Genesis 1 | Elohim's Word Translation

Genesis 2

¹Heaven and earth and everything in them were finished. ²By the seventh day Elohim had finished the work he had been doing. On the seventh day he stopped the work he had been doing. ³Then Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart as holy, because on that day he stopped all his work of creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman

⁴This is the account of heaven and earth when they were created, at the time when Yhwh Elohim made earth and heaven.

⁵Wild bushes and plants were not on the earth yet because Yhwh Elohim hadn’t sent rain on the earth. Also, there was no one to farm the land. ⁶Instead, underground water would come up from the earth and water the entire surface of the ground.

⁷Then Yhwh Elohim formed the man from the dust of the earth (There is a play on words here between Hebrew ʾadam (man) and ʾadamah (earth).) and blew the breath of life into his nostrils. The man became a living being.

⁸Yhwh Elohim planted a garden in Eden, in the east. That’s where he put the man whom he had formed. ⁹Yhwh Elohim made all the trees grow out of the ground. These trees were nice to look at, and their fruit was good to eat. The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grew in the middle of the garden.

¹⁰A river flowed from Eden to water the garden. Outside the garden it divided into four rivers. ¹¹The name of the first river is Pishon. This is the one that winds throughout Havilah, where there is gold. ¹²(The gold of that land is pure. Bdellium and onyx are also ⌞found⌟ there.) ¹³The name of the second river is Gihon. This is the one that winds throughout Sudan. ¹⁴The name of the third river is Tigris. This is the one that flows east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates.

¹⁵Then Yhwh Elohim took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to farm the land and to take care of it. ¹⁶Yhwh Elohim commanded the man. He said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. ¹⁷But you must never eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because when you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

¹⁸Then Yhwh Elohim said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.”

¹⁹Yhwh Elohim had formed all the wild animals and all the birds out of the ground. Then he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each creature became its name. ²⁰So the man named all the domestic animals, all the birds, and all the wild animals.

But the man found no helper who was right for him. ²¹So Yhwh Elohim caused him to fall into a deep sleep. While the man was sleeping, Yhwh Elohim took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. ²²Then Yhwh Elohim formed a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man. He brought her to the man.

²³The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
She will be named woman
because she was taken from man.”

²⁴That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and they will become one flesh. ²⁵The man and his wife were both naked, but they weren’t ashamed of it.

Genesis 3

The First Sin and the First Promise

¹The snake was more clever than all the wild animals Yhwh Elohim had made. He asked the woman, “Did Elohim really say, ‘You must never eat the fruit of any tree in the garden’?”

²The woman answered the snake, “We’re allowed to eat the fruit from any tree in the garden ³except the tree in the middle of the garden. Elohim said, ‘You must never eat it or touch it. If you do, you will die!’ ”

⁴“You certainly won’t die!” the snake told the woman. ⁵“Elohim knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened. You’ll be like Elohim, knowing good and evil.”

⁶The woman saw that the tree had fruit that was good to eat, nice to look at, and desirable for making someone wise. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

⁷Then their eyes were opened, and they both realized that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made clothes for themselves.

⁸In the cool of the evening, the man and his wife heard Yhwh Elohim walking around in the garden. So they hid from Yhwh Elohim among the trees in the garden. ⁹Yhwh Elohim called to the man and asked him, “Where are you?”

¹⁰He answered, “I heard you in the garden. I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

¹¹Elohim asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat fruit from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”

¹²The man answered, “That woman, the one you gave me, gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”

¹³Then Yhwh Elohim asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The snake deceived me, and I ate,” the woman answered.

¹⁴So Yhwh Elohim said to the snake, “Because you have done this,

You are cursed more than all the wild or domestic animals.
You will crawl on your belly.
You will be the lowest of animals as long as you live.
15 I will make you and the woman hostile toward each other.
I will make your descendants
and her descendant hostile toward each other.
He will crush your head,
and you will bruise his heel.”

¹⁶He said to the woman,

“I will increase your pain and your labor
when you give birth to children.
Yet, you will long for your husband,
and he will rule you.”

¹⁷Then he said to the man, “You listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree, although I commanded you, ‘You must never eat its fruit.’

The ground is cursed because of you.
Through hard work you will eat ⌞food that comes⌟ from it
every day of your life.
18 The ground will grow thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat wild plants.
19 By the sweat of your brow, you will produce food to eat
until you return to the ground,
because you were taken from it.
You are dust, and you will return to dust.”

²⁰Adam named his wife Eve [Life] because she became the mother of every living person.

²¹Yhwh Elohim made clothes from animal skins for the man and his wife and dressed them.

²²Then Yhwh Elohim said, “The man has become like one of us, since he knows good and evil. He must not reach out and take the fruit from the tree of life and eat. Then he would live forever.” ²³So Yhwh Elohim sent the man out of the Garden of Eden to farm the ground from which the man had been formed. ²⁴After he sent the man out, Elohim placed angels (Or “cherubim.”) and a flaming sword that turned in all directions east of the Garden of Eden. He placed them there to guard the way to the tree of life.

Genesis 4

Cain Murders Abel

¹Adam made love to his wife Eve. She became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “I have gotten the man that Yhwh promised.” ²Then she gave birth to another child, Abel, Cain’s brother. Abel was a shepherd, and Cain was a farmer.

³Later Cain brought some crops from the land as an offering to Yhwh. ⁴Abel also brought some choice parts of the firstborn animals from his flock. Yhwh approved of Abel and his offering, ⁵but he didn’t approve of Cain and his offering. So Cain became very angry and was disappointed. ⁶Then Yhwh asked Cain, “Why are you angry, and why do you look disappointed? ⁷If you do well, won’t you be accepted? But if you don’t do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it.”

⁸Cain talked to his brother Abel. Later, when they were in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

⁹Yhwh asked Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Am I supposed to take care of my brother?”

¹⁰Yhwh asked, “What have you done? Your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. ¹¹So now you are cursed from the ground, which has received the blood of your brother whom you killed. ¹²When you farm the ground, it will no longer yield its best for you. You will be a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth.”

¹³But Cain said to Yhwh, “My punishment is more than I can stand! ¹⁴You have forced me off this land today. I have to hide from you and become a fugitive, a wanderer on the earth. Now anyone who finds me will kill me!”

¹⁵So Yhwh said to him, “Not so! Anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Yhwh gave Cain a sign so that anyone meeting him would not kill him.

¹⁶Then Cain left Yhwh’s presence and lived in Nod [The Land of Wandering], east of Eden.

Cain’s Ten Descendants—Cain to Lamech

¹⁷Cain made love to his wife. She became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was building a city, and he named it Enoch after his son. ¹⁸To Enoch was born Irad. Irad was the father of Mehujael. Mehujael was the father of Methushael. And Methushael was the father of Lamech.

¹⁹Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. ²⁰Adah gave birth to Jabal. He was the first person to live in tents and have livestock. ²¹His brother’s name was Jubal. He was the first person to play the harp and the flute. ²²Zillah also had a son, Tubalcain, who made bronze and iron tools. Tubalcain’s sister was Naamah.

²³Lamech said to his wives,

“Adah and Zillah, listen to me!
Wives of Lamech, hear what I say!
I killed a man for bruising me,
a young man for wounding me.
24 If Cain is avenged 7 times,
then Lamech, 77 times.”

Adam’s Elohimly Descendants—Adam to Enosh

²⁵Adam made love to his wife again. She gave birth to a son and named him Seth, because ⌞she said,⌟ “Elohim has given (There is a play on words here between Hebrew sheth (Seth) and shath (given).) me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.”

²⁶A son was also born to Seth, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to worship Yhwh.

Genesis 5

Adam’s Ten Descendants—Adam to Noah

(1 Chronicles 1:1–3)

¹This is the written account of Adam and his descendants.

When Elohim created humans,
he made them in the likeness of Elohim.
2 He created them male and female.
He blessed them and called them humans
when he created them.

³When Adam was 130 years old, he became the father ⌞of a son⌟ in his own likeness, in his own image. He named him Seth. ⁴After Adam became the father of Seth, he lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁵Adam lived a total of 930 years; then he died.

⁶When Seth was 105 years old, he became the father of Enosh. ⁷After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. ⁸Seth lived a total of 912 years; then he died.

⁹When Enosh was 90 years old, he became the father of Kenan. ¹⁰After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹¹Enosh lived a total of 905 years; then he died.

¹²When Kenan was 70 years old, he became the father of Mahalalel. ¹³After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁴Kenan lived a total of 910 years; then he died.

¹⁵When Mahalalel was 65 years old, he became the father of Jared. ¹⁶After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. ¹⁷Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years; then he died.

¹⁸When Jared was 162 years old, he became the father of Enoch. ¹⁹After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁰Jared lived a total of 962 years; then he died.

²¹When Enoch was 65 years old, he became the father of Methuselah. ²²After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with Elohim for 300 years and had other sons and daughters. ²³Enoch lived a total of 365 years. ²⁴Enoch walked with Elohim; then he was gone because Elohim took him.

²⁵When Methuselah was 187 years old, he became the father of Lamech. ²⁶After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters. ²⁷Methuselah lived a total of 969 years; then he died.

²⁸When Lamech was 182 years old, he became the father of a son. ²⁹He named him Noah [Relief], and said, “This child will bring us relief from the work and painful labor of our hands since Yhwh has cursed the ground.” ³⁰After Lamech became the father of Noah, he lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. ³¹Lamech lived a total of 777 years; then he died.

³²When Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Genesis 6

Evil Increases on the Earth

¹The number of people increased all over the earth, and daughters were born to them. ²The sons of Elohim saw that the daughters of other humans were beautiful. So they married any woman they chose.

³Then Yhwh said, “My Spirit will not struggle with humans forever, because they are flesh and blood. They will live 120 years.”

⁴The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, as well as later, when the sons of Elohim slept with the daughters of other humans and had children by them. These children were famous long ago.

⁵Yhwh saw how evil humans had become on the earth. All day long their deepest thoughts were nothing but evil. ⁶Yhwh was sorry that he had made humans on the earth, and he was heartbroken. ⁷So he said, “I will wipe off the face of the earth these humans that I created. I will wipe out not only humans, but also domestic animals, crawling animals, and birds. I’m sorry that I made them.” ⁸But Yhwh was pleased with Noah.

Noah’s Family and the Ship

⁹This is the account of Noah and his descendants.

Noah had Elohim’s approval and was a man of integrity among the people of his time. He walked with Elohim. ¹⁰He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

¹¹The world was corrupt in Elohim’s sight and full of violence. ¹²Elohim saw the world and how corrupt it was because all people on earth lived evil lives.

¹³Elohim said to Noah, “I have decided to put an end to all people because the earth is full of their violence. Now I’m going to destroy them along with the earth. ¹⁴Make yourself a ship of cypress wood. (Or “teakwood.”) Make rooms in the ship and coat it inside and out with tar. ¹⁵This is how you should build it: the ship is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. ¹⁶Make a roof for the ship, and leave an 18-inch-high opening at the top. Put a door in the side of the ship. Build the ship with lower, middle, and upper decks. ¹⁷I’m about to send a flood on the earth to destroy all people under the sky—every living, breathing human. Everything on earth will die.

¹⁸“But I will make my promise (Or “covenant.”) to you. You, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives will go into the ship. ¹⁹Bring two of every living creature into the ship in order to keep them alive with you. They must be male and female. ²⁰Two of every type of bird, every type of domestic animal, and every type of creature that crawls on the ground will come to you to be kept alive. ²¹Take every kind of food that can be eaten and store it. It will be food for you and the animals.”

²²Noah did this. He did everything that Elohim had commanded him.

Genesis 7

The Flood

¹Yhwh said to Noah, “Go into the ship with your whole family because I have seen that you alone are righteous among the people of today. ²Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal (a male and a female of each) and one pair of every kind of unclean (“Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to Elohim. “Unclean” refers to anything that is not presentable to Elohim.) animal (a male and a female). ³Also, take seven pairs of every kind of bird (a male and a female of each) to preserve animal life all over the earth after the flood. ⁴In seven days I will send rain to the earth for 40 days and 40 nights. I will wipe off the face of the earth every living creature that I have made.”

⁵So Noah did everything that Yhwh commanded him.

⁶Noah was 600 years old when the flood came to the earth. ⁷Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives went into the ship to escape the floodwaters. ⁸Clean and unclean animals, birds, and creatures that crawl on the ground ⁹came to Noah to go into the ship in pairs (a male and female of each) as Elohim had commanded Noah.

¹⁰Seven days later the flood came on the earth. ¹¹On the seventeenth day of the second month of the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, all the deep springs burst open. The sky opened, ¹²and rain came pouring down on the earth for 40 days and 40 nights.

¹³On that same day Noah and his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, as well as Noah’s wife and his three daughters-in-law went into the ship. ¹⁴They had with them every type of wild animal, every type of domestic animal, every type of creature that crawls on the earth, and every type of bird (every creature with wings). ¹⁵A pair of every living, breathing animal came to Noah to go into the ship. ¹⁶A male and a female of every animal went in as Elohim had commanded Noah. Then Yhwh closed the door behind them.

¹⁷The flood continued for 40 days on the earth. The water increased and lifted the ship so that it rose high above the ground. ¹⁸As the water rose and became very deep, the ship floated on top of the water. ¹⁹The water rose very high above the earth. It covered all the high mountains everywhere under the sky. ²⁰It rose 23 feet above the mountaintops.

²¹Every creature that crawls on the earth died, including birds, domestic and wild animals, and everything that swarms over the earth, along with every human. ²²Everything on dry land (every living, breathing creature) died. ²³Every living creature on the face of the earth was wiped out. Humans, domestic animals, crawling creatures, and birds were wiped off the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ship were left.

²⁴The floodwaters were on the earth for 150 days.

Genesis 8

Elohim Remembers Noah

¹Elohim remembered Noah and all the wild and domestic animals with him in the ship. So Elohim made a wind blow over the earth, and the water started to go down. ²The deep springs and the sky had been shut, and the rain had stopped pouring. ³The water began to recede from the land. At the end of 150 days the water had decreased. ⁴On the seventeenth day of the seventh month, the ship came to rest in the mountains of Ararat. ⁵The water kept decreasing until the tenth month. On the first day of the tenth month, the tops of the mountains appeared.

⁶After 40 more days Noah opened the window he had made in the ship ⁷and sent out a raven. It kept flying back and forth until the water on the land had dried up. ⁸Next, he sent out a dove to see if the water was gone from the surface of the ground. ⁹The dove couldn’t find a place to land because the water was still all over the earth. So it came back to Noah in the ship. He reached out and brought the dove back into the ship. ¹⁰He waited seven more days and again sent the dove out of the ship. ¹¹The dove came to him in the evening, and in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf. Then Noah knew that the water was gone from the earth. ¹²He waited seven more days and sent out the dove again, but it never came back to him.

¹³By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water on the land had dried up. Noah opened the top of the ship, looked out, and saw the surface of the ground. ¹⁴By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the land was dry.

¹⁵Then Elohim spoke to Noah, ¹⁶“Come out of the ship with your wife, your sons, and your sons’ wives. ¹⁷Bring out every animal that’s with you: birds, domestic animals, and every creature that crawls on the earth. Be fertile, increase in number, and spread over the earth.”

¹⁸So Noah came out with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives. ¹⁹Every animal, crawling creature, and bird—everything that moves on the earth—came out of the ship, one kind after another.

²⁰Noah built an altar to Yhwh. On it he made a burnt offering of each type of clean (“Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to Elohim.) animal and clean bird. ²¹Yhwh smelled the soothing aroma. He said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of humans, even though from birth their hearts are set on nothing but evil. I will never again kill every living creature as I have just done.

22 As long as the earth exists,
planting and harvesting,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never stop.”

Genesis 9

Elohim Blesses Noah and His Sons

¹Elohim blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fertile, increase in number, and fill the earth. ²All the wild animals and all the birds will fear you and be terrified of you. Every creature that crawls on the ground and all the fish in the sea have been put under your control. ³Everything that lives and moves will be your food. I gave you green plants as food; I now give you everything else.

⁴“But you are not to eat meat with blood in it. (Blood is life.) ⁵In addition, I will demand your blood for your life. I will demand it from any animal or from any person. I will demand the life of any person ⌞who kills⌟ another person.

6 Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans his blood will be shed,
because in the image of Elohim, Elohim made humans.

⁷Be fertile, and increase in number. Spread over the earth, and increase.”

Elohim’s Promise—the Sign of the Rainbow

⁸Elohim also said to Noah and his sons, ⁹“I am going to make my promise (Or “covenant.”) to you, your descendants, ¹⁰and every living being that is with you—birds, domestic animals, and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ship—every living thing on earth. ¹¹I am making my promise to you. Never again will all life be killed by floodwaters. Never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth.”

¹²Elohim said, “This is the sign of the promise I am giving to you and every living being that is with you for generations to come. ¹³I will put my rainbow in the clouds to be a sign of my promise to the earth. ¹⁴Whenever I form clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in the clouds. ¹⁵Then I will remember my promise to you and every living animal. Never again will water become a flood to destroy all life. ¹⁶Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember my everlasting promise to every living animal on earth.”

¹⁷So Elohim said to Noah, “This is the sign of the promise I am making to all life on earth.”

Noah Curses Canaan but Blesses Shem and Japheth

¹⁸Noah’s sons, who came out of the ship, were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. ¹⁹These were Noah’s three sons. From them the whole earth was populated. Ham was the father of Canaan. (The second part of verse 18 (in Hebrew) has been placed just after verse 19 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.)

²⁰Noah, a farmer, was the first person to plant a vineyard. ²¹He drank some wine, got drunk, and lay naked inside his tent. ²²Ham, father of Canaan, saw his father naked. So he went outside and told his two brothers.

²³Shem and Japheth took a blanket and laid it over their shoulders. Then they walked in backwards and covered their father’s naked body. They turned their faces away so that they didn’t see their father naked.

²⁴When Noah sobered up, he found out what his youngest son had done to him. ²⁵So he said,

“Canaan is cursed!
He will be the lowest slave to his brothers.
26 Praise Yhwh, the Elohim of Shem!
Canaan will be his slave.
27 May Elohim expand the territory of Japheth.‡There is a play on words here between the Hebrew yapht (May Elohim expand) and yepheth (Japheth).
May he live in the tents of Shem.
Canaan will be his slave.”

²⁸Noah lived 350 years after the flood. ²⁹Noah lived a total of 950 years; then he died.

