Parasha: Genesis 47:28 - 50:26 -"Vayechi - And he lived"

Haftarah: I Kings 2:1-12

Genesis 47:

28 And Ya'acov lived in the land of Mits-raim seventeen years. So the length of Ya'acov's life was one hundred and forty-seven years. (He was a 130 when he arived)

29 When the time drew near that Yisrael must die, he called his son Yoseph (Joseph) and said to him, "Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Mits-raim,

30 "but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Mits-raim and bury me in their burial place." And he said, "I will do as you have said."

31 Then he said, "Swear to me." And he swore to him. So Yisrael bowed himself on the head of the bed. (Ya'acov was 15 when Abraham died at 175; he was 81 when Yitzaq (Isaac) died.

Genesis 48:

1 Now it came to pass after these things that Yosef was told, "Indeed your father is sick"; and he took with him his two sons, Me-nash-sheh and Eph-raim.

2 And Ya'acov was told, "Look, your son Yosef is coming to you"; and Yisrael strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.

3 Then Ya'acov said to Yosef: "El Shad-di (yDiwa lxe God almighty) appeared to me at Luz in the land of Cenaan (Canaan) and blessed me, (twice when he was 17 and when he was 37)

4 "and said to me, `Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.'

5 "And now your two sons, Eph-raim and Me-nash-sheh, who were born to you in the land of Mits-raim before I came to you in Mits-raim, are mine; as Reuven and Shimon, they shall be mine.

6 "Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.

7 "But as for me, when I came from Paddan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Cenaan on the way, when there was but a little distance to go to Eph-ratah; and I buried her there on the way to Eph-rat (that is, Bet-lachem)."

8 Then Yisrael saw Yosef's sons, and said, "Who are these?"

9 And Yosef said to his father, "They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me in this place." And he said, "Please bring them to me, and I will bless them."

10 Now the eyes of Yisrael were dim with age, so that he could not see. Then Yosef brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.

11 And Yisrael said to Yosef, "I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, Elohim has also shown me your offspring!"

12 So Yosef brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.

13 And Yosef took them both, Eph-raim with his right hand toward Yisrael's left hand, and Me-nash-sheh with his left hand toward Yisrael's right hand, and brought them near him.

14 Then Yisrael stretched out his right hand and laid it on Eph-raim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand on Me-nash-sheh's head, guiding his hands knowingly, for

Me-nash-sheh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Yosef, and said: "Elohim, before whom my fathers Avraham and Yisaac walked, The Elohim who has fed me all my life long to this day,

16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil, Bless the lads; Let my name be named upon them, And the name of my fathers Avraham and Yisaac; And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth."

17 Now when Yosef saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Eph-raim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father's hand to remove it from Eph-raim's head to

Me-nash-sheh's head.

18 And Yosef said to his father, "Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head."

19 But his father refused and said, "I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations."( MyOGh-xlom; Melo Ha Goym - fullness)

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Yisrael will bless, saying, `May Elohim make you as Eph-raim and as Me-nash-sheh!'" And thus he set Eph-raim before Me-nash-sheh.

21 Then Yisrael said to Yosef, "Behold, I am dying, but Elohim will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.

22 "Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amori (mountaineer) with my sword and my bow."

Genesis 49:

1 And Ya'acov called his sons and said, "Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:

2 "Gather together and hear, you sons of Ya'acov, And listen to Yisrael your father.

3 "Reuven, you are my firstborn, My might and the beginning of my strength, The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.

4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel, Because you went up to your father's bed; Then you defiled it --He went up to my couch.

5 "Shim-on and Levi are brothers; Instruments of cruelty are in their dwelling place.

6 Let not my soul enter their council; Let not my honor be united to their assembly; For in their anger they slew a man, And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.

7 Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Ya'acov And scatter them in Yisrael.

8 "Yehudah, you are he whom your brothers shall praise; Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; Your father's children shall bow down before you.

9 Yehudah, is a lion's whelp ( rUG ); From the prey, my son, you have gone up. He bows down, he lies down as a lion; And as a lion, who shall rouse him?

10 The scepter ( Fb,we ) shall not depart from Yehudah,, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh ( hloywi rest/tranquillity) comes; And to Him shall be the obedience of the people.

11 Binding his donkey ( ry9f1 young colt) to the vine, And his (female) donkey's colt to the choice vine, He washed his garments in wine, And his clothes in the blood of grapes.

12 His eyes are darker than wine, And his teeth whiter than milk.

13 "Zevulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea; He shall become a haven for ships, And his border shall adjoin Sidon.

14 "Yissachar is a strong donkey, Lying down between two burdens;

15 He saw that rest was good, And that the land was pleasant; He bowed his shoulder to bear a burden, And became a band of slaves.

16 "Dan shall judge his people As one of the tribes of Yisrael.

17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, A viper by the path, That bites the horse's heels So that its rider shall fall backward.

18 I have waited for your salvation, O Adonai!

19 "Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him, But he shall triumph at last.

20 "Bread from Asher shall be rich, And he shall yield royal dainties.

21 "Naphtali is a deer let loose; He uses beautiful words.

22 "Yosef is a fruitful bough, A fruitful bough by a well; His branches run over the wall.

