The Holy Bible: Genesis Chapters 36-40

Genesis


Chapters 36-40



The Descendants of Esau 36[1-] This is the story of the descendants of Esau (Who was also called Edom). Esau married two young women from Canaan: Adah, the daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite. He also married his cousin Basemath, who was the daughter of Ishmael and the sister of Nebaioth. Adah gave birth to a son named Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave birth to a son named Reuel. Aholibamah gave birth to sons named Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. All these sons were born to Esau in the land of Canaan. [6-8] Esau took his wives, his children, and his whole household, along with his animals and cattle, everything he had gotten in the land of Canaan, and moved away from his brother, Jacob. There was not enough land to support them both because of all the animals and possessions they had gotten. So Esau (also called Edom) lived in the hill country of Seir. [9-13] This is the story of Esau’s descendants, the Edomites, who lived in the hill country of Seir. These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Esau’s wife Adah; and Reuel, the son of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. Timna, the servant wife of Esau’s son Eliphaz, gave birth to a son named Amalek. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Reuel were Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. [14-19] Esau also had sons through Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. Their names were Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the descendants of Esau who became the leaders of different families: The descendants of Esau’s oldest son, Eliphaz, became the leaders of the families of Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Eliphaz. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Adah. The descendants of Esau’s son Reuel became the leaders of the families of Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the family leaders in the land of Edom who descended from Reuel. All these were descendants of Esau’s wife Basemath. The descendants of Esau and his wife Aholibamah became the leaders of the families of Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the family leaders who descended from Esau’s wife Aholibamah, the daughter of Anah. These are the families descended from Esau (also known as Edom), identified by their family leaders. Original Peoples of Edom [20-30] These are the names of the families that descended from Seir the Horite. They lived in the land of Edom: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite family leaders, the descendants of Seir, who lived in the land of Edom. The descendants of Lotan were Hori and Heman. Lotan also had a sister named Timna. The descendants of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam. The descendants of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. (This is the Anah who found the hot springs in the countryside while he was grazing his father’s donkeys.) The descendants of Anah were his son, Dishon, and his daughter, Aholibamah. The descendants of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran. The descendants of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan. The descendants of Dishan were Uz and Aran. So these were the leaders of the Horite families: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. The Horite families are named after their family leaders, who lived in the land of Seir. The Rulers of Edom [31-43] These are the rulers who ruled in the land of Edom before anyone ruled over the Israelites: Bela son of Beor, who ruled in Edom from the city of Dinhabah. After Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah from Bozrah became ruler in his place. After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites became ruler in his place. After Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Avith. He was the one who defeated the Midianites in the land of Moab. After Hadad died, Samlah from the city of Masrekah became ruler in his place. After Samlah died, Shaul from the city of Rehoboth-on-the-River became ruler in his place. After Shaul died, Baal-hanan son of Acbor became ruler in his place. After Baal-hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became ruler in his place and ruled from the city of Pau. Hadad’s wife was Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Me-zahab. These are the names of the leaders of the families descended from Esau, who lived in the places named for them: Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, Aholibamah, Elah, Pinon, Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, Magdiel, and Iram. These are the leaders of the families of Edom, listed according to their settlements in the land they occupied. They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of the Edomites. Joseph the Dreamer 37[1-4] So Jacob lived again in the land of Canaan, where his father was a foreigner. This is the story of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks with his brothers. He worked with his half brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph told his father the bad things his brothers were doing. Jacob, also called Israel, loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob made for Joseph a coat woven with many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than the rest of them, they hated him more and couldn’t speak to him in peace. [5-8] One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. He said, “Listen to my dream! We were out in the field, gathering up bunches of grain. Suddenly my bunch stood up, and your bunches all gathered around and bowed down to me!” Then his brothers answered, “Do you actually think you’ll be our ruler? Do you actually think you’ll reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and what he said about them. [9-11] Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it, saying, “Listen, I’ve had another dream! This time the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me!” This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him, saying, “What does this dream of yours mean? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground to you?” So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering what the dreams meant. [12-14] Later, Joseph’s brothers went to feed their father’s flocks at Shechem. So Jacob, also called Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the sheep at Shechem? Come here, and I’ll send you to them.” So Joseph said, “I’m ready.” Then Israel said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me.” So he sent him to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron. [15-17] When he got there, a man from the area saw him wandering around the countryside and asked him, “What are you looking for?” So Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Do you know where they are feeding their sheep?” Then the man told him, “They have left here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on to Dothan.’” So Joseph went to look for his brothers in Dothan and found them there. Joseph Sold into Slavery [18-22] When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, before he got close to them, they made plans to kill him. They said, “Here comes the dreamer! “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into a pit. We’ll say, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!” But when Reuben heard of their evil plan, he tried to save Joseph’s life and said, “Let’s not kill him. “Don’t shed any blood. Just throw him into this pit out here in the countryside, and don’t lay a hand on him.” He planned to save Joseph from them and bring him back to his father. [23-27] So when Joseph got there, his brothers took the colorful robe he was wearing. Then they grabbed him and threw him into an empty pit that had no water. Then, just as they had sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a group of Ishmaelite traders with a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. They were taking a load of spices, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and hiding it? Let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders instead. Let’s not lay a hand on him because he’s our brother, our own flesh and blood!” So his brothers agreed.

