The Bible, Douay Rheims, Book 1: Genesis

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44:27. Whereunto he answered: You know that my wife bore me two.

44:28. One went out, and you said: A beast devoured him; and hitherto he
appeareth not.

44:29. If you take this also, and any thing befall him in the way, you
will bring down my grey hairs with sorrow unto hell.

44:30. Therefore, if I shall go to thy servant, our father, and the boy
be wanting, (whereas his life dependeth upon the life of him,)

44:31. And he shall see that he is not with us, he will die, and thy
servants shall bring down his grey hairs with sorrow unto hell.

His gray hairs... That is, his person, now far advanced in years.-With
sorrow unto hell... The Hebrew word for hell is here sheol, the Greek
hades: it is not taken for the hell of the damned; but for that place of
souls below where the servants of God were kept before the coming of
Christ. Which place, both in the Scripture and in the creed, is named
hell.

44:32. Let me be thy proper servant, who took him into my trust, and
promised, saying: If I bring him not again, I will be guilty of sin
against my father for ever.

44:33. Therefore I, thy servant, will stay instead of the boy in the
service of my lord, and let the boy go up with his brethren.

44:34. For I cannot return to my father without the boy, lest I be a
witness of the calamity that will oppress my father.

Genesis Chapter 45

Joseph maketh himself known to his brethren: and sendeth for his father.

45:1. Joseph could no longer refrain himself before many that stood by:
whereupon he commanded that all should go out, and no stranger be
present at their knowing one another.

45:2. And he lifted up his voice with weeping, which the Egyptians, and
all the house of Pharao heard.

45:3. And he said to his brethren: I am Joseph: Is my father yet living?
His brethren could not answer him, being struck with exceeding great
fear.

45:4. And he said mildly to them: Come nearer to me. And when they were
come near him, he said: I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into
Egypt.

45:5. Be not afraid, and let it not seem to you a hard case that you
sold me into these countries: for God sent me before you into Egypt for
your preservation.

45:6. For it is two years since the famine began to be upon the land,
and five years more remain, wherein there can be neither ploughing nor
reaping.

45:7. And God sent me before, that you may be preserved upon the earth,
and may have food to live.

45:8. Not by your counsel was I sent hither, but by the will of God: who
hath made me as it were a father to Pharao, and lord of his whole house,
and governor in all the land of Egypt.

45:9. Make haste, and go ye up to my father, and say to him: Thus saith
thy son Joseph: God hath made me lord of the whole land of Egypt; come
down to me, linger not.

45:10. And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gessen: and thou shalt be
near me, thou and thy sons, and thy sons' sons, thy sheep, and thy
herds, and all things that thou hast.

45:11. And there I will feed thee, (for there are yet five years of
famine remaining) lest both thou perish, and thy house, and all things
that thou hast.

45:12. Behold, your eyes, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, see that
it is my mouth that speaketh to you.

45:13. You shall tell my father of all my glory, and all things that you
have seen in Egypt: make haste and bring him to me.

45:14. And falling upon the neck of his brother Benjamin, he embraced
him and wept: and Benjamin in like manner wept also on his neck.

45:15. And Joseph kissed all his brethren, and wept upon every one of
them: after which they were emboldened to speak to him.

45:16. And it was heard, and the fame was spread abroad in the king's
court: The brethren of Joseph are come; and Pharao with all his family
was glad.

45:17. And he spoke to Joseph that he should give orders to his
brethren, saying: Load your beasts, and go into the land of Chanaan,

45:18. And bring away from thence your father and kindred, and come to
me; and I will give you all the good things of Egypt, that you may eat
the marrow of the land.

45:19. Give orders also that they take wagons out of the land of Egypt,
for the carriage of their children and their wives; and say: Take up
your father, and make haste to come with all speed:

45:20. And leave nothing of your household stuff; for all the riches of
Egypt shall be yours.

45:21. And the sons of Israel did as they were bid. And Joseph gave them
wagons according to Pharao's commandment: and provisions for the way.

45:22. He ordered also to be brought out for every one of them two
robes: but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver, with five
robes of the best:

45:23. Sending to his father as much money and raiment; adding besides,
ten he asses, to carry off all the riches of Egypt, and as many she
asses, carrying wheat and bread for the journey.

45:24. So he sent away his brethren, and at their departing said to
them: Be not angry in the way.

45:25. And they went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Chanaan,
to their father Jacob.

45:26. And they told him, saying: Joseph, thy son, is living; and he is
ruler in all the land of Egypt. Which when Jacob heard, he awaked as it
were out of a deep sleep, yet did not believe them.

