Genesis 38-41

New American Bible (Revised Edition)

Chapter 38

Judah and Tamar.^{[a] 1} About that time Judah went down, away from his brothers, and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite named Hirah. ² There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua; he married her, and had intercourse with her.^{(A) 3} She conceived and bore a son, whom she named Er. ⁴ Again she conceived and bore a son, whom she named Onan. ⁵ Then she bore still another son, whom she named Shelah. She was in Chezib^[b] when she bore him.^(B)

⁶ Judah got a wife named Tamar for his firstborn, Er. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, greatly offended the Lord; so the Lord took his life.^{(C) 8 (D)}Then Judah said to Onan, “Have intercourse with your brother’s wife, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother’s line.”^{[c] 9} Onan, however, knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid giving offspring to his brother. ¹⁰ What he did greatly offended the Lord, and the Lord took his life too. ¹¹ Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”—for he feared that Shelah also might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.

¹² Time passed, and the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died. After Judah completed the period of mourning, he went up to Timnah, to those who were shearing his sheep, in company with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³ Then Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a shawl, and having wrapped herself sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she was aware that, although Shelah was now grown up, she had not been given to him in marriage.^{(E) 15} When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, since she had covered her face. ¹⁶ So he went over to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me have intercourse with you,” for he did not realize that she was his daughter-in-law. She replied, “What will you pay me for letting you have intercourse with me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” “Very well,” she said, “provided you leave me a pledge until you send it.” ¹⁸ Judah asked, “What pledge should I leave you?” She answered, “Your seal and cord,^[d] and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ After she got up and went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow’s garments again.

²⁰ Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman; but he did not find her. ²¹ So he asked the men of that place, “Where is the prostitute,^[e] the one by the roadside in Enaim?” But they answered, “No prostitute has been here.” ²² He went back to Judah and told him, “I did not find her; and besides, the men of the place said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’” ²³ “Let her keep the things,” Judah replied; “otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you did not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has acted like a harlot and now she is pregnant from her harlotry.” Judah said, “Bring her out; let her be burned.” ²⁵ But as she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It is by the man to whom these things belong that I am pregnant.” Then she said, “See whose seal and cord and staff these are.” ²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is in the right rather than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” He had no further sexual relations with her.

²⁷ When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb.^{(F) 28} While she was giving birth, one put out his hand; and the midwife took and tied a crimson thread on his hand, noting, “This one came out first.” ^29 (G)But as he withdrew his hand, his brother came out; and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was called Perez.^{[f] 30} Afterward his brother, who had the crimson thread on his hand, came out; he was called Zerah.^[g](H)

Chapter 39

Joseph’s Temptation. ¹ When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, an Egyptian, Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and his chief steward, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there. ^2 (I)The Lord was with Joseph and he enjoyed great success and was assigned to the household of his Egyptian master. ³ When his master saw that the Lord was with him and brought him success in whatever he did, ⁴ he favored Joseph and made him his personal attendant; he put him in charge of his household and entrusted to him all his possessions.^{(J) 5} From the moment that he put him in charge of his household and all his possessions, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the Lord’s blessing was on everything he owned, both inside the house and out. ⁶ Having left everything he owned in Joseph’s charge, he gave no thought, with Joseph there, to anything but the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome. ⁷ After a time, his master’s wife looked at him with longing and said, “Lie with me.” ⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, as long as I am here, my master does not give a thought to anything in the house, but has entrusted to me all he owns. ⁹ He has no more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld from me nothing but you, since you are his wife. How, then, could I do this great wrong and sin against God?” ¹⁰ Although she spoke to him day after day, he would not agree to lie with her, or even be near her.^(K)

¹¹ One such day, when Joseph came into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were then in the house, ¹² she laid hold of him by his cloak, saying, “Lie with me!” But leaving the cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside. ¹³ When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand as he escaped outside, ¹⁴ she cried out to her household servants and told them, “Look! My husband has brought us a Hebrew man to mock us! He came in here to lie with me, but I cried out loudly. ¹⁵ When he heard me scream, he left his cloak beside me and escaped and ran outside.”

