32:1 So Jacob went on his way and the angels of God 1 met him. 32:2 When Jacob saw them, he exclaimed, 2 “This is the camp of God!” So he named that place Mahanaim. 3
32:3 Jacob sent messengers on ahead 4 to his brother Esau in the land of Seir, the region 5 of Edom. 32:4 He commanded them, “This is what you must say to my lord Esau: ‘This is what your servant 6 Jacob says: I have been staying with Laban until now. 32:5 I have oxen, donkeys, sheep, and male and female servants. I have sent 7 this message 8 to inform my lord, so that I may find favor in your sight.’”
32:6 The messengers returned to Jacob and said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you and has four hundred men with him.” 32:7 Jacob was very afraid and upset. So he divided the people who were with him into two camps, as well as the flocks, herds, and camels. 32:8 “If Esau attacks one camp,” 9 he thought, 10 “then the other camp will be able to escape.” 11
32:9 Then Jacob prayed, 12 “O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, O Lord, you said 13 to me, ‘Return to your land and to your relatives and I will make you prosper.’ 14 32:10 I am not worthy of all the faithful love 15 you have shown 16 your servant. With only my walking stick 17 I crossed the Jordan, 18 but now I have become two camps. 32:11 Rescue me, 19 I pray, from the hand 20 of my brother Esau, 21 for I am afraid he will come 22 and attack me, as well as the mothers with their children. 23 32:12 But you 24 said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper 25 and will make 26 your descendants like the sand on the seashore, too numerous to count.’” 27
32:13 Jacob 28 stayed there that night. Then he sent 29 as a gift 30 to his brother Esau 32:14 two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams, 32:15 thirty female camels with their young, forty cows and ten bulls, and twenty female donkeys and ten male donkeys. 32:16 He entrusted them to 31 his servants, who divided them into herds. 32 He told his servants, “Pass over before me, and keep some distance between one herd and the next.” 32:17 He instructed the servant leading the first herd, 33 “When my brother Esau meets you and asks, ‘To whom do you belong? 34 Where are you going? Whose herds are you driving?’ 35 32:18 then you must say, 36 ‘They belong 37 to your servant Jacob. 38 They have been sent as a gift to my lord Esau. 39 In fact Jacob himself is behind us.’” 40
32:19 He also gave these instructions to the second and third servants, as well as all those who were following the herds, saying, “You must say the same thing to Esau when you meet him. 41 32:20 You must also say, ‘In fact your servant Jacob is behind us.’” 42 Jacob thought, 43 “I will first appease him 44 by sending a gift ahead of me. 45 After that I will meet him. 46 Perhaps he will accept me.” 47 32:21 So the gifts were sent on ahead of him 48 while he spent that night in the camp. 49
32:22 During the night Jacob quickly took 50 his two wives, his two female servants, and his eleven sons 51 and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 52 32:23 He took them and sent them across the stream along with all his possessions. 53 32:24 So Jacob was left alone. Then a man 54 wrestled 55 with him until daybreak. 56 32:25 When the man 57 saw that he could not defeat Jacob, 58 he struck 59 the socket of his hip so the socket of Jacob’s hip was dislocated while he wrestled with him.
32:26 Then the man 60 said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” 61 “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, 62 “unless you bless me.” 63 32:27 The man asked him, 64 “What is your name?” 65 He answered, “Jacob.” 32:28 “No longer will your name be Jacob,” the man told him, 66 “but Israel, 67 because you have fought 68 with God and with men and have prevailed.”
32:29 Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” 69 “Why 70 do you ask my name?” the man replied. 71 Then he blessed 72 Jacob 73 there. 32:30 So Jacob named the place Peniel, 74 explaining, 75 “Certainly 76 I have seen God face to face 77 and have survived.” 78
32:31 The sun rose 79 over him as he crossed over Penuel, 80 but 81 he was limping because of his hip. 32:32 That is why to this day 82 the Israelites do not eat the sinew which is attached to the socket of the hip, because he struck 83 the socket of Jacob’s hip near the attached sinew.
33:1 Jacob looked up 84 and saw that Esau was coming 85 along with four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two female servants. 33:2 He put the servants and their children in front, with Leah and her children behind them, and Rachel and Joseph behind them. 86 33:3 But Jacob 87 himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached 88 his brother. 33:4 But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, hugged his neck, and kissed him. Then they both wept. 33:5 When Esau 89 looked up 90 and saw the women and the children, he asked, “Who are these people with you?” Jacob 91 replied, “The children whom God has graciously given 92 your servant.” 33:6 The female servants came forward with their children and bowed down. 93 33:7 Then Leah came forward with her children and they bowed down. Finally Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.
