The story of Joseph is the longest single story in the book of Genesis, and it happens here, in Egypt. My grandmother used to say that every Jew in Alexandria is a little bit Joseph.
The Septuagint · Narrative tenses
Joseph in Egypt
Past simple, past continuous and past perfect: the three tenses that tell a story, from a pit in Canaan to the right hand of Pharaoh, told by Philo, timed by Demetria, questioned by Marcos, and set in order by Sophia.
🌾 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Joseph.Play the gamebook →
PHILO
MARCOS
Because you were all thrown into pits by your brothers?
The story
From the Septuagint
Jacob had twelve sons, but he loved Joseph more than all the others, and he gave him a beautiful coat of many colours. Joseph had dreams in which his brothers bowed down to him, and he told them about the dreams. His brothers hated him.
One day, while the brothers were looking after the sheep far from home, Joseph came to see them. They threw him into a dry pit, and then they sold him to some traders who were travelling to Egypt. They dipped his coat in goat’s blood and told their father that a wild animal had killed him.
In Egypt, Joseph became a slave in the house of Potiphar, and later he was thrown into prison, although he had done nothing wrong. In prison he explained the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants, and everything happened as he had said.
Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed of seven fat cows and seven thin cows. Nobody could explain the dream until the servant remembered Joseph. Joseph told Pharaoh that seven years of plenty would come, and then seven years of famine. Pharaoh put him in charge of all Egypt, and Joseph filled the storehouses with grain.
When the famine came, Joseph’s brothers travelled to Egypt to buy food. They bowed down before the governor of Egypt, but they didn’t recognise him. After testing them, Joseph told them who he was. “You meant it for evil,” he said, “but God meant it for good.” And he forgave them.
From Genesis, chapters 37 to 50, as it is read in the Greek of the Septuagint.
Past simple: the main events
SOPHIA
Every story needs its backbone: what happened, one thing after another. That’s the past simple. Jacob gave Joseph a coat. The brothers threw him into a pit. They sold him.
MARCOS
So it’s just the normal past. Why does it need a name?
SOPHIA
Because it has two friends, Marcos, and a story needs all three.
Past continuous: what was going on
DEMETRIA
“While the brothers were looking after the sheep, Joseph came.” The looking after was already happening. Joseph came in the middle of it.
SOPHIA
Exactly. The past continuous (was / were + -ing) is the background: an action in progress. The past simple is the event that interrupts it. The traders were travelling to Egypt when the brothers saw them.
Past perfect: what had happened before
PHILO
And when Joseph was in prison, he had done nothing wrong. The doing nothing wrong came before the prison.
SOPHIA
The past perfect (had + past participle) takes us one step further back, to something that happened before another past moment. When the brothers arrived, Joseph had already filled the storehouses.
All three together
THE CLERK
Joseph was working in Potiphar’s house when he had been… no. When he was…
SOPHIA
Slowly. Joseph was working in Potiphar’s house (background) when Potiphar’s wife accused him (event), although he had done nothing wrong (earlier). Background, event, and what came before.
When, while, as soon as, by the time
DEMETRIA
So while usually goes with the continuous, when with an event, and by the time…
PHILO
…with the past perfect. By the time the famine came, Joseph had filled every storehouse in Egypt. My grandmother would be proud.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the fable |
|---|---|---|
| past simple | the main events, one after another | They sold him to some traders. |
| past continuous (was / were + -ing) | an action in progress, the background | The brothers were looking after the sheep. |
| past perfect (had + past participle) | something earlier than another past moment | He had done nothing wrong. |
| while + past continuous, when + past simple | background + interruption | While they were eating, the traders came. |
| by the time + past simple, past perfect | completed before a past moment | By the time the famine came, he had filled the storehouses. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best form
Choose the form that fits best.
1. While the brothers ___ the sheep, Joseph arrived.
2. The brothers ___ Joseph to some traders.
3. Joseph was in prison, but he ___ nothing wrong.
4. By the time the famine came, Joseph ___ the storehouses.
5. When the brothers ___ into the hall, they bowed down.
6. Pharaoh ___ when he had the strange dream.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the verb in the correct past tense.
7. They told their father that a wild animal Joseph. (kill)
8. The traders to Egypt when the brothers saw them. (travel)
9. Joseph the brothers at once, but they didn’t recognise him. (recognise)
10. Pharaoh’s servant remembered that Joseph his dream two years before. (explain)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “While Joseph worked in the palace, the famine was beginning.”
12. “When the brothers arrived, Joseph had already recognised their voices.”
13. “He was having a coat of many colours.”
Now live the story yourself, as Joseph. Can you fill the storehouses in time?Play the gamebook →