meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Torah/Genesis/English/The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein.txt"}
text: Genesis
  בראשית
  The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
  
  
  Genesis
  
  
  
  
  
  In the beginning of the creation by G-d [Elokim, the attribute of justice,] of the heavens and the earth, [G-d first intending to create the world with the attribute of justice but then granting precedence to the attribute of mercy (Yod-Key-Vav-Key), seeing that the world could not otherwise endure],
  the earth was vacuous and void, and there was darkness upon the face of the deep [i.e., the waters], and the "wind of G-d" [the Throne of Glory, impelled by His utterance] hovered over the face of the waters.
  And G-d said: Let there be light! And there was light.
  And G-d saw that the light was good, [and that it was not appropriate for light and darkness to serve in combination] and G-d separated between the light and the darkness, [making the day the domain of the first and the night the domain of the second].
  And G-d called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And it was evening and it was morning, the day of the One, [the angels not being created until the second day].
  And G-d said: Let there be a firmament [i.e., let the firmament be hardened] in the midst of the waters, [the upper waters being at a distance from the firmament just as the lower waters are], and let it divide between waters and waters.
  And G-d made [i.e., fixed in place] the firmament, and He divided between the waters below the firmament and the waters above the firmament; and it was so.
  And G-d called the firmament shamayim [sa mayim - it "carries" water (the upper waters); sham mayim - water is there; esh umayim - fire and water (the firmament being a combination of the two)]. And it was evening, and it was morning, the second day.
  And G-d said: Let the waters below the heavens, [which were spread over the entire earth], be gathered into one place [the ocean], and let the dry land be seen; and it was so.
  And G-d called the dry land "earth," and the gathering of the waters He called "seas" [(plural, fish from different regions of the sea having distinctive tastes)], and G-d saw that it was good, [the "work of the waters" being completed on that day].
  And G-d said: Let the earth put forth [a blanket of] herbage, grass yielding seed, fruit-tree, [the tree tasting like the fruit], giving fruit of its kind, whose seed is in it [to grow a tree of the same kind] upon the earth; and it was so.
  And the earth put forth herbage, grass yielding seed according to its kind [though not having been commanded to do so], and tree giving fruit [(but not "fruit-tree" as commanded (11), for which the earth was subsequently punished, together with Adam)], whose seed is in it according to its kind. And G-d saw that it was good.
  And it was evening, and it was morning, the third day.
  And G-d said: Let there be [suspended] luminaries in the firmament of the heaven [(The luminaries, like all things pertaining to heaven and to earth, had been created on the first day, but each of the particular creations was activated on its particular day.)] to divide between the day and the night, [after the first light had been secreted for the righteous for the world to come.] And let them serve for signs [(eclipses being omens of ill)], and for festivals, [reckoned by the New Moon], and for days, [the sun and the moon serving for half a day respectively], and for years, [completing their course through the zodiac in 365 days].
  And let them [in addition] be luminaries in the firmament of the heaven to illuminate the earth; and it was so.
  And G-d made the two great luminaries [(They were created of equal size, but when the moon protested "two kings reigning with one crown," it was diminished)], the great luminary for governance of the day, and the small luminary for governance of the night, and the stars, [(G-d multiplying the moon's hosts to "appease" it for its diminution)].
  And G-d set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth.
  And to rule by day and by night, and to divide between the light and the darkness. And G-d saw that it was good.
  And it was evening, and it was morning, the fourth day.
  And G-d said: Let the waters swarm a swarming (sheretz) [creatures not higher than the ground (e.g., flies, worms, rodents, fish)] infused with life, and birds flying above the earth on the face of the firmament of heaven.
  And G-d created the leviathans and all the creeping life-infused creatures, swarmed by the waters according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind, and G-d saw that it was good.
  And G-d blessed them, saying: Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply in the earth.
  And it was evening, and it was morning, the fifth day.
  And G-d said: Let the earth bring forth [(it already having been created on the first day)] (every) life-infused creature according to its kind: beast, creeping thing, and animal of the earth according to its kind; and it was so. [It was fully formed.]
  And G-d made [fully formed] (every) animal of the earth according to its kind and (every) beast according to its kind, and creeping thing according to its kind; and G-d saw that it was good.
  And G-d said: Let us make man [(G-d in His humility "asking leave" of the angels)] in our image according to our likeness [to understand and to know], and yirdu [connoting "they shall have dominion over" (if they are virtuous) or (if they are not), "they shall be humbled before"] the fish of the sea, the birds of the heaven, the beasts, and all the earth, and all the creeping things that creep on the earth.
  And G-d created the man in his mould [that He had cast for him (Adam, as opposed to the other creations, being created by "hand" and not by pronouncement)]; in the image of G-d He created him; male and female He created them [on the sixth day, forming Eve from Adam's side].
  And G-d blessed them, and G-d said to them: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it [(also readable as "subdue her," connoting both that the mitzvah of procreation is his and not hers, and that he is to keep her from being "free" with herself)], and have dominion over the fish of the sea and the birds of the heaven, and over all the animals that range the earth.
  And G-d said: Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed upon the face of the earth and every tree which has in it fruit of a tree, bearing seed. To you shall it be for food, [man not being permitted to kill animals for food until after the flood].
  And to all the animals of the earth and to all the birds of heaven, and to all that creeps upon the earth, which has a living soul, (I have given) every green herb for food. And it was so.
  And G-d saw all that He had made, and, behold, it was very good; and it was evening and it was morning the [hah] sixth day, [(signaling acceptance of the five (heh) books of the Law as a sine qua non for the creation)].
  
  
  
  And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all of their hosts.
  And G-d completed on [i.e., precisely upon the advent of] the seventh day His work that He had done, and He rested on the seventh day, from all the work that He had done.
  And G-d blessed the seventh day [through the manna (a presage of the future), double the normal amount being provided on the sixth day], and He sanctified it, [through the manna, none falling on the Sabbath], for on it He rested from all of His work which the L-rd had created to do. [i.e., What was to have been done on the Sabbath was done on the sixth day, the work of that day being doubled.]
  These [the above-mentioned] are the engenderings of the heaven and the earth, when they were created, on the day the L-rd G-d made earth and heaven [(whence it is derived that they were all created on the first day (see 1:14)].
  And every plant of the field was not yet in the earth, and every grass of the field had not yet sprouted [above the ground (the third-day sprouting (12) remaining beneath the surface)], for the L-rd G-d [(the first, Yod-Key-Vav-Key, being His name; the second, Elokim, connoting Ruler and Judge)] had not yet caused it to rain upon the earth, for there was no man to work the ground [and to appreciate the rain, until Adam was created, who recognized that rain was needed for the world, prayed for it, and "secured" it].
  And [for the creation of man (1:27)] a vapor rose from the earth and watered the entire face of the ground, [water, as it were, being added to the "dough" for the "kneading" of man].
  And the L-rd G-d formed (vayitzer) [two yods for two "formings," one for this world, one for the resurrection (as opposed to the creation of the beasts (19), where only one yod is written)] the man, dust from the [four corners of the] earth. And He blew into his nostrils a soul of life, and man became a vital soul, [having speech and understanding (as opposed to the beasts)].
  And the L-rd G-d planted a garden in Eden from the east, and He placed there the man that He had formed.
  And the L-rd G-d caused to sprout from the ground [in the garden of Eden] every tree desirable to the sight and good for eating, and the tree of life in the very midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
  And a river goes out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it parts and becomes four heads.
  The name of the first, Pishon ["the bountiful" (the Nile)]. It is that which goes round the entire land of Chavilah, where there is gold.
  And the gold of that land is good. There is the bedollach and the onyx stone.
  And the name of the second river, Gichon ["roaring"]. It is that which goes round the entire land of Kush.
  And the name of the third river, Chidekel [so called because its waters are pungent (chad) and light (kal)]. It is that which goes east of Ashur. And the fourth river, Perath ["waxing" (the most distinctive of all, being mentioned in conjunction with Eretz Yisrael (see Deuteronomy 1:7)].
  And the L-rd G-d "took" the man [with pleasant, enticing words], and He placed him in the garden of Eden to work it and to guard it.
  And the L-rd G-d commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden you may eat.
  But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For on the day that you eat of it you shall die.
  And the L-rd G-d said: It is not good that the man be alone [and "one" (i.e., unique in having no mate) among the terrestrial creatures, as the L-rd is One among the celestial creatures — two deities, as it were]; I shall make him a help [(If he merits it, she is a help)], against him [(If he does not merit it, she is against him, contending with him)]. [(see 2:20)]
  And the L-rd G-d formed from the earth all of the animals of the field [(same as 1:25)] and [also] all of the birds of the heavens, [forming them from slime (a combination of water (1:20) and earth)], and He brought (them) [on the very same day] to the man to see what he would call them. And every living creature that the man named — that is its name [forever].
  And the man named every beast and bird of heaven and all the animals of the field [and saw that each had its mate], but for the man he did not find a help against him. [(see 2:18)]
  And the L-rd G-d cast a deep sleep upon the man and he slept. And He took one of his sides and He closed it up [the incision site] with flesh beneath it.
  And the L-rd G-d fashioned the side that He had taken from the man into a woman, ["building" her broad beneath and narrow above (like a wheat bin) so that the fetus not weigh down too heavily upon her sides], and He brought her to the man.
  And the man said: This time [(Adam having lived with every beast and not having found gratification)], bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. This shall be called ishah (woman), for from ish (man) was this taken [(whence it is derived that the world was created with the holy tongue)].
  Therefore, [(the Divine Spirit speaking, interdicting illicit relations to the Noachides)], a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh [in their child, who is formed from both].
  And both of them were naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed, [for they did not know the way of modesty, to distinguish between good and evil, until they had eaten of the tree of knowledge (of good and evil)].
  
  
  
  And the serpent was more subtle than all the animals of the field that the L-rd G-d had made, and [seeing them naked and copulating openly, and desiring her,] he said to the woman: Can it be that G-d has said: You shall not eat of all the trees of the garden? [speaking thus though seeing them eating from all the other trees, in order to turn the subject to that tree].
  And the woman said to the serpent: Of the fruit of the trees of the garden, we may eat.
  And from the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, G-d said: You shall not eat of it and you shall not touch it, [(Eve "sealing her 'destruction' by her 'addition'")] lest you die.
  And the serpent said to the woman: you shall not die. [He pushed her until she touched the tree and said to her: Just as there is no death in touching it, there is no death in eating from it.]
  For G-d knows that on the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like G-d [creators of worlds], knowing good and evil. [i.e., G-d ate of it and created the world, and you, likewise, will be creators of worlds by eating of it. Knowing this, and desiring "exclusivity," He forbids it to you.]
  And the woman saw [i.e., she espoused the words of the serpent] that the tree was good for eating, [making one like G-d], and that it was desirable for the eyes, [viz.: "your eyes will be opened"], and that the tree was auspicious for knowing [viz.: "knowing good and evil"], and she took of its fruit and she ate, and she gave also to her husband with her [so that she not die and he live and marry another], and he ate.
  And the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked [bereft of their one mitzvah], and they put together fig leaves and made themselves girdles. [(The tree of knowledge was a fig tree. "Wherein they offended, they were amended.")]
  And they heard the voice of the L-rd G-d sounding in the garden in the direction of (the descent of) the sun, [i.e., the west], and the man and his wife hid before the L-rd G-d in the midst of the trees of the garden.
  And the L-rd G-d called to the man, and He said to him: "Where are You?" [this, in order to give him time to collect himself]
  And he said: I heard Your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid.
  And He said: Who told you that you were naked? [i.e., Where did you learn to be ashamed of your nakedness?] Did you eat of the tree from which I bade you not to eat?
  And the man said: The woman that You gave with me, [(Adam here denies G-d's boon)] — she gave me of the tree and I ate.
  And the L-rd G-d said to the woman: What is this that you have done? And the woman said: The serpent deceived me and I ate.
  And the L-rd G-d said to the serpent: Because you did this, you are more accursed than all the beasts and all the animals of the field. On your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life.
  And hatred shall I place between you and between the woman, [whom you seduced with your wiles] and between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head and you will hiss at his heel [to bite him].
  To the woman He said: I shall increase your distress [in rearing children] and your [pain in] pregnancy. In travail shall you bear children, and to your husband shall be your desire [for cohabitation, in spite of which you will not have the boldness to solicit him verbally], and he shall "rule" over you [in this regard].
  And to the man he said: Because you heeded your wife's voice and ate of the tree whereof I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the earth [(whence you were begotten)] for you. [(It shall spawn "accursed" things for you, like flies, fleas and ants)]. In toil shall you eat of it all the days of your life.
  And thorns and thistles [artichokes and cardoon (which can be eaten only with special preparation)] will it sprout for you [when you sow it], and you will eat the herbs of the field.
  With the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread until you return to the ground. For from it were you taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.
  And [(reversion to 2:20, "And the man named every beast, etc.")] the man called his wife Chavah ["vivifying"], for she was the mother of all the living.
  And the L-rd G-d made for the man and his wife skin-vestments and He clothed them.
  And the L-rd G-d said: Behold, man has become like one of us [(He is unique among the terrestrial creations as I am unique among the celestial. And what is his uniqueness?)] knowing good and evil [(such knowledge not obtaining with beasts and animals)]. And now, perhaps he will put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever [and draw the other creatures after him to regard him as a deity].
  And the Lord God sent him from the garden of Eden to work the ground whence he was taken.
  And He drove out the man, and He set east of the garden of Eden the cherubs [angels of destruction] and the flash of the revolving sword [(to intimidate him against re-entering)] to guard the path of the tree of life.
  
  
  
  And the man had known Chavah his wife and she had conceived and had borne [(even before the episode of the tree of knowledge)], [a twin girl] with Cain. And she said: "I have acquired [(kanithi, like "Cain")] a man with the L-rd" [(my husband and I being "partners" with Him in the creation of Cain)].
  And she bore again [(a twin sister)] with his brother, with [(i.e., another twin sister, with)] Abel. And Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a tiller of the soil.
  And it was, after some time, that Cain brought of the fruits [(of the poorest of them)] of the ground, a gift to the L-rd.
  And Abel brought — he, too — of the first-born of his flock and of their fats. And the L-rd turned to Abel and to his gift. [Fire descended (from heaven) and consumed his offering.]
  And to Cain and to his gift He did not turn. And Cain was sorely wroth, and his face fell.
  And the L-rd said to Cain: Why are you wroth, and why is your face fallen?
  If you make amends, will you not be forgiven? And if you do not make amends, at the opening [of your grave] your sin lies [i.e., is preserved], and to you is its [the evil inclination's] desire [to lead you astray]; but you can rule over it.
  And Cain spoke to Abel, [contentiously, seeking a pretext to kill him], and it was, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.
  And the L-rd said to Cain [(gently, by way of "preparing" him)]: "Where is Abel your brother?" And he said [(negating Divine omniscience)]: "I do not know. Am I my brother's keeper?"
  And He said: What have you done? The voice of your brother's bloods [his blood and that of his unborn children] are crying out to Me from the ground.
  And, now, you shall be cursed more than the earth [has already been cursed for its sin (see 1:12). And in this, too, it has continued to sin —] in that it has opened its mouth to take your brother's bloods from your hand.
  [(the additional curse:)] When you till the soil, it shall no longer give her strength to you. A vagabond and a wanderer shall you be in the land, [not being permitted to live in one place].
  And Cain said to the L-rd: "Is my sin too great [for You, the 'bearer' of heaven and earth] to bear?"
  Behold, You have driven me this day from the face of the ground, and from Your face shall I be hid, and I shall be a vagabond and a wanderer in the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.
  And the L-rd said to him: Therefore, whoever kills Cain … At the end of seven [generations] it shall be avenged (see 24). And the L-rd made for Cain a sign that he not be smitten by any who find him.
  And Cain went forth from before the L-rd [in assumed humility] and he dwelt in the land of Nod [whither all the exiles betake themselves ("nadim")] east of Eden [where his father was exiled (3:24) and where (in the east) the cities of refuge are located (Deuteronomy 4:41)].
  And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and she bore Chanoch. And he built a city, and he called the name of the city after the name of his son Chanoch [as a memorial to him].
  And Irad was born to Chanoch, and Irad begot Mechuyael, and Mechiyael begot Methushael, and Methushael begot Lamech.
  And Lamech took for himself two wives [(all of this being mentioned as bearing out "at the end of seven generations" (15)], the name of the first, Adah, and the name of the second, Tzilah.
  And Adah bore Yaval. He was the father of those who dwell in tents raising cattle, [moving from place to place for fresh pasture].
  And the name of his brother was Yuval. He was the father of all who play harp and pipe.
  And Tzilah — she, too, bore Tuval-Cain [lit., "refiner of Cain" (i.e., of his trade — murder)], forging all tools of copper and iron. And the sister of Tuval-Cain was Na'amah.
  And Lemech said to his wives, Adah and Tzilah, [who had separated from him after he had (unwittingly) killed Cain and Tuval-Cain:] Hear my voice, wives of Lemech. Heed my speech. Did I kill a man [Cain] by my [wilfully inflicted] wound, and a child [Tuval-Cain] by my blow?
  If Cain, [who killed wilfully,] were avenged [only after] seven generations, should Lemech, [who killed unwittingly, not be granted] seventy and seven!
  And Adam knew his wife again [after having reproached Lemech's wives for separating from their husbands, and having himself been reproached for separating from Eve after death was decreed for mankind], and she bore a son, and she called his name Sheth; for (she said) G-d set (shath) for me other seed in place of Abel whom Cain killed.
  And unto Sheth, too, was born a son, and he called his name Enosh. Then [men and images] were called profanely in the name of the L-rd, [being rendered deities].
  
  
  
  This is the numeration of the generations of Adam on the day G-d created man [(Adam begetting on the day he was born)]. In the likeness of G-d He made him.
  Male and female He created them. And He blessed them, and He called their name Adam on the day He created them.
  And Adam lived a hundred and thirty years [after having separated from Eve], and he (then) begot (a son) in his likeness according to his image, and he called his name Sheth.
  And the days of Adam after he begot Sheth were eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Adam, which he lived, were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.
  And Sheth lived a hundred and five years and he begot Enosh.
  And Sheth lived, after he begot Enosh, eight hundred and seven years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Sheth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.
  And Enosh lived ninety years and he begot Keinan.
  And Enosh lived, after he begot Keinan, eight hundred and fifteen years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.
  And Keinan lived seventy years and he begot Mahalalel.
  And Keinan lived, after he begot Mahalalel, eight hundred and forty years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Keinan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.
  And Mahalalel lived sixty-five years and he begot Yared.
  And Mahalalel lived, after he begot Yared, eight hundred and thirty years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.
  And Yered lived a hundred and sixty-two years and he begot Chanoch.
  And Yered lived, after he begot Chanoch, eight hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Yered were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.
  And Chanoch lived sixty-five years and he begot Methuselah.
  And Chanoch walked with G-d after he begot Methuselah three hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Chanoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.
  And Chanoch walked with G-d, and he was not, for G-d took him [before his time, so that he not depart from his righteousness.]
  And Methuselah lived a hundred and eighty-seven years and he begot Lamech.
  And Methuselah lived, after he begot Lemech, seven hundred and eighty-two years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years, and he died.
  And Lemech lived a hundred and eighty-two years and he begot a son [ben, from whom the world was built (nivneh)].
  And he called his name Noach, saying: This one will "ease us" (yenachamenu) of our deeds and of the toil of our hands from the earth, which the L-rd cursed, [(Noach providing plowing tools for them, and the earth ceasing to sprout thorns and thistles whenever they sowed wheat)].
  And Lemech lived, after he begot Noach, five hundred and ninety-five years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And all the days of Lemech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years, and he died.
  And Noach was five hundred years old [(G-d keeping him from begetting until then so that none of his sons reach the (then) age of punishment (100) before the flood.)] And Noach begot Shem, Cham, and Yafeth [(Shem, the righteous one, born circumcised, the progenitor of Abraham, being mentioned first, though Yefeth was the oldest.)]
  
  
  
  And it was, when men began to multiply upon the face of the earth and daughters were born to them,
  that the sons of the nobles saw the daughters of men when they were adorned [to be wed, at which time one of them cohabited with her first], and they took for themselves consorts of all that they chose, [even by way of adultery, even by way of sodomy].
  And the L-rd said: My spirit shall not contend [in Me] forever [i.e., interminably] concerning man, [whether or not to destroy him,] in that [this,] too, [is in him, that] he is flesh, [and not a hard substance — and even so he does not humble himself before Me!] and his days shall be one hundred and twenty years, [at which time, if he has not repented, I shall bring a flood.]
  The Nefilim [those who fell (naflu) and who overthrew (hipilu) the world] were in the land in those days [the days of the generation of Enosh and the sons of Cain], and also afterwards [(after they had seen a third of the world flooded in the days of Enosh and should have repented of their ways)], when the sons of the nobles came to (i.e., lived with) the daughters of men, who bore unto them [giants like them]. They are the "mighty ones" [in rebelling against the L-rd]; of yore, men of name [(their names alluding to their future downfall, e.g., "Irad," "Mechuyael," Methushael" (4:18), all connoting destruction)].
  And the L-rd saw that the evil of man was great in the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the day.
  And the L-rd was comforted that He had made man on earth, [and not in heaven, where he would have incited the celestial creatures to rebellion], and He thought to scourge him.
  And the L-rd said: I will blot out the man that I have created from off the face of the earth [He is earth and I shall blot him out with water] — from man until beast [(The beasts, too, had corrupted their ways)] until creeping thing and bird of the heavens; for I have bethought Myself [of what to do] for having made them.
  And Noach found favor in the eyes of the L-rd.
  These are the progeny of Noach. [(Noach's name having been mentioned, "The remembrance of the righteous is for blessing," viz.:)] Noach was a righteous man; perfect was he in his generations. With G-d [i.e., with His support] Noach walked.
  And Noach begot three sons: Shem, Cham, and Yafeth.
  And the earth became corrupt [(with illicit relations and idolatry)] before G-d, and the earth was filled with theft.
  And G-d beheld the earth, and, behold, it had become corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted its way upon the earth, [even beasts, animals, and birds mating outside of their kind].
  And G-d said to Noach: The end of all flesh has come before Me, [illicit relations and idolatry bringing "promiscuous" destruction to the world], for the earth is filled with theft through them, [theft "sealing" their decree], and, behold, I shall destroy them from the earth.
  Make for yourself an ark of gopher wood. [Measured] compartments shall you make in the ark, and you shall pitch it inside and outside with pitch [against the turbulent waters].
  And this is how you shall make it: three hundred cubits, the length of the ark; fifty cubits, its width; and thirty cubits, its height.
  A window shall you make for the ark. To a cubit shall you finish it above, [the roof slanting upwards to a cubit so that the water would run down its sides], and the door of the ark shall you place in its side, [so that the rain not enter it]. Lower stories [for dung], middle stories [for animals], and third stories [for men] shall you make it.
  And, behold, I shall bring the deluge [(in concession to the angels' "What is man that You are mindful of him?")], waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh that has in it a spirit of life from under the heavens. All that is on the earth shall perish.
  And I shall establish My covenant with you [(a "covenant" being needed so that the food not decay and so that the wicked ones of the generation not kill him)]. And you shall come to the ark; you and your sons, and your wife and the wives of your sons with you [(men and women separately, cohabitation being forbidden to them in the ark)].
  And of all that lives [(including demons)], of all flesh, [at least] two [male and female] of all [even of the least numerous] shall you bring to the ark to keep alive with you. Male and female shall they be.
  Of birds [who had mated] according to their kind [and not promiscuously] and of beasts according to their kind, of all the creeping things of the ground, according to their kind — two of all shall come to you to keep alive, [(all coming, the ark admitting only those which had mated with their kind, and Noach taking two of these)].
  And you, take for yourself all of the food that is to be eaten, and gather it unto you, and it shall be for you and for them to eat.
  And Noach did [i.e., built] as all that G-d commanded him; thus did he do.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Noach: Come, you and all your household into the ark; for you have I seen to be righteous before Me in this generation [(as opposed to "perfectly righteous" (6:9), only part of a man's praises being stated to his face)].
  Of all the beasts that are [destined to be pronounced] clean [to Israel (whence it follows that Noach studied Torah)], take for yourself seven, seven, male and female, [some to be sacrificed upon leaving the ark], and of the beasts which are not clean, two, male and female.
  Also, of the [clean] birds of heaven, seven, seven, male and female, to sustain seed on the face of all the earth.
  For in an additional seven days [seven days of mourning in honor of Methuselah, in addition to the 120 year grace period], I shall bring down rain upon the earth, forty days and forty nights [(retribution for constraining the L-rd to form bastard embryos, (forty days being the formation period)], and I shall blot out every being that I have made from the face of the earth.
  And Noach did as all that the L-rd had commanded him, [in entering the ark].
  And Noach was six hundred years old when the deluge was water upon the earth.
  And Noach and his sons, and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him, entered the ark [(men and women separately, cohabitation being forbidden because of the world's affliction)] in the face of the waters of the deluge, [(even Noach being one of the "small in faith," not entering until actually being "pushed" by the waters)].
  Of the clean beast and of the beast which is not clean and of the fowl and all that creeps upon the ground.
  Two, two [(at the least)] they came to Noach to the ark, male and female, as G-d had commanded Noach.
  And it was, after the seven days, that the waters of the deluge were upon the earth.
  In the six hundredth year of Noach's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month — on this day, all the fountains of the great deep burst, and the windows of heaven were opened.
  And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights [(G-d bringing it down first as "merciful" rain pending their repentance, which, not forthcoming, it was changed to a flood (17)].
  On this very day, [in plain sight, in defiance of the wicked ones who said: If we see him entering the ark we will kill him], Noach, and Shem, Cham, and Yefeth, the sons of Noach, and the wife of Noach, and the three wives of his sons with them, came to the ark.
  They, and every animal according to its kind, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth according to its kind, and every flying thing according to its kind, every bird of every [type of] wing, [including locusts].
  And they came to Noach to the ark, two, two, of all flesh which had in it the spirit of life.
  And those who came, male and female of all flesh came, as G-d had commanded him, and the L-rd closed up [the ark] for him [against the waters].
  And the flood was on the earth forty days, and the waters increased and bore up the ark, and it was lifted above the earth.
  And the waters grew stronger and increased greatly upon the earth, and the ark moved on the face of the waters.
  And the waters grew exceedingly stronger upon the earth, and all the high mountains under all of the heavens were covered.
  The waters grew stronger [until they were] fifteen cubits above [the mountains], and the mountains were covered.
  And all the flesh died that moved upon the ground, in bird, beast, and animal, and in all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all men (died).
  Whatever had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils, of all that was on the dry land, died, [but not the fish in the sea].
  And He blotted out every being upon the face of the ground — from man until beast until creeping thing until bird of heaven. And they were blotted out from the earth, and there remained only Noach and those with him in the ark.
  And the waters grew stronger upon the earth, a hundred and fifty days.
  
  
  
  And G-d [(Elokim, the attribute of justice, having been transmuted to that of mercy by Noach's prayers)] remembered Noach and all of the animals, and all of the beasts which were with him in the ark, [G-d "remembering" in their behalf that they had not corrupted their ways (by mating with different species) and that they had not mated in the ark], and G-d passed [before Him] a spirit [of conciliation and easement] over the ["affairs" of] the earth, and the waters receded.
  And the fountains of the deep were dammed up [(not all the fountains as in 7:11; those needed for the continuation of the world were left open)] and the openings of heaven; and the rain was withheld from the heavens.
  And the waters started returning from upon the earth, and the waters began receding at the end of a hundred and fifty days [on the first of Sivan].
  And the ark rested in [Sivan] the seventh month [after Kislev, when the rains had stopped falling], on the seventeenth day of the month, on Mount Ararat.
  And the waters kept on receding until [Av] the tenth month [after the beginning of the rain in Marcheshvan]. In the tenth month, on the first day of the month, the tops of the mountains were seen.
  And it was at the end of forty days [from when the tops of the mountains were seen] that Noach opened the window [i.e., the skylight] of the ark that he had made.
  And he sent the raven, and it went out and circled [(the ark, not executing its mission, suspecting Noach of designs upon its mate)], until the waters had dried off from the earth.
  And he sent away the dove from him [after seven days] to see if the waters had "lightened" from the face of the ground.
  And the dove found no rest for the sole of its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for waters were on the face of the whole earth. And he sent forth his hand and he took it and he brought it to him to the ark.
  And he waited yet another seven days, and he again sent forth the dove from the ark.
  And the dove came to him towards evening, and, behold, it had torn an olive leaf with its beak, and Noach knew that the waters had lightened from off the earth.
  And he held off another seven days, and he sent the dove, and it did not return to him again.
  And it was in the six hundred and first year (of Noach's life), in the first month [of the year], on the first day of the month, that the water dried from off the earth, and Noach removed the covering of the ark, and, behold, the face of the earth had become (somewhat) hardened.
  And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, [exactly one solar year after the beginning of the flood (see 7:11), this being the duration of the punishment of the generation of the flood], the earth dried up [i.e., it returned to its normal state].
  And G-d spoke to Noach, saying:
  Go out of the ark — you and your wife, [cohabitation now being permitted (see 7:7)], and your sons and the wives of your sons with you.
  Every animal that is with you, of all flesh, of bird and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth haytzeh ["Tell them to go out" (this, the spoken form), or hotzeh, "Take them out" (by force, if they refuse to leave — this, the written form)] with you, and they shall teem in the earth, [but not in the ark (whence it is seen that even the beasts and the birds were forbidden to mate there)], and they shall be fruitful and shall multiply upon the earth.
  And there went out Noach and his sons and his wife, and the wives of his sons with him.
  Every animal, every creeping thing, and every bird — every thing that creeps upon the earth, according to their families [(They took upon themselves to mate only with their kind)] went out of the ark.
  And Noach built an altar to the L-rd, and he took of all the clean beasts and of all the clean birds and he offered up burnt-offerings upon the altar, [reasoning that he had been commanded to bring "seven, seven" of those (7:2) only so that he might offer sacrifices].
  And the L-rd smelled the fragrant odor, and the L-rd said within His heart: I shall not again curse the ground for the sake of man. For the inclination of man's heart is evil from his youth [(min'eurav, lit., from the time he "bestirs" himself (to leave his mother's womb)], and I shall not again [(repetition constituting an oath)] smite all living things as I have done.
  No more shall cease, all the days of the earth, seed-time [half of Tishrei, Marcheshvan, and half of Kislev], and harvest-time [half of Nissan, Iyyar, and half of Sivan], cold-season [half of Kislev, Teveth, and half of Shvat], and hot season [half of Av, Elul, and half of Tishrei], summer-fruit season [half of Sivan, Tammuz, and half of Av], and winter-fruit season [half of Shvat, Adar, and half of Nissan], and day and night [shall not cease (whence it is seen that all the days of the flood they did cease)].
  
  
  
  And G-d blessed Noach and his sons, and He said to them: Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.
  And your dread and your awe shall be upon all the animals of the earth and on all the birds of the heaven, on all that moves upon the earth and on all the fish of the sea; into your hand are they given.
  Every creeping thing that lives shall be for you to eat. As green herbs [which alone, I permitted to Adam], to you have I given all.
  Only, you shall not eat flesh with its life [(the ban on ever min hachai — flesh torn from a living animal)] — blood [(the ban on blood from a living animal)].
  But [though I have permitted you to take the life of a beast], I shall require your blood [(if you take your life)] for your lives [even if you do not spill blood, (e.g., strangulation)]. From the hand of every animal will I [now] require it, [the men of the generation of the flood having been consigned as prey to the beasts], and from the hand of man [one who kills wilfully, in the absence of witnesses], from the hand of a man [against one he loves as] his brother, [whom he kills unwittingly, in the absence of witnesses to make him liable to exile, and in the absence of contrition and penance on his part], I shall require the life of a man.
  One who spills the blood of man [in the presence of witnesses], by man shall his blood be spilled. [Why so?] For in the image of G-d did He make man.
  And you, be fruitful and multiply, [(this being stated originally (9:1) as a blessing, and here, as a command)], teem in the earth and increase in it.
  And G-d said to Noach and to his sons with him, saying:
  And I, behold, [I concur with you in your apprehension of begetting children (with the threat of another deluge looming over them) and] I am establishing My covenant with you [not to destroy you], and with your seed after you.
  And with all living things that are with you, of bird and beast, and of all the animals of the earth that are ["compatible"] with you, of all that leave the ark [including reptiles and creeping things], of all the animals of the earth [including mazikkin ("injurers")].
  And I will confirm [through the sign of the rainbow] My covenant with you, and no flesh will again be cut off by the waters of the deluge, and there will not again be a deluge to destroy the earth.
  And G-d said: This is the sign of the covenant that I give between Me and you and between every living soul that is with you for the generations [(doroth, written defective, some generations of righteous men not requiring a sign)] forever.
  My bow have I set in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of a covenant between Me and the earth.
  And it will be, when I "cloud a cloud" upon the earth [i.e., when it enters My mind to bring darkness and destruction to the world], then the bow will be seen in the cloud.
  And I shall remember My covenant between Me and you and between every living thing of all flesh, and the waters will no more be a deluge to destroy all flesh.
  And the bow will be in the cloud and I will see it, to remember the eternal covenant between G-d [Elokim — the Attribute of Justice] and between every living soul in all flesh upon the earth.
  And G-d said to Noach [showing him the bow]: This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between Me and between all flesh that is on the earth.
  And the sons of Noach who went out of the ark were Shem, Cham, and Yefeth; and Cham was the father of Canaan [(the relationship being mentioned here to shed light on what is to follow vis-à-vis the cursing of Cham and Canaan)].
  These three are the sons of Noach, and from these did the whole earth spread.
  And Noach profaned himself, the lord of the ground, and he planted a vineyard. [He should have planted something else first.]
  And he drank from the wine and he was inebriated and he uncovered himself in the midst of his tent [ahalo, written "ahalah," an allusion to the ten tribes, called by the name of Shomron (Ahalah), who were exiled because of overindulgence in wine].
  And Cham the father of Canaan saw [(Some say Canaan saw and reported it to his father)] the nakedness of his father [(Some say that he castrated him; others, that he sodomized him)], and he told his two brothers outside.
  And Shem took [(Shem, exerting himself on behalf of the mitzvah more than Yefeth did (for which reason his descendants merited the mitzvah of tzitzith)] and Yefeth, the garment [(for which reason he merited burial for his descendants (Ezekiel 39:11), (the descendants of Cham, who shamed his father, being led in nakedness into exile (Isaiah 20:4)], and they placed it on the shoulders of both and they walked backwards, and they covered the nakedness of their father, and their faces were [(kept)] turned backwards [when they drew near him to cover him], and the nakedness of their father they did not see.
  And Noach awoke from his wine and he knew what his "small" [i.e., unworthy, despicable] son had done to him.
  And he said: Cursed is Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be to his brothers.
  And he said: Blessed is the L-rd, the G-d of Shem, [who is destined to keep His promise to his (Shem's) seed and give them the land of Canaan], and Canaan will be a servant to him.
  G-d will "expand" Yefeth, but He will dwell in the tents of Shem, and Canaan will be a servant unto him. [Even after the sons of Shem are exiled, servants will be sold to them from the sons of Canaan.]
  And Noach lived after the flood three hundred and fifty years.
  And all the days of Noach were nine hundred and fifty years, and he died.
  
  
  
  And these are the progeny of the sons of Noach — Shem, Cham, and Yafeth. And sons were born to them after the deluge.
  The sons of Yefeth: Gomer, Magog, Maddai, Yavan, Tuval, Meshech and Tiras [Persia].
  And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Rifath, and Togarmah.
  And the sons of Yavan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
  From these there branched out the islands of the nations in their lands, each after his tongue, according to their families in their nations.
  And the sons of Cham: Kush, Mitzrayim, Fut, and Canaan.
  And the sons of Kush: Seva, Chavilah, Savtah, Ra'amah, and Savtecha. And the sons of Ra'amah: Sheva and Dedan.
  And Kush begot Nimrod. He began to be a mighty one in the earth [to cause all to rebel (nimrod = "Let us rebel") against the Holy One Blessed be He in the counsel of the Tower of Babel)].
  He was a "mighty snare" [ensnaring men with his mouth and inciting them to rebel against G-d] before the L-rd ["to His face!"], wherefore it is said [of such as he]: "As Nimrod, a mighty snare before the L-rd."
  And the beginning of his kingdom was Bavel and Erech and Akkad and Kalnah in the land of Shinar.
  Ashur went out of that land [when he saw his sons heeding Nimrod and building the tower in rebellion against the L-rd], and he built Ninveh, and Rechovoth-Ir, and Kalach.
  And Ressen, between Ninveh and Kalach. It [Ninveh] is "the great city." [see Jonah (1:2)]
  And Mitzrayim begot Ludim and Anamim and Lehavim [so called because of their fiery faces (lahav = flame)] and Naftuchim.
  And Patrusim and Kashluchim, whence came forth Plishtim and Kaftorim [Patrusim and Kasluchim "exchanging" their wives, and "between both" begetting Plishtim and Kaftorim].
  And Canaan begot Tziddon, his first-born, and Cheth.
  And the Yevussi and the Emori and the Girgashi.
  And the Chivi and the Arki and the Sini.
  And the Arvadi and the Tzemari and the Chamathi. And after, [from these] there spread forth [many] families of the Canaani.
  And the border of the Canaani was from Tziddon as you come to Gerar, until Azzah; as you come to Sodom and Amorrah and Admah and Tzvoyim, until Lasha.
  These are the sons of Cham according to their families. [(They are all sons of Cham, even though they branched out)] according to their tongues, in their lands, and in their nations.
  And to Shem was born, he too, the father of all the children of Ever, [(i.e., Shem was the father of all the children of ever hanahar (the other side of the Euphrates)], the brother of Yefeth, the elder [(Cham not being mentioned in that he, unlike Shem and Yefeth, did not honor his father)].
  The sons of Shem: Eilam, Ashur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
  And the sons of Aram: Utz, Chul, Gether, and Mash.
  And Arpachshad begot Shalach, and Shelach begot Ever.
  And to Ever was born two sons; the name of the first, Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided (niflegah) [Languages were confounded and men "divided themselves" throughout the earth], and the name of his brother was Yaktan. [(Because he "humbled" (hiktin) himself, he merited the many families (which follow).]
  And Yaktan begot Almodad, and Shalef, and Chatzarmaveth, and Yarach.
  And Hadoram, and Uzzal, and Diklah.
  And Oval, and Avimael, and Sheva.
  And Ofir, and Chavilah, and Yovav —- all these are the sons of Yaktan.
  And their habitation was from Mesha, as you come to Sefar, a mountain of the east.
  These are the sons of Shem by their families according to their tongues, in their lands according to their nations.
  These are the families of the sons of Noach, their progeny according to their nations. And from these there branched out the nations of the earth after the deluge.
  
  
  
  And all the earth was one language [the holy tongue] and single speech [i.e., united counsel].
  And it was, when they traveled from the east [(see 10:30) to find a place that would contain them all] that they found a valley in the land of Shinar and they settled there.
  And one [nation] said to the other: Ready yourselves. Let us make bricks, [there being no stone in Bavel (which is a valley)], and let us fire them [in an oven]. And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar [for wall plaster].
  And they said: Let us build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered [by an act of Heaven] upon the face of all the earth.
  And the L-rd "went down to see" [(an object lesson to judges: that they not judge until they see and understand)] the city and the tower which the sons of [ungrateful] man [whom He had rescued from the flood] had built.
  And the L-rd said: Behold, [all of this good is theirs:] they are one people, and all of them have one language, and this is what they begin to do! And now, should there not be withheld from them all that they scheme to do!
  Let us [G-d and the celestial tribunal (G-d, in His great humility, including them with Him)] ("Let us") go down ["measure for measure" for "Let us build" (4)] and confound there their language, that one man not understand another's tongue [and discord result].
  And the L-rd scattered them from there [in this world ("measure for measure" for (4) "lest we be scattered")] on the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city.
  Therefore, it is called Bavel; for there the L-rd confounded (balal) the language of all the earth, and from there the L-rd scattered them [(their having no portion in the world to come)] on the face of all the earth.
  These are the progeny of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old when he begot Arpachshad two years after the deluge.
  And Shem lived after he begot Arpachshad, five hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Arpachshad lived thirty-five years and he begot Shalach.
  And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelach four hundred and three years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Shelach lived thirty years and he begot Ever.
  And Shelach lived after he begot Ever four hundred and three years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Ever lived thirty-four years and he begot Paleg.
  And Ever lived after he begot Peleg four hundred and thirty years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Peleg lived thirty years and he begot Re'u.
  And Peleg lived after he begot Re'u, two hundred and nine years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Re'u lived thirty-two years and he begot Serug.
  And Re'u lived after he begot Serug two hundred and seven years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Serug lived thirty years and he begot Nachor.
  And Serug lived after he begot Nachor two hundred years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Nachor lived twenty-nine years and he begot Terach.
  And Nachor lived after he begot Terach a hundred and nineteen years, and he begot sons and daughters.
  And Terach lived seventy years and he begot Avram, Nachor, and Haran.
  And these are the progeny of Terach: Terach begot Avram, Nachor and Haran, and Haran begot Lot.
  And Haran died in the lifetime of Terach his father, in the land of his birth, Ur Kasdim.
  And Avram and Nachor took for themselves wives. The name of the wife of Avram was Sarai, and the name of the wife of Nachor was Milkah, the daughter of Haran, the father of Milkah and the father of Yiskah [Sarah, so called: because she "looked" (sachah) through the Holy Spirit, because all "gazed" at her beauty, and because of her queenly grace (nesichuth)]
  And Sarah was barren; she had no child.
  And Terach took Avram, his son, and Lot, the son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai, his daughter-in-law, the wife of Avram, his son, and they [Terach and Avram] went out with them [Lot and Sarai] from Ur Kasdim to go to the land of Canaan; and they came until Charan and they dwelt there.
  And the days of Terach were two hundred and five years, and Terach "died" in Charan, [the wicked, even in their lifetimes being called "dead" (Scripture stating this here so that Avram's leaving Charan not be felt as a breach of the honor due his father)].
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Avram: Go, for your sake, [for your benefit and for your good], from your land and from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you.
  And I shall make of you a great nation, and I shall bless you [with wealth], and I shall make your name great, and you shall be a [source of] blessing.
  And I shall bless those who bless you, and those who curse you shall I curse, and they shall bless themselves in you [i.e., in your name] all the families of the earth.
  And Avram went as the L-rd spoke to him, and Lot went with him. And Avram was seventy-five years old when he went out of Charan.
  And Avram took Sarai, his wife, and Lot, his brother's son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls [i.e., bondsmen and bondswomen] that they had acquired in Charan, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.
  And Avram passed through the land until the place of Shechem, until Eilon Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land, [conquering Eretz Yisrael from the seed of Shem].
  And the L-rd appeared to Avram and He said: To your seed shall I give this land. And he built there [for the tidings of the seed and of the land] an altar to the L-rd, who had appeared to him.
  And he removed from there [his tent] to the mountain east of Bethel. And he pitched his tent, [first Sarai's, then his], Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And he built there an altar to the L-rd, [perceiving prophetically that his children would go astray there by the sin of Achan (Joshua 7)], and he called, [interceding for them] in the name of the L-rd.
  And Avram journeyed progressively southwards, [towards Jerusalem].
  And there was a famine in the land [of Canaan, whither G-d had bidden him go — the L-rd testing Avram], and Avram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was sore in the land.
  And it was, as he approached Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife: Behold, now [the time has come to worry about your beauty.] I have long known you to be a beautiful woman.
  And it will be, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say: "This is his wife!" and they will kill me and keep you alive.
  Say, now, that you are my sister, so that it be well for me for your sake [i.e., so that they give me gifts], and so that I remain alive because of you.
  And it was, when Avram came to Egypt, [with Sarai hidden in a chest] that the Egyptians spied the woman and found her to be very beautiful.
  And the officers of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her [among themselves] as being for Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house.
  And he [Pharaoh] benefitted Avram for her sake, and he had flocks and herds, and he-asses, and bondsmen and bondswomen, and she-asses and camels.
  And the L-rd plagued Pharaoh with great afflictions, as well as [the people of] his house, at the behest of Sarai, Avram's wife.
  And Pharaoh called to Avram and he said: What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she is your wife?
  Why did you say "She is my sister," so that I took her for me as a wife? And now, here is your wife. Take her and go [out of Egypt (for the Egyptians are licentious)].
  And Pharaoh appointed men for him [to guard him], and they escorted him and his wife and all that was his.
  
  
  
  And Avram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that was with him, and Lot with him to the south [of Eretz Yisrael].
  And Avram was very heavy, with kine, with silver and with gold.
  And he went on his travels, [from Egypt, stopping in the same inns as when he had journeyed there (whence we derive that one should not vary his lodgings)] from the south [Egypt being south of Canaan] until Bethel, until the place where his tent was in the beginning, between Bethel and Ai.
  To the place of the altar which he had made there at first, where Avram had called upon the name of the L-rd.
  And also unto Lot, who went with Avram [— because he went with Avram] there were flocks and herds, and tents.
  And the [pasturage of the] land did not suffice for them to dwell together, for their substance was great, and they could not dwell together.
  And there was a dispute between Avram's herdsmen and Lot's herdsmen [the former rebuking the latter for allowing their flocks to grace in others' fields, the latter arguing that there was no theft in this in that the land belonged to Lot, Avram's sole heir.] But [(states Scripture)] the Canaani and the Perizi then dwelt in the land, [so that Avram not yet having taken possession of the land, the practice of Lot's herdsmen did, indeed, constitute theft.]
  And Avram said to Lot: Let there not be a dispute between me and you, and between my herdsmen and yours, for we are kinsmen.
  Is not the whole land before you? Part, I pray you, from me. If you go to the left, I will be at your right [to defend you]; and if you go to the right, I will be at your left.
  And Lot lifted his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, it being all watered [with streams]. Before the L-rd destroyed Sodom and Amorah, it was like the Garden of the L-rd, like the land of Egypt [for sowing] until Tzoar.
  And Lot chose for himself the entire plain of the Jordan, and Lot traveled from the east [of Avram, going west], and they parted, one from the other.
  Avram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain, and he pitched tents [for his herdsmen and his herds] until Sodom.
  And the people of Sodom were evil [with their bodies] and sinful [with their wealth] to the L-rd exceedingly, [in spite of which Lot did not forbear living among them].
  And the L-rd said to Avram after Lot departed from him [(the Word not coming to him so long as that evil one was with him)]: Raise your eyes, now, and see, from the place where you are — north, south, east, and west.
  For all the land that you see, to you shall I give it, and to your seed forever.
  And I shall make your seed as the dust of the earth — so that just as the dust of the earth cannot be counted, so your seed will not be counted.
  Arise, walk in the land, in its length and its breadth, for to you shall I give it.
  And Avram pitched his tent, and he came and he dwelt in the plains of [the man] Mamre, in Chevron, and he built there an altar to the L-rd.
  
  
  
  And it was in the days of Amrafel [Nimrod (10:8-9)], king of Shinar; Aryoch, king of Elassar; Kedarlaomer, king of Elam; and Tidal, king of Goyim, [a place so called because many nations (goyim) gathered there],
  that they made war with Bera ["evil" (to Heaven and evil to man)], king of Sodom; Birsha [(ascending "in wickedness")], king of Amorah; Shinav ["hating his Father" (in heaven)], king of Admah; Shemever ["took wing" (to rebel against the L-rd)], king of Tzvoyim, and the king of Bela, which is [the city of] Tzoar.
  All of these joined together in the valley of Siddim ["many fields"], which is [now] the Salt Sea, [the waters having spilled into it].
  Twelve years they [these five kings] served Kedarlaomer, and for thirteen years, they rebelled.
  And in the fourteenth year [of their rebellion], Kedarlaomer came and the kings who were with him, [the other three], and they smote Refaim in Ashteroth Karnayim, the Zuzim [same as Zamzumim (Deuteronomy 2:10)] in Ham, and the Eimim in Shaveh Kiryathaim.
  And the Chori, in their mountain, Seir, until El [the plain of] Paran, which is near the desert.
  And they returned and they came to Ein Mishpat ["the spring of judgment" (so called because Moses and Aaron were destined to be judged there regarding the spring (Numbers 20:1 and 14)], which is Kadesh, and they smote the entire field of the Amaleki [so called in terms of the future, (Amalek not having yet been born)], and also the Emori, who dwelt in Chatzatzon Tamar [Ein Gedi].
  And there went out the king of Sodom and the king of Amorah and the king of Admah and the king of Tzvoyim and the king of Bela, which is Tzoar, and they waged war against them in the valley of Siddim.
  Kedarlaomer, king of Elam; Tidal, king of Goyim; Amrafel, king of Shinar; Aryoch, king of Elassar — four kings against the five, [in spite of which the former were victorious (a tribute to Avram's subsequent vanquishing of them)].
  And the valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and the king of Sodom and Amorah fled and fell there, and those that remained fled to a mountain.
  And they took all the wealth of Sodom and Amorah and all of their food and they went.
  And they took Lot and his wealth, the son of Avram's brother, and they went. And he sat in Sodom. [What was the cause of his being despoiled? His sitting in Sodom.]
  And the survivor came, [Og, who had escaped from the battle (see Deuteronomy 3:11)], and he told Avram the Ivri, [from ever (the other side of) the river (Euphrates)]; and he lived in the plains of Mamre, the Emori, the brother of Eshkol and the brother of Aner, who had made a covenant with Avram.
  And Avram heard that his brother had been taken captive, and he spurred his novices, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and he pursued them until Dan, [his strength waning there (Avram seeing, prophetically, that his descendants were destined to erect the image of a calf there)].
  And he and his servants divided [themselves] against them at night, and he pursued them until Chovah, [Dan, so called because of its guilt (chov), idolatry], which was to the left of Damascus.
  And he returned all of the wealth, and also Lot, his brother, and his wealth he returned, and also the women and the people.
  And the king of Sodom went out towards him after he returned from smiting Kedarlaomer and the kings who were with him, to the valley of Shaveh, the king's vale [his race-course].
  And Malkitzedek, the king of Shalem, brought out bread and wine [(standing fare for the battle-weary), Malkitzedek demonstrating thereby that he bore Avram no malice for having killed his sons.] And he was a Cohein to G-d on High.
  And he blessed him and said: Blessed is Avram to G-d on High, Possessor of heaven and earth, [having acquired them by creating them].
  And blessed is G-d on High, who has delivered your foes into your hand. And he (Avram) gave him a tithe of all, [Malkitzedek being a Cohein].
  And the king of Sodom said to Avram: Give me the souls [from the spoils taken of me, which you have rescued], and the wealth take for yourself.
  And Avram said to the king of Sodom: I lift my hand [in oath] to the L-rd, G-d on High, Possessor of heaven and earth,
  Nothing — from a thread until a sandal latchet [shall I keep for myself], nor shall I take [from your treasure house, if you would offer it to me,] anything that is yours, so that you not say: "I made Avram rich" [for the L-rd promised to make me rich (12:2)]
  Except what the youths have eaten, and the portion of the men [my bondsmen], who went with me [to do battle, and] Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre, [who guarded the baggage] — they shall take their portion.
  
