CathInfo.com

2nd May 2026

The Filial piety of Vicerory Joseph.


Now Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph to notify him of his coming, so that
he might come to meet him in the land of Goshen. When Jacob had arrived there,
Joseph had his chariot harnessed, and came to the same place to meet his father;
and seeing him, he threw himself upon his neck, and embraced him weeping. And
Jacob said to Joseph: I can die now; since I have seen your face. For you are
still alive. I have obtained what I desired; I have tasted a happiness I no
longer expected; what I had ceased to hope for is realized; I have lived enough,
for I have seen the one I mourned, and it suffices for my full contentment to
know that you still live, you whom I believed dead long ago and devoured by wild
beasts. This is the word of a father, a word full of tenderness, and suited to
manifest the treasure of affection that was in store in his soul. Joseph said to
his brothers and to all his father's house: I am going to tell Pharaoh that my
brothers and all those of my father's house have come to find me from the land
of Canaan where they dwelt; He also presented five of his brothers to the king;
Joseph then introduced his father before the king, and he presented him to him.
Jacob greeted Pharaoh, and blessed him. As he saw that the day of his death was
fast approaching, he called his son Joseph, and said to him: If I have found
grace in your sight, put your hand under my thigh, and give me this token of
kindness, to promise me truthfully that you will not bury me in Egypt; But that
I shall rest with my fathers, that you will transport me out of this country,
and put me in the sepulcher of my ancestors. Joseph answered him: I will do what
you command me. Swear it to me then, said Jacob. And while Joseph swore, Israel
worshiped God, turning toward the head of his bed. Greek text: "And Israel bowed
deeply before the staff of command that Joseph carried." Behold this old man,
this patriarch, burdened with years, testifying by bowing before Joseph all the
veneration he has for him, and thus fulfilling the vision. After that, one day
someone came to tell Joseph that his father was sick; so taking with him his two
sons Manasseh and Ephraim, he went to see him. Joseph, having withdrawn them
from between his father's arms, worshiped by prostrating himself on the ground.
Then Joseph held triumphant funerals for his father. Certainly, the Egyptians
wished to honor the father of their viceroy, but here again we see a
demonstration of respect. But above all, by honoring his father, Joseph honored
God, the source of all blessing and all authority. For Jacob was not only a very
great saint — he was a patriarch who faithfully transmitted what he had received
from his fathers who had themselves received it from God — he received the gift
of prophecy.



Sacred Text of Genesis Jacob and his family in Egypt Israel therefore departed
with all that he had, and came to the Well of the Oath [Beersheba]; and having
immolated victims in this place to the God of his father Isaac, he heard Him in
a vision, during the night, calling him, and saying to him: Jacob, Jacob. He
answered Him: Here I am. And God added: I am the very powerful God of your
father, fear not; go to Egypt, because I will make you there the head of a great
people. I will go there with you, and I will bring you back from there when you
return, Joseph also shall close your eyes with his hands. Jacob having therefore
departed from the Well of the Oath, his children brought him with his
grandchildren and their wives, in the chariots that Pharaoh had sent to carry
this old man, With all that he possessed in the land of Canaan; and he arrived
in Egypt with all his race, His sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and all that
was born of him. ... Thus all the persons of the house of Jacob who came to
Egypt were seventy in number. Now Jacob sent Judah before him to Joseph to
notify him of his coming, so that he might come to meet him in the land of
Goshen. When Jacob had arrived there, Joseph had his chariot harnessed, and came
to the same place to meet his father; and seeing him, he threw himself upon his
neck, and embraced him weeping. Jacob said to Joseph: I shall die now with joy,
since I have seen your face, and that I leave you behind me. Joseph said to his
brothers and to all his father's house: I am going to tell Pharaoh that my
brothers and all those of my father's house have come to find me from the land
of Canaan where they dwelt; that they are shepherds of sheep, who occupy
themselves with feeding flocks, and that they have brought with them their
sheep, their oxen and all that they could have. And when Pharaoh makes you come,
and asks you: What is your occupation? You shall answer him: Your servants are
shepherds from their childhood until now, and our fathers have always been so
like us. You shall say this in order to be able to dwell in the land of Goshen,
because the Egyptians hold all shepherds of sheep in abomination.

