Egypt

and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, "Bow down!" Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

Pharaoh said to Yosef, "I, Pharaoh, decree that without your approval no one is to raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."

Pharaoh called Yosef by the name Tzafnat-Pa'neach and gave him as his wife Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. Then Yosef went out through all the land of Egypt.

Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt; then he left Pharaoh's presence and traveled through all the land of Egypt.

He collected all the food of these seven years in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities - the food grown in the fields outside each city he stored in that city.

The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended;

and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Yosef had said. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

When the whole land of Egypt started feeling the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Yosef, and do what he tells you to do."

The famine was over all the earth, but then Yosef opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians, since the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

Moreover all countries came to Egypt to Yosef to buy grain, because the famine was severe throughout the earth.

Now Ya'akov saw that there was grain in Egypt; so Ya'akov said to his sons, "Why are you staring at each other?

Look," he said, "I've heard that there's grain in Egypt. Go down there and buy some for us from there, so that we can stay alive and not die!"

Thus Yosef's ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt,

so when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, "Go again, buy us a little food."

The men took that gift, and they took twice the money with them, and Binyamin; then they prepared, went down to Egypt and stood before Yosef.

Yosef said to his brothers, "Please! Come closer." And they came closer. He said, "I am Yosef, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

So it was not you who sent me here, but God; and he has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of all his household and ruler over the whole land of Egypt.

Hurry, go up to my father, and tell him, 'Here is what your son Yosef says: "God has made me lord of all Egypt! Come down to me, don't delay!

Tell my father how honored I am in Egypt and everything you have seen, and quickly bring my father down here!"

take your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you good property in Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.

"'Moreover - and this is an order - do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt to carry your little ones and your wives, and bring your father, and come.

Don't worry about your stuff, because everything good in the land of Egypt is yours.'"

Likewise, to his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the finest goods Egypt produced, as well as ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread and food for his father to eat on the return journey.

So they went up out of Egypt, entered the land of Kena'an and came to Ya'akov their father.

They told him, "Yosef is still alive! He is ruler over the whole land of Egypt!" He was stunned at the news; he couldn't believe them.