Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 (Maftir)Early in the morning Lavan got up, kissed his sons and daughters, and blessed them. Then Lavan left and returned to his own place.

2 Ya‘akov went on his way, and the angels of God met him.

3 When Ya‘akov saw them, he said, “This is God’s camp,” and called that place Machanayim [two camps].

Haftarah Vayetze: Hoshea (Hosea) 12:13(12)–14:10(9) (A); 11:7–12:12(11) (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayetze: Yochanan (John) 1:43–51

Parashah 8: Vayishlach (He sent) 32:4(3) –36:43

4 Ya‘akov sent messengers ahead of him to ‘Esav his brother toward the land of Se‘ir, the country of Edom,

5 with these instructions: “Here is what you are to say to my lord ‘Esav: ‘Your servant Ya‘akov says, “I have been living with Lavan and have stayed until now.

6 I have cattle, donkeys and flocks, and male and female servants. I am sending to tell this news to my lord, in order to win your favor.” ’”

7 The messengers returned to Ya‘akov saying, “We went to your brother ‘Esav, and he is coming to meet you; with him are four hundred men.”

8 Ya‘akov became greatly afraid and distressed. He divided the people, flocks, cattle and camels with him into two camps,

9 saying, “If ‘Esav comes to the one camp and attacks it, at least the camp that is left will escape.”

10 Then Ya‘akov said, “God of my father Avraham and God of my father Yitz’chak,Adonai, who told me, ‘Return to your country and your kinsmen, and I will do you good’:

11 I’m not worthy of all the love and faithfulness you have shown your servant, since I crossed the Yarden with only my staff. But now I have become two camps.

12 Please! Rescue me from my brother ‘Esav! I’m afraid of him, afraid he’ll come and attack me, without regard for mothers or children.

13 You said, ‘I will certainly do you good and make your descendants as numerous as the grains of sand by the sea, which are so many they can’t be counted.’”

(ii)

14 He stayed there that night; then he chose from among his possessions the following as a present for ‘Esav his brother:

15 two hundred female goats and twenty males, two hundred female sheep and twenty males,

16 thirty milk-camels and their colts, forty cows and ten bulls, twenty female donkeys and ten colts.

17 He turned them over to his servants, every drove by itself, and said to his servants, “Cross over in front of me, and keep a space between each drove and the next one.”

18 He instructed the servant in front, “When ‘Esav my brother meets you and asks you, ‘Whose servant are you? Where are you going? And whose animals are these?’

19 then you are to say, ‘They belong to your servant Ya‘akov, and they are a present he has sent to my lord ‘Esav; and Ya‘akov himself is just behind us.’”

20 He also instructed the second servant, and the third, and all that followed the droves, “When you encounter ‘Esav, you are to speak to him in the same way,

21 and you are to add, ‘And there, just behind us, is your servant Ya‘akov.’” For he said, “I will appease him first with the present that goes ahead of me; then, after that, I will see him myself — and maybe he will be friendly toward me.”

22 So the present crossed over ahead of him, and he himself stayed that night in the camp.

23 He got up that night, took his two wives, his two slave-girls, and his eleven children, and forded the Yabok.

24 He took them and sent them across the stream, then sent his possessions across;

25 and Ya‘akov was left alone. Then some man wrestled with him until daybreak.

26 When he saw that he did not defeat Ya‘akov, he struck Ya‘akov’s hip socket, so that his hip was dislocated while wrestling with him.

27 The man said, “Let me go, because it’s daybreak.” But Ya‘akov replied, “I won’t let you go unless you bless me.”

28 The man asked, “What is your name?” and he answered, “Ya‘akov.”

29 Then the man said, “From now on, you will no longer be called Ya‘akov, but Isra’el; because you have shown your strength to both God and men and have prevailed.”

30 Ya‘akov asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he answered, “Why are you asking about my name?” and blessed him there.

(iii)

31 Ya‘akov called the place P’ni-El [face of God], “Because I have seen God face to face, yet my life is spared.”

32 As the sun rose upon him he went on past P’ni-El, limping at the hip.

33 This is why, to this day, the people of Isra’el do not eat the thigh muscle that passes along the hip socket — because the man struck Ya‘akov’s hip at its socket.

