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Genesis 38-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Genesis 38-40
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judah and Tamar
38 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; he married her and went in to her. 3 She conceived and bore a son, and he named him Er.(A) 4 Again she conceived and bore a son whom she named Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she named him Shelah. She[a] was in Chezib when she bore him. 6 Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.(B) 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”(C) 9 But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.(D) 10 What he did was displeasing in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up,” for he feared that he too would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.(E)
12 In course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died; when Judah’s time of mourning was over,[b] he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.(F) 13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.(G) 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He went over to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge until you send it.”(H) 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.(I) 19 Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.(J)
20 When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. 21 He asked the townspeople, “Where is the prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her; moreover, the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’ ” 23 Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of prostitution.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”(K) 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”(L) 26 Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.(M)
27 When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But just then he drew back his hand and out came his brother, and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez.[c](N) 30 Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand, and he was named Zerah.[d]
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39 Now Joseph was taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.(O) 2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man; he was in the house of his Egyptian master.(P) 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper in his hands.(Q) 4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him; he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.(R) 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field.(S) 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and with him there he had no concern for anything but the food that he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome and good-looking. 7 And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”(T) 8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me here, my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hand. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”(U) 10 And although she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not consent to lie beside her or to be with her. 11 One day, however, when he went into the house to do his work, and while no one else was in the house, 12 she caught hold of his garment, saying, “Lie with me!” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.(V) 13 When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled outside, 14 she called out to the members of her household and said to them, “See, my husband[e] has brought among us a Hebrew to insult us! He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice, 15 and when he heard me raise my voice and cry out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.” 16 Then she kept his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to insult me,(W) 18 but as soon as I raised my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled outside.”
19 When his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” he became enraged.(X) 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined; he remained there in prison.(Y) 21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love; he gave him favor in the sight of the chief jailer.(Z) 22 The chief jailer committed to Joseph’s care all the prisoners who were in the prison, and whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.(AA) 23 The chief jailer paid no heed to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.(AB)
The Dreams of Two Prisoners
40 Some time after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker offended their lord the king of Egypt.(AC) 2 Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison where Joseph was confined.(AD) 4 The captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he waited on them, and they continued for some time in custody. 5 One night they both dreamed—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt who were confined in the prison—each his own dream and each dream with its own meaning. 6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were troubled. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers, who were with him in custody in his master’s house, “Why are your faces downcast today?” 8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to interpret them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”(AE)
9 So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph and said to him, “In my dream there was a vine before me, 10 and on the vine there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms came out, and the clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.” 12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its interpretation: the three branches are three days;(AF) 13 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office, and you shall place Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it is well with you; please do me the kindness to make mention of me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this place.(AG) 15 For in fact I was stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.”(AH)
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: there were three cake baskets on my head, 17 and in the uppermost basket there were all sorts of baked food for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating it out of the basket on my head.” 18 And Joseph answered, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;(AI) 19 within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head—from you!—and hang you on a pole, and the birds will eat the flesh from you.”(AJ)
20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.(AK) 21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his cupbearing, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand,(AL) 22 but the chief baker he hanged, just as Joseph had interpreted to them.(AM) 23 Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph but forgot him.
Genesis 38-40
New International Version
Genesis 38-40
New International Version
Judah and Tamar
38 At that time, Judah(A) left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam(B) named Hirah.(C) 2 There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua.(D) He married her and made love to her; 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er.(E) 4 She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan.(F) 5 She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah.(G) It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.
6 Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.(H) 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight;(I) so the Lord put him to death.(J)
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.”(K) 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.(L)
11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law(M) Tamar,(N) “Live as a widow in your father’s household(O) until my son Shelah(P) grows up.”(Q) 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,(R) died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah,(S) to the men who were shearing his sheep,(T) and his friend Hirah the Adullamite(U) went with him.
13 When Tamar(V) was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,”(W) 14 she took off her widow’s clothes,(X) covered herself with a veil(Y) to disguise herself, and then sat down(Z) at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah.(AA) For she saw that, though Shelah(AB) 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,(AC) for she had covered her face. 16 Not realizing(AD) that she was his daughter-in-law,(AE) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”(AF)
“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”(AG) she asked.
17 “I’ll send you a young goat(AH) from my flock,” he said.
“Will you give me something as a pledge(AI) until you send it?” she asked.
18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?”
