Book of Jubilees 33, 34

JUBILEES 33

Reuben laid with Bilhah and he uncovered his father's skirt

1 And Yacob went and dwelt to the south of Magdaladra'ef. And he went to his father Yitschaq, he and Leah his wife, on the new month of the tenth month.
2 And Reuben saw Bilhah, Rachel's maid, the concubine of his father, bathing in water in a secret place, and he loved her.
3 And he hid himself at night, and he entered the house of Bilhah [at night], and he found her sleeping alone on a bed in her house.
4 And he lay with her, and she awoke and saw, and behold Reuben was lying with her in the bed, and she uncovered the border of her covering and seized him, and cried out, and discovered that it was Reuben.
5 And she was ashamed because of him, and released her hand from him, and he fled.
6 And she lamented because of this thing exceedingly, and did not tell it to any one.
7 And when Yacob returned and sought her, she said to him: 'I am not clean for you, for I have been defiled as regards you; for Reuben has defiled me, and has lain with me in the night, and I was asleep, and did not discover until he uncovered my skirt and slept with me.'
8 And Yacob was exceedingly wroth with Reuben because he had lain with Bilhah, because he had uncovered his father's skirt.
9 And Yacob did not approach her again because Reuben had defiled her. And as for any man who uncovers his father's skirt his deed is wicked exceedingly, for he is abominable before YAHWEH.
10 For this reason it is written and ordained on the heavenly tablets that a man should not lie with his father's wife, and should not uncover his father's skirt, for this is unclean: they shall surely die together, the man who lies with his father's wife and the woman also, for they have wrought uncleanness on the earth.
11 And there shall be nothing unclean before YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY in the nation which He has chosen for Himself as a possession.
12 And again, it is written a second time: 'Cursed be he who lies with the wife of his father, for he has uncovered his father's shame'; and all the kodesh ones of YAHWEH said 'So be it; so be it.'
13 And do you, Mosheh, command the children of Yisrael that they observe this word; for it (entails) a punishment of death; and it is unclean, and there is no atonement forever to atone for the man who has committed this, but he is to be put to death and slain, and stoned with stones, and rooted out from the midst of the people of YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY.
14 For to no man who does so in Yisrael is it permitted to remain alive a single day on the earth, for he is abominable and unclean.
15 And let them not say: to Reuben was granted life and forgiveness after he had lain with his father's concubine, and to her also though she had a husband, and her husband Yacob, his father, was still alive.
16 For until that time there had not been revealed the ordinance and judgment and Torah in its completeness for all, but in your days (it has been revealed) as a Torah of seasons and of days, and an everlasting Torah for the everlasting generations.
17 And for this Torah there is no consummation of days, and no atonement for it, but they must both be rooted out in the midst of the nation: on the day whereon they committed it they shall slay them.
18 And do you, Mosheh, write it down for Yisrael that they may observe it, and do according to these words, and not commit a sin unto death; for YAHWEH our ALMIGHTY is judge, who respects not persons and accepts not gifts. And tell them these words of the covenant, that they may hear and observe, and be on their guard with respect to them, and not be destroyed and rooted out of the land; for an uncleanness, and an abomination, and a contamination, and a pollution are all they who commit it on the earth before our Sovereign Ruler.
20 And there is no greater sin than the fornication which they commit on earth; for Yisrael is a kodesh nation unto YAHWEH its Sovereign Ruler, and a nation of inheritance, and a priestly and royal nation and for (His own) possession; and there shall no such uncleanness appear in the midst of the kodesh nation.
21 And in the third year of this sixth week [2145 A.M.] Yacob and all his sons went and dwelt in the house of Abraham, near Yitschaq his father and Rebecca his mother.
22 And these were the names of the sons of Yacob: the first-born Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Yahudah, Issachar, Zebulon, the sons of Leah; and the sons of Rachel, Yoseph and Benjamin; and the sons of Bilhah, Dan and Naphtali; and the sons of Zilpah, Gad and Asher; and Dinah, the daughter of Leah, the only daughter of Yacob.
23 And they came and bowed themselves to Yitschaq and Rebecca, and when they saw them they blessed Yacob and all his sons, and Yitschaq rejoiced exceedingly, for he saw the sons of Yacob, his younger son and he blessed them.

JUBILEES 34

Yacob, his sons and servants slew the kings of the Amorites

1 And in the sixth year of this week of this forty-fourth jubilee [2148 A.M.] Yacob sent his sons to pasture their sheep, and his servants with them to the pastures of Shechem.
2 And the seven kings of the Amorites assembled themselves together against them, to slay them, hiding themselves under the trees, and to take their cattle as a prey.
3 And Yacob and Levi and Yahudah and Yoseph were in the house with Yitschaq their father; for his spirit was sorrowful, and they could not leave him: and Benjamin was the youngest, and for this reason remained with his father.
4 And there came the king[s] of Taphu and the king[s] of 'Aresa, and the king[s] of Seragan, and the king[s] of Selo, and the king[s] of Ga'as, and the king of Bethoron, and the king of Ma'anisakir, and all those who dwell in these mountains (and) who dwell in the woods in the land of Canaan.
5 And they announced this to Yacob saying: 'Behold, the kings of the Amorites have surrounded your sons, and plundered their herds.'
6 And he arose from his house, he and his three sons and all the servants of his father, and his own servants, and he went against them with six thousand men, who carried swords. 7 And he slew them in the pastures of Shechem, and pursued those who fled, and he slew them with the edge of the sword, and he slew 'Aresa and Taphu and Saregan and Selo and 'Amanisakir and Ga[ga]'as, and he recovered his herds.
8 And he prevailed over them, and imposed tribute on them that they should pay him tribute, five fruit products of their land, and he built Robel and Tamnatares.
9 And he returned in shalom, and made shalom with them, and they became his servants, until the day that he and his sons went down into Egypt.
10 And in the seventh year of this week [2149 A.M.] he sent Yoseph to learn about the welfare of his brothers from his house to the land of Shechem, and he found them in the land of Dothan.
11 And they dealt treacherously with him, and formed a plot against him to slay him, but changing their minds, they sold him to Ishmaelite merchants, and they brought him down into Egypt, and they sold him to Potiphar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, the chief of the cooks, priest of the city of 'Elew.
12 And the sons of Yacob slaughtered a kid, and dipped the coat of Yoseph in the blood, and sent it to Yacob their father on the tenth of the seventh month.
13 And he mourned all that night, for they had brought it to him in the evening, and he became feverish with mourning for his death, and he said: 'An evil beast has devoured Yoseph'; and all the members of his house [mourned with him that day, and they] were grieving and mourning with him all that day.
14 And his sons and his daughter rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted for his son.
15 And on that day Bilhah heard that Yoseph had perished, and she died mourning him, and she was living in Qafratef, and Dinah also, his daughter, died after Yoseph had perished.
16 And there came these three mournings upon Yisrael in one month. And they buried Bilhah over against the tomb of Rachel, and Dinah also his daughter, they buried there.
17 And he mourned for Yoseph one year, and did not cease, for he said 'Let me go down to the grave mourning for my son'.
18 For this reason it is ordained for the children of Yisrael that they should afflict themselves on the tenth of the seventh month -on the day that the news which made him weep for Yoseph came to Yacob his father- that they should make atonement for themselves thereon with a young goat on the tenth of the seventh month, once a year, for their sins; for they had grieved the affection of their father regarding Yoseph his son.
19 And this day has been ordained that they should grieve thereon for their sins, and for all their transgressions and for all their errors, so that they might cleanse themselves on that day once a year.
20 And after Yoseph perished, the sons of Yacob took unto themselves wives. The name of Reuben's wife is 'Ada; and the name of Simeon's wife is 'Adlba'a, a Canaanite; and the name of Levi's wife is Melka, of the daughters of Aram, of the seed of the sons of Terah; and the name of Yahudah's wife, Betasu'el, a Canaanite; and the name of Issachar's wife, Hezaqa: and the name of Zabulon's wife, Ni'iman; and the name of Dan's wife, 'Egla; and the name of Naphtali's wife, Rasu'u, of Mesopotamia; and the name of Gad's wife, Maka; and the name of Asher's wife, 'Ijona; and the name of Yoseph's wife, Asenath, the Egyptian; and the name of Benjamin's wife, 'Ijasaka.
21 And Simeon repented, and took a second wife from Mesopotamia as his brothers.

