t12papocrypha
Testament of Joseph 1
Joseph, son of Jacob, opens his final testament by rehearsing the master pattern of his life before his sons and brethren: hatred, the pit, slavery, captivity, hunger, prison, slander — and at each stage, Jehovah's countering act of deliverance, nourishment, comfort, and exaltation. The Most High is named distinctly alongside the Lord and the Saviour, signaling the Father-of-the-Father pattern operating behind Joseph's rescue. The arc from pit to exaltation is not incidental biography; it is the covenant structure Joseph is transmitting to his lineage — the same pattern the birthright tribe will re-live in the last days.
1
The record of the testament of Joseph. When he was about to die he called his sons and his brethren together, and said to them:
2
My children and brethren, hearken to Joseph the beloved of Israel; give ear, my sons, unto your father.
3
I have seen in my life envy and death, and I wandered not in the truth of the Lord.
4
These my brethren hated me, and the Lord loved me: they wished to slay me, and the God of my fathers guarded me: they let me down into a pit, and the Most High brought me up again.
5
I was sold for a slave, and the Lord made me free: I was taken into captivity, and His strong hand succoured me: I was kept in hunger, and the Lord Himself nourished me.
6
I was alone, and God comforted me: I was sick, and the Most High visited me: I was in prison, and the Saviour showed favour unto me; in bonds, and He released me;
7
amid slanders, and He pleaded my cause; amid bitter words of the Egyptians, and He rescued me; amid envy and guile, and He exalted me.