Genesis 10

The 14 Descendants of Japheth

(1 Chronicles 1:4–7)

¹This is the account of Noah’s sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their descendants. Shem, Ham and Japheth had children after the flood.

²Japheth’s descendants were

Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.

³Gomer’s descendants were

Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.

⁴Javan’s descendants were

the people from Elishah, Tarshish, Cyprus, and Rhodes. (1 Chronicles 1:7, Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek; Masoretic Text “the Dodanim.”)

⁵From these descendants the people of the coastlands spread into their own countries. Each nation had its own language and families.

The 30 Descendants of Ham

(1 Chronicles 1:8–16)

⁶Ham’s descendants were

Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan.

⁷Cush’s descendants were

Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca.

Raamah’s descendants were

Sheba and Dedan.

⁸Cush was the father of Nimrod, the first mighty warrior on the earth. ⁹He was a mighty hunter whom Yhwh blessed. That’s why people used to say, “⌞He’s⌟ like Nimrod, a mighty hunter whom Yhwh blessed.” ¹⁰The first ⌞cities⌟ in his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Accad, and Calneh in Shinar [Babylonia]. ¹¹He went from that land to Assyria and built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah, ¹²and Resen, the great city between Nineveh and Calah.

¹³Egypt was the ancestor of

the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, ¹⁴Pathrusites, Casluhites (from whom the Philistines came), and the Caphtorites.

¹⁵Canaan was the father of

Sidon his firstborn, then Heth, ¹⁶also the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, ¹⁷the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, ¹⁸the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.

Later the Canaanite families scattered. ¹⁹The border of the Canaanites extended from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim as far as Lasha.

²⁰These were Ham’s descendants by families and languages within their countries and nations.

The 26 Descendants of Shem

(1 Chronicles 1:17–23)

²¹Shem, Japheth’s older brother, also had children. ⌞Shem was⌟ the ancestor of all the sons of Eber.

²²Shem’s descendants were

Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.

²³Aram’s descendants were

Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.

²⁴Arpachshad was the father of Shelah,

and Shelah was the father of Eber.

²⁵Two sons were born to Eber.

The name of the one was Peleg [Division], because in his day the earth was divided.

His brother’s name was Joktan.

²⁶Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, ²⁷Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, ²⁸Obal, Abimael, Sheba, ²⁹Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. These were Joktan’s sons. ³⁰The region where they lived extended from Mesha toward Sephar in the eastern mountains.

³¹These were Shem’s descendants by families and languages within their countries according to their nations.

³²These were the families of Noah’s sons listed by their genealogies, nation by nation. From these ⌞descendants⌟ the nations spread over the earth after the flood.

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel

¹The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. ²As people moved toward the east, (Or “from the east.”) they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.

³They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar (Or “bitumen.”) as mortar.

⁴Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”

⁵Yhwh came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. ⁶Yhwh said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. ⁷Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”

⁸So Yhwh scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. ⁹This is why it was named Babel, because there Yhwh turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place Yhwh scattered them all over the face of the earth.

The Ten Descendants of Shem—Shem to Terah

(1 Chronicles 1:17–23)

¹⁰This is the account of Shem and his descendants. Two years after the flood when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arpachshad. ¹¹After he became the father of Arpachshad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹²Arpachshad was 35 years old when he became the father of Shelah. ¹³After he became the father of Shelah, Arpachshad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁴Shelah was 30 years old when he became the father of Eber. ¹⁵After he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁶Eber was 34 years old when he became the father of Peleg. ¹⁷After he became the father of Peleg, Eber lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters.

¹⁸Peleg was 30 years old when he became the father of Reu. ¹⁹After he became the father of Reu, Peleg lived 209 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁰Reu was 32 years old when he became the father of Serug. ²¹After he became the father of Serug, Reu lived 207 years and had other sons and daughters.

²²Serug was 30 years old when he became the father of Nahor. ²³After he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁴Nahor was 29 years old when he became the father of Terah. ²⁵After he became the father of Terah, Nahor lived 119 years and had other sons and daughters.

²⁶Terah was 70 years old when he became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

Terah Moves to Haran

²⁷This is the account of Terah and his descendants. Terah was the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. Haran was the father of Lot. ²⁸While his father Terah was still alive, Haran died in Ur of the Chaldeans, his native land. ²⁹Both Abram and Nahor married. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai, and the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah, daughter of Haran. (Haran was the father of Milcah and Iscah.) ³⁰Sarai was not able to have children.

³¹Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, wife of his son Abram. They set out together from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came as far as Haran, they stayed there. ³²Terah lived 205 years and died in Haran.

Genesis 12

Yhwh’s First Promise to Abram

¹Yhwh said to Abram,

“Leave your land,
your relatives,
and your father’s home.
Go to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you a great nation,
I will bless you.
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you, I will curse.
Through you every family on earth will be blessed.”

Yhwh ’s Second Promise to Abram

⁴So Abram left, as Yhwh had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was 75 years old when he left Haran. ⁵Abram set out for Canaan. He took along his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the servants they had acquired in Haran.

⁶They arrived in Canaan, and Abram traveled through the land to the oak tree belonging to Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. ⁷Then Yhwh appeared to Abram and said, “I’m going to give this land to your descendants.” So he built an altar there to Yhwh, who had appeared to him.

⁸He moved on to the hills east of Bethel, and he put up his tent—with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. He also built an altar to Yhwh there and worshiped Yhwh. ⁹Abram kept moving toward the Negev.

Abram Deceives Pharaoh

¹⁰There was a famine in the land. Abram went to Egypt to stay awhile because the famine was severe. ¹¹When he was about to enter Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “I know that you’re a beautiful woman. ¹²When the Egyptians see you, they’ll say, ‘This is his wife!’ Then they’ll kill me but let you live. ¹³Please say that you’re my sister. Then everything will be alright for me, and because of you I will live.”

¹⁴When Abram arrived in Egypt, the Egyptians saw how very beautiful his wife was. ¹⁵When Pharaoh’s officials saw her, they raved about her to Pharaoh, so Sarai was taken to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁶Everything went well for Abram because of her, and he was given sheep, cattle, donkeys, male and female slaves, and camels.

¹⁷However, Yhwh struck Pharaoh and his household with terrible plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. ¹⁸Then Pharaoh called for Abram. “What have you done to me?” he asked. “Why didn’t you tell me that she’s your wife? ¹⁹Why did you say, ‘She’s my sister’ and allow me to take her for my wife? Here’s your wife! Take her and go!” ²⁰Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning Abram. They sent Abram away with his wife and everything that he had.

Genesis 13

Abram and Lot Separate

¹Abram left Egypt with his wife and everything he had and went to the Negev. Lot was with him. ²Abram was very rich because he had livestock, silver, and gold. ³He traveled from place to place. He went from the Negev as far as Bethel, to the area between Bethel and Ai where his tent had been originally, ⁴where he had first made an altar. There Abram worshiped Yhwh.

⁵Lot, who had been traveling with Abram, also had his own sheep, cattle, and tents. ⁶There wasn’t enough pastureland for both of them. They had so many possessions that they were unable to remain together. ⁷Quarrels broke out between Abram’s herders and Lot’s herders. (Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in that area.)

⁸Abram said to Lot, “Please, let’s not have any more quarrels between us or between our herders. After all, we’re relatives. ⁹Isn’t all this land yours also? Let’s separate. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right, and if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left.” ¹⁰Then Lot looked in the direction of Zoar as far as he could see. He saw that the whole Jordan Plain was well-watered like Yhwh’s garden or like Egypt. (This was before Yhwh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)

¹¹Lot chose the whole Jordan Plain for himself. He moved toward the east. They each went their own way. ¹²Abram lived in Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain, moving his tents as far as Sodom. ¹³(The people who lived in Sodom were very wicked. They committed terrible sins against Yhwh.)

Yhwh ’s Third Promise to Abram

¹⁴After Lot left, Yhwh said to Abram, “Look north, south, east, and west of where you are. ¹⁵I will give all the land you see to you and to your descendants for an indefinite period of time. ¹⁶I will also give you as many descendants as the dust of the earth. If anyone could count the dust of the earth, then he could also count your descendants. ¹⁷Go! Walk back and forth across the entire land because I will give it to you.” ¹⁸So Abram moved his tents and went to live by the oak trees belonging to Mamre at Hebron. There he built an altar for Yhwh.

Genesis 14

Abram Rescues Lot

¹At that time ⌞four kings⌟—King Amraphel of Shinar, King Arioch of Ellasar, King Chedorlaomer of Elam, and King Tidal of Goiim— ²went to war against ⌞five kings⌟—King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shinab of Admah, King Shemeber of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar). ³The five kings joined forces and met in the valley of Siddim (that is, the Dead Sea). ⁴For 12 years they had been subject to Chedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year they rebelled. ⁵In the fourteenth year Chedorlaomer and his allies came and defeated the Rephaim at Ashteroth Karnaim, the Zuzim at Ham, the Emim at Shaveh Kiriathaim, ⁶and the Horites in the hill country of Seir, going as far as El Paran on the edge of the desert. ⁷On their way back, they came to En Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered the whole territory of the Amalekites and also the Amorites who were living at Hazazon Tamar.

⁸Then the kings of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela (that is, Zoar) marched out and prepared for battle in the valley of Siddim. ⁹They fought against King Chedorlaomer of Elam, King Tidal of Goiim, King Amraphel of Shinar, and King Arioch of Ellasar—four kings against five. ¹⁰The valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. As the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell because of the tar pits, but the other kings fled to the hills. ¹¹So the four kings took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as all their food, and left. ¹²They also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom.

¹³Then a soldier who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew what had happened. He was living next to the oak trees belonging to Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner. (These men were Abram’s allies.)

¹⁴When Abram heard that his nephew had been captured, he armed his 318 trained men, born in his own household, and pursued the four kings all the way to Dan. ¹⁵He split up his men to attack them at night. He defeated them, pursuing them all the way to Hobah, which is north of Damascus. ¹⁶He brought back everything they had, including women and soldiers. He also brought back his relative Lot and his possessions.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

¹⁷After Abram came back from defeating Chedorlaomer and his allies, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸Then King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was a priest of El Elyon. ¹⁹He blessed Abram, and said,

“Blessed is Abram by El Elyon,
maker *Or “Possessor.” of heaven and earth.
20 Blessed is El Elyon,
who has handed your enemies over to you.”

Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

²¹The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people, and keep everything else for yourself.”

²²But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I now raise my hand and solemnly swear to Yhwh Elohim Most High, maker of heaven and earth, ²³that I won’t take a thread or a sandal strap. I won’t take anything that is yours so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ ²⁴I won’t take one single thing except what my men have eaten. But let my allies Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre take their share.”

Genesis 15

Yhwh ’s Fourth Promise to Abram

¹Later Yhwh spoke his word to Abram in a vision. He said,

“Abram, don’t be afraid.
I am your shield.
Your reward will be very great.” *Or “I am your shield, your very great reward.”

²Abram asked, “Adonai Yhwh, what will you give me? Since I’m going to die without children, Eliezer of Damascus will inherit my household. ³You have given me no children, so this member of my household will be my heir.”

⁴Suddenly, Yhwh spoke his word to Abram again. He said, “This man will not be your heir. Your own son will be your heir.” ⁵He took Abram outside and said, “Now look up at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” He also said to him, “That’s how many descendants you will have!” ⁶Then Abram believed Yhwh, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abram’s approval by Yhwh. ⁷Then Yhwh said to him, “I am Yhwh, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land so that you will take possession of it.”

⁸Abram asked, “Adonai Yhwh, how can I be certain that I will take possession of it?”

⁹He answered Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a mourning dove, and a pigeon.” ¹⁰So Abram brought all these animals to him. He cut each of them in half and laid each half opposite the other. However, he did not cut the birds in half.

¹¹When birds of prey came down upon the carcasses, Abram drove them away. ¹²As the sun was just about to set, a deep sleep—a dreadful, deep darkness—came over Abram.

¹³Elohim said to Abram, “You can know for sure that your descendants will live in a land that is not their own, where they will be slaves, and they will be oppressed for 400 years. ¹⁴But I will punish the nation they serve, and after that they will come out with many possessions. ¹⁵But you will die in peace and be buried at a very old age. ¹⁶In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, because the sin of the Amorites will not have run its course until then.”

¹⁷The sun had gone down, and it was dark. Suddenly a smoking oven and a flaming torch passed between the animal pieces. ¹⁸At that time Yhwh made a promise (Or “covenant.”) to Abram. He said, “I will give this land to your descendants. This is the land from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates. ¹⁹It is the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, ²⁰the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, ²¹the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Genesis 16

Abram and Hagar

¹Sarai, Abram’s wife, was not able to have children. She owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. ²So Sarai said to Abram, “Yhwh has kept me from having children. Why don’t you sleep with my slave? Maybe I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed with Sarai.

³After Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years, Abram’s wife Sarai took her Egyptian slave Hagar and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife. ⁴He slept with Hagar, and she became pregnant. When Hagar realized that she was pregnant, she began to be disrespectful to Sarai, her owner.

⁵So Sarai complained to Abram, “I’m being treated unfairly! And it’s your fault! I know that I gave my slave to you, but now that she’s pregnant, she’s being disrespectful to me. May Yhwh decide who is right—you or me.”

⁶Abram answered Sarai, “Here, she’s your slave. Do what you like with her.” Then Sarai mistreated Hagar so much that she ran away.

⁷The Messenger of Yhwh found her by a spring in the desert, the spring on the way to Shur. ⁸He said, “Hagar, Sarai’s slave, where have you come from, and where are you going?”

She answered, “I’m running away from my owner Sarai.” ⁹The Messenger of Yhwh said to her, “Go back to your owner, and place yourself under her authority.” ¹⁰The Messenger of Yhwh also said to her, “I will give you many descendants. No one will be able to count them because there will be so many.” ¹¹Then the Messenger of Yhwh said to her,

“You are pregnant,
and you will give birth to a son.
You will name him Ishmael [Elohim Hears],
because Yhwh has heard your cry of distress.
12 He will be as free and wild as an untamed donkey.
He will fight with everyone, and everyone will fight with him.
He will have conflicts with all his relatives.”

¹³Hagar named Yhwh, who had been speaking to her, “El Ro'i.” She said, “This is the place where I watched ⌞the one⌟ who watches over me.” ¹⁴This is why the well is named Beer Lahai Roi [Well of the Living One Who Watches Over Me]. It is still there between Kadesh and Bered.

¹⁵Hagar gave birth to Abram’s son. Abram named him Ishmael. ¹⁶Abram was 86 years old when Hagar gave birth to Ishmael.

Genesis 17

Yhwh ’s Fifth Promise to Abraham

¹When Abram was 99 years old, Yhwh appeared to him. He said to Abram, “I am El Shaddai. Live in my presence with integrity. ²I will give you my promise, (Or “covenant.”) and I will give you very many descendants.” ³Immediately, Abram bowed with his face touching the ground, and again Elohim spoke to him, ⁴“My promise is still with you. You will become the father of many nations. ⁵So your name will no longer be Abram [Exalted Father], but Abraham [Father of Many] because I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶I will give you many descendants. Many nations and kings will come from you. ⁷I will make my promise to you and your descendants for generations to come as an everlasting promise. I will be your Elohim and the Elohim of your descendants. ⁸I am also giving this land where you are living—all of Canaan—to you and your descendants as your permanent possession. And I will be your Elohim.”

⁹Elohim also said to Abraham, “You and your descendants in generations to come are to be faithful to my promise. ¹⁰This is how you are to be faithful to my promise: Every male among you is to be circumcised. ¹¹All of you must be circumcised. That will be the sign of the promise from me to you. ¹²For generations to come every male child who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether he is born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner who’s not related to you. ¹³Every male born in your household or bought with your money is to be circumcised without exception. So my promise will be a sign on your flesh, an everlasting promise. ¹⁴Any uncircumcised male must be excluded from his people because he has rejected my promise.”

¹⁵Elohim said to Abraham, “Don’t call your wife by the name Sarai anymore. Instead, her name is Sarah [Princess]. ¹⁶I will bless her, and I will also give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will become ⌞a mother of⌟ nations, and kings will come from her.” ¹⁷Immediately, Abraham bowed with his face touching the ground. He laughed as he thought to himself, “Can a son be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, have a child?” ¹⁸Then Abraham said to Elohim, “Why not let Ishmael be my heir?”

¹⁹Elohim replied, “No! Your wife Sarah will give you a son, and you will name him Isaac [He Laughs]. I will make an everlasting promise to him and his descendants. ²⁰I have heard your request about Ishmael. Yes, I will bless him, make him fertile, and increase the number of his descendants. He will be the father of 12 princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹But I will make my promise to Isaac. Sarah will give birth to him at this time next year.” ²²When Elohim finished speaking with Abraham, he left him.

Abraham’s Household Circumcised

²³So Abraham took his son Ishmael, everyone born in his household, and everyone bought with money—every male in his household—and circumcised them that day, as Elohim had told him. ²⁴Abraham was 99 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁵His son Ishmael was 13 years old when he was circumcised. ²⁶That same day Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised. ²⁷All the men of his household, whether born in the household or bought with money from a foreigner, were circumcised with him.

Genesis 18

Yhwh ’s Sixth Promise to Abraham

¹Yhwh appeared to Abraham by the oak trees belonging to Mamre as he was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day. ²Abraham looked up, and suddenly he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran to meet them, and he bowed with his face touching the ground.

³“Please, sir,” Abraham said, “stop by to visit me for a while. ⁴Why don’t we let someone bring a little water? After you wash your feet, you can stretch out and rest under the tree. ⁵Let me bring some bread so that you can regain your strength. After that you can leave, since this is why you stopped by to visit me.”

They answered, “That’s fine. Do as you say.”

⁶So Abraham hurried into the tent to find Sarah. “Quick,” he said, “get three measures of flour, knead it, and make bread.”

⁷Then Abraham ran to the herd and took one of his best calves. He gave it to his servant, who prepared it quickly. ⁸Abraham took cheese and milk, as well as the meat, and set these in front of them. Then he stood by them under the tree as they ate.

⁹They asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

He answered, “Over there, in the tent.”

¹⁰Yhwh said, “I promise I’ll come back to you next year at this time, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah happened to be listening at the entrance of the tent, which was behind him. ¹¹Abraham and Sarah were old. Sarah was past the age of childbearing. ¹²And so Sarah laughed to herself, thinking, “Now that I’ve become old, will I enjoy myself again? What’s more, my husband is old!”