1 Ya‘akov raised his eyes and looked out; and there was ‘Esav coming, and four hundred men with him. So Ya‘akov divided the children between Le’ah, Rachel and the two slave-girls,

2 putting the slave-girls and their children first, Le’ah and her children second, and Rachel and Yosef last.

3 Then he himself passed on ahead of them and prostrated himself on the ground seven times before approaching his brother.

4 ‘Esav ran to meet him, hugged him, threw his arms around his neck and kissed him; and they wept.

5 Esav looked up; on seeing the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Ya‘akov answered, “The children God has graciously given to your servant.”

(iv)

6 Then the slave-girls approached with their children, and they prostrated themselves;

7 Le’ah too and her children approached and prostrated themselves; and last came Yosef and Rachel; and they prostrated themselves.

8 ‘Esav asked, “What was the meaning of this procession of droves I encountered?” and he answered, “It was to win my lord’s favor.”

9 ‘Esav replied, “I have plenty already; my brother, keep your possessions for yourself.”

10 Ya‘akov said, “No, please! If now I have won your favor, then accept my gift. Just seeing your face has been like seeing the face of God, now that you have received me.

11 So please accept the gift I have brought you, for God has dealt kindly with me and I have enough.” Thus he urged him, until he accepted it.

12 ‘Esav said, “Let’s break camp and get going. I’ll go first.”

13 Ya‘akov said to him, “My lord knows that the children are small, and the sheep and cattle suckling their young concern me, because if they overdrive them even one day, all the flocks will die.

14 Instead, please, let my lord go on ahead of his servant. I will travel more slowly, at the pace of the cattle ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Se‘ir.”

15 ‘Esav replied, “Then let me leave with you some of the people I have with me.” But Ya‘akov said, “There’s no need for my lord to be so kind to me.”

16 So ‘Esav left that day to return to Se‘ir.

17 Ya‘akov went on to Sukkot, where he built himself a house and put up shelters for his cattle. This is why the place is called Sukkot [shelters].

18 Having traveled from Paddan-Aram, Ya‘akov arrived safely at the city of Sh’khem, in Kena‘an, and set up camp near the city.

19 From the sons of Hamor Sh’khem’s father he bought for one hundred pieces of silver the parcel of land where he had pitched his tent.

20 There he put up an altar, which he called El-Elohei-Yisra’el [God, the God of Isra’el].

1 (v)One time Dinah the daughter of Le’ah, whom she had borne to Ya‘akov, went out to visit the local girls;

2 and Sh’khem the son of Hamor the Hivi, the local ruler, saw her, grabbed her, raped her and humiliated her.

3 But actually he was strongly attracted to Dinah the daughter of Ya‘akov; he fell in love with the girl and tried to win her affection.

4 Sh’khem spoke with his father Hamor and said, “Get this girl for me; I want her to be my wife.”

5 When Ya‘akov heard that he had defiled Dinah his daughter, his sons were with his livestock in the field; so Ya‘akov restrained himself until they came.

6 Hamor the father of Sh’khem went out to Ya‘akov to speak with him

7 just as Ya‘akov’s sons were coming in from the field. When they heard what had happened, the men were saddened and were very angry at the outrage this man had committed against Isra’el by raping Ya‘akov’s daughter, something that is simply not done.

8 But Hamor said to them, “My son Sh’khem’s heart is set on your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife;

9 and intermarry with us: give your daughters to us, and take our daughters for yourselves.

10 You will live with us, and the land will be available to you — you’ll live, do business and acquire possessions here.”

11 Then Sh’khem said to her father and brothers, “Only accept me, and I will give whatever you tell me.

12 Ask as large a bride-price as you like, I’ll pay whatever you tell me. Just let me marry the girl.”

13 The sons of Ya‘akov answered Sh’khem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because he had defiled Dinah their sister.

14 They said to them, “We can’t do it, because it would be a disgrace to give our sister to someone who hasn’t been circumcised.

15 Only on this condition will we consent to what you are asking: that you become like us by having every male among you get circumcised.

16 Then we’ll give our daughters to you, and we’ll take your daughters for ourselves, and we’ll live with you and become one people.

17 But if you won’t do as we say and get circumcised, then we’ll take our daughter and go away.”

18 What they said seemed fair to Hamor and Sh’khem the son of Hamor,

19 and the young man did not put off doing what was asked of him, even though he was the most respected member of his father’s family, because he so much wanted Ya‘akov’ s daughter.

