Chapter Two - His Arrival
Joseph was a bit bewildered; he had searched all around Shechem and could find no signs of his brothers, or the flocks. As he was wandering in a field a man found him and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
Joseph replied, “I am looking for my brothers, can you tell me where they are feeding their flocks?”
The man said to him, “They have gone; I heard them say, ‘Let’s go down to Dothan’.”
Joseph was relieved, now he knew where they were, but he was not pleased at the prospect of further travel to catch up to them. He was glad he had packed some extra food; he would certainly need it now. Joseph decided to spend the night at Shechem.
Joseph’s thoughts turned again to his mother Rachel; she was still alive when they were at Bethel. Fond memories flooded into his mind as he prepared his camp for the night. Joseph made himself a meal, gave thanks to God for it and committed the rest of his journey to God’s care and protection. Then Joseph got comfortable for the night and fell asleep.
Next morning Joseph awoke refreshed and contemplated the trip to Dothan, he hoped his brothers were at Dothan. After a quick meal, he set off down the trail. 'My brothers will be surprised when they see me.’ He could not remember going to Dothan before, so the terrain was not familiar. ‘I should be there tomorrow.’
Joseph thanked God for watching over him; the trip had been hot and tiring, but it had been without danger or harm. As the sun’s rays disappeared into the western sky, Joseph made camp. 'Sometime tomorrow, I should catch up with my brothers. It will be good to check up on them and then head back to Hebron and Father.’ Joseph settled himself for the night and meditated on the goodness of God, before dropping peacefully off to sleep.
The following morning Joseph woke early and made an early start for Dothan. He had been walking for several hours when he spotted a large camp in the distance. 'That will probably be them, if it is, my trip will soon be over.' Joseph quickened his steps in anticipation.
Naphtali saw him in the distance and recognised the coat. “Joseph is coming.” He said loudly, and pointed to the person approaching their camp.
Simeon and Levi looked up and saw the solitary figure in the distance.
“Yes, it’s him, look at that coat.” said Levi.
“I wonder what he’s doing here?” said Simeon.
“Probably come to lord it over us.” said Levi.
“Get the others together and we will decide what we will do to him,” said Simeon.
The brothers quickly met together and said to each other, “Look, the Master of dreams is coming. Let’s kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see what happens to those dreams.”
Reuben, the eldest brother heard what they had spoken and said to them, “Let’s not kill him. Don’t murder him, or even harm him; let’s throw him into a dry well in the wilderness and leave him there.” Reuben planned to rescue Joseph from the well and deliver him back to Jacob.
The ten brothers watched Joseph approach the camp, their hatred welling up inside them. Reuben hated Joseph also, but he could not bear to think of Jacob’s reaction if he found out that Joseph had been murdered by his own brothers.
Joseph drew near their camp; he had recognised his brothers a little way back and was glad that he had finally caught up with them. He could see his brothers standing together to meet him. 'I wonder if they will be happy to see me. Oh, well! I will know soon enough.’
Judah said to the others, “As soon as he gets close, grab him and rip that coat off.”
“Good!” said Dan.
Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher had strong reasons to hate Joseph. Joseph was always telling Jacob when they got up to mischief; consequently they were constantly reprimanded by Jacob. With the exception of Reuben, the brothers could hardly wait to get their hands on Joseph.
Joseph walked up to his brothers; from the sullen looks on their faces he could see that they were not pleased to see him. Their malice could no longer be restrained.
“Grab him!” yelled Naphtali.
Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher rushed forward and seized Joseph then proceeded to drag him to the others.
“Let me go.” said Joseph.
“Be quiet!” said Zebulon.
“But, Father sent me to see how you were getting on,” said Joseph.
“Silence!” roared Judah.
“Take his fancy coat off,” said Issachar.
Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher forcibly removed Joseph’s coat, with Joseph protesting and hindering them as much as he could.
“Give it to me.”, said Judah and he took the coat from them.
“Well, what do we do now?” asked Simeon.
“Find a dry well and throw him in.”, replied Levi.
“There is an old well on the outskirts of the camp.” said Issachar.
“Is it deep?” asked Judah.
“Yes.” replied Issachar.
“Come on, what are we waiting for?” said Zebulon.
Joseph was dragged off towards the well.
‘This can’t be happening to me. Surely this is a bad dream.’
“Stop this, let me go!” yelled Joseph.
“Be quiet, we know you have only come to lord it over us.” said Simeon.
“That’s not true, Father sent me to check on you and the flocks.” said Joseph.
“Lies, all lies.” said Asher.
Joseph continued to protest but they did not take any notice and dragged him inexorably to the well. Joseph prayed silently to God for deliverance.
