WORDS, &C. TO BE EXPLAINED IN LESSON XXIII.

How old was Joseph when he was feeding the flocks? What did Joseph tell his father respecting his brethren? What particular mark of favour did Jacob shew to Joseph ? What effect had Jacob's favour for Joseph upon his brethren?

What did Joseph tell his father and brethren ?

What was the first dream ?

What was the second dream?

What effect had the telling of these dreams upon his brethren?

Where did Jacob send Joseph to?

Where did he find his brethren?

What did his brethren say when they saw him coming?

Who prevented them from killing him?

What did they do with him?

Who proposed to sell him?

To whom did they sell him?

For how much did they sell him?

Did Reuben consent to his being sold ?

What should Reuben have done?

What did Reuben do when he found that he was not

in the pit?

What did Joseph's brethren do to deceive their father? Where did the Ishmaelites take Joseph to?

To whom was he sold there ?

How did Jacob behave when he thought that Joseph was dead?

LESSON XXIV.

Joseph brought down to Egypt-accused by his master's wife-put in prison—what befel him there.

B. C. 1729.

FROM GENESIS XXXIX. AND XL.

AND Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him; and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found favour in the eyes of his master, and served him; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass, from the time that he made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had, both at home and in the field. And he left every thing that belonged to him in Joseph's hand; and he knew not any thing that was with him except the bread which he ate.*

Joseph had suffered a deep and heavy affliction, being separated from his father and all his relations, and sold as a slave in a foreign land. But he trusted in the Lord, and he was with him, and greatly relieved his distress by raising up a friend to him in the person to whom he was sold so that he soon rose to higher worldly prosperity than he ever attained to in the house of his father.

O. T.-N. 1.

D

[God had still greater things in store for Joseph than these, but which he must arrive at through new trials and afflictions. He was a person of singularly beautiful appearance; and his master's wife, a wicked woman, formed an unlawful attachment to him, and solicited him to commit sin with her. But Joseph answered her, How shall I do this great wickedness and sin against God. When this abandoned woman saw that she could not prevail on Joseph to comply with her solicitation, she resolved to be revenged upon him, and accused him to her husband of attempting to dishonour her. Her husband, very naturally believing his wife rather than his slave, whom he had bought with money, put Joseph in the prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept.]

But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed himn mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever was done there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and whatsoever he did, the Lord made to prosper.

And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt, and his baker, had offended their lord, the king of Egypt. And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, with the chief of the butlers, and with the chief of the bakers; and put them in confinement in the house of the captain of the guard, into the prison, the place where Joseph was imprisoned. And the captain of the guard committed them in charge to Joseph, and he served them. And they continued for a time* in confinement.

And they dreamed a dream both of them, each his dream in one night, each according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the

* For a time, literally days, some suppose a complete

year.

baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the prison. And Joseph came in to them in the morning, and, behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers, that were with him in confinement in his lord's house, saying, Why are your faces sorrowful to-day? And they said to him. We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it. And Joseph said, Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell the dreams to me, I pray you.*

And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, saying to him, In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three branches, which seemed to bud and to shoot forth blossoms, and the clusters of it brought forth ripe grapes. And the cup of Pharaoh was in my hand, and 1 took the grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand.

And Joseph said to him, This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are yet three days. Within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head, and restore thee unto thy place, and thou shalt give the cup of Pharaoh into his hand, according to the former usage when thou wast his butler. But remember me, when it shall be well with thee, and shew kindness, I pray thee, to me, and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. For, indeed, I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also I have done nothing that they should have put me into the dungeon.

And when the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three white baskets

* When dreams are from God, as these were, the interpretation of them is the gift of God. But the generality of dreams are not of this sort, but arise in the mind from other causes, so that the general rule with regard to dreams is not to observe them, or seek for any meaning in them.

D 2.

on my head. And in the uppermost basket was of every kind of food of Pharaoh, the work of the baker; and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation of it. The three baskets are three days. Within yet three days, Pharaoh shall lift up thy head from off thee, and hang thee on a tree; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from off thee.

And it came to pass on the third day, Pharaoh's birth-day, that he made a feast unto all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants. And he restored the chief butler unto his butlership again; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand; but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

And the chief butler did not remember Joseph; but forgat him.

WORDS, &C. TO BE EXPLAINED IN LESSON XXIV.

To whom was Joseph sold in Egypt?

What did Potiphar appoint him to do?

What good did Potiphar get by employing him?

Who accused him of wickedness in Potiphar's house?