45:27. They, on the other side, told the whole order of the thing. And
when he saw the wagons, and all that he had sent, his spirit revived,

45:28. And he said: It is enough for me if Joseph, my son, be yet
living: I will go and see him before I die.

Genesis Chapter 46

Israel, waranted by a vision from God, goeth down into Egypt with all
his family.

46:1. And Israel taking his journey, with all that he had, came to the
well of the oath, and killing victims there to the God of his father
Isaac,

The well of the oath... Bersabee.

46:2. He heard him, by a vision in the night, calling him, and saying to
him: Jacob, Jacob. And he answered him: Lo, here I am.

46:3. God said to him: I am the most mighty God of thy father; fear not,
go down into Egypt, for I will make a great nation of thee there.

46:4. I will go down with thee thither, and will bring thee back again
from thence: Joseph also shall put his hands upon thy eyes.

46:5. And Jacob rose up from the well of the oath: and his sons took him
up, with their children and wives in the wagons, which Pharao had sent
to carry the old man,

46:6. And all that he had in the land of Chanaan: and he came into Egypt
with all his seed;

46:7. His sons, and grandsons, daughters, and all his offspring
together.

46:8. And these are the names of the children of Israel, that entered
into Egypt, he and his children. His firstborn Ruben,

46:9. The sons of Ruben: Henoch and Phallu, and Hesron and Charmi.

46:10. The sons of Simeon: Jamuel and Jamin and Ahod, and Jachin and
Sohar, and Saul, the son of a woman of Chanaan.

46:11. The sons of Levi: Gerson and Caath, and Merari.

46:12. The sons of Juda: Her and Onan, and Sela, and Phares and Zara.
And Her and Onan died in the land of Chanaan. And sons were born to
Phares: Hesron and Hamul.

46:13. The sons of Issachar: Thola and Phua, and Job and Semron.

46:14. The sons of Zabulon: Sared, and Elon, and Jahelel.

46:15. These are the sons of Lia, whom she bore in Mesopotamia of Syria,
with Dina, his daughter. All the souls of her sons and daughters,
thirty-three.

46:16. The sons of Gad: Sephion and Haggi, and Suni and Esebon, and Heri
and Arodi, and Areli.

46:17. The sons of Aser: Jamne and Jesua, and Jessuri and Beria, and
Sara their sister. The sons of Beria: Heber and Melchiel.

46:18. These are the sons of Zelpha, whom Laban gave to Lia, his
daughter. And these she bore to Jacob, sixteen souls.

46:19. The sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife: Joseph and Benjamin.

46:20. And sons were born to Joseph, in the land of Egypt, whom Aseneth,
the daughter of Putiphare, priest of Heliopolis, bore him: Manasses and
Ephraim.

46:21. The sons of Benjamin: Bela and Bechor, and Asbel and Gera, and
Naaman and Echi, and Ross and Mophim, and Ophim and Ared.

46:22. These are the sons of Rachel, whom she bore to Jacob: all the
souls, fourteen.

46:23. The sons of Dan: Husim.

46:24. The sons of Nephthali: Jaziel and Guni, and Jeser and Sallem.

46:25. These are the sons of Bala, whom Laban gave to Rachel, his
daughter: and these she bore to Jacob: all the souls, seven.

46:26. All the souls that went with Jacob into Egypt, and that came out
of his thigh, besides his sons' wives, sixty-six.

46:27. And the sons of Joseph, that were born to him in the land of
Egypt, two souls. All the souls of the house of Jacob, that entered into
Egypt, were seventy.

46:28. And he sent Juda before him to Joseph, to tell him; and that he
should meet him in Gessen.

46:29. And when he was come thither, Joseph made ready his chariot, and
went up to meet his father in the same place: and seeing him, he fell
upon his neck, and embracing him, wept.

46:30. And the father said to Joseph: Now shall I die with joy, becuase
I have seen thy face, and leave thee alive.

46:31. And Joseph said to his brethren, and to all his father's house: I
will go up, and will tell Pharao, and will say to him: My brethren, and
my father's house, that were in the land of Chanaan, are come to me:

46:32. And the men are shepherds, and their occupation is to feed
cattle; their flocks, and herds, and all they have, they have brought
with them.

46:33. And when he shall call you, and shall say: What is your
occupation?

46:34. You shall answer: We, thy servants, are shepherds, from our
infancy until now, both we and our fathers. And this you shall say, that
you may dwell in the land of Gessen, because the Egyptians have all
shepherds in abomination.

Genesis Chapter 47

Jacob and his sons are presented before Pharao: he giveth them the land
of Gessen. The famine forceth the Egyptians to sell all their
possessions to the king.

