1SO JACOB LIVED IN CANAAN, the country in which his father had settled. 2And this is the story of the descendants of Jacob.
When Joseph was a boy of seventeen, he used to accompany his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives, when they were in charge of the flock; and he brought their father a bad report of them. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was a child of his old age, and he made him a long, sleeved robe. 4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not say a kind word to him.
5Joseph had a dream; and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him still more. 6He said to them, 'Listen to this dream I have had. 7We were in the field binding sheaves, and my sheaf rose on end and stood upright, and your sheaves gathered round and bowed low before my sheaf.' 8His brothers answered him, 'Do you think you will one day be a king and lord it over us?' and they hated him still more because of his dreams and what he said. 9He had another dream, which he told to his father and his brothers. He said, 'Listen: I have had another dream. The sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' 10When he told it to his father and his brothers, his father took him to task: 'What is this dream of yours?' he said. 'Must we come and bow low to the ground before you, I and your mother and your brothers?' 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father did not forget.
12Joseph's brothers went to mind their father's flocks in Shechem. 13Israel said to him, 'Your brothers are minding the flocks in Shechem; come, I will send you to them', and he said, 'I am ready.' 14He said to him, 'Go and see if all is well with your brothers and the sheep, and bring me back word.' So he sent off Joseph from the vale of Hebron and he came to Shechem. 15A man met him wandering in the open country and asked him what he was looking for. He replied, 16'I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are minding the flocks.' 17The man said, 'They have gone' away from here; I heard them speak of going to Dothan.' So Joseph followed his brothers and he found them in Dothan. 18They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19They said to each other, 'Here comes that dreamer. 20Now is our chance; let us kill him and throw him into one of these pits and say that a wild beast has devoured him. Then we shall see what will come of his dreams.' 21When Reuben heard, he came to his rescue, urging them not to take his life. 22'Let us have no bloodshed', he said. 'Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do him no bodily harm.' He meant to save him from them so as to restore him to his father. 23When Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped him of the long, sleeved robe which he was wearing, 24took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty and had no water in it.
25Then they sat down to eat some food and, looking up, they saw an Ishmaelite caravan coming in from Gilead on the way down to Egypt, with camels carrying gum tragacanth and balm and myrrh. 26Judah said to his brothers, 'What shall we gain by killing our brother and concealing his death? 27Why not sell him to the Ishmaelites? Let us do him no harm, for he is our brother, our own flesh and blood'; and his brothers agreed with him. 28Meanwhile some Midianite merchants passed by and drew Joseph up out of the pit. They sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, and they brought Joseph to Egypt. 29When Reuben went back to the pit, Joseph was not there. He rent his clothes 30and went back to his brothers and said, 'The boy is not there. Where can I go?'
31Joseph's brothers took his robe, killed a goat and dipped it in the goat's blood. 32Then they tore the robe, the long, sleeved robe, brought it to their father and said, 'Look what we have found. Do you recognize it? Is this your son's robe or not?' 33Jacob did recognize it, and he replied, 'It is my son's robe. A wild beast has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces.' 34Jacob rent his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned his son for a long time. 35His sons and daughters all tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, 'I will go to my grave mourning for my son.' Thus Joseph's father wept for him. 36Meanwhile the Midianites had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's eunuchs, the captain of the guard .
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