Sefer haYashar — Medieval Midrash

Sefer HaYashar (midrash) — Book of Genesis / Vayigash

[Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 1] he came nigh unto Joseph and he forced the door open and he came with his brethren before ‎Joseph. And Judah said unto Joseph: Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in ‎my lord's ear and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: And Joseph said unto him: ‎Speak! And Judah spoke unto Joseph while his brethren stood before them. And Judah said ‎unto Joseph: Be hold when we first came unto my lord to purchase food, thou hast taken us ‎for spies against this land, and we have brought our brother Benjamin into thy presence. And ‎why dost thou further carry on thy mockery with us? And now I pray, may the king hearken ‎unto my words and release our brother that he go home with us to our father lest thou perish ‎this day, and all the inhabitants of Egypt. Knowest thou not what my two brothers, Simeon and ‎Levi, have done unto the city of Shechem and unto the seven cities of the Amorites on ‎account of our sister Dinah and what will they not do on account of their brother Benjamin And ‎I with my strength, greater and more powerful than both of them, will come over thee and all ‎thy land this very day if thou do not willingly release our brother. Hast thou not heard what our ‎God who hath chosen us has done unto Pharaoh on account of our mother Sarah, whom he ‎had taken away from our father? How the Lord hath smitten him and all his household with ‎terrible plagues that even to this day all the Egyptians speak to one another of that great ‎wonder. And even so will our God do unto thee on account of Benjamin whom thou takest ‎from our father this day on account of the evils which thou art bringing over us in thy land this ‎day. For our God will remember his covenant with Abraham our father and he will bring evil ‎upon thee because thou hast grieved the soul of our father this day. And do thou listen, I pray ‎thee, unto my words which I have spoken unto thee this day, and send away our brother that ‎he may go lest thou and all the people of thy lord will die by my sword, for all of you cannot ‎prevail against me.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 2] And Joseph answered unto Judah saying: Why dost thou open thy mouth so wide concerning ‎these words, exalting thyself over us, saying that there is great strength within 7 As Pharaoh ‎liveth, if I order my powerful men to fight against you, verily thou and thy brothers here would ‎soon find themselves in the mud. And Judah said unto Joseph: It were better for thee and thy ‎men to fear me. As the Lord liveth, if I once draw my sword I will not return it unto its scabbard ‎until I have slain all Egypt this day, and I will begin with thee and finish up with Pharaoh thy ‎lord. And Joseph answered and said unto him: Verily, not thou alone hast all the strength. I ‎myself am more powerful than thou art, and if thou drawest thy sword I will place it upon ‎thine neck and upon the neck of all those thy brothers. And Judah said unto him: Verily, if I ‎open my mouth against thee this day, I can swallow thee up, and thou wilt be forgotten from ‎the earth and be lost from thy kingdom. And Joseph answered: Verily, if thou openest thy ‎mouth I have power and strength to close it with a big rock until thou canst not utter a word. ‎Behold how many stones there are before us, and can I not take one of them and put it into ‎thy mouth and break thy jaws? And Judah said: God be a witness between us, that I have not ‎sought to war with thee from the beginning even until now, only to give us our brother to go ‎away from thee. And Joseph answered and said: As Pharaoh liveth, if all the kings of Canaan ‎were to come with you, you could not altogether take him from my hands. And now go ye ‎your ways unto your father and your brother shall be a slave unto me for robbing the house of ‎the king. And Judah said: What is it unto thee, oh king, or to thy fame? Verily the king sendeth ‎out of his house in presents or in losses abundance of silver and of gold in all the land, and ‎thou continuest to speak of thy cup which thou sayest he hath stolen from thee, while thou ‎hast placed it into the bag of our brother. Far be it from our brother Benjamin, and from the ‎seed of Abraham, to do such a thing or any other person be he king or prince or an ordinary ‎man. And now refrain thou from saying such a thing, lest thy words be heard in the land and ‎people will say: On account of a little silver the king of Egypt had quarrels and fights with these ‎men, and he hath taken away from them their brother for a slave. And Joseph answered unto ‎them: Take then this cup and go your way from me and leave your brother to be a slave, for it ‎is the judgment of a thief to be a slave. And Judah said unto him: And art thou not ashamed at ‎thy words, that we should leave with thee our brother for this cup? Surely, if thou wouldst ‎give unto us a thousand times as much as thy cup we should not leave our brother even for all ‎the silver of all mankind; verily, we should first die for his sake.