When Esau eventually looked around, he saw the women and the children. "Who are these people with you?" he asked.

When Hamor the Hivite's son Shechem, the regional leader, saw her, he grabbed her and raped her, humiliating her.

Just then Jacob's sons arrived from the field. When they heard what had happened, they were distraught with grief and livid with anger toward Shechem, because he had committed a disgraceful deed in Israel by forcing Jacob's daughter to have sex, an act that never should have happened.

Later, God told Jacob, "Get up, move to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

Then let's get up and go to Bethel, where I'll build an altar to the God who answered me when I was in distress and who was with me on the road, wherever I went."

He built an altar there to God and named the place El Beth-el, because God had revealed himself there when he was fleeing from his brother.

when he died and joined his ancestors at a ripe old age. Then his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was helping his brothers tend their flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. But Joseph would come back and tell his father that his brothers were doing bad things. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him.

When Joseph's brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were unable to speak politely to him.

"We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"

When Joseph told his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, "What kind of dream is that? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?"

When Joseph reached Shechem, a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"

When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph from their plot. "Let's not do any killing,"

As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him that is, the richly-embroidered tunic that he was wearing.

Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn't there! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes,

Then she bore yet another son and named him Shelah. Judah was living in Kezib when she bore him.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had concealed her face.

When Judah recognized them, he admitted, "She is more upright than I, because I never did give her my son Shelah." And he never had sex with her again.

Later, when it was time for Tamar to give birth, she was carrying twins in her womb!

Instead, Joseph ran outside, leaving his outer garment still in her hand. When she realized that he had left his outer garment right there in her hand, she ran outside

When he heard me starting to scream, he left his outer garment with me and fled outside."

But when I started to scream, he left his outer garment with me and ran outside."

When Joseph's master heard his wife's claim to the effect that "This is how your servant treated me," he flew into a rage,

When Joseph came to see them in the morning, he noticed how downcast they looked! They were both very sad.

Within three days, Pharaoh will encourage you and return you to your responsibilities. You'll attend to Pharaoh's personal wine cup, just as you did when you were his senior security advisor.

But keep me in mind when things go well for you. Be sure to extend kindness to me by remembering me to Pharaoh. Bring me out of this prison,

When the head chef heard that the interpretation was good, he told Joseph, "I was also in my dream. All of a sudden, there were three baskets with white bread stacked on top of my head.

when all of a sudden seven healthy, plump cows emerged from the Nile to graze in the grass that grew in the reeds that lined the bank.

When Pharaoh was angry with some of his servants, he incarcerated me in custody of the captain of the bodyguard, along with Pharaoh's head chef.

Joseph was 30 years old when he began to serve Pharaoh, king of Egypt, by traveling throughout the land of Egypt, independent from Pharaoh's oversight.

When he returned, he spoke with them, but then he took Simeon away from them and had him placed under arrest right in front of them. After this, Joseph gave orders to fill up their sacks with grain, to return each man's money to his own sack, and to supply each of them with provisions for their return journey. All of this was done for them.

Later on, as they went about unloading their sacks, each man's bundle of money was found in each man's sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money, they were greatly distressed.

As a result, when Jacob's family was beginning to eat the last of the grain that they had brought back from Egypt, their father Jacob told his sons, "Go back to Egypt and buy us some food."

when we arrived at our overnight lodging place, we opened our sacks and discovered each man's money was still in the mouth of his sack. All of our money was there! We've brought it back with us in full.

When Joseph arrived at his palace, his brothers brought to him their gifts that they had carried with them and bowed to the ground in front of him.

They had not traveled far from the city when Joseph ordered his palace manager, "Get up, follow those men, and when you've caught up with them, ask them, "Why did you repay evil for good?

Joseph was waiting for them back at his palace when his brothers returned. They fell to the ground in front of him,

and we answered Your Excellency, "We have an aged father and a younger child who was born when he was old. His brother is now dead, so he's the only surviving son of his mother. His father loves him.'

"So when I go back to your servant, my father, and the young man isn't with us, since he's constantly living life focused on his son,

when he notices that the young man hasn't come back with us, he'll die, and your servants really will have brought death to your servant, our father, along with his sad, gray hair!

At this point, Joseph could not control his emotions any longer, so he cried out to everyone who was standing nearby, "Everybody! Leave me!" As a result, none of his staff was anywhere near him when he revealed himself to his brothers.

I'm going down with you to Egypt, and I'm certainly going to bring you back again. And Joseph himself will be with you when you die."

When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you "What's your occupation?'

When harvest season arrives, you are to provide a fifth of the harvest to Pharaoh. The remaining four fifths are to be for your use, for seed, and to feed you, your households, and your little ones."

Instead, when I've died, as my ancestors have, you are to carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their tomb." "I'll do what you've asked," Joseph replied.

That's how Israel blessed these twelve tribes of Israel, and this is what their father told them when he pronounced his blessing for them, blessing each one with a blessing suitable for them.

When they arrived at Atad's threshing floor, which is located beyond the Jordan River, they held a great and mournful memorial service, during which Joseph spent seven days mourning for his father.

Joseph wept when they talked to him. So Joseph's brothers went to visit him, fell prostrate in front of him, and declared, "Look! We're your servants."