Chapter 37

Chapter 37

1 Now Jacob settled in the land where his father had resided as a foreigner, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the records of the family of Jacob: Joseph, being 17 years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. The young man was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s secondary women, and Joseph brought an evil report about them to 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 tunic of fine wool.

4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

6 He said to them, 'Please listen to this dream which I have had:

7 We were binding sheaves in the field, and my sheaf arose and stood upright; and Look! your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.'

8 His brothers said to him, 'Will you indeed rule over us? Or will you indeed dominate us?' And they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he had another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, 'I have had another dream: Look! the sun, the moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to me.'

10 He told it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have had? Shall I, your mother, and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to the ground before you?'

11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.

12 His brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.

13 Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.' He said to him, 'I am here.'

14 He said to him, 'Please go, see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring back word to me.' So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 A man found him, and Look! he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, 'What are you looking for?'

16 He said, 'I am looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are pasturing.'

17 The man said, 'They have departed from here, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 When they saw him from a distance, and before he came near to them, they plotted against him to kill him.

19 They said to one another, 'Look! This dreamer is coming.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; we can say that a wild beast devoured him. Then we shall see what will become of his dreams.'

21 But when Reuben heard this, he rescued him from their hands and said, 'Let us not take his life.'

22 Reuben said to them, 'Do not shed blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him'—that he might rescue him from their hands, to restore him to his father.

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic—the tunic of fine wool that was on him—

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 they looked up and saw, and Look! a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum, balm, and myrrh, going down to carry it to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.' And his brothers listened.

28 Then Midianite traders passed by, and they pulled and lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. They brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 Reuben returned to the pit, and Look! Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his clothes.

30 He returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy is gone; and I, where can I go?'

31 Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

32 They sent the tunic of fine wool and brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this; please recognize whether it is your son’s tunic or not.'

33 He recognized it and said, 'It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph is surely torn to pieces.'

34 Jacob tore his garments, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, 'For I will go down to Sheol to my son in mourning.' Thus his father wept for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.