Testament of Jacob

Testament of Jacob, Gaselee1927 Bohairic translation, printedpage 80

80 THE TESTAMENT OF JACOB the Lord, giving praise unto Him with blessings. And all his sons were gathered together unto him, from the smallest to the greatest, all weeping and being heavy at heart, saying: He departeth and leaveth us. And they would say unto him: 0 our beloved father, what (f. 181b) shall we do, for we are sojourners in a strange land? Jacob said unto them: Be not afraid; for (yap} God appeared unto me in Mesopotamia, saying : I am the God of thy fathers. Be not afraid; I am with thee for ever, and thy seed for ever that shall come after thee. The land whereon thou standest, I will give it to thee and thy seed for ever. And again He said unto me : Be not afraid to go down into Egypt; I will go with thee down into Egypt, so that I may make thee to multiply, and thy seed to flourish for ever, and Joseph to lay his hands upon thine eyes. And thy people (,\aos-) shall multiply exceedingly in Egypt; then they shall return unto Me in this place, and I will do good unto them for thy sake. Now there- fore shall ye remove from this place. (f. 182a) Now (o.,-) after this the days of Jacob Israel drew nigh that he should come forth from the body. He called Joseph; he spake unto him after this fashion: If I have found grace in thy sight, then put thy blessed hand upon my thigh, and swear unto me an oath in the sight of the Lord, to lay my body (awµ,a) in the sepulchre of my fathers. But (8e) Joseph said unto him : I will do according to thy word, 0 my beloved father. His father said unto him : I will that thou swear. And (oe) Joseph swore unto Jacob his father according to (i<aTa)