Psalm 28 was written by David and praises God who rescues him when he puts his trust in the LORD.
Memory Verse: “Save Your people,
And bless Your inheritance;
Shepherd them also,
And bear them up forever.” Psalm 28:9 NKJV.
Materials needed to create the Shepherd Them quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used tan
Betty Lukens Felt book 01 Bible Stories available at Koorong
sewing thread to best match the page
scissors!
Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.
Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Psalm 28 - Praise God that He is willing and able to hear our prayers, save and shepherd us
Imaginative Play - make the lambs play and eat the grass, play the harp with David
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
We all know that we don't deserve to have the Master of the universe listen to our beck and call. And yet this Psalm is all about praising Him because He hears us.
The sole reason given in this Psalm that God answers our prayers is that we trust Him. He loves to come through for us because of that.
Matthew chapter 1 lists Joseph's genealogy and records the birth of Jesus by the virgin Mary.
Memory Verse: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”” Matthew 1:21.
Materials needed to create the Baby Jesus quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used white
Betty Lukens Felt book 011 Life of Jesus as a Boy available at Koorong (not an affiliate link)
sewing thread to best match the page
scissors!
Cut out all the pieces for this page and the page itself from the Betty Lukens set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.
Sew the gates onto the doorposts by the sides.
Sew the Betty Lukens page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside the pocket (or better yet - play with them)!
Finished!
Sew the Betty Lukens scene onto your page along three sides
to form a pocket for piece storage
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Matthew 1 - Learn about Joseph's lineage and how Jesus was born to the virgin Mary
Imaginative Play - put Baby Jesus to bed
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
I left the wise men out of the cover picture as they are not mentioned till
Matthew 2 - didn't think about it until after taking the photos that
actually the shepherds are not in this chapter either!!
I often think about the fact that without sin entering the world you and I would never have existed. Should we be grateful?
In everyone's lineage there is going to be some kind of sexual sin... I'm not sure about my lineage, but with almost 6000 years of history there has got to be quite a lot.
Adam and Eve could have had children without sin entering the World - but would WE have existed, or someone else... there are so many eggs and sperm around with slightly different DNA. If everything hadn't gone pear shaped, there would have been different combinations made, and plenty of people, but not specifically me.
When I explain my view to people, they often think I am saying that sex is wrong or bad or something. I don't mean that at all. God created intercourse to be beautiful. But we are all descended from people who have resulted from sexual sin. Everyone has prostitution, adultery, rape or something in their ancestry at some stage. Even having multiple wives like Jacob did is something I can't see happening in a perfect world. Not to mention all the children from Levirate marriages whose first child was considered the child of the father's brother/relative (the woman's first husband who died childless).
Would you have been born if sin never existed? Would your great great great grandparents have slept together? And then would you have been created?
Jesus Himself would have never needed to be born in the flesh either. If sin never existed, there would be no reason for Him to bother. Matthew goes out of his way to mention all the unmentionables in Joseph's lineage. Tamar (who slept with her father-in-law by deception), Rahab (a prostitute), Ruth (from a despised race), Bathsheba (an adultress), and Jeconiah (who was cursed). If you want to read about the Curse of Jeconiah and the different explanations for the differences between Matthew's and Luke's genealogies the following article is a fascinating read - The Two Genealogies of Jesus, the Curse of Jeconiah, and the Royal Line of David posted on the website The Jesus Question.
So there are plenty of scandals in Jesus's family ancestry. He even wears the (assumed) shame of His own birth. People who did not believe Mary's virgin birth story assumed that Jesus was a bastard - Joseph's son conceived out of wedlock. And it's understandable. God had to send an angel to Joseph personally to convince him to continue past the betrothal and marry her. Until that point, Joseph had decided on divorce (a legal requirement of betrothals, unlike engagements today). He must have been so hurt by Mary's appearance of unfaithfulness.
