5040 verses about Family

His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.

His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.”

He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”

The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan.

They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.

They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.

Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.”

Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.”

Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.

When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;

and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.

They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him.

Reuben returned to the pit; and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”

They took Joseph’s coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

They took the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, whether it is your son’s coat or not.”

He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s coat. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”

Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son mourning.” His father wept for him.

At that time, Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

Judah saw there a certain Canaanite man named Shua’s daughter. He took her, and went in to her.

She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er.

She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan.

She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bore him.

Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother.

Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up”; for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.

Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

She took off her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife.

He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

He said, “What pledge will I give you?” She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.

Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.”

About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”

When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man, whose these are, I am with child.” She also said, “Please discern whose are these—the signet, and the cords, and the staff.”

Judah acknowledged them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I didn’t give her to Shelah, my son.” He knew her again no more.

In the time of her travail, behold, twins were in her womb.

When she travailed, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This came out first.”

As he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out, and she said, “Why have you made a breach for yourself?” Therefore his name was called Perez.

Afterward his brother came out, that had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

When his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, “This is what your servant did to me,” his wrath was kindled.

Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-Paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On as a wife. Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

To Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, bore to him.

Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, “For”, he said, “God has made me forget all my toil, and all my father’s house.”

The name of the second, he called Ephraim: “For God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.”

Now Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”

He said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt. Go down there, and buy for us from there, so that we may live, and not die.”

Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain from Egypt.

But Jacob didn’t send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers; for he said, “Lest perhaps harm happen to him.”

The sons of Israel came to buy among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Joseph was the governor over the land. It was he who sold to all the people of the land. Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves down to him with their faces to the earth.

Joseph saw his brothers, and he recognized them, but acted like a stranger to them, and spoke roughly with them. He said to them, “Where did you come from?” They said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”

Joseph recognized his brothers, but they didn’t recognize him.

Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.”

We are all one man’s sons; we are honest men. Your servants are not spies.”

They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our father, and one is no more.”

Joseph said to them, “It is like I told you, saying, ‘You are spies!’

By this you shall be tested. By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go out from here, unless your youngest brother comes here.

If you are honest men, then let one of your brothers be bound in your prison; but you go, carry grain for the famine of your houses.

Bring your youngest brother to me; so will your words be verified, and you won’t die.” They did so.

They said to one another, “We are certainly guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us, and we wouldn’t listen. Therefore this distress has come upon us.”

Reuben answered them, saying, “Didn’t I tell you, saying, ‘Don’t sin against the child,’ and you wouldn’t listen? Therefore also, behold, his blood is required.”

He turned himself away from them, and wept. Then he returned to them, and spoke to them, and took Simeon from among them, and bound him before their eyes.

They came to Jacob their father, to the land of Canaan, and told him all that had happened to them, saying,

We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.’

The man, the lord of the land, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you are honest men: leave one of your brothers with me, and take grain for the famine of your houses, and go your way.

Bring your youngest brother to me. Then I will know that you are not spies, but that you are honest men. So I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.’”

Jacob, their father, said to them, “You have bereaved me of my children! Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you want to take Benjamin away. All these things are against me.”

Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons, if I don’t bring him to you. Entrust him to my care, and I will bring him to you again.”

He said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which you go, then you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.”

When they had eaten up the grain which they had brought out of Egypt, their father said to them, “Go again, buy us a little more food.”

Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’

If you’ll send our brother with us, we’ll go down and buy you food,

but if you’ll not send him, we’ll not go down, for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face, unless your brother is with you.’”

Israel said, “Why did you treat me so badly, telling the man that you had another brother?”

They said, “The man asked directly concerning ourselves, and concerning our relatives, saying, ‘Is your father still alive? Have you another brother?’ We just answered his questions. Is there any way we could know that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down?’”

Judah said to Israel, his father, “Send the boy with me, and we’ll get up and go, so that we may live, and not die, both we, and you, and also our little ones.

I’ll be collateral for him. From my hand will you require him. If I don’t bring him to you, and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,

for if we hadn’t delayed, surely we would have returned a second time by now.”

Their father, Israel, said to them, “If it must be so, then do this. Take from the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry down a present for the man, a little balm, a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts, and almonds;

and take double money in your hand, and take back the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight.

Take your brother also, get up, and return to the man.

May God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may release to you your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved.”

The men took that present, and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and got up, went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Bring the men into the house, and butcher an animal, and prepare; for the men will dine with me at noon.”

The man did as Joseph commanded, and the man brought the men to Joseph’s house.

and said, “Oh, my lord, we indeed came down the first time to buy food.

He said, “Peace be to you. Don’t be afraid. Your God, and the God of your father, has given you treasure in your sacks. I received your money.” He brought Simeon out to them.

When Joseph came home, they brought him the present which was in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves down to the earth before him.

He asked them of their welfare, and said, “Is your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? Is he yet alive?”

They said, “Your servant, our father, is well. He is still alive.” They bowed down humbly.

He lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin, his brother, his mother’s son, and said, “Is this your youngest brother, of whom you spoke to me?” He said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”

Joseph hurried, for his heart yearned over his brother; and he sought a place to weep. He entered into his room, and wept there.

He washed his face, and came out. He controlled himself, and said, “Serve the meal.”

They sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright, and the youngest according to his youth, and the men marveled one with another.