Then he bought the piece of land on which he had pitched his tents from the sons of Hamor, Shechem’s father, for a hundred pieces of money.

Now Dinah the daughter of Leah, whom she had borne to Jacob, went out [unescorted] to visit the girls of the land.

When Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince (sheik) of the land, saw her, he kidnapped her and lay [intimately] with her by force [humbling and offending her].

But his soul longed for and clung to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and he loved the girl and spoke comfortingly to her young heart’s wishes.

Now Jacob heard that Shechem had defiled (violated) Dinah his daughter; but his sons were in the field with his livestock, so Jacob said nothing until they came in.

Now when Jacob’s sons heard of it they came in from the field; they were deeply grieved, and they were very angry, for Shechem had done a disgraceful thing to Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing is not to be done.

Shechem also said to Dinah’s father and to her brothers, “Let me find favor in your sight, and I will give you whatever you ask of me.

Demand of me a very large bridal payment and gift [as compensation for giving up your daughter and sister], and I will give you whatever you tell me; only give me the girl to be my wife.”

and the young man did not hesitate to do the [required] thing, for he was delighted with Jacob’s daughter. Now he was more respected and honored than all [others] in the household of his father.

“These men are peaceful and friendly with us; so let them live in the land and do business in it, for the land is large enough [for us and] for them; let us take their daughters for wives and let us give them our daughters [in marriage].

Now on the third day [after the circumcision], when all the men were [terribly] sore and in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without anyone suspecting them of evil intent], and they killed every male.

They killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem’s house [where she was staying], and left.

Then Jacob’s [other] sons came upon those who were killed and looted the town, because their sister had been defiled and disgraced.

So they gave Jacob all the [idols and images of the] foreign gods they had and the rings which were in their ears [worn as charms against evil], and Jacob buried them under the oak tree near Shechem.

So Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him.

Now Deborah, [who once was] Rebekah’s nurse, died and was buried below Bethel under the oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth (Oak of Weeping).

Again God said to him,

“Your name is Jacob;
You shall no longer be called Jacob,
But Israel shall be your name.”

So he was called Israel.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

Jacob set a pillar (memorial, monument) on her grave; that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

While Israel was living in that land, Reuben [his eldest son] went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Israel heard about it.

Now Jacob had twelve sons—

The sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, then Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun;

and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maid: Dan and Naphtali;

and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maid: Gad and Asher. These are the sons of Jacob born to him in Paddan-aram.

Isaac’s spirit departed and he died and was gathered to his people [who had preceded him in death], an old man full of days (satisfied, fulfilled); his sons Esau and Jacob buried him [in the cave of Machpelah with his parents Abraham and Sarah].

and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebaioth.

So Esau lived in the hill country of Seir; Esau is Edom.

These are the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz, the son of Adah, Esau’s wife, and Reuel, the son of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

And Timna was a concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son; and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These are the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.

These are the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

And these are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon. She bore to Esau: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

These are the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chiefs Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, Mizzah. These are the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom; they are the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.

These are the sons of Oholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chiefs Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the chiefs born of Oholibamah, daughter of Anah, Esau’s wife.

The sons of Lotan are Hori and Hemam; and Lotan’s sister is Timna.

The children of Anah are these: Dishon and Oholibamah [Esau’s wife], the daughter of Anah.

Ezer’s sons are these: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and then Hadar reigned [as his successor]. His [walled] city was Pau; his wife’s name was Mehetabel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.

So Jacob (Israel) lived in the land where his father [Isaac] had been a stranger (sojourner, resident alien), in the land of Canaan.

These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers [Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher]; the boy was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s [secondary] wives; and Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

His brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of his brothers; so they hated him and could not [find it within themselves to] speak to him on friendly terms.

But Joseph dreamed still another dream, and told it to his brothers [as well]. He said, “See here, I have again dreamed a dream, and lo, [this time I saw] eleven stars and the sun and the moon bowed down [in respect] to me!”

Joseph’s brothers were envious and jealous of him, but his father kept the words [of Joseph] in mind [wondering about their meaning].

Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock near Shechem.

Then Jacob said to him, “Please go and see whether everything is all right with your brothers and all right with the flock; then bring word [back] to me.” So he sent him from the Hebron Valley, and he went to Shechem.

Then the man said, “[They were here, but] they have moved on from this place. I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

And when they saw him from a distance, even before he came close to them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another, “Look, here comes this dreamer.

Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits (cisterns, underground water storage); then we will say [to our father], ‘A wild animal killed and devoured him’; and we shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Then they sat down to eat their meal. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead [east of the Jordan], with their camels bearing ladanum resin [for perfume] and balm and myrrh, going on their way to carry the cargo down to Egypt.

Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

and they brought the multicolored tunic to their father, saying, “We have found this; please examine it and decide whether or not it is your son’s tunic.”

He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild animal has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces!”

There Judah saw a daughter of Shua, a Canaanite, and he took her [as his wife] and lived with her.

But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him [in judgment].

Then Judah told Onan, “Go in to your brother’s widow, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law [under the levirate marriage custom]; [be her husband and] raise children for [the name of] your brother.”

Onan knew that the child (heir) would not be his [but his dead brother’s]; so whenever he lay with his brother’s widow, he spilled his seed on the ground [to prevent conception], so that he would not give a child to his brother.

Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow at your father’s house until Shelah my [youngest] son is grown”; [but he was deceiving her] for he thought that [if Shelah should marry her] he too might die like his brothers did. So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

But quite a while later, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died; and when the time of mourning was ended, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah with his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself up [in disguise], and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife [as Judah had promised].

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a [temple] prostitute, for she had covered her face [as such women did].

When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to get his pledge [back] from the woman, he was unable to find her.

So he returned to Judah, and said, “I cannot find her; also the local men said, ‘There was no prostitute around here.’”

Now his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to prosper (succeed) in his hand.

So Joseph pleased Potiphar and found favor in his sight and he served him as his personal servant. He made Joseph overseer over his house, and he put all that he owned in Joseph’s charge.

It happened that from the time that he made Joseph overseer in his house and [put him in charge] over all that he owned, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house because of Joseph; so the Lord’s blessing was on everything that Potiphar owned, in the house and in the field.

So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s charge; and with Joseph there he did not [need to] pay attention to anything except the food he ate.

Now Joseph was handsome and attractive in form and appearance.

Then after a time his master’s wife looked at Joseph with desire, and she said, “Lie with me.”

But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, with me in the house, my master does not concern himself with anything; he has put everything that he owns in my charge.

When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had run outside,

And when Joseph’s master heard the words of his wife, saying, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger burned.

So Joseph’s master took him and put him in the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were confined; so he was there in the prison.

The warden committed to Joseph’s care (management) all the prisoners who were in the prison; so that whatever was done there, he was in charge of it.

The warden paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s care because the Lord was with him; whatever Joseph did, the Lord made to prosper.

Now some time later, the cupbearer (butler) and the baker for the king of Egypt offended their lord, Egypt’s king.

The captain of the guard put Joseph in charge of them, and he served them; and they continued to be in custody for some time.

When Joseph came to them in the morning and looked at them, [he saw that] they were sad and depressed.

So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in confinement with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so down-hearted today?”

So the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “In my dream there was a grapevine in front of me;

Now Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup; then I placed the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head (present you in public) and restore you to your position; and you will [again] put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand just as [you did] when you were his cupbearer.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation [of the dream] was good, he said to Joseph, “I also dreamed, and [in my dream] there were three cake baskets on my head;

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and will hang you on a tree (gallows, pole), and [you will not so much as be given a burial, but] the birds will eat your flesh.”

Now on the third day, [which was] the Pharaoh’s birthday, he [released the two men from prison and] made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker [that is, presented them in public] among his servants.

He restored the chief cupbearer to his office, and the cupbearer [once again] put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand;

So when morning came his spirit was troubled and disturbed and he sent and called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them to him.

[Two years ago] Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and he put me in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, both me and the chief baker.

And just as he interpreted [the dreams] for us, so it happened; I was restored to my office [as chief cupbearer], and the baker was hanged.”

Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes [making himself presentable], he came to Pharaoh.

I saw in my [second] dream, seven ears [of grain], plump and good, growing on a single stalk;

but afterward seven years of famine and hunger will come, and [there will be such desperate need that] all the great abundance [of the previous years] will be forgotten in the land of Egypt [as if it never happened], and famine and destitution will ravage and destroy the land.

So now let Pharaoh [prepare ahead and] look for a man discerning and clear-headed and wise, and set him [in charge] over the land of Egypt [as governor under Pharaoh].

That food shall be put [in storage] as a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine and hunger which will occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land (people) will not be ravaged during the famine.”

So Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this [a man equal to Joseph], in whom is the divine spirit [of God]?”

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you [in charge] over all the land of Egypt.”

Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand, and dressed him in [official] vestments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On (Heliopolis in Egypt), as his wife. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt [to inspect and govern it].

Thus Joseph gathered and stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting it, for it could not be measured.

Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh (causing to forget), for he said, “God has made me forget all my trouble and hardship and all [the sorrow of the loss of] my father’s household.”

So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.

But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s [younger] brother, with his brothers, for he said, “I am afraid that some harm or injury may come to him.”

So the sons of Israel came [to Egypt] to buy grain along with the others who were coming, for famine was in the land of Canaan also.