Genesis 36; Genesis 37; Genesis 38

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Genesis 36

1 This is the family history of Esau (also called Edom).

2 Esau married women from the land of Canaan: Adah daughter of Elon the Hittite; and Oholibamah daughter of Anah, the son of Zibeon the Hivite;

3 and Basemath, Ishmael's daughter, the sister of Nebaioth.

4 Adah gave birth to Eliphaz for Esau. Basemath gave him Reuel,

5 and Oholibamah gave him Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These were Esau's sons who were born in the land of Canaan.

6 Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the people who lived with him, his herds and other animals, and all the belongings he had gotten in Canaan, and he went to a land away from his brother Jacob.

7 Esau's and Jacob's belongings were becoming too many for them to live in the same land. The land where they had lived could not support both of them, because they had too many herds.

8 So Esau lived in the mountains of Edom. (Esau is also named Edom.)

9 This is the family history of Esau. He is the ancestor of the Edomites, who live in the mountains of Edom.

10 Esau's sons were Eliphaz, son of Adah and Esau, and Reuel, son of Basemath and Esau.

11 Eliphaz had five sons: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.

12 Eliphaz also had a slave woman named Timna, and Timna and Eliphaz gave birth to Amalek. These were Esau's grandsons by his wife Adah.

13 Reuel had four sons: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were Esau's grandsons by his wife Basemath.

14 Esau's third wife was Oholibamah the daughter of Anah. (Anah was the son of Zibeon.) Esau and Oholibamah gave birth to Jeush, Jalam, and Korah.

15 These were the leaders that came from Esau: Esau's first son was Eliphaz. From him came these leaders: Teman, Omar, Zepho, Kenaz,

16 Korah, Gatam, and Amalek. These were the leaders that came from Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Adah.

17 Esau's son Reuel was the father of these leaders: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the leaders that came from Reuel in the land of Edom. They were the grandsons of Esau's wife Basemath.

18 Esau's wife Oholibamah gave birth to these leaders: Jeush, Jalam, and Korah. These are the leaders that came from Esau's wife Oholibamah the daughter of Anah.

19 These were the sons of Esau (also called Edom), and these were their leaders.

20 These were the sons of Seir the Horite, who were living in the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These sons of Seir were the leaders of the Horites in Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Homam. (Timna was Lotan's sister.)

23 The sons of Shobal were Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.

24 The sons of Zibeon were Aiah and Anah. Anah is the man who found the hot springs in the desert while he was caring for his father's donkeys.

25 The children of Anah were Dishon and Oholibamah daughter of Anah.

26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Keran.

27 The sons of Ezer were Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.

28 The sons of Dishan were Uz and Aran.

29 These were the names of the Horite leaders: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,

30 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These men were the leaders of the Horite families who lived in the land of Edom.

31 These are the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before the Israelites ever had a king:

32 Bela son of Beor was the king of Edom. He came from the city of Dinhabah.

33 When Bela died, Jobab son of Zerah became king. Jobab was from Bozrah.

34 When Jobab died, Husham became king. He was from the land of the Temanites.

35 When Husham died, Hadad son of Bedad, who had defeated Midian in the country of Moab, became king. Hadad was from the city of Avith.

36 When Hadad died, Samlah became king. He was from Masrekah.

37 When Samlah died, Shaul became king. He was from Rehoboth on the Euphrates River.

38 When Shaul died, Baal-Hanan son of Acbor became king.

39 When Baal-Hanan son of Acbor died, Hadad became king. He was from the city of Pau. His wife's name was Mehetabel daughter of Matred, who was the daughter of Me-Zahab.

40 These Edomite leaders, listed by their families and regions, came from Esau. Their names were Timna, Alvah, Jetheth,

41 Oholibamah, Elah, Pinon,

42 Kenaz, Teman, Mibzar,

43 Magdiel, and Iram. They were the leaders of Edom. (Esau was the father of the Edomites.) The area where each of these families lived was named after that family.

Genesis 37

1 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.

2 This is the family history of Jacob: Joseph was a young man, seventeen years old. He and his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, cared for the flocks. Joseph gave his father bad reports about his brothers.

3 Since Joseph was born when his father Israeln was old, Israel loved him more than his other sons. He made Joseph a special robe with long sleeves.

4 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, they hated their brother and could not speak to him politely.

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

6 Joseph said, "Listen to the dream I had.

7 We were in the field tying bundles of wheat together. My bundle stood up, and your bundles of wheat gathered around it and bowed down to it."

8 His brothers said, "Do you really think you will be king over us? Do you truly think you will rule over us?" His brothers hated him even more because of his dreams and what he had said.

9 Then Joseph had another dream, and he told his brothers about it also. He said, "Listen, I had another dream. I saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me."

10 Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father scolded him, saying, "What kind of dream is this? Do you really believe that your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you?"

11 Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father thought about what all these things could mean.

12 One day Joseph's brothers went to Shechem to graze their father's flocks.

13 Israel said to Joseph, "Go to Shechem where your brothers are grazing the flocks." Joseph answered, "I will go."

14 His father said, "Go and see if your brothers and the flocks are all right. Then come back and tell me." So Joseph's father sent him from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph came to Shechem,

15 a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, "What are you looking for?"

