The Twelve Brothers

Once there were twelve brothers who were shepherds. They were Abraham’s great-grandsons. Their father, Jacob, loved Joseph best of all and this made the others very jealous. And when one day their father gave Joseph a beautiful coat of many colors, the brothers grew very angry.

Now Joseph had a dream one night, and he said to his brothers: “Hear my dream which I dreamed.

“I thought we were binding sheaves in the field: and my sheaf arose as it were, and stood, and your sheaves standing about, bowed down before my sheaf.” (Gen. 37:6, 7.)

Then the brothers hated him still more and said: “Shalt thou be our king?” (ver. 8).

And Joseph had another dream which he told his father and brothers, saying: “I saw in a dream, as it were, the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars worshipping me” (ver. 9). But his father scolded him and asked: “What meaneth this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother, and thy brethren worship thee upon the earth?” (ver. 10).

One day the brothers were far away feeding their flocks and Jacob sent Joseph to see how they were. And when they saw Joseph coming in the distance, they said: “Here comes the dreamer. Let’s kill him and throw him into some old pit and say that he was eaten up by a wild beast.” But Ruben wanted to save his brother’s life, and so he said: “Don’t let’s kill him but just throw him into this pit.” And Ruben meant to come back later and draw Joseph out.

So when Joseph came up to them, they pulled off his coat of many colors and threw him into the pit.

And whilst they were eating their lunch, they saw some men passing by on their camels. They were on their way to Egypt to sell sweet spices.

Then Juda said to the others: “What good will it do us to kill Joseph and then try to hide what we have done? Let’s sell him to these men.” So they drew the boy out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.

Then they took the coat of many colors and dipped it in the blood of a kid which they killed and they sent the coat to their father with the message: “This we have found: see whether it be thy son’s coat or not” (ver. 32). And when Jacob saw Joseph’s coat all covered with blood, he thought he had been eaten up by a wild beast, and he cried and cried and no one could stop him.

When the merchants reached Egypt, they sold Joseph to a captain in the King’s army.

All went well with Joseph until the captain’s wife, getting angry, lied about him and had him thrown into prison. Here Joseph found the chief baker who made the fine breads and cakes for Pharao, the King, and the chief butler who poured the sparkling wine into the King’s own cup.

Now one night, the baker and butler each had a dream and they were worried because they could not think what it meant. And they spoke to Joseph, and he said that no one could tell what a dream meant unless God let him know. Now God loved Joseph very much and always took care of him and He also let him know the meaning of dreams when He Himself sent them. God does not send all our dreams, but once in a while He speaks to certain persons by a dream and then He always lets them know what the dream means. But unless they come from God, dreams have no meaning at all.

The butler told his dream first and said: “I saw before me a vine, on which were three branches, which by little and little sent out buds, and after the blossoms brought forth ripe grapes. And the cup of Pharao was in my hand: and I took the grapes and pressed them into the cup which I held, and I gave the cup to Pharao” (40:9-11).

Then Joseph said: “The three branches are three days after which Pharao will remember how you used to pour the wine into his cup. Then he will send for you and you will wait on him once more. But when you are free again, remember me and ask the King to take me out of this prison. For I was stolen away from my own country and without any fault of mine, was thrown into this dungeon.”

Then the baker said: “I also dreamed a dream, That I had three baskets of meal upon my head:

“And that in one basket which was uppermost, I carried all meats that are made by the art of baking, and that the birds ate out of it.”

“Joseph answered: ‘The three baskets are yet three days:”

“After which Pharao will take thy head from thee, and hang thee on a cross, and the birds shall tear thy flesh.’”

“The third day after this was the birthday of Pharao and he made a great feast for his servants and at the banquet remembered the chief butler and the chief baker” (ver. 16-20).

And the King sent for the butler and let him pour his wine once more, but the baker he hanged.

And the butler being free again, forgot all about poor Joseph.