  
  
  After these things, [the miracles wrought for him in vanquishing the kings, (Avram worrying that he might thereby have received his full reward)], the word of the L-rd came to Avram in a vision, saying: Do not fear, Avram; I am a shield [against punishment] for you [for the men that you have killed; and, as to your concern over having received your full reward], your reward is extremely great.
  And Avram said: L-rd G-d, what will You give me? I go wasted, [without children], and the purveyor of my household, [who would otherwise, be my son,] is Eliezer of Damascus.
  And Avram said: Behold, to me You have not given seed. [Of what avail, then, is all You have given me], when the son of my household [Eliezer] shall inherit me?
  And, behold, the word of the L-rd (came) to him, saying: This one shall not inherit you, but one who issues from your loins — he will inherit you.
  And He took him outside [of his tent], and He said: Look, now, heavenwards, and count the stars if you can count them. And He said to him: Thus shall be your seed.
  And he believed in the L-rd, [not asking a sign for this as he did for the inheritance of the land (8)], and He accounted it [his not asking for a sign] unto him as righteousness.
  And He said to him: I am the L-rd who took you out of Ur Kasdim to give you this land to inherit it.
  And he said: O L-rd, G-d, whereby shall I know that I shall inherit it?
  And He said to him: Take for Me three heifers, [intimating three bullocks: the bullock of Yom Kippur, the bullock of communal forgetfulness (Leviticus 4:13), and the bullock of the broken neck (Deuteronomy 21:4)], and three goats, [intimating the goat offered within (the holy of holies), the additional Festival goats, and the sin-offering goat of the individual (as opposed to that of the congregation)], and three rams, [intimating the confirmed guilt-offering, the suspended guilt-offering, and the sin-offering ewe of the individual], and a turtle-dove and a young pigeon.
  And he took unto Him all these, [(the bullocks, rams, and goats, representing the nations; and the young doves, Israel)] and he split them [it being the custom of those entering into a covenant to split a beast and walk through the pieces, (G-d and Avram entering into a covenant here for Israel's inheritance of the land)], (… and he split them) in the middle, [(a sign that the nations would be destroyed)]. And he placed each piece opposite the other; but the birds he did not split [(a sign that Israel would remain "intact")].
  And (predatory) birds swooped down upon the [pieces of the] carcasses, and Avram swept them away [(a sign that David the son of Yishai will seek to destroy them (the nations), but will not be permitted to do so, until the advent of the Messiah.)]
  And the sun was about to set when a great sleep fell over Avram, and behold, a great dark fright [(intimating the woes and darkness of Israel's exiles)] descended upon him.
  And He said to Avram: Know shall you know that your seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and they shall serve them and they shall afflict them, four hundred years [(from the birth of Isaac until the exodus)].
  And also [(including the four kingdoms)] the nation that they shall serve will I judge [with ten plagues], and afterwards they shall leave with great wealth [see Exodus 12:36].
  And you will come to your fathers [(Terach repented of his idolatry)] in peace [not witnessing any of the above]. You will be buried in a good old age, [Ishmael repenting and Esav not turning to evil in his days].
  And the fourth generation [of the Egyptian exile] shall return here [to Canaan (e.g., Calev, the son of Chetzron, the son of Peretz, the son of Judah was among those entering the land)], for the sin of the Emori would not have been consummated, [(justifying their being driven out of the land)] until then.
  And it was, when the sun had set and it was dark, and, behold, a smoking furnace and a torch of fire that passed between these pieces [(intimating the descent of the kingdoms into Gehinnom)].
  On that day the L-rd made a covenant with Avram, saying: To your seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt until the Great River, the Euphrates [(called the "Great river" because of its being mentioned in conjunction with Eretz Yisrael)].
  The Keini and the Kenizi and the Kadmoni.
  And the Chitti and the Perizi and the Refaim.
  And the Emori and the Canaani and the Girgashi and the Yevussi, [ten nations all told, although only seven were conquered. The Keini, the Kenizi, and the Kadmoni (Edom, Moav, and Ammon) were destined to be inherited in time to come (Isaiah 11:4)].
  
  
  
  And Sarai the wife of Avram had not borne (children) unto him. And she had an Egyptian handmaid [the daughter of Pharaoh], whose name was Hagar.
  And Sarai said to Avram: Behold, the L-rd has held me back from bearing. Come, I pray you, to my handmaid. Perhaps I will be built up through her [in the merit of bringing my rival into my house]. And Avram heeded the voice [the Holy spirit] of Sarai.
  And Sarai the wife of Avram "took" [by suasion] Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after ten years [(this being the mandatory period for taking a new wife after a childless union)] of Avram's dwelling in the land of Canaan [(the years outside the land of Canaan being irrelevant in this regard)], and she gave her to Avram her husband as a wife.
  And he came to Hagar and she conceived [from the first union]. And when she saw that she had [thus] conceived, her mistress became light in her eyes [by invidious comparison].
  And Sarai said to Avram: [The punishment for] my being wronged is upon you [for having prayed that you (not necessarily I) be granted children]. I gave my handmaid into your bosom, and when she saw that she had conceived I became light in her eyes. May the L-rd judge between me and you.
  And Avram said to Sarai: Behold, your handmaid is in your hand. Do with her as is good in your eyes. And Sarai afflicted her [with arduous labor] and she fled from her presence.
  And an angel of the L-rd found her by a well of water in the desert, by the well on the way to Shur.
  And he said: Hagar, handmaid of Sarai, whence do you come and whither are you going? And she said: I am fleeing Sarai my mistress.
  And an angel of the L-rd said to her [(a different angel being sent for each "saying")]: Return to your mistress and be afflicted under her hands.
  And an angel of the L-rd said to her: I shall multiply your seed, and they shall not be counted for multitude.
  And an angel of the L-rd said to her: Behold, you shall conceive [(her first conception having been aborted by Sarai's "evil eye")], and you will bear a son; and call his name Ishmael, for G-d [El] has given heed [shama] to your afflictions.
  And he will be a man of the wilderness, his hand against all [i.e., a robber] and the hand of all against him, [hating him and assailing him], and on the face of his brothers shall he dwell, [his seed being numerous].
  And she called the name of the L-rd who spoke to her "You are the G-d of seeing"; for she said: Would I have believed to see [an angel of the L-rd] here [in the wilderness], too, after having seen (angels) [in the house of Avram]?
  She, therefore, called the well "the well of the appearance of the living (angel)." It is between Kadesh and Bared.
  And Hagar bore a son to Avram. And Avram called [through the Holy Spirit] the name of his son, whom Hagar had borne, "Ishmael."
  And Avram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Avram [(this being mentioned to Ishmael's credit, that though thirteen years old when circumcised, (17:24-25), he did not protest)].
  
  
  
  And Avram was ninety-nine years old, and the L-rd appeared to Avram and He said to him: I am the All-Sufficient G-d. [Therefore,] walk before Me [i.e., worship Me] and be whole [in the trials I shall set for you, and I shall be your Patron].
  And I shall set My covenant [of love and of inheritance of the land (through the mitzvah of circumcision)] between Me and you, and I will increase you exceedingly.
  And Avram fell upon his face [in awe, lacking the power to stand in the presence of the Shechinah while yet uncircumcised]. And the L-rd spoke to him, saying:
  I, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.
  And your name will no longer be called Avram, but your name will be Avraham, for a father of a multitude (av hamon) of nations have I made you [("Av (ra) ham," acronymically = av hamon)]
  And I shall multiply you exceedingly, and I shall make of you nations [Israel and Edom, (Ishmael already having been born)], and kings will go forth from you.
  And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you throughout their generations as an eternal covenant, [My covenant being] to be a G-d unto you and unto your seed after you.
  And I will give unto you and unto your seed after you the land of your sojournings, the whole land of Canaan, as an eternal holding, and [there] I will be a G-d unto them [(but if one lives elsewhere, it is "as if he has no G-d")].
  And G-d said to Abraham: And, [as for] you, My covenant shall you keep, you and your seed after you throughout your generations.
  [And what constitutes its "keeping"?] This is My covenant which you shall keep between Me and you [those living now] and your seed after you, [those yet to be born] — that all of your males be circumcised.
  And you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be for a sign of the covenant between Me and you.
  And at eight days old, every male of yours throughout your generations shall be circumcised, (whether) born at home [of your maidservant] or bought for money [after he was born] of any stranger who is not of your seed.
  Circumcised, he shall be circumcised, [in any event, even (in certain cases) after eight days], one born in your house and one bought for your money, and My covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
  And an uncircumcised male [(the locus of circumcision being the "maleness" locus)], who does not circumcise the flesh of his foreskin [upon reaching the age of liability] — that soul shall be cut off from its people, [going childless and dying before his time. (But if his father is remiss in circumcising him, he is in transgression of a positive commandment, but does not incur "cutting off")]; My covenant has he broken.
  And G-d said to Abraham: Sarai your wife — you shall not call her name Sarai ["my mistress"]; but her name is Sarah ["mistress (over all)"].
  And I shall bless her, [rejuvenating her (18:12)], and I shall also give from her to you a son, and I shall bless her [with nursing breasts], and nations will issue from her; kings of peoples will come from her.
  And Abraham fell upon his face and he rejoiced. And he said in his heart: Would [anyone think that] a man of a hundred [would] beget! or that Sarah, a woman of ninety, would bear!
  And Abraham said to G-d: Would that Ishmael lived before You [i.e., worshipping You]!
  And G-d said: In truth, Sarah your wife shall bear a son unto you, and you shall call his name Yitzchak ["He shall laugh"], and I shall establish My covenant [of circumcision] with him, [and not with the sons of Ishmael and Keturah], an everlasting covenant, for his seed after him
  And, as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him and have made him fruitful, and have multiplied him exceedingly. Twelve princes (nesi'im) [also construable as "clouds" (which will vanish)] will he beget, and I shall make him a great nation.
  And My covenant shall I establish with Isaac [(Isaac was "holy", i.e., circumcised, from birth)], whom Sarah will bear unto you at this time in the following year.
  And He finished speaking with him, and G-d went up from Abraham, [(the righteous being the "chariot" of the L-rd)].
  And Abraham took Ishmael his son and all that were born in his house and all that were bought with his money, every male of the men of Abraham's household, and he circumcised the flesh of their foreskin. On this very same day, [in the daytime and not at night, (not fearing heathens or mockers, and (also) so that his foes and his contemporaries not say: Had we seen him, we would not have permitted him to do G-d's bidding)], as G-d had spoken to him.
  And Abraham was ninety-nine years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
  And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
  On this very same day, [when Abraham had completed his ninety-ninth year, and Ishmael, his thirteenth,] Abraham and Ishmael his son were circumcised.
  And all the men of his house, born in the house or bought with money from a stranger, were circumcised with him.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd appeared to him [to "visit the sick," it being the third day after his circumcision,] in the terebinths of Mamre, [Mamre having counseled him concerning circumcision]. And he sat at the opening of the tent [to host passersby] in the heat of the day.
  And he lifted his eyes and he saw, and, behold, three men [i.e., angels] were standing over him, [one to give tidings to Sarah (that she would bear a son), one to overturn Sodom, and one to heal Abraham.] And he saw [that they were hesitating to approach him], and he ran towards them from the opening of the tent, and he bowed down to the ground.
  And he said [to the greatest of them]: My lord, if I have now found favor in your eyes, do not now pass away from your servant.
  Let there be taken now a little water and wash your feet [(Abraham taking them for Arabs, who bow down idolatrously "to the dust of their feet")], and recline under the tree.
  And I shall take a piece of bread, and feast your hearts, and then pass on. For you have therefore passed by (the domicile of) your servant. And they said: So do, as you have spoken.
  And Abraham hurried to the tent, to Sarah, and he said: Bring quickly three measures of meal [to cover the pot], fine flour [for cakes], and knead it, and make cakes.
  And Abraham ran to the herd, and he took a calf, tender and good, and he gave it to the youth [Ishmael], and he hurried to dress it.
  And he cook cream and milk and the calf which he had dressed, and he set it before them, and he stood over them under the tree and they [gave the impression that they] ate.
  And they said to him: Where is Sarah, your wife? And he said: Behold, she is in the tent. [(She is modest.)]
  And he said: I [the L-rd] shall surely return to you at this time [Pesach] next year, and, behold, a son to Sarah your wife. And Sarah was listening at the opening of the tent, and it [the opening] was behind him [the angel].
  And Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. There had ceased in Sarah the way of women [i.e., menstruation].
  And Sarah laughed in [i.e., concerning] her innards, saying: After withering, I have been rejuvenated, and my lord is old.
  And the L-rd said to Abraham: Why, now, did Sarah laugh, saying: "Will I in truth give birth when I am old?" [(Scripture alters her words her for "the sake of peace." She really said: "when my lord is old.")]
  Is anything beyond the L-rd? At the appointed time I will return to you, at this time next year, and Sarah will have a son.
  And Sarah denied, saying: "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said: "No, but you did laugh!"
  And the men arose from there, and they lowered at the face of Sodom. And Abraham went with them to escort them.
  And the L-rd said: Shall I conceal from Abraham what I am going to do [to Sodom]?
  — when Abraham is destined to be a great and mighty nation in whom all the nations of the world will be blessed?
  For I have known him because he commands his children and his household after him to keep the way of the L-rd to do righteousness and judgment so that the L-rd bring upon Abraham what He spoke concerning him.
  And the L-rd said: The outcry of Sodom and Amorah, because it has become great, and their sin, because it is very heavy —
  I shall go down now and I shall see: If according to its outcry which comes unto Me, they have done [and persist in doing, I shall bring] destruction [upon them]. And if [they do] not [persist in their evil], I shall know [how to exact retribution for what they have already done].
  And the men turned from there [whence Abraham had accompanied them], and they went to Sodom; and Abraham still stood before the L-rd.
  And Abraham drew near [to contend, to conciliate, and to pray], and he said: Will You also cause to perish the righteous one with the wicked one?
  Perhaps there are fifty righteous ones in the midst of the city, [ten for each district, there being five (distinct) places] — Will You also cause to perish — and will You not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous ones in its midst?
  It is profane in You to do such a thing, to kill a righteous one with a wicked one, rendering the righteous one like the wicked one. It is profane in You. Will the Judge of all the land not do justice?
  And the L-rd said: If I find in Sodom fifty righteous ones in the midst of the city, then I shall spare the entire place [i.e., all (five) districts] for their sake.
  And Abraham answered and he said: I have now willed to speak to the L-rd when I should [already] have been [reduced to] dust [by the kings] and ashes [by Nimrod].
  Perhaps there shall lack of the fifty righteous ones, five. Will You destroy the entire city because of the five [and not add Yourself as a "righteous One" to each district to save the whole]? And He said: I shall not destroy if I find there forty-five.
  And he ventured to speak more unto Him and he said: Perhaps there will be found there forty [in four districts. Will You not save those districts?] And He said: I shall not do [i.e., destroy] for the sake of the forty.
  And he said: Let not the L-rd be wroth and I will speak. Perhaps there will be found there thirty. And He said: I shall not do if I find there thirty.
  And he said: Behold, I have willed to speak to the L-rd. Perhaps there will be found there twenty. And He said: I will not destroy for the sake of the twenty.
  And he said: Let not the L-rd be wroth and I will speak but this [last] time. Perhaps there will be found there ten. And He said: I will not destroy for the sake of the ten. [He did not venture to plead for less, reasoning from the fact that Noach, his sons, and their wives (eight altogether), had failed to save their generation (and having sought for but not having found nine in combination with the L-rd)].
  And the L-rd went when He finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
  
  
  
  And the two angels, [one to destroy Sodom; the other, to save Lot,] came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom [having that day been appointed as a judge.] And Lot saw and he arose towards them, and he bowed down with his face to the ground.
  And he said: Behold, now, my lords: Turn, now, [by a side-path so that you not be noticed] to the house of your servant, and sleep over and wash your feet, [afterwards, so that the men of Sodom think you to be recently arrived, and not fault me for having hidden you from them], and rise early and go on your way. And they said: No, but we will sleep over in the street.
  And he greatly implored them, and they turned aside to him and they came to his house. And he made a feast for them, and he baked matzoth, [it being Pesach], and they ate.
  They had not yet lain down, when the people of the city, the people of Sodom [i.e., evildoers], surrounded the house, from young to old — all of the people, from [one] end [of the city to the other (i.e., none protesting)].
  And they called to Lot and they said to him: Where are the men who came to you this night? Bring them out to us that we may know [i.e., cohabit with] them.
  And Lot went out to them at the door and he closed the door behind him.
  And he said: Do not, I pray you, my brothers, do ill.
  Behold, now, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Let me take them out now to you, and do to them as you wish. But to these men do not do anything; for therefore have they come under the shade of my roof.
  And they said [in respect to his offering his daughters]: "Betake yourself." And they said [in respect to his shielding of the angels]: The one [Lot] came to sojourn and he would be a judge! Now we shall harm you more than them! And they pressed upon the man, Lot, and they drew near to break down the door.
  And the men sent forth their hands and they brought Lot unto them into the house, and they shut the door.
  And the men at the entrance of the house they smote with blindness, from small, [who had initiated the transgression (19:4)], to great, and they wearied themselves to find the entrance.
  And the men said to Lot: Who else [besides your wife and your daughters at home] do you have here? [(If you have)] a son-in-law, or your sons [from your married daughters] and your daughters, and all that you have in the city — take it from the place.
  For we are going to destroy this place. For their outcry has grown great before the L-rd and the L-rd has sent us to destroy it.
  And Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law [(He had two married daughters in the city)] [and to] the takers of his daughters [i.e., the men to whom his two daughters at home were betrothed], and he said: Arise, go out of this place; for the L-rd is going to destroy the city. And he was as a jester in the eyes of his sons-in-law.
  And when the morning star rose [see 24], the angels rushed Lot, saying: Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are found [at home], lest you perish in the sin of the city.
  And he lingered [to save his wealth], and the men took hold of his hand, and the hand of his wife, and the hand of his two daughters, in the L-rd's mercy upon him, and they took him out, and they placed him outside the city.
  And it was, when they took them outside, that he [the angel deputed to save Lot] said: Escape with your life [and give no heed to your wealth]. Do not look behind you [at the destruction of Sodom, when you yourself are being saved.] And do not stand in the entire plain [of the Jordan]. Escape to the mountain [i.e., to Abraham, who dwells on the mountain (12:8)], lest you perish.
  And Lot said to them: Do not [urge me to escape to the mountain], I pray You, O L-rd —
  Behold, now, Your servant has found favor in Your eyes, and You have magnified Your lovingkindness which You did with me to keep my soul alive. I cannot escape to the mountain lest evil be imputed to me [relative to the righteousness of Abraham], and I die.
  Behold, now, this city is close by to flee there, and it is small, [with few people, so that it may be spared]. Let me escape there, I pray You — Is it not small? [so that it may be spared], and my soul will live.
  And He said to him: I have granted you favor also for this thing [(that the entire city be saved for your sake)], not to overthrow the city of which you spoke.
  Hurry, escape there. For I shall not be able to do anything until you come there. For this reason [i.e., that it is small (mitzar)], the city is called Tzoar.
  The sun rose upon the earth and Lot came to Tzoar.
  And the L-rd [He and His beth-din] had rained down upon Sodom and Amorah [when the morning star had risen (15), (when both sun and moon were in the heavens, so that no opening be given to sun or moon worshippers to attribute the destruction to the absence of their deity) rain which changed to] brimstone and fire, from the L-rd, from the heavens [the source of judgment].
  And He overturned these cities [(the four were situated on one rock, which He overturned] and the entire plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and the growth of the ground.
  And his wife looked from [i.e., when she was] behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.
  And Abraham arose early in the morning (to go) to the place where he had stood before the L-rd.
  And he looked out upon Sodom and Amorah and upon all the land of the plain, and he saw, and, behold, the smoke-column of the land rose as the smoke-column of a limekiln.
  And it was, when G-d destroyed the cities of the plain, that G-d remembered Abraham, and He sent Lot from the midst of the overturning, when He overturned the cities where Lot dwelt.
  And Lot went up from Tzoar and dwelt in the mountain, and his two daughters with him, for he was afraid to dwell in Tzoar, [it being too close to Sodom], and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters.
  And the elder said to the younger: Our father is old [and "if not now, when?"], and there is no man to cohabit with us in the way of all the land. [They assumed that all had perished as in the time of the flood.]
  Let us go and make our father drink wine and let us live with him and let us bring our father's seed to life.
  And they made their father drink wine that night [(Wine was "readied" for them in the cave for the bringing forth of two nations)]. And the elder came and lay with her father, and he did not know in her lying and in her rising.
  And it was on the morrow, that the elder said to the younger: I lay yesterday with my father. Let us give him wine to drink this night, too; and come, lie with him, and we will bring our father's seed to life.
  And they gave their father wine to drink on that night, too. And the younger arose and lay with him. And he did not know, in her lying down or in her getting up.
  And the two daughters of Lot conceived from their father.
  And the elder bore a son, and she called him Moav (lit., "from the father"). He is the father of Moav until this day.
  And the younger — she, too, bore a son, and she called him Ben-Ami (lit., "son of my people"). He is the father of the sons of Ammon until this day.
  
  
  
  And Abraham traveled from there to the land of the south, [seeing that wayfarers had ceased with the destruction of the cities]. And he dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and he lived in Gerar.
  And Abraham said of Sarah his wife: "She is my sister." And Avimelech, the king of Gerar, sent and took Sarah.
  And G-d came to Avimelech in a dream by night, and He said: Behold, you shall die because of the woman you have taken, for she is another man's wife.
  And Avimelech did not come near to her, [an angel preventing him], and he said: Do You then slay even a righteous nation [(i.e., the generation of the flood and of Bavel) as You now threaten to slay me?]
  Did he not say to me: "She is my sister"? And she, also she, [(including her bondsmen, camel drivers, and ass drivers)] said to me: "He is my brother." With innocence of heart, [not thinking to sin], and with cleanness of hands, [not having touched her] did I do this.
  And G-d said to him in a dream: I, too, know that you did this with innocence of heart, [not thinking to sin; but there is no "cleanness of hands" here,] for I, too, kept you from sinning to Me, wherefore I did not enable you to touch her.
  And, now, return the man's wife, [and do not think he will not take her back, assuming that you have lived with her, or that he will hate you and not pray for you], for he is a prophet [and he knows that you have not touched her], and he will pray for you, and you will live. And if you do not return (her), know that you will surely die, you and all that is yours.
  And Avimelech arose early in the morning and he called all of his servants and he spoke all of these words in their ears, and the men feared greatly.
  And Avimelech called to Abraham and said to him: What did you do to us and how have I sinned to you that you have brought upon me and my kingdom a great sin? Things that are not done have you done with me, [i.e., You have brought upon us an unnatural plague, the stoppage of all natural passages].
  And Avimelech said to Abraham: What did you see that you did this thing?
  And Abraham said: For I said: There is surely no fear of G-d in this place [When one comes to a city should they ask him whether he is in need of lodging or whether the woman with him is his wife or his sister!], and they will slay me because of my wife.
  And also, in truth, she is my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. [(Sarah, the daughter of Abraham's brother Haran (11:29) is considered the daughter of his father, and a sister by one's father is permitted to a Noachide.)]
  And it was, when G-d caused me to wander from my father's house, I said to her, [realizing that we would pass through places of evildoers]: This is your lovingkindness that you shall do with me: Wherever we come, say about me: "He is my brother."
  And Avimelech took flocks and herds and bondsmen and bondswomen and he gave them to Abraham [to conciliate him so that he would pray for him], and he returned to him Sarah his wife.
  And Avimelech said: Here is my land before you; dwell wherever you like.
  And to Sarah he said [in conciliation]: Behold, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your brother. It is a "covering of the eyes" for you of all who are with you, [that they not look lightly upon you, assuming you to have been violated by me and then discarded, (the payment indicating that I was "forced" to give you up)], and (it is a covering of the eyes) of all [men] and proof [that you have not been violated].
  And Abraham prayed to G-d, and G-d healed Avimelech and his wife and his bondswomen, and they were relieved [i.e., their passages were opened].
  For the L-rd had stopped up every passage in the house of Avimelech at the bidding of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd had visited Sarah [even before healing Avimelech, (one who prays for his neighbor — as Abraham did for Avimelech — being answered first)], as He had said [regarding conception (17:19)], and the L-rd did unto Sarah as He had spoken [to Abraham regarding the birth of an heir (15:1)].
  And Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which G-d had spoken [18:4].
  And Abraham called the name of the son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore unto him, Isaac.
  And Abraham circumcised Isaac his son when he was eight days old, as G-d had commanded him.
  And Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac his son was born to him.
  And Sarah said: G-d made rejoicing for me. All who hear will rejoice for me.
  And she said: Who is it [(i.e., see how exalted He is)] who said [(milel, 100 in gematria) that in the hundredth year] of Abraham Sarah would suckle children [(the matrons bringing their children to her to be nursed)], for I have borne a son in his old age.
  And the child grew and he was weaned [after twenty-four months], and Abraham made a great feast [i.e., one attended by the great men of the generation] on the day that Isaac was weaned.
  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, disporting himself [with idolatry].
  And she said to Abraham: Drive out this maidservant and her son. For the son of this maidservant will not inherit with my son [(even if he were not Isaac)], with Isaac [(even if he were not my son)].
  And the thing was very bad in the eyes of Abraham because of [being asked to drive out] his son.
  And G-d said to Abraham: Let it not be bad in your eyes because of the youth and because of your maidservant. Whatever Sarah says to you, hearken to her [(whence we derive that Abraham was secondary to Sarah in prophecy)]; for in Isaac will there be called seed unto you.
  And also the son of the maidservant I shall make a nation of him, for he is your seed.
  And Abraham rose early in the morning and he took bread and a skin-vessel of water, [but not silver and gold, for he hated Ishmael for having become corrupt], and he gave it to Hagar, placing it on her shoulder, along with the child [(Sarah having cast an evil eye upon him, rendering him feverish and unable to walk)], and he sent her and she went; and she strayed [She returned to the idolatry of her father's house] in the desert of Beersheva.
  And the water in the skin-vessel was finished and she cast the child under one of the growths.
  And she went and she sat from afar, about two bow shots away. For she said: Let me not see the death of the child. And [when he was close to death], she sat down farther off, and she lifted up her voice and she cried.
  And G-d heard the voice of the youth [(whence it is derived that the sick one's plaint is sooner heard and answered than the prayer of others for him)], and an angel of G-d called to Hagar from heaven, and he said to her: What grieves you, Hagar? Do not fear. For G-d has heard the voice of the child in his present station. [For the ministering angels protested Ishmael's being saved from thirst when he was destined to cause Israel to die of thirst (see Isaiah 21:13-14), and G-d answered that he was being judged according to his present (guiltless) status].
  Arise, lift up the child and strengthen your hand in him, for I shall make him a great nation.
  And G-d opened her eyes and she beheld a well of water, and she went and filled up the skin-vessel with water, and she gave the youth to drink.
  And G-d was with the youth, and he grew up, and he dwelt in the desert and became a bowman.
  And he dwelt in the desert of Paran, and his mother took for him a wife from the land of Egypt [where she had been reared.]
  And it was at that time that Avimelech and Phichol, the captain of his host, [seeing that Abraham had escaped the destruction of the region of Sodom, that he had defeated the kings (section 14), and that his wife had borne a child to him in his old age] said to Abraham: G-d is with you in all that you do.
  And, now, swear to me here by G-d that you will not deal falsely with me, or with my child, or with my grandchild, [(thus far, a man's compassion for his children)]. As the lovingkindness that I did with you [viz. (20:15): "Behold, my land is before you"] do with me and with the land in which you dwelt.
  And Abraham said: I shall swear.
  And Abraham contended with Avimelech over the well of water that the servants of Avimelech had stolen.
  And Avimelech said: I do not know who did this thing, and you, too, did not tell me, and I, too, did not hear of it until today.
  And Abraham took sheep and kine and gave them to Avimelech and the two of them made a covenant.
  And Abraham stood the seven ewe-lambs of the flock by themselves.
  And Avimelech said to Abraham: What are these seven ewe-lambs which you have stood by themselves?
  And he said: For seven ewe-lambs shall you take from my hand, that this [the waters of the well miraculously rising to Abraham in "confirmation" of his ownership] be a testimony unto me that I have dug this well.
  Therefore, he called that place Beersheva, for there they both swore (nishbe'u).
  And they made a covenant in Beersheva, and Avimelech arose, and Phichol, the captain of his host, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.
  And he planted a fruit grove in Beersheva, and he called there in the name of the L-rd, the G-d of the world. [As a result of that fruit grove the L-rd came to be called the G-d of the whole world, Abraham charging his guests to bless the Creator of the whole world, whose fruits they had eaten.]
  And Abraham lived in the land of the Philistines many days [(twenty-six years, one year more than he had lived in Chevron)].
  
  
  
  And it was, after these things, that G-d proved Abraham. He said to him: "Abraham," and he said: "Here I am" [ready to do Your bidding].
  And He said: Take, I pray you, [(Stand firm for Me in this trial)] your son [(Abraham: I have two sons)], your only one [(Abraham: Each is the only one of his mother)], whom you love [(Abraham: I love them both)] — Isaac [(All this, so as not to overwhelm Abraham by springing the command upon him, and, also, to endear the mitzvah to him)], and go to the land of Moriah [Jerusalem], and bring him up there as a burnt-offering on one of the mountains that I shall indicate to you.
  And Abraham arose early in the morning [in haste to perform the mitzvah], and he [himself] saddled his ass, and he took his two youths [Ishmael and Eliezer] with him, and Isaac his son; and he split wood for the burnt-offering, and he arose, and he went to the place which G-d had designated to him.
  On the third day, [(Abraham not being shown the place immediately so that it not be said that he was "stunned" into the sacrifice and that if he had had time to deliberate he would not have undertaken it)], Abraham lifted his eyes, and he saw the place from afar, [a cloud hovering over the mountain.]
  And Abraham said to his youths: Abide here with the ass and I and the youth will go [a little way off] to this [place before us], and we will prostrate ourselves and we will return to you [(Abraham prophesying that they would return)].
  And Abraham took the wood for the burnt-offering and placed it upon Isaac his son. And he took in his hand the kindling and the knife, and both went together [i.e., in the same spirit — Abraham, who knew, as happy as Isaac, who did not know].
  And Isaac said to Abraham his father: And he said: "My father." And he said: "Here I am, my son." And he said: "Here are the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt-offering?"
  And Abraham said: G-d will see to the lamb for the burnt-offering, [and if there is no lamb, then it will be] my son. And both went together [in the same spirit of happiness — even Isaac, who now knew that he was going to be slaughtered.]
  And they came to the place which G-d had indicated to him. And Abraham built the altar there and he arranged the wood. And he bound Isaac his son, [hands and feet tied behind him], and he placed him on the altar upon the wood.
  And Abraham sent forth his hand and he took the knife to slaughter his son.
  And an angel of the L-rd called to him from heaven, saying: "Abraham, Abraham" [(the doubling connoting affection)]. And he said: "Here I am."
  And He said: Do not stretch your hand forth to the youth, and do not do anything to him. For now I know [i.e., I can counter all objections to My election of you; for it is evident to all] that you are G-d-fearing, not having spared your only son from Me.
  And Abraham lifted his eyes and he saw, and, behold, a ram afterwards, [i.e., after the angel had said to him: "Do not stretch, etc."] caught in the thicket by its horns. And Abraham went and he took the ram and brought it up as a burnt-offering in place of his son [i.e., For each sacrificial act, he prayed: "May it be Your will to reckon it as if it were done to my son."]
  And Abraham called the name of that place "The L-rd will see" [i.e., He will choose for Himself that place for the reposing of His Shechinah and the sacrifice of offerings], of which [place] it will be said [in future generations]: "On this day in the mountain, the L-rd shall appear."
  And an angel of the L-rd called to Abraham a second time from heaven.
  And he said: I have sworn by My name, says the L-rd, that because you have done this thing and not spared your son, your only one,
  that bless shall I bless you [(one blessing for the father, one for the son)] and multiply will I multiply your seed [(one for the father, one for the son)], as the stars of the heavens and the sand on the seashore, and your seed shall inherit the gate of his foes.
  And there will bless themselves in your seed all the nations of the earth, because you have hearkened to My voice.
  And Abraham returned to his youths and they arose and went together to Beersheva, and Abraham sojourned in Beersheva [(on the way to Chevron)].
  And it was after these things [(i.e., after Abraham's thoughts on the binding of Isaac, viz.: If he had been slaughtered, he would have died without children — I should have gotten him a wife)] that it was told to Abraham: Milkah, she, too, has borne sons to Nachor your brother [i.e., Her family, too, is similar to that of Abraham. Just as twelve tribes issued from Abraham by way of Jacob — eight from the principal wives and four from the concubines — here, too, there were eight sons from the principal wife and four from the concubine.]
  Utz, his firstborn and Buz, his brother, and Kemuel, the father of Aram.
  And Kessed and Chazzo and Pildash and Yidlaf and Bethuel.
  And Bethuel begot Rivkah [(The entire genealogy was recorded for the sake of this verse)]. These eight were borne by Milkah to Nachor the brother of Abraham.
  And his concubine, whose name was Reumah, she, too, bore: Tevach and Gacham and Tachash and Ma'achah.
  
  
  
  And the life of Sarah was a hundred years and twenty years [(Just as she had not sinned by twenty, sin liability not obtaining until that age, so she had not sinned by one hundred)], and seven years [(She was as beautiful at twenty as she was at seven)], the years of the life of Sarah [All were uniform in goodness.]
  And Sarah died in Kiryath Arbah [("the city of the four" — so called either because of the four giants who lived there, or because of the four pairs who are buried there — Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rivkah, Jacob and Leah)], which is Chevron, in the land of Canaan. And Abraham came [from Beersheva] to eulogize Sarah and to bewail her.
  And Abraham arose from before his dead one, and he spoke to the sons of Cheth, saying:
  A stranger [from a different land] and a dweller am I with you. Give me a (land) holding for a burial plot with you so that I may bury my dead one from before me.
  And the sons of Cheth answered Abraham, saying to him:
  Hear us, my lord, you are a prince of G-d in our midst. In the choicest of our plots bury your dead one; none of us will hold back his plot from you from burying your dead one.
  And Abraham arose and he prostrated himself to the people of the land, to the sons of Cheth.
  And he spoke to them, saying: If it is your will to bury my dead one from before me, hear me and petition Efron the son of Tzochar for me.
  And let him give me the doubled cave [(so called because it had an upper and a lower story or because it was "doubled with pairs")], which he has, which is at the end of his field. For its full value let him give it (i.e., sell it) to me, in your midst as holding for a burial plot.
  And Efron was sitting in the midst of the sons of Cheth, [having that day been appointed an officer in consideration of Abraham's being beholden to him]. And Efron the Hittite answered Abraham in the hearing of the sons of Cheth, for all who had come to the gate of his city [(All had left their work to come to pay respect to Sarah)], saying:
  No, my lord, [do not pay for it], hear me. The field — I have given it to you; and the cave that is in it, to you have I given it. Before the eyes of the sons of my people have I given it to you — bury your dead one.
  And Abraham prostrated himself before the people of the land.
  And he spoke to Efron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying: But if you would only hear me. I have set aside the money for the field — take it from me and let me bury my dead one there.
  And Efron answered Abraham, saying to him:
  My lord, hear me. Land worth four hundred shekels of silver, between [lovers like] you and me, what is it? [Forget about it] and bury your dead one.
  And Abraham hearkened to Efron, and Abraham weighed out to Efron the silver whereof he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Cheth, four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant.
  And the field of Efron which was in the Machpelah before Mamre — the field and the cave therein and all the trees in the field in all its boundaries roundabout — was confirmed
  to Abraham as an acquisition before the eyes of the sons of Cheth, before all who entered the gate of his city.
  And after that, Abraham buried Sarah, his wife, in the cave of the field of the Machpelah, before Mamre, which is Chevron in the land of Canaan.
  And the field and the cave therein were confirmed to Abraham as a burial holding from the sons of Cheth.
  
  
  
  And Abraham was old, "come into the days," and the L-rd had blessed Abraham with everything [bakol, the gematria of ben (a son) — whence the need to find a wife for him].
  And Abraham said to his bondsman, the elder of his house, who ruled over all that was his. Place your hand beneath my thigh. [One who takes an oath must hold a sacred object in his hand. Circumcision, being Abraham's first mitzvah, and having been attended by pain, and being beloved by him, Abraham bade him take hold there.]
  And I will beswear you by the L-rd, the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth, that you not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaani, in whose midst I dwell.
  But to my land and to my birthplace shall you go, and you shall take a wife for my son Isaac.
  And the bondsman said to him: Perchance the woman will not want to go after me to this land. Shall I return your son to the land whence you came?
  And Abraham said to him: Take heed unto yourself lest you return my son there.
  The L-rd, the G-d of the heavens [(whereas above [3] we have: "the G-d of the heavens and the G-d of the earth," Abraham having taught men to regard Him as such)], who took me out of my father's house [Charan] and from the land of my birth [Ur Kasdim], and who spoke concerning me [i.e., in my behalf] and who swore to me [at the covenant between the pieces (15:18)]: "To your children will I give this land"] — He shall send his angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there.
  And if the woman does not want to go after you, then you will be clean of this oath of mine [and take a wife for him from the daughters of Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre]; only my son do not return there. [But Jacob, the son of my son, is destined to return there.]
  And the bondsman placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham, his master, and he swore to him concerning this thing.
  And the bondsman took ten camels of his master's camels, [distinctively his master's in being muzzled against grazing in the fields of others], and he went, and all of the good of his master in his hand, [i.e., a deed of gift to Isaac of all that he owned, so that they "jump" at sending their daughter]. And he arose and he went to Aram Naharayim [lit., "Aram of the two rivers," it being situated between two rivers], to the city of Nachor.
  And he made his camels kneel outside the city by a well of water towards evening, at the time that the (women) water-drawers go out.
  And he said: O L-rd, G-d of my master, Abraham; make it chance, I pray you, before me today, and do lovingkindness with my master, Abraham.
  Behold, I stand by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of the city go out to draw water.
  And the maiden to whom I shall say: "Incline, I pray you, your pitcher, that I may drink," and who shall answer: "Drink, and your camels, too, shall I give to drink" — her have You chosen for Your servant Isaac, and, let me know, [I pray You], through her, [by her being of his family and fit for him], that You have done lovingkindness with my master.
  And it was, before he had finished speaking, and, behold, Rivkah came out, who had been born to Bethuel the son of Milkah, the wife of Nachor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher on her shoulder.
  And the maiden was very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had known her [pederastically], and she went down to the well, and she filled up her pitcher, and she went up.
  And the bondsman ran towards her, [having seen the waters rising towards her], and he said: Let me sip, I pray you, a little water from your pitcher.
  And she said: "Drink, my lord." And she hastened and she brought down her pitcher [from her shoulder] upon her hand, and she gave him to drink.
  And she finished giving him to drink, and she said: Also for your camels shall I draw, until they have finished drinking.
  And she hastened, and she poured out her pitcher into the trough, and she ran again to the well to draw water, and she drew for all of his camels.
  And the man looked in wonderment at her, keeping silent to know whether the L-rd had prospered his way [by her being of Abraham's family] or not.
  And it was, when the camels had finished drinking, that the man took a golden nose ring, a beka in weight [(intimating the shekels of Israel, "a beka (half-shekel) for a head" (Exodus 28:36)], and (placed) two clasps on her hands [(intimating the two "clasped" tablets of the Law)], ten (shekels of) gold their weight [(intimating the Ten Commandments)].
  And he said: Whose daughter are you? Tell me, I pray you. Is there place for us in your father's house for a night's lodging?
  And she said to him, [answering first things first]: I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milkah, whom she bore to Nachor.
  And she said to him: Both straw and provender [(camel feed)] are abundant with us, also a place for [many nights] lodgings.
  And the man bowed down and he prostrated himself to the L-rd.
  And he said: Blessed is the L-rd, the G-d of my master Abraham, who did not leave off His lovingkindness and His truth from my master. I, in the way [that I required], the L-rd has guided me, to the house of my master's brethren.
  And the maiden ran and she told of these things in her mother's house.
  And Rivkah had a brother, and his name was Lavan, and Lavan ran to the man outside, to the well.
  And it was, when he saw the nose ring and the clasps on his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rivkah his sister: "Thus spoke the man to me" [that he ran, etc.], and he came to the man, and, behold, he was standing over the camels [to watch them] at the well.
  And he said: Come, blessed of the L-rd. Why do you stand outside? I have cleaned the house [of idolatry] and (made) a place for the camels.
  And the man came into the house and he unmuzzled the camels, and he gave straw and provender to the camels, and water to wash his feet and the feet of the men who were with him.
  And food was placed before him, and he said: "I shall not eat until I have spoken my words." And he said: "Speak."
  And he said: I am the bondsman of Abraham.
  And the L-rd blessed my master greatly, and he prospered. And He gave him flocks and herds, and silver and gold, and bondsmen and bondswomen, and camels and asses.
  And Sarah, the wife of my master, bore a son to my master after she had become old, and he gave him all that was his. [He showed him the deed of gift.]
  And my master beswore me, saying: Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaani, in whose land I dwell.
  Unless you go [first] to my father's house and to my family [and she refuse to go with you], and you shall take a wife for my son.
  And I said to my master: Perchance the woman will not want to go after me.
  And he said to me: The L-rd, before whom I have walked, He will send His angel with you and He will prosper your way, and you shall take a wife for my son from my family and from my father's house.
  Then you will be clean of my oath — when you come to my family. And if they do not give (her) to you, you will be clean of my oath.
  And I came this day [that I started out], to the well, [G-d having "shrunk the way" for me], and I said; O L-rd, G-d of my master Abraham — If You now prosper my way upon which I go,
  Behold, I stand by the well of water, and, the maiden who goes out to draw, and I say to her: "Give me to drink, I pray you, a little water from your pitcher,"
  and she will say to me: "You, too, [including the men who are with you] drink, and also for your camels will I draw" — she is the woman whom the L-rd has chosen for my master's son.
  I, before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rivkah came out with her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went down to the well and she drew; and I said to her: "Give me to drink, I pray you."
  ...
  And I asked her: "Whose daughter are you?" And she said: "The daughter of Bethuel, the son of Nachor, whom Milkah bore to him." And I placed the ring on her nose and the clasps on her hands. [He changed the true order (placing-asking, 24:22-23), so that he not be "interrogated" on how he could have given before knowing who she was.]
  And I bowed down and I prostrated myself to the L-rd, and I blessed the L-rd, the G-d of my master, Abraham, who led me in the way of truth, to take the daughter of my master's brother for his son.
  And now, if you would do lovingkindness and truth with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me. And I will turn to the right [to the daughters of Ishmael] or to the left [to the daughters of Lot].
  And Lavan and Bethuel answered. [Lavan, the wicked one, "jumping" to answer before his father]: From the L-rd has the thing gone forth. We cannot speak to you [in refusal] ill or good.
  Behold, Rivkah is before you, take (her) and go; and let her be a wife to your master's son, as the L-rd has spoken.
  And it was, when Abraham's bondsman heard their words, that he bowed to the ground to the L-rd, [acknowledging good tidings].
  And the bondsman took out vessels of silver and vessels of gold and garments, and he gave them to Rivkah; and select fruits [from Eretz Yisrael] he gave to her brother and to her mother.
  And they ate and drank, he and the men who were with him, and they stayed overnight, and they arose in the morning; and he said: Send me to my master.
  And her brother and her mother [(Bethuel, who wanted to renege, having been killed by an angel)] said: Let the maiden remain with us a year or ten months; after that, let her go.
  And he said to them: Do not delay me when the L-rd has prospered my way. Send me and let me go to my master.
  And they said: Let us call the maiden and ask her [if she consents].
  And they called Rivkah and they said to her: Will you go with this man? And she said: I shall go, [even against your will].
  And they sent Rivkah their sister and her nurse, and Abraham's bondsman and his men.
  And they blessed Rivkah and they said to her: Our sister, may you [and not another woman be destined to receive the blessing given to Abraham on Mount Moriah (22:17). May you] become thousands of myriads, and may your seed inherit the gate of its foes [Ibid.]
  And Rivka and her maidens arose and they rode on the camels and they went after the man. And the bondsman took Rivkah and he went.
  And Isaac had just come from Be'er Lachai Ro'i [(16:14) having gone there to bring Hagar back to Abraham as a wife], and he dwelt in the land of the south.
  And Isaac went to pray in the field towards evening, and he lifted up his eyes and he saw, and, behold, camels coming.
  And Rivkah lifted her eyes, and she saw Isaac [in his grandness], and she slid from the camel.
  And she said to the bondsman: Who is this man walking in the field towards us? And the bondsman said: He is my master. And she took the veil and covered herself.
  And the bondsman told Isaac all the things that he had done [i.e., all the miracles that had been wrought for him.]
  And Isaac brought her into the tent, [and she was in stead of] Sarah, his mother [(various miraculous phenomena which had ceased there with Sarah's death, recurring now)]. And she became his wife, and he loved her. And Isaac was consoled after his mother.
  
  
  
  And Abraham married again, a woman [Hagar], who was called Keturah.
  And she bore unto him Zimran and Yakshan and Medan and Midyan and Yishbak and Shuach.
  And Yakshan begot Sheva and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were [the heads of the peoples:] Ashurim, Letushim, and Leumim.
  And the sons of Midyan: Eifah and Efer and Chanoch and Avida and Elda'ah — all these the sons of Keturah.
  And Abraham gave all that he had [i.e., the legacy of blessing] to Isaac.
  And to the sons of the concubine [Hagar] which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts. And he sent them away from Isaac his son, while he was still alive, eastward, to the land of the east.
  And these are the years of Abraham's life, which he lived: a hundred years and seventy years, and five years. [A hundred like seventy, and seventy like five — without sin.]
  And Abraham expired, and he died in a good old age, old and content; and he was gathered to his people.
  And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him [(Ishmael, having repented, granting precedence to Isaac)] in the doubled cave in the field of Efron the son of Tzochar, which is before Mamre.
  The field which Abraham bought from the sons of Cheth. There was Abraham buried, and Sarah, his wife.
  And it was, after the death of Abraham, that G d blessed Isaac his son [(the mourners' consolation)]. And Isaac dwelt at Be'er Lachai Ro'i.
  And these are the progeny of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, whom Hagar the Egyptian, the bondswoman of Sarah, bore to Abraham.
  And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael by their names in order of birth: the first-born of Ishmael — Nevayoth — and Kedar, and Adbel, and Mivsam.
  And Mishma and Suma and Massa.
  Chadad and Tema, Yetur, Nafish, and Kedmah.
  These are the sons of Ishmael and these are their names, by their courts [unwalled cities] and by their strongholds — twelve princes according to their nations.
  And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: a hundred years, and thirty years, and seven years. And he expired [in righteousness] and he died, and he was gathered to his people.
  And they dwelt from Chavilah until Shur, which is before Egypt on the way to Ashur. In the presence of all his brethren he dwelt.
  And these [(Jacob and Esau)] are the progeny of Isaac the son of Abraham. Abraham begot Isaac [i.e., After he was called "Abraham," he begot Isaac].
  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rivkah the daughter of Bethuel the Aramite [(an evildoer)] from Padan Aram [(a place of evildoers)], the sister of Lavan the Aramite [(an evildoer)] to himself as a wife, [(Rivkah retaining her integrity in spite of the above associations)].
  And Isaac entreated the L rd, [praying] opposite his wife, for she was barren. And the L rd was entreated of him, [(but not of her, the prayer of a righteous child of a wicked father not being comparable to that of a righteous child of a righteous father)], and Rivkah his wife conceived.
  And the children wrangled within her, and she said: If so [great is the pain of pregnancy], why (did) I [so much desire and pray for] this? And she went [to the school of Shem] to inquire of the L rd [as to what was portended for her.]
  And the L rd said to her [through Shem]: Two nations are in your womb, and two kingdoms from your innards shall part, [one to do evil, the other to do good], and one kingdom shall gain strength from the other, [i.e., As one falls, the other shall rise], and the elder shall serve the younger.
  And her days were filled to give birth, and, behold, there were twins in her womb.
  And the first one came out ruddy, all like a hairy cloak, and they called his name Esau ["all made" (i.e., complete)].
  And after his brother went out, his hand grasping Esau's heel (akev), [(portending his seizure of Esau's kingdom before its consummation)], and he called his name Yaakov. And Isaac was sixty years old when she bore them.
  And when the youths grew up, Esau became a man versed in deception, a man of the field [i.e., a hunter], and Jacob a whole (-hearted) man, a dweller of tents [i.e., of (the schools of) Shem and Ever].
  And Isaac loved Esau, for [Esau "placed"] venison in his mouth, and Rivkah loved Jacob.
  And Jacob cooked a pottage, and Esau came from the field and he was faint [with murder.]
  And Esau said to Jacob: "Pour down (my throat) some of this red (adom) red stuff, for I am faint" — wherefore his name was called Edom.
  And Jacob said: Sell [as "clearly"] as the day [is clear] your birthright to me. [An evildoer such as you is not worthy of the sacrificial service (which is the prerogative of the first-born.)]
  And Esau said: Behold, I am going to die. What need have I, then, of this birthright?
  And Jacob said: Swear to me as the day [is clear]. And he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob.
  And Jacob gave to Esau bread and a pottage of lentils. And he ate, and he drank, and he arose, and he went, and [(Scripture testifying to this effect)] Esau shamed the birthright.
  
  
  
  And there was a famine in the land, aside from the first famine in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went to Avimelech, king of the Philistines, to Gerar.
  And the L rd appeared to him and said: Do not go down to Egypt, [for you are a "pure burnt-offering"]; dwell in the land that I shall indicate to you.
  Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and I will bless you. For to you and to your seed will I give all of these lands. And I will fulfill the oath which I swore to Abraham your father.
  And I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and I will give to your seed all of these lands, and there will bless themselves in [the name of] your seed all the nations of the land.
  Because Abraham heeded My voice [when I tried him], and he kept My keeping [i.e., decrees for the safekeeping of the exhortations of the Torah], My mitzvoth [self-evident moral imperatives], My statutes [decrees inaccessible to reason], and My laws [(including the oral law)].
  And Isaac dwelt in Gerar.
  And the men of the place asked about his wife, and he said: "She is my sister." For he feared to say: "She is my wife," lest the men of the place kill me because of Rivkah, for she is very fair.
  And it was, when the days were grown long for him there, [Isaac thinking that Rivkah was no longer in danger and relaxing his vigil], that Avimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and behold, Isaac sporting [i.e., lying] with Rivkah his wife.
  And Avimelech called to Isaac and he said: But she is surely your wife! How, then, did you tell me: "She is my sister"? And Isaac said to him: For I said: Lest I die because of her.
  And Avimelech said: What is this that you have done to us? The [distinctive] one of the people [i.e., the king] had almost lain with your wife, and, [had he done so], you would have brought guilt upon us.
  And Avimelech commanded all the people, saying: Whoever touches this man or his wife shall be put to death.
  And Isaac sowed in that land [(though it was not so fertile as the land of the seven nations)], and he found in that year, [a difficult year], a hundredfold [more than the estimated yield]. And the L rd blessed him.
  And the man grew (i.e., prospered), and he continued growing, until he had grown exceedingly.
  And he had flocks of sheep and herds of cattle and much labor, and the Philistines envied him.
  And all of the wells that the servants of his father had dug in the days of Abraham, his father, were stopped up by the Philistines [(as abetting invading armies)], and they filled them up with sand.
  And Avimelech said to Isaac: Go away from us, for you have grown much stronger than we.
  And Isaac went thence, and he camped in the valley of Gerar, and he dwelt there.
  And Isaac returned [(before he left Gerar)] and dug the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father and which the Philistines had stopped up after the death of Abraham. And he called them by the names by which his father had called them.
  And the servants of Isaac dug in the valley, and they found there a well of living waters.
  And the shepherds of Gerar quarreled with the shepherds of Isaac, saying: "The water is ours!" And he called the name of the well Esek ("contention"), for they contended with him [over it].
  And they dug another well, and they quarreled over it, too, and they called its name Sitnah ("constraint").
  And he traveled from there, and he dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; and he called its name Rechovoth ("widening"), saying: For now the L rd has "widened" (things) for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.
  And he went up from there to Beersheva.
  And the L rd appeared to him that night, and He said: I am the G d of Abraham your father. Do not fear, for I am with you. And I shall bless you and I shall multiply your seed for the sake of Abraham, My servant.
  And he built an altar there, and he called in the name of the L rd. And he pitched his tent there, and the servants of Isaac dug a well there.
  And Avimelech went to him from Gerar and a company of his friends and Phichol the captain of his host.
  And Isaac said to them: Why have you come to me when you hate me and you sent me away from you?
  And they said: We saw [in you as] we saw [in your father] that the L rd was with you. And we said: Let the oath that was between us [from the days of your father, also] be between us and you, and let us make a covenant with you.
  That you do not evil to us just as we did not touch you and just as we did with you only good and we sent you away in peace. You [too, do] now [likewise unto us], O blessed of the L rd.
  And he made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.
  And they arose early in the morning, and they swore to each other, and Isaac sent them away, and they went from him in peace.
  And it was on that day that the servants of Isaac came and told him about the well they had dug; and they said to him: We have found water.
  And he called it Shivah ("covenanting"). Therefore, the name of the city is Beersheva ("the well of the covenant") until this day.
  And when Esau was forty years, he took as a wife Yehudith, the daughter of Be'eri the Hittite, and Basmath, the daughter of Eilon the Hittite.
  And they were a vexation of spirit to Isaac and to Rivkah [in that they served idolatry].
  
