Genesis 37:16-26

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 from here; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren and found them in Dothan.

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 comes;

20 now therefore, come and let us slay him and cast him into a cistern, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

21 When Reuben heard it, 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 cistern 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 stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

24 and they took him and cast him into the cistern; 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 aromas and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 Then Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood?

Genesis 37:16-26 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO GENESIS 37

In this chapter begins the history of Joseph, with whom the remaining part of this book is chiefly concerned; and here are related the hatred of his brethren to him, because he brought an ill report of them to his father, and because his father loved him, and which was increased by the dream he dreamed, and told them of, Ge 37:1-11; a visit of his to his brethren in the fields, whom he found after a long search of them, Ge 37:12-17; their conspiracy on sight of him to slay him, but by the advice of Reuben it was agreed to cast him into a pit, which they did, Ge 37:18-24; and after that, at the motion of Judah, sold him to the Ishmaelites, who were going to Egypt, Ge 37:25-28; this being done, Reuben being absent, and not finding Joseph in the pit, was in great distress, Ge 37:29,30; their contrivance to deceive their father, and make him believe that Joseph was destroyed by a wild beast, which on the sight of the coat he credited, and became inconsolable, Ge 37:31-35; and the chapter concludes with the sale of Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, Ge 37:36.