¹⁶ She kept the cloak with her until his master came home. ¹⁷ Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave whom you brought us came to me to amuse himself at my expense. ¹⁸ But when I screamed, he left his cloak beside me and escaped outside.” ¹⁹ When the master heard his wife’s story in which she reported, “Thus and so your servant did to me,” he became enraged. ²⁰ Joseph’s master seized him and put him into the jail where the king’s prisoners were confined.^(L) And there he sat, in jail.

²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed him kindness by making the chief jailer well-disposed toward him.^{(M) 22} The chief jailer put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners in the jail. Everything that had to be done there, he was the one to do it. ²³ The chief jailer did not have to look after anything that was in Joseph’s charge, since the Lord was with him and was bringing success to whatever he was doing.

Chapter 40

The Dreams Interpreted. ^1 [h]Some time afterward, the royal cupbearer and baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, ³ and he put them in custody in the house of the chief steward, the same jail where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The chief steward assigned Joseph to them, and he became their attendant.

After they had been in custody for some time, ⁵ the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the jail both had dreams on the same night, each his own dream and each dream with its own meaning. ⁶ When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they looked disturbed. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why do you look so troubled today?” ⁸ They answered him, “We have had dreams, but there is no one to interpret them.” Joseph said to them, “Do interpretations not come from God? Please tell me the dreams.”^(N)

⁹ Then the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. “In my dream,” he said, “I saw a vine in front of me, ¹⁰ and on the vine were three branches. It had barely budded when its blossoms came out, and its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; so I took the grapes, pressed them out into his cup, and put it in Pharaoh’s hand.” ¹² Joseph said to him: “This is its interpretation. The three branches are three days; ¹³ within three days Pharaoh will single you out^[i] and restore you to your post. You will be handing Pharaoh his cup as you formerly did when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ Only think of me when all is well with you, and please do me the great favor of mentioning me to Pharaoh, to get me out of this place. ¹⁵ The truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and I have not done anything here that they should have put me into a dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation, he said to him: “I too had a dream. In it I had three bread baskets on my head; ¹⁷ in the top one were all kinds of bakery products for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.” ¹⁸ Joseph said to him in reply: “This is its interpretation. The three baskets are three days; ¹⁹ within three days Pharaoh will single you out and will impale you on a stake, and the birds will be eating your flesh.”

²⁰ And so on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, when he gave a banquet to all his servants, he singled out the chief cupbearer and chief baker in the midst of his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, so that he again handed the cup to Pharaoh; ²² but the chief baker he impaled—just as Joseph had told them in his interpretation. ²³ Yet the chief cupbearer did not think of Joseph; he forgot him.

Chapter 41

Pharaoh’s Dream. ^1 [j]After a lapse of two years, Pharaoh had a dream. He was standing by the Nile, ² when up out of the Nile came seven cows, fine-looking and fat; they grazed in the reed grass. ³ Behind them seven other cows, poor-looking and gaunt, came up out of the Nile; and standing on the bank of the Nile beside the others, ⁴ the poor-looking, gaunt cows devoured the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵ He fell asleep again and had another dream. He saw seven ears of grain, fat and healthy, growing on a single stalk. ⁶ Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind; ⁷ and the thin ears swallowed up the seven fat, healthy ears. Then Pharaoh woke up—it was a dream!

⁸ Next morning his mind was agitated. So Pharaoh had all the magicians^[k] and sages of Egypt summoned and recounted his dream to them; but there was no one to interpret it for him. ⁹ Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh: “Now I remember my negligence! ¹⁰ Once, when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the chief steward. ¹¹ Later, we both had dreams on the same night, and each of our dreams had its own meaning. ¹² There was a Hebrew youth with us, a slave of the chief steward; and when we told him our dreams, he interpreted them for us and explained for each of us the meaning of his dream.^{(O) 13} Things turned out just as he had told us: I was restored to my post, but the other man was impaled.”