[28-30] So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the pit and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt. Later, Reuben came back to get Joseph out of the pit. But when he found that Joseph wasn’t there, he tore his clothes, being very upset. Then he went back to his brothers and cried, “The boy is gone! What will I do?” [31-33] Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. They brought the colorful robe to their father and asked, “We found this. Is this the robe that belongs to your son?” Their father knew it immediately and said, “Yes, it’s my son’s robe. A wild animal has eaten him. Without a doubt, Joseph has been torn to pieces!”

[34-36] Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in mourning clothes, mourning for his son for a very long time. All his family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, saying, “I’ll go down to my grave mourning for my son.” So his father sadly cried for him. In the meantime, the Midianite traders had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the guard. Judah and Tamar 38[1-5] It happened at this time, that Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he stayed with a man named Hirah. There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and married her. When he had sex with her, she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. So he named the boy Er. Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, who she named Onan. And when she gave birth to a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they were living at Kezib. [6-10] After some time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. But Yahweh saw that Er was an evil man, and took his life. Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry your brother’s wife Tamar, and give your brother a heir.” But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had sex with his brother’s wife, he withdrew from her and let the semen go on the ground, to keep her from having a child who would belong to his brother. But Yahweh wasn’t pleased with Onan and took his life, too. [11-13] Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Go back to your parents’ home and remain a widow until my son Shelah is old enough to marry you.” (But Judah was afraid Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her parent’s home. Then some years later Judah’s wife died and after the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to shear the sheep. So someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” [14-18] Tamar knew that Shelah had grown up, but she had not been given to him in marriage. So she changed out of her widow’s clothing and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. Then she sat beside the road at the entrance to the town of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. So when Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. So he stopped and made her an offer, saying, “Let me have sex with you,” not realizing that she was his own daughter-in-law. So she asked, “What will you give to have sex with me?” Tamar asked. So Judah promised, “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock.” Then she said, “But give me something to make sure that you send the goat.” So he asked, “What shall I give you?” And she answered, “Give me your ring to identify you and its cord and the walking stick you are carrying.” So Judah gave them to her and had sex with her, and she became pregnant by him.

[19-23] So she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing again. Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his promise. But Hirah couldn’t find her. So he asked the men who lived there, “Where can I find the prostitute who was sitting out here beside the road?” But they said, “We’ve never had a prostitute here.” So Hirah went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the town claim they’ve never had a prostitute there.” So Judah said, “Then let her keep the things I gave her or we would be shamed. I sent the young goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t find her.

