- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Egypt.
- 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.
- At that time Jacob commanded his sons and household to go to Egypt according 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 land of Canaan from Beersheba, with joy and gladness of heart, and they
went to the land of Egypt.
- 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.
- And Joseph harnessed the chariot, and he assembled all his mighty men and his servants
and all the officers of Egypt in order to go and meet his father Jacob, and Joseph's mandate
was proclaimed in Egypt, saying, All that do not go to meet Jacob shall die.
- 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.
- 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.
- And all the women of Egypt went upon the roofs of Egypt and upon the 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.
- 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 Egypt and her nobles saw that Joseph had gone on foot toward his
father, they also alighted and walked on foot toward Jacob.
- 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.
- And Jacob said unto Judah, Who is that man whom I see in the camp of Egypt dressed in
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 Judah answered his father, saying, He
is thy son Joseph the king; and Jacob rejoiced in seeing the glory of his son.
- 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.
- 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 Egypt wept with them.
- And Jacob said unto Joseph, Now I will die cheerfully after I have seen thy face, that thou
art still living and with glory.
- 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.
- And Joseph and all his people returned afterward home to Egypt, and Jacob and his sons
and all the children of his household came with Joseph to Egypt, and Joseph placed them in
the best part of Egypt, in the land of Goshen.
- 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.
- And Joseph did so and took from his brethren Reuben, Issachar Zebulun and his brother
Benjamin and he placed them before Pharaoh.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
[Book of Jasher
Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel.
faithfully translated (1840)
from the Original Hebrew into English.
A Reprint of Photo Lithographic Reprint of Exact Edition
Published by J.H. Parry & Co., Salt Lake City: 1887]