That's how Joseph pleased Potiphar as he served him. Eventually, Potiphar appointed Joseph as overseer of his entire household. Moreover, he entrusted everything that he owned into his care.

From the time he appointed Joseph to be overseer over his entire household and everything that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The LORD's blessing rested on Joseph, whether in Potiphar's household or in Potiphar's fields.

Everything that he owned, he entrusted into Joseph's care. He never concerned himself about anything, except for the food he ate.

Now Joseph was well built and good looking. That's why, sometime later, Joseph's master's wife looked straight at Joseph and propositioned him: "Come on! Let's have a little sex!"

No one has more authority in this house than I do. He has withheld nothing from me, except you, and that's because you're his wife. So how can I commit such a horrible evil? How can I sin against God?"

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

and then this is what she told him: "That Hebrew slave whom you brought to us came in here to rape me.

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,

The prison warden did not have to worry about anything under Joseph's care, because the LORD was with him. That's why Joseph prospered in everything he did.

that he locked them up in the prison dungeon operated by the captain of the guard, the very place where Joseph was imprisoned.

On the vine were three branches that budded. Blossoms shot out, and clusters grew up that produced ripe grapes.

because I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews. Not only that, I haven't done anything that deserves me being confined to this pit."

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.

There was all kinds of food in the basket that was on top, including baked food for Pharaoh. The birds were eating them from the basket on my head."

that is, he restored his senior security advisor to his former responsibilities, including attending to Pharaoh's personal wine cup,

Two years later to the day Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile River,

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.

Right after that, seven more cows came up out of the Nile. Ugly and gaunt, they stood next to the other cows on the bank of the Nile River.

Suddenly seven thin ears of grain that had been scorched by an east wind sprouted up right after them

"I've had a dream," Pharaoh told Joseph, "but nobody can interpret it. I've heard that you can interpret dreams."

"I can't do that," Joseph replied, "but God is concerned about Pharaoh's well-being."

and all of a sudden seven healthy, plump, beautiful cows emerged from the Nile and began to graze among the reeds that line the bank.

Not only that," Pharaoh continued, "after they had finished devouring the cows, nobody could tell that they had gobbled them up, because they were just as ugly as before. Then I woke up.

Later, I also dreamed about seven plump, fruit-filled ears of grain that grew up out of a single stalk.

The seven gaunt cows that arose after the healthy cows are seven years, as are the seven gaunt ears scorched by the east wind. There will be seven years of famine.

So the message that I have for Pharaoh is that God is telling Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do.

Be advised that seven years of phenomenal abundance are coming throughout all the land of Egypt,

but after them seven years of famine are ahead, during which all of the abundance will be forgotten throughout the land of Egypt. The famine will ravage the land so severely that

"Now since Pharaoh had that dream twice, it means that this event has been scheduled by God, and God will bring it to pass very soon.

Let the food be kept in reserve to feed the land for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout Egypt, so the people don't die during the famine."

Then he provided him with a chariot as his second-in-command, outfitted with a group of people who shouted out in front of him, "Bow your knees!" And that's how Pharaoh set Joseph over the entire land of Egypt.

Pharaoh also changed Joseph's name to Zaphenath-paneah and gave Asenath, daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On, to him as his wife. And that's how Joseph gained authority over the land of Egypt.

Joseph collected the surplus food throughout the land of Egypt, storing food in cities; that is, he gathered the food from fields that surrounded every city and stored it there.

Joseph stored up so much grain like sand on the seashore in so much abundance! that he stopped keeping records because it was proving to be impossible to measure how much they were gathering.

Eventually, Jacob observed that there was grain in Egypt, so he asked his sons, "Why do you keep on staring at one another?

Pay attention now! I've heard that there is grain in Egypt, so go down there and buy some grain for us, so we can live, instead of dying."

Jacob would not send Joseph's brother Benjamin to accompany them, because he was saying, "I'm afraid that he'll come to some kind of harm."

Israel's sons went in a caravan that included others who were going to Egypt to buy grain, because the famine pervaded the land of Canaan, too.

Furthermore, Joseph remembered the dreams that he had about them. So he accused them, "You're spies! You've come here to spy on our undefended territories!"

So here's how we'll test you. You can bet the life of Pharaoh that you're not leaving here until your youngest brother comes here!

One of you is to be sent back so he can get your brother while the rest of you remain in custody. That way, we'll test whether or not you're telling the truth. If you're not, as surely as the Pharaoh lives, you're spies!"

If you're honest men, leave one of your brothers here in custody, then the rest of you can leave and take some grain with you to alleviate the famine that's affecting your households.

Just be sure to bring your youngest brother back to me so what you've claimed can be verified. That way, you won't die."

Meanwhile, they had no idea that Joseph could understand them, since he was talking to them through an interpreter.

As soon as they had returned to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him everything that had happened to them.

But the man who was in charge of the land responded, "I'm going to test your honesty. Leave one of your brothers with me, take some grain for the famine that's afflicting your households, and leave.

But bring your youngest brother back to me so I can be sure that you're honest men, and not spies. Then I'll return your brother to you, and you'll be allowed to trade anywhere in the land.'"

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."

Israel replied, "Why did you make all this trouble by telling the man that you have another brother?"

"The man specifically asked about us and our relatives," they responded. "He asked us, "Is your father still alive?' and "Do you have another brother?' So we answered his questions. How could we have known that he would tell us to bring our brother back with us?"

"Send the young man with me," Judah told his father Israel, "and we'll get up and go so we can survive and not die and that includes all of us, you and our families.

I'll even offer myself to guarantee that I'll be responsible for him. If I don't bring him back and present him to you, I'll personally bear the consequences forever.

