there forever, God gave him the assurance that He would
lead him forth together with all the pious that were like
unto him.[306] And God also told Jacob that Joseph had remained
steadfast in his piety even in Egypt, and he might
dismiss all doubts from his mind on this score, for it was his
anxiety on this account that had induced Jacob to consider
going down into Egypt; he wanted only to make sure of
Joseph's faithfulness, and then return home, but God
commanded him to go thither and remain there.[307]

Before Jacob left Canaan, he went to Beer-sheba, to hew
down the cedars that Abraham had planted there, and
take them with him to Egypt. For centuries these cedar
trees remained in the possession of his descendants; they
carried them with them when they left Egypt, and they

 
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