Daily Bible Reading, Day 11 (Genesis 37-39)

Joseph’s Dreams and His Brothers’ Betrayal

Genesis, chapter 37. Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pastoring the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives.

And Joseph brought back an evil report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a very colored tunic. And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they hated him, and could not speak to him in peace.

Then Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, so they hated him even more. And he said to them, Please listen to this dream which I have had. Indeed, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf rose up and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.

Then his brothers said to him, Are you really going to reign over us, or are you really going to rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. Then he had still another dream, and recounted it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have had still another dream, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.

And he recounted it to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers really come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem?

Come and I will send you to them. And he said to him, I will go. Then he said to him, Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me. So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

And a man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, What are you seeking? And he said, I am seeking my brothers, please tell me where they are pasturing the flock. Then the man said, They have journeyed from here, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan.

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan. And they saw him from a distance, and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death. Then they said to one another, Here comes the dreamer.

So now come and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, A wild beast devoured him. Then let us see what will become of his dreams. But Reuben heard this, and delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not strike down his life.

Reuben further said to them, Shed no blood. Cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not put forth your hands against him. That he might deliver him out of their hands to return him to his father.

Now it happened, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the very colored tunic that was on him, and they took him and cast him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.

And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted up their eyes and saw, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, going to bring them down to Egypt.

And Judah said to his brothers, What gain is it that we kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.

And his brothers listened. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Then Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit. So he tore his garments. Then he returned to his brothers and said, The boy is not there. As for me, where am I to go? So they took Joseph's tunic and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

And they sent the very colored tunic and brought it to their father and said, We found this. Please recognize it, whether it is your son's tunic or not. And he recognized it and said, It is my son's tunic.

A wild beast has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces. So Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.

And he said, Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son. So his father wept for him. Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard.

Judah, Tamar, and the Preservation of the Family Line

Genesis 38. Now it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adulamite, whose name was Hira. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shua, and he took her and went into her.

So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him Ur. Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him Onan. And she bore still another son, and she named him Shelah, and it was at Chezib that she bore him.

Then Judah took a wife for Ur his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Ur, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, Go into your brother's wife and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.

And Onan knew that the seed would not be his, and it happened that when he went into his brother's wife, he wasted it on the ground, in order not to give seed to his brother. But what he did was displeasing in the sight of Yahweh, so he put him to death also.

Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up, for he thought, I am afraid lest he also die like his brothers. So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

And after a considerable time, Shehuah's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheep-shearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hira the Adulamite. Then it was told to Tamar, Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.

So she removed her widow's garments from herself, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself. And she sat at the entrance of Enayim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife.

Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, Here now, let me come in to you. For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

And she said, What will you give me, that you may come in to me? He said, Therefore, I will give you a young goat from the flock. She said, Moreover, will you give a pledge until you send it? Then he said, What pledge shall I give you?

And she said, Your signet, and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand. So he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went, and she removed her veil from herself, and put on her widow's.

Garments.

Then Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adulamite to take the pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. So he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Ennium?

But they said, There has been no cult prostitute here. So he returned to Judah and said, I did not find her. And furthermore the men of the place said, There has been no cult prostitute here. Then Judah said, Let her keep them, lest we become a laughingstock.

Behold, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her. Now it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah, saying, Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.

Then Judah said, Bring her out, and let her be burned. It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man to whom these things belong. And she said, Please recognize this and see whose signet ring and cords and staff are these.

And Judah recognized them and said, She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah, and he did not know her again. Now it happened at the time she was giving birth that, behold, there were twins in her womb.

And it happened while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, This one came out first. And then it happened as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out.

So she said, What a breach you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez. Afterward, his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and he was named Zerah. Genesis chapter 39. Now Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an Egyptian official of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Joseph in Potiphar’s House and Yahweh’s Favor

And Yahweh was with Joseph. So he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Now his master saw that Yahweh was with him, and how Yahweh caused all that he did to succeed in his hand.

So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended on him, and he appointed him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he gave in his hand. Now it happened that from the time he appointed him overseer in his house and over all that he owned, Yahweh blessed the Egyptians' house on account of Joseph.

Thus the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he owned in the house and in the field. So he left everything he owned in Joseph's hand, and with him there he did not concern himself with anything except the food which he ate.

Now Joseph was beautiful in form and beautiful in appearance. And it happened after these events that his master's wife set her eyes on Joseph and said, Lie with me. But he refused and said to his master's wife, Behold, with me here my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has given all that he owns into my hand.

There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil and sin against God? So it happened that as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he did not listen to her to lie beside her or be with her.

Then she seized him by his garment, saying, Lie with me. And he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside. Now it happened when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, that she called to the men of her household and spoke to them, saying, See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to laugh at us.

He came in to lie with me, and I screamed. Now it happened that when he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled and went outside. And she placed his garment beside her until his master came home.

Then she spoke to him with these words, saying, The Hebrew slave whom you brought to us came in to me to laugh at me, and as I raised my voice and screamed, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.

Now it happened that when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, This is what your slave did to me, his anger burned. So Joseph's master took him and put him into the jail, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in the jail.

But Yahweh was with Joseph and extended loving kindness to him and gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer. So the chief jailer gave into the hand of Joseph all the prisoners who were in the jail, so that whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.

The chief jailer did not supervise anything under Joseph's hand, because Yahweh was with him, and whatever he did, Yahweh made to succeed.