33:8 Esau 94 then asked, “What did you intend 95 by sending all these herds to meet me?” 96 Jacob 97 replied, “To find favor in your sight, my lord.” 33:9 But Esau said, “I have plenty, my brother. Keep what belongs to you.” 33:10 “No, please take them,” Jacob said. 98 “If I have found favor in your sight, accept 99 my gift from my hand. Now that I have seen your face and you have accepted me, 100 it is as if I have seen the face of God. 101 33:11 Please take my present 102 that was brought to you, for God has been generous 103 to me and I have all I need.” 104 When Jacob urged him, he took it. 105
33:12 Then Esau 106 said, “Let’s be on our way! 107 I will go in front of you.” 33:13 But Jacob 108 said to him, “My lord knows that the children are young, 109 and that I have to look after the sheep and cattle that are nursing their young. 110 If they are driven too hard for even a single day, all the animals will die. 33:14 Let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the herds and the children, 111 until I come to my lord at Seir.”
33:15 So Esau said, “Let me leave some of my men with you.” 112 “Why do that?” Jacob replied. 113 “My lord has already been kind enough to me.” 114
33:16 So that same day Esau made his way back 115 to Seir. 33:17 But 116 Jacob traveled to Succoth 117 where he built himself a house and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place was called 118 Succoth. 119
33:18 After he left Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in the land of Canaan, and he camped near 120 the city. 33:19 Then he purchased the portion of the field where he had pitched his tent; he bought it 121 from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money. 122 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it “The God of Israel is God.” 123
34:1 Now Dinah, Leah’s daughter whom she bore to Jacob, went to meet 124 the young women 125 of the land. 34:2 When Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, who ruled that area, saw her, he grabbed her, forced himself on her, 126 and sexually assaulted her. 127 34:3 Then he became very attached 128 to Dinah, Jacob’s daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her. 129 34:4 Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Acquire this young girl as my wife.” 130 34:5 When 131 Jacob heard that Shechem 132 had violated his daughter Dinah, his sons were with the livestock in the field. So Jacob remained silent 133 until they came in.
34:6 Then Shechem’s father Hamor went to speak with Jacob about Dinah. 134 34:7 Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. 135 They 136 were offended 137 and very angry because Shechem 138 had disgraced Israel 139 by sexually assaulting 140 Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed. 141
34:8 But Hamor made this appeal to them: “My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. 142 Please give her to him as his wife. 34:9 Intermarry with us. 143 Let us marry your daughters, and take our daughters as wives for yourselves. 144 34:10 You may live 145 among us, and the land will be open to you. 146 Live in it, travel freely in it, 147 and acquire property in it.”
34:11 Then Shechem said to Dinah’s 148 father and brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and whatever you require of me 149 I’ll give. 150 34:12 You can make the bride price and the gift I must bring very expensive, 151 and I’ll give 152 whatever you ask 153 of me. Just give me the young woman as my wife!”
34:13 Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and his father Hamor deceitfully when they spoke because Shechem 154 had violated their sister Dinah. 34:14 They said to them, “We cannot give 155 our sister to a man who is not circumcised, for it would be a disgrace 156 to us. 34:15 We will give you our consent on this one condition: You must become 157 like us by circumcising 158 all your males. 34:16 Then we will give 159 you our daughters to marry, 160 and we will take your daughters as wives for ourselves, and we will live among you and become one people. 34:17 But if you do not agree to our terms 161 by being circumcised, then we will take 162 our sister 163 and depart.”
34:18 Their offer pleased Hamor and his son Shechem. 164 34:19 The young man did not delay in doing what they asked 165 because he wanted Jacob’s daughter Dinah 166 badly. (Now he was more important 167 than anyone in his father’s household.) 168 34:20 So Hamor and his son Shechem went to the gate 169 of their city and spoke to the men of their city, 34:21 “These men are at peace with us. So let them live in the land and travel freely in it, for the land is wide enough 170 for them. We will take their daughters for wives, and we will give them our daughters to marry. 171 34:22 Only on this one condition will these men consent to live with us and become one people: They demand 172 that every male among us be circumcised just as they are circumcised. 34:23 If we do so, 173 won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”
34:24 All the men who assembled at the city gate 174 agreed with 175 Hamor and his son Shechem. Every male who assembled at the city gate 176 was circumcised. 34:25 In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword 177 and went to the unsuspecting city 178 and slaughtered every male. 34:26 They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the sword, took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and left. 34:27 Jacob’s sons killed them 179 and looted the city because their sister had been violated. 180 34:28 They took their flocks, herds, and donkeys, as well as everything in the city and in the surrounding fields. 181 34:29 They captured as plunder 182 all their wealth, all their little ones, and their wives, including everything in the houses.
