Genesis 37: How Was Joseph Sold into Egypt?

Joseph was sold into Egypt after his brothers’ hatred and jealousy grew into a murder plot. Genesis 37 shows how the conflict deepened by their father’s special love and Joseph’s dreams led to the pit, the sale, and Jacob’s grief.

Why Did the Brothers Hate Joseph?

Israel loved Joseph more deeply than his other sons and made him a multicolored robe for him. Seeing that their father loved Joseph more than them, the brothers hated Joseph. They spoke to him with words mixed with resentment.

Their hatred grew even stronger when Joseph told them the dreams he had dreamed. In the first dream, the brothers’ sheaves of grain surrounded Joseph’s sheaf and bowed down to it. The brothers asked whether Joseph would become their king and rule over them, and because of that dream and those words they hated him even more.

Joseph also shared a second dream in which the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to him. His father rebuked Joseph and asked him what the dream meant. The brothers were jealous of Joseph, and his father kept the matter in mind.

How Did Hatred Grow into a Murder Plot?

When the brothers were grazing their flock in Shechem, Israel told Joseph to go and see whether all was well with his brothers and the flock. Joseph could not find his brothers in Shechem, but after listening to one man’s directions, he followed them as far as Dothan.

Before Joseph even came near, the brothers saw him from a distance. They plotted to kill him and throw him into a pit, then say that a wild animal had devoured him. They also said that after doing so, they would see what would become of his dreams. The hatred and jealousy in their hearts led to a plan to destroy a life.

Reuben said they should not harm Joseph’s life but should throw him into a pit. Reuben intended to rescue Joseph and return him to his father. The brothers stripped Joseph of his multicolored robe and threw him into an empty pit with no water in it.

How Did Joseph End Up in Egypt?

While the brothers sat down to eat, they saw a caravan of people coming down to Egypt. Instead of killing Joseph and hiding his blood, Judah suggested selling him to the Ishmaelites. He said that Joseph was their brother, their own flesh and blood, and the brothers followed his words.

The merchants passing by pulled Joseph up from the pit. Joseph was sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took Joseph to Egypt. Later, in Egypt, a Midianite sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials and the captain of the guard.

The brothers dipped Joseph’s robe in the blood of a male goat and sent it to their father. When Jacob recognized the robe, he concluded that Joseph had been torn apart by a wild animal. He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for a long time.

Stop Before Acting in a Harmful Way

In Genesis 37, the brothers’ hatred did not lead to Joseph’s sale all at once. They spoke to Joseph with words mixed with resentment, hated him even more, became jealous, and then planned to kill him. Finally, they threw Joseph into a pit, sold him to others, and caused their father to make a false judgment through the bloodstained robe.

Today, when you are about to speak or act in a harmful way because of hatred toward someone close to you, pause once. Instead of acting on it, practice one thing that helps you examine that heart and the consequences that will follow from it. Read Read Genesis 37 again and trace, step by step, how the brothers’ hatred grew into action.

Scripture References

• Genesis 37:1-11
• Genesis 37:12-24
• Genesis 37:25-36