The Book of Jasher

Referred to in Joshua and Second Samuel

Faithfully Translated

FROM THE ORIGINAL HEBREW INTO ENGLISH

Chapter 58

Pharaoh dies and the whole Government of Egypt
devolves upon Joseph, Pharaoh the Younger being but a nominal Ruler. The
Children of Esau again come Against the Israelites, and are again smitten.

1 And it came to pass in the thirty-second year of
the Israelites going down to Egypt, that is in the seventy-first year of the life
of Joseph, in that year died Pharaoh king of Egypt, and Magron his son reigned in
his stead.

2 And Pharaoh commanded Joseph before his death to
be a father to his son, Magron, and that Magron should be under the care of Joseph
and under his counsel.

3 And all Egypt consented to this thing that Joseph
should be king over them, for all the Egyptians loved Joseph as of heretofore, only
Magron the son of Pharaoh sat upon, his father’s throne, and he became king in those
days in his father’s stead.

4 Magron was forty-one years old when he began to
reign, and forty years he reigned in Egypt, and all Egypt called his name Pharaoh
after the name of his father, as it was their custom to do in Egypt to every king
that reigned over them.

5 And it came to pass when Pharaoh reigned in his
father’s stead, he placed the laws of Egypt and all the affairs of government in
the hand of Joseph, as his father had commanded him.

6 And Joseph became king over Egypt, for he superintended
over all Egypt, and all Egypt was under his care and under his counsel, for all
Egypt inclined to Joseph after the death of Pharaoh, and they loved him exceedingly
to reign over them.

7 But there were some people amongst them, who did
not like him, saying, No stranger shall reign over us; still the whole government
of Egypt devolved in those days upon Joseph, after the death of Pharaoh, he being
the regulator, doing as he liked throughout the land without any one interfering.

8 And all Egypt was under the care of Joseph, and
Joseph made war with all his surrounding enemies, and he subdued them; also all
the land and all the Philistines, unto the borders of Canaan, did Joseph subdue,
and they were all under his power and they gave a yearly tax unto Joseph.

9 And Pharaoh king of Egypt sat upon his throne in
his father’s stead, but he was under the control and counsel of Joseph, as he was
at first under the control of his father.

10 Neither did he reign but in the land of Egypt only,
under the counsel of Joseph, but Joseph reigned over the whole country at that time,
from Egypt unto the great river Perath.

11 And Joseph was successful in all his ways, and
the Lord was with him, and the Lord gave Joseph additional wisdom, and honor, and
glory, and love toward him in the hearts of the Egyptians and throughout the land,
and Joseph reigned over the whole country forty years.

12 And all the countries of the Philistines and Canaan
and Zidon, and on the other side of Jordan, brought presents unto Joseph all his
days, and the whole country was in the hand of Joseph, and they brought unto him
a yearly tribute as it was regulated, for Joseph had fought against all his surrounding
enemies and subdued them, and the whole country was in the hand of Joseph, and Joseph
sat securely upon his throne in Egypt.

13 And also all his brethren the sons of Jacob dwelt
securely in the land, all the days of Joseph, and they were fruitful and multiplied
exceedingly in the land, and they served the Lord all their days, as their father
Jacob had commanded them.

14 And it came to pass at the end of many days and
years, when the children of Esau were dwelling quietly in their land with Bela their
king, that the children of Esau were fruitful and multiplied in the land, and they
resolved to go and fight with the sons of Jacob and all Egypt, and to deliver their
brother Zepho, the son of Eliphaz, and his men, for they were yet in those days
slaves to Joseph.

15 And the children of Esau sent unto all the children
of the east, and they made peace with them, and all the children of the east came
unto them to go with the children of Esau to Egypt to battle.

16 And there came also unto them of the people of
Angeas, king of Dinhabah, and they also sent unto the children of Ishmael and they
also came unto them.

17 And all this people assembled and came unto Seir
to assist the children of Esau in their battle, and this camp was very large and
heavy with people, numerous as the sand of the sea, about eight hundred thousand
men, infantry and cavalry, and all these troops went down to Egypt to fight with
the sons of Jacob, and they encamped by Rameses.

18 And Joseph went forth with his brethren with the
mighty men of Egypt, about six hundred men, and they fought with them in the land
of Rameses; and the sons of Jacob at that time again fought with the children of
Esau, in the fiftieth year of the sons of Jacob going down to Egypt, that is the
thirtieth year of the reign of Bela over the children of Esau in Seir.

19 And the Lord gave all the mighty men of Esau and
the children of the east into the hand of Joseph and his brethren, and the people
of the children of Esau and the children of the east were smitten before Joseph.

20 And of the people of Esau and the children of the
east that were slain, there fell before the sons of Jacob about two hundred thousand
men, and their king Bela the son of Beor fell with them in the battle, and when
the children of Esau saw that their king had fallen in battle and was dead, their
hands became weak in the combat.

21 And Joseph and his brethren and all Egypt were
still smiting the people of the house of Esau, and all Esau’s people were afraid
of the sons of Jacob and fled from before them.

22 And Joseph and his brethren and all Egypt pursued
them a day’s journey, and they slew yet from them about three hundred men, continuing
to smite them in the road; and they afterward turned back from them.

23 And Joseph and all his brethren returned to Egypt,
not one man was missing from them, but of the Egyptians there fell twelve men.

24 And when Joseph returned to Egypt he ordered Zepho
and his men to be additionally bound, and they bound them in irons and they increased
their grief.

25 And all the people of the children of Esau, and
the children of the east, returned in shame each unto his city, for all the mighty
men that were with them had fallen in battle.

26 And when the children of Esau saw that their king
had died in battle they hastened and took a man from the people of the children
of the east; his name was Jobab the son of Zarach, from the land of Botzrah, and
they caused him to reign over them instead of Bela their king.

27 And Jobab sat upon the throne of Bela as king in
his stead, and Jobab reigned in Edom over all the children of Esau ten years, and
the children of Esau went no more to fight with the sons of Jacob from that day
forward, for the sons of Esau knew the valor of the sons of Jacob, and they were
greatly afraid of them.

28 But from that day forward the children of Esau
hated the sons of Jacob, and the hatred and enmity were very strong between them
all the days, unto this day.

29 And it came to pass after this, at the end of ten
years, Jobab, the son of Zarach, from Botzrah, died, and the children of Esau took
a man whose name was Chusham, from the land of Teman, and they made him king over
them instead of Jobab, and Chusham reigned in Edom over all the children of Esau
for twenty years.

30 And Joseph, king of Egypt, and his brethren, and
all the children of Israel dwelt securely in Egypt in those days, together with
all the children of Joseph and his brethren, having no hindrance or evil accident
and the land of Egypt was at that time at rest from war in the days of Joseph and
his brethren.