(13) Distress in Egypt. Meanwhile the pre dicted famine was pauperizing Egypt. The in habitants found their money exhausted, and their cattle and substance all gone, having been parted with in order to purchase food from the public granaries, until at length they had nothing to give in return for sustenance but themselves. 'Buy us'—they then imploringly said to Joseph— 'and our land for bread, and we and our land will be slaves unto Pharoah."And Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh, so the land became Pharaoh's.' The people too, 'Joseph re moved to cities from one end of the borders of the land to the other end.' Religion, however, was too strong to submit to these political and social changes, and so the priests still .retained their land, being supplied with provisions out of the common store gratuitously. The land, which was previously the people's own, was now let to them on a tenancy, at the rent of one-fiftli of the produce; the land of the priests being ex empted.
(14) Death of Jacob. Joseph had now to pasS through the mournful scenes which attend on the death and burial of a father. Having had Jacob embalmed, and seen the rites of mourning fully observed, the faithful and affectionate son— leave being obtained of•the monarch—proceeded into the land of Canaan, in order, agreeably to a promise which the patriarch had exacted, to lay the old man's bones with those of his fathers, in 'the field of Ephron the Hittite.' Having per formed with long and bitter mourning Jacob's funeral rites, Joseph returned into Egypt. The last recorded act of his life forms a most becom ing close. After the death of their father, his brethren, unable, like all guilty people, to forget their criminality, and characteristically finding it difficult to think that Joseph had really for given them, grew afraid now they were in his power that he would take an opportunity of in flicting some punishment on them. They accord ingly go into his presence, and in imploring terms and an abject manner, entreat his forgiveness. 'Fear not'—this is his noble reply—q will nourish you and your little ones.' (15) Death of Joseph.* Joseph lived an hun dred and ten years. kind and gentle in his affec tions to the last ; for we arc told, 'The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were brought up upon Joseph's knees' (1:23). • And so having ob tained a promise from his brethren that when the time came, as he assured them it would come, that God should visit them, and 'bring them unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob,' they would carry up his bones out of Egypt, Joseph at length 'died, and they em balmed him, and he was put in a coffin' (1:26).
This promise was religiously fulfilled. His de scendants, after carrying the corpse about with them in their wanderings, at length put it in its final resting place in Shechem, in a parcel of ground that Jacob bought of the sons of Hamor, which became the inheritance of the children of Joseph (Josh. xxiv :32).
By his Egyptian wife Asenath, daughter of the high priest of Heliopolis, Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. xli :5o, sq.), whom Jacob adopted (Gen. xlviii :5), and who accord ingly took their place among the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. J. R. B.
(16) Character. Joseph possessed many noble qualities. Piety, a singularly high morality, gen tleness, simplicity, patience, fidelity, magnanimity, practical wisdom, firmness and tenacity of pur pose were among his characteristics.
2. The Husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ (Matt. i:t6). By Mat thew he is said to have been the son of Jacob, whose lineage is traced by the same writer through David up to Abraham. Luke represents him as being the son of Heli, and traces his origin up to Adam. For the reconciliation of these accounts see GENEALOGY.
(1) Biblical Statements. The statements of Holy Writ in regard to Joseph are few and sim ple. According to a custom among the Jews, traces of which are still found, such as hand fasting among the Scotch, and betrothing among the Germans, Joseph had pledged his faith to Mary ; but before the marriage was consummated she proved to be with child. Grieved at this, Joseph was disposed to break off the connection; but, not wishing to make a public example of one whom he loved, he contemplated a private disrup tion of their bond. From this step, however, he is deterred by a heavenly messenger, who assures him that Mary has conceived under a divine in fluence, 'And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people from their sins' (Matt. i :18, sq.; Luke i :27). To this account various objections have been taken ; but most of them are drawn from the ground of a narrow, short-sighted, and half-in formed rationalism, which judges everything by its own small standard, and either denies miracles altogether, or admits only such miracles as find favor in its sight.