34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought ruin 183 on me by making me a foul odor 184 among the inhabitants of the land – among the Canaanites and the Perizzites. I 185 am few in number; they will join forces against me and attack me, and both I and my family will be destroyed!” 34:31 But Simeon and Levi replied, 186 “Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?”
35:1 Then God said to Jacob, “Go up at once 187 to Bethel 188 and live there. Make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.” 189 35:2 So Jacob told his household and all who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods you have among you. 190 Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 191 35:3 Let us go up at once 192 to Bethel. Then I will make 193 an altar there to God, who responded to me in my time of distress 194 and has been with me wherever I went.” 195
35:4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods that were in their possession 196 and the rings that were in their ears. 197 Jacob buried them 198 under the oak 199 near Shechem 35:5 and they started on their journey. 200 The surrounding cities were afraid of God, 201 and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob.
35:6 Jacob and all those who were with him arrived at Luz (that is, Bethel) 202 in the land of Canaan. 203 35:7 He built an altar there and named the place El Bethel 204 because there God had revealed himself 205 to him when he was fleeing from his brother. 35:8 (Deborah, 206 Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried under the oak below Bethel; thus it was named 207 Oak of Weeping.) 208
35:9 God appeared to Jacob again after he returned from Paddan Aram and blessed him. 35:10 God said to him, “Your name is Jacob, but your name will no longer be called Jacob; Israel will be your name.” So God named him Israel. 209 35:11 Then God said to him, “I am the sovereign God. 210 Be fruitful and multiply! A nation – even a company of nations – will descend from you; kings will be among your descendants! 211 35:12 The land I gave 212 to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you. To your descendants 213 I will also give this land.” 35:13 Then God went up from the place 214 where he spoke with him. 35:14 So Jacob set up a sacred stone pillar in the place where God spoke with him. 215 He poured out a drink offering on it, and then he poured oil on it. 216 35:15 Jacob named the place 217 where God spoke with him Bethel. 218
35:16 They traveled on from Bethel, and when Ephrath was still some distance away, 219 Rachel went into labor 220 – and her labor was hard. 35:17 When her labor was at its hardest, 221 the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid, for you are having another son.” 222 35:18 With her dying breath, 223 she named him Ben-Oni. 224 But his father called him Benjamin instead. 225 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 226 35:20 Jacob set up a marker 227 over her grave; it is 228 the Marker of Rachel’s Grave to this day.
35:21 Then Israel traveled on and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder. 229 35:22 While Israel was living in that land, Reuben had sexual relations with 230 Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.
Jacob had twelve sons:
35:23 The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, as well as Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
35:24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
35:25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
35:26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Paddan Aram.
35:27 So Jacob came back to his father Isaac in Mamre, 231 to Kiriath Arba 232 (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 233 35:28 Isaac lived to be 180 years old. 234 35:29 Then Isaac breathed his last and joined his ancestors. 235 He died an old man who had lived a full life. 236 His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.
36:1 What follows is the account of Esau (also known as Edom). 237
36:2 Esau took his wives from the Canaanites: 238 Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 239 of Zibeon the Hivite, 36:3 in addition to Basemath the daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth.
36:4 Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, Basemath bore Reuel, 36:5 and Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.
36:6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the people in his household, his livestock, his animals, and all his possessions which he had acquired in the land of Canaan and went to a land some distance away from 240 Jacob his brother 36:7 because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled 241 was not able to support them because of their livestock. 36:8 So Esau (also known as Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. 242
36:9 This is the account of Esau, the father 243 of the Edomites, in the hill country of Seir.
36:10 These were the names of Esau’s sons:
Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:11 The sons of Eliphaz were:
Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.
36:12 Timna, a concubine of Esau’s son Eliphaz, bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These were the sons 244 of Esau’s wife Adah.
36:13 These were the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons 245 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:14 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter 246 of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.