“Your seal(AJ) and its cord, and the staff(AK) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.(AL) 19 After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes(AM) again.
20 Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite(AN) in order to get his pledge(AO) back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute(AP) 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,(AQ) or we will become a laughingstock.(AR) 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!”(AS)
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.”(AT)
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I,(AU) since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.(AV)” 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.(AW) 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife(AX) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist(AY) and said, “This one came out first.” 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,(AZ) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.[a](BA) 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,(BB) came out. And he was named Zerah.[b](BC)
Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife
39 Now Joseph(BD) had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard,(BE) bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.(BF)
2 The Lord was with Joseph(BG) so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 When his master saw that the Lord was with him(BH) and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did,(BI) 4 Joseph found favor in his eyes(BJ) and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household,(BK) and he entrusted to his care everything he owned.(BL) 5 From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household(BM) of the Egyptian because of Joseph.(BN) The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.(BO) 6 So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph’s care;(BP) with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate.
Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,(BQ) 7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”(BR)
8 But he refused.(BS) “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care.(BT) 9 No one is greater in this house than I am.(BU) My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”(BV) 10 And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused(BW) to go to bed with her or even be with her.
11 One day he went into the house to attend to his duties,(BX) and none of the household servants(BY) was inside. 12 She caught him by his cloak(BZ) and said, “Come to bed with me!”(CA) But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.(CB)
13 When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house, 14 she called her household servants.(CC) “Look,” she said to them, “this Hebrew(CD) has been brought to us to make sport of us!(CE) He came in here to sleep with me, but I screamed.(CF) 15 When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”(CG)
16 She kept his cloak beside her until his master came home. 17 Then she told him this story:(CH) “That Hebrew(CI) slave(CJ) you brought us came to me to make sport of me. 18 But as soon as I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”
19 When his master heard the story his wife told him, saying, “This is how your slave treated me,” he burned with anger.(CK) 20 Joseph’s master took him and put him in prison,(CL) the place where the king’s prisoners were confined.
But while Joseph was there in the prison, 21 the Lord was with him;(CM) he showed him kindness(CN) and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.(CO) 22 So the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that was done there.(CP) 23 The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s(CQ) care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.(CR)
The Cupbearer and the Baker
40 Some time later, the cupbearer(CS) and the baker(CT) of the king of Egypt offended their master, the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh was angry(CU) with his two officials,(CV) the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, 3 and put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard,(CW) in the same prison where Joseph was confined. 4 The captain of the guard(CX) assigned them to Joseph,(CY) and he attended them.
After they had been in custody(CZ) for some time, 5 each of the two men—the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were being held in prison—had a dream(DA) the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own.(DB)
6 When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they were dejected. 7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in custody(DC) with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so sad today?”(DD)
8 “We both had dreams,” they answered, “but there is no one to interpret them.”(DE)
Then Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God?(DF) Tell me your dreams.”
9 So the chief cupbearer(DG) told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, 10 and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed,(DH) and its clusters ripened into grapes. 11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”
12 “This is what it means,(DI)” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days.(DJ) 13 Within three days(DK) Pharaoh will lift up your head(DL) and restore you to your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand, just as you used to do when you were his cupbearer.(DM) 14 But when all goes well with you, remember me(DN) and show me kindness;(DO) mention me to Pharaoh(DP) and get me out of this prison. 15 I was forcibly carried off from the land of the Hebrews,(DQ) and even here I have done nothing to deserve being put in a dungeon.”(DR)
16 When the chief baker(DS) saw that Joseph had given a favorable interpretation,(DT) he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets(DU) of bread.[c] 17 In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
18 “This is what it means,” Joseph said. “The three baskets are three days.(DV) 19 Within three days(DW) Pharaoh will lift off your head(DX) and impale your body on a pole.(DY) And the birds will eat away your flesh.”(DZ)
20 Now the third day(EA) was Pharaoh’s birthday,(EB) and he gave a feast for all his officials.(EC) He lifted up the heads of the chief cupbearer and the chief baker(ED) in the presence of his officials: 21 He restored the chief cupbearer(EE) to his position,(EF) so that he once again put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand(EG)— 22 but he impaled the chief baker,(EH) just as Joseph had said to them in his interpretation.(EI)
23 The chief cupbearer, however, did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.(EJ)
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:29 Perez means breaking out.
- Genesis 38:30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.
- Genesis 40:16 Or three wicker baskets
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