- c. 11 AD - 

Nazareth, Kingdom of Judea 

Roman Empire 

Joseph of Nazareth (Hebrew: יוסף, romanized: Yosef; Greek: Ἰωσήφ, romanized: Ioséph) was the husband of Mary, who was the mother of Jesus and therefore the father of Jesus. In the Bible it appears in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. According to the Gospel of Matthew, he was a craftsman by trade (in the original Greek, τέκτων), which in the early centuries of Christianity was already known as a carpenter, a profession that he would have taught his son, who the Gospel of Mark states was a carpenter.

The genealogies that appear at the beginning of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke present Joseph as a descendant of King David. According to Luke, Joseph was still alive when Jesus was twelve years old. Since no evangelist mentions it during Jesus' public ministry, it is presumed that Joseph had died before this happened. The Gospel of Matthew calls him "just," which is interpreted as loyal and devoted to what the Lord has established.

The Greek term used in both cases, "τέκτων", does not specifically correspond to "carpenter", but to "craftsman", to "worker", although more frequently it is said of Joseph that he was a carpenter. In fact, this is how it is usually translated in all Bibles.

Into the Heart of the Father

The Early Church Fathers, faithful to Christ and guides in the truth of the Gospel, were the first to take up the theme of Joseph of Nazareth. Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130 – c. 202 AD) noted that Joseph, just as he lovingly cared for Mary, dedicated himself with joy and perseverance to caring for Jesus Christ. Full of humility and obedience, he led a life of prayer, remaining in dialogue with God in the midst of difficulties, fears or weaknesses.

Irenaeus was joined by Ephrem the Syrian (c. 306 – 373) with a laudatory sermon, John Chrysostom (c. 347 – 14 September 407 AD), Jerome of Stridon (c. 342–347 – 30 September 420) and Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 – 28 August 430), who stated categorically, referring to Joseph and Mary: "The Holy Spirit rested in the justice of both of them and gave them both the Son. Although it was Mary who had to give birth, the child belonged to them both." Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 51, c. 20.

According to Hegesippus the Nazarene (c. 110 – c.180 AD), Joseph's brother was Cleophas, father of Simeon. Epiphanius (c. 310/320 – 403), bishop of Salamis, adds that Joseph and Cleophas would be brothers, sons of Jacob.

Epiphanius of Salamis (c. 310/320 – 403) wrote in his work The Panarion (c. 374/375) that Joseph was the father of James and his three brothers (Joseph, Simeon, Judah) and two sisters (one Salome and one Mary)​ or (one Salome and one Anna),​ with James being the eldest brother. James and his brothers were not children of Mary, but children of Joseph from a previous marriage.

After the death of Joseph's first wife, many years later, when he was eighty years old, "he took Mary (the mother of Jesus) with him."

Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. (Matthew 1:19-20 / King James Version)

The Gospel of Matthew​ shows part of the drama that Joseph experienced when he found out that Mary was pregnant. He was going to divorce her, secretly because it was the right thing to do, because he did not want her to be stoned as the Torah states (Deuteronomy 22:20-21).

The French Biblical and Archaeological School of Jerusalem interprets Joseph's justice as consisting in not wanting to cover up with his name a child whose father he did not know, but also in that, convinced of Mary's virtue, he refused to hand her over to the rigorous procedure of the law of Moses. According to the Gospel of Matthew (1:20-24), the angel of the Lord announced to her in a dream that she had conceived by the work of the Holy Spirit and that her son "would save his people from their sins," so Joseph accepted Mary.

Joseph of Nazareth was a just man, fearful of God, who sought to please Him in everything. He walked in obedience and was always ready to do God's will above circumstances. Firm in his principles and beliefs, subject to established rules and laws.

This is reflected in the way he faces the delicate moment when his fiancée becomes pregnant by the work of the Holy Spirit; in her womb she will carry the expected Messiah, Jesus the Savior, the Son of the Most High.

Knowing the law, he knew that it was considered a sin of adultery and that she deserved to be stoned to death. Due to his compassionate, loving and merciful nature, he did not want to harm her and decided to leave her secretly. He did not know that God had chosen Mary as a key piece in his plan to save man, lost and dead in his crimes and sins, and that it was also his turn, along with her, to serve as the earthly father of his only begotten Son.

Joseph, a pious man, submissive to the Lord, accepted her as his wife, regardless of the risks, keeping her a virgin until childbirth. This detail exemplifies his capacity for continence as a man.

The Gospel goes on to say that before Herod the Great (c. 72 BCE – c. 4 BCE) ordered the killing of all children under two years of age in Bethlehem and the entire region, Joseph took the child Jesus and his mother and fled to Egypt. When Herod died, Joseph returned to Israel with the child and his mother. But when Joseph heard that Herod Archelaus (23 BC – c. AD 18), son of Herod the Great, was reigning over Judea, he was afraid to go there and withdrew to the region of Galilee, to Nazareth (Matthew 2,13-23). According to the Gospel of Luke (1:26-38), Nazareth had been the place of residence of Mary, already married to Joseph, when the Annunciation took place (the day when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to Mary and revealed to her God's will that she become the Mother of the Son of God).

Joseph's great privilege was to be the ideal father that God wanted for his only Son. His obedience was so marked that he fulfilled all the norms. We can see him responding to the call for a census issued by the Roman Emperor Augustus (23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), and with Mary in an advanced state of pregnancy, when they go to Bethlehem to register, because they are from the house and family of David, where Jesus is born and thus the prophecy of Micah 5:2 is fulfilled.

The last time Joseph appears in the Bible is when Jesus was 12 years old, in the story of his loss and discovery in the temple. From then on, he is only mentioned when Jesus is referred to as his son, in Matthew 13:55, Luke 4:22, John 1:45, and John 6:42.

Joseph fulfilled God's purpose and his role as father by also being head of the family, provider, protector, supplier of needs, spiritual leader, fervent believer, trainer, instructor in beliefs and moral laws. He taught his trade to Jesus, and thus was recognized and remembered throughout the centuries.

Biblical Apocrypha

We call apocryphal those books that have certain similarities with the inspired books, but which were never received into the canon because they were not recognized as inspired because they did not meet the requirements of canonicity.

It is impossible to determine an exact number of apocryphal books because this year also saw the discovery of new biblical documents and the possible presence of some extra-biblical ones. To establish an exact number of known apocryphal documents we would have to talk about all the archives found, preserved and recorded in formal publications.

Most experts place the date of writing of the Old Testament apocrypha between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC. The intertestamental period was particularly turbulent in political and religious terms, and perhaps that was one of the driving forces that motivated many to write documents and attribute them to a recognized biblical author to validate their message.

«The apocryphal gospels constitute an important part of the tradition of the facts of Christianity. However, the label "apocryphal" has caused scholars and ordinary Christians to disapprove of them. Along with the canonical gospels, the apocryphal gospels are classified as those that refer to legends and myths as opposed to those that speak of facts. This is not always the case, since sometimes, although certainly rarely, they transmit certain news and sayings of Jesus that may be close to the historical Jesus.

The term "apocrypha" etymologically means "hidden." In a certain way, the primitive name alludes to an intentional reservation, since for some ecclesiastics as well as for some heretics, these were works known and used only by a privileged group of initiates. The label was particularly useful to them, since apocryphal writings were frequently criticized by most orthodox writers as dangerous or deviant from true doctrine.

The current meaning of "apocryphal" has changed from this original sense and means "false, rejected" by orthodoxy, so it is especially dedicated to works that imitate biblical literary genres but that have not been admitted by the Church into the canon of inspired books.

History of Joseph the Carpenter (Historia Josephi Fabri Lignari)

The History of Joseph the Carpenter (Historia Josephi Fabri Lignari) is a compilation of traditions concerning Mary (mother of Jesus), Joseph, and the Holy Family, probably composed in Byzantine Egypt in Greek in the late sixth or early seventh centuries, but surviving only in Coptic and Arabic language translation (apart from several Greek papyrus fragments). The text bears witness to the belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary.

It is one of the texts within the New Testament apocrypha concerned with the period of Jesus' life before he was 12.

The text is framed as an explanation by Jesus on the Mount of Olives concerning the life of Joseph, his stepfather. Agreeing with Mary's continued virginity, the text proclaims that Joseph had four sons (Judas, Justus, James, and Simon) and two daughters (Assia and Lydia) by a previous marriage.

