Genesis 37:12-33

Joseph Sold by His Brothers 12Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,

13and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.” “Very well,” he replied.

14So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. When Joseph arrived at Shechem,

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

16He 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.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.

18But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.

20“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” 21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.

22“Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern 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. 23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—

24and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.

25As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

27Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.

30He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?” 31Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

32They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”

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