參考版本 AFV  A  Faithful Version 的希臘文 2009版本    

耶和華的事，不謀利沒有版權

1. And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.

2. And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians, to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel.

3. And forty days were fulfilled for him, for so are fulfilled the days of those who are embalmed. And the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.

4. And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found grace in your eyes, I pray you speak in the ears of Pharaoh saying,

5. ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Lo, I die. You shall bury me in my grave which I have prepared for me in the land of Canaan.” Now therefore, I pray you, let me go up and bury my father, and I will come again.’ ”

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

7. And Joseph went up to bury his father. And all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,

8. And all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. They left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.

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

10. And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation. And he made a mourning for his father seven days.

11. And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the grain floor of Atad, and they said, “This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians.” Therefore they called its name Meadow of Egypt, which is beyond Jordan.

12. And his sons did to him according as he commanded them,

13. For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a burying place from Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.

14. And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.

 (A Faithful Version)

1. 約瑟見父親離世，就在臉上親吻道別。

2. 隨後吩咐僕人，他是位治療師，依照吩咐用香料膏抹父親的遺體。

3. 眾人守孝到四十天，這是香膏的有效期限，守喪的日子因此到此終止。只是埃及人因為約瑟的緣故，哀悼七十天。

4. 哀悼的日子一過，法老對約瑟說：我期待能找到一位像你一般優秀的替代。

5. 約瑟回應：父親叫我起誓，若是離世，要將他安葬在先祖在迦南預備的墳墓裡。祈求大人讓我先去埋葬我父親，我會回來繼續事奉。

6. 法老聽罷，說：那就先去安葬你父親，滿足他老人家的心願。

7. 約瑟便起程去處理父親安葬事宜。法老的臣僕，就如在家中服務的長者，也有埃及地的一些長者，都願隨他同去。

8. 約瑟全家、眾兄弟和父親的家人也都上去，只留下孩子、羊群和牛群等在歌珊地。

9. 約瑟坐在戰車，有騎兵與他一起，隊伍龐大。

10. 來到約旦河東的亞達禾場，在那裡舉行追悼大會，遍地哀號。在這個地方哀悼了七天。

11. 迦南地的居民看見亞達谷場的哀悼大會，都說埃及人舉喪禮儀的場面浩大。他們遂稱那地方為“埃及的哀悼”就是約旦河東邊的一塊地。

12. 雅各眾子照吩咐的去處理其後事。

13. 眾人把遺體抬到迦南地，安放在麥比拉田的墓穴，是亞伯拉罕從赫人以弗崙那裡買來的，就在幔利橡樹林之前的地段。

14. 一切安頓以後，約瑟和眾兄弟，及所有跟去觀禮的人，都回到埃及。

這個地方對整個中東都有一定的影響，可參考以下資料可以說明信仰是有一個民族的的發展有著深厚的關係，不是傳說。

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/222-abel-mizraim

“Mourning of the Egyptians,” or “of Egypt”; and there can be no doubt that it was intended to suggest a connection with Abel. The narrative states that Joseph, attended by a great company (ver. 9), took his father’s body out of Egypt, and at the first village across the Canaanitish border held the customary funeral rites, peculiar to Syria even at the present time.

這個描述，展示一個事實，約瑟對埃及這個政權，對自己的工作視為個人的尊嚴，都因耶和華對他的愛，始終不變留下的信心，以此作為處世辦事之道。不單成就了個人的信譽，也影響別人對他所信的，是位可靠的，就給予極大的尊重。

這些人可不相信，卻極為尊重這人的信仰對象，約瑟的見證，讓耶和華得著當有的榮耀，就會把人所得的榮耀是因為耶和華而來，榮耀歸在天上的父。

雅各的12位後繼人，是按照亞伯拉罕的傳統，不是12位子孫都會跟隨亞伯拉罕所信，那又如何？只要有一位願意，即使雅各看來不按規矩辦事，那是因為有人為的因素在，只是對耶和華有他自己獨特的領受，懂得靈巧純良，倒成了耶和華喜愛。雅各只有一位兒子，領受到這愛的奧秘：運用時靈巧純良。

雅各有另一個是亞伯拉罕和以撒都沒有的本能，對子孫的個性都了解和尊重。尊重是當子女都是一個獨立自力的個體，有自己的能力表達方式，也有各自的自由發揮。為此，雅各對於各人的生存的後果，他極之明白，在臨終時提點，那是他最後的關懷，是一份愛的囑咐。當然有聽的有不聽，那是各人的選擇。

雅各這份對兒子囑咐的心意，在後的猶太人有許多領受，塔木德的訓言都有記載，而且一直在教導。反觀華人的家教，那是完全相反的方向，在中華大地有許多小說，如紅樓夢或家春秋之類的小說，甚至更多不同類別的，都反映一個事實，家中的階級傳統，長幼有序。用於政制，是君臣父子兄友弟恭。這是一個以獨栽，一個人主導的專制體系，到今日摩登時代，衣食住行都改了，專制的心態只變得緩和卻不曾改變，最明顯有的專政表徵，陽的，就是氣粗容易動怒；陰的，就是先放心頭，等機會到來，復仇。這是人心的收為己用，而不是放手讓人高飛。雅各在臨終的囑咐內容，看得出與中華文化有很大的差距，特別是 [愛心] 的運用的背後觀念是如此不同。

耶和華與相信的人同行，視之為子女，給予無盡的愛，在人的不知不覺中作出幫助扶持，人似乎不知也不覺。人一般看眼前的現實，今日此刻就出現，能出現就信，不能，那讓我考慮。現實的態度，不能說成是信心的表現，更不能因為不是即時顯現，就產生懷疑。雅各之所以為耶和華喜悅，是因為從生活中去了解，什麼是耶和的愛。為此，對12個兒子加二位孫子，對其個性的發展，都暸如指掌，與眾人尾尾道來，在臨終時提醒，盡了最後的努力，就沒有遺憾。若對此有同感，就多多分享。