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Book of Jubilees 20, 21

JUBILEES 20

Abraham called all his sons and commanded them to observe the way of YAHWEH

1 And in the forty-second jubilee, in the first year of the seventh week, Abraham called Ishmael, [2052 (2045?) A.M.] and his twelve sons, and Yitschaq and his two sons, and the six sons of Keturah, and their sons.
2 And he commanded them that they should observe the way of YAHWEH; that they should work righteousness, and love each his neighbour, and act on this manner amongst all men; that they should each so walk with regard to them as to do just judgment and righteousness on the earth.
3 That they should circumcise their sons, according to the covenant which He had made with them, and not deviate to the right hand or the left of all the paths which YAHWEH had commanded us; and that we should keep ourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, and renounce from amongst us all fornication and uncleanness.
4 And if any woman or maid commit fornication amongst you, burn her with fire and let them not commit fornication with her after their eyes and their heart; and let them not take to themselves wives from the daughters of Canaan; for the seed of Canaan will be rooted out of the land.
5 And he told them of the judgment of the giants, and the judgment of the Sodomites, how they had been judged on account of their wickedness, and had died on account of their fornication, and uncleanness, and mutual corruption through fornication.
6 'And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, And from all pollution of sin, Lest you make our name a curse, And your whole life a hissing, And all your sons to be destroyed by the sword, And you become accursed like Sodom, And all your remnant as the sons of Gomorrah.
7 I implore you, my sons, love YAHWEH of heaven And cleave you to all His commandments.
8 And walk not after their idols, and after their uncleannesses, And make not for yourselves molten or graven gods; For they are vanity, And there is no spirit in them; For they are work of men's hands, And all who trust in them, trust in nothing.
9 Serve them not, nor worship them, But serve you the most high YAHWEH, and worship Him continually: And hope for His countenance always, And work uprightness and righteousness before Him, That He may have pleasure in you and grant you His mercy, And send rain upon you morning and evening, And bless all your works which you have wrought upon the earth, And bless your bread and your water, And bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, And the herds of your cattle, and the flocks of your sheep.
10 And you will be for a blessing on the earth, And all nations of the earth will desire you, And bless your sons in my name, That they may be blessed as I am.
11 And he gave to Ishmael and to his sons, and to the sons of Keturah, gifts, and sent them away from Yitschaq his son, and he gave everything to Yitschaq his son.
12 And Ishmael and his sons, and the sons of Keturah and their sons, went together and dwelt from Paran to the entering in of Babylon in all the land which is towards the East facing the desert.
13 And these mingled with each other, and their name was called Arabs, and Ishmaelites.

JUBILEES 21

Abraham called Yitschaq his son and instructs and blesses him

1 And in the sixth year of the seventh week of this jubilee Abraham called Yitschaq his son, and [2057 (2050?) A.M.] commanded him: saying, 'I am become old, and know not the day of my death, and am full of my days.
2 And behold, I am one hundred and seventy-five years old, and throughout all the days of my life I have remembered YAHWEH, and sought with all my heart to do His will, and to walk uprightly in all His ways.
3 My soul has hated idols, and I have given my heart and spirit, that I might observe to do the will of Him who created me.
4 For He is the living YAHWEH, and He is kodesh and faithful, and He is righteous beyond all, and there is with Him no accepting of men's persons and no accepting of gifts; for YAHWEH is righteous, and executes judgment on all those who transgress His commandments and despise His covenant.
5 And do you, my son, observe His commandments and His ordinances and His judgments, and walk not after the abominations and after the graven images and after the molten images.
6 And eat no blood at all of animals or cattle, or of any bird which flies in the heaven.
7 And if you do slay a victim as an acceptable shalom offering, slay you it, and pour out its blood upon the altar, and all the fat of the offering offer on the altar with fine flour and the meat offering mingled with oil, with its drink offering -offer them all together on the altar of burnt offering; it is a sweet savor before YAHWEH.
8 And you will offer the fat of the sacrifice of thank offerings on the fire which is upon the altar, and the fat which is on the belly, and all the fat on the inwards and the two kidneys, and all the fat that is upon them, and upon the loins and liver you shall remove, together with the kidneys.
9 And offer all these for a sweet savor acceptable before YAHWEH, with its meat-offering and with its drink-offering, for a sweet savor, the bread of the offering unto YAHWEH.
10 And eat its meat on that day and on the second day, and let not the sun on the second day go down upon it till it is eaten, and let nothing be left over for the third day; for it is not acceptable [for it is not approved] and let it no longer be eaten, and all who eat thereof will bring sin upon themselves; for thus I have found it written in the books of my forefathers, and in the words of Enoch, and in the words of Noah.
11 And on all your oblations you shall strew salt, and let not the salt of the covenant be lacking in all your oblations before YAHWEH.
12 And as regards the wood of the sacrifices, beware lest you bring (other) wood for the altar in addition to these: cypress, bay, almond, fir, pine, cedar, savin, fig, olive, myrrh, laurel, aspalathus.
13 And of these kinds of wood lay upon the altar under the sacrifice, such as have been tested as to their appearance, and do not lay (thereon) any split or dark wood, (but) hard and clean, without fault, a sound and new growth; and do not lay (thereon) old wood, [for its fragrance is gone] for there is no longer fragrance in it as before.
14 Besides these kinds of wood there is none other that you shall place (on the altar), for the fragrance is dispersed, and the smell of its fragrance goes not up to heaven.
15 Observe this commandment and do it, my son, that you may be upright in all your deeds.
16 And at all times be clean in your body, and wash yourself with water before you approach to offer on the altar, and wash your hands and your feet before you draw near to the altar; and when you are done sacrificing, wash again your hands and your feet.
17 And let no blood appear upon you nor upon your clothes; be on your guard, my son, against blood, be on your guard exceedingly; cover it with dust.
18 And do not eat any blood for it is the soul; eat no blood whatever.
19 And take no gifts for the blood of man, lest it be shed with impunity, without judgment; for it is the blood that is shed that causes the earth to sin, and the earth cannot be cleansed from the blood of man save by the blood of him who shed it.
20 And take no present or gift for the blood of man: blood for blood, that you may be accepted before the ALMIGHTY, the Most High YAHWEH; for He is the defense of the good: and that you may be preserved from all evil, and that He may save you from every kind of death.
21 I see, my son, That all the works of the children of men are sin and wickedness, And all their deeds are uncleanness and an abomination and a pollution, And there is no righteousness with them.
22 Beware, lest you should walk in their ways And tread in their paths, And sin a sin unto death before the Most High YAHWEH. Else He will hide His face from you And give you back into the hands of your transgression, And root you out of the land, and your seed likewise from under heaven, And your name and your seed shall perish from the whole earth.
23 Turn away from all their deeds and all their uncleanness, And observe the ordinance of the Most High YAHWEH, And do His will and be upright in all things.
24 And He will bless you in all your deeds, And will raise up from you a plant of righteousness through all the earth, throughout all generations of the earth, And my name and your name shall not be forgotten under heaven forever.
25 Go, my son in shalom. May the Most High YAHWEH, my Sovereign Ruler and your Sovereign Ruler, strengthen you to do His will, And may He bless all your seed and the residue of your seed for the generations forever, with all righteous blessings, that you may be a blessing on all the earth.'
26 And he went out from him rejoicing.

