Joseph was one of the 12 sons of a man Jacob in Canaan.
He had 10 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 favorite 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 colors 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 in the field.
All of a sudden, my sheeps stood upright while your sheafs bowed down to mine!
Simeon looked scornfully at 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? Runaway 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 will 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 colorful 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 20 silver coins.
When Rueben 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 favorite 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 sent him to jail.
When in jail, Joseph overheard 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 meant he would be released from prison in 3 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 Pharoah had a strange dream and could not sleep.
The next morning, he called all his wise men, ministers, and counselors 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 7 fat cows eating grass in a field.
Then 7 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 his 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 7 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 7 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 storages 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 honor 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 storages 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 10 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 recognize him
since it had been 10 years
since they had seen him.
But Joseph recognized his brothers.
He realized 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 had when he was a boy!
Where have you come from?
We are from a faraway land called Canaan.
The famine has struck us badly.
We are a family of 12
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 travelers 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!
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