Genesis 37
37
1And Jacob dwelt in the land of Chanaan wherein his father sojourned.
2And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was feeding the dock with his brethren, being but a boy. And he was with the sons of Bala and of Zelpha his father's wives. And he accused his brethren to his father of a most wicked crime.
3Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had him in his old age: and he made him a coat of divers colours.
4And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
5Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more.
6And he said to them: Hear my dream which I dreamed.
7I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, end stood, and your sheaves standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.
8His brethren answered: Shalt thou be our king? Or shall we be subject to thy dominion? Therefore this matter of his dreams and words ministered nourishment to their envy and hatred.
9He dreamed also another dream, which he told his brethren, saying: I saw in a dream, as it were the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshipping me.
10And when he had told this to his father and brethren, his father rebuked him, and said: What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?
11His brethren therefore envied him: but his father considered the thing with himself.
12And when his brethren abode in Sichem feeding their father's flocks,
13Israel said to him: Thy brethren feed the sheep in Sichem: come, I will send thee to them. And when he answered:
14I am ready: he said to him; Go, and see if all things be well with thy brethren, and the cattle; and bring me word again what is doing. So being sent from the vale of Hebron, he came to Sichem.
15And a man found him there wandering in the field, and asked what he sought.
16But he answered: I seek my brethren; tell me where they feed the flocks.
17And the man said to him: They are departed from this place; for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothain. And Joseph went forward after his brethren, and found them in Dothain.
18And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him.
19And said one to another: Behold, the dreamer cometh.
20Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit; and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him:
21And Ruben hearing this, endeavoured to deliver him out of their hands, and said:
22Do not take away his life, nor shed his blood: but cast him into this pit, that is in the wilderness, and keep your hands harmless. Now he said this, being desirous to deliver him out of their hands and to restore him to his father.
23And as soon as he came to his brethren, they forthwith stript him of his outside coat, that was of divers colours:
24And cast him into an old pit, where there was no water.
25And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ismaelites on their way coming from Galaad, with their camels, carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh to Egypt.
26And Juda said to his brethren: What will it profit us to kill our brother, and conceal his blood?
27It is better that he be sold to the Ismaelites, and that our hands be not defiled: for he is our brother and our flesh. His brethren agreed to his words.
28And when the Madianite merchants passed by, they drew him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ismaelites, for twenty pieces of silver: and they led him into Egypt.
29And Ruben, returning to the pit, found not the boy:
30And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and said: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go?
31And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed.
32Sending some to carry it to their father, and to say: This we have found; see whether it be thy son's coat, or not.
33And the father acknowledging it, said: It is my son's coat; an evil wild beast hath eaten him; a beast hath devoured Joseph.
34And tearing his garments, he put on sackcloth, mourning for his son a long time.
35And alibis children being gathered together to comfort their father in his sorrow, he would not receive comfort, but said: I will go down to my son into hell, mourning. And whilst he continued weeping,
36The Madianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Putiphar, an eunuch of Pharao, captain of the soldiers.
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Genesis 37: DRC1752
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An historical text maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society.
Genesis 37
37
Joseph’s Dreams
1So Jacob settled again in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived as a foreigner.
2This is the account of Jacob and his family. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often tended his father’s flocks. He worked for 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.
3Jacob#37:3a Hebrew Israel; also in 37:13. See note on 35:21. loved Joseph more than any of his other children because Joseph had been born to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.#37:3b Traditionally rendered a coat of many colors. The exact meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 4But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
5One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever. 6“Listen to this dream,” he said. 7“We were out in the field, tying up bundles of grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles all gathered around and bowed low before mine!”
8His brothers responded, “So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.
9Soon Joseph had another dream, and again he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me!”
10This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked. “Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?” 11But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams 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 pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will 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 a report.” So Jacob sent him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem from their home in the valley of Hebron.
15When he arrived there, a man from the area noticed him wandering around the countryside. “What are you looking for?” he asked.
16“I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing their sheep?”
17“Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on 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. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19“Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20“Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
21But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22“Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.
23So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24Then they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was no water in it. 25Then, just as they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of camels in the distance coming toward them. It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.#37:26 Hebrew cover his blood. 27Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. 28So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces#37:28 Hebrew 20 [shekels], about 8 ounces or 228 grams in weight. of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.
29Some time later, Reuben returned to get Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes in grief. 30Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I do now?”
31Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32They sent the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe belong to your son?”
33Their father recognized it immediately. “Yes,” he said, “it is my son’s robe. A wild animal must have eaten him. Joseph has clearly been torn to pieces!” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes and dressed himself in burlap. He mourned deeply for his son for a long time. 35His family all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “I will go to my grave#37:35 Hebrew go down to Sheol. mourning for my son,” he would say, and then he would weep.
36Meanwhile, the Midianite traders#37:36 Hebrew the Medanites. The relationship between the Midianites and Medanites is unclear; compare 37:28. See also 25:2. arrived in Egypt, where they sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was captain of the palace guard.
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