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About this book

Jubilees

About this book

Jacob and Joseph Are Reunited

Chapter 45

1 And Israel went into the country of Egypt, into the land of Goshen, on the new moon of the fourth [2172] month, in the second year of the third week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 2 And Joseph went to meet his father Jacob, to the land of Goshen, and he fell on his father's neck and wept. 3 And Israel said to Joseph: 'Now let me die since I have seen you, and now may the Lord God of Israel be blessed the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac who has not withheld His mercy and His grace from His servant Jacob. 4 It is enough for me that I have seen your face while I am still alive; yes, the vision which I saw at Bethel is true. Blessed be the Lord my God forever and ever, and blessed be His name.' 5 And Joseph and his brothers ate bread before their father and drank wine, and Jacob rejoiced with very great joy because he saw Joseph eating with his brothers and drinking before him, and he blessed the Creator of all things who had preserved him, and had preserved for him his twelve sons. 6 And Joseph had given to his father and to his brothers as a gift the right to live in the land of Goshen and in Rameses and all the region around, which he ruled over before Pharaoh. And Israel and his sons lived in the land of Goshen, the best part of the land of Egypt and Israel was one hundred and thirty years old when he came into Egypt. 7 And Joseph fed his father and his brothers and also their possessions with bread as much as they needed for the seven years of the famine. 8 And the land of Egypt suffered because of the famine, and Joseph acquired all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh in return for food, and he got possession of the people and their cattle and everything for Pharaoh. 9 And the years of the famine came to an end, and Joseph gave to the people in the land seed and food so that they might sow (the land) in the eighth year, for the river had overflowed all the land of Egypt. 10 For in the seven years of the famine it had (not) overflowed and had irrigated only a few places on the banks of the river, but now it overflowed and the Egyptians sowed the land, and it bore much grain that year. 11 And this was the first year of the fourth week of the forty-fifth jubilee [2178]. 12 And Joseph took of the grain of the harvest the fifth part for the king and left four parts for them for food and for seed, and Joseph made it an ordinance for the land of Egypt to this day.

Jacob’s Final Instructions and Death

13 And Israel lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and all the days which he lived were three jubilees, one hundred and forty-seven years, and he died in the fourth [2188] year of the fifth week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 14 And Israel blessed his sons before he died and told them everything that would happen to them in the land of Egypt; and he made known to them what would come upon them in the last days,⁠ and blessed them and gave to Joseph two portions in the land. 15 And he died and joined his ancestors, and he was buried in the double cave in the land of Canaan, near Abraham his father in the grave which he dug for himself in the double cave in the land of Hebron. 16 And he gave all his books and the books of his ancestors to Levi his son⁠ so that he might preserve them and renew them for his children to this day.

Texts in conversation

Compare Genesis 49:1 and Jubilees 45:14

Hebrew Bible · Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions

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Summary

In Genesis 49, Jacob gathers his sons to reveal what will happen in the future, then gives a long blessing over each of them. When Jubilees retells this, it changes the discussion of the future to be about the end times but leaves out the blessings.

Passages

Genesis 49:1

Hebrew Bible
1 Jacob called for his sons and said, “Gather together so I can tell you what will happen to you in future days. 2 “Assemble and listen, you sons of Jacob; listen to Israel, your father. 3 Reuben, you are my firstborn, my might and the beginning of my strength, outstanding in dignity, outstanding in power. 4 You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father’s bed, then you defiled it—he got on my couch!
750–400 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Genesis

Jubilees 45:14

Pseudepigrapha, Hebrew Bible Expansions
13 And Israel lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and all the days which he lived were three jubilees, one hundred and forty-seven years, and he died in the fourth [2188] year of the fifth week of the forty-fifth jubilee. 14 And Israel blessed his sons before he died and told them everything that would happen to them in the land of Egypt; and he made known to them what would come upon them in the last days, and blessed them and gave to Joseph two portions in the land. 15 And he died and joined his ancestors, and he was buried in the double cave in the land of Canaan, near Abraham his father in the grave which he dug for himself in the double cave in the land of Hebron.
170–125 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Jubilees

References

... The author, however, neglects this perfect opportunity and simply states that Jacob blessed his sons and then told them about what would happen to them in Egypt, and what was to come in the last days (Jubilees 45:14). In my opinion, there is a reason behind this. Perhaps the reason is that the process of revelation was seen as coming to an end in Jacob. The revelation is now written in the books: 'He gave all his books and the books of his fathers to his son Levi so that he could preserve them and renew them for his sons until today' ... Thus, the author of Jubilees presents a dynamic, ongoing revelation. In the narration of Jubilees, however, it does not continue up to Sinai, or even further, as Lambert proposes. Instead, everything has already been revealed to Jacob/Israel who, in turn, transmits his and his fathers' books to Levi, the character who also symbolizes the Levites/priests. ...
Topias K. E. Tanskanen, “Jacob, the Torah, and the Abrahamic Promise: Studies on the Use and Interpretation of the Jacob Story in the Book of Jubilees” (diss., Åbo Akademi University, 2023), 70.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Genesis 49:1 and Jubilees 45:14

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