Genesis 37:13

13 Israel said to Joseph, Thy brethren keep (the) sheep in Shechem (Thy brothers tend the sheep in Shechem); come thou, I shall send thee to them. And when Joseph answered, I am ready,

Genesis 37:13 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 37:13

And Israel said unto Joseph
After his brethren had been gone some time to Shechem:

do not thy brethren feed [the flock] in Shechem?
this question is put, not as ignorant of it, or doubting about it, but to put Joseph in mind of it, and in order to what follows:

come, and I will send thee unto them;
which is pretty much he should, considering the length of the way, sixty miles, the dangerous place in which they were feeding their flocks, and especially seeing his brethren envied and hated him; but Jacob might think that by this time things had wore off of their minds; and it is certain he had no suspicion of their hatred rising so high as to attempt his life; and it is plain he had none concerning them, when his coat was brought to him, but believed it was wild beasts that had devoured him:

and he said unto him, here [am I];
showing his readiness to obey his father, and go on this errand, though it was a long journey, and he to go it alone, and his brethren also bore no good will to him.

Genesis 37:13 In-Context

11 Therefore his brethren had envy to him. Forsooth the father beheld privily the thing, (And so his brothers envied him, but his father privately considered it all.)

12 and when his brethren dwelled in Shechem, about [the] keeping of [the] flocks of their father, (And one day, when his brothers were tending their father's flocks in Shechem,)

13 Israel said to Joseph, Thy brethren keep (the) sheep in Shechem (Thy brothers tend the sheep in Shechem); come thou, I shall send thee to them. And when Joseph answered, I am ready,

14 Israel said, Go thou, and see whether all things be wellsome with thy brethren, and (with) the sheep; and (then come back, and) tell thou to me what is done. (And so) He was sent from the valley of Hebron, and came into Shechem;

15 and a man found him erring in the field (and a man found him wandering in a field), and the man asked him, what he sought.