1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, 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 the lad was with the sons
of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives:and Joseph
brought unto his father their evil report.
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 colours. 4 And when
his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren,
they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it 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 stood 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 his brethren,
and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and
the moon and the 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 observed the saying.
12
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. 13 And
Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed 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, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy
brethren, and well with the flocks; 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 seek my brethren:tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
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 when they saw him afar
off, even 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 some pit,
and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him:and we shall see what
will become of his dreams.
21 And
Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let
us not kill him. 22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast
him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him;
that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father
again.
(Ruben planned to go back for Joseph and to
take him from the pit and return him to his father but before that
could happen something else happened.)
23
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they
stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit:and the pit was empty,
there was no water in it.
25 And they sat down to eat bread:
(The
cruelty of the brothers ... they gave no food nor water to Joseph in
the pit but rather they sat down and ate with Joseph in the pit.)
and
they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of
Ishmeelites came 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
Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
(This
reminds me of the way the Jews who were rulers of the synagogue judged
in the day of Jesus for they instigated the crucifixion of Jesus, even
to hearing false witnesses, but their law prohibited them from doing
actions of actually killing Jesus themselves so they had the rulers of
the land kill Jesus ... Jn. 18 ... 31 Then said Pilate unto them,
Take ye him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore
said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death: )
28
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted
up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites 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 kid of the goats, and dipped
the coat in the blood; 32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and
they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found:know now
whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33
And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath
devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces. 34 And Jacob rent
his clothes, 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 into the grave unto my son mourning.
Thus his father wept for him.
36 And the Midianites sold him (Joseph) into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.