Joseph Story Lab – Unit 1

Isang araw, ipinakita ni Jacob ang kaniyang espesyal na pagmamahal kay Jose sa pamamagitan ng pagbibigay sa kaniya ng isang magarang balabal na may maraming kulay. Nagselos ang mga kuya ni Jose nang makita nila ito. Dahil sa inggit, hindi na sila nakapagsalita sa kaniya nang may mabuting tono.

One day, Jacob showed his special love for Joseph by giving him a beautiful robe with many colors. Joseph’s older brothers became jealous when they saw it. Because of their envy, they could no longer speak to him in a kind way.

Kapag may nakikita si Jose na mali sa ginagawa ng kaniyang mga kapatid habang nag-aalaga ng kawan, tapat niya itong iniuulat kay Jacob. Lalong sumama ang loob ng mga kuya niya dahil pakiramdam nila ay isinusuplong sila ni Jose sa kanilang ama. Unti-unti, napuno ng galit at poot ang puso nila laban sa kaniya.

Whenever Joseph saw his brothers doing something wrong while they were caring for the flock, he loyally reported it to Jacob. This made his older brothers feel even worse toward him, because they felt Joseph was telling on them to their father. Little by little, their hearts became filled with anger and hatred toward him.

Isang gabi, nanaginip si Jose tungkol sa mga bigkis ng trigo sa bukid. Sa panaginip niya, nakatayo ang bigkis niya at ang mga bigkis ng kaniyang mga kapatid ay napapalibot at yumuyuko sa bigkis niya. Nang ikuwento niya ito sa kanila, sinabi ng mga kuya niya na para bang sinasabi ni Jose na magiging hari siya sa kanila, kaya lalo pa silang nagalit.

One night, Joseph had a dream about bundles of grain in the field. In his dream, his bundle stood upright, and his brothers' bundles gathered around and bowed down to his bundle. When he told them the dream, his brothers said it sounded as if Joseph wanted to rule over them, and they became even more angry.

Muli pang nanaginip si Jose, at sa pagkakataong ito, nakita niya sa panaginip ang araw, ang buwan, at labing-isang bituin na yumuyuko sa kaniya. Nang ikuwento niya ito sa kaniyang ama at mga kapatid, sinabihan siya ni Jacob, pero sa puso niya ay iniisip niya kung ano ang tunay na kahulugan ng panaginip. Samantala, lalong nainggit ang mga kapatid ni Jose.

Joseph had another dream, and this time he saw the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowing down to him. When he told this to his father and brothers, Jacob rebuked him with words, but in his heart he kept thinking about what the dream might really mean. Meanwhile, Joseph’s brothers became even more jealous of him.

Isang araw, sinabi ni Jacob kay Jose na puntahan ang kaniyang mga kapatid na nag-aalaga ng kawan sa malayo at tingnan kung kumusta sila. Masunuring sumagot si Jose at agad siyang umalis para hanapin ang kaniyang mga kuya. Naglakad siya nang malayo hanggang may makasalubong siyang isang lalaki na nagsabing lumipat na ang mga iyon sa Dothan.

One day, Jacob told Joseph to go to his brothers who were tending the flock far away and to see how they were doing. Joseph obeyed willingly and set out at once to look for his older brothers. He walked a long way until he met a man who told him that they had moved on to Dothan.

Nang makita ng mga kapatid si Jose na papalapit pa lang mula sa malayo, agad silang nagbulungan. May nagsabi, “Ayan na ang mapanaginiping kapatid natin!” Nagsimula silang magplano kung paano siya aalisin sa kanilang buhay dahil sa matagal na nilang galit at inggit.

When Joseph’s brothers saw him coming from a distance, they immediately began whispering to one another. One of them said, “Here comes that dreaming brother of ours!” They started to plan how they could get rid of him because of the anger and jealousy they had felt for a long time.

May ilan sa kanila na gustong patayin si Jose, pero sinabi ni Ruben na huwag siyang papatayin. Iminungkahi niyang ihulog na lang siya sa isang walang-tubig na balon sa ilang. Ang totoo, gusto ni Ruben na iligtas si Jose sa bandang huli at ibalik ito sa kanilang ama.

Some of them wanted to kill Joseph, but Reuben spoke up and told them not to shed his blood. He suggested that they throw Joseph into an empty water cistern out in the wilderness instead. In reality, Reuben planned to rescue Joseph later and bring him back safely to their father.

