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Joseph | Biography |
Here is an extract from the story of Joseph, taken from the Bible. The text is from the Contemporary English Version of the Bible (pictured left). To order your copy of this fresh, new version, click here for Amazon UK or US. |
Joseph goes to Egypt
One day when Joseph's brothers had taken the sheep to a pasture near Shechem,
his father Jacob said to him, "I want you to go to your brothers. They are with the sheep near Shechem." "Yes, sir," Joseph answered...
Joseph left and found his brothers in Dothan. But before he got there, they saw him coming and made plans to kill him.
They said to one another, "Look, here comes the hero of those dreams! Let's kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him. Then we'll see what happens to those dreams"...
When Joseph came to his brothers, they pulled off his fine coat and threw him into a dry well.
As Joseph's brothers sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with all kinds of spices that they were taking to Egypt. So Judah said, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his body? Let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not harm him. After all, he is our brother." And the others agreed.
When the Midianite merchants came by, Joseph's brothers took him out of the well, and for twenty pieces of silver they sold him to the Ishmaelites who took him to Egypt...
Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's fine coat in its blood. After this, they took the coat to their father and said, "We found this! Look at it carefully and see if it belongs to your son."
Jacob knew it was Joseph's coat and said, "It's my son's coat! Joseph has been torn to pieces and eaten by some wild animal."
Jacob mourned for Joseph a long time, and to show his sorrow he tore his clothes and wore sackcloth. All Jacob's children came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said, "I will go to my grave, mourning for my son." So Jacob kept on grieving.
Meanwhile, the Midianites had sold Joseph in Egypt to a man named Potiphar, who was the king's official in charge of the palace guard.
The Book of Genesis
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