The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts

by Joseph B. Lumpkin

  53 She hurried and caught hold of Joseph and his garments, and said to him, As the king lives if you will not perform my request you shall die this day. And she hurried and stretched forth her other hand and drew a sword from beneath her garments, and she placed it on Joseph's neck; she said, Rise and perform my request, and if not you will die this day.

  54 Joseph was afraid of her doing this thing, and he rose up to flee from her; she seized the front of his garments, and in the terror of his flight the garment which Zelicah seized was torn; Joseph left the garment in the hand of Zelicah and he fled and got out, for he was afraid.

  55 When Zelicah saw that Joseph's garment was torn and that he had left it in her hand, and had fled, she was afraid for her life, that the report should spread concerning her. She rose up and acted with cunning and put off the garments in which she was dressed, and she put on her other garments.

  56 She took Joseph's garment and laid it beside her, and she went and seated herself in the place where she had sat in her illness, before the people of her house had gone out to the river. She called a young lad who was then in the house, and she ordered him to call the people of the house to her.

  57 And when she saw them she said to them with a loud voice and lamentation, See what a Hebrew your master has brought to me in the house, for he came this day to lie with me.

  58 For when you had gone out he came to the house, and seeing that there was no person in the house, he came to me and caught hold of me with intent to lie with me.

  59 And I seized his garments and tore them and called out against him with a loud voice, and when I had lifted up my voice he was afraid for his life and left his garment before me, and fled.

  60 The people of her house spoke nothing, but their wrath was very much set ablaze against Joseph, and they went to his master and told him the words of his wife.

  61 Potiphar came home enraged, and his wife cried out to him, saying, What is this thing that you have done to me in bringing a Hebrew servant into my house, for he came to me this day to sport with me; thus did he do to me this day.

  62 Potiphar heard the words of his wife and ordered Joseph to be punished with severe stripes, and they did so to him.

  63 While they were smiting him, Joseph called out with a loud voice, and he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and he said, O Lord God, you know that I am innocent of all these things, and why shall I die this day through falsehood, by the hand of these uncircumcised wicked men whom you know?

  64 And while Potiphar's men were beating Joseph, he continued to cry out and weep, and there was a child there eleven months old, and the Lord opened the mouth of the child, and he spake these words before Potiphar's men, who were smiting Joseph, saying,

  65 What do you want of this man, and why do you do this evil to him? My mother speaks falsely and utters lies; thus was the transaction.

  66 And the child told them accurately all that happened, and all the words of Zelicah to Joseph day after day did he relate to them.

  67 And all the men heard the words of the child and they wondered greatly at the child's words, and the child ceased to speak and became still.

  68 Potiphar was very much ashamed at the words of his son, and he commanded his men not to beat Joseph anymore, and the men ceased beating Joseph.

  69 Potiphar took Joseph and ordered him to be brought to justice before the priests, who were judges belonging to the king, in order to judge him concerning this affair.

  70 Potiphar and Joseph came before the priests who were the king's judges, and he said to them, Decide I beg you, what judgment is due to a servant, for thus has he done.

  71 And the priests said to Joseph, Why did you do this thing to your master? and Joseph answered them, saying, Not so my lords, thus was the matter; and Potiphar said to Joseph, Certainly I entrusted in your hands all that belonged to me, and I withheld nothing from you but my wife, and how could you do this evil?

  72 And Joseph answered saying, Not so my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, my lord, the word which you did hear from your wife is untrue, for thus was the affair this day.

  73 A year has elapsed to me since I have come to your house; have you seen any iniquity in me, or any thing which might cause you to demand my life?

  74 The priests said to Potiphar, Send, we pray you, and let them bring before us Joseph's torn garment, and let us see the tear in it, and if it shall be that the tear is in front of the garment, then his face must have been opposite to her and she must have caught hold of him to come to her, and with deceit did your wife do all that she has spoken.

