Joseph was one of the twelfth sons of a man Jacob in Canaan
He had Ten elder brothers and one younger brother
Joseph’s mother had died when she gave birth to his younger brother
Joseph and his brothers helped their father in the field
they also herded the sheep
Joseph was the favourite child of Jacob since he was young and innocent
Jacob spent a lot of time with Joseph
This made the brothers very jealous
On his seventeenth birthday Jacob gifted Joseph a beautiful coat
that had all the colours of the rainbow on it
Joseph was very happy
but his brothers were not they were now even more jealous
They felt that their father did not appreciate all the hard work they were doing for him
One night Joseph had a strange dream
He was very excited and he went to his brothers who were herding the sheep
hey Simeon, I had a very strange dream yesterday night you should hear this !
Oh look!….
Daddy’s little pet had a dream
Don’t waste my time boy!
I have a lot of work to do I can’t sit and dream all day like you
No listen! In my dream, we were all tying up sheep's in the field
All of a sudden, my sheep stood upright while your sheep's bowed down to mine!
Simeon looked scornfully at his Joseph and then at his brothers
Oh...he isn't just stupid He thinks that even we are stupid?
No….this was my dream!
And listen in another dream the sun the moon and the stars were all bowing down to me!
That was so beautiful!
So, now you want us to bow down to you huh?
Run away before we beat you with this stick!!
One day Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were resting on the hillside
They were actually talking about Joseph and how irritating he was
When they saw Joseph running to them from a distance
they got so angry that they actually planned to kill him
Reuben the eldest brother felt strongly against this
but he knew that his brothers were too angry to listen to him
Let’s kill this irritating boy and we won't have to worry about him ever again!
What do you think my brothers?
Come on Simeon We are his brothers We cannot just kill him We just......
throw him into this deserted well and decide what to do with him later
Hmm.. that's a good idea !
As Joseph came to where their brothers were resting
Simeon and Reuben held him while another brother took off his colourful coat
Then they threw him into the well
The brothers returned home leaving Joseph all alone in the well
Reuben was sad at what happened
he planned to come around later and rescue Jacob
Just then they saw a group of merchants were passing by
They were from Egypt and were returning after selling their merchandise
Then Levi, another brother had an idea
Why don’t we sell Joseph to these Egyptian merchants?
That way we can get rid of him once and for all without killing him!
That’s a great idea Levi let's do it
Call those merchants here
We will also have some money on our hands!
Where is Reuben?Will he agree with this?
Hmm.. He went home to pick up something
Don’t worry he will agree with us
The brothers tied Joseph’s hands behind his back
and sold their little brother to the merchants for twenty silver coins
When Reuben came back he was terrified to hear what his brothers had done
but he could not say anything
The brothers then took Jacob’s coat and sprinkled it with the blood of a goat
The brothers went back to Jacob
and told him that Joseph had been captured by a wild animal
Jacob burst out crying and he was deeply saddened for his favourite son's loss
Joseph was sold to a very rich Egyptian named Potiphar
He was an assistant to the Pharaoh
Joseph was very intelligent and hardworking
He was also very handsome
Potiphar was very pleased with Jacob and put him in charge of all his properties
Unfortunately Potiphar's wife one day had an unnecessary argument with Joseph
Since she was upset with him
she told lies about Joseph to her husband
Potiphar was angry with Joseph and he send him to jail
When in jail Joseph overhead two prisoners talking to each other
One prisoner was a servant to the Pharaoh and the other was a baker
I had the strangest dream yesterday night
I wish I could make some sense of it
My dreams are even more weird than yours
Maybe I can help you…
I can help you understand your dreams
Ha ha….
You’re just a boy
How are you going to understand my dreams?
I do not interpret them My god helps me
I will try to tell them what they mean
My God surely has a message for you
So, the servant described his dream to Joseph
Joseph listened to him carefully and told the servant
that his dream mean the would be released from prison in three days
and he would be taken back by the Pharaoh as his servant
Joseph asked the servant to remember him
when meets the Pharaoh and ask that he be released
Three days later the servant was released
just like Joseph had predicted!