47:1. Then Joseph went in and told Pharao, saying: My father and
brethren, their sheep and their herds, and all that they possess, are
come out of the land of Chanaan: and behold they stay in the land of
Gessen.

47:2. Five men also, the last of his brethren, he presented before the
king:

The last...Extremos. Some interpret this word of the chiefest, and most
rightly: but Joseph seems rather to have chosen out such as had the
meanest appearance, that Pharao might not think of employing them at
court, with danger of their morals and religion.

47:3. And he asked them: What is your occupation? They answered: We, thy
servants, are shepherds, both we and our fathers.

47:4. We are come to sojourn in thy land, because there is no grass for
the flocks of thy servants, the famine being very grievous in the land
of Chanaan: and we pray thee to give orders that we thy servants may be
in the land of Gessen.

47:5. The king therefore said to Joseph: Thy father and thy brethren are
come to thee.

47:6. The land of Egypt is before thee: and make them dwell in the best
place, and give them the land of Gessen. And if thou knowest that there
are industrious men among them, make them rulers over my cattle.

47:7. After this Joseph brought in his father to the king, and presented
him before him: and he blessed him.

47:8. And being asked by him: How many are the days of the years of thy
life?

47:9. He answered: The days of my pilgrimage are a hundred and thirty
years, few, and evil, and they are not come up to the days of the
pilgrimage of my fathers.

47:10. And blessing the king, he went out.

47:11. But Joseph gave a possession to his father and his brethren in
Egypt, in the best place of the land, in Ramesses, as Pharao had
commanded.

47:12. And he nourished them, and all his father's house, allowing food
to every one.

47:13. For in the whole world there was want of bread, and a famine had
oppressed the land, more especially of Egypt and Chanaan;

47:14. Out of which he gathered up all the money for the corn which they
bought, and brought it in to the king's treasure.

47:15. And when the buyers wanted money, all Egypt came to Joseph,
saying: Give us bread: why should we die in thy presence, having now no
money?

47:16. And he answered them: Bring me your cattle, and for them I will
give you food, if you have no money.

47:17. And when they had brought them, he gave them food in exchange for
their horses, and sheep, and oxen, and asses: and he maintained them
that year for the exchange of their cattle.

47:18. And they came the second year, and said to him: We will not hide
from our lord, how that our money is spent, and our cattle also are
gone: neither art thou ignorant that we have nothing now left but our
bodies and our lands.

47:19. Why therefore shall we die before thy eyes? we will be thine,
both we and our lands: buy us to be the king's servants, and give us
seed, lest for want of tillers the land be turned into a wilderness.

47:20. So Joesph bought all the land of Egypt, every man selling his
possessions, because of the greatness of the famine. And he brought it
into Pharao's hands:

47:21. And all its people from one end of the borders of Egypt, even to
the other end thereof,

47:22. Except the land of the priests, which had been given them by the
king: to whom also a certain allowance of food was given out of the
public stores, and therefore they were not forced to sell their
possessions.

47:23. Then Joseph said to the people: Behold, as you see, both you and
your lands belong to Pharao; take seed and sow the fields,

47:24. That you may have corn. The fifth part you shall give to the
king; the other four you shall have for seed, and for food for your
families and children.

47:25. And they answered: our life is in thy hand; only let my lord look
favourably upon us, and we will gladly serve the king.

47:26. From that time unto this day, in the whole land of Egypt, the
fifth part is paid to the kings, and it is become as a law, except the
land of the priests, which was free from this covenant.

47:27. So Israel dwelt in Egypt, that is, in the land of Gessen, and
possessed it; and grew, and was multiplied exceedingly.

47:28. And he lived in it seventeen years: and all the days of his life
came to a hundred and forty-seven years.

47:29. And when he saw that the day of his death drew nigh, he called
his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found favour in thy sight,
put thy hand under my thigh; and thou shalt shew me this kindness and
truth, not to bury me in Egypt.

47:30. But I will sleep with my fathers, and thou shalt take me away out
of this land, and bury me in the burying place of my ancestors. And
Joseph answered him: I will do what thou hast commanded.

47:31. And he said: Swear then to me. And as he was swearing, Israel
adored God, turning to the bed's head.

To the bed's head... St. Paul, Heb. 11.21, following the Greek
translation of the Septuagint, reads adored the top of his rod. Where
note, that the same word in the Hebrew, according to the different
pointing of it, signifies both a bed and a rod. And to verify both these
sentences, we must understand that Jacob leaning on Joseph's rod adored,
turning towards the head of his bed: which adoration, inasmuch as it was
referred to God, was an absolute and sovereign worship: but inasmuch as
it was referred to the rod of Joseph, as a figure of the sceptre, that
is, of the royal dignity of Christ, was only an inferior and relative
honour.

