Genesis 37:33
in Genesis 37His father recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! A vicious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat: an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.
KJV
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
5 notes on this verseJoseph is without doubt rent in pieces! - It is likely he inferred this from the lacerated state of the coat, which, in order the better to cover their wickedness, they had not only besmeared with the blood of the goat, but it is probable reduced to tatters. And what must a father’s heart have felt in such a case! As this coat is rent, so is the body of my beloved son rent in pieces! and Jacob rent his clothes.
This site's exposition
slaughtered a young goat
on Genesis 37:31-33
Jacob had deceived his blind father with goat skins and his brother's garment at Genesis 27:16. His sons bring him goat's blood and his son's robe. They hand him the robe and ask him to examine it, and he reaches the conclusion himself. Gill reports the rabbinic observation that goat's blood most resembles a man's.
This site's exposition
Joseph has surely been torn to pieces
Torn to pieces is a doubled verb in Hebrew, torn, yes torn. A shepherd cleared himself of a torn animal by bringing the remains as evidence, as Exodus 22:13 later sets down, and the sons bring their father a bloodied robe. Years later he still says it at Genesis 44:28.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he knew it, and said, it is my son's coat,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
they took Joseph's coat--The commission of one sin necessarily leads to another to conceal it; and the scheme of deception which the sons of Jacob planned and practised on their aged father was a necessary consequence of the atrocious crime they had perpetrated.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּכִּירָ֤הּ | vaiyakirah | and he recognized it | H5234 → | 49 times |
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| כְּתֹ֣נֶת | ketonet | [it is] [the] long garment of | H3801 → | 29 times |
| בְּנִ֔י | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| חַיָּ֥ה | chaiyah | an animal | H2416 → | 498 times |
| רָעָ֖ה | raah | wild | H7451 → | 662 times |
| אֲכָלָ֑תְהוּ | ʾakhalatehu | it has eaten him | H398 → | 810 times |
| טָרֹ֥ף | tarof | certainly <to tear> | H2963 → | 25 times |
| טֹרַ֖ף | toraf | he has been torn to pieces | H2963 → | 25 times |
| יוֹסֵֽף׃ | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
וַיַּכִּירָ֤הּand he recognized it
vaiyakirahH5234 →49 times
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
כְּתֹ֣נֶת[it is] [the] long garment of
ketonetH3801 →29 times
בְּנִ֔יson my
beniH1121 →4930 times
חַיָּ֥הan animal
chaiyahH2416 →498 times
רָעָ֖הwild
raahH7451 →662 times
אֲכָלָ֑תְהוּit has eaten him
ʾakhalatehuH398 →810 times
טָרֹ֥ףcertainly <to tear>
tarofH2963 →25 times
טֹרַ֖ףhe has been torn to pieces
torafH2963 →25 times
יוֹסֵֽף׃Joseph
yosefH3130 →213 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
Proverbs 14:15The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:17
Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
- Proverbs 14:8
The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools deceives them.
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Proverbs 4:26
Make a level path for your feet, and all your ways will be sure.
- Proverbs 27:12
The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
- Ephesians 5:17
Through
John 13:7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
it leads to
- Daniel 12:8
I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these things?”
- John 12:16
At first His disciples did not understand these things, but after Jesus was glorified they remembered what had been done to Him, and they realized that these very things had also been written about…
- John 14:26
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
- Daniel 12:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.