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

Joseph’s Dreams

1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.

2This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.#37:3 Possibly a robe with long sleeves; also in verses 23 and 32 4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”

8“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.

9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

Joseph Sold into Egypt

(Acts 7:9–14)

12Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.”

“I am ready,” Joseph replied.

14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.”

So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”

16“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”

17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”

21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. 22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.

23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

25And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.

26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver #37:28 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver. to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.

29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, 30returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”

Jacob Mourns Joseph

31Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”

33His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.

36Meanwhile, the Midianites #37:36 Hebrew the Medanites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

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Genesis 37

Genesis 37