¹And the high priest said, Are these things so? ²And he said, Brethren and fathers, hearken: The God of glory appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, ³and said unto him, Get thee out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall show thee. ⁴Then came he out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and dwelt in Haran: and from thence, when his father was dead, God removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell: ⁵and he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: and he promised that he would give it to him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child. ⁶And God spake on this wise, that his seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they should bring them into bondage, and treat them ill, four hundred years. ⁷And the nation to which they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place. ⁸And he gave him the covenant of circumcision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob the twelve patriarchs. ⁹And the patriarchs, moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt: and God was with him, ¹⁰and delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house. ¹¹Now there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance. ¹²But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent forth our fathers the first time. ¹³And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pharaoh. ¹⁴And Joseph sent, and called to him Jacob his father, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls. ¹⁵And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, himself and our fathers; ¹⁶and they were carried over unto Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of Hamor in Shechem. ¹⁷But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, ¹⁸till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. ¹⁹The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that they should cast out their babes to the end they might not live.