Pagdating ni Jose, mabilis nilang hinubad ang kaniyang makukulay na balabal at hinila siya palapit sa balon. Inihulog nila siya sa loob ng malalim na hukay na walang tubig. Pagkatapos nito, umupo pa sila para kumain na parang wala lang nangyari.

When Joseph arrived, they quickly stripped off his colorful robe and dragged him toward the cistern. They threw him into the deep pit, which had no water in it. After that, they even sat down to eat, as if nothing serious had happened.

Habang kumakain sila, may dumaan na mga mangangalakal na patungong Ehipto. Iminungkahi ni Juda na mas mabuti pang ipagbili nila si Jose bilang alipin kaysa patayin siya. Pumayag ang mga magkakapatid, kaya ipinagbili nila si Jose kapalit ng pilak, at dinala siya ng mga mangangalakal papuntang Ehipto.

While they were eating, a group of traders came by on their way to Egypt. Judah suggested that it would be better to sell Joseph as a slave than to kill him. The brothers agreed, so they sold Joseph for silver, and the traders took him away to Egypt.

Para itago ang ginawa nila, kinuha ng mga kapatid ang makukulay na balabal ni Jose, nilagyan iyon ng dugo ng kambing, at dinala kay Jacob. Nang makita ni Jacob ang balabal, inakala niyang nilapa si Jose ng mabangis na hayop. Labis siyang nagdalamhati at matagal siyang umiyak dahil napakalaki ng pagmamahal niya sa anak niyang iyon.

To hide what they had done, the brothers took Joseph’s colorful robe, put goat’s blood on it, and brought it to Jacob. When Jacob saw the robe, he thought a wild animal had torn Joseph to pieces. He mourned deeply and cried for a long time because he loved that son very much.

Samantala, sa Ehipto, ipinagbili si Jose bilang alipin kay Potiphar, isang opisyal ni Paraon, pero pinagpala siya ni Jehova kaya pinagkatiwalaan siya sa lahat ng gawain sa bahay. Nang tuksuhin siya ng asawa ni Potiphar, pinili niyang tumakbo palayo para manatiling malinis sa harap ni Jehova, pero sa halip na kilalanin ang kaniyang katapatan, mali pa siyang pinagbintangan at ibinilanggo. Kahit nasa bilangguan, kasama pa rin niya si Jehova, at ginamit Niya si Jose para ipaliwanag ang mga panaginip ng iba, at kalaunan pati ang dalawang nakapagtatakang panaginip ni Paraon tungkol sa pitong taon ng kasaganaan at pitong taon ng taggutom. Ginawang tagapamahala si Jose sa buong Ehipto, at nang dumating ang matinding taggutom, dumating ang mga kapatid niya para bumili ng pagkain at yumuko sila sa harap niya, gaya ng nakita niya sa panaginip. Sinubukan ni Jose ang puso ng kaniyang mga kuya at nang makita niyang nagbago na sila, ipinakilala niya ang sarili niya, niyakap ang kaniyang pamilya, at inanyayahan silang manirahan sa Ehipto. Sa buong buhay ni Jose, makikita natin kung paano kayang baligtarin ni Jehova ang masasamang balak ng tao at gawing daan ng kabutihan. At nang piliin ni Jose na magpatawad sa halip na maghiganti, nagbunga iyon ng tunay na kapayapaan at pagkakasundo sa kanilang pamilya—isang malinaw na patunay na ang Diyos na Jehova ay laging kumakampi sa mga nananatiling tapat sa kaniya.

Meanwhile in Egypt, Joseph was sold as a slave to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, but Jehovah blessed him so that he was entrusted with all the work in the household. When Potiphar’s wife tried to tempt him, Joseph chose to run away in order to remain clean before Jehovah, but instead of having his faithfulness recognized, he was falsely accused and thrown into prison. Even there, Jehovah was with him, and He used Joseph to explain the dreams of others and, later on, Pharaoh’s two puzzling dreams about seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Joseph was made administrator over all Egypt, and when the severe famine came, his brothers arrived to buy food and bowed down before him, just as he had seen in his dreams. Joseph tested his brothers’ hearts, and when he saw that they had changed, he revealed who he was, embraced his family, and invited them to live in Egypt. Throughout Joseph’s life we can see how Jehovah can overturn people’s evil plans and turn them into a path for good. And when Joseph chose to forgive instead of taking revenge, it led to real peace and reconciliation in his family—a clear proof that the God Jehovah always supports those who remain faithful to Him.