Summary of parashat Vaieshev
Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is seventeen-year-old Joseph. Joseph's brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives, such as the multicolored sack Jacob made for him. Joseph tells his brothers about two dreams he has, which prophesy that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred toward him.
Shimon and Levi plan to kill him, but Reuben suggests instead throwing him into a well, intending to return later and rescue him. While Joseph is in the well, Judah sells him to a caravan of Ishmaelites. The brothers smear Joseph's special sack with the blood of a kid goat and show it to their father, making him believe that his beloved son has been devoured by a wild beast.
Judah marries and has three sons. The eldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife, Tamar, is given in marriage to his second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed and also dies young. Judah does not want Tamar to marry his third son. Determined to have a child of Judah's family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Later, Judah learns that Tamar is pregnant and orders her to be killed for infidelity, but when she shows him certain personal belongings that Judah left as collateral, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar has two sons, Perez (an ancestor of King David) and Zerah.
Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the Pharaoh's butcher. God blesses everything he does, and he is soon put in charge of all his master's possessions. Potiphar's wife desires the boy; when Joseph refuses to be with her, she tells her husband that the Hebrew servant tried to force himself on her, and he is thrown in prison. Joseph gains the trust of the jailers, who give him an important position in the prison administration.
In prison, Joseph meets Pharaoh's Master Cupbearer and Master Baker, both imprisoned by the king. The two have a dream, which Joseph interprets; in three days, he tells them, the Master Cupbearer will be released and the Master Baker will be hanged. Joseph asks the Master Cupbearer to intercede for him with Pharaoh. Joseph's predictions come true, but the Master Cupbearer forgets Joseph.
