Jacob, Joseph & Egypt

About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”

As she was being brought out, Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these items belong.” And she added, “Please examine them. Whose seal and cord and staff are these?”

Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.

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

And as she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it around his wrist. “This one came out first,” she announced.

But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.

Then his brother came out with the scarlet thread around his wrist, and he was named Zerah.

Meanwhile, Joseph had been taken down to Egypt, where an Egyptian named Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there.

And the LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, serving in the household of his Egyptian master.

When his master saw that the LORD was with him and made him prosper in all he did,

Joseph found favor in his sight and became his personal attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household and entrusted him with everything he owned.

From the time that he put Joseph in charge of his household and all he owned, the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s household on account of him. The LORD’s blessing was on everything he owned, both in his house and in his field.

So Potiphar left all that he owned in Joseph’s care; he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. Now Joseph was well-built and handsome,

and after some time his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said, “Sleep with me.”

But he refused. “Look,” he said to his master’s wife, “with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in his house, and he has entrusted everything he owns to my care.

No one in this house is greater than I am. He has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. So how could I do such a great evil and sin against God?”

Although Potiphar’s wife spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be near her.

One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.

She grabbed Joseph by his cloak and said, “Sleep with me!” But leaving his cloak in her hand, he escaped and ran outside.

When she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had run out of the house,

she called her household servants. “Look,” she said, “this Hebrew has been brought to us to make sport of us. He came to me so he could sleep with me, but I screamed as loud as I could.

When he heard me scream for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”

So Potiphar’s wife kept Joseph’s cloak beside her until his master came home.

Then she told him the same story: “The Hebrew slave you brought us came to me to make sport of me,

but when I screamed for help, he left his cloak beside me and ran out of the house.”