The First Boke of Moses called Genesis Part 13

Ruben/ thou art myne eldest sonne/ my myghte and the begynnynge of my strength/ chefe in receauynge and chefe in power. As vnstable as water wast thou: thou shalt therfore not be the chefest/ for thou wenst vp vp thy fathers bedd/ and than defyledest thou my couche with goynge vppe.

The brethern Simeon and Leui/ weked instrumentes are their weps. In to their secrettes come not my soule/ and vnto their congregation be my honoure not coupled: for in their wrath they slewe a man/ and in their selfewill they houghed an oxe. Cursed be their wrath for it was stronge/ and their fearsnes for it was cruell. I will therfore deuyde them in Iacob/ & scater them in Israel.

Iuda/ thy brethern shall prayse the/ & thine hande shalbe in the necke of thyne enimies/ & thy fathers childern shall stoupe vnto the. Iuda is a lions whelpe. Fr spoyle my sonne thou art come an hye: he layde him downe and couched himselfe as a lion/ and as a lionesse. Who dare stere him vp? The sceptre shall not departe from Iuda/ nor a ruelar from betwene his legges/ vntill Silo come/ vnto whome the people shall herken. He shall bynde his fole vnto the vine/ and his a.s.ses colt vnto the vyne braunche/ d shall wash his garment in wyne and his mantell in the bloud of grapes/ his eyes are roudier than wyne/ d his teeth whitter then mylke.

Zabulon shall dwell in the hauen of the see and in the port of shippes/ & shall reache vnto Sidon.

Isachar is a stronge a.s.se/ he couched him doune betwene .ij. borders/ and sawe that rest was good and the lande that it was pleasant/ and bowed his shulder to beare/ and became a servaunte vnto trybute.

Dan shall iudge his people/ as one of the trybes of Israel. Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye/ and an edder in the path/ and byte the horse heles/ so y^t his ryder shall fall backwarde. After thy sauynge loke I LORde.

Gad/ men of warre shall invade him. And he shall turne them to flyght.

Off a.s.ser cometh fatt breed/ and he shall geue pleasures for a kynge.

Nepthali is a swyft hynde/ d geueth goodly wordes.

That floryshynge childe Ioseph/ that florishing childe and goodly vn to the eye: the doughters come forth to bere ruele. The shoters haue envyed him and chyde with him d hated him/ and yet his bowe bode fast/ & his armes and his handes were stronge/ by the handes of the myghtye G.o.d of Iacob: out of him shall come an herde m a stone in Israel. Thi fathers G.o.d shall helpe the/ & the almightie shall blesse the with blessinges from heaven aboue/ and with blessinges of the water that lieth vnder/ & with blessinges of the brestes & of the wombe. The blessinges of thy father were stronge: euen as the blessinges of my elders/ after the desyre of the hiest in the worlde/ and these blessinges shall fall on the head of Ioseph/ and on the toppe of the head of him y^t was separat from his brethern.

Ben Iamin is a raueshynge wolfe. In the mornynge he shall deuoure his praye/ d at nyghte he shall deuyde his spoyle.

All these are the .xij. tribes of Israel/ & this is that which their father spake vnto them wh? he blessed them/ euery man with a severall blessinge. And he charged them and sayde vnto them. I shall be put vnto my people: se that ye burye me with my fathers/ in the caue that is in the felde of Ephron the Hethyte/ in the double caue that is in the felde before Mamre in the lande of Canaan. Which felde Abraham boughte of Ephron the Hethite for a possessi to burye in. There they buryed Abrah and Sara his wyfe/ there they buryed Isaac & Rebecca his wyfe. And there I buried Lea: which felde & the caue that is therin/ was bought of the childern of Heth.

When Iacob had commaunded all that he wold vnto his sonnes/ he plucked vp his fete apon the bedd and dyed/ and was put vnto his people. And Ioseph fell apon his fathers face/ and wepte apon him/ and kyssed him.

The .l. Chapter.

And Ioseph commaunded his seruauntes that were Phisicions/ to embawme his father/ and the Physicis ?bawmed Israel .xl. dayes lge/ for so lge doth y^e embawminge last/ & the Egiptians bewepte him .lxx. dayes.

And when the dayes of wepynge were ended/ Ioseph spake vnto y^e house of Pharao saynge: Yf I haue founde fauoure in youre eyes/ speake vnto Pharao and tell him/ how that my father made me swere and sayde: loo/ I dye/ se that thou burye me in my graue which I haue made me in the lande of Canaan. Now therfore let me goo and burye my father/ d th will I come agayne. And Pharao sayde/ goo and burye thy father/ acordynge as he made the swere.

