37Jacob continued to live in the land they were occupying, where his father had journeyed in the territory of Canaan.H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 370When he his father about this, his father rebuked him and asked him, "What's this dream that you had - Shall I, your mother, and your brothers really come to you and bow down to the ground in front of you?"H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 371As a result, his brothers became more envious of him. But his father kept thinking about all of this.H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 372Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father's flock in Shechem.H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 373And Israel instructed Joseph, "Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I'm going to send you to them." "Here I am! he responded.H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 374"Go and see how things are with your brothers," he ordered him. "And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. When Joseph reached Shechem,H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 375a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, "What are you looking for?"H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 376"I'm searching for my brothers," he responded. "Tell me, where are they tending the flock?"H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 377Then the man responded, "They've already left. I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan." So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.H3290H3427H776H1H4033H776H3667 2This is a record regarding Jacob's generation. At the age of seventeen years, Joseph was helping his brothers tend the flocks. He was a young man at that time, as were the children of Bilhah and Zilpah his father's wives. But Joseph brought evil reports concerning them to their father.H8435H3290H3130H6240H7651H8141H1121H7462H6629H251H5288H1121H1090H1121H2153H1H802H3130H935H1H7451H1681 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his brothers, since he was born to him in his old age, so he had made a richly-embroidered tunic for him.H3478H157H3130H1121H1121H2208H6213H3801H6446 4When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than all of his brothers, they hated him so much that they were un able to speak politely to him.H251H7200H1H157H251H8130H3201H1696H7965 5Right about this time, Joseph had a dream and then told it to his brothers. As a result, his brothers hated him all the more!H3130H2492H2472H5046H251H8130H3254 6"Listen to this dream that I dreamed!, he said.H559H8085H2472H2492 7"We were tying sheaves together out in the middle of the fields, when all of a sudden, my sheaf stood up erect! And then your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"H481H8432H485H7704H485H6965H5324H485H5437H7812H485 8At this, his brothers replied, "Do you really think you're going to rule us or lord it over us?" So they hated him all the more because of his dreams and his interpretations.H251H559H4427H4427H4910H4910H8130H3254H2472H1697 9But then he had one more dream that he also related to his brothers. "I had another dream," he said. "The sun, moon, and eleven of the stars were bowing down before me!"H2492H312H2472H5608H251H559H2492H2472H8121H3394H6240H259H3556H7812 18Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him.H7200H7350H7126H5230H4191 19"Look!"they said. "Here comes the Dream Master!H559H376H251H1976H1167H2472H935 20Come on! Let's kill him and throw him in one of the cisterns. Then we'll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!H3212H2026H7993H259H953H559H7451H2416H398H7200H2472 21When Reuben heard it, he tried to save him from their plot. "Let's not do any killing,"H7205H8085H5337H3027H559H5221H5315 22Reuben said to them. "And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let's toss him into this cistern that's way out here in the wilderness. But don't lay a hand on him…" Reuben intended to deliver Joseph from their control and return him to his father.H7205H559H8210H1818H7993H953H4057H7971H3027H5337H3027H7725H1H7725 23As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Joseph had given him, that is, the richly-embroidered tunic that he was wearing.H3130H935H251H6584H853H3130H854H3801H3801H6446 24Then they seized him and tossed him into the cistern. But the cistern was empty. There was no water in it.H3947H7993H953H953H7386H4325 25After this, while they were seated, eating their food, they looked around and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead with camels carrying spices, balm and myrrh for sale down in Egypt.H3427H398H3899H5375H5869H7200H736H3459H935H1568H1581H5375H5219H6875H3910H1980H3381H4714 26Then Judah suggested to his brothers, "Where's the profit in just killing our brother and spilling his blood -H3063H559H251H1215H2026H251H3680H1818 27Come on! Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites! That way, we won't have laid our hand son him. After all, he's our brother, our own flesh." So his brothers listened to him.H3212H4376H3459H3027H251H1320H251H8085 28As the Midianite merchants were passing through, they extracted Joseph from the cistern and sold Joseph for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who then took Joseph down to Egypt.H5674H4084H582H5503H4900H5927H3130H953H4376H3130H3459H6242H3701H935H3130H4714 29Later, when Reuben returned to the cistern, Joseph wasn't in the cistern! In mounting panic, he tore his clothes,H7205H7725H953H3130H953H7167H899 30returned to his brothers, and shouted, "He's not there! What now - Where am I to go?"H7725H251H559H3206H575H935 31So they took Joseph's coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.H3947H3130H3801H7819H8163H5795H2881H3801H1818 32Thentheystretchedouttherichly-embroideredtunic to dry, and brought it to their father. "We've found this," they reported. "Look now and see if this is or isn't your son's tunic."H7971H3801H6446H935H1H559H4672H5234H1121H3801 33Examining it, he cried out, "It's my son's tunic! A wild animal has no doubt torn Joseph to pieces."H5234H559H1121H3801H7451H2416H398H3130H2963H2963 34So Jacob tore his clothes, dressed himself in sackcloth, and then mourned many days for his son.H3290H7167H8071H7760H8242H4975H56H1121H7227H3117 35Allhissonsanddaughtersshowed up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He kept saying, "Leave me alone! I'll go down to the next world, still mourning for my son." So his father wept for him.H1121H1323H6965H5162H3985H5162H559H3381H7585H1121H57H1H1058 36Meanwhile, down in Egypt, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's court officials who was also commander-in-chief of the imperial guards.H4092H4376H4714H6318H5631H6547H8269H2876
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