After this basic background, the text proceeds to paraphrase the Gospel of James (or the Protoevangelium of James), stopping at the point of Jesus' birth. The text states that Joseph was miraculously blessed with mental and physical youth, dying at the age of 111. His oldest sons (Justus and Simon) get married and have children, and likewise his two daughters get married and live in their own houses.

Joseph's death takes up a substantial portion of the text. He first lets out a significant prayer, including in his last words a series of lamentations about his carnal sins. About 50% of the work is an extension of the death scene, in which the angel of death, as well as the archangels Michael and Gabriel, appear to him. At the conclusion of the text, Jesus affirms that Mary remained a virgin throughout her days by addressing her as "my mother, virgin undefiled."

The text says "And the holy apostles have preserved this conversation, and have left it written down in the library at Jerusalem."

Some information indicates the text was written in Egypt in the fifth century. Two versions survive, one in Coptic, the other in Arabic, with the Coptic version likely being the original. Much of the text is based on material in the Gospel of James. There exists also Ethiopic, Greek and Syriac manuscripts.

The early third-century apocryphal "First Apocalypse of James" from the Nag Hammadi library states: Jesus speaking to James, "For not without reason have I called you my brother, although you are not my brother materially." This adds an additional record of Mary's relationship to Jesus' brothers, allowing the explanation of her perpetual virginity.

This is the coming forth from the body of Joseph the carpenter, the human father of Jesus Christ, who spent 111 years in his life. Our Saviour told the apostles about his entire life on the Mount of Olives. The apostles wrote it down and deposited it in the library in Jerusalem. Joseph died on the 26th Epip in the peace of God. Amen.

Speech of Jesus to the Apostles

I. One day, when our good Saviour was sitting on the Mount of Olives, surrounded by his disciples, he said to them, "My beloved brethren and children of my good Father, whom he has chosen from the entire world, you know how often I have told you that I have to be crucified and taste death on behalf of all mankind, that I will rise again from the dead and that I will entrust to you the preaching of the gospel throughout the whole world. I will grant to you strength from on high and fill you with a holy spirit, so that you may preach to all the nations of the earth, telling them to repent. For it is better that a man should find a cup of water in the world to come than all the riches of the present world; a single footstep in the house of my Father is better than all the wealth of this world; and furthermore a single hour of the just rejoicing is better than a thousand years of sinners weeping and moaning, for their tears will not be wiped away and they will be consigned to oblivion. Therefore, my revered limbs, when you go forth, preach to them that my Father will settle His accounts with you using a just scale and a just measure and that everything they say will be examined. Just as there is no escape from death, so there is no escape from one's actions, whether they are good or bad. And remember this too, that nobody will escape because of his influence or wealth. Now listen, and I will tell you the life story of my father Joseph, the aged and revered carpenter."

Widowhood of Joseph

II. There was a man called Joseph, who lived in the town of Bethlehem, a Jewish town that was the home of King David. He had learned wisdom and the skill of carpentry. Joseph was married in the eyes of God, and his wife had given him sons and daughters: four boys called Judas, Justus, Jacob and Simeon, and two girls called Lysia and Lydia. His wife died when Jacob was quite small. He was a righteous man who praised God in all things and he worked with his two sons at his trade, which provided them with a living according to the law of Moses. And it was to this man, my human father, that my mother Mary was betrothed.

Mary is presented in the temple

III. When my father Joseph became a widow, Mary, my mother for her part, she of all good and blessed ways, was in the temple of God serving Him in purity. She was twelve years old and had spent three years with her parents and nine years in the temple of the Lord. When the priests saw that she lived modestly and in the fear of the Lord, they said, "Let us find a good man and betroth her to him until it is time for her to marry lest we allow the custom of women to happen to her in the temple, for it would be very sinful of us."

Joseph's choice as Mary's tutelary husband

IV. They then summoned the tribe of Juda and selected from it twelve men in accordance with the number of tribes in Israel. The choice fell upon that worthy elder, my human father Joseph. The priests told my mother to accompany Joseph and remain obedient to him until the wedding. Joseph took Mary home, where she found Jacob a poor orphan and set about caring for him. And so she came to be called 'mother of Jacob'. After Joseph had installed her in his house, he went about his business as a carpenter. Mary spent two years in his house until the good time.

