Beginning

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time Judah left his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ² There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shua, and he took her and had relations with her. ³ She conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. ⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. ⁵ She again conceived and bore a son and called his name Shelah. He was at Kezib when she bore him.

⁶ Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. ⁷ But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord killed him.

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go have relations with your brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up descendants for your brother.” ⁹ But Onan knew that the descendant would not be his, so when he had relations with his brother’s wife, he let his semen go on the ground, so that he would not give a descendant to his brother. ¹⁰ What he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.

¹¹ Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow at your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, “He may die also, just as his brothers did.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

¹² As time went on, the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died. After Judah was consoled, he went up to his sheepshearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³ It was told to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” ¹⁴ She took off her widow’s clothing, covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat in an open place, which is by the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He turned to her by the road and said, “Come now, let me have relations with you” (for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law).

And she said, “What will you give me, so that you may have relations with me?”

¹⁷ And he said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.”

And she said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”

¹⁸ And he said, “What pledge should I give you?”

And she said, “Your signet, your bracelets, and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had relations with her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ She arose and went away, and taking off her veil, she put on her widow’s clothing.

²⁰ Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he could not find her. ²¹ Then he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?”

And they said, “There was no prostitute in this place.”

²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no cult prostitute in this place.”

²³ Judah replied, “Let her keep them for herself, or we shall be laughed at. I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”

²⁴ After about three months, it was told Judah, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has turned to prostitution, and what is more, as a result of prostitution she is pregnant.”

Then Judah said, “Bring her forth, and let her be burned!”

²⁵ When she was brought forth, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong am I with child.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are—the signet and bracelet and staff.”

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” He did not have relations with her again.

²⁷ When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸ While she was giving birth, one put out his hand, and the midwife took and tied on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But as he drew back his hand, his brother came out. Then she said, “How have you made a breach for yourself?” Therefore his name was called Perez. ³⁰ Afterward his brother came out, the one that had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife

39 Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

² The Lord was with Joseph, so that he became a prosperous man. He was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. ³ His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper. ⁴ Joseph found favor in his sight and served him. So he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put under his charge. ⁵ From the time that he had made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house on account of Joseph. So the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field. ⁶ So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and he had no concerns regarding anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and well-built. ⁷ After a time, his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

⁸ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “My master does not concern himself with anything concerning me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my charge. ⁹ There is none greater in this house than I. He has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” ¹⁰ She spoke to Joseph every day, but he did not listen to her about lying with her or being with her.

¹¹ But it happened one day that Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was there. ¹² She caught him by his clothing, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his clothing in her hand and fled and got outside.

¹³ When she saw that he had left his clothing in her hand and had fled outside, ¹⁴ she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in a Hebrew among us to humiliate us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. ¹⁵ When he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me, fled, and got outside.”

¹⁶ She laid up his clothing next to her until his master came home. ¹⁷ She spoke to him using these words, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me. ¹⁸ When I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his clothing with me and fled outside.”

¹⁹ When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” he became enraged. ²⁰ Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined.

So he was there in the prison. ²¹ But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²² The keeper of the prison committed all the prisoners that were in the prison to the charge of Joseph. So whatever they did there, he was the one responsible for it. ²³ The keeper of the prison did not concern himself with anything that was under Joseph’s charge because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

Joseph Interprets Dreams

40 Sometime after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord, the king of Egypt. ² Pharaoh was angry with his two officials, with the chief of the cupbearers and with the chief of the bakers. ³ So he put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was confined. ⁴ The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he attended to them.

They continued to be in confinement for some time. ⁵ Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation.

⁶ Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them and realized they were sad. ⁷ So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were with him in the care of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸ And they said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter for it.”

Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

⁹ The chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream, a vine was in front of me. ¹⁰ And in the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms shot forth and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. ¹¹ Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹² Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it. The three branches are three days. ¹³ Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will deliver Pharaoh’s cup into his hand in the same way you did before when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴ But remember me when it is well with you, and show kindness, I pray you, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. ¹⁵ For I was indeed kidnapped out of the land of the Hebrews, and I have done nothing that they should put me in the dungeon.”

¹⁶ When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also was in my dream, and I had three white baskets on my head. ¹⁷ In the uppermost basket there was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

¹⁸ Joseph answered and said, “This is the interpretation: The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹ Within three days Pharaoh will lift your head from off you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”

²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker among his servants. ²¹ He restored the chief cupbearer to his position again, and he put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ²² However, he hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³ Yet, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.