“Chapter 12: Joseph,” Old Testament Stories (1980), 50–53
“Chapter 12,” Old Testament Stories, 50–53
Chapter 12
Joseph

Jacob’s family lived in the land of Canaan. It was the promised land.

Joseph was one of Jacob’s sons. He was 17 years old.

Jacob loved Joseph more than he loved his other sons. This made the other sons angry. Jacob made a beautiful coat for Joseph. It had many colors.

Joseph had two dreams. He told his dreams to his brothers. His dreams meant that he would be their leader.

Joseph’s brothers did not want him to be their leader. They hated him.

Joseph’s brothers took care of the animals. They took the animals far from home to find food.

One day Jacob told Joseph to go find his brothers. Jacob wanted to know if they were all right.

Joseph went to look for his brothers. They saw him coming. They wanted to kill Joseph.

One brother did not want to kill Joseph. He said they should put Joseph into a hole in the ground. They took Joseph’s coat away from him. They put Joseph in the hole.

Some men came along riding on camels. Joseph’s brothers took him out of the hole. They sold him to the men. The men took Joseph to Egypt.

The brothers killed a goat. They put the goat’s blood on Joseph’s coat. They took the coat to their father.

Jacob saw the blood on Joseph’s coat. He thought a wild animal had killed Joseph.

Jacob cried. He was sad for a long time. He loved Joseph very much. He thought Joseph was dead.