Chapter 53
1. AND the sons of Jacob rose up and took Benjamin and all the presents, and they went and came to Egypt and they stood before Joseph.
2. And Joseph beheld his brother Benjamin with them and he saluted them, and these men came to Joseph's house.
3. And Joseph commanded the superintendant of his house to give to his brethren to eat, and he did so unto them.
4. And at noon time Joseph sent for the men to come before him with Benjamin, and the men told the superintendant of Joseph's house concerning the silver that was returned in their sacks, and he said unto them, it will be well with you, fear not, and he brought their brother Simeon unto them.
5. And Simeon said unto his brethren, the lord of the Egyptians has acted very kindly unto me, he did not keep me bound, as you saw with your eyes, for when you went out from the city he let me free and dealt kindly with me in his house.
6. And Judah took Benjamin by the hand, and they came before Joseph, and they bowed down to him to the ground.
7. And the men gave the present unto Joseph and they all sat before him, and Joseph said unto them, is it well with you, is it well with your children, is it well with your aged father? And they said, it is well. And Judah took the record which Jacob had sent and gave it into the hand of Joseph.
8. And Joseph read the letter and knew his father's writing, and he wished to weep and went into an inner room and he wept a great weeping; and went out again .
9. And he lifted up his eyes and beheld his brother Benjamin, and he said, is this your brother of whom you spoke unto me? And Benjamin approached Joseph, and Joseph placed his hand upon his head and he said unto him: May God be gracious unto thee my son.
10. And when Joseph saw his brother, the son of his mother, he again wished to weep, and he entered the chamber and wept there, and he washed his face and went out again and refrained from weeping, and he said, prepare food.
11. And Joseph had a cup from which he drank, and it was of silver beautifully inlaid with onyx stones and bdellium, and Joseph struck the cup in the sight of his brethren whilst they were sitting to eat with him.
12. And Joseph said unto the men, I know by this cup that Reuben is the firstborn and that Simeon and Levi and Judah, Issachar and Zebulun are children from one mother. Seat yourselves to eat according to your births.
13. And he also placed the others according to their births, and he said, I know that this your youngest brother has no brother, and I, like him, have no brother, he shall therefore sit down to eat with me.
14. And Benjamin went up before Joseph and sat upon the throne. And the men beheld the acts of Joseph, and they were astonished at them. And the men ate and drank at that time with Joseph, and he then gave presents unto them, and Joseph gave one gift unto Benjamin, and Manasseh and Ephraim saw the acts of their father, and they also gave presents unto him, and Osnath gave him one present, and there were five presents in the hand of Benjamin.
15. And Joseph brought out wine for them to drink, and they would not drink, and they said, from the day on which Joseph was lost we have not drunk wine, nor eaten any delicacies.
16. And Joseph swore unto them, and he pressed them hard, and they drank plentifully with him on that day. And Joseph afterward turned to his brother Benjamin to speak with him, and Benjamin was still sitting upon the throne before Joseph.
17. And Joseph said unto him, hast thou begotten any children? And he said, thy servant has ten sons, and these are their names: Bela, Becher, Ashbal, Gera, Naaman, Achi, Rosh, Mupim, Chupim and Ord, and I called their names after my brother whom I have not seen.
18. And he ordered them to bring before him his map of the stars, whereby Joseph knew all the times, and Joseph said unto Benjamin, I have heard that the Hebrews are acquainted with all wisdom, dost thou know anything of this?
19. And Benjamin said, thy servant is knowing also in all the wisdom which my father taught me, and Joseph said unto Benjamin, look now at this instrument and understand where thy brother Joseph is in Egypt, who you said went down to Egypt.
20. And Benjamin beheld that instrument with the map of the stars of heaven, and he was wise and looked therein to know where his brother was, and Benjamin divided the whole land of Egypt into four divisions, and he found that he who was sitting up on the throne before him was his brother Joseph, and Benjamin wondered greatly, and when Joseph saw that his brother Benjamin was so much astonished, he said unto Benjamin, what hast thou seen, and why art thou astonished?
21. And Benjamin said unto Joseph, I can see by this that Joseph my brother sitteth here with me upon the throne. And Joseph said unto him, I am Joseph thy brother, reveal not this thing unto thy brethren; behold I will send thee with them when they go away, and I will command them to be brought back again into the city, and I will take