Vayigash ויגש

Yehudah approached him [Yoseif] and said, Please my master, let your servant speak a word in my master’s ears, and do not be angry with your servant; for you are equal to Pharaoh.

My master asked his servants, saying, Do you have a father or brother?

We said to my master, We have a father who is old, and a young child of his old age. His brother is dead, and he alone survives of his mother, and his father loves him.

You said to your servants, Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.

We said to my master, the lad cannot leave his father, for if he left his father, he would die.

You [then] said to your servants, If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you shall not see my face again.

When we went to your servant, my father, we told him of my master’s words.

Our father said, Go back and buy us a little food.

We said, We cannot go down. If our youngest brother is with us, we will go down, for we cannot see the man’s face, unless our youngest brother is with us.

Your servant, my father said to us, You know that my wife [Rochel] bore me two sons.

One has [already] left me, and I said, surely he is torn to pieces. I have not seen him until now.

If you take this one also away from me, and misfortune befall him, you will bring my white head down to the grave in evil.

And now, when I come to your servant, my father, and the lad is not with us; his soul is bound up with the lad’s soul.

When he sees that the lad is not [with us], he will die. Your servants will have brought down the white head of your servant, our father, to the grave in sorrow.

For your servant became surety for the lad, to my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, I will have sinned to my father for all time.

And now, let your servant remain as a slave to my master instead of the lad. Let the lad go up with his brothers.

For how shall I go up to my father when the lad is not with me; lest I see the evil that would befall my father.

Yoseif could not contain his emotions in the presence of all who stood before him, and he cried out Let everyone leave my presence. No man remained with him, when Yoseif made himself known to his brothers.

He wept aloud, and the Egyptians heard about it, and the house of Pharaoh [also] heard.

Yoseif said to his brothers, I am Yoseif, is my father still alive? His brothers could not answer him for they were shocked at his presence.

[Then] Yoseif said to his brothers, Please come close to me. They came close [to him] and he said, I am Yoseif your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

Now do not worry, and do not be angry with yourselves that you sold me here; for it was to preserve life that Elohim sent me [here] before you.

For it is [now] two years that there has been famine in the land; and for another five years there will be no plowing or harvest.

Elohim sent me [here] before you to insure your survival in the land, and to keep you alive for a great deliverance.

Now [then] it was not you that sent me here, but Elohim; and He has made me as a father to Pharaoh, and master of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Hurry, go up to my father and tell him: this is what your son, Yoseif, says, Elohim has made me master of all Egypt. Come down to me, do not delay.

You will dwell in the land of Goshen, and you will be close to me—you, your children, your grandchildren, your sheep, your cattle and all that you own.

I will provide for you there, since there will be another five years of famine; lest you become impoverished together with your household and all that is yours.

Behold, your eyes see it along with my brother Binyomin’s eyes, that I speak to you with my own mouth.

Tell my father of all my honor in Egypt, and all that you saw. Hurry and bring my father down here.

He [then] fell upon his brother Binyomin’s neck and wept, and Binyomin wept upon his neck.

He kissed all his brothers and wept upon [their necks]. After that his brothers spoke with him.

The news was heard in Pharaoh’s house that Yoseif’s brothers had come. This was good [news] in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants.

Pharaoh said to Yoseif, Tell your brothers to do this: load up your beasts, and go and enter the land of Canaan.

Bring your father and your households and come to me; and I will give you the best of the land of Egypt. You will eat of the fat of the land.

Now you are commanded [to order (your) brothers to] do the following: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives. Bring your father and come.

Do not be concerned with your belongings, for the best of Egypt is yours,

The sons of Yisrael did so. Yoseif gave them wagons by order of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.

To each of them, he gave a change of clothing. To Binyomin he gave three hundred silver pieces and five changes of clothing.

To his father he sent the following: Ten male donkeys loaded with the best of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.

He sent his brothers off and they went. He said to them, Do not be troubled along the way.

They went up from Egypt, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father Yaakov.

They told him saying, Yoseif is still alive, and he is ruler of all the land of Egypt. His [Yaakov’s] heart stood still, for he could not believe them.

They told him all the words of Yoseif which he had spoken to them, and he saw the wagons that Yoseif had sent to carry him. [Then] the spirit of their father Yaakov was revived.

Yisrael said, It is too much ! My son Yoseif still lives. I will go and see him before I die.

Yisrael journeyed with all that he possessed, and he came to Beer Sheva. He offered sacrifices [there] to the God of his father Yitzchok.

Elohim said to Yisrael in a night vision, and He said, Yaakov, Yaakov. And he said, Here I am.

He said I am the Almighty, God of your father. Do not be afraid to do down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.

I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again. Yoseif shall place his hand upon your eyes.

Yaakov rose up from Beer Sheva. The sons of Yisrael transported their father Yaakov, their children, their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

They took their livestock and their possessions that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came to Egypt; Yaakov and all his descendants with him.

His sons and grandsons were with him. His daughters and his granddaughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.

These are the names of the sons of Yisrael who were coming to Egypt, Yaakov and his sons. The firstborn of Yaakov was Reuvein.

The sons of Reuvein [were]: Chanoch, Phallu, Chetzron and Carmi.

The sons, of Shimon [were]: Yemueil, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Tzochar and Shaul, the son of the Canaanite woman.

The sons of Leivi [were] Gershon, Kehas and Merari.

The sons of Yehudah [were]: Eir, Onan, Sheiloh, Peretz and Zorach. Eir and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Peretz were Chetzron and Chamul.