¹³Yhwh asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child now that I’m old?’ ¹⁴Is anything too hard for Yhwh? I will come back to you next year at this time, and Sarah will have a son.”

¹⁵Because she was afraid, Sarah denied that she had laughed.

But Yhwh said, “Yes, you did laugh.”

Yhwh Tells Abraham about His Plan

¹⁶Then the men got up to leave. As Abraham was walking with them to see them off, they looked toward Sodom. ¹⁷Yhwh said, “I shouldn’t hide what I am going to do from Abraham. ¹⁸After all, Abraham is going to become a great and mighty nation and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁹I have chosen him so that he will direct his children and his family after him to keep the way of Yhwh by doing what is right and just. In this way I, Yhwh, will do what I have promised Abraham.”

²⁰Yhwh also said, “Sodom and Gomorrah have many complaints against them, and their sin is very serious. ²¹I must go down and see whether these complaints are true. If not, I will know it.”

²²From there the men turned and went on toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing in front of Yhwh. ²³Abraham came closer and asked, “Are you really going to sweep away the innocent with the guilty? ²⁴What if there are 50 innocent people in the city? Are you really going to sweep them away? Won’t you spare that place for the sake of the 50 innocent people who are in it? ²⁵It would be unthinkable for you to do such a thing, to treat the innocent and the guilty alike and to kill the innocent with the guilty. That would be unthinkable! Won’t the judge of the whole earth do what is fair?”

²⁶Yhwh said, “If I find 50 innocent people inside the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

²⁷Abraham asked, “Consider now, if I may be so bold as to ask you, although I’m ⌞only⌟ dust and ashes, ²⁸what if there are 45 innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of 5 fewer people?”

Yhwh answered, “I will not destroy it if I find 45 there.”

²⁹Abraham asked him again, “What if 40 are found there?”

He answered, “For the sake of the 40 I will not do it.”

³⁰“Please don’t be angry if I speak again,” Abraham said. “What if 30 are found there?”

He answered, “If I find 30 there, I will not do it.”

³¹“Look now, if I may be so bold as to ask you,” Abraham said. “What if 20 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the 20.”

³²“Please don’t be angry if I speak only one more time,” Abraham said. “What if 10 are found there?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the 10.” ³³When Yhwh finished speaking to Abraham, he left. Abraham returned home.

Genesis 19

Lot’s Guests Are Assaulted

¹The two angels came to Sodom in the evening as Lot was sitting in the gateway. When Lot saw them, he got up to meet them and bowed with his face touching the ground. ²He said, “Please, gentlemen, why don’t you come to my home and spend the night? ⌞You can⌟ wash your feet there. Then early tomorrow morning you can continue your journey.”

“No,” they answered, “we’d rather spend the night in the city square.”

³But he insisted so strongly that they came with him and went into his home. He prepared a special dinner for them, baked some unleavened bread, and they ate. ⁴Before they had gone to bed, all the young and old male citizens of Sodom surrounded the house. ⁵They called to Lot, “Where are the men who came to ⌞stay with⌟ you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them.”

⁶Then Lot went outside and shut the door behind him. ⁷“Please, my friends, don’t be so wicked,” he said. ⁸“Look, I have two daughters who have never had sex. Why don’t you let me bring them out to you? Do whatever you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, since I’m responsible for them.”

⁹But the men yelled, “Get out of the way! This man came here to stay awhile. Now he wants to be our judge! We’re going to treat you worse than those men.” They pushed hard against Lot and lunged forward to break down the door. ¹⁰The men ⌞inside⌟ reached out, pulled Lot into the house with them, and shut the door. ¹¹Then they struck all the men who were in the doorway of the house, young and old alike, with blindness so that they gave up trying to find the door.

Lot Leaves Sodom, and the Cities Are Destroyed

¹²Then the men asked Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—any in-laws, sons, daughters, or any other relatives in the city? Get them out of here ¹³because we’re going to destroy this place. The complaints to Yhwh against its people are so loud that Yhwh has sent us to destroy it.”

¹⁴So Lot went out and spoke to the men engaged to his daughters. He said, “Hurry! Get out of this place, because Yhwh is going to destroy the city.” But they thought he was joking.

¹⁵As soon as it was dawn, the angels urged Lot by saying, “Quick! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you’ll be swept away when the city is punished.” ¹⁶When he hesitated, the men grabbed him, his wife, and his two daughters by their hands, because Yhwh wanted to spare Lot. They brought them safely outside the city. ¹⁷As soon as they were outside, one ⌞of the angels⌟ said, “Run for your lives! Don’t look behind you, and don’t stop on the plain. Run for the hills, or you’ll be swept away!”

¹⁸Lot answered, “Oh no! ¹⁹Even though you’ve been so good to me and though you’ve been very kind to me by saving my life, I can’t run as far as the hills. This disaster will overtake me, and I’ll die. ²⁰Look, there’s a city near enough to flee to, and it’s small. Why don’t you let me run there? Isn’t it small? Then my life will be saved.”

²¹The angel said to him, “Alright, I will grant you this request too. I will not destroy the city you’re talking about. ²²Run there quickly, because I can’t do anything until you get there.” (The city is named Zoar [Small].)

²³The sun had just risen over the land as Lot came to Zoar. ²⁴Then Yhwh made burning sulfur and fire rain out of heaven on Sodom and Gomorrah. ²⁵He destroyed those cities, the whole plain, all who lived in the cities, and whatever grew on the ground. ²⁶Lot’s wife looked back and turned into a column of salt.

²⁷Early the next morning Abraham came to the place where he had stood in front of Yhwh. ²⁸When he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah and all the land in the plain, he saw smoke rising from the land like the thick smoke of a furnace.

²⁹When Elohim destroyed the cities on the plain, he remembered Abraham. Lot was allowed to escape from the destruction that came to the cities where he was living.

Lot’s Daughters Have Sons by Their Father

³⁰Lot left Zoar because he was afraid to stay there. He and his two daughters settled in the mountains where they lived in a cave. ³¹The older daughter said to the younger one, “Our father is old. No men are here. We can’t get married as other people do. ³²Let’s give our father wine to drink. Then we’ll go to bed with him so that we’ll be able to preserve our family line through our father.” ³³That night they gave their father wine to drink. Then the older one went to bed with her father. He didn’t know when she came to bed or when she got up. ³⁴The next day the older daughter said to the younger one, “I did it! Last night I went to bed with my father. Let’s give him wine to drink again tonight. Then you go to bed with him so that we’ll be able to preserve our family line through our father.” ³⁵That night they gave their father wine to drink again. Then the younger one went to bed with him. He didn’t know when she came to bed or when she got up. ³⁶So Lot’s two daughters became pregnant by their father. ³⁷The older one gave birth to a son and named him Moab. He is the ancestor of the Moabites of today. ³⁸The younger daughter also gave birth to a son and named him Ben Ammi. He is the ancestor of the Ammonites of today.

Genesis 20

Abraham Deceives Abimelech

¹Abraham moved to the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he was living in Gerar, ²Abraham told everyone that his wife Sarah was his sister. So King Abimelech of Gerar sent men to take Sarah. ³Elohim came to Abimelech in a dream one night and said to him, “You’re going to die because of the woman that you’ve taken! She’s a married woman!” ⁴Abimelech hadn’t come near her, so he asked, “Yhwh, will you destroy a nation even if it’s innocent? ⁵Didn’t he tell me himself, ‘She’s my sister,’ and didn’t she even say, ‘He’s my brother’? I did this in all innocence and with a clear conscience.”

⁶“Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience,” Elohim said to him in the dream. “In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That’s why I didn’t let you touch her. ⁷Give the man’s wife back to him now, because he’s a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you don’t give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.”

⁸Early in the morning Abimelech called together all his officials. He told them about all of this, and they were terrified. ⁹Then Abimelech called for Abraham and asked him, “What have you done to us? How have I sinned against you that you would bring such a serious sin on me and my kingdom? You shouldn’t have done this to me.” ¹⁰Abimelech also asked Abraham, “What were you thinking when you did this?”

¹¹Abraham said, “I thought that because there are no Elohim-fearing people in this place, I’d be killed because of my wife. ¹²Besides, she is my sister—my father’s daughter but not my mother’s. She is also my wife. ¹³When Elohim had me leave my father’s home and travel around, I said to her, ‘Do me a favor: Wherever we go, say that I’m your brother.’ ”

¹⁴Then Abimelech took sheep, cattle, and male and female slaves and gave them to Abraham. He also gave his wife Sarah back to him. ¹⁵Abimelech said, “Look, here’s my land. Live anywhere you like.” ¹⁶He said to Sarah, “Don’t forget, I’ve given your brother 25 pounds of silver. This is to silence any criticism against you from everyone with you. You’re completely cleared.”

¹⁷Abraham prayed to Elohim, and Elohim healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could have children. ¹⁸(Yhwh had made it impossible for any woman in Abimelech’s household to have children because of Abraham’s wife Sarah.)

Genesis 21

Elohim Provides for Hagar and Ishmael

¹Yhwh came to help Sarah and did for her what he had promised. ²So she became pregnant, and at the exact time Elohim had promised, she gave birth to a son for Abraham in his old age. ³Abraham named his newborn son Isaac. ⁴When Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him as Elohim had commanded. ⁵Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born.

⁶Sarah said, “Elohim has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears about this will laugh with me. ⁷Who would have predicted to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet, I have given him a son in his old age.”

⁸The child grew and was weaned. On the day Isaac was weaned, Abraham held a big feast. ⁹Sarah saw that Abraham’s son by Hagar the Egyptian was laughing at Isaac. ¹⁰She said to Abraham, “Get rid of this slave and her son, because this slave’s son must never share the inheritance with my son Isaac.” ¹¹Abraham was upset by this because of his son Ishmael. ¹²But Elohim said to Abraham, “Don’t be upset about the boy and your slave. Listen to what Sarah says because through Isaac your descendants will carry on your name. ¹³Besides, I will make the slave’s son into a nation also, because he is your child.”

¹⁴Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beersheba. ¹⁵When the water in the container was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes. ¹⁶Then she went about as far away as an arrow can be shot and sat down. She said to herself, “I don’t want to watch the boy die.” So she sat down and sobbed loudly.

¹⁷Elohim heard the boy crying, and the Messenger of Elohim called to Hagar from heaven. “What’s the matter, Hagar?” he asked her. “Don’t be afraid! Elohim has heard the boy crying from the bushes. ¹⁸Come on, help the boy up! Take him by the hand, because I’m going to make him into a great nation.”

¹⁹Elohim opened her eyes. Then she saw a well. She filled the container with water and gave the boy a drink.

²⁰Elohim was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became a skilled archer. ²¹He lived in the desert of Paran, and his mother got him a wife from Egypt.

Abraham’s Agreement with Abimelech

²²At that time Abimelech, accompanied by Phicol, the commander of his army, said to Abraham, “Elohim is with you in everything you do. ²³Now, swear an oath to me here in front of Elohim that you will never cheat me, my children, or my descendants. Show me and the land where you’ve been living the same kindness that I have shown you.”

²⁴Abraham said, “I so swear.”

²⁵Then Abraham complained to Abimelech about a well which Abimelech’s servants had seized. ²⁶Abimelech replied, “I don’t know who did this. You didn’t tell me, and I didn’t hear about it until today.”

²⁷Abraham took some sheep and cattle and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made an agreement. ²⁸Then Abraham set apart seven female lambs from the flock. ²⁹Abimelech asked him, “What is the meaning of these seven female lambs you have set apart?”

³⁰Abraham answered, “Accept these lambs from me so that they may be proof (Or “a witness.”) that I dug this well.” ³¹This is why that place is called Beersheba, (Beersheba can mean either “Well of the Seven” or “Well of the Oath.”) because both of them swore an oath there.

³²After they made the treaty at Beersheba, Abimelech and Phicol, the commander of his army, left and went back to the land of the Philistines. ³³Abraham planted a tamarisk tree at Beersheba and worshiped El Olam, there. ³⁴Abraham lived a long time in the land of the Philistines.

Genesis 22

Elohim Tests Abraham

¹Later Elohim tested Abraham and called to him, “Abraham!”

“Yes, here I am!” he answered.

²Elohim said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I will show you.”

³Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut the wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place that Elohim had told him about. ⁴Two days later Abraham saw the place in the distance. ⁵Then Abraham said to his servants, “You stay here with the donkey while the boy and I go over there. We’ll worship. After that we’ll come back to you.”

⁶Then Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to his son Isaac. Abraham carried the burning coals and the knife. The two of them went on together.

⁷Isaac spoke up and said, “Father?”

“Yes, Son?” Abraham answered.

Isaac asked, “We have the burning coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

⁸Abraham answered, “Elohim will provide a lamb for the burnt offering, Son.”

The two of them went on together. ⁹When they came to the place that Elohim had told him about, Abraham built the altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he tied up his son Isaac and laid him on top of the wood on the altar. ¹⁰Next, Abraham picked up the knife and took it in his hand to sacrifice his son. ¹¹But the Messenger of Yhwh called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Yes?” he answered.

¹²“Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear Elohim, because you did not refuse to give me your son, your only son.”

¹³When Abraham looked around, he saw a ram behind him caught by its horns in a bush. So Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in place of his son. ¹⁴Abraham named that place Yhwh Will Provide. It is still said today, “On the mountain of Yhwh it will be provided.”

Yhwh ’s Seventh Promise to Abraham

¹⁵Then the Messenger of Yhwh called to Abraham from heaven a second time ¹⁶and said, “I am taking an oath on my own name, declares Yhwh, that because you have done this and have not refused to give me your son, your only son, ¹⁷I will certainly bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of their enemies’ cities. ¹⁸Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.”

¹⁹Then Abraham returned to his servants, and together they left for Beersheba. Abraham remained in Beersheba.

Abraham Learns of Nahor’s Descendants

²⁰Later Abraham was told, “Milcah has given birth to these children of your brother Nahor: ²¹Uz (the firstborn), Buz (his brother), Kemuel (father of Aram), ²²Kesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel. ²³Bethuel is the father of Rebekah. Milcah had these eight sons by Abraham’s brother Nahor. ²⁴Nahor’s concubine, (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) whose name was Reumah, had the following children: Tebah, Gaham, Tahash, and Maacah.”

Genesis 23

Sarah’s Death

¹Sarah lived to be 127 years old. This was the length of her life. ²She died in Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in Canaan. Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to cry about her death.

³Then Abraham left the side of his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites, ⁴“I’m a stranger with no permanent home. Let me have some of your property for a tomb so that I can bury my dead wife.”

⁵The Hittites answered Abraham, ⁶“Listen to us, sir. You are a mighty leader among us. Bury your dead in one of our best tombs. Not one of us will withhold from you his tomb for burying your dead.”

⁷Abraham got up in front of the Hittites, the people of that region, and bowed with his face touching the ground. ⁸He said to them, “If you are willing to let me bury my wife, listen to me. Encourage Ephron, son of Zohar, ⁹to let me have the cave of Machpelah that he owns at the end of his field. He should sell it to me for its full price as my property to be used as a tomb among you.”

¹⁰Ephron was sitting among the Hittites. He answered Abraham so that everyone who was entering the city gate could hear him. He said, ¹¹“No, sir, listen to me. I’m giving you the field together with the cave that is in it. My people are witnesses that I’m giving it to you. Bury your wife!”

¹²Abraham bowed down again in front of the people of that region. ¹³He spoke to Ephron so that the people of that region could hear him. He said, “If you would only listen to me. I will pay you the price of the field. Take it from me so that I can bury my wife there.”

¹⁴Ephron answered Abraham, ¹⁵“Sir, listen to me. The land is worth ten pounds of silver. What is that between us? Bury your wife!”

¹⁶Abraham agreed to Ephron’s terms. So he weighed out for Ephron the amount stated in front of the Hittites: ten pounds of silver at the current merchants’ exchange rate.

¹⁷So Ephron’s field at Machpelah, east of Mamre, was sold ¹⁸to Abraham. His property included the field with the cave in it as well as all the trees inside the boundaries of the field. (The last part of verse 17 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 18 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.) The Hittites together with all who had entered the city gate were the official witnesses for the agreement.

¹⁹After this, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre (that is, Hebron). ²⁰So the field and its cave were sold by the Hittites to Abraham as his property to be used as a tomb.

Genesis 24

Abraham Instructs His Servant

¹By now Abraham was old, and Yhwh had blessed him in every way. ²So Abraham said to the senior servant of his household who was in charge of all that he owned, “Take a solemn oath. ³I want you to swear by Yhwh Elohim of heaven and earth that you will not get my son a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I’m living. ⁴Instead, you will go to the land of my relatives and get a wife for my son Isaac.”

⁵The servant asked him, “What if the woman doesn’t want to come back to this land with me? Should I take your son all the way back to the land you came from?”

⁶“Make sure that you do not take my son back there,” Abraham said to him. ⁷“Yhwh Elohim of heaven took me from my father’s home and the land of my family. He spoke to me and swore this oath: ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’

“Elohim will send his angel ahead of you, and you will get my son a wife from there. ⁸If the woman doesn’t want to come back with you, then you’ll be free from this oath that you swear to me. But don’t take my son back there.” ⁹So the servant did as his master Abraham commanded and swore the oath to him concerning this.

¹⁰Then the servant took ten of his master’s camels and left, taking with him all of his master’s best things. He traveled to Aram Naharaim, Nahor’s city.

Abraham’s Servant Finds a Wife for Isaac

¹¹The servant had the camels kneel down outside the city by the well. It was evening, when the women would go out to draw water. ¹²Then he prayed, “Yhwh, Elohim of my master Abraham, make me successful today. Show your kindness to Abraham. ¹³Here I am standing by the spring, and the girls of the city are coming out to draw water. ¹⁴I will ask a girl, ‘May I please have a drink from your jar?’ If she answers, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll also water your camels,’ let her be the one you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This way I’ll know that you’ve shown your kindness to my master.”

¹⁵Before he had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She was the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor. ¹⁶The girl was a very attractive virgin. No man had ever had sexual intercourse with her. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came back.

¹⁷The servant ran to meet her and said, “Please give me a drink of water.”

¹⁸“Drink, sir,” she said. She quickly lowered her jar to her hand and gave him a drink. ¹⁹When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I’ll also keep drawing water for your camels until they’ve had enough to drink.” ²⁰So she quickly emptied her jar into the water trough, ran back to the well to draw more water, and drew enough for all his camels. ²¹The man was silently watching her to see whether or not Yhwh had made his trip successful.

