for Genesis: Jacob to Joseph · Part 5 · Genesis 35–37
Joseph the Dreamer
8 Adventures40 min
What Happens in Part 5
Jacob settles near Shechem for a time. Then, in Genesis 35, God tells him to go up to Bethel and build an altar there. Jacob has his household put away their foreign idols and purify themselves first; at Bethel, God appears to Jacob again, confirms his name Israel, and repeats the covenant promise. Traveling on, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, and Jacob sets up a pillar at her grave. Isaac then dies at a great age, and Esau and Jacob bury him together. Genesis 36 briefly records Esau's own descendants, who grow into a great people called Edom, settling in a different region from Jacob's family. Genesis 37 turns to seventeen-year-old Joseph, whom Israel loves more than his other sons and gives a special robe. Joseph's brothers resent this favoritism, and their resentment grows when Joseph tells them of two dreams that suggest he will one day rule over them. When Joseph comes to check on his brothers in the field, they seize him and conspire to be rid of him; at Reuben's suggestion, they throw him into an empty pit instead of killing him outright, and then, at Judah's suggestion, sell him to a caravan of traders bound for Egypt for twenty shekels of silver. The brothers dip Joseph's robe in goat's blood and let Jacob believe a wild animal has killed him. Jacob mourns deeply and refuses to be comforted, while Joseph is sold in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh.
What We Will Learn
Section
What you will practice
Word Study
Words for worship, planning, and grief: purify, pillar, conspired, pit, sold, mourned, blessed
Bible Study
How a story lets the reader know something a character in the story does not
Scripture Discovery
Ancient trade goods carried by caravan, and what a slave typically cost in this era
Chapter Summary
Ch.
What happens
35
Return to Bethel — God tells Jacob to return to Bethel and build an altar; Jacob's household puts away its idols first. God confirms Jacob's name Israel and repeats his covenant promise. Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin, and Isaac later dies at a great age.
36
Esau's Descendants — Esau's family grows into a great people called Edom, settling apart from Jacob's family in a different region.
37
Joseph Sold into Slavery — Israel's favoritism toward Joseph, and Joseph's own dreams of ruling over his brothers, deepen his brothers' resentment. They sell him to traders bound for Egypt and deceive Jacob into believing he is dead.
Part 1
Word Study
Study 7 key words from Genesis 35–37, then answer each question.
🐫
💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyWhat a Caravan Actually Carried
Word Study · Ancient TradeThe traders who buy Joseph are described carrying gum, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. These were valuable goods moving along a documented ancient trade route between Canaan and Egypt. Balm and myrrh were used as perfume, medicine, and in embalming, and both are named elsewhere in the Bible as gifts fit for kings. A caravan carrying aromatic goods toward Egypt, a major market for exactly this kind of luxury import, matches this trade pattern rather than a vague, unspecified journey. The detail places Joseph's sale inside a working economy, not just a dramatic scene.
purifyv.Gen 35:2
To make clean, especially in preparation for worship
“Jacob tells his household to purify themselves before going to Bethel.”
pillarn.Gen 35:14
An upright stone or post set up as a marker or memorial
“Jacob sets up a pillar at the place where God spoke to him.”
conspiredv.Gen 37:18
Planned secretly together to do something wrong
“Joseph's brothers conspired against him to kill him.”
pitn.Gen 37:24
A deep hole in the ground
“The brothers throw Joseph into an empty pit.”
soldv.Gen 37:28
Given to someone else in exchange for payment
“The brothers sold Joseph to the traders for twenty shekels of silver.”
mournedv.Gen 37:34
Showed deep sorrow, especially over a death
“Jacob mourned for his son many days.”
blessedv.Gen 35:9
Given words of favor and future good, especially by God
“God appeared to Jacob again at Bethel and blessed him.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear word-for-word in your Bible.
1To make clean, especially before worship, is to ___ yourself.Gen 35:2
2In Genesis 35, a ‘pillar’ is a kind of tent used for temporary shelter.Gen 35:14
3Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 37:18
Word choices:conspiredpurifiedmournedblessed- some words will not be used
Joseph's brothers against him to kill him.
