Sefer ha-yashar (Book of the Upright)

And it happened that one day, the sons of Jacob went to graze their sheep in Shechem, for they still grazed in Shechem in those days. And when the sons of Jacob were grazing their flock in Shechem, one day they were delayed and the hour for collecting the flock passed, and they did not come. And when Jacob saw that his sons were late in returning from Shechem, then Jacob said in his heart, “Might it not be that the people of Shechem have arisen to fight with them, and that is why they are late in returning today?” And Jacob called Joseph, his son, and enjoined him saying, “Surely, your brothers are grazing their flock in Shechem today, and they have not come at this hour: go forth now, and see where they are, and bring me back a reply about the safety of your brothers and of the sheep.” And Jacob sent Joseph his son from the Valley of Hebron, and Joseph came to Shechem in search of his brothers and didn’t find them.

And Joseph walked in the field near Shechem to see his brothers and he wandered, astray, not knowing where he was going. And an angel of the Lord found him wandering astray and said to him, “Joseph, Joseph, where are you going, and what are you looking for?” And Joseph said to the angel of the Lord, “I am looking for my brothers. Do you perhaps know where they went and where they might be grazing their sheep?” And the angel of the Lord said to Joseph, “I saw your brothers who were grazing their sheep here, and I heard them say that they wanted to go and graze in Dotan.” And Joseph listened to the advice of the angel of the Lord, and went to Dotan; and he found his brothers in Dotan grazing the sheep.

And Joseph came to his brothers, and before he reached them, his brothers saw him from afar and plotted to kill him. And Simeon said to his brothers, “Behold, the master of the dreams is coming to us now. Let us kill him and throw him in one of the wells that are in the desert; and it shall be that when our father shall ask us about him, we shall tell him that a wicked beast devoured him.” And Reuben heard the words of his brothers concerning Joseph and said to them, “Do not do this thing, for how shall we go before Jacob our father? Indeed, let us throw him inside this well and he will die there, and let us not stretch out our hand against him to kill him.” And Reuben said this to save him and take him to his father.

And when Joseph came before his brothers, they rose upon him, and seized him and hurled him to the ground, injuring him, and they stripped him of the striped tunic that he wore. And they took him and threw him in the well, and the well was empty, without water in it, but there were snakes and scorpions in it. And Joseph was afraid of the snakes and scorpions in the well. And Joseph cried out in a loud voice, and the Lord hid the snakes and scorpions in the walls of the well and they did not harm Joseph. And Joseph called to his brothers from inside the well and said to them, “What have I done to you, and how did I sin against you? Why are you not afraid before the Lord? Indeed, I am your brother and your flesh, and Jacob your father is my father, and why are you doing this thing, and how will you look on my father’s face?” And he cried out and called to his brothers from the well, saying, “Judah, Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, my brothers, lift me from the darkness where you have put me, and look today at the faces of Adonai and of Jacob my father. If I have sinned against you, surely, sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob you are. If they saw an orphan, they took pity on him, and if they saw some starving person they gave him food, and if he was thirsty, they gave him to drink, and if he was naked, they clothed him. And so how do you not have pity on your brother, who is your flesh and bone? And if I did sin against you, I did so for love of my father.” And Joseph spoke all these words from the well and they didn’t wish to hear it, and they did not pay any attention to hear a single word of what Joseph said. And he exclaimed and wept inside the well. And Joseph said, “If only my father would know today what my brothers have done to me and the words that they spoke to me!”

And his brothers heard what Joseph did inside the well and his weeping, and they went away from the well so as not to hear him. And they went off and sat an arrow’s distance away and sat down to eat. And while they were eating, they discussed with one another what to do with him, whether to kill him or whether to take him to his father. And while they were thus deliberating with one another, they raised their eyes and saw a caravan of Moors that was coming, far off, from the direction of Gilead, and was bound for Egypt. And Judah said to them, “What profits us to kill our brother, so that God will demand him from us? And this is the proper advice about him which you will do to him. Behold, this Moorish caravan that comes here is bound for Egypt. Let us now go and sell him to them and our hand shall not be upon him, and they will take him on their way, and he shall be lost among the people of the land and will die. Let us not kill him with our hands.” And this was pleasing in the eyes of his brothers, and they did according to the word of Judah.