The story of Judah and his daughter-in-law is just plain weird to our modern ears. The idea that a widow would go to such lengths to carry on a family line seems rather pointless and degrading, but we miss so much culturally here. God doesn't seem to come out of the story well either as his only involvement here is to kill two of Judah's sons for actions that displease him. God has been responsible for the deaths of multitudes beforehand so why is it that I baulk at the couple of deaths here? I guess it's because of the personal nature of the act and that we are told the names of the individuals concerned.
Then we see Joseph end up in Egypt and we start to see the goodness of his character, gone are the boastings of chapter 37 to be replaced by a desire of holiness. This pursuit costs him dearly as he ends up in prison because of the lies of Potiphar's wife. However he soon assumes a position of responsibility within the prison set up due to God being with him.
Chapter 40 sees the beginning of a story for Joseph is famous, but it is to God that Joseph attributes his ability to interpret dreams. This story again highlights for me the difference in storytelling that we have in the OT. There is no mention of the reactions of the steward and the baker to their respective fates as Jospeh interprets the dreams. I'm sure if I'd been the baker I'd have had something to say about my impending death and would have given Joseph and/or God a piece of my mind.
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