Jacob's Descent to Egypt

A¹nd Israel took his journey from Haran from his house on the new moon of the third month, and he went on the way of the Well of the Oath, and he offered a sacrifice to the God of his father Isaac on the seventh of this month.

² And Jacob remembered the dream that he had seen at Bethel, and he feared to go down into Egypt. ³ And while he was thinking of sending word to Joseph to come to him, and that he would not go down, he remained there seven days, if perchance he could see a vision as to whether he should remain or go down. ⁴ And he celebrated the harvest festival of the first-fruits with old grain, for in all the land of Canaan there was not a handful of seed in the land, for the famine was over all the beasts and cattle and birds, and also over man. ⁵ And on the sixteenth the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, 'Jacob, Jacob'; and he said, 'Here am I.' And He said unto him: 'I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac; fear not to go down into Egypt, for I will there make of thee a great nation I will go down with thee, and I will bring thee up (again), and in this land shalt thou be buried, and Joseph shall put his hands upon thy eyes. ⁶ Fear not; go down into Egypt.' ⁷ And his sons rose up, and his sons' sons, and they placed their father and their possessions upon wagons. ⁸ And Israel rose up from the Well of the Oath on the sixteenth of this third month, and he went to the land of Egypt. ⁹ And Israel sent Judah before him to his son Joseph to examine the Land of Goshen, for Joseph had told his brothers that they should come and dwell there that they might be near him. ¹⁰ And this was the goodliest (land) in the land of Egypt, and near to him, for all (of them) and also for the cattle. ¹¹ And these are the names of the sons of Jacob who went into Egypt with Jacob their father. ¹² Reuben, the First-born of Israel; and these are the names of his sons Enoch, and Pallu, and Hezron and Carmi-five. ¹³ Simeon and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul, the son of the Zephathite woman-seven. ¹⁴ Levi and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari-four. ¹⁵ Judah and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Shela, and Perez, and Zerah-four. ¹⁶ Issachar and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Tola, and Phua, and Jasub, and Shimron-five. ¹⁷ Zebulon and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Sered, and Elon, and Jahleel-four. ¹⁸ And these are the sons of Jacob and their sons whom Leah bore to Jacob in Mesopotamia, six, and their one sister, Dinah and all the souls of the sons of Leah, and their sons, who went with Jacob their father into Egypt, were twenty-nine, and Jacob their father being with them, they were thirty. ¹⁹ And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, the wife of Jacob, who bore unto Jacob Gad and Ashur. ²⁰ And these are the names of their sons who went with him into Egypt. The sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, and Shuni, and Ezbon, and Eri, and Areli, and Arodi-eight. ²¹ And the sons of Asher: Imnah, and Ishvah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah, their one sister-six. ²² All the souls were fourteen, and all those of Leah were forty-four. ²³ And the sons of Rachel, the wife of Jacob: Joseph and Benjamin. ²⁴ And there were born to Joseph in Egypt before his father came into Egypt, those whom Asenath, daughter of Potiphar priest of Heliopolis bare unto him, Manasseh, and Ephraim-three. ²⁵ And the sons of Benjamin: Bela and Becher and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, and Ehi, and Rosh, and Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard-eleven. ²⁶ And all the souls of Rachel were fourteen. ²⁷ And the sons of Bilhah, the handmaid of Rachel, the wife of Jacob, whom she bare to Jacob, were Dan and Naphtali. ²⁸ And these are the names of their sons who went with them into Egypt. And the sons of Dan were Hushim, and Samon, and Asudi. and 'Ijaka, and Salomon-six. ²⁹ And they died the year in which they entered into Egypt, and there was left to Dan Hushim alone. ³⁰ And these are the names of the sons of Naphtali Jahziel, and Guni and Jezer, and Shallum, and 'Iv. ³¹ And 'Iv, who was born after the years of famine, died in Egypt. ³² And all the souls of Rachel were twenty-six. ³³ And all the souls of Jacob which went into Egypt were seventy souls. These are his children and his children's children, in all seventy, but five died in Egypt before Joseph, and had no children. ³⁴ And in the land of Canaan two sons of Judah died, Er and Onan, and they had no children, and the children of Israel buried those who perished, and they were reckoned among the seventy Gentile nations.

Read full chapter: The Book of Jubilees 44 →