The First Book of Moses, called Genesis
Genesis 37
Chapter XXXVII · Vol. I, pp. 273–275
2 Joseph is hated of his brethren. 5 His two dreams. 13 Jacob sendeth him to visit his brethren. 18 His brethren conspire his death, but Reuben saveth him. 26 They sell him to the Ishmeelites. 31 His father, deceived by the bloody coat, mourneth for him. 36 He is sold to Potiphar in Egypt.
1 And Jacob dwelt in the land awherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
A.M. 2276. B.C. 1728.
a Heb. of his father's sojournings, ch.17.8;28.4.
2 These are bthe generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old,5 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 cwives: and Joseph brought unto his father their6 evil report.7
b History of what befell him in his posterity, ch.2.4; 5.1; 6. 9; 10.1.
5 This occurred ten years after Jacob's return from Haran.—P.
c Concubines, ch. 35.22,25,26;30.4,9.
6 It is no just charge against Joseph that he brought an evil report of his brethren. Had he carried it out of malice, however true, it had been so far evil; but brought from a desire that parental advice might effect reformation, it was both justifiable and right.—C.
7 How wickedly they lived; and how ill they used him.
3 Now Israel dloved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the eson of his old age: and he made him a fcoat of many 8colours.
e ch.44.20;30.22.
f Ju.5.30. 2 Sa.13.18. Ps.45.13,14.
8 Or, pieces.—[Colours. A garment of several colours is a mark of honour in all countries, more especially in the East. In Europe, every dignity has its appropriate colour and garment, in every profession and employment, civil or military. C.—This was a long outer robe, made of many pieces and of bright colours. It was expensive, showy, and usually worn only by persons of rank.—P.]
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, gthey hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
g ver. 5,20-24. Jn. 7. 7;15.18,19. Tit.3.3. 1 Jn. 2.11;3.10,12;4,20.
5 And Joseph hdreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren; and they ihated him yet the more.
h ch.41. 1. Nu. 12. 6. 1 Ki. 3. 5. Da. 2.2; 4.5. Ju. 7. 13,14. Ps. 25. 14. Am.3.7.
i ver.4, 8; ch. 49. 23. Jn.17.14.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your ksheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
k ch. 42. 6; 44. 19. This signified, that while they procured corn they should humble themselves before him.
8 And his brethren said to him, lShalt 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.
l 1 Sa. 10. 27; 17. 28. Lu.19.14. He.10.29.
9 And he mdreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; nand, behold, the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars, made obeisance to me.
m ver. 7; ch. 41. 25, 32.
n ch.44.19;46.29; 47. 12;50.15-21, i.e. Jacob and his whole family should depend on him.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked9 him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I, and thy mother,1 and thy brethren, indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
9 Partly through ignorance, and partly in policy, to lessen the hatred of his brethren.
1 Rachel, Joseph's mother, was now dead, ch.30. 24; 34. 19; but the custom of the Jews and of other nations, concedes the title of mother to one who is not really a mother, but merely the wife of a father.—C.
11 And his brethren oenvied him;2 but his father pobserved the saying.
o ch.26.14-16. Ec. 4. 4. Ac.7.9. Ja.4.5; 3.14-16. Tit.3.3.
2 In ver. 8 we are told his brethren hated Joseph for the dream that he told them; now they envy him for the attention he excites in his father. Envy being interpreted by its meaning, signifies a standing in any one's way, with a desire to impede, disappoint, or injure—with a malignant yet tormenting satisfaction when evil wishes or projects succeed, and a suicidal mortification when they are defeated. It is Satan's great agent in the children of disobedience, Ja.4. 5; Ep. 2. 2.—C.
p Lu.2.19,51. Da. 7. 28. ch.24.21.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And rhe said to him, Here am I.
r Ep.6.1-3.
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, ssee 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.1
s Heb. see the peace of thy brethren, &c., ch.41.16. Lu.19.42. Je. 29.7. 2 Sa.18.32.
A.M. 2276. B.C. 1728.
1 It stood about fifty miles northward of Hebron; and here Jacob's sons were in danger, on account of their late murder of the Shechemites.
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence: for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan.t And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.2
t 2 Ki.6.13.
2 Dothan is situated in the centre of a beautiful little plain, in the midst of wooded hills, 14 miles north of Shechem. Close by it runs the ancient caravan road from northern Gilead to Egypt. The word Dothan means 'two wells,' and beside the village are still several ancient cisterns or wells. The pasture in the vale of Dothan is among the best in Palestine.—P.
18 And when they saw him afar off,3 even before he came near unto them, uthey conspired against him to slay him.
3 They were able to recognize him at a distance by his bright-coloured robe.—P.
u Ps. 109. 4; 105. 25. Lu.20.14.
20 Comex now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Somey evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
21 And zReuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
z ch.42.22;35.22.