And Ioseph went vp to burie his father/ and with him went all the seruauntes of Pharao that were the elders of his house/ d all y^e elders of Egipte/ and all the house of Ioseph d his brethern & his fathers house: only their childern & their shepe and their catell lefte they behinde them in the lande of Gosan. And there went with him also Charettes and hors.e.m.e.n: so that they were an exceadynge great companye.

And when they came to y^e feld of Atad beyonde Iordane/ there they made great & exceadinge sore lamentaci. And he morned for his father .vij. dayes. When the enhabiters of the lande the Cananytes sawe the moornynge in y^e felde of Atad/ they saide: this is a greate moornynge which the Egiptians make. Wherfore y^e name of the place is called Abel mizraim/ which place lyeth beyonde Iordane. And his sonnes dyd vnto him acordynge as he had commaunded them.

And his sonnes caried him in to the land of Canaan and buryed him in the double caue which Abrah had boughte with the felde to be a place to burye in/ of Ephron the Hethite before Mamre. And Ioseph returned to Egipte agayne and his brethern/ and all that went vp with him to burye his father/ a.s.sone as he had buryed him.

Wh? Iosephs brethern sawe that their father was deade/ they sayde: Ioseph myghte fortune to hate us and rewarde us agayne all the euell which we dyd vnto him. They dyd therfore a commaundment vnto Ioseph saynge: thy father charged before his deth saynge. This wise say vnto Ioseph/ forgeue I pray the the tres.p.a.ce of thy brethern & their synne/ for they rewarded the euell. Now therfore we praye the/ forgeue the tres.p.a.ce of the servauntes of thy fathers G.o.d. And Ioseph wepte when they spake vnto him.

And his brethern came d fell before him and sayde: beholde we be thy servauntes. And Ioseph sayde vnto them: feare not/ for am not I vnder G.o.d? Ye thoughte euell vnto me: but G.o.d turned it vnto good to bringe to pa.s.se/ as it is this daye/ euen to saue moch people a lyue Feare not therfore/ for I will care for you and for youre childern/ and he spake kyndly vnto them.

Ioseph dwelt in Egipte and his fathers house also/ d lyved an hundred & .x. yere. And Ioseph sawe Ephraims childern/ eu? vnto the thyrde generation. And vnto Machir the sonne of Mana.s.ses were childern borne/ & satt on Iosephs knees.

And Ioseph sayde vnto his brethern: I die And G.o.d will suerlie vysett you and bringe you out of this lande/ vnto the lande which he sware vnto Abraham/ Isaac and Iacob. And Ioseph toke an ooth of the childern of Israel d sayde: G.o.d will not fayle but vysett you/ se therfore that ye carye my boones hence. And so Ioseph dyed/ when he was an hundred and .x. yere olde.

And they enbawmed him and put him in a chest in Egipte.

The end of the first boke of Moses.

-- A table expoundinge certeyne wordes.

Abrech/ tender father/ or as some will/ bowe the knee.

Areke/ a shippe made flatte as it were a chest or cofer.

Bisse: fyne whyte/ whether it be silke or linen.

Blesse: G.o.des blessinges are his giftes/ as in the firste chaptre he blessed them saynge: growe & multiplye & haue dominion &c. And in the .ix. chaptre he blessed Noe & his sonnes & gaue th? domini over all beestes & authoryte to care th? And G.o.d blessed Abrah with catell d other ryches. And Iacob desyred Esau to receaue y^e blessinge which he brought him/ y^t is the preasent & gifte. G.o.d blessed the .vij. daye/ y^t is/ gaue it a prehemynence y^t men shuld rest therein from bodely laboure & lerne to know the will of G.o.d & his lawes & how to worke their workes G.o.dly all the weke after. G.o.d also blesseth all nations in Abrahams seed/ that is/ he turneth his loue & favoure vnto th? and geveth th? his spirite and knowledge of the true waye/ d l.u.s.t and power to walke therin/ and all for christes sake Abrahams sonne.

Cain/ so is it writen in Hebrue. Notwithstdinge whether we coll him Cain or caim it maketh no matter/ so we vnderstand the meaninge.

Euery lande hath his maner/ that we call Ihon the welchemen call Evan: the douch hce. Soch differ?ce is betwene the Ebrue/ greke and laten: and that maketh them that translate out of the ebrue varye in names from them that translate out of laten or greke.

