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Text -- Genesis 37:5-36 (NET)
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Context
37:5 Joseph had a dream , and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more . more .
37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had :
37:7 There we were , binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field . Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!”
37:8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?” They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said .
37:9 Then he had another dream , and told it to his brothers . “Look ,” he said . “I had another dream . The sun , the moon , and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
37:10 When he told his father and his brothers , his father rebuked him, saying , “What is this dream that you had ? Will I , your mother , and your brothers really come and bow down to you ?”
37:11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said .
37:12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem ,
37:13 Israel said to Joseph , “Your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem . Come , I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,” Joseph replied .
37:14 So Jacob said to him, “Go now and check on the welfare of your brothers and of the flocks , and bring me word .” So Jacob sent him from the valley of Hebron .
37:15 When Joseph reached Shechem, a man found him wandering in the field , so the man asked him, “What are you looking for ?”
37:16 He replied , “I’m looking for my brothers . Please tell me where they are grazing their flocks.”
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:
Malice |
GENESIS, 1-2 |
GENEALOGY, 8 part 1 |
LEVI (2) |
Joseph |
Reuben |
JOSEPH (2) |
Jealousy |
Ishmaelites |
Dream |
Envy |
SHEAF; SHEAVES |
Judah |
Deception |
Lies and Deceits |
Hypocrