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Texts -- Genesis 37:20-36 (NET)

Context
37:20 Come now , let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns , and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out !” 37:21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph from their hands , saying , “Let’s not take his life !” 37:22 Reuben continued , “Don’t shed blood ! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness , but don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben said this so he could rescue Joseph from them and take him back to his father .) 37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers , they stripped him of his tunic , the special tunic that he wore . 37:24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern . (Now the cistern was empty ; there was no water in it.) 37:25 When they sat down to eat their food , they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead . Their camels were carrying spices , balm , and myrrh down to Egypt . 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers , “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood ? 37:27 Come , let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites , but let’s not lay a hand on him, for after all, he is our brother , our own flesh .” His brothers agreed . 37:28 So when the Midianite merchants passed by , Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver . The Ishmaelites then took Joseph to Egypt . 37:29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it ! He tore his clothes , 37:30 returned to his brothers , and said , “The boy isn’t there! And I , where can I go ?” 37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic , killed a young goat , and dipped the tunic in the blood . 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said , “We found this . Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not .” 37:33 He recognized it and exclaimed , “It is my son’s tunic ! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces !” 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothes , put on sackcloth , and mourned for his son many days . 37:35 All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled . “No,” he said , “I will go to the grave mourning my son .” So Joseph’s father wept for him. 37:36 Now in Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar , one of Pharaoh’s officials , the captain of the guard .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The events recorded in Genesis stretch historically from Creation to Joseph's death, a period of at least 2500 years. The first part of the book (ch. 1-11) is not as easy to date precisely as the second part (ch. 12-50). The ...
  • Genesis provides the historical basis for the rest of the Bible and the Pentateuch, particularly the Abrahamic Covenant. Chapters 1-11 give historical background essential to understanding that covenant, and chapters 12-50 re...
  • The structure of Genesis is very clear. The phrase "the generations of"(toledotin Hebrew, from yaladmeaning "to bear, to generate") occurs ten times (really eleven times since 36:9 repeats 36:1), and in each case it introduce...
  • The Lord destroyed the corrupt, violent human race and deluged its world, but He used righteous Noah to preserve life and establish a new world after the Flood."Noah's experience presents decisively the author's assertion tha...
  • "The Babel account (11:1-9) is not the end of early Genesis. If it were, the story would conclude on the sad note of human failure. But as with earlier events in Genesis 1-11, God's grace once again supersedes human sin, insu...
  • One of the significant changes in the emphasis that occurs at this point in Genesis is from cursing in the primeval record to blessing in the patriarchal narratives. The Abrahamic Covenant is most important in this respect. H...
  • A major theme of the Pentateuch is the partial fulfillment of the promises to the patriarchs. The promises in Genesis 12:1-3 and 7 are the fountainhead from which the rest of the Pentateuch flows.397Walter Kaiser labeled the ...
  • "These verses are of fundamental importance for the theology of Genesis, for they serve to bind together the primeval history and the later patriarchal history and look beyond it to the subsequent history of the nation."414"W...
  • The second crisis Abram faced arose because of a famine in Canaan. Abram chose to sojourn in the Nile Valley until it was past. In this incident Abram tried to pass Sarai off as his sister because he feared for his life. By d...
  • Abram asked God to strengthen his faith. In response Yahweh promised to give the patriarch innumerable descendants. This led Abram to request some further assurance that God would indeed do what He promised. God graciously ob...
  • Abraham's purchase of a burial site in the Promised Land demonstrated his intention to remain in Canaan rather than going back to his native homeland. Since he was a sojourner in Canaan his friends probably expected him to bu...
  • A new toledotbegins with 25:19. Its theme is "the acquisition of the blessing and its development and protection by the Lord."625Moses set up the whole Jacob narrative in a chiastic structure that emphasizes the fulfillment o...
  • God formed Jacob's family, the ancestors of the tribes of Israel, as He had promised Jacob at Bethel. Unfortunately Jacob and his wives lived in envy and friction over how God chose to bless them."Jacob had planned to take Ra...
