Old TestamentBeginner II · Story 6Genesis 37:12-36

The Pit at Dothan

Joseph goes to find his brothers, who are with their father's flock. They take his tunic and throw him into a pit. Then merchants draw him out, and he is sold and taken to Egypt. The brothers bring the tunic with blood on it to their father. Read the story in simple English, with the real verse at the end.

Start this storyStory + 4 lessons · ~41 min · free

One man in a tunic of many colors stands on open land while a group of men looks at him from a distance

The words in this story

10 words you will really use: they appear in the story and in the exercises, and come back for review in the next stories.

valley
low land between hills or mountains
noun
flesh
the soft part of a body, under the skin; in Judah's words, a person of our own family
noun
silver
a shiny, gray metal that people use for coins and jewelry
noun
blood
the red liquid in the body of people and animals
noun
without
not having something, with none of it (a pit with no water in it)
preposition
sell
to give something to a person who pays money for it
verb
draw
to pull something up or out of a place
verb
male
of the kind that can be a father: a man, a boy, or an animal like a he-goat
adjective
devour
to eat something very fast and completely
verb
tear
to pull something apart with force, so that it is no longer whole
verb

What you'll discover

The moments of the story, in the order they happen.

Their father sends Joseph to his brothers, and a man asks him what he is looking for.
The brothers see Joseph far away and want to kill him, but Reuben says to let him live.
The brothers take off Joseph's tunic and throw him into a pit with no water.
Judah says to sell Joseph; merchants draw him out of the pit, and he is sold and taken to Egypt.
The brothers bring the tunic with blood on it to their father, and Jacob cries for his son many days.

Original verse

The verse that closes the story, in the World English Bible. After 4 lessons, this is how you read it: the real text, with nothing simplified.

Genesis 37:23 · WEB

When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him;

Context

One detail about the scene, with the work it comes from.

Where and when

Where was Shechem? The unfoldingWord Translation Words article on Shechem says that it was a town in Canaan, about 40 miles north of Jerusalem.

Source: Translation Words (en_tw) · CC BY-SA 4.0

What a story looks like

First the whole story, in simple English with audio for every sentence. Then 4 short lessons, each with a piece of the story, a tip and exercises. At the end, the Bible verse and a little celebration.

The story · 18 sentences, with the meaning of each word on tap, 3 quick questions about the story
4 lessons · a piece of the story, a tip and exercises in each one
The original verse · the Bible text, unadapted, then the next story

Questions about this story

Which Bible passage is this story from?

Genesis 37:12 to 36, in the World English Bible.

Where does Joseph find his brothers?

In Dothan. A man tells him that they have left, and Joseph goes after them (Genesis 37:15-17).

What do the brothers do with Joseph's tunic?

They take it off him, dip it in the blood of a male goat and bring it to their father (Genesis 37:23, 31-32).

What does Reuben say to his brothers?

He says: Let’s not take his life (Genesis 37:21).

What does Jacob say when he sees the tunic?

He says that an evil animal has devoured Joseph, and he mourns for his son many days (Genesis 37:33-34).

How close is it to the Bible?

It follows Genesis 37:12 to 35 in order, in short sentences. It leaves out some details, such as most of the brothers' talk and Reuben's return to the pit, and the last verse. The real verse at the end is Genesis 37:23.

Other questions:Do I need to know English?Does Biblup teach doctrine?