About Joseph and his brothers

1Jacob went on living in the land of Canaan where his father had lived,

2and this is the story of Jacob's family. Joseph was seventeen years old. He and some of his brothers were looking after their father's sheep and goats. His brothers' mothers were Bilhah and Zilpah, two of Jacob's wives. When his brothers did wrong, Joseph went to his father Jacob and told him.

3Joseph's father loved him the most, because he was born when his father was old. So Jacob made a beautiful long coat for Joseph.

4But the brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than them, and so they hated Joseph. They didn't speak kindly to him any more.

5One night Joseph had a dream. So he told his brothers about it but they hated him even more.

6Joseph said to them, “Listen to this dream I have had.

7We were all working outside. We had cut some wheat and now we were tying the bundles up with string. But suddenly my plants stood up and yours surrounded mine. Then yours bowed down and mine kept on standing there. Yours bowed down because they knew that mine were very important.”

8The brothers said to him, “So you think you will rule over us, do you!” Then they hated him still more because of that dream and because they knew that their brother went and told his father the wrong things they did.

9Later Joseph dreamed again, and he told his brothers again. “I have had another dream,” he said. “The sun and the moon and eleven stars all bowed down to me.”

10He also told his father. His father was angry with him. “What kind of dream was that?” he said. “Are you thinking your mother and brothers and I will come and bow down to you?”

11His brothers were jealous of him but his father kept on thinking about the two dreams.

About Joseph's brothers getting tired of him and sending him to Egypt

12At that time Jacob and his sons were living in a flat place called Hebron. Joseph's brothers had gone to Shechem to look after their father's sheep and goats there.

13Jacob said to Joseph, “You must go to Shechem too. Your brothers are looking after the sheep and goats there.” Joseph said, “Yes, I will go.”

14Jacob said, “Go and find your brothers and see if they are well and see if the sheep and goats are all right. Then come back and tell me.” So Jacob sent him off and he went to Shechem.

15He was wandering around searching for his brothers. But a man saw him and asked, “What are you looking for?”

16“I am looking for my older brothers,” Joseph said. “They are looking after their sheep and goats. If you know where they are, can you tell me?”

17“Yes,” he said. “They were here but now they have gone. I heard them talking about going to a place called Dothan.” So Joseph also went to Dothan. And he found his brothers there.

18But before he got there, they looked up and saw him coming from a long way away. So they decided to kill him.

19They said to each other, “Here comes that dreamer.

20Come on now, let's kill him and throw his body into a dry well. We can tell people a wild animal killed him. Then we will find out if his dreams are true or not.”

21But the oldest brother, Reuben, heard them and wanted Joseph to live. He said to the others, “We shouldn't kill him

22or hurt him. Let us take him and throw him into this dry waterhole. Then we can leave him in this place where there are no people.” He was thinking that he would take him from the well later, and send him back to his father.

23When Joseph came up to his brothers, they pulled off his beautiful long coat.

24Then they took him and threw him into the dry well.

25Then they sat down and ate some food together. While they were still eating, they saw some Ishmaelite people coming. They were travelling from a place called Gilead to Egypt. They were going by camel and they were taking sweet-smelling perfume and powder and gum to Egypt, to sell to the people there.

26But one of the brothers, Judah, spoke to the others. “Hey!” he said. “Let us sell Joseph to these people. If we kill him we won't get any money. So why should we kill him and hide his body? He is our brother.” And his brothers agreed.

28Then the Ishmaelite people reached the place where the brothers were waiting. Those people had two names, they were called Ishmaelites and also Midianites. The brothers went to the well and pulled Joseph out and gave him to the Ishmaelites, who gave them twenty coins for him. And they took him to Egypt.

29But when the others gave Joseph to those people Reuben wasn't there. He came back to them and looked in the well but Joseph wasn't in the well. He tore the coat he was wearing because he was so upset. He said, “He is not in the well! What can I do?”

31Then the brothers killed a goat and took its blood and dipped Joseph's coat in the blood.

32Then they went home taking the coat back to their father. “We found this coat. Isn't it Joseph's coat?” they said.

33Jacob looked at it and he recognized Joseph's coat. “Yes, it is his! A wild animal has killed him,” the old man said. “It has torn him to pieces!”

34He was very upset and tore the clothes he was wearing. Then he put on rough clothes that had been made from goat hair. Jacob was very sad about his son for a very long time.

35All his sons and daughters came to try and make him happy, but they couldn't make him smile. He said, “When I go to the place of the dead, I will still be sad.” So he kept on being sad about his son.

36The Midianite men who bought Joseph took him to Egypt. There was a king there who ruled the whole country. There were also many officers in charge of other people. So the men who took Joseph to Egypt sold him to an officer called Potiphar. He was in charge of the soldiers who looked after the king's palace.