Book of Jasher 52
Chapter 52
1.
And they entered their house, and
every man opened his sack and they saw and behold every man’s bundle of money
was there, at which they and their father were greatly terrified.
2.
And Jacob said unto them, What is
this that you have done to me? I sent your brother Joseph to inquire after your
welfare and you said unto me. A wild beast did devour him.
3.
And Simeon went with you to buy food
and you say the king of
confined him in prison, and you wish to take Benjamin to cause his death also,
and bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave on account of Benjamin
and his brother Joseph.
4.
Now therefore my son shall not go
down with you, for his brother is dead and he is left alone, and mischief may
befall him by the way in which you go, as it befell his brother.
5.
And Reuben said unto his father, Thou
shalt slay my two sons if I do not bring thy son and
place him before thee; and Jacob said unto his sons, Abide ye here and do not
go down to
shall not go down with you to
like his brother.
6.
And
them, refrain ye from him until the corn is finished, and he will then say,
Take down your brother, when he will find his own life and the life of his
household in danger from the famine.
7.
And in those days the famine was sore
throughout the land, and all the people of the earth went and came to
for the famine prevailed greatly amongst them, and the sons of Jacob remained
in
two months until their corn was finished.
8.
And it came to pass after their corn
was finished, the whole household of Jacob was pinched with hunger, and all the
infants of the sons of Jacob came together and they approached Jacob, and they
all surrounded him, and they said unto him, Give unto us bread, and wherefore
shall we all perish through hunger in thy presence?
9.
Jacob heard the words of his son’s
children, and he wept a great weeping, and his pity was roused for them, and
Jacob called unto his sons and they all came and sat before him.
10.
And Jacob said unto them, And have
you not seen how your children have been weeping over me this day, saying, Give
unto us bread, and there is none? now therefore return and buy for us a little
food.
11.
And Judah answered and said unto his
father, If thou wilt send our brother with us we will go down and buy corn for
thee, and if thou wilt not send him then we will not go down, for surely the
king of Egypt particularly enjoined us, saying, You shall not see my face
unless your brother be with you, for the king of Egypt is a strong and mighty
king, and behold if we shall go to him without our brother we shall all be put
to death.
12.
Dost thou not know and hast thou not
heard that this king is very powerful and wise, and there is not like unto him
in all the earth? behold we have seen all the kings of the earth and we have not
seen one like that king, the king of Egypt; surely amongst all the kings of the
earth there is none greater than Abimelech king of
the Philistines, yet the king of Egypt is greater and mightier than he, and Abimelech can only be compared to one of his officers.
13.
Father, thou hast not seen his palace
and his throne, and all his servants standing before him; thou hast not seen
that king upon his throne in his pomp and royal appearance, dressed in his
kingly robes with a large golden crown upon his head; thou hast not seen the
honor and glory which God has given unto him, for there is not like unto him in
all the earth.
14.
Father, thou hast not seen the
wisdom, the understanding and the knowledge which God has given in his heart,
nor heard his sweet voice when he spake unto us.
15.
We know not, father, who made him
acquainted with our names and all that befell us, yet he asked also after thee,
saying, Is your father still living, and is it well with him?
16.
Thou hast not seen the affairs of the
government of
him, without inquiring of Pharaoh his lord; thou hast not seen the awe and fear
which he impressed upon all the Egyptians.
17.
And also when we went from him, we
threatened to do unto Egypt like unto the rest of the cities of the Amorites,
and we were exceedingly wroth against all his words which he spoke concerning
us as spies, and now when we shall again come before him his terror will fall
upon us all, and not one of us will be able to speak to him either a little or
a great thing.
18.
Now therefore father, send we pray
thee the lad with us, and we will go down and buy thee food for our support,
and not die through hunger. And Jacob said, Why have you dealt so ill with me
to tell the king you had a brother? what is this thing that you have done unto
me?
19.
And Judah said unto Jacob his father,
Give the lad into my care and we will rise up and go down to Egypt and buy
corn, and then return, and it shall be when we return if the lad be not with
us, then let me bear thy blame forever.
20.
Hast thou seen all our infants
weeping over thee through hunger and there is no power in thy hand to satisfy
them? now let thy pity be roused for them and send our brother with us and we
will go.
21.
