Joseph and his Brothers

Jacob settled in Canaan with his two wives, Leah and Rachel, his eleven sons, and his daughters. Then Rachel died giving birth to her second son, named Benjamin. 

But of all his sons, Jacob loved Joseph the most, as he was the first son of Rachel. Jacob's best-loved wife. Jacob made no secret of his love for Joseph.

He gave the boy a splendid wool coat, in shades of bright blues, purples and greens.

This made the other brothers jealous and they hated Joseph. They hated him even more when he told them about his dreams.

 'In my dreams, Joseph told them; 'you all bowed down to me.' Even Jacob was angry with Joseph for being so boastful.

One day, Jacob sent Joseph to a distant valley to check that his brothers and their flocks of sheep and goats were well. When the brothers saw him coming, one said. Let's kill him. We'll tell our father that he was eaten by a 'wild animal'.

'No, said another brother. 'We mustn't kill him. Let's pat him in that dry well over there. They stripped off Joseph's coat and put him in the pit. 

Just then, some merchants with camel-loads of spices passed by on their way to Egypt. The brothers took Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver.

Then they smeared Joseph's coat with goat's blood, and took it to their father. 'We found this coat, but don't know who it belongs to, they said. 

Jacob at once recognized the coat and when he saw the blood, he thought Joseph was dead. 'He was heart-broken.

The merchants took Joseph to Egypt and sold him as a slave to Potiphar, who was the captain of the Pharaoh's guard. 

Joseph was alone in a strange land, but he knew God was with him. He worked hard and Potiphar was so pleased with him, he put Joseph in charge of his household. 

For a while, all went well, but then Potiphar's wife fell in love with the handsome young man. Because Joseph remained loyal to Potiphar and refused to love his wife in return, she began to hate him. 

She told Potiphar lies about Joseph and that he had attacked her.

Potiphar was furious. He had Joseph flung into the Pharaoh's prison. The prison governor liked Joseph and soon put him in charge of the other prisoners, including some of the Pharaoh's servants. One had served the Pharaoh his wine and another had been the Pharaoh's baker. 

When they had strange dreams, they told Joseph about them and Joseph was able to explain what their dreams meant. 

A few days later, just as Joseph had predicted from the dreams, the Pharaoh had the baker executed, but took the wine server back into his palace.

Joseph had been in prison for two years when the Pharaoh had a strange dream. He asked his wise men what it meant, but no one could explain it. 

Then the wine server remembered Joseph. The Pharaoh had Joseph brought from the prison, and the Pharaoh told him his dream.

Then he said; 'Your dream means that for seven years there will be good harvests with plenty of food for everyone. Then there will be seven years of bad harvests when the people will go hungry, and even starve. 

If you are wise, you will put someone in charge who will store grain from the good harvests, so there is food for the people during the bad ones.

The Pharaoh was so pleased with Joseph. he gave him fine clothes, a gold ring and necklace, and a chariot to ride in. He made Joseph a governor and put him in charge of all the stores of food in Egypt. 

For seven years, there were good harvests, and Joseph arranged for the surplus grain to be put into safe stores. During the seven years of bad harvests. Joseph had plenty of stored food to sell to the Egyptians and to other people.

The harvests were bad everywhere and far away in Canaan. Joseph's father, Jacob and his family were growing short of food. Jacob kept his youngest son, Benjamin at home and sent his other ten sons to Egypt to buy grain for bread. 

I've heard they have plenty in the storehouses there, he said.

When the brothers reached Egypt, they went to the governor and asked if they might buy grain. They bowed in front of Joseph, but didn't realize that this man dressed in fine Egyptian clothes was their brother. Joseph recognized his brothers immediately. 

He spoke to them very sternly. 'You're spies who have come to spy on Egypt, he accused them. They protested that this wasn't true, explaining that they were ten honest brothers, that they had left one brother at home with their father in Canaan and had another brother who was dead. 

They had only come to buy food, they said.

Joseph had his ten brothers put in prison for three days. Then he released them. 'You may go now, but you must leave your brother, Simeon here in prison and when you come again, you must bring your brother Benjamin with you.

The brothers loaded sacks of grain on their donkeys and began the long journey home. They didn't know that Joseph had secretly put the money they had paid for the grain into the sacks.

When the nine brothers stopped to rest and eat, one of them found the money in a sack of grain. They were all very frightened. 'God is punishing us for selling Joseph, they said. 

They hurried back to their father Jacob and told him everything that had happened to them. When Jacob heard that the governor had kept Simeon, and that the brothers had to take Benjamin back with them, he was very unhappy. 'Joseph is dead. Simeon is in prison, and now you'll take away my youngest son, Benjamin. If anything happens to him. I'll die of grief, he said.

After a while, when all the grain had been eaten, Jacob had to send his nine sons to Egypt again to buy food. This time they took Benjamin with them. 

Again they bowed before the governor and asked to buy food. They still didn't realize that Joseph was their brother. Joseph ordered his servants to give them and Simeon a meal in his house, making sure that Benjamin had plenty to eat.

The next morning, Joseph had the brothers' donkeys, loaded with sacks of grain and again he had the money they had paid put back into the sacks. He had one of his silver cups hidden in Benjamin's sack. The eleven brothers began their journey, but the hadn't gone far when some of Joseph's guards caught up with them. 

They searched the sacks and found the silver cup in Benjamin's sack. The brothers were terrified.

The guards marched them back to the governor's house, where Joseph waited for them. They knelt on the ground and begged for mercy. 'You may all go, except Benjamin as the silver cup was in his sack. He must stay here and be my servant, said Joseph.

'Please let us take Benjamin home with us, said Judah one of the brothers. 'Our father has already lost one son. If he loses Benjamin, it will break his heart. Let me stay here instead. Joseph knew then that his brothers had changed and were sorry for what they had done to him long ago.

'I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold as a slave, Joseph cried. 'God sent me to Egypt, where I am the Pharaoh's governor, to save you from dying of hunger. God promised Abraham that the nation he founded would be safe. 

Go back to my father, and ask him to come and settle in Egypt. Bring all your wives and children and all your herds of animals. There will be five more years of bad harvest and hunger, but there is plenty of food here. Then Joseph hugged Benjamin and his other brothers and wept with joy.

Joseph gave his brothers food for the journey back to Canaan. and new clothes and presents for his father. When Jacob heard that Joseph was alive and well, he was overjoyed and agreed at once to go to Egypt. He and his eleven sons settled there, with all their families. 

The man from God, who had fought Jacob in the desert long ago, had told him that his name should now be Israel. 

So Jacob's family in Egypt became known as the children of Israel.



Joseph and his Brothers

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