Study Desk

When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said, "Jacob, Jacob." And he said, "Here I am."

Then he said, "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.

And Jacob said to Joseph, "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me,

Joseph said to his father, "They are my sons, whom God has given me here." And he said, "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them."

Israel said to Joseph, "I did not expect to see your face; and here God has let me see your children also."

He blessed Joseph, and said, "The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will invoke blessings, saying, ‘God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Then Israel said to Joseph, "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors.

by the God of your father, who will help you, by the Almighty who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lies beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

‘Say to Joseph: I beg you, forgive the crime of your brothers and the wrong they did in harming you.' Now therefore please forgive the crime of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

But Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid! Am I in the place of God?

Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am about to die; but God will surely come to you, and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

So Joseph made the Israelites swear, saying, "When God comes to you, you shall carry up my bones from here."

But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.

So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.

And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.

After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God.

God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.