Rebekah's nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the oak. And its name was called Allon-Bacuth (Oak of weeping).

And they journeyed from Bethel, and there was still some little distance to come to Ephrath when Rachel travailed, and she had hard labor. And it came to pass when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said unto her: Fear not: thou shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she was dying), that she called his name Benoni (The son of my sorrow); but his father called him Benjamin. And Rachel died and was buried in the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her grave: that is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

III

OF JOSEPH, VIZIR OF EGYPT

A. The older sons of Jacob give Joseph to the Midianites, who sell him in Egypt. He has a gift for interpreting dreams. After some years, he interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh and is made Vizir. (Gen. xxxvii, 2b, 6-12, 19-20, 22-24, 28a, c, 29, 30, 36; xl, 1-23; xli, 1-40.)

Joseph, who was about seventeen years of age, was feeding the flock with his brethren. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought an evil report of them to his father. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren; and they hated him. And he said unto them: Hear, I pray you, this dream that I have dreamed. For we were binding sheaves in the field; and lo, my sheaf arose and stood upright, and lo, your sheaves stood round about and made obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said to him: Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams and for his words. And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brethren, and said: Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance unto me. And he told it to his father and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him and said unto him: What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to the earth to thee? And his brethren envied him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem; and they said one to another: Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, and let us slay him and cast him into some pit; and we will say: Some beast hath devoured him. Then we shall see what will become of his dreams. But Reuben said unto them: Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him. This he said that he might deliver him out of their hands, and restore him to his father. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the striped coat that was on him, and they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew up Joseph and lifted him out of the pit; and they [the Midianites] brought him into Egypt.

And Reuben returned unto the pit; and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren and said: The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? But the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, a captain of the guard.

Now it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers; and he put them in a ward in the house of the chief executioner. And the chief executioner entrusted them to Joseph, and he waited on them; and they continued some time in ward.

And they dreamed a dream, both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the chief butler and the chief baker of the king of Egypt who were bound in the prison. And Joseph came in unto them in the morning, and saw them; and behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that were in ward in his master's house, saying: Why look ye so sad to-day? And they said unto him: We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said unto them: Do not interpretations come from God? Tell me them, I pray you.

Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him: In my dream, behold, a vine was before me, and in the vine three shoots; and, as if it were blooming, its blossoms burst forth, its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand. And I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said unto him: This is the interpretation of it. The three shoots are three days; within three more days, Pharaoh shall lift up thy head and restore thee to thine office, and thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand after the former manner when thou wast his cupbearer. But O, remember me when it shall be well with thee, and do me a kindness, I pray thee, and mention me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For indeed, I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and here, too, I have done nothing that they should put me into a dungeon.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph: I also was dreaming, and behold, three baskets of white bread were upon my head, and in the uppermost basket all kinds of food for Pharaoh that a baker prepares; and birds were eating them from the baskets over my head. And Joseph answered and said: This is the interpretation thereof. The three baskets are three days; within the next three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

And it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants. And he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his office so that he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them. And the chief butler did not remember

Joseph, but forgot him.

Now it came to pass, at the end of two years, that Pharaoh dreamed; and behold, he was standing by the river, and, behold, coming up from the river were seven heifers good to look upon and fat of flesh; and they had been feeding in the Nile-grass. And behold, coming up after them from the river, seven other heifers, ill-favored and lean of flesh;

and they stood near the other heifers on the brink of the river. And the ill-favored and lean-fleshed heifers did eat up the seven wellfavored and fat heifers. And Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed again. And behold, seven ears of grain growing on one stalk, full and good; and behold, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprouting forth after them. And the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven thick and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke and behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all the wise men thereof; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler to Pharaoh, saying: This day do I remember my sin. Pharaoh was wroth with his servants and put me in ward in the house of the chief executioner, me and the chief baker. And we dreamed a dream the same night, I and he; each according to the interpretation of his dream that he dreamed. And there was with us a Hebrew youth, a servant of the chief executioner; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each according to his dream did he interpret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored to mine office, and him he hanged.

Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph (and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon); and he shaved himself and changed his raiment and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. Now I have heard it said of thee that when thou hearest a dream, thou canst interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: Not I; God will answer Pharaoh in full. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: In my dream, behold, I was standing on the brink of the river. And behold, coming up from the river were seven heifers, fat of flesh and well formed; and they had been feeding in the river-grass. And lo, coming up after them, seven other heifers exceeding poor and lank and lean, worse than I have ever seen in all the land of Egypt. And the lean and ill-favored heifers did eat up the first seven fat heifers; and when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were as ill-favored as in the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good; and behold, seven ears, withered, thin and blasted by the east wind sprouted forth after them, and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears. And I have told it to the magicians, and there is no one who can expound it to me.

Then Joseph said unto Pharaoh: The dream of Pharaoh is one; what God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The seven good heifers are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dream is one. And the seven lean and ill-favored heifers that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind; they shall be seven years of famine. That is the thing which I spake unto Pharaoh; what God is about to do, he hath showed unto Pharaoh. Behold, there are coming seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine shall consume the land; (and the plenty shall not be known in the land by reason of the famine which followeth, for the famine shall be very severe). And that the dream was repeated unto Pharaoh, it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now there

fore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and let them keep it. And that food shall be a store for the land against the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not because of the famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants: Can we find a man like this, in whom is the spirit of God?

And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: Forasmuch as God hath showed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou. Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled. Only in the throne will I be greater than thou.

B. Joseph's political career. His provision for his family. The coming of Jacob and his sons to Egypt. Their settlement in Goshen. (Gen. xli, 45b, 47, 49, 50-53, 54b, 57; xlii, 1-38; xliii, 14; xlv, 1b, 2-3, 5b, 6, 7b-9a, 9c, 10b, 13, 15-18, 21b-26, 27b; xlvi, 1b, 2-5; xlvii, 5-6a; xlviii, 1-2, 8-22; 1, 15-20.)

Then Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth abundantly. And Joseph gathered grain as the sand of the sea in great quantities, until he ceased to keep account, for there was no counting it. And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, bare unto him. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh (Forgetting), for God, said he, hath caused me to forget all my suffering and all my father's house. And the name of the second called he Ephraim (Fruitful); for God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

Now the seven years of plenty that was in the land of Egypt came to an end; and there was famine in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And all the earth came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was sore in all the world.

Now when Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said unto his sons: Why do ye look one upon another? And he said: Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live and not die. So Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said: Lest peradventure mischief befall him. And the sons of Israel came among others who came to buy grain; for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it was that sold grain to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came and bowed themselves down before him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph saw his brethren and recognized them, but he dissembled with them and spake harshly unto them. And he said unto them: Whence come ye? And they said: From the land of Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, but they did not know him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them, and said unto them: Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land are ye come. And they said unto him: Nay, my lord; but thy servants have come to buy food. We are all one man's sons; we are true men; thy servants are not spies. And he said unto them: Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land are ye come. And they said: Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day

with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said unto them: This is what I spake unto you, saying: Ye are spies. Hereby ye shall be proved. As Pharaoh lives, ye shall not go hence unless your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you that he may bring your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved whether there be truth in you; but if not, as Pharaoh lives ye are spies. And he put them in ward for three days. And on the third day Joseph said unto them: This do and live, for I fear God. If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; and go ye, carry again for the famine in your houses; and bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to another: Truly we are guilty concerning our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul as he besought us and we would not hear. Therefore is this distress come upon us. And Reuben answered them, saying: Spake I not unto you saying, Sin not against the boy; and ye would not hear? Therefore behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that Joseph understood them, for he had spoken to them through an interpreter. And he turned away from them and wept. And he turned back to them and spake unto them; and he took Simeon from among them and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with grain, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and thus was it done unto them. And they laded their asses with the grain, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the inn, he espied his money; for behold, it was in his sack's mouth. And he said unto his brethren: My money is restored, and lo, it is even in my sack. And their heart failed them, and they said anxiously one to another, What is this that God hath done unto us?

And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them, saying: The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said unto him: We are true men, we are no spies; we are twelve brethren, sons of one father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man, the lord of the country, said unto us: Hereby shall I know that ye are true men. Leave one of your brethren with me, and take food for the famine of your households, and go. And bring your youngest brother unto me; then shall I know that ye are no spies but true men. Your brother will I give unto you, and ye shall traffic in the land.

Now it came to pass, as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto them: Me have ye bereaved. Joseph is not and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto his father, saying: Slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee. Put him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee. And he said: God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

Now there stood no man with him when Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren: I am