Moral Injury Capstone Source Sheet

(1) Now Jacob was settled in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.(2) This, then, is the line of Jacob: At seventeen years of age, Joseph tended the flocks with his brothers, as a helper to the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah. And Joseph brought bad reports of them to their father.(3) Now Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons—he was his “child of old age”;*he was his “child of old age” NJPS “he was the child of his old age.” The expression ben zequnim is used here as a category label; it seems to denote a special, favored status. Cf. 44.20. and he had made him an ornamented tunic.*ornamented tunic Or “a coat of many colors”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.(4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him so that they could not speak a friendly word to him.(5) Once Joseph had a dream which he told to his brothers; and they hated him even more.(6) He said to them, “Hear this dream which I have dreamed:(7) There we were binding sheaves in the field, when suddenly my sheaf stood up and remained upright; then your sheaves gathered around and bowed low to my sheaf.”(8) His brothers answered, “Do you mean to reign over us? Do you mean to rule over us?” And they hated him even more for his talk about his dreams.(9) He dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers, saying, “Look, I have had another dream: And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”(10) And when he told it to his father and brothers, his father berated him. “What,” he said to him, “is this dream you have dreamed? Are we to come, I and your mother and your brothers, and bow low to you to the ground?”(11) So his brothers were wrought up at him, and his father kept the matter in mind.(12) One time, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem,(13) Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” He answered, “I am ready.”(14) And he said to him, “Go and see how your brothers are and how the flocks are faring, and bring me back word.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron. When he reached Shechem,(15) a man came upon him*a man came upon him Or “an agent located him,” i.e., this figure could be construed as acting in God’s behalf. For this verb’s use to describe a mission, see 16.7; 37.17; 38.22. On “man” and “agent,” see notes at 18.2, 24.21, and the Dictionary under ’ish; Agent. wandering in the fields. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?”(16) He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Could you tell me where they are pasturing?”(17) The man said, “They have gone from here, for I heard them say: Let us go to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers and found them at Dothan.(18) They saw him from afar, and before he came close to them they conspired to kill him.(19) They said to one another, “Here comes that dreamer!(20) Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we can say, ‘A savage beast devoured him.’ We shall see what comes of his dreams!”(21) But when Reuben heard it, he tried to save him from them. He said, “Let us not take his life.”(22) And Reuben went on, “Shed no blood! Cast him into that pit out in the wilderness, but do not touch him yourselves”—intending to save him from them and restore him to his father.(23) When Joseph came up to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the ornamented tunic that he was wearing,(24) and took him and cast him into the pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.(25) Then they sat down to a meal. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels bearing gum, balm, and ladanum to be taken to Egypt.(26) Then Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood?(27) Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.(28) When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt.(29) When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes.(30) Returning to his brothers, he said, “The boy is gone! Now, what am I to do?”(31) Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a kid, and dipped the tunic in the blood.(32) They had the ornamented tunic taken to their father, and they said, “We found this. Please examine it; is it your son’s tunic or not?”(33) He recognized it, and said, “My son’s tunic! A savage beast devoured him! Joseph was torn by a beast!”

(1) When Jacob saw that there were food rations to be had in Egypt, he*he Lit. “Jacob.” said to his sons, “Why do you keep looking at one another?(2) Now I hear,” he went on, “that there are rations to be had in Egypt. Go down and procure rations for us there, that we may live and not die.”(3) So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to get grain rations in Egypt;(4) for Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, since he feared that he might meet with disaster.(5) Thus the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations, for the famine extended to the land of Canaan.(6) Now Joseph was the vizier of the land; it was he who dispensed rations to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed low to him, with their faces to the ground.(7) When Joseph saw his brothers, he recognized them; but he acted like a stranger toward them and spoke harshly to them. He asked them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to procure food.”(8) For though Joseph recognized his brothers, they did not recognize him.(9) Recalling the dreams that he had dreamed about them, Joseph said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the land in its nakedness.”(10) But they said to him, “No, my lord! Truly, your servants have come to procure food.(11) We are all of us sons of the same man; we are being honest; your servants have never been spies!”(12) And he said to them, “No, you have come to see the land in its nakedness!”(13) And they replied, “We your servants were twelve brothers, sons of a certain man in the land of Canaan; the youngest, however, is now with our father, and one is no more.”(14) But Joseph said to them, “It is just as I have told you: You are spies!(15) By this you shall be put to the test: unless your youngest brother comes here, by Pharaoh, you shall not depart from this place!(16) Let one of you go and bring your brother, while the rest of you remain confined, that your words may be put to the test whether there is truth in you. Else, by Pharaoh, you are nothing but spies!”(17) And he confined them in the guardhouse for three days.(18) On the third day Joseph said to them, “Do this and you shall live, for I fear God.(19) If you are being honest, let one of your brothers be held in your place of detention, while the rest of you go and take home rations for your starving households;(20) but you must bring me your youngest brother, that your words may be verified and that you may not die.” And they did accordingly.(21) They said to one another, “Alas, we are being punished on account of our brother, because we looked on at his anguish, yet paid no heed as he pleaded with us. That is why this distress has come upon us.”(22) Then Reuben spoke up and said to them, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do no wrong to the boy’? But you paid no heed. Now comes the reckoning for his blood.”(23) They did not know that Joseph understood, for there was an interpreter between him and them.(24) He turned away from them and wept. But he came back to them and spoke to them; and he took Simeon from among them and had him bound before their eyes.(25) Then Joseph gave orders to fill their bags with grain, return each one’s money to his sack, and give them provisions for the journey; and this was done for them.(26) So they loaded their asses with the rations and departed from there.(27) As one of them was opening his sack to give feed to his ass at the night encampment, he saw his money right there at the mouth of his bag.(28) And he said to his brothers, “My money has been returned! It is here in my bag!” Their hearts sank; and, trembling, they turned to one another, saying, “What is this that God has done to us?”(29) When they came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan, they told him all that had befallen them, saying,(30) “The man*The man More precisely, “the participant [whose involvement defines the depicted situation].” See the Dictionary under ’ish. who is lord of the land spoke harshly to us and accused us of spying on the land.(31) We said to him, ‘We are being honest; we have never been spies!(32) There were twelve of us brothers, sons by the same father; but one is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’(33) But the man—who is lord of the land—said to us, ‘By this I shall know that you are being honest: leave one of your brothers with me, and take something for your starving households and be off.(34) And bring your youngest brother to me, that I may know that you are not spies, that you are being honest. I will then restore your brother to you, and you shall be free to move about in the land.’”(35) As they were emptying their sacks, there, in each one’s sack, was his money-bag! When they and their father saw their money-bags, they were dismayed.(36) Their father Jacob said to them, “It is always me that you bereave: Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you would take away Benjamin. These things always happen to me!”(37) Then Reuben said to his father, “You may kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my care, and I will return him to you.”(38) But he said, “My son must not go down with you, for his brother is dead and he alone is left. If he meets with disaster on the journey you are taking, you will send my white head down to Sheol in grief.”

(14) After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.(15) When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph still bears a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrong that we did him!”(16) So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before his death your father left this instruction:(17) So shall you say to Joseph, ‘Forgive, I urge you, the offense and guilt of your brothers who treated you so harshly.’ Therefore, please forgive the offense of the servants of the God of your father’s [house].” And Joseph was in tears as they spoke to him.(18) His brothers went to him themselves, flung themselves before him, and said, “We are prepared to be your slaves.”(19) But Joseph said to them, “Have no fear! Am I a substitute for God?(20) Besides, although you intended me harm, God intended it for good, so as to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.(21) And so, fear not. I will sustain you and your dependents.”*dependents NJPS “children,” trad. “little ones.” See the Dictionary under ṭaph. Thus he reassured them, speaking kindly to them.(22) So Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt. Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.(23) Joseph lived to see children of the third generation of Ephraim; the children of Machir son of Manasseh were likewise born upon Joseph’s knees.(24) At length, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”(25) So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you, you shall carry up my bones from here.”(26) Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

(5) Is such the fast I desire,
A day for people to starve their bodies?
Is it bowing the head like a bulrush
And lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call that a fast,
A day when GOD is favorable?(6) No, this is the fast I desire:
To unlock fetters of wickedness,
And untie the cords of the yokeathe yoke Change of vocalization yields “lawlessness”; cf. muṭṭeh, Ezek. 9.9.
To let the oppressed go free;
To break off every yoke.(7) It is to share your bread with the hungry,
And to take the wretched poor into your home;
When you see the naked, to clothe them,
And not to ignore your own kin.(8) Then shall your light burst through like the dawn
And your healing spring up quickly;
Your Vindicator shall march before you,
The Presence of GOD shall be your rear guard.(9) Then, when you call, GOD will answer;
When you cry, [God] will say: Here I am.
If you banish the yokebthe yoke See note at v. 6. from your midst,
The menacing hand,cThe menacing hand Lit. “Extending the finger.” and evil speech,(10) And you offer your compassiondcompassion Some Heb. mss. and ancient versions read “bread.” to the hungry
And satisfy the famished creature—
Then shall your light shine in darkness,
And your gloom shall be like noonday.(11) GOD will guide you always—
Slaking your thirst in parched placeseparched places Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
And giving strength to your bones.
You shall be like a watered garden,
Like a spring whose waters do not fail.(12) Some from your midst shall rebuild ancient ruins,
You shall restore foundations laid long ago.
And you shall be called
“Repairer of fallen walls,
Restorer of lanes for habitation.”

(1) A song of ascents.

Out of the depths I call You, O LORD.(2) O Lord, listen to my cry;
let Your ears be attentive
to my plea for mercy.(3) If You keep account of sins, O LORD,
Lord, who will survive?(4) Yours is the power to forgive
so that You may be held in awe.(5) I look to the LORD;
I look to Him;
I await His word.(6) I am more eager for the Lord
than watchmen for the morning,
watchmen for the morning.(7) O Israel, wait for the LORD;
for with the LORD is steadfast love
and great power to redeem.(8) It is He who will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.