  75 They brought Joseph's garment before the priests who were judges, and they saw and behold the tear was in front of Joseph, and all the judging priests knew that she had pressed him, and they said, The judgment of death is not due to this slave for he has done nothing, but his judgment is that he be placed in the prison house on account of the report, which through him has gone forth against your wife.

  76 Potiphar heard their words and he placed him in the prison house, the place where the king's prisoners are confined, and Joseph was in the house of confinement twelve years.

  77 And in spite of this, his master's wife did not turn from him, and she did not cease from speaking to him day after day to listen to her, and at the end of three months Zelicah continued going to Joseph to the house of confinement day by day, and she enticed him to listen to her, and Zelicah said to Joseph, How long will you remain in this house? But listen now to my voice, and I will bring you out of this house.

  78 And Joseph answered her, saying, It is better for me to remain in this house than to listen to your words, to sin against God; she said to him, If you will not perform my wish, I will pluck out your eyes, add fetters to your feet, and will deliver you into the hands of them whom you did not know before.

  79 Joseph answered her and said, Behold the God of the whole earth is able to deliver me from all that you can do to me, for he opens the eyes of the blind, and loosens those that are bound, and preserves all strangers who are unacquainted with the land.

  80 And when Zelicah was unable to persuade Joseph to listen to her, she ceased going to entice him; Joseph was still confined in the house of confinement. And Jacob the father of Joseph, and all his brothers who were in the land of Canaan still mourned and wept in those days on account of Joseph, for Jacob refused to be comforted for his son Joseph, and Jacob cried aloud and wept and mourned all those days.

  CHAPTER 45

  1 It was in that year, which is the year of Joseph's going down to Egypt after his brothers had sold him, that Reuben the son of Jacob went to Timnah and took a wife Eliuram, the daughter of Avi the Canaanite, and he came to her.

  2 And Eliuram the wife of Reuben conceived and gave birth, to him: Hanoch, Palu, Chetzron and Carmi, four sons; and Simeon his brother took his sister Dinah for a wife, and she gave birth to, to him: Memuel, Yamin, Ohad, Jachin and Zochar, five sons.

  3 Afterward he came to Bunah the Canaanitish woman, the same is Bunah whom Simeon took captive from the city of Shechem, and Bunah was before Dinah and attended to her; Simeon came to her, and she gave birth to him, Saul.

  4 And Judah went at that time to Adulam, and he came to a man of Adulam, and his name was Hirah; Judah saw there the daughter of a man from Canaan, and her name was Aliyath, the daughter of Shua. He took her and came to her, and Aliyath gave birth to, to Judah: Er, Onan and Shiloh, three sons.

  5 Levi and Issachar went to the land of the east, and they took to themselves for wives the daughters of Jobab the son of Yoktan, the son of Eber; Jobab the son of Yoktan had two daughters; the name of the elder was Adinah, and the name of the younger was Aridah.

  6 And Levi took Adinah, and Issachar took Aridah, and they came to the land of Canaan, to their father's house; Adinah gave birth to, to Levi: Gershon, Kehath and Merari, three sons.

  7 And Aridah gave birth to, to Issachar: Tola, Puvah, Job and Shomron, four sons; Dan went to the land of Moab and took for a wife Aphlaleth, t
he daughter of Chamudan the Moabite, and he brought her to the land of Canaan.

  8 Aphlaleth was unable to conceive, she had no children, and God afterward remembered Aphlaleth the wife of Dan, and she conceived and gave birth to a son; she called his name Chushim.

  9 And Gad and Naphtali went to Haran and took from there the daughters of Amuram the son of Uz, the son of Nahor, for wives.

  10 And these are the names of the daughters of Amuram: the name of the elder was Merimah, and the name of the younger Uzith; Naphtali took Merimah, and Gad took Uzith and brought them to the land of Canaan, to their father's house.

  11 And Merimah gave birth to, to Naphtali: Yachzeel, Guni, Jazer and Shalem, four sons; and Uzith gave birth to, to Gad: Zephion, Chagi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi and Arali, seven sons.

  12 Asher went forth and took Adon the daughter of Aphlal, the son of Hadad, the son of Ishmael, for a wife and he brought her to the land of Canaan.

