Genesis 38–39

Chapter 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.

Chapter 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.