  
  
  And it was, when Isaac became old, that his eyes grew dulled from seeing. And he called to Esau, his elder son, saying to him: "My son." And he said to him: "Here I am."
  And he said: Behold, I have become old; I do not know the day of my death.
  And now, take [(also connoting "sharpen")] I pray you, your knives [for shechitah (ritual slaughter)], your sword and your bow, and go out into the field, and hunt me a hunting, [and not theft].
  And make me the kind of tasty dish that I like, and bring it to me and I shall eat it, so that my soul bless you before I die.
  And Rivkah heard when Isaac spoke to Esau his son, and Esau went to the field to hunt a hunting to bring [by theft, if "hunting" were not available].
  And Rivkah said to Jacob her son: Behold, I have overheard your father saying to your brother Esau:
  Bring me a hunting and make me savory food, and I shall eat, and I shall bless you before the L rd [i.e., by His leave] before my death.
  And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to what I command you.
  Go, now, to the flock, and take for me [(from what is mine)] from there two good goat kids, [one for a paschal offering, and one for a savory dish], and I shall make of them for your father the kind of tasty dish that he likes [(kid, tasting like venison)].
  And bring it to your father and have him eat, so that he bless you before his death.
  And Jacob said to Rivkah, his mother: But Esau my brother is hairy and I am smooth-skinned.
  Perchance my father will feel me and I shall be in his eyes as a deceiver, and I will bring upon myself a curse and not a blessing!
  And his mother said to him: Your curse upon me, my son; only hear my voice and go take (them) for me.
  And he went and took (them) and brought (them) to his mother. And his mother made the kind of tasty dish that his father liked.
  And Rivkah took the clean garments of Esau, her elder son, which were with her [for safe-keeping] in the house, and she clothed Jacob her younger son with them.
  And the skins of the goat-kids she placed upon his hands and the smooth of his neck.
  And she placed the tasty dish and the bread that she had made in the hand of her son Jacob.
  And he brought (it) to his father, and he said: "My father." And he said: "I am here. Who are you, my son?"
  And Jacob said to his father: I am [(the one bringing food to you, and)] Esau [is] your first-born. I have done [(many things)] as you have spoken to me. Arise, I pray you, and sit [at table] and eat of my hunting so that your soul bless me.
  And Isaac said to his son: How did you find (it) so quickly, my son? And he said: For the L rd your G d put it in my way.
  And Isaac said to Jacob: Come near and let me feel you, my son, [(Isaac having been surprised at the reply, atypical of Esau)]. Are you my son Esau or not?
  And Jacob drew near to Isaac his father, and he felt him, and he said: The voice [i.e., the tone, e.g., "Arise, I pray you"] is the voice of Jacob [(as opposed to Esau's brusque "Let my father arise")], but the hands are the hands of Esau.
  And he did not recognize him, for his hands were like the hands of Esau his brother, hairy, and he blessed him.
  And he said: Are you this, my son Esau? And he said: "I" [(but not: "I am Esau.")]
  And he said: Reach (it) to me, and I will eat of the hunting of my son, so that my soul bless you. And he reached (it) to him, and he ate, and he brought him wine and he drank.
  And Isaac his father said to him: Draw near, now, and kiss me, my son.
  And he drew near and he kissed him and he smelled the smell of his garments [into which the fragrance of Eden had entered], and he blessed him. And he said: See, the smell of my son is as that of a field [of apples] which the L rd has blessed.
  And may G d give you [in addition to the fragrance of Eden] of the dew of the heavens and the fat of the earth, and an abundance of corn and wine.
  Peoples will serve you, and nations will bow down to you. Be a master to your brothers, and your mother's sons will bow down to you. Your cursers will be cursed and your blessers will be blessed.
  And it was, when Isaac finished blessing Jacob — Jacob had just left the presence of Isaac his father, when Esau his brother came from his hunting.
  And he, too, made a savory dish and brought it to his father. And he said to his father: Let my father arise and eat from the hunting of his son, so that your soul bless me.
  And Isaac his father said to him: Who are you? And he said: I am your first-born son, Esau.
  And Isaac was greatly confounded, and he said: Who is it, then, that hunted a hunting and brought it to me and I ate all [the flavors that I desired] before you came, and I blessed him — and he will, indeed, be blessed.
  When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried a great and bitter outcry, and he said to his father: Bless me also, my father!
  And he said: Your brother came with subtlety and took your blessing.
  And he said: "Is it for this that he was called 'Yaakov' ('following at the heels')? That he would overtake me (ya'akveini) these two times? He took my birthright, and, behold, now he has taken my blessing!" And he said: "Did you not keep back a blessing for me?"
  And Isaac answered and he said to Esau: I made him a master over you, and all of his brothers have I given to him as bondsmen [and "whatever a bondsman acquires is acquired by his master"], and with corn and wine have I buttressed him, and for you, then, what can I do, my son?
  And Esau said to his father: Do you have only one blessing, my father? Bless me, too, my father. And Esau raised his voice and wept.
  And Isaac his father answered and he said to him: Behold, of the fats of the earth [Graeca Magna] will be your dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above.
  And by your sword will you live, and your brother will you serve. And it shall be when you [have just reason to] grieve [over the blessings' having been appropriated by Jacob (i.e., when Israel transgresses the Torah)], then you shall remove his yoke from your neck.
  And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him, and Esau said in his heart; Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, and I will [then] kill Jacob my brother [(and not before, so as not to aggrieve my father)].
  And it was told to Rivkah [through the holy spirit] the thoughts of Esau her elder son, and she sent and called to Jacob her younger son and said to him: Behold, Esau your brother is bethinking himself [of his brotherhood] to you, to kill you.
  And now, my son, hearken to my voice. Arise, and run away to Lavan my brother in Charan.
  And remain with him for some time, until your brother's fury is abated.
  Until your brother's wrath turns from you and he forgets what you did to him, when I will send and take you from there. Why should I be bereft of both of you [(one killing, the other being killed in revenge)] in one day [(a presage of the future, Isaac and Esau being buried on the same day)] (See Sotah 13a).
  And Rivkah said to Isaac: I have despised my life because of the daughters of Cheth. If Jacob takes a wife of the daughters of Cheth such as these of the daughters of the land, what is life to me?
  
  
  
  And Isaac called to Jacob and he blessed him, and he charged him, saying: Do not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.
  Arise, go to Padan-Aram, to the house of Bethuel, your mother's father, and take for yourself from there a wife from the daughters of Lavan, your mother's brother.
  And the G d who is All-Sufficient [in His blessings] will bless you. And He will make you fruitful and will multiply you, and you will be an assembly of peoples.
  And He will give you [i.e., there will issue from you] the blessing of [i.e., to] Abraham [(12:2): "And I shall make you a great nation" and (26:4): "And they will bless themselves in your seed"], to you and to your seed with you, to inherit the land of your sojournings which G d gave to Abraham.
  And Isaac sent Jacob, and he went to Padan-Aram, to Lavan the son of Bethuel the Aramite, the brother of Rivkah, the mother of Jacob and Esau.
  And Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and that he had sent him to Padan-Aram to take for himself from there a wife in blessing him, charging him: Do not take wife from the daughters of Canaan,
  and that Jacob had heeded his father and mother and gone to Padan-Aram.
  And Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were evil in the eyes of Isaac his father.
  And Esau [likewise] went to Ishmael, and he took Machlath the daughter of Ishmael, the son of Abraham, the sister of Nevayoth [(who gave her in marriage to Esau)] in addition to his (other) [wicked] wives for himself as a wife.
  And Jacob went out of Beersheva and he went [to go] to Charan.
  And he came to the place [Mount Moriah] and he spent the night there, for the sun had set [of a sudden, G d causing it to set so that he should sleep there]. And he took of the stones of the place and set them around his head [to guard against animals], and he slept in that place.
  And he dreamed, and, behold, a ladder set in the earth, and its top reaching the heavens, and, behold, angels of G d ascending [to heaven] and [others] descending [from heaven to earth] upon it.
  And, behold, the L rd was standing over him [to guard him]. And He said: I am the L rd, the G d of Abraham your father, and the G d of Isaac. The land on which you lie, to you shall I give it, and to your seed.
  And your seed will be as dust of the earth, and you will be strong, west and east and north and south. And all the families of the earth will bless themselves in you and in your seed.
  And, behold, I am with you, [and you need not fear Esau and Lavan], and I shall keep you, wherever you go, and I shall return you to this land; for I shall not forsake you until I have done what I have spoken [to Abraham] concerning you.
  And Jacob awoke from his sleep and he said: In truth, the L rd is in this place, and I did not know it. [Had I known it, I would not have slept here.]
  And he feared and he said: How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of G d, and this is the gate of heaven [a place of prayer, whence prayers ascend to heaven].
  And Jacob arose early in the morning and he took the stone that he had placed at his head and he set it up as a monument and he poured oil on its top.
  And he called the name of that place Beth-El ("the house of G d"), whereas Luz had been the name of the city in the beginning.
  And Jacob vowed a vow, saying: If G d will be with me, [as He promised (28:15)], and He will keep me on this way on which I go, [as He said (Ibid.)], and He will give me bread to eat and a garment to wear, [as He said (Ibid.): "For I shall not forsake you"],
  and I return in peace [free of sin] to my father's house, [as He said (Ibid.)], and the L rd will be a G d for me, [conferring His name upon me, there being no blemish in my seed, as He said (Ibid.): "what I have spoken concerning you," viz. (17:17): "to be a G d to you and to your seed after you"],
  then this stone which I have set up as a pillar will be the house of G d [i.e., I shall worship the L rd upon it (as he did, viz. 35:1 and 14)], and all that You give me will I tenth to You.
  
  
  
  And Jacob lifted his feet [on the "strength" of the glad tidings], and he went to the land of the children of the east.
  And he saw, and, behold, a well in the field, and, behold, three flocks of sheep resting near it; for from that well they [the shepherds] would water the flocks, and a great stone on the mouth of the well.
  And all the flocks would gather there and they would roll the stone from the mouth of the well and water the sheep, and they would return the stone to its place on the mouth of the well.
  And Jacob said to them: My brothers, whence do you come? And they said: We are from Charan.
  And he said to them: Do you know Lavan the son of Nachor? And they said: We know.
  And he said to them: Is he well? And they said: Well, and, behold, Rachel his daughter is coming with the sheep.
  And he said: The day is yet long; it is not time to gather in the kine; water the sheep and go and graze.
  And they said: We will not be able to do so until all the flocks are gathered and they [the shepherds] roll the stone from the mouth of the well and we water the sheep.
  He was yet speaking with them when Rachel came with her father's sheep (for she was a shepherdess).
  And it was, when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of Lavan, his mother's brother, and the sheep of Lavan, his mother's brother, that Jacob came forward and flipped the stone from the mouth of the well and watered the sheep of Lavan, his mother's brother.
  And Jacob kissed Rachel and he lifted up his voice and cried, [seeing prophetically that she would not be buried with him].
  And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's kin and Rivkah's son, and she ran and told it to her father, [her mother having died].
  And it was, when Lavan heard the talk of Jacob, his sister's son, that he ran towards him, and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his house; and he told Lavan all of these things.
  And Lavan said to him: But, [though you come empty-handed], you are my bone and flesh. And he stayed with him a month of days.
  And Lavan said to Jacob: Is it because you are my brother that you would serve me for nought? Tell me what your wage is.
  And Lavan had two daughters: the name of the elder, Leah, and the name of the younger, Rachel.
  And the eyes of Leah were soft, and Rachel was of beautiful [facial] form and of beautiful [facial] appearance.
  And Jacob loved Rachel, and he said: I shall serve you seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter, [(Jacob making assurance doubly sure — and being deceived nonetheless)].
  And Lavan said: It is better for me to give her to you than to give her to another man; stay with me.
  And Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they were in his eyes like several days in his love for her.
  And Jacob said to Lavan: Give me my wife, for my days have been completed, and let me come to her [and beget children (the twelve tribes)].
  And Lavan gathered all the men of the place and he made a feast.
  And it was in the evening that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to him, and he lived with her.
  And Lavan gave her Zilpah, his handmaid, to Leah his daughter, as a handmaid.
  And it was in the morning, and, behold, it is Leah! [(Rachel having given to Leah the "identity signs" that Jacob had given her, so that Leah not be shamed)]. And he said to Lavan: What is this that you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Why have you deceived me!
  And Lavan said: It is not done thus in our place to give the younger daughter before the elder.
  Fulfill the [festal] week of this one (Leah), and we will give you this one, too, [(after the festal week, Jacob's service beginning after the wedding)] for the service you will render me yet another seven years.
  And Jacob did thus, and he fulfilled the week of that one, and he gave him Rachel his daughter as a wife.
  And Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter, Bilhah his handmaid, to her as a handmaid.
  And he came also to Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and he served him yet another seven years, [as devotedly as the first].
  And the L rd saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb; and Rachel was barren.
  And Leah conceived and she bore a son, and she called his name Reuven, saying: For the L rd has seen (ra'ah Hashem) my affliction; for now my husband will love me.
  And she conceived again and she bore a son, and she said: For the L rd has heard (shama Hashem) that I am hated, and He has given me this one, too. And she called his name Shimon.
  And she conceived again and she bore a son, and she said: This time my husband will join himself (yilaveh) to me, for I have borne him three sons [my share of the twelve tribes (among his four wives)]. Therefore, he called his name Levi.
  And she conceived again and she bore a son, and she said: This time, [having borne more than my share], I will thank (odeh) the L rd. Therefore, she called his name Yehudah. And she left off bearing.
  
  
  
  And Rachel saw that she had not borne (a child) to Jacob, and Rachel envied her sister, [thinking that if Leah were not more righteous than she, she, too, would not have borne], and she said to Jacob: "Give me children" [i.e., pray for me to bear children, as your father did for your mother], "and if not, I am dead."
  And Jacob's wrath burned against Rachel, and he said: Am I in the place of G d, who has withheld from you [(but not from me)] the fruit of the womb?
  And she said: Here is my handmaid Bilhah. Come to her and let her bear upon my knees, [i.e., I shall raise her child], and I, too, shall build up [i.e., bear a child] by cause of her, [(as Sarah did after she had given her handmaid Hagar to Abraham)].
  And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid as a wife, and Jacob lived with her.
  And Bilhah conceived and she bore a son to Jacob.
  And Rachel said: G d judged me (danani) [and made me barren], and He also heard my plaint and gave me a son — wherefore she called his name Dan.
  And she conceived again, and Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid, bore a second son to Jacob.
  And Rachel said: [With many] importunities (naftulim) did I importune G d [to be equal] with my sister, and I also prevailed [i.e., He was also entreated of me], and she called his name Naftali.
  And Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, and she took her handmaid Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife.
  And Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore a son to Jacob.
  And Leah said: "Bagad" ("Good fortune comes"), and she called his name Gad.
  And Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, bore a second son to Jacob.
  And Leah said: For my praise (be'ashri); for daughters will praise me. And she called his name Asher.
  And Reuven went in the days of the wheat harvest, and he found violets in the field [(He took what was ownerless and not what had been harvested)], and he brought them to Leah his mother. And Rachel said to Leah: Give me of the violets of your son.
  And she said to her: Is your taking my husband too little that you would also take the violets of my son? And Rachel said: Therefore, he will lie with you this night [(which was "Rachel's night")] in exchange for the violets of your son.
  And Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went out towards him, and she said: To me shall you come, for I hired you with the violets of my son; and he lay with her in that night, He [i.e., The L rd, "aided," Issachar issuing from that union].
  And G d hearkened unto Leah, [who aspired to multiply tribes], and she conceived and she bore a fifth son to Jacob.
  And Leah said: G d has given my reward (s'chari) for having given my handmaid to my husband, and she called his name Issachar.
  And Leah conceived again, and she bore a sixth son to Jacob.
  And Leah said: The L rd has given me a goodly portion. Now my husband will consort with me (yizbeleni), for I have borne him six sons [(over and against all of his wives)]. And she called his name Zevulun.
  And then she bore a daughter, and she called her name Dinah.
  And G d remembered (it) unto Rachel [that she had given her "signs" to Leah and that she was distraught lest Esau take her], and G d hearkened unto her and He opened her womb.
  And she conceived and she bore a son, and she said: G d has gathered in (asaf) my shame.
  And she called his name Yosef, saying: May the L rd add ("yosef") unto me another son [(Rachel knowing prophetically that there would be only twelve tribes)].
  And it was, when Rachel bore Joseph [the "adversary" of Esau (see Ovadiah 1:18)] that Jacob said to Lavan: Send me away, that I may go to my place and to my land.
  Give me [by your leave] my wives and my children for whom I served you, and let me go. For you know the service which I have served you.
  And Lavan said to him: If I have found favor in your eyes, I have found through divination that the L rd has blessed me for your sake.
  And he said: State your wage and I will give it.
  And he said to him: You know how I have served you and how [few] your kine were with me.
  For the little that you had before has increased to a multitude, and the L rd has blessed you with my coming, and now, when will I also [in addition to my sons] do (what is needed) for my household?
  And he said: What shall I give you? And Jacob said: You will not give me anything. If you do this thing for me, I will return and graze and guard your flock.
  I will pass through all your flock today, removing from there every sheep speckled and spotted, and every sheep, brownish among the flock, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, [these to be given to your sons], and that [i.e., those of the above kind born from now on] shall be my wage.
  And my righteousness shall answer for me on the morrow. For it [my righteousness] will come [and testify] to my wage before you, [i.e.,] anything [which you find in my flock] that is not speckled and spotted among the goats or brownish among the sheep is stolen with me.
  And Lavan said: Agreed! Would that you wished it so!
  And he [Lavan] removed on that day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted — everything that had white in it — and everything that was brownish among the sheep, and he [Lavan] gave them into the hands of his sons.
  And he put three days distance between himself and Jacob, and Jacob grazed the flock of Lavan that were left [i.e., the sickly and barren ones].
  And Jacob took a moist stick of white poplar and [a stick of] almond and of chestnut, and he peeled them into white streaks, baring the white on the sticks.
  And he set the sticks which he had peeled in the gutters of the watering troughs where the flocks came to drink, opposite the flocks, and they became heated when they came to drink [i.e., the female recoiled at the sight of the sticks and the male mated with her, and she bore in their likeness].
  And the flocks became heated at the [sight of the] sticks [(as above)], and the flocks bore ringstraked, speckled, and spotted.
  And Jacob separated the sheep [that were born ringstraked and spotted], and he set the face of the flock [that followed them] to the ringstraked and to all of the brownish [that he had found] in the flock of Lavan, having put them in flocks by themselves. And he did not place them with the flock of Lavan.
  And it was, whenever the early (aroused) sheep became heated, that Jacob set the sticks before the eyes of the sheep in the gutters to become heated at [the sight of] the sticks. [see 38]
  And when the sheep were late (to become heated), he did not set (them) — and the (offspring of the) late ones were Lavan's, and the early ones, Jacob's.
  And the man (Jacob) grew exceedingly strong, and he had flocks [more] fruitful [than the norm], and [(by selling them at a high price)] maidservants, manservants, camels, and asses.
  
  
  
  And he heard the words of the sons of Lavan, saying: Jacob has taken all that is our father's, and from our father's did he gather all this substance.
  And Jacob saw the face of Lavan, and, behold, it was not with him as of yore.
  And the L rd said to Jacob: Return to the land of your fathers and to your birthplace and I shall be with you, [it not being possible to repose my Shechinah with you while you are "linked to uncleanliness"].
  And Jacob sent and he called to Rachel and to Leah to the field to his flock.
  And he said to them: I see that your father's face is not with me as of yore; and my father's G d was with me.
  And you know that with all my strength did I serve your father.
  And your father deceived me and he changed my hire ten tens [i.e., a hundred times], but G d did not allow him to do evil with me.
  If he said thus: "The speckled shall be your hire," then all the flocks bore speckled. And if he said thus: "The ringstraked shall be your hire," then all the flocks bore ringstraked.
  And G d delivered the kine of your father and He gave them to me.
  And it was, at the time the flocks were heated, I lifted up my eyes and I saw in a dream: Behold, the rams which went up on the sheep were ringstraked, speckled, and grizzled.
  And an angel of G d said to me in a dream: "Jacob." And I said: "Here I am."
  And he said: Lift up your eyes now and see all the rams that go up on the sheep — ringstraked, speckled, and grizzled — for I have seen all that Lavan does to you.
  I am the G d of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar where you vowed a vow unto Me, [which it is now time to fulfill (see 28:22)]. Now, arise, go out of this land and return to the land of your birth.
  And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him: Is there yet any portion or inheritance for us in our father's house? [Why, then, should we detain you?]
  Does he not regard us as strangers? For [he did not give us a dowry as is customary, but] he sold us [to you for your labor], and he also consumed our money, [withholding your wages].
  But [only] all of the wealth that G d confiscated from our father is ours and our children's. And now, everything that G d says to you, do.
  And Jacob arose and he lifted his sons and his wives onto the camels.
  And he conveyed all of his kine and all of the substance that he had gotten, the acquisition [maidservants, etc.] of his accession [the flocks (see 30:43)], which he had acquired in Padan Aram, to come to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan.
  And Lavan had gone to shear his sheep [a three days distance (see 30:26)], and Rachel stole her father's teraphim [to break him of idolatry].
  And Jacob stole the heart of Lavan the Aramite, not telling him that he fled.
  And he fled, he and all that was with him, and he arose and crossed over the river, and he set his face towards Mount Gilead.
  And it was told to Lavan on the third day that Jacob had fled.
  And he took his brethren with him and pursued him, [covering] a distance of seven days [in one day], and he overtook him in Mount Gilead.
  And G d came to Lavan the Aramite in a dream by night and He said to him: Take heed lest you speak with Jacob from good to evil. ["All the good of the wicked is evil to the righteous."]
  And Lavan overtook Jacob. And Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain. And Lavan pitched (his tent) with his brethren in Mount Gilead.
  And Lavan said to Jacob: What have you done, that you have stolen my heart and led away my daughters like captives of the sword?
  Why did you flee in secret, stealing ["my mind"] from me and not telling me? I would have sent you away with joy and song, with timbrel and lyre.
  And you did not allow me to kiss my sons and my daughters. You have now done foolishly.
  I have the power to do evil with you, but the G d of your father said to me last night: Take care not to speak to Jacob from good to ill.
  And now, though you be gone, for you longed for your father's house, why have you stolen my gods?
  And Jacob answered and he said to Lavan [(answering first things first)]: For I was afraid. For I said: Lest you steal your daughters from me.
  With whomever you find your gods, let him not live [(for which reason Rachel died on the road)]. Before our kinsmen, point out what is with me [that is yours], and take it for yourself. And Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen them.
  And Lavan came into Jacob's [i.e., Rachel's] tent and into the tent of Leah and into the tent of the two handmaids, but he found nothing. And (when) he went out of the tent of Leah, he came [again] into the tent of Rachel, [knowing her to be a "toucher"].
  And Rachel had taken the teraphim, and she had placed them on the camel's saddle-pillow and sat upon them. And Lavan "felt out" the whole tent and could not find them.
  And she said to her father: Let it not anger my lord that I cannot rise before you, for I am in the way of women. And he searched, and he could not find the teraphim.
  And Jacob was wroth and he strove with Lavan. And Jacob retorted and said to Lavan: What is my offense and what is my sin that you have pursued me?
  For you have "felt out" all my articles. What have you found of all your household articles? Put it here before my brethren and yours, and let them judge between us.
  This twenty years have I been with you. Your ewes and your she-goats have not miscarried, and the rams [(even a one-year-old being called a "ram")] of your flock I have not eaten.
  An animal that was torn [by lion or wolf] I did not bring to you. I bore its loss; from my hand did you require it. Whether stolen by day or by night, [I paid for it].
  In the day I was consumed by heat and in the night by frost, and sleep departed from my eyes.
  This twenty years have I served you in your house — fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks; and you changed [the conditions of] my hire ten tens [i.e., a hundred times].
  Had not the G d of my father, the G d of Abraham and the Dread of Yitzchak been with me, you would now have sent me away empty. G d saw my affliction and the toil of my hands and He reproved (you) last night.
  And Lavan answered and he said to Jacob: The daughters are my daughters, and the sons are my sons, and the flocks are my flocks, and everything you see is mine. And, as for my daughters, what can I do to these today or to their children that they shall bear [i.e., How can it enter my mind to harm them?]
  And now, come, let us make a covenant, I and you, and let Him be a witness between me and you.
  And Jacob took a stone and he set it up as a monument.
  And Jacob said to his brethren [i.e., his sons]: Gather stones. And they took stones and made a heap. And they ate there on the heap.
  And Lavan called it Yegar Sahadutha ("the heap of testimony"), and Jacob called it Gal Ed [(the same)].
  And Lavan said: This heap is testimony between me and you this day — wherefore its name is called Gal Ed.
  And (it is also called) Mitzpah, [one of them] having said [to the other]: May the L rd see [yitzef] between me and you when one of us is absent from the other.
  If you afflict my daughters [by withholding their conjugal times] and if you take wives in addition to my daughters [(Bilhah and Zilpah, too, were his daughters by a concubine)], no man being with us, see, G d is a witness between me and you.
  And Lavan said to Jacob: Behold this heap and behold this monument which I have set up between me and you.
  This heap is testimony and the monument is testimony that I will not cross this heap to you and you will not cross to me this heap and this monument for ill. [(You may not cross it for ill, but you may cross it for trade.)]
  The G d of Abraham and the god of Nachor judge between us, the god of their father [Terach]. And Jacob swore by the Dread of his father, Isaac.
  And Jacob slaughtered a slaughtering in the mountain and he called his brethren [his close friends who were with Lavan] to partake of the meal, and they partook of the meal and spent the night in the mountain.
  
