Lost Books of the Bible (115 page)

38 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, and Joseph went out from before the king and became the king's second in command in Egypt.

39 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 to 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 Joseph spent in erecting his house.

41 And Joseph made for himself a very elegant throne of an abundance of gold and silver, and he covered it with onyx stones and bdellium; he made on it the likeness of the whole land of Egypt, and the likeness of the river of Egypt that waters the whole land of Egypt. Joseph sat securely on 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 greatly, 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 to his mighty men, and to all his army, shields and javelins, and caps and coats of mail and stones for slinging.

CHAPTER 50

1 At that time the children of Tarshish came against the sons of Ishmael, and made war with them, and the children of Tarshish fought the Ishmaelites for a long time.

2 The children of Ishmael were small in number in those days, and they could not succeed over the children of Tarshish, and they were extremely oppressed.

3 And the old men of the Ishmaelites sent a record to the king of Egypt, saying, Send I pray you to your servants:  officers and army to help us to fight against the children of Tarshish, for we have been diminishing away for a long time.

4 And Pharaoh sent Joseph with the mighty men and army which were with him, and also his mighty men from the king's house.

5 They went to the land of Havilah to the children of Ishmael to assist them against the children of Tarshish, and the children of Ishmael fought with the children of Tarshish. Joseph struck the Tarshishites and he subdued all their land, and the children of Ishmael lived there to this day.

6 And when the land of Tarshish was subdued, all the Tarshishites ran away, and came to the border of their brothers the children of Javan; Joseph with all his mighty men and army returned to Egypt, not one man of them missing.

7 At the revolution of the year, in the second year of Joseph's reigning over Egypt, the Lord gave great plenty throughout the land for seven years as Joseph had spoken, for the Lord blessed all the produce of the earth in those days for seven years; they ate and were greatly satisfied.

8 And Joseph at that time had officers under him, and they collected all the food of the good years, and heaped corn year by year, and they placed it in the treasuries of Joseph.

9 At any time when they gathered the food, Joseph commanded that they should bring the corn in the ears, and also bring with it some of the soil of the field, so that it would not spoil.

10 And Joseph did according to this year by year, and he heaped up corn like the sand of the sea for abundance, for his stores were immense and could not be numbered for abundance.

11 Also all the inhabitants of Egypt gathered all sorts of food in their stores in great abundance during the seven good years, but they did not do to it as Joseph did.

12 All the food which Joseph and the Egyptians had gathered during the seven years of plenty was secured for the land in stores for the seven years of famine, for the support of the whole land.

13 And the inhabitants of Egypt filled each man his store and his concealed place with corn, to be for support during the famine.

14 And Joseph placed all the food that he had gathered in all the cities of Egypt, and he closed all the stores and placed sentinels over them.

15 Joseph's wife Osnath
the daughter of Potiphera gave birth to him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and Joseph was thirty-four years old when he had them.

16 And the lads grew up and they followed in his ways and in his instructions; they did not deviate from the way which their father taught them, either to the right or left.

17 And the Lord was with the lads, and they grew up and had understanding and skill in all wisdom and in all the affairs of government.  All the king's officers and his great men of the inhabitants of Egypt honored the lads, and they were brought up among the king's children.

18 The seven years of plenty that were throughout the land were at an end; the seven years of famine came after them as Joseph had spoken, and the famine spread throughout the land.

19 All the people of Egypt saw that the famine had begun in the land of Egypt, and all the people of Egypt opened their stores of corn for the famine hung over them.

20 And they found all the food that was in their stores full of vermin and not fit to eat, and the famine stayed throughout the land; all the inhabitants of Egypt came and cried before Pharaoh, for the famine was heavy on them.

21 And they said to Pharaoh, Give food to your servants; why shall we die through hunger before your eyes, even we and our little ones?

22 And Pharaoh answered them, saying, And why do you cry to me? Did not Joseph command that the corn should be laid up during the seven years of plenty for the years of famine? Why did you not listen to his voice?

23 And the people of Egypt answered the king, saying, As your soul lives, our lord, your servants have done all that Joseph ordered, for your servants also gathered in all the produce of their fields during the seven years of plenty and laid it in the stores to this day.

24 And when the famine prevailed over your servants we opened our stores, and behold all our produce was filled with vermin and was not fit for food.

25 When the king heard all that had befallen the inhabitants of Egypt, the king was greatly afraid on account of the famine, and he was much terrified;  the king answered the people of Egypt, saying, Since all this has happened to you, go to Joseph, do whatever he shall say to you; do not go contrary to his commands.

