6. God said that Abraham's descendants would live for a while in a foreign land. There they would be slaves and would be ill-treated four hundred years.
7. But he also said, “I will punish the nation that makes them slaves. Then later they will come and worship me in this place.”
8. God said to Abraham, “Every son in each family must be circumcised to show that you have kept your agreement with me.” So when Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him. Later, Isaac circumcised his son Jacob, and Jacob circumcised his twelve sons.
9. These men were our ancestors.Joseph was also one of our famous ancestors. His brothers were jealous of him and sold him as a slave to be taken to Egypt. But God was with him
10. and rescued him from all his troubles. God made him so wise that the Egyptian king Pharaoh thought highly of him. Pharaoh even made Joseph governor over Egypt and put him in charge of everything he owned.
11. Everywhere in Egypt and Canaan the grain crops failed. There was terrible suffering, and our ancestors could not find enough to eat.
12. But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our ancestors there for the first time.
13. It was on their second trip that Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learnt about Joseph's family.
14. Joseph sent for his father and his relatives. In all, there were seventy-five of them.
15. His father went to Egypt and died there, just as our ancestors did.
16. Later their bodies were taken back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor.
17. Finally, the time came for God to do what he had promised Abraham. By then the number of our people in Egypt had greatly increased.