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.5
5 Though God afterwards overruled the hatred of his brethren for good, this by no means justifies what may be called the benevolent duplicity of Reuben. An open, honest, fearless, pathetic remonstrance might, humanly speaking, have prevailed with his brothers, and spared himself future grief. Good may come out of evil, but we never should speak a falsehood to promote truth, nor do evil that good may come.—C.
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they astripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
25 And they csat down to eat bread:6 and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of dIshmeelites came from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
c Ps. 14. 4. Es. 3.15. Am.6.6.
6 Lord, what is man! Behold the sons of Jacob hating a brother who had done them no evil, envying a brother because God portended him good—murdering a brother in purpose, and preparing to break a father's heart with sorrow. Yet, in the midst of all, they sit down to eat bread! But passion blinds the eyes, hardens the heart, and sears the conscience. — Note, The deeds of men differ in comparative enormity; but every heart is desperately wicked till its evil is mortified, Ro. 8. 13, and its nature renewed, Ro. 12. 2, by the Spirit of God.—C.
d ch.25.16,18; 31. 23; 43.11. Je.8.22.
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, eWhat profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us fsell 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.7
f Mat.16.26. Ex. 21. 16. Ne.5.8.
7 Heb. hearkened.
28 Then there passed by gMidianites,8 merchant-men; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, hand sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver:9 and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
A.M. 2276. B.C. 1728.
g ch. 25. 2. Ju. 6. 3. Or, Medanites.
8 The Midianites were descendants of Abraham by Keturah; they were therefore closely related to the Ishmaelites. Besides, both people dwelt in the same country, and were the dominant tribes there. Both seem to have been engaged in the caravan traffic with Egypt, and the company to which Joseph was sold was evidently made up of both Ishmaelites and Midianites.—P.
h Ps.105.17. Ac.7.9. Mat.26.15;27.9.
9 About £2, 6s. sterling.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit: and he rent his clothes:
30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child iis not; and I, whither shall I go?
i ver. 20; ch. 42. 13, 36. Je.31.15.
31 And kthey took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood:
k Pr. 28. 13. Ps. 10. 18.
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 coat1 or no.
1 Not our brother's, but thy son's coat.—Note, Sin always chooses a word least calculated to disturb conscience.—C.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an levil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
l ch.44.28. Pr. 14.15. 1 Ki.13. 24. 2 Ki. 2. 24. Jn.13.7.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
Notes
Ver. 29, 34. Rending the upper garments was an emblem of rending the heart, Joel 2. 13; and was used at funerals, 2 Sa. 3. 31; or upon the news or sight of any great calamity, Job 1. 20; 2. 12; 2 Sa. 1. 11; Jos. 7. 6; or in token of sorrow for sin, Joel 2. 13; Ezr. 9. 3, 5; or of detestation of it, 2 Ki. 18. 37; 19. 1; Mat. 26. 65; Je. 36. 24; Ac. 14. 13, 14.
Ver. 34. Wearing sackcloth was another common badge of grief among Jews and heathens, 2 Sa. 3. 31; 1 Ki. 20. 31; 21. 27; 1 Ch. 20. 16; Ne. 9. 1; Is. 37. 1, 2; Re. 11. 3.
Reflections.—How dangerous it is for parents to mark their partial regard to children in finery of apparel, or in any other manner; for the Lord chiefly tries his people in the most tender points; and our trials are frequently rendered doubly heavy in respect of the instruments which Providence uses to accomplish them. How devilish must be the nature of envy, that can make excellency, nay, the favour of God, a reason of the most bitter hatred and bloody cruelty, and can repay the most affectionate love with deliberate murder! But evil-doers commonly hate such as labour to reform them. How often young men's dreams of prosperity make them overlook the trouble that is in the way to it! And no less frequently is the fond indulgence of parents repaid with grief or with the most unnatural cruelty! But notwithstanding every seeming hindrance, the Lord's gracious designs and promises to his people shall be exactly accomplished; while they who mock at his intimations of his purpose, will but expose themselves to shame. God's providences indeed often appear darkest when the deliverance is at hand. He makes the common events of providence to become critical for the purposes of his glory; and so overrules wicked men as to make one sin a restraint from a greater, and bitter disappointments to issue in mercy. To what an amazing pitch of insensibility do crying sins stupify the conscience! Seldom is a crime committed but a lie is framed to conceal it—so natural to men is a lying spirit! Immoderate love is often followed with obstinate and immoderate sorrow; and yet many of our bitterest griefs are founded upon mistaken imaginations. But shall I not here also turn aside, and behold Jesus the Lamb of God! Was he not the darling of his Father? Did not his Father invest him with the robes of manhood and of mediatory office? Did not his brethren of Judah hate him for his faithful reproofs, for his prediction of his own future greatness, and on account of the distinguished regard shown to him by his Father? How astonishing his kindness in coming into the world to seek and to save that which was lost? And yet, when he came, how ungratefully was he driven into Egypt! how basely betrayed! sold for the price of a slave! and delivered into the hands of sinners to be crucified!