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 3] And Joseph answered and said: And wherefore have you forsaken your brother and you have ‎sold him for twenty pieces of silver even unto this day, and why don’t you do likewise to this ‎your brother? And Judah said: The Lord did witness between me and thee that we have not ‎desired this fight, and now give us our brother that we go away from thee without trouble. ‎And Joseph answered and said: If all the kings of the land were to gather together, they could ‎not deliver your brother from my hand. And Judah said: What shall we say unto our father ‎when he seeth us and behold our brother is not with us, and his soul will grieve over him? And ‎Joseph answered and said: This is what you have to tell unto your father: The rope has ‎followed the bucket. And Judah said: And art thou a king who speaketh such things and give us ‎the wrong judgment? Woe unto the king that is thy like. And Joseph answered and said: There ‎is no wrong judgment in the words I have spoken concerning your brother Joseph, for verily, ‎you all have sold him unto the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver, and you have denied it to ‎your father saying an evil beast hath devoured him, Joseph hath been torn into pieces. And ‎Judah said: Behold the fire of Shechem is burning within my heart. I will burn all thy land with ‎fire. And Joseph answered: Verily, Tamar, thy sister-in-law who killed thy sons, she hath put ‎out the fire of Shechem. And Judah said: If I pluck out one hair from my body, all Egypt will be ‎killed with my blood. And Joseph answered unto him: Verily, such is your manner of doing, the ‎same that you did unto your brother when you sold him, and you dipped his coat into blood ‎and you brought it unto your father, that he should think an evil beast has devoured him, and ‎this is his blood.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 4] And when Judah heard these words he was terribly angry and his wrath burned within him. ‎And there was lying before him a stone whose weight was four hundred shekels, and while ‎Judah’s anger was burning he seized the stone with one of his hands and threw it heavenward ‎and he caught it up with his left hand. And after this he placed it under his feet and he sat ‎down upon it with his might and the stone was crumbled to dust by Judah’s strength. And ‎when Joseph saw the action of Judah he was greatly afraid, and Joseph commanded his son ‎Manasseh, and he did unto another stone what Judah had done before. And Judah said unto ‎his brothers let not the man among you think this man is an Egyptian, for being able to do such ‎a thing he must be of the family of our father. And Joseph said: Not upon you alone was ‎strength bestowed, for we also are powerful men, and why will you exalt yourself over all of ‎us? And Judah said unto Joseph: I pray thee release our brother and do not invite ruin upon ‎thy country this day. And Joseph answered unto them saying: Go ye and tell your father that ‎an evil beast hath devoured Benjamin as you have said concerning your brother Joseph. And ‎Judah conferred with Naphtali saying unto him: Go now hastily and bring me the number of all ‎the streets that are in Egypt. And Simeon said unto him: Let not this concern thee, for behold I ‎will ascend the mountain and take one of its large stones and cast it on all the people of Egypt ‎and kill all those that are in it. And Joseph heard all that his brothers had spoken in his ‎presence, for they knew not that Joseph understood them for they thought he understood ‎not the Hebrew tongue. And Joseph, hearing the words of his brethren was in great fear lest ‎they might really destroy all Egypt, and he commanded unto his son Manasseh, saying? Go ‎thou hastily and assemble all the inhabitants of Egypt and all the mighty men, and let them at ‎once appear before me on horses and on foot, with all musical instruments in their hands. And ‎Manasseh went and did so. And Naphtali had gone according to Judah’s order. And Naphtali ‎was nimble footed like a swift stag, so that he could walk upon the ears of corn and they would ‎not bend under him. And he went swiftly and he numbered the streets of Egypt and behold ‎they were twelve, and he returned hastily and told it unto Judah. And Judah said unto his ‎brothers: Put on quickly every one of you his sword and we will come over Egypt and smite ‎them all that there be not left a remnant. And behold, I will destroy with my own strength ‎three of these streets and you destroy each one. While Judah was saying these words behold ‎the inhabitants of Egypt with all their mighty men came against them all with musical ‎instruments and amid loud shouting. And their number was five hundred horsemen and ten ‎thousand footmen and four hundred men that fought only with their hands and strength ‎without swords and spears.