Joseph: Genesis 37

Genesis 37

Joseph's Dreams

1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived.
2This is the history of Jacob's family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father's flocks with his half brothers, the sons of his father's wives Bilhah and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father some of the bad things his brothers were doing. 3Now Jacob[a] loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day he gave Joseph a special gift--a beautiful robe.[b] 4But his brothers hated Joseph because of their father's partiality. They couldn't say a kind word to him.

5One night Joseph had a dream and promptly reported the details to his brothers, causing them to hate him even more. 6"Listen to this dream," he announced. 7"We were out in the field tying up bundles of grain. My bundle stood up, and then your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before it!"

8"So you are going to be our king, are you?" his brothers taunted. And they hated him all the more for his dream and what he had said.

9Then Joseph had another dream and told his brothers about it. "Listen to this dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!"

10This time he told his father as well as his brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What do you mean?" his father asked. "Will your mother, your brothers, and I actually come and bow before you?" 11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father gave it some thought and wondered what it all meant.

12Soon after this, Joseph's brothers went to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem. 13When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, "Your brothers are over at Shechem with the flocks. I'm going to send you to them."

"I'm ready to go," Joseph replied.

14"Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are getting along," Jacob said. "Then come back and bring me word." So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from his home in the valley of Hebron.

15When he arrived there, a man noticed him wandering around the countryside. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

16"For my brothers and their flocks," Joseph replied. "Have you seen them?"

17"Yes," the man told him, "but they are no longer here. I heard your brothers say they were going to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.



Joseph Sold into Slavery

18When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance and made plans to kill him. 19"Here comes that dreamer!" they exclaimed. 20"Come on, let's kill him and throw him into a deep pit. We can tell our father that a wild animal has eaten him. Then we'll see what becomes of all his dreams!"
21But Reuben came to Joseph's rescue. "Let's not kill him," he said. 22"Why should we shed his blood? Let's just throw him alive into this pit here. That way he will die without our having to touch him." Reuben was secretly planning to help Joseph escape, and then he would bring him back to his father.

23So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe 24and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time. 25Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they noticed a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking spices, balm, and myrrh from Gilead to Egypt.

26Judah said to the others, "What can we gain by killing our brother? That would just give us a guilty conscience. 27Let's sell Joseph to those Ishmaelite traders. Let's not be responsible for his death; after all, he is our brother!" And his brothers agreed. 28So when the traders[c] came by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces[d] of silver, and the Ishmaelite traders took him along to Egypt.

29Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the pit. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in anguish and frustration. 30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, "The boy is gone! What can I do now?"

31Then Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped the robe in its blood. 32They took the beautiful robe to their father and asked him to identify it. "We found this in the field," they told him. "It's Joseph's robe, isn't it?"

33Their father recognized it at once. "Yes," he said, "it is my son's robe. A wild animal has attacked and eaten him. Surely Joseph has been torn in pieces!" 34Then Jacob tore his clothes and put on sackcloth. He mourned deeply for his son for many days. 35His family all tried to comfort him, but it was no use. "I will die in mourning for my son," he would say, and then begin to weep.

36Meanwhile, in Egypt, the traders sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.



Footnotes:
Genesis 37:3 Hebrew Israel; also in 37:13.
Genesis 37:3 Traditionally rendered a coat of many colors. The exact meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
Genesis 37:28 Hebrew Midianites; also in 37:36.
Genesis 37:28 Hebrew 20 shekels, about 8 ounces or 228 grams in weight.