16 Joseph answered, "I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing the flocks?"

17 The man said, "They have already gone. I heard them say they were going to Dothan." So Joseph went to look for his brothers and found them in Dothan.

18 Joseph's brothers saw him coming from far away. Before he reached them, they made a plan to kill him.

19 They said to each other, "Here comes that dreamer.

20 Let's kill him and throw his body into one of the wells. We can tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what will become of his dreams."

21 But Reuben heard their plan and saved Joseph, saying, "Let's not kill him.

22 Don't spill any blood. Throw him into this well here in the desert, but don't hurt him!" Reuben planned to save Joseph later and send him back to his father.

23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his robe with long sleeves

24 and threw him into the well. It was empty, and there was no water in it.

25 While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a group of Ishmaelites traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh.

26 Then Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his death?

27 Let's sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then we will not be guilty of killing our own brother. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." And the other brothers agreed.

28 So when the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of the well and sold him to the Ishmaelites for eight ounces of silver. And the Ishmaelites took him to Egypt.

29 When Reuben came back to the well and Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes to show he was upset.

30 Then he went back to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! What shall I do?"

31 The brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood.

32 Then they brought the long-sleeved robe to their father and said, "We found this robe. Look it over carefully and see if it is your son's robe."

33 Jacob looked it over and said, "It is my son's robe! Some savage animal has eaten him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!"

34 Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on rough cloth to show that he was upset, and he continued to be sad about his son for a long time.

35 All of his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he could not be comforted. He said, "I will be sad about my son until the day I die." So Jacob cried for his son Joseph.

36 Meanwhile the Midianites who had bought Joseph had taken him to Egypt. There they sold him to Potiphar, an officer to the king of Egypt and captain of the palace guard.

Genesis 38

1 About that time, Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man named Hirah in the town of Adullam.

2 There Judah met a Canaanite girl, the daughter of a man named Shua, and married her. Judah had sexual relations with her,

3 and she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom Judah named Er.

4 Later she gave birth to another son and named him Onan.

5 Still later she had another son and named him Shelah. She was at Kezib when this third son was born.

6 Judah chose a girl named Tamar to be the wife of his first son Er.

7 But Er, Judah's oldest son, did what the Lord said was evil, so the Lord killed him.

8 Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "Go and have sexual relations with your dead brother's wife. It is your duty to provide children for your brother in this way."

9 But Onan knew that the children would not belong to him, so when he was supposed to have sexual relations with Tamar he did not complete the sex act. This made it impossible for Tamar to become pregnant and for Er to have descendants.

10 The Lord was displeased by this wicked thing Onan had done, so the Lord killed Onan also.

11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Go back to live in your father's house, and don't marry until my young son Shelah grows up." Judah was afraid that Shelah also would die like his brothers. So Tamar returned to her father's home.

12 After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah had gotten over his sorrow, he went to Timnah to his men who were cutting the wool from his sheep. His friend Hirah from Adullam went with him.

13 Tamar learned that Judah, her father-in-law, was going to Timnah to cut the wool from his sheep.

14 So she took off the clothes that showed she was a widow and covered her face with a veil to hide who she was. Then she sat down by the gate of Enaim on the road to Timnah. She did this because Judah's younger son Shelah had grown up, but Judah had not made plans for her to marry him.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face with a veil.

16 So Judah went to her and said, "Let me have sexual relations with you." He did not know that she was Tamar, his daughter-in-law. She asked, "What will you give me if I let you have sexual relations with me?"

17 Judah answered, "I will send you a young goat from my flock." She answered, "First give me something to keep as a deposit until you send the goat."

18 Judah asked, "What do you want me to give you as a deposit?" Tamar answered, "Give me your seal and its cord, and give me your walking stick." So Judah gave these things to her. Then Judah and Tamar had sexual relations, and Tamar became pregnant.

19 When Tamar went home, she took off the veil that covered her face and put on the clothes that showed she was a widow.

20 Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat to find the woman and get back his seal and the walking stick he had given her, but Hirah could not find her.

21 He asked some of the people at the town of Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" They answered, "There has never been a prostitute here."

22 So he went back to Judah and said, "I could not find the woman, and the people who lived there said, 'There has never been a prostitute here.'"

23 Judah said, "Let her keep the things. I don't want people to laugh at us. I sent her the goat as I promised, but you could not find her."

24 About three months later someone told Judah, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, is guilty of acting like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant." Then Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned to death."

25 When the people went to bring Tamar out, she sent a message to her father-in-law that said, "The man who owns these things has made me pregnant. Look at this seal and its cord and this walking stick, and tell me whose they are."

26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more in the right than I. She did this because I did not give her to my son Shelah as I promised." And Judah did not have sexual relations with her again.

27 When the time came for Tamar to give birth, there were twins in her body.

28 While she was giving birth, one baby put his hand out. The nurse tied a red string on his hand and said, "This baby came out first."

29 But he pulled his hand back in, so the other baby was born first. The nurse said, "So you are able to break out first," and they named him Perez.

30 After this, the baby with the red string on his hand was born, and they named him Zerah.

Genesis 36; Genesis 37; Genesis 38

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Genesis 36

Genesis 37

Genesis 38