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Genesis 37:18-22 (NLT)
Joseph Sold Into Slavery
18 When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him. 19 “Here comes the dreamer!” they said. 20 “Come on, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns. We can tell our father, ‘A wild animal has eaten him.’ Then we’ll see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 But when Reuben heard of their scheme, he came to Joseph’s rescue. “Let’s not kill him,” he said. 22 “Why should we shed any blood? Let’s just throw him into this empty cistern here in the wilderness. Then he’ll die without our laying a hand on him.” Reuben was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.

DRAWING NOTES:

TIME OF DAY:
Unspecified in the Bible narrative. I have set this scene in the late morning.

LIGHTING NOTES:
The sun (unseen, high above & left) illuminates this scene, casting shadows to the right & below figures & objects.

CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Joseph is walking towards his 11 brothers & waving at them.
Sheep.
Lizard on wall.

RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This picture shows Joseph approaching his brothers & their flocks of sheep in the region of Dothan, Israel. Dothan, is about 15 miles further north than Shechem, in the hills of Gilboa. The Valley of Dothan is famous for its rich pasture lands. Most of Joseph’s brothers don’t look very happy to see him, however, I decided to make Reuben’s expression happier, as we know from verse 22 that, after hearing his brother’s plans for Joseph, Reuben “was secretly planning to rescue Joseph and return him to his father.” So I imagine that he was more positively disposed to Joseph than the rest of Joseph’ brothers.

Here is this scene without the figures in the foreground.

Background of Genesis 37 – Joseph sold into slavery – Scene 01 – Making plans

Click on the colour bar below to view/buy this Background:
Background of Genesis 37 – Joseph sold into slavery – Scene 01 – Making plans

Notice that Issachar is nudging his brother Asher (who is eating from his lunch box!) because Asher has noticed the arrival of Joseph yet! The pair are sitting on a wooden cover for the water cistern, with there feet dangling into the large hole in the ground. Man-made caverns, excavated in solid rock, were extensively used in Israel for storing water.

Notice also the storm clouds gathering behind Joseph’s brothers on the right of the picture. This suggests an “approaching storm” for Joseph!

The Lizard on the wall in the foreground is Lacerta laevis (aka Lebanon Lizard) a small (7 inches (180 cm) average length) brown or olive green reptile, found in Israel, west Jordan, Lebanon, northwest Syria and south Turkey. Its natural habitats are temperate forest, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, arable land, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens.

Here is a diagram showing who’s who in this picture.

Genesis 37 – Joseph sold into slavery – Scene 01 – Making plans – Who’s who?

Links to BC Encyclopaedia articles

Article which describes how I designed the clothing of the 12 sons of Jacob.