«Hear us, my lord: You are a mighty prince among us; bury your dead in the choicest of our burial places. None of us will withhold from you his burial place, that you may bury your dead.»

Then Abraham stood up and bowed himself to the people of the land, the sons of Heth.

And he spoke with them, saying, «If it is your wish that I bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, and meet with Ephron the son of Zohar for me,

that he may give me the cave of Machpelah which he has, which is at the end of his field. Let him give it to me at the full price, as property for a burial place among you.»

Now Ephron dwelt among the sons of Heth; and Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the presence of the sons of Heth, all who entered at the gate of his city, saying,

«No, my lord, hear me: I give you the field and the cave that is in it; I give it to you in the presence of the sons of my people. I give it to you. Bury your dead!»

Then Abraham bowed himself down before the people of the land;

and he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, «If you will give it, please hear me. I will give you money for the field; take it from me and I will bury my dead there.»

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him,

«My lord, listen to me; the land is worth four hundred shekels of silver. What is that between you and me? So bury your dead.»

And Abraham listened to Ephron; and Abraham weighed out the silver for Ephron which he had named in the hearing of the sons of Heth, four hundred shekels of silver, currency of the merchants.

So the field of Ephron which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the field and the cave which was in it, and all the trees that were in the field, which were within all the surrounding borders, were deeded

to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the sons of Heth, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

So the field and the cave that is in it were deeded to Abraham by the sons of Heth as property for a burial place.

Abraham again took a wife, and her name was Keturah.

And she bore him Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah.

Jokshan begot Sheba and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim.

And the sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abidah, and Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah.

And Abraham gave all that he had to Isaac.

But Abraham gave gifts to the sons of the concubines which Abraham had; and while he was still living he sent them eastward, away from Isaac his son, to the country of the east.

This is the sum of the years of Abrahaḿs life which he lived: one hundred and seventy-five years.

Then Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age, an old man and full of years, and was gathered to his people.

And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite,

the field which Abraham purchased from the sons of Heth. There Abraham was buried, and Sarah his wife.

And it came to pass, after the death of Abraham, that God blessed his son Isaac. And Isaac dwelt at Beer Lahai Roi.

Now this is the genealogy of Ishmael, Abrahaḿs son, whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah́s maidservant, bore to Abraham.

And these were the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: The firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,

Mishma, Dumah, Massa,

Hadar, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah.

These were the sons of Ishmael and these were their names, by their towns and their settlements, twelve princes according to their nations.

These were the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred and thirty-seven years; and he breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people.

(They dwelt from Havilah as far as Shur, which is east of Egypt as you go toward Assyria.) He died in the presence of all his brethren.

This is the genealogy of Isaac, Abrahaḿs son. Abraham begot Isaac.

Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah as wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padan Aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian.

Now Isaac pleaded with the LORD for his wife, because she was barren; and the LORD granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived.

But the children struggled together within her; and she said, «If all is well, why am I like this?

And the LORD said to her: «Two nations are in your womb, Two peoples shall be separated from your body; One people shall be stronger than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.»

So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth, indeed there were twins in her womb.

And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.

Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esaús heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.

So the boys grew. And Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field; but Jacob was a mild man, dwelling in tents.

And Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Now Jacob cooked a stew; and Esau came in from the field, and he was weary.

And Esau said to Jacob, «Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary.» Therefore his name was called Edom.

But Jacob said, «Sell me your birthright as of this day.»

And Esau said, «Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me?»

Then Jacob said, «Swear to me as of this day.» So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.

Then God said to Jacob, «Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.»

And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, «Put away the foreign gods that are among you, purify yourselves, and change your garments.

Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone.»

So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and the earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.

And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.

So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.

And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

Now Deborah, Rebekah́s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

Then God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and blessed him.

And God said to him, «Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name.» So He called his name Israel.

Also God said to him: «I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body.

The land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.»

Then God went up from him in the place where He talked with him.

So Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it.

And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

Then they journeyed from Bethel. And when there was but a little distance to go to Ephrath, Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

Now it came to pass, when she was in hard labor, that the midwife said to her, «Do not fear; you will have this son also.»

And so it was, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni; but his father called him Benjamin.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Racheĺs grave to this day.

Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder.

And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his fatheŕs concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve:

the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob́s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin;

the sons of Bilhah, Racheĺs maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali;

and the sons of Zilpah, Leah́s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.

Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, «My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they are in the land of Goshen.»

And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.

Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, «What is your occupation?» And they said to Pharaoh, «Your servants are shepherds, both we and also our fathers.»

And they said to Pharaoh, «We have come to dwell in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.»

Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, «Your father and your brothers have come to you.

The land of Egypt is before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know any competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.»

Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Jacob, «How old are you?»

And Jacob said to Pharaoh, «The days of the years of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.»

So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.

And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.

Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his fatheŕs household with bread, according to the number in their families.

Now there was no bread in all the land; for the famine was very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.

And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh́s house.

So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, «Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.»

Then Joseph said, «Give your livestock, and I will give you bread for your livestock, if the money is gone.»

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread in exchange for all their livestock that year.

When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, «We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.

Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give us seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.»

Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh́s.

And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from one end of the borders of Egypt to the other end.

Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations allotted to them by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.

Then Joseph said to the people, «Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, here is seed for you, and you shall sow the land.

And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.»

So they said, «You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh́s servants.»

And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, that Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, which did not become Pharaoh́s.

So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob́s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.

When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, «Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,

but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.» And he said, «I will do as you have said.»

Then he said, «Swear to me.» And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.

And Jacob called his sons and said, «Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

«Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob, And listen to Israel your father.

«Reuben, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your fatheŕs bed; Then you defiled it-- He went up to my couch.

«Simeon and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob And scatter them in Israel.

«Judah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your fatheŕs children shall bow down before you.

Judah is a liońs whelp; From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

Binding his donkey to the vine, And his donkeýs colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.

«Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

«Issachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

«Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Israel.

Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horsés heels So that its rider shall fall backward.

I have waited for your salvation, O LORD!

«Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.

«Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.

«Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.

«Joseph is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.

The archers have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.

But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),

By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

«Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil.»

All these are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

Then he charged them and said to them: «I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,

in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth.»

And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Then Joseph fell on his fatheŕs face and wept over him, and kissed him.

And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.

Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

Now when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, «If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,

«My father made me swear, saying, «Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.» Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.»́

And Pharaoh said, «Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.»

So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his fatheŕs house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen.

And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father.

And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, «This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians.» Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.

So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them.

For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place.

And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

When Joseph́s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, «Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.»

So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, «Before your father died he commanded, saying,

«Thus you shall say to Joseph: «I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.»́ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.» And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, «Behold, we are your servants.»

Joseph said to them, «Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God?

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.» And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his fatheŕs household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.

Joseph saw Ephraiḿs children to the third generation. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph́s knees.

And Joseph said to his brethren, «I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.»

Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, «God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.»

So Joseph died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.