Genesis 37:16-26

16 And he answered, I seek my brethren; show thou to me where they keep their flocks. (And he answered, I am looking for my brothers; tell thou to me where they tend their flocks.)

17 And the man said to him, They went away from this place; forsooth I heard them saying, Go we into Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18 And when they had seen him afar (off), before he nighed to them, they thought to slay him (they decided to kill him),

19 and they spake together, (and said,) Lo! the dreamer cometh,

20 come ye, slay we him, and put we him into an eld cistern, and we shall say, A wild beast full wicked hath devoured him; and then it shall appear what his dreams profit to him. (come ye, let us kill him, yea, we shall put him into an old cistern, and we shall say, A wicked wild beast hath devoured him; and then we shall see what his dreams shall profit him.)

21 Soothly Reuben heard this, and endeavoured to deliver him from their hands, and said, Slay we not the life of him (and he said, Nay, we should not kill him),

22 neither shed we out his blood, but cast ye him into an eld cistern, which is in the wilderness, and (so) keep ye your hands guiltless. Forsooth he said this, desiring to deliver him from their hands, and to yield him (again) to his father.

23 Therefore anon as Joseph came to his brethren, they despoiled him of his coat, (that went) down to the heel, and (was) of many colours, (And so when Joseph came to his brothers, at once they tore off the coat, that went down to his heels, and had many colours,)

24 and they put him in[to] an eld cistern, that had no water.

25 And (then) they sat (down) to eat bread; and (soon) they saw that (some) Ishmaelite waygoers came from Gilead, and that their camels bare sweet smelling spiceries, and resin, and stacte, into Egypt (to take to Egypt).

26 Therefore Judah said to his brethren, What shall it profit to us, if we shall slay our brother, and shall hide his blood? (And so Judah said to his brothers, What shall it profit us, if we kill our brother, and then hide 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.