36:15 These were the chiefs 247 among the descendants 248 of Esau, the sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn: chief Teman, chief Omar, chief Zepho, chief Kenaz, 36:16 chief Korah, 249 chief Gatam, chief Amalek. These were the chiefs descended from Eliphaz in the land of Edom; these were the sons 250 of Adah.
36:17 These were the sons of Esau’s son Reuel: chief Nahath, chief Zerah, chief Shammah, chief Mizzah. These were the chiefs descended from Reuel in the land of Edom; these were the sons 251 of Esau’s wife Basemath.
36:18 These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah: chief Jeush, chief Jalam, chief Korah. These were the chiefs descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:19 These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.
36:20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, 252 who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, 36:21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants 253 of Seir in the land of Edom.
36:22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; 254 Lotan’s sister was Timna.
36:23 These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, 255 and Onam.
36:24 These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs 256 in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).
36:25 These were the children 257 of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.
36:26 These were the sons of Dishon: 258 Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.
36:27 These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.
36:28 These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
36:29 These were the chiefs of the Horites: chief Lotan, chief Shobal, chief Zibeon, chief Anah, 36:30 chief Dishon, chief Ezer, chief Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chief lists in the land of Seir.
36:31 These were the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israelites: 259
36:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhabah.
36:33 When Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah from Bozrah reigned in his place.
36:34 When Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.
36:35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab, reigned in his place; the name of his city was Avith.
36:36 When Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah reigned in his place.
36:37 When Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth by the River 260 reigned in his place.
36:38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.
36:39 When Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadad 261 reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pau. 262 His wife’s name was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Me-Zahab.
36:40 These were the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families, according to their places, by their names: chief Timna, chief Alvah, chief Jetheth, 36:41 chief Oholibamah, chief Elah, chief Pinon, 36:42 chief Kenaz, chief Teman, chief Mibzar, 36:43 chief Magdiel, chief Iram. These were the chiefs of Edom, according to their settlements 263 in the land they possessed. This was Esau, the father of the Edomites.
37:1 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, 264 in the land of Canaan. 265
37:2 This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, 266 was taking care of 267 the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster 268 working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. 269 Joseph brought back a bad report about them 270 to their father.
37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons 271 because he was a son born to him late in life, 272 and he made a special 273 tunic for him. 37:4 When Joseph’s 274 brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, 275 they hated Joseph 276 and were not able to speak to him kindly. 277
37:5 Joseph 278 had a dream, 279 and when he told his brothers about it, 280 they hated him even more. 281 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 282 37:7 There we were, 283 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 down 284 to it!” 37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” 285 They hated him even more 286 because of his dream and because of what he said. 287
37:9 Then he had another dream, 288 and told it to his brothers. “Look,” 289 he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 37:10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had? 290 Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?” 291 37:11 His brothers were jealous 292 of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said. 293
37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers 294 are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” 295 Joseph replied. 296 37:14 So Jacob 297 said to him, “Go now and check on 298 the welfare 299 of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob 300 sent him from the valley of Hebron.
37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, 301 a man found him wandering 302 in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 37:16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell 303 me where they are grazing their flocks.” 37:17 The man said, “They left this area, 304 for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers 305 saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 37:19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams! 306 37:20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild 307 animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!” 308
37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph 309 from their hands, 310 saying, 311 “Let’s not take his life!” 312 37:22 Reuben continued, 313 “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” 314 (Reuben said this 315 so he could rescue Joseph 316 from them 317 and take him back to his father.)
37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him 318 of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; 319 there was no water in it.)
37:25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up 320 and saw 321 a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. 322 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 37:27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him, 323 for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed. 324 37:28 So when the Midianite 325 merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled 326 him 327 out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites 328 then took Joseph to Egypt.
37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! 329 He tore his clothes, 37:30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, 330 and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father 331 and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”
37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! 332 Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, 333 and mourned for his son many days. 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by 334 him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.” 335 So Joseph’s 336 father wept for him.
37:36 Now 337 in Egypt the Midianites 338 sold Joseph 339 to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard. 340
38:1 At that time Judah left 341 his brothers and stayed 342 with an Adullamite man 343 named Hirah.
38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man 344 named Shua. 345 Judah acquired her as a wife 346 and had marital relations with her. 347 38:3 She became pregnant 348 and had a son. Judah named 349 him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had 350 yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 351
38:6 Judah acquired 352 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 353 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 354 up a descendant for your brother.” 355 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 356 would not be considered his. 357 So whenever 358 he had sexual relations with 359 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 360 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord 361 killed him too.
