THE THIRD BOOK OF JOSEPH
A Fragment

1. The record of Iouiya, also called Joseph by the Hebrews, Holy Father of the Lord of the Two Lands:
2. Master of the Horse and Deputy of Pharaoh in the Chariotry;
3. Ring-bearer of the King of Lower Egypt, and Seal-bearer of the King of Lower Egypt;
4. Noble and Count for all generations of time;
5. Overseer of the Cattle of Min, Lord of Akhmim and Overseer of the Cattle of Amun;
6. Favourite of Pharaoh and Confidant of the King;
7. Mouth of the King of Upper Egypt and Ears of the King of Lower Egypt;
8. Prophet of the Most High God;
9. Sole Friend and the First of Friends;
10. Prince, the Great Prince;
11. Great of Love;
12. Plentiful of Favours in the House of the King, and Plentiful of Favours under his God;
13. Enduring of Love under his God;
14. Beloved of the King of Upper Egypt and Beloved of the King of Lower Egypt: Beloved of the Lord of the Two Lands;
15. Beloved of God;
16. Possessed of Favour under the Lord of the Two Lands;
17. Praised of the Good God and praised of his God;
18. Praised of his Lord; praised of his Lord Yah;
19. Praised of the King; praised of the Lord of the Two Lands;
20. Praised One who came forth from the Body of the Praised;
21. One made rich by the King of Lower Egypt and one made rich by the King of Upper Egypt;
22. One made great by the Lord who doth all things;
23. First among the King's Companions;
24. The Wise One;
25. He whom the King made Great and Wise, whom the King hath made his Double.

1. Now these are the generations of Joseph in the land of Egypt:
2. Joseph, who is called Iouiya by the Egyptians, took unto wife Asenath, who is called Touiyou, or Zelekha, or the King's Ornament, by the Egyptians.
3. And Joseph begat two sons, Manasseh, and Ephraim, and a daughter, Tiye.
4. Now it came to pass that Tiya was given in marriage unto Pharaoh Amenhotep in her eighth year, for they grew up together in the Royal palace; and they loved each other.
5. Now Amenhotep was the son of Tuthmosis, the Pharaoh who uncovered the sphinx, because of the vision at Harmakhis.
6. And it came to pass that Tiya became the sister-wife of Sitamun, the sister and wife of Pharaoh Amenhotep, the daughter of Tuthmosis and Hatshepsut.
7. And, behold, Amenhotep married his infant sister in her third year, according to the Egyptian custom, that he might retain the title of Pharaoh in his family.
8. Now on account of the marriage of Tiya unto the Pharaoh Amenhotep did Asenath obtain of Pharoah the title, "Royal Handmaid, the Favoured One of Hathor, the Favoured One of Horus in the House of the King", for she waited upon her daughter Tiya in the Palace of Pharaoh.
9. Therefore did Tiya, the daughter of Joseph, become the Great Royal Wife, or Queen, of Pharaoh; and Asenath waited upon her, and also her sister-wife Sitamun, and was a mother unto them both.
10. Now Tiya begat Amenhotep, who is also called Akhnaten, who destroyed the gods of the Egyptians and closed the temples and caused that the whole land of Egypt should worship the One True God, even the God of Joseph.
11. And Akhnaten ruled together with Semenkhkare as coregent; but Semenkhkare died in his twentieth year, and thereafter Akhnaten ruled alone.
12. And Akhnaten was taken unto his fathers in the fifteenth year of his sister-wife Sitamun, having been obedient unto the statutes of the One and True God of Heaven; and there were no more images of the gods left in the land of Egypt.
13. Now Akhnaten begat Tutankhamun who ruled for nine years until he was taken unto his fathers in his nineteenth year.
14. Now Tutankhamun did not follow in the ways of his father Akhnaten but compromised his religion by allowing the old gods of Egypt to be worshipped alongside the One True God of Heaven.
15. It was he who restored the false temples, taking his court from Amarna and unto Thebes, and lavished gifts upon the priests of Amun that he might win their favour.
16. Now the priests conspired with Horemheb, Captain of the Egyptian Army, who murdered Tutankhamun and his wife Nefertiti, and agreed that he should become Pharaoh.
17. These were the times of sorrow in the land of Egypt, for the statutes of the One and True High God were no longer obeyed, and Egypt returned unto darkness once again.
18. Now it came to pass that Ephraim, the son of Joseph, who was known as Aye amongst the Egyptians, and had served the Pharaohs Akhnaten, Semenkhkare and Tutankhamun as vizier, became Pharaoh; and he was eighty nine years old.
19. Now Pharaoh Tutankhamun had two wives, even Nefertiti and Ankhsenpaaten;
20. Ankhsenpaaten followed the statutes of the One True God of Heaven; but Nefertiti worshipped the gods of Egypt.
21. And behold, it was Nefertiti who led the head of Tutankhamun astray, flattering him because of her exceeding great beauty, and persuaded him to restore the gods of Egypt.
22. And behold, Ephraim married the widow of Tutankhamun, even Ankhsenpaaten, and ruled in the stead of Tutankhamun; and by this means he obtained the throne and prevented Horemheb.
23. Now it came to pass that Ephraim destroyed the gods of Egypt like unto Akhnaten; and the priests of the Amun were exceedingly wrath.
24. Now it came to pass that Horemheb, Captain of the Egyptian Army, and the priests of Amun, conspired to remove Ephraim and his queen, Ankhsenpaaten also.
25. And it came to pass that Ephraim, being warned in a night dream that Horemheb was about to slay him, and his wives Ankhsenpaaten and Tey, and his children, fled from the palace with his family and from the land of Egypt.
26. And Ephraim ruled as Pharaoh for four years.
27. And it came to pass that Horemheb married Mutnedjemet, the sister of Nefertiti, and ruled with her.
28. A cloud of darkness fell upon the land of Egypt for Horemheb overturned all the statutes of Ephraim, and of Akhnaten, and of Joseph.
29. He slandered the name of Akhnaten, destroyed the monuments that he had built, and called him the Scoundrel of Amarna.
30. The names of Akhnaten and of Iouiya (Joseph) were forbidden throughout the whole of the land of Egypt, and it was he who altered the records, that their memory might be blotted out forever.
31. Now it came to pass that it was Pharaoh Horemheb who commenced the cruel oppression of the Israelites in the land of Egypt;
32. But it was Ramses who ruled at the time the Lord took Israel forth out of the land of Egypt by the hand of Moses.
33. Now it came to pass that the old gods of Egypt were never fully restored, and through the generations the Egyptians began to owe allegiance to Osiris and Seth;
34. For the worship of the One and True High God was never entirely destroyed, but became joined unto the worship of the gods of the Egyptians.
35. And though darkness once again overcame the land of Egypt, nevertheless a seed of light was preserved.
36. And it shall come to pass that Egypt shall be the first nation to accept the God of Joseph again, but it shall only be for a short season.
37. And it shall come to pass in the last day that the Egyptians shall once again awaken to a remembrance of the God of Joseph, and worship Him, and the true Son of God.

1. I am Seph-net-pananeh, which meaneth in the Egyptian: "The Man Who Knoweth Things", which name was given unto me by Pharaoh on account of the gift of God unto me to interpret dreams and prophesy.
2. And this is the Title which Pharaoh gave unto me because God confounded the priests of Egypt.
3. I was called Joseph by my father; but it is not easy for the Egyptians to speak the Hebrew tongue, therefore Pharaoh said unto me:
4. "What is the name of your God, by whom ye have received the divination of dreams?"
5. And I said unto him: "Yahu, the Son of El; but I know not His full Name".
6. And Pharaoh said unto me: "Thou shalt be called Iouiya-Seph-net-pananeh, which meaneth, 'Son of Yahu, the Man Who Knoweth Things'."
7. Therefore was I known as Iouiya amongst the Egyptians, and the name Joseph was heard no more until my family came down from the land of Canaan.
8. I am the son of Jacob, who is the son of Isaac, who is the son of Abraham: therefore I have been richly blessed by the Lord.
9. For it came to pass that my father Jacob, after he had wrestled with the Lord at Peniel and obtained the name Israel, conceived through my mother Rachel who had until that time remained barren.
10. And it was on account of my conception in my mother Rachel so soon after he had obtained his new name that my father knew I would receive the birthright.
11. Therefore he placed the birthright of Israel upon my head, declaring that I would become a prince of God with earthly authority like unto Pharaoh.
12. For this cause my brethren became exceedingly jealous of me for they feared I should take all their possessions from then and rule over them.
13. For this cause did my brethren sell me unto the Ishmailites that I might not become the heir and have my name blotted out amongst them.
14. And behold, I am the heir of the blessings given unto Abraham my father, I and my posterity after me.
15. The God of my fathers hath fulfilled His Word for I have become the heir of much land and am the second most powerful man in Egypt.
16. Yea, the God of Abraham hath given me rich land, yea, and soil that is exceedingly fertile that I may grow two crops in each year.....[end of fragment]