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 5] And all these powerful men came with great storming and shouting, and they encircled the ‎sons of Jacob and they terrified them, and the earth trembled at that fearful noise. And the ‎sons of Jacob saw these hosts and they were greatly afraid of their lives. And Joseph did that ‎to terrify the sons of Jacob and to pacify them. And when Judah saw that his brothers were ‎afraid he said unto them: What causeth you such fear as long as the mercy of God is upon us. ‎And Judah saw all the people of Egypt around him to terrify them, but Joseph commanded ‎them saying: Touch no one of these men. And Judah drew his sword quickly and screamed a ‎loud and bitter scream. And he smote with his sword, and he jumped all over the ground, ‎continuing to scream at all the people. And the Lord impressed all the mighty men and all the ‎people with great fear of Judah and his brethren, and they all fled at the noise of Judah’s ‎screaming, and terror came over them and they fell one from the other, and great many of ‎them died as they fell. And all of them fled from before Judah and his brethren. And Judah ‎and his brethren pursued them into the house of Pharaoh and they escaped. And Judah ‎returned once more before Joseph and he roared at him like a lion, and he uttered a terrible ‎shout against him, and the shouting was heard at a great distance, even among the inhabitants ‎of Succoth, and all Egypt trembled from the noise of that shouting, and also the walls of Egypt ‎fell from the trembling of the earth. And Pharaoh fell from his throne to the ground and also ‎the pregnant women of Egypt and Goshen miscarried on hearing the noise and trembling, for ‎they were greatly terrified. And Pharaoh sent his servants, saying: What is it that is going on in ‎Egypt to-day? And they came and they informed Pharaoh of what hath happened, and he ‎wondered greatly, and he was exceedingly afraid. And his fright grew upon him, and he sent ‎word unto Joseph, saying: Thou hast brought over me the Hebrews to destroy all the land of ‎Egypt. What dost thou care for that thief whom thou hast taken for thy slave? Let him depart ‎with his brothers lest we perish through the evil they will bring over us, and I, and you, and all ‎Egypt. And if thou art not willing to do this thing and thou de lightest in those Hebrews, then ‎remove from thee all the precious things I gave unto thee and go along with them, for surely ‎they will smite all my people and destroy my whole country, for behold even in Goshen all the ‎women have miscarried for fear of their shouting. See they have done these things simply by ‎their screaming and yelling and what more can they do if they fight with their swords? Surely ‎they will destroy the whole land. And now choose thou between me and the Hebrews, and ‎between my land and the land of the Hebrews.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 6] And when they came and spoke unto Joseph all the words of Pharaoh concerning him, he was ‎greatly afraid of the words of Pharaoh. And Judah and his brethren were still standing before ‎Joseph raging terribly, and all the sons of Jacob were screaming at Joseph even like the roaring ‎of the waves of the sea. And Joseph was in great fear of Pharaoh and of his brothers, and he ‎sought an opportunity to make himself known, before they destroyed all the land of Egypt. ‎And Joseph ordered Manasseh, his son, and he went and came near unto Judah, and he ‎placed his hand upon Judah’s shoulder, and Judah’s rage subsided. And Judah said once more ‎unto his brothers: Let no man among you say this is the work of an Egyptian lad, for verily that ‎is like the action of one of my father's house. And when Joseph saw that Judah’s anger was ‎silenced, he approached and spoke unto Judah in gentle words. And Joseph said unto Judah ‎Verily you have spoken the truth, and you have proven your words concerning your great ‎strength, and the Lord who hath pleasure in you may increase your peace. But tell me the ‎truth, why thou art the only one among thy brothers to rage against me, while not one among ‎the others speaketh one word? And Judah answered: Thou must know that I have pledged ‎myself for this boy, saying unto my father: If I bring him not and set him before thee then let ‎me bear the blame through all my days. And therefore have