37 And Ya’akov dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. ²These are the generations of Ya’akov. Yosef, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Yosef brought the evil report of them unto their father. ³Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors. ⁴And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. 

⁵And Yosef dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. ⁶And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: ⁷for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. ⁸And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words. ⁹And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me. ¹⁰And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ¹¹And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind. 

¹²And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. ¹³And Israel said unto Yosef, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. ¹⁴And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ¹⁵And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? ¹⁶And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock. ¹⁷And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Yosef went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 

¹⁸And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. ¹⁹And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. ²⁰Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, An evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. ²¹And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. ²²And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. ²³And it came to pass, when Yosef was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him; ²⁴and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 

²⁵And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. ²⁶And Y’hudah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? ²⁷Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him. ²⁸And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Yosef out of the pit, and sold Yosef to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Yosef into Egypt. 

²⁹And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Yosef was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. ³⁰And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? ³¹And they took Yosef’s coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood; ³²and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son’s coat or not. ³³And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat: an evil beast hath devoured him; Yosef is without doubt torn in pieces. ³⁴And Ya’akov rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning. And his father wept for him. ³⁶And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard. 

38 And it came to pass at that time, that Y’hudah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. ²And Y’hudah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her. ³And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. ⁴And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. ⁵And she yet again bare a son, and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. ⁶And Y’hudah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar. ⁷And Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Yehovah; and Yehovah slew him. ⁸And Y’hudah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother. ⁹And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. ¹⁰And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Yehovah: and he slew him also. ¹¹Then said Y’hudah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, remain a widow in thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown up; for he said, lest he also die, like his brethren. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. 

¹²And in process of time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Y’hudah, died; and Y’hudah was comforted, and went up unto his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. ¹³And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep. ¹⁴And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife. ¹⁵When Y’hudah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she had covered her face. ¹⁶And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee: for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto 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, till thou send it? ¹⁸And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. ²⁰And Y’hudah 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. ²¹Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here. ²²And he returned to Y’hudah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There hath been no prostitute here. ²³And Y’hudah said, Let her take it to her, 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 hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Y’hudah said: bring her forth, and let her be burnt. ²⁵When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying: by the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff. ²⁶And Y’hudah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. ²⁷And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. ²⁸And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand: and the midwife took and bound upon 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, Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself? therefore his name was called Perez. ³⁰And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zerah. 

39 And Yosef was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, that had brought him down thither. ²And Yehovah was with Yosef, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. ³And his master saw that Yehovah was with him, and that Yehovah made all that he did to prosper in his hand. ⁴And Yosef found favor in his sight, and he ministered unto him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. ⁵And it came to pass from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that Yehovah blessed the Egyptian’s house for Yosef’s sake; and the blessing of Yehovah was upon all that he had, in the house and in the field. ⁶And he left all that he had in Yosef’s hand; and he knew not aught that was with him, save the bread which he did eat. And Yosef was comely, and well-favored. 

⁷And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Yosef; and she said, Lie with me. ⁸But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master knoweth not what is with me in the house, and he hath put all that he hath into my hand: ⁹he is not greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back anything from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? ¹⁰And it came to pass, as she spake to Yosef day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. ¹¹And it came to pass about this time, that he went into the house to do his work; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 

¹²And she caught him by his garment, saying: Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. ¹³And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, ¹⁴that she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in a Hebrew unto us to mock us: he came in unto 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 by me, and fled, and got him out. ¹⁶And she laid up his garment by her, until his master came home. ¹⁷And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: ¹⁸and it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled out. 

¹⁹And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. ²⁰And Yosef’s master took him, and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. ²¹But Yehovah was with Yosef, and showed kindness unto him, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. ²²And the keeper of the prison committed to Yosef’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. ²³The keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was under his hand, because Yehovah was with him; and that which he did, Yehovah made it to prosper. 

40 And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt. ²And Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. ³And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Yosef was bound. ⁴And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them: and they continued a season in ward. ⁵And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. ⁶And Yosef came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, they were sad. ⁷And he asked Pharaoh’s officers that were with him in ward in his master’s house, saying, Wherefore look ye so sad to-day? ⁸And they said unto him, We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it. And Yosef said unto them, Do not interpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you. 

⁹And the chief butler told his dream to Yosef, 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, and its blossoms shot forth; and the clusters thereof brought forth ripe grapes: ¹¹and Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand. ¹²And Yosef said unto him, This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; ¹³within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thine office: and thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand, after the former manner when thou wast his butler. ¹⁴But have me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and show kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: ¹⁵for indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews: and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon. 

¹⁶When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Yosef, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head: ¹⁷and in the uppermost basket there was of all manner of baked food for Pharaoh; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. ¹⁸And Yosef answered and said, This is the interpretation thereof: the three baskets are three days; ¹⁹within yet three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee. ²⁰And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast unto all his servants: and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his servants. ²¹And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh’s hand: ²²but he hanged the chief baker: as Yosef had interpreted to them. ²³Yet did not the chief butler remember Yosef, but forgat him.