  13 And Adon the wife of Asher died in those days, she had no children; it was after the death of Adon that Asher went to the other side of the river and took for a wife Hadurah the daughter of Abimael, the son of Eber, the son of Shem.

  14 The young woman was of a beautiful appearance and a woman of sense, and she had been the wife of Malkiel the son of Elam, the son of Shem.

  15 Hadurah gave birth to a daughter to Malkiel, and he called her name Serach, and Malkiel died after this and Hadurah went and remained in her father's house.

  16 After the death of the wife at Asher he went and took Hadurah for a wife, and brought her to the land of Canaan, and Serach her daughter he also brought with them; she was three years old and the child was brought up in Jacob's house.

  17 And the girl was of a beautiful appearance and she went in the holy ways of the children of Jacob; she lacked nothing, and the Lord gave her wisdom and understanding.

  18 Hadurah the wife of Asher conceived and gave birth to, to him: Yimnah, Yishvah, Yishvi and Beriah, four sons.

  19 Zebulun went to Midian and took for a wife Merishah the daughter of Molad, the son of Abida, the son of Midian, and brought her to the land of Canaan.

  20 And Merushah gave birth to, to Zebulun: Sered, Elon and Yachleel, three sons.

  21 Jacob sent to Aram, the son of Zoba, the son of Terah, and he took for his son Benjamin Mechalia the daughter of Aram, and she came to the land of Canaan to the house of Jacob; Benjamin was ten years old when he took Mechalia the daughter of Aram for a wife.

  22 And Mechalia conceived and gave birth to, to Benjamin: Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera and Naaman, five sons; Benjamin afterward went and took for a wife Aribath, the daughter of Shomron, the son of Abraham, in addition to his first wife, and he was eighteen years old; Aribath gave birth to, to Benjamin: Achi, Vosh, Mupim, Chupim, and Ord, five sons.

  23 In those days Judah went to the house of Shem and took Tamar the daughter of Elam, the son of Shem, for a wife for his first born Er.

  24 And Er came to his wife Tamar, and she became his wife; when he came to her he outwardly destroyed his offspring, and his work was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.

  25 It was after the death of Er, Judah's first born, that Judah said to Onan, Go to your brother's wife and marry her as the next of kin and raise up children to your brother.

  26 And Onan took Tamar for a wife and he came to her; Onan also did like the work of his brother, and his work was evil in the sight of the Lord, and he killed him also.

  27 When Onan died, Judah said to Tamar, Remain in your father's house until my son Shiloh will have grown up; Judah had no more delight in Tamar, to give her to Shiloh, for he said, Perhaps he will also die like his brothers.

  28 And Tamar rose up and went and remained in her father's house, and Tamar was in her father's house for some time.

  29 At the revolution of the year, Aliyath the wife of Judah died; Judah was comforted for his wife, and after the death of Aliyath, Judah went up with his friend Hirah to Timnah to shear their sheep.

  30 Tamar heard that Judah had gone up to Timnah to shear the sheep, and that Shiloh was grown up, and Judah did not delight in her.

  31 And Tamar rose up and put off the garments of her widowhood; she put on a veil and entirely covered herself; she went and sat in the public thoroughfare which is on the road to Timnah.

  32 Judah passed and saw her and took her and he came to her, and she conceived by him; at the time of being delivered there were twins in her womb, and he called the name of the first Perez and the name of the second Zarah.

  CHAPTER 46

  1 In those days Joseph was still confined in the prison house in the land of Egypt.

  2 At that time the attendants of Pharaoh were standing before him, the chief of the butlers and the chief of the bakers which belonged to the king of Egypt.

  3 And the butler took wine and placed it before the king to drink, and the baker placed bread before the king to eat, and the king drank of the wine and ate of the bread; he and his servants and ministers that ate at the king's table.

  4 And while they were eating and drinking, the butler and the baker remained there, and Pharaoh's ministers found many flies in the wine which the butler had brought, and stones of nitre were found in the baker's bread.