26 And all the people of Egypt went forth and came to Joseph, and said to him, Give to us food, for why shall we die before you through hunger? We gathered in our produce during the seven years as you did command, and we put it in store, and thus has it happened to us.

27 And when Joseph heard all the words of the people of Egypt and what had happened to them, Joseph opened all his stores of the produce and he sold it to the people of Egypt.

28 And the famine stayed throughout the land, and the famine was in all countries, but in the land of Egypt there was produce for sale.

29 All the inhabitants of Egypt came to Joseph to buy corn, for the famine hung over them, and all their corn was spoiled, and Joseph daily sold it to all the people of Egypt.

30 And all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan and the Philistines, and those beyond the Jordan, and the
children of the east and all the cities of the lands far and near heard that there was corn in Egypt, and they all came to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine hung over them.

31 Joseph opened the stores of corn and placed officers over them, and they daily stood and sold to all that came.

32 Joseph knew that his brothers also would come to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine spread throughout the earth. And Joseph commanded all his people that they should cause it to be announced throughout the land of Egypt, saying,

33 It is the pleasure of the king, of his second and of their great men, that any person who wishes to buy corn in Egypt shall not send his servants to Egypt to purchase, but his sons; also any Egyptian or Canaanite who shall come from any of the stores from buying corn in Egypt, if he goes and sells it throughout the land, he shall die, for no one shall buy but for the support of his household.

34 And any man leading two or three beasts shall die, for a man shall only lead his own beast.

35 Joseph placed sentinels at the gates of Egypt, and commanded them, saying, Any person who may come to buy corn, permit him not to enter until his name and the name of his father, and the name of his father's father be written down; whatever is written by day, send their names to me in the evening that I may know their names.

36 And Joseph placed officers throughout the land of Egypt; he commanded them to do all these things.

37 Joseph did all these things, and made these standards in order that he might know when his brothers would come to Egypt to buy corn; Joseph's people caused it daily to be announced in Egypt according to these words and standards which Joseph had commanded.

38 And all the inhabitants of the east and west country, and of all the earth, heard of the rules and regulations which Joseph had enacted in Egypt, and the inhabitants of the extreme parts of the earth came and they bought corn in Egypt day after day, and then went away.

39 All the officers of Egypt did as Joseph had commanded, and all that came to Egypt to buy corn, the gate keepers would write their names, and their fathers' names, and daily bring them in the evening to Joseph.

CHAPTER 51

1  Jacob afterward heard that there was corn in Egypt, and he called to his sons to go to Egypt to buy corn, for on them also did the famine occur, and he called to his sons, saying,

2 Behold I hear that there is corn in Egypt, and all the people of the earth go there to purchase; now therefore why will you show yourselves (pretend to be) satisfied before the whole earth? You go also down to Egypt and buy us a little corn among those that come there, that we may not die.

3 And the sons of Jacob listened to the voice of their father, and they rose up to go down to Egypt in order to buy corn among the rest that came there.

4 And Jacob their father commanded them, saying, When you come into the city do not enter together in one gate, on account of the inhabitants of the land.

5 And the sons of Jacob went forth
and they went to Egypt, and the sons of Jacob did all as their father had commanded them; Jacob did not send Benjamin, for he said, Lest an accident might happen to him on the road like his brother.  Ten of Jacob's sons went forth.

6 While the sons of Jacob were going on the road, they repented of what they had done to Joseph, and they spoke to each other, saying, We know that our brother Joseph went down to Egypt, and now we will seek him where we go, and if we find him we will take him from his master for a ransom, and if not, by force, and we will die for him.

7 And the sons of Jacob agreed to this thing and strengthened themselves on account of Joseph, to deliver him from the hand of his master, and the sons of Jacob went to Egypt; when they came near to Egypt they separated from each other, and they came through ten gates of Egypt, and the gate keepers wrote their names that day, and brought them to Joseph in the evening.

8 And Joseph read the names from the hand of the gatekeepers of the city, and he found that his brothers had entered at the ten gates of the city, and Joseph at once commanded that it should be proclaimed throughout the land of Egypt, saying,

9 Go forth all you store guards, close all the corn stores and let only one remain open, that those who come may purchase from it.

10 And all the officers of Joseph did so at that time, and they closed all the stores and left only one open.

11 Joseph gave the written names of his brothers to him that was set over the open store, and he said to him, Whosoever shall come to you to buy corn, ask his name, and when men of these names shall come before you, seize them and send them, and they did so.