Genesis 37:4

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably 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 These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren, and the lad [was] with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought to his father their evil report.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colors.

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: