CHAPTER XI.

JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve, but he loved Joseph better than all the rest because he was the child of his old age. And he made him a coat of many colors. And when his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all his other children, they hated the boy, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

Though but a lad, he went out with his elder brothers to help them feed their flocks, and he brought back word to his father of all their evil deeds and the harsh way in which he was treated by them.

And Joseph dreamed a dream: and he told it to his brethren, and they hated him the more. And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. For behold we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf

arose and stood upright; and behold your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over

us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream;

and behold the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.

And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee, to the earth? And his brethren envied him; but his father took note of these things.

Now his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem-forty miles north of Hebron-where Jacob had bought a piece of land.

And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said, Here am I.

And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, and see if it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me back word. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

And a certain man found him wandering in the field, and said to him, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

And the man said, They have left this place; for I heard them say, Let as go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them at Dothan, which was eight miles further on.

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they began to plan in what way they should take his life.

And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into come pit: and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

Reuben was Jacob's eldest son, and when he heard what his brothers said, he felt that he must save the boy in some way, for it would not do to kill him.

So he said to them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him. Reuben thought if they would do this that he would watch his chance and get Joseph out of the pit, and send him back safely to his father.

As soon as Joseph came where his brethren were they stripped off his coat of many colors, and threw him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

These pits were old wells that had dried up, and were left on the fields as traps for wild beasts. If a lion, or tiger, fell into one of these pits there was no chance for it to get out, and it would soon starve to death, and be the prey of wolves and jackals. Well the cruel brothers knew what would be Joseph's fate if left in the pit over night. Yet they sat down to eat and drink, and to be merry at his expense.

And as they lifted their eyes they saw a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels laden with spices, balm, and myrrh, which they were taking to Egypt to sell.

And Judah said to his brethren, What profit will it be to us if we kill our brother, and hide his blood? Let us rather sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, and our flesh. And they agreed to do this.

Then there came along some Midianite merchants, and the wicked brothers drew Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. And when Reuben went to the pit behold Joseph was not there; and he tore his clothes, so great was his grief. And he went back to his brethren, not knowing what they had done, and cried out, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? for he knew that his father would expect him to watch over Joseph, and that it would break the old man's heart to have any harm come to his dear boy.

The wicked brothers, having got rid of Joseph, knew that they would have to make some excuse to their father for his absence. So they killed one of the young kids, and took Joseph's coat and dipped it in the blood. And they brought the coat home to their father, and said, This have we found. Is it thy son's coat?

And Jacob knew it, and said, It is my son's coat. An evil beast hath devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.

And Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth around his

loins-that is, around his waist-and mourned for his son many days. To tear the clothes, to wear sackcloth, and to put ashes on the head, were in olden times the signs of great sorrow or great shame. This was the penance men did for their sins, which they thought was the cause of all their woes.

Jacob refused to be comforted for the loss of Joseph, and said, I will go down into the grave and unto my son, mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

The Midianites took Joseph to Egypt and sold him to