Book of Jasher 49
Chapter 49
1.
After these things the king sent and
assembled all his officers and servants, and all the princes and nobles
belonging to the king, and they all came before the king.
2.
And the king said unto them, Behold
you have seen and heard all the words of this Hebrew man, and all the signs
which he declared would come to pass, and not any of his words have fallen to
the ground.
3.
You know that he has given a proper
interpretation of the dream, and it will surely come to pass, now therefore
take counsel, and know what you will do and how the land will be delivered from
the famine.
4.
Seek now and see whether the like can
be found, in whose heart there is wisdom and knowledge, and I will appoint him
over the land.
5.
For you have heard what the Hebrew
man has advised concerning this to save the land therewith from the famine, and
I know that the land will not be delivered from the famine but with the advice
of the Hebrew man, him that advised me.
6.
And they all answered the king and
said, The counsel which the Hebrew has given concerning this is good; now
therefore, our lord and king, behold the whole land is in thy hand, do that
which seemeth good in thy sight.
7.
Him whom thou chooses, and whom thou
in thy wisdom knowest to be wise and capable of delivering the land with his
wisdom, him shall the king appoint to be under him over the land.
8.
And the king said to all the
officers: I have thought that since God has made known to the Hebrew man all
that he has spoken, there is none so discreet and wise in the whole land as he
is; if it seem good in your sight I will place him over the land, for he will
save the land with his wisdom.
9.
And all the officers answered the
king and said, But surely it is written in the laws of
should not be violated, that no man shall reign over
second to the king, but one who has knowledge in all the languages of the sons
of men.
10.
Now therefore our lord and king,
behold this Hebrew man can only speak the Hebrew language, and how then can he
be over us the second under government, a man who not even knoweth our
language?
11.
Now we pray thee send for him, and
let him come before thee, and prove him in all things, and do as thou see fit.
12.
And the king said, It shall be done
tomorrow, and the thing that you have spoken is good; and all the officers came
on that day before the king.
13.
And on that night the Lord sent one
of his ministering angels, and he came into the land of Egypt unto Joseph, and
the angel of the Lord stood over Joseph, and behold Joseph was lying in the bed
at night in his master’s house in the dungeon, for his master had put him back
into the dungeon on account of his wife.
14.
And the angel roused him from his
sleep, and Joseph rose up and stood upon his legs, and behold the angel of the
Lord was standing opposite to him; and the angel of the Lord spoke with Joseph,
and he taught him all the languages of man in that night, and he called his
name Jehoseph.
15.
And the angel of the Lord went from
him, and Joseph returned and lay upon his bed, and Joseph was astonished at the
vision which he saw.
16.
And it came to pass in the morning
that the king sent for all his officers and servants, and they all came and sat
before the king, and the king ordered Joseph to be brought, and the king’s
servants went and brought Joseph before Pharaoh.
17.
And the king came forth and ascended
the steps of the throne, and Joseph spoke unto the king in all languages, and
Joseph went up to him and spoke unto the king until he arrived before the king
in the seventieth step, and he sat before the king.
18.
And the king greatly rejoiced on
account of Joseph, and all the king’s officers rejoiced greatly with the king
when they heard all the words of Joseph.
19.
And the thing seemed good in the
sight of the king and the officers, to appoint Joseph to be second to the king
over the whole
king spoke to Joseph, saying,
20.
Now thou didst give me counsel to
appoint a wise man over the land of Egypt, in order with his wisdom to save the
land from the famine; now therefore, since God has made all this known to thee,
and all the words which thou hast spoken, there is not throughout the land a
discreet and wise man like unto thee.
21.
And thy name no more shall be called
Joseph, but Zaphnath Paaneah shall be thy name; thou shalt be second to me, and
according to thy word shall be all the affairs of my government, and at thy
word shall my people go out and come in.
22.
Also from under thy hand shall my
servants and officers receive their salary which is given to them monthly, and
to thee shall all the people of the land bow down; only in my throne will I be
greater than thou.
23.
And the king took off his ring from
his hand and put it upon the hand of Joseph, and the king dressed Joseph in a
princely garment, and he put a golden crown upon his head, and he put a golden
chain upon his neck.
24.
And the king commanded his servants,
and they made him ride in the second chariot belonging to the king, that went
opposite to the king’s chariot, and he caused him to ride upon a great and
strong horse from the king’s horses, and to be conducted through the streets of
the
25.