²²When the camels had finished drinking, the man took out a gold nose ring weighing a fifth of an ounce and two gold bracelets weighing four ounces. ²³He asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me whether there is room in your father’s house for us to spend the night.”

²⁴She answered him, “I’m the daughter of Bethuel, son of Milcah and Nahor. ²⁵We have plenty of straw and feed ⌞for your camels⌟ and room for you to spend the night.”

²⁶The man knelt, bowing to Yhwh with his face touching the ground. ²⁷He said, “Praise Yhwh, the Elohim of my master Abraham. Yhwh hasn’t failed to be kind and faithful to my master. Yhwh has led me on this trip to the home of my master’s relatives.”

²⁸The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. ²⁹Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. ³⁰He saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and heard her tell what the man had said to her. Immediately, Laban ran out to the man by the spring. (The last part of verse 29 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 30 to express the complex Hebrew sentence structure more clearly in English.) He came to the man, who was standing with the camels by the spring. ³¹He said, “Come in, you whom Yhwh has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have straightened up the house and made a place for the camels.”

³²So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Then water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. ³³When the food was put in front of him, he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve said what I have to say.”

“Speak up,” Laban said.

³⁴“I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. ³⁵“Yhwh has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. Yhwh has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. ³⁶My master’s wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has. ³⁷My master made me swear this oath: ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I’m living. ³⁸Instead, go to my father’s home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.’

³⁹“I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’

⁴⁰“He answered me, ‘I have been living the way Yhwh wants me to. Yhwh will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family. ⁴¹Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.’

⁴²“When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘Yhwh Elohim of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful. ⁴³I’m standing by the spring. I’ll say to the young woman who comes out to draw water, “Please give me a drink of water.” ⁴⁴If she says to me, “Not only may you have a drink, but I will also draw water for your camels,” let her be the woman Yhwh has chosen for my master’s son.’

⁴⁵“Before I had finished praying, Rebekah came with her jar on her shoulder. She went down to the spring and drew water.

“So I asked her, ‘May I have a drink?’ ⁴⁶She quickly lowered her jar and said, ‘Have a drink, and I’ll water your camels too.’ So I drank, and she also watered the camels.

⁴⁷“Then I asked her, ‘Whose daughter are you?’

“She answered, ‘The daughter of Bethuel, son of Nahor and Milcah.’

“I put the ring in her nose and the bracelets on her wrists. ⁴⁸I knelt, bowing down to Yhwh. I praised Yhwh, the Elohim of my master Abraham. Yhwh led me in the right direction to get the daughter of my master’s relative for his son. ⁴⁹Tell me whether or not you’re going to show my master true kindness so that I will know what to do.”

⁵⁰Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from Yhwh. We can’t say anything to you one way or another. ⁵¹Here’s Rebekah! Take her and go! She will become the wife of your master’s son, as Yhwh has said.”

⁵²When Abraham’s servant heard their answer, he bowed down to Yhwh. ⁵³The servant took out gold and silver jewelry and clothes and gave them to Rebekah. He also gave expensive presents to her brother and mother. ⁵⁴Then he and the men who were with him ate and drank and spent the night. When they got up in the morning, he said, “Let me go back to my master.”

⁵⁵Her brother and mother replied, “Let the girl stay with us ten days or so. After that she may go.”

⁵⁶He said to them, “Don’t delay me now that Yhwh has made my trip successful. Let me go back to my master.”

⁵⁷So they said, “We’ll call the girl and ask her.”

⁵⁸They called for Rebekah and asked her, “Will you go with this man?”

She said, “Yes, I’ll go.”

⁵⁹So they let their sister Rebekah and her nurse go with Abraham’s servant and his men. ⁶⁰They gave Rebekah a blessing:

“May you, our sister, become the mother of many thousands of children.
May your descendants take possession of their enemies’ cities.”

⁶¹Then Rebekah and her maids left. Riding on camels, they followed the man. The servant took Rebekah and left.

Isaac and Rebekah Are Married

⁶²Isaac had just come back from Beer Lahai Roi, since he was living in the Negev. ⁶³Toward evening Isaac went out into the field to meditate. When he looked up, he saw camels coming. ⁶⁴When Rebekah saw Isaac, she got down from her camel. ⁶⁵She asked the servant, “Who is that man over there coming through the field to meet us?”

“That is my master,” the servant answered. Then she took her veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶The servant reported to Isaac everything he had done. ⁶⁷Isaac took her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.

Genesis 25

Abraham’s Second Marriage and His Death

(1 Chronicles 1:32–33)

¹Abraham married again, and his wife’s name was Keturah. ²Keturah gave birth to these sons of Abraham: Zimran, Jokshan, Medan, Midian, Ishbak, and Shuah. ³Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan’s descendants were the Assyrians, the Letushites, and the Leummites. ⁴The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. These were the descendants of Keturah.

⁵Abraham left everything he had to Isaac. ⁶But while he was still living, Abraham had given gifts to the sons of his concubines. (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) He sent them away from his son Isaac to a land in the east.

⁷Abraham lived 175 years. ⁸Then he took his last breath, and died at a very old age. After a long and full life, he joined his ancestors in death. ⁹His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite. The cave is east of Mamre. ¹⁰This was the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites. There Abraham was buried with his wife Sarah. ¹¹After Abraham died, Elohim blessed his son Isaac, who settled near Beer Lahai Roi.

The 12 Tribes of Ishmael

(1 Chronicles 1:29–31)

¹²This is the account of the descendants of Abraham’s son Ishmael. He was the son of Sarah’s Egyptian slave Hagar and Abraham. ¹³These are the names of the sons of Ishmael listed in the order of their birth: Nebaioth (Ishmael’s firstborn), Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, ¹⁴Mishma, Dumah, Massa, ¹⁵Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. ¹⁶These are the sons of Ishmael and their names listed by their settlements and camps—12 leaders of their tribes.

¹⁷Ishmael lived 137 years. Then he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death. ¹⁸His descendants lived as nomads from the region of Havilah to Shur, which is near Egypt, in the direction of Assyria. They all fought with each other.

Esau and Jacob

¹⁹This is the account of Abraham’s son Isaac and his descendants. Abraham was the father of Isaac. ²⁰Isaac was 40 years old when he married Rebekah, daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. ²¹Isaac prayed to Yhwh for his wife because she was childless. Yhwh answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. ²²When the children inside her were struggling with each other, she said, “If it’s like this now, what will become of me?” So she went to ask Yhwh.

²³Yhwh said to her,

“Two countries are in your womb.
Two nations will go their separate ways from birth.
One nation will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”

²⁴When the time came for her to give birth, she had twins. ²⁵The first one born was red. His whole body was covered with hair, so they named him Esau [Hairy]. ²⁶Afterwards, his brother was born with his hand holding on to Esau’s heel, and so he was named Jacob [Heel]. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

²⁷They grew up. Esau became an expert hunter, an outdoorsman. Jacob remained a quiet man, staying around the tents. ²⁸Because Isaac liked to eat the meat of wild animals, he loved Esau. However, Rebekah loved Jacob.

²⁹Once, Jacob was preparing a meal when Esau, exhausted, came in from outdoors. ³⁰So Esau said to Jacob, “Let me have the whole pot of red stuff to eat—that red stuff—I’m exhausted.” This is why he was called Edom. (There is a play on words here between Hebrew ʾadom (red stuff) and Edom.)

³¹Jacob responded, “First, sell me your rights as firstborn.”

³²“I’m about to die.” Esau said. “What good is my inheritance to me?”

³³“First, swear an oath,” Jacob said. So Esau swore an oath to him and sold him his rights as firstborn. ³⁴Then Jacob gave Esau a meal of bread and lentils. He ate and drank, and then he got up and left.

This is how Esau showed his contempt for his rights as firstborn.

Genesis 26

Yhwh’s First Promise to Isaac

¹There was a famine in the land in addition to the earlier one during Abraham’s time. So Isaac went to King Abimelech of the Philistines in Gerar.

²Yhwh appeared to Isaac and said, “Don’t go to Egypt. Stay where I tell you. ³Live here in this land for a while, and I will be with you and bless you. I will give all these lands to you and your descendants. I will keep the oath that I swore to your father Abraham. ⁴I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and give all these lands to your descendants. Through your descendant all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ⁵I will bless you because Abraham obeyed me and completed the duties, commands, laws, and instructions I gave him.” ⁶So Isaac lived in Gerar.

Isaac and Rebekah at Gerar

⁷When the men of that place asked about his wife, Isaac answered, “She’s my sister.” He was afraid to say “my wife.” He thought that the men of that place would kill him to get Rebekah, because she was an attractive woman. ⁸When he had been there a long time, King Abimelech of the Philistines looked out of his window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah.

⁹Abimelech called for Isaac and said, “So she’s really your wife! How could you say, ‘She’s my sister’?”

Isaac answered him, “I thought I would be killed because of her.”

¹⁰Then Abimelech said, “What have you done to us! One of the people might have easily gone to bed with your wife, and then you would have made us guilty of sin.” ¹¹So Abimelech ordered his people, “Anyone who touches this man or his wife will be put to death.”

¹²Isaac planted ⌞crops⌟ in that land. In that same year he harvested a hundred times as much as he had planted because Yhwh had blessed him. ¹³He continued to be successful, becoming very rich. ¹⁴Because he owned so many flocks, herds, and servants, the Philistines became jealous of him. ¹⁵So the Philistines filled in all the wells that his father’s servants had dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime.

¹⁶Finally, Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us! You’ve become more powerful than we are.”

¹⁷So Isaac moved away. He set up his tents in the Gerar Valley and lived there. ¹⁸He dug out the wells that had been dug during his father Abraham’s lifetime. The Philistines had filled them in after Abraham’s death. He gave them the same names that his father had given them.

¹⁹Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found a spring-fed well. ²⁰The herders from Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herders, claiming, “This water is ours!” So Isaac named the well Esek [Argument], because they had argued with him. ²¹Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over that one too. So Isaac named it Sitnah [Accusation]. ²²He moved on from there and dug another well. They didn’t quarrel over this one. So he named it Rehoboth [Roomy] and said, “Now Yhwh has made room for us, and we will prosper in this land.”

Yhwh ’s Second Promise to Isaac

²³He went from there to Beersheba. ²⁴That night Yhwh appeared to Isaac, and said, “I am the Elohim of your father Abraham. Don’t be afraid, because I am with you. I will bless you and increase the number of your descendants for my servant Abraham’s sake.” ²⁵So Isaac built an altar there and worshiped Yhwh. He also pitched his tent in that place, and his servants dug a well there.

Isaac’s Agreement with Abimelech

²⁶Abimelech, his friend Ahuzzath, and Phicol, the commander of his army, came from Gerar to see Isaac. ²⁷Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you hate me and sent me away from you?”

²⁸They answered, “We have seen that Yhwh is with you. So we thought, ‘There should be a solemn agreement between us.’ We’d like to make an agreement with you ²⁹that you will not harm us, since we have not touched you. We have done only good to you and let you go in peace. Now you are blessed by Yhwh.”

³⁰Isaac prepared a special dinner for them, and they ate and drank. ³¹Early the next morning they exchanged oaths. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they left peacefully.

³²That same day Isaac’s servants came and told him about a well they had dug. They said to him, “We’ve found water.” ³³So he named it Shibah [Oath]. That is why the name of the city is still Beersheba today.

Esau’s Marriages

³⁴When Esau was 40 years old, he married Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite. He also married Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite. ³⁵These women brought Isaac and Rebekah a lot of grief.

Genesis 27

Jacob Gets Isaac’s Blessing

¹When Isaac was old and going blind, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”

Esau answered, “Here I am.”

²Isaac said, “I’m old. I don’t know when I’m going to die. ³Now take your hunting equipment, your quiver and bow, and go out into the open country and hunt some wild game for me. ⁴Prepare a good-tasting meal for me, just the way I like it. Bring it to me to eat so that I will bless you before I die.”

⁵Rebekah was listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. When Esau went into the open country to hunt for some wild game to bring back, ⁶Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I’ve just heard your father speaking to your brother Esau. ⁷He said, ‘Bring me some wild game, and prepare a good-tasting meal for me to eat so that I will bless you in the presence of Yhwh before I die.’ ⁸Now listen to me, Son, and do what I tell you. ⁹Go to the flock, and get me two good young goats. I’ll prepare them as a good-tasting meal for your father, just the way he likes it. ¹⁰Then take it to your father to eat so that he will bless you before he dies.”

¹¹Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “My brother Esau is a hairy man, and my skin is smooth. (Or “but I am a smooth man.”) ¹²My father will feel ⌞my skin⌟ and think I’m mocking him. Then I’ll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing.”

¹³His mother responded, “Let any curse on you fall on me, Son. Just obey me and go! Get me ⌞the young goats⌟.”

¹⁴He went and got them and brought them to his mother. She prepared a good-tasting meal, just the way his father liked it. ¹⁵Then Rebekah took her older son Esau’s good clothes, which she had in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. ¹⁶She put the skins from the young goats on his hands and on the back of his neck. ¹⁷Then she gave her son Jacob the good-tasting meal and the bread she had prepared.

¹⁸He went to his father and said, “Father?”

“Yes?” he answered. “Who are you, Son?”

¹⁹Jacob answered his father, “I’m Esau, your firstborn. I’ve done what you told me. Sit up and eat this meat I’ve hunted for you so that you may bless me.”

²⁰Isaac asked his son, “How did you find it so quickly, Son?”

“Yhwh your Elohim brought it to me,” he answered.

²¹Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come over here so that I can feel your skin, Son, ⌞to find out⌟ whether or not you really are my son Esau.” ²²So Jacob went over to his father. Isaac felt ⌞his skin⌟. “The voice is Jacob’s,” he said, “but the hands are Esau’s.” ²³He didn’t recognize Jacob, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands. So he blessed him. ²⁴“Are you really my son Esau?” he asked him.

“I am,” Jacob answered.

²⁵Isaac said, “Bring me some of the game, and I will eat it, Son, so that I will bless you.” Jacob brought it to Isaac, and he ate it. Jacob also brought him wine, and he drank it.

²⁶Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come here and give me a kiss, Son.” ²⁷He went over and gave him a kiss. When Isaac smelled his clothes, he blessed him and said,

“The smell of my son
is like the smell of open country
that Yhwh has blessed.
28 May Elohim give you dew from the sky,
fertile fields on the earth,
and plenty of fresh grain and new wine.
29 May nations serve you.
May people bow down to you.
Be the master of your brothers,
and may the sons of your mother bow down to you.
May those who curse you be cursed.
May those who bless you be blessed.”

³⁰Isaac finished blessing Jacob. Jacob had barely left when his brother Esau came in from hunting. ³¹He, too, prepared a good-tasting meal and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Please, Father, eat some of the meat I’ve hunted for you so that you will bless me.”

³²“Who are you?” his father Isaac asked him.

“I’m your firstborn son Esau,” he answered.

³³Trembling violently all over, Isaac asked, “Who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it before you came in. I blessed him, and he will stay blessed.”

³⁴When Esau heard these words from his father, he shouted out a very loud and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me too, Father!”

³⁵Isaac said, “Your brother came and deceived me and has taken away your blessing.”

³⁶Esau said, “Isn’t that why he’s named Jacob? He’s cheated me twice already: He took my rights as firstborn, and now he’s taken my blessing.” So he asked, “Haven’t you saved a blessing for me?”

³⁷Isaac answered Esau, “I have made him your master, and I have made all his brothers serve him. I’ve provided fresh grain and new wine for him. What is left for me to do for you, Son?”

³⁸Esau asked, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!” And Esau sobbed loudly.

³⁹His father Isaac answered him,

“The place where you live will lack the fertile fields of the earth
and the dew from the sky above.
40 You will use your sword to live,
and you will serve your brother.
But eventually you will gain your freedom
and break his yoke †A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts. off your neck.”

⁴¹So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing that his father had given him. Esau said to himself, “The time to mourn for my father is near. Then I’ll kill my brother Jacob.”

⁴²When Rebekah was told what her older son Esau had said, she sent for her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Watch out! Your brother Esau is comforting himself by planning to kill you. ⁴³So now, Son, obey me. Quick! Run away to my brother Laban in Haran. ⁴⁴Stay with him awhile, until your brother’s anger cools down. ⁴⁵When your brother’s anger is gone and he has forgotten what you did to him, I’ll send for you and get you back. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”

⁴⁶Rebekah said to Isaac, “I can’t stand Hittite women! If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of those from around here, I might as well die.”

Genesis 28

Isaac Sends Jacob Away

¹Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You are not to marry any of the Canaanite women. ²Quick! Go to Paddan Aram. Go to the home of Bethuel, your mother’s father, and get yourself a wife from there from the daughters of your uncle Laban. ³May El Shaddai bless you, make you fertile, and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. ⁴May he give to you and your descendants the blessing of Abraham so that you may take possession of the land where you are now living, the land that Elohim gave to Abraham.”

⁵Isaac sent Jacob to Paddan Aram. Jacob went to live with Laban, son of Bethuel the Aramean and brother of Rebekah. She was the mother of Jacob and Esau.

⁶Esau learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had sent him away to Paddan Aram to get a wife from there. He learned that Isaac had blessed Jacob and had commanded him not to marry any of the Canaanite women. ⁷He also learned that Jacob had obeyed his father and mother and had left for Paddan Aram. ⁸Esau realized that his father Isaac disapproved of Canaanite women. ⁹So he went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth, in addition to the wives he had.

Jacob’s First Encounter with Elohim

¹⁰Jacob left Beersheba and traveled toward Haran. ¹¹When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there. ¹²He had a dream in which he saw a stairway set up on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven. He saw the angels of Elohim going up and coming down on it. ¹³Yhwh was standing above it, saying, “I am Yhwh, the Elohim of your grandfather Abraham and the Elohim of Isaac. I will give the land on which you are lying to you and your descendants. ¹⁴Your descendants will be like the dust on the earth. You will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. Through you and through your descendant every family on earth will be blessed. ¹⁵Remember, I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go. I will also bring you back to this land because I will not leave you until I do what I’ve promised you.”

¹⁶Then Jacob woke up from his sleep and exclaimed, “Certainly, Yhwh is in this place, and I didn’t know it!” ¹⁷Filled with awe, he said, “How awe-inspiring this place is! Certainly, this is the house of Elohim and the gateway to heaven!”