  5 And the captain of the guard placed Joseph as an attendant on Pharaoh's officers, and Pharaoh's officers were in confinement one year.

  6 At the end of the year, they both dreamed dreams in one night, in the place of confinement where they were, and in the morning Joseph came to them to attend on them as usual. He saw them and their countenances were dejected and sad.

  7 And Joseph asked them, Why are your countenances sad? They said, we dreamed a dream and there was no one here to interpret it. Joseph said to them, Relate, I pray you, your dream to me, and God shall give you an answer of peace as you desire.

  8 The butler related his dream to Joseph and said, I saw in my dream there was a large vine before me and on that vine I saw three branches; the vine speedily blossomed and reached a great height, and its clusters were ripened and became grapes.

  9 And I took the grapes and pressed them in a cup, and placed it in Pharaoh's hand and he drank; and Joseph said to him, The three branches that were on the vine are three days.

  10 Yet within three days, the king will order you to be brought out and he will restore you to your office; you shall give the king his wine to drink as at first when you were his butler; but let me find favor in your sight, so that you shall remember me to Pharaoh when it will be well with you; do this kindness to me and get me brought forth from this prison, for I was stolen away from the land of Canaan and was sold for a slave in this place.

  11 Also that which was told you concerning my master's wife is false, for they placed me in this dungeon for nothing. The butler answered Joseph, saying, If the king deals well with me as at first, as you last interpreted to me, I will do all that you desire and get you brought out of this dungeon.

  12 And the baker, seeing that Joseph had accurately interpreted the butler's dream, also approached and related the whole of his dream to Joseph.

  13 He said to him, In my dream I looked and there were three white baskets on my head; I looked again and then there were in the upper-most basket all manner of baked meats for Pharaoh; there the birds were eating them from off my head.

  14 And Joseph said to him, The three baskets which you saw are three days, yet within three days Pharaoh will take off your head and hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from off you, as you saw in your dream.

  15 In those days the queen was about to be delivered, and on that day she gave birth to a son to the king of Egypt; they announced that the king had gotten his firstborn son and all the people of Egypt together with the officers and servants of Pharaoh rejoiced greatly.

  16 On the third day of his birth Pharaoh made a feast for his officers and servants, for the hosts of the land of Zoar and of the land of Egypt.

  17 And all the people of Egypt and the
servants of Pharaoh came to eat and drink with the king at the feast of his son, and to rejoice at the king's rejoicing.

  18 All the officers of the king and his servants were rejoicing at that time for eight days at the feast, and they made merry with all sorts of musical instruments, with timbrels and with dances in the king's house for eight days.

  19 And the butler, to whom Joseph had interpreted his dream, forgot Joseph and did not mention him to the king as he had promised, for this thing was from the Lord in order to punish Joseph because he had trusted in man.

  20 And Joseph remained after this in the prison house two years, until he had completed twelve years.

  CHAPTER 47

  1 Isaac the son of Abraham was still living in those days in the land of Canaan; he was very aged, one hundred and eighty years old, and Esau his son, the brother of Jacob, was in the land of Edom; he and his sons had possessions in it among the children of Seir.

  2 And Esau heard that his father's time was drawing near to die, and he and his sons and household came to the land of Canaan to his father's house. Jacob and his sons went forth from the place where they lived in Hebron and they all came to their father Isaac, and they found Esau and his sons in the tent.

  3 And Jacob and his sons sat before his father Isaac, and Jacob was still mourning for his son Joseph.

  4 And Isaac said to Jacob, Bring your sons here to me and I will bless them; and Jacob brought his eleven children before his father Isaac.

  5 And Isaac placed his hands on all the sons of Jacob, and he took hold of them and embraced them, and kissed them one by one. Isaac blessed them on that day and he said to them, May the God of your fathers bless you and increase your offspring like the stars of heaven for number.

  6 Isaac also blessed the sons of Esau, saying, May God cause you to be a dread and a terror to all that will behold you, and to all your enemies.