The big picture
Jacob, also called Israel, is the father of twelve sons and head of a large household. He lives in Canaan, the land where his father had lived as a foreigner. Joseph, one of Jacob's younger sons, is seventeen and works with the family flocks. Jacob openly favors him, and Joseph's older brothers resent it. Joseph then tells them two dreams that point toward his family bowing before him. When the brothers travel with the flocks, Jacob sends Joseph to check on them. Their anger soon turns into a plan to remove him.
In this chapter
- Favoritism Deepens the Brothers' Hatred Genesis 37:1-11
Joseph works with some of his brothers and reports their bad conduct to Jacob.
- The Brothers Sell Joseph Genesis 37:12-28
Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers and the flocks.
- Jacob Is Deceived About Joseph Genesis 37:29-36
Reuben returns to the pit and finds Joseph gone.
Central truth
Jacob's favoritism and the brothers' hatred tear the family apart, while their betrayal carries Joseph toward Egypt.
Scripture beside the summary
Genesis · King James Version · 36Genesis 37:1-11
Favoritism Deepens the Brothers' Hatred
Joseph works with some of his brothers and reports their bad conduct to Jacob. Jacob loves Joseph more than his other children and gives him a special coat of many colours. The brothers see the preference and cannot speak peaceably to Joseph. He then tells them two dreams. In the first, the brothers' bundles of grain bow to his bundle. In the second, the sun, moon and eleven stars bow to him. His brothers take the dreams as a claim that Joseph will rule them. Jacob rebukes Joseph over the second dream, but he keeps thinking about it. The brothers respond with envy.
In everyday life
A father runs a family repair shop and gives one son the best hours, newest tools and constant praise. That son then tells his brothers he expects to lead them one day. Their resentment grows because favoritism and rank now point in the same direction. Joseph's dreams, unlike the son's ambition, carry a meaning the family does not yet understand.
Notice
Genesis 37:11 Jacob rebukes Joseph, yet he also keeps the matter in mind. His sons respond with envy, while Jacob leaves room for the dreams to mean more than boastful talk.
Genesis 37:1-11
King James Version1And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2These 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.
3Now 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.
4And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7For, 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.
8And 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.
9And 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.
10And 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?
11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
Genesis 37:12-28
The Brothers Sell Joseph
Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers and the flocks. Joseph reaches Shechem, a town in Canaan, and learns they have moved to Dothan, another town farther north. The brothers see him coming and plan to kill him. Reuben, Jacob's oldest son, argues against bloodshed and hopes to rescue Joseph later. They strip off Joseph's special coat and throw him into an empty water pit. While they eat, traders pass on their way to Egypt, the kingdom southwest of Canaan. Judah, another of Jacob's sons, proposes selling Joseph instead of killing him. The brothers agree. Joseph is sold for twenty pieces of silver and taken toward Egypt.
In everyday life
Three crewmen resent the owner's son and spend lunch feeding each other's anger. One man says they are going too far. He still does not stop the group from filing a false report that gets the son removed while they gain from it. Joseph's brothers go far beyond workplace betrayal: they discuss murder and sell him into slavery.
Notice
Genesis 37:24 The pit is empty and has no water. That detail explains why Joseph survives being thrown inside and shows how helpless he becomes once his brothers leave him there.
Genesis 37:12-28
King James Version12And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
13And 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.
14And 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.
15And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17And 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.
18And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20Come 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.
21And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22And 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.
23And 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;
24And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
25And 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.
26And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27Come, 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.
28Then 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.
Genesis 37:29-36
Jacob Is Deceived About Joseph
Reuben returns to the pit and finds Joseph gone. He tears his clothes, a common sign of deep grief, and panics over what has happened. The brothers kill a young goat and dip Joseph's coat in its blood. They do not tell Jacob that Joseph is dead. Instead, they send the coat to him and ask whether he recognizes it. Jacob decides that a wild animal killed his son. He puts on sackcloth and mourns for many days, refusing comfort from his family. Joseph, however, is alive in Egypt. The traders sell him to Potiphar, an Egyptian officer who commands the guard of Pharaoh, the title for Egypt's king.
In everyday life
Several siblings hide a brother's departure and place his abandoned work bag where their father will find it. They let him reach the worst conclusion, then sit with him through days of grief without telling the truth. Jacob's sons go much farther by using blood to make their father believe Joseph was killed.
Notice
Genesis 37:32 The brothers never directly say Joseph is dead. They present the coat and ask Jacob to identify it, making their father form the false conclusion himself.
Genesis 37:29-36
King James Version29And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
30And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
31And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
32And 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.
33And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35And 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.
36And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
Genesis 37:1 begins with “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.”
Where the chapter turns
Genesis 37:15 forms a natural hinge: “And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?”
The final note
Genesis 37:36 leaves the reader with “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”
A word trail through the chapter
The words brethren, Joseph, father, coat, dream, dreamed help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- sheaves
- Bundles of cut grain stalks tied together after harvest.
- obeisance
- A formal act of bowing or showing deep respect.
- spicery
- Aromatic spices or fragrant goods carried for trade.
- sackcloth
- Rough cloth worn as a visible sign of grief or mourning.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
