₁Jacob continued to live in the land of Canaan, where his father had lived, ₂and this is the story of Jacob's family.

Joseph, a young man of seventeen, took care of the sheep and goats with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines. He brought bad reports to his father about what his brothers were doing.

₃Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons, because he had been born to him when he was old. He made a long robe with full sleeves for him. ₄When his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother so much that they would not speak to him in a friendly manner.

₁₂One day when Joseph's brothers had gone to Shechem to take care of their father's flock, ₁₃Jacob said to Joseph, “I want you to go to Shechem, where your brothers are taking care of the flock.”

Joseph answered, “I am ready.”

₁₄His father said, “Go and see if your brothers are safe and if the flock is all right; then come back and tell me.” So his father sent him on his way from the Valley of Hebron.

Joseph arrived at Shechem ₁₅and was wandering about in the country when a man saw him and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

₁₆“I am looking for my brothers, who are taking care of their flock,” he answered. “Can you tell me where they are?”

₁₇The man said, “They have already left. I heard them say that they were going to Dothan.” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

₁₈They saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted against him and decided to kill him. ₁₉They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer. ₂₀Come on now, let's kill him and throw his body into one of the dry wells. We can say that a wild animal killed him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams.”

₂₁Reuben heard them and tried to save Joseph. “Let's not kill him,” he said. ₂₂“Just throw him into this well in the wilderness, but don't hurt him.” He said this, planning to save him from them and send him back to his father. ₂₃When Joseph came up to his brothers, they ripped off his long robe with full sleeves. ₂₄Then they took him and threw him into the well, which was dry.

₂₅While they were eating, they suddenly saw a group of Ishmaelites travelling from Gilead to Egypt. Their camels were loaded with spices and resins. ₂₆Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother and covering up the murder? ₂₇Let's sell him to these Ishmaelites. Then we won't have to hurt him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed, ₂₈and when some Midianite traders came by, the brothers pulled Joseph out of the well and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.