  
  
  And Lavan arose early in the morning and he kissed his sons and his daughters and he blessed them and he went, and Lavan returned to his place.
  And Jacob went on his way, and angels of G d [from Eretz Yisrael] met him [to accompany him to Eretz Yisrael].
  And Jacob said when he saw them: "This is a camp of G d," and he called the place Machanayim [lit., "two camps," those (angels) from outside Eretz Yisrael, who accompanied him until there, and those from Eretz Israel, who came to meet him].
  And Jacob sent angels before him to Esau his brother to the land of Seir, the field of Edom.
  And he charged them, saying: Thus shall you say to my lord, to Esau: Thus said your servant Jacob: With Lavan did I sojourn [(You need not hate me for the blessing of mastery over my brothers (27:29), it not having been fulfilled in me; I was merely a sojourner)], and I delayed until now.
  And I had [only] ox and ass, flock and manservant and maidservant, [but not "of the dew of the heavens and the fats of the earth" promised me by our father (27:28)], and I have sent to tell my lord to find favor in your eyes [as a seeker of your love].
  And the angels returned to Jacob, saying: We came to [the one you called] your brother, [but found that we had come] to Esau [the wicked one], and he is also coming out against you, and four hundred men with him.
  And Jacob feared greatly [that he might be killed], and he was distressed [that he might kill others], and he divided the people that were with him and the flocks and the cattle and the camels into two camps.
  And he said: If Esau comes to the one camp and smites it [in battle], then the remaining camp will escape, [(Jacob taking three defensive measures: gift (21), prayer (9), preparation for war (above)].
  And Jacob said: The G d of my father Abraham and the G d of my father Isaac, [who under this appellation (28:13), promised to abet me (Ibid. 15)], the L rd, who said to me [under that appellation (32:3)]: Return to your land and to your birthplace and I shall do good with you —
  I have become small [i.e., my merits have diminished] because of all of the lovingkindnesses and all of the truth [the fulfillment of all Your assurances] that You have done with Your servant. For with my staff did I cross this Jordan, and now I have become two camps.
  Deliver me, I pray You, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau [i.e., from him who deports himself to me not as my brother, but as the wicked Esau.] For I fear him, lest he come and smite me, mother with children.
  And You said: (I shall do) good [in your merit], I shall do good [in your fathers' merits] with you, and I shall make your seed as the sand of the sea which cannot be counted for multitude [see 28:15 and 22:17].
  And he slept there that night, and he took from what he possessed a present for Esau his brother.
  Two hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, [the requisite number of mates], two hundred ewes and twenty rams.
  Thirty milch camels with their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten he-asses.
  And he gave them into the hands of his servants, each herd [of each kind] by itself. And he said to his servants: Pass by before me [about a day's journey or less], and make a space [as far as the eye can see] between herd and herd [to impress Esau with the bounty].
  And he charged the first, saying: If Esau my brother meets you and asks you: To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and for whom are these before you?
  Then you shall say, [answering first things first, and last, last]: [We belong] to our servant Jacob, [and these before us are] a present sent to my lord, Esau, and, behold, he [Jacob], too, is behind us.
  And he charged the second, also the third, also all who went behind the flocks, saying: Thus shall you speak to Esau when you find him.
  And you shall say also: Behold, your servant Jacob is behind us. For he said: I will remove his anger with the gift that goes before me, and then I will see his face. Perhaps he will be accepting of me.
  And the present passed before him, and he slept that night in the camp.
  And he arose that night and took his wives and his two handmaids, and his eleven children [(having secreted Dinah in a chest so that Esau not take her)], and he crossed the ford of Yabbok.
  And he took them and passed them over the stream, and he passed over what was his, [the beasts and the chattel].
  And Jacob remained alone, [having returned for some small jars], and a man [Esau's guardian angel] wrestled with him until the rising of the morning star.
  And he saw that he could not prevail over him, and he touched the hollow [the upper bone] of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh tore loose as he wrestled with him.
  And he said: Release me, for the morning star has risen, [and I must intone song (to G d) in the daytime.] And he said: I will not release you until you bless me [i.e., until you acquiesce in my father's blessings to me and cease contesting them.]
  And he said to him: What is your name? And he said: Jacob.
  And he said: Your name shall no longer be called Jacob [connoting gaining of the blessings by deception (akvah)], but Yisrael; for you have contended (saritha) with elohim (the angel of Esau) and with men [Esau and Lavan] and you have prevailed.
  And Jacob asked: "Tell me, I pray you, your name." And he said: "Why do you ask my name?" [(the names of the angels changing according to their deputation)], and he (the angel) blessed him there.
  And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel. For I saw elohim face to face (panim el panim), and my soul was spared.
  And the dawn broke for him when he crossed Penuel, and he was limping on his thigh.
  Therefore, the children of Israel do not eat the "slipping tendon" on the hollow of the thigh until this day. For he touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh on the slipping tendon.
  
  
  
  And Jacob lifted his eyes and he saw, and, behold, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men; and he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two handmaids.
  And he placed the handmaids and their children first, and Leah and her children behind, and Rachel and Joseph behind, [the most beloved hindmost].
  And he passed before them, [placing himself first for the contingency of war], and he bowed down to the earth seven times until he came near to his brother.
  And Esau ran towards him and embraced him, and he fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
  And he lifted his eyes and he saw the women and the children, and he said: "What are these to you?" And he said: The children that G d granted to your servant.
  And the handmaids drew near, they and their children, and they prostrated themselves.
  And Leah and her children also drew near and they prostrated themselves. And afterwards Joseph and Rachel drew near [(Joseph before Rachel, as opposed to the others, where the women went first, Joseph desiring to shield Rachel (who was very beautiful) from the gaze of Esau)], and they prostrated themselves.
  And he said: Who is all this camp of yours [the bearers of the gifts] that I have met? And he said: To find favor in the eyes of my lord.
  And Esau said: I have much [more than I need], my brother; let there be yours what is yours, [Esau acknowledging the blessing as Jacob's due].
  And Jacob said: Do not [speak thus], I pray you. If I have found favor in your eyes, take my gift from my hand. For it is fitting [that you do so], (for) I have seen your face, and [this is as grand in my eyes] as having seen the face of an angel [(the guardian angel of Esau, 32:24)]; and [it is also fitting that you accept my gift] because you have been conciliated by me.
  Take my [greeting-] gift, I pray you, which has been brought to you [without any exertion on your part], for the L rd has been gracious to me, and I have all [that I need]. And he pressed him, and he took it.
  And he said: Travel on and go, and I will go along with you.
  And he said to him: My lord knows that the children are frail, and the flocks and herds, which are tending their young, are upon me [to move them slowly], and if they are overdriven one day, then all of the sheep will die.
  Let my lord, I pray you, pass before his servant, and I will lead on slowly, according to the work incumbent upon me, and according to the pace of the children, until I come to my lord to Seir [(Jacob intending to go only as far as Succoth, letting Esau wait in Seir if he intended him any harm.)]
  And Esau said: Let me now leave with you some of the people that are with me. And he said: Why [do] this? Let me [but] find favor in the eyes of my lord, [with no other recompense].
  And Esau [alone] returned on that day on his way to Seir, [having been abandoned by the four hundred men who were with him.]
  And Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and he built himself a house; and for his kine he made booths (succoth), wherefore the place was called Succoth.
  And Jacob came complete to the city of Shchem in the land of Canaan [complete in his body (having recovered from his limp), complete in his wealth, complete in his Torah], when he came from Padan Aram, [having emerged unscathed from his encounters with Lavan and Esau], and he encamped before the city.
  And he bought the part of the field where he had pitched his tent from the sons of Chamor the father of Shchem for a hundred kesitah.
  And he erected an altar there, and he called it "The Almighty is the G d of Israel" (i.e., Jacob.)
  
  
  
  And Dinah the daughter of Leah ["Like mother, like daughter" — Leah also "went out" (30:16)], whom she had borne to Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land.
  And Shchem the son of Chamor, the Chivi, the prince of the land, saw her, and he took her and he lay with her [naturally], and he afflicted her [unnaturally].
  And his soul cleaved to Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the maiden and he spoke to the heart of the maiden [by suasion].
  And Shchem said to Chamor, his father: Take this girl for me as a wife.
  And Jacob heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter, and his sons were with his herds in the field, and Jacob remained silent until they came.
  And Chamor the father of Shchem went out to Jacob to speak to him.
  And the sons of Jacob came from the field when they heard, and the men were saddened and greatly angered, for he had done a shameful thing in Israel to lie with the daughter of Jacob, and such [(to afflict virgins)] was not to be done, [the nations having "fenced themselves" against illicit relations after the flood].
  And Chamor spoke with them, saying: My son, Shchem, desired your daughter. Give her to him, I pray you, as a wife.
  And intermarry with us. Give us your daughters [as you choose], and our daughters take for yourselves [as you choose].
  And dwell with us and the land shall be before you. Sit and trade in it, and gain a holding in it.
  And Shchem said to her father and to her brothers: Let me find favor in your eyes, and what you tell me shall I give.
  Heap upon me much dowry and gift, and I will give it, as you tell me, but give me the maiden as a wife.
  And the sons of Jacob answered Shchem and Chamor his father with subtlety, and they spoke [thus rightfully], for he had defiled Dinah their sister.
  And they said to them: We shall not be able to do this thing, to give our sister to a man with a foreskin, for it is an abomination to us.
  Only with this will we consent to you, if you will be like us — to have all your males circumcised.
  Then we will give our daughters to you [as we choose], and your daughters [i.e., those we choose] shall we take for ourselves. And we will dwell with you and we will be one people.
  And if you do not heed us to circumcise yourselves, then we will take our daughter and go.
  And their words were good in the eyes of Chamor and in the eyes of Shchem the son of Chamor.
  And the young man did not delay doing the thing, for he desired the daughter of Jacob, and he was the most highly honored in his father's house.
  And Chamor and Shchem his son came to the gate of their city and they spoke to the men of their city, saying:
  These men are whole-hearted with us. Let them dwell in the land and trade in it; the land is "broad-handed" [i.e., ample] before them [You will lose nothing by their presence.] Their daughters shall we take for ourselves as wives [by our choice], and our daughters shall we give to them [by our choice].
  Only with this will the men consent to dwell with us, to be one people, by all of our males being circumcised as they are circumcised.
  Their herds, their possessions, and all of their beasts — are they not ours? Let us but consent to them [to be circumcised], and they will dwell with us.
  And they hearkened to Chamor and to Shchem his son, all that went out of the gate of his city, and all the males were circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.
  And it was on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob's sons [(Though they were Jacob's sons, they did not consult him)], Shimon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, [risking their lives for her], took each man his sword, and came upon the city secure, [in that the men were ailing], and they killed every male.
  And Chamor and Shchem his son they slew by the sword, and they took Dinah from the house of Shchem and they went out.
  The sons of Jacob came upon the slain [to strip them], and they despoiled the city that had defiled their sister.
  Their sheep, their cattle, and their asses, and what was in the city and what was in the field they took.
  And all of their possessions, and all of their little ones, and their wives, they took captive and they plundered, and all that was in the house.
  And Jacob said to Shimon and to Levi: You have sullied me, to make me odious with the inhabitant of the land, the Canaani and Perizi. And I am but few in number, and they will gather against me and smite me, and I will be destroyed, I and my house.
  And they said: Shall they make our sister as an abandoned one!
  
  
  
  And G d said to Jacob: Arise, and go up to Bethel, [(You have been punished through your daughter for having tarried upon the way)], and abide there, and make there an altar to the G d who appeared to you when you fled from Esau your brother.
  And Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him: Remove the strange gods that are with you [from the spoil of Shchem] and cleanse yourselves [of idolatry], and change your garments, [lest you have a vestment devoted to idolatry].
  And let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make an altar there to the G d who answered me in the day of my affliction and who was with me in the way in which I went.
  And they gave to Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hands and the rings which were in their ears, and Jacob buried them under the terebinth near Shchem.
  And they journeyed, and the terror of G d was on the cities around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
  And Jacob came to Luz in the land of Canaan (the same as Bethel), he and all the people that were with him.
  And he built an altar there, and he called the place "The Almighty is in Bethel"; for G d had revealed Himself to him there when he fled from his brother.
  And Devorah, Rivkah's nurse, [(whom Rivkah had sent to Padan Aram to tell Jacob to return)], died. And she was buried beneath Bethel, [i.e., at the foot of the mountain on which Bethel was built], on the slope terrace; and he called its name Alon Bachuth ("the plain of weeping").
  And G d appeared to Jacob again, [a second time in this place (once in his going; the other, in his returning)] when he came from Padan Aram, and He blessed him [(the mourners' blessing)].
  And G d said to him: Your name — Jacob — your name shall no longer be called "Jacob" [connoting deviousness], but "Yisrael" [connoting lordship] shall be your name; and He called his name Yisrael.
  And He said to him: I am the G d Shaddai [It becomes Me (ani kedai) to bless, all blessings being Mine]: Be fruitful and multiply [(Benjamin had not yet been born)]. A nation [Benjamin] and a congregation of nations [Menasheh and Ephraim] shall come forth from you; and kings [Saul and Ish Bosheth (of the tribe of Benjamin)] shall issue forth from your loins.
  And the land that I gave to Abraham and to Isaac, to you will I give it, and to your seed after you will I give the land.
  And G d ascended from (over) him in the place where He spoke with him.
  And Jacob set up a monument in the place where He spoke with him, a monument of stone, and he poured a libation thereon, and he poured oil thereon.
  And Jacob called the name of the place where G d spoke with him Bethel.
  And they traveled from Bethel, and there was yet a kivrah of land to come to Efrath, when Rachel gave birth, travailing in labor.
  And it was, as she travailed in labor, that the midwife said to her: Do not fear, for this, too [in addition to Joseph], is a son for you.
  And it was, as her soul departed in death, that she called his name Ben Oni ["son of my travail"]; and his father called him Binyamin ["son of the south," (Canaan, where he was born, being south of Aram Naharayim, whence Jacob had come)].
  And Rachel died, and she was buried on the way to Efrath, which is Bethlehem.
  And Jacob set a monument upon her grave, the monument of Rachel's grave until this day.
  And Israel journeyed and he pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
  And it was, when Israel dwelt in that land, [delaying coming to his father Isaac in Chevron], that Reuven went and lay with Bilhah, his father's concubine, and Israel heard; and the sons of Jacob [after the birth of Benjamin] were twelve [the full complement of the tribes].
  The sons of Leah: the first-born of Jacob, Reuven [first-born in respect to inheritance, Divine service, and numeration (of the tribes)], Shimon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zevulun.
  The sons of Rachel, Joseph and Benjamin.
  And the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, Dan and Naftali.
  And the sons of Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah, Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob, who were born to him in Padan Aram.
  And Jacob came to Isaac his father, to [the plain of] Mamre, [to the city of] Kiryath Ha'Arba, which is Chevron, where Abraham and Isaac lived.
  And the days of Isaac were a hundred and eighty years.
  And Isaac expired and he died, and he was gathered to his people, old and sated with days. And Esau and Jacob his sons buried him.
  
  
  
  And these are the progeny of Esau, who is Edom:
  Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Chitti [same as Basmath (26:34)] and Ahalivamah [same as Yehudith (Ibid.)], the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Tzivon, the Chivi [i.e., the daughter of Tzivon by the wife of his son Anah (see 36:24)].
  And Basmath the daughter of Ishmael [same as Machlath (38:9)], the sister of Nevayoth, [thus referred to here because Nevayoth gave her in marriage after Ishmael's death].
  And Adah bore to Esau, Elifaz; and Basmath bore Reuel.
  And Ahalivamah bore Yeush and Ya'alam and Korach. These are the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
  And Esau took his wives and his sons and his daughters and all the souls of his house, and his herds and all of his beasts, and all of his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan, and he went to a land [i.e., to live wherever he could find room] away from Jacob his brother.
  For their possessions were too great to (allow them to) remain together, and the land of their sojourning could not contain them because of [the pasture land required for] their cattle.
  And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau is Edom.
  And these are the generations of Esau the father of Edom, [which his sons begot] in [i.e., after he went to] the mountain of Seir.
  These are the names of the sons of Esau: Elifaz, the son of Adah, the wife of Esau; Reuel, the son of Basmath, the wife of Esau.
  And the sons of Elifaz were Teman, Omar, Tz'fo, Ga'atam, and Kenaz.
  And Timna was concubine to Elifaz the son of Esau, and she bore to Elifaz, Amalek. These are the sons of Adah, the wife of Esau.
  And these are the sons of Reuel: Nachath and Zerach, Shammah and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basmath, the wife of Esau.
  And these were the sons of Ahalivamah the daughter of Anah the daughter of Tzivon, the wife of Esau. She bore to Esau Yeush and Ya'alam and Korach.
  These are the chiefs [i.e., the heads of families] of the sons of Esau. The sons of Elifaz, the first-born of Esau: Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Tzefo, Chief Kenaz.
  Chief Korach, Chief Ga'atam, Chief Amalek. These are the chiefs of Elifaz in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Adah.
  And these are the sons of Reuel the son of Esau: Chief Nachath, Chief Zerach, Chief Shammah, Chief Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These are the sons of Basmath, the wife of Esau.
  And these are the sons of Ahalivamah the wife of Esau: Chief Yeush, Chief Ya'alam, Chief Korach. These are the chiefs of Ahalivamah the daughter of Anah the wife of Esau.
  These are the sons of Esau, and these are their chiefs. He is Edom.
  These are the sons of Seir the Chori, the inhabitants of the land [before Esau came there]: Lotan, Shoval, Tzivon, and Anah.
  And Dishon and Etzer and Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Chori, the sons of Seir in the land of Edom.
  And the sons of Lotan were Chori and Hemam, and the sister of Lotan [by his mother, but not by his father, Seir (20)] was Timna.
  And these are the sons of Shoval: Alvan and Manachath and Eval, Shefo and Onam.
  And these are the sons of Tzivon: Ayah and Anah. This is the Anah [mentioned above (20) as the brother of Tzivon (Tzivon lived with his mother and begot Anah)], who "found" the yemim [(lit., "fearful ones," white mules, whose kick is dreaded)], in the desert when he grazed [i.e., mated] the asses belonging to Tzivon his father [with horses. (Being a bastard, he gendered bastards.)]
  And these are the children of Anah: Dishon and Ahalivamah the daughter of Anah.
  And these are the sons of Dishan: Chemdan, Eshban, Yithran, and Ch'ran.
  These are the sons of Etzer: Bilhan, Za'avan, and Akkan.
  These are the sons of Dishan: Utz and Aran.
  These are the chiefs of the Chori: Chief Lotan, Chief Shoval, Chief Tzivon, Chief Anah.
  Chief Dishon, Chief Etzer, Chief Dishan. These are the chiefs of the Chori according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.
  And these are the kings that reigned in the land of Edom before a king reigned over the children of Israel.
  And there reigned in Edom Bela the son of Be'or; and the name of his city was Dinhavah.
  And Bala died, and there reigned in his stead Yovav the son of Zerach from Batzrah [a Moavite city].
  And Yovav died, and there reigned in his stead Chisham from the land of the Temani.
  And Chusham died, and there reigned in his stead Haddad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field of Moav, [Edom joining forces with Moav against Midian]. And the name of his city was Avith.
  And Haddad died, and there reigned in his stead Samlah from Masrekah.
  And Samlah died, and there reigned in his stead Shaul from Rechovoth Hanahar.
  And Shaul died, and there reigned in his stead Bal Chanan the son of Achbor.
  And Bal Chanan the son of Achbor died, and there reigned in his stead Haddad. And the name of his city was Pau; and the name of his wife was Mehetavel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mei Zahav [= mahu zahav — "Of what value is gold?" (gold being of no significance to him in the enormity of his wealth)].
  And these are the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, after their places by their [the places'] names [the kingship having ended with Haddad]: the chief of Timna, the chief of Avlah, the chief of Yetheth.
  Chief Ahalivamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon.
  Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mivtzar.
  Chief Magdiel [Rome], Chief Iram. These are the chiefs of Edom by their habitations in the land of their holding. This is Esau the father of Edom.
  
  
  
  And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
  [And] these [(following the abbreviated chronicles of Esau)] are the [habitations and wanderings of the] generations of Jacob [until they came to a permanent settlement]: Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, grazed the flock with his brothers. And he was a lad [He would do callow things, preening and primping himself], (associating) with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. [His brothers scorned them, and he befriended them.] And Joseph brought evil report of them [the sons of Leah] to their father.
  And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of fine wool.
  And his brothers saw that his father loved him more than all his brothers, and they [being "one in mouth and one in heart"] could not speak peaceably to him.
  And Joseph dreamed a dream and he told (the dream) to his brothers, and they hated him even more.
  And he said to them: Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed.
  And, behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and, behold, my sheaf arose and remained standing, and behold, your sheaves surrounded it and bowed down to my sheaf.
  And his brothers said to him: Will you reign over us? Will you rule over us? And they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words [the evil report (2)].
  And he dreamed another dream, and he told it to his brothers, and he said: Behold, I have dreamed another dream, and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowing down to me.
  And he told it to his father and to his brothers [together, after having told it to his brothers]. And his father rebuked him [for arousing hatred to himself] and he said to him: What is this dream which you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers come to bow down to you to the earth? [i.e., How can this be if your mother is dead! (Jacob not knowing that it would be fulfilled through Bilhah, who had reared Joseph as a mother.)]
  And his brothers envied him, and his father awaited the [materialization of] the thing.
  And his brothers went to graze their father's flock in Shchem.
  And Israel said to Joseph: Are your brothers not grazing in Shchem? Go, and I will send you to them. And he said to him: I am here [at your service (though knowing that his brothers hated him)].
  And he said to him: Go now, and see how your brothers fare and how the flock fares, and return word to me. And he sent him from [i.e., towards realization of] the deep [counsel of the one (Abraham) buried in] Chevron, [viz. (15:13): "For your seed shall be a stranger, etc."], and he came to Shchem.
  And a man [the angel Gabriel] found him, and, behold, he was straying in the field. And the man asked him: What are you seeking?
  And he said: I am seeking my brothers; tell me, I pray you, where they are grazing.
  And the man said: They have departed from this [i.e., from brotherhood]. For I heard them saying: Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brothers, and he found them in Dothan.
  And they saw him from afar. And before he approached them they schemed against him to put him to death.
  And each said to the other: Behold, this dreamer of dreams is coming.
  And now, let us go to slay him, and let us cast him in one of the pits. And we will say: An evil beast devoured him, and [(the Holy Spirit thus saying)]: We will see what will be his dreams [i.e., whether your words will be fulfilled or Mine].
  And Reuven heard and he rescued him from their hand, saying: Let us not strike him a death blow.
  And Reuven said to them: Do not spill blood. Cast him into this pit, which is in the desert, but do not send a hand against him, [Reuven saying this (thus the testimony of the Holy Spirit)] in order to rescue him from their hands, to return him to his father.
  And it was, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe of fine wool that was upon him.
  And they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty; there was no water in it, [but there were snakes and scorpions in it.]
  And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted their eyes and they saw, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels laden with spicery, balm, and laudanum [(rather than the usual foul-smelling load — providentially, for Joseph's benefit)], going to take it down to Egypt.
  And Judah said to his brothers: What [monetary] profit if we kill our brother and conceal his death?
  Let us go and sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let our hand not be against him, for he is our brother, our flesh; and his brothers acquiesced.
  And Midianite merchants passed by; and they [Joseph's brothers] pulled and raised Joseph out of the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver [and the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianites] and they brought Joseph to Egypt.
  And Reuven returned to the pit, [it having been his day to pay attendance upon his father], and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he rent his garments.
  And he returned to his brothers and he said: The youth is not here, and I, where shall I come? [i.e., Whither shall I flee from my father's grief?]
  And they took Joseph's robe, and they slaughtered a kid of goats, [whose blood is similar to a man's], and they dipped the robe in the blood.
  And they sent the robe of fine wool and they brought it to their father. And they said: This we found. Recognize, now, whether or not it is your son's robe.
  And he recognized it, and he said: The robe of my son. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has been torn.
  And Jacob rent his garments and placed sackcloth on his loins, and he mourned his son many days [twenty-two years].
  And all his sons and all his daughters arose to console him [(one view: a twin girl was born with each son, and each married a step-sister. Another view: "daughters" here are daughters-in-law)]. And he refused to be consoled, [consolation not "taking" for a living person who is thought dead.] And he said: For I will go down to the grave mourning over my son. And his father [Isaac] bewept him [Jacob (for his grieving)].
  And the Medanites sold him to Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, head of the slaughterers.
  
  
  
  And it was at that time that Judah was brought down [from his greatness] by his brothers [(When they beheld their father's grief, they said to him: You told us to sell him; if you had told us to return him, we would have heeded you)], and he turned [away from his brothers] to [partnership with] an Adulamite man by the name of Chirah.
  And Judah saw there the daughter of a merchant by the name of Shua. And he took her and lived with her.
  And she conceived and she bore a son and he called his name Er.
  And she conceived again and she bore a son and she called his name Onan.
  And she again bore a son and she called him Shelah. And he was in Keziv ["cessation" (from bearing)] when she bore him.
  And Judah took a wife for Er, his first-born, whose name was Tamar.
  And Er, the first-born of Judah, was evil in the eyes of the L rd, [destroying his seed to preserve his wife's beauty], and the L rd killed him.
  And Judah said to Onan: Come to your brother's wife and take her in levirate marriage, and establish seed for your brother, [the son being called by the latter's name].
  And Onan knew that not his would be the seed. And it was, when he came to his brother's wife, that he destroyed [the seed] to the ground ["threshing within and winnowing without"], not to give seed to his brother.
  And it was evil in the eyes of the L rd what he had done, and He killed him too.
  And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law [as a pretext for not giving Shelah to her]: Remain a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up. For he said (to himself): Lest he, too, die as his brothers. And Tamar went and she sat in her father's house.
  And in the course of time, the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died. And Judah was consoled and he went up to [supervise] his sheep shearers, he and Chirah his companion, the Adulamite, to Timnah.
  And it was told to Tamar, saying: Behold, your father-in-law has gone up to Timnah to shear his sheep.
  And she removed her widow's weeds, and she donned a veil and covered her face, and she sat at the crossroads on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown and that she had not been given to him as a wife. [(And Tamar was desirous of perpetuating Judah's line)]
  And Judah saw her and he thought her to be a harlot, [for she sat at the crossroads], for she had covered her face [that he not be able to recognize her].
  And he detoured to her to the way [on which she sat]. And he said: Ready yourself that I may come to you. (For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.) And she said to him: What will you give me for coming to me?
  And he said: I shall send a goat-kid from the flock. And she said: If you give me a pledge until you send it.
  And he said: What is the pledge that I shall give you? And she said: Your signet and your cloak and the staff that is in your hand. And he gave it to her and he came to her and she conceived to him [i.e., strong ones like him: righteous ones like him].
  And she arose, and she went, and she removed her veil from her, and she donned her widow's garments.
  And Judah sent the goat-kid with his friend the Adulamite to take the pledge from the woman, and he did not find her.
  And he asked the men of her place: Where is the harlot of the crossroads? And they said: There was no harlot here.
  And he returned to Judah and he said: I did not find her, and the men of the place also said: There was no harlot here.
  And Judah said: Let her take it [what she had], lest we be put to shame [i.e., exposed by our oversolicitous inquiry]. Behold, I sent this kid and you did not find her. [What more could I have done?]
  And it was, with the tripling of the months [the greater part of the first, the greater part of the last, and all of the middle] that it was told to Judah: Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot, and she is also pregnant by harlotry. And Judah said: Take her out and let her be burned, [Tamar being the daughter of Shem, a Cohein (see Rashi on 14:18 and Leviticus 21:9)].
  As she was being taken out [to be burned], she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man to whom these belong. And she said: Recognize, I pray you, whose are this signet and cloak and staff.
  And Judah recognized them and he said: She is right. [She is with child] by me. For [she acted] justly [in that] I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he did not live with her again.
  And it was, at the time of her bearing, that, behold, there were twins in her womb.
  And it was, as she bore, that one put forth his hand. And the midwife took and tied a red string on his hand, saying: This one came out first.
  And it was, when he drew back his hand, that his brother came out. And she said: How you have girded yourself with strength [paretz]! And he called his name Paretz.
  And then his brother came out on whose hand was the [shining] red string. And he called his name Zarach ["shining"].
  