20 Hamor and Sh’khem his son came to the entrance of their city and spoke with its leading men:

21 “These people are peaceful toward us; therefore let them live in the land and do business in it; for, as you can see, the land is large enough for them. Let us take their daughters as wives for ourselves, and we’ll give them our daughters.

22 But the people will consent to live with us and become one people only on this condition: that every male among us gets circumcised, as they themselves are circumcised.

23 Won’t their cattle, their possessions and all their animals be ours? Only let’s consent to do what they ask, and then they will live with us.”

24 Everyone going out the city’s gate listened to Hamor and Sh’khem his son; so every male was circumcised, every one that went out the gate of the city.

25 On the third day after the circumcision, when they were in pain, two of Ya‘akov’s sons, Shim‘on and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, took their swords, boldly descended on the city and slaughtered all the males.

26 They killed Hamor and Sh’khem his son with their swords, took Dinah out of Sh’khem’s house, and left.

27 Then the sons of Ya‘akov entered over the dead bodies of those who had been slaughtered and plundered the city in reprisal for defiling their sister.

28 They took their flocks, cattle and donkeys, and everything else, whether in the city or in the field,

29 everything they owned. Their children and wives they took captive, and they looted whatever was in the houses.

30 But Ya‘akov said to Shim‘on and Levi, “You have caused me trouble by making me stink in the opinion of the local inhabitants, the Kena‘ani and the P’rizi. Since I don’t have many people, they’ll align themselves together against me and attack me; and I will be destroyed, I and my household.”

31 They replied, “Should we let our sister be treated like a whore?”

1 God said to Ya‘akov, “Get up, go up to Beit-El and live there, and make there an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled ‘Esav your brother.”

2 Then Ya‘akov said to his household and all the others with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods that you have with you, purify yourselves, and put on fresh clothes.

3 We’re going to move on and go up to Beit-El. There I will build an altar to God, who answered me when I was in such distress and stayed with me wherever I went.”

4 They gave Ya‘akov all the foreign gods in their possession and the earrings they were wearing, and Ya‘akov buried them under the pistachio tree near Sh’khem.

5 While they were traveling, a terror from God fell upon the cities around them, so that none of them pursued the sons of Ya‘akov.

6 Ya‘akov and all the people with him arrived at Luz (that is, Beit-El) in the land of Kena‘an.

7 He built there an altar and called the place El-Beit-El [God of Beit-El], because it was there that God was revealed to him, at the time when he was fleeing from his brother.

8 Then D’vorah, Rivkah’s nurse, died. She was buried below Beit-El under the oak, which was given the name Alon-Bakhut [oak of weeping].

9 After Ya‘akov arrived from Paddan-Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him.

10 God said to him, “Your name is Ya‘akov, but you will be called Ya‘akov no longer; your name will be Isra’el.” Thus he named him Isra’el.

11 God further said to him, “I amEl Shaddai.Be fruitful and multiply. A nation, indeed a group of nations, will come from you; kings will be descended from you.(A: vi)

12 Moreover, the land which I gave to Avraham and Yitz’chak I will give to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you.”

13 Then God went up from him there where he had spoken with him.(S: vi)

14 Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone in the place where he had spoken with him, a stone pillar. Then he poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it.

15 Ya‘akov called the place where God spoke with him Beit-El.

16 Then they traveled on from Beit-El, and while there was still some distance to go before arriving in Efrat, Rachel went into labor, and she had great difficulty with it.

17 While she was undergoing this hard labor, the midwife said to her, “Don’t worry, this is also a son for you.”

18 But she died in childbirth. As she was dying she named her son Ben-Oni [son of my grief], but his father called him Binyamin [son of the right hand, son of the south].

19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Efrat (that is, Beit-Lechem).

20 Ya‘akov set up a standing-stone on her grave; it is the standing-stone of Rachel’s grave to this day.

21 Isra’el continued his travels and pitched his tent on the other side of Migdal-‘Eder.

22 It was while Isra’el was living in that land that Re’uven went and slept with Bilhah his father’s concubine, and Isra’el heard about it.

Ya‘akov had twelve sons.

