Genesischapter 37

Joseph Is Sold by His Brothers — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

A.The Coat and the Dreamsvv. 1-11

1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan. 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: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.” 8 “Do you intend to reign over us?” his brothers asked. “Will you actually rule us?” So they hated him even more because of his dream and his statements. 9 Then Joseph had another dream and told it to his brothers. “Look,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.

B.Thrown into a Dry Pitvv. 12-24

12 Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13 Israel said to him, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flocks at Shechem? Get ready; I am sending you to them.” “I am ready,” Joseph replied. 14 Then Israel told him, “Go now and see how your brothers and the flocks are faring, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron. And when Joseph arrived in Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering in the field and asked, “What are you looking for?” 16 “I am looking for my brothers,” Joseph replied. “Can you please tell me where they are pasturing their flocks?” 17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan. 18 Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him. 19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. 20 “Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!” 21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said. 22 “Do not shed his blood. Throw him into this pit in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue Joseph from their hands and return him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing— 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it.

C.Sold to Traders for Twenty Piecesvv. 25-36

25 And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And they agreed. 28 So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. 29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, 30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?” 31 Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32 They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.” 33 His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said. “I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

Joseph sold.

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Joseph sold. The coat of many colours; the two dreams. Sheaves bowing, sun, moon, and eleven stars; the brothers' hatred; the errand to Shechem; the pit and the passing Ishmaelite caravan. Twenty pieces of silver change hands. The coat is dipped in goat's blood and brought to Jacob: ‘it is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him’. The old man refuses to be comforted. Reuben and Judah each make a weak intervention; neither prevents the crime. The chapter closes with Joseph in Potiphar's house in Egypt. The deceiver Jacob is deceived by his sons with his own pattern: goat's blood and a garment.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Genesis overview

A. 1–11 The Coat and the Dreams
B. 12–24 Thrown into a Dry Pit
C. 25–36 Sold to Traders for Twenty Pieces

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Genesis 3711 verses
- Genesis 37:1Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had resided, the land of Canaan.
- Genesis 37:3Now 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.
- Genesis 37:5Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
- Genesis 37:7We were binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to mine.”
- Genesis 37:20“Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!”
- Genesis 37:23So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the robe of many colors he was wearing—
- Read Genesis 37: 5 more there →
Genesis 427 verses
- Genesis 42:6Now Joseph was the ruler of the land; he was the one who sold grain to all its people. So when his brothers arrived, they bowed down before him with their faces to the ground.
- Genesis 42:9Joseph remembered his dreams about them and said, “You are spies! You have come to see if our land is vulnerable.”
- Genesis 42:13But they answered, “Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more.”
- Genesis 42:21Then they said to one another, “Surely we are being punished because of our brother. We saw his anguish when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.”
- Genesis 42:22And Reuben responded, “Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy? But you would not listen. Now we must account for his blood!”
- Genesis 42:32We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.’
- Read Genesis 42: 1 more there →
Genesis 353 verses
- Genesis 35:22While Israel was living in that region, Reuben went in and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Jacob had twelve sons:
- Genesis 35:25The sons of Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali.
- Genesis 35:27Jacob returned to his father Isaac at Mamre, near Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had stayed.
- Read Genesis 35 →
Genesis 273 verses
- Genesis 27:18So Jacob went to his father and said, “My father.” “Here I am!” he answered. “Which one are you, my son?”
- Genesis 27:29May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you be cursed, and those who bless you be blessed.”
- Genesis 27:41Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
- Read Genesis 27 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Genesis 443 verses
- Genesis 44:13Then they all tore their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city.
- Genesis 44:14When Judah and his brothers arrived at Joseph’s house, he was still there, and they fell to the ground before him.
- Genesis 44:28When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.
- Read Genesis 44 →
Acts 72 verses
- Acts 7:9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Acts 7:35This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- Read Acts 7 →
Genesis 432 verses
- Genesis 43:11Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your packs and carry them down as a gift for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds.
- Genesis 43:26When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought, and they bowed to the ground before him.
- Read Genesis 43 →
Genesis 492 verses
- Genesis 49:23The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- Genesis 49:26The blessings of your father have surpassed the blessings of the ancient mountains and the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince of his brothers.
- Read Genesis 49 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.