Genesis 37

Joseph’s Dreams

1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,t in the land of Canaan.s

2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son,t was taking care oft the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngstert working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.t Joseph brought back a bad report about themts to their father.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sonsts because he was a son born to him late in life,t and he made a specialt tunic for him.

4 When Joseph’st brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,t they hated Josepht and were not able to speak to him kindly.t
5 Josepht had a dream,t and when he told his brothers about it,s they hated him even more.t6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:t7 There we were,t binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed downt to it!”

8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?”t They hated him even moret because of his dream and because of what he said.s
9 Then he had another dream,t and told it to his brothers. “Look,”t he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had?s Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?”t

11 His brothers were jealouss of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.t
12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brotherst are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,”s Joseph replied.t

14 So Jacobt said to him, “Go now and check ont the welfaret of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacobt sent him from the valley of Hebron.
15 When Joseph reached Shechem,t a man found him wanderingt in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tellt me where they are grazing their flocks.”

17 The man said, “They left this area,t for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 Now Joseph’s brotherst saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams!t

20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wildt animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”t
21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Josepht from their hands,s saying,t “Let’s not take his life!”t

22 Reuben continued,t “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”s (Reuben said thist so he could rescue Josepht from themt and take him back to his father.)
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped himt of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.

24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;t there was no water in it.)
25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked upt and sawt a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.t26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him,t for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.t

28 So when the Midianites merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulledt himt out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelitest then took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it!t He tore his clothes,30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?”31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat,s and dipped the tunic in the blood.

32 Then they brought the special tunic to their fathert and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him!s Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,t and mourned for his son many days.

35 All his sons and daughters stood byt him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.”t So Joseph’st father wept for him.

36 Nowt in Egypt the Midianitess sold Josepht to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.s

Genesis 38

Judah and Tamar

1 At that time Judah leftt his brothers and stayedt with an Adullamite mant named Hirah.
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite mant named Shua.t Judah acquired her as a wifet and had marital relations with her.t3 She became pregnantt and had a son. Judah namedst him Er.4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan.

5 Then she hadt yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib.t
6 Judah acquiredt a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar.

7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations witht your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raiset up a descendant for your brother.”s9 But Onan knew that the childt would not be considered his.t So wheneverts he had sexual relations witht his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurelyt so as not to give his brother a descendant.

10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lordt killed him too.

11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought,t “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.”ts So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 After some times Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along witht his friend Hirah the Adullamite.13 Tamar was told,t “Look, your father-in-law is going upt to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this becauset she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.)t
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitutet because she had covered her face.16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.”t (He did not realizet it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?”t17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?”t18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her.t She became pregnant by him.

19 She left immediately,t removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
20 Then Judah had his friend Hiraht the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge,t but Hiraht could not find her.21 He asked the men who were there,t “Where is the cult prostitutes who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’”

23 Judah said, “Let her keep the thingst for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest.t I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
24 After three months Judah was told,t “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution,t and as a result she has become pregnant.”t Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”25 While they were bringing her out, she sent wordt to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.”t Then she said, “Identifyt the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”

26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more uprightts than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with hert again.
27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb.28 While she was giving birth, one childt put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him.t She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!”t So he was named Perez.s

30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah.s

Genesis 39

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt.t An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard,s purchased him fromt the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successfult and livedt in the household of his Egyptian master.3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.t4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant.s Potiphar appointed Josepht overseer of his household and put him in charget of everything he owned.5 From the timet Potiphart appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blesseds the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, botht in his house and in his fields.s

6 So Potiphart lefts everything he had in Joseph’s care;t he gave no thoughtt to anything except the food he ate.s
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.t7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice oft Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.”ts8 But he refused, sayingt to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thoughtt to his household with me here,t and everything that he owns he has put into my care.t9 There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I dot such a great evil and sin against God?”

10 Even though she continued to speakt to Joseph day after day, he did not respondt to her invitation to have sex with her.t
11 One dayt he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servantst were there in the house.12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and rant outside.s13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside,14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband broughtt in a Hebrew mans to us to humiliate us.t He tried to have sex with me,t but I screamed loudly.t

15 When he heard me raiset my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home.17 This is what she said to him:t “That Hebrew slaves you brought to us tried to humiliate me,t

18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
19 When his master heard his wife say,t “This is the wayt your slave treated me,”t he became furious.t

20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison,t the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.s
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness.t He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.t22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing.t

23 The warden did not concern himselft with anything that was in Joseph’st care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.