Genesis 37:27
in Genesis 37Come, 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.
KJV
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
What profit is it if we slay our brother?--The sight of these travelling merchants gave a sudden turn to the views of the conspirators; for having no wish to commit a greater degree of crime than was necessary for the accomplishment of their end, they readily approved of Judah's suggestion to dispose of their obnoxious brother as a slave.
This site's exposition
they sat down to eat a meal
on Genesis 37:25-27
They sit down to a meal with their brother still in the pit. Clarke says that one detail describes the men better than any adjective. The camels going past carry spices, balm and myrrh down to Egypt, the road Abram took in the famine at Genesis 12:10. Judah argues profit, and that the boy is their own flesh.
This site's exposition
for he is our brother, our own flesh
Judah borrows Reuben's words from verse 22, lay a hand on him, and turns them toward a sale. The law later sets death as the penalty for a man who kidnaps one of his brothers and sells him, at Deuteronomy 24:7. The Hebrew says his brothers listened.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Also, to signify the figure of the Lord's Passion, Judah the patriarch says: Let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites: but let not our hands be upon him. And earlier he had said well: But let not our hands be upon him. What the Jews said in the Lord's Passion: It is not lawful for us to put any man to death. This is to fulfill Jesus' words, signifying by what death He would die.
And so that we may understand that all this concerning the people and the mystery of the Lord Jesus: Come, he says, let us sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites. What is the interpretation of the name Joseph, except that it signifies divine grace and the expression of the highest God? Who, therefore, is sold, except he who, while being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal to God: but he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant? For we would not have sent him, if they had not sold him.
A commentator
Clement of RomeClement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4 · Written before 99.
proposed
Every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you, and then was fulfilled that which is written, "My beloved ate and drank, and was enlarged and became fat, and kicked." [Deuteronomy 32:15] Hence flowed emulation and envy, strife and sedition, persecution and disorder, war and captivity. So the worthless rose up against the honoured, those of no reputation against such as were renowned, the foolish against the wise, the young against those advanced in years.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites,....
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְכ֞וּ | lekhu | come | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| וְנִמְכְּרֶ֣נּוּ | venimkerenu | and let us sell him | H4376 → | 80 times |
| לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֗ים | laiyishmeelim | to the Ishmaelites | H3459 → | 8 times |
| וְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙ | veyadenu | and hand our | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| אַל־ | ʾal- | may not | H408 → | 724 times |
| תְּהִי־ | tehi- | it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ב֔וֹ | vo | on <the> him | ||
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אָחִ֥ינוּ | ʾachinu | [is] brother our | H251 → | 630 times |
| בְשָׂרֵ֖נוּ | vesarenu | flesh our | H1320 → | 270 times |
| ה֑וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֖וּ | vaiyishmeu | and they listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֶחָֽיו׃ | ʾechav | brothers his | H251 → | 630 times |
לְכ֞וּcome
lekhuH1980 →1546 times
וְנִמְכְּרֶ֣נּוּand let us sell him
venimkerenuH4376 →80 times
לַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֗יםto the Ishmaelites
laiyishmeelimH3459 →8 times
וְיָדֵ֙נוּ֙and hand our
veyadenuH3027 →1618 times
אַל־may not
ʾal-H408 →724 times
תְּהִי־it be
tehi-H1961 →3559 times
ב֔וֹon <the> him
vo
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אָחִ֥ינוּ[is] brother our
ʾachinuH251 →630 times
בְשָׂרֵ֖נוּflesh our
vesarenuH1320 →270 times
ה֑וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
וַֽיִּשְׁמְע֖וּand they listened
vaiyishmeuH8085 →1159 times
אֶחָֽיו׃brothers his
ʾechavH251 →630 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 16:26What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
it leads to
- Mark 8:36–37
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?
- Job 27:8
For what is the hope of the godless when he is cut off, when God takes away his life?
- Luke 9:25
What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose or forfeit his very self?
- Luke 12:20
But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’
- Psalms 49:7–8
No man can possibly redeem his brother or pay his ransom to God.
- Mark 8:36–37
Through
Matthew 26:15and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
it leads to
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Then I told them, “If it seems right to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” So they weighed out my wages, thirty pieces of silver.
- Zechariah 11:12–13
Through
1 Samuel 18:17Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I…
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 17:25
Now the men of Israel had been saying, “Do you see this man who keeps coming out to defy Israel? To the man who kills him the king will give great riches. And he…
- 1 Samuel 17:25
Through
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…
it leads to
- Hosea 5:15
Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
- Hosea 5:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, On Joseph the Patriarch; Clement of Rome, Clement's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapters 3-4; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.