23 The sons of Le’ah were Re’uven Ya‘akov’s firstborn, Shim‘on, Levi, Y’hudah, Yissakhar and Z’vulun.

24 The sons of Rachel were Yosef and Binyamin.

25 The sons of Bilhah Rachel’s slave-girl were Dan and Naftali.

26 And the sons of Zilpah Le’ah’s slave-girl were Gad and Asher. These were Ya‘akov’s sons, born to him in Paddan-Aram.

27 Ya‘akov came home to his father Yitz’chak at Mamre, near Kiryat-Arba (also known as Hevron), where Avraham and Yitz’chak had lived as foreigners.

28 Yitz’chak lived to be 180 years old.

29 Then he breathed his last, died and was gathered to his people, an old man full of years; and his sons ‘Esav and Ya‘akov buried him.

1 This is the genealogy of ‘Esav (that is, Edom).

2 ‘Esav chose Kena‘ani women as his wives: ‘Adah the daughter of Eilon the Hitti; Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah the daughter of Tziv‘on the Hivi;

3 and Basmat Yishma‘el’s daughter, sister of N’vayot.

4 ‘Adah bore to ‘Esav Elifaz, Basmat bore Re‘u’el,

5 and Oholivamah bore Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach. These were the sons of ‘Esav born to him in the land of Kena‘an.

6 ‘Esav took his wives, his sons and daughters, the others in his household, his cattle and other animals and everything else he owned, which he had acquired in the land of Kena‘an, and went off to a country distant from his brother Ya‘akov.

7 For their possessions had become too great for them to live together, and the countryside through which they were traveling couldn’t support so much livestock.

8 So ‘Esav lived in the hill-country of Se‘ir. (‘Esav is Edom.)

9 This is the genealogy of ‘Esav the father of Edom in the hill-country of Se‘ir.

10 The names of ‘Esav’s sons were Elifaz, son of ‘Adah the wife of ‘Esav, and Re‘u’el the son of Basmat the wife of ‘Esav.

11 The sons of Elifaz were Teman, Omar, Tzefo, Ga‘tam and K’naz.

12 Timnah was the concubine of Elifaz ‘Esav’s son, and she bore to Elifaz ‘Amalek. These were the descendants of ‘Adah ‘Esav’s wife.

13 The sons of Re‘u’el were Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the sons of Basmat ‘Esav’s wife.

14 These were the sons of Oholivamah, the daughter of ‘Anah the daughter of Tziv‘on, ‘Esav’s wife: she bore to ‘Esav Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach.

15 The chieftains of the sons of ‘Esav were the sons of Elifaz the firstborn of ‘Esav and the chieftains of Teman, Omar, Tzefo, K’naz,

16 Korach, Ga‘tam and ‘Amalek. These were the chieftains descended from Elifaz in Edom and from ‘Adah.

17 The sons of Re‘u’el ‘Esav’s son were the chieftains of Nachat, Zerach, Shammah and Mizah. These were the chieftains descended from Re‘u’el in the land of Edom and from Basmat ‘Esav’s wife.

18 The sons of Oholivamah ‘Esav’s wife were the chieftains of Ye‘ush, Ya‘lam and Korach. These were the chieftains descended from Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah, ‘Esav’s wife.

19 These were the descendants of ‘Esav (that is, Edom), and these were their chieftains.

(vii)

20 These were the descendants of Se‘ir the Hori, the local inhabitants: Lotan, Shoval, Tziv‘on, ‘Anah,

21 Dishon, Etzer and Dishan. They were the chieftains descended from the Hori, the people of Se‘ir in the land of Edom.

22 The sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam; Lotan’s sister was Timnah.

23 The sons of Shoval were ‘Alvan, Manachat, ‘Eival, Sh’fo and Onam.

24 The sons of Tziv‘on were Ayah and ‘Anah. This is the ‘Anah who found the hot springs in the desert while pasturing his father Tziv‘on’s donkeys.