23 The archers (master of arrows) have bitterly grieved him, Shot at him and hated him.

24 But his bow remained in strength, And the arms of his hands were made strong By the hands of the Ab-bir Ya-aqov ( b)qfEy1 rybix3 Mighty God of Ya'acov) (From there is the Shepherd, the Stone (building stone) of Yisrael),

25 By the El of your father who will help you, And by the Shad-di (Almighty/Most powerful) who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.

26 The blessings of your father Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors, Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Yosef, And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.

27 "Benyamin is a ravenous wolf; In the morning he shall devour the prey, And at night he shall divide the spoil."

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Yisrael, and this is what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.

29 Then he charged them and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite (yTiHi Chit-ty = Terror),

30 "in the cave that is in the field of Mach-pelah (a doubling portian), which is before Mamre (fatness/strength) in the land of Cenaan, which Avraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.

31 "There they buried Avraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Yitzaq and Revekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

32 "The field and the cave that is there were purchased from the sons of Heth."

33 And when Ya'acov had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 50: 1 ¶ Then Yosef fell on his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him.

2 And Yosef commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Yisrael.

3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Yosef spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,

5 `My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Cenaan, there you shall bury me." Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.'"

6 And Pharaoh said, "Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear."

7 So Yosef went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Mits-raim,

8 as well as all the house of Yosef, his brothers, and his father's house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen ( Nw;G G-shen ? "drawing near").

9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.

Genesis 50:

10 Then they came to the threshing floor (nr@0(G Goren = Smooth place) of At-ad (Buckthorn; to be or make firm), which is beyond the Yarden (Jordan), and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father.

11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Ce-na-ani, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of At-ad, they said, "This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians." Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim (Meadow of Egypt), which is beyond the Yarden.

12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them.

13 For his sons carried him to the land of Cenaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Mach-pelah, before Mamre, which Avraham bought with the field from Ephron the Chit-ti as property for a burial place.

14 And after he had buried his father, Yosef returned to Mits-raim, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.

15 When Yosef's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Yosef will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him."

16 So they sent messengers to Yosef, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying,

17 `Thus you shall say to Yosef: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you."' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the Elohim of your father." And Yosef wept when they spoke to him.

18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants."

19 Yosef said to them, "Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of Elohim ?

20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but Elohim meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.

21 "Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones." And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

22 So Yosef dwelt in Mits-raim, he and his father's household. And Yosef lived one hundred and ten years. (Avraham-175; Yitzaq-180; Ya'acov-147; Yosef-110 - 62% - 75% )

23 Yosef saw Eph-raim's children to the third generation. The children of Machir (rykimA = Sold) the son of Me-nash-sheh, were also brought up on Yosef's knees.

24 And Yosef said to his brethren, "I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Avraham, to Yitzaq, and to Ya'acov."

25 Then Yosef took an oath from the children of Yisrael, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."

26 So Yosef died, being one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Mits-raim.

Haftarah Ke`ri'at

I Kings 2:

1 Now the days of David (dv9D! "Beloved") drew near that he should die, and he charged Solomon ( H)m)LW; = "peaceable", David's 10^th son) his son, saying:

2 "I go the way of all the earth; be strong, therefore, and prove yourself a man.

3 "And keep the charge of Adonai your Elohim: to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments (Mits-vit-ayv), His judgments, and His testimonies, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh ( hwem "drawing out"), that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn;

4 "that the Adonai may fulfill His word which He spoke concerning me, saying, `If your sons take heed to their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul,' He said, `you shall not lack a man on the throne of Yisrael.'

5 "Moreover you know also what Yoab ("Father Adonai" David's nephew) the son of

Ze-ruy-ah ("cleft" David's sister) did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Yisrael, to Av-ner ("father lamp" - Saul's cousin) the son of Ner ("lamp" Saul's uncle) and A-masa ("burden" David's nephew) the son of Yeter ("abundance" Married to Abigail the sister of David), whom he killed. And he shed the blood of war in peacetime, and put the blood of war on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals that were on his feet.

6 "Therefore do according to your wisdom, and do not let his gray hair go down to the grave in peace.

7 "But show kindness to the sons of Bar-zil-lay ("Iron" who helped David defeat Absalom's rebellion) the Gile-adiy (inhabitant of Gilead), and let them be among those who eat at your table, for so they came to me when I fled from Avi-shalom (Absalom "father of peace') your brother.

8 "And see, you have with you Shim-ei ("famous") the son of Ge-ra ("grain" a son of Bela and grandson of Benjamin), a Ben-yemi-ni from Bachu-rim ("young men's village"), who cursed me with a malicious curse in the day when I went to Macha-naim.("two camps")

But he came down to meet me at the Yarden, and I swore to him by the LORD, saying, `I will not put you to death with the sword.'

9 "Now therefore, do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man and know what you ought to do to him; but bring his gray hair down to the grave with blood."

10 So David rested with his fathers, and was buried in Be-Ir David (the City of David).

11 The period that David reigned over Yisrael was forty years; seven years he reigned in Hevron, and in Yerushalaim he reigned thirty-three years.

12 Then Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.