Genesis 37:12-22

An Opportunity For Revenge

Joseph's brothers took their father's sheep to the area around Shechem. Remember, this area would have been fraught with potential danger because of the slaughter worked by Simeon and Levi. That may have been why Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. However, when he arrived at Shechem in the valley of Hebron, he could not find them. A man told him he had heard them say they were going on to Dothan.

Joseph caught up to his brothers in Dothan. Before he ever reached them, they said, "Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, 'Some wild beast has devoured him.' We shall see what will become of his dreams!" Reuben suggested they not shed blood but cast Joseph into a pit, or empty cistern. The inspired writer says his plan was to rescue Joseph and safely return him to his father (Genesis 37:12-22).