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.

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.

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.

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!"

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelis take this solemn oath: "God will certainly take notice of you, and then you must carry my bones up with you from here."

They also buried the bones of Joseph, which the Israelis brought up from Egypt, in the parcel of ground at Shechem that Jacob had purchased from the descendants of Shechem's father Hamor, for 100 pieces of silver. It became part of the inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Joseph blurted out, "I'm Joseph! Is my father really alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, because they had become terrified to be in his presence.

Then Joseph sent his brothers away, and they left for home. As they were leaving, Joseph admonished them, "Don't quarrel on the way back!"

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.

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.

Later, after Joseph's brothers faced the reality of their father's death, they asked themselves, "What happens if Joseph decides to hold a grudge against us? What if he pays us back in full for all the wrong things we did to him?"

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."

"Joseph's brothers became jealous of him and sold Joseph as a slave in Egypt. However, God was with him

On their second trip, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph introduced his family to Pharaoh.

"The house of Jacob will be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, but the house of Esau will be kindling. Then Jacob and Joseph will burn and consume Esau, and no survivor will remain from the house of Esau." Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.

"From Joseph's descendants through Ephraim: Ammihud's son Elishama. From Manasseh: Pedahzur's son Gamaliel.

The genealogies of Joseph's descendants were recorded individually, according to their tribes and ancestral houses, as were the names of all the men 20 years and above who could serve in the army.

Those registered with the tribe of Joseph numbered 40,500.

from Issachar's tribe, Joseph's son Igal;

from Joseph's tribe of Manasseh, Susi's son Gaddi;

The tribe of Joseph, listed according to their families, included Manasseh and Ephraim.

These families of Ephraim numbered 32,500. These were the descendants of Joseph, listed according to their families.

Now the daughters of Hepher's son Zelophehad, Gilead's grandson, who had been fathered by Machir, who had been fathered by Manasseh, from the tribe of Manasseh, the direct son of Joseph, were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached

So Moses gave to the descendants of Gad, to the descendants of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh the kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the whole land with its cities, and even the territories surrounding it.

From the tribe of Joseph, you are to appoint Ephod's son Hanniel to be leader of the half tribe of Manasseh,

The leaders of the ancestral families of the descendants of Gilead, who were descendants of Machir, and descendants of Manasseh, from Joseph's tribe, approached and spoke to Moses and the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelis.

So Moses issued the Israelis these orders based on what the LORD said: "The tribe of the descendants of Joseph has spoken.

They married into families of the descendants of Manasseh, that is, Joseph's descendants, so that their inheritance remained within the tribe of their ancestor's family.

"When you cross the Jordan River, these tribes are to stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

About Joseph he said: "May the blessing of the LORD be on his land: dew from the choicest of the heavens, and from the depths beneath;

from the choicest of the earth and its fullness, and the favor of the one who lived in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph's head, and on the crown of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

since the descendants of Joseph constituted two tribes Manasseh and Ephraim. They did not allot a portion to the descendants of Levi in the land, since they were given cities to live in, along with pastures for their livestock and property.

The territorial allotment for the descendants of Joseph proceeded from the Jordan River by Jericho eastward of the Jericho waters into the wilderness, proceeding from Jericho through the hill country of Bethel

Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.

The territorial allotment for the tribe of Manasseh, the firstborn of Joseph, was allocated first to Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of Gilead. Since he had been a man of war, Gilead and Bashan were allocated to him.

Now allotments were made with respect to the remaining descendants of Manasseh according to their families: for the descendants of Abiezer, the descendants of Helek, the descendants of Asriel, the descendants of Shechem, the descendants of Hepher, and the descendants of Shemida the male descendants of Joseph's son Manasseh, according to their families.

At that time, the descendants of Joseph asked Joshua, "Why did you give us only one allotment and portion for an inheritance, since we're numerous and the LORD has blessed us all along?"

The descendants of Joseph replied, "The hill country isn't sufficient for us, but all the Canaanites who live on the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shean and its villages as well as the inhabitants of the Jezreel Valley."

So Joshua told the tribes of Joseph, which were Ephraim and Manasseh, "You're truly a numerous group, and you have great power. You are not to have only one allotment,

They'll divide it seven ways. Judah will stay in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph will remain in its territory on the north.

The allotment of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin came up according to their families, and their territorial allotment fell between the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph.

Then the army of the tribe of Joseph attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.

The army of the tribe of Joseph scouted out Bethel, which had been formerly named Luz.

Furthermore, the Amorites continued to inhabit Mount Heres in Aijalon and Shaalbim. Eventually, however, after the tribe of Joseph had become strong, the Amorites were subjected to conscripted labor.