Genesis 37:32
in Genesis 37They 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son’s coat or not.
KJV
And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.
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This verse in Genesis 37
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThey pretended they had found it in the fields, and Jacob himself must be scornfully asked, Is this thy son's coat? Now the badge of his honour is the discovery of his fate; and it is rashly inferred from the bloody coat that Joseph, without doubt, is rent in pieces.
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. 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
Examine it to see whether it is
The Hebrew verb behind examine is nakar, to recognize, and it runs through the whole story. Isaac failed to recognize Jacob under goat skins at Genesis 27:23, and at Genesis 42:8 Joseph recognizes his brothers while they fail to know him. The brothers call him your son.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And they sent the coat of many colours,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
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
Sent the coat of many colors - to their father - What deliberate cruelty to torture the feelings of their aged father, and thus harrow up his soul!
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֞וּ | vayshalechu | and they sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כְּתֹ֣נֶת | ketonet | [the] long garment of | H3801 → | 29 times |
| הַפַּסִּ֗ים | hapasim | the palms and soles | H6446 → | 5 times |
| וַיָּבִ֙יאוּ֙ | vaiyaviu | and they brought [it] | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲבִיהֶ֔ם | ʾavihem | father their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| זֹ֣את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| מָצָ֑אנוּ | matzanu | we have found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| הַכֶּר־ | haker- | investigate | H5234 → | 49 times |
| נָ֗א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| הַכְּתֹ֧נֶת | haketonet | ¿ [the] long garment of | H3801 → | 29 times |
| בִּנְךָ֛ | binkha | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| הִ֖וא | hi' | [is] it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| לֹֽא׃ | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
וַֽיְשַׁלְּח֞וּand they sent
vayshalechuH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כְּתֹ֣נֶת[the] long garment of
ketonetH3801 →29 times
הַפַּסִּ֗יםthe palms and soles
hapasimH6446 →5 times
וַיָּבִ֙יאוּ֙and they brought [it]
vaiyaviuH935 →2568 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֲבִיהֶ֔םfather their
ʾavihemH1 →1212 times
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
זֹ֣אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
מָצָ֑אנוּwe have found
matzanuH4672 →455 times
הַכֶּר־investigate
haker-H5234 →49 times
נָ֗אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
הַכְּתֹ֧נֶת¿ [the] long garment of
haketonetH3801 →29 times
בִּנְךָ֛son your
binkhaH1121 →4930 times
הִ֖וא[is] it
hi'H1931 →1879 times
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
לֹֽא׃not
lo'H3808 →5168 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
Luke 15:30But when this son of yours returns from squandering your wealth with prostitutes, you kill the fattened calf for him!’
it leads to
- Luke 15:12–13
The younger son said to him, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
- Proverbs 29:3
A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father, but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
- Luke 18:11
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- Luke 15:32
But it was fitting to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”
- Exodus 32:11
But Moses sought the favor of the LORD his God, saying, “O LORD, why does Your anger burn against Your people, whom You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and…
- Luke 15:12–13
Through
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.
it leads to
- John 3:35
The Father loves the Son and has placed all things in His hands.
- 2 Samuel 13:18
So Amnon’s attendant threw her out and bolted the door behind her. Now Tamar was wearing a robe of many colors, because this is what the king’s virgin daughters wore.
- John 13:22–23
The disciples looked at one another, perplexed as to which of them He meant.
- John 3:35
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies16
On this verse
On this chapter
About Genesis
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.