  
  
  And Joseph [before the aforementioned episode] had been brought down to Egypt. And he was bought [as a slave] by Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the head of the slaughterers, an Egyptian man, from the hand of the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.
  And the L rd was with Joseph, and he was a successful man, and he remained in the house of his lord, the Egyptian.
  And his master saw that the L rd was with him [(The name of the L rd was ever in his mouth)] and that whatever he did the L rd prospered in his hand.
  And Joseph found favor in his eyes, and he served him; and he appointed him over his house, and all that he had he placed in his hand.
  And it was, from the time he appointed him over his household and over all that he had, that the L rd blessed the house of the Egyptian for the sake of Joseph; and the L rd's blessing was over all that he had, in the house and in the field.
  And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he paid no heed to anything with him but "the bread that he ate" [i.e., his wife]. And Joseph was beautiful in form and appearance, [eating well, and primping and preening himself].
  And it was [immediately] after these things that his master's wife lifted her eyes to Joseph and said: "Lie with me."
  And he refused. And he said to his master's wife: Behold, my lord does not know what is with me in the house, and all that he has he has placed in my hand.
  There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me but you, in that you are his wife. And how can I do this great evil and sin against G d? [illicit relations being forbidden to the Noachides].
  And it was, as she spoke to Joseph day after day, and he did not heed her to lie with her [even without intercourse] to be with her [(in Gehinnom) in the world to come],
  it happened, on a certain [festival] day [when all had gone to the house of idolatry], when he came to the house to do his work, and none of the men of the household were there in the house,
  that she grabbed him by his garment, saying: "Lie with me!" And he left his garment in her hand and he fled and ran outside.
  And it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had run outside,
  that she called to the men of her house and said to them: See, he [i.e., her husband] brought to us an Ivri [from ever hanahar, the other side of the river (Euphrates), of the sons of Ever] to disport himself with us [i.e., me]. He came to me to lie with me and I made great outcry.
  And it was, when he heard me lifting my voice and calling out, that he left his garment with me, and he fled and ran outside.
  And she left his garment with her until his lord came to his house.
  And she spoke to him such things, saying: The Ivri slave that you brought to us came to me to disport himself with me.
  And it was, when I raised my voice and called out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.
  And it was, when his master heard [during intercourse] the words of his wife, who spoke to him, saying: Such [(intimate) things] did your slave do with me, that his wrath burned.
  And Joseph's master took him and placed him in the prison house, the place where the king's prisoners were incarcerated; and he remained there in the prison house.
  And the L rd was with Joseph, and He conferred grace upon him, and He granted him favor in the eyes of the overseer of the prison house.
  And the overseer of the prison house placed all of the prisoners in the prison house in Joseph's charge; and all that was done there was done at his bidding.
  The overseer of the prison house looked after nothing in his hand in that the L rd was with him, and whatever he did, the L rd prospered.
  
  
  
  And it was, after these things, [(G d diverting talk against Joseph to talk against the king's stewards)] that the butler of the king of Egypt and the baker [of his bread] offended their lord, the king of Egypt [(a fly was found in the wine, and a pebble in the bread)].
  And Pharaoh grew wroth with his two eunuchs, the chief butler and the chief baker.
  And he placed them in custody in the house of the head of the slaughterers, in the prison house where Joseph was incarcerated.
  And the head of the slaughterers charged Joseph [to be] with them, and he ministered to them, and they were days [twelve months] in ward.
  And the two of them dreamed a dream, each his dream in one night, each according to the [eventual] materialization of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison house.
  And Joseph came to them in the morning and he saw them, and they were distraught.
  And he asked the eunuchs of Pharaoh who were in ward with him in his master's house: Why are your faces downcast today?
  And they said to him: We dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them: Are not interpretations unto G d? Tell it, I pray you, to me.
  And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, saying to him: In my dream, behold, a grapevine before me.
  And on the grapevine, three shoots, which seemed to bud. And its blossom sprouted; and its clusters brought forth grapes.
  And Pharaoh's goblet was in my hand. And I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's goblet; and I placed the goblet on Pharaoh's hand.
  And Joseph said to him: This is its interpretation: The three shoots are three days.
  In three more days, Pharaoh will count you [with his other attendants], and he will restore you to your post, and you will place the cup of Pharaoh in his hand as at first, when you would give him drink.
  So that if you remember me with you when it is well with you, then do lovingkindness with me, I pray you, and mention me to Pharaoh, and take me out of this house.
  For I have been stolen from the land of the Hebrews. And here, too, I did nothing that they should put me into the pit.
  And the chief baker saw that he had interpreted well, and he said to Joseph: I, too, in my dream; and behold, three wicker baskets on my head.
  And in the top basket, of all the food of Pharaoh, the work of a baker. And the birds ate them from the basket on my head.
  And Joseph answered and he said: This is its interpretation: The three baskets are three days.
  In another three days, Pharaoh will lift your head from you and hang you upon a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.
  And it was on the third day, Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. And he counted the chief butler and the chief baker in the midst of his servants.
  And he restored the chief butler (to officiate) over his drink, and he placed the goblet on Pharaoh's hand.
  And the chief baker he hanged, as Joseph had interpreted for them.
  And the chief butler did not remember Joseph [on that day], and he forgot him [afterwards].
  
  
  
  And it was at the end of two years that Pharaoh dreamt. And, behold, he was standing by the Nile.
  And, behold, from the Nile there came up seven kine of good appearance and fat flesh, and they fed in the reed grass.
  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them from the Nile, of bad appearance and thin flesh. And they stood near the kine on the bank of the Nile.
  And the seven kine of bad appearance and of thin flesh ate the seven kine of good appearance and of fat flesh [(signifying the forgetting of the years of plenty in the years of famine)], and Pharaoh awoke.
  And he slept and he dreamed a second time, and, behold, seven ears of corn arose upon one stalk, healthy and good.
  And, behold, seven ears of corn, thin, and beaten by the east wind sprouted after them.
  And the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy, full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a [completed] dream [demanding an interpretation].
  And it was in the morning that his spirit was agitated, and he sent and called all the necromancers of Egypt and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told his dream to them, but none could interpret them to Pharaoh [i.e., to Pharaoh's satisfaction.]
  And the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: I make mention of my faults this day.
  Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and he placed me in custody in the house of the head of the slaughterers — me and the chief baker.
  And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; each according to [i.e., in consonance with] the [subsequent] interpretation of his dream did we dream.
  And there was with us a youth [a simpleton], an Ivri, [who does not even know our language], a slave [(unworthy of royal regard)] to the head of the slaughterers, and we told him and he interpreted our dreams; each according to [the nature of] his dream did he interpret.
  And it was, [just] as he interpreted it to us did it come to pass. I, he [Pharaoh] restored to my post, and him he hanged.
  And Pharaoh sent and called (for) Joseph, and they hastened him out of the pit, and he cut his hair [in deference to the king], and he changed his garments, and he came to Pharaoh.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: I dreamed a dream and none can interpret it. And I have heard about you that you understand a dream to interpret it.
  And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying: It [the interpretation of dreams] is not mine; G d will answer [through my mouth] for the peace of Pharaoh.
  And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph: In my dream, behold, I was standing on the bank of the Nile.
  And, behold, from the Nile there came up seven kine of fat flesh and good appearance, and they fed in the reed grass.
  And, behold, seven other kine came up after them, lean, of very bad appearance and thin-fleshed. I never saw such in all the land of Egypt for badness.
  And the thin, bad kine ate the first fat kine.
  And they came into their midst, but it could not be known that they had come into their midst, for their appearance was bad as in the beginning — and I awoke.
  And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, full and good.
  And, behold, seven ears of corn, parched thin, beaten by the east wind, sprouted after them.
  And the thin ears swallowed the seven good ears. And I related this to the magicians, and none could tell me (what it meant).
  And Joseph said to Pharaoh: The dream of Pharaoh is one. What G d is to do He has told to Pharaoh.
  The seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are [the same] seven years. It is one dream.
  And the seven thin, bad kine that came up after them are seven years. And the seven thin ears beaten by the east wind will be seven years of famine.
  This is the thing that I have spoken to Pharaoh. What G d is to do He has shown to Pharaoh.
  Behold, seven years are coming — great plenty in all the land of Egypt.
  And seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, [thus, the "swallowing" (24)], and the famine will consume the land.
  And the plenty will not be known in the land because of that famine afterwards [thus, "And it was not noticeable, etc." (21)] because it will be very sore.
  And as to the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is readied from G d, and G d is hastening to do it.
  And now, let Pharaoh see (to find) an understanding, wise man, and let him place him over the land of Egypt.
  Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers for the land, and let him spur on the (people of) the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty.
  And let them gather up all the food of these coming good years, and let them store up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, food in the cities, and let them guard it.
  And the [stored-up] food will be a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which will prevail in the land of Egypt, and the land will not be cut off in the famine.
  And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
  And Pharaoh said to his servants: Can there be found such a one! a man invested with the spirit of G d.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Since G d has apprised you of all this, there is none so understanding and wise as you [(Pharaoh's response to 33)].
  You will be over my house, and by your word shall all my people be fed. Only (in) the throne [i.e., the name of "king"] shall I be greater than you.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.
  And Pharaoh removed his ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph's hand, [thus making him second to himself], and he robed him in vestments of fine linen, and he placed the golden chain on his neck.
  And he had him ride in the chariot next to his, and they called before him "Avrech!" ["This is the father (i.e., counselor) of the king"], and he set him over all the land of Egypt.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: I am Pharaoh [and I am empowered to decree], and [I decree that] without your consent no man may lift his hand [to arm himself], or his foot [to mount a horse] in the whole land of Egypt.
  And Pharaoh called Joseph "Tzafnath Pa'aneach" ["the unraveler of the hidden"], and he gave him as a wife Asnath the daughter of Poti Fera, the priest of On, [Pothiphar, called "Poti Fera" because, having designs on Joseph, he was rendered impotent (fera).] And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.
  And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from before Pharaoh, and he passed through all the land of Egypt.
  And the land was made in the seven years of plenty into fistfuls [i.e., the inhabitants gathered grain, fist upon fist, for storage].
  And he gathered all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and he placed food in the cities. The food [i.e., the soil] of the field of the city which was around it, he placed in it [into the gathered food, to preserve it, (food being best preserved by local soil)].
  And Joseph laid up grain as the sand of the sea, in great quantity, until he [the counter] stopped counting, for there was no count.
  And unto Joseph were born two sons before the advent of the years of famine [(whence we derive that it is forbidden to cohabit in years of famine)], which were begotten to him by Asnath the daughter of Poti Fera, the priest of On.
  And Joseph called the name of the first-born Menasheh: "for G d has made me forget (nashani) all of my toil and all of my father's house."
  And the name of the second he called Ephraim: "for G d has made me fruitful (hifrani) in the land of my affliction."
  And there ended the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt.
  And the seven years of famine began to arrive, as Joseph had said. And there was famine in all of the lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.
  And the whole land of Egypt hungered. And the people cried out to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said to all of Egypt: Go to Joseph. Whatever he tells you, do.
  And the famine was on the "face of all the land" [i.e., the rich], and Joseph opened all (the granaries) where there was (grain), and he sold to Egypt; and the famine waxed strong in the land of Egypt.
  And all the land came to Egypt to Joseph to buy, for the famine was strong in all the land.
  
  
  
  And Jacob saw that there was a grain sale in Egypt. And Jacob said to his sons: Why should you be looked upon [strangely by others for not stocking up before your food gives out]?
  And he said: Behold, I have heard that there is a (grain) sale in Egypt. Go down (redu) there [(the gematria of "redu" is 210, intimating the years of servitude in Egypt)], and buy grain for us from there so that we live and not die.
  And the brothers of Joseph [(They went as "the brothers of Joseph," determined to redeem him)], ten, went down to buy grain from Egypt.
  And Benjamin, the brother of Joseph, Jacob did not send with his brothers, saying: Lest he come to harm, [Satan "prosecuting" in time of danger (i.e., on the road)].
  And the children of Israel came, [mingling] in the midst of those who came [(Jacob having instructed them to enter separately so that their strength and beauty not arouse "the evil eye")], for the famine held sway in the land of Canaan.
  And Joseph — he ruled the land. He sold (grain) to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came, and they prostrated themselves to him with their faces to the ground.
  And Joseph saw his brothers and he recognized them, and he acted like a stranger to them, speaking harshly to them: "Where did you come from!" And they said: From the land of Canaan to buy food.
  And Joseph recognized his brothers, [for they were already bearded when he left them], but they did not recognize him, [for he was unbearded when they parted].
  And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them, [and he realized that they had been fulfilled (for they had bowed down to him)]. And he said to them: You are spies; you have come to see the nakedness ("the weak spots") of the land.
  And they said to him: No, my lord, for your servants have come to buy food.
  We are all [including Joseph] the sons of one man, [(the Holy Spirit animating their words)]. We are honest; your servants were not spies.
  And He said to them: No, but you came to see the nakedness of the land. [For, otherwise, why would you have come through ten different gates and not through one?]
  And they said: We, your twelve servants, are brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and the youngest is with our father this day, and one is not with us, [and we "scattered" to seek him].
  And Joseph said to them: What I spoke of you, that you are spies, [is the truth].
  By this shall you be proved — by the life of Pharaoh, [(Joseph utilizing Pharaoh's name in swearing falsely)] — You shall not go out of here unless your youngest brother comes here.
  Send one of you and let him take your brother; and you shall be sequestered and your words be proved — Is truth with you? And if not [i.e., if you do not bring him], then, by the life of Pharaoh, you are spies.
  And he sequestered them together for three days.
  And Joseph said to them on the third day: Do this and you shall live; I fear G d.
  If you are honest, let one of you be confined in your prison-house, and you, go and bring [to your father's house] provisions [to alleviate] the hunger of [the people of] your houses.
  And your youngest brother bring to me, so that your words be confirmed and you not die. And they did so.
  And they said one to the other: In truth, we are guilty over our brother for having seen the trouble of his soul in his entreating us and not having listened. Therefore, this trouble is come upon us.
  And Reuven answered them, saying: Did I not say to you: "Do not sin against the child?" and you did not heed me; and now his blood is also being demanded ["also," including the blood of "the old one" (Jacob)].
  And they did not know that Joseph understood (what they were saying), for the interpreter [Menasheh] was (i.e., interpreted) between them [and Joseph (when they spoke with him)].
  And he walked off some distance from them and he wept. And he returned and spoke to them, and he took Shimon from them [(It was Shimon who had cast him into the pit and who had said to Levi (37:19): "Behold, this dreamer comes")], and he imprisoned him before their eyes [— and when they left, he released him and gave him food and drink.]
  And Joseph commanded that their vessels be filled with grain, that their money be returned, each to his sack, and that they be given provision for the way. And he did so to them.
  And they lifted their grain onto their asses and they went from there.
  And the one [Levi] opened his sack to give feed to his ass in the night-lodging, and he saw his money, and, behold, it was in the mouth of his sack.
  And he said to his brothers: My money has been returned, and it, too, [along with the grain] is in my sack. And their hearts went out, and each trembled to his brothers, saying: What is this that G d has done to us [to bring this libel (that we stole the money) upon us]?
  And they came to Jacob their father to the land of Canaan, and they told him all that had befallen them, saying:
  The man, the lord of the land, spoke roughly to us, and he accused us of spying out the land.
  And we said to him: We are honest; we were not spies.
  We are twelve, brothers, sons of our father. One is not with us, and the youngest this day is with our father in the land of Canaan.
  And the man, the lord of the land, said to us: By this shall I know that you are honest. Your one brother leave with me, and (food for) the hunger of your houses take and go.
  And bring your young brother to me, and I will know that you are not spies and that you are honest. Your brother will I give to you, and you will go about the land [in trade].
  And, as they emptied their sacks, behold, each (found) his money bundle in his sack. And they saw their money bundles, they and their father, and they were afraid.
  And Jacob their father said to them: You have bereaved me [of children. He suspected that they may have killed Shimon or sold him as they did Joseph.] Joseph is not, and Shimon is not, and you would take Benjamin! Upon me have all of them been.
  And Reuven said to his father: You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Entrust him to me and I will return him to you.
  And he said: My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone remains, and if an accident befall him on the way on which you go, then you will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave.
  
  
  
  And the famine was sore in the land.
  And it was, when they had finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them: Return, buy for us a little food.
  And Judah said to him: The man warned us, saying: You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you.
  If you send our brother with us, we shall go down and buy grain for you.
  And if you do not send, we shall not go down. For the man said to us: You will not see my face unless your brother is with you.
  And Israel said: Why did you do evil unto me to tell the man that you had another brother?
  And they said: The man inquired about us and about our families, saying: Is your father still living? Do you have a brother? And we answered him in response to these words. Could we know that he would say "Bring down your brother"?
  And Judah said to Israel his father: Send the child with me and let us arise and go; and we shall live [(the Holy Spirit presaging Jacob's "revival" (45:27)] and we shall not die [of hunger], both we, you, and our little ones, [of a certainty, whereas Benjamin's seizure is only a possibility].
  I will go surety for him; you will require him at my hand. If I do not bring him to you and present him to you [alive], then I shall have sinned against you all of the days [in the world to come].
  For had we not been delayed [by you] we could now have returned twice [with Shimon, and you would have been spared all this suffering].
  And Israel their father said to them: If so, [i.e., if I must send him with you] then do this: Take of the choicest fruits of the land in your vessels, and take a present down to the man: a little balm, and a little honey, resin and laudanum, pistachios and almonds.
  And twice as much money [as you took before] take in your hands, [for the grain price might have risen], and the money returned in the mouth of your bags, return with your hands, for it might have been [forgotten by the overseer] in error.
  And your brother take, and arise, return to the man.
  And may the All-Sufficient grant you mercy before the man, and may he release your "other" [(the Holy Spirit presaging the "release" of Joseph)] brother [Shimon] and Benjamin; and I, [until you return], as I have been bereaved [of Joseph and  Shimon], so will I be bereaved [of Benjamin].
  And the men took this gift, and double the money they took in their hand, and Benjamin, and they arose and went down to Egypt, and they stood before Joseph.
  And Joseph saw Benjamin with them, and he said to the overseer of his house: Bring these men into the house, and [see to it] to slaughter something (for a meal) and prepare it, for with me will these men dine.
  And the man did as Joseph said, and the man brought the men into Joseph's house.
  And the men were afraid, for they were brought into the house of Joseph, [this not being customary for those who had come to purchase grain.] And they said: It is because of the money which was returned to our sacks in the beginning that we were brought [into the house], to cast a libel upon us, and to fall upon us, and to take us as slaves, and our asses.
  And they drew near to the man who was over Joseph's house, and they spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
  And they said: We entreat you, my lord. Down did we descend, [we, who were accustomed to feed others,] in the beginning, to buy food.
  And it was, when we came to the inn and we opened our sacks, that, behold, each one's money was in the mouth of his sack, in (full) weight, and we have brought it back in our hand.
  And other money have we brought in our hand to buy grain. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.
  And he said: Peace unto you; do not fear. Your G d [in your merit], and [if that were not sufficient], the G d of your father [in his merit], has given you a prize in your sacks. Your money has come to me. And he brought Shimon out to them.
  And the man [after having been gradually pushed to the entrance of the house] brought the men [again] into Joseph's house. And he gave (them) water, and they washed their feet, and he gave feed to their asses.
  And they decorated the gift, [laying it out in fine vessels] until Joseph came to dine, for they heard that they would take bread [i.e., dine] there.
  And Joseph came to the house, and they brought him the gift in their hands into the house [from the outer hall into the parlor], and they prostrated themselves to him to the ground.
  And he greeted them, and he said: Is your old father well of whom you spoke? Is he still alive?
  And they said: Your servant, our father, is well; he still lives. And they bowed [their heads in response to his greeting] and they prostrated themselves [to the ground].
  And he lifted up his eyes and he saw Benjamin his brother, the son of his mother, and he said: Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me? And he said: "May G d grace you, my son," [it already having been said of the other tribes (33:5): "with which G d graced your servant"].
  And Joseph hastened, for his mercies had become enkindled for his brother and he wished to cry, and he went into his chamber and he wept there.
  And he washed his face, and he went out and he "fortified" himself, and he said: Serve bread.
  And they served him by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him, by themselves. For the Egyptians could not eat with the Hebrews, for it was an abomination to the Egyptians, [the Hebrews eating sheep, which the Egyptians worshiped].
  And they sat [i.e., he sat them in order] before him, the first-born according to his seniority, and the youngest, according to his youth; and the men expressed amaze one to the other.
  And he took portions from before him to them, and the portion of Benjamin was five times that of the others, [Benjamin receiving his own portion, and, in addition, those sent him by Joseph, Asnath, Menasheh, and Ephraim], and they drank and became inebriated with him, [neither he nor they having drunk wine from the day he was sold].
  
  
  
  And he charged the one over his house, saying: Fill the sacks of the men with food, as much as they can carry, and place each one's money in the mouth of his sack.
  And my goblet, the silver goblet, place in the mouth of the sack of the youngest and the money of his grain purchase. And he did according to the word of Joseph, who had spoken.
  Morning dawned and the men were sent away, they and their asses.
  They had left the city and had not gone far when Joseph said to the one over his house: Arise, pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them: Why did you pay evil for good?
  Is not this what my master drinks in and through which he divines? You have done evil by what you have done.
  And he overtook them, and he spoke these things to them.
  And they said to him: Why should my lord speak such things? It would be profane in your servants to do such a thing!
  Behold, the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks we returned to you from the land of Canaan. How, then, would we steal from your master's house silver or gold!
  With whomever it is found of your servants, he shall die, and we, too, shall be servants to my lord.
  And he said: This, too, is as you say; it is true [that if one among ten is found to have stolen, all should be apprehended, but I shall be liberal, and only] the one with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you will be absolved.
  And they hastened, and each brought his sack down to the ground, and each opened his sack.
  And he searched, beginning with the oldest, [so that they not suspect him of knowing where it was], and finishing with the youngest, and the goblet was found in Benjamin's sack.
  And they rent their garments, and each [individually, without requiring another's assistance] laded his ass, and they returned to the city [(really a metropolis, but, in their eyes, merely a "city" (of ten) in its defenselessness before them)].
  And Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph, and he was still there [waiting for them], and they fell before him to the ground.
  And Joseph said to them: What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man such as I could divine [that you had stolen the goblet]?
  And Judah said: What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak and how shall we justify ourselves? [We did not sin in this instance (of the goblet), but] G d has found [a way to exact punishment for] the [former] sin of your servants. We are slaves to my lord, both we, both him in whose hand the goblet has been found.
  And he said: It were profane in me to do this! The man in whose hand the goblet is found — he shall be my servant. And you, go up in peace to your father.
  And Judah drew near to him and he said: I entreat you, my lord, let your servant speak a word [that will enter] in the ears of my lord. And let not your wrath burn against your servant [— whence we may infer that he spoke "strong words" to him], for you are [as eminent in my eyes] as Pharaoh.
  My lord asked his servants: Do you have a father or a brother? [From the very beginning you were plotting against us. Why did you ask all these questions? Were we asking for your daughter in marriage? Or were you asking for our sister?]
  And [in spite of this, we concealed nothing from you, but] we said to my lord: We have an old father and a small child of his old age, and his brother died [(Judah lying here out of fear that he be told to bring him too)], and he alone was left to his mother, [Benjamin having no other brother from that mother], and his father loves him.
  And you said to your servants: Bring him down to me that I may set my eye upon him.
  And we said to my lord: The youth will not be able to leave his father, for if he leaves his father he may die [on the road (as his mother did)].
  And you said to your servants: If your younger brother does not come down with you, you shall see my face no more.
  And it was, when we went up to your servant, my father, and we told him the words of my lord,
  that our father said: Return, buy for us a little food.
  And we said: We cannot go down. If our younger brother is with us then we will go down. For we will not be able to see the man's face if our younger brother is not with us.
  And your servant, my father, said to us: You know that my wife (Rachel) bore me two sons.
  And the one went from me. And I said: Surely, he has been torn. And I have not seen him until now.
  And if you take this one, too, from me, then a mishap will befall him, [for "Satan prosecutes in time of danger"], and you will bring down my hoary head with evil to the grave. [Benjamin is my consolation for Rachel and Joseph. If he dies, it is as if they all died in one day.]
  And now, if I come to your servant, my father, and the youth is not with us, and his soul is bound up with his soul —
  Then it shall be, if he sees that the youth is not (with us), he will die, and your servants will have brought down the hoary head of your servant, our father, with sorrow to the grave.
  [And I am more importunate in this than my other brothers], for your servant has gone surety for the youth to my father, saying: If I do not bring him back to you, then I will have sinned against my father all of the days, [to be cut off in both worlds].
  And now, let your servant stay, I pray you, instead of the youth as a servant to my lord, and let the youth go up with his brothers.
  For how can I go up to my father if the youth is not with me — lest I see the evil that shall befall my father.
  
