Joseph and Asenath                               page 6
And, when the seven years of plenty had passed, the seven years of famine began to come. And, when Jacob heard about Joseph his son, he came into Egypt with all his kindred in the second year of the famine, in the second month, on the twenty-first ofthe month, and settled in Geshem. And Asenath said to Joseph : '' I will go and see thy father, for that thy father Israel is as my '' father and God." And Joseph said to her : '' Thou shalt go with me and see my father." And Joseph and Asenath came to Jacob in the land of Geshem, and Joseph's brethren met them and made obeisance to them upon their faces on the earth. Then both went in to Jacob ; and Jacob was sitting upon his bed, and he himself was an old man in a lusty old age. And, when Asenath saw him, she marvelled at his beauty, for that Jacob was beautiful to behold exceedingly and his old age as the youth of a comely man, and all his head was white like snow, and the hairs of his head were all close and thick exceedingly, and his beard white reaching to his breast, his eyes cheerful and glistering, his sinews and his shoulders and his arms as of an angel, his thighs and his calves and his feet as of a giant' Then Asenath, when she saw him thus, marvelled and fell down and made obeisance on her face upon the earth.  And Jacob said to Joseph : “Is this my daughter-in-law, thy wife? Blessed shall she be of God Most High."  Then Jacob called Asenath to himself and blessed her and kissed her tenderly ; and Asenath stretched out her hands and took hold of Jacob's neck and hung on to his neck and kissed him tenderly. And after these things they ate and drank. And thereupon both Joseph and Ascnath went to their house ; and Simeon and Levi, the sons of Leah, alone conducted them forth, but the sons of Balla and Zelpha, the handmaids of Leah and Rachel, did not join in conducting them forth, for that they envied and detested them. And Levi was at Asenath's right and Simeon at her left. And Asenath took hold of Levi's hand, for that she loved him exceedingly above all Joseph's brethren and as a prophet and a worshipper of God and one who feared the Lord. For he was an understanding man and a prophet of the Most High, and he himself saw letters written in heaven "and read them^ and revealed them to Asenath in secret ; for that Levi himself also loved Asenath much and saw the place of her rest in the highest.                Pharaoh's Son tries to induce Simeon and Levi to kill Joseph.      And it came to pass as Joseph and Asenath were passing by, when they were going to Jacob, Pharaoh's firstborn son saw them from the wall, and, when he saw Asenath, he became mad upon her by reason of her surpassing beauty. Then Pharaoh's son sent messengers, and called Simeon and Levi to him ; and, when they came and stood before him, Pharaoh's firstborn son saith to them : "I for my part know that ye are to-day mighty men above all men upon the earth, and with these right hands of yours the city of the Sicimites was overthrown, and with your two swords 30,000 warriors were cut down. And I to-day will take you to myself as companions and give you much gold and silver and serving-men and handmaids and houses and great inheritances, and contend ye on my side and do me kindness; for that I received great despite from your brother Joseph, since he himself took Asenath to wife, and this woman was betrothed to me from of old. And now come with me, and I will fight against Joseph to slay him with my sword, and I will take Asenath to wife, and ye shall be to me as brethren and faithful friends. But, if ye shall not hearken to my words, I will slay you with my sword."  And, when he had said these things, he drew out his sword and showed it to them. And Simeon was a bold and daring man, and he thought to lay his right hand upon the hilt of his sword and draw it from the sheath thereof and smite Pharaoh's son for that he had spoken hard words to them. Levi then saw the thought of his heart, because he was a prophet and trod with his foot on Simeon's right foot and pressed it, causing to him to cease from his wrath. And Levi was saying quietly to Simeon: "Wherefore art thou angry against this man? We are men who worship God and it is not meet for us to render evil for evil." Then Levi said to Pharaoh's son openly with mildness of heart : "Wherefore speaketh our lord these words? We are men who worship God, and our father is a friend of God Most High, and our brother is as a son of God. And how shall we do this wicked thing, to sin in the sight of our God and of our father Israel and in the sight of our brother Joseph? And now hear my words. It is not meet for a man who worshippeth God to injure any man in any wise; and, if any wisheth to injure a man who worshippeth God, that man who worshippeth God avengeth not himself upon him, for that there is no sword in his hands. And do thou beware of speaking any more these words about our brother Joseph. But, if thou continuest in thine evil counsel, lo! our swords are drawn against thee."  