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Jasher, Chapter 64

1 And Balaam the son of Beor was at that time with Angeas in the battle, and when he saw that Zepho prevailed over Angeas, he fled from there and came to Chittim.
2 And Zepho and the children of Chittim received him with great honor, for Zepho knew Balaam's wisdom, and Zepho gave unto Balaam many gifts and he remained with him.
3 And when Zepho had returned from the war, he commanded all the children of Chittim to be numbered who had gone into battle with him, and behold not one was missed.
4 And Zepho rejoiced at this thing, and he renewed his kingdom, and he made a feast to all his subjects.
5 But Zepho remembered not YAHWEH and considered not that YAHWEH had helped him in battle, and that he had delivered him and his people from the hand of the king of Africa, but still walked in the ways of the children of Chittim and the wicked children of Esau, to serve other gods which his brethren the children of Esau had taught him; it is therefore said, From the wicked goes forth wickedness.
6 And Zepho reigned over all the children of Chittim securely, but knew not YAHWEH who had delivered him and all his people from the hand of the king of Africa; and the troops of Africa came no more to Chittim to plunder as usual, for they knew of the power of Zepho who had smitten them all at the edge of the sword, so Angeas was afraid of Zepho the son of Eliphaz, and of the children of Chittim all the days.
7 At that time when Zepho had returned from the war, and when Zepho had seen how he prevailed over all the people of Africa and had smitten them in battle at the edge of the sword, then Zepho advised with the children of Chittim, to go to Egypt to fight with the sons of Yacob and with Pharaoh king of Egypt.
8 For Zepho heard that the mighty men of Egypt were dead and that Yoseph and his brethren the sons at Yacob were dead, and that all their children the children of Yisrael remained in Egypt.
9 And Zepho considered to go to fight against them and all Egypt, to avenge the cause of his brethren the children of Esau, whom Yoseph with his brethren and all Egypt had smitten in the land of Canaan, when they went up to bury Yacob in Hebron.
10 And Zepho sent messengers to Hadad, son of Bedad, king of Edom, and to all his brethren the children of Esau, saying,
11 Did you not say that you would not fight against the king of Africa for he is a member of your covenant? behold I fought with him and smote him and all his people.
12 Now therefore I have resolved to fight against Egypt and the children of Yacob who are there, and I will be revenged of them for what Yoseph, his brethren and ancestors did to us in the land of Canaan when they went up to bury their father in Hebron.
13 Now then if you are willing to come to me to assist me in fighting against them and Egypt, then shall we avenge the cause of our brethren.
14 And the children of Esau hearkened to the words of Zepho, and the children of Esau gathered themselves together, a very great people, and they went to assist Zepho and the children of Chittim in battle.
15 And Zepho sent to all the children of the east and to all the children of Ishmael with words like unto these, and they gathered themselves and came to the assistance of Zepho and the children of Chittim in the war upon Egypt.
16 And all these kings, the king of Edom and the children of the east, and all the children of Ishmael, and Zepho the king of Chittim went forth and arrayed all their hosts in Hebron.
17 And the camp was very heavy, extending in length a distance of three days' journey, a people numerous as the sand upon the sea shore which can not be counted.
18 And all these kings and their hosts went down and came against all Egypt in battle, and encamped together in the valley of Pathros.
19 And all Egypt heard their report, and they also gathered themselves together, all the people of the land of Egypt, and of all the cities belonging to Egypt, about three hundred thousand men.
20 And the men of Egypt sent also to the children of Yisrael who were in those days in the land of Goshen, to come to them in order to go and fight with these kings.
21 And the men of Yisrael assembled and were about one hundred and fifty men, and they went into battle to assist the Egyptians.
22 And the men of Yisrael and of Egypt went forth, about three hundred thousand men and one hundred and fifty men, and they went toward these kings to battle, and they placed themselves from without the land of Goshen opposite Pathros.
23 And the Egyptians believed not in Yisrael to go with them in their camps together for battle, for all the Egyptians said, Perhaps the children of Yisrael will deliver us into the hand of the children of Esau and Ishmael, for they are their brethren.
24 And all the Egyptians said unto the children of Yisrael, Remain you here together in your stand and we will go and fight against the children of Esau and Ishmael, and if these kings should prevail over us, then come you altogether upon them and assist us, and the children of Yisrael did so.
25 And Zepho the son of Eliphaz the son of Esau king of Chittim, and Hadad the son of Bedad king of Edom, and all their camps, and all the children of the east, and children of Ishmael, a people numerous as sand, encamped together in the valley of Pathros opposite Tachpanches.
26 And Balaam the son of Beor the Syrian was there in the camp of Zepho, for he came with the children of Chittim to the battle, and Balaam was a man highly honored in the eyes of Zepho and his men.
27 And Zepho said unto Balaam, Try by divination for us that we may know who will prevail in the battle, we or the Egyptians.
28 And Balaam rose up and tried the art of divination, and he was skillful in the knowledge of it, but he was confused and the work was destroyed in his hand.
29 And he tried it again but it did not succeed, and Balaam despaired of it and left it and did not complete it, for this was from YAHWEH, in order to cause Zepho and his people to fall into the hand of the children of Yisrael, who had trusted in YAHWEH, the ALMIGHTY of their ancestors, in their war.
30 And Zepho and Hadad put their forces in battle array, and all the Egyptians went alone against them, about three hundred thousand men, and not one man of Yisrael was with them.
31 And all the Egyptians fought with these kings opposite Pathros and Tachpanches, and the battle was severe against the Egyptians.
32 And the kings were stronger than the Egyptians in that battle, and about one hundred and eighty men of Egypt fell on that day, and about thirty men of the forces of the kings, and all the men of Egypt fled from before the kings, so the children of Esau and Ishmael pursued the Egyptians, continuing to smite them unto the place where was the camp of the children of Yisrael.
33 And all the Egyptians cried unto the children of Yisrael, saying, Hasten to us and assist us and save us from the hand of Esau, Ishmael and the children of Chittim.
34 And the hundred and fifty men of the children of Yisrael ran from their station to the camps of these kings, and the children of Yisrael cried unto YAHWEH their ALMIGHTY to deliver them.
35 And YAHWEH hearkened to Yisrael, and YAHWEH gave all the men of the kings into their hand, and the children of Yisrael fought against these kings, and the children of Yisrael smote about four thousand of the kings' men.
36 And YAHWEH threw a great consternation in the camp of the kings, so that the fear of the children of Yisrael fell upon them.
37 And all the hosts of the kings fled from before the children of Yisrael and the children of Yisrael pursued them continuing to smite them unto the borders of the land of Cush.
38 And the children of Yisrael slew of them in the road yet two thousand men, and of the children of Yisrael not one fell.
39 And when the Egyptians saw that the children of Yisrael had fought with such few men with the kings, and that the battle was so very severe against them,
40 All the Egyptians were greatly afraid of their lives on account of the strong battle, and all Egypt fled, every man hiding himself from the arrayed forces, and they hid themselves in the road, and they left the Yisraelites to fight.
41 And the children of Yisrael inflicted a terrible blow upon the kings' men, and they returned from them after they had driven them to the border of the land of Cush.
42 And all Yisrael knew the thing which the men of Egypt had done to them, that they had fled from them in battle, and had left them to fight alone.
43 So the children of Yisrael also acted with cunning, and as the children of Yisrael returned from battle, they found some of the Egyptians in the road and smote them there.
44 And while they slew them, they said unto them these words:
45 Wherefore did you go from us and leave us, being a few people, to fight against these kings who had a great people to smite us, that you might thereby deliver your own souls?
46 And of some which the Yisraelites met on the road, they the children of Yisrael spoke to each other, saying, Smite, smite, for he is an Ishmaelite, or an Edomite, or from the children of Chittim, and they stood over him and slew him, and they knew that he was an Egyptian.
47 And the children of Yisrael did these things cunningly against the Egyptians, because they had deserted them in battle and had fled from them.
48 And the children of Yisrael slew of the men of Egypt in the road in this manner, about two hundred men.
49 And all the men of Egypt saw the evil which the children of Yisrael had done to them, so all Egypt feared greatly the children of Yisrael, for they had seen their great power, and that not one man of them had fallen.
50 So all the children of Yisrael returned with joy on their road to Goshen, and the rest of Egypt returned each man to his place.

