Genesis 37-38

New International Version

Joseph’s Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,^(A) the land of Canaan.^(B)

² This is the account^(C) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,^(D) a young man of seventeen,^(E) was tending the flocks^(F) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah^(G) and the sons of Zilpah,^(H) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report^(I) about them.

³ Now Israel^(J) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,^(K) because he had been born to him in his old age;^(L) and he made an ornate^[a] robe^(M) for him.^{(N) 4} When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him^(O) and could not speak a kind word to him.

⁵ Joseph had a dream,^(P) and when he told it to his brothers,^(Q) they hated him all the more.^{(R) 6} He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: ⁷ We were binding sheaves^(S) of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”^(T)

⁸ His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?”^(U) And they hated him all the more^(V) because of his dream and what he had said.

⁹ Then he had another dream,^(W) and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars^(X) were bowing down to me.”^(Y)

¹⁰ When he told his father as well as his brothers,^(Z) his father rebuked^(AA) him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”^{(AB) 11} His brothers were jealous of him,^(AC) but his father kept the matter in mind.^(AD)

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(AE) 13} and Israel^(AF) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(AG) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(AH) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(AI)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(AJ)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(AK)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(AL)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(AM) and say that a ferocious animal^(AN) devoured him.^(AO) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(AP)

²¹ When Reuben^(AQ) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(AR) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(AS) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(AT)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(AU) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(AV) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(AW) coming from Gilead.^(AX) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(AY) and myrrh,^(AZ) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(BA)

²⁶ Judah^(BB) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(BC) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(BD) our own flesh and blood.^(BE)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(BF) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(BG) and sold^(BH) him for twenty shekels^[b] of silver^(BI) to the Ishmaelites,^(BJ) who took him to Egypt.^(BK)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(BL) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(BM)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(BN) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(BO) 32} They took the ornate robe^(BP) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(BQ) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(BR)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(BS) put on sackcloth^(BT) and mourned for his son many days.^{(BU) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(BV) but he refused to be comforted.^(BW) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(BX) in the grave.^(BY)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[c](BZ) sold Joseph^(CA) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(CB)

Judah and Tamar

38 At that time, Judah^(CC) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam^(CD) named Hirah.^{(CE) 2} There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.^(CF) He married her and made love to her; ³ she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.^{(CG) 4} She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.^{(CH) 5} She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.^(CI) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

⁶ Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.^{(CJ) 7} But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;^(CK) so the Lord put him to death.^(CL)

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(CM) 9} But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. ¹⁰ What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.^(CN)

¹¹ Judah then said to his daughter-in-law^(CO) Tamar,^(CP) “Live as a widow in your father’s household^(CQ) until my son Shelah^(CR) grows up.”^(CS) For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

¹² After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua,^(CT) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,^(CU) to the men who were shearing his sheep,^(CV) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite^(CW) went with him.

¹³ When Tamar^(CX) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”^{(CY) 14} she took off her widow’s clothes,^(CZ) covered herself with a veil^(DA) to disguise herself, and then sat down^(DB) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.^(DC) For she saw that, though Shelah^(DD) had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute,^(DE) for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ Not realizing^(DF) that she was his daughter-in-law,^(DG) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”^(DH)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”^(DI) she asked.

¹⁷ “I’ll send you a young goat^(DJ) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge^(DK) until you send it?” she asked.

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

“Your seal^(DL) and its cord, and the staff^(DM) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.^{(DN) 19} After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes^(DO) again.

²⁰ Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite^(DP) in order to get his pledge^(DQ) back from the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute^(DR) who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

²² So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’”

²³ Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has,^(DS) or we will become a laughingstock.^(DT) After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”^(DU)

²⁵ As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”^(DV)

²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,^(DW) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.^(DX)” And he did not sleep with her again.

²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.^{(DY) 28} As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife^(DZ) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist^(EA) and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,^(EB) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.^{[d](EC) 30} Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,^(ED) came out. And he was named Zerah.^[e](EE)