BERESHITH (GENESIS) 37

Gen 37:1 And Ya‛aqoḇ dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the
land of Kena‛an.
Gen 37:2 This is the genealogy of Ya‛aqoḇ. Yosĕph, being seventeen years
old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the young man was with the
sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Yosĕph
brought an evil report of them to his father.
Gen 37:3 And Yisra’ĕl loved Yosĕph more than all his children, because he
was the son of his old age. And he made him a long robe.
Gen 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all
his brothers, they hated him and were not able to speak peaceably to him.
Gen 37:5 And Yosĕph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brothers. So they
hated him even more.
Gen 37:6 And he said to them, “Please listen to this dream which I have
dreamed:
Gen 37:7 “See, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and see,
my sheaf rose up and also stood up. And see, your sheaves stood all around
and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Gen 37:8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us?
Shall you indeed rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams
and for his words.
Gen 37:9 And he dreamed still another dream and related it to his brothers,
and said, “See, I have dreamed another dream, and see, the sun and the moon
and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”
Gen 37:10 And he related it to his father and his brothers. And his father
rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed?
Shall we, your mother and I and your brothers, indeed come to bow down to
the earth before you?”
Gen 37:11 And his brothers envied him, but his father guarded the word.
Gen 37:12 And his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Sheḵem.
Gen 37:13 And Yisra’ĕl said to Yosĕph, “Are not your brothers feeding the
flock in Sheḵem? Come, I send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Gen 37:14 And he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your
brothers and well with the sheep, and bring back word to me.” So he sent
him out of the Valley of Ḥeḇron, and he went to Sheḵem.
Gen 37:15 And a certain man found him, and see, he was wandering in the
field. And the man asked him, saying, “What do you seek?”
Gen 37:16 And he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please inform me where
they are feeding their sheep.”
Gen 37:17 And the man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let
us go towards Dothan.’ ” So Yosĕph went after his brothers and found them
in Dothan.
Gen 37:18 And they saw him from a distance, and before he came near them,
they plotted against him, to kill him.
Gen 37:19 And they said to each other, “See, this master of dreams is
coming!
Gen 37:20 “Now, then, come and let us now kill him and throw him into
some pit, and shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ Let us then see
what comes of his dreams!”
Gen 37:21 But Re’uḇĕn heard and rescued him from their hands, and said,
“Let us not take his life.”
Gen 37:22 And Re’uḇĕn said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this
pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him” – in order to
rescue him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
Gen 37:23 So it came to be, when Yosĕph had come to his brothers, that they
stripped Yosĕph of his robe, the long robe which was on him.
Gen 37:24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. And the pit was
empty, there was no water in it.
Gen 37:25 And they sat down to eat a meal. And they lifted their eyes and
looked and saw a company of Yishma‛ĕlites, coming from Gil‛aḏ with their
camels, bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take them down to
Mitsrayim.
Gen 37:26 And Yehuḏah said to his brothers, “What would we gain if we
kill our brother and conceal his blood?
Gen 37:27 “Come and let us sell him to the Yishma‛ĕlites, and let not our
hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh.” And his brothers listened.
Gen 37:28 And men, Miḏyanite traders passed by, so they pulled Yosĕph up
and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Yishma‛ĕlites for twenty
pieces of silver. And they took Yosĕph to Mitsrayim.
Gen 37:29 And Re’uḇĕn returned to the pit, and see, Yosĕph was not in the
pit. And he tore his garments.
Gen 37:30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! And
I, where am I to go?”
Gen 37:31 So they took Yosĕph’s robe, killed a male goat, and dipped the
robe in the blood,
Gen 37:32 and sent the long robe and brought it to their father and said, “We
have found this. Please look, is it the robe of your son or not?”
Gen 37:33 And he recognised it and said, “It is my son’s robe. An evil beast
has devoured him. Yosĕph is torn, torn to pieces.”
Gen 37:34 And Ya‛aqoḇ tore his garments, and put sackcloth on his waist,
and mourned for his son many days.
Gen 37:35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but
he refused to be comforted, and he said, “Now let me go down into the grave
to my son in mourning.” So his father wept for him.
Gen 37:36 And the Miḏanites had sold him in Mitsrayim to Potiphar, an
officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.