Pure conception of Mary / Doubts and worries of Joseph

V. In the fourteenth year of her life I came of my own accord. I came into 5existence inside her, I the living Jesus, your life. After Mary had been pregnant for three months, the innocent Joseph returned home from the place where he did his carpentry and found his wife pregnant. Troubled and afraid, he decided to put her away secretly. He was so distressed that he neither ate nor drank.

An Angel Reveals to Joseph the Mystery of Mary's Pregnancy

VI. In the middle of the night Gabriel, the archangel of joy, came to him in a vision, in accordance with the instructions of my good Father. He said to him, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary for your wife. The child she will bear is from a Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son whom you will call Jesus. He is the one who will rule all nations with a rod of iron." The angel then left Joseph, who arose from his sleep and did as he had been instructed by the angel of the Lord. He took Mary for his wife.

Joseph's robust and judicious old age

X. After this long time. his body did not become weak, his eyes did not become dim, not a single tooth decayed in his mouth, he did not lose his understanding or wisdom in this whole time, but he was like a youth, having reached the age of 111 years in a good old age.

Submission of Jesus to his parents

XI. His two grown-up sons, Justus and Simeon, married and went to (live in) their own house and his two daughters likewise married, as it is appointed to everyone. Joseph lived with his youngest son Jacob. When the Virgin gave birth to me, I lived with them in all filial submission, for I have done everything human except for sin alone. I called Mary my mother and Joseph my father, and I obeyed them in everything they would say to me and I did not answer them back in anything, but I loved them very much.

Joseph's death approaches / Prayer directed by Joseph to God

XII. It happened after this that the death of Joseph drew near, as it is appointed for everyone. When his body became ill, his angel told him, "In this year you will die." And when his soul became troubled, he went to Jerusalem and went into the temple of the Lord, made obeisance before the altar and prayed as follows: 

XIII. "God the Father of all mercy and God of all flesh, the Lord of my soul, my body and my spirit. If the days of my life which you gave to me in this world are complete, then I beg you, Lord God, to send to me Michael the Archangel that he may stand beside me until my wretched soul comes forth from my body without pain or trouble, for the death of every person is a great fear and distress, whether man, beast domestic or wild, reptile or bird. In a word, every living creature that is under heaven, which has a living soul, experiences pain and distress, until their soul separates from their body. Now then, my Lord, 7may your angel stand with my soul and body until they separate from each other without pain. Do not let your angel which has been assigned to me since the day you formed me until now fill his face with anger at me on my way to you. But let him be peaceful with me. Let not those with different faces give me trouble on my way to you. Let not those who are upon the gates hold back my soul and do not give me shame at your fearful tribunal. Do not let the waves of the river of fire be fierce to me, the one in which every soul is cleansed before it sees the glory of your divinity. God who gives justice to each person in truth and righteousness, now my Lord, let your mercy be a commfort to me, for you are the spring of all good things. Glory is yours for ever and ever. Amen."

Joseph's illness

XIV. It happened after these things that he came down to Nazareth, the town where he lived and fell into the illness from which he was to die, as it is appointed to every person. His illness was much more serious than all the others he had ever suffered in his life. Here is the mode of life of my beloved father, Joseph. He was 40 when he married and spent another 49 years living with his wife, and she died. He spent a year alone, and my mother spent another two years in his house, when she had been given to him by the priests, who instructed him to watch over her until the time for matrimony. At the beginning of the third year in his house (when she was fifteen), she gave birth to me on earth in a mystery. There is no-one who knows it in all creation except me and my Father and the Holy Spirit, we being a unity.

Joseph's physical and mental disorders

XV. The total life-span of my father Joseph, the blessed elder, were 111 years, as my good Father ordained. The day he died was the 26th of Epip. The select gold began to change, that is the flesh of my father Joseph, and the silver transformed, that is the intellect and wisdom. He became oblivious of eating and drinking. His carpentry skills went astray. When the dawn broke on that day, the 26th of Epip, my father Joseph became very troubled on his bed. He sighed deeply. He clapped his hands together. He cried out. 

