~130~ And it came to pass at the time of the year, that the sons of Jacob traveled from Nablus, and returned and came to Hebron to their father Yitzchak and dwelt there. But their flocks and herds and all that they had grazed in Nablus every day, because there was good and fat pasture in Nablus in those days. And Jacob and his sons and all their household dwelt in the valley of Hebron. And it came to pass in those days in that year, the year of one hundred and six years of Jacob's life, that in the tenth year Jacob came from Padan Aram. And Leah, Jacob's wife, died that year, fifty-one years old when she died in Hebron. And Jacob and his sons buried her in the cave of the Field of the Machpelah which is in Hebron, which Abraham bought from the sons of Hat for a grave estate. And the sons of Jacob dwelt with their father in the valley of Hebron, and all the inhabitants of the land knew of their prowess, and they were heard throughout the land. And Yosef son of Jacob and Benjamin his brother, the sons of Rachel, Jacob's wife, were still small in those days, and did not go out with their brothers in their wars in all the cities of the Amorites. And Joseph saw the bravery of his brothers and their greatness and praised them and praised them, but he magnified his soul over them and exalted himself in his soul towards them. And also Jacob his father loved him more than all his sons because he was the son of Zakonum, and he made him a striped shirt out of his love for him. And Joseph saw that his father loved him more than all his brothers, and Joseph even more, and Joseph married his brother and brought his brothers a bad slander about them. And the sons of Jacob saw all the deeds of Joseph, their brother with them, and that their father loved him more than all of them, and they hated him and could not speak of peace all the days.
~131~ And Joseph was seventeen years old and he was still growing his soul over his brothers, and he said to be proud of them. At that time he had a dream and came to his brothers and told them his dream. And he said to them, I dreamed a dream, and behold, we are all heaving sheaves in the field, and my sheaf will rise and stand in the land, and your sheaves will go around it and bow down to it. And his brothers answered him and said to him, "What is this dream that you dreamed, say in your heart to reign or rule over us." And it came again and the word was told to Jacob his father, and Jacob kissed Joseph when he heard the words from his mouth and Jacob blessed Joseph. And the sons of Jacob saw that their father blessed Joseph and kissed him, and they loved him very much, and they became very jealous of him and hated him even more. And it came to pass after that, that Joseph dreamed yet another dream, and told the dream to his father in front of his brothers. And Joseph said to his father and to his brothers, Behold, I have dreamed another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bow down to me. And his father heard Joseph's words and his dream, and saw that his brothers hated Joseph because of this. And Jacob argued with Yosef in front of his brothers about this thing, saying, what is this dream that you dreamed and you will raise your soul over your brothers who are older than you. Think in your heart that let me and your mother and your eleven brothers come to worship you, because you will speak like these words. And his brothers were jealous of him for all his words and dreams and added more to hate him, and Jacob kept the dreams in his heart.
~132~ And it came to pass today that the sons of Jacob went to feed their father's sheep in Nablus, for they were still feeding in Nablus in those days. And it came to pass that the sons of Jacob were shepherds in the field that day, and they lingered and passed by when he had gathered all the provisions, and they did not come. And Jacob saw that his sons had delayed in Nablus, and Jacob said in his heart lest the men of Nablus rise up against them to fight them, therefore he delayed their coming this day. And Jacob called his son Joseph and sent him to say, aren't your brothers shepherding in Nablus today and here they haven't come yet, please go and see where they are and tell me the peace of your brother and the peace of the flock. And Jacob sent his son Joseph from the valley of Hebron, and Joseph came to his brother Shechema and did not find them. And Joseph went in the field near Nablus to see where his brothers had turned, and he went and got lost on the way in the desert and did not know where he was going. And the angel of the Lord found him wandering on the road in the field, and Joseph said to him, Joseph, where shall you go, and what will you ask for? And Joseph said to the angel of God, I am asking for my brothers, haven't you heard where they are grazing. And the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, I saw your brothers shepherding here and I heard them saying to go to their fields. And Joseph heard the voice of God's angel and went to Dotina to his brothers, and found them shepherds in Dotina. And Joseph came to his brothers, and before he could approach them, his brothers saw him from afar and consulted him to kill him. And Simeon said to his brother, behold, the owner of dreams has come to us this day. And now they went and killed him and threw him into one of the pits in this desert, and our father asked him for it, and we said, "An evil animal has eaten him." And Reuben heard the words of his brothers about Yosef and said to them, Do not do this thing and how did we behave before Jacob our father. But they threw him into this pit to die there and do not send a hand to spill his blood, and Reuben said so in order to save him from their hands to return him to his father.
~133~ And it happened when Joseph came to his brothers and sat before them, and they stood over him and held him and beat him to the ground and stripped him of the Passim robe that was on him. And they took him and threw him into the cistern, and the cistern is empty, there is no water in it but snakes and scorpions. And Joseph was afraid of the snakes and scorpions in the pit and Joseph cried out with a loud voice, and God hid the snakes and scorpions in the walls of the pit and they did not harm Joseph. And Joseph called out of the pit to his brothers and said to them, What have I done to you and what have I sinned, why will you not see before God through me. Am I not selfish, yourselves and your flesh, and Jacob your father is my father, and why do you do this thing to me today and how will you stand before Jacob my father. And he shouted and called to his brother from the pit and said, Yehuda Reuben Shimon and Levi my brother Shauni from the darkness in which you put me and have seen today the face of God and the face of Jacob my father. And if I have sinned against you, aren't you the sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who if they saw an orphan, they would pity him, and if he was hungry, they would feed him bread, and if he was thirsty, they would give him water, and if he was naked, they would cover him. And how will you not have mercy on your brother because I am your own and your flesh, and if I have sinned against you do not do it for my father. And Yosef spoke all these things from the pit, and his brothers did not listen to him and did not incline their ears to all the words of Yosef, and he was shouting and crying in the pit. And Joseph said, May my father know today the deed my brothers did to me and the things they spoke to me today. And all his brothers heard his cry and his cry in the pit, and his brothers went and moved away from the pit so that they would not hear Joseph's cry and his cry in the pit. And they went and sat on the other side as far away as bowmen, and sat there to eat bread.
~134~ And they were eating and consulted together what to do with him, whether to kill him or to return him to his father. They will look up and lift up their eyes and see, and behold, a host of Ishmaelites is coming from afar from the road of Gilead, going down from Egypt. And Yehuda said to them, "What do we do, for we will kill our brother, lest God require him of him?" This is the advice you will give him, and here is this guest of the Ishmaelites coming to us going through Egypt. Now go and deliver him to them, and let not our hands be on him, and they will lead him on their way, and he will perish among the people of the whole land, and we will not kill him in our hands. And the thing was good in the eyes of his brothers, and they did as Judah said. And it happened that they were talking about this and before the host of the Ishmaelites came against them, and seven people from the states and merchants passed from among them. And it came to pass before them, and they thirsted for water, and they lifted up their eyes, and they saw the pit where Joseph was there, and they saw, and behold, every fowl of its kind was upon it. And those religious people ran to the well to drink water, because they thought there was water in it. And they came before the pit and heard the voice of Yosef shouting and crying in the pit, and they looked into the pit and saw and behold a handsome young man with a very beautiful appearance. And they called him and said to him, who are you and who brought you here and who put you in this pit in the desert. And they all gave their hand and carried Joseph and pulled him up from the pit, and took him and went their way. And they passed by his brother, and his brother saw Joseph in the hand of the Midianites. And they said to them, why do you do this thing to take our servant from us and go away. Are we not the ones who put this boy in the pit because he rebelled against us, and you come and lift him up and lead him away, and now give us our servant.
~135~ And the rulers answered and said to the sons of Jacob, this one is your servant or this one will serve you. Perhaps you are all his servants because he is the most handsome and the most handsome of all of you, and he is the best seer of all of you, and why do you all speak to us falsely? And now we will not listen to your words and we will not listen to you, because we found the boy in a pit in the desert and took him and went. And all the sons of Jacob approached them and stood up against them and said to them, Give us our servants and why will you all die by the sword. And the statesmen shouted at them and they all drew their swords, and went to fight the sons of Jacob. And here Shimon got up from his seat over them, and he skipped across the land and drew his sword and approached the Midianites. And he shouted a great shout before them and his shout was heard afar off, and the earth shook from the shout of Simon. And the statesmen were afraid of Shimon and the sound of his shouting, and they fell on their faces and were greatly frightened. And Shimon said to them, Am I not myself, Shimon son of Jacob the Hebrew, who destroyed the whole city of Nablus by myself and the cities of the Amorites with my brothers. Thus will God do to me and thus will he add, because if all the people of Midian, your brothers, and the kings of Canaan came with you, they would not be able to fight me. And now give the boy whom you have taken, lest I give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the earth. And the statesmen were still afraid of Shimon, and they approached the sons of Jacob with fear and terror and soft words to say. Because you said this boy is your servant and he will rebel against you, therefore you put him in a pit, and what will you do with a slave who will rebel against his master. Now they sold it to us and she gave you everything you wanted in it, and God wanted to do this so that the sons of Jacob would not kill their brothers.
