Genesis 37
37
Joseph the Dreamer
1Jacob stayed and lived in the land of Canaan. This is the same land where his father had lived. 2This is the story of Jacob’s family.
Joseph was a young man, 17 years old. His job was to take care of the sheep and the goats. Joseph did this work with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. (Bilhah and Zilpah were his father’s wives.) Joseph told his father about the bad things that his brothers did. 3Joseph was born at a time when his father Israel was very old, so Israel loved him more than he loved his other sons. Jacob gave him a special coat, which was long and very beautiful.#37:3 beautiful The Hebrew means “striped,” or possibly, “many colored.” 4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother because of this. They refused to say nice things to him.
5One time Joseph had a special dream. Later, he told his brothers about this dream, and after that his brothers hated him even more.
6Joseph said, “I had a dream. 7We were all working in the field, tying stacks of wheat together. Then my stack got up. It stood there while all of your stacks of wheat made a circle around mine and bowed down to it.”
8His brothers said, “Do you think this means that you will be a king and rule over us?” His brothers hated Joseph more now because of the dreams he had about them.
9Then Joseph had another dream, and he told his brothers about it. He said, “I had another dream. I saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to me.”
10Joseph also told his father about this dream, but his father criticized him. His father said, “What kind of dream is this? Do you believe that your mother, your brothers, and I will bow down to you?” 11Joseph’s brothers continued to be jealous of him, but his father thought about all these things and wondered what they could mean.
12One day Joseph’s brothers went to Shechem to care for their father’s sheep. 13Jacob said to Joseph, “Go to Shechem. Your brothers are there with my sheep.”
Joseph answered, “I will go.”
14His father said, “Go and see if your brothers are safe. Come back and tell me if my sheep are all fine.” So Joseph’s father sent him from the Valley of Hebron to Shechem.
15At Shechem, Joseph got lost. A man found him wandering in the fields. The man said, “What are you looking for?”
16Joseph answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are with their sheep?”
17The man said, “They have already gone away. I heard them say that they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Joseph Sold Into Slavery
18Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from far away. They decided to make a plan to kill him. 19They said to each other, “Here comes Joseph the dreamer. 20We should kill him now while we can. We could throw his body into one of the empty wells and tell our father that a wild animal killed him. Then we will show him that his dreams are useless.”
21But Reuben wanted to save Joseph. He said, “Let’s not kill him. 22We can put him into a well without hurting him.” Reuben planned to save Joseph and send him back to his father. 23When Joseph came to his brothers, they attacked him and tore off his long and beautiful coat. 24Then they threw him into an empty well that was dry.
25While Joseph was in the well, the brothers sat down to eat. They looked up and saw a group of traders#37:25 traders Literally, “Ishmaelites.” traveling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were carrying many different spices and riches. 26So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we get if we kill our brother and hide his death? 27We will profit more if we sell him to these traders. Then we will not be guilty of killing our own brother.” The other brothers agreed. 28When the Midianite traders came by, the brothers took Joseph out of the well and sold him to the traders for 20 pieces of silver. The traders took him to Egypt.
29Reuben had been gone, but when he came back to the well, he saw that Joseph was not there. He tore his clothes to show that he was upset. 30Reuben went to the brothers and said, “The boy is not in the well! What will I do?” 31The brothers killed a goat and put the goat’s blood on Joseph’s beautiful coat. 32Then the brothers showed the coat to their father. And the brothers said, “We found this coat. Is this Joseph’s coat?”
33His father saw the coat and knew that it was Joseph’s. He said, “Yes, that is his! Maybe some wild animal has killed him. My son Joseph has been eaten by a wild animal!” 34Jacob was so sorry about his son that he tore his clothes. Then Jacob put on special clothes to show that he was sad. He continued to be sad about his son for a long time. 35All of Jacob’s sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but Jacob was never comforted. He said, “I will be sad about my son until the day I die.” So Jacob continued to mourn his son Joseph.
36The Midianite traders later sold Joseph in Egypt. They sold him to Potiphar, an officer of the king of Egypt and the captain of his palace guards.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Genesis 37
37
1And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings — in the land of Canaan.
2These [are] births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren among the flock, (and he [is] a youth,) with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph bringeth in an account of their evil unto their father.
3And Israel hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and hath made for him a long coat;
4and his brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
5And Joseph dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him.
6And he saith unto them, ‘Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7that, lo, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and lo, my bundle hath arisen, and hath also stood up, and lo, your bundles are round about, and bow themselves to my bundle.’
8And his brethren say to him, ‘Dost thou certainly reign over us? dost thou certainly rule over us?’ and they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words.
9And he dreameth yet another dream, and recounteth it to his brethren, and saith, ‘Lo, I have dreamed a dream again, and lo, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.’
10And he recounteth unto his father, and unto his brethren; and his father pusheth against him, and saith to him, ‘What [is] this dream which thou hast dreamt? do we certainly come — I, and thy mother, and thy brethren — to bow ourselves to thee, to the earth?’
11and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter.
12And his brethren go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem,
13and Israel saith unto Joseph, ‘Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;’ and he saith to him, ‘Here [am] I;’
14and he saith to him, ‘Go, I pray thee, see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word;’ and he sendeth him from the valley of Hebron, and he cometh to Shechem.
15And a man findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, ‘What seekest thou?’
16and he saith, ‘My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, where they are feeding?’
17And the man saith, ‘They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,’ and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth them in Dothan.
18And they see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire against him to put him to death.
19And they say one unto another, ‘Lo, this man of the dreams cometh;
20and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast hath devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.’
21And Reuben heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, ‘Let us not smite the life;’
22and Reuben saith unto them, ‘Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,’ — in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto his father.
23And it cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] upon him,
24and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it.
25And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt.
26And Judah saith unto his brethren, ‘What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood?
27Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother — our flesh;’ and his brethren hearken.
28And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt.
29And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments,
30and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, ‘The lad is not, and I — whither am I going?’
31And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,
32and send the long coat, and they bring [it] in unto their father, and say, ‘This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it [is] thy son's coat or not?’
33And he discerneth it, and saith, ‘My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn — torn is Joseph!’
34And Jacob rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for his son many days,
35and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, ‘For — I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,’ and his father weepeth for him.
36And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
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