Joseph’s Dreams
1. Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.
2. This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3. Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because Joseph was born to him in his old age, and he made him a robe of many colors.
4. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5. One day Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers, they hated him even more.
6. He said to them, “Please listen to this dream I had:
7. We 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. “Are you really going to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.
9. Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10. When he told his father and brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
11. And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold into Egypt
12. Now Joseph’s brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,
13. and Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am ready to send you to them.” “Here I am,” Joseph replied.
14. Then Israel said to him, “Go now, see if all is well with your brothers and the flocks, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived in Shechem,
15. a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16. “I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you 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 went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18. But when they saw him in the distance, and before he had reached them, 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!”
21. But when Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.
22. “Do not shed blood. Throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben intended to rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.
23. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors that he was wearing—
24. and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25. Then they sat down to eat a meal. And looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying aromatic gum, balm, and resin, going down to Egypt.
26. Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
27. Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” And his brothers agreed.
28. So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29. When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,
30. returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
Jacob Mourns Joseph
31. So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.
32. And they sent the robe of many colors and had it brought to their father, saying, “We found this. Examine it to determine whether it is your son’s robe.”
33. He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
34. Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
35. All 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.
36. Meanwhile, in Midian, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.