« | Genesis 45 | » |
1 Ioseph coulde no longer refrayne before all the that stoode by hym, wherefore he cryed: cause euery man to auoyde. And there remayned no man with him, whyle Ioseph vttered hym selfe vnto his brethren.
2 And he wept aloude, and the Egyptians, and the house of Pharao heard.
3 And Ioseph sayde vnto his brethren: I am Ioseph, doth my father yet lyue? And his brethren could not aunswere him, they were so abashed at his presence.
4 And Ioseph sayde vnto his brethren, come neare to me I pray you. And they came neare. And he said, I am Ioseph your brother who ye solde into Egypt.
5 Nowe therefore be not greeued herewith, neither let it seeme a cruel thing in your eyes, that ye solde me hyther: for God did sende me before you to preserue lyfe.
6 For this is the seconde yere of dearth in the lande, and fiue more are behinde, in the whiche there shall neyther be earyng nor haruest.
7 Wherfore God sent me before you, to preserue you a posteritie in the earth, and to saue your liues by a great deliueraunce.
8 So nowe, it was not ye that sent me hyther, but God whiche hath made me a father to Pharao, and lorde of all his house, and ruler throughout all the lande of Egypt.
9 Haste you, and go vp to my father, and tell him: thus saieth thy sonne Ioseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt, come downe therfore vnto me, tary not.
10 And thou shalt dwell in the land of Gosen and be a neyghbour vnto me, thou, & thy chyldren, and thy chyldrens children, thy sheepe, and thy beastes, and all that thou hast.
11 And there wyll I prouide thee sustenaunce (for there remaine yet fiue yeres of dearth) lest thou and thy housholde, & all that thou hast come to pouertie.
12 And beholde your eyes do see, and the eyes also of my brother Beniamin, that mine own mouth speaketh vnto you.
13 Therfore tell my father of all my glorie in Egypt, and of all that you haue seene, and make hast, and bryng my father hyther.
14 And he fel on his brother Beniamins necke, and wept: and Beniamin wept on his necke.
15 Moreouer he kissed al his brethren, and wept vpon them: and after that, his brethren talked with him.
16 And the fame [thereof] was hearde in Pharaos house, so that they sayde: Iosephes brethre are come. And it pleased Pharao well, and all his seruauntes.
17 And Pharao spake vnto Ioseph: say vnto thy brethren, this do ye: lade your beastes, and go [and] returne vnto the lande of Chanaan:
18 Take your father, and your housesholdes, and come vnto me, and I wyll geue you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eate the fat of the lande.
19 And thou also shalt comaunde [them] this do ye: take charets with you out of the lande of Egypt for your chyldren, and for your wyues, and bryng your father, and come.
20 Also regarde not your stuffe, for the good of all the lande of Egypt is yours.
21 And the children of Israel dyd euen so: and Ioseph gaue them charettes, accordyng to the commaundement of Pharao, and gaue them vitayle also to spende by the way.
22 And he gaue vnto eche of the chaunge of raiment: but vnto Beniamin he gaue three hundred peeces of siluer, and fiue chaunge of rayment.
23 And vnto his father he sent after the same maner ten asses laden with good out of Egypt, and ten she asses laden with corne, & bread, and meate, for his father by the way.
24 So sent he his brethren away, and they departed: and he sayd vnto them, see that ye fall to no stryfe on the way.
25 They departed therfore from Egypt, and came into the lande of Chanaan, vnto Iacob theyr father.
26 And tolde him, saying: Ioseph is yet aliue, and is gouernour ouer al the land of Egypt. And Iacobs heart wauered, for he beleued them not.
27 And they tolde hym all the wordes of Ioseph, whiche he had said vnto them: And when he sawe the charets whiche Ioseph had sent to cary him, the spirite of Iacob their father reuiued.
28 And Israel saide: [I haue] inough, that Ioseph my sonne is yet alyue: I will go, and see him, yer that I dye.
The Bishop’s Bible (BB)
The Bishop’s Bible (BB) is a significant English translation of the Bible that was first published in 1568 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. It was commissioned by the Church of England as a revision of the Great Bible and as a response to the Geneva Bible, which was popular among the Puritans but contained marginal notes that were considered politically and theologically contentious by the Anglican establishment. The primary goal of the Bishop’ s Bible was to create a translation that would be more acceptable to the ecclesiastical authorities and suitable for use in Anglican churches.
One of the distinguishing features of the Bishop’s Bible is its effort to maintain a high level of accuracy and scholarly integrity while also ensuring that the language used was dignified and appropriate for public reading. The translation was undertaken by a team of bishops and other scholars, hence its name. The translators aimed to preserve the poetic and literary qualities of the original texts, drawing on previous translations such as the Tyndale Bible, the Coverdale Bible, and the Great Bible, while also incorporating their scholarly insights and linguistic refinements.
The Bishop’s Bible was notable for its large, folio format, which was designed to be read from the pulpit. It included extensive marginal notes, though these were more restrained and less controversial than those found in the Geneva Bible. The translation also featured elaborate illustrations and maps, as well as a comprehensive introduction and various prefaces that provided context and guidance for readers. Despite its grandeur and scholarly merit, the Bishop’s Bible did not achieve the widespread popularity of the Geneva Bible among the general populace.
Although the Bishop’s Bible played an essential role in the religious and cultural life of Elizabethan England, it was eventually overshadowed by the King James Version (KJV), which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611. The KJV drew heavily on the Bishop’ s Bible, as well as other earlier translations, but ultimately surpassed it in both scholarly rigor and literary quality. Nonetheless, the Bishop’s Bible remains an important milestone in the history of English Bible translations, reflecting the theological and political currents of its time and contributing to the development of subsequent translations.