38:11 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, 362 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 363 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
38:12 After some time 364 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 365 his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, 366 “Look, your father-in-law is going up 367 to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 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 because 368 she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) 369
38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute 370 because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 371 (He did not realize 372 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 373 38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 374 38:18 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. 375 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 376 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 377 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 378 but Hirah 379 could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 380 “Where is the cult prostitute 381 who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 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.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things 382 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 383 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 384 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 385 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 386 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 38:25 While they were bringing her out, she sent word 387 to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” 388 Then she said, “Identify 389 the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.” 38:26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright 390 than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have sexual relations with her 391 again.
38:27 When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 38:28 While she was giving birth, one child 392 put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 38:29 But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. 393 She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” 394 So he was named Perez. 395 38:30 Afterward his brother came out – the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand – and he was named Zerah. 396
39:1 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. 397 An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, 398 purchased him from 399 the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful 400 and lived 401 in the household of his Egyptian master. 39:3 His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful. 402 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. 403 Potiphar appointed Joseph 404 overseer of his household and put him in charge 405 of everything he owned. 39:5 From the time 406 Potiphar 407 appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed 408 the Egyptian’s household for Joseph’s sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both 409 in his house and in his fields. 410 39:6 So Potiphar 411 left 412 everything he had in Joseph’s care; 413 he gave no thought 414 to anything except the food he ate. 415
Now Joseph was well built and good-looking. 416 39:7 Soon after these things, his master’s wife took notice of 417 Joseph and said, “Have sex with me.” 418 39:8 But he refused, saying 419 to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not give any thought 420 to his household with me here, 421 and everything that he owns he has put into my care. 422 39:9 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 do 423 such a great evil and sin against God?” 39:10 Even though she continued to speak 424 to Joseph day after day, he did not respond 425 to her invitation to have sex with her. 426
39:11 One day 427 he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants 428 were there in the house. 39:12 She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, “Have sex with me!” But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran 429 outside. 430 39:13 When she saw that he had left his outer garment in her hand and had run outside, 39:14 she called for her household servants and said to them, “See, my husband brought 431 in a Hebrew man 432 to us to humiliate us. 433 He tried to have sex with me, 434 but I screamed loudly. 435 39:15 When he heard me raise 436 my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside.”
39:16 So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. 39:17 This is what she said to him: 437 “That Hebrew slave 438 you brought to us tried to humiliate me, 439 39:18 but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside.”
39:19 When his master heard his wife say, 440 “This is the way 441 your slave treated me,” 442 he became furious. 443 39:20 Joseph’s master took him and threw him into the prison, 444 the place where the king’s prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison. 445
39:21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. 446 He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 447 39:22 The warden put all the prisoners under Joseph’s care. He was in charge of whatever they were doing. 448 39:23 The warden did not concern himself 449 with anything that was in Joseph’s 450 care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.
40:1 After these things happened, the cupbearer 451 to the king of Egypt and the royal baker 452 offended 453 their master, the king of Egypt. 40:2 Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, 454 the cupbearer and the baker, 40:3 so he imprisoned them in the house of the captain of the guard in the same facility where Joseph was confined. 40:4 The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. 455
They spent some time in custody. 456 40:5 Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream 457 the same night. 458 Each man’s dream had its own meaning. 459 40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were looking depressed. 460 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?” 461 40:8 They told him, “We both had dreams, 462 but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph responded, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell them 463 to me.”
40:9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph: 464 “In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. 40:10 On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes. 40:11 Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his 465 cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 466
40:12 “This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent 467 three days. 40:13 In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you 468 and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you did before 469 when you were cupbearer. 40:14 But remember me 470 when it goes well for you, and show 471 me kindness. 472 Make mention 473 of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison, 474 40:15 for I really was kidnapped 475 from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon.”
40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, 476 he said to Joseph, “I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread 477 on my head. 40:17 In the top basket there were baked goods of every kind for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket that was on my head.”
40:18 Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent 478 three days. 40:19 In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you 479 and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
40:20 On the third day it was Pharaoh’s birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He “lifted up” 480 the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants. 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his former position 481 so that he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand, 40:22 but the chief baker he impaled, just as Joseph had predicted. 482 40:23 But the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph – he forgot him. 483