Book of Jubilees 42:1–25

¹ And in the first year of the third week of the forty-fifth jubilee the famine began to come into the [2171 A.M.] land, and the rain refused to be given to the earth, for none whatever fell. (JUB) ² And the earth grew barren, but in the land of Egypt there was food, for Joseph had gathered the seed of the land in the seven years of plenty and had preserved it. (JUB) ³ And the Egyptians came to Joseph that he might give them food, and he opened the store-houses where was the grain of the first year, and he sold it to the people of the land for gold. (JUB) ⁴ <Now the famine was very sore in the land of Canaan>, and Jacob heard that there was food in Egypt, and he sent his ten sons that they should procure food for him in Egypt; but Benjamin he did not send, and <the ten sons of Jacob> arrived <in Egypt> among those that went (there). (JUB) ⁵ And Joseph recognised them, but they did not recognise him, and he spake unto them and questioned them, and he said unto them; 'Are ye not spies and have ye not come to explore the approaches of the land? 'And he put them in ward. (JUB) ⁶ And after that he set them free again, and detained Simeon alone and sent off his nine brothers. (JUB) ⁷ And he filled their sacks with corn, and he put their gold in their sacks, and they did not know. (JUB) ⁸ And he commanded them to bring their younger brother, for they had told him their father was living and their younger brother. (JUB) ⁹ And they went up from the land of Egypt and they came to the land of Canaan; and they told their father all that had befallen them, and how the lord of the country had spoken roughly to them, and had seized Simeon till they should bring Benjamin. (JUB) ¹⁰ And Jacob said: 'Me have ye bereaved of my children! Joseph is not and Simeon also is not, and ye will take Benjamin away. On me has your wickedness come. (JUB) ¹¹ 'And he said: 'My son will not go down with you lest perchance he fall sick; for their mother gave birth to two sons, and one has perished, and this one also ye will take from me. If perchance he took a fever on the road, ye would bring down my old age with sorrow unto death.' (JUB) ¹² For he saw that their money had been returned to every man in his sack, and for this reason he feared to send him. (JUB) ¹³ And the famine increased and became sore in the land of Canaan, and in all lands save in the land of Egypt, for many of the children of the Egyptians had stored up their seed for food from the time when they saw Joseph gathering seed together and putting it in storehouses and preserving it for the years of famine. (JUB) ¹⁴ And the people of Egypt fed themselves thereon during the first year of their famine. (JUB) ¹⁵ But when Israel saw that the famine was very… (JUB)