~136~ And the rulers saw Yosef as handsome and beautiful in appearance, and they coveted him in their hearts and were strong enough to buy him from his brother. And the sons of Jacob obeyed the Midianites, and sold their brother Joseph to them for twenty pieces of silver, and their brother Reuben was not with them. And the Midianites took Joseph, and they went to Gilead on their way. They are walking on the road and the rulers will be comforted for what they did, who bought the boy. And they said one to another, What is this thing that we have done, that we have taken from the Hebrews this young man who is beautiful in appearance and beautiful in appearance. Perhaps because a thief steals from the land of the Hebrews, why did we do this thing, and it was if he was asked and found in our hands and we gave him. And not tough and strong people, when you saw the heroism of one of them today, sell him to us. Perhaps because they stole him from his country with their power and heavy arm, therefore they sold him for a small price that you gave them. And it came to pass in their words, that they saw, and behold, the host of the Ishmaelites coming at the beginning, which the sons of Jacob saw, going and coming towards the Midianites. And the rulers said one to another, Go and sell this boy to the hospitality of the Ishmaelites who are coming to meet us, and we will also take the little price we gave for him and take advantage of his pasture, and they did so. And they came as far as those Ishmaelites, and the Midianites sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, which they gave to his brother. And the statesmen went on their way to Gilead. And the Ishmaelites took Joseph and mounted him on the camels, and led him away from Egypt. And Yosef heard that the Ishmaelites were coming from Egypt, and Yosef cried out and wept over this because he had moved away from the land of Canaan from his father. And Joseph wept greatly for the camel he was riding on, and one of them saw him and took him down from the camel and he walked on his feet. And yet Yosef was shouting and crying, and said, "My father, my father." And one of those Ishmaelites stood up over him and struck Joseph on the cheek, and Joseph cried even more. And Joseph was tired on the way and could not walk because of his anger, and they all beat him and tortured him on the way and frightened him so that he would become deaf from crying. And the Lord saw the poverty of Joseph and his labor, and the Lord descended upon those people darkness and panic and dried up the hand of all who beat him. And they said one to another, what is this thing that God has done for us in this way. And they did not know that this thing happened to them because of Joseph.
~137~ And the people walked along the road and passed by the Euphrates road, which is with Rachel's burial place. And Joseph reached his mother's grave and hurried, and Joseph ran to his mother's grave and said, "My mother, my mother, gave birth to me in my skin, and rise up and see how your son is sold as a slave and there is no mercy." Get up and see your son and look at him and see, the tears of my eyes flowing down my cheeks. My mother, my mother, my skin and the summer, get up and see your son and weep with him for his trouble, and see the cruel heart of my brother. My mother's skin is my skin and the summer of your years, my standing and the values of your wars against my brother Icha stripped me of my rank. And they sold me to this slave twice, and separated me from my father and there is no mercy. Prepare your case against them before God, and see who God will justify in the trial and who he will condemn. Rise up, my mother, rise up from your sleep and see my father, his soul and his heart mourn for me on this day I stand, and comfort him and speak to his heart. And Joseph continued to speak like these words and cried out and Joseph wept bitterly at his mother's grave and he was able to speak, and he stood like a stone on the grave because of his heart. And Joseph heard a voice speaking to him from under the earth, and he answered with a heart murmur and with a voice of weeping and supplication like these words. My son, my son Joseph, my son, I heard the sound of your crying and the sound of your shouts, I saw your tears. I knew your trouble, my son, and I felt sorry for you, and added sorrow to my sorrow. And now my son Joseph, my son, wait on the Lord and trust him and do not fear because the Lord is with you, he will save you from all trouble. Get up my son and go away from Egypt with your Lord and don't be afraid because God is with you my son, and add to the speech to Joseph like these words and stand still. And Yosef heard this thing and was very saddened by it, and Yosef continued to weep. And after that one of those Ishmaelites saw him shouting and crying on the grave, and his nose was pointed at him, and they drove him away and beat him and cursed him. And Joseph said to the people, I will find favor in your eyes that you will restore me to my father's house and he will enrich you with great wealth. And they answered him saying, aren't you a slave, where is your father, and if you have your father, you would not sell to a slave for this little price twice. And they were very angry with him, and they added to his beatings and tormented him more, and Joseph wept bitterly. And the Lord saw Joseph's poverty, and Joseph the Lord punished the people and sent them away.
