Thematic Bible: Summary of his life


Thematic Bible



In the third year of his reign he sent out the following officials to teach in the cities of Judah: Benhail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah. With them were the Levites Shemaiah, Nethaniah, Zebadiah, Asahel, Shemiramoth, Jehonathan, Adonijah, Tobijah, Tob Adonijah, and the priests Elishama and Jehoram. They taught in Judah. They had the Book of Torah (the Law) (Jehovah's Teachings) with them when they taught the people in all the cities of Judah.


He told the judges: Be careful when you make your decisions in court. Remember these are Jehovah's people. He will know the judgements you decide. Do your work in honor of him and know that he will not allow you to be unfair to anyone or to take bribes. Jehoshaphat also appointed some Levites, some priests, and some of the family leaders to serve as judges in Jerusalem. read more.
He told them: Faithfully serve Jehovah!


Asa did what Jehovah his God considered good and right.


Jephthah promised Jehovah: If you give me victory over the Ammonites, I will sacrifice with a burnt offering the first person that comes out of my house to meet me, when I return from the victory. I will offer that person to you as a sacrifice. (Jeremiah 19:5)


After time passed the Ammonites went to war against Israel. When this war occurred, the leaders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah back from the land of Tob. They said: Come and be our commander, so that we can fight the Ammonites. read more.
Jephthah answered: You hated me so much that you forced me to leave my father's house. Why have you come to me now that you are in trouble? They replied: We turn to you now because we want you to go with us and fight the Ammonites and lead all the people of Gilead. Jephthah said: If you take me back home to fight the Ammonites and Jehovah gives me victory, will I be your ruler? They replied: We agree. Jehovah is our witness.


Jephthah was a brave soldier from Gilead. He was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was his father. They had other sons by his wife, and when they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home. They told him: You will have no inheritance from our father for you are the son of another woman.


He struck at them from Aroer to the area around Minnith, twenty cities in all, and as far as Abel Keramim. It was a great slaughter. The Ammonites were defeated by Israel.


The Spirit of Jehovah came upon Jephthah. He went through Gilead and Manasseh and returned to Mizpah in Gilead and went on to Ammon.


She returned to her father after two months. He did what he had promised Jehovah, and she died still a virgin. This was the origin of the custom in Israel.


When they left, the angel of God appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: Herod is looking to kill the young child. Arise, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you to leave.

After Herod died God's angel appeared in a dream to Joseph who was in Egypt.

Joseph came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to be counted and taxed. He went to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David.

All witnessed this and wondered at the kind words that he spoke. They said: Is this not Joseph's son?

When Jesus began to teach he was about thirty years old. Jesus was the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,

Jacob was the father of Joseph, who was the husband of Mary. Mary was the mother of Jesus, who is called Christ (the Anointed).


and threw Joseph in the same prison where the king's prisoners were kept. While Joseph was in prison, Jehovah helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that he put him in charge of the other prisoners and of everything that was done in the jail. read more.
The jailer did not worry about anything, because Jehovah was with Joseph and made him successful in all that he did.

Joseph had been taken to Egypt. Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's Egyptian officials and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. Jehovah was with Joseph. Joseph became a successful man. He worked in the house of his Egyptian master. Joseph's master saw that Jehovah was with him. Jehovah made him succeed in everything he did. read more.
Potiphar was pleased with him and made him his personal servant. He put him in charge of his house and everything he owned. Jehovah blessed the Egyptian's household and everything he had in his house and in his fields because of Joseph. Potiphar turned over everything he had to the care of Joseph. He did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Joseph was well built and good-looking.


Right away he rushed off to his room and cried because of his love for Benjamin.

Then he fell on his brother Benjamin's neck (huged his brother) and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. (Acts 20:37)


Joseph then answered Pharaoh: I cannot do it myself, but God can give the meaning of your dreams.

It was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me like a father to Pharaoh. He made me lord over his entire household, and ruler of Egypt.


To his father he sent ten donkeys loaded with the best things in Egypt. And ten other donkeys loaded with grain and bread and other food for the return trip.

Joseph brought his father Jacob and presented him to the king. Jacob gave the king his blessing.


So the king sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of jail. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to the king. The king said: I had a dream. No one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams. Joseph then answered Pharaoh: I cannot do it myself, but God can give the meaning of your dreams. read more.
The king told Joseph: I dreamed as I stood on the bank of the Nile River, I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river. They began feeding on the grass. Next, seven skinny, bony cows came up out of the river. I have never seen such terrible looking cows anywhere in Egypt. The skinny cows ate the fat ones! Even though they had eaten the fat cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up. In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk. Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant. Joseph said to Pharaoh: Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven good cows are seven years. The seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is all the same dream. The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do. Seven years are coming when there will be plenty of food in Egypt. Seven years of famine will follow. Then people will forget that there was plenty of food in Egypt. The famine will ruin the land. People will not remember that there was once plenty of food in the land, because the coming famine will be so severe. The reason Pharaoh has had a recurring dream is because the matter has been definitely decided by God. He will do it very soon. Pharaoh should look for a wise and intelligent man and put him in charge of Egypt. Make arrangements to appoint supervisors over the land. Take a fifth of Egypt's harvest during the seven good years. Have them collect all the food during these good years. Store up grain under Pharaoh's control, to be kept for food in the cities. This food will be a reserve supply for our country during the seven years of famine that will happen in Egypt. Then the land will not be ruined by the famine. The king and his officials approved this plan, and he said to them: We will never find a better man than Joseph. He is a man who has God's Spirit in him. The king said to Joseph: God has shown you all this. Therefore it is obvious that you have greater wisdom and insight than anyone else. I will put you in charge of my country. All my people will obey your orders. Your authority will be second only to mine. I now appoint you governor over all Egypt. Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot. They proclaimed before him: Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh named Joseph, Zaphenath-paneah. He gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt. Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.


Thus they sent word to Joseph, saying: Your father gave us orders before his death. He said, You are to say to Joseph: Let the wrongdoing of your brothers be overlooked, and the evil they did to you. If it is your pleasure, forgive the sin of the servants of your father's God.' Upon hearing these words Joseph was overcome with weeping. Then his brothers also came and immediately bowed down in front of him. We are your slaves! they said. read more.
Joseph replied to them: Do not be afraid! I cannot take God's place. Even though you planned evil against me, God planned good to come out of it. This was to keep many people alive, as he is doing now. You have nothing to fear. I will take care of you and your children. So he reassured them with kind words that touched their hearts.


Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph's hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. He had him ride in his second chariot. They proclaimed before him: Bow the knee! Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.


Soon his master's wife began to desire Joseph and asked him to go to bed with her. He refused, and said to her: My master does not have to concern himself with anything in the house, because I am here. He has put me in charge of everything he has. No one in this house is greater than I. He has kept nothing back from me except you. You are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God? read more.
She kept asking Joseph day after day. He refused to go to bed with her or be with her. One day he went into the house to do his work. None of the household servants were there. She grabbed him by his coat and said: Come to bed with me! But he ran outside and left his coat in her hand. When she realized that he had gone but had left his coat behind,


One time Joseph had a dream. He told his brothers about it and they hated him even more. He said: Please listen to the dream I had. We were all in the field tying up sheaves of wheat. My sheaf got up and stood up straight. Yours formed a circle around mine and bowed down to it. read more.
Do you think you are going to be a king and rule over us? his brothers asked. So they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of what he said about them. Joseph had another dream and told his brothers: I had another dream, in which I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.