¹⁸Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had put under his head. He set it up as a marker and poured olive oil on top of it. ¹⁹He named that place Bethel [House of Elohim]. Previously, the name of the city was Luz.

²⁰Then Jacob made a vow: “If Elohim will be with me and will watch over me on my trip and give me food to eat and clothes to wear, ²¹and if I return safely to my father’s home, then Yhwh will be my Elohim. ²²This stone that I have set up as a marker will be the house of Elohim, and I will surely give you a tenth of everything you give me.”

Genesis 29

Jacob’s Arrival in Haran

¹Jacob continued on his trip and came to the land in the east. ²He looked around, and out in a field he saw a well with a large stone over the opening. Three flocks of sheep were lying down near it, because the flocks were watered from that well. ³When all the flocks were gathered there, the stone would be rolled off the opening of the well so that the sheep could be watered. Then the stone would be put back in place over the opening of the well.

⁴Jacob asked some people, “My friends, where are you from?”

“We’re from Haran,” they replied.

⁵He asked them, “Do you know Laban, Nahor’s grandson?”

They answered, “We do.”

⁶“How is he doing?” Jacob asked them.

“He’s fine,” they answered. “Here comes his daughter Rachel with the sheep.”

⁷“It’s still the middle of the day,” he said. “It isn’t time yet to gather the livestock. Water the sheep. Then let them graze.”

⁸They replied, “We can’t until all the flocks are gathered. When the stone is rolled off the opening of the well, we can water the sheep.”

⁹While he was still talking to them, Rachel arrived with her father’s sheep, because she was a shepherd. ¹⁰Jacob saw Rachel, daughter of his uncle Laban, with his uncle Laban’s sheep. He came forward and rolled the stone off the opening of the well and watered his uncle Laban’s sheep. ¹¹Then Jacob kissed Rachel and sobbed loudly. ¹²When Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s nephew and that he was Rebekah’s son, she ran and told her father.

¹³As soon as Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him. He hugged and kissed him and brought him into his home. Then Jacob told Laban all that had happened. ¹⁴Laban said to him, “You are my own flesh and blood.”

Jacob Obtains Wives

Jacob stayed with him for a whole month. ¹⁵Then Laban said to him, “Just because you’re my relative doesn’t mean that you should work for nothing. Tell me what your wages should be.”

¹⁶Laban had two daughters. The name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger one was Rachel. ¹⁷Leah had attractive eyes, (Or “had no sparkle in her eyes.”) but Rachel had a beautiful figure and beautiful features. ¹⁸Jacob loved Rachel. So he offered, “I’ll work seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

¹⁹Laban responded, “It’s better that I give her to you than to any other man. Stay with me.” ²⁰Jacob worked seven years in return for Rachel, but the years seemed like only a few days to him because he loved her.

²¹⌞At the end of the seven years⌟ Jacob said to Laban, “The time is up; give me my wife! I want to sleep with her.” ²²So Laban invited all the people of that place and gave a wedding feast. ²³In the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. Jacob slept with her. When morning came, he realized it was Leah. (The first part of verse 25 (in Hebrew) has been placed in verse 23 to express the complex Hebrew paragraph structure more clearly in English.) ²⁴(Laban had given his slave Zilpah to his daughter Leah as her slave.)

²⁵“What have you done to me?” Jacob asked Laban. “Didn’t I work for you in return for Rachel? Why did you cheat me?”

²⁶Laban answered, “It’s not our custom to give the younger daughter ⌞in marriage⌟ before the older one. ²⁷Finish the week of wedding festivities with this daughter. Then we will give you the other one too. But you’ll have to work for me another seven years.”

²⁸That’s what Jacob did. He finished the week with Leah. Then Laban gave his daughter Rachel to him as his wife. ²⁹(Laban had given his slave Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her slave.) ³⁰Jacob slept with Rachel too. He loved Rachel more than Leah. So he worked for Laban another seven years.

Leah and Rachel Compete for Jacob’s Love

³¹When Yhwh saw Leah was unloved, he made it possible for her to have children, but Rachel had none. ³²Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben [Here’s My Son], because she said, “Certainly, Yhwh has seen my misery; now my husband will love me!” ³³She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Certainly, Yhwh has heard that I’m unloved, and he also has given me this son.” So she named him Simeon [Hearing]. ³⁴She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “Now at last my husband will become attached to me because I’ve given him three sons.” So she named him Levi [Attached]. ³⁵She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son. She said, “This time I will praise Yhwh.” So she named him Judah [Praise]. Then she stopped having children.

Genesis 30

¹Rachel saw that she could not have children for Jacob, and she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, “Give me children, or I’ll die!”

²Jacob became angry with Rachel and asked, “Can I take the place of Elohim, who has kept you from having children?”

³She said, “Here’s my servant Bilhah. Sleep with her. She can have children for me, and I can build a family for myself through her.” ⁴So she gave him her slave Bilhah as his wife, and Jacob slept with her. ⁵Bilhah became pregnant, and she gave birth to a son for Jacob. ⁶Rachel said, “Now Elohim has judged in my favor. He has heard my prayer and has given me a son.” So she named him Dan [He Judges].

⁷Rachel’s slave Bilhah became pregnant again and gave birth to a second son for Jacob. ⁸Rachel said, “I have had a great struggle (Or “I have struggled the struggles of Elohim.”) with my sister, and I have won!” So she named him Naphtali [My Struggle].

⁹When Leah saw that she had stopped having children, she took her slave Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as his wife. ¹⁰Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to a son for Jacob. ¹¹Leah said, “I’ve been lucky!” So she called him Gad [Luck].

¹²Leah’s slave Zilpah gave birth to her second son for Jacob. ¹³Leah said, “I’ve been blessed! Women will call me blessed.” So she named him Asher [Blessing].

¹⁴During the wheat harvest Reuben went out into the fields and found some mandrakes. (Mandrakes were considered a source of fertility for women.) He brought them to his mother Leah. Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁵Leah replied, “Isn’t it enough that you took my husband? Are you also going to take my son’s mandrakes?”

Rachel said, “Very well, Jacob can go to bed with you tonight in return for your son’s mandrakes.”

¹⁶As Jacob was coming in from the fields that evening, Leah went out to meet him. “You are to sleep with me,” she said. “You are my reward for my son’s mandrakes.” So he went to bed with her that night. ¹⁷Elohim answered Leah’s prayer. She became pregnant and gave birth to her fifth son for Jacob. ¹⁸Leah said, “Elohim has given me my reward because I gave my slave to my husband.” So she named him Issachar [Reward].

¹⁹She became pregnant again and gave birth to her sixth son for Jacob. ²⁰Leah said, “Elohim has presented me with a beautiful present. This time my husband will honor me because I have given him six sons.” So she named him Zebulun [Honor].

²¹Later she gave birth to a daughter and named her Dinah.

²²Then Elohim remembered Rachel. Elohim answered her prayer and made it possible for her to have children. ²³So she became pregnant and gave birth to a son. Then she said, “Elohim has taken away my disgrace.” ²⁴She named him Joseph [May He Give Another] and said, “May Yhwh give me another son.”

Jacob’s Flocks Prosper

²⁵After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go home to my own country. ²⁶Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve worked, and let me go. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”

²⁷Laban replied, “Listen to me. I’ve learned from the signs I’ve seen that Yhwh has blessed me because of you.” ²⁸So he offered, “Name your wages, and I’ll pay them.”

²⁹Jacob responded, “You know how much work I’ve done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. ³⁰The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. Yhwh has blessed you wherever I’ve been. When can I do something for my own family?”

³¹Laban asked, “What should I give you?”

“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob answered. “Instead, do something for me, then I’ll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. ³²Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. ³³My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black will be considered stolen.”

³⁴Laban answered, “Agreed. We’ll do as you’ve said.” ³⁵However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them. ³⁶He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.

³⁷Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches. ³⁸He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink, ³⁹they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

⁴⁰Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban’s flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban’s flocks. ⁴¹Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches. ⁴²But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn’t lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. ⁴³As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.

Genesis 31

Jacob’s Second and Third Encounters with Elohim

¹Jacob heard that Laban’s sons were saying, “Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father and has gained all his wealth from him.” ²He also noticed that Laban did not appear as friendly to him as before.

³Then Yhwh said to Jacob, “Go back to the land of your ancestors and to your relatives, and I will be with you.”

⁴So Jacob sent a message to Rachel and Leah to come out to the open country where his flocks were. ⁵He said to them, “I have seen that your father isn’t as friendly to me as he was before, but the Elohim of my father has been with me. ⁶You know that I have worked as hard as I could for your father. ⁷Your father has cheated me. He has changed my wages 10 times. But Elohim hasn’t let him harm me. ⁸Whenever he said, ‘The speckled ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to speckled young. And whenever he said, ‘The striped ones will be your wages,’ all the flocks gave birth to striped young. ⁹So Elohim has taken away your father’s livestock and has given them to me.

¹⁰“During the mating season I had a dream: I looked up and saw that the male goats which were mating were striped, speckled, or spotted. ¹¹In the dream the Messenger of Elohim called to me, ‘Jacob!’ And I answered, ‘Yes, here I am.’ ¹²He said, ‘Look up and see that all the male goats which are mating are striped, speckled, or spotted, because I have seen everything that Laban is doing to you. ¹³I am El-Bethel, (Greek; Masoretic Text “the Elohim at Bethel.”) where you poured olive oil on a stone marker for a holy purpose and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land, and go back to the land of your relatives.’ ”

¹⁴Rachel and Leah answered him, “Is there anything left in our father’s household for us to inherit? ¹⁵Doesn’t he think of us as foreigners? Not only did he sell us, but he has used up the money that was paid for us. ¹⁶Certainly, all the wealth that Elohim took away from our father belongs to us and our children. Now do whatever Elohim has told you.”

Laban and Jacob Make Peace

¹⁷Then Jacob put his children and his wives on camels. ¹⁸He drove all his livestock ahead of him and took all the possessions that he had accumulated. He took his own livestock that he had accumulated in Paddan Aram and went back to his father Isaac in Canaan.

¹⁹When Laban went to shear his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s idols. ²⁰Jacob also tricked Laban the Aramean by not telling him he was leaving. ²¹So he left in a hurry with all that belonged to him. He crossed the Euphrates River and went toward the mountains of Gilead.

²²Two days later Laban was told that Jacob had left in a hurry. ²³He and his relatives pursued Jacob for seven days. Laban caught up with him in the mountains of Gilead.

²⁴Elohim came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.”

²⁵When Laban finally caught up with Jacob, Jacob had put up his tents in the mountains. So Laban and his relatives put up their tents in the mountains of Gilead. ²⁶Then Laban asked Jacob, “What have you done by tricking me? You’ve carried off my daughters like prisoners of war. ²⁷Why did you leave secretly and trick me? You didn’t even tell me you were leaving. I would have sent you on your way rejoicing, with songs accompanied by tambourines and lyres. ²⁸You didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You’ve done a foolish thing. ²⁹I have the power to harm you. Last night the Elohim of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything at all to Jacob.’ ³⁰Now you have left for your father’s home because you were so homesick. But why did you steal my Elohim?”

³¹Jacob answered Laban, “I left because I was afraid. I thought you would take your daughters away from me by force. ³²If you find your Elohim, the one who has them will not be allowed to live. In the presence of our relatives, search as much as you want through what I have, and take what is yours.” (Jacob didn’t know that Rachel had stolen the Elohim.)

³³So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, into Leah’s tent, and into the tent of the two slaves. But he found nothing. He came out of Leah’s tent and went into Rachel’s tent. ³⁴Rachel had taken the idols and had put them in her camel’s saddle-bag and was sitting on them. Laban rummaged through the whole tent but found nothing.

³⁵Rachel said to her father, “Don’t be angry, Father, but I can’t get up to greet you; I’m having my period.” So even though Laban had made a thorough search, he didn’t find the idols.

³⁶Then Jacob became angry and confronted Laban. “What is my crime?” Jacob demanded of Laban. “What is my offense that you have come chasing after me? ³⁷Now that you’ve rummaged through all my things, did you find anything from your house? Put it here in front of all our relatives. Let them decide which one of us is right.

³⁸“I’ve been with you for 20 years. Your sheep and goats never miscarried, and I never ate any rams from your flocks. ³⁹I never brought you any of the flock that was killed by wild animals. I paid for the loss myself. That’s what you demanded of me when any of the flock was stolen during the day or at night. ⁴⁰The scorching heat during the day and the cold at night wore me down, and I lost a lot of sleep. ⁴¹I’ve been with your household 20 years now. I worked for you 14 years for your two daughters and 6 years for your flocks, and you changed my wages 10 times. ⁴²If the Elohim of my father, the Elohim of Abraham and the Fear of Isaac, (Or “Protection of Isaac.”) had not been with me, you would have sent me away empty-handed by now. Elohim has seen my misery and hard work, and last night he made it right.”

⁴³Then Laban answered Jacob, “These are my daughters, my grandchildren, and my flocks. Everything you see is mine! Yet, what can I do today for my daughters or for their children? ⁴⁴Now, let’s make an agreement and let it stand as a witness between you and me.”

⁴⁵Jacob took a stone and set it up as a marker. ⁴⁶Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather some stones.” They took stones, put them into a pile, and ate there by the pile of stones. ⁴⁷⌞In his language⌟ Laban called it Jegar Sahadutha [Witness Pile], but Jacob called it Galeed. (Galeed is the Hebrew equivalent of the Aramaic words Jegar Sahadutha .)

⁴⁸Laban said, “This pile of stones stands as a witness between you and me today.” This is why it was named Galeed ⁴⁹and also Mizpah [Watchtower], because he said, “May Yhwh watch between you and me when we’re unable to see each other. ⁵⁰If you mistreat my daughters or marry other women behind my back, remember that Elohim stands as a witness between you and me.”

⁵¹Laban said to Jacob, “Here is the pile of stones, and here is the marker that I have set up between you and me. ⁵²This pile of stones and this marker stand as witnesses that I will not go past the pile of stones to harm you, and that you will not go past the pile of stones or marker to harm me. ⁵³May the Elohim of Abraham and Nahor—the Elohim of their father—judge between us.”

So Jacob swore this oath by the Fear of his father Isaac ⁵⁴and offered a sacrifice on the mountain. He invited his relatives to eat the meal with him. They ate with him and spent the night on the mountain. (Genesis 31:55 in English Bibles is Genesis 32:1 in the Hebrew Bible.)

⁵⁵Early the next morning Laban kissed his grandchildren and his daughters and blessed them. Then Laban left and went back home.

Genesis 32

Jacob Sends Messages and Gifts to Esau

¹ (Genesis 32:1–32 in English Bibles is Genesis 32:2–33 in the Hebrew Bible.)As Jacob went on his way, Elohim’s angels met him. ²When he saw them, Jacob said, “This is Elohim’s camp!” He named that place Mahanaim [Two Camps].

³Jacob sent messengers ahead of him to his brother Esau in Seir, the country of Edom. ⁴He commanded them to give this message to Esau, “Sir, this is what Jacob has to say, ‘I’ve been living with Laban and have stayed until now. ⁵I have cattle and donkeys, sheep and goats, and male and female slaves. I’ve sent ⌞these messengers⌟ to tell you ⌞this news⌟ in order to win your favor.’ ”

⁶When the messengers came back to Jacob, they said, “We went to your brother Esau. He is coming to meet you with 400 men.”

⁷Jacob was terrified and distressed. So he divided the people, the sheep and goats, the cattle, and the camels into two camps. ⁸He thought, “If Esau attacks the one camp, then the other camp will be able to escape.”

⁹Then Jacob prayed, “Elohim of my grandfather Abraham and Elohim of my father Isaac! Yhwh, you said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your relatives, and I will make you prosperous.’ ¹⁰I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown me. I only had a shepherd’s staff when I crossed the Jordan River, but now I have two camps. ¹¹Please save me from my brother Esau, because I’m afraid of him. I’m afraid that he’ll come and attack me and the mothers and children too. ¹²But you did say, ‘I will make sure that you are prosperous and that your descendants will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to count them because there are so many.’ ”

¹³He stayed there that night. Then he prepared a gift for his brother Esau from what he had brought with him: ¹⁴200 female goats and 20 male goats, 200 female sheep and 20 male sheep, ¹⁵30 female camels with their young, 40 cows and 10 bulls, 20 female donkeys and 10 male donkeys.

¹⁶He placed servants in charge of each herd. Then he said to his servants, “Go ahead of me, and keep a distance between the herds.” ¹⁷He commanded the first servant, “When my brother Esau meets you and asks you, ‘To whom do you belong, and where are you going, and whose animals are these ahead of you?’ ¹⁸then say, ‘Sir, they belong to your servant Jacob. This is a gift sent to you. Jacob is right behind us.’ ” ¹⁹He also commanded the second servant, the third, and all the others who followed the herds. He said, “Say the same thing to Esau when you find him. ²⁰And be sure to add, ‘Jacob is right behind us, sir.’ ” He thought, “I’ll make peace with him by giving him this gift that I’m sending ahead of me. After that I will see him, and he’ll welcome me back.” ²¹So Jacob sent the gift ahead of him while he stayed in the camp that night.

Jacob’s Fourth Encounter with Elohim—He Wrestles with Elohim

²²During that night he got up and gathered his two wives, his two slaves and his eleven children and crossed at the shallow part of the Jabbok River. ²³After he sent them across the stream, he sent everything else across. ²⁴So Jacob was left alone. Then a man wrestled with him until dawn. ²⁵When the man saw that he could not win against Jacob, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that it was dislocated as they wrestled. ²⁶Then the man said, “Let me go; it’s almost dawn.”

But Jacob answered, “I won’t let you go until you bless me.”

²⁷So the man asked him, “What’s your name?”

“Jacob,” he answered.

²⁸The man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob but Israel [He Struggles With Elohim], because you have struggled with Elohim and with men—and you have won.”

²⁹Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.”

The man answered, “Why do you ask for my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there. ³⁰So Jacob named that place Peniel [Face of Elohim], because he said, “I have seen Elohim face to face, but my life was saved.” ³¹The sun rose as he passed Penuel. (Another name for Peniel.) He was limping because of his hip. ³²(Therefore, even today the people of Israel do not eat the muscle of the thigh attached to the hip socket because Elohim touched the socket of Jacob’s hip at the muscle of the thigh.)