Curse: G.o.des curse is the takynge awaye of his benefytes. As G.o.d cursed the erth and made it baren. So now hunger/ derth/ warre/ pestilence and soch like are yet ryght curses and signes of the wrath of G.o.d vnto the vnbeleuers: but vnto them that knowe Christ/ they are very blessinges and that wholsome crosse & true purgatorye of oure flesh/ thorow which all must go that will lyue G.o.dly d be saued: as thou readest Mat .v. Blessed are they that suffre persecution for rightewesnes sake. &c. And hebrewes .xi. The lorde chastyseth whom he loveth and scorgeth all the children that he receaveth.

Eden: pleasure

Firmament: the skye.

Fayth is the belevinge of G.o.ddes promesses & a sure trust in the goodnesse and truth of G.o.d. Which faith iustifyeth Abrah gene .xv.

and was the mother of all his good workes which he afterward did. For faith is the goodnesse of all workes in the sight of G.o.d. Good workes are thinges of G.o.des comaundem?t wrought in faith. And to sow a showe at the commaundement of G.o.d to do thy neyghboure service withall/ with faith to be saved by Christ (as G.o.d promyseth vs.) is moch better th? to bild an abbay of thyne awne imagination/ trustinge to be saved by the fayned workes of hypocrites. Iacob robbed Laban his vncle: Moses robbed the Egiptians: And Abrah is aboute to slee and burne his awne sonne: And all are holye workes/ because they were wrought in fayth at G.o.ddes commaundement. To stele/ robbe and murther are no holye workes before worldly people: but vnto them that haue their truste in G.o.d: they are holye when G.o.d commaundeth them.

What G.o.d commaundeth not getteth no reward with G.o.d. Holy workes of mens imagination receave their rewarde here/ as Christ testyfyeth Math .vj. How be it of fayth & workes I haue spoken abundantly in mammon.

Let him that desyreth more seke there.

Grace: fauoure/ As Noe founde grace/ that is to saye favoure and love.

Ham and Cam all one.

Iehovah is G.o.ddes name/ nether is any creature so called. And it is as moch to saye as one that is of him self and dependeth of nothinge.

Moreouer as oft as thou seist LORde in great letters (excepte there be any erroure in the pr?tinge) it is in hebrewe Iehovah/ thou that arte or he that is.

Marshall/ in hebrue he is called Sar tabaim/ as thou woldest saye/ lorde of the slaughtermen And though that Tabaim be tak? for c.o.kes in many places/ for the c.o.kes did sle the beastes th? selues in those dayes: yet it may be taken for them that put men to execution also.

And that me thought it shuld here best signifye in as moch as he had the oversight of the kinges preson and the kinges presoners were they neuer so great m? were vnder his custodye. And therfore I call him cheffe marshall an officer as is the lefetenaunte of the toure/ or master of the marshalsye.

Slyme was their morter .xi. Chapter/ And slyme pittes .xiiij. chapter: that slyme was a fattenesse that osed out of the erth lyke vnto tarre/ And thou mayst call it cement/ if thou wilt.

Siloh after some is as moch to saye as sent/ & after some happie/ and after some it signifieth Mesias/ y^t is to say annoynted and that we call Christe after the greke worde. And it is a prophesie of Christ: For after y^t all y^e other tribes were in captiuite & their kyngdom destroyed/ yet the tribe of Iuda had a ruler of the same bloud/ even vnto the comynge of Christ. And aboute the comige of Christ the Romayns conquered them/ and the Emperoure gaue the kyngdom of tribe Iuda vnto Herode which was a straunger/ even an Edomite of the generacyon of Esau.

Testam?t here/ is an appoyntem?t made betwene G.o.d and m/ and G.o.ddes promyses. And sacram?t is a signe representinge soch an appoyntement and promeses: As the raynebowe representeth the promyse made to Noe/ that G.o.d will no more drowne the worlde. And circ.u.mcision representeth the promyses of G.o.d to Abraham on the one syde/ and that Abrah and his seed shuld circ.u.mcyse and cut off the l.u.s.tes of their fleshe/ on the other syde/ to walke in the wayes of the lorde: As baptysme which is come in the roume therof/ now signifieth on the one syde/ how that all that repent and beleve are washed in Christes bloud: And on the other syde/ how that the same must quench d droune the l.u.s.tes of the flesh/ to folow the steppes of Christ.

There were tyrantes in the erth in those dayes/ for the sonnes of G.o.d sawe the daughters of men. &c. The sonnes of G.o.d were the prophetes childerne/ which (though they succeded there fathers) fell yet from the right waye/ and thorow falsehod of hypocrysye subdued the world vnder them and became tyrantes/ As the successours of the apostles haue played with vs.

Vapor/ a dewymiste/ as the smoke of a sethynge pott.