because they had too many possessions to be able to stay together and the land where they had settled was not able to support them because of their livestock.

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

The sons of Eliphaz were: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

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

These were the sons of Esau's wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah and granddaughter of Zibeon: She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah to Esau.

These were the sons of Esau (also known as Edom), and these were their chiefs.

Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the chiefs of the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the land of Edom.

The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam; Lotan's sister was Timna.

These were the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

These were the sons of Zibeon: Aiah and Anah (who discovered the hot springs in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon).

These were the children of Anah: Dishon and Oholibamah, the daughter of Anah.

These were the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

These were the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

These were the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.

This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, was taking care of the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was a son born to him late in life, and he made a special tunic for him.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly.

Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more.

There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!"

Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said.

Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said. "I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, "What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?"

So Jacob said to him, "Go now and check on the welfare of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word." So Jacob sent him from the valley of Hebron.

The man said, "They left this area, for I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Now Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

Come now, let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see how his dreams turn out!"

Reuben continued, "Don't shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don't lay a hand on him." (Reuben said this so he could rescue Joseph from them and take him back to his father.)

Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it.)

When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.

Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

So when the Midianite merchants passed by, Joseph's brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt.

returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?"

So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, "We found this. Determine now whether it is your son's tunic or not."

He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!"

Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days.

All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. "No," he said, "I will go to the grave mourning my son." So Joseph's father wept for him.

At that time Judah left his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite man named Hirah.

There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and had marital relations with her.

She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er.

She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan.

Then Judah said to Onan, "Have sexual relations with your brother's wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother."

Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up." For he thought, "I don't want him to die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

So she removed her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.)

He turned aside to her along the road and said, "Come on! I want to have sex with you." (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, "What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?"

He said, "What pledge should I give you?" She replied, "Your seal, your cord, and the staff that's in your hand." So he gave them to her and had sex with her. She became pregnant by him.

She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow's clothes.

So he returned to Judah and said, "I couldn't find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.'"

After three months Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"

While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong." Then she said, "Identify the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong."

Judah recognized them and said, "She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn't give her to Shelah my son." He did not have sexual relations with her again.

While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."

But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, "How you have broken out of the womb!" So he was named Perez.

Afterward his brother came out -- the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand -- and he was named Zerah.

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt. An Egyptian named Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and the captain of the guard, purchased him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

The Lord was with Joseph. He was successful and lived in the household of his Egyptian master.

His master observed that the Lord was with him and that the Lord made everything he was doing successful.

So Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar appointed Joseph overseer of his household and put him in charge of everything he owned.

From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields.

So Potiphar left everything he had in Joseph's care; he gave no thought to anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well built and good-looking.

Soon after these things, his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Have sex with me."

But he refused, saying to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not give any thought to his household with me here, and everything that he owns he has put into my care.

There is no one greater in this household than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?"

One day he went into the house to do his work when none of the household servants were there in the house.

She grabbed him by his outer garment, saying, "Have sex with me!" But he left his outer garment in her hand and ran outside.

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

she called for her household servants and said to them, "See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to have sex with me, but I screamed loudly.

When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside."

but when I raised my voice and screamed, he left his outer garment and ran outside."

Joseph's master took him and threw him into the prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined. So he was there in the prison.

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him kindness. He granted him favor in the sight of the prison warden.

The warden did not concern himself with anything that was in Joseph's care because the Lord was with him and whatever he was doing the Lord was making successful.

After these things happened, the cupbearer to the king of Egypt and the royal baker offended their master, the king of Egypt.

Pharaoh was enraged with his two officials, the cupbearer and the baker,

The captain of the guard appointed Joseph to be their attendant, and he served them. They spent some time in custody.

Both of them, the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison, had a dream the same night. Each man's dream had its own meaning.

On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Now Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes, squeezed them into his cup, and put the cup in Pharaoh's hand."

In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you did before when you were cupbearer.

But remember me when it goes well for you, and show me kindness. Make mention of me to Pharaoh and bring me out of this prison,

for I really was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews and I have done nothing wrong here for which they should put me in a dungeon."

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread on my head.

In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you."

On the third day it was Pharaoh's birthday, so he gave a feast for all his servants. He "lifted up" the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker in the midst of his servants.

At the end of two full years Pharaoh had a dream. As he was standing by the Nile,

seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.

Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river.

Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good.

Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream.

In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.

Pharaoh was enraged with his servants, and he put me in prison in the house of the captain of the guards -- me and the chief baker.

Now a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guards, was with us there. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted the meaning of each of our respective dreams for us.

Then Pharaoh summoned Joseph. So they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; he shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. But I have heard about you, that you can interpret dreams."

Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.

Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt!

I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good.

Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning.