Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

48 After this, Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is ill.” So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed. 3 And Jacob said to Joseph, ^z“God Almighty¹ appeared to me at ^aLuz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a company of peoples and will give this land to your offspring after you ^bfor an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now your ^ctwo sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, ^dare mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And the children that you fathered after them shall be yours. They shall be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came from Paddan, to my sorrow ^eRachel died in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was still some distance² to go to Ephrath, and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”

8 When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, ^f“They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” And he said, “Bring them to me, please, that ^gI may bless them.” 10 Now ^hthe eyes of Israel were dim with age, so that he could not see. So Joseph brought them near him, ⁱand he kissed them and embraced them. 11 And Israel said to Joseph, ^j“I never expected to see your face; and behold, God has let me see your offspring also.” 12 Then Joseph removed them from his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near him. 14 ^kAnd Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, ^lcrossing his hands (for Manasseh was the firstborn). 15 And he blessed Joseph and said,

17 When Joseph saw that his father ^rlaid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him, and he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not this way, my father; since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, ^r“I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless, ^shis younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude⁴ of nations.” 20 So he blessed them that day, saying,

Thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh. 21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am about to die, but ^uGod will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your fathers. 22 Moreover, I have given to ^vyou rather than to your brothers one mountain slope⁵ that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow.”

Jacob Blesses His Sons

49 ^wThen Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what shall happen to you ^xin days to come.

Jacob’s Death and Burial

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them as he blessed them, blessing each with the blessing suitable to him. 29 Then he commanded them and said to them, “I am to be ^ogathered to my people; ^pbury me with my fathers ^qin the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave that is in the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan, ^rwhich Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 31 ^sThere they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There ^tthey buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah— 32 the field and the cave that is in it were bought from the Hittites.” 33 When Jacob finished commanding his sons, he drew up his feet into the bed and breathed his last and ^uwas gathered to his people.

50 Then Joseph ^vfell on his father’s face and wept over him and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to ^wembalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel. 3 Forty days were required for it, for that is how many are required for embalming. And the Egyptians ^xwept for him seventy days.

4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, ^y“If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “I am about to die: in my tomb ^zthat I hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me.” Now therefore, let me please go up and bury my father. Then I will return.’” 6 And Pharaoh answered, “Go up, and bury your father, as he made you swear.” 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father. With him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his household, and all the elders of the land of Egypt, 8 as well as all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s household. Only their children, their flocks, and their herds were left ^ain the land of Goshen. 9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen. It was a very great company. 10 When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, ^bthey lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he ^cmade a mourning for his father seven days. 11 When the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning on the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This is a grievous mourning by the Egyptians.” Therefore the place was named Abel-mizraim;¹ it is beyond the Jordan. 12 Thus his sons did for him as he had commanded them, 13 for ^dhis sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field at Machpelah, to the east of Mamre, which Abraham ^ebought with the field from Ephron the Hittite to possess as a burying place. 14 After he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

God’s Good Purposes

15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.” 16 So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died: 17 ‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of ^fthe God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 His brothers also came and ^gfell down before him and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” 19 But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for ^ham I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant evil against me, but ⁱGod meant it for good, to bring it about that many people² should be kept alive, as they are today. 21 So do not fear; ^jI will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

The Death of Joseph

22 So Joseph remained in Egypt, he and his father’s house. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 And Joseph saw Ephraim’s children ^kof the third generation. The ^lchildren also of Machir the son of Manasseh were ^mcounted as Joseph’s own.³ 24 And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but ⁿGod will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land ^othat he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” 25 Then ^pJoseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” 26 So Joseph died, being 110 years old. They ^qembalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

Exodus

Israel Increases Greatly in Egypt

1 ^aThese are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. 5 All the descendants of Jacob were ^bseventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt. 6 Then ^cJoseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation. 7 ^dBut the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

Pharaoh Oppresses Israel

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, ^ewho did not know Joseph. 9 And he said to his people, “Behold, ^fthe people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us. 10 ^gCome, ^hlet us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.” 11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them ⁱto afflict them with heavy ^jburdens. They built for Pharaoh ^kstore cities, Pithom and ^lRaamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel. 13 So they ruthlessly made the people of Israel ^mwork as slaves 14 and ⁿmade their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of work in the field. In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves.

15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, 16 “When you serve as midwife to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him, but if it is a daughter, she shall live.” 17 But the midwives ^ofeared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live. 18 So the king of Egypt called the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this, and let the male children live?” 19 The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women, for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.” 20 ^pSo God dealt well with the midwives. And the people multiplied and grew very strong. 21 And because the midwives feared God, ^qhe gave them families. 22 Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, ^r“Every son that is born to the Hebrews¹ you shall cast into ^sthe Nile, but you shall let every daughter live.”

The Birth of Moses

2 Now a ^tman from the house of Levi went and took as his wife a Levite woman. 2 The woman conceived and bore a son, and ^uwhen she saw that he was a fine child, she hid him three months. 3 When she could hide him no longer, she took for him a basket made of bulrushes¹ and daubed it with bitumen and pitch. She put the child in it and placed it among the ^vreeds by the river bank. 4 And ^whis sister stood at a distance to know what would be done to him. 5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her young women walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her servant woman, and she took it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby was crying. She took pity on him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.” 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” 8 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. 9 And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became ^xher son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I ^ydrew him out of the water.”²

Moses Flees to Midian

11 One day, ^zwhen Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their ^aburdens, and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people.³ 12 He looked this way and that, and seeing no one, he ^bstruck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 13 When ^che went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. And he said to the man in the wrong, “Why do you strike your companion?” 14 He answered, ^d“Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” 15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But ^eMoses fled from Pharaoh and stayed in the land of Midian. And he sat down by ^fa well.

16 Now the ^gpriest of Midian had seven daughters, and ^hthey came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and ⁱwatered their flock. 18 When they came home to their father ^jReuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and ⁱwatered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may ^keat bread.” 21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter ^lZipporah. 22 She gave birth to a son, and he called his name ^mGershom, for he said, “I have been a ⁿsojourner⁴ in a foreign land.”

God Hears Israel’s Groaning

23 ^oDuring those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel ^pgroaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. ^qTheir cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And ^rGod heard their groaning, and God ^sremembered his covenant with ^tAbraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God ^usaw the people of Israel—and God ^vknew.