~138~ And God sent a very strong wind upon them, and the earth darkened over them, and lightnings flashed and thunders thundered, and the earth shook from the sound of the thunder and the strong wind, and the people were frightened and did not know where they would go. And the beasts and all the camels stood up, and they groaned and could not walk, and they beat them and fell to the ground. And they said one to another, what has God done to us, what have we committed and what have we sinned, because this thing has happened to us today. And the one answered and said to them, Perhaps this thing has happened to us today because of the iniquity of this poor slave. And now please bless his face and forgive him and he will forgive us, and then we will know as to who this bad thing is for us. And if the Lord had mercy on us, and we knew that from this slave's home we had all this. And the people did so and begged Joseph and begged him to forgive them, and said, "We have sinned against God and against you." Now pray and ask your God to remove this death from us, because we have sinned against him. And Joseph did as they said, and God listened to Joseph and God removed from those people the scourge that He struck them for Joseph's sake. And the beasts arose from the earth, and they roared and went, and the wind ceased from its wrath, and the earth rested, and the people went on their way to go down from Egypt. And the people knew that because of Joseph they had that incident, and they said one to another, here we know that from this servant we had this evil. And now why should we bring this death upon our souls, advise us what to do to this slave. And the one answered and said, because he told us to return him to his father. Now go and we will return with him and we will go to the place that he will say, and we will take from his house the price that we paid for it and we will go. And the one answered and said, yes, this advice is very good, but we will not be able to do so, because the road is very far from it and we will not be able to return from our ways. And the one answered and said to them, this is the counsel that advises on this and we will not depart from it. Here we come today from Egypt and it was when we came to Egypt, and we sold it there at a great price and used its pasture. And this thing was good in the eyes of the people and they did so, and they went on their way from Egypt with Joseph. And the sons of Jacob when they sold their brother Joseph to the Midianites and their hearts were broken for him, and they consoled themselves for their actions and asked to go and fetch him, but they did not find him. And Reuben returned to the pit where Joseph was, to carry him back to his father. And Reuben stood on the pit and heard nothing, and Joseph called Joseph and there was no answer and nothing was said. And Reuben said, "But because Joseph died in Mira, or because the snake killed him."
~139~ And Reuben went down to the pit and looked for Yosef and did not find him in the pit, so he left. And Reuven tore his clothes and said, The boy is gone, and what shall I restore my father to him if he is dead? And he went to his brothers and found them upset about Yosef's words, and they consulted together about how they would return their father to him. And Reuben said to his brother, I came to the pit and behold, Joseph is not there, and what was said to our father, because my father does not ask for the child but from me. And his brothers answered him saying, We have done such and such and our son was grieved for this deed, after that we sat down to ask for a plot, what shall we answer our father Jacob for like this. And Reuven said to them, What is this deed that you have done to bring down the return of our father with grief, the thing that you have done is not good. And Reuben sat with them, and they all stood up and swore each one to his brother that he had not told this thing to Jacob. And they all said, anyone who says this thing to our father and his house or who tells this thing to all the people of the land, and we all stood over him and killed him with the sword. And the sons of Jacob will see each one of his brothers as small as great about this matter and there will be no one to say anything, and they will hide the matter in their hearts. And they sat after that in the land together to consult and ask for a plot of what they would say to Jacob their father, about all these things. And Issachar said to them, Here is a piece of advice for you if it is good in your eyes to do something like this. Take Joseph's shirt and tear it, and slaughter a goat and dip it in his blood and send it to our father. And when he saw her, he said, "An evil animal ate him, therefore it tore his shirt, and here is his blood in his shirt." And it was in your doing this thing, and we were cleansed from our father's complaint. And Issachar's advice was right in their eyes, and they listened to him, and did as Issachar advised them. And they hurried and took Joseph's shirt and tore it, and slaughtered a goat and dipped the shirt in the blood of the goat and trampled it in the dirt. And they sent the tunic in the hand of Naphtali to Jacob their father, and ordered him to say these words. We have collected the mekanah and we will come all the way to Nablus and beyond, and we will find this tunic in the desert on the road soaked in blood and dirt, and now please know the tunic of your son if it is not.