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Jasher, Chapter 58

Year 2270
1 And it came to pass in the thirty-second year of the Yisraelites going down to Egypt, that is in the seventy-first year of the life of Yoseph, in that year died Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Magron his son reigned in his stead.
2 And Pharaoh commanded Yoseph before his death to be a father to his son, Magron, and that Magron should be under the care of Yoseph and under his counsel.
3 And all Egypt consented to this thing that Yoseph should be king over them, for all the Egyptians loved Yoseph as of heretofore, only Magron the son of Pharaoh sat upon, his father's throne, and he became king in those days in his father's stead.
4 Magron was forty-one years old when he began to reign, and forty years he reigned in Egypt, and all Egypt called his name Pharaoh after the name of his father, as it was their custom to do in Egypt to every king that reigned over them.
5 And it came to pass when Pharaoh reigned in his father's stead, he placed the laws of Egypt and all the affairs of government in the hand of Yoseph, as his father had commanded him.
6 And Yoseph became king over Egypt, for he superintended over all Egypt, and all Egypt was under his care and under his counsel, for all Egypt inclined to Yoseph after the death of Pharaoh, and they loved him exceedingly to reign over them.
7 But there were some people amongst them, who did not like him, saying, No stranger shall reign over us; still the whole government of Egypt devolved in those days upon Yoseph, after the death of Pharaoh, he being the regulator, doing as he liked throughout the land without any one interfering.
8 And all Egypt was under the care of Yoseph, and Yoseph made war with all his surrounding enemies, and he subdued them; also all the land and all the Philistines, unto the borders of Canaan, did Yoseph subdue, and they were all under his power and they gave a yearly tax unto Yoseph.
9 And Pharaoh king of Egypt sat upon his throne in his father's stead, but he was under the control and counsel of Yoseph, as he was at first under the control of his father.
10 Neither did he reign but in the land of Egypt only, under the counsel of Yoseph, but Yoseph reigned over the whole country at that time, from Egypt unto the great river Perath.
11 And Yoseph was successful in all his ways, and YAHWEH was with him, and YAHWEH gave Yoseph additional wisdom, and honor, and splendor, and love toward him in the hearts of the Egyptians and throughout the land, and Yoseph reigned over the whole country forty years.
12 And all the countries of the Philistines and Canaan and Zidon, and on the other side of Yardan, brought presents unto Yoseph all his days, and the whole country was in the hand of Yoseph, and they brought unto him a yearly tribute as it was regulated, for Yoseph had fought against all his surrounding enemies and subdued them, and the whole country was in the hand of Yoseph, and Yoseph sat securely upon his throne in Egypt.
13 And also all his brethren the sons of Yacob dwelt securely in the land, all the days of Yoseph, and they were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly in the land, and they served YAHWEH all their days, as their father Yacob had commanded them.
14 And it came to pass at the end of many days and years, when the children of Esau were dwelling quietly in their land with Bela their king, that the children of Esau were fruitful and multiplied in the land, and they resolved to go and fight with the sons of Yacob and all Egypt, and to deliver their brother Zepho, the son of Eliphaz, and his men, for they were yet in those days slaves to Yoseph.
15 And the children of Esau sent unto all the children of the east, and they made peace with them, and all the children of the east came unto them to go with the children of Esau to Egypt to battle.
16 And there came also unto them of the people of Angeas, king of Dinhabah, and they also sent unto the children of Ishmael and they also came unto them.
17 And all this people assembled and came unto Seir to assist the children of Esau in their battle, and this camp was very large and heavy with people, numerous as the sand of the sea, about eight hundred thousand men, infantry and cavalry, and all these troops went down to Egypt to fight with the sons of Yacob, and they encamped by Rameses.
Year 2288
18 And Yoseph went forth with his brethren with the mighty men of Egypt, about six hundred men, and they fought with them in the land of Rameses; and the sons of Yacob at that time again fought with the children of Esau, in the fiftieth year of the sons of Yacob going down to Egypt, that is the thirtieth year of the reign of Bela over the children of Esau in Seir.
19 And YAHWEH gave all the mighty men of Esau and the children of the east into the hand of Yoseph and his brethren, and the people of the children of Esau and the children of the east were smitten before Yoseph.
20 And of the people of Esau and the children of the east that were slain, there fell before the sons of Yacob about two hundred thousand men, and their king Bela the son of Beor fell with them in the battle, and when the children of Esau saw that their king had fallen in battle and was dead, their hands became weak in the combat.
21 And Yoseph and his brethren and all Egypt were still smiting the people of the house of Esau, and all Esau's people were afraid of the sons of Yacob and fled from before them.
22 And Yoseph and his brethren and all Egypt pursued them a day's journey, and they slew yet from them about three hundred men, continuing to smite them in the road; and they afterward turned back from them.
23 And Yoseph and all his brethren returned to Egypt, not one man was missing from them, but of the Egyptians there fell twelve men. 24 And when Yoseph returned to Egypt he ordered Zepho and his men to be additionally bound, and they bound them in irons and they increased their grief.
25 And all the people of the children of Esau, and the children of the east, returned in shame each unto his city, for all the mighty men that were with them had fallen in battle.
26 And when the children of Esau saw that their king had died in battle they hastened and took a man from the people of the children of the east; his name was Jobab the son of Zarach, from the land of Botzrah, and they caused him to reign over them instead of Bela their king.
27 And Jobab sat upon the throne of Bela as king in his stead, and Jobab reigned in Edom over all the children of Esau ten years, and the children of Esau went no more to fight with the sons of Yacob from that day forward, for the sons of Esau knew the valor of the sons of Yacob, and they were greatly afraid of them.
28 But from that day forward the children of Esau hated the sons of Yacob, and the hatred and enmity were very strong between them all the days, unto this day.
Year 2297
29 And it came to pass after this, at the end of ten years, Jobab, the son of Zarach, from Botzrah, died, and the children of Esau took a man whose name was Chusham, from the land of Teman, and they made him king over them instead of Jobab, and Chusham reigned in Edom over all the children of Esau for twenty years.
30 And Yoseph, king of Egypt, and his brethren, and all the children of Yisrael dwelt securely in Egypt in those days, together with all the children of Yoseph and his brethren, having no hindrance or evil accident and the land of Egypt was at that time at rest from war in the days of Yoseph and his brethren.