Genesis 33

Jacob Meets Esau

¹Jacob saw Esau coming with 400 men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slaves. ²He put the slaves and their children in front, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last. ³He went on ahead of them and bowed seven times with his face touching the ground as he came near his brother.

⁴Then Esau ran to meet Jacob. Esau hugged him, threw his arms around him, and kissed him. They both cried. ⁵When he saw the women and children, Esau asked, “Who are these people here with you?”

“The children Elohim has graciously given me, sir,” Jacob answered.

⁶Then the slaves and their children came forward and bowed down. ⁷Likewise, Leah and her children came forward and bowed down. Finally, Joseph and Rachel came forward and bowed down.

⁸Then Esau asked, “Why did you send this whole group ⌞of people and animals⌟ I met?”

He answered, “To win your favor, sir.”

⁹Esau said, “I have enough. Keep what you have, Brother.”

¹⁰Jacob said, “No, please take the gift I’m giving you, because I’ve seen your face as if I were seeing the face of Elohim, and yet you welcomed me so warmly. ¹¹Please take the present I’ve brought you, because Elohim has been gracious to me and has given me all that I need.” So Esau took it because Jacob insisted.

¹²Then Esau said, “Let’s get ready to go, and I’ll go with you.”

¹³Jacob said to him, “Sir, you know that the children are frail and that I have to take care of the flocks and cattle that are nursing their young. If they’re driven too hard for even one day, all the flocks will die. ¹⁴Go ahead of me, sir. I will slowly and gently guide the herds that are in front of me at their pace and at the children’s pace until I come to you in Seir.”

¹⁵Esau said, “Then let me leave some of my men with you.”

“Why do that?” Jacob asked. “I only want to win your favor, sir.”

¹⁶That day Esau started back to Seir. ¹⁷But Jacob moved on to Succoth, where he built a house for himself and made shelters for his livestock. That is why the place is named Succoth [Shelters].

¹⁸So having come from Paddan Aram, Jacob came safely to the city of Shechem in Canaan. He camped within sight of the city. ¹⁹Then he bought the piece of land on which he had put up his tents. He bought it from the sons of Hamor, father of Shechem, for 100 pieces of silver. ²⁰He set up an altar there and named it El Elohe Israel.

Genesis 34

Dinah Is Raped

¹Dinah, daughter of Leah and Jacob, went out to visit some of the Canaanite women. ²When Shechem, son of the local ruler Hamor the Hivite, saw her, he took her and raped her. ³He became very fond of Jacob’s daughter Dinah. He loved the girl and spoke tenderly to her.

⁴So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl for my wife.”

⁵Jacob heard that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah. His sons were with his livestock out in the open country, so Jacob kept quiet until they came home.

⁶So Shechem’s father Hamor came to Jacob to speak with him. ⁷Jacob’s sons came in from the open country as soon as they heard the news. The men felt outraged and very angry because Shechem had committed such a godless act against Israel’s family by raping Jacob’s daughter. This shouldn’t have happened.

⁸Hamor told them. “My son Shechem has his heart set on your daughter. Please let her marry him. ⁹Intermarry with us; give your daughters to us, and take ours for yourselves. ¹⁰You can live with us, and the land will be yours. Live here, move about freely in this area, and acquire property here.”

¹¹Then Shechem said to Dinah’s father and her brothers, “Do me this favor. I’ll give you whatever you ask. ¹²Set the price I must pay for the bride and the gift I must give her as high as you want. I’ll pay exactly what you tell me. Give me the girl as my wife.”

¹³Then Jacob’s sons gave Shechem and his father Hamor a misleading answer because he had dishonored their sister Dinah. ¹⁴They said, “We can’t do this. We can’t give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised. That would be a disgrace to us! ¹⁵We will give our consent to you only on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as we are. ¹⁶Then we’ll give our daughters to you and take yours for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people. ¹⁷If you won’t agree to be circumcised, we’ll take our daughter and go.”

¹⁸Their proposal seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem. ¹⁹The young man didn’t waste any time in doing what they said because he took such pleasure in Jacob’s daughter. He was the most honored person in all his father’s family.

²⁰So Hamor and his son Shechem went to their city gate to speak to the men of their city. They said, ²¹“These people are friendly toward us, so let them live in our land and move about freely in the area. Look, there’s plenty of room in this land for them. We can marry their daughters and let them marry ours. ²²These people will consent to live with us and become one nation on one condition: Every male must be circumcised as they are. ²³Won’t their livestock, their personal property, and all their animals be ours? We only need to agree to do this for them. Then they’ll live with us.”

²⁴All the men who had come out to the city gate agreed with Hamor and his son Shechem. So they were all circumcised at the city gate.

²⁵Two days later, while the men were still in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords and boldly attacked the city. They killed every man ²⁶including Hamor and his son Shechem. They took Dinah from Shechem’s home and left. ²⁷Then Jacob’s sons stripped the corpses and looted the city where their sister had been dishonored. ²⁸They took the sheep and goats, cattle, donkeys, and whatever else was in the city or out in the fields. ²⁹They carried off all the wealth and all the women and children and looted everything in the houses.

³⁰Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have caused me a lot of trouble! You’ve made the people living in the area, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, hate me. There are only a few of us. If they join forces against me and attack me, my family and I will be wiped out.”

³¹Simeon and Levi asked, “Should Shechem have been allowed to treat our sister like a prostitute?”

Genesis 35

Jacob’s Fifth Encounter with Elohim

¹Then Elohim said to Jacob, “Go to Bethel and live there. Make an altar there. I am the Elohim who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau.”

²So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign Elohim which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean, (“Clean” refers to anything that is presentable to Elohim.) and change your clothes. ³Then let’s go to Bethel. I will make an altar there to Elohim, who answered me when I was troubled and who has been with me wherever I’ve gone.” ⁴So they gave Jacob all the foreign Elohim that they had in their possession as well as the earrings that they had on. Jacob buried these things under the oak tree near Shechem.

⁵As they moved on, Elohim made the people of the cities that were all around them terrified so that no one pursued them. ⁶Jacob and all the people who were with him came to Luz (that is, Bethel) in the land of Canaan. ⁷He built an altar there and called that place El Bethel [Elohim of the House of Elohim]. That’s where Elohim had revealed himself to Jacob when he was fleeing from his brother. ⁸Rebekah’s nurse Deborah died and was buried under the oak tree outside Bethel. So Jacob called it the Tree of Crying.

Jacob’s Sixth Encounter with Elohim—His Name Changed to Israel

⁹Then Elohim appeared once more to Jacob after he came back from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him. ¹⁰Elohim said to him, “Your name is Jacob. You will no longer be called Jacob, but your name will be Israel.” So he named him Israel.

¹¹Elohim also said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Be fertile, and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will come from you. ¹²I will give you the land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac. I will also give this land to your descendants.” ¹³Then Elohim went up from him at the place where he had spoken with him. ¹⁴So Jacob set up a memorial, a stone marker, to mark the place where Elohim had spoken with him. He poured a wine offering and olive oil on it. ¹⁵Jacob named the place where Elohim had spoken with him Bethel [House of Elohim].

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Sons

(1 Chronicles 2:1–2)

¹⁶Then they moved on from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath, Rachel went into labor and was having severe labor pains. ¹⁷During one of her pains, the midwife said to her, “Don’t be afraid! You’re having another son!” ¹⁸Rachel was dying. As she took her last breath, she named her son Benoni [Son of My Sorrow], but his father named him Benjamin [Son of My Right Hand].

¹⁹Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). ²⁰Then Jacob set up a stone as a marker for her grave. The same marker is at Rachel’s grave today.

²¹Israel moved on again and put up his tent beyond Migdal Eder. ²²While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went to bed with his father’s concubine (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) Bilhah, and Israel heard about it.

Jacob had 12 sons.

²³The sons of Leah were

Jacob’s firstborn Reuben, then Simeon,

Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

²⁴The sons of Rachel were

Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁵The sons of Rachel’s slave Bilhah were

Dan and Naphtali.

²⁶The sons of Leah’s slave Zilpah were

Gad and Asher.

These were Jacob’s sons, who were born in Paddan Aram.

²⁷Jacob came home to his father Isaac to Mamre’s city, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron). Abraham and Isaac had lived there for a while. ²⁸Isaac was 180 years old ²⁹when he took his last breath and died. He joined his ancestors in death at a very old age. His sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Genesis 36

The Origin of Edom

(1 Chronicles 1:35–54)

¹This is the account of Esau (that is, Edom) and his descendants. ²Esau chose his wives from the women of Canaan: Adah, daughter of Elon the Hittite; Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon the Hivite; ³also Basemath, daughter of Ishmael and sister of Nebaioth. ⁴Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau, and Basemath gave birth to Reuel. ⁵Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the sons of Esau who were born in Canaan.

⁶Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, all the members of his household, his possessions, all his cattle, and everything he had accumulated in Canaan and went to another land away from his brother Jacob. ⁷He did this because they had too many possessions to live together. There wasn’t enough pastureland for all of their livestock. ⁸So Esau, who was also known as Edom, lived in the mountains of Seir.

⁹This is the account of Esau and his descendants. He was the father of the people of Edom in the mountains of Seir.

¹⁰These were the names of Esau’s sons:

Eliphaz, son of Esau’s wife Adah, and Reuel, son of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹¹The sons of Eliphaz were

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz. ¹²Timna was a concubine (A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.) of Esau’s son Eliphaz. She gave birth to Amalek for Eliphaz. These were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Adah.

¹³These were Reuel’s sons:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁴These were the sons of Esau’s wife Oholibamah, daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon. She gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

¹⁵These were the tribal leaders among Esau’s descendants:

The sons of Eliphaz, Esau’s firstborn, were

Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz, ¹⁶Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders descended from Eliphaz in Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

¹⁷These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau’s son Reuel:

Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Reuel in Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau’s wife Basemath.

¹⁸These were the tribal leaders among the descendants of Esau’s wife Oholibamah:

Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were the tribal leaders descended from Esau’s wife Oholibamah, Anah’s daughter.

¹⁹These were the descendants of Esau (that is, Edom), who were tribal leaders.

²⁰These were the sons of Seir the Horite, the people living in that land:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ²¹Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These Horite tribal leaders were the sons of Seir in Edom.

²²The sons of Lotan were

Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister was Timna.

²³These were the sons of Shobal:

Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

²⁴These were the sons of Zibeon:

Aiah and Anah. (Anah found the hot springs in the desert while he was taking care of the donkeys that belonged to his father Zibeon.)

²⁵These were the children of Anah:

Dishon and Oholibamah, daughter of Anah.

²⁶These were the sons of Dishon:

Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.

²⁷These were the sons of Ezer:

Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

²⁸These were the sons of Dishan:

Uz and Aran.

²⁹These were the Horite tribal leaders:

Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah, ³⁰Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the Horite tribal leaders in the land of Seir.

³¹These were the kings who ruled Edom before any king ruled the people of Israel:

³²Bela, son of Beor, ruled Edom. The name of his ⌞capital⌟ city was Dinhabah.

³³After Bela died, Jobab, son of Zerah from Bozrah, succeeded him as king.

³⁴After Jobab died, Husham from the land of the Temanites succeeded him as king.

³⁵After Husham died, Hadad, son of Bedad succeeded him as king. Hadad defeated the Midianites in the country of Moab. The name of his capital city was Avith.

³⁶After Hadad died, Samlah from Masrekah succeeded him as king.

³⁷After Samlah died, Shaul from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him as king.

³⁸After Shaul died, Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, succeeded him as king.

³⁹After Baal Hanan, son of Achbor, died, Hadar succeeded him as king, and the name of his capital city was Pau. His wife’s name was Mehetabel, daughter of Matred and granddaughter of Mezahab.

⁴⁰These were the names of the tribal leaders descended from Esau, by family, place, and name:

Timna, Alvah, Jetheth, ⁴¹Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon, ⁴²Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar, ⁴³Magdiel, and Iram.

These were the tribal leaders of Edom listed by the places where they lived and the property they owned.

Esau was the father of the people of Edom.

Genesis 37

Joseph’s Brothers Sell Him into Slavery

¹Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.

²This is the account of Jacob and his descendants.

Joseph was a seventeen-year-old young man. He took care of the flocks with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph told his father about the bad things his brothers were doing.

³Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph had been born in Israel’s old age. So he made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves. ⁴Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. They hated Joseph and couldn’t speak to him on friendly terms.

⁵Joseph had a dream and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more. ⁶He said to them, “Please listen to the dream I had. ⁷We were tying grain into bundles out in the field, and suddenly mine stood up. It remained standing while your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it.”

⁸Then his brothers asked him, “Are you going to be our king or rule us?” They hated him even more for his dreams and his words.

⁹Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream: I saw the sun, the moon, and 11 stars bowing down to me.”

¹⁰When he told his father and his brothers, his father criticized him by asking, “What’s this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers come and bow down in front of you?” ¹¹So his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept thinking about these things.

¹²His brothers had gone to take care of their father’s flocks at Shechem. ¹³Israel then said to Joseph, “Your brothers are taking care of the flocks at Shechem. I’m going to send you to them.”

Joseph responded, “I’ll go.”

¹⁴So Israel said, “See how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring some news back to me.” Then he sent Joseph away from the Hebron Valley.

When Joseph came to Shechem, ¹⁵a man found him wandering around in the open country. “What are you looking for?” the man asked.

¹⁶Joseph replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they’re taking care of their flocks.”

¹⁷The man said, “They moved on from here. I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

¹⁸They saw him from a distance. Before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. ¹⁹They said to each other, “Look, here comes that master dreamer! ²⁰Let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and say that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we’ll see what happens to his dreams.”

²¹When Reuben heard this, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. ²²“Let’s not have any bloodshed. Put him into that cistern that’s out in the desert, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben wanted to rescue Joseph from them and bring him back to his father.

²³So when Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his special robe with long sleeves. ²⁴Then they took him and put him into an empty cistern. It had no water in it.

²⁵As they sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying the materials for cosmetics, medicine, and embalming. They were on their way to take them to Egypt.

²⁶Judah asked his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up his death? ²⁷Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not hurt him, because he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

²⁸As the Midianite merchants were passing by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. The Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.

²⁹When Reuben came back to the cistern and saw that Joseph was no longer there, he tore his clothes in grief. ³⁰He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! What am I going to do?”

³¹So they took Joseph’s robe, killed a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. ³²Then they brought the special robe with long sleeves to their father and said, “We found this. You better examine it to see whether it’s your son’s robe or not.”

³³He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph must have been torn to pieces!” ³⁴Then, to show his grief, Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son a long time. ³⁵All his other sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “No, I will mourn for my son until I die.” This is how Joseph’s father cried over him.

³⁶Meanwhile, in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials and captain of the guard.

Genesis 38

Judah’s Sin with Tamar

¹About that time Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man from Adullam whose name was Hirah. ²There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua. He married her and slept with her. ³She became pregnant and gave birth to a son named (Some Hebrew manuscripts “son, whom he named”; other Hebrew manuscripts, Samaritan Pentateuch, and Targum “son, whom she named.”) Er. ⁴She became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, whom she named Onan. ⁵Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, whom she named Shelah. He was born at Kezib.

⁶Judah chose a wife for his firstborn son Er. Her name was Tamar. ⁷Er angered Yhwh. So Yhwh took away his life. ⁸Then Judah said to Onan, “Go sleep with your brother’s widow. Do your duty for her as a brother-in-law, and produce a descendant for your brother.” ⁹But Onan knew that the descendant wouldn’t belong to him, so whenever he slept with his brother’s widow, he wasted his semen on the ground to avoid giving his brother a descendant. ¹⁰What Onan did angered Yhwh so much that Yhwh took away Onan’s life too.

¹¹Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Return to your father’s home. Live as a widow until my son Shelah grows up.” He thought that this son, too, might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s home.

¹²After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah from Adullam went to Timnah where the men were shearing Judah’s sheep. ¹³As soon as Tamar was told that her father-in-law was on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep, ¹⁴she took off her widow’s clothes, covered her face with a veil, and disguised herself. Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. (She did this because she realized that Shelah was grown up now, and she hadn’t been given to him in marriage.)

¹⁵When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. ¹⁶Since he didn’t know she was his daughter-in-law, he approached her by the roadside and said, “Come on, let’s sleep together!”

She asked, “What will you pay to sleep with me?”

¹⁷“I’ll send you a young goat from the flock,” he answered.

She said, “First give me something as a deposit until you send it.”

¹⁸“What should I give you as a deposit?” he asked.

“Your signet ring, its cord, and the shepherd’s staff that’s in your hand,” she answered.

So he gave them to her. Then he slept with her, and she became pregnant. ¹⁹After she got up and left, she took off her veil and put her widow’s clothes back on.

²⁰Judah sent his friend Hirah to deliver the young goat so that he could get back his deposit from the woman, but his friend couldn’t find her. ²¹He asked the men of that area, “Where’s that prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There’s no prostitute here,” they answered.

²²So he went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Even the men of that area said, ‘There’s no prostitute here.’ ”

²³Then Judah said, “Let her keep what I gave her, or we’ll become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”

²⁴About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a prostitute. What’s more, because of it she’s pregnant.”

Judah ordered, “Bring her out to be burned.”

²⁵As she was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. See if you recognize whose signet ring, cord, and shepherd’s staff these are.”

²⁶Judah recognized them and said, “She’s not guilty. I am! She did this because I haven’t given her my son Shelah.” Judah never made love to her again.

²⁷The time came for Tamar to give birth, and she had twin boys. ²⁸When she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand. The midwife took a piece of red yarn, tied it on his wrist, and said, “This one came out first.” ²⁹As he pulled back his hand, his brother was born. So she said, “Is this how you burst into the world!” He was named Perez [Bursting Into]. ³⁰After that his brother was born with the red yarn on his hand. He was named Zerah [Sunrise].

Genesis 39

Joseph in Potiphar’s House

¹Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

²Yhwh was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. ³Joseph’s master saw that Yhwh was with him and that Yhwh made everything he did successful. ⁴Potiphar liked Joseph so much that he made him his trusted servant. He put him in charge of his household and everything he owned. ⁵From that time on Yhwh blessed the Egyptian’s household because of Joseph. Therefore, Yhwh’s blessing was on everything Potiphar owned in his house and in his fields. ⁶So he left all that he owned in Joseph’s care. He wasn’t concerned about anything except the food he ate.

Joseph was well-built and handsome. ⁷After a while his master’s wife began to desire Joseph, so she said, “Come to bed with me.”

