Gen. 37
Full Lesson HERE
INTRODUCTION. Sometime after Jacob returned to Canaan, his father Isaac died. Isaac was 180 years old when he died, and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him in the cave in the field of Machpelah where Abraham and Sarah were buried (Gen. 35:27-29; 49:29-33).
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob. He was the first son of his mother Rachel who was Jacob's second and most beloved wife. Jacob loved Joseph more than his other children and showed his favoritism by giving Joseph a coat of many colors. As a result the older brothers were jealous and hated Joseph. Their resentment increased when Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father, and even more when he related his dreams in which his family bowed down to him.
When Joseph was seventeen, his father sent him to search for his brothers who were away in the fields tending the flocks. When the brothers saw Joseph approaching, they
conspired to seize him and slay him. The oldest brother Reuben persuaded the other brothers to cast Joseph into a pit instead of killing him. He then planned to rescue Joseph later and return him to their father.
However, while Reuben was absent, a caravan of merchants passed by on their way to Egypt. Judah suggested they sell Joseph to the traders instead of killing him. The other brothers agreed, and for twenty pieces of silver, they sold him to the traveling caravan of merchants. The merchants sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of the guard of Pharaoh's army.
When Reuben returned to the pit and found Joseph gone, in great distress he tore his clothes, wondering what he would tell his father. In order to deceive Jacob, the brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's coat into the blood of the animal. When they returned home and showed the coat to their father, he was certain Joseph had been killed by a wild animal and he mourned many days. Again, Jacob who had deceived his father Isaac was himself deceived. He was first deceived by his father-inlaw Laban, and this time by his sons.
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