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Jasher, 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 spoiled the Ishmaelites for a long time.
2 And the children of Ishmael were small in number in those days, and they could not prevail over the children of Tarshish, and they were sorely oppressed.
3 And the old men of the Ishmaelites sent a record to the king of Egypt, saying, Send I pray you unto your servants officers and hosts to help us to fight against the children of Tarshish, for we have been consuming away for a long time.
4 And Pharaoh sent Yoseph with the mighty men and host which were with him, and also his mighty men from the king's house.
5 And 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, and Yoseph smote the Tarshishites and he subdued all their land, and the children of Ishmael dwell therein unto this day.
6 And when the land of Tarshish was subdued, all the Tarshishites ran away, and came on the border of their brethren the children of Javan, and Yoseph with all his mighty men and host returned to Egypt, not one man of them missing.
Year 2230
7 And at the revolution of the year, in the second year of Yoseph's reigning over Egypt, YAHWEH gave great plenty throughout the land for seven years as Yoseph had spoken, for YAHWEH blessed all the produce of the earth in those days for seven years, and they ate and were greatly satisfied.
8 And Yoseph 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 Yoseph.
9 And at any time when they gathered the food Yoseph commanded that they should bring the corn in the ears, and also bring with it some of the soil of the field, that it should not spoil.
10 And Yoseph 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 And 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 unto it as Yoseph did.
12 And all the food which Yoseph 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 Yoseph 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.
Year 2233
15 And Yoseph's wife Osnath the daughter of Potiphera bare him two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and Yoseph was thirty-four years old when he begat them.
16 And the lads grew up and they went 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 YAHWEH was with the lads, and they grew up and had understanding and skill in all wisdom and in all the affairs of government, and all the king's officers and his great men of the inhabitants of Egypt exalted the lads, and they were brought up amongst the king's children.
18 And the seven years of plenty that were throughout the land were at an end, and the seven years of famine came after them as Yoseph had spoken, and the famine was throughout the land.
Year 2237
19 And all the people of Egypt saw that the famine had commenced in the land of Egypt, and all the people of Egypt opened their stores of corn for the famine prevailed 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 prevailed throughout the land, and all the inhabitants of Egypt came and cried before Pharaoh, for the famine was heavy upon them.
21 And they said unto Pharaoh, Give food unto your servants, and wherefore shall we die through hunger before your eyes, even we and our little ones?
22 And Pharaoh answered them, saying, And wherefore do you cry unto me? did not Yoseph command that the corn should be laid up during the seven years of plenty for the years of famine? and wherefore did you not hearken to his voice?
23 And the people of Egypt answered the king, saying, As your soul liveth, our lord, your servants have done all that Yoseph 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 unto 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 And 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; and the king answered the people of Egypt, saying, Since all this has happened unto you, go unto Yoseph, do whatever he shall say unto you, transgress not his commands.
26 And all the people of Egypt went forth and came unto Yoseph, and said unto him, Give unto us food, and wherefore shall we die before you through hunger? for we gathered in our produce during the seven years as you didst command, and we put it in store, and thus has it befallen us.
27 And when Yoseph heard all the words of the people of Egypt and what had befallen them, Yoseph opened all his stores of the produce and he sold it unto the people of Egypt.
28 And the famine prevailed throughout the land, and the famine was in all countries, but in the land of Egypt there was produce for sale.
29 And all the inhabitants of Egypt came unto Yoseph to buy corn, for the famine prevailed over them, and all their corn was spoiled, and Yoseph 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 Yardan, and the children of the east and all the cities of the lands far and nigh heard that there was corn in Egypt, and they all came to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine prevailed over them.
31 And Yoseph opened the stores of corn and placed officers over them, and they daily stood and sold to all that came.
32 And Yoseph knew that his brethren also would come to Egypt to buy corn, for the famine prevailed throughout the earth. And Yoseph commanded all his people that they should cause it to be proclaimed 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, and also any Egyptian or Canaanite, who shall come from any of the stores from buying corn in Egypt, and shall go and sell 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 And Yoseph placed sentinels at the gates of Egypt, and commanded them, saying, Any person who may come to buy corn, suffer him not to enter until his name, and the name of his father, and the name of his father's father be written down, and whatever is written by day, send their names unto me in the evening that I may know their names.
36 And Yoseph placed officers throughout the land of Egypt, and he commanded them to do all these things.
37 And Yoseph did all these things, and made these statutes, in order that he might know when his brethren should come to Egypt to buy corn; and Yoseph's people caused it daily to be proclaimed in Egypt according to these words and statutes which Yoseph had commanded.
38 And all the inhabitants of the east and west country, and of all the earth, heard of the statutes and regulations which Yoseph 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 And all the officers of Egypt did as Yoseph 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 before Yoseph.

