Because she had been asking, "May God give me another son," she named him Joseph.

After Rachel had given birth to Joseph, Jacob told Laban, "Send me off so that I can go back to my place and country.

Then he positioned the women servants and their children first, then Leah and her children next, and then Rachel and Joseph after them.

Leah also approached, and she and her children bowed low. After this, Joseph and Rachel approached and bowed low.

Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin.

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.

Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more!

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?"

And Israel instructed Joseph, "Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I'm going to send you to them." "Here I am!" he responded.

"Go and see how things are with your brothers," Israel ordered him. "And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me." Then he sent Joseph from the valley of Hebron.

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

"They've already left," the man answered. "I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.

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

Reuben told them. "And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let's toss him into this cistern that's way out here in the wilderness. But don't lay a hand on him." (Reuben intended to free Joseph and return him to his father.)

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.

So Judah's brothers listened to him. As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt.

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

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

Examining it, he cried out, "It's my son's tunic! A wild animal has no doubt torn Joseph to pieces."

All his sons and daughters showed up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He kept saying, "Leave me alone! I'll go down to the next world, still mourning for my son." So Joseph's father wept for him.

Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's court officials, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards.

Meanwhile, Joseph had been delivered to Egypt and turned over to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's court officials and the Commander-in-Chief of the imperial guards. An Egyptian, he bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, who had brought him down there.

But the LORD was with Joseph. He became a very prosperous man while in the house of his Egyptian master,

who could see that the LORD was with Joseph, because the LORD made everything prosper that Joseph did.

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!"

so she grabbed Joseph by his outer garment and demanded "Let's have some sex!"

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

She kept his outer garment by her side until Joseph's master came home,

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,

arrested Joseph, and locked him up in the same prison where the king's prisoners were confined. So Joseph remained there in prison.

But the LORD was with Joseph. He extended gracious love to him, causing the prison warden to be pleased with Joseph.

So the prison warden entrusted into Joseph's care all the prisoners who were confined in prison. Whatever they did, Joseph was in charge of the work detail.

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.

The captain of the guard entrusted them to Joseph's custody, who took care of them, since they were to remain there in custody for a number of days.

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

"We had a dream," they replied, "but there's no one to interpret it." "Interpretations belong to God," Joseph told them, "so please tell me your stories."

So the senior security advisor related his dream to Joseph. "In my dream," he said, "all of a sudden there was a vine in front of me!

Then Joseph told him, "This is what your dream means: The three branches are three days.

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.

Joseph replied, "This is what your dream means: The three baskets are also three days.

but he beheaded and hanged the head chef, just as Joseph had interpreted for them.

Despite all of this, the senior security advisor not only didn't remember Joseph, he deliberately forgot him.

Pharoah sent word to summon Joseph quickly from the dungeon, so they shaved his beard, changed his clothes, and then sent him straight to Pharaoh.

"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."

So Pharaoh told Joseph, "In my dream, I was standing on the bank of the Nile River,

"Pharaoh's dreams are identical," Joseph replied. "God has told Pharaoh what he is getting ready to do.

What Joseph proposed pleased Pharaoh and all of his advisors,

Since God has revealed all of this to you," Pharaoh told Joseph, "there is no one so wise and discerning as you.

"Look!" Pharaoh confirmed to Joseph, "I've put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt!"

Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand, placed it on Joseph's hand, had him clothed in fine linen garments, and placed a gold chain around his neck.

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 told Joseph, "I'm still Pharaoh, but without your permission nobody in all of the land of Egypt will so much as lift up their hands or take a step!"

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 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.

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.

Before the years of famine arrived, Joseph fathered two sons with Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.

Joseph named his firstborn son Manasseh because, he said, "God has made me forget all of my hard life and my father's house."

the seven years of famine started, just as Joseph had predicted. It was an international famine, but there was food everywhere throughout the land of Egypt.

Eventually, the land of Egypt began to feel the effects of the famine, so the people cried out to Pharaoh for food. "Go see Joseph," Pharaoh announced to all the Egyptians, "and do whatever he tells you to do."

Joseph opened all of the storehouses and sold grain to the Egyptians, because the famine was beginning to be severe throughout the land of Egypt.

In addition, all of the surrounding nations came to Joseph to buy grain from Egypt, because the famine had become severe throughout the world.

So ten of Joseph's brothers left to buy grain from Egypt.

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."

Meanwhile, Joseph continued to be ruler over the land, in charge of selling to everyone in the land. Joseph's brothers appeared and bowed down to him, face down.

As soon as Joseph saw his brothers, he knew who they were, but he remained disguised and asked them gruffly, "Where are you from?" "From the land of Canaan," they replied. "We're here to buy food."

But Joseph had already recognized his brothers, even though they had not recognized him.

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!"

But Joseph kept insisting, "It's just as I've said you've come here to spy on our unguarded territories!"

"I'm right!" Joseph insisted. "Just as I said, you're spies!

Then Joseph locked them all together in prison for three days.

Three days later, Joseph told them, "I fear God, so do this and you'll live.

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

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.

Their father Jacob told them, "You're causing me to lose my children! Joseph is gone. Now Simeon is gone, and you're planning to take Benjamin, too. Everything's going against me!"

So the men took their gift and twice as much money, got up, took Benjamin with them, and set out for Egypt. Eventually they appeared before Joseph.

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."

So the man did what Joseph had ordered, and brought the men to Joseph's palace.

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!"

So they approached Joseph's palace manager and talked with him at the palace entrance.

ushered the men into Joseph's palace, gave them water to wash their feet, and provided fodder for their 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 asked them how they had been doing. "Is your father well, the older gentleman about whom you spoke?" he inquired. "Is he still alive?"

As Joseph looked up and recognized his brother Benjamin, his own mother's son, he asked, "Is this your youngest brother about whom you spoke to me?" And he addressed him directly, "May God be gracious to you, my son."

At this, Joseph hurried out, deeply moved because of his brother, and looked for a place to weep by himself. He entered his personal quarters, wept there awhile,

Joseph's staff served him by himself, his brothers separately, and the Egyptian staff members by themselves, because the Egyptians wouldn't take their meal with the Hebrews, since doing so was detestable for the Egyptians.

Meanwhile, the brothers were seated in front of Joseph in birth order, from firstborn to youngest. The men stared at one another in astonishment.

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.

Later, Joseph commanded his palace manager, "Fill the men's sacks to full capacity with food and replace each man's money at the top of the sack.

Then place my cup the silver one in the top of the sack belonging to the youngest one, along with the money he brought to buy grain." So the manager did precisely what Joseph told him to do.

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