The Dramatization of Bible Stories / An experiment in the religious education of children

by Elizabeth Miller Lobingier

When Joseph came to his brothers, they quickly took the coat of many colors from him and bound him and cast him into an old well which was dry. Then they sat down to eat bread. They had hardly become settled when one of them cried out, "Behold, I see a caravan! It is a company of Ishmaelites, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going down to Egypt." Then Judah said, "Why do we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." The brothers were content to do as Judah had said. They drew Joseph up out of the well, and when the Ishmaelites came near they sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the brothers went away to kill a goat so that they might dip Joseph's coat into the blood, that their father might think that he had been killed by some wild animal.

Reuben did not know that Joseph had been sold, and returned unto the pit after the brothers had left. When he saw that Joseph was not there, he rent his clothes, and ran after the others, crying, "The child is not, and I, whither shall I go?"

And when the brothers brought Joseph's coat to their father, they said, "This we have found, thou knowest if it be thy son's coat." And Jacob knew it, and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him." Then Jacob put on sackcloth and ashes and mourned for Joseph many days.

Now the Ishmaelites brought Joseph down into Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, a captain of King Pharaoh's guard. And Joseph was faithful and served the Lord, and Potiphar saw that he could be trusted with great responsibility and made him ruler over his household. But Potiphar's wife grew jealous of Joseph and disliked him, and told Potiphar things which were untrue about Joseph. After awhile Potiphar began to believe his wife and he decided that Joseph was not a good man, so he had Joseph cast into prison.

And it came to pass that the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt were put into prison at the same time that Joseph was there, and they were placed in his ward. One morning Joseph found them both very sad and he said unto them, "Wherefore look ye so sadly today?" And they said, "We have dreamed a dream and there is no one to interpret it." Then Joseph said, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell me your dreams, I pray you." And they told him their dreams, and he gave them the meaning thereof. To the chief butler he said, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thine head and restore thee to thy place." But to the chief baker he said, "Yet within three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, and shall hang thee on a tree." And it came to pass that on the third day Pharaoh gave a feast to his servants, and he restored the chief butler to his place, but he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted.

At the end of two years Pharaoh dreamed a dream. He was greatly troubled, and sent for all the wise men of the land to tell him the meaning of his dream, but there was none that could interpret it unto Pharaoh. Then the chief butler spoke to the king and said, "I do remember this day, that when Pharaoh was wroth with his servants and put both me and the chief baker into the prison, that we each dreamed dreams in one night; and there was a young man there, a Hebrew, who interpreted to us our dreams, and they came to pass as he interpreted, for the chief baker was hanged and I was restored to my office."

Then Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and they brought him in hastily out of the dungeon. And Pharaoh said, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it, and I have heard say of thee that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it." And Joseph answered Pharaoh, "It is not in me; God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace." Then Pharaoh said, "In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of a river; and there came up out of the river seven fat cows, and they fed in a meadow. And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, lean and ill favored; and the lean and ill-favored cows did eat up the fat and well-favored cows. Then I dreamed again, and, behold, seven full ears of corn came upon one stalk, and then seven ears, withered and thin, came up after them, and devoured the good ears."

And Joseph said to Pharaoh, "God hath shewed Pharaoh what he is about to do. This is the thing which he is about to do: Behold, there will come seven years of plenty throughout the land of Egypt; and there shall rise up after them seven years of famine, and the famine shall consume the land. Now, therefore, let Pharaoh look out a man, discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt, and let him gather up all the food during the years of plenty and lay it up in the cities, so that the land shall not perish in the famine." And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and he said, "Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the spirit of God is? Forasmuch as God has shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art; thou shalt be over my house, and according to thy word shall all my people be ruled." Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand and clothed him in fine linen and put a golden chain around his neck.

Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went over all the land of Egypt. He gathered up the food for seven years, and laid up the food in the cities. And the seven years of plenteousness that were in all the land of Egypt were ended, and the seven years of famine began, and there was famine in all the lands. Then Joseph opened the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, and other countries sent to buy grain from Joseph because they had stored none.