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Jasher, Chapter 44

1 And the sons of Ishmael who had bought Yoseph from the Midianites, who had bought him from his brethren, went to Egypt with Yoseph, and they came upon the borders of Egypt, and when they came near unto Egypt, they met four men of the sons of Medan the son of Abraham, who had gone forth from the land of Egypt on their journey.
2 And the Ishmaelites said unto them, Do you desire to purchase this slave from us? and they said, Deliver him over to us, and they delivered Yoseph over to them, and they beheld him, that he was a very comely youth and they purchased him for twenty shekels.
3 And the Ishmaelites continued their journey to Egypt and the Medanim also returned that day to Egypt, and the Medanim said to each other, Behold we have heard that Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, seeks a good servant who shall stand before him to attend him, and to make him overseer over his house and all belonging to him.
4 Now therefore come let us sell him to him for what we may desire, if he be able to give unto us that which we shall require for him.
5 And these Medanim went and came to the house of Potiphar, and said unto him, We have heard that you seekest a good servant to attend you, behold we have a servant that will please you, if you canst give unto us that which we may desire, and we will sell him unto you.
6 And Potiphar said, Bring him before me, and I will see him, and if he please me I will give unto you that which you may require for him.
7 And the Medanim went and brought Yoseph and placed him before Potiphar, and he saw him, and he pleased him exceedingly, and Potiphar said unto them, Tell me what you require for this youth?
8 And they said, Four hundred pieces of silver we desire for him, and Potiphar said, I will give it you if you bring me the record of his sale to you, and will tell me his history, for perhaps he may be stolen, for this youth is neither a slave, nor the son of a slave, but I observe in him the appearance of a goodly and handsome person.
9 And the Medanim went and brought unto him the Ishmaelites who had sold him to them, and they told him, saying, He is a slave and we sold him to them.
10 And Potiphar heard the words of the Ishmaelites in his giving the silver unto the Medanim, and the Medanim took the silver and went on their journey, and the Ishmaelites also returned home.
11 And Potiphar took Yoseph and brought him to his house that he might serve him, and Yoseph found favor in the sight of Potiphar, and he placed confidence in him, and made him overseer over his house, and all that belonged to him he delivered over into his hand.
12 And YAHWEH was with Yoseph and he became a prosperous man, and YAHWEH blessed the house of Potiphar for the sake of Yoseph.
13 And Potiphar left all that he had in the hand of Yoseph, and Yoseph was one that caused things to come in and go out, and everything was regulated by his wish in the house of Potiphar.
14 And Yoseph was eighteen years old, a youth with beautiful eyes and of comely appearance, and like unto him was not in the whole land of Egypt.
15 At that time while he was in his master's house, going in and out of the house and attending his master, Zelicah, his master's wife, lifted up her eyes toward Yoseph and she looked at him, and behold he was a youth comely and well favored.
16 And she coveted his beauty in her heart, and her soul was fixed upon Yoseph, and she enticed him day after day, and Zelicah persuaded Yoseph daily, but Yoseph did not lift up his eyes to behold his master's wife.
17 And Zelicah said unto him, How goodly are your appearance and form, truly I have looked at all the slaves, and have not seen so beautiful a slave as you are; and Yoseph said unto her, Surely he who created me in my mother's womb created all mankind.
18 And she said unto him, How beautiful are your eyes, with which you hast dazzled all the inhabitants of Egypt, men and women; and he said unto her, How beautiful they are while we are alive, but shouldst you behold them in the grave, surely you wouldst move away from them.
19 And she said unto him, How beautiful and pleasing are all your words; take now, I pray you, the harp which is in the house, and play with your hands and let us hear your words.
20 And he said unto her, How beautiful and pleasing are my words when I speak the praise of my YAHWEH and his splendor; and she said unto him, How very beautiful is the hair of your head, behold the golden comb which is in the house, take it I pray you, and curl the hair of your head.
21 And he said unto her, How long wilt you speak these words? cease to utter these words to me, and rise and attend to your domestic affairs.
22 And she said unto him, There is no one in my house, and there is nothing to attend to but to your words and to your wish; yet notwithstanding all this, she could not bring Yoseph unto her, neither did he place his eye upon her, but directed his eyes below to the ground.
23 And Zelicah desired Yoseph in her heart, that he should lie with her, and at the time that Yoseph was sitting in the house doing his work, Zelicah came and sat before him, and she enticed him daily with her discourse to lie with her, or ever to look at her, but Yoseph would not hearken to her.
24 And she said unto him, If you wilt not do according to my words, I will chastise you with the punishment of death, and put an iron yoke upon you.
25 And Yoseph said unto her, Surely YAHWEH who created man looses the fetters of prisoners, and it is he who will deliver me from your prison and from your judgment.
26 And when she could not prevail over him, to persuade him, and her soul being still fixed upon him, her desire threw her into a grievous sickness.
27 And all the women of Egypt came to visit her, and they said unto her, Why are you in this declining state? you that lackest nothing; surely your husband is a great and esteemed prince in the sight of the king, shouldst you lack anything of what your heart desireth?
28 And Zelicah answered them, saying, This day it shall be made known to you, whence this disorder springs in which you see me, and she commanded her maid servants to prepare food for all the women, and she made a banquet for them, and all the women ate in the house of Zelicah.
29 And she gave them knives to peel the citrons to eat them, and she commanded that they should dress Yoseph in costly garments, and that he should appear before them, and Yoseph came before their eyes and all the women looked on Yoseph, and could not take their eyes from off him, and they all cut their hands with the knives that they had in their hands, and all the citrons that were in their hands were filled with blood.
30 And they knew not what they had done but they continued to look at the beauty of Yoseph, and did not turn their eyelids from him.
31 And Zelicah saw what they had done, and she said unto them, What is this work that you have done? behold I gave you citrons to eat and you have all cut your hands.
32 And all the women saw their hands, and behold they were full of blood, and their blood flowed down upon their garments, and they said unto her, this slave in your house has overcome us, and we could not turn our eyelids from him on account of his beauty.
33 And she said unto them, Surely this happened to you in the moment that you looked at him, and you could not contain yourselves from him; how then can I refrain when he is constantly in my house, and I see him day after day going in and out of my house? how then can I keep from declining or even from perishing on account of this?
34 And they said unto her, the words are true, for who can see this beautiful form in the house and refrain from him, and is he not your slave and attendant in your house, and why dost you not tell him that which is in your heart, and sufferest your soul to perish through this matter?
35 And she said unto them, I am daily endeavoring to persuade him, and he will not consent to my wishes, and I promised him everything that is good, and yet I could meet with no return from him; I am therefore in a declining state as you see.
36 And Zelicah became very ill on account of her desire toward Yoseph, and she was desperately lovesick on account of him, and all the people of the house of Zelicah and her husband knew nothing of this matter, that Zelicah was ill on account of her love to Yoseph.
37 And all the people of her house asked her, saying, Why are you ill and declining, and lackest nothing? and she said unto them, I know not this thing which is daily increasing upon me.
38 And all the women and her friends came daily to see her, and they spoke with her, and she said unto them, This can only be through the love of Yoseph; and they said unto her, Entice him and seize him secretly, perhaps he may hearken to you, and put off this death from you.
39 And Zelicah became worse from her love to Yoseph, and she continued to decline, till she had scarce strength to stand.
40 And on a certain day Yoseph was doing his master's work in the house, and Zelicah came secretly and fell suddenly upon him, and Yoseph rose up against her, and he was more powerful than she, and he brought her down to the ground.
41 And Zelicah wept on account of the desire of her heart toward him, and she supplicated him with weeping, and her tears flowed down her cheeks, and she spoke unto him in a voice of supplication and in bitterness of soul, saying,
42 Hast you ever heard, seen or known of so beautiful a woman as I am, or better than myself, who speak daily unto you, fall into a decline through love for you, confer all this honor upon you, and still you wilt not hearken to my voice?