Jacob's family in the region of Goshen Joseph, having therefore gone to find
Pharaoh, said to him: My father and my brothers have come from the land of
Canaan with their sheep, their flocks, and all that they possess, and they have
stopped in the land of Goshen. He also presented five of his brothers to the
king; And the king having asked them: With what do you occupy yourselves? They
answered him: Your servants are shepherds of sheep, as our fathers were. We have
come to pass some time in your lands, because the famine is so great in the land
of Canaan, that there is no longer grass for your servants' flocks. And we beg
you to agree that your servants dwell in the land of Goshen. The king therefore
said to Joseph: Your father and your brothers have come to find you. You can
choose throughout all Egypt; make them dwell in the place in the country that
shall seem best to you, and give them the land of Goshen. And if you know that
there are among them able men, give them stewardship over my flocks. Joseph then
introduced his father before the king, and he presented him to him. Jacob
greeted Pharaoh, and blessed him. The king having asked him how old he was, He
answered him: The days of my pilgrimage are one hundred and thirty years; they
have been few and evil, and they have not reached those of the pilgrimage of my
fathers. And after having wished all sorts of happiness to the king, he
withdrew. Joseph, according to Pharaoh's command, put his father and his
brothers in possession of Rameses, in the most fertile country of Egypt. And he
nourished them with all his father's house, giving to each what was necessary
for him to live. For bread was lacking in the whole country, and the famine
afflicted the whole earth, but principally Egypt and the land of Canaan. Joseph,
having amassed all the silver that he had received from the Egyptians and the
Canaanites for the grain that he had sold them, carried it to the king's
treasury. And when no silver remained to anyone to buy any, all the people of
Egypt came to say to Joseph: Give us bread. Why do you let us die for lack of
silver? Joseph answered them: If you have no more silver, bring your flocks, and
I will give you grain in exchange. They therefore brought him their flocks, and
he gave them grain for the price of their horses, of their sheep, of their oxen
and of their donkeys; and he nourished them that year for the flocks that he
received from them in exchange. They returned the year after, and they said to
him: We will not hide from you, my lord, that silver having failed us first, we
also have no more flocks. And you are not ignorant that except for our bodies
and our lands we have nothing. Why then shall we die before your eyes? We give
ourselves to you, us and our lands: buy us to be the king's slaves, and give us
something to sow, for fear that the land remain uncultivated, if you let perish
those who can cultivate it. Thus Joseph bought all the lands of Egypt, everyone
selling all that he possessed, because of the extremity of the famine: and he
acquired in this way for Pharaoh all Egypt, with all the peoples, from one
extremity of the kingdom to the other. Except only the lands of the priests,
which had been given to them by the king: for they were furnished a certain
quantity of grain from the public granaries; that is why they were not obliged
to sell their lands. After that Joseph said to the people: You see that you
belong to Pharaoh, you and all your lands. I am therefore going to give you
something to sow, and you shall sow your fields, So that you may harvest grain.
You shall give the fifth part thereof to the king; and I relinquish to you the
other four to sow the lands, and to feed your families and your children. They
answered him: Our salvation is in your hands. Look upon us only, my lord, with a
favorable eye, and we will serve the king with joy. From that time until this
day, one pays to the kings in all Egypt the fifth part of the income of the
lands, and this has as it were passed into law; except the land of the priests,
which remained exempt from this subjection. Israel therefore remained in Egypt,
that is to say in the land of Goshen, which he enjoyed as his own property, and
where his family grew and multiplied extraordinarily. He lived there seventeen
years, and the whole time of his life was one hundred and forty-seven years. As
he saw that the day of his death was fast approaching, he called his son Joseph,
and said to him: If I have found grace in your sight, put your hand under my
thigh, and give me this token of kindness, to promise me truthfully that you
will not bury me in Egypt; But that I shall rest with my fathers, that you will
transport me out of this country, and put me in the sepulcher of my ancestors.
Joseph answered him: I will do what you command me. Swear it to me then, said
Jacob. And while Joseph swore, Israel worshiped God, turning toward the head of
his bed. Greek text: "And Israel bowed deeply before the staff of command that
Joseph carried." Behold this old man, this patriarch, burdened with years,
testifying by bowing before Joseph all the veneration he has for him, and thus
fulfilling the vision.