~140~ And Naftali went and came to his father and gave him the shirt, and spoke to him all the words of his brothers that commanded him. And Jacob saw Joseph's shirt and recognized it, and he fell on his face to the ground and stood like a stone. And he stood up after that, and cried out with a loud voice and cried, and said, Joseph's shirt is my son. And Jacob hastened and sent a servant of his servants to his sons, and he went to them and found them coming on the road with the flock. And Jacob's sons came to their father in the evening and they had torn clothes and earth on their heads, and they found their father shouting and crying with a loud voice. And Jacob said to his sons, don't you tell me what evil will suddenly come upon me on this day. And they answered Jacob their father saying, we are coming today when the flock has been gathered and we will come as far as the city of Nablus in the desert on the way. And we will find this shirt full of blood in the land and we will know it, and we will send it to you so that you can know it. And Jacob heard the words of his sons, and cried out with a loud voice, and said, My son's shirt is an evil beast, it has eaten him, a predator, Joseph. Because I myself have sent him today to you to see your peace and the peace of the flock, to answer me something from you. And he went when he obeyed and called him like this this day, and I said that my son was with you. And they answered and the sons of Jacob said, He has not come to us, and we have not seen him since we left you until here. And it came to pass when Jacob heard their words, that he cried out another great cry, and stood up, and tore his clothes, and put a sack around his waist, and wept bitterly. And he died and lifted up his voice in tears, and he called and said these words. Yosef, my son, Yosef, I sent you today to the peace of your brother, and here you are destroyed, it was too much for you, my son. I feel sorry for you Yosef, my son, I feel sorry for you, what was sweet to me in life and now what makes me very bitter is your death. May I die under you today, my son Joseph, because I am very sorry for you, my son. Bani Bani Yosef Bani Anna are you and where is your soul, skin is skin and come from your place and see my trouble over you Bani Yosef. Please come and count the tears of my eyes that fall on my face, and bring them up before the Lord and turn his nose away from me. How did you fall into the hands of Joseph, my son, who has not fallen into the hands of a man for a long time, until this day. Because the blow of an enemy struck a cruel morality, but I knew that for most of my seasons you had this thing my son. Look, please, and see how bitter your trouble has become on me, my son, and I neither raised you nor nurtured you, nor did I give you spirit and soul. Because the God who created you and he built your bones and put flesh on them from above, and breathed into your nose the breath of life and gave you to me. But the God who gave you to me is the one who took you from me, and you will be called such this day, and all God's work is good.
~141~ And Yosef Jacob spoke about Yosef like these words, and he wept bitterly and fell to the ground and died. And all the sons of Jacob saw the trouble of their father and were consoled for what they had done, and they too wept bitterly. And Judah stood up and took his father's head from the ground and placed it between his knees, and wiped his father's tears from his cheeks. And Yehuda wept very loudly and his father's head was on his knees and was as still as a stone. And the sons of Jacob saw the distress of their father, and raised their voices and added to their weeping, and Jacob still fell in the land like a still stone. And all his sons and all his servants and all the daughters of his servants stood up and turned him around to comfort him, and he knew to be comforted. And all the house of Jacob stood up and paid a great eulogy for Joseph, and for the trouble of their father. And this troubled Isaac, the son of Abraham, the father of Jacob, and he wept bitterly over Joseph, he and all his household. And he came from the place where he lived there in Hebron and his people with him and comforted Jacob his son, and he knew to be comforted. And it came to pass after that, that Jacob arose from the land with his tears streaming down his face. And he said to his sons, get up and take your swords and also your bows and go out into the field and ask if you may find a heathen of my son, and you brought her to me and buried her. And you please ask for the animals and hunt them, and whichever you find towards you first and you catch it and bring it to me. Perhaps God will see my plight this day and prepare for you who devoured my son, and you brought me to me and I will avenge my son. And his sons did as their father commanded, and they got up in the morning and each man took his sword and bow in his hand and went out into the field to hunt the animals. And Jacob was still shouting and crying as he went back and forth in the house and struck palm to palm and said, Yosef my son Yosef my son. And the sons of Jacob went from the desert to the animals to catch them, and there was a wolf towards them, and they caught him and brought him to their father. And they said to him, We found this in the first place and we will bring it to you when we obeyed, and we did not find your son's Gentile. And Jacob took the animal from the hand of his sons and shouted again with a loud voice and weeping, with the animal in his hand. And he said to the animal in a bitter heart and soul, why did you eat my son Joseph and how did you not fear the God of the earth and afflicted my son Joseph. And you will eat my son free of charge on unhamas and fatten me on it, and therefore God will ask you to be persecuted.
