Genesis 50

The Burials of Jacob and Joseph

1 Then Joseph hugged his father’s face.t He wept over him and kissed him.2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his servicet to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel.

3 They took forty days, for that is the full time needed for embalming.t The Egyptians mournedt for him seventy days.s
4 When the days of mourningt had passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh’s royal court,t “If I have found favor in your sight, please say to Pharaoh,t5 ‘My father made me swear an oath. He said,t “I am about to die. Bury met in my tomb that I dug for myself there in the land of Canaan.” Now let me go and bury my father; then I will return.’”

6 So Pharaoh said, “Go and bury your father, just as he made you swear to do.”t
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; all Pharaoh’s officials went with him – the senior courtierst of his household, all the senior officials of the land of Egypt,8 all Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household. But they left their little children and their flocks and herds in the land of Goshen.

9 Chariots and horsemen also went up with him, so it was a very large entourage.t
10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atads on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow.t There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.

11 When the Canaanites who lived in the land saw them mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a very sad occasiont for the Egyptians.” That is why its name was calledt Abel Mizraim,s which is beyond the Jordan.
12 So the sons of Jacob did for him just as he had instructed them.13 His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, near Mamre. This is the field Abraham purchased as a burial plot from Ephron the Hittite.

14 After he buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, along with his brothers and all who had accompanied him to bury his father.
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge and wants to repayt us in fullt for all the harmt we did to him?”16 So they sent wordt to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave these instructions before he died:17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept.t18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.”19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Amt I in the place of God?20 As for you, you meant to harm me,t but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.t

21 So now, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your little children.” Then he consoled them and spoke kindlyt to them.
22 Joseph lived in Egypt, along with his father’s family.t Joseph lived 110 years.

23 Joseph saw the descendants of Ephraim to the third generation.t He also saw the children of Makir the son of Manasseh; they were given special inheritance rights by Joseph.t
24 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. But God will surely come to yout and lead you up from this land to the land he swore on oath to givet to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”25 Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath. He said, “God will surely come to you. Then you must carry my bones up from this place.”

26 So Joseph died at the age of 110.t After they embalmed him, his bodyt was placed in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus 1

Blessing during Bondage in Egypt

1 s Theset are the namess of the sons of Israelt who entered Egypt – each man with his householdt entered with Jacob:2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.5 All the peoplet who were directly descendedt from Jacob numbered seventy.s But Joseph was already in Egypt,t6 and in timet Josephts and his brothers and all that generation died.

7 The Israelites,t however,t were fruitful, increased greatly, multiplied, and became extremely strong,ts so that the land was filled with them.
8 Then a new king,s who did not know aboutt Joseph, came to powert over Egypt.9 He saidt to his people, “Look att the Israelite people, more numerous and stronger than we are!

10 Come, let’s deal wiselyts with them. Otherwiset they will continue to multiply,t and ift a war breaks out, they will ally themselves witht our enemies and fight against us and leavet the country.”
11 So they put forement over the Israelitest to oppresss them with hard labor. As a resultt they built Pithom and Ramesess as store cities for Pharaoh.12 But the more the Egyptianst oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread.ts As a result the Egyptians loathedt the Israelites,13 and theyt made the Israelites serve rigorously.t

14 They made their lives bitters byt hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of servicet in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous.t
15 The king of Egypt saidt to the Hebrew midwives,s one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,t16 t “When you assistt the Hebrew women in childbirth, observe at the delivery:t If it is a son, kill him,s but if it is a daughter, she may live.”t

17 Butt the midwives feared God and did not do what the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live.t
18 Then the king of Egypt summonedt the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this and let the boys live?”t19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrews women are not like the Egyptian women – for the Hebrew woment are vigorous; they give birth before the midwife gets to them!”ts20 So God treated the midwives well,t and the people multiplied and became very strong.

21 And because the midwives feared God, he madet householdst for them.

22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, “All sonst that are born you must throwt into the river, but all daughters you may let live.”ts

Exodus 2

The Birth of the Deliverer

1 s A man from the householdt of Levi marriedt a woman who was a descendant of Levi.ts2 The woman became pregnantt and gave birth to a son. Whent she saw thatt he was a healthyt child, she hid him for three months.3 But when she was no longer able to hide him, she took a papyrus baskets for him and sealed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and set it among the reeds along the edge of the Nile.s

4 His sister stationed herselft at a distance to find outt what wouldt happen to him.
5 Then the daughter of Pharaohs came down to wash herselft by the Nile, while her attendants were walking alongside the river,s and she saw the basket among the reeds. She sent one of her attendants,t took it,t

6 opened it,t and saw the childt – a boy,t crying!t – and she felt compassiont for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and gets a nursing womant for you from the Hebrews, so that she may nursets the child for you?”8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes, do so.”t So the young girls went and gott the child’s mother.s

9 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this childt and nurse him for me, and I will pay yourt wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him.

10 When the child grew oldert she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.t She named him Moses, saying, “Because I drew him from the water.”s

The Presumption of the Deliverer

11 s In those days,s whent Moses had grown up, he went out to his peoplet and observedts their hard labor, and he saw an Egyptian man attackingt a Hebrew man, one of his own people.t12 He looked this way and thatt and saw that no one was there,t and then he attackeds the Egyptian and concealed the bodyt in the sand.

13 When he went outt the next day,t there weret two Hebrew men fighting. So he said to the one who was in the wrong,t “Why are you attackingt your fellow Hebrew?”s
14 The mant replied, “Who made you a rulert and a judge over us? Are you planningt to kill me like you killed thatt Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, thinking,t “Surely what I didt has become known.”

15 When Pharaoh heardt about this event,t he sought to kill Moses. So Moses fledt from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian,s and he settledt by a certain well.t
16 Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to drawt watert and fillt the troughs in order to water their father’s flock.17 When somet shepherds came and drove them away,ts Moses came up and defended thems and then watered their flock.18 So when they came homet to their father Reuel,s he asked, “Why have you come home so earlyts today?”19 They said, “An Egyptian man rescued uss from the shepherds,t and he actuallyt drew water for us and watered the flock!”

20 He saidt to his daughters, “So where is he?t Why in the worldt did you leave the man? Call him, so that he may eatt a mealt with us.”
21 Moses agreedt to stay with the man, and he gave his daughter Zipporah to Moses in marriage.t

22 When she boret a son, Mosest named him Gershom, for he said, “I have become a resident foreigner in a foreign land.”s

The Call of the Deliverer

23 s Duringt that long period of timet the king of Egypt died, and the Israelitest groaned because of the slave labor. They cried out, and their desperate cryt because of their slave labor went up to God.24 God heard their groaning,s God remembereds his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob,

25 God sawt the Israelites, and God understood….t