After blessing Joseph and his sons, Jacob called for his other sons and said, “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in the days to come.” “Rueben: The firstborn, excels in honor and power but is turbulent as the waters. He will no longer excel because you went onto your father’s
After Joseph dined with his brothers, he gave instructions to his steward: “Fill the men’s sacks with as much food as they can carry and put each man’s silver in the mouth of his sack. Then put my cup, the silver one, in the mouth of the youngest one’s sack, along with the silver for his
While the region was in the grip of a great drought. Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt so he told his sons, “Why are you just standing around? There is grain in Egypt. Go there and buy some so we can survive the drought.” Ten of Joseph’s brothers went to Egypt but Jacob did
Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. It was here that Judah met the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite man. Judah married the daughter (she is unnamed in Genesis) and together they gave birth to a son named Er. She conceived again and gave birth to a
Joseph’s brothers had gone to Shechem to graze their father’s flocks. Israel (Jacob) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. I am going to send you to them.” Joseph responded, “Very well.” Jacob told Joseph, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and the flocks and bring
Jacob lived in his father’s land, the land of Canaan. His son, 17-year-old Joseph, helped tend the flocks with his brothers (the sons of Jacob’s wives, Bilhah and Zilpah). One day, Joseph brought a bad report about his brothers to Jacob. Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he had been
Jacob and his family moved from Bethel. When they were still some distance from Ephrath (ancient Jerusalem), Rachel went into labor. She had great difficulty during labor but a midwife comforted her and said, “Don’t despair, for you have another son.” As Rachel took her last breath, she named her son Ben-Oni, but Jacob named
God saw that Leah was not loved as much as Rachel so he enabled her to conceive children while Rachel remained childless. As a result, Leah gave birth to a son she christened Reuben saying “It is because the Lord has seen my misery. Surely my husband will love me now.” Leah gave birth to a