⁸But Joseph refused and said to her, “My master doesn’t concern himself with anything in the house. He trusts me with everything he owns. ⁹No one in this house is greater than I. He’s kept nothing back from me except you, because you’re his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against Elohim?” ¹⁰Although she kept asking Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or be with her.

¹¹One day he went into the house to do his work, and none of the household servants were there. ¹²She grabbed him by his clothes and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he ran outside and left his clothes in her hand.

¹³When she realized that he had gone but had left his clothes behind, ¹⁴she called her household servants and said to them, “Look! My husband brought this Hebrew here to fool around with us. He came in and tried to go to bed with me, but I screamed as loud as I could. ¹⁵As soon as he heard me scream, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”

¹⁶She kept Joseph’s clothes with her until his master came home. ¹⁷Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought here came in and tried to fool around with me. ¹⁸But when I screamed, he ran outside and left his clothes with me.”

¹⁹When Potiphar heard his wife’s story, especially when she said, “This is what your slave did to me,” he became very angry. ²⁰So Joseph’s master arrested him and put him in the same prison where the king’s prisoners were kept.

While Joseph was in prison, ²¹Yhwh was with him. Yhwh reached out to him with his unchanging love and gave him protection. Yhwh also put Joseph on good terms with the warden. ²²So the warden placed Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in that prison. Joseph became responsible for everything that they were doing. ²³The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care because Yhwh was with Joseph and made whatever he did successful.

Genesis 40

Joseph in Prison

¹Later the king’s cupbearer (A cupbearer was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king’s drink was not poisoned.) and his baker offended their master, the king of Egypt. ²Pharaoh was angry with his chief cupbearer and his chief baker. ³He put them in the prison of the captain of the guard, the same place where Joseph was a prisoner. ⁴The captain of the guard assigned them to Joseph, and he took care of them.

After they had been confined for some time, ⁵both prisoners—the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt—had dreams one night. Each man had a dream with its own special meaning.

⁶When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw that they were upset. ⁷So he asked these officials of Pharaoh who were with him in his master’s prison, “Why do you look so unhappy today?”

⁸“We both had dreams,” they answered him, “but there’s no one to tell us what they mean.”

“Isn’t Elohim the only one who can tell what they mean?” Joseph asked them. “Why don’t you tell me all about them.”

⁹So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said “In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me. ¹⁰Soon after it sprouted it blossomed. Then its clusters ripened into grapes. ¹¹Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and squeezed them into it. I put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”

¹²“This is what it means,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches are three days. ¹³In the next three days Pharaoh will release you and restore you to your position. You will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand as you used to do when you were his cupbearer. ¹⁴Remember me when things go well for you, and please do me a favor. Mention me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this prison. ¹⁵I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and even here I’ve done nothing to deserve being put in this prison.”

¹⁶The chief baker saw that the meaning Joseph had given to the cupbearer’s dream was good. So he said to Joseph, “I had a dream too. In my dream three baskets of white baked goods were on my head. ¹⁷The top basket contained 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 replied. “The three baskets are three days. ¹⁹In the next three days Pharaoh will cut off your head and hang your dead body on a pole. The birds will eat the flesh from your bones.”

²⁰Two days later, on his birthday, Pharaoh had a special dinner prepared for all his servants. Of all his servants he gave special attention to the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. ²¹He restored the chief cupbearer to his position. So the cupbearer put the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. ²²But he hung the chief baker just as Joseph had said in his interpretation.

²³Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Joseph. He forgot all about him.

Genesis 41

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh’s Dreams

¹After two full years Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed he was standing by the Nile River. ²Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. ³Seven other cows came up from the river behind them. These cows were sickly and skinny. They stood behind the first seven cows on the riverbank. ⁴The cows that were sickly and skinny ate the seven nice-looking, well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

⁵He fell asleep again and had a second dream. Seven good, healthy heads of grain were growing on a single stalk. ⁶Seven other heads of grain, thin and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. ⁷The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven full, healthy heads. Then Pharaoh woke up. It was only a dream.

⁸In the morning he was so upset that he sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could tell him what they meant.

⁹Then the chief cupbearer (A cupbearer was a trusted royal official who ensured that the king’s drink was not poisoned.) spoke to Pharaoh, “I remember a promise I failed to keep. ¹⁰Some time ago when Pharaoh was angry with his servants, he confined me and the chief baker to the captain of the guard’s prison. ¹¹We both had dreams the same night. Each dream had its own meaning. ¹²A young Hebrew, a slave of the captain of the guard, was with us. We told him our dreams, and he told each of us what they meant. ¹³What he told us happened: Pharaoh restored me to my position, but he hung the baker on a pole.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and immediately he was brought from the prison. After he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came in front of Pharaoh.

¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can tell me what it means. I heard that when you are told a dream, you can say what it means.”

¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh, “I can’t, but Elohim can give Pharaoh the answer that he needs.”

¹⁷Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “In my dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile. ¹⁸Suddenly, seven nice-looking, well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. ¹⁹Seven other cows came up behind them. These cows were scrawny, very sick, and thin. I’ve never seen such sickly cows in all of Egypt! ²⁰The thin, sickly cows ate up the seven well-fed ones. ²¹Even though they had eaten them, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up.

²²“In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk. ²³Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. ²⁴The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant.”

²⁵Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “Pharaoh had the same dream twice. Elohim has told Pharaoh what he’s going to do. ²⁶The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. It’s all the same dream. ²⁷The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming.

²⁸“It’s just as I said to Pharaoh. Elohim has shown Pharaoh what he’s going to do. ²⁹Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. ³⁰After them will come seven years of famine. People will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt, and the famine will ruin the land. ³¹People won’t remember that there once was plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. ³²The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by Elohim, and he will do it very soon.

Joseph Advises Pharaoh

³³“Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. ³⁴Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land to take a fifth of Egypt’s harvest during the seven good years. ³⁵Have them collect all the food during these good years and store up grain under Pharaoh’s control, to be kept for food in the cities. ³⁶This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine.”

³⁷Pharaoh and all his servants liked the idea. ³⁸So Pharaoh asked his servants, “Can we find anyone like this—a man who has Elohim’s Spirit in him?”

³⁹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Because Elohim has let you know all this, there is no one as wise and intelligent as you. ⁴⁰You will be in charge of my palace, and all my people will do what you say. I will be more important than you, only because I’m Pharaoh.”

⁴¹Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I now put you in charge of Egypt.” ⁴²Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring and put it on Joseph’s finger. He had Joseph dressed in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. ⁴³He had him ride in the chariot of the second-in-command. Men ran ahead of him and shouted, “Make way!” Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of Egypt.

⁴⁴He also said to Joseph, “Even though I am Pharaoh, no one anywhere in Egypt will do anything without your permission.” ⁴⁵Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenathpaneah and gave him Asenath as his wife. She was the daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On. Joseph traveled around Egypt.

Joseph Serves Pharaoh

⁴⁶Joseph was 30 years old when he entered the service of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt). He left Pharaoh and traveled all around Egypt. ⁴⁷During the seven good years the land produced large harvests. ⁴⁸Joseph collected all the food grown in Egypt during those seven years and put this food in the cities. In each city he put the food from the fields around it. ⁴⁹Joseph stored up grain in huge quantities like the sand on the seashore. He had so much that he finally gave up keeping any records because he couldn’t measure it all.

⁵⁰Before the years of famine came, Joseph had two sons by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On. ⁵¹Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh [He Helps Me Forget], because Elohim helped him forget all his troubles and all about his father’s family. ⁵²He named the second son Ephraim [Blessed Twice With Children], because Elohim gave him children in the land where he had suffered.

⁵³The seven years when there was plenty of food in Egypt came to an end. ⁵⁴Then the seven years of famine began as Joseph had said they would. All the other countries were experiencing famine. Yet, there was food in Egypt. ⁵⁵When everyone in Egypt began to feel the effects of the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food. But Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph! Do what he tells you!”

⁵⁶When the famine had spread all over the country, Joseph opened all the storehouses (Greek, Syriac; Masoretic Text “all that was in them.”) and sold grain to the Egyptians. He did this because the famine was severe in Egypt. ⁵⁷The whole world came to Joseph in Egypt to buy grain, since the famine was so severe all over the world.

Genesis 42

Jacob [Israel] Sends Ten Sons to Egypt

¹When Jacob found out that grain was for sale in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at each other? ²I’ve heard there’s grain for sale in Egypt. Go there and buy some for us so that we won’t starve to death.”

³Ten of Joseph’s brothers went to buy grain in Egypt. ⁴Jacob wouldn’t send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with the other brothers, because he was afraid that something would happen to him. ⁵Israel’s sons left with the others who were going to buy grain, because there was also famine in Canaan.

Joseph Sends Nine of His Brothers Back to Canaan

⁶As governor of the country, Joseph was selling grain to everyone. So when Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground. ⁷As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them. But he acted as if he didn’t know them and spoke harshly to them. “Where did you come from?” he asked them.

“From Canaan, to buy food,” they answered.

⁸Even though Joseph recognized his brothers, they didn’t recognize him. ⁹Then he remembered the dreams he once had about them. “You’re spies!” he said to them, “And you’ve come to find out where our country is unprotected.”

¹⁰“No, sir!” they answered him. “We’ve come to buy food. ¹¹We’re all sons of one man. We’re honest men, not spies.”

¹²He said to them, “No! You’ve come to find out where our country is unprotected.”

¹³They answered him, “We were 12 brothers, sons of one man in Canaan. The youngest brother stayed with our father, and the other one is no longer with us.”

¹⁴“It’s just as I told you,” Joseph said to them. “You’re spies! ¹⁵This is how you’ll be tested: I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, that you won’t leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. ¹⁶One of you must be sent to get your brother while the rest of you stay in prison. We’ll see if you’re telling the truth. If not, I solemnly swear, as surely as Pharaoh lives, you are spies!” ¹⁷Then he put them in jail for three days.

¹⁸On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this, and you will live. I, too, fear Elohim. ¹⁹If you are honest men, you will let one of your brothers stay here in prison. The rest of you will go and take grain back to your starving families. ²⁰But you must bring me your youngest brother. This will show that you’ve been telling the truth. Then you won’t die.” So they agreed.

²¹They said to each other, “We’re surely being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw how troubled he was when he pleaded with us for mercy, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in trouble now.”

²²Reuben said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must pay for this bloodshed.”

²³They didn’t know that Joseph could understand them, because he was speaking through an interpreter. ²⁴He stepped away from them to cry. When he could speak to them again, he came back. Then he picked Simeon and had him arrested right in front of their eyes.

²⁵Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain. He put each man’s money back into his sack and gave them supplies for their trip. After their bags were filled, ²⁶they loaded their grain on their donkeys and left.

²⁷At the place where they stopped for the night, one of them opened his sack to feed his donkey. His money was right inside his sack. ²⁸He said to his brothers, “My money has been put back! It’s right here in my sack!”

They wanted to die. They trembled and turned to each other and asked, “What has Elohim done to us?”

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Sons Report to Him

²⁹When they came to their father Jacob in Canaan, they told him all that had happened to them. They said, ³⁰“The governor of that land spoke harshly to us and treated us like spies. ³¹But we said to him, ‘We’re honest men, not spies. ³²We were 12 brothers, sons of the same father. One is no longer with us. The youngest brother stayed with our father in Canaan.’

³³“Then the governor of that land said to us, ‘This is how I’ll know that you’re honest men: Leave one of your brothers with me. Take food for your starving families and go. ³⁴But bring me your youngest brother. Then I’ll know that you’re not spies but honest men. I’ll give your brother back to you, and you’ll be able to move about freely in this country.’ ”

³⁵As they were emptying their sacks, each man found his bag of money in his sack. When they and their father saw the bags of money, they were frightened. ³⁶Their father Jacob said to them, “You’re going to make me lose all my children! Joseph is no longer with us, Simeon is no longer with us, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything’s against me!”

³⁷So Reuben said to his father, “You may put my two sons to death if I don’t bring him back to you. Let me take care of him, and I’ll bring him back to you.”

³⁸Jacob replied, “My son will not go with you. His brother is dead, and he’s the only one left. If any harm comes to him on the trip you’re taking, the grief would drive this gray-haired old man to his grave!”

Genesis 43

Jacob [Israel] Sends Ten Sons Back to Egypt

¹The famine was severe in the land. ²When they finished eating the grain they had brought from Egypt, Israel said to his sons, “Go back and buy us a little more food.”

³Judah said to him, “The man gave us a severe warning: ‘You won’t be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ⁴If you let our brother go with us, we’ll go and buy food for you. ⁵If you won’t let him go, we won’t go. The man said to us, ‘You won’t be allowed to see me again unless your brother is with you.’ ”

⁶Israel asked, “Why have you made trouble for me by telling the man you had another brother?”

⁷They answered, “The man kept asking about us and our family: ‘Is your father still alive? Do you have another brother?’ We simply answered his questions. How could we possibly know he would say, ‘Bring your brother here’?”

⁸Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy along with me. Let’s get going so that we won’t starve to death. ⁹I guarantee that he will come back. You can hold me responsible for him. If I don’t bring him back to you and place him here in front of you, you can blame me the rest of my life. ¹⁰If we hadn’t waited so long, we could have made this trip twice by now.”

¹¹Then their father Israel said to them, “If that’s the way it has to be, then take the man a gift. Put some of the best products of the land in your bags. Take a little balm, a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds. ¹²Take twice as much money with you. You must return the money that was put back in your sacks. Maybe it was a mistake. ¹³Take your brother, and go back to the man. ¹⁴May El Shaddai make him merciful to you so that he will send your other brother and Benjamin ⌞home⌟ with you. If I lose my children, I lose my children.”

¹⁵The men took the gifts, twice as much money, and Benjamin. They went to Egypt, where they presented themselves to Joseph.

The Banquet at Joseph’s House

¹⁶When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the man in charge of his house, “Take these men to my house. Butcher an animal, and prepare a meal, because they are going to eat with me at noon.”

¹⁷So the man did as Joseph said and took them to Joseph’s house. ¹⁸The men were frightened, because they had been brought to Joseph’s house. They thought, “We’ve been brought here because of the money that was put back into our sacks the first time. They’re going to attack us, overpower us, take our donkeys, and make us slaves.”

¹⁹So they came to the man in charge of Joseph’s house and spoke to him at the door. ²⁰“Please, sir,” they said, “we came here to buy food once before. ²¹When we stopped for the night, we opened our sacks, and each man found all of his money inside. So we brought it back with us. ²²We also brought more money to buy food. We have no idea who put our money back in our sacks.”

²³“It’s alright,” he said. “Don’t be afraid! Your Elohim, the Elohim of your father, must have given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

²⁴The man took the brothers into Joseph’s house. He gave them water to wash their feet and feed for their donkeys. ²⁵They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s return at noon, because they had heard they were going to eat there.

²⁶When Joseph came home, they gave him the gifts they had brought to the house. Then they bowed to him with their faces touching the ground. ²⁷He asked them how they were. Then he said, “You told me about your elderly father. How is he? Is he still alive?”

²⁸They answered, “Yes, sir. Our father is alive and well.” Then they knelt, bowing down.

²⁹As Joseph looked around, he saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son. “Is this your youngest brother, the one you told me about?” he asked. “Elohim be gracious to you, my son,” he said. ³⁰Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, he hurried away, looking for a place to cry. He went into his private room and cried there.

³¹Then he washed his face and came out. He was in control of his emotions when he said, “Serve the food.”

³²He was served separately from his brothers. The Egyptians who were there with him were also served separately, because they found it offensive to eat with Hebrews. ³³The brothers were seated facing him according to their ages—from the oldest to the youngest. They looked at each other in amazement.

³⁴Joseph had portions of food brought to them from his table, but Benjamin’s portion was five times more than any of the others. So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk.

Genesis 44

Joseph’s Plan to Trap His Brothers

¹Joseph commanded the man in charge of his house,

“Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry. Put each man’s money in his sack. ²Then put my silver cup in the youngest brother’s sack along with the money for his grain.” He did what Joseph told him.

³At dawn the men were sent on their way with their donkeys. ⁴They had not gone far from the city when Joseph said to the man in charge of his house, “Go after those men at once, and when you catch up with them, say to them, ‘Why have you paid me back with evil when I was good to you? ⁵Isn’t this the cup that my master drinks from and that he uses for telling the future? What you have done is evil!’ ”

⁶When he caught up with them, he repeated these words to them. ⁷They answered him, “Sir, how can you say such things? We would never think of doing anything like that! ⁸We brought the money we found in our sacks back from Canaan. So why would we steal any silver or gold from your master’s house? ⁹If one of us has it, he will die, and the rest of us will become your slaves.”

¹⁰“I agree,” he said. “We’ll do what you’ve said. The man who has the cup will be my slave, and the rest of you can go free.”

¹¹Each one quickly lowered his sack to the ground and opened it. ¹²Then the man made a thorough search. He began with the oldest and ended with the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin’s sack. ¹³When they saw this, they tore their clothes in grief. Then each one loaded his donkey and went back into the city.

¹⁴Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house while Joseph was still there. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground. ¹⁵Joseph asked them, “What have you done? Don’t you know that a man like me can find things out because he knows the future?”

¹⁶“Sir, what can we say to you?” Judah asked. “How else can we explain it? How can we prove we’re innocent? Elohim has uncovered our guilt. Now all of us are your slaves, including the one who had the cup.”

¹⁷But Joseph said, “I would never think of doing that! Only the man who had the cup will be my slave. The rest of you can go back to your father in peace.”

Judah Defends Benjamin

¹⁸Then Judah went up to Joseph and said, “Please, sir, let me speak openly with you. Don’t be angry with me, although you are equal to Pharaoh. ¹⁹Sir, you asked us, ‘Do you have a father or a brother?’ ²⁰We answered, ‘We have a father who is old and a younger brother born to him when he was already old. The boy’s brother is dead, so he’s the only one of his mother’s sons left, and his father loves him.’

²¹“Then you said to us, ‘Bring him here to me so that I can see him myself.’ ²²We replied, ‘The boy can’t leave his father. If the boy leaves him, his father will die.’ ²³Then you told us, ‘If your youngest brother doesn’t come here with you, you will never be allowed to see me again.’ ²⁴When we went back to our father, we told him what you had said.

²⁵“Then our father said, ‘Go back and buy us a little more food.’ ²⁶We answered, ‘We can’t go back. We can only go back if our youngest brother is with us. The man won’t see us unless our youngest brother is with us.’

