Daily Bread

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

¹² Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,^{(A) 13} and Israel^(B) said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem.^(C) Come, I am going to send you to them.”

“Very well,” he replied.

¹⁴ So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers^(D) and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.^(E)

When Joseph arrived at Shechem, ¹⁵ a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

¹⁶ He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”

¹⁷ “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.^(F)’”

So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan. ¹⁸ But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.^(G)

¹⁹ “Here comes that dreamer!^(H)” they said to each other. ²⁰ “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns^(I) and say that a ferocious animal^(J) devoured him.^(K) Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”^(L)

²¹ When Reuben^(M) heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.^{(N) 22} “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern^(O) here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.^(P)

²³ So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe^(Q) he was wearing— ²⁴ and they took him and threw him into the cistern.^(R) The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

²⁵ As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites^(S) coming from Gilead.^(T) Their camels were loaded with spices, balm^(U) and myrrh,^(V) and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.^(W)

²⁶ Judah^(X) said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?^{(Y) 27} Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother,^(Z) our own flesh and blood.^(AA)” His brothers agreed.

²⁸ So when the Midianite^(AB) merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern^(AC) and sold^(AD) him for twenty shekels^[a] of silver^(AE) to the Ishmaelites,^(AF) who took him to Egypt.^(AG)

²⁹ When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.^{(AH) 30} He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”^(AI)

³¹ Then they got Joseph’s robe,^(AJ) slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.^{(AK) 32} They took the ornate robe^(AL) back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

³³ He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal^(AM) has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”^(AN)

³⁴ Then Jacob tore his clothes,^(AO) put on sackcloth^(AP) and mourned for his son many days.^{(AQ) 35} All his sons and daughters came to comfort him,^(AR) but he refused to be comforted.^(AS) “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son^(AT) in the grave.^(AU)” So his father wept for him.

³⁶ Meanwhile, the Midianites^[b](AV) sold Joseph^(AW) in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.^(AX)