And Joseph was comely and well favoured. And it came to pass

E-text prepared by Stephen Hope, Fox in the Stars, and the Project

Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net)

Transcriber's note.

Text enclosed by underscores was italicized in the original

book (_italics_), and text enclosed by forward slashes was

in bold face (/bold face/).

A minor printing error was corrected (Gen. xliv 29).

The Modern Reader's Bible

A Series of Works from the Sacred Scriptures Presented

in Modern Literary Form

SELECT MASTERPIECES OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE

Edited, with an Introduction and Notes by

RICHARD G. MOULTON, M.A. (CAMB.), Ph.D. (PENN.)

Professor of Literature in English in the University of Chicago

New York

The MacMillan Company

London: MacMillan & Co., Ltd.

1902

Copyright, 1897,

By THe MacMillan Company.

Set up and electrotyped September, 1897. Reprinted December, 1897;

August, 1898; February, 1899; August, 1900; July, 1901; April, 1902.

Norwood Press

J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith

Norwood Mass. U.S.A.

INTRODUCTION

That which we call 'The Bible' has the outward appearance of a book: in

reality it is--what the word 'bible' implies in the original Greek--a

whole library. More than fifty books, the production of a large number

of different authors, representing periods of time extending over many

centuries, are all comprehended between the covers of a single volume.

There is no greater monument of the power of printing to diffuse thought

than this fact, that the whole classic literature of one of the world's

greatest peoples can be carried about in the hand or the pocket.

But there is another side to the matter. A high price has been paid for

this feat of manufacturing a portable literature: no less a price than

the effacement from the books of the Bible of their whole literary

structure. Where the literature is dramatic, there are (except in one

book) no names of speakers nor divisions of speeches; there are no

titles to essays or poems, nor anything to mark where one poem or

discourse ends and another begins; not only is there nothing to reflect

finer rhythmic distinctions in poetry, but (in King James's version)

there is not even a distinction made between poetry and prose. It is as

if the whole were printed 'solid,' like a newspaper without the

newspaper headings. The most familiar English literature treated in this

fashion would lose a great part of its literary interest; the writings

of the Hebrews suffer still more through our unfamiliarity with many of

the literary forms in which they are cast. Even this statement does not

fully represent the injury done to the literature of the Bible by the

traditional shape in which it is presented to us. Between the Biblical

writers and our own times have intervened ages in which all interest in

literary beauty was lost, and philosophic activity took the form of

protracted discussions of brief sayings or 'texts.' Accordingly this

solidified matter of Hebrew literature has been divided up into single

sentences or 'verses,' numbered mechanically one, two, three, etc., and

thus the original literary form has still further been obscured. It is

not surprising that to most readers the Bible has become, not a

literature, but simply a storehouse of pious 'texts.'

If the sacred Scriptures then are to be appreciated as literature, it is

necessary to restore their literary form and structure. To do this, with

all the assistance that the modern printed page gives to the reader, is

the aim of the 'Modern Reader's Bible.' The present volume is intended

as an introduction to the series, and, it is hoped, to the literary

study of the Bible in general, by Select Masterpieces, illustrating the

different types of literature represented in Scripture.

It is natural to enquire, What are the leading literary forms under

which the sacred writings may be classified?

A large proportion of the Bible is History: the History of the People of

Israel as presented by themselves. How Israel is chosen from all the

nations to be the special people of Jehovah; how the invisible Jehovah

is at first their only ruler; how gradually the spirit of assimilation

to surrounding nations leads to a demand for visible kings. Just as this

tendency to secular kingship becomes strong, there comes into prominence

an order of 'prophets': the word signifies 'interpreters,' and the

prophets are accepted as the interpreters of Jehovah's will to Israel.

Under such rule as that of David, the man after God's own heart, the

work of the prophets may fall into the background; but where, as usually

happened, the secular government tends to ungodliness, the order of

prophets stands forth as an organised opposition. On lines like these

the historic narrative of the Bible pursues its course; and with the

thread of narrative are interwoven legal and statistical documents which

give it support. The History Series of the Modern Reader's Bible

presents the sacred narrative divided according to its logical

divisions. Genesis is occupied with the formation of the chosen nation,

from the first beginnings of things to the development of the

descendants of Abraham as a patriarchal family. The Exodus narrates the

migration of the fully formed nation to the land of promise; this is the

period of constitutional development, and in this part of the history

we find massed together the whole of the constitutional lore of Israel.