25 The children of ‘Anah were Dishon and Oholivamah the daughter of ‘Anah.

26 The sons of Dishon were Hemdan, Eshban, Yitran and K’ran.

27 The sons of Etzer were Bilhan, Za‘avan and ‘Akan.

28 The sons of Dishan were ‘Utz and Aran.

29 These were the chieftains descended from the Hori: the chieftains of Lotan, Shoval, Tziv‘on, ‘Anah,

30 Dishon, Etzer and Dishan. They were the chieftains descended from the Hori by their clans in Se‘ir.

31 Following are the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king had reigned over the people of Isra’el.

32 Bela the son of B‘or reigned in Edom; the name of his city was Dinhavah.

33 When Bela died, Yovav the son of Zerach from Botzrah reigned in his place.

34 When Yovav died, Husham from the land of the Temani reigned in his place.

35 When Husham died, Hadad the son of B’dad, who killed Midyan in the field of Mo’av, reigned in his place; the name of his city was ‘Avit.

36 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.

37 When Samlah died, Sha’ul of Rechovot-by-the-River reigned in his place.

38 When Sha’ul died, Ba‘al-Chanan the son of ‘Akhbor reigned in his place.

39 When Ba‘al-Chanan died, Hadar reigned in his place; the name of his city was Pa’u; and his wife’s name was M’heitav’el the daughter of Matred the daughter of Mei-Zahav.

(Maftir)

40 These are the names of the chieftains descended from ‘Esav, according to their clans, places and names: the chieftains of Timna, ‘Alvah, Y’tet,

41 Oholivamah, Elah, Pinon,

42 Kenaz, Teman, Mivtzar,

43 Magdi’el and ‘Iram. These were the chieftains of Edom according to their settlements in the land they owned. This is ‘Esav the father of Edom.

Haftarah Vayishlach: Hoshea (Hosea) 11:7–12:12(11) (A); ‘Ovadyah (Obadiah) 1–21 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Vayishlach: 1 Corinthians 5:1–13; Revelation 7:1–12

Parashah 9: Vayeshev (He continued living) 37:1–40:23

1 Ya‘akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena‘an.

2 Here is the history of Ya‘akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father.

3 Now Isra’el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe.

4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn’t even talk with him in a civil manner.

5 Yosef had a dream which he told his brothers, and that made them hate him all the more.

6 He said to them, “Listen while I tell you about this dream of mine.

7 We were tying up bundles of wheat in the field when suddenly my bundle got up by itself and stood upright; then your bundles came, gathered around mine and prostrated themselves before it.”

8 His brothers retorted, “Yes, you will certainly be our king. You’ll do a great job of bossing us around!” And they hated him still more for his dreams and for what he said.

9 He had another dream which he told his brothers: “Here, I had another dream, and there were the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before me.”

10 He told his father too, as well as his brothers, but his father rebuked him: “What is this dream you have had? Do you really expect me, your mother and your brothers to come and prostrate ourselves before you on the ground?”

11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

(ii)

12 After this, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s sheep in Sh’khem,

13 Isra’el asked Yosef, “Aren’t your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh’khem? Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.”

14 He said to him, “Go now, see whether things are going well with your brothers and with the sheep, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him away from the Hevron Valley, and he went to Sh’khem,

15 where a man found him wandering around in the countryside. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” he answered. “Tell me, please, where are they pasturing the sheep?”

17 The man said, “They’ve left here; because I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dotan.’” Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan.

18 They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him.

19 They said to each other, “Look, this dreamer is coming!

20 So come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these water cisterns here. Then we’ll say some wild animal devoured him. We’ll see then what becomes of his dreams!”

21 But when Re’uven heard this, he saved him from being destroyed by them. He said, “We shouldn’t take his life.

22 Don’t shed blood,” Re’uven added. “Throw him into this cistern here in the wilds, but don’t lay hands on him yourselves.” He intended to rescue him from them later and restore him to his father.

(iii)

23 So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing,

24 and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it).

25 Then they sat down to eat their meal; but as they looked up, they saw in front of them a caravan of Yishma‘elim coming from Gil‘ad, their camels loaded with aromatic gum, healing resin and opium, on their way down to Egypt.

26 Y’hudah said to his brothers, “What advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

27 Come, let’s sell him to the Yishma‘elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers paid attention to him.

28 So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silvershekels to the Yishma‘elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt.

29 Re’uven returned to the cistern, and, upon seeing that Yosef wasn’t in it, tore his clothes in mourning.

30 He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I go now?”

31 They took Yosef’s robe, killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

32 Then they sent the long-sleeved robe and brought it to their father, saying, “We found this. Do you know if it’s your son’s robe or not?”

