Daily Text and Bible Reading: Thursday, January 16 [Press play below]

46.1 So Israel took all that he had and departed. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
46.2 Then God spoke to Israel in a vision by night and said: “Jacob, Jacob!” to which he said: “Here I am!”
46.3 He said: “I am the true God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you into a great nation.
46.4 I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I myself will also bring you back from there, and Joseph will lay his hand on your eyes.”
46.5 After that Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel transported Jacob their father and their children and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to transport him.
46.6 They took along their herds and their goods, which they had accumulated in the land of Canaan. And so they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him. 46.7 He brought with him into Egypt his sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters—all his offspring.
46.8 Now these are the names of Israel’s sons who came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons: Jacob’s firstborn was Reuben.
46.9 The sons of Reuben were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.
46.10 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman.
46.11 The sons of Levi were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
46.12 The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. However, Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez came to be Hezron and Hamul.
46.13 The sons of Issachar were Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.
46.14 The sons of Zebulun were Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.
46.15 These are the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Paddan-aram, together with his daughter Dinah. All his sons and his daughters numbered 33.
46.16 The sons of Gad were Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.
46.17 The sons of Asher were Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister was Serah. The sons of Beriah were Heber and Malchiel.
46.18 These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She bore these to Jacob: 16 persons in all.
46.19 The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
46.20 There were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath the daughter of Potiphera the priest of On bore to him.
46.21 The sons of Benjamin were Bela, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.
46.22 These are the sons of Rachel who were born to Jacob: 14 persons in all.
46.23 The son of Dan was Hushim.
46.24 The sons of Naphtali were Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.
46.25 These are the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
46.26 All those who descended from Jacob and went into Egypt with him, aside from the wives of Jacob’s sons, were 66.
46.27 Joseph’s sons who were born to him in Egypt were two. All the people of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were 70.
46.28 Jacob sent Judah ahead to tell Joseph that he was on the way to Goshen. When they came into the land of Goshen,
46.29 Joseph had his chariot prepared and went up to meet Israel his father at Goshen. When he presented himself to him, he at once embraced him and wept for some time.
46.30 Then Israel said to Joseph: “Now I am ready to die; I have seen your face and know that you are still alive.”
46.31 Joseph then said to his brothers and to his father’s household: “Let me go up and report to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s household who were in the land of Canaan have come here to me.
46.32 The men are shepherds, and they raise livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’
46.33 When Pharaoh calls you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’
46.34 you must say, ‘Your servants have raised livestock from our youth until now, both we and our forefathers,’ so that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every herder of sheep is detestable to the Egyptians.”
47.1 So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh: “My father and my brothers and their flocks and their herds and all that they possess have come from the land of Canaan, and they are in the land of Goshen.”
47.2 He took five of his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.
47.3 Pharaoh said to his brothers: “What is your occupation?” They replied to Pharaoh: “Your servants are herders of sheep, both we and our forefathers.”
47.4 Then they said to Pharaoh: “We have come to reside as foreigners in the land because there are no pastures for the flock of your servants, for the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. So please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”
47.5 At that Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Your father and your brothers have come here to you.
47.6 The land of Egypt is at your disposal. Have your father and your brothers dwell in the very best part of the land. Let them dwell in the land of Goshen, and if you know of any capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock.”
47.7 Then Joseph brought in Jacob his father and presented him to Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.
47.8 Pharaoh asked Jacob: “How old are you?”
47.9 Jacob said to Pharaoh: “The years of my wanderings are 130. Few and distressing the years of my life have been, and they are not as long as the years of the lives of my forefathers during their wanderings.”
47.10 After that Jacob blessed Pharaoh and went out from before him.
47.11 So Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the very best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, just as Pharaoh had commanded.
47.12 And Joseph kept supplying his father and his brothers and the entire household of his father with food according to the number of their children.
47.13 Now there was no food in all the land, because the famine was very severe, and the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan became exhausted as a result of the famine.
47.14 Joseph was collecting all the money that was to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan for the grain that people were buying, and Joseph kept bringing the money into Pharaoh’s house.
47.15 In time the money from the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan was spent, and all the Egyptians began coming to Joseph, saying: “Give us food! Why should we die before your very eyes because our money has run out?”
47.16 Then Joseph said: “If your money has run out, hand over your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock.”
47.17 So they began bringing their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph kept giving them food in exchange for their horses, the livestock of the flock and of the herd, and the donkeys, and he kept providing them with food in exchange for all their livestock during that year.