¹⁴ Pharaoh therefore had Joseph summoned, and they hurriedly brought him from the dungeon. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh.^{(P) 15} Pharaoh then said to Joseph: “I had a dream but there was no one to interpret it. But I hear it said of you, ‘If he hears a dream he can interpret it.’” ¹⁶ “It is not I,” Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God who will respond for the well-being of Pharaoh.”^(Q)

¹⁷ Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile, ¹⁸ when up from the Nile came seven cows, fat and well-formed; they grazed in the reed grass. ¹⁹ Behind them came seven other cows, scrawny, most ill-formed and gaunt. Never have I seen such bad specimens as these in all the land of Egypt! ²⁰ The gaunt, bad cows devoured the first seven fat cows. ²¹ But when they had consumed them, no one could tell that they had done so, because they looked as bad as before. Then I woke up. ²² In another dream I saw seven ears of grain, full and healthy, growing on a single stalk. ²³ Behind them sprouted seven ears of grain, shriveled and thin and scorched by the east wind; ²⁴ and the seven thin ears swallowed up the seven healthy ears. I have spoken to the magicians, but there is no one to explain it to me.”

²⁵ Joseph said to Pharaoh: “Pharaoh’s dreams have the same meaning. God has made known to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁶ The seven healthy cows are seven years, and the seven healthy ears are seven years—the same in each dream. ²⁷ The seven thin, bad cows that came up after them are seven years, as are the seven thin ears scorched by the east wind; they are seven years of famine. ²⁸ Things are just as I told Pharaoh: God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹ Seven years of great abundance are now coming throughout the land of Egypt; ³⁰ but seven years of famine will rise up after them, when all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. When the famine has exhausted the land, ³¹ no trace of the abundance will be found in the land because of the famine that follows it, for it will be very severe. ³² That Pharaoh had the same dream twice means that the matter has been confirmed by God and that God will soon bring it about.

³³ “Therefore, let Pharaoh seek out a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt. ³⁴ Let Pharaoh act and appoint overseers for the land to organize it during the seven years of abundance. ³⁵ They should collect all the food of these coming good years, gathering the grain under Pharaoh’s authority, for food in the cities, and they should guard it. ³⁶ This food will serve as a reserve for the country against the seven years of famine that will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish in the famine.”

³⁷ This advice pleased Pharaoh and all his servants.^{(R) 38} “Could we find another like him,” Pharaoh asked his servants, “a man so endowed with the spirit of God?” ³⁹ So Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one as discerning and wise as you are. ⁴⁰ You shall be in charge of my household, and all my people will obey your command. Only in respect to the throne will I outrank you.”^{(S) 41} Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Look, I put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” ⁴² With that, Pharaoh took off his signet ring^[l] and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³ He then had him ride in his second chariot, and they shouted “Abrek!”^[m] before him.

Thus was Joseph installed over the whole land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ “I am Pharaoh,” he told Joseph, “but without your approval no one shall lift hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.” ⁴⁵ Pharaoh also bestowed the name of Zaphenath-paneah^[n] on Joseph, and he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt. ⁴⁶ Joseph was thirty years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

After Joseph left Pharaoh, he went throughout the land of Egypt. ⁴⁷ During the seven years of plenty, when the land produced abundant crops, ⁴⁸ he collected all the food of these years of plenty that the land of Egypt was enjoying and stored it in the cities, placing in each city the crops of the fields around it. ⁴⁹ Joseph collected grain like the sands of the sea, so much that at last he stopped measuring it, for it was beyond measure.

⁵⁰ Before the famine years set in, Joseph became the father of two sons, borne to him by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis.^{(T) 51} Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh,^[o] meaning, “God has made me forget entirely my troubles and my father’s house”; ⁵² and the second he named Ephraim,^[p] meaning, “God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

⁵³ When the seven years of abundance enjoyed by the land of Egypt came to an end, ⁵⁴ the seven years of famine set in, just as Joseph had said. Although there was famine in all the other countries, food was available throughout the land of Egypt.^{(U) 55} When all the land of Egypt became hungry and the people cried to Pharaoh for food, Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians: “Go to Joseph and do whatever he tells you.” ⁵⁶ When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷ Indeed, the whole world came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.