their treacherous dealings with Joseph. He took good care
therefore never to be alone with his father. But as he desired
to be kept informed of his welfare, he arranged a
courier service between himself and Jacob.

Now when Joseph received the news of his father's having
fallen sick, through his messenger, as well as through Ephraim,
whom Jacob was instructing in the Torah, he hastened
to the land of Goshen, taking his two sons with him. He
desired to have certainty upon five points: Would his father
bless his two sons, who were born in Egypt, and, if so, would
he appoint them to be heads of tribes? Would he assign
the rights of the first-born unto himself, and, if so, would
he divest Reuben of such rights altogether? And why had
his father buried his mother Rachel by the wayside, and not