33 He recognized it and cried, “It’s my son’s robe! Some wild animal has torn Yosef in pieces and eaten him!”

34 Ya‘akov tore his clothes and, putting sackcloth around his waist, mourned his son for many days.

35 Though all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused all consolation, saying, “No, I will go down to the grave, to my son, mourning.” And his father wept for him.

36 In Egypt the Midyanim sold Yosef to Potifar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, a captain of the guard.

1 (iv)It was at this time that Y’hudah went off from his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah who was an ‘Adulami.

2 There Y’hudah saw one of the daughters of a certain Kena‘ani whose name was Shua, and he took her and slept with her.

3 She conceived and had a son, whom he named ‘Er.

4 She conceived again and had a son, and she called him Onan.

5 Then she conceived yet again and had a son whom she called Shelah; he was in K’ziv when she gave birth to him.

6 Y’hudah took a wife for ‘Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

7 But ‘Er, Y’hudah’s firstborn, was evil fromAdonai’s perspective, soAdonaikilled him.

8 Y’hudah said to Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother’s wife — perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and preserve your brother’s line of descent.”

9 However, Onan knew that the child would not count as his; so whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground, so as not to give his brother offspring.

10 What he did was evil fromAdonai’s perspective, so he killed him too.

11 Then Y’hudah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Stay a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he thought, “I don’t want him to die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived at home with her father.

12 In due time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Y’hudah, died. After Y’hudah had been comforted, he went up to be with his sheep-shearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the ‘Adulami.

13 Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law has gone up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

14 So she took off her widow’s clothes, completely covered her face with her veil, and sat at the entrance to ‘Einayim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she still was not being given to him as his wife.

15 When Y’hudah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face.

16 So he went over to her where she was sitting and said, not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, “Come, let me sleep with you.” She answered, “What will you pay to sleep with me?”

17 He said, “I will send you a kid from the flock of goats.” She said, “Will you also give me something as a guarantee until you send it”

18 He answered, “What should I give you as a guarantee?” She said, “Your seal, with its cord, and the staff you’re carrying in your hand.” So he gave them to her, then went and slept with her; and she conceived by him.

19 She got up and went away, took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes.

20 Y’hudah sent the kid with his friend the ‘Adulami to receive the guarantee items back from the woman, but he couldn’t find her.

21 He asked the people near where she had been, “Where is the prostitute who was on the road at ‘Einayim?” But they answered, “There hasn’t been any prostitute here.”

22 So he returned to Y’hudah and said, “I couldn’t find her; also the people there said, ‘There hasn’t been any prostitute here.’”

23 Y’hudah said, “All right, let her keep the things, so that we won’t be publicly shamed. I sent the kid, but you didn’t find her.”

24 About three months later Y’hudah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been acting like a whore; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of her prostitution.” Y’hudah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned alive!”

25 When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Determine, I beg you, whose these are — the signet, the cords and the staff.”

26 Then Y’hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, “She is more righteous than I, because I didn’t let her become the wife of my son Shelah.” And he never slept with her again.

27 When she went into labor, it became evident that she was going to have twins.

28 As she was in labor, one of them put out his hand; and the midwife took his hand and tied a scarlet thread on it, saying, “This one came out first.”

29 But then he withdrew his hand, and his brother came out; so she said, “How did you manage to break out first?” Therefore he was named Peretz [breaking out].

30 Then out came his brother, with the scarlet thread on his hand, and he was given the name Zerach [scarlet].

1 (v)Yosef was brought down to Egypt, and Potifar, an officer of Pharaoh’s and captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Yishma‘elim who had brought him there.

2 Adonaiwas with Yosef, and he became wealthy while he was in the household of his master the Egyptian.

3 His master saw howAdonaiwas with him, thatAdonaiprospered everything he did.

4 Yosef pleased him as he served him, and his master appointed him manager of his household; he entrusted all his possessions to Yosef.

5 From the time he appointed him manager of his household and all his possessions,Adonaiblessed the Egyptian’s household for Yosef’s sake;Adonai’s blessing was on all he owned, whether in the house or in the field.

6 So he left all his possessions in Yosef’s care; and because he had him, he paid no attention to his affairs, except for the food he ate.

