The Lost Books of the Bible: The Great Rejected Texts

by Joseph B. Lumpkin

  34 And any man leading two or three beasts shall die, for a man shall only lead his own beast.

  35 Joseph placed sentinels at the gates of Egypt, and commanded them, saying, Any person who may come to buy corn, permit him not to enter until his name and the name of his father, and the name of his father's father be written down; whatever is written by day, send their names to me in the evening that I may know their names.

  36 And Joseph placed officers throughout the land of Egypt; he commanded them to do all these things.

  37 Joseph did all these things, and made these standards in order that he might know when his brothers would come to Egypt to buy corn; Joseph's people caused it daily to be announced in Egypt according to these words and standards which Joseph had commanded.

  38 And all the inhabitants of the east and west country, and of all the earth, heard of the rules and regulations which Joseph had enacted in Egypt, and the inhabitants of the extreme parts of the earth came and they bought corn in Egypt day after day, and then went away.

  39 All the officers of Egypt did as Joseph had commanded, and all that came to Egypt to buy corn, the gate keepers would write their names, and their fathers' names, and daily bring them in the evening to Joseph.

  CHAPTER 51

  1 Jacob afterward heard that there was corn in Egypt, and he called to his sons to go to Egypt to buy corn, for on them also did the famine occur, and he called to his sons, saying,

  2 Behold I hear that there is corn in Egypt, and all the people of the earth go there to purchase; now therefore why will you show yourselves (pretend to be) satisfied before the whole earth? You go also down to Egypt and buy us a little corn among those that come there, that we may not die.

  3 And the sons of Jacob listened to the voice of their father, and they rose up to go down to Egypt in order to buy corn among the rest that came there.

  4 And Jacob their father commanded them, saying, When you come into the city do not enter together in one gate, on account of the inhabitants of the land.

  5 And the sons of Jacob went forth and they went to Egypt, and the sons of Jacob did all as their father had commanded them; Jacob did not send Benjamin, for he said, Lest an accident might happen to him on the road like his brother. Ten of Jacob's sons went forth.

  6 While the sons of Jacob were going on the road, they repented of what they had done to Joseph, and they spoke to each other, saying, We know that our brother Joseph went down to Egypt, and now we will seek him where we go, and if we find him we will take him from his master for a ransom, and if not, by force, and we will die for him.

  7 And the sons of Jacob agreed to this thing and strengthened themselves on account of Joseph, to deliver him from the hand of his master, and the sons of Jacob went to Egypt; when they came near to Egypt they separated from each other, and they came through ten gates of Egypt, and the gate keepers wrote their names that day, and brought them to Joseph in the evening.

  8 And Joseph read the names from the hand of the gatekeepers of the city, and he found that his brothers had entered at the ten gates of the city, and Joseph at once commanded that it should be proclaimed throughout the land of Egypt, saying,

  9 Go forth all you store guards, close all the corn stores and let only one remain open, that those who come may purchase from it.

  10 And all the officers of Joseph did so at that time, and they closed all the stores and left only one open.

  11 Joseph gave the written names of his brothers to him that was set over the open store, and he said to him, Whosoever shall come to you to buy corn, ask his name, and when men of these names shall come before you, seize them and send them, and they did so.

  12 And when the sons of Jacob came into the city, they joined together in the city to search for Joseph before they bought themselves corn.

  13 And they went to the walls of the harlots and they sought Joseph there for three days, for they thought that Joseph would come in the walls of the harlots, for Joseph was very handsome and well favored; the sons of Jacob sought Joseph for three days and they could not find him.

  14 The man who was set over the open store sought for those names which Joseph had given him, and he did not find them.

  15 And he sent to Joseph, saying, These three days have passed, and those men whose names you gave to me have not come, so Joseph sent servants to search for the men in all Egypt, and to bring them before Joseph.

  16 Joseph's servants went and came into Egypt and could not find them, and went to Goshen and they were not there, and then went to the city of Rameses and could not find them.

  17 Joseph continued to send sixteen servants to seek his brothers, and they went and spread themselves in the four corners of the city; four of the servants went into the house of the harlots, and they found the ten men there searching for their brother.

  18 Those four men took them and brought them before Joseph, and they bowed down to him to the ground. Joseph was sitting on his throne in his temple, clothed with princely garments, and on his head was a large crown of gold, and all the mighty men were sitting around him.

  19 And the sons of Jacob saw Joseph, and his figure and good-looks and dignity of countenance seemed wonderful in their eyes, and they again bowed down to him to the ground.

  20 Joseph saw his brothers and he knew them, but they knew him not, for Joseph was very great in their eyes, therefore they knew him not.

  21 And Joseph spoke to them, saying, From where did you come? And they all answered and said, Thy servants have come from the land of Canaan to buy corn, for the famine prevails throughout the earth, and your servants heard that there was corn in Egypt, so they have come among the other comers to buy corn for their support.

