Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, the land where his father had dwelt. And this is the story of Jacob's line.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was out in the fields with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, tending the flocks. But Joseph carried back to their father a bad report of them.
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, for he was the child of his old age. To show his favor, he clothed Joseph in a richly decorated robe. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all the rest, hatred grew within them, and they could not even greet him with kindness.
Joseph dreamed a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, their hatred deepened.
"We were binding sheaves in the field," he said, "when suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood tall, and your sheaves gathered around and bowed before mine."
"Will you really reign over us?" they mocked. "Will you rule us?" And their resentment burned hotter.
Then he dreamed again. "Listen," he told them. "I had another dream. This time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed low before me."
When he told his father, Jacob rebuked him: "What is this dream? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come and bow down to you?" Yet while his brothers burned with jealousy, his father pondered the matter silently.
One day, Joseph's brothers had gone to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, "Go, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word." So from the valley of Hebron he set out.
But when Joseph reached Shechem, he wandered in the fields until a man found him. "What are you seeking?" the man asked.
"I seek my brothers," Joseph said. "Tell me, where are they pasturing?"
"They have gone on to Dothan," the man replied.
So Joseph went after them. But even while he was still far off, they saw him approaching. "Here comes that dreamer!" they sneered. "Come, let us kill him, and cast him into one of these pits. We will say a wild beast devoured him. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams."
But Reuben spoke up: "Shed no blood. Cast him into this pit in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him." He said this, hoping to rescue Joseph later and return him to his father.
When Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors—and cast him into the empty cistern.
Then they sat down to eat. And as they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with spices, balm, and myrrh, on the way to Egypt. Judah said, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and hide his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers agreed.
So when the Midianite traders passed by, they lifted Joseph from the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver. And Joseph was carried off to Egypt.
When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, he tore his garments. "The boy is gone!" he cried. "What shall I do?"
So they slaughtered a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood. They brought it to their father and said, "We found this. Is it not your son's robe?"
Jacob recognized it and cried, "It is my son's robe! A wild beast has devoured him! Surely Joseph has been torn to pieces!" He tore his garments, put on sackcloth, and mourned for many days. His children tried to comfort him, but he refused. "I will go down to the grave mourning my son."
And Jacob wept.
Meanwhile, Joseph was sold in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials, captain of the guard.