I been the foremost among my ‎brothers after I saw that thou wouldst not suffer him to go with us. And now let me find grace ‎in thine eyes and send our brother to go with us. Behold I will remain in his stead to serve thee ‎in anything thou desirest. And wherever thou shalt send me I will go to serve thee with all my ‎might. If there: be a mighty king who hath rebelled against thee, send me and thou wilt see ‎what I will do unto him and unto his land. And even if he have hosts of horsemen and on foot, ‎and an exceedingly powerful army, I will smite them all, and bring their king's head before ‎thee. Dost thou not know, and hast thou not heard of it, that our father Abraham with his ‎servant Eliezer smote all the kings of Elam and all their hosts in one night that there was not ‎left of them a remnant? And from that day on the strength of our father was given unto us ‎and our seed as an inheritance forever.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 7] And Joseph answered and said: Thou art speaking the truth and there is no false hood in thy ‎mouth, for it hath been told unto us that the Hebrews are possessed of great strength, and ‎that the Lord their God hath great pleasure in them, and that no one can stand against them. ‎And on this I will agree to release your brother, if thou wilt agree to bring into my presence his ‎brother the son of his mother of whom ye have said he went away from you into Egypt. And if ‎you bring unto me his brother, I will take him as a substitute for not one among you has ‎pledged himself for him unto your father. And when he shall be brought before me I will send ‎away with you thy brother for whom thou art pledged. And when Joseph spoke these words ‎Judah’s wrath was kindled against him, and his eyes filled with blood for anger, and he said ‎unto his brothers: Behold this man seeketh this day his own destruction and the destruction of ‎all Egypt. And Simeon answered unto Joseph saying: And did we not tell unto thee at the ‎outset that we know not the place whither he went, nor do we know whether he be dead or ‎alive, and wherefore does my lord demand of us such a thing? And when Joseph looked at ‎Judah’s countenance he saw that his wrath began once more to kindle within him. And Joseph ‎said unto his brothers: Verily you have said that your brother was dead or lost, now therefore, ‎if I should call him and he should appear in our presence would you give him unto me as a ‎ransom for his brother? And Joseph called out with a loud voice: Joseph 1 oh, Joseph! come ‎this day into my presence and appear before thy brethren and sit before them, and when ‎Joseph had spoken these words his brothers looked around themselves each one in a ‎different direction to see whither Joseph was to come before them. And when Joseph saw ‎their actions he said unto them: Why do ye look around here and there, I am your brother ‎Joseph whom you have sold into Egypt? Now, therefore, be not grieved nor angry with ‎yourselves that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to pre serve life. And his ‎brothers were greatly afraid of him on hearing his words, and Judah especially was exceedingly ‎terrified. And Benjamin, who was in a chamber when he heard the words of Joseph, he ran at ‎Joseph and embraced him, and he fell upon his neck and they wept. And when the brothers of ‎Joseph saw that Benjamin hath fallen upon the neck of his brother and wept with him, they ‎also fell upon Joseph and they embraced him and they wept a great weeping with Joseph. And ‎the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, saying: Those men are Joseph’s brothers, and ‎it pleased Pharaoh greatly, for he was afraid of them, lest they turn Egypt into ruin. And ‎Pharaoh sent his servant unto Joseph, to wish him joy on account of his brothers. And all the ‎princes of the army and of the hosts that were in Egypt, came to rejoice with Joseph, and all ‎Egypt rejoiced exceedingly about the brothers of Joseph. And Pharaoh sent his servant unto ‎Joseph saying: Tell unto thy brothers and bring down all that they have and let them come ‎unto me and I will allow them to dwell in the best part of Egypt. And they did so.