Now Yosef was well-built and handsome as well.(vi)

7 In time, the day came when his master’s wife took a look at Yosef and said, “Sleep with me!”

8 But he refused, saying to his master’s wife, “Look, because my master has me, he doesn’t know what’s going on in this house. He has put all his possessions in my charge.

9 In this house I am his equal; he hasn’t withheld anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?”

10 But she kept pressing him, day after day. Nevertheless, he didn’t listen to her; he refused to sleep with her or even be with her.

11 However, one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men living in the house was there indoors,

12 she grabbed him by his robe and said, “Sleep with me!” But he fled, leaving his robe in her hand, and got himself outside.

13 When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had escaped,

14 she called the men of her house and said to them, “Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make fools of us. He came in and wanted to sleep with me, but I yelled out loudly.

15 When he heard me yelling like that, he left his robe with me and ran out.”

16 She put the robe aside until his master came home.

17 Then she said to him, “This Hebrew slave you brought us came in to make a fool of me.

18 But when I yelled out, he left his robe with me and fled outside.”

19 When his master heard what his wife said as she showed him, “Here’s what your slave did to me,” he became furious.

20 Yosef’s master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king’s prisoners were kept; and there he was in the prison.

21 ButAdonaiwas with Yosef, showing him grace and giving him favor in the sight of the prison warden.

22 The prison warden made Yosef supervisor of all the prisoners in the prison; so that whatever they did there, he was in charge of it.

23 The prison warden paid no attention to anything Yosef did, becauseAdonaiwas with him; and whatever he did,Adonaiprospered.

1 (vii)Some time later it came about that the Egyptian king’s cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt.

2 Pharaoh became angry with his two officers the chief cupbearer and the chief baker.

3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, in the same place where Yosef was kept.

4 The captain of the guard charged Yosef to be with them, and he became their attendant while they remained in prison.

5 One night the two of them, the king of Egypt’s cupbearer and his baker, there in prison, both had dreams, each dream with its own meaning.

6 Yosef came in to them in the morning and saw that they looked sad.

7 He asked Pharaoh’s officers there with him in the prison of his master’s house, “Why are you looking so sad today?”

8 They said to him, “We each had a dream, and there’s no one around who can interpret it.” Yosef said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please.”

9 Then the chief cupbearer told Yosef his dream: “In my dream, there in front of me was a vine,

10 and the vine had three branches. The branches budded, then it suddenly began to blossom, and finally clusters of ripe grapes appeared.

11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh.”

12 Yosef said to him, “Here is its interpretation: the three branches are three days.

13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office: you will be giving Pharaoh his cup as you used to when you were his cupbearer.

14 But remember me when it goes well with you; and show me kindness, please; and mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will release me from this prison.

15 For the truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing wrong that would justify putting me in this dungeon.”

16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Yosef, “I too saw in my dream: there were three baskets of white bread on my head.

17 In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”

18 Yosef answered, “Here is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days.

19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you — he will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

(Maftir)

20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, he gave a party for all his officials, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his officials.

21 He restored the chief cupbearer back to his position, so that he again gave Pharaoh his cup.

22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Yosef had interpreted to them.

23 Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn’t remember Yosef, but forgot him.

Haftarah Vayeshev: ‘Amos (Amos) 2:6–3:8

B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayeshev: Acts 7:9–16 (specifically vv. 9–10)

Parashah 10: Mikketz (At the end) 41:1–44:17

1 At the end of two years, Pharaoh had a dream: he was standing beside the Nile River;

2 and there came up out of the river seven cows, sleek and fat; and they began feeding in swamp grass.

3 After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, miserable-looking and lean; and they stood by the other cows at the edge of the river.

4 Then the miserable-looking and lean cows ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. At this point Pharaoh woke up.

5 But he went to sleep again and dreamt a second time: seven full, ripe ears of grain grew out of a single stalk.

6 After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.

7 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven full, ripe ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it had been a dream.

8 In the morning he found himself so upset that he summoned all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one there could interpret them for him.

9 Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, “Today reminds me of something wherein I am at fault:

10 Pharaoh was angry with his officials and put me in the prison of the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.

11 One night both I and he had dreams, and each man’s dream had its own meaning.

12 There was with us a young man, a Hebrew, a servant of the captain of the guard; and we told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us — he interpreted each man’s dream individually.

