Book of Jasher 55
Chapter 55
1.
And it came to pass after this that
Jacob said, I will go and see my son in Egypt and will then come back to the
land of Canaan of which God had spoken unto Abraham, for I cannot leave the
land of my birth-place.
2.
Behold the word of the Lord came unto
him, saying, Go down to Egypt with all thy household and remain there, fear not
to go down to Egypt for I will there make thee a great nation.
3.
And Jacob said within himself, I will
go and see my son whether the fear of his God is yet in his heart amidst all
the inhabitants of
4.
And the Lord said unto Jacob, Fear
not about Joseph, for he still retaineth his
integrity to serve me, as will seem good in thy sight, and Jacob rejoiced
exceedingly concerning his son.
5.
At that time Jacob commanded his sons
and household to go to
the word of the Lord unto him, and Jacob rose up with his sons and all his
household, and he went out from the
and gladness of heart, and they went to the
6.
And it came to pass when they came
near Egypt, Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph that he might show him a
situation in Egypt, and Judah did according to the word of his father, and he
hastened and ran and came to Joseph, and they assigned for them a place in the
land of Goshen for all his household, and Judah returned and came along the
road to his father.
7.
And Joseph harnessed the chariot, and
he assembled all his mighty men and his servants and all the officers of
go and meet his father Jacob, and Joseph’s mandate was proclaimed in
that do not go to meet Jacob shall die.
8.
And on the next day Joseph went forth
with all Egypt a great and mighty host, all dressed in garments of fine linen and
purple and with instruments of silver and gold and with their instruments of
war with them.
9.
And they all went to meet Jacob with
all sorts of musical instruments, with drums and timbrels,
strewing myrrh and aloes all along the road, and they all went after this
fashion, and the earth shook at their shouting.
10.
And all the women of
the roofs of
walls to meet Jacob, and upon the head of Joseph was Pharaoh’s regal crown, for
Pharaoh had sent it unto him to put on at the time of his going to meet his
father.
11.
And when Joseph came within fifty
cubits of his father, he alighted from the chariot and he walked toward his
father, and when all the officers of
nobles saw that Joseph had gone on foot toward his father, they also alighted
and walked on foot toward Jacob.
12.
And when Jacob approached the camp of
Joseph, Jacob observed the camp that was coming toward him with Joseph, and it
gratified him and Jacob was astonished at it.
13.
And Jacob said unto Judah, Who is
that man whom I see in the camp of
kingly robes with a very red garment upon him and a royal crown upon his head,
who has alighted from his chariot and is coming toward us? and
father, saying, He is thy son Joseph the king; and Jacob rejoiced in seeing the
glory of his son.
14.
And Joseph came nigh unto his father
and he bowed to his father, and all the men of the camp bowed to the ground
with him before Jacob.
15.
And behold Jacob ran and hastened to
his son Joseph and fell upon his neck and kissed him, and they wept, and Joseph
also embraced his father and kissed him, and they wept and all the people of
them.
16.
And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now I
will die cheerfully after I have seen thy face, that thou art still living and with
glory.
17.
And the sons of Jacob and their wives
and their children and their servants, and all the household of Jacob wept
exceedingly with Joseph, and they kissed him and wept greatly with him.
18.
And Joseph and all his people
returned afterward home to
and his sons and all the children of his household came with Joseph to
placed them in the best part of
19.
And Joseph said unto his father and
unto his brethren, I will go up and tell Pharaoh, saying, My brethren and my
father’s household and all belonging to them have come unto me, and behold they
are in the land of Goshen.
20.
And Joseph did so and took from his
brethren Reuben, Issachar Zebulun
and his brother Benjamin and he placed them before Pharaoh.
21.
And Joseph spoke unto Pharaoh,
saying, My brethren and my father’s household and all belonging to them,
together with their flocks and cattle have come unto me from the land of
Canaan, to sojourn in Egypt; for the famine was sore upon them.
22.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Place
thy father and brethren in the best part of the land, withhold not from them
all that is good, and cause them to eat of the fat of the land.
23.
And Joseph answered, saying, Behold I
have stationed them in the land of Goshen, for they are shepherds, therefore
let them remain in Goshen to feed their flocks apart from the Egyptians.
24.
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Do with
thy brethren all that they shall say unto thee; and the sons of Jacob bowed
down to Pharaoh, and they went forth from him in peace, and Joseph afterward
brought his father before Pharaoh.
25.
And Jacob came and bowed down to
Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and he then went out; and Jacob and all his
sons, and all his household dwelt in the land of Goshen.
26.
In the second year, that is in the
hundred and thirtieth year of the life of Jacob, Joseph maintained his father
and his brethren, and all his father’s household, with bread according to their
little ones, all the days of the famine; they lacked nothing.
27.
And Joseph gave unto them the best
part of the whole land; the best of Egypt had they all the days of Joseph; and
Joseph also gave unto them and unto the whole of his father’s household,
clothes and garments year by year; and the sons of Jacob remained securely in
Egypt all the days of their brother.
28.
And Jacob always ate at Joseph’s
table, Jacob and his sons did not leave Joseph’s table day or night, besides
what Jacob’s children consumed in their houses.
29.
And all Egypt ate bread during the
days of the famine from the house of Joseph, for all the Egyptians sold all
belonging to them on account of the famine.
30.
And Joseph purchased all the lands
and fields of Egypt for bread on the account of Pharaoh, and Joseph supplied
all Egypt with bread all the days of the famine, and Joseph collected all the
silver and gold that came unto him for the corn which they bought throughout
the land, and he accumulated much gold and silver, besides an immense quantity
of onyx stones, bdellium and valuable garments which they brought unto Joseph
from every part of the land when their money was spent.
31.
And Joseph took all the silver and
gold that came into his hand, about seventy two talents of gold and silver, and
also onyx stones and bdellium in great abundance, and Joseph went and concealed
them in four parts, and he concealed one part in the wilderness near the Red
sea, and one part by the river Perath, and the third
and fourth part he concealed in the desert opposite to the wilderness of Persia
and Media.
32.
And he took part of the gold and
silver that was left, and gave it unto all his brothers and unto all his
father’s household, and unto all the women of his father’s household, and the
rest he brought to the house of Pharaoh, about twenty talents of gold and
silver.
33.
And Joseph gave all the gold and silver
that was left unto Pharaoh, and Pharaoh placed it in the treasury, and the days
of the famine ceased after that in the land, and they sowed and reaped in the
whole land, and they obtained their usual quantity year by year; they lacked
nothing.
34.
And Joseph dwelt securely in Egypt,
and the whole land was under his advice, and his father and all his brethren
dwelt in the land of Goshen and took possession of it.
35.
And Joseph was very aged, advanced in
days, and his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, remained constantly in the house
of Jacob, together with the children of the sons of Jacob their brethren, to
learn the ways of the Lord and his law.
36.
And Jacob and his sons dwelt in the
land of Egypt in the land of Goshen, and they took possession in it, and they
were fruitful and multiplied in it.