  22 And Joseph answered them, saying, If you have come to purchase as you say, why do you come through ten gates of the city? It can only be that you have come to spy through the land.

  23 And they all together answered Joseph, and said, Not so my lord, we are right, your servants are not spies, but we have come to buy corn, for your servants are all brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, and our father commanded us, saying, When you come to the city do not enter together at one gate on account of the inhabitants of the land.

  24 And Joseph again answered them and said, That is the thing which I spoke to you, you have come to spy through the land, therefore you all came through ten gates of the city; you have come to see how barren the land has become.

  25 Certainly every one that comes to buy corn goes his way, and you are already three days in the land; what do you do in the walls of harlots in which you have been for these three days? Certainly spies do these things.

  26 And they said to Joseph, Far be it from our lord to speak thus, for we are twelve brothers, the sons of our father Jacob, in the land of Canaan, the son of Isaac, the son of Abraham, the Hebrew; behold the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan, and one is not, for he was lost from us, and we thought perhaps he might be in this land, so we are seeking him throughout the land, and have come even to the houses of harlots to seek him there.

  27 And Joseph said to them, And have you then sought him throughout the earth, that there only remained Egypt for you to seek him in? And what also should your brother do in the houses of harlots, if he were in Egypt? Have you not said, that you are from the sons of Isaac, the son of Abraham, and what shall the sons of Jacob do then in the houses of harlots?

  28 And they said to him, Because we heard that Ishmaelites stole him from us, and it was told to us that they sold him in Egypt, and your servant, our brother, is very handsome and well favored, so we thought he would certainly be in the houses of harlots, therefore your servants went there to seek him and give ransom for him.

  29 Joseph still answered them, saying, Certainly you speak falsely and utter lies, to say of yourselves that you are the sons of Abraham; as Pharaoh lives you are spies, therefore you have come to the houses of harlots that you should not be known.

  30 Joseph said
to them, And now if you find him, and his master requires of you a great price, will you give it for him? And they said, It shall be given.

  31 And he said to them, And if his master will not consent to part with him for a great price, what will you do to him on his account? And they answered him, saying, If he will not give him to us we will kill him, and take our brother and go away.

  32 And Joseph said to them, That is the thing which I have spoken to you; you are spies, for you are come to kill the inhabitants of the land, for we heard that two of your brothers struck all the inhabitants of Shechem, in the land of Canaan, on account of your sister, and you now come to do the same in Egypt on account of your brother.

  33 Only hereby shall I know that you are true men; if you will send home one from among you to fetch your youngest brother from your father, and bring him here to me, and by doing this thing I will know that you are right.

  34 And Joseph called to seventy of his mighty men, and he said to them, Take these men and bring them into the ward.

  35 And the mighty men took the ten men, they laid hold of them and put them into the ward, and they were in the ward three days.

  36 And on the third day Joseph had them brought out of the ward, and he said to them, Do this for yourselves if you be true men, so that you may live: one of your brothers shall be confined in the ward while you go and take home the corn for your household to the land of Canaan, and get your youngest brother, and bring him here to me, that I may know that you are true men when you do this thing.

  37 And Joseph went out from them and came into the chamber, and wept a great weeping, for his pity was enlarged for them; he washed his face, and returned to them again, and he took Simeon from them and ordered him to be bound, but Simeon was not willing to be done so, for he was a very powerful man and they could not bind him.

  38 And Joseph called to his mighty men and seventy valiant men came before him with drawn swords in their hands, and the sons of Jacob were terrified at them.

  39 Joseph said to them, Seize this man and confine him in prison until his brothers come to him, and Joseph's valiant men hurried and they all laid hold of Simeon to bind him, and Simeon gave a loud and terrible shriek and the cry was heard at a distance.

  40 All the valiant men of Joseph were so terrified at the sound of the shriek that they fell on their faces, and they were greatly afraid and fled.

  41 And all the men that were with Joseph fled, for they were greatly afraid for their lives, and only Joseph and Manasseh his son remained there; Manassah the son of Joseph saw the strength of Simeon, and he was greatly angered.

  42 And Manassah the son of Joseph rose up to Simeon, and Manassah struck Simeon a heavy blow with his fist against the back of his neck, and Simeon was stilled of his rage.

  43 Manassah laid hold of Simeon and he seized him violently and he bound him and brought him into the house of confinement, and all the sons of Jacob were astonished at the act of the youth.

  44 And Simeon said to his brothers, None of you must say that this is the smiting of an Egyptian, but it is the smiting of the house of my father.

  45 After this Joseph ordered him to be called who was in charge of the storehouse, to fill their sacks with corn as much as they could carry, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provision for the road, and thus he did to them.

  46 And Joseph commanded them, saying, Take care that you not go contrary to my orders to bring your brother as I have told you, and it shall be when you bring your brother here to me, then will I know that you are true men, and you shall traffic in the land, and I will restore to you your brother, and you shall return in peace to your father.