If you are feeling the guilt of sexual sin in your own life or family history, take this record in Matthew as encouragement, and remember, none of us today would have been born without sin including Jesus.
I tried to think of a good song to include with this devotional - it seemed like a tough topic to find a song about. But God had it covered. This song popped up in my random Spotify feed that day, and although it was written as a love song, like a lot of love songs it can easily refer to God.
What do you think? Should you be grateful for sin because ultimately you wouldn't exist otherwise? I'd be intrigued to read your responses below in the comments.
In Genesis 13, Abram allows Lot to choose which part of the Land to use because their families and herds have grown too large for them to stay together.
Memory Verse: “Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left.”” Genesis 13:9
Materials needed to create the Abram and Lot Separate quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used light blue
felt scraps
shiny blue material scrap for the lake
clear craft glue (optional) - I used polyacetic acid & ethylene resin based glue
Cut out a section of shiny blue material to fit where the lake goes. My material was very prone to fraying, so I folded it over the edge and glued it down and then zig zagged around the sides at the back once it was dry. The front was covered by the mountains and foreground so I don't think I worried about zig zagging around that, but I did glue it down.
Next I sewed down the mountains followed by the foreground and a series of decorative ribbons to look like rows of fields and vegetation on the same side as the lake.
To make Abram and Lot, first sew the hands to a piece of the same coloured felt and cut them out. Wedge these under the sleeves of their coats when sewing the coats to a piece of the same coloured felt to double it up and cut then cut them out. Sew a small button hole in the center of their coats to thread them onto ribbon with for sliding across the page.
Cut two heads for each person - you can't sew one to a larger background and then cut it out for this one as it will be difficult to cut out afterwards because the coat is in the way. But it doesn't really matter if the sewing is messy here anyway. It will be covered up by a beard and turban.
The beards have a slit up the middle to allow them to sit correctly over the coat. I only cut one side of the beard and left a large piece of felt on the other side so it could be sewn neatly from one side and cut away on the other later.
Sew the turbans in a similar way, cutting the back felt piece away after sewing.
Thread Abram and Lot onto a piece of grey ribbon each and cut it to the length of your page. Melt the edges of your ribbon - see my post on How to Stop Ribbons Fraying.
Cover the bottom section with grey felt and then cover the line where the grey and foreground meet with grey stones. Thread the word 'left' using alphabet beads onto Abram's ribbon on the left side and the word 'right' onto Lot's ribbon on the right side. Sew down both ends of the grey ribbons using zig zag stitch so that Abram and Lot can slide along the bottom of the page. Cover the ends with more rocks so you can't see the ugly stitching.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate.
Getting the beards and turbans right is the most difficult part of this page, but I have shared my tips on how to do this in the tutorial.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Genesis 13 - selfishness often harms us without us even realising it.
Directions - this page teaches about right and left. There are very few quiet book pages that teach this.
Imaginative Play - would you choose the left or the right side?
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
I did consider putting Abraham's tent on the left side, but I decided against it -
the starkness of the landscape contrasts better with the lushness of the right.
Lot leaves Abram as a very rich man, having so many herds and servants that they cannot continue to live together. He chooses the best part of the land for himself however, and it is not long until we find that Lot has not benefited from his decision.
It is only the next chapter in which he is taken captive when an army attacks the cities of the plain. Following his rescue by Abraham, he remains living there. Why?
When we find Lot in Sodom, there is no longer any mention of his flocks and herds and servants - the very reason he left Abraham in the first place. I often wonder what happened to them. They must have been sold before the visit from the angels, else surely Lot would have been given a chance to save them as he was with his other daughters and sons-in-law.
I always wonder how different things might have turned out had Lot chosen the other side. I don't imagine that Abraham would have lost nearly everything if he had lived near Sodom. Perhaps that is where Lot went wrong. He moved to a wicked city. Abraham stayed in his tent. And I imagine if he had been given the other side, he would have still lived in his tent. Don't let the priorities of the world sway you. Romans 12:2 NKJV says "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."
