Genesis 37:4

4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

Genesis 37:4 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 37:4

And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more
than all his brethren
Which they perceived by various things in his behaviour to him, by his words, his looks, his gestures, and particularly by the coat he had made him, which distinguished him from the rest:

they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him;
they not only inwardly hated him, but they could not conceal their hatred, but betrayed it by their speech unto him; they could not speak to him on any occasion, but in a cross, surly, ill natured manner; they could not salute him, or give him the common salutation, Peace be to thee, as Aben Ezra suggests.

Genesis 37:4 In-Context

2 This is the account of Jacob. When Joseph was seventeen years old, he was tending the flock with his brothers, the sons of his father’s wives Bilhah and Zilpah, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age; so he made him a robe of many colors.

4 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: