Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near
1Shechem.
13
And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am."
14
So he said to him, "Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word." So he sent him from the Valley of
2Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15
And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, "What are you seeking?"
16
"I am seeking my brothers," he said. "Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock."
17
And the man said, "They have gone away, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to
3Dothan.'" So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at
4Dothan.
18
They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them
5they conspired against him to kill him.
19
They said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer.
20
Come now,
6let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams."
21
But when
7Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life."
22
And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him"--
8that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.
23
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe,
9the robe of many colors that he wore.
24
And they took him and
10threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
25
Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a
11caravan of
12Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing
13gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.
26
Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it
14if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27
Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and
15let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers listened to him.
28
Then
16Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and
17sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.
29
When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he
18tore his clothes
30
and returned to his brothers and said, "The boy
19is gone, and I, where shall I go?"
31
Then they took
20Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32
And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, "This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not."
33
And he identified it and said, "It is my son's robe.
21A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces."
34
Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days.
35
All his sons and all his daughters
22rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, "No,
23I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning." Thus his father wept for him.
36
Meanwhile
24the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh,
25the captain of the guard.