The sons of Yissachar [were]: Tolah, Phuvah, Yov and Shimron.

The sons of Zevulun [were]: Sered, Eilon and Yachle’eil.

These are the sons of Leah that she bore to Yaakov in Padan Aram, along with his daughter Deenah. All the souls of his sons and daughters were thirty-three.

The sons of Gad [were]: Tzifyon, Chagi, Shuni, Etzbon, Eiri, Arodi, and Areili.

The sons of Asher [were]: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi, and Beriah, and their sister, Serach. The sons of Beriah [were]: Chever and Malki’eil.

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Lavan gave to his daughter, Leah. She bore these to Yaakov, sixteen souls.

The sons of Rochel, Yaakov’s wife [were]: Yoseif and Binyomin.

In the land of Egypt, [sons] were born to Yoseif, which were born to him by Osnas, daughter of Poti Phera, priest of On; [they were] Menasheh and Ephraim.

The sons of Binyomin [were]: Bela, Becher, Ashbeil, Geiroh, Naamon, Eichi, Rosh, Muppim, Chuppim and Ard.

These are the sons of Rochel that she bore to Yaakov. All the souls were fourteen.

The sons of Don [were] Chushim.

The sons of Naftali were: Yachtze’eil, Guni, Yeitzer and Shileim.

These are the sons of Bilhah whom Lavan gave to his daughter Rochel. She bore these to Yaakov, seven souls in all.

All the souls coming with Yaakov to Egypt, who came out of his loins, not counting the wives of Yaakov’s sons, all the souls totaled sixty-six.

The sons of Yoseif who were born to him in Egypt were [another] two souls. All the souls of the house of Yaakov that came to Egypt were seventy.

He [Yaakov] sent Yehudah ahead of him to Yoseif, so that he might direct him to Goshen. They then came to the land of Goshen.

Yoseif harnessed his chariot, and went up to greet his father, Yisrael in Goshen. [When] he appeared before him, he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck for a long time.

Yisrael said to Yoseif, Now I can die; after I have seen your face that you are alive.

Yoseif said to his brothers and to his father’s household, I will go up and tell Pharaoh. I will say to him, My brothers and my father’s household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.

The men are shepherds, for they are owners of livestock. Their sheep, their cattle, and all their possessions, they have brought [with them.]

And when Pharaoh calls you, and says, What is your occupation,

You should say, Your servants have been livestock owners from our youth until now, we and our fathers; so that you will be able to settle in the land of Goshen, since every shepherd is abhorrent to Egypt.

Yoseif came and told Pharaoh, and he said, My father, and my brothers, their sheep, their cattle, and all their possessions, have come from the land of Canaan, and they are now in the land of Goshen.

From among his brothers, he took five men, and he presented them to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to his brothers, What is your occupation? They said to Pharaoh, Your servants are shepherds, we and our fathers.

They said to Pharaoh, We have come to live in the land temporarily, since there is no pasture for your servant’s flocks, because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now then, please let your servants settle in the land of Goshen.

Pharaoh said to Yoseif, 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 settle in the land of Goshen. If you know of capable men among them, appoint them livestock officers over my [herds.]

Yoseif [then] brought in Yaakov, his father, and presented him to Pharaoh; and Yaakov blessed Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Yaakov, How many are the years of your life?

Yaakov said to Pharaoh, The years of my temporary residence are one hundred and thirty years. Few and troublesome have been the days of my life. I have not attained the years of my father’s lives, in the days of their temporary residence.

Yaakov blessed Pharaoh, and left Pharaoh’s presence.

Yoseif settled his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Ramseis, as Pharaoh had ordered.

Yoseif provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread according to [the needs of] the children.

There was no bread in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt, and Canaan were worn out because of the famine.

Yoseif gathered up all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, through the purchases they made. Yoseif brought the money to the house of Pharaoh.

When the money was used up in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, all [the people of] Egypt came to Yoseif, saying, Give us bread; why should we die in your presence, [just] because there is no money?

Yoseif said, Bring your livestock, and I will give you [food] [in exchange] for your livestock if there is no more money.

They brought their livestock to Yoseif, and Yoseif gave them bread [in exchange] for their horses, their flocks of sheep, their herds of cattle and their donkeys. He tended them with bread in exchange for all their livestock, in that year.

That year came to an end. They came to him in the second year, and they said to him, We are holding nothing back from my master, for the money is used up, and the herds of cattle belong to my master. There is nothing left before my master except our bodies and our land.

Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land [in exchange] for bread. We and our land will become slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed grain, let us live and not die, and let the land not become desolate.

Yoseif bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, for every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. Thus the land became Pharaoh’s [property.]

He [Yoseif] then transferred the people to cities, from one end of the border of Egypt to the other.

But the land of the priests he did not buy, because the priests had an allotment from Pharaoh. They ate the allotment that Pharaoh gave them, and therefore they did not sell their land.

Yoseif said to the people, Behold, I have today purchased you and your lands for Pharaoh. Here is seed, plant [it in] the soil.

When it produces you must give a fifth to Pharaoh. Four parts shall be yours for seed for your fields and for your food, and for those of your households, and for food for your little ones.

They said, You have saved our lives. May we find favor in the eyes of my master, and we will be slaves to Pharaoh.

Yoseif enacted a statute over the land of Egypt to this day, that a fifth belongs to Pharaoh. Except the land of the priests alone, did not belong to Pharaoh.

Yisrael lived in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. They acquired property there. They were fruitful and [their population] increased greatly.