Once upon a time there was a boy named Josef. Joseph lived in a country with his father Jacob and his eleven brothers. Jacob loved Joseph very much and gave him a beautiful, colorful coat. When Joseph’s brothers saw this, they became very jealous, because they wanted to be loved in the same way.
Josef had special dreams. One night he dreamed that he and his brothers were bundling sheaves in the field. His sheaf stood upright, while the sheaves of his brothers bent around his sheaf. “What does this dream mean?” the brothers asked angrily. “Is Joseph supposed to be our ruler one day?” They became even more jealous of him.
One day, Jacob sent Joseph to look after his brothers who were tending the sheep. When the brothers saw Joseph from afar, they made evil plans. “Let’s get rid of Joseph!” they scolded. But Reuben, one of the brothers, wanted to protect Joseph and said: “Let’s not kill him. Just throw him into this pit.” Reuben later wanted to secretly free Joseph.
When Joseph arrived at his brothers’ house, they took away his colorful cloak and threw it into the pit. Soon after, a group of merchants passed by. The brothers decided to sell Joseph to the merchants who took him to Egypt. In Egypt, Joseph was sold as a servant. But God was with Joseph, and everything Joseph did he did well.
Joseph had many difficult times in Egypt, but he remained faithful to God. One day, God gave Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, two strange dreams. No one could interpret these dreams to him, but then a servant of Pharaoh remembered Joseph who could interpret dreams. Joseph was taken out of prison, and with God’s help, he explained to Pharaoh that there would be seven years of abundant harvest, followed by seven years of famine.
Pharaoh was so impressed by Joseph’s wisdom that he made him the second highest man in the whole land! Joseph prepared Egypt for famine by gathering and storing supplies.
When the famine came, people from many countries traveled to Egypt to buy food. Joseph’s brothers also came, not knowing that the powerful man who sold them the food was their own brother Joseph! Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. After a few trials, he finally revealed his identity and said, “I am Joseph, your brother!” The brothers were afraid, but Joseph comforted them: “Do not be afraid. God sent me ahead to save many lives.”
Joseph brought all his family to Egypt, and they lived there in peace and abundance.
Message of history
Even in difficult times, God is with us. He plans good things for our lives, and we can always trust Him.
Bible passage
The story of Joseph and his brothers , as well as what happens afterwards, spans several chapters in Genesis, specifically Genesis 37 and 39 to 50.
- Genesis 37 (verses 3-4, 18-20, 23-24, 28, 31-33) describes the jealousy of the brothers and the sale of Joseph:
“But Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was born to him in his own age, and he made him a colored tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they became hostile to him, and could not say a kind word to him. […] And when they saw him from afar before he came near them, they plotted together to kill him, and said to one another, “Behold, the dreamer is coming here.” So come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we will say that a wicked beast has eaten him; then let us see what will become of his dreams! […] And it came to pass that when Joseph came to his brothers, they took off his tunic, the colored tunic that he was wearing, and they took him and threw him into the cistern. But the cistern was empty and no water in it. […] Then the Midianite men passed by and pulled Joseph up from the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. But these led Joseph to Egypt. […] Then they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. And they sent the colored tunic and had it brought to their father, saying, “We have found this; see whether it is your son’s tunic or not! And he recognized him and said, “It is the tunic of my son; a wicked beast has eaten him; Joseph has certainly been torn to pieces!”
- Genesis 39-41 describes Joseph’s ascension in Egypt:
Joseph is sold to Egypt and brought to the house of Potiphar, where he quickly rises to become the administrator. Due to false accusations by Potiphar’s wife, he is thrown into prison, where he interprets the dreams of two Pharaoh officials. Eventually, he interprets Pharaoh’s dreams, which allows him to be appointed as the administrator of all of Egypt to overcome an impending famine.
- Genesis 45 (verses 4-8) describes how Joseph revealed himself to his brothers:
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come to me.’ And they came up. And he said, “I am your brother Joseph, whom you have sold into Egypt.” And now do not grieve or reproach yourselves for having sold me here; for in order to preserve life, God sent me before you. For the famine has now been in the land for two years, and there are five years left in which there will be neither ploughing nor harvesting. God has sent me before you to keep you on earth and to keep you alive for a great salvation. And now, it is not you who have sent me here, but God; and he has made me the father of Pharaoh, and the lord of all his house, and the ruler of all the land of Egypt.”
- Genesis 50 (verses 19-21) describes Joseph’s forgiveness after the death of her father Jacob:
“But Joseph said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Am I in God’s place? You thought to do evil to me, but God intended to do it well, so that He might do as it is now in the day, to keep a great people alive. So do not be afraid: I will provide for you and your children. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
These sections are some of the central parts of the story. For the complete narrative, I recommend reading chapters 37 and 39-50 of Genesis in the Slaughter 2000 translation.