Jacob blesses the two sons of Joseph After that one day someone came to tell
Joseph that his father was sick; so taking with him his two sons Manasseh and
Ephraim, he went to see him. So they told Jacob: Behold your son Joseph who
comes to see you. Jacob, recovering his strength, sat up in his bed. And he said
to Joseph when he had entered: The almighty God appeared to me at Luz, which is
in the land of Canaan; and having blessed me, He said to me: I will make your
race grow and multiply greatly; I will make you the head of a multitude of
peoples, and I will give you this land, and to your race after you, so that you
may possess it forever. Therefore your two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, whom you
had in Egypt before I came here to you, shall be mine, and they shall be put
among the number of my children, like Reuben and Simeon. But the others whom you
shall have after them shall be yours, and they shall bear the name of their
brothers in the lands that they shall possess. For when I was returning from
Mesopotamia I lost Rachel, who died on the way, in the land of Canaan: it was in
the spring, at the entrance to Ephrath, and I buried her on the way to Ephrath,
which is also called Bethlehem. Then Jacob, seeing the sons of Joseph, asked
him: Who are these? Joseph answered him: These are my children, whom God gave me
in this country. Bring them near to me, said Jacob, so that I may bless them.
For Israel's eyes were dimmed because of his great old age, and he could not see
well. Having therefore had them approach him, he embraced them and kissed them;
And he said to his son: God wished to give me the joy of seeing you, and He adds
to it also that of seeing your children. Joseph, having withdrawn them from
between his father's arms, worshiped by prostrating himself on the ground. And
having put Ephraim on his right, that is to say on Israel's left, and Manasseh
on his left, that is to say on his father's right, he approached them both to
Jacob; Who, stretching out his right hand, put it on the head of Ephraim, who
was the younger, and put his left hand on the head of Manasseh, who was the
older, thus changing his two hands' place. And blessing the children of Joseph,
he said: May the God in whose presence my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the
God who nourishes me from my youth until this day; May the Angel who delivered
me from all evils, bless these children; may they bear my name, and the names of
my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they multiply more and more on the earth.
But Joseph, seeing that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim's head, was
troubled by it; and taking his father's hand, he tried to lift it from upon
Ephraim's head, to put it on Manasseh's head, Saying to his father: Your hands
are not right, my father, for this one is the older. Put your right hand on his
head. But, refusing to do so, he said to him: I know it, my son, I know it; he
too shall be head of peoples, and his race shall multiply; but his brother, who
is younger, shall be greater than he, and his posterity shall multiply among the
nations. Jacob therefore blessed them then, and said: Israel shall be blessed in
you, and it shall be said: May God bless you like Ephraim and Manasseh. Thus he
put Ephraim before Manasseh. He then said to Joseph his son: You see that I am
going to die, God will be with you, and He will bring you back to the land of
your fathers. I give you over and above your brothers this share of my goods
that I won from the Amorites with my sword and my bow.

Blessing and death of Jacob Now Jacob called his children, and said to them:
Assemble yourselves, so that I may announce to you what must happen to you in
the last times. Come all together, and listen, children of Jacob, listen to
Israel your father. Reuben, my firstborn, my strength, and the principal cause
of my grief: you should have been the most favored in gifts, and the greatest in
authority. But you poured yourself out like water. May you not grow, because you
went up onto your father's bed, and you defiled his couch. Simeon and Levi are
brothers, instruments of a carnage full of injustice. God forbid that my soul
should have any share in their counsels, and that my glory should be tarnished
by linking myself with them; because they signaled their fury by killing men,
and their criminal will by overthrowing a city. Cursed be their fury, because it
is stubborn, and their anger be held in execration, because it is hard. I will
divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel. Judah, your brothers
shall praise you, your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's
children shall prostrate themselves before you. Judah is a young lion. You have
gone up, my son, to ravish the prey. Resting, you couched like a lion and a
lioness; who will dare to awaken him? The sceptre shall not be taken away from
Judah, nor the prince from his posterity, until he who is to be sent has come;
and it is he who shall be the expectation of nations. He shall tie his donkey
foal to the vine, he shall tie, O my son, his she-donkey to the vine.