But when he returned to the prison he forgot all about Joseph
And because of this Joseph remained in prison for two long years
One night the Pharaoh had a strange dream and could not sleep
The next morning he called all his wise men
ministers and counsellors and described his dream to them
Nobody had an answer to what they could mean
When the servant who was in jail with Joseph heard about this
he suddenly remembered his promise!
He ran to the Pharaoh and told him about the prisoner who could interpret dreams
The Pharaoh immediately summoned Joseph
So….My servant says you can interpret dreams
He tells me you are extremely gifted!
I am not capable of such things your majesty My God works through me
He can give you the meaning of your dreams
Describe your dream to me
Very well
In my dream I saw seven fat cows eating grass in a field
Then seven thin ugly cows rose up from the river Nile
and swallowed the seven fat cows!
What does this mean?
Joseph listened to the Pharaoh and then closed eyes for some time
He walked across the room and came back to the Pharaoh
My lord this dream you just described is very symbolic
It is a message from God
God is telling you that a great famine is coming It will last for seven years
There will be no food to grow no rains
A lot of people will starve and die
Oh...That is terrible news We are all doomed then!
Wait my lord, I am not finished yet
The dream came to you as a warning from God to prepare for the famine
There will be seven years of plenty before the famine
So, you can store up on Food grains and livestock
and other supplies during this period
You must make the most of this chance to produce excess food
so that you can store it for later
Oh…. You are right!
Thank God I found you This is great news
We will be prepared for the famine
We will produce plenty of food and build up storage's for the difficult times
Thank you Joseph
You are the most wise man in the kingdom
I am appointing you in charge of overseeing this work
Your majesty…The honour is truly mine!
These are not my powers God speaks through me
I am simply conveying his message to you
Joseph helped the king to grow extra food grains
and build storage's during the seven years of plenty
so that people would not starve during the seven year famine
He was also very popular among the people and earned their love and respect
The seven years of plenty had passed by
The famine started
In the places around Egypt animals were dying
lakes and rivers dried up, and people were starving to death
The people of Egypt had plenty to eat and drink
because of the work done by Pharaoh with Joseph
They had so much of grain stored up that they were selling
whatever was left to people outside of Egypt who were starving
Jacob and his sons were struck by the famine as well
Their crops had all failed
and their sheep had died one by one until nothing was left
They had heard of the Egyptian Pharaoh
who was selling food grains to people outside of Egypt
So, Jacob sent his Ten sons to Egypt to get food for the family
Benjamin, the youngest son stayed back with Jacob
When the brothers reached the palace of the Pharaoh
where the food grains were being distributed
they saw a royally dressed man sitting on a high chair
and supervising the distribution of the food
They approached him It was actually Joseph!
But they did not recognise him
since it had been Ten years since they had seen him
But Joseph recognised his brothers
He realised that they did not know it was him And he kept quiet
His brothers greeted him and then bowed down in front of him
Just like the dream he had when he was a boy!
Where have you come from?
We are from a far away land called Canaan
The famine has struck us badly
We are a family of twelve and we have come to buy some food grains
Our father is waiting for us at home
I do not believe you You look like spies
Are you here to bring harm to our people?
No my Lord we are not spies!
We are just hungry travellers in search of food
Please give us some food grains
and we will be on our way home to our father!
Please help us!!
Ok… Ok… get up I will sell you my grains
But you must bring your youngest brother and father
when you come next time
Thank you my Lord!
We will do that
The next time
Jacob and Benjamin went with the other brothers to Egypt to meet the Pharaoh
Joseph was overjoyed to see his father and little brother
After some time Joseph revealed himself to them!
Reuben, I am the brother you sold off to the Egyptians!
Oh my Brother! Its really you!
What have I done?
Do not fear me I hold no anger against you
Because of you, I was able to meet great people
and be of service to these people
I was able to help feed them in the time of starvation
I have earned their love and respect
All because of you!
I want all of you to come here in Egypt and live with me
Jacob could not believe that his darling son was alive after all these years!
He ran to him and hugged him
while his brothers bowed down to him
just as he had dreamt many many years ago!