Hebron, but the grass became scarce, and there was no food for the flocks, so Jacob's sons were obliged to go to Shechem, a place some way off, to find pasture for them; but Joseph remained at Hebron with his father. After some days, Jacob said to his son Joseph, "Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them." And Joseph said, "Here am I," and Jacob said, "Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks, and bring me word again." And Joseph set out to find his brethren at Shechem, but when he reached that place he could not see them, and after he had wandered about some time looking for them, a man met him, and the man asked him saying, "What seekest thou?" Joseph then told him that he was looking for his brothers, and asked him where they were feeding the flocks; and the man said, "They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan;" so Joseph went to Dothan, and there he found his brothers with their flocks, as the man had told him.

JOSEPH IN THE PIT.

WHEN Joseph's brothers saw him coming, even before he came near, they determined to kill him, because they were jealous of him, and feared that his dreams might come to be true, and that they really should bow down to him. Now there was a deep pit without any water in it close by, and they resolved to kill him and throw him into it. See how wicked envy and jealousy made these men. At first they disliked their brother because he behaved better than they did, and because his father was very kind to him and was pleased at his good conduct. Next, this dislike grew into actual hatred and envy, and at last this wicked feeling led them to try even to murder him, and to deceive their father with a lie, by telling him that some wild beast had devoured the lad. But Reuben, one of the brothers, wished to save Joseph and not to let his brothers kill him, so he persuaded them to let Joseph down into the pit alive, in order that he might come when they were

B

gone and draw him up again and take him home to their father.

And when Joseph came up to his brothers they treated him roughly and tore off his coat of many colours that beautiful coat which his father Jacob had given him—and cast him into the deep pit.

After this, these unfeeling brothers sat down to eat bread, not considering how wicked and cruel they had been. While they were thus engaged, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came by with their camels, bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, which they were going to carry into the land of Egypt. These Ishmaelites were traders who took precious things from Arabia, their own country, to Egypt, to sell them to the people who lived there. They carried them on camels on which they themselves also rode. Camels suited them better than horses, because they had to cross a very broad and sandy desert where there was no water, and these camels could go for several days without water. Camels also have very flat feet, which prevent them from sinking into the sand.

As soon as Judah, one of Joseph's brothers, saw these Ishmaelites, he thought it would be better to sell Joseph to them than to leave him in the pit, so he reasoned