Genesis 37

1 And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father.3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors.4 And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:7 for, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed yet a dream: and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made obeisance to me.10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?11 And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying in mind.

12 And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Are not thy brethren feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.14 And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?16 And he said, I am seeking my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding the flock.17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18 And they saw him afar off, and before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, And evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.21 And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life.22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him: that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;24 and they took him, and cast him into the pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.28 And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?31 And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;32 and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son’s coat or not.33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat: an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.34 And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.35 And 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 to Sheol to my son mourning. And his father wept for him.36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.

GENESIS 37

Joseph and His Brothers

1 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac had lived,

2 and this is the story of his family.
When Jacob's son Joseph was 17 years old, he took care of the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.t But he was always telling his father all sorts of bad things about his brothers.
3 Jacob loved Joseph more than he did any of his other sons, because Joseph was born when Jacob was very old. Jacob had even given Joseph a fancy coatt

4 which showed that Joseph was his favorite son, and so Joseph's brothers hated him and would not be friendly to him.
5 One day, Joseph told his brothers what he had dreamed, and they hated him even more. 6 Joseph said, “Let me tell you about my dream.

7 We were out in the field, tying up bundles of wheat. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your bundles gathered around and bowed down to it.”

8 His brothers asked, “Do you really think you are going to be king and rule over us?” Now they hated Joseph more than ever because of what he had said about his dream.

9 Joseph later had another dream, and he told his brothers, “Listen to what else I dreamed. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.”
10 When he told his father about this dream, his father became angry and said, “What's that supposed to mean? Are your mother and I and your brothers all going to come and bow down to you?”

11 t Joseph's brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept wondering about the dream.

Joseph Is Sold //and Taken to Egypt

13 his father Jacob said to him, “I want you to go to your brothers. They are with the sheep near Shechem.”
“Yes, sir,” Joseph answered.

14 His father said, “Go and find out how your brothers and the sheep are doing. Then come back and let me know.” So he sent him from Hebron Valley.
Joseph was near Shechem

15 and wandering through the fields, when a man asked, “What are you looking for?”

16 Joseph answered, “I'm looking for my brothers who are watching the sheep. Can you tell me where they are?”

17 “They're not here anymore,” the man replied. “I overheard them say they were going to Dothan.”
Joseph left and found his brothers in Dothan. 18 But before he got there, they saw him coming and made plans to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Look, here comes the hero of those dreams!

20 Let's kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him. Then we'll see what happens to those dreams.”
21 Reuben heard this and tried to protect Joseph from them. “Let's not kill him,” he said.

22 “Don't murder him or even harm him. Just throw him into a well out here in the desert.” Reuben planned to rescue Joseph later and take him back to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his fancy coatt

24 and threw him into a dry well.
25 As Joseph's brothers sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with all kinds of spices that they were taking to Egypt. 26 So Judah said, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his body?

27 Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not harm him. After all, he is our brother.” And the others agreed.

28  t When the Midianite merchants came by, Joseph's brothers took him out of the well, and for 20 pieces of silver they sold him to the Ishmaelitest who took him to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the well and did not find Joseph there, he tore his clothes in sorrow.

30 Then he went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
31 Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's fancy coat in its blood.

32 After this, they took the coat to their father and said, “We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son.”

33 Jacob knew it was Joseph's coat and said, “It's my son's coat! Joseph has been torn to pieces and eaten by some wild animal.”
34 Jacob mourned for Joseph a long time, and to show his sorrow he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth.t

35 All of Jacob's children came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will go to my grave, mourning for my son.” So Jacob kept on grieving.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold Joseph in Egypt to a man named Potiphar, who was the king'st official in charge of the palace guard.