Once upon a time, in the land of Canaan, there lived a man named Jacob who had twelve sons. Among them, his eleventh son, Joseph, was born to his beloved wife, Rachel. Joseph was special to Jacob, and he loved him more than any of his other sons. This affection did not go unnoticed by his brothers, who grew increasingly jealous. But Joseph was a dreamer, and his dreams often stirred up trouble.
One day, Joseph had a peculiar dream. In it, he and his brothers were in a field binding sheaves of grain. Suddenly, Joseph’s sheaf rose tall while his brothers’ sheaves bowed down to it. When Joseph excitedly shared this dream with his brothers, they were infuriated. They could not bear the thought of their younger brother ruling over them, even in a dream. But Joseph’s dreams didn’t stop there. He had another one in which the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed before him. His brothers’ jealousy turned into hatred.
One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers, who were tending sheep far from home. Joseph, ever obedient, set off immediately. But as his brothers saw him approaching from a distance, they hatched an evil plan. “Here comes that dreamer,” they muttered. “Let’s kill him and see what becomes of his dreams.”
But Reuben, the eldest, couldn’t bear the thought of killing Joseph. He persuaded his brothers to throw Joseph into a dry pit instead, secretly planning to rescue him later. So, they stripped Joseph of his special coat—his father’s gift—and tossed him into the pit. As they sat down to eat, a caravan of Ishmaelite merchants appeared in the distance, traveling toward Egypt. Judah, one of the brothers, had an idea. “Why kill him when we can sell him?” he suggested. The brothers agreed, and they sold Joseph to the merchants for twenty pieces of silver.
When the brothers returned home, they smeared Joseph’s coat with goat’s blood and told their father that a wild animal had devoured him. Jacob was heartbroken. His grief was so deep that he refused to be comforted, mourning for Joseph for many days.
Meanwhile, the Ishmaelite merchants brought Joseph to Egypt, where they sold him to Potiphar, an official in Pharaoh’s court. Though Joseph was far from home, the Lord was with him. Everything Joseph touched prospered, and Potiphar noticed. Pleased with Joseph’s work, Potiphar put him in charge of his entire household, entrusting him with everything he owned.
But trouble soon found Joseph again. Potiphar’s wife, wicked and deceitful, noticed Joseph’s handsome looks and strong build.
She tried to tempt him into sinning with her, but Joseph, a man of integrity, refused. “I cannot sin against God and my master,” he told her firmly. Angered by his refusal, she lied to her husband, accusing Joseph of behaving dishonorably toward her. Potiphar, outraged by the false accusation, had Joseph thrown into prison.
Even in prison, God did not abandon Joseph. The Lord showed him kindness, and soon, the jail warden recognized Joseph’s abilities and placed him in charge of all the prisoners. Though he was far from his family and unjustly imprisoned, Joseph remained faithful, trusting that the Lord’s hand was still upon him.