  
  
  And Joseph could not tolerate all [i.e., the Egyptians] standing over him [and witnessing his brothers' shame in his revealing himself to them], and he called: "Take out every man from my presence!" And no man stood with him when Joseph revealed himself to his brothers.
  And he raised his voice in weeping, and (the men of) Egypt heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it.
  And Joseph said to his brothers: "I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?" And his brothers could not answer him, for they were confounded [with shame] before him.
  And Joseph said to his brothers, [seeing them recoiling from him in shame]: "Draw near to me, I pray you." And they drew near, and he said, [showing them his circumcision]: I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold to Egypt.
  And now, do not be grieved, and do not vex yourselves that you sold me here, because for sustenance did G d send me before you.
  For two years have passed thus far of the [years of] famine in the midst of the land, and five years are yet to come in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.
  And G d has sent me before you to provide for you a remnant in the land and to keep you in life for a great deliverance.
  And now, it is not you who sent me here, but G d. And He made me a "father" [a friend and patron] to Pharaoh and a master to all his house, and a ruler throughout the land of Egypt.
  Hasten and go up to my father [(Eretz Yisrael is the highest of all the lands)], and say to him: Thus said your son Joseph: G d has made me master of all Egypt — come down to me; do not wait.
  And you will sit in the land of Goshen, and you will be near to me, you and your children and your children's children, and your flocks and your herds and all that you have.
  And I will provide for you there. For five years of famine yet remain — lest you and your household and all that you have become impoverished.
  And, behold, your eyes see and the eyes of my brother Benjamin [(Just as I bear no rancor towards Benjamin, who was not a party to my being sold, so I bear none towards you)] that [I am honored and that I am circumcised as you are, and that] the mouth that speaks to you [speaks in the holy tongue].
  And tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and of all that you have seen. And hasten and bring down my father here.
  And he fell on the neck of his brother Benjamin, and he wept [over the two Temples that were destined to be in the portion of Benjamin, which would be destroyed], and Benjamin wept on his neck, [over the sanctuary of Shiloh, that was destined to be in the portion of Joseph, which would be destroyed.]
  And he kissed all his brothers and he wept upon them, and afterwards, [i.e., after they saw him weeping and well disposed towards them,] his brothers spoke with him, [having been ashamed to do so previously].
  And the news reached the house of Pharaoh: "The brothers of Joseph have come." And it was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Tell your brothers: Do this. Load your beasts [with grain], and go to the land of Canaan.
  And take your father and your households and come to me, and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt [Goshen], and you will eat the fat of the land.
  And you have been commanded [by me to tell them]: Do this: Take for yourselves from the land of Egypt wagons for your little ones and for your wives, and take your father and come.
  And let your eyes not begrudge your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.
  And the children of Israel did so, and Joseph gave them wagons at Pharaoh's bidding, and he gave them provision for the way.
  To all of them he gave, to each man, changes of clothing, and to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothing.
  And to his father he sent according to this (count): ten asses carrying of the good of Egypt [(old wine, of which old men are especially fond)], and ten she-asses carrying grain and bread and relish for his father for the road.
  And he sent his brothers and they went. And he said to them: Do not quarrel on the way, [fearing that in their shame over having sold him, they might come to accuse one another of having instigated the act.]
  And they went up from Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.
  And they told him: Joseph is still alive, and [they told him] that he was the ruler over all the land of Egypt; and his heart faltered, for he did not believe them.
  And they spoke to him all the words of Joseph that he spoke to them and he saw the wagons (agaloth) that Joseph sent to take him [(a "sign" of Joseph to his father — "eglah (like agalah) arufah" (see Deuteronomy 21) having been Joseph's study when he took leave of his father)]; and the spirit of Jacob their father revived. [The Shechinah, which had departed from him, again reposed upon him.]
  And Israel said: Much [joy still awaits me since] my son Joseph still lives. I shall go and see him before I die.
  
  
  
  And Israel journeyed and all that was with him and he came to Beersheva, and he offered sacrifices to the G d of his father Isaac, [(Isaac, not Abraham, the honor of one's father taking precedence to that of his grandfather.)]
  And G d said to Jacob in the visions of the night: Jacob, Jacob [(the doubling connoting affection)], and he said: Here I am, [ready to do Your bidding].
  And He said: I am the Almighty, the G d of your father. Do not fear [being constrained to leave Eretz Yisrael and] going down to Egypt; for a great nation shall I make you there.
  I shall go down with you to Egypt, and I shall also bring you up [to Eretz Yisrael for burial], and Joseph shall place his hand on your eyes.
  And Jacob arose from Beersheva, and the sons of Israel bore Jacob their father and their little ones and their wives on the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to take him.
  And they took their cattle and their substance which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, [(having given their acquisitions in Padan Aram to Esau in exchange for his share in the Mearath Hamachpelah)], and they came to Egypt, Jacob and all of his seed with him.
  His sons and the sons of his sons with him, his daughters and the daughters of his sons, [Serach the daughter of Asher and Yocheved the daughter of Levi]; and all of his seed he brought with him to Egypt.
  And these are the names of the children of Israel who were coming [(at that time)] to Egypt: Jacob and his sons — the first-born of Jacob, Reuven.
  And the sons of Reuven: Chanoch and Falu, and Chetzron and Carmi.
  And the sons of Shimon: Yemuel and Yamin and Ohad and Yachin and Tzochar and Shaul the son of the Canaanitess [Dinah, who had been ravished by a Canaanite, Shchem. (When Shchem was killed, Dinah refused to leave until Shimon swore that he would take her in marriage)].
  And the sons of Levi: Gershon, Kehoth, and Merari.
  And the sons of Judah: Er and Onan and Shelah and Peretz and Zarach. And Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Peretz were Chetzron and Chamul.
  And the sons of Issachar: Tola and Puvah and Yov and Shimron.
  And the sons of Zevulun: Sered and Elon and Yachle'el.
  These are the sons of Leah, which she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram [(the males being ascribed to Leah, for when the woman "sows" first, she bears a male)], and Dinah his daughter [(when the man sows first, he begets a female)] — all the souls of his sons and daughters, thirty-three [(with the inclusion of Yocheved the daughter of Levi, who was born just as they entered Egypt.)]
  And the sons of Gad: Tzifyon and Chagi and Shuni and Etzbon, Eri and Arodi and Areli.
  And the sons of Asher: Yimnah and Yishvah and Yishvi and Beriah, and Serach their sister. And the sons of Beriah, Chever and Malkiel.
  These are the sons of Zilpah, who Lavan gave to Leah his daughter. And she bore these to Jacob, sixteen souls.
  The sons of Rachel, the wife [(Rachel being singled out as the "wife," the mainstay)] of Jacob, Joseph and Benjamin.
  And there were born unto Joseph in the land of Egypt — borne to him by Asnath the daughter of Poti Fera, the priest of On — Menasheh and Ephraim.
  And the sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel and Gera and Naaman, Echi and Rosh and Muppim and Chuppim and Ard.
  These are the sons of Rachel, who were borne to Jacob. All the souls, fourteen.
  And the sons of Dan: Chushim.
  And the sons of Naftali: Yachtze'el and Guni and Yetzer and Shilem.
  These are the sons of Bilhah, who Lavan gave to Rachel his daughter. And she bore these to Jacob. All the souls, seven.
  All of the soul [all one "soul" in that they served one G d] coming [i.e., at the time of their coming] with Jacob to Egypt, the issue of his loins, aside from the wives of the sons of Jacob, all of the soul, sixty-six.
  And the sons of Joseph which were born to him in Egypt, two souls. All of the soul of the house of Jacob that came to Egypt were seventy, [the sixty-six finding Joseph and his two sons there, and Yocheved being born there upon their entry.]
  And Judah he sent before him to Joseph to pave the way [for settlement] before him [(i.e., before he reached there)] to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.
  And Joseph [himself] reined his chariot [in his fervor to honor his father], and he went up to Israel his father in Goshen, and he [Joseph] appeared before him, and he [Joseph] fell on his neck, and he wept and wept on his neck.
  And Israel said to Joseph: If I should die now, [I would be consoled] having seen your face; for you are yet alive.
  And Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's house: I shall go up and tell Pharaoh: My brothers and my father's house from the land of Canaan have come to me.
  And [I shall tell him further that] the men are shepherds, for they were (always) cattle keepers; and their flocks and herds and all that is theirs they have brought.
  And it shall be, when Pharaoh calls to you and says: What is your occupation?
  Then you shall say: Your servants have been cattle keepers from our youths until now, both we and our fathers. (Say this) so that you be settled in the land of Goshen, [which you require for pasture. And he will settle you there, away from him,] for the abomination of Egypt are all who graze sheep, [sheep being an object of idolatry to them,]
  
  
  
  And Joseph came and told it to Pharaoh, and he said: My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that is theirs have come from the land of Canaan, and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen.
  And from the "edge" of his brothers, [the least vigorous (so that Pharaoh not impress them into military service)], he took five men, and he presented them to Pharaoh.
  And Pharaoh said to his brothers: What is your occupation? And they said to Pharaoh: Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.
  And they said to Pharaoh: To sojourn in the land did we come. For there is no pasture for your servants' flocks. For the famine is sore in the land of Canaan. And now, let your servants abide in the land of Goshen.
  And Pharaoh said to Joseph: Your father and your brothers have come to you.
  The land of Egypt is before you. In the best of the land settle your father and your brothers. Let them live in the land of Goshen. And if you know of any experts among them [in shepherding], appoint them overseers over mine [i.e., my sheep].
  And Joseph brought Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob gave Pharaoh salutation.
  And Pharaoh said to Jacob: How many are the days of the years of your life?
  And Jacob said to Pharaoh: The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years. Few and troubled have been the days of the years of my life, and they did not attain [in good] to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojournings.
  And Jacob blessed Pharaoh [in leave-taking], and he left Pharaoh's presence.
  And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them a holding in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Ramses [in Goshen], as Pharaoh had commanded.
  And Joseph fed his father and his brothers and all of his father's household bread [sufficient for all, even] for the little ones [to "finger"].
  And [(a reversion to the beginning of the years of famine)] there was no bread in all the land, for the famine was extremely severe, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished in the famine.
  And Joseph gathered all the money found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan [which they had given him] for the grain that they had purchased, and Joseph brought the money to the house of Pharaoh.
  And the money was exhausted in the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan. And all of Egypt came to Joseph, saying: Give us bread. Why should we die before you? For the money is at an end.
  And Joseph said: Bring your kine and I will give (it) to you for your kine if the money is at an end.
  And they brought their kine to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread for the horses and for the flocks of sheep and for the herds of cattle and the asses. And he led them with bread for all of their kine in that year.
  And that year ended and they came to him in the second year [of the years of famine] and they said to him: We will not conceal it from my lord that the money and the kine are gone [and that all has come] to [the hand of] my lord. Nothing remains before my lord if not our bodies and our ground.
  Why should we perish before your eyes, both we and our ground? Buy us and our ground for bread, and we and our ground will be servants to Pharaoh. And give us seed so that we will live and not die, and the ground will not be desolate. [(Even though Joseph said (45:6): "And five years are yet to come in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest," once Jacob came to Egypt, "blessing came at his heels," they began to sow and the famine ended.)]
  And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. For every man in Egypt sold his field; for the famine intensified over them. And the land became Pharaoh's possession.
  And he [Joseph] transferred the people to cities [from one city to another as a sign that they no longer had a holding in the land, (Joseph intending in this that his brothers not be branded as "exiles.")] from one end of the border of Egypt to the other.
  Only the land of the priests he did not buy. For the priests had a dole from Pharaoh, and they ate their dole which Pharaoh had given them, wherefore they did not sell their land.
  And Joseph said to the people: Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you and sow the ground.
  And it shall be in the ingathering that you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own for seed for the field [each year] and for your food and [as food] for those in your houses [manservants and maidservants] and as food for your little ones.
  And they said: You have kept us alive. May we find favor in the eyes of my lord [to do with us as you said] and we will be servants to Pharaoh [to pay him the yearly tribute].
  And Joseph made it a statute [without repeal] until this day over the land of Egypt that a fifth of it reverted to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests alone did not revert to Pharaoh.
  And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had a holding in it, and they were fruitful and they multiplied exceedingly.
  And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. And the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years.
  And the days of Israel "drew near to die" [(This phrase always connotes not attaining to the age of one's father. Isaac lived 180 years, and Jacob, 147)]. And he called to his son, to Joseph, [who was in a position to carry out what he asked] and he said to him: If I have now found favor in your eyes, place your hand under my thigh [and swear] that you will do with me lovingkindness and truth. [(The lovingkindness one does with the dead is one of "truth" in that there is no expectation of reciprocation.)] Do not bury me in Egypt.
  And I will lie [i.e., expire] with my fathers, and you shall carry me from Egypt and bury me in their burial place. And he said: I shall do as you say.
  And he said: Swear to me. And he swore to him. And Israel bowed [("In the fox's time (of authority; here, an allusion to Joseph's rule), bow down to him.")] towards the head of the bed [i.e., towards the Shechinah, which rests above the head of the sick.]
  
  
  
  And it was, after these things, that it was told to Joseph: Behold, your father is sick; and he took his two sons with him, Menasheh and Ephraim, [for Jacob to bless them before his death].
  And it was told to Jacob: Behold, your son Joseph is coming to you. And Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed, [according honor to royalty].
  And Jacob said to Joseph: The Almighty G d appeared to me in Luz in the land of Canaan, and He blessed me.
  And He said to me: Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a congregation of peoples, [two additional tribes issuing from him, Ephraim and Menasheh (see 35:11)], and I will give this land to your seed after you for an eternal blessing.
  And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you to Egypt — they are mine, [in the number of my other sons, to take a corresponding portion in the land]. Ephraim and Menasheh as Reuven and Shimon shall be to me.
  And if you have issue after them, they shall [not be numbered with my sons, but they shall] be yours. By the name of their brothers [Ephraim and Menasheh] shall they be called in [taking] their inheritance.
  [And though I tax you to carry me for burial to the land of Canaan though I did not exert myself similarly for your mother], for when I came from Padan, Rachel died upon me in the land of Canaan on the road, just a kivrah [a short distance] before Efrath, and I buried her there on the road to Efrath, which is Bethlehem, [without even taking her into Bethlehem — bear no rancor against me for this, for I did so by Divine command, that Rachel might implore mercy for her children when they passed that way in the exile of Nevuzaradan (see Jeremiah 31)].
  And Israel saw the sons of Joseph [and wished to bless them — when the Shechinah departed from him, (for Yeravam and Achav were destined to descend from Ephraim, and Yehu and his sons from Menasheh)], and he said: "Who are these!" [i.e., Whence did they issue that they are not fit to be blessed?]
  And Joseph said to his father: They are my sons, whom G d has given me through this. [He showed him the articles of engagement and the kethubah, and Jacob implored the L rd for the return of the Shechinah, and it again reposed upon him.] And he said: Take them now to me and I will bless them.
  And the eyes of Israel were heavy from age; he could not see. And he drew them near to him, and he kissed them, and he embraced them.
  And Israel said to Joseph: I did not think to see your face, and, behold, G d has shown me your children too!
  And Joseph took them out from between his knees [in order to place them in the right position for blessing; one to the right, the other to the left.] And he prostrated himself to the ground [after he had walked backwards in deference to his father].
  And Joseph took both of them: Ephraim with his right hand, to the left of Israel, and Menasheh [the first-born] with his left hand, to the right of Israel, and he presented (them) to him.
  And Israel stretched out his right hand and placed it on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Menasheh. He crossed his hands designedly, [knowing full well] that Menasheh was the first-born.
  And he blessed Joseph, saying: The G d before whom my fathers walked — Abraham and Isaac — the G d who has sustained me from the very beginning until this day —
  The angel who is wont to redeem me from all evil [e.g., 31:11], let him bless the youths [Menasheh and Ephraim], and let my name be called in them, and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, and may they proliferate [veyidgu, like fish (dagim)] abundantly, [(like fish, not prey to the evil eye)] in the midst of the earth.
  And Joseph saw that his father had placed his right hand on the head of Ephraim, and it was bad in his eyes; and he took his father's hand to remove it from the head of Ephraim to the head of Menasheh.
  And Joseph said to his father: Not so, my father, for this one is the first-born; place your hand on his head.
  And his father demurred and he said: I know, my son, I know [that he is the first-born]. He, too, will be a people, and he, too, will be great, [Gideon being destined to descend from him, for whom the L rd will perform a miracle], but his younger brother will be greater than he, [Joshua being destined to descend from him, who will inherit the land and teach Torah to Israel], and the nations will be full of [the praises of him and] his seed [when he makes the sun stand still in Giveon, and the moon in the valley of Ayalon].
  And he blessed them on that day, saying: In you [i.e., in your blessings] will Israel bless [their sons in future generations], saying: "May G d make you as Ephraim and Menasheh." And he placed Ephraim [in his blessing] before Menasheh [for precedence in the banners (see Numbers 2:18 and 10:22) and for the altar consecration by the princes of the tribes (Ibid. 7)].
  And Israel said to Joseph: Behold, I am going to die, and G d will be with you, and He will return you to the land of your fathers.
  And I, [likewise, for your exertions in my burial,] I have given you Shchem [as a burial plot] as an additional (portion) over your brothers, which [i.e., the city of Shchem] I took from the hand of the Emori with my sword and with my bow [when they sought to kill Shimon and Levi for avenging Dinah].
  
  
  
  And Jacob called to his sons and said: Gather together and I will reveal to you what will happen to you in the end of days. [He desired to reveal to them the "end of days" (the time of the Messiah), and the Shechinah departed from him and he began to say other things.]
  Gather together, and hear, sons of Jacob, and hearken to Israel your father.
  Reuven, you are my first-born, my might, and the first of my strength [i.e., the first drop (of semen), Jacob never having emitted semen (until the conception of Reuven)]. [As first-born, yours should have been] an accession of dignity [the priesthood] and an accession of strength [sovereignty],
  [but because of your] precipitousness, like that of [rushing] waters, you shall not gain these accessions. For when you went up on your father's bed [(35:22), this being the "precipitousness"], then you profaned [(the name of) Him, i.e., the Shechinah], who was wont to go up on my bed.
  Shimon and Levi are brothers, [in one counsel against Shchem and against Joseph]. Tools [of murder] stolen [from the blessing of Esau] are their swords.
  In their plot [against Moses in the episode of Zimri of the tribe of Shimon (Numbers 25:6-25)], let my soul not come [i.e., let my name not be mentioned (as, indeed, it was not, it not being written there (Ibid. 14) "the son of Shimon the son of Jacob."] With their assembly [that of Korach of the tribe of Levi], let my glory not be united, [as, indeed, it was not, it not being written there (Ibid. 16:1) "the son of Levi the son of Jacob"]; for in their wrath they slew a man [Chamor and the men of Shchem], and in their wilfullness they razed [i.e., they would raze] an ox [Joseph].
  Cursed be their wrath [(but not they themselves)], for it is fierce, and their anger, for it is sore. I shall divide them [from each other] in Jacob [(Levi shall not be counted among the number of the tribes (for inheritance)], and I shall scatter them in Israel.
  Judah! [(Jacob beckoning him conciliatingly upon observing him to move back in fear of reprimand as his brothers had just been reprimanded) You are not as they, but] your brothers will praise you. Your hand [in the days of David (Judah's descendant)] shall be upon the nape of your foes. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.
  [A prophecy concerning David:] A whelp [when Saul was king, at which time David "led out and brought in Israel" (II Samuel 5:2)], a lion [when David became king] is Judah. From [suspicion of] "tearing" ["Joseph is torn; a wild beast (i.e., Judah, 'the lion') has devoured him" (37:33)] you arose, my son [Judah (see Ibid. 26). And you, likewise, rose above having Tamar killed by admitting the truth (Ibid. 38:26). Therefore,] he crouched, he lay down as a lion [in the days of Solomon (I Kings 5:5): "every man (lying) under his vine, etc."], and as a lioness — Who shall rouse him!
  The scepter shall not depart from Judah [from David on, (an allusion to) the Exilarchs of Bavel, who rule with the scepter by royal edict], nor a lawgiver from between his feet [(an allusion to) the disciples, the Nassiate of Eretz Yisrael] until Shiloh comes, [the king, Messiah, sovereignty being his (shelo)], and to him will be an assembly of nations.
  [A prophecy concerning the land of Judah, which will flow with wine:] He [a man of Judah] will bind to the vine his foal [and will load it from that one vine], and to the [one] vine branch, the colt of his ass. He will wash his raiment in wine, and his garment in the blood of grapes.
  His eyes will be red from [the drinking of] wine, and his teeth white from [an abundance of] milk, [his land providing choice pasture for his herds.]
  Zevulun will dwell on the seacoast and he will be found in the harbor, [Zevulun engaging in commerce to supply the needs of Issachar, engaged in Torah study]; and the end of his (border) will be near Tziddon.
  Issachar is a bony [staunch] ass, [bearing the yoke of Torah], lying down [for repose] between the bounds [of the cities, where he carries his "merchandise"].
  And he saw that repose [i.e., his portion in the land] was good [and fruitful] and that the land was pleasant, and he lowered his shoulder to bear [the yoke of Torah], and he was [to all of his brothers in Israel] a "taskwork servant" [ruling for them on Torah law and on intercalations].
  [A prophecy concerning Samson:] Dan shall take vengeance [of the Philistines] for his people, the tribes of Israel [being] as one [with him].
  Dan will be a serpent on the way, a shififon ["hisser"] on the path, that bites the horse's heels, causing its rider to fall backwards. [Samson, by buckling the temple pillars, killed the Philistines in the temple without touching them directly.
  For Your salvation I hope, O L rd. [An allusion to Samson's "Remember me, I pray You, etc." (Judges 16:28) before dying.]
  Gad, troops (gedudim) will come forth from him. [They will cross the Jordan with their brothers for the conquest of Eretz Israel], and he will troop [back, none missing, in his] tracks [to his inheritance in trans-Jordan].
  [What comes] from [the portion of] Asher, rich shall be his fare, and he shall furnish a royal repast.
  Naftali is a hind let loose [(an allusion to the Genosar Valley, whose fruits are "quick" to ripen)], evoking words of praise.
  A son of favor is Joseph, a son of favor [alighting] upon the eye [of his beholder]. [The] daughters [of Egypt] would step [upon the wall] to gaze [at his beauty].
  And they [(his brothers) and Potiphar and his wife (by incarcerating him)] embittered him, and they [his brothers] became contenders (against him), and the arrow wielders [i.e., the arrow-tongued] hated him.
  And his strength was firmly established, and his arms were goldened [(an allusion to the placing of the signet upon his hand)] by the strength of Jacob — whence [he rose to become] the head-stone of Israel.
  [This (glory) came to you] from the G d of your father, and He shall abet you; and with the Almighty [was your heart when you resisted your mistress] and He will bless you — blessings of heaven from above, blessings of the deep, lying below, blessings of fecundation [(i.e., the males will beget)] and of womb [(i.e., the females will not miscarry)].
  The blessings [i.e., G d's blessings] of your father (Jacob) have surpassed the blessings of [G d to] my begetters (Abraham and Isaac), [my blessings being] until the ends of the hills [the four corners] of the world [(28:14)]. They (the blessings) shall [all] descend upon the head of Joseph and upon the crown of him who was separated from his brothers.
  Benjamin is a wolf that will tear [(a prophetic allusion to (Judges 21:21): "And you will snatch for yourselves, etc." and to Saul's conquest)]. In the morning [of Israel's ascendancy] he [Saul] will eat the spoils, and in the evening [i.e., in their decline, the Babylonian exile], he [(Mordechai and Esther, both of the tribe of Benjamin)] will divide the spoil [of Haman].
  All of these are the tribes of Israel, twelve, and this [i.e., what is stated above] is what their father spoke of them, and he blessed [all of] them; each according to his blessing did he bless "them" [collectively, aside from the individual blessings].
  And he commanded them and he said to them: I shall be gathered unto my people, [(the souls being gathered into a place where they are secreted)]; bury me with my fathers in the cave which is in the field of Efron the Chitti.
  In the cave which is in the field of Machpelah before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which field Abraham bought from Efron the Chitti for a burial holding.
  There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife. There they buried Isaac and Rivkah his wife. And there I buried Leah.
  The purchase of the field and the cave that is in it from the children of Cheth.
  And Jacob finished commanding his sons, and he gathered his feet into the bed, and he expired, and he was gathered to his people [("death" not being ascribed to him)].
  
  
  
  And Joseph fell on his father's face, and he wept over him, and he kissed him.
  And Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel.
  And forty days were completed for him, the days of embalming thus being completed, and Egypt mourned him seventy days [(from the beginning of the embalming) for he had brought blessing upon them, the famine ending and the waters of the Nile being blessed].
  And the days of weeping passed, and Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying: If I have found favor in your eyes, speak thus, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh:
  My father adjured me, saying: I am going to die. In my grave, which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan — there shall you bury me. And now, let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father, and I will return.
  And Pharaoh said: Go up and bury your father, as he adjured you. [If not for your oath I would not let you go.]
  And Joseph went up to bury his father, and there went up with him all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house and all the elders of the land of Egypt.
  And all the house of Joseph and his brothers and his fathers' house. Only their little ones and their flocks and their herds they left in the land of Goshen.
  And there went up with him also chariots, also horsemen. And the camp was greatly laden.
  And they came to the threshing floor of Atad [so called because it was surrounded by thorns (atadim)] on the other side of the Jordan, and they made great and sore lamentation there, and he made mourning for his father, seven days.
  And the inhabitants of the land, the Canaani, saw the mourning in the threshing floor of Atad, and they said: This is great mourning (evel) for Egypt, wherefore they called it Evel-Mitzrayim, which is beyond the Jordan.
  And his sons did to him thus, as he had commanded them [viz. (13)]:
  And his sons [and not his sons' sons (who were born of Canaanite women)] bore him [in the positions he assigned to them (corresponding to the traveling order of the flags in the desert)] to the land of Canaan, and they buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which field Abraham had bought as a burial holding from Efron the Chitti before Mamre.
  And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers [first] and all who went up with him [(as opposed to their leaving, when the Egyptians went first (8), the Egyptians granting them precedence after witnessing the honor accorded them by the kings of Canaan)] to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
  And the brothers of Joseph saw that their father was dead [i.e., his death was made "manifest" in Joseph's no longer inviting them to dine with him, as he had before in his father's honor], and they said: Perhaps Joseph will hate us and will requite unto us all of the evil which we caused him.
  And they appointed [the sons of Bilhah as messengers] to Joseph to say: Your father commanded before his death, saying [(He had not so commanded, but they "dissimulated for the sake of peace")]:
  Thus shall you say to Joseph: "Forgive, I pray you, the offense of your brothers and their sin. For they requited evil unto you." And now, we pray you, forgive the offense of the servants of the G d of your father. [Though your father is dead, his G d lives, and they are His servants.] And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
  And his brothers also went [in addition to their deputation], and they fell before him and they said: Behold, we are your servants.
  And Joseph said to them: Do not fear, for am I in the place of G d? [If He protected me from all of you, how could I alone injure you?]
  And you thought evil against me. G d thought it for good, in order to do as this day to give life to a great populace.
  And now, do not fear. I will sustain you and your little ones. And he comforted them and he spoke to their hearts [reassuringly].
  And Joseph abode in Egypt, he and his father's house. And Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.
  And Joseph saw of Ephraim sons of the third generation. Also the sons of Machir the son of Menasheh were raised on Joseph's knees.
  And Joseph said to his brothers: I am dying, and G d shall remember you and bring you up from this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
  And Joseph beswore the children of Israel, saying: G d will remember you and you will bring up my bones from here.
  And Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten, and they embalmed him, and he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.