In Genesis 37, Joseph is given a special coat by his father - his brothers get jealous and sell him as a slave.
Memory Verse: “Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”” Genesis 37:19-20
Materials needed to create the Joseph's Coat quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used green
felt scrap in brown for the back of the pit pocket
hot glue and glue gun
Betty Lukens Felt book 01 Bible Stories available at Koorong
sewing thread to best match the page
scissors!
Cut out all the pieces for this page, and the page itself from the set. The Betty Lukens FAQ section has posted a cutting tips PDF.
Cut out a section of brown felt to cover above the pit pocket to as far down the page as you can manage whilst leaving room to sew the page onto the background felt sheet. Hot glue it in position along the top edge of the pit and down both sides and the bottom to form a pocket for the small Joseph.
Sew the page onto the background felt along three sides, leaving the top edge open to form a pocket. Pop the pieces inside (or better yet, play with them)!
Finished!
The pocket is not big enough so Joseph looks like he could easily get out!
Difficulty Level = Easy, plus No Sew version.
A very easy quiet book page!
Just use hot glue wherever sewing is recommended for a no sew version.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Genesis 37 - jealousy can lead to devastating results
Imaginative play - tell the story of Joseph - his dreams, his coat of many colours, and how he was treated badly by his brothers and sold as a slave to Egypt
Dress up - dress Joseph in his coat of many colours
Colours - name all the colours on Joseph's coat
Inserting - insert Joseph into the pit pocket
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
What a difficult life for a young man to find himself in suddenly! One minute the favourite son of a wealthy man, the next a slave in a foreign country. Nevertheless it seems that his father had brought him up with good values despite his favouritism because we find Joseph sticking to his God and his morals through some very tough circumstances.
Whilst scripture doesn't say what the heinous crime that Joseph dobs his brothers in to their father for, the rabbis have recorded it in chapter 38 of the Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer. While you might not believe everything written in this document, the reason Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers and the flocks makes sense in this context. Apparently Zilpah and Bilhah's sons were eating the flesh of the animals in the flocks whilst the animals were still alive. Pretty gruesome no matter how you interpret that. And quite a no-no for a group of people who were bound by kosher law to drain the blood before roasting the meat. If they were in that much of a hurry to eat that they didn't bother to kill the animal, I can only imagine what passed through their lips. Eww.
It may be that Jacob's favouritism of Joseph was well deserved. And it may be that the coat was a present to try to cheer him up after enduring the harsh treatment of his brothers, who knows? There is a lot of back-story missing I think.
The coat of many colours is a bit of a mystery. The fact that Jacob made it kinda says to me that he was still a bit of a Mama's Boy. Weaving was a woman's job. It takes longer to weave using many colours, so that increases it's value. But was the coat made of many colours? Scholars are not so sure. The word is largely unknown in the Bible, being used only one other time in connection to Tamar the daughter of King David. Some think that this coat was 'girly', and I think I remember reading in Robert Alter's commentary on Genesis that Jacob calls his other sons 'handsome' but Joseph he calls 'beautiful', presumably because he looked like his mother Rachel. While this is all very interesting, I can hardly imagine Joseph's brothers being jealous of a 'girly' robe.
Other scholars I read said that the word more likely refers to the arm-length of the robe. I guess it would also take longer to weave a coat with sleeves in it, so it would also be more valuable. It probably reached to the palms of his hands, and a coat like that was not made for hard work. Perhaps Jacob kept him from hard work in order to keep him from being corrupted by his brothers. Or perhaps he wanted to keep him home to teach him God's word as it had been revealed that Joseph was to be the leader of the family through his dreams.
Whatever the case, Joseph's coat has a story to tell. And I am sure his brothers enjoyed dirtying it up on him. But they couldn't stop God's plan for Joseph. In fact their attempt to rid themselves of him ultimately helped Joseph achieve his greatness. So next time you are in a tough situation, just remember that all things work together for the good of those who love the LORD (Romans 8:28) just as they did for Joseph.