Genesis Chapter 48

Joseph visiteth his father in his sickness, who adopteth his two sons
Manasses and Ephraim, and blesseth them, preferring the younger before
the elder.

48:1. After these things, it was told Joseph that his father was sick;
and he set out to go to him, taking his two sons Manasses and Ephraim.

48:2. And it was told the old man: Behold thy son Joseph cometh to thee.
And being strengthened, he sat on his bed.

48:3. And when Joseph was come in to him, he said: God almighty
apppeared to me at Luza, which is in the land of Chanaan, and he blessed
me,

48:4. And said: I will cause thee to increase and multiply, and I will
make of thee a multitude of people: and I will give this land to thee,
and to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.

48:5. So thy two sons, who were born to thee in the land of Egypt before
I came hither to thee, shall be mine: Ephraim and Manasses shall be
reputed to me as Ruben and Simeon.

48:6. But the rest whom thou shalt have after them, shall be thine, and
shall be called by the name of their brethren in their possessions.

48:7. For, when I came out of Mesopotamia, Rachel died from me in the
land of Chanaan in the very journey, and it was spring time: and I was
going to Ephrata, and I buried her near the way of Ephrata, which by
another name is called Bethlehem.

48:8. Then seeing his sons, he said to him: Who are these?

48:9. He answered: They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this
place. And he said: Bring them to me, that I may bless them.

48:10. For Israel's eyes were dim by reason of his great age, and he
could not see clearly. And when they were brought to him, he kissed and
embraced them,

48:11. And said to his son: I am not deprived of seeing thee; moreover
God hath shewn me thy seed.

48:12. And when Joseph had taken them from his father's lap, he bowed
down with his face to the ground.

48:13. And he set Ephraim on his right hand, that is, towards the left
hand of Israel; but Manasses on his left hand, to wit, towards his
father's right hand, and brought them near to him.

48:14. But he, stretching forth his right hand, put it upon the head of
Ephraim, the younger brother; and the left upon the head of Manasses,
who was the elder, changing his hands.

48:15. And Jacob blessed the sons of Joseph, and said: God, in whose
sight my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, God that feedeth me from my
youth until this day:

48:16. The angel that delivereth me from all evils, bless these boys:
and let my name be called upon them, and the names of my fathers Abraham
and Isaac; and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.

48:17. And Joseph seeing that his father had put his right hand upon the
head of Ephraim, was much displeased: and taking his father's hand, he
tried to lift it from Ephraim's head, and to remove it to the head of
Manasses.

48:18. And he said to his father: It should not be so, my father; for
this is the firstborn, put thy right hand upon his head.

48:19. But he refusing, said: I know, my son, I know: and this also
shall become a people, and shall be multiplied; but his younger brother
shall be greater than he; and his seed shall grow into nations.

48:20. And he blessed them at that time, saying: In thee shall Israel be
blessed, and it shall be said: God do to thee as to Ephraim, and as to
Manasses. And he set Ephraim before Manasses.

48:21. And he said to Joseph, his son: Behold I die, and God will be
with you, and will bring you back into the land of your fathers.

48:22. I give thee a portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the
hand of the Amorrhite with my sword and bow.

Genesis Chapter 49

Jacob's prophetical blessings of his twelve sons: his death.

49:1. And Jacob called his sons, and said to them: Gather yourselves
together, that I may tell you the things that shall befall you in the
last days.

49:2. Gather yourselves together, and hear, O ye sons of Jacob, hearken
to Israel, your father:

49:3. Ruben, my firstborn, thou art my strength, and the beginning of my
sorrow; excelling in gifts, greater in command.

My strength, etc... He calls him his strength, as being born whilst his
father was in his full strength and vigour: he calls him the beginning
of his sorrow, because cares and sorrows usually come on with the birth
of children. Excelling in gifts, etc., because the firstborn had a title
to a double portion, and to have the command over his brethren, which
Ruben forfeited by his sin; being poured out as water, that is, spilt
and lost.

49:4. Thou art poured out as water, grow thou not; because thou wentest
up to thy father's bed, and didst defile his couch.

Grow thou not... This was not meant by way of a curse or imprecation;
but by way of a prophecy foretelling that the tribe of Ruben should not
inherit the pre-eminences usually annexed to the first birthright, viz.,
the double portion, the being prince or lord over the other brethren,
and the priesthood: of which the double portion was given to Joseph, the
princely office to Juda, and the priesthood to Levi.