After two long years, Pharao himself had a dream. He thought he stood by the river out of which came seven beautiful cows, sleek and fat, and they fed in marshy places. Then out of the river came seven miserable, thin cows and they ate up the seven fat cows and yet were as thin as before. Then the King woke up, but falling asleep again, he had another dream: “Seven ears of corn came up upon one stalk full and fair:

“Then seven other ears sprung up thin and blasted” (41:5, 6). And the bad ears ate up the good ears.

Then Pharao awoke and when morning was come, being very much afraid, he sent for all the wise men of Egypt. And when they had all gathered in the palace, the King told them his dreams. But not one was able to tell their meaning. At last the butler remembered Joseph and told the King that there was in prison a young Hebrew who could tell the meaning of dreams.

Then Pharao commanded Joseph to be brought before him. And he said to him: “I have dreamed dreams but no one can tell me their meaning.” And Joseph said: “God will give thee an answer through me.”

Then the King told his dreams and Joseph answered that the seven fat cows and the seven full ears were seven years of great plenty in Egypt when the crops would be very great. And that the seven thin cows and the seven bad ears of corn were seven years of want and famine that would come after the seven years of plenty and that during them, all the grain that had been grown in the good years would be eaten up.

And Joseph told the King to place one man over the whole country to see that barns were built so that plenty of grain could be stored away to feed the people during the seven bad years.

The King was delighted with Joseph’s answer and seeing that he was wiser than any other man in the land, he placed him in charge of the whole of Egypt.

Now everything happened just as Joseph had said, and when the seven years of want had spread over the whole world, “there was bread in all the land of Egypt” (ver. 54). And when the people, growing hungry, cried to Pharao for food, he said to them: “Go to Joseph: and do all that he shall say to you” (ver. 55).

The famine grew greater day by day, and Joseph opened all the barns and sold grain to the people. And all the other countries sent to Egypt to buy food.

“And Jacob hearing that food was sold in Egypt, said to his sons: ‘Why are ye careless?”

“I have heard that wheat is sold in Egypt: go ye down, and buy.’” (42:1, 2).

So the ten brothers went down to Egypt whilst Jacob kept Benjamin, the youngest, at home lest some harm come to him upon the journey.

When the brothers stood before Joseph, they did not know him but he knew them and pretended that he thought they were spies. But they said that they were all brothers who had come only to buy corn and that their youngest brother was at home.

Then Joseph said that one of them would have to stay whilst the others went home and brought Benjamin back to show that they had spoken the truth. So they left Simeon and went off with their bags filled with corn.

Jacob was very sad when he heard all that happened and he was unwilling to let Benjamin go for he loved him dearly. But when at last they had eaten all the corn and Juda promised that he would bring Benjamin back in safety, Jacob let them leave.

When Joseph saw his brothers once more and had looked upon Benjamin, he longed to tell them who he was. But he wanted first to see whether their hearts had changed since the day they had planned to kill him. So he ordered his steward to fill their sacks with corn and to place in Benjamin’s sack his own silver cup.

And when it was morning, the brothers left the city. Then Joseph sent his steward after them to say that they had stolen his silver cup. The steward did as he was told, but the brothers declared that they had not stolen the cup and that if it were found with them, they would go back and be the servants of Joseph.

Quickly they unloaded their sacks and opened them and the steward searched, beginning with the oldest. When he came to the youngest, there was the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack! With heavy hearts, they went back to Joseph and said that they would stay and be his servants. But Joseph said that they could all go home except Benjamin.

Thereupon Juda went up to Joseph and begged him to keep him in place of his brother, and he told him how he had promised to bring Benjamin back in safety and that his father loved him so greatly that he would die if he did not return.

Then Joseph said to them all: “Come nearer to me. … I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Be not afraid (ver. 4, 5), for God let all happen so that I might save you from dying of hunger. Hurry home and bring back our father and everything you own and I will give you land to live upon and will feed you, for there are yet five years of famine.”

And Jacob cried for joy when he heard that Joseph was alive, and he and his whole family settled in Egypt and lived there happily for many years.