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 8] ‎ - And Joseph commanded his steward to bring unto his brothers offerings and gifts and ‎garments. And he brought unto them many regal garments and great many gifts. And Joseph ‎divided it amongst them. And to each of them Joseph gave changes of golden and silver ‎raiments and three hundred pieces of silver. And Joseph commanded them to put on those ‎garments. And he brought them before Pharaoh, and when Pharaoh saw all the brothers of ‎Joseph, all of them powerful men and of comely appearance, he rejoiced exceedingly. And ‎after this they went away from the presence of Pharaoh to go into the land of Canaan, unto ‎their father, and Benjamin their brother with them. And Joseph took eleven chariots of ‎Pharaoh and gave unto them. And Joseph gave unto them likewise his own chariot in which he ‎rode on the day he was made king of Egypt, to bring their father in it unto Egypt. And Joseph ‎sent garments to all the children of his brothers and a hundred pieces of silver to every one of ‎them, and he sent also garments for the wives of his brothers from the garments of the king's ‎wives according to their numbers, and various perfumeries he sent likewise unto them. And ‎he gave to every one of his brothers ten men to go with them into the land of Canaan to ‎attend upon them and their children and all belonging to them in coming into Egypt. And ‎Joseph sent by the hand of his brother Benjamin, ten garments for his ten sons, an additional ‎gift above the gifts sent to the other children of Jacob's sons. And he sent to each of them fifty ‎pieces of silver and ten of Pharaoh’s chariots. And to his father he sent ten asses laden with ‎the good things of Egypt and ten she asses laden with corn and bread and meat for his father, ‎and all those that were with him, for provision on the road. And unto his sister Dinah he sent ‎garments of silver and of gold and frankincense and myrrh and aloes, and all sorts of toilet ‎articles in abundance. And he sent likewise such things to the wives of Benjamin from ‎Pharaoh’s wives. And he gave unto all his brothers and also to their wives, from all sorts of ‎onyx stones and bdellium, rubies and emeralds, and from all luxuries worn by the nobility of ‎the Egyptians. There was nothing left, of all precious things that Joseph did not send unto his ‎father's house. And he sent away his brothers and they went, and his brother Benjamin he ‎sent with them, to go into the land of Canaan. And Joseph went out, to accompany them on ‎the road on to the boundaries of Egypt, and he instructed them concerning his father and his ‎household and their coming down into Egypt. And he said unto them: See that you fall not out ‎by the way, for this thing was from the Lord in order to save the multitude of people from the ‎famine, for five years yet will the famine be in the earth. And he commanded them saying: ‎When you come into the land of Canaan do not bring that matter suddenly upon my father, ‎but act prudently.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 9] And when Joseph had finished giving them his orders, he turned: and went back into Egypt, ‎and the sons of Jacob went to the land of Canaan, in joy and happiness to their father. And ‎when they came to the boundaries of the land, they said to one another: What shall we do in ‎bringing this matter before our father? For if we impart it to him suddenly, and tell him all ‎about it, he will be greatly astounded at our words and he will refuse to listen to us. And when ‎they went on until they approached their houses they met Serach coming towards them, and ‎the damsel was exceedingly beautiful and wise, and a skilled player on the harp; and they ‎called her and she came unto them and she kissed them. And they took her and gave her a ‎harp saying unto her: Go, we pray thee, before our father and sit down before him and strike ‎this harp and speak unto him according to these words. And they instructed her concerning ‎what she had to say, and she hastened unto Jacob and she sat down before him. And she sang ‎and she played beautifully upon the harp, and she sang in the sweetness of her voice: Joseph ‎my uncle is alive and he reigneth over all the land of Egypt; he is not dead. And she often ‎repeated these words. And Jacob heard her words and it pleased him greatly, and when he ‎heard her sing it twice and three times, the heart of Jacob was possessed by joy, through the ‎sweet ness of her voice, and the spirit of God came over him, and he knew that all her words ‎were true. And Jacob blessed Serach for singing these words before him, and he said: My ‎daughter, may death never prevail against thee forever, for thou hast revived my spirit, only ‎repeat thou this song once more before me, for thou hast caused me gladness with thy words. ‎And she sang once more the same words and Jacob listened, and he was pleased and he ‎rejoiced, and the spirit of God came over him. And while he was yet speaking with her, his ‎sons came before him with horses and chariots and royal garments and servants running ‎before them. And Jacob arose and went to meet them, and he saw his sons dressed in royal ‎garments and all the good things that Joseph sent unto them. And they said unto him: Be thou ‎informed that our brother Joseph liveth, and that he ruleth over the whole land of Egypt, and ‎it is he who hath spoken unto us all