For how will the Lord’s kindness to
our ancestors be manifested to thee when thou sayest
that the king of Egypt will take away thy son? as the Lord liveth
I will not leave him until I bring him and place him before thee; but pray for
us unto the Lord, that he may deal kindly with us, to cause us to be received
favorably and kindly before the king of Egypt and his men, for had we not
delayed surely now we had returned a second time with thy son.
22.
And Jacob said unto his sons, I trust
in the Lord God that he may deliver you and give you favor in the sight of the
king of Egypt, and in the sight of all his men.
23.
Now therefore rise up and go to the
man, and take for him in your hands a present from what can be obtained in the
land and bring it before him, and may the Almighty God give you mercy before
him that he may send Benjamin and Simeon your brethren with you.
24.
And all the men rose up, and they
took their brother Benjamin, and they took in their hands a large present of
the best of the land, and they also took a double portion of silver.
25.
And Jacob strictly commanded his sons
concerning Benjamin, Saying, Take heed of him in the way in which you are
going, and do not separate yourselves from him in the road, neither in Egypt.
26.
And Jacob rose up from his sons and
spread forth his hands and he prayed unto the Lord on account of his sons,
saying, O Lord God of heaven and earth, remember thy covenant with our father
Abraham, remember it with my father Isaac and deal kindly with my sons and
deliver them not into the hands of the king of Egypt; do it I pray thee O God
for the sake of thy mercies and redeem all my children and rescue them from
Egyptian power, and send them their two brothers.
27.
And all the wives of the sons of
Jacob and their children lifted up their eyes to heaven and they all wept
before the Lord, and cried unto him to deliver their fathers from the hand of
the king of Egypt.
28.
And Jacob wrote a record to the king
of Egypt and gave it into the hand of Judah and into the hands of his sons for
the king of Egypt, saying,
29.
From thy servant Jacob, son of Isaac,
son of Abraham the Hebrew, the prince of God, to the powerful and wise king,
the revealer of secrets, king of Egypt, greeting.
30.
Be it known to my lord the king of
Egypt, the famine was sore upon us in the land of Canaan, and I sent my sons to
thee to buy us a little food from thee for our support.
31.
For my sons surrounded me and I being
very old cannot see with my eyes, for my eyes have become very heavy through
age, as well as with daily weeping for my son, for Joseph who was lost from
before me, and I commanded my sons that they should not enter the gates of the
city when they came to Egypt, on account of the inhabitants of the land.
32.
And I also commanded them to go about
Egypt to seek for my son Joseph, perhaps they might find him there, and they
did so, and thou didst consider them as spies of the land.
33.
Have we not heard concerning thee
that thou didst interpret Pharaoh’s dream and didst speak truly unto him? how
then dost thou not know in thy wisdom whether my sons are spies or not?
34.
Now therefore, my lord and king,
behold I have sent my son before thee, as thou didst speak unto my sons; I
beseech thee to put thy eyes upon him until he is returned to me in peace with
his brethren.
35.
For dost thou not know, or hast thou
not heard that which our God did unto Pharaoh when he took my mother Sarah, and
what he did unto Abimelech king of the Philistines on
account of her, and also what our father Abraham did unto the nine kings of
Elam, how he smote them all with a few men that were with him?
36.
And also what my two sons Simeon and
Levi did unto the eight cities of the Amorites, how they destroyed them on
account of their sister Dinah?
37.
And also on account of their brother
Benjamin they consoled themselves for the loss of his brother Joseph; what will
they then do for him when they see the hand of any people prevailing over them,
for his sake?
38.
Dost thou not know, O king of Egypt,
that the power of God is with us, and that also God ever heareth
our prayers and forsaketh us not all the days?
39.
And when my sons told me of thy dealings
with them, I called not unto the Lord on account of thee, for then thou wouldst
have perished with thy men before my son Benjamin came before thee, but I
thought that as Simeon my son was in thy house, perhaps thou mightest deal kindly with him, therefore I did not this
thing unto thee.
40.
Now therefore behold Benjamin my son
cometh unto thee with my sons, take heed of him and put thy eyes upon him, and
then will God place his eyes over thee and throughout thy kingdom.
41.
Now I have told thee all that is in
my heart, and behold my sons are coming to thee with their brother, examine the
face of the whole earth for their sake and send them back in peace with their
brethren.
42.
And Jacob gave the record to his sons
into the care of Judah to give it unto the king of Egypt.
