📖 Biblical Definition
Genesis 37:23-28 records the first stage of Joseph's long providential descent. His ten older brothers, jealous of his coat of many colors and his prophetic dreams, stripped him of his coat and cast him into a dry cistern in Dothan. Reuben planned to rescue him; while he was away, the others sold Joseph to a passing Ishmaelite caravan for twenty pieces of silver. The brothers dipped the coat in goat's blood and presented it to Jacob as evidence of Joseph's death.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
JOSEPH IN THE , n.
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A scriptural event; Joseph cast into the pit by his brothers.
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 37:24 — "And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it."
Genesis 37:28 — "They drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver."
Genesis 45:5 — "God did send me before you to preserve life."
Genesis 50:20 — "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Modern Christianity wants providence without pits; Joseph's pit was the first step toward his throne.
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Genesis 50:20 is one of the deepest providential statements in Scripture: ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good. Joseph traces the line backward from the prime ministership of Egypt through prison through Potiphar's house through the Ishmaelite slave-caravan to the pit at Dothan. Every step looked like ruin; every step was paving the road to a throne and to the salvation of his family during famine.
Modern Christianity often wants providence without pits. The pit is precisely where providence happened. If your life is in the pit right now — betrayed, abandoned, sold, presumed dead by family or friends — do not curse the pit. The Lord is in it. Joseph rose from the pit; you may yet rise from yours. He meant it for good even when men meant it for evil.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew/Greek roots below.
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H953 — bor — pit, cistern
H3130 — Yoseph — Joseph
Usage
"Modern Christianity wants providence without pits; Joseph's pit was the first step toward his throne."
"If your life is in the pit, do not curse it; the Lord is in it."
"He meant it for good even when men meant it for evil."