Genesis 37

1 And these are the generations of Jacob. And Joseph was seventeen years old, feeding the sheep of his father with his brethren, being young; with the sons of Balla, and with the sons of Zelpha, the wives of his father; and Joseph brought to Israel their father their evil reproach.

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3 And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was to him the son of old age; and he made for him a coat of many colours.

4 And his brethren having seen that his father loved him more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and reported it to his brethren.

6 And he said to them, Hear this dream which I have dreamed.

7 I thought ye were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and my sheaf stood up and was erected, and your sheaves turned round, and did obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed be lord over us? And they hated him still more for his dreams and for his words.

9 And he dreamed another dream, and related it to his father, and to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream: as it were the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars did me reverence.

10 And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamed? shall indeed both I and thy mother and thy brethren come and bow before thee to the earth?

11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

12 And his brethren went to feed the sheep of their father to Sychem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed their flock in Sychem? Come, I will send thee to them; and he said to him, Behold, I .

14 And Israel said to him, Go and see if thy brethren and the sheep are well, and bring me word; and he sent him out of the valley of Chebron, and he came to Sychem.

15 And a man found him wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I am seeking my brethren; tell me where they feed .

17 And the man said to him, They have departed hence, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothaim; and Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothaim.

18 And they spied him from a distance before he drew nigh to them, and they wickedly took counsel to slay him.

19 And each said to his brother, Behold, that dreamer comes.

20 Now then come, let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits; and we will say, An evil wild beast has devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams will be.

21 And Ruben having heard it, rescued him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him.

22 And Ruben said to them, Shed not blood; cast him into one of these pits in the wilderness, but do not lay hands upon him; that he might rescue him out of their hands, and restore him to his father.

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his many-coloured coat that was upon him.

24 And they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, it had not water.

25 And they sat down to eat bread; and having lifted up their eyes they beheld, and lo, Ismaelitish travellers came from Galaad, and their camels were heavily loaded with spices, and resin, and myrrh; and they went to bring them to Egypt.

26 And Judas said to his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

27 Come, let us sell him to these Ismaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren hearkened.

28 And the men, the merchants of Madian, went by, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ismaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt.

29 And Ruben returned to the pit, and sees not Joseph in the pit; and he rent his garments.

30 And he returned to his brethren and said, The boy is not; and I, whither am I yet to go?

31 And having taken the coat of Joseph, they slew a kid of the goats, and stained the coat with 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 if it be thy son's coat or no. And he recognised it, and said, It is my son's coat, an evil wild beast has devoured him; a wild beast has carried off Joseph.

33 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

34 And all his sons and his daughters gathered themselves together, and came to comfort him; but he would not be comforted, saying, I will go down to my son mourning to Hades; and his father wept for him.

35 And the Madianites sold Joseph into Egypt; to Petephres, the eunuch of Pharao, captain of the guard.

Genesis 37 Commentary

Chapter 37

Joseph is loved of Jacob, but hated by his brethren. (1-4) Joseph's dreams. (5-11) Jacob sends Joseph to visit his brethren, They conspire his death. (12-22) Joseph's brethren sell him. (23-10) Jacob deceived, Joseph sold to Potiphar. (31-36)

Verses 1-4 In Joseph's history we see something of Christ, who was first humbled and then exalted. It also shows the lot of Christians, who must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom. It is a history that has none like it, for displaying the various workings of the human mind, both good and bad, and the singular providence of God in making use of them for fulfilling his purposes. Though Joseph was his father's darling, yet he was not bred up in idleness. Those do not truly love their children, who do not use them to business, and labour, and hardships. The fondling of children is with good reason called the spoiling of them. Those who are trained up to do nothing, are likely to be good for nothing. But Jacob made known his love, by dressing Joseph finer than the rest of his children. It is wrong for parents to make a difference between one child and another, unless there is great cause for it, by the children's dutifulness, or undutifulness. When parents make a difference, children soon notice it, and it leads to quarrels in families. Jacob's sons did that, when they were from under his eye, which they durst not have done at home with him; but Joseph gave his father an account of their ill conduct, that he might restrain them. Not as a tale-bearer, to sow discord, but as a faithful brother.

Verses 5-11 God gave Joseph betimes the prospect of his advancement, to support and comfort him under his long and grievous troubles. Observe, Joseph dreamed of his preferment, but he did not dream of his imprisonment. Thus many young people, when setting out in the world, think of nothing but prosperity and pleasure, and never dream of trouble. His brethren rightly interpreted the dream, though they abhorred the interpretation of it. While they committed crimes in order to defeat it, they were themselves the instruments of accomplishing it. Thus the Jews understood what Christ said of his kingdom. Determined that he should not reign over them, they consulted to put him to death; and by his crucifixion, made way for the exaltation they designed to prevent.

Verses 12-22 How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is ( 1 John. 3:15 ) because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them on further; but this laid rankling in their hearts, till they resolved on his death. God has all hearts in his hands. Reuben had most reason to be jealous of Joseph, for he was the first-born; yet he proves his best friend. God overruled all to serve his own purpose, of making Joseph an instrument to save much people alive. Joseph was a type of Christ; for though he was the beloved Son of his Father, and hated by a wicked world, yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to visit us in great humility and love. He came from heaven to earth to seek and save us; yet then malicious plots were laid against him. His own not only received him not, but crucified him. This he submitted to, as a part of his design to redeem and save us.

Verses 23-30 They threw Joseph into a pit, to perish there with hunger and cold; so cruel were their tender mercies. They slighted him when he was in distress, and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, see ( Amos 6:6 ) ; for when he was pining in the pit, they sat down to eat bread. They felt no remorse of conscience for the sin. But the wrath of man shall praise God, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain, ( Psalms 76:10 ) . Joseph's brethren were wonderfully restrained from murdering him, and their selling him as wonderfully turned to God's praise.

Verses 31-36 When Satan has taught men to commit one sin, he teaches them to try to conceal it with another; to hide theft and murder, with lying and false oaths: but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and one another's counsel for some time; but their villany came to light at last, and it is here published to the world. To grieve their father, they sent him Joseph's coat of colours; and he hastily thought, on seeing the bloody coat, that Joseph was rent in pieces. Let those that know the heart of a parent, suppose the agony of poor Jacob. His sons basely pretended to comfort him, but miserable, hypocritical comforters were they all. Had they really desired to comfort him, they might at once have done it, by telling the truth. The heart is strangely hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Jacob refused to be comforted. Great affection to any creature prepares for so much the greater affliction, when it is taken from us, or made bitter to us: undue love commonly ends in undue grief. It is the wisdom of parents not to bring up children delicately, they know not to what hardships they may be brought before they die. From the whole of this chapter we see with wonder the ways of Providence. The malignant brothers seem to have gotten their ends; the merchants, who care not what they deal in so that they gain, have also obtained theirs; and Potiphar, having got a fine young slave, has obtained his! But God's designs are, by these means, in train for execution. This event shall end in Israel's going down to Egypt; that ends in their deliverance by Moses; that in setting up the true religion in the world; and that in the spread of it among all nations by the gospel. Thus the wrath of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder thereof will he restrain.

Footnotes

• [a]. Or, according to some copies, they brought an evil report of Joseph, etc.
• [b]. Gr. saw.
• [c]. Gr. smite him to the life.
• [d]. Gr. stacte.

Chapter Summary

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.