Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Joseph's Prophecy of Two Deliverers

 



In the Book of Genesis we read:

24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
(Gen. 50:24-26 KJV)

The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to these verses, inserts a prophecy by Joseph, about two deliverers that are to come (Moses and another):

24 And Joseph said to his Brethren Behold, I die; but the Lord remembering will remember you and will bring you up from this land, into the land which He sware to Abraham, to Izhak, and to Jakob.
25 And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel to say to their sons Behold, you will be brought into servitude in Mizraim; but you shall not presume to go up out of Mizraim until the time that two Deliverers shall come, and say to you, Remembering, remember ye the Lord. And at the time when ye go up ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 And Joseph died, the son of a hundred and ten years. And they embalmed him with perfumes, and laid him in an ark, and submerged him in the midst of the Nilos of Mizraim.
(Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 50:24-26)

It just so happens that this passage is also exactly where the Joseph Smith Translation places a prophecy by Joseph (also referenced in the Stick of Joseph (2Nefi 2:3)), which is also concerning two deliverers to come: Moses and the Choice Seer:

Gen 50:24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die and go unto my fathers; and I go down to my grave with joy. The God of my father Jacob be with you, to deliver you out of affliction in the days of your bondage; for the Lord hath visited me, and I have obtained a promise of the Lord that out of the fruit of my loins the Lord God will raise up a righteous branch out of my loins; and unto thee, whom my father Jacob hath named Israel, a prophet (not the Messiah who is called Shilo); and this prophet shall deliver my people out of Egypt in the days of thy bondage.
Gen 50:25 And it shall come to pass that they shall be scattered again; and a branch shall be broken off and shall be carried into a far country; nevertheless, they shall be remembered in the covenants of the Lord when the Messiah cometh; for he shall be made manifest unto them in the latter days, in the Spirit of power, and shall bring them out of darkness into light--out of hidden darkness and out of captivity unto freedom.
Gen 50:26 A seer shall the Lord my God raise up, who shall be a choice seer unto the fruit of my loins.
Gen 50:27 Thus saith the Lord God of my fathers unto me, A choice seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and he shall be esteemed highly among the fruit of thy loins; and unto him will I give commandment that he shall do a work for the fruit of thy loins, his brethren.
Gen 50:28 And he shall bring them to the knowledge of the covenants which I have made with thy fathers; and he shall do whatsoever work I shall command him.
Gen 50:29 And I will make him great in mine eyes, for he shall do my work; and he shall be great like unto him whom I have said I would raise up unto you, to deliver my people, O house of Israel, out of the land of Egypt; for a seer will I raise up to deliver my people out of the land of Egypt; and he shall be called Moses. And by this name he shall know that he is of thy house; for he shall be nursed by the king's daughter and shall be called her son.
Gen 50:30 And again, a seer will I raise up out of the fruit of thy loins, and unto him will I give power to bring forth my word unto the seed of thy loins--and not to the bringing forth of my word only, saith the Lord, but to the convincing them of my word, which shall have already gone forth among them in the last days;
Gen 50:31 Wherefore, the fruit of thy loins shall write, and the fruit of the loins of Judah shall write; and that which shall be written by the fruit of thy loins and also that which shall be written by the fruit of the loins of Judah shall grow together unto the confounding of false doctrines, and laying down of contentions, and establishing peace among the fruit of thy loins, and bringing them to a knowledge of their fathers in the latter days, and also to the knowledge of my covenants, saith the Lord.
Gen 50:32 And out of weakness shall he be made strong in that day when my work shall go forth among all my people, which shall restore them who are of the house of Israel in the last days.
Gen 50:33 And that seer will I bless, and they that seek to destroy him shall be confounded; for this promise I give unto you; for I will remember you from generation to generation; and his name shall be called Joseph, and it shall be after the name of his father; and he shall be like unto you; for the thing which the Lord shall bring forth by his hand shall bring my people unto salvation.
Gen 50:34 And the Lord sware unto Joseph that he would preserve his seed forever, saying, I will raise up Moses, and a rod shall be in his hand; and he shall gather together my people, and he shall lead them as a flock; and he shall smite the waters of the Red Sea with his rod.
Gen 50:35 And he shall have judgment and shall write the word of the Lord. And he shall not speak many words, for I will write unto him my law by the finger of mine own hand. And I will make a spokesman for him, and his name shall be called Aaron.
Gen 50:36 And it shall be done unto thee in the last days also, even as I have sworn. Therefore, Joseph said unto his brethren, God will surely visit you and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware unto Abraham, and unto Isaac, and to Jacob.
Gen 50:37 And Joseph confirmed many other things unto his brethren and took an oath of the children of Israel, saying unto them, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
Gen 50:38 So Joseph died when he was a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and they put him in a coffin in Egypt; and he was kept from burial by the children of Israel, that he might be carried up and laid in the sepulcher with his father. And thus they remembered the oath which they sware unto him.
(JST-Gen 50:24-38 = KJV Gen. 50:24-26)

Not only does the Targum and the Joseph Smith Translation both have Joseph making a prophecy about two deliverers to come, Moses and another, but both the Targum and the Joseph Smith Translation place this prophecy in exactly the same place corresponding to Genesis 50:24-26!

 




Joseph's Prophecy of Two Deliverers

  In the Book of Genesis we read: 24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land...