~142~ And God opened the beast's mouth, for he comforted Jacob with its words. And answer Jacob and speak to him according to these words, As the God who created us in the earth lives and as your soul lives, my Lord, I have not seen your son, nor have I devoured him. But from a far country I came to ask for my son too, because when it happened to you with your son, it happened to me with my son too. For it is ten days since I came to this land seeking my son, who passed away from me, today twelve days and I did not know where he was and if he died and if he lived. And I will come today in the field to ask for my son, and your sons will find me and seize me, and add grief to my grief, and bring me to you today and I will speak all my words to you. And now, son of man, I am in your hand and you have done to me as is good in your eyes today. But as the God who created us lives in the land, I have not seen your son, nor eaten him, nor come into my mouth human flesh all the days of my life. And when Jacob heard the words of the beast, he was greatly astonished, and he sent the beast out of his hand, and it went on its way. And Jacob still shouts and cries for Yosef every day, and Jacob mourns for Yosef for many days. And the sons of Ishmael, who bought Joseph from the Midianites and his brothers, went from Egypt with Joseph and came to the border of Egypt. And it came to pass, when they were about to come from Egypt, and four men of the children of Midan, son of Avraham, were wounded, they left the land of Egypt on their way. And the Ishmaelites said to them, they desired this slave to buy him from him, and they said, Give him to us. And they gave Yosef to them and they saw him and here was a very handsome young man, and they bought him from them for five shekels. And the Ishmaelites came from Egypt on their way, and the Midianites also returned from Egypt that day. And the Medes said one to another, Behold, we have heard that Potiphar, Pharaoh's eunuch, the chief of the cooks, is asking for a good servant who will stand before him to serve him and entrust him with his house and all that belongs to him. Now go and sell us to him when we want, if he can give us all that we desire in him. And those Danes went and came to Potiphar's house, and said to him, We hear that you are seeking a good servant to serve you. Here is a slave with us which is according to your will, if you can give us that which we desired and sold to you. And Potiphar said, bring him before us and show us, and it will be if it pleases me and I will give you what you desire in him. And the Midianites went and brought Joseph and set him before Potiphar, and he saw him and was very pleased in his eyes.
~143~ And Potiphar said to them, please tell me what you desire for this boy, and they said, "We desire four hundred pieces of silver in him." And Potiphar said, I will give it to you if you bring me a seller to you and tell me what he said, maybe he is stolen. Because this boy is not a slave and he is not the son of a slave, because I see good and beautiful blood in him. And the Midianites went and brought him the Ishmaelites, who had sold him to them, and they thanked him and said, "He is a slave, and we sold him to them." And Potiphar heard the words of the Ishmaelites, and Potiphar weighed to the Midianites the money that they had spoken to him, four hundred pieces of silver, and put them in the hand of the Ishmaelites to give to the Midianites. And the Madani took the money from the hands of the Ishmaelites and went their way, and the Ishmaelites also returned to their place. And Potiphar took Joseph and brought him to his house, and served him. And Joseph found favor in Potiphar's eyes and believed in him and put him in charge of his house, and all that he had he gave into his hand. And God blessed Joseph and he became a successful man, and God blessed the house of Potiphar because of Joseph. And Potiphar left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and Joseph was the one who took out and he was the one who brought in, and everything in Potiphar's house would be according to him. And Yosef was eighteen years old, a young man with beautiful eyes and good vision, and there was none like him in all the land of Egypt. At that time, while Joseph was in his master's house, he went out and came to the house and served God. And Zelicha, his master's wife, raised her eyes to Joseph and saw him, and here was a very handsome and handsome boy, and his beauty was coveted in her heart. And her soul clung to Joseph very much, and she urged him every day to be with her, and she dressed him in clothes every day. And she seduced Yosef day by day in everything, day by day, and Yosef did not raise his eyes to see his master's wife. And Zelicha said to him, what is good about you and your age is very good, haven't I seen in any slave and I have never seen a slave as beautiful as you. And Joseph said to her, He who created me in my mother's womb is the One who created all mankind. And you said to him, What are your eyes, because you have multiplied with them all the inhabitants of Egypt, male and female. And he said to her, What good are they while I am alive and if you have seen in the grave not moved from them. And she said to him, How beautiful and how pleasing are all your words, please take the violin that is in the house and play in your hand and I will listen to your words. And he said to her, What is good and how pleasing are my words in my words the praise of my God and His glory.