49:5. Simeon and Levi brethren: vessels of iniquity waging war.

49:6. Let not my soul go into their counsel, nor my glory be in their
assembly: because in their fury they slew a man, and in their selfwill
they undermined a wall.

Slew a man,... viz., Sichem the son of Hemor, with all his people, Gen.
34.; mystically and prophetically it alludes to Christ, whom their
posterity, viz., the priests and the scribes, put to death.

49:7. Cursed be their fury, because it was stubborn: and their wrath,
because it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and will scatter them
in Israel.

49:8. Juda, thee shall thy brethren praise: thy hand shall be on the
necks of thy enemies; the sons of thy father shall bow down to thee.

49:9. Juda is a lion's whelp: to the prey, my son, thou art gone up:
resting thou hast couched as a lion, and as a lioness, who shall rouse
him?

A lion's whelp, etc... This blessing of Juda foretelleth the strength of
his tribe, the fertility of his inheritance; and principally that the
sceptre and legislative power should not be utterly taken away from his
race till about the time of the coming of Christ: as in effect it never
was: which is a demonstration against the modern Jews, that the Messiah
is long since come; for the sceptre has long since been utterly taken
away from Juda.

49:10. The sceptre shall not be taken away from Juda, nor a ruler from
his thigh, till he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the
expectation of nations.

49:11. Tying his foal to the vineyard, and his ass, O my son, to the
vine. He shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of
the grape.

49:12. His eyes are more beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than
milk.

49:13. Zabulon shall dwell on the seashore, and in the road of ships,
reaching as far as Sidon.

49:14. Issachar shall be a strong ass, lying down between the borders.

49:15. He saw rest that it was good: and the land that it was excellent:
and he bowed his shoulder to carry, and became a servant under tribute.

49:16. Dan shall judge his people like another tribe in Israel.

Dan shall judge, etc... This was verified in Samson, who was of the
tribe of Dan, and began to deliver Israel. Judges 13.5. But as this
deliverance was but temporal and very imperfect, the holy patriarch
(ver. 18) aspires after another kind of deliverer, saying: I will look
for thy salvation, O Lord.

49:17. Let Dan be a snake in the way, a serpent in the path, that biteth
the horse's heels, that his rider may fall backward.

49:18. I will look for thy salvation, O Lord.

49:19. Gad, being girded, shall fight before him: and he himself shall
be girded backward.

Gad being girded, etc... It seems to allude to the tribe of Gad; when
after they had received for their lot the land of Galaad, they marched
in arms before the rest of the Israelites, to the conquest of the land
of Chanaan: from whence they afterwards returned loaded with spoils. See
Jos. 4. and 12.

49:20. Aser, his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield dainties to
kings.

49:21. Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty.

49:22. Joseph is a growing son, a growing son and comely to behold: the
daughters run to and fro upon the wall;

Run to and fro, etc... To behold his beauty; whilst his envious brethren
turned their darts against him, etc.

49:23. But they that held darts, provoked him, and quarrelled with him,
and envied him.

49:24. His bow rested upon the strong, and the bands of his arms and his
hands were loosed, by the hands of the mighty one of Jacob: thence he
came forth a pastor, the stone of Israel.

His bow rested upon the strong, etc... That is, upon God, who was his
strength: who also loosed his bands, and brought him out of prison to be
the pastor, that is, the feeder and ruler of Egypt, and the stone, that
is, the rock and support of Israel.

49:25. The God of thy father shall be thy helper, and the Almighty shall
bless thee with the blessings of heaven above, with the blessings of the
deep that lieth beneath, with the blessings of the breasts and of the
womb.

49:26. The blessings of thy father are strengthened with the blessings
of his fathers: until the desire of the everlasting hills should come:
may they be upon the head of Joseph, and upon the crown of the Nazarite
among his brethren.

The blessings of thy father, etc... That is, thy father's blessings are
made more prevalent and effectual in thy regard, by the additional
strength they receive from his inheriting the blessings of his
progenitors Abraham and Isaac. The desire of the everlasting hills,
etc... These blessings all looked forward towards Christ, called the
desire of the everlasting hills, as being longed for, as it were, by the
whole creation. Mystically, the patriarchs and prophets are called the
everlasting hills, by reason of the eminence of their wisdom and
holiness. The Nazarite... This word signifies one separated; and agrees
to Joseph, as being separated from, and more eminent than, his brethren.
As the ancient Nazarites were so called from their being set aside for
God, and vowed to him.

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