Genesis 37
37
The Dreams of Joseph
1And Jacob settled in the land of the sojourning of his father, in the land of Canaan. 2These are the generations#Or “family records” of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers. Now he was a helper with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of his old age. And he made a robe with long sleeves#Or “of many colors” for him. 4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and were not able to speak peaceably to him.
5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers. And they hated him even more.#Literally “they added still to hate him” 6And he said to them, “Listen now to this dream that I dreamed. 7Now behold, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field and, behold, my sheaf stood up and it remained standing. Then behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8Then his brothers said to him, “Will you really rule over us?” And they hated him even more#Literally “they added still to hate him” on account of his dream and because of his words. 9Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10And he told it to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?” 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold Into Slavery by his Brothers
12Now his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father in Shechem. 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, let me send you to them.” And he said, “Here I am.” 14Then he said to him, “Go now, see if it goes well for your brothers and for the flock,#Literally “see the peace of your brothers and the peace of the flock” then return word to me.” And he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he arrived at Shechem. 15And a man found him, and behold, he#That is, Joseph was wandering about in a field. And the man asked him, “What do you seek?” 16And he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are pasturing.” 17And the man said, “They have moved on from here, for I heard them saying, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” Then Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. 18And they saw him from a distance. And before he drew near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19And each said to his brothers, “Look, this master of dreams is coming. 20Now then, come, let us kill him and throw him in one of the pits. Then we will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams become.” 21And Reuben heard it and delivered him from their hand and said, “We must not take his life.” 22And Reuben said to them, “You must not shed blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the desert, but do not lay a hand on him”—so that he might rescue him from their hand to return him to his father. 23And it happened that as Joseph came to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe with long sleeves,#Or “of many colors” that was upon him. 24And they took him and threw him into the pit (the pit was empty; there was no water in it). 25Then they sat down to eat some food. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead. And their camels were carrying aromatic gum and balm and spices on the way#Literally “going to bring down” to Egypt. 26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but our hand shall not be against him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers agreed. 28Then Midianite traders passed by. And they#That is, the brothers drew Joseph up and brought him up from the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt. 29Then Reuben returned to the pit and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit. And he tore his clothes. 30And he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone!#Literally “is not” Now I, what can I do?”#Literally “where am I going?” 31Then they took the robe of Joseph and slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32Then they sent the robe with long sleeves#Or “of many colors” and they brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it. Is it the robe of your son or not?” 33And he recognized it and said, “The robe of my son! A wild animal has devoured him! Joseph is surely torn to pieces!” 34And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35And all his sons and daughters tried to console him, but he refused to be consoled. And he said, “No, I shall go down to my son, to Sheol, mourning.” And his father wept for him. 36And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, a court official of Pharaoh, a commander of the imperial guard.
2010 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
Genesis 37
37
Joseph’s Dreams
1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
2This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
3Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.#37:3 Possibly a robe with long sleeves; also in verses 23 and 32 4When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
8“Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements.
9Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
Joseph Sold into Egypt
(Acts 7:9–14)
12Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.”
“I am ready,” Joseph replied.
14Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.”
So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?”
16“I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?”
17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. 22“Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father.
23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.
25And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt.
26Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver #37:28 20 shekels is approximately 8 ounces or 228 grams of silver. to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, 30returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”
Jacob Mourns Joseph
31Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”
33His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him.
36Meanwhile, the Midianites #37:36 Hebrew the Medanites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God's Word has been dedicated to the public domain.