Hello, this is Father Paul and I'm glad we're taking this journey together to read the Bible
in a year.
Yesterday we saw how Jacob returned to Bethel with his children, all except the last one,
all except Benjamin, who was born afterwards.
And today we're going to hear about how Joseph was the favorite child and his favoritism
caused him trouble with his brothers who envied him and who ended up selling him into slavery.
Alright, let's begin.
Today's reading is from Genesis chapters 37 to 39.
Chapter 37
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger in the land of Canaan.
This is the history of Jacob.
Joseph being 17 years old was feeding the flock with his brothers, and the lad was with
the sons of Bela and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph brought a bad
report of them to his father.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old
age.
Also he made him a tunic of many colors.
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they
hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.
So he said to them, Please hear this dream which I have dreamed.
There we were, binding sheaves in the field.
And behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright, and indeed your sheaves stood all
around and bowed down to my sheaf.
And his brothers said to him, Shall you indeed reign over us, or shall you indeed have dominion
over us?
So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
Then he dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, Look, I have
dreamed another dream, and this time the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down
to me.
So he told it to his father and his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him,
What is this dream that you have dreamed?
Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before
you?
And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
And Israel said to Joseph, Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem?
Come I will send you to them.
So he said to him, Here I am.
And he said to him, Please go and see if it is well with your brothers, and well with
the flocks, and bring back word to me.
So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.
Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field.
And the man asked him, saying, What are you seeking?
So he said, I am seeking my brothers.
Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.
And the man said, They have departed from here, for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan.
So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.
Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against
him to kill him.
Then they said to one another, Look, this dreamer is coming.
Come therefore, let us now kill him, and cast him into some pit, and we shall say, some
wild beast has devoured him.
We shall see what will become of his dreams.
But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill
him.
Reuben said to them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness,
and do not lay a hand on him, that he might deliver him out of their hands and bring him
back to his father.
So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of
his tunic, the tunic of many colors, that was on him.
Then they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water
in it.
And they sat down to eat a meal.
Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ishmaelites coming
from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them
down to Egypt.
So Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal
his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is
our brother and our flesh.
And his brothers listened.
Then Midianite traders passed by, so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the
pit, and sold him to the ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to
Egypt.
Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his
clothes, and he returned to his brothers and said, The lad is no more, and I, where shall
I go?
So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the
blood.
Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said,
We have found this, do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?
And he recognized it, and said, It is my son's tunic, a wild beast has devoured him.
Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.
Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many
days.
And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted,
and he said, For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.
Thus his father wept for him.
Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain
of the guard.
Chapter 38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed
from his brothers and visited a certain Adulamite, whose name was Hera.
And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shua, and he married
her and went into her.
So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Sheila.
He was at Shezeb when she bore him.
Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
And Judah said to Onan, Go into your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to
your brother.
But Onan knew that the heir would not be his, and it came to pass, when he went into his
brother's wife that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give her an heir to his brother,
and the thing which he did displease the Lord.
Therefore he killed him also.
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow in your father's house till
my son Sheila is grown.
For he said, lest he also die like his brother's.
And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
Now in the process of time, the daughter of Shuwa, Judah's wife, died.
And Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep-sheers at Timnah, he and his friend
Hira the Adulamite.
And it was told Tamar saying, Look your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.
So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself,
and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah.
For she saw that Sheila was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.
When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.
Then he turned to her by the way and said, Please let me come into you.
For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
So she said, What will you give me, that you may come into me?
And he said, I will send a young goat from the flock.
So she said, Will you give me a pledge, till you send it?
Then he said, What pledge shall I give you?
So she said, Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.
Then he gave them to her, and went to her, and she conceived by him.
So she arose, and went away, and laid aside her veil, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adulamite, to receive his
pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, who was openly by the
roadside?
And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
So he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her.
Also, the men of the place said, There was no harlot in this place.
Then Judah said, Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed.
For I sent this young goat, and you have not found her.
And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, Tamar, your daughter-in-law
has played the harlot.
Furthermore, she is with child, by harlotry.
So Judah said, Bring her out, and let her be burned.
When she was brought out, she sent her father-in-law, saying, By the man to whom these belong, I
am with child.
And she said, Please determine whose these are, the signet, and cord, and staff.
So Judah acknowledged them, and said, She has been more righteous than I, because I
did not give her to Sheila my son, and he never knew her again.
Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.
And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand, and the midwife
took a scarlet thread, and bound it on his hand, saying, This one came out first.
Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly.
And she said, How did you break through?
This breach be upon you.
Therefore his name was called Perez.
Afterward, his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was
called Zerah.
Chapter 39
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, and Potiphar an officer of Pharaoh, captain of
the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there.
The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man.
And he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all he did to
prosper in his hand.
So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him.
When he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had, he put under his authority.
So it was from the time that he had made him overseer of his house, and all that he had,
that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake.
And the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.
Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for
the bread which he ate.
Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance, and it came to pass after these things that
his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, lie with me.
But he refused and said to his master's wife, look, my master does not know what is with
me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.
There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but
you, because you are his wife.
How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?
So it was as she spoke to Joseph day by day that he did not heed her to lie with her or
to be with her.
But it happened about this time when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none
of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment saying, lie with
me.
But he left his garment in her hand and fled and ran outside.
And so it was when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,
that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them saying, see he has brought into
us a Hebrew to mock us.
He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.
And it happened when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out that he left his garment
with me and fled and went outside.
So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.
Then she spoke to him with words like these saying, the Hebrew servant whom you brought
to us came into me to mock me.
So it happened as I lifted my voice and cried out that he left his garment with me and fled
outside.
So it was when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him saying, your servant
did to me after this manner, that his anger was aroused.
Then Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's
prisoners were confined.
And he was there in the prison, but the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and
he gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
When the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand, all the prisoners who were
in the prison, whatever they did there, it was his doing.
The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph's authority,
because the Lord was with him, and whatever he did, the Lord made it prosper.
I hope you enjoyed today's reading as much as I did, and I look forward to seeing you
again tomorrow to continue on our journey.
God bless you and have a great day.