Joseph Lifted from the Pit

Joseph reaches upward from a stone-lined pit as one of his brothers bends down and takes his hand, drawing him out while the others stand nearby in the barren hill country. The scene portrays the turning point in Genesis 37, when Joseph’s jealous brothers move from violence to betrayal, lifting him from the cistern only to sell him into bondage. The rocky setting and watchful figures emphasize the secrecy, resentment, and moral collapse of sibling hatred. Yet the story also points forward to God’s providence: what human envy meant for harm becomes part of the Lord’s hidden work of preservation and redemption. This artwork serves well for teaching on Joseph, jealousy, betrayal, family conflict, forgiveness, and God’s sovereignty in suffering. by Jeff Preston