  • Moses included this relatively short genealogy (toledot) in the sacred record to show God's faithfulness in multiplying Abraham's seed as He had promised. He also did so to provide connections with the descendants of Esau ref...
  • Joseph's brothers met his second recorded visit to them with great antagonism. They plotted to kill him and so render his dreams impossible to fulfill. For practical reasons they decided to sell him and to deceive Jacob into ...
  • This chapter seems at first out of place since it interrupts the story of Joseph, but remember that this is the toledotof Jacob. This is the story of what happened to his whole family, not just Joseph. The central problem wit...
  • Joseph awakened his brothers' guilty consciences when he put his brothers in prison as spies after they had come to Egypt for grain. His keeping Simeon hostage while allowing the others to bring Benjamin back pricked their co...
  • Joseph next tested his brother's loyalty to Benjamin by framing Benjamin and charging him with stealing Joseph's cup. These events prompted the brothers to acknowledge that God was punishing them for their treatment of Joseph...
  • This reunion recalls Jacob's former meeting with Esau (32:3). In both situations after a long period of separation Jacob sent a party ahead to meet the relative."The land of Goshen, where the Hebrews lived, adjoined Avaris--n...
  • Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to...
  • Aalders, Gerhard Charles. Genesis. The Bible Student's Commentary series. 2 vols. Translated by William Heynen. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas...
  • 21:12-14 The Torah upheld capital punishment for murder (v. 12), which God commanded of Noah (Gen. 9:6) and people in the Near East practiced from then on. It did not permit capital punishment in the case of manslaughter (unp...
  • God dealt with 21 different cases of skin diseases in this pericope. Some of these may have included measles, smallpox, scarlet fever, and other diseases characterized by skin rash.141Some authorities believe that exact ident...
  • The writer now recorded the fulfillment of God's instructions to Moses that Israel should destroy the Midianites (25:16-18). In this account, the aftermath of the battle receives more attention than the battle itself. Evident...
  • Stealing means taking something that belongs to another person from him or her against that person's will. Theft violates property as adultery violates marriage and the family.Frequently what one steals is some material posse...
  • The supernatural victory God had given His people elevated Gideon into national recognition. Some of the men of Israel invited Gideon to be their king and to begin a dynasty of rulers (v. 22). Perhaps they were from the north...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • 105:7-11 God remembered His people (v. 7, cf. v. 42) so His people should remember Him (v. 5). God had been faithful to the Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 15:18-21; 22:15-18; 28:13-15). He made this covenant with Abraham...
  • 8:18 The prospect of this catastrophic invasion overwhelmed Jeremiah with sorrow. It made him weak, and he could not get over his anguish.8:19 He could hear his people in captivity bitterly crying out. They longed for Jerusal...
  • This chapter on Egypt contains three separate prophecies that Jeremiah delivered about the fate of that nation. Their purpose seems to have been to discourage King Jehoiakim (609-598 B.C.) and the pro-Egyptian party in Judah ...
  • 1:3-5 Nebuchadnezzar's enlightened policy was to employ the best minds in his kingdom in government service regardless of their national or ethnic origin. We do not know how many other Jews and Gentiles were the classmates of...
  • Before Messiah can reign in peace, He must destroy all enemies and deliver and restore His people (cf. Ps. 110).9:11 As for the Israelites (Zion), the Lord promised to set free those of them whom their enemies would hold pris...
  • 14:53 The high priest in view here was Caiaphas. Interestingly Mark never mentioned him by name. He was the high priest that the Romans had appointed in 18 A.D., and he served in this capacity until 36 A.D.This was an unoffic...
  • Stephen next proceeded to show what God had done with Joseph and his family. He selected this segment of the patriarchal narrative primarily for two reasons. First, it shows how God miraculously preserved His people in faithf...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

  • Genesis 37:23-36We have left the serene and lofty atmosphere of communion and saintship far above us. This narrative takes us down into foul depths. It is a hideous story of vulgar hatred and cruelty. God's name is never ment...
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