HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 406
G EN ES IS 3 7
Mibzar, 43 Magdiel, and Iram. These are the
leaders of the clans of Edom, listed according
to their settlements in the land they occupied.
They all descended from Esau, the ancestor of
the Edomites.
Joseph’s Dreams
So Jacob settled again in the land of
Canaan, where his father had lived as
a foreigner.
2 This is the account of Jacob and his family.
When Joseph was seventeen years old, he often
tended his father’s flocks. He worked for his half
brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah
and Zilpah. But Joseph reported to his father
some of the bad things his brothers were doing.
3 Jacob* loved Joseph more than any of his
other children because Joseph had been born
to him in his old age. So one day Jacob had a
special gift made for Joseph—a beautiful robe.*
4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They
couldn’t say a kind word to him.
5 One night Joseph had a dream, and when
he told his brothers about it, they hated him
more than ever. 6 “Listen to this dream,” he said.
7 “We were out in the field, tying up bundles of
grain. Suddenly my bundle stood up, and your
bundles all gathered around and bowed low
before mine!”
8 His brothers responded, “So you think you
will be our king, do you? Do you actually think
you will reign over us?” And they hated him all
the more because of his dreams and the way he
talked about them.
9 Soon Joseph had another dream, and again
he told his brothers about it. “Listen, I have had
another dream,” he said. “The sun, moon, and
eleven stars bowed low before me!”
10 This time he told the dream to his father as
well as to his brothers, but his father scolded
him. “What kind of dream is that?” he asked.
“Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?”
11 But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph,
his father wondered what the dreams meant.
12 Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went
to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.
13 When they had been gone for some time,
Jacob said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will
send you to them.”
“I’m ready to go,” Joseph replied.
14 “Go and see how your brothers and the
flocks are getting along,” Jacob said. “Then
come back and bring me a report.” So Jacob sent
him on his way, and Joseph traveled to Shechem
from their home in the valley of Hebron.
15 When he arrived there, a man from the area
noticed him wandering around the countryside.
“What are you looking for?” he asked.
37
page 36
16 “I’m looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Do you know where they are pasturing
their sheep?”
17 “Yes,” the man told him. “They have moved
on from here, but I heard them say, ‘Let’s go on
to Dothan.’” So Joseph followed his brothers to
Dothan and found them there.
Joseph Sold into Slavery
18 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming,
they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here
comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on,
let’s kill him and throw him into one of these
cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal
has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of
his dreams!”
21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he
came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he
said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s
just throw him into this empty cistern here in
the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his
father.
23 So when Joseph arrived, his brothers ripped
off the beautiful robe he was wearing. 24 Then
they grabbed him and threw him into the cistern. Now the cistern was empty; there was
no water in it. 25 Then, just as they were sitting
down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan
of camels in the distance coming toward them.
It was a group of Ishmaelite traders taking a
load of gum, balm, and aromatic resin from Gilead down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we
gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover
up the crime.* 27 Instead of hurting him, let’s sell
him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is
our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And
his brothers agreed. 28 So when the Ishmaelites,
who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s
brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold
him to them for twenty pieces* of silver. And the
traders took him to Egypt.
29 Some time later, Reuben returned to get
Joseph out of the cistern. When he discovered
that Joseph was missing, he tore his clothes
in grief. 30 Then he went back to his brothers
and lamented, “The boy is gone! What will I
do now?”
31 Then the brothers killed a young goat and
dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood. 32 They sent
the beautiful robe to their father with this message: “Look at what we found. Doesn’t this robe
belong to your son?”
33 Their father recognized it immediately.
37:3a Hebrew Israel; also in 37:13. See note on 35:21.
37:3b Traditionally rendered a coat of many colors. The exact
meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain. 37:26 Hebrew cover
his blood. 37:28 Hebrew 20 [shekels], about 8 ounces or
228 grams in weight.