wall.23 Archers provoked him,shot at him,and attacked him.24 But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limberbecause of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,25 because of the God of your father who helps you,because of the Almighty who gives youblessings from the heavens above,blessings from the deep springs below the ground,blessings from breasts and womb.26 The blessings of your father are greater thanthe blessings of the oldest mountainsand the riches of the ancient hills.May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,on the crown of the prince among his brothers.27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.In the morning he devours his prey.In the evening he divides the plunder.”28 These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.29 Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite.30 Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb.31 Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there.

32 The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”
33 When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.

Genesis 50

Joseph Buries His Father

1 Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him.2 Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel.

3 The embalming was completed in the usual time—40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.
4 When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh’s palace staff. He said, “Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him,

5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I’m about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan.” Please let me go there and bury my father; then I’ll come back.’ ”
6 Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as you have promised him.”7 So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him.8 Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.)

9 Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group.
10 When they came to the threshing floort of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob’s death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father’s death.

11 When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians.” That’s why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim [Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies].
12 Jacob’s sons did for him what he had told them to do.

13 They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite.
14 After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

15 Joseph’s brothers realized what their father’s death could mean. So they thought, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?”16 They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, “Before your father died, he commanded us,

17 ‘This is what you should say to Joseph, “I’m begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil.” ’ So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father’s God.” Joseph cried when he got their message.
18 Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. “We are your slaves!” they said.19 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I can’t take God’s place.20 Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now.

21 Don’t be afraid! I will provide for you and your children.” In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease.
22 Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old.

23 He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim’s children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth.
24 At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. God will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

25 Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “God will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.”
26 Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 1

Israel Comes to Egypt

1 These are the names of the sons of Israel (that is, Jacob) who came with him to Egypt with their families:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin;4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher.

5 Joseph was already in Egypt. The total number of Jacob’s descendants was 70.
6 Eventually, Joseph, all his brothers, and that entire generation died.

7 But the descendants of Israel had many children. They became so numerous and strong that the land was filled with them.

The Israelites Become Slaves

8 Then a new king, who knew nothing about Joseph, began to rule in Egypt.9 He said to his people, “There are too many Israelites, and they are stronger than we are.

10 We have to outsmart them, or they’ll increase in number. Then, if war breaks out, they will join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”
11 So the Egyptians put slave drivers in charge of them in order to oppress them through forced labor. They built Pithom and Rameses as supply cities for Pharaoh.12 But the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they increased in number and spread out. The Egyptians couldn’t stand them any longer.13 So they forced the Israelites to work hard as slaves.

14 They made their lives bitter with back-breaking work in mortar and bricks and every kind of work in the fields. All the jobs the Egyptians gave them were brutally hard.

Pharaoh Tells the Midwives to Kill All Hebrew Baby Boys

15 Then the king of Egypt told the Hebrew midwives, whose names were Shiphrah and Puah,

16 “When you help the Hebrew women in childbirth, look at the child when you deliver it. If it’s a boy, kill it, but if it’s a girl, let it live.”
17 However, the midwives feared God and didn’t obey the king of Egypt’s orders. They let the boys live.

18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. He asked them, “Why have you done this? Why have you let the boys live?”
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, “Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women. They are so healthy that they have their babies before a midwife arrives.”20 God was good to the midwives. So the people increased in number and became very strong.

21 Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families of their own.
22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people to throw into the Nile every Hebrew boy that was born, but to let every girl live.