13 And it came about as he interpreted to us — I was restored to my office, and he was hanged.”

14 Then Pharaoh summoned Yosef, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothes, and came in to Pharaoh.

(A: ii)

15 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; but I’ve heard it said about you that when you hear a dream, you can interpret it.”

16 Yosef answered Pharaoh, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer that will set his mind at peace.”(S: ii)

17 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “In my dream, I stood at the edge of the river;

18 and there came up out of the river seven cows, fat and sleek; and they began feeding in the swamp grass.

19 After them, there came up out of the river seven more cows, poor, miserable-looking and lean — I’ve never seen such bad-looking cows in all the land of Egypt!

20 Then the lean and miserable-looking cows ate up the first seven fat cows.

21 But after they had eaten them up, one couldn’t tell that they had eaten them; because they were as miserable-looking as before. At this point I woke up.

22 But I dreamed again and saw seven full, ripe ears of grain growing out of a single stalk.

23 After them, seven ears, thin and blasted by the east wind, sprang up.

24 And the thin ears swallowed up the seven ripe ears. I told this to the magicians, but none of them could explain it to me.”

25 Yosef said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are the same: God has told Pharaoh what he is about to do.

26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain are seven years — the dreams are the same.

27 Likewise the seven lean and miserable-looking cows that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind — there will be seven years of famine.

28 This is what I told Pharaoh: God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do.

29 Here it is: there will be seven years of abundance throughout the whole land of Egypt;

30 but afterwards, there will come seven years of famine; and Egypt will forget all the abundance. The famine will consume the land,

31 and the abundance will not be known in the land because of the famine that will follow, because it will be truly terrible.

32 Why was the dream doubled for Pharaoh? Because the matter has been fixed by God, and God will shortly cause it to happen.

33 “Therefore, Pharaoh should look for a man both discreet and wise to put in charge of the land of Egypt.

34 Pharaoh should do this, and he should appoint supervisors over the land to receive a twenty percent tax on the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

35 They should gather all the food produced during these good years coming up and set aside grain under the supervision of Pharaoh to be used for food in the cities, and they should store it.

36 This will be the land’s food supply for the seven years of famine that will come over the land of Egypt, so that the land will not perish as a result of the famine.”

37 The proposal seemed good both to Pharaoh and to all his officials.

38 Pharaoh said to his officials, “Can we find anyone else like him? The Spirit of God lives in him!”

(iii)

39 So Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Since God has shown you all this — there is no one as discerning and wise as you —

40 you will be in charge of my household; all my people will be ruled by what you say. Only when I rule from my throne will I be greater than you.”

41 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “Here, I place you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.”

42 Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Yosef’s hand, had him clothed in fine linen with a gold chain around his neck

43 and had him ride in his second best chariot; and they cried before him, “Bow down!” Thus he placed him in charge of the whole land of Egypt.

44 Pharaoh said to Yosef, “I, Pharaoh, decree that without your approval no one is to raise his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt.”

45 Pharaoh called Yosef by the name Tzafnat-Pa‘neach and gave him as his wife Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. Then Yosef went out through all the land of Egypt.

46 Yosef was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt; then he left Pharaoh’s presence and traveled through all the land of Egypt.

47 During the seven years of abundance, the earth brought forth heaps of produce.

48 He collected all the food of these seven years in the land of Egypt and stored it in the cities — the food grown in the fields outside each city he stored in that city.

49 Yosef stored grain in quantities like the sand on the seashore, so much that they stopped counting, because it was beyond measure.

50 Two sons were born to Yosef before the year of famine came; Osnat the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On bore them to him.

51 Yosef called the firstborn M’nasheh [causing to forget], “Because God has caused me to forget all the troubles I suffered at the hands of my family.”

52 The second he called Efrayim [fruit], “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my misfortune.”

(iv)

53 The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt ended;

54 and the seven years of famine began to come, just as Yosef had said. There was famine in all lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

55 When the whole land of Egypt started feeling the famine, the people cried to Pharaoh for food, and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Yosef, and do what he tells you to do.”

56 The famine was over all the earth, but then Yosef opened all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians, since the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

57 Moreover all countries came to Egypt to Yosef to buy grain, because the famine was severe throughout the earth.