The group of books constituting The Judges volume represents a period of

transition: the 'judges' of Israel correspond to the 'heroes' of other

peoples, and amid a succession of these judges the incidents of Israel's

history reveal the efforts of the people of Jehovah towards a secular

government. The Kings takes up the history of the nation from the

establishment of the dynasty of David, and covers the struggle between

the prophetic and the secular parties until the time of the fall and

captivity. Upon the return of the remnant from Babylon all opposition to

the theocracy has ceased; to the prophets have succeeded the 'scribes,'

or interpreters of the written law, and The Chronicles is the

ecclesiastical history, not of a Hebrew nation, but of a Jewish church.

From History we must, in literary analysis, distinguish Story: the one

is founded on the sense of record and scientific explanation of events,

the other appeals to the imagination and the emotions. The Story

literature of most peoples is 'fiction,' in the sense that its matter is

invented solely for literary purposes. The stories of the Bible are part

of the sacred history, differing only in the mode in which the matter is

presented; and a long series of these stories is scattered through the

historical books, with nothing to distinguish them, in the ordinary

versions, from the historic context. In the volumes of this series the

distinction is made by titles; the reader can thus, without difficulty,

bring to each of these varieties of literature the kind of attention it

requires; it is further possible, and highly desirable, for him to make

a separate study of Scriptural Story. History it is not easy to

illustrate by selections; but the stories of the sacred books are

represented in the present volume by typical specimens.

One book that has a place in the historic sequence of the Bible

introduces us in reality to a different class of literature--Oratory.

Deuteronomy is made up of the Orations (and Songs) of Moses,

constituting his Farewell to the People of Israel. It is oratory in the

fullest sense of the term, representing the words as they may be

supposed to come direct from the speaker. For the most part however the

sacred literature of oratory is of a different kind; not exact reports

of spoken words, but the substance, it may be, of several similar

speeches worked up afresh into a form of written discourse. In this

wider sense, the oratorical literature of the Bible is of considerable

extent; it includes the prophetic discourses, and reflects the fervid

contests over first principles of righteousness which constituted the

main life of Israel. The principal varieties of Biblical oratory are

illustrated in this volume.

Philosophy has an important place in Scripture. The word however is not

there used to describe a division of literature, but the sacred

philosophy is called 'wisdom,'--a term suggestive of its close

application to matters of human life and duty. This Wisdom literature

started from the 'proverbs'--simple thoughts conveyed in a couplet or

triplet of verse, which were collected together by King Solomon and

other of the wise men of Israel. From these proverbs the form of wisdom

enlarged to verse epigrams and sonnets, or prose maxims and essays,

until we find books of wisdom comprehending complete systems of thought.

To catch the development of this Wisdom literature, it is necessary to

take in two books of 'The Apocrypha'; a portion of sacred Scripture

which in the last century used to be bound up with Bibles, standing in

its historical position between the Old and New Testaments, though now

it is usually separated. In theology, which is concerned with questions

of authority, the distinction between the Bible and the Apocrypha is

fundamental: the one is accepted as authoritative in matters of faith,

whereas the Apocryphal books are merely recommended for devout reading.

But in literary study the distinction disappears; and two books of the

Apocrypha are of the highest literary importance,--Ecclesiasticus and

The Wisdom of Solomon. The Wisdom series of the Modern Reader's Bible

arranges the representative books of Biblical philosophy in the order of

its logical development. The Proverbs is a Miscellany of Sayings and

Poems, embodying isolated observations of life. Ecclesiasticus is a

Miscellany including longer compositions, but still embodying only

isolated observations of life. In Ecclesiastes we find a connected

series of writings, in which attempt is made to solve the mystery of the

universe: but the attempt breaks down in despair. The Wisdom of Solomon

renews the attempt in the light of an immortal life beyond the grave,

and despair yields to serenity of spirit. The four books thus reflect a

philosophical advance. In The Book of Job--one of the world's literary

marvels--men's varying attitudes towards the mystery of life are

represented in various speakers, and drawn together into a unity by the

movement of a dramatic plot. Such is the wisdom of the sacred Scriptures

viewed as a whole; in the present volume it is only possible to

illustrate the different forms, whether of poetry or of prose, in which

Biblical philosophy is conveyed.