43 And if it be through fear of your master lest he punish you, as the king lives no harm shall come to you from your master through this thing; now, therefore pray listen to me, and consent for the sake of the honor which I have conferred upon you, and put off this death from me, and why should I die for your sake? and she ceased to speak.
44 And Yoseph answered her, saying, Refrain from me, and leave this matter to my master; behold my master knows not what there is with me in the house, for all that belongs to him he has delivered into my hand, and how shall I do these things in my master's house?
45 For he hath also greatly honored me in his house, and he hath also made me overseer over his house, and he hath exalted me, and there is no one greater in this house than I am, and my master hath refrained nothing from me, excepting you who are his wife, how then canst you speak these words unto me, and how can I do this great evil and sin to YAHWEH and to your husband?
46 Now therefore refrain from me, and speak no more such words as these, for I will not hearken to your words. But Zelicah would not hearken to Yoseph when he spoke these words unto her, but she daily enticed him to listen to her.
47 And it was after this that the brook of Egypt was filled above all its sides, and all the inhabitants of Egypt went forth, and also the king and princes went forth with timbrels and dances, for it was a great rejoicing in Egypt, and a holiday at the time of the inundation of the sea Sihor, and they went there to rejoice all the day.
48 And when the Egyptians went out to the river to rejoice, as was their custom, all the people of the house of Potiphar went with them, but Zelicah would not go with them, for she said, I am indisposed, and she remained alone in the house, and no other person was with her in the house.
49 And she rose up and ascended to her temple in the house, and dressed herself in princely garments, and she placed upon her head precious stones of onyx stones, inlaid with silver and gold, and she beautified her face and skin with all sorts of women's purifying liquids, and she perfumed the temple and the house with cassia and frankincense, and she spread myrrh and aloes, and she afterward sat in the entrance of the temple, in the passage of the house, through which Yoseph passed to do his work, and behold Yoseph came from the field, and entered the house to do his master's work.
50 And he came to the place through which he had to pass, and he saw all the work of Zelicah, and he turned back.
51 And Zelicah saw Yoseph turning back from her, and she called out to him, saying What ails you Yoseph? come to your work, and behold I will make room for you until you shall have passed to your seat.
52 And Yoseph returned and came to the house, and passed from thence to the place of his seat, and he sat down to do his master's work as usual and behold Zelicah came to him and stood before him in princely garments, and the scent from her clothes was spread to a distance.
53 And she hastened and caught hold of Yoseph and his garments, and she said unto him, As the king lives if you wilt not perform my request you shall die this day, and she hastened and stretched forth her other hand and drew a sword from beneath her garments, and she placed it upon Yoseph's neck, and she said, Rise and perform my request, and if not you diest this day.
54 And Yoseph was afraid of her at her doing this thing, and he rose up to flee from her, and she seized the front of his garments, and in the terror of his flight the garment which Zelicah seized was torn, and Yoseph left the garment in the hand of Zelicah, and he fled and got out, for he was in fear.
55 And when Zelicah saw that Yoseph's garment was torn, and that he had left it in her hand, and had fled, she was afraid of her life, lest the report should spread concerning her, and she rose up and acted with cunning, and put off the garments in which she was dressed, and she put on her other garments.
56 And she took Yoseph's garment, and she laid it beside her, and she went and seated herself in the place where she had sat in her illness, before the people of her house had gone out to the river, and she called a young lad who was then in the house, and she ordered him to call the people of the house to her.
57 And when she saw them she said unto them with a loud voice and lamentation, See what a Hebrew your master has brought to me in the house, for he came this day to lie with me.
58 For when you had gone out he came to the house, and seeing that there was no person in the house, he came unto me, and caught hold of me, with intent to lie with me.
59 And I seized his garments and tore them and called out against him with a loud voice, and when I had lifted up my voice he was afraid of his life and left his garment before me, and fled.
60 And the people of her house spoke nothing, but their wrath was very much kindled against Yoseph, and they went to his master and told him the words of his wife.
61 And Potiphar came home enraged, and his wife cried out to him, saying, What is this thing that you hast done unto me in bringing a Hebrew servant into my house, for he came unto me this day to sport with me; thus did he do unto me this day.
62 And Potiphar heard the words of his wife, and he ordered Yoseph to be punished with severe stripes, and they did so to him.
63 And while they were smiting him, Yoseph called out with a loud voice, and he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and he said, O YAHWEH the ALMIGHTY, you knowest that I am innocent of all these things, and why shall I die this day through falsehood, by the hand of these uncircumcised wicked men, whom you knowest?
64 And while Potiphar's men were beating Yoseph, he continued to cry out and weep, and there was a child there eleven months old, and YAHWEH opened the mouth of the child, and he spake these words before Potiphar's men, who were smiting Yoseph, saying,
65 What do you want of this man, and why do you do this evil unto him? my mother speaks falsely and utters lies; thus was the transaction.
66 And the child told them accurately all that happened, and all the words of Zelicah to Yoseph day after day did he declare unto them.
67 And all the men heard the words of the child and they wondered greatly at the child's words, and the child ceased to speak and became still.
68 And Potiphar was very much ashamed at the words of his son, and he commanded his men not to beat Yoseph any more, and the men ceased beating Yoseph.
69 And Potiphar took Yoseph and ordered him to be brought to justice before the priests, who were judges belonging to the king, in order to judge him concerning this affair.
70 And Potiphar and Yoseph came before the priests who were the king's judges, and he said unto them, Decide I pray you, what judgment is due to a servant, for thus has he done.
71 And the priests said unto Yoseph, Why didst you do this thing to your master? and Yoseph answered them, saying, Not so my lords, thus was the matter; and Potiphar said unto Yoseph, Surely I entrusted in your hands all that belonged to me, and I withheld nothing from you but my wife, and how couldst you do this evil?
72 And Yoseph answered saying, Not so my lord, as YAHWEH liveth, and as your soul liveth, my lord, the word which you didst hear from your wife is untrue, for thus was the affair this day.
73 A year has elapsed to me since I have been in your house; hast you seen any iniquity in me, or any thing which might cause you to demand my life?
74 And the priests said unto Potiphar, Send, we pray you, and let them bring before us Yoseph's torn garment, and let us see the tear in it, and if it shall be that the tear is in front of the garment, then his face must have been opposite to her and she must have caught hold of him, to come to her, and with deceit did your wife do all that she has spoken.
75 And they brought Yoseph's garment before the priests who were judges, and they saw and behold the tear was in front of Yoseph, and all the judging priests knew that she had pressed him, and they said, The judgment of death is not due to this slave for he has done nothing, but his judgment is, that he be placed in the prison house on account of the report, which through him has gone forth against your wife.
76 And Potiphar heard their words, and he placed him in the prison house, the place where the king's prisoners are confined, and Yoseph was in the house of confinement twelve years.
77 And notwithstanding this, his master's wife did not turn from him, and she did not cease from speaking to him day after day to hearken to her, and at the end of three months Zelicah continued going to Yoseph to the house of confinement day by day, and she enticed him to hearken to her, and Zelicah said unto Yoseph, How long wilt you remain in this house? but hearken now to my voice, and I will bring you out of this house.
78 And Yoseph answered her, saying, It is better for me to remain in this house than to hearken to your words, to sin against YAHWEH; and she said unto him, If you wilt not perform my wish, I will pluck out your eyes, add fetters to your feet, and will deliver you into the hands of them whom you didst not know before.
79 And Yoseph answered her and said, Behold YAHWEH of the whole earth is able to deliver me from all that you canst do unto me, for he opens the eyes of the blind, and loosens those that are bound, and preserves all strangers who are unacquainted with the land.
80 And when Zelicah was unable to persuade Yoseph to hearken to her, she left off going to entice him; and Yoseph was still confined in the house of confinement. And Yacob the father of Yoseph, and all his brethren who were in the land of Canaan still mourned and wept in those days on account of Yoseph, for Yacob refused to be comforted for his son Yoseph, and Yacob cried aloud, and wept and mourned all those days.

