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Text -- Genesis 37:17-36 (NET)
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Strongs On/Off
Context
37:17 The man said , “They left this area, for I heard them say , ‘Let’s go to Dothan .’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan .
37:18 Now Joseph’s brothers saw him from a distance , and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
37:19 They said to one another , “Here comes this master of dreams !
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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Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
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Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Reuben |
GENESIS, 1-2 |
Joseph |
GENEALOGY, 8 part 1 |
Malice |
LEVI (2) |
JOSEPH (2) |
Ishmaelites |
Jealousy |
Lies and Deceits |
Judah |
Deception |
Hypocrisy |
ISHMAEL |
Commerce |
Mourning |
Balm |
Myrrh |
Intercession |
Servant |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Gen 37:17; Gen 37:18; Gen 37:19; Gen 37:20; Gen 37:20; Gen 37:21; Gen 37:21; Gen 37:21; Gen 37:21; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:22; Gen 37:23; Gen 37:24; Gen 37:25; Gen 37:25; Gen 37:25; Gen 37:27; Gen 37:27; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:28; Gen 37:29; Gen 37:31; Gen 37:32; Gen 37:33; Gen 37:34; Gen 37:35; Gen 37:35; Gen 37:35; Gen 37:36; Gen 37:36; Gen 37:36; Gen 37:36
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NET Notes: Gen 37:18 Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:19 Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:22 Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:23 Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:24 The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:25 Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”
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NET Notes: Gen 37:28 Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:29 Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vÿhinneh, R...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:31 It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this famil...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:32 Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they se...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:33 A wild animal has eaten him. Jacob draws this conclusion on his own without his sons actually having to lie with their words (see v. 20). Dipping the ...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:35 Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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