we have told unto thee. And Jacob heard all the words of ‎his sons and his heart fainted, for he believed them not, until he saw all that Joseph had given ‎unto them and all that Joseph had sent along with them, and all the signs he had spoken of ‎unto them. And they unpacked all the things before him, and they displayed all that Joseph ‎had sent, and they gave to every one of them what Joseph had sent him. And Jaco-b knew ‎that they have spoken the truth, and Jacob was greatly rejoiced on account of his son. And he ‎said: It is enough, Joseph, my son, is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die. And his sons ‎told unto him all that had befallen them, and Jacob said: I will go down into Egypt, to see my ‎son and my children. | And Jacob rose up and he put on the garments which Joseph had sent ‎unto him, and he put a turban upon his head which Joseph had sent him after having washed ‎and shaved himself. And all the men of the house of Jacob and their wives dressed ‎themselves with the things that Joseph had sent them. And they rejoiced greatly on account ‎of Joseph that he was still alive and that he was the ruler over Egypt. And all the inhabitants of ‎Canaan heard the news, and they came and rejoiced with Jacob on account of Joseph that he ‎was still alive. And Jacob prepared for them a feast of three days, and all the kings of Canaan, ‎and all the great men of the land ate and drank and made merry in Jacob’s house.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 10] And after this Jacob said: I will go down to see my son in Egypt, and then I will return unto the ‎land of Canaan which the Lord hath promised unto Abraham. For I cannot leave my native ‎land. And behold the Lord spoke unto Jacob: Go down into Egypt and dwell there with all thy ‎household. Fear thou not to go down into Egypt, for I will make thee there to a great nation. ‎And Jacob said in his heart: I will go and see my son, whether the fear of his God is still in his ‎heart amongst all the inhabitants of Egypt. And the Lord said unto Jacob: Fear thou not ‎concerning Joseph, for he still continues in his piety to serve me as it will be pleasant in thine ‎eyes. And Jacob rejoiced exceedingly on account of his son. At that time Jacob commanded his ‎sons and his household to go into Egypt, according to the word of the Lord unto him. And ‎Jacob rose up with his sons and all his household, and they went forth from the land of ‎Canaan, from Beersheba, with joy and a cheerful heart they went into the land of Egypt. And ‎when they came near entering the land of Egypt, Jacob sent Judah before him unto Joseph to ‎direct his face towards his location in Egypt. And Judah did according to the words of his father, ‎and he hastened and ran and he came unto Joseph, and they prepared a place in the land of ‎Goshen, for Jacob and all his household, and Judah returned unto his father on the road. And ‎Joseph made ready his chariot and he called all his mighty men and his servants and all the ‎princes of Egypt to go and receive Jacob his father. And Joseph had it proclaimed in Egypt, ‎saying: Whosoever faileth to go and meet Jacob shall be put to death. And in the morning, ‎Joseph went forth with all Egypt, a great and mighty host, all of them dressed in white and ‎purple garments, and with ornaments of gold and silver and their instruments of war with ‎them. And all of them went forth to meet Jacob with all sorts of musical instruments, the ‎drums and fifes, and they scattered myrrh and aloes all along the road. And all of them ‎marched on in that manner, and the earth shook at their voices.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 11] And the women of Egypt went up on the roofs and upon the walls to meet Jacob, and they ‎likewise played with drums and with lutes, and thus Joseph and all his people went forth to ‎meet Jacob. And Joseph had upon his head Pharaoh’s royal crown, for Pharaoh had sent it ‎unto him to wear it on the occasion of meeting his father. And when Joseph came near unto ‎his father, within fifty cubits, he stepped down from his chariot and walked towards his father. ‎And all the princes and prominent men of Egypt, when they saw that Joseph went on foot ‎towards his father, they too, dismounted and walked on foot to meet Jacob. And when Jacob ‎and his sons approached Joseph’s camp, and when Jacob beheld the multitude that came to ‎meet him with Joseph his son, it was pleasing in his eyes, and Jacob wondered greatly at the ‎sight. And Jacob said unto Judah: Who is the man whom I see in the Egyptian camp adorned in ‎royal garments with a very red robe around him, and a regal crown upon his head, who hath ‎now stepped down from his chariot to the ground, and who is coming to meet us. Judah ‎answered unto Jacob saying: He is thy