Genesis 37

CHAPTER 37

1Forsooth Jacob dwelled in the land of Canaan, in which his father was a pilgrim;

2and these were the generations of him. Joseph when he was of sixteen years, yet a child, kept a flock with his brethren, and he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father; and he accused his brethren at the father of the worst sin.

3Forsooth Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, for he had begotten him in his eld age; and he made to Joseph a coat of many colours.

4Forsooth his brethren saw that he was loved of the father more than all they, and they hated him, and might not speak anything peaceably to him.

5And it befelled that he told to his brethren a sweven that he saw, which cause was the seed of more hatred.

6And Joseph said to his brethren, Hear ye the sweven which I saw,

7I guessed that we bound together sheaves, or handfuls, [in the field], and that as mine handful rose up, and stood upright, and that your handfuls stood about, and worshipped or honoured mine handful.

8His brethren answered, Whether thou shalt be our king, either we shall be made subject to thy lordship? Therefore this cause of dreams and words ministered the nourishing of envy, and of hatred.

9Also Joseph saw another sweven, which he told to his brethren, and said, I saw a dream that as the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars worshipped me.

10And when he had told this dream to his father, and his brethren, his father blamed him, and said, What will this dream mean to itself that thou hast seen? Whether I, and thy mother, and thy brethren, shall worship thee on earth?

11Therefore his brethren had envy to him. Forsooth the father beheld privily the thing,

12and when his brethren dwelled in Shechem, about [the] keeping of [the] flocks of their father,

13Israel said to Joseph, Thy brethren keep sheep in Shechem; come thou, I shall send thee to them. And when Joseph answered, I am ready,

14Israel said, Go thou, and see whether all things be welsome with thy brethren, and the sheep; and then tell thou to me what is done. And so he was sent from the valley of Hebron, and came into Shechem;

15and a man found him erring in the field, and the man asked him, what he sought.

16And he answered, I seek my brethren; show thou to me where they keep their flocks.

17And the man said to him, They went away from this place; forsooth I heard them saying, Go we into Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18And when they had seen him afar, before he nighed to them, they thought to slay him,

19and they spake together, Lo! the dreamer cometh,

20come ye, slay we him, and put we him into an eld [or old] cistern, and we shall say, A wild beast full wicked hath devoured him; and then it shall appear what his dreams profit to him.

21Soothly Reuben heard this, and enforced or endeavoured to deliver him from their hands, and said, Slay we not the life of him,

22neither shed we out his blood, but cast ye him into an eld [or old] cistern, which is in the wilderness, and keep ye your hands guiltless. Forsooth he said this, willing to deliver him from their hands, and to yield him to his father.

23Therefore anon as Joseph came to his brethren, they despoiled him of his coat, that went down to the heel, and was of many colours,

24and they put him in[to] an eld [or old] cistern, that had no water.

25And they sat to eat bread; and they saw that Ishmaelite way-goers came from Gilead, and that their camels bare sweet smelling spiceries, and resin, and stacte, into Egypt.

26Therefore Judah said to his brethren, What shall it profit to us, if we shall slay our brother, and shall hide his blood?

27It is better that he be sold to Ishmaelites, and our hands be not defouled, for he is our brother and our flesh. His brethren assented to these words;

28and when [the] merchants of Midian passed thereforth, they drew Joseph out of the cistern, and sold him to Ishmaelites, for twenty pieces of silver; which led him into Egypt.

29And Reuben turned again to the cistern, and found not the child; and he rent his clothes,

30and he went to his brethren, and said, The child appeareth not, and whither shall I go?

31Forsooth they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had slain;

32and they sent men that bare it to their father, and said, We have found this coat; see thou, whether it is the coat of thy son, or nay.

33And when their father had known it, he said, It is the coat of my son; a wild beast full wicked hath eaten him; a beast hath devoured Joseph.

34And he rent his clothes, and he was clothed with an hair-shirt, and bewailed his son in much time.

35Soothly when his free children were gathered together, that they should appease the sorrow of their father, he would not take comfort; but said, I shall go down into hell, and shall bewail my son. And while Jacob continued in weeping,

36Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a chaste and honest servant [or the gelding] of Pharaoh, master of the chivalry.

Genesis 37

1And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Kena’an (merchant; trader; or that humbles and subdues).

2These [are] the generations of Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of). Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]), [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the boy [was] with the sons of Bilhah (troubled; timid), and with the sons of Zilpah (a tickling; a sprinkle), his father’s wives: and Yosef brought unto his father their evil report.

3Now Isra’el loved Yosef more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colors.

4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5And Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) dreamed a dream, and he told [it] his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

7For, behold, we [were] binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, youri sheaves stood round about, and made obesiance (bowing or kneeling in respect) to my sheaf.

8And his brethren said to him, Shalt youi indeed reign over us? or shall youi indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obesiance (bowing or kneeling in respect) [a bow, curtsy, or other similar gesture] to me.

10And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What [is] this dream that youi have dreamed? Shall I and youri mother and youri brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to youi to the earth?

11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

12And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Sh’khem [back or shoulder, portion].

13And Isra’el (he who holds onto God-The Creator) said unto Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]), Do not youri brethren feed [the flock] in Sh’khem [back or shoulder, portion]? come, and I will send youi unto them. And he said to him, Here [am I].

14And he said to him, Go, I pray youi, see whether it be well with youri brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the valley of Hevron, and he came to Sh’khem [back or shoulder, portion].

15And a certain man found him, and, behold, [he was] wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What [do] youi seek?

16And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray youi, where they feed [their flocks].

17And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dotan (two wells, double feast). And Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) went after his brethren, and found them in Dotan (two wells, double feast).

18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19And they said one to another, ‘Behold, this dreamer comes!’

20Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

21And Re’uven (behold a son) heard [it], and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

22And Re’uven said unto them, Shed no blood, [but] cast him into this pit that [is] in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

23And it came to pass, when Yosef was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Yosef out of his coat, [his] coat of [many] colors that [was] on him;

24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit [was] empty, [there was] no water in it.

25And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Yishma’elim [Yishma’elim (Ishmaelites) [God will Hear]] (They Will Hear God [EL]) came from Gil’ad (hill of testimony or mound of witness) with their camels bearing spices and balm (a medicine; rosin from a bush) and myrrh, going to carry [it] down to Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land). Egypt.

26And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) said unto his brethren, What profit [is it] if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27Come, and let us sell him to the Yishma’elim (They Will Hear God [EL]), and let not our hand be upon him; for he [is] our brother [and] our flesh. And his brethren were content.

28Then there passed by Midyanim [Strife] (People of Strife; Place Of Judgment) merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) out of the pit, and sold Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) to the Yishma’elim (They Will Hear God [EL]) for twenty [pieces] of silver: and they brought Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) into Mitzrayim [Egypt] (Double Distress or Double Stronghold, Black Land).

29And Re’uven (behold a son) returned unto the pit; and, behold, Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) [was] not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child [is] not; and I, to where shall I go?

31And they took Yosef’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

32And they sent the coat of [many] colors, and they brought [it] to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it [be] youri son’s coat or no.

33And he knew it, and said, [It is] my son’s coat; an evil beast has devoured him; Yosef (Increaser; May God the Powerful One add [Yah]) is without doubt rent in pieces.

34And Ya’akov (he who holds onto the heel of) rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

35And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. In the following manner his father wept for him.

36And the Midyanim [Strife] (People of Strife; Place Of Judgment) sold him into Mitzrayim unto Potifar (He Whom The Ra Gave, Priest of the Bull), an officer of Pharaoh’s, [and] captain of the guard.

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Genesis 37

Genesis 37