~144~ And she said to him, how beautiful the hair of your head is, here is the golden comb that is in the house, please take it and comb the hair of your head. And he said to her, How long will you speak to me like these things, leave all these things from me and get up and do all the things of your house. And you said to him, there is nothing in my house and no article but your words and your articles. And yet Joseph did not look at her and did not raise his eyes to her, and he set his eyes on the land below. And Zelicha loved Yosef in her heart to lie with her, and it happened while he was sitting at home doing his work that Zelicha came and sat before him. And day after day she urged him to lie with her or to look at her, and Joseph's father would not listen to her. And you said to him, if you do not do what I say, I will put you to death and I will put an iron yoke on you. And Joseph said to her, Isn't it the God who created man who permits forbidden things, and he who will save me from your prisons and your judgments. And it happened when she could not seduce him and her soul clung to him, and she fell ill with liver disease from him. And all the women of Egypt came to visit and said to her, why are you so poor and thin and you do not lack anything. Aren't you the wife of an honorable and great minister in the king's eyes, who lacks nothing of all that your soul desires. And Zelika replied to the saying, today it will be known to you what this matter was to me in which you saw me. And they freed her maidens and put bread to all the women and they did so and made a feast for them, and all the women ate in Zelicha's house. And you will give etrogs in their hands and you will give them knives to peel the etrogs to eat, and they will order and dress Yosef in expensive clothes and bring him before them. And Joseph came before them and all the women looked at Joseph, and they saw Joseph and did not take their eyes off him. And they all cut their hands with the knives they had in their hands, and filled all the etrogs in their hands with their blood. And they did not know what they had done, but they looked to see the beauty of Joseph and did not turn their eyelids away from him. And you will see what they have done and you will say to them, what is this deed that you have done? And all the women saw their hands, and behold, they were full of blood, and blood fell on all their clothes. And they said to her, Because this is the slave you have in your house, we admired him and could not take our eyes off his beauty.
~145~ And you said to them, didn't this thing happen to you the moment you saw him and you couldn't resist it. And even a selfish person who is always in my house and I see him every day coming and going in my house, and how can I not shrink and die from it. And they said to her, speak the truth, because who can see this title in his house and refrain from it, and he is not your servant and serves your houses, and why don't you tell him what is in your heart and leave your soul to die in this matter. And she said to them, I am getting stronger every day to incite him and I will not go back on my words, and I will promise him every favor and I did not find anything in him because of my poverty when you saw me. And Zelicha became very ill from Yosef's death, and he respected her because of his love. And all the people of Zelicha's house and Isha didn't know this thing, and that Zelicha was sick of Yosef's love. And she asked all the people of her household, why are you so poor and sick and you don't lack anything. And you said to them, I did not know this thing which comes to me day by day. And all the women and all her lovers came every day to see her and talk with her, and she said to them it is nothing but the love of Joseph. And they said to her, seduce him and keep him in secret, maybe he will listen to you and remove only this death from you. And Tossef Zelika became ill from the love of Joseph, and she went to and fro until she had no strength to stand. And it came to pass today that Joseph was doing his master's work in the house, and a stream came secretly and fell on him suddenly, and Joseph stood up on it and was strengthened by it and returned to the land. And Zelicha wept for him from the lust that was in her heart for him, and begged before him with her tears and her tears falling down her face. And speak to him with a voice of entreaty and a bitter soul saying, You have seen or heard or known a woman as beautiful as me or better than me who will speak to you every day and pray for your love, and I will do you all this honor and you did not listen to my voice. And if for what you fear from your lord lest he torment you, the king lives if iniquity in this matter comes from your lord. And now please listen to me and act for the sake of the honor that you have given me and remove this death from me, and why should I die for you. And you can speak and Yosef answered her by saying, Stop it from me and leave this thing, God forbid I do this thing to my Lord. They, my lord, did not know what was in the house with me, and all that he had given me was in my hands. And how will I do these things at home my lord.