To The Word – Day 13

₁Some time later Joseph was told that his father was ill. So he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and went to see Jacob. ₂When Jacob was told that his son Joseph had come to see him, he gathered his strength and sat up in bed. ₃Jacob said to Joseph, “Almighty God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. ₄He said to me, ‘I will give you many children, so that your descendants will become many nations; I will give this land to your descendants as their possession for ever.’ ”

₅Jacob continued, “Joseph, your two sons, who were born to you in Egypt before I came here, belong to me; Ephraim and Manasseh are just as much my sons as Reuben and Simeon. ₆If you have any more sons, they will not be considered mine; the inheritance they get will come through Ephraim and Manasseh. ₇I am doing this because of your mother Rachel. To my great sorrow she died in the land of Canaan, not far from Ephrath, as I was returning from Mesopotamia. I buried her there beside the road to Ephrath.” (Ephrath is now known as Bethlehem.)

₈When Jacob saw Joseph's sons, he asked, “Who are these boys?”

₉Joseph answered, “These are my sons, whom God has given me here in Egypt.”

Jacob said, “Bring them to me so that I may bless them.” ₁₀Jacob's eyesight was failing because of his age, and he could not see very well. Joseph brought the boys to him, and he hugged them and kissed them. ₁₁Jacob said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now God has even let me see your children.” ₁₂Then Joseph took them from Jacob's lap and bowed down before him with his face to the ground.

₁₃Joseph put Ephraim at Jacob's left and Manasseh at his right. ₁₄But Jacob crossed his hands, and put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, even though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, who was the elder. ₁₅Then he blessed Joseph:

₁₇Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head; so he took his father's hand to move it from Ephraim's head to the head of Manasseh. ₁₈He said to his father, “Not that way, father. This is the elder boy; put your right hand on his head.”

₁₉His father refused, saying, “I know, my son, I know. Manasseh's descendants will also become a great people. But his younger brother will be greater than he, and his descendants will become great nations.”

₂₀So he blessed them that day, saying, “The Israelites will use your names when they pronounce blessings. They will say, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” In this way Jacob put Ephraim before Manasseh.

₂₁Then Jacob said to Joseph, “As you see, I am about to die, but God will be with you and will take you back to the land of your ancestors. ₂₂It is to you and not to your brothers that I am giving Shechem, that fertile region which I took from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”

₁Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather round, and I will tell you what will happen to you in the future:

₂₈These are the twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father said as he spoke a suitable word of farewell to each son.

₂₉Then Jacob commanded his sons, “Now that I am going to join my people in death, bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ₃₀at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the land of Canaan. Abraham bought this cave and field from Ephron for a burial ground. ₃₁That is where they buried Abraham and his wife Sarah; that is where they buried Isaac and his wife Rebecca; and that is where I buried Leah. ₃₂The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites. Bury me there.” ₃₃When Jacob had finished giving instructions to his sons, he lay down again and died.

₁Joseph threw himself on his father, crying and kissing his face. ₂Then Joseph gave orders to embalm his father's body. ₃It took forty days, the normal time for embalming. The Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

₄When the time of mourning was over, Joseph said to the king's officials, “Please take this message to the king: ₅‘When my father was about to die, he made me promise him that I would bury him in the tomb which he had prepared in the land of Canaan. So please let me go and bury my father, and then I will come back.’ ”

₆The king answered, “Go and bury your father, as you promised you would.”

₇So Joseph went to bury his father. All the king's officials, the senior men of his court, and all the leading men of Egypt went with Joseph. ₈His family, his brothers, and the rest of his father's family all went with him. Only their small children and their sheep, goats, and cattle stayed in the region of Goshen. ₉Men in chariots and men on horseback also went with him; it was a huge group.

₁₀When they came to the threshing place at Atad east of the Jordan, they mourned loudly for a long time, and Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for seven days. ₁₁When the citizens of Canaan saw those people mourning at Atad, they said, “What a solemn ceremony of mourning the Egyptians are holding!” That is why the place was named Abel Mizraim.

₁₂So Jacob's sons did as he had commanded them; ₁₃they carried his body to Canaan and buried it in the cave at Machpelah, east of Mamre, in the field which Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground. ₁₄After Joseph had buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all who had gone with him for the funeral.

₁₅After the death of their father, Joseph's brothers said, “What if Joseph still hates us and plans to pay us back for all the harm we did to him?” ₁₆So they sent a message to Joseph: “Before our father died, ₁₇he told us to ask you, ‘Please forgive the crime your brothers committed when they wronged you.’ Now please forgive us the wrong that we, the servants of your father's God, have done.” Joseph cried when he received this message.

₁₈Then his brothers themselves came and bowed down before him. “Here we are before you as your slaves,” they said.

₁₉But Joseph said to them, “Don't be afraid; I can't put myself in the place of God. ₂₀You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened. ₂₁You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children.” So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.

₂₂Joseph continued to live in Egypt with his father's family; he was 110 years old when he died. ₂₃He lived to see Ephraim's children and grandchildren. He also lived to receive the children of Machir son of Manasseh into the family. ₂₄He said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will certainly take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land he solemnly promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ₂₅Then Joseph asked his people to make a vow. “Promise me,” he said, “that when God leads you to that land, you will take my body with you.” ₂₆So Joseph died in Egypt at the age of 110. They embalmed his body and put it in a coffin.