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Jasher, Chapter 42

1 And they went and sat on the opposite side, about the distance of a bow-shot, and they sat there to eat bread, and while they were eating, they held counsel together what was to be done with him, whether to slay him or to bring him back to his father.
2 They were holding the counsel, when they lifted up their eyes, and saw, and behold there was a company of Ishmaelites coming at a distance by the road of Gilead, going down to Egypt.
3 And Yahudah said unto them, What gain will it be to us if we slay our brother? peradventure YAHWEH will require him from us; this then is the counsel proposed concerning him, which you shall do unto him: Behold this company of Ishmaelites going down to Egypt,
4 Now therefore, come let us dispose of him to them, and let not our hand be upon him, and they will lead him along with them, and he will be lost amongst the people of the land, and we will not put him to death with our own hands. And the proposal pleased his brethren and they did according to the word of Yahudah.
5 And while they were discoursing about this matter, and before the company of Ishmaelites had come up to them, seven trading men of Midian passed by them, and as they passed they were thirsty, and they lifted up their eyes and saw the pit in which Yoseph was immured, and they looked, and behold every species of bird was upon him.
6 And these Midianites ran to the pit to drink water, for they thought that it contained water, and on coming before the pit they heard the voice of Yoseph crying and weeping in the pit, and they looked down into the pit, and they saw and behold there was a youth of comely appearance and well favored.
7 And they called unto him and said, Who are you and who brought you hither, and who placed you in this pit, in the wilderness? and they all assisted to raise up Yoseph and they drew him out, and brought him up from the pit, and took him and went away on their journey and passed by his brethren.
8 And these said unto them, Why do you do this, to take our servant from us and to go away? surely we placed this youth in the pit because he rebelled against us, and you come and bring him up and lead him away; now then give us back our servant.
9 And the Midianites answered and said unto the sons of Yacob, Is this your servant, or does this man attend you? peradventure you are all his servants, for he is more comely and well favored than any of you, and why do you all speak falsely unto us?
10 Now therefore we will not listen to your words, nor attend to you, for we found the youth in the pit in the wilderness, and we took him; we will therefore go on.
11 And all the sons of Yacob approached them and rose up to them and said unto them, Give us back our servant, and why will you all die by the edge of the sword? And the Midianites cried out against them, and they drew their swords, and approached to fight with the sons of Yacob.
12 And behold Simeon rose up from his seat against them, and sprang upon the ground and drew his sword and approached the Midianites and he gave a terrible shout before them, so that his shouting was heard at a distance, and the earth shook at Simeon's shouting.
13 And the Midianites were terrified on account of Simeon and the noise of his shouting, and they fell upon their faces, and were excessively alarmed.
14 And Simeon said unto them, Verily I am Simeon, the son of Yacob the Hebrew, who have, only with my brother, destroyed the city of Shechem and the cities of the Amorites; so shall YAHWEH moreover do unto me, that if all your brethren the people of Midian, and also the kings of Canaan, were to come with you, they could not fight against me.
15 Now therefore give us back the youth whom you have taken, lest I give your flesh to the birds of the skies and the beasts of the earth.
16 And the Midianites were more afraid of Simeon, and they approached the sons of Yacob with terror and fright, and with pathetic words, saying,
17 Surely you have said that the young man is your servant, and that he rebelled against you, and therefore you placed him in the pit; what then will you do with a servant who rebels against his master? Now therefore sell him unto us, and we will give you all that you require for him; and YAHWEH was pleased to do this in order that the sons of Yacob should not slay their brother.
18 And the Midianites saw that Yoseph was of a comely appearance and well-favored; they desired him in their hearts and were urgent to purchase him from his brethren.
19 And the sons of Yacob hearkened to the Midianites and they sold their brother Yoseph to them for twenty pieces of silver, and Reuben their brother was not with them, and the Midianites took Yoseph and continued their journey to Gilead.
20 They were going along the road, and the Midianites repented of what they had done, in having purchased the young man, and one said to the other, What is this thing that we have done, in taking this youth from the Hebrews, who is of comely appearance and well favored.
21 Perhaps this youth is stolen from the land of the Hebrews, and why then have we done this thing? and if he should be sought for and found in our hands we shall die through him.
22 Now surely hardy and powerful men have sold him to us, the strength of one of whom you saw this day; perhaps they stole him from his land with their might and with their powerful arm, and have therefore sold him to us for the small value which we gave unto them.
23 And while they were thus discoursing together, they looked, and behold the company of Ishmaelites which was coming at first, and which the sons of Yacob saw, was advancing toward the Midianites, and the Midianites said to each other, Come let us sell this youth to the company of Ishmaelites who are coming toward us, and we will take for him the little that we gave for him, and we will be delivered from his evil.
24 And they did so, and they reached the Ishmaelites, and the Midianites sold Yoseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver which they had given for him to his brethren.
25 And the Midianites went on their road to Gilead, and the Ishmaelites took Yoseph and they let him ride upon one of the camels, and they were leading him to Egypt.
26 And Yoseph heard that the Ishmaelites were proceeding to Egypt, and Yoseph lamented and wept at this thing that he was to be so far removed from the land of Canaan, from his father, and he wept bitterly while he was riding upon the camel, and one of their men observed him, and made him go down from the camel and walk on foot, and notwithstanding this Yoseph continued to cry and weep, and he said, O my father, my father.
27 And one of the Ishmaelites rose up and smote Yoseph upon the cheek, and still he continued to weep; and Yoseph was fatigued in the road, and was unable to proceed on account of the bitterness of his soul, and they all smote him and afflicted him in the road, and they terrified him in order that he might cease from weeping.
28 And YAHWEH saw the ambition of Yoseph and his trouble, and YAHWEH brought down upon those men darkness and confusion, and the hand of every one that smote him became withered.
29 And they said to each other, What is this thing that YAHWEH has done to us in the road? and they knew not that this befell them on account of Yoseph. And the men proceeded on the road, and they passed along the road of Ephrath where Rachel was buried.
30 And Yoseph reached his mother's grave, and Yoseph hastened and ran to his mother's grave, and fell upon the grave and wept.
31 And Yoseph cried aloud upon his mother's grave, and he said, O my mother, my mother, O you who didst give me birth, awake now, and rise and see your son, how he has been sold for a slave, and no one to pity him.
32 O rise and see your son, weep with me on account of my troubles, and see the heart of my brethren.
33 Arouse my mother, arouse, awake from your sleep for me, and direct your battles against my brethren. O how have they stripped me of my coat, and sold me already twice for a slave, and separated me from my father, and there is no one to pity me. 34 Arouse and lay your cause against them before YAHWEH, and see whom YAHWEH will justify in the judgment, and whom he will condemn.
35 Rise, O my mother, rise, awake from your sleep and see my father how his soul is with me this day, and comfort him and ease his heart.
36 And Yoseph continued to speak these words, and Yoseph cried aloud and wept bitterly upon his mother's grave; and he ceased speaking, and from bitterness of heart he became still as a stone upon the grave.
37 And Yoseph heard a voice speaking to him from beneath the ground, which answered him with bitterness of heart, and with a voice of weeping and praying in these words:
38 My son, my son Yoseph, I have heard the voice of your weeping and the voice of your lamentation; I have seen your tears; I know your troubles, my son, and it grieves me for your sake, and abundant grief is added to my grief.
39 Now therefore my son, Yoseph my son, hope to YAHWEH, and wait for him and do not fear, for YAHWEH is with you, he will deliver you from all trouble.
40 Rise my son, go down unto Egypt with your masters, and do not fear, for YAHWEH is with you, my son. And she continued to speak like unto these words unto Yoseph, and she was still.
41 And Yoseph heard this, and he wondered greatly at this, and he continued to weep; and after this one of the Ishmaelites observed him crying and weeping upon the grave, and his anger was kindled against him, and he drove him from there, and he smote him and cursed him.
42 And Yoseph said unto the men, May I find free unmerited pardon and favor in your sight to take me back to my father's house, and he will give you abundance of riches.
43 And they answered him, saying, Art you not a slave, and where is your father? and if you hadst a father you wouldst not already twice have been sold for a slave for so little value; and their anger was still roused against him, and they continued to smite him and to chastise him, and Yoseph wept bitterly.
44 And YAHWEH saw Yoseph's affliction, and YAHWEH again smote these men, and chastised them, and YAHWEH caused darkness to envelope them upon the earth, and the lightning flashed and the thunder roared, and the earth shook at the voice of the thunder and of the mighty wind, and the men were terrified and knew not where they should go.
45 And the beasts and camels stood still, and they led them, but they would not go, they smote them, and they crouched upon the ground; and the men said to each other, What is this that YAHWEH has done to us? what are our transgressions, and what are our sins that this thing has thus befallen us?
46 And one of them answered and said unto them, Perhaps on account of the sin of afflicting this slave has this thing happened this day to us; now therefore implore him strongly to forgive us, and then we shall know on whose account this evil befalls us, and if YAHWEH shall have compassion over us, then we shall know that all this comes to us on account of the sin of afflicting this slave.
47 And the men did so, and they supplicated Yoseph and pressed him to forgive them; and they said, We have sinned to YAHWEH and to you, now therefore vouchsafe to request of your ALMIGHTY that he shall put away this death from amongst us, for we have sinned to him.
48 And Yoseph did according to their words, and YAHWEH hearkened to Yoseph, and YAHWEH put away the plague which he had inflicted upon those men on account of Yoseph, and the beasts rose up from the ground and they conducted them, and they went on, and the raging storm abated and the earth became tranquilized, and the men proceeded on their journey to go down to Egypt, and the men knew that this evil had befallen them on account of Yoseph.
49 And they said to each other, Behold we know that it was on account of his affliction that this evil befell us; now therefore why shall we bring this death upon our souls? Let us hold counsel what to do to this slave.
50 And one answered and said, Surely he told us to bring him back to his father; now therefore come, let us take him back and we will go to the place that he will tell us, and take from his family the price that we gave for him and we will then go away.
51 And one answered again and said, Behold this counsel is very good, but we cannot do so for the way is very far from us, and we cannot go out of our road.
52 And one more answered and said unto them, This is the counsel to be adopted, we will not swerve from it; behold we are this day going to Egypt, and when we shall have come to Egypt, we will sell him there at a high price, and we will be delivered from his evil.
53 And this thing pleased the men and they did so, and they continued their journey to Egypt with Yoseph.

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