He shall wash his robe in wine, and his mantle in the blood of grapes. His eyes are more
beautiful than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk. Zebulun shall dwell on the
seashore and near the haven of ships, and he shall extend as far as Sidon.
Issachar, like a robust donkey, lies down in his stable. And seeing that rest is
good and that the land is excellent, he lowered his shoulder under burdens, and
he subjected himself to paying tributes. Dan shall govern his people as well as
the other tribes of Israel. May Dan become like a serpent in the way, and like a
horned viper in the path, that bites the horse's foot, so that the one who rides
it falls backward. Lord, I will wait for Your salvation. Gad shall fight fully
armed at the head of Israel, and he shall then return covered with his arms.
Asher's bread shall be excellent, and kings shall find their delights therein.
Naphtali shall be like a deer that escapes, and grace shall be shed upon his
words. Joseph shall grow and multiply more and more. He is pleasant to behold;
his branches run along the wall. But those who were armed with darts exasperated
him, quarreled with him, and envied him. He put his bow and his confidence in
the Very Strong One, and the chains of his hands and of his arms were broken by
the hand of the Almighty of Jacob. From there came forth the shepherd and the
rock of Israel. The God of your father shall be your protector, and the Almighty
shall load you with blessings from high heaven, blessings from the abyss of
waters below, blessings of the milk of the breasts and of the fruit of the womb.
The blessings that your father gives you surpass those that he received from his
fathers; and they shall last until the desire of the eternal hills is
accomplished. May these blessings be shed upon the head of Joseph, and upon the
crown of the head of him who is a nazarene among his brothers. Benjamin shall be
a ravening wolf; he shall devour the prey in the morning, and in the evening he
shall divide the spoils. These are the chiefs of the twelve tribes of Israel.
Their father spoke to them in these terms, and he blessed each of them by giving
them the blessings that were proper to them. He also gave them this order, and
he said to them: I am going to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers
in the double cave which is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, Which is
opposite Mamre, in the land of Canaan, and which Abraham bought from Ephron the
Hittite, with the whole field where it is, to have his sepulcher there. It is
there that he was buried with Sarah his wife. It is there also that Isaac was
buried with Rebekah his wife, and that Leah is likewise buried. After having
finished giving these orders and these instructions to his children, he joined
his feet on his bed, and died; and he was gathered to his people. Joseph, seeing
his father dead, threw himself on his face, and kissed him weeping. He commanded
the physicians he had in his service to embalm his father's body.


And they executed the order he had given them; which lasted forty days, because it was
the custom to employ this time to embalm the dead. And Egypt mourned Jacob
seventy days. The time of mourning having passed, Joseph said to Pharaoh's
officers: If I have found grace in your sight, I pray you to represent to the
king that my father said to me: You see that I am dying; promise me under oath
that you will bury me in my sepulcher that I prepared for myself in the land of
Canaan. I will go therefore to bury my father, and I will return immediately.
Pharaoh said to him: Go, and bury your father according as he engaged you by
oath. And when Joseph went there, the foremost officers of Pharaoh's house, and
the greatest of Egypt all accompanied him there. With the house of Joseph and
all his brothers who followed him, leaving their little children and all their
flocks in the land of Goshen. There were also chariots and horsemen who followed
him; and there was a great multitude of persons. When they had come to the
threshing floor of Atad, which is situated beyond the Jordan, they celebrated
funeral rites there for seven days with much weeping and great cries. Which the
inhabitants of the land of Canaan having seen, they said: This is a great
mourning among the Egyptians. That is why they named this place the Mourning of
Egypt. Jacob's children therefore fulfilled what he had commanded them; And
having carried him to the land of Canaan, they buried him in the double cave
that Abraham had bought from Ephron the Hittite, with the field that looks
toward Mamre, to make it the place of his sepulcher. As soon as Joseph had
buried his father, he returned to Egypt with his brothers and all his retinue.
After Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers were afraid, and they said to one
another: Joseph might well remember now the injury he suffered, and render to us
all the evil we did to him. They therefore sent word to him saying: Your father,
before dying, commanded us to tell you on his behalf: I conjure you to forget
your brothers' crime, and this black malice they used against you. We conjure
you also to forgive this iniquity to the servants of the God of your father.
Joseph wept upon hearing these words. And his brothers, having come to find him,
prostrated themselves before him, and said to him: We are your servants. He
answered them: Fear not; can we resist God's will? You had the design to do me
evil; but God changed this evil into good, in order to elevate me as you see
now, and to save many peoples. Fear not; I will nourish you, you and your
children. And he consoled them by speaking to them with much gentleness and
tenderness.

Death of Joseph He remained in Egypt with all his father's house, and he lived
one hundred and ten years. He saw Ephraim's children unto the third generation.
Machir, son of Manasseh, also had children, who were born on Joseph's knees.
Joseph then said to his brothers: God will visit you after my death, and He will
make you pass from this land to that which He had sworn to give to Abraham, to
Isaac and to Jacob. And he exacted a promise from them under the seal of an
oath, and he said to them: God will visit you; carry up my bones with you out of
this place. He died thereafter aged one hundred and ten years accomplished; and
his body, having been embalmed, was put in a coffin in Egypt.


Translated from the French with Google.

Fr. Pivert is a priest of the resistance.