Study Desk

Jacob set up a large rock, so that he would remember what had happened there. Then he poured wine and olive oil on the rock to show that it was dedicated to God,

to show that he was his favorite son, and so Joseph's brothers hated him and would not be friendly to him.

His father said, "Go and find out how your brothers and the sheep are doing. Then come back and let me know." So he sent him from Hebron Valley. Joseph was near Shechem

So Judah said, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his body?

All of Jacob's children came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "I will go to my grave, mourning for my son." So Jacob kept on grieving.

So Judah told Onan, "It's your duty to marry Tamar and have a child for your brother."

Judah did not want the same thing to happen to his son Shelah, and he told Tamar, "Go home to your father and live there as a widow until my son Shelah is grown." So Tamar went to live with her father.

She also realized that Shelah was now a grown man, but she had not been allowed to marry him. So she decided to dress in something other than her widow's clothes and to cover her face with a veil. After this, she sat outside the town of Enaim on the road to Timnah.

Judah had his friend Hirah take a goat to the woman, so he could get back the ring and walking stick, but she wasn't there.

Right away his hand went back in, and the other child was born first. The woman then said, "What an opening you've made for yourself!" So they named the baby Perez.

So Joseph lived in the home of Potiphar, his Egyptian owner. Soon Potiphar realized that the Lord was helping Joseph to be successful in whatever he did.

the Lord helped him and was good to him. He even made the jailer like Joseph so much that

While Joseph was in prison, both the king's personal servant and his chief cook made the king angry. So he had them thrown into the same prison with Joseph.

and he asked, "Why are you so worried today?"

But when these good things happen, please don't forget to tell the king about me, so I can get out of this place.

The next morning the king was upset. So he called in his magicians and wise men and told them what he had dreamed. None of them could tell him what the dreams meant.

The seven good cows stand for seven years, and so do the seven good heads of grain.

The famine will be so bad that no one will remember that once there had been plenty.

Your Majesty, you should find someone who is wise and will know what to do, so that you can put him in charge of all Egypt.

So the king said to them, "No one could possibly handle this better than Joseph, since the Spirit of God is with him."