Various Authors Various Authors - The Tanakh

42Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and Jacob said unto his sons: 'Why do ye look one upon another?' 2And he said: 'Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt. Get you down thither, and buy for us from thence; that we may live, and not die.' 3And Joseph's ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt. 4But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said: 'Lest peradventure harm befall him.' 5And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that came; for the famine was in the land of Caanan. 6And Joseph was the governor over the land; he it was that sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down to him with their faces to the earth. 7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange unto them, and spoke roughly with them; and he said unto them: 'Whence come ye?' And they said: 'From the land of Canaan to buy food.' 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew him not. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said unto them: 'Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.' 10And they said unto him: 'Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants come. 11We are all one man's sons; we are upright men, thy servants are no spies.' 12And he said unto them: 'Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.' 13And they said: 'We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.' 14And Joseph said unto them: 'That is it that I spoke unto you, saying: Ye are spies. 15Hereby ye shall be proved, as Pharaoh liveth, ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest brother come hither. 16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh liveth, surely ye are spies.' 17And he put them all together into ward three days. 18And Joseph said unto them the third day.' This do, and live; for I fear God: 19if ye be upright men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go ye, carry corn for the famine of your houses; 20and bring your youngest brother unto me; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die.' And they did so. 21And they said one to another: 'We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.' 22And Reuben answered them, saying: 'Spoke I not unto you, saying: Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required.' 23And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for the interpreter was between them. 24And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes. 25Then Joseph commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the way; and thus was it done unto them. 26And they laded their asses with their corn, and departed thence. 27And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass provender in the lodging-place, he espied his money; and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. 28And he said unto his brethren: 'My money is restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack.' And their heart failed them, and they turned trembling one to another, saying: 'What is this that God hath done unto us?' 29And they came unto Jacob their father unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them, saying: 30'The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly with us, and took us for spies of the country. 31And we said unto him: We are upright men; we are no spies. 32We are twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 33And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us: Hereby shall I know that ye are upright men: leave one of your brethren with me, and take corn for the famine of your houses, and go your way. 34And bring your youngest brother unto me; then shall I know that ye are no spies, but that ye are upright men; so will I deliver you your brother, and ye shall traffic in the land.' 35And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were afraid. 36And Jacob their father said unto them: 'Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away; upon me are all these things come.' 37And Reuben spoke unto his father, saying: 'Thou shalt slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee; deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him back to thee.' 38And he said: 'My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left; if harm befall him by the way in which ye go, then will ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.

43And the famine was sore in the land. 2And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they had brought out of Egypt, that their father said unto them: 'Go again, buy us a little food.' 3And Judah spoke unto him, saying: 'The man did earnestly forewarn us, saying: Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food; 5but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down, for the man said unto us: Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.' 6And Israel said: 'Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the man whether ye had yet a brother?' 7And they said: 'The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and concerning our kindred, saying: Is your father yet alive? have ye another brother? and we told him according to the tenor of these words; could we in any wise know that he would say: Bring your brother down?' 8And Judah said unto Israel his father: 'Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. 9I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever. 10For except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time.' 11And their father Israel said unto them: 'If it be so now, do this: take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spicery and ladanum, nuts, and almonds; 12and take double money in your hand; and the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry back in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight; 13take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man; 14and God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your other brother and Benjamin. And as for me, if I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.'

15And the men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 16And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house: 'Bring the men into the house, and kill the beasts, and prepare the meat; for the men shall dine with me at noon.' 17And the man did as Joseph bade; and the man brought the men into Joseph's house. 18And the men were afraid, because they were brought into Joseph's house; and they said: 'Because of the money that was returned in our sacks at the first time are we brought in; that he may seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bondmen, and our asses.' 19And they came near to the steward of Joseph's house, and they spoke unto him at the door of the house, 20and said: 'Oh my lord, we came indeed down at the first time to buy food. 21And it came to pass, when we came to the lodging-place, that we opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; and we have brought it back in our hand. 22And other money have we brought down in our hand to buy food. We know not who put our money in our sacks.' 23And he said: 'Peace be to you, fear not; your God, and the God of your father, hath given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.' And he brought Simeon out unto them. 24And the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their asses provender. 25And they made ready the present against Joseph's coming at noon; for they heard that they should eat bread there. 26And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed down to him to the earth. 27And he asked them of their welfare, and said: 'Is your father well, the old man of whom ye spoke? Is he yet alive?' 28And they said: 'Thy servant our father is well, he is yet alive.' And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. 29And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, and said: 'Is this your youngest brother of whom ye spoke unto me?' And he said: 'God be gracious unto thee, my son.' 30And Joseph made haste; for his heart yearned toward his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. 31And he washed his face, and came out; and he refrained himself, and said: 'Set on bread.' 32And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, that did eat with him, by themselves; because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 33And they sat before him, the first-born according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth; and the men marvelled one with another. 34And portions were taken unto them from before him; but Benjamin's portion was five times so much as any of theirs. And they drank, and were merry with him.