son Joseph, the king. And Jacob rejoiced on seeing the ‎glory of his son. And Joseph approached his father and he bowed down before his father, and ‎all the people of his camp with him bowed down before Jacob to the ground. And behold ‎Jacob ran hastily towards his son Joseph, and he fell upon his neck and he kissed him and they ‎wept. And Joseph also embraced his father and he kissed him and they wept. And all the ‎people of Egypt wept with them. And Jacob said unto Joseph: I will gladly die presently after I ‎have seen thy face that thou art still alive and so honored. And all the sons of Jacob and their ‎wives and children and servants and all the house hold of Jacob wept with Joseph, and they ‎kissed him, and they wept with him exceedingly. And after this, Joseph and all his people ‎returned unto Egypt to their places. And Jacob with his sons and his household came with ‎Joseph unto Egypt, and Joseph placed them in the best part of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. ‎And Joseph said unto his father and his brothers: I will go up and inform Pharaoh that my ‎brothers’ and my father's house, and all belonging unto them, and behold they are in the land ‎of Goshen. And Joseph did accordingly, and he took from among his brothers Reuben, and ‎Issachar, and Zebulun, and Benjamin, his brothers, and he presented them before Pharaoh. ‎And Joseph spoke unto Pharaoh saying: My brothers’ and my father's house and all belonging ‎unto them as also their sheep and cattle have come unto me from the land of Canaan to ‎sojourn in Egypt, for the famine was heavy upon them. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: The ‎best of the land make thy father and brothers to dwell. Do not withhold from them all that is ‎good, and cause them to eat the fat of the land.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 12] And Joseph answered saying: Behold I have placed them in the land of Goshen for they are ‎keepers of sheep and therefore let them dwell in Goshen to feed their sheep away from the ‎face of the Egyptians. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph: All that thy brothers will say unto thee, ‎do thou with them. And the sons of Jacob bowed down before Pharaoh and they went away ‎from him in peace. And After this Joseph brought his father into the presence of Pharaoh, and ‎Jacob came, and he bowed down before Pharaoh, and blessed Pharaoh. And then he left. And ‎Jacob with his sons and all his household dwelt in the land of Goshen. And Joseph gave unto ‎Jacob the land of Goshen. And Joseph gave unto Jacob and his household the best things of ‎the land, and they dwelt securely in the land of Goshen, and Jacob and his sons ate at Joseph’s ‎table all the time, except when they ate in their own houses. And all the Egyptians were eating ‎and drinking in the house of Joseph, through all the days of the famine, for they had sold all ‎belonging to them on account of the famine. And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for ‎Pharaoh, and Joseph supported them with food through all the days of the famine, and ‎Joseph collected all the silver and the gold and the onyx stones and costly garments, all of ‎which they brought unto Joseph from all the parts of the earth when they had no money. And ‎Joseph took all the silver and gold that came into his hands, about seventy-two talents, as also ‎onyx stones and bdellium in great abundance, and Joseph divided it into four parts and he ‎concealed one part in the wilderness by the red sea, and one part by the river Euphrates; and ‎the other two parts he concealed in the wilderness which was opposite to the wilderness of ‎Persia and Media. And Joseph took the gold and silver that still was left and he gave thereof to ‎all his brothers and unto his father's household and their wives, and the remainder he brought ‎into the house of Pharaoh, about twenty talents of gold and silver. And Pharaoh placed it into ‎his treasure.‎ [Sefer HaYashar (midrash) / Book of Genesis / Vayigash / 13] And the days of the famine were over in all the land, and after this they sowed and reaped all ‎over the earth, and they found their yield year after year. They lacked nothing. And Joseph ‎dwelt in Egypt securely, and the whole land was under his counsel, and his father and all his ‎brothers dwelt in the land of Goshen and they obtained possessions in it. And Jacob became ‎very aged and advanced in days and the two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, dwelt ‎continually in Jacob’s house with the children of the sons of Jacob their brothers, to learn the ‎ways of the Lord and his laws. And Jacob dwelt with his sons in the land of Egypt in the land of ‎Goshen and they gained possessions therein and they were fruitful and they multiplied ‎exceedingly. ‎