4A deep hole in the ground is called a ___.Gen 37:24
5In Genesis 37, the brothers sold Joseph to traders for twenty shekels of silver.Gen 37:28
6In Genesis 37, Jacob quickly accepts Joseph's death and moves on within a day.Gen 37:34–35
7Write your answer in the blank, then click Check.Gen 35:9
Word choices:blessedsoldpurifiedpillar- some words will not be used
At Bethel, God appeared to Jacob again and him.
Part 2
Understanding
Show you understood what happens in Genesis 35–37.
🗝️
💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyWhat the Reader Knows That Jacob Doesn't
Close Reading · A Gap in KnowledgeBy the end of Genesis 37, a reader knows something Jacob does not: Joseph is alive, sold into Egypt, not killed by a wild animal at all. Jacob mourns believing the false story his own sons invented. A careful reader notices this gap — what the reader has been shown versus what a character inside the story actually believes. Genesis states plainly what happened to Joseph before it ever returns to Jacob's grief, so the reader watches Jacob mourn already knowing the full truth he does not have. Tracking who knows what, and when, is one way a passage builds genuine emotional weight.
1Why do Joseph's brothers resent him even before his dreams?Gen 37:3–4
2What do Joseph's dreams suggest will happen?Gen 37:5–9
3What does Reuben suggest instead of killing Joseph outright?Gen 37:21–22
4What do the brothers do to deceive Jacob about Joseph?Gen 37:31–33
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order across Genesis 35–37. Number 1 = what happens first.Gen 35–37
Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin.
Joseph tells his brothers about his two dreams.
The brothers sell Joseph to traders bound for Egypt.
The brothers throw Joseph into a pit.
Jacob's household puts away its idols before going to Bethel.
6God confirms Jacob's name as Israel again at Bethel.Gen 35:10
7Judah suggests selling Joseph to the traders rather than leaving him in the pit.Gen 37:26–27
Part 3
Literary Craft
Understanding HOW and WHY Genesis tells the story across Genesis 35–37.
🌟
💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyA Dream That Comes True Later
Literary Craft · ForeshadowingJoseph's two dreams — sheaves bowing, then the sun, moon, and stars bowing — point directly at events that have not happened yet in the story. When a passage plants a clear hint of something that will actually occur later, that technique is called foreshadowing. Genesis does not hide that these are real predictions; even Jacob and the brothers immediately understand what the dreams suggest. Foreshadowing does not remove suspense from a story; it changes what a reader is watching for, since a reader who notices the dreams reads the rest of Joseph's story waiting to see exactly how they come true.
Foreshadowing
A clear hint, early in a story, of something that will actually happen later. Joseph's two dreams point directly at events that occur much later in his story.
Dramatic irony
When a reader knows something a character in the story does not. The reader knows Joseph is alive while Jacob mourns him as dead.
Symbol
A visible thing that stands for a bigger meaning beyond itself. Joseph's robe stands for his father's favor, then becomes false evidence of his death.
1What is foreshadowing?Gen 37
2Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 37
Word choices:foreshadowingironysymbolpillar- some words will not be used
A hint of something that happens later in the story is called .
3What makes Jacob's mourning in Genesis 37 an example of dramatic irony?Gen 37:34–35
4Joseph's robe functions as a symbol of his father's favor earlier in the chapter.Gen 37:3
5Foreshadowing means an event is described only after it has already happened.Gen 37
6Fill in the blank with the correct word.Gen 37
Word choices:ironyforeshadowingsymbolpit- some words will not be used
A reader knowing something a character does not is called dramatic .
7How does the robe's meaning change across Genesis 37?Gen 37:3–33
Part 4
Wisdom
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.
