A Grandfather’s Blessing Joseph and Asenath have two sons. The oldest is Manasseh, and the younger is Ephraim. They are the grandsons of Jacob, later called Israel. When Israel is on his deathbed, Joseph comes to see his ailing father, bringing his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. Hearing about Joseph’s arrival, Israel rallies […]
Influencing Your Spouse Pharaoh later gives the-now-freed Joseph a wife. Her name is Asenath, and she’s the daughter of the priest of On. The priest’s name is Potiphera. (Don’t confuse Potiphera with Potiphar.) This is likely a strategic move on Pharaoh’s part, hoping that Asenath will influence Joseph to accept Egyptian perspectives and beliefs. In […]
Potiphar Reacts to His Wife’s Accusations Through a series of events outside his control, Joseph has become a slave owned by Potiphar. Potiphar is one of Pharaoh’s officials and captain of the guard. God’s favor is on Joseph in Potiphar’s household, and he proves himself to the captain. Potiphar eventually puts his entire estate under […]
A Story of Immorality Joseph is an attractive man. Potiphar’s wife notices. She pursues Joseph. We don’t know her motivation. Does her husband ignore her? Is she bored? Perhaps she’s merely promiscuous. Yet her reasons don’t matter. She tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph resists. He explains why he won’t sleep with her, but she ignores […]
The Younger Twin Brother of Perez Zerah is the younger twin brother of Perez. They are sons of Judah and Tamar (1). When Tamar is in labor, the hand of one of her babies emerges. The midwife ties a scarlet thread around his wrist. Then the hand withdraws. The baby who is born first, however, […]
After Tamar (1) tricks Judah into impregnating her, she gives birth to twins. They are Perez and Zerah. The name Perez means “breaking out,” because he broke out of the womb first before his twin brother. Though we know nothing more about Perez and what he did, future generations esteem him. Several generations later, one […]
God has killed Shelah’s older brothers, Er and Onan, for their extreme wickedness. The custom of the people is that Er’s widow, Tamar (1), should be passed to the third brother so he can produce offspring through her for his dead brother. But Shelah isn’t old enough. So Judah sends Tamar home to live with […]
Take a Chronological Journey through the Lives of 200 Intriguing Bible Characters Step back in time and dive into the intriguing lives of 200 Old Testament Sinners and Saints in this captivating exploration by Peter DeHaan. From the well-known figures of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David, and Daniel, to the lesser-known characters that shaped biblical history, […]
Series Rebranded to Provide Consistent Look With the recent publication of More Old Testament Sinners and Saints and Heroes and Heavies of the Apocrypha, covers for the first three books of the series have been updated to match. The cover rebranding provides for a consistent visual look across the Bible Character Sketches series. This allows […]
Explore 100 Bible Character Sketches from Scripture Acclaimed author and Bible teacher Peter DeHaan invites readers to dive deeper into the lives of Old Testament characters in his new book, More Old Testament Sinners and Saints. This devotional Bible study takes readers on a transformative journey through the captivating stories of 100 men and women […]