The same is true for the story of Jesus. It is well-known that Joseph is a type of Christ. There are many similarities occurring within the two stories. Whilst Jesus started out as the favoured Son of God in Heaven, like Joseph He lost His glory, descending to Earth and was sold, betrayed, and was unrecognised by His brethren, but will ultimately take up a position of power once again. The Jewish leaders betrayal of Jesus ultimately helped Him achieve God's plan of reconciling man to Himself by providing for our sins, just as Joseph's betrayal ultimately led to reconciliation with and provision for his brothers.
Isaiah 53 is a Messianic passage which describes the sacrificial death of the suffering servant (Messiah ben Joseph).
Memory Verse: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.
Materials needed to create the Messiah ben Joseph quiet book page:
A4 felt background sheet - I used mid blue
four small nail looking shank buttons
felt scraps in skin colour, hair colour, wood colour and parchment colour
matching thread colours, and red thread (for the blood)
air erasable marker (or pen)
letter beads - or ink pads and small alphabet stamps or a permanent marker etc
Cut out your template and most pieces from the felt scraps in appropriate colours. I find for intricate shapes (such as the section that needs to be cut from the inside of the legs) it is sometimes best to use a pen to draw the shape onto the felt and cut it out that way - of course you need to flip the pattern over and draw on the inside so it will be hidden when sewn together. I only cut the front of Jesus' body out and waited until I attached the front to the back to cut out the whole body.
The draw and cut method was certainly useful when trying to keep within the lines whilst sewing on Jesus' whip stripes. And of course you need to sew on the wound details in red thread before sewing the front body to the back. Jesus most likely received 39 stripes. Jewish law forbade any more than 40 (Deuteronomy 25:3) and in an effort not to cross this line, 39 were delivered just in case someone miscounted. Since the Roman whip had three tails on it, they would have delivered 13 strokes to make a total of 39 lashes.
39 stripes
Sew the front of Jesus' body to the back and cut it out. Then sew on the face - don't worry that you can see the stitching on the back as the hair will cover it. Use red thread to make small buttonholes to fit your buttons on the feet/ankle and wrist/hand areas.
For the hair, cut two fronts and sew them together, two backs and sew them together and then join the doubled front to the doubled back along the top of the hairline to a spot at about just above the nape of the head. Leaving the ends open will allow the hair to fit over the head and split over the shoulder. You will also be able to lift the hair at the back to see all of the stripes. Position the hair and secure in place using red thread on a zig-zag and/or decorative stitch to sew across the head to make a bloodied crown of thorns.
To make the sign for the top of the cross, sew the two white pieces of felt together and make a buttonhole the same size as the others using matching thread this time. It should be positioned down a ways from the top to allow room to roll the ends up. Use hot glue to keep the ends rolled in place. Hand sew on some beads to make a list of names on one side and to say "Messiah ben Joseph" on the other.
I did also try using stamps and ink for the lettering, but I don't think my ink was very good quality. You can see that it ran/separated a little, especially at the 'M' - it looks worse in real life. I have seen felt stamped before that turned out well. If you have good quality ink it might work better.
Sew down the cross onto your page and lay Jesus' body on top. Push sewing pins through the buttonholes to mark the position needed for the shank button nails. Add the sign and do the same. Hand sew the buttons on.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate.
It's not really hard, just a bit fiddly in some sections.
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Isaiah 53 - Taking our place and dying on the cross was not an easy task. This prophecy in Isaiah was fulfilled in such detail. Sin causes devastating consequences.
Imaginative Play - Jesus died on the cross so we don't have to. Turn the sign at the top of the cross to reveal either your name/s or Messiah ben Joseph. You get to choose who pays the price for your sin.
Buttoning - He died to pay for our sin so it is appropriate that our hands put the nails through.