47.18 When that year came to its close, they began coming to him the next year and saying: “We will not hide from my lord that the money and the stock of domestic animals have already been given to my lord. We have nothing left for my lord but our bodies and our land.
47.19 Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we together with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live and not die and that our land may not become desolate.”
47.20 Joseph then bought all the land of the Egyptians for Pharaoh because every Egyptian sold his field, for the famine was very severe; and the land became Pharaoh’s.
47.21 Then he moved the people into cities, from one end of the territory of Egypt to its other end.
47.22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy, because the rations for the priests were from Pharaoh and they lived on their rations that Pharaoh gave them. That is why they did not sell their land.
47.23 Then Joseph said to the people: “See, I have today bought you and your land for Pharaoh. Here is seed for you, and you must sow the land with it.
47.24 When it produces, give a fifth to Pharaoh, but four parts will be yours as seed for the field and as food for you and for those in your houses and for your children to eat.”
47.25 So they said: “You have preserved our lives. Let us find favor in the eyes of my lord, and we will become slaves to Pharaoh.”
47.26 Then Joseph made it a decree, which is valid until today over the land of Egypt, that a fifth belongs to Pharaoh. It was only the land of the priests that did not become Pharaoh’s.
47.27 Israel continued to dwell in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen, and they settled in it and were fruitful and increased greatly.
47.28 And Jacob lived on in the land of Egypt for 17 years, so that the days of Jacob’s life came to be 147 years.
47.29 The time was approaching for Israel to die, so he called his son Joseph and said: “If, now, I have found favor in your eyes, place your hand, please, under my thigh, and show loyal love and faithfulness to me. Please, do not bury me in Egypt.
47.30 When I die, you must carry me out of Egypt and bury me in the grave of my forefathers.” Accordingly, he said: “I will do just as you say.”
47.31 Then he said: “Swear to me.” So he swore to him. At that Israel bowed down at the head of his bed.
48.1 After these things, Joseph was told: “Look, your father is getting weak.” At that he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him.
48.2 Then Jacob was told: “Here your son Joseph has come to you.” So Israel gathered his strength and sat up on his bed.
48.3 And Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me.
48.4 And he said to me, ‘I am making you fruitful, and I will make you many, and I will transform you into a congregation of peoples, and I will give this land to your offspring after you as a lasting possession.’
48.5 Now your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will become mine just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
48.6 But the children born to you after them will become yours. They will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.
48.7 As for me, when I was coming from Paddan, Rachel died alongside me in the land of Canaan, while there was yet a good stretch of land before coming to Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.”
48.8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons and asked: “Who are these?”
48.9 So Joseph said to his father: “They are my sons whom God has given me in this place.” At this he said: “Bring them to me, please, so that I may bless them.”
48.10 Now the eyes of Israel were failing from age, and he was unable to see. So Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them.
48.11 Israel said to Joseph: “I never imagined I would see your face, but here God has also let me see your offspring.”
48.12 Joseph then removed them from Israel’s knees, and he bowed down with his face to the ground.
48.13 Joseph now took the two of them, Ephraim with his right hand to Israel’s left and Manasseh with his left hand to Israel’s right, and brought them close to him.
48.14 However, Israel put out his right hand and placed it on Ephraim’s head, although he was the younger, and he placed his left hand on Manasseh’s head. He purposely laid his hands this way, since Manasseh was the firstborn.
48.15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: “The true God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, The true God who has been shepherding me during all my life until this day,
48.16 The angel who has been recovering me from all calamity, bless the boys. Let my name be called upon them and the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac, Let them increase to a multitude in the earth.”
48.17 When Joseph saw that his father kept his right hand placed on Ephraim’s head, it was displeasing to him, so he tried to take hold of his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.
48.18 Joseph said to his father: “Not so, my father, because this is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”
48.19 But his father kept refusing and said: “I know it, my son, I know it. He too will become a people, and he too will become great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will become greater than he will, and his offspring will become the full equivalent of nations.”
48.20 So he continued to bless them on that day, saying: “Let Israel mention you when they pronounce blessings, saying, ‘May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.’” Thus he kept putting Ephraim before Manasseh.
48.21 Then Israel said to Joseph: “Look, I am dying, but God will certainly continue with you and return you to the land of your forefathers.
48.22 As for me, I do give you one portion of land more than to your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and my bow.”