Biblical Lyrics may be mentioned next. Originally, all poetry was spoken

with musical accompaniment; when this primitive literature began to

divide up into specialised forms, Lyric was the literary form which

retained most of the spirit of music. It includes Songs and Odes, in

which the very structure of the poem is determined by the mode of its

performance; Psalms and Lamentations; the Traditional Poetry scattered

through the historical books; again, considerable portions of prophetic

literature are found to take a lyric form. Even in the ordinary versions

the Psalms and Lamentations retain something of their poetic structure;

the less obvious features of lyric rhythm will be illustrated in the

selections admitted into this volume.

Of the fundamental divisions of literature there yet remains one--the

Drama. The relation of this to the Bible is interesting. It is

impossible to read the scriptures of the Old Testament without feeling

that the genius of the Hebrew people is strongly dramatic. Yet the

natural instrument for the expression of dramatic creations--the

theatre--is not a Hebrew institution. Accordingly the dramatic instinct,

denied its readiest outlet, is found to leaven all other literary forms.

We have already noticed dramatic wisdom in Job. Dramatic lyrics are

found, not only in some of the psalms, but on a larger scale in the love

songs of Solomon.[1] But there is a more important type of dramatic

literature in the sacred Scriptures. The prophets of Israel were not

only statesmen and preachers, they were also poets, and from them has

come down to us a form of spiritual drama to which may be given the name

'Rhapsody.'

[Footnote 1: This Lyric Idyl of 'Solomon's Song,' together with some

narrated stories of the same idyllic spirit, are united in a single

volume of this series under the name of Biblical Idyls.]

These spiritual dramas of the prophets are occupied with that

fundamental topic of Hebrew thought which is expressed by the word

'judgment': the eternal contest between good and evil, and the Divine

overthrow of wrong. They are dramas which no actual theatre could ever

express, for their action covers all space and all time. Their

personages include not only the prophet and the nation of Israel, but

also God himself and the celestial hosts. The working of events towards

the judgment is brought out before us with the general impression of

dramatic movement; but the means by which this movement is realised go

beyond the machinery of drama: not only dialogue and monologue, but song

and even discourse are made to bear their part in the total effect. The

grand example of rhapsody which covers the latter part of our Book of

Isaiah can be represented in the present volume only by its prelude and

one of its seven acts or 'visions.' But some of the shorter, and hardly

less splendid, rhapsodies are given in full; and the selections further

illustrate how a prophecy may set out as a simple discourse, and

suddenly rise to the level of rhapsodic presentation.

I believe few people realise what an immense addition has been made to

the literary patrimony of the English reader by the Revised Version of

the Bible, and such other presentations of the sacred Scriptures as this

Revised Version has made possible. The language of Biblical writers, and

the sentences of which their writings are made up, have long been

familiar through the earlier versions; the Revisers, by the attention

they have given to connectedness of thought, have carried forward

translated language into translated literature. It is thus open to a

person of average culture to add to his other mental possessions the

whole expression of itself which a great people has made in poetry and

prose throughout all the periods of its development. With the exception

of humorous writing, which is foreign to the genius of the ancient

Hebrews, the whole range of literary production is here illustrated; and

varieties of literary form are presented to which classic Greek or

modern European writers furnish no parallel. It is a literature

numbering among its authors some who--by critics entirely outside the

ranks of theologians--have been classed with the greatest names in the

world's roll of honour. More than this, the English reader who gives

attention to the literary side of the Bible is studying what is to him

ancestral literature. The Hebrew writers of the Old Testament, and their

followers the Christian Hebrews of the New Testament, have been the

inspiration of those who have inspired our own writers: their style has

largely leavened the style of modern English, their thought has become

so closely interwoven with English thought of the last three centuries

that it is impossible to sever the two. And, if the question be of what

is higher than literary impressions, no reader need fear that the more

sacred uses of the Bible will be imperilled by his reading, not with the

spirit only, but with the understanding also.

* *

*

In this, as in the other volumes of this series, the text of the

Selections is that of the Revised Version, the marginal alternatives

being often substituted for the readings in the text. For the use of

this Revised Version I express my obligation to the University Presses

of Oxford and Cambridge. A Reference Table at the end connects the

Selections with the volumes of the Modern Reader's Bible from which they

are taken, and with the chapters and verses of the ordinary versions.

CONTENTS

STORIES

I Joseph and his Brethren 5

II The Witness of Balaam to Israel 32

III The Crowning of Abimelech 43

IV Samson's Wedding Feast 49

V The Expedition against Elisha 53

VI The Dream of the Tree cut down 55

VII Belshazzar's Feast 60

ORATORY

I The Oration of Moses at the Rehearsal of the

Blessing and the Curse 67

II A Discourse on Immortality and the Covenant

with Death 75

III Isaiah: The Great Arraignment 84

IV Isaiah: The Covenant with Death 87

V Isaiah: The Utter Destruction and the Great

Restoration 90

VI Ezekiel: The Sword of the LORD 93

VII Ezekiel: Wreck of the Goodly Ship Tyre 98

VIII Prophetic Sentences (from Jeremiah) 101

WISDOM

Wisdom Brevities 107

Essays

i Wisdom's Way with her Children 112

ii Prosperity and Adversity are from the Lord 113

iii Against Gossip 114

iv On the Tongue 115

v Choice of Company 116

vi The Wisdom of Business and the Wisdom of

Leisure 120

vii Life as a Joy shadowed by the Judgment (with

a Sonnet: The Coming of the Evil Days) 123

Sonnets

i The Sluggard 125

ii The Mourning for the Fool 126

iii The Two Paths 126

iv The Creator has made Wisdom the Supreme Prize 127

v Watchfulness of Lips and Heart 129

vi Wisdom and the Fear of the Lord 130

vii Wisdom and the Strange Woman 132

LYRICS

I An Elegy of a Broken Heart 141

II The Creator's Joy in his Creation 143

III Song of Moses and Miriam 149

IV Deborah's Song 152

V David's Lament 158

VI David's Song of Victory 160

VII The Bride's Reminiscences: a Lyric Idyl 165

VIII Jeremiah: The Battle of Carchemish 168

IX A Song of Zion Redeemed (from the Isaiahan Rhapsody) 170

X Isaiah: Doom of Babylon 175

XI Nahum: Doom of Nineveh 182

RHAPSODY

I Jeremiah: Rhapsody of the Drought 193

II Habakkuk: Rhapsody of the Chaldeans 200

III Joel: Rhapsody of the Locust Plague 209

IV Jeremiah: The Hurt of the Daughter of my People

(A Rhapsodic Discourse) 222

V Micah: The LORD'S Controversy before the Mountains

(A Dramatic Morceau) 226

VI Prelude to the Rhapsody of Zion Redeemed 228

VII Zion Awakened (Vision III of the Rhapsody of

Zion Redeemed) 231

MASTERPIECES

OF

BIBLICAL LITERATURE

STORIES

I

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN

And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of

Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen

years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad

with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's

wives: and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father. Now

Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son

of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. And his brethren

saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they

hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a

dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have

dreamed: for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my

sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came

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 yet a dream; and, behold, the sun and

the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to 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 thee to the earth?

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

Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem?

come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. And

he said to him, Go now, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and

well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the

vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And a certain man found him,

and, behold, he was wandering in a field: and the man asked him, saying,

What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray

thee, where they are feeding the flock. And the man said, They are

departed hence: for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph

went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. And they saw him afar

off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to

slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the

pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall

see what will become of his dreams. And Reuben heard it, and delivered

him out of their hand; and said, Let us not take his life. And Reuben

said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the

wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of

their hand, to restore him to his father. And it came to pass, when

Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat,

the coat of many colours 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. And

they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked,

and, behold, a travelling company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with

their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down

to Egypt. And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay

our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the

Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother,

our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him. And there passed by

Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the

pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And

they brought Joseph 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? And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and

dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colours,

and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know

now whether it be thy son's coat or not. And he knew it, and said, It is

my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt

torn in pieces. And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his

loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his

daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he

said, For I will go down to the grave to my son mourning. And his father

wept for him. And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an

officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard.

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of

Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand

of the Ishmaelites, which had brought him down thither. And the LORD was

with Joseph and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his

master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and

that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph

found grace in his sight, and he ministered unto him: and he made him

overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And

it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house,

and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for

Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had,

in the house and in the field. And he left all that he had in Joseph's

hand; and he knew not aught that was with him, save the bread which he

did eat.

And Joseph was comely and well favoured. And it came to pass after these

things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said,

Lie with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my

master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath put all

that he hath into my hand; there is none greater in this house than I;

neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art

his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he

hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. And it came to

pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work; and

there was none of the men of the house there within. And she caught him

by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her

hand, and fled, and got him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that

he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, that she called

unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath

brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with

me, and I cried with a loud voice: and it came to pass, when he heard

that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and

fled, and got him out. And she laid up his garment by her, until his

master came home. And she spake unto him according to these words,

saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in

unto me to mock me: and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and

cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled out. And it came to

pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto

him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was

kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, the

place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the

prison. But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed kindness unto him, and

gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper

of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in

the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The

keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand,

because the LORD was with him; and that which he did, the LORD made it

to prosper.