Counting - see if you can count the 39 stripes on Jesus' back.
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
I did question whether or not making this page was a good idea. The topic is not really a fun one and I didn't want to encourage disrespectful play. However, it is also the central topic of Christianity and it is rather difficult to create a Bible full of quiet book pages without featuring the cross.
The page was inspired by the buttons which looked to me like nails. I prayed about if I should go ahead with the idea and then decided to count how many buttons I had... if there were not enough then in a way it would be decided for me. I found exactly four and felt assured of approval.
Part of the message I wanted to portray with this page was that it is MY personal sin that Jesus died to pay for. Therefore it is appropriate that my own hand does the buttoning.
In times past Christians have blamed Jews and labelled them Christ-killers and given rise to massive antisemitism. Jews were driven from their homes and massacred during the crusades and the First and Second World Wars. I want to sincerely and profusely apologise for that. Anyone who wants to shift the blame in that way does not understand the gravity of their own sin, a point which the death of God's Son should certainly drive home.
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Effectively, that cross had my name on it until I decided to ask Jesus to take my place. That is what the scroll meant to demonstrate... it has 'many' (unfortunately I could only fit four) names on one side, and the other is labelled with 'Messiah ben Joseph' our suffering servant.
In Jewish eschatology there is a belief that there are to be four Messianic figures: Elijah, Messiah ben Joseph, Messiah ben David and the Righteous Priest termed collectively the Four Craftsmen. There are correlations with the Christian belief in the two comings of the Messiah. At His first coming, Jesus fulfilled the role of Messiah ben Joseph, which Christians term 'the suffering servant', and at His second coming, we believe that He will fulfill the role of Messiah ben David or what we term 'King Messiah'. We also believe Jesus is a Priest in the order of Melchizedek. In Malachi 4, Elijah was prophesied to return and in the New Testament people asked John the Baptist 'Are you Elijah'? Although he denied being Elijah or the prophet - Moses (John 1:21), perhaps an effort to deflect attention away from him and towards Christ, Jesus did imply he played the role of Elijah (Matthew 17:12). But of course the real Elijah and Moses did return prior to the cross at the Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9, 2 Peter 1).
Interestingly enough here are some of the traits attributed to Messiah ben Joseph and how I can see them relating to Jesus' first coming:
He is the leader of the lost ten tribes and/or all Israel - Christians believe we represent spiritually the lost ten tribes who were scattered among all nations. It is said that in the future He will bring back the exiles and rebuild the land of Israel. Christians believe that this will be fulfilled by Jesus at his second coming.
'Ben' means 'son (of)' in Hebrew, and Jesus was known as the son of Joseph (his legal father).
Joseph is also meant to refer to the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim) which was in the north and is linked to both the lost ten tribes and the physical northern area of Israel (i.e. Nazareth/Galilee area where Jesus was from).
A stone tablet called Gabriel's Revelation refers to a Messianic figure from Ephraim who will break evil in three days - Jesus breaks the power of evil by dying on the cross and rising to life again in three days. Messiah ben Joseph is also associated with the rebuilding of the temple (hence why he is a craftsmen) - something Jesus claims he will do in three days referring to his bodily resurrection.
Messiah ben Joseph is willing if necessary to die battling evil forces and the enemies of God and would receive an inadequate burial - which indeed happened to Jesus. Perhaps not in the way the Jews envisioned a battle would take place but it was the greatest battle ever fought and won.
Later God would resurrect the dead and a peaceful Messianic era would follow with Messiah ben David ruling (sounds like Heaven to me).
Memory Verse: "No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” Genesis 39:9
Materials needed to create The Temptation of Joseph quiet book page:
First cut out your paper dolls, clothes and wigs, cutting off the tabs as you go. Then use your male paper doll to cut out a section of Veltex and double sided iron-on interfacing to the same shape as his torso/legs.