“Here it is!” said Issachar. The well was dry and about seven metres deep. Dan, Naphtali, Gad and Asher picked up Joseph and threw him into the pit.
Joseph landed heavily; fortunately, the bottom of the well had silted up and was very sandy. The sudden impact knocked the breath out of him. He lay gasping for breath. Gradually, his breathing returned to normal. He looked up, his brothers were laughing scornfully at him.
“Well Master dreamer, dream your way out of this.” Levi yelled to him.
Joseph looked painfully up at his brothers. The physical abuse and mental anguish were beginning to take their toll on him. He lay quietly on the bottom of the well.
“Come on, let’s go back to camp.” said Judah.
“The Master dreamer’s not going anywhere.” said Zebulon.
The ten brothers headed back to their camp for a meal. Reuben went ahead of the others to organise a few things so he could rescue Joseph. He finished eating as soon as he could, and without attracting attention to himself, he went to his tent to finalise his plan of action. The others leisurely continued to eat their meal. They were feeling smug and satisfied with themselves.
As they ate they noticed a camel caravan heading their way. What they saw was a company of Ishmeelite traders on their way south, probably going to Egypt. A flash of inspiration came to Judah.
“What will we gain if we kill our brother and hide his body? Let’s sell him to the Ishmeelites and not harm him. After all, he is our brother.” The others liked the idea, it pleased them.
Judah went to greet the Ishmeelites. They were Midianite merchants from Gilead. Their camels were laden with spices, balm and myrrh which they would sell in Egypt. Judah exchanged greetings with them and asked them if they were interested in buying a youth to sell as a slave. The Midianites agreed, as good healthy slaves were much sought after in Egypt. They told Judah that the going price for a young slave was twenty pieces of silver. Judah hurried back to his brothers.
Joseph slowly sat up; no bones appeared to be broken. He sat dejectedly in the sand. The sides of the well were sheer and rose vertically to the top. He could not climb out unaided.
Joseph was perplexed; he had not done anything to deserve this rough treatment from his brothers.
‘Are they going to leave me here without food and water? Will they leave me here to die?' Joseph anguished over the possibilities as his mind churn
ed over what had happened to him.
Judah and the others hurried to the pit. They looked down and saw that Joseph was sitting up.
“Here catch this rope.” said Judah.
The rope was thrown down to Joseph. Joseph was glad to see the rope; he tied a loop in the end of it and put it over his head and under his shoulders. They drew Joseph up out of the pit and grabbed him again.
‘Oh no! What I going to do?’
They marched Joseph back to the camp. “What are you doing now?” asked Joseph.
“You will soon find out?” snarled Levi.
Then Joseph noticed the caravan and wondered why he was being taken to the Ishmeelites.
”Here is the lad.” Judah said to the leader of the Ishmeelites. “Here are your twenty pieces of silver.” he replied and counted out the money.
Joseph could not believe what he was hearing. His own brothers were selling him as a slave! Joseph was deeply shocked. In a daze, he watched the Ishmeelites take a rope and tie his hands together.
“You can’t do this to me.” He wailed to his brothers.They stood silently and watched Joseph being led to one of the camels. The Ishmeelites mounted Joseph on a camel and tied him securely to the beast. Joseph was shattered, now he was a slave! This realisation, and his brother’s treachery, was dumbfounding. The Ishmeelites mounted their camels and moved off. Joseph felt the beast move under him and the steady sway of its body as it settled into its normal gait. Joseph turned and looked at his brothers.
His brothers watched the caravan move off and saw the look of despair and anguish on Joseph’s face. They were pleased they had finally gotten rid of him!
Reuben hurried to the well; he had taken more time than he reckoned on to put his plan into action to rescue Joseph. Reuben looked down into the well, he could not see Joseph. He called down into the well, “Joseph, Joseph.” There was only silence from the well. ‘The others must have taken him away.’ Reuben rent his clothes; Father would hold him responsible if anything bad happened to Joseph. He hurried back to the camp and said to his brothers. “The lad’s not there, what will I do?”
Judah explained what they had done with Joseph. Reuben was relieved that they had not killed him. "What shall we tell Father?”
Judah remembered Joseph’s coat. "Here’s his coat, we’ll kill a kid from the goat herd and dip the coat in the blood. We’ll tell Father a wild animal must have killed him.”
The others agreed with Judah’s plan, then killed a kid, and dipped Joseph’s fancy coat in the blood.
Reuben said, “We’ve been at Dothan long enough, let’s go back to Hebron.”
The others agreed, the sooner they got away from this place the better. They would not admit it to each other but they were troubled by Joseph’s last look at them.