Genesis 38-41

Genesis 38

¹And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a man of Adullam whose name was Hirah.

²And Judah saw there the daughter of a Canaanitish man whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in to her.

³And she conceived and bore a son; and he called his name Er.

⁴And she again conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

⁵And again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah; and he was at Chezib when she bore him.

⁶And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

⁷And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah slew him.

⁸Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and fulfil to her the brother-in-law's duty, and raise up seed to thy brother.

⁹But when Onan knew that the seed should not be his own, it came to pass when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, in order to give no seed to his brother.

¹⁰And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and he slew him also.

¹¹And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow in thy father's house, until Shelah my son is grown; for he said, Lest he die also, as his brethren. And Tamar went and remained in her father's house.

¹²And as the days were multiplied, Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheep-shearers, to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

¹³And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.

¹⁴And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as wife.

¹⁵And Judah saw her, and took her for a harlot; because she had covered her face.

¹⁶And he turned aside to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me go in to thee; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in to me?

¹⁷And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, until thou send it?

¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy lace, and thy staff which is in thy hand. And he gave it her, and went in to her; and she conceived by him.

¹⁹And she arose and went away; and she laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

²⁰And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand; but he found her not.

²¹And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at Enaim, by the way-side? And they said, There was no prostitute here.

²²And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, No prostitute has been here.

²³Then Judah said, Let her take it for herself, lest we be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

²⁴And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law has committed fornication, and behold, she is also with child by fornication. And Judah said, Bring her forth, that she may be burned.

²⁵When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man to whom these belong am I with child; and she said, Acknowledge, I pray thee, whose are this signet, and this lace, and this staff.

²⁶And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I, because I have not given her to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

²⁷And it came to pass at the time of her delivery, that behold, twins were in her womb.

²⁸And it came to pass when she brought forth, that one stretched out his hand, and the midwife took it and bound round his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

²⁹And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth! on thee be the breach! And they called his name Pherez.

³⁰And afterwards came out his brother, round whose hand was the scarlet thread; and they called his name Zerah.

Genesis 39

¹And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down thither.

²And Jehovah was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

³And his master saw that Jehovah was with him, and that Jehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

⁴And Joseph found favour in his eyes, and attended on him; and he set him over his house, and all that he had he gave into his hand.

⁵And it came to pass from the time he had set him over his house and all that he had, that Jehovah blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of Jehovah was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

⁶And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and took cognizance of nothing with him, save the bread that he ate. And Joseph was of a beautiful form and of a beautiful countenance.

⁷And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph, and said, Lie with me!

⁸But he refused, and said to his master's wife, Behold, my master takes cognizance of nothing with me: what is in the house, and all that he has, he has given into my hand.

⁹There is none greater in this house than I; neither has he withheld anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife; and how should I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?

¹⁰And it came to pass as she spoke to Joseph day by day and he hearkened not to her, to lie with her and to be with her,

¹¹that on a certain day he went into the house to do his business, and there was none of the men of the house there in the house.

¹²Then she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me! But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran out.

¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled forth,

¹⁴that she called to the men of her house, and spoke to them, saying, See, he has brought in a Hebrew man to us, to mock us: he came in to me, to lie with me; and I cried with a loud voice;

¹⁵and it came to pass when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went out.

¹⁶And she laid his garment by her until his lord came home.

¹⁷And she spoke to him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew bondman that thou hast brought to us came in to me to mock me;

¹⁸and it came to pass as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled forth.

¹⁹And it came to pass when his lord heard the words of his wife which she spoke to him, saying, After this manner did thy bondman to me, that his wrath was kindled.

²⁰And Joseph's lord took him and put him into the tower-house, the place where the king's prisoners were confined; and he was there in the tower-house.

²¹And Jehovah was with Joseph, and extended mercy to him, and gave him favour in the eyes of the chief of the tower-house.

²²And the chief of the tower-house committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the tower-house; and whatever they had to do there he did.

²³The chief of the tower-house looked not to anything under his hand, because Jehovah was with him; and what he did, Jehovah made it prosper.

Genesis 40

¹And it came to pass after these things, that the cup-bearer of the king of Egypt and the baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.

²And Pharaoh was wroth with his two chamberlains -- with the chief of the cup-bearers and with the chief of the bakers;

³and he put them in custody into the house of the captain of the life-guard, into the tower-house, into the place where Joseph was imprisoned.

⁴And the captain of the life-guard appointed Joseph to them, that he should attend on them. And they were several days in custody.

⁵And they dreamed a dream, both of them in one night, each his dream, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the cup-bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were imprisoned in the tower-house.

⁶And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and looked on them, and behold, they were sad.

⁷And he asked Pharaoh's chamberlains that were with him in custody in his lord's house, saying, Why are your faces so sad to-day?

⁸And they said to him, We have dreamt a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said to them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell me your dreams, I pray you.

⁹Then the chief of the cup-bearers told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me;

¹⁰and in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded: its blossoms shot forth, its clusters ripened into grapes.

¹¹And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

¹²And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days.

¹³In yet three days will Pharaoh lift up thy head and restore thee to thy place, and thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his cup-bearer.

¹⁴Only bear a remembrance with thee of me when it goes well with thee, and deal kindly, I pray thee, with me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house;

¹⁵for indeed I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon.

¹⁶And when the chief of the bakers saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, I also was in my dream, and behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head.

¹⁷And in the uppermost basket there were all manner of victuals for Pharaoh that the baker makes, and the birds ate them out of the basket upon my head.

¹⁸And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation of it: the three baskets are three days.

¹⁹In yet three days will Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and hang thee on a tree; and the birds will eat thy flesh from off thee.

²⁰And it came to pass the third day -- Pharaoh's birthday -- that he made a feast to all his bondmen. And he lifted up the head of the chief of the cup-bearers, and the head of the chief of the bakers among his bondmen.

²¹And he restored the chief of the cup-bearers to his office of cup-bearer again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

²²And he hanged the chief of the bakers, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

²³But the chief of the cup-bearers did not remember Joseph, and forgot him.

Genesis 41

¹And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river.

²And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fine-looking and fat-fleshed, and they fed in the reed-grass.

³And behold, seven other kine came up after them out of the river, bad-looking and lean-fleshed, and stood by the kine on the bank of the river.

⁴And the kine that were bad-looking and lean-fleshed ate up the seven kine that were fine-looking and fat. And Pharaoh awoke.

⁵And he slept and dreamed the second time; and behold, seven ears of corn grew up on one stalk, fat and good.

⁶And behold, seven ears, thin and parched with the east wind, sprung up after them.

⁷And the thin ears devoured the seven fat and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke; and behold, it was a dream.

⁸And it came to pass in the morning, that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the scribes of Egypt, and all the sages who were therein, and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none to interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹Then spoke the chief of the cup-bearers to Pharaoh, saying, I remember mine offences this day.

¹⁰Pharaoh was wroth with his bondmen, and put me in custody into the captain of the life-guard's house, me and the chief of the bakers.

¹¹And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each according to the interpretation of his dream.

¹²And there was there with us a Hebrew youth, a bondman of the captain of the life-guard, to whom we told them, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each he interpreted according to his dream.

¹³And it came to pass, just as he interpreted to us, so it came about: me has he restored to my office, and him he hanged.

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph; and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. And he shaved himself, and changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.

¹⁵And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamt a dream, and there is none to interpret it. And I have heard say of thee, thou understandest a dream to interpret it.

¹⁶And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.

¹⁷And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river.

¹⁸And behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, fat-fleshed and of fine form, and they fed in the reed-grass.

¹⁹And behold, seven other kine came up after them, poor, and very ill-formed, and lean-fleshed -- such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness.

²⁰And the lean and bad kine ate up the seven first fat kine;

²¹and they came into their belly, and it could not be known that they had come into their belly; and their look was bad, as at the beginning. And I awoke.

²²And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up on one stalk, full and good.

²³And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, parched with the east wind, sprung up after them;

²⁴and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told it to the scribes; but there was none to make it known to me.

²⁵And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God will do he has made known to Pharaoh.

²⁶The seven fine kine are seven years; and the seven good ears are seven years: the dream is one.

²⁷And the seven lean and bad kine that came up after them are seven years; and the seven empty ears, parched with the east wind, will be seven years of famine.

²⁸This is the word which I have spoken to Pharaoh: what God is about to do he has let Pharaoh see.

²⁹Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout the land of Egypt.

³⁰And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt, and the famine will waste away the land.

³¹And the plenty will not be known afterwards in the land by reason of that famine; for it will be very grievous.

³²And as regards the double repetition of the dream to Pharaoh, it is that the thing is established by God, and God will hasten to do it.

³³And now let Pharaoh look himself out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.

³⁴Let Pharaoh do this: let him appoint overseers over the land, and take the fifth part of the land of Egypt during the seven years of plenty,

³⁵and let them gather all the food of these coming good years, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, for food in the cities, and keep it.

³⁶And let the food be as store for the land for the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt, that the land perish not through the famine.

³⁷And the word was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his bondmen.

³⁸And Pharaoh said to his bondmen, Shall we find one as this, a man in whom the Spirit of God is?

³⁹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, Since God has made all this known to thee, there is none so discreet and wise as thou.

⁴⁰Thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy commandment shall all my people regulate themselves; only concerning the throne will I be greater than thou.

⁴¹And Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt.

⁴²And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in clothes of byssus, and put a gold chain on his neck.

⁴³And he caused him to ride in the second chariot that he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee! and he set him over all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁴And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh; and without thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.

⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah, and gave him as wife Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On. And Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

⁴⁶And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from Pharaoh, and passed through the whole land of Egypt.

⁴⁷And in the seven years of plenty the land brought forth by handfuls.

⁴⁸And he gathered up all the food of the seven years that was in the land of Egypt, and put the food in the cities; the food of the fields of the city, which were round about it, he laid up in it.

⁴⁹And Joseph laid up corn as sand of the sea exceeding much, until they left off numbering; for it was without number.

⁵⁰And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asnath the daughter of Potipherah the priest in On bore to him.

⁵¹And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh -- For God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

⁵²And the name of the second he called Ephraim -- For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

⁵³And the seven years of plenty that were in the land of Egypt were ended;

⁵⁴and the seven years of the dearth began to come, according as Joseph had said. And there was dearth in all lands; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

⁵⁵And all the land of Egypt suffered from the dearth. And the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, Go to Joseph: what he says to you, that do.

⁵⁶And the famine was on all the earth. And Joseph opened every place in which there was provision, and sold grain to the Egyptians; and the famine was grievous in the land of Egypt.

⁵⁷And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph, to buy grain, because the famine was grievous on the whole earth.