And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of

Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh

was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers,

and against the chief of the bakers. And he put them in ward in the

house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where

Joseph was bound. And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them,

and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season 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 butler and

the baker of the king of Egypt, which 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 with him in ward in

his master's house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sadly today? And they

said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can

interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, Do not interpretations belong

to God? tell it me, I pray you. And 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 were three branches: and it was as though it budded, and its

blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof 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

branches are three days; within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up

thine head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give

Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his

butler. But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee,

and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto

Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: for indeed I was stolen away

out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that

they should put me into the dungeon. When the chief baker saw that the

interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream,

and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head: and in the

uppermost basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh; and

the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph

answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets

are three days; within yet 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 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 the head of the chief baker

among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership

again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand: but he hanged the chief

baker: as Joseph had interpreted to them. Yet did not the chief butler

remember Joseph, but forgat him.

And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed:

and, behold, he stood by the river. And, behold, there came up out of

the river seven kine, well favoured and fatfleshed; and they fed in the

reed-grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the

river, ill favoured and leanfleshed; and stood by the other kine upon

the brink of the river. And the ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did

eat up the seven well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he

slept and dreamed a second time: and, behold, seven ears of corn came up

upon one stalk, rank and good. And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted

with the east wind, sprung up after them. And the thin ears swallowed up

the seven rank 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 dream; but there was none that

could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake the chief butler unto

Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my faults this day: Pharaoh was wroth

with his servants, and put me in ward in the house of the captain of the

guard, me and the chief baker: and we dreamed a dream in one night, I

and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his

dream. And there was with us there a young man, an Hebrew, servant to

the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our

dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. And it came

to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored unto 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 none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that

when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. And Joseph answered

Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of

peace. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon

the brink of the river: and, behold, there came up out of the river

seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured; and they fed in the

reed-grass: and, behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and

very ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land

of Egypt for badness: and the lean and ill favoured kine did eat up the

first seven fat kine: and when they had eaten them up, it could not be

known that they had eaten them; but they were still ill favoured, as at

the beginning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven

ears came up upon one stalk, full and good: and, behold, seven ears,

withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them:

and the thin ears swallowed up the seven good ears: and I told it unto

the magicians; but there was none that could declare it to me. And

Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one: what God is about

to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The seven good kine are seven

years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one. And

the seven lean and ill favoured kine 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 shewed unto Pharaoh. Behold,

there come 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 that famine which followeth; for it shall be very grievous.

And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the

thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. Now

therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over

the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers

over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the

seven plenteous years. And let them gather all the food of these good

years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh for food in

the cities, and let them keep it. And the food shall be for a store to

the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land

of Egypt; that the land perish not through 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 such a one

as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto

Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so

discreet and wise as thou: thou shalt be over my house, and according

unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be

greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee

over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from

his hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vestures of

fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; and he made him to ride

in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the

knee: and he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh said unto

Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or

his foot in all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name

Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of

Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of

Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went

throughout all the land of Egypt. And in the seven plenteous years the

earth brought forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food of the

seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the

cities: the food of the field, which was round about every city, laid he

up in the same. And Joseph laid up corn as the sand of the sea, very

much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

And unto Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, which

Asenath the daughter of Poti-phera priest of On bare unto him. And

Joseph called the name of the first born 'Manasseh': For, said he, God

hath 'made me forget' all my toil, and all my father's house. And the

name of the second called he 'Ephraim': For God hath made me 'fruitful'

in the land of my affliction.

And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of Egypt, came to an

end. And the seven years of famine began to come, according as Joseph

had said: and there was famine in all lands; but in all the land of

Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the

people cried to Pharaoh for bread: and Pharaoh said unto all the

Egyptians, Go unto Joseph; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was

over all the face of the earth: and Joseph opened all the storehouses,

and sold unto the Egyptians; and the famine was sore in the land of

Egypt. And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn;

because the famine was sore in all the earth.

Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his

sons, Why do ye look one upon another? And he said, Behold, I have heard

that there is corn in Egypt: get you down thither, and buy for us from

thence; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph's ten brethren went

down to buy corn from 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 to buy among those that came: for the

famine was in the land of Canaan. And Joseph was the governor over the

land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's

brethren came, and bowed down themselves to him with their faces to the

earth. And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself

strange unto them, and spake roughly with 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 knew not him. And Joseph remembered

the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them, Ye are spies;

to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said unto him,

Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. We are all one

man's sons; we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said unto

them, Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they

said, We 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, That is it that I spake unto

you, saying, Ye are spies: hereby ye shall be proved: by the life of

Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come

hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be

bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you: or

else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them all

together into ward three days.

And Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live; for I fear

God: if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in your

prison house; but go ye, carry corn for the famine of 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, We

are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of

his soul, when 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, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear?

therefore also, behold, his blood is required. And they knew not that

Joseph understood them; for there was an interpreter between them. And

he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them,

and spake to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before

their eyes. Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, 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 their corn, and departed thence. And as one of them opened his sack

to give his ass provender in the lodging place, he espied his money;

and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 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 turned trembling one to another,

saying, 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 with us, and took us for spies of the country. And we said

unto him, We are true men; we are no spies: we be twelve brethren, sons

of our 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 land, said unto us,

Hereby shall I know that ye are true men; leave one of your brethren

with me, and take corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way:

and bring your youngest brother unto me: then shall I know that ye are

no spies, but that ye are true men: so will I deliver you your brother,

and ye shall traffick in the land. And 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 of my

children: 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: deliver him into

my hand, and I will bring him to thee again. And he said, My son shall

not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left: if

mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring

down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to pass, when they had

eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said

unto them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him,

saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see

my face, except your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother

with us, we will go down and buy thee food: but if thou wilt not send

him, we will not go down: for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my

face, except your brother be with you. And Israel said, Wherefore dealt

ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother? And

they said, The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning

our kindred, saying, Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother?

and we told him according to the tenor of these words: could we in any

wise know that he would say, Bring your brother down? And Judah said

unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go;

that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little

ones. I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him: if I

bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the

blame for ever: for except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a

second time. And their father Israel said unto them, If it be so now, do

this; take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry

down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and

myrrh, nuts, and almonds: and take double money in your hand; and the

money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again in your

hand; peradventure it was an oversight: take also your brother, and

arise, go again unto the man: and God Almighty give you mercy before the

man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And

if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.

And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand,

and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before

Joseph. And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward

of his house, Bring the men into the house, and slay, and make ready;

for the men shall dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph bade;

and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. And the men were

afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said,

Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time

are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon

us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the

steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto him at the door of the

house, and said, Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to

buy food: and it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, that

we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of

his sack, our money in full weight: and we have brought it again in our

hand. And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food: we

know not who put our money in our sacks. And he said, Peace be to you,

fear not: your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure

in your sacks: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out unto them.

And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water,

and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender.

And they made ready the present against Joseph came at noon: for they

heard that they should eat bread there. And when Joseph came home, they

brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and

bowed down themselves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their

welfare, and said, Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spake? Is

he yet alive? And they said, Thy servant our father is well, he is yet

alive. And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. And he lifted up his

eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and said, Is this

your youngest brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he said, God be

gracious unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did

yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into

his chamber, and wept there. And he washed his face, and came out; and

he refrained himself, and said, Set on bread. And they set on for him by

himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did

eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread

with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And

they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the

youngest according to his youth: and the men marvelled one with

another. And he took and sent messes unto them from before him: but

Benjamin's mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank

and were merry with him.

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, Fill the men's sacks

with food, as much as they can carry, and put every man's money in his

sack's mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of the

youngest, and his corn money. And he did according to the word that

Joseph had spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent

away, they and their asses. And when they were gone out of the city, and

were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward, Up, follow after the

men; and when thou dost overtake them, say unto them, Wherefore have ye

rewarded evil for good? Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and

whereby he indeed divineth? ye have done evil in so doing. And he

overtook them, and he spake unto them these words. And they said unto

him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such words as these? God forbid that thy

servants should do such a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in

our sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land of Canaan:

how then should we steal out of thy lord's house silver or gold? With

whomsoever of thy servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be

my lord's bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be according unto your

words: he with whom it is found shall be my bondman; and ye shall be

blameless. Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack to the

ground, and opened every man his sack. And he searched, and began at the

eldest, and left at the youngest: and the cup was found in Benjamin's

sack. Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man his ass, and

returned to the city.

And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; and he was yet there:

and they fell before him on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What

deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I can

indeed divine? And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what

shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the

iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and

he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he said, God forbid that I

should do so: the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my

bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.