²⁷“Then our father said to us, ‘You know that my wife ⌞Rachel⌟ gave me two sons. ²⁸One is gone, and I said, “He must have been torn to pieces!” I haven’t seen him since. ²⁹If you take this one away from me too and anything happens to him, you’ll drive this gray-haired old man to his grave.’

³⁰“Our father’s life is wrapped up with the boy’s life. If I come ⌞home⌟ without the boy ³¹and he sees that the boy isn’t ⌞with me⌟, he’ll die. The grief would drive our gray-haired old father to his grave.

³²“I guaranteed my father that the boy would come back. I said, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, then you can blame me the rest of my life, Father.’ ³³Sir, please let me stay and be your slave in the boy’s place, and let the boy go back with his brothers. ³⁴How could I go back to my father if the boy isn’t with me? I couldn’t bear to see my father’s misery!”

Genesis 45

Joseph Reveals His Identity

¹Joseph could no longer control his emotions in front of everyone who was standing around him, so he cried out, “Have everyone leave me!” No one else was there when Joseph told his brothers who he was. ²He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, and Pharaoh’s household heard about it.

³Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?” His brothers could not answer him because they were afraid of him.

⁴“Please come closer to me,” Joseph said to his brothers. When they did so, he said, “I am Joseph, the brother you sold into slavery in Egypt! ⁵Now, don’t be sad or angry with yourselves that you sold me. Elohim sent me ahead of you to save lives. ⁶The famine has been in the land for two years. There will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. ⁷Elohim sent me ahead of you to make sure that you would have descendants on the earth and to save your lives in an amazing way. ⁸It wasn’t you who sent me here, but Elohim. He has made me ⌞like⌟ a father to Pharaoh, lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.

⁹“Hurry back to my father, and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says, “Elohim has made me lord of Egypt. Come here to me right away! ¹⁰Live in the land of Goshen, where you will be near me. Live there with your children and your grandchildren, as well as your flocks, your herds, and everything you have. ¹¹I will provide for you in Egypt, since there will be five more years of famine. Then you, your family, and all who belong to you won’t lose everything.” ’

¹²“You and my brother Benjamin can see for yourselves that I am the one who is speaking to you. ¹³Tell my father how greatly honored I am in Egypt and about everything you have seen. Hurry and bring my father here!”

¹⁴He threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and cried with Benjamin, who was crying on his shoulder. ¹⁵He kissed all his brothers and cried with them. After that his brothers talked with him.

Pharaoh Invites Jacob’s [Israel’s] Family to Live in Egypt

¹⁶When Pharaoh’s household heard the news that Joseph’s brothers had come, Pharaoh and his officials were pleased. ¹⁷So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Load up your animals, and go back to Canaan. ¹⁸Take your father and your families, and come to me. I will give you the best land in Egypt. Then you can enjoy the best food in the land.’

¹⁹“Give them this order: ‘Take wagons with you from Egypt for your children and your wives. Bring your father, and come back. ²⁰Don’t worry about your belongings because the best of everything in Egypt is yours.’ ”

²¹Israel’s sons did as they were told. Joseph gave them wagons and supplies for their trip as Pharaoh had ordered. ²²He gave each of them a change of clothes, but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes. ²³He sent his father ten male donkeys carrying Egypt’s best products and ten female donkeys carrying grain, bread, and food for his father’s trip. ²⁴So Joseph sent his brothers on their way. As they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t quarrel on your way back!”

²⁵So they left Egypt and came to their father Jacob in Canaan. ²⁶They told him, “Joseph is still alive! Yes, he is ruler of Egypt.” Jacob was stunned and didn’t believe them. ²⁷Yet, when they told their father everything Joseph had said to them and he saw the wagons Joseph had sent to bring him back, his spirits were lifted.

²⁸“You have convinced me!” Israel said. “My son Joseph is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”

Genesis 46

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Seventh Encounter with Elohim

¹Israel moved with all he had. When he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the Elohim of his father Isaac.

²Elohim spoke to Israel in a vision that night and said, “Jacob, Jacob!”

“Here I am,” he answered.

³“I am Elohim, the Elohim of your father,” he said. “Don’t be afraid to go to Egypt, because I will make you a great nation there. ⁴I will go with you to Egypt, and I will make sure you come back again. Joseph will close your eyes ⌞when you die⌟.”

⁵So Jacob left Beersheba. Israel’s sons put their father Jacob, their children, and their wives in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to bring him back. ⁶They also took their livestock and the possessions they had accumulated in Canaan.

Jacob and all his family arrived in Egypt. ⁷He had brought his sons, his grandsons, his daughters, and his granddaughters—his entire family.

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Descendants

(Exodus 6:14–16; 1 Chronicles 2:3–5)

⁸These are the names of Israel’s descendants (Jacob and his descendants) who arrived in Egypt.

Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn.

⁹The sons of Reuben were

Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

¹⁰The sons of Simeon were

Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.

¹¹The sons of Levi were

Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

¹²The sons of Judah were

Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan had died in Canaan.)

The sons of Perez were

Hezron and Hamul.

¹³The sons of Issachar were

Tola, Puvah, Iob, and Shimron.

¹⁴The sons of Zebulun were

Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.

¹⁵These were the descendants of the sons Leah gave to Jacob in Paddan Aram, in addition to his daughter Dinah. The total number of these sons and daughters was 33.

¹⁶The sons of Gad were

Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷The sons of Asher were

Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah. Their sister was Serah.

The sons of Beriah were

Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸These were the descendants of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Leah. She gave birth to these children for Jacob. The total was 16.

¹⁹The sons of Jacob’s wife Rachel were

Joseph and Benjamin.

²⁰In Egypt, Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph by Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, priest from the city of On.

²¹The sons of Benjamin were

Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.

²²These were the descendants of Rachel who were born to Jacob. The total was 14.

²³The son of Dan was

Hushim.

²⁴The sons of Naphtali were

Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.

²⁵These were the descendants of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to his daughter Rachel. She gave birth to these sons for Jacob. The total was 7.

²⁶The total number of Jacob’s direct descendants who went with him to Egypt was 66. This didn’t include the wives of Jacob’s sons. ²⁷Joseph had two sons who were born in Egypt. The grand total of people in Jacob’s household who went to Egypt was 70.

Joseph and Jacob [Israel] Reunited

²⁸Israel sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to get directions to Goshen. When Israel’s family arrived in the region of Goshen, ²⁹Joseph prepared his chariot and went to meet his father Israel. As soon as he saw his father, he threw his arms around him and cried on his shoulder a long time.

³⁰Israel said to Joseph, “Now that I’ve seen for myself that you’re still alive, I’m ready to die.”

³¹Then Joseph said to his brothers and his father’s family, “I’m going to Pharaoh to tell him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in Canaan, have come to me. ³²The men are shepherds. They take care of livestock. They’ve brought their flocks and herds and everything they own.’ ³³Now, when Pharaoh calls for you and asks, ‘What kind of work do you do?’ ³⁴you must answer, ‘We have taken care of herds all our lives, as our ancestors have done.’ ⌞You must say this⌟ so that you may live in the region of Goshen, because all shepherds are disgusting to Egyptians.”

Genesis 47

Jacob [Israel] Meets Pharaoh

¹Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks, herds, and everything they have. Now they are in Goshen.” ²Since he had taken five of his brothers with him, he presented them to Pharaoh.

³Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What kind of work do you do?”

They answered Pharaoh, “We are shepherds, as were our ancestors. ⁴We have come to live in this land for a while. The famine is so severe in Canaan that there’s no pasture for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”

⁵Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. ⁶All of Egypt is available to you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. If they are qualified, put them in charge of my livestock.”

⁷Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. ⁸Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”

⁹Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.” ¹⁰Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.

¹¹As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there. ¹²Joseph also provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food based on the number of children they had.

Joseph Acquires All the Land in Egypt for Pharaoh

¹³The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. Neither Egypt nor Canaan were producing crops because of the famine. ¹⁴Joseph collected all the money that could be found in Egypt and in Canaan as payment for the grain people bought. Then he took it to Pharaoh’s palace. ¹⁵When the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Give us food,” they said. “Do you want us to die right in front of you? We don’t have any more money!”

¹⁶Joseph replied, “If you don’t have any more money, give me your livestock, and I’ll give you food (Samaritan Pentateuch, Greek, Targum; Masoretic Text “I’ll give to you.”) in exchange.” ¹⁷So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. During that year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.

¹⁸When that year was over, they came to him the next year. “Sir,” they said to him, “you know that our money is gone, and you have all our livestock. There’s nothing left to bring you except our bodies and our land. ¹⁹Do you want us to die right in front of you? Do you want the land to be ruined? Take us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be Pharaoh’s slaves and our land will be his property. But give us seed so that we won’t starve to death and the ground won’t become a desert.”

²⁰Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh’s. ²¹All over Egypt Joseph moved the people to the cities. ²²But he didn’t buy the priests’ land because the priests received an income from Pharaoh, and they lived on that income. That’s why they didn’t sell their land.

²³Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Plant crops in the land. ²⁴Every time you harvest, give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh. Four-fifths will be yours to use as seed for your fields and as food for your households.”

²⁵“You have saved our lives,” they said. “Please, sir, we are willing to be Pharaoh’s slaves.”

²⁶Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth ⌞of the produce⌟ belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn’t belong to Pharaoh.

Jacob’s [Israel’s] Last Days in Egypt

²⁷So the Israelites settled in Egypt in the region of Goshen. They acquired property there and had many children.

²⁸Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years, so he lived a total of 147 years. ²⁹Israel was about to die. He called for his son Joseph and said to him, “I want you to swear that you love me and are faithful to me. Please don’t bury me here. ³⁰I want to rest with my ancestors. Take me out of Egypt, and bury me in their tomb.”

“I will do as you say,” Joseph answered.

³¹“Swear to me,” he said. So Joseph swore to him. Then Israel bowed down in prayer with his face at the head of his bed.

Genesis 48

Jacob [Israel] Blesses Joseph’s Two Sons

¹Later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim ⌞to see Jacob⌟. ²When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph is here to see you,” Israel gathered his strength and sat up in bed.

³Jacob said to Joseph, “El Shaddai appeared to me at Luz in Canaan and blessed me. ⁴He said to me, ‘I will make you fertile and increase the number of your descendants so that you will become a community of people. I will give this land to your descendants as a permanent possession.’

⁵“So your two sons, who were born in Egypt before I came here, are my sons. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. ⁶Any other children you have after them will be yours. They will inherit the land listed under their brothers’ names. ⁷As I was coming back from Paddan, Rachel died in Canaan when we were still some distance from Ephrath. So I buried her there on the way to Ephrath” (that is, Bethlehem).

⁸When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he asked, “Who are they?”

⁹“They are my sons, whom Elohim has given me here in Egypt,” Joseph answered his father.

Then Israel said, “Please bring them to me so that I may bless them.”

¹⁰Israel’s eyesight was failing because of old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph brought his sons close to his father, and Israel hugged them and kissed them.

¹¹Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see you again, and now Elohim has even let me see your sons.”

¹²Joseph took them off his father’s lap and bowed with his face touching the ground. ¹³Then Joseph took both of them, Ephraim on his right, facing Israel’s left, and Manasseh on his left, facing Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. ¹⁴But Israel crossed his hands and reached out. He put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, although Ephraim was the younger son. He put his left hand on Manasseh’s head, although Manasseh was older.

¹⁵Then Jacob blessed Joseph,

“May Elohim, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham
and my father Isaac walked,
may Elohim, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
16 may the Messenger, who has rescued me from all evil,
bless these boys.
May they be called by my name
and by the names of my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac.
May they have many children on the earth.”

¹⁷When Joseph saw that his father had put his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he didn’t like it. So he took his father’s hand in order to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s. ¹⁸Then he said to his father, “That’s not right, Father! This is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.”

¹⁹His father refused and said, “I know, Son, I know! Manasseh, too, will become a nation, and he, too, will be important. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be more important than he, and his descendants will become many nations.”

²⁰That day he blessed them. He said,

“Because of you, Israel will speak this blessing,
‘May Elohim make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’ ”

In this way Israel put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

²¹Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I’m about to die, but Elohim will be with you. He will bring you back to the land of your fathers. ²²I’m giving you one more mountain ridge than your brothers. I took it from the Amorites with my own sword and bow.”

Genesis 49

Jacob [Israel] Blesses His 12 Sons

¹Jacob called for his sons and said, “Come here, and let me tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.

2 “Gather around and listen, sons of Jacob.
Listen to your father Israel.

3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my strength, the very first son I had,
first in majesty and first in power.
4 You will no longer be first
because you were out of control like a flood
and you climbed into your father’s bed.
Then you dishonored it.
He climbed up on my couch.

5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
Their swords are weapons of violence.
6 Do not let me attend their secret meetings.
Do not let me join their assembly.
In their anger they murdered men.
At their whim they crippled cattle.
7 May their anger be cursed because it’s so fierce.
May their fury be cursed because it’s so cruel.
I will divide them among ⌞the sons of⌟ Jacob
and scatter them among ⌞the tribes of⌟ Israel.

8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
Your hand will be on the neck of your enemies.
Your father’s sons will bow down to you.
9 Judah, you are a lion cub.
You have come back from the kill, my son.
He lies down and rests like a lion.
He is like a lioness. Who dares to disturb him?
10 A scepter will never depart from Judah
nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet
until Shiloh comes
and the people obey him.
11 He will tie his donkey to a grapevine,
his colt to the best vine.
He will wash his clothes in wine,
his garments in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes are darker than wine.
His teeth are whiter than milk.

13 “Zebulun will live by the coast.
He will have ships by the coast.
His border will go as far as Sidon.

14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
lying down between the saddlebags.
15 When he sees that his resting place is good
and that the land is pleasant,
he will bend his back to the burden
and will become a slave laborer.

16 “Dan will hand down decisions *There is a play on words here between Hebrew Danand yadin (he will hand down decisions). for his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be a snake on a road,
a viper on a path,
that bites a horse’s heels
so that its rider falls off backwards.

18 “I wait with hope for you to rescue me, O Yhwh.

19 “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders,
but he will strike back at their heels.

20 “Asher’s food will be rich.
He will provide delicacies fit for a king.

21 “Naphtali is a doe set free
that has beautiful fawns.

22 “Joseph is a fruitful tree,
a fruitful tree by a spring,
with branches climbing over a wall.
23 Archers provoked him,
shot at him,
and attacked him.
24 But his bow stayed steady, and his arms remained limber
because of the help of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the name of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 because of the Elohim of your father who helps you,
because of the Almighty who gives you
blessings from the heavens above,
blessings from the deep springs below the ground,
blessings from breasts and womb.
26 The blessings of your father are greater than
the blessings of the oldest mountains
and the riches of the ancient hills.
May these blessings rest on the head of Joseph,
on the crown of the prince among his brothers.

27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf.
In the morning he devours his prey.
In the evening he divides the plunder.”

²⁸These are the 12 tribes of Israel and what their father said to them when he gave each of them his special blessing.

²⁹Then he gave them these instructions, “I am about to join my ancestors in death. Bury me with my ancestors in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite. ³⁰Abraham bought the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre in Canaan, from Ephron the Hittite to use as a tomb. ³¹Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried there. Isaac and his wife Rebekah are buried there. I also buried Leah there. ³²The field and the cave in it were bought from the Hittites.”

³³When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet into his bed. He took his last breath and joined his ancestors in death.

Genesis 50

Joseph Buries His Father

¹Joseph threw himself on his father, cried over him, and kissed him. ²Then Joseph ordered the doctors in his service to embalm his father. So the doctors embalmed Israel. ³The embalming was completed in the usual time—40 days. The Egyptians mourned for him 70 days.

⁴When the time of mourning for Jacob was over, Joseph spoke to the Pharaoh’s palace staff. He said, “Please speak directly to Pharaoh. Tell him, ⁵‘My father made me swear an oath. He said, “I’m about to die. Bury me in the tomb I bought for myself in Canaan.” Please let me go there and bury my father; then I’ll come back.’ ”

⁶Pharaoh replied, “Go and bury your father, as you have promised him.”

⁷So Joseph left to bury his father. All Pharaoh’s officials, the leaders in his palace staff, and all the leaders of Egypt went with him. ⁸Joseph’s household, his brothers, and his father’s household also went with him. (Only their children, their flocks, and their cattle were left in Goshen.) ⁹Chariots and horsemen went with him. It was a very large group.

¹⁰When they came to the threshing floor (A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.) of Atad, which is on the east side of the Jordan River, they began a great and solemn ceremony to mourn Jacob’s death. Joseph took seven days to mourn his father’s death. ¹¹When the Canaanites living there saw the funeral ceremonies at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “These funeral ceremonies are taken very seriously by the Egyptians.” That’s why that place on the east side of the Jordan was named Abel Mizraim [Egyptian Funeral Ceremonies].

¹²Jacob’s sons did for him what he had told them to do. ¹³They carried him back to Canaan and buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah, east of Mamre. Abraham had bought this tomb from Ephron the Hittite.

¹⁴After Joseph had buried his father, he went back to Egypt along with his brothers and everyone who had gone there with him to bury his father.

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

¹⁵Joseph’s brothers realized what their father’s death could mean. So they thought, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us? What if he decides to pay us back for all the evil we did to him?” ¹⁶They sent a messenger to Joseph to say, “Before your father died, he commanded us, ¹⁷‘This is what you should say to Joseph, “I’m begging you to forgive the crime and the sin your brothers committed against you. What they did to you was very evil.” ’ So now, please forgive our crime, because we are servants of your father’s Elohim.” Joseph cried when he got their message.

¹⁸Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. “We are your slaves!” they said.

¹⁹Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid! I can’t take Elohim’s place. ²⁰Even though you planned evil against me, Elohim planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now. ²¹Don’t be afraid! I will provide for you and your children.” In this way he reassured them, setting their minds at ease.

²²Joseph and his father’s family stayed in Egypt. Joseph lived to be 110 years old. ²³He saw his grandchildren, Ephraim’s children. Even the children of Machir, son of Manasseh, were adopted by Joseph at birth.

²⁴At last Joseph said to his brothers, “I’m about to die. Elohim will definitely take care of you and take you out of this land to the land he swore with an oath to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” ²⁵Joseph made Israel’s sons swear an oath. He said, “Elohim will definitely take care of you. So be sure to carry my bones back with you.”

²⁶Joseph died when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.