And the king commanded that all those
that played upon timbrels, harps and other musical instruments should go forth
with Joseph; one thousand timbrels, one thousand mecholoth, and one thousand
nebalim went after him.
26.
And five thousand men, with drawn
swords glittering in their hands, and they went marching and playing before
Joseph, and twenty thousand of the great men of the king girt with girdles of
skin covered with gold, marched at the right hand of Joseph, and twenty thousand
at his left, and all the women and damsels went upon the roofs or stood in the
streets playing and rejoicing at Joseph, and gazed at the appearance of Joseph
and at his beauty.
27.
And the king’s people went before him
and behind him, perfuming the road with frankincense and with cassia, and with
all sorts of fine perfume, and scattered myrrh and aloes along the road, and
twenty men proclaimed these words before him throughout the land in a loud
voice:
28.
Do you see this man whom the king has
chosen to be his second? all the affairs of government shall be regulated by
him, and he that transgresses his orders, or that does not bow down before him
to the ground, shall die, for he rebels against the king and his second.
29.
And when the heralds had ceased
proclaiming, all the people of Egypt bowed down to the ground before Joseph and
said, May the king live, also may his second live; and all the inhabitants of
Egypt bowed down along the road, and when the heralds approached them, they
bowed down, and they rejoiced with all sorts of timbrels, mechol and nebal
before Joseph.
30.
And Joseph upon his horse lifted up
his eyes to heaven, and called out and said, He raiseth the poor man from the
dust, He lifteth up the needy from the dunghill. O Lord of Hosts, happy is the
man who trusteth in thee.
31.
And Joseph passed throughout the land
of Egypt with Pharaoh’s servants and officers, and they showed him the whole
land of Egypt and all the king’s treasures.
32.
And Joseph returned and came on that
day before Pharaoh, and the king gave unto Joseph a possession in the land of
Egypt, a possession of fields and vineyards, and the king gave unto Joseph
three thousand talents of silver and one thousand talents of gold, and onyx
stones and bdellium and many gifts.
33.
And on the next day the king
commanded all the people of Egypt to bring unto Joseph offerings and gifts, and
that he that violated the command of the king should die; and they made a high
place in the street of the city, and they spread out garments there, and
whoever brought anything to Joseph put it into the high place.
34.
And all the people of Egypt cast
something into the high place, one man a golden ear-ring, and the other rings
and ear-rings, and different vessels of gold and silver work, and onyx stones
and bdellium did he cast upon the high place; every one gave something of what
he possessed.
35.
And Joseph took all these and placed
them in his treasuries, and all the officers and nobles belonging to the king
exalted Joseph, and they gave him many gifts, seeing that the king had chosen
him to be his second.
36.
And the king sent to Potiphera, the
son of Ahiram priest of On, and he took his young daughter Osnath and gave her
unto Joseph for a wife.
37.
And the damsel was very comely, a
virgin, one whom man had not known, and Joseph took her for a wife; and the
king said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and beside thee none shall dare to lift up
his hand or his foot to regulate my people throughout the land of Egypt.
38.
And Joseph was thirty years old when
he stood before Pharaoh, and Joseph went out from before the king, and he
became the king’s second in Egypt.
39.
And the king gave Joseph a hundred
servants to attend him in his house, and Joseph also sent and purchased many
servants and they remained in the house of Joseph.
40.
Joseph then built for himself a very
magnificent house like unto the houses of kings, before the court of the king’s
palace, and he made in the house a large temple, very elegant in appearance and
convenient for his residence; three years was Joseph in erecting his house.
41.
And Joseph made unto himself a very
elegant throne of abundance of gold and silver, and he covered it with onyx
stones and bdellium, and he made upon it the likeness of the whole land of
Egypt, and the likeness of the river of Egypt that watereth the whole land of
Egypt; and Joseph sat securely upon his throne in his house and the Lord
increased Joseph’s wisdom.
42.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt and
Pharaoh’s servants and his princes loved Joseph exceedingly, for this thing was
from the Lord to Joseph.
43.
And Joseph had an army that made war,
going out in hosts and troops to the number of forty thousand six hundred men,
capable of bearing arms to assist the king and Joseph against the enemy,
besides the king’s officers and his servants and inhabitants of Egypt without
number.
44.
And Joseph gave unto his mighty men,
and to all his host, shields and javelins, and caps and coats of mail and
stones for slinging.
