Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Genesis 37

Introduction

1  Joseph is loved by Jacob, but hated by his brethren.
5  His dreams and the interpretation.
12  Jacob sends him to his brethren, who counsel to slay him.
21  At Reuben's desire they cast him into a pit;
25  and afterwards sell him to the Ishmaelites; while Ruben grieves at not finding him.
31  His coat, covered with blood, is sent to Jacob, who mourns him inordinately.
36  Joseph is brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar.
Verse 1

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
A. M. 2276. B.C. 1728
wherein his father was a stranger
Heb. of his father's sojournings.
17:8, 23:4, 28:4; *marg:; 36:7, Hebrews 11:9-16
Verse 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 unto his father their evil report.
the generations
Toledoth, the history, narrative, or account of the lives and actions of Jacob and his sons; for in this general sense the original must be taken, as in the whole ensuing history there is no genealogy of Jacob's family.
2:4, 5:1, 6:9, 10:1
wives
30:4,9, 35:22,25,26
evil report
1 Samuel 2:22-24, John 7:7, 1 Corinthians 1:11, 5:1, 11:18
Verse 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 colours.
loved
John 3:35, 13:22,23
son
44:20-30
a coat
23,32, Judges 5:30, 2 Samuel 13:18, Psalms 45:13,14, Ezekiel 16:16
colours
Kethoneth passim, a coat made of stripes of different coloured cloth.
Verse 4

And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
hated him
5,11,18-24, 4:5, 27:41, 49:23, 1 Samuel 16:12,13, 17:28, Psalms 38:19, 69:4, John 7:3-5, 15:18,19, Titus 3:3, 1 John 2:11, 3:10,12, 4:20
and could not speak peaceably unto him
Or, rather, "and they could not speak peace to him," i.e., they would not accost him in a friendly manner: they would not even wish him well, in the eastern mode of salutation of, Peace be to thee! It is not an unusual thing for an Arab or Turk to hesitate to return the salâm, if given by a Christian, or by one of whom he has not a favourable opinion; and this may always be considered as an act of hostility.
Verse 5

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
dreamed
28:12, 40:5, 41:1, 42:9, Numbers 12:6, Judges 7:13,14, 1 Kings 3:5, Psalms 25:14, Daniel 2:1, 4:5, Joel 2:28, Amos 3:7
and they
4,8, 49:23, John 17:14
Verse 6

And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
Hear
44:18, Judges 9:7
Verse 7

For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
your sheaves
42:6,9, 43:26, 44:14,19
obeisance
Philippians 2:10, Colossians 1:18
Verse 8

And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
reign over us
4, Exodus 2:14, 1 Samuel 10:27, 17:28, Psalms 2:3-6, 118:22, Luke 19:14, 20:17, Acts 4:27,28, 7:35, Hebrews 10:29
Verse 9

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
another dream
7, 41:25,32
the sun
10, 43:28, 44:14,19, 45:9, 46:29, 47:12, 50:15-21, Acts 7:9-14
stars
Daniel 8:10, Philippians 2:15
Verse 10

And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Shall I
27:29, Isaiah 60:14, Philippians 2:10,11
Verse 11

And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
envied
26:14-16, Psalms 106:16, Ecclesiastes 4:4, Isaiah 11:13, 26:11, Matthew 27:18, Mark 15:10, Acts 7:9, 13:45, Galatians 5:21, Titus 3:3, James 3:14-16, 4:5
observed
24:31, Daniel 7:28, Luke 2:19,51
Verse 12

And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
in Shechem
1, 33:18, 34:25-31
Verse 13

And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
come
1 Samuel 17:17-20, Matthew 10:16, Luke 20:13
Here am I
22:1, 27:1,18, 1 Samuel 3:4-6,8,16, Ephesians 6:1-3
Verse 14

And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
see whether it be well with
Heb. see the peace of thy brethren, etc.
29:6, 41:16, 1 Samuel 17:17,18, 2 Samuel 18:32, 1 Kings 2:33, Psalms 125:5, Jeremiah 29:7, Luke 19:42
Hebron
23:2, 35:27, Numbers 13:22, Joshua 14:13,15
Verse 15

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
he was
21:14
What
Judges 4:22, 2 Kings 6:19, John 1:38, 4:27, 18:4,7, 20:15
Verse 16

And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
seek
Luke 19:10
tell me
Song of Solomon 1:7
Verse 17

And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Dothan
2 Kings 6:13
Verse 18

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
conspired
1 Samuel 19:1, Psalms 31:13, 37:12,32, 94:21, 105:25, 109:4, Matthew 21:38, 27:1, Mark 12:7, 14:1, Luke 20:14,15, John 11:53, Acts 23:12
Verse 19

And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Behold
Simulated Irony: Where the words in question are used by man either in dissimulation or hypocrisy. For other instances of this figure see 2 Sa 6:20; Ps 22:8; Isa 5:19; Mt 22:16; 27:29; 27:40, 42, 43; Mk 15:29.
dreamer
Heb. master of dreams.
5,11, 28:12, 49:23; *marg:
Verse 20