🪙
💎 Treasure Wisdom · a true fact behind the storyA Price Scholars Connect to Its Own Time
Archaeology · Economic HistoryJoseph is sold for twenty shekels of silver. Old Babylonian legal records, including documents from the city of Mari and the laws of Hammurabi, list a typical slave's price in roughly this same era at about twenty shekels, give or take a little; records from a few centuries later, at Nuzi and Ugarit, show prices closer to thirty shekels, and centuries after that, under the Assyrians and Persians, prices climbed far higher still. Because Genesis 37's number lines up with the earlier cluster rather than the later ones, some scholars point to it as a sign that the number belongs to an early period in this economy, rather than being a figure picked at random for the story.
Read Genesis 35–37 in your Bible first. Notice what Jacob's household does before traveling to Bethel, and what God confirms once they arrive. In Genesis 37, pay close attention to exactly what Joseph's two dreams show, and how his brothers and father react to each one. Finally, follow the robe through the chapter — what it means when Joseph receives it, and what it is used for by the end.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
1Claim: “Genesis 35–37 shows God's covenant continuing with Jacob's family even as real grief and real conflict unfold within it.” — choose the three details that best support it.Claim & Evidence
2Stated in Genesis 35–37, or Not stated there? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Stated in Genesis 35–37Not stated there ►
3Match each first detail with the detail paired with it.Match the Pairs
Jacob→
Rachel→
Joseph→
Reuben→
Judah→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Genesis lets the reader learn Joseph is sold into Egypt before returning to show Jacob mourning him as dead because , which shows that .
Part 5
World Discovery (SAT/TOEFL)
Reading passage · What a Caravan Was Worth · Ancient Trade and Careful Evidence · practices the same reading-comprehension skills tested on the SAT and TOEFL: main idea, detail, vocabulary in context, inference and synthesis.
📖 Read the passage below (the highlighted words are tested), then answer the questions. Tap an answer to select it, tap again to confirm — you get one chance to change it before it's final.
Original passage written for this workbook — not a quotation from Scripture.
What a Caravan Was Worth
Genesis 37 names specific goods carried by the traders who buy Joseph: gum, balm, and myrrh, headed toward Egypt. Balm and myrrh were valuable aromatic resins used across the ancient Near East for perfume, medicine, and embalming, and both appear elsewhere in ancient writing as gifts considered fit for royalty. Egypt, in particular, was a major market for these imported goods, since embalming alone required a steady supply of aromatic resin. A caravan traveling from Canaan toward Egypt carrying exactly this kind of cargo reflects a documented trade route, not a route invented only for this story. Old Babylonian records from roughly the same era also inform the number attached to Joseph's own sale. Slave prices in those records cluster near twenty shekels of silver, a price that climbed noticeably higher in later centuries, and some scholars point to this cluster as one sign that Genesis 37's price belongs to an early period rather than being chosen at random. A single trade route and a handful of price records cannot describe every transaction in the ancient world, but together they show that Genesis 37 sits inside an economically consistent setting.
1What is the passage mostly about?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Main Idea
2What goods does the passage say the traders were carrying?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
3In this passage, “reflects” most nearly means ___.SAT/TOEFL Reading · Vocabulary in Context
4Why was Egypt described as a major market for balm and myrrh?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Detail
5What do some scholars think the Old Babylonian price records suggest about Joseph's sale?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Inference
6What kind of evidence does the passage rely on to make its point?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Evidence
7According to the passage, what can and cannot this evidence show?SAT/TOEFL Reading · Synthesis
Part 6
Writing
A print-only writing prompt — not part of your online score.
Writing Task — Part 5 “A Hard Truth, Carried Alone”
In Genesis 37, Jacob mourns Joseph without knowing the real truth of what happened to him. Think of a time you knew something important that someone else did not, and had to decide whether or how to tell them. What did you do? 4–6 sentences. End by saying how it turned out.
You can start with: “One time I knew something important someone else didn't was…”
Write your response on paper or in a notebook. This section is for print and take-home use; it is not scored online.
Part 5 Complete!
You finished Genesis 35–37 of Genesis: Jacob to Joseph.
Here are your auto-graded results:
-
points out of 100
🗣️ Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
Teach it to someone
The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.