  47 And they all answered and said, According as our lord speaks so will we do, and they bowed down to him to the ground.

  48 Every man lifted his corn on his ass, and they went out to go to the land of Canaan to their father; and they came to the inn and Levi spread his sack to give feed to his ass, when he saw and there his money in full weight was still in his sack.

  49 And the man was greatly afraid, and he said to his brothers, My money is returned, and look, it is even in my sack; the men were greatly afraid, and they said, What is this that God has done to us?

  50 And they all said, And where is the Lord's kindness with our fathers, with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that the Lord has this day delivered us into the hands of the king of Egypt to contrive against us?

  51 Judah said to them, Certainly we are guilty sinners before the Lord our God in having sold our brother, our own flesh, and wherefore do you say, Where is the Lord's kindness with our fathers?

  52 Reuben said to them, Said I not to you, do not sin against the lad, and you would not listen to me? Now God requires him from us, and how dare you say, Where is the Lord's kindness with our fathers, while you have sinned to the Lord?

  53 They stayed overnight in that place, and they rose up early in the morning and loaded their asses with their corn; they led them and went on and came to their father's house in the land of Canaan.

  54 And Jacob and his household went out to meet his sons, and Jacob saw and behold their brother Simeon was not with them; Jacob said to his sons, Where is your brother Simeon, whom I do not see? And his sons told him all that had befallen them in Egypt.

  CHAPTER 52

  1 They entered their house, and every man opened his sack and they looked and there every man's bundle of money was there, at which they and their father were greatly terrified.

  2 And Jacob said to them, What is this that you have done to me? I sent your brother Joseph to inquire after your welfare and you said to me: A wild beast did devour him.

  3 And Simeon went with you to buy food and you say the king of Egypt hath confined him in prison, and you wish to take Benjamin to cause his death also, and bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to the grave on account of Benjamin and his brother Joseph.

  4 Now therefore my son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he is left alone, and mischief may befall him by the way in which you go, as it befell his brother.

  5 Reuben said to his father, You shall kill my two sons if I do not bring your son and place him before you. Jacob said to his sons, Abide ye here and do not go down to Egypt, for my son shall not go down with you to Egypt, nor die like his brother.

  6 And Judah said to them, Refrain from him until the corn is finished, and he will then say, Take down your brother, when he finds his own life and the life of his household in danger from the famine.

  7 In those days the famine was severe throughout the land, and all the people of the earth went and came to Egypt to buy food, for the famine continued greatly among them, and the sons of Jacob remained in Canaan a year and two months until their corn was finished.

  8 And it came to pass after their corn was finished, the whole household of Jacob was pinched with hunger, and all the infants of the sons of Jacob came together and they approached Jacob; they all surrounded him, and said to him, Give to us bread, for why shall we all perish through hunger in your presence?

  9 Jacob heard the words of his son's children, and he wept a great weeping, and his pity was roused for them. Jacob called to his sons and they all came and sat before him.

  10 And Jacob said to them, Have you not seen how your children have been weeping over me this day, saying, Give to us bread, and there is none? Now therefore return and buy for us a little food.

  11 And Judah answered and said to his father, If you will send our brother with us we will go down and buy corn for you, and if you will not send him then we will not go down, for certainly the king of Egypt particularly requested us, saying, You shall not see my face unless your brother is with you. The king of Egypt is a strong and mighty king, and behold if we shall go to him without our brother we shall all be put to death.

  12 Do you not know and have you not heard that this king is very powerful and wise, and there is no one like him in all the earth? Behold we have seen all the kings of the earth and w
e have not seen one like that king, the king of Egypt; certainly among all the kings of the earth there is none greater than Abimelech king of the Philistines, yet the king of Egypt is greater and mightier than he, and Abimelech can only be compared to one of his officers.

  13 Father, you have not seen his palace and his throne, and all his servants standing before him; you have not seen that king on his throne in his pomp and royal appearance, dressed in his kingly robes with a large golden crown on his head; you have not seen the honor and glory which God has given to him, for there is no one like him in all the earth.

  14 Father, you have not seen the wisdom, the understanding and the knowledge which God has given in his heart, nor heard his sweet voice when he spoke to us.

  15 We know not, father, who made him acquainted with our names and all that happened to us, yet he asked also after you, saying, Is your father still living, and is it well with him?

  16 You have not seen the affairs of the government of Egypt regulated by him, without inquiring of Pharaoh his lord; you have not seen the awe and fear which he impressed on all the Egyptians.

  17 And also when we went from him, we were threatened of doing to Egypt like to the rest of the cities of the Amorites, and we were greatly angered against all his words which he spoke concerning us as spies; now when we shall again come before him his terror will fall on us all, and not one of us will be able to speak to him either a little or a great thing.

  18 Now therefore father, send we pray you the lad with us, and we will go down and buy you food for our support, and not die through hunger. And Jacob said, Why have you dealt so ill with me to tell the king you had a brother? What is this thing that you have done to me?