"If that's the way it has to be," their father Israel replied, "then do this: take some of the best produce of the land in your containers and take them to the man as a gift some resin ointment, some honey, fragrant resins, myrrh, pistachios, and almonds.

Also take twice as much money with you so you can return the money that had been replaced in the mouth of your sacks. Maybe it was an accounting mistake on his part.

As soon as Joseph noticed that Benjamin had come with them, he ordered his palace manager, "Bring the men into the palace. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, because these men will be dining with me for lunch."

The men were terrified as they were being taken to Joseph's palace. "It's because of that money that was returned to our sacks the first time we were brought to him," they reasoned. "He's seeking an excuse to attack us, enslave us, and confiscate our donkeys!"

Then off he went to prepare the honorary meal that was to be made ready for Joseph's arrival at noon, since they had been informed that they were going to be eating there.

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.

Joseph himself brought portions to them from his own table, except that he provided to Benjamin five times as much as he did for each of the others. So they feasted together and drank freely with Joseph.

Don't you have the cup that my master uses to drink from and also uses to practice divination? You're wrong to have done this.'"

So he went after them and made that accusation.

Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money that we found at the top of our sacks. How, then, could we have stolen silver or gold from your master's palace?

and Joseph asked them, "Why did you do this? Don't you know that I'm an expert at divination?"

One of them left me, so I concluded "I'm certain that he has been torn to pieces," and I haven't seen him since then.

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!

He cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him, including Pharaoh's household.

That's because this famine has been going on for two years now in this region, and there are still five years left, during which there won't be any plowing or harvesting.

So hurry up, go back to my father, and tell him that his son Joseph tells him, "God has made me master of all of Egypt. Hurry up! Come live with me!'

You are to live in the land of Goshen, near where I am you, your children, your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and everything that you own.

"Look, now! All of you can see me! And my own brother Benjamin can tell that it's really me speaking to you!

So go tell my father about all of my splendor in Egypt. Tell him about everything that you've seen. Be quick about it, and bring my father down here!"

As soon as the news reached Pharaoh's palace that Joseph's brothers had arrived, Pharaoh and his servants were ecstatic.

However, as soon as his sons had told him everything Joseph had said, and after he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent along to carry him, their father Jacob's spirit was encouraged.

Later, Israel began his journey, taking along everything that he owned, and arrived at Beer-sheba, where he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.

So Jacob got up and left Beer-sheba, and Israel's sons carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives in the transport wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry them.

They took their livestock and their household property that they had acquired in the land of Canaan and traveled to Egypt. Jacob and all of his descendants went with him

Here's a list of the names of Israel's sons, that is, of Jacob and his sons who moved to Egypt: Reuben, Jacob's firstborn;

"Now let me die," Israel told Joseph, "since I've seen your face and confirmed that you're still alive!"

But Joseph addressed his brothers and his father's household and told them, "I'll go up and tell Pharaoh that my brothers and my father's household have arrived from Canaan to be with me.

I'll mention that the men are shepherds. Because they've been taking care of livestock, they brought along their flocks, their herds, and everything else that they own.

you are to tell him, "Your servants have been taking care of livestock since we were youths. We and our ancestors have taken care of livestock.' That way, you'll be able to live in the Goshen territory, since shepherds are detestable to the Egyptians."

Then Pharaoh replied to Joseph, "Now that your father and your brothers have come to you,

Egypt is at your disposal, so settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land! Let them live in the Goshen territory. If you learn that any of them are especially skilled, put them in charge of my livestock."

So Joseph kept on accumulating all the money that was to be found throughout Egypt and Canaan in exchange for the grain that was being purchased. He stored the money in Pharaoh's palace.

So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph traded food in exchange for horses, various flocks and herds, and donkeys. He fed them with food in exchange for their livestock during that year.

The following year, they came to him and reminded him, "We won't hide from you, your Excellency, that we've spent all of our money, and that our livestock all belong to you. There's nothing left to trade with you, your Excellency, except our bodies and our territories.

So Joseph purchased all of the Egyptian territory for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his field, because the famine's effect was so severe. That's how Pharaoh came to own the land.

However, he did not purchase land belonging to the priests, because the priests held an allotment, previously provided to them by Pharaoh, from which they lived. That's why they did not sell their land.

So Joseph crafted a statute concerning Egypt that remains valid to this day that Pharaoh should own a fifth of the produce, excluding the land belonging to the priests, which remained outside of Pharaoh's control.

As the time approached for Israel to die, he called for his son Joseph and addressed him. "Please," he asked, "if you're happy with me, make a solemn promise that you'll treat me fairly and kindly by not burying me in Egypt.

But Joseph observed that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head. That displeased him, so he grabbed his father's hand and started to move it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head.

That very day, Jacob blessed them with this blessing: "By you Israel will extend this blessing: "May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!'"

By doing this, he placed Ephraim before Manasseh. Then Israel told Joseph, "Pay attention! I'm about to die, but God will be with you. He'll bring you back to the land that belongs to your ancestors.

I'm assigning you one portion more than your brothers from the land that I confiscated from the control of the Amorites in battle."

He observed that his resting place was excellent, and that the land was pleasant; he bent down, picked up his burdens, and became a slave at forced labor."

Dan will be a snake on the path, a viper on the road that snaps at the heels of horses, causing their riders to fall off.

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.

In his last words, Jacob issued this set of instructions to them all: "I'm about to join our ancestors. Bury me alongside my ancestors in the cave in the field that used to belong to Ephron the Hittite.

It's the cave in the field near Mamre at Machpelah in the land of Canaan that Abraham bought to serve as a cemetery.

Both the field and the cave that's in it were purchased from the Hittites."