Unit 2 · Abraham's Family

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. It tells about a man named Abraham. He lived in a city called Ur. Later his family moved to a place called Haran.

The story says God spoke to Abraham. God said, go to a new land. I will show you where. Abraham was not young. He was seventy-five years old.

Abraham packed up his tents. His wife Sarah came too. So did his nephew Lot. They walked a long way. The story calls the new land Canaan.

A promise is when you say you will do something. Then you do it. The story says God made a big promise to Abraham.

God told Abraham to look at the night sky. Count the stars, if you can. Nobody can count them all. The story says, your family will be that many.

Abraham had no children yet. Still, the story says he believed the promise. This promise is very important to Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Abraham and Sarah waited a long time. The story says three visitors came to their tent. One said Sarah would have a son. Sarah laughed. She was too old, she thought.

But the story says a baby was born. They named him Isaac. That name sounds like the word for laughing in Hebrew. Sarah said, now everyone will laugh with me.

Abraham also had a son named Ishmael with a woman named Hagar. Muslims tell stories about Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael too. Jews and Christians tell about Isaac most.

Isaac grew up. Abraham wanted a wife for him. The story says he sent a helper back to Haran. The helper stopped by a well with his camels.

A girl came to get water. Her name was Rebekah. The helper asked for a drink. She gave him one. Then she gave water to all ten camels. That is a lot of water!

The helper knew she was kind. The story says Rebekah agreed to go. She married Isaac. Later they had twin boys.

Isaac and Rebekah had twins. Esau came out first. He was hairy and loved to hunt. Jacob came second. He liked to stay by the tents.

The twins did not get along. The story says Jacob tricked Esau two times. He got what was meant for the older brother. Esau was very angry. Jacob ran away.

Many years went by. The story says Jacob came home with gifts. Esau ran to meet him. He hugged him. They both cried. The brothers made up.

Jacob was running away from Esau. Night came. He had no bed. He put a stone under his head and went to sleep.

The story says he had a dream. He saw a ladder. The bottom was on the ground. The top reached the sky. Angels went up and down on it.

In the dream, the story says God spoke. God gave Jacob the same promise as Abraham. Jacob woke up. He named the place Bethel.

Jacob got married. The story says he had two wives, Leah and Rachel. Jacob had twelve sons and a daughter named Dinah. That is a big family!

A family tree is a drawing. It shows who is whose parent. Abraham and Sarah go at the top. Isaac is under them. Jacob is under Isaac.

The story says God gave Jacob a new name. The name was Israel. The twelve sons became twelve big families. Jews call them the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jacob had twelve sons. Joseph was next to the youngest. The story says Jacob loved Joseph more than the others. That was a problem.

Jacob gave Joseph a special coat. The King James Bible calls it a coat of many colors. Other Bibles call it a long coat with sleeves. Either way, it was fancy.

The brothers saw the coat. The story says they were jealous. Jealous means you want what someone else has. They stopped being nice to Joseph.

Joseph had two dreams. In the first, he and his brothers tied up bundles of wheat. The story says his bundle stood up. The other bundles bowed down to it.

In the second dream, the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed to Joseph. He told his family. His father said, will we all bow to you?

The brothers got angrier. The story says they hated Joseph even more. Remember these dreams. They come back later in the story.

One day the brothers were far away with the sheep. Jacob sent Joseph to check on them. The brothers saw him coming. They made a bad plan.

They took his coat. They threw him in a dry hole. Then some traders came by. The story says the brothers sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver.

The traders took Joseph to Egypt. The brothers dipped the coat in goat blood. They showed it to Jacob. Jacob thought Joseph was dead. He cried and cried.

In Egypt, Joseph had hard years. He worked as a servant. He even went to jail for something he did not do. But the story says he could explain dreams.

The king of Egypt was called Pharaoh. He had two dreams. Seven fat cows came out of the river. Then seven skinny cows ate them up. Nobody could explain it.

Joseph was brought from jail. He said, the dreams mean the same thing. Seven good years of food are coming. Then seven years with no food. Get ready now.

Pharaoh liked Joseph’s plan. The story says he made Joseph his top helper. Only Pharaoh was more important. Joseph got a ring, fine clothes and a chariot.

For seven years, the crops grew big. Joseph did not let people eat it all. He stored the extra grain in big buildings in every city.

Then the thin years came. No rain. No crops. People were hungry all over. But Egypt had food. The story says people came from far away to buy it.

Back in Canaan, Jacob’s family was hungry too. Jacob sent ten sons to Egypt to buy grain. The youngest, Benjamin, stayed home.

The brothers came to the man in charge. They bowed low. It was Joseph! He knew them right away. But they did not know him. He wore Egyptian clothes now.

Joseph remembered his dreams. The bundles had bowed. Now his brothers bowed. He did not tell them who he was. Not yet.

The brothers came back a second time with Benjamin. Joseph tested them. Judah spoke up. He offered to stay in Egypt instead of Benjamin.

Joseph could not hold it in. He sent his helpers out. He cried out loud. I am Joseph, he said. The brothers were scared. But Joseph said, do not be afraid.

To forgive means to let go of being angry. The story says Joseph forgave. He hugged his brothers. Then the whole family, and old Jacob, moved to Egypt.