One day in the fields, Joseph told his brothers of a dream he had had, "I dreamt that we were tending to our sheaves of corn, and my sheaf rose up, tall and golden, and all of your sheaves turned and bowed to it." His brothers did not like this, for Joseph was talking like he was better than them. Nevertheless, he continued, "I had another dream. I saw the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to me as well."
The brothers were jealous of Joseph and his dreams, so they soon plotted to kill their young brother. However, Reuben, the eldest brother suggested that they not kill Joseph, but rather throw him into a pit, intending to return later and save him. The brothers agreed, so when Joseph met them in the fields, they tore off his coat and threw him into a well. Then Judah, seeing a group of Ishmaelites nearby, recommended selling Joseph to them as a slave rather than killing him and gaining nothing. This they did, and the Ishmaelites pulled him out of the well and sold him to some traveling merchants. When Reuben returned to the well, Joseph was gone. The brothers then covered his coat in goat1s blood and told their father he had been killed by a wild animal. Jacob was set into deep anguish by this.
Meanwhile, Joseph was sold by the merchants to a high Egyptian official named Potiphar. In his house things went well for Joseph, because God was with him. Potiphar grew to like Joseph and his good work and promoted him to be head of the estate. However, Potiphar had a wife who liked the looks of Joseph, and she repeatedly asked him to sleep with her. Joseph refused every time knowing that it would be disrespectful to his master and sinful to God. She eventually became tired of Joseph's constant refusal, though, and one day as he left her, she kept his tunic behind. The next day she showed it to her husband and accused Joseph of trying to seduce her, so Potiphar, enraged, threw Joseph into jail.
Even in jail, God stayed with Joseph, and made him popular with the jailer. Eventually he was put in charge of all prison affairs. One day the Pharaoh sent two of his officials, his cupbearer and baker, to jail, because they had gotten into some trouble. When they arrived, however, they had disturbing dreams, and asked Joseph to try and tell them what they meant. The cupbearer told Joseph that in his dream he crushed grapes into wine and gave it to Pharaoh to eat. Joseph then told him that in three days he would be released and his job would be restored. Then the baker stepped up, and, hoping for a similar prediction, explained to Joseph his dream. He was carrying three trays of food to the pharaoh, but birds swooped down and carried the food away. However, his forecast was not as pleasing as the last. Joseph predicted that in three days, the Pharaoh would have him hung. Three days later both fortunes proved true.
Two years later, Pharaoh, too, had a disturbing dream. His cupbearer quickly told him of Joseph, and Pharaoh called him to be an interpreter once more. Pharaoh dreamt that seven fat cows came to him from the river and began to feed on the grass. Then seven other cows, thin and ugly, ate the fat ones but stayed as skinny as before. Then he dreamt that he saw seven beautiful, ripe ears of corn growing on a stalk, but then seven others, withered and small, appeared and swallowed them.
When confronted with this dream, Joseph answer that seven years of plenty would come to the land, but would be followed by seven years of terrible famine. So impressed was the Pharaoh that he assigned Joseph to control the problem, and the world's first successful food rationing had begun. During the seven plentiful years Joseph ordered the extra grain stored in the cities to be rationed during the famine. As Joseph predicted, the seven-year famine came, but Egypt was prepared. Not only did they last through the famine from the stored grain, but many people from around the land came to Joseph for food.
Back in Canaan, however, Jacob and his family weren1t getting through the famine so easily. They heard of Egypt1s success, though, so Jacob sent his sons there to plead for some grain (except for Benjamin, the only other son of Joseph's mother, who stayed behind for Jacob's sake). So the men went to Egypt, and Joseph recognized them, though they didn't recognize him, so he kept his identity concealed. His brothers asked him for some of the rations, but Joseph accused them of being spies. They denied it, so Joseph made a deal with them. He locked up Simeon, then sent them home to return with Benjamin. Thus he would know they were honest men.
When they returned and Joseph saw Benjamin, he released Simeon, gave them rations, and instructed a servant to secretly place a valuable goblet in Benjamin1s bag. However, as the brothers were leaving, Joseph stood up and accused Benjamin of stealing the goblet, and when it was found in his bag, Joseph sentenced him to death. He wanted to see if the brothers had changed and would save Benjamin. Judah stepped up in his brother1s defense and asked that Joseph take him instead. At this, Joseph told his brothers who he was, forgave and embraced them, then told them to go home and bring all of the household back to Egypt, where he would take care of them for the last five years of the famine.