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Genesis 37

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The Generations of Jacob and Joseph's Favoritism 1–4

1
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. ​
3
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours. ​
4
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. ​

Joseph's Prophetic Dreams 5–11

5
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more. ​
6
And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7
For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf. ​
8
And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
9
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? ​
11
And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

Joseph Is Sent to Dothan 12–17

12
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
13
And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
14
And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. ​
15
And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16
And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

The Brothers Conspire and Sell Joseph 18–30

18
And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19
And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. ​
20
Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. ​
21
And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. ​
22
And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
23
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25
And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. ​
26
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? ​
27
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
28
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. ​
29
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. ​
30
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Jacob Deceived and Mourns 31–36

31
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32
And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33
And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. ​
35
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him. ​
36
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Genesis 37

Verse 2

their evil report — Dibbah, an evil report, the word used of the spies who 'did bring up the evil report upon the land' (Num 14:37). Joseph, seventeen and feeding the flock, is with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher (Gen 35:25–26). 'The generations of Jacob' open the story that fills the rest of Genesis.

Verse 3

a coat of many colours — Kethoneth passim. Outside Joseph's story the word passim occurs only in 2 Sam 13:18–19, of Tamar's robe: 'a garment of divers colours… for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled'. Israel makes the coat for the 'son of his old age'.

Verse 4

could not speak peaceably — Literally they could not speak shalom to him, the ordinary greeting of peace. Jacob later sends Joseph to see whether it is shalom with them (v.14), and the same word meets them in Egypt when Joseph asks whether their father is shalom (Gen 43:27).

Verse 5

Joseph dreamed a dream — God speaks to prophets by dreams: 'I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream' (Num 12:6). Joseph tells it, and the brothers hate him 'yet the more'; v.8 adds 'for his dreams, and for his words'. The dream is fulfilled when they bow before him (Gen 42:6).

Verse 7

made obeisance to my sheaf — The verb is shachah, to bow down, the same as the brothers' bowing in Egypt: 'Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth' (Gen 42:6). Sheaves are grain, and it is for grain that the ten go down (Gen 42:3).

Verse 10

to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth — The verb is shachah, the same as the sheaves' 'obeisance' in v.7, and the phrase 'to the earth' returns when the brothers bow to Joseph in Gen 43:26. This second dream adds the sun, moon and eleven stars (v.9). His father rebuked him, 'but his father observed the saying' (v.11).

Verse 14

see whether it be well — Literally 'see the shalom of thy brethren, and the shalom of the flocks', the word the brothers could not speak to Joseph (v.4). Joseph asks the same of them in Egypt: 'Is your father well?' (Gen 43:27). He is sent 'out of the vale of Hebron' to Shechem.

Verse 19

this dreamer — Literally ba'al hachalomot, 'master of dreams', ba'al being an owner or possessor. The brothers use it as a taunt. Stephen says 'the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him' (Acts 7:9).

Verse 20

what will become of his dreams — The brothers' plan is meant to end the dreams. Joseph later says of that day, 'ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive' (Gen 50:20).

Verse 21

Let us not kill him — Reuben's plan, given in v.22, was to 'rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again'. He later recalls this to his brothers in Egypt: 'Spake I not unto you, saying, Do not sin against the child; and ye would not hear? therefore, behold, also his blood is required' (Gen 42:22).

Verse 25

spicery and balm and myrrh — The caravan carries the same goods Jacob later sends down to Egypt in his present to 'the man': 'a little balm… spices, and myrrh' (Gen 43:11). Nekoth, 'spicery', occurs only in these two verses. The Ishmeelites come from Gilead, the land of balm (Jer 8:22).

Verse 26

conceal his blood — Blood does not stay hidden: Abel's blood 'crieth unto me from the ground' (Gen 4:10). Judah argues for selling Joseph rather than killing him. He is the one who later offers himself, 'let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord' (Gen 44:33).

Verse 28

twenty pieces of silver — The price matches the Law's valuation of a male aged five to twenty years, 'twenty shekels' (Lev 27:5); Joseph was seventeen (v.2). Midianites and Ishmeelites appear together here, and the account of Gideon's day says of Midian's host, 'they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites' (Judg 8:24).

Verse 29

he rent his clothes — Reuben had meant to 'deliver him to his father again' (v.22), and finds the pit empty. Tearing the clothes (qara) is the grief Jacob shows in v.34. Years later Reuben reminds his brothers of his plea, 'Do not sin against the child' (Gen 42:22).

Verse 34

sackcloth upon his loins — Jacob 'rent his clothes', the same verb (qara) as Reuben in v.29, and put on saq, sackcloth, the dress David ordered for mourning Abner: 'Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn' (2 Sam 3:31). He mourned 'many days'.

Verse 35

he refused to be comforted — The phrase is used of Rachel in Jer 31:15, 'refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not'. Jacob's 'grave' is sheol, here for the first time in Scripture; he repeats the word when Benjamin is asked for (Gen 42:38; 44:29).

Verse 36

Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's — Joseph is bought by 'Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian' (Gen 39:1), and the prison where he lies bound is in the captain's house (Gen 40:3). 'He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant' (Ps 105:17).