Jacob’s favorite among his twelve sons is Joseph. The favoritism is so blatant that it causes resentment among the brothers – a resentment that is only exacerbated by Joseph’s dreams of grandeur. Joseph gets his comeuppance when his brothers strip him of the
multi-colored coat given to him by his father, and throw him into a pit. He is subsequently sold by his brothers to Ishmaelites and winds up in servitude in Egypt. The brothers dip Joseph’s coat in blood, leading Jacob to believe that Joseph had been killed by a beast.

The narrative of Joseph’s life is interrupted by the story of Judah and his sons. Judah's eldest son married Tamar, but this son soon died. In accordance with the custom of levirate marriage, the next son, Onan, was to marry Tamar in order to produce a male heir for his deceased brother. Onan refused to be a party to this, and he too died. Judah, fearing that Tamar was the cause of both sons’ deaths, was reluctant to let his youngest son marry her. Disguising herself as a cultic harlot, Tamar seduced her father-in-law, Judah, and bore twins. Judah admitted his error in not requiring his youngest son to enter in levirate marriage with Tamar.

Back in Egypt, Joseph had become the most trusted and favored servant of Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials. Joseph comes to the attention of his mistress; repeatedly rejecting her advances, she exacts revenge by accusing him of attempted rape. Joseph is imprisoned. He wins the favor of his jailer, who gives him a position of responsibility. Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s jailed servants: the baker who will be executed, and the butler, who will return to Pharaoh’s service. Joseph implores the butler not to forget him upon his release, for he has been imprisoned unfairly.