Joseph’s betrayal by his brothers is recorded in Genesis 37. Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob and the firstborn of Rachel, was favored by his father. Jacob gave him a tunic of many colors, which caused resentment among his older brothers (Genesis 37:3–4). Joseph also had two prophetic dreams in which he appeared to rule over his family, which further fueled their hatred (Genesis 37:5–11).
One day, Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers who were pasturing the flocks near Shechem. When they saw him coming, they conspired to kill him. They said, “Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him’” (Genesis 37:20). Reuben, the oldest, intervened, suggesting they throw him into a pit instead, intending to rescue him later (Genesis 37:21–22).
When Joseph reached them, they stripped him of his tunic and cast him into a pit without water (Genesis 37:23–24). While they sat to eat, a company of Ishmaelite traders passed by on their way to Egypt. Judah then proposed selling Joseph to them for twenty shekels of silver, saying, “Let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh” (Genesis 37:26–28). The brothers agreed, and Joseph was taken to Egypt as a slave.
They then took Joseph’s tunic, dipped it in goat’s blood, and brought it to their father, leading Jacob to believe that Joseph had been killed by a wild beast (Genesis 37:31–33). Jacob mourned deeply for his son, refusing to be comforted.
Though intended for evil, this betrayal became part of God’s providential plan. Joseph eventually rose to power in Egypt and preserved many lives during a great famine. When he later revealed himself to his brothers, he said, “You meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).
Joseph’s betrayal teaches about the providence of God in using even sinful acts to accomplish His purposes. It also foreshadows the rejection and eventual exaltation of Christ, who was betrayed by His own and later became the Savior of the world.