This one is Tahlia's favourite dress
Arrange your pieces onto the background and iron on the Veltex to the background in the correct position using the interfacing. Sew around the edge to hold in place.
Potiphar's wife acting like a 'cougar'... - this one is my Grandma's fav dress
Hot glue the feet of the male doll to the background in place over the Veltex. Cut out his undergarment and finish gluing down his legs. Hot glue the Velcro dot to the back of his undergarment and place in position. Then line up the head and glue the remainder of his body down. Hot glue the woman into position.
To make the wardrobe, trace the pieces using the template onto the back of your pleather using pen - this will avoid puncturing the pleather unnecessarily. Cut them out. For the decorative panel, cut the size to the back piece and then trim down slightly so it doesn't show on the edge of the wardrobe when layered. Using the clear craft glue, glue the decorative panel to the gold/straw felt and allow it to dry. Then glue the gold edging on top and allow to dry. Sew the inner section around the decorative panel.
Glue two sections of gold ribbon on the back to form hinges for the front door of the wardrobe. Then glue some pleather to the back of your felt and allow to dry. Sew around the outside edge of your wardrobe door and then cut it out, making sure not to cut off the hinges.
I found I had to shorten the bottom of the wardrobe base by around 5 mm and overlap the door over the lower section of the wardrobe front slightly to fit it on my page. I didn't change the pattern as you may be using a different size page to me.
Glue the pleather wardrobe base to the background page and insert the hinges from the door underneath on one side and insert a short loop of gold elastic with a jump ring tassel threaded onto it on the other side where you want the latch to be. Allow to dry and sew in place, reinforcing the stitching over the hinges and elastic loop.
Glue the remaining pleather pieces to the gold/straw felt and sew along the top edge of the draw and lower section of wardrobe front. Cut the draw out and sew the lower edge in place over the lower section of the wardrobe front. Then sew the lower section of the wardrobe front down over the base on the bottom and sides to form a pocket. To complete the wardrobe, hand sew your buttons on.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Hard
It will be easier if you use something other than pleather that stretches! If you use pleather, be sure to use the glue.
"Hey Joseph, want to see my secret garden?"
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Genesis 38 - This page teaches about how we need to be prepared to suffer even when we do the right thing.
Buttoning - Open and close the wardrobe
Tucking - Tuck the wigs into the wardrobe draw
Imaginative Play - dress up Potiphar's wife in all her outfits
Velcro - rip off Joseph's undergarment (and re-position them)
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
I admire the way that Jacob brought up Joseph. He was only around 17 when he was sold as a salve and yet His devotion to God is to be greatly admired. It must have been difficult to follow God in the situation he found himself in, and it would have been easy to go along with new cultures and customs and tell himself that God had forgotten him, so he may as well do likewise.
"Hey Joseph, do you want some 'trifle'..."
There are a few boundaries Joseph put in place to reduce the chances of finding himself in less than ideal circumstances. You can read about Joseph's 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation: Genesis 39:6-23 on the God Running blog. He had resolved to keep himself from "strange" women (those who did not follow God) as told in the story of Joseph and Asenath, translated by H. F. D. Sparks. He must have envisaged a celibate life, exiled in the land of Egypt. And not only exiled, but imprisoned. Nevertheless, as stated at the end of the blog post mentioned above, God preserved his life in that the punishment due Joseph was death. I noticed that Joseph was sold to Potiphar the Captain of the Guard (Genesis 37:36) - and the same titled person is in charge of the prison. It looks like Potiphar realises that Joseph is innocent because instead of putting Joseph to death, he saves face by putting him in his prison, but eventually puts him in charge of it just as he had done with his household (Genesis 40:3-4). Despite his circumstances, Joseph sticks to his values and God rewards him with freedom, power, and a beautiful convert, Asenath.
There are so many parallels between the story of Joseph and Jesus in the Bible, and I can only see more told through the love story of Joseph and Asenath.
