Genesis 37
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, in the land of Canaan.
2 This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, at seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers. Though still young, he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought his father bad reports about them.
3 Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a long robe.
4 His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all of them, and they came to hate him. They could not speak to him in a friendly way.
5 Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.
6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had.
7 We were tying bundles of grain in the middle of the field, and my bundle rose and stood upright. Then your bundles gathered around it and bowed down to my bundle.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Are you really going to reign over us? Are you really going to rule us?” And they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.
9 He had another dream and told it to his brothers. He said, “I had another dream, and the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 He told his father and his brothers, and his father rebuked him: “What is this dream you had? Are your mother, your brothers, and I really going to bow 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 tend their father’s flock in Shechem.
13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers tending the flock in Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.” He answered, “Here I am.”
14 Israel said to him, “Go and see whether your brothers and the flock are well, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he arrived at Shechem.
15 A man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
16 He answered, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they are tending the flock.”
17 The man said, “They’ve gone from here. I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near, they plotted to kill him.
19 They said to one another, “Look, here comes that dreamer!
20 Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We’ll say that a wild animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams.”
21 Reuben heard this and rescued him from their hands, saying, “Let’s not take his life.”
22 Reuben said to them, “Don’t shed blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” He intended to rescue him from their hands and return him to his father.
23 When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe he was wearing.
24 They took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty, with no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood?
27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let’s not lay a hand on him, because he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers listened to him.
28 Some Midianite traders passed by. They pulled Joseph up and out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29 Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, so he tore his clothes.
30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! Where can I go now?”
31 They took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.
32 They sent the long robe to their father and said, “We found this. Please see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
34 Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for many days.
35 All his sons and all his daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “I will go down to Sheol in mourning, to my son.” And his father wept for him.
36 The Medanites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
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