calling the light "day," and the darkness "night." The twilight and the dawn were day one.

God called the canopy "sky." The twilight and the dawn were the second day.

The twilight and the dawn were the third day.

The twilight and the dawn were the fourth day.

The twilight and the dawn were the fifth day.

Now God saw all that he had made, and indeed, it was very good! The twilight and the dawn were the sixth day.

With this the heavens and the earth were completed, including all of their vast array.

no shrubs had yet grown in the meadows of the earth and no vegetation had sprouted, because the LORD God had not sent rain on the earth and there were no human beings to work the ground.

Even though both the man and his wife were naked, they were not ashamed about it.

As a result, they both understood what they had done, and they became aware that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

You will eat food by the sweat of your brow until you're buried in the ground, because you were taken from it. You're made from dust and you'll return to dust."

Instead, Cain told his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the wilderness." When they were outside in the fields, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

some divine beings noticed how attractive human women were, so they took wives for themselves from a selection that pleased them.

The Nephilim were on the earth at that time (and also immediately afterward), when those divine beings were having sexual relations with those human women, who gave birth to children for them. These children became the heroes and legendary figures of ancient times.

On the seventeenth day of the second month, when Noah was 600 years old, all the springs of the great deep burst open, the floodgates of the heavens were opened,

The flood water surged even higher throughout the earth, until all the highest mountains under the sky were covered.

All existing creatures that had lived on the surface of the ground were annihilated, from humans to livestock, from crawling creatures to birds of the sky. They were wiped off the earth. Only Noah remained, along with those who were with him in the ark.

God kept Noah in mind, along with all the wildlife and livestock that were with him in the ark. God's Spirit moved throughout the earth, causing the flood waters to subside.

The water sources from the ocean depths were blocked and the floodgates of the heavens were closed.

Noah's sons who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham later fathered Canaan.)

These three were Noah's sons, and from these men the whole earth was repopulated.

Then Shem and Japheth took their father's cloak, laid it across both their shoulders, and walking backwards, they both covered their father's genitals. Their faces were turned away, and they did not see their father's genitals.

These are the records of Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, to whom descendants were born after the flood.

Later, the Canaanite families were widely scattered. The Canaanite border extended south from Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and east toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.

To Eber were born two sons. One was named Peleg, because the earth was divided during his lifetime. His brother was named Joktan.

Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these were Joktan's descendants.

However, the LORD descended to look over the city and the tower that the humans were building.

Abram traveled through the land to the place called Shechem, as far as the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land.

There was strife between the herdsmen in charge of Abram's livestock and the herdsmen in charge of Lot's livestock. Also, at that time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were living in the land.

Now the men of Sodom were particularly evil and sinful in their defiance of the LORD.

They were subject to Chedorlaomer for twelve years, but they rebelled in the thirteenth year.

Someone escaped, arrived, and reported what had happened to Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks belonging to Mamre the Amorite, whose brothers Eshcol and Aner were allied with Abram.

After Abram's return from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with them, the king of Sodom went out to meet with him in the Shaveh Valley (that is, the King's Valley).

I will take nothing except what my warriors have eaten. But as for what belongs to the men who were allied with me, including Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre, let them take their share."

Both Abraham and his son Ishmael were circumcised on that very day.

Now Sarah was listening at the tent entrance behind him. Abraham and Sarah were old really old and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing.

and blinded the men who were at the entrance of the house, from the least important to the greatest, so they were unable to find the doorway.

Abraham agreed with Ephron, so he weighed out to Ephron the money to which he had agreed publicly while the Hittites were listening: 400 shekels of silver at the current merchant rate.

That's how Ephron's field in Machpelah, east of Mamre the field, the cave that was in it, and all the trees that were within the boundaries of the field came to be deeded

As they were leaving, they all blessed Rebekah by saying, "Our sister, may you become the mother of tens of millions! May your descendants take over the city gates of those who hate them."

Isaac went out walking in a field. He looked up, and all of a sudden there were some camels coming.

Jokshan was the father of Sheba and Dedan. Dedan's sons were the Asshurites, Letushites, and Leummites.

Midian's sons were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. All of these were Keturah's descendants.

This was the same field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites, where Abraham and his wife Sarah were buried.

These were Ishmael's children, listed by their names according to their villages and their camps. There were a total of twelve tribal chiefs, according to their clans.

After that, his brother came out with his hand clutching Esau's heel, so they named him Jacob. Isaac was 60 years old when they were born.