XVI. "Woe to me today, woe to the day when my mother brought me into this world. Woe to the belly from which I took the seed of life. Woe to the breasts from which I took milk. Woe to the feet at which I sat. Woe to the hands which raised me until I grew up and fell into sin. Woe to my tongue and my lips, because they have become twisted many times with evil and slander and lies and vain empty words full of deceit. Woe to my eyes, for they have looked at scandals. Woe to my ears, for they like to hear nonsense. Woe to my hands, for they have taken things that do not belong to them. Woe to my belly and nerves, for they desire to eat things that do not belong to them. When it (belly) finds things, it burns them up more than an oven burning at full flame and makes them useless in every way. Woe to my feet, these which serve my body badly, taking it on ways that are not good. Woe to my body, for it has made my soul a wasteland and alien to God who created it. What am I to do now ? I am enclosed on all sides. Truly, woe to all men who sin. Truly, this is the great trouble which I saw above Jacob my father as he was coming forth from the body; it is what is making me wretched today. But Jesus, God, the Intermediary of my soul and body performs his will in me."

Jesus comforts his father

XVII. My beloved father Joseph having said these things, I got up and went in to him while he was lying down and found him disturbed in his soul and spirit. I said to him, "Greetings, my beloved father Joseph, of goodly and blessed old age." He replied in great fear of death, saying to me, "Many greetings, my beloved son. My soul has recovered a little now that I have heard your voice. 

Jesus my Lord, Jesus my King of Truth, my good and merciful Saviour, Jesus the one who restores, Jesus the guide, the protector, Jesus the one who has everything in the grip of His goodness, the one whose name is sweet in the mouth of everyone and is very powerful, Jesus the seeing eye, the hearing ear in truth, hear me today, I His servant, I beg you, I shed my tears in your presence. You are God in truth, you are the Lord in truth, as the angel has told me many times, especially that day when my heart troubled me because of a human thought towards the Blessed Virgin, because she had conceived a child and I thought that I would throw her out secretly. As I was thinking of this, the angel appeared to me in a vision, saying, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to your wife. The one whom she will bear is from a Holy Spirit. Be in no doubt about her conception. She will bear a son, and you will call him Jesus.' You are Jesus Christ, the Saviour of my soul and my body and my spirit. Do not blame me, your servant and handiwork. I did not know, my Lord, nor do I understand the mystery of your incredible birth, nor have I ever heard that a woman conceived without a man. But a Virgin has given birth, though confirmed in her virginity. O Lord, if the appointment of this were not a mystery, I would not believe in you or your sacred birth. I recall the day when the viper bit the child and he died. His people surrounded you to give you up to Herod. Your mercy touched him. You raised him about whom they said that you had killed him. There was great joy in the house of the one who had died. At that moment I seized your ear, I said to you, 'Be wise, my Son.' At that moment you reproached me, 'If you were not my father according to the flesh, I would tell you what you have done to me.' Now, my Lord and my God, if you have reckoned with me about that day,you have caused these signs of fear to come upon me. I beg your goodness not to bring me to be judged by you. I am your servant and the son of your servant. If you loosen my chains, I will offer a blessed sacrifice to you, namely confession of the glory of your divinity, that you are Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God in truth and the Son of Man at the same time."

Jesus comforts his mother

XVIII. As my father Joseph said these things, I did not remain tearless, and I wept as I looked at him, knowing that death had overcome him, and I heard the wretched words he said. After this, my brothers, I thought about my death on the cross for the life of this whole world. My mother Mary then stood up, whose name is sweet in the mouth of everyone who loves me. She said to me in great sorrow, "Woe to me, my beloved Son, is Joseph of goodly and blessed old age, your revered father according to the flesh is going to die ? " I said to her, "My beloved mother, who among the men with a physical body (lit. who have worn flesh) will not taste death ? For death is the ruler of mankind. My blessed mother, you too will have to die like all humans. Whether it is Joseph or you, my blessed mother, your death is not a death, but an eternal life that is perfect. I myself will not die at all because of the mortal flesh that I wear. Now, therefore, my beloved mother, arise and go into the blessed elder Joseph and you will find out what has been ordained for him from on high."

Pains and groans of Joseph

XIX. She stood up and went to the bedroom and found him with the sign of death around him. I, my beloved, sat at his head and Mary my mother at his feet. He raised his eyes up to my face. He was unable to speak, for the hour of death had overcome him. Then he raised his eyes and gave a great sigh. I held his hands and his feet for a long time, he looking at me and begging me not to let him be taken. And I put my hand on his breast and found that his soul had been brought up to his throat from his body. But before his last hour had been completed so that death could come, he was unable to prevent trembling from following him and weeping and destruction from preceding him.

The Patriarch's agony begins

XX. When my beloved mother saw me holding on to his body, she held on to his feet. She found that the breath of life and warmth had gone and left them. She said to me quite openly, "Thank you, my beloved son. The moment you put your hand on his body, the warmth withdrew from him. His feet and toes became as cold as ice." I called his children, saying to them, "Come and speak with your father, for it is the time to speak, before the mouth stops speaking and the poor flesh becomes rigid." He was very worried about the pain of death as he was about to leave this world. Lysia the daughter of Joseph replied and said to her brothers, "Woe to me, my brothers, if this is not the same illness that happened to our beloved mother, and until now we have not seen her. This is also the same thing that is happening to our father Joseph, so that we will not see him ever." Then the children of Joseph raised their voice and wept. I myself and Mary my Virgin mother wept with them, for the hour of death had arrived.

Jesus sees death approaching

XXI. I looked to the south. I saw Death. It had come into the house, followed by Amente, who is an instrument of Death and the Devil, and a host of fire breathing decans, too numerous to count, smoke and sulphur coming from their mouths. My father Joseph looked and saw those who had come for him, full of anger against him, as they are full of anger against every soul that comes forth from the body, especially the sinners in whom they would find a little of themselves. When the good elder saw them, accompanied by Death, his eyes wept. At that moment the soul of my father Joseph made a deep sigh, looking for a way to hide, so that it might be saved. When I saw that my father Joseph sighed, because he had seen powers that he had never seen before, I arose and chided the devil together with all who accompanied him. They departed in great shame and embarrassment. None of those sitting by my father knew, not even Mary my mother, about all the terrible forces that come for the souls of men. When Death saw that I rebuked the powers of the earth and cast them out, because they had no power over him, he (Death) was afraid. I immediately arose and spoke a prayer to my Father of great mercy, saying:

XXII. "My Father and the Father of all mercy, the seeing eye, the hearing ear, listen to your beloved son, myself, when I entreat you in the name of your handiwork, my father Joseph, to send me a great chorus of angels with Michael, the steward of goodness, and Gabriel, the herald of light, that they may accompany the soul of my father Joseph until it passes the seven dark aeons, that it may not pass on the narrow paths where there is fear, and it is very fearful to see the powers that are on them, when the river of fire comes in that place like the tide of the sea. Be merciful to the soul of my father Joseph who is coming into your holy hands, because this is the time when he needs your mercy." I say to you, my revered brothers and my blessed apostles, that every man born into this world, when he knows the difference between good and bad, he having spent all his time dependent upon the things of his eyes, he needs the mercy of my good Father when he comes to the hour of death and when he comes to passing upon the path and the fearful tribunal and gives an account of himself. But I will turn to the exit from life of my father, a true elder.

Joseph expires

XXIII. When he had given up his spirit, I embraced him. His soul was taken by the angels, who put it into a winding sheet of pure silk. When I went inside, I sat beside him, and none of those sitting beside him knew that he had died. I caused Michael and Gabriel to watch over his soul because of the powers which were on the path. The angels sang as they went before it until they reached my good Father.

Jesus comforts Joseph's children

XXIV. I returned to the body of my father Joseph lying like an empty vessel. I sat and brought his eyes down. I closed them and his mouth. I stood looking at him. I said to the Virgin, "Mary my mother, where are all the carpentry pieces that he made from his childhood to now ? They have all passed in this single hour, as if he had never been born into the world." When his sons and daughters heard me saying this to my mother Mary the Virgin, they said to me, weeping greatly, "Woe to us, Our Lord, has our father died, and we did not know?" I said to them, "He has truly died, but the death of Joseph is not death, but life everlasting. The things which my beloved father Joseph will receive are great. From the moment his soul left the body, all pain ceased for him. He has gone to the eternal kingdom, he has left behind the weight of the body, he has left behind this world full of pain and empty care. He has gone to the resting places of my Father who is heaven, those which will never perish." When I said to my brothers, "Your father Joseph, the blessed elder, has died", they arose and tore their garments and wept a long time.


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