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
and let
Psalms 64:5, Proverbs 1:11,12,16, 6:17, 27:4, Titus 3:3, John 3:12
Some
1 Kings 13:24, 2 Kings 2:24, Proverbs 10:18, 28:13
and we
1 Samuel 24:20, 26:2, Matthew 2:2-16, 27:40-42, Mark 15:29-32, John 12:10,11, Acts 4:16-18
Verse 21

And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
Reuben heard
35:22, 42:22
not kill him
Heb. nephesh.
Joshua 10:28, Genesis 9:5, Matthew 10:28
Verse 22

And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Reuben said
42:22
Shed
Matthew 27:24
lay
Genesis 22:12, Exodus 24:11, Deuteronomy 13:9, Acts 12:1
Verse 23

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
stript
3,31-33, 42:21, Psalms 22:18, Matthew 27:28
colours
or, pieces.
Verse 24

And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
and cast
Psalms 35:7, Lamentations 4:20
the pit
Psalms 40:2, 88:6,8, 130:1,2, Jeremiah 38:6, Lamentations 3:52-55, Zechariah 9:11
Verse 25

And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
they sat
Esther 3:15, Psalms 14:4, Proverbs 30:20, Amos 6:6
Ishmeelites
28,36, 16:11,12, 25:1-4,16-18, 31:23, Psalms 83:6
Gilead
31:21, 43:11, Jeremiah 8:22
spicery
Nechoth, is rendered by the LXX. "incense;" Syriac, "resin;" Samaritan, "balsam;" Acquila, "storax;" which is followed by Bochart. This drug is abundant in Syria, and here Moses joins with it resin, honey, and myrrh; which agrees with the nature of the storax, which is the resin of a tree of the same name, of a reddish colour, and peculiarly pleasant fragrance.
balm {Tzeri,} which in Arabic, as a verb, is to flow, seems to be a common name, as balm or balsam with us, for many of those oily, resinous substances, which flow spontaneously, or by incision, from various trees or plants; accordingly the ancients have generally interpreted it resin
&
myrrh
Lot, is probably, as Junius, De Dieu, Celsius, and Ursinus contend, the same as the Arabic ladan, Greek [ladanon] and Latin ladanum.
Verse 26

And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
What profit
25:32, Psalms 30:9, Jeremiah 41:8, Matthew 16:26, Romans 6:21
conceal
20, 4:10, Deuteronomy 17:8, 2 Samuel 1:16, Job 16:18, Ezekiel 24:7
Verse 27

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.
sell him
22, Exodus 21:16,21, Nehemiah 5:8, Matthew 16:26, 26:15, 1 Timothy 1:10, Revelation 18:13
let not
1 Samuel 18:17, 2 Samuel 11:14-17, 12:9
he is our
29:14, 42:21
were content
Heb. hearkened.
Verse 28

Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
Midianites
25, 25:2, Exodus 2:16, Numbers 25:15,17, 31:2,3,8,9, Judges 6:1-3, Psalms 83:9, Isaiah 60:6
sold
45:4,5, Psalms 105:17, Zechariah 11:12,13, Matthew 26:15, 27:9, Acts 7:9
Verse 29

And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
he rent
34, 34:13, Numbers 14:6, Judges 11:35, 2 Kings 19:1, Job 1:20, Joel 2:13, Acts 14:14
Verse 30

And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
20, 42:13,32,35, Jeremiah 31:15
Verse 31

And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
3,23, Proverbs 28:13
Verse 32

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.
thy son's
3, 44:20-23, Luke 15:30
Verse 33

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.
evil beast
20, 44:28, 1 Kings 13:24, 2 Kings 2:24, Proverbs 14:15, John 13:7
Verse 34

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
29, Joshua 7:6, 2 Samuel 1:11, 3:31, 1 Kings 20:31, 21:27, 2 Kings 19:1, 1 Chronicles 21:16, Ezra 9:3-5, Nehemiah 9:1, Esther 4:1-3, Job 1:20, 2:12, Psalms 69:11, Isaiah 22:12,13, Isaiah 32:11, 36:22, 37:1,2, Jeremiah 36:24, Joel 2:13, Jonah 3:5-8, Matthew 11:21, Matthew 26:65, Acts 14:14, Revelation 11:3
Verse 35

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
his daughters
31:43, 35:22-26
rose up
2 Samuel 12:17, Job 2:11, Psalms 77:2, Jeremiah 31:15
For I
42:31, 44:29-31, 45:28
Verse 36

And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
the Midianites
28, 25:1,2, 39:1
officer
Heb. eunuch. But the word signifies not only eunuchs, but also chamberlains, courtiers, and officers.
Esther 1:10, Isaiah 56:3
captain
Or, chief marshal. Heb. chief of the slaughtermen, or executioners.
39:1-23, 40:4, 2 Kings 25:8; *marg:

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