Then Simeon and Levi drew their swords from their sheaths and said: "Seest thou now these swords? With these two swords the Lord punished the despite of the Sicimites, wherewith they did despite to the sons of Israel through our sister Dinah, whom Sychem the son of Hamor defiled."  And Pharaoh's son, when he saw the swords drawn, feared exceedingly and trembled over all his body, for that they glittered like a flame of fire, and his eyes became dim, and he fell upon his face on the earth beneath their feet. Then Levi stretched out his right hand and took hold of him, saying : "Stand up and fear not, only beware of speaking any more any evil word concerning our brother Joseph." And so both Simeon and Levi went out from before his face.                  Pharaoh's son conspires with Dan and Gad to kill Joseph      Pharaoh's son then continued to be full of fear and grief for that he feared Joseph's brethren, and again he was exceedingly mad by reason of Asenath's beauty, and grieved greatly. Then his serving-men say in his ear: "Lo! the sons of Balla and the sons of Zelpha, the hand-maids of Leah and Rachel, Jacob's wives, are at great enmity against Joseph and Asenath and hate them; these will be unto thee in all things according to thy will."  Straightway therefore Pharaoh's son sent messengers and called them, and they came to him at the first hour of the night, and they stood in his presence, and he saith to them; ''I have learned from many that ye are mighty men." And Dan and Gad, the elder brethren, said to him : '"Let my lord now speak to his serving-men what he wisheth, that thy serving-men may hear and we may do according to thy will."  Then Pharaoh's son rejoiced with exceeding great joy and said to his serving-men : "Withdraw now for a short space from me, for that I have secret speech to hold with these men." And they all withdrew. Then Pharaoh's son lied, and he saith to them : "Lo! now blessing and death are before your faces; do ye therefore take the blessing rather than the death, because ye are mighty men and will not die as women; but be brave and avenge yourselves upon your enemies. For I have heard Joseph your brother saying to Pharaoh my father: 'Dan and Gad and Nephthalim and Asher are not my brethren, but children of my father's handmaids: I wait therefore for my father's death, and will blot them out from the earth and all their issue, lest they should inherit with us, because they are children of handmaids. For these also sold me to the Ishmaelites, and I will render unto them again according to their despite which they wickedly committed against me; only my father shall die.' And my father Pharaoh commended him for these things and said to him: ' Thou hast well spoken, child. Accordingly, take from me mighty men and proceed against them according to what they wrought against thee, and I will be a helper to thee.' " And when Dan and Gad heard these things from Pharaoh's son they were much troubled, and grieved exceedingly, and they said to him: "We pray thee, lord, help us; for henceforth we are thy slaves and bondmen and will die with thee."  And Pharaoh's son said: " I will be a helper to you if ye also will hearken to my words." And they said to him: "Command us what thou wishest and we will do according to thy will." And Pharaoh's son saith to them : "I will slay my father Pharaoh this night, for that Pharaoh is as Joseph's father and said to him that he would help against you ; and do ye slay Joseph, and I will take Asenath to myself to wife, and ye shall be my brethren and fellow-heirs of all my possessions. Only do this thing." And Dan and Gad said to him: "We are thy serving-men to-day and will do all things that thou hast commanded us. And we have heard Joseph saying to Asenath : 'Go to-morrow to the possession of our inheritance, for that it is the season of the vintage ' ; and he sent six hundred men mighty to war with her and fifty forerunners. Now therefore hear us and we will speak unto our lord." And they spake to him all their secret words. Then Pharaoh's son gave the four brethren five hundred men each and appointed them their chiefs and leaders. And Dan and Gad said to him: "We are thy serving-men to-day and do all the things that thou hast commanded us, and we will set forth by night and lie in wait in the ravine and hide ourselves in the thicket of the reeds; and do thou take with thyself fifty bowmen upon horses and go a long way before us, and Asenath will come and fall into our hands, and we will cut down the men that are with her, and she herself will flee before with her chariot and fall into thine hands and thou shalt do to her as thy soul desireth; and after these things we will slay Joseph also while he is grieving for Asenath; like-wise also his children will we slay before his eyes."  Pharaoh's firstborn son then, when he heard these things, rejoiced exceedingly, and he sent them forth and two thousand fighting men with them. And when they came to the ravine they hid themselves in the thicket of the reeds, and they divided into four companies, and took up their station on the far side of the ravine as in the front part five hundred men on this side of the road and on that, and on the near side of the ravine likewise the rest remained, and they them-selves also took up their station in the thicket of the reeds, five hundred men on this side and on that of the road ;  and between them was a broad and wide road.                              Pharaoh's Son goes to kill his Father      Then Pharaoh's son rose up the same night and came to his father's bed-chamber to slay him with the sword. His father's guards thereupon hindered him from coming in to his father and said to him: "What commandest thou, lord?" And Pharaoh's son said to them: "I wish to sec my father, for that I am going to gather the vintage of my new-planted vineyard."  And the guards said to him: "Thy father suffereth pain and lay awake the whole night and now resteth, and he said to us that no one was to come in to him 'not even if it is my firstborn son.'" And he on hearing these things went away in wrath and straightway took mounted bowmen fifty in number and went away before them as Dan and Gad had said to him. And the younger brethren Nephthalim and Asher spake to their elder brethren Dan and Gad, saying: "Wherefore do ye on your part again work wickedness against your father Israel and against your brother Joseph? And God preserveth him as the apple of an eye. Lo! did ye not once sell Joseph? and he is king to-day of all the land of Egypt and food-giver. Now therefore, if ye again wish to work wickedness against him, he will cry unto the Most High and he will send fire from heaven and it will devour you, and the angels of God will fight against you."  Then  the elder brethren were moved to anger against them and said : "And shall we die as women? Far be it." And they went out to meet Joseph and Asenath.                              The Conspirators kill      And Asenath rose in the morning and said to Joseph: "I am going to the possession of our inheritance as thou hast said ; but my soul feareth exceedingly for that thou art parting from me." And Joseph said to her: "Be of good cheer and be not afraid, but rather go away rejoicing, in dread of no man whatsoever, for that the Lord is with thee and he himself will preserve thee as the apple of an eye from every evil. And I will set forth for my giving of food and will give to all the men in the city, and no man shall perish of hunger in the land of Egypt."  Then Asenath departed on her way, and Joseph for his giving of food. And, when Asenath reached the place of the ravine with the six hundred men, suddenly they who were with Pharaoh's son came forth from their ambush and joined battle with those who were with Asenath, and cut them all down with their swords, and all her forerunners they slew, but Asenath fled with her chariot. Then Levi, the son of Leah, knew all these things the spirit as a prophet and told his brethren of Asenath's danger, and straight way each of them took his sword upon his thigh and their shields upon their arms and the spears in their right hands and pursued after Asenath with great speed. And, as Asenath was fleeing before, lo! Pharaoh's son met her and fifty horsemen with him: and Asenath, when she saw him, was seized with very great fear and was trembling, and she called upon the name of the Lord her God.                     Those with Dan and Gad are killed      And Benjamin was sitting with her on the chariot on the right side ; and Benjamin was a strong lad of about nineteen years, and upon him was ineffable beauty and might as of a lion's whelp, and he was also one who feared God exceedingly. Then Benjamin leaped down from the chariot, and took a round stone from the ravine and filled his hand and hurled at Pharaoh's son and smote his left temple, and wounded him with a grievous wound, and he fell from his horse upon the earth half-dead. And thereupon Benjamin, having run up on to a rock, saith to Asenath's chariot-man: "Give me stones from the ravine." And he gave him fifty stones. And Benjamin hurled the stones and slew the fifty men who were with Pharaoh's son, all the stones sinking in through their temples. Then the sons of Leah, Reuben and Simeon, Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulon, pursued after the men who had lain in wait against Asenath and fell upon them unawares and cut them all down; and the six men slew two thousand and seventy-six men. And the sons of Balla and Zelpha fled from their face and said: "We have perished at the hands of our brethren, and Pharaoh's son hath also died by the hand of Benjamin the lad, and all who were with him perished by the hand of the boy Benjamin. Accordingly, therefore, come let us slay Asenath and Benjamin and flee to the thicket of these reeds." And they came against Asenath holding their swords drawn covered with blood. And Asenath when she saw them feared greatly and said: "Lord God, who quickenedst me and deliveredst me from the idols and the corruption of death, even as thou saidst to me that my soul shall live for ever, deliver me now also from these wicked men." And the Lord God heard Asenath's voice, and straightway the swords of the adversaries fell from their hands upon the earth and were turned into ashes.                            Dan and Gad are spared     And the sons of Balla and Zelpha, when they saw ''the strange miracle that had been wrought,feared and said : "The Lord fighteth against us on Asenath's behalf." Then they fell upon their faces on the earth and made obeisance to Asenath and said "Have mercy on us thy bondmen, for that thou art our mistress and queen. We wickedly committed evil deeds against thee and against our brother Joseph, but the Lord requited us according to our works. Therefore we thy bondmen pray thee, have mercy on us the lowly and miserable and deliver us from the hands of our brethren, for that they will make themselves avengers of the despite done to thee and their swords are against us. Accordingly be gracious to thy bondmen, mistress, before them."  And Asenath said to them: "Be of good cheer and be not ye afraid of your brethren, for that they themselves are men who worship God and fear the Lord;  but go into the thicket of these reeds until I shall appease them on your behalf and stay their wrath on account of the great crimes which ye on your part have dared to commit against them. But the Lord see and judge between me and you." Then Dan and Gad fled into the thicket of the reeds; and their brethren, Leah's sons, came running like stags with great haste against them. And Asenath stepped down from the chariot that was her covert and gave them her right hand with tears, and they themselves fell down and made obeisance to her on the earth and wept with a loud voice; and they continued asking for their brethren the sons of the handmaids to put them to death. And Asenath said to them: "I pray you, spare your brethren, and render not to them evil for evil. For the Lord saved me from them and shattered their daggers and swords 'from out their hands, and lo! they have melted and were burned to ashes upon the earth like wax from before fire, and this is sufficient for us that the Lord fighteth for us against them. Accordingly do ye spare your brethren, for that they are your brethren and the blood of your father Israel." And Simeon said to her: "Wherefore speaketh our mistress good words on behalf of her enemies? Nay but rather we will cut them down limb from limb with our swords, for that they devised evil things concerning our brother Joseph and our father Israel and against thee, our mistress, today." Then Asenath stretched out her right hand and touched Simeon's beard and kissed him tenderly and said: "In no wise, brother, render evil for evil to thy neighbour, for that the Lord will avenge this despite. They themselves, ye know, are your brethren and the offspring of your father Israel, and they fled from afar from your face. Accordingly grant them pardon." Then Levi came up to her and kissed her right hand tenderly, for that he knew that she was fain to save the men from their brethren's anger that they should not slay them. And they themselves were nigh at hand  in the thicket of the reed-bed: and Levi his brother knowing this did not declare it to his brethren, for he feared lest in their anger they should cut their brethren down.                                   Pharaoh's Son dies.      And Pharaoh's son rose from the earth and sat up and spat blood from his mouth; for the blood was running down from his temple into his mouth. And Benjamin ran up to him and took his sword and drew it from Pharaoh's son's sheath (for Benjamin was not wearing a sword upon his thigh) and wished to smite Pharaoh's son upon the breast. Then Levi ran up to him and took hold of his hand and said: "In no wise, brother, do and it is not meet for a man who worshippeth God to render evil for evil, nor to trample upon one who hath fallen, nor utterly to crush his enemy even unto death. And now put back the sword into his place, and come and help me, and let us heal him of this wound; and, if he live, he will be our friend and his father Pharaoh will be our father."  Then Levi raised Pharaoh's son from the earth and washed away the blood from his face and tied a bandage over his wound and set him upon his horse and led him to his father Pharaoh, relating to him all the things that had happened and befallen. And Pharaoh arose from his throne and made obeisance to Levi upon the earth and blessed him. Then, 'when the third day had passed, Pharaoh's son died from the stone wherewith he was wounded by Benjamin. And Pharaoh mourned for his firstborn son exceedingly, whence from the grief Pharaoh fell sick and died at 109 years, and he left his diadem to the all-beauteous Joseph. And Joseph reigned alone in Egypt 48 years; and after these things Joseph gave back the diadem to Pharaoh's younger child, who was at the breast when the old man Pharaoh died. And Joseph was thenceforth as father of Pharaoh's younger child in Egypt till his death, glorifying and praising God.
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