As the boys were growing up, Esau became skilled at hunting and was a man of the outdoors, but Jacob was the quiet type who tended to stay indoors.

While Isaac's servants were digging in the valley, they discovered a well with flowing water.

He didn't recognize Jacob, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau, so Isaac blessed him.

when he had a dream! He saw a raised highway that had been built with its ending point on earth and its beginning point in heaven. God's angels were ascending and descending on it.

That very day, Laban removed the male goats that were striped or spotted, all the female goats that were speckled or spotted that is, every one that had white on them and all the black lambs and placed them into the care of his sons.

When the flocks mated in front of the branches, they would bear offspring that were striped, speckled, or spotted.

As it was, when it was time for the livestock to breed, I once looked up in a dream, and the male goats that were mating with the flock were producing streaked, speckled, and spotted offspring.

Feeling mounting terror and distress, Jacob divided the people who were with him into two groups, doing the same with the flocks, the cattle, and the camels.

Because Jacob learned that Shechem had dishonored his daughter Dinah while his sons were still out with their cattle on the open range, he remained silent until they returned.

Just then Jacob's sons arrived from the field. When they heard what had happened, they were distraught with grief and livid with anger toward Shechem, because he had committed a disgraceful deed in Israel by forcing Jacob's daughter to have sex, an act that never should have happened.

All of the males who heard Hamor and his son Shechem, who had gone out to the city gate, were circumcised.

Three days later, while they were still in pain, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi, two of Dinah's brothers, each grabbed a sword and entered the city unannounced, intending to kill all the males.

Later, God told Jacob, "Get up, move to Bethel, and live there. Build an altar to the God who appeared to you when you were fleeing from your brother Esau."

So they handed over to Jacob all their foreign gods on which they had been depending, along with the rings that they were wearing on their ears. Jacob buried them under the oak that grew near Shechem.

Leah's sons were Reuben (Jacob's first-born), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.

Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin.

Rachel's servant Bilhah's sons were Dan and Naphtali.

Leah's servant Zilpah's sons were Gad and Asher. These were Jacob's sons who were born to him while he lived in Paddan-aram.

Oholibamah bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau's sons, who were born to him in the territory of Canaan.

because their holdings were too vast to allow them to stay together, since the land where they had settled was not able to support all of their livestock.

The names of Esau's sons were Eliphaz (the son of Esau's wife Adah) and Reuel (the son of Esau's wife Basemath).

Eliphaz's sons were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

Reuel's sons were 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, who was the daughter of Zibeon. She bore Jeush, Jalam, and Korah for Esau.

These were the tribal leaders of Esau's descendants; that is, the children of Eliphaz, who was Esau's firstborn: tribal leaders Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the tribal leaders who descended from Eliphaz in the territory of Edom. These were Adah's sons.

These were the descendants of Esau's son Reuel: tribal leaders Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the tribal leaders who descended from Reuel in the territory of Edom. These were the sons of Esau's wife Basemath.

These were the descendants of Esau's wife Oholibamah: tribal leaders Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These tribal leaders descended from Esau's wife Oholibamah, Anah's daughter.

These were the descendants of Esau (also known as Edom) and their tribal leaders.

These were the descendants of Seir the Horite, who lived in the territory: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, the descendants of Seir in the territory of Edom.

Lotan's children were Hori and Hemam. Lotan's sister was Timna.

Shobal's children were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

Zibeon's children were Aiah and Anah. Anah discovered the hot springs in the wilderness while grazing his father Zibeon's donkeys.

Anah's children were Dishon and Anah's daughter Oholibamah.

Dishon's children were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

Ezer's children were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

Dishan's children were Uz and Aran.

These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites: tribal leaders Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These were the tribal leaders who descended from the Horites, according to their tribal leaders in the territory of Seir.

These were the names of the chiefs who descended from Esau according to their clans, territories, and names: tribal leaders Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

Magdiel, and Iram. These were the chiefs who descended from Edom, according to their territories in their own land. This was the dynasty of Esau, who was the ancestor of the Edomites.

Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan.

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.

"We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"

But then he had another dream, and he proceeded to tell his brothers about that one, too. "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!"

"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.

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.

After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm, and myrrh for sale down in Egypt.

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.

While they were bringing her out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Furthermore," she added, "tell me to whom this signet ring, cord, and staff belongs."

One day, though, he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were inside,

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