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Page 14
[Illustration: _Back to the Land of Canaan_]
Of all his children, Jacob loved Joseph the best, because he was
Rachel's child; because he was so much younger than most of his
brothers; and because he was good, and faithful, and thoughtful. Jacob
gave to Joseph a robe or coat of bright colors, made somewhat like a
long cloak with wide sleeves. This was a special mark of Jacob's favor
to Joseph, and it made his older brothers envious of him.
Then, too, Joseph did what was right, while his older brothers often did
very wrong acts, of which Joseph sometimes told their father; and this
made them very angry at Joseph. But they hated him still more because of
two strange dreams he had, and of which he told them. He said one day:
"Listen to this dream that I have dreamed. I dreamed that we were out in
the field binding sheaves, when suddenly my sheaf stood up, and all your
sheaves came around it and bowed down to my sheaf!"
And they said scornfully, "Do you suppose that the dream means that you
will some time rule over us, and that we shall bow down to you?"
Then, a few days after, Joseph said, "I have dreamed again. This time, I
saw in my dream the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars, all come and
bow to me!"
And his father said to him, "I do not like you to dream such dreams.
Shall I, and your mother, and your brothers, come and bow down before
you as if you were a king?"
His brothers hated Joseph, and would not speak kindly to him; but his
father thought much of what Joseph had said.
At one time, Joseph's ten brothers were taking care of the flock in the
fields near Shechem, which was nearly fifty miles from Hebron, where
Jacob's tents were spread. And Jacob wished to send a message to his
sons, and he called Joseph, and said to him:
"Your brothers are near Shechem with the flock. I wish that you would go
to them, and take a message, and find if they are well, and if the
flocks are doing well; and bring me word from them."
That was quite an errand, for a boy to go alone over the country, and
find his way, for fifty miles, and then walk home again. But Joseph was
a boy who could take care of himself, and could be trusted; so he went
forth on his journey, walking northward over the mountains, past
Bethlehem, and Jerusalem, and Bethel--though we are not sure those
cities were then built, except Jerusalem, which was already a strong
city.
When Joseph reached Shechem, he could not find his brothers, for they
had taken their flocks to another place. A man met Joseph wandering in
the field, and asked him, "Whom are you seeking?"
Joseph said, "I am looking for my brothers; the sons of Jacob. Can you
tell me where I will find them?"
And the man said, "They are at Dothan; for I heard them say that they
were going there."
Then Joseph walked over the hills to Dothan, which was fifteen miles
further. And his brothers saw him afar off coming toward them. They knew
him by his bright garment; and one said to another: "Look, that dreamer
is coming! Come, let us kill him, and throw his body into a pit, and
tell his father that some wild beast has eaten him; and then we will see
what becomes of his dreams."
[Illustration: _Walking northward over the mountains_]
One of his brothers, whose name was Reuben, felt more kindly toward
Joseph than the others. He said:
"Let us not kill him, but let us throw him into this pit, in the
wilderness, and leave him there to die."
But Reuben intended, after they had gone away, to lift Joseph out of the
pit, and take him home to his father. The brothers did as Reuben told
them; they threw Joseph into the pit, which was empty. He cried, and
begged them to save him; but they would not. They calmly sat down to eat
their dinner on the grass, while their brother was calling to them from
the pit.
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