[24-26] Then about three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has acted like a prostitute and is pregnant because of what she did.” So Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned to death!” But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things is the one who got me pregnant. Find out whose seal, cord and walking stick these are?” So Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She’s better than I am, because I didn’t let her marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never had sex with Tamar again. [27-30] When the time came for Tamar to give birth, she was having twins. While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand, so the midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” But then he pulled back his hand, and his brother was born first, so the midwife said excitedly, “How did you break through first?” So he was named Perez. Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah. Joseph in Potiphar’s House 39[1-4] When Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was bought by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. And Yahweh was with Joseph, and blessed him in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar saw this and realized that Yahweh, his God was with Joseph, helping him to do well in everything he did. Potiphar was pleased, so he soon put Joseph in charge of his whole household and everything he owned.

[5-6] From the day Joseph was put in charge of his master’s household and property, Yahweh began to bless it for Joseph’s sake. Everything he owned, both inside and outside did well. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete control over everything he owned, and he didn’t even know what he had, except the food he ate! And Joseph was a very good looking and well-built.

[7-10] Soon Potiphar’s wife began to look at him and want him, saying, “Come and have sex with me.” But Joseph refused and told her, “Look, my master trusts me with everything he has in his whole household. No one here has more say than I do and he’s held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such an evil thing and sin against God?” She kept on asking Joseph day after day, but he refused to have sex with her.

[11-15] Then one day, no one else was around when he went in to do his work, so she grabbed him by his clothes, and said, “Have sex with me!” But Joseph ran away, and left his clothes in her hand as he ran outside. When she saw that she was holding his clothes and he had run away, she called out to her servants, saying, “Look! My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to make fools of us! He came into my room to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard me scream, he ran outside, but he left his clothes behind with me.” [16-18] She kept the clothes with her until her husband came home. Then she told him this story, saying, “That Hebrew slave you’ve brought into our house tried to come in and rape me. But when I screamed, he ran outside, leaving his clothes with me!” Joseph Put in Prison [19-23] Potiphar was very angry when he heard what his wife said about how Joseph had treated her. So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the ruler’s prisoners were held. So he stayed there in the prison. But Yahweh was with Joseph in the prison and showed him kindness. Yahweh made Joseph well liked by the prison warden. The warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison. The warden didn’t have to look into anything that was under Joseph’s control. Yahweh was with him and caused everything he did to go well. Joseph Interprets Two Dreams 40[1-4] A while later, Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer and chief baker offended their ruler. Pharaoh became angry with these two officers, and he put them in the prison where Joseph was, in the palace of the captain of the guard. They remained in prison for quite some time, and the captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, who looked after them. [5-8] While they were in prison, Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker each had a dream in one night, and each dream had a different meaning. When Joseph saw them the next morning, he saw that they both looked upset. So he asked them, “Why do you look so upset today?” And they said, “We both had dreams last night, but no one can tell us what they mean.” But Joseph said, “God knows what they mean, so tell me your dreams.” [9-15] So the chief cup-bearer told Joseph his dream first, saying, “In my dream, I saw a grapevine in front of me. The vine had three branches that began to bud and blossom, and soon it produced clusters of ripe grapes. I was holding Pharaoh’s wine cup in my hand, so I took a cluster of grapes and squeezed the juice into the cup. Then I placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” Then Joseph said. “This is what the dream means. The three branches represent three days. Within three days Pharaoh will lift you up and restore you to your position as his chief cup-bearer. So please remember me and show kindness to me when things go well for you. Mention me to Pharaoh, so he might let me out of this place. For I was kidnapped from my homeland, the land of the Hebrews, and now I’m here in prison, though I’ve done nothing to deserve it.” [16-19] When the chief baker saw that meaning of the first dream was good, he said to Joseph, “I had a dream, too. In my dream there were three white baskets stacked on my head. The top basket contained all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds came and ate them from the basket on my head.” But Joseph told him, “This is what the dream means. The three baskets also represent three days. Three days from now Pharaoh will cut your head off and hang your body on a tree. Then birds will eat at your flesh.” [20-23] Pharaoh’s birthday came three days later, and he made a feast for all the staff. He called for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker to join the others. He then gave the chief cup-bearer his old job again, and he handed Pharaoh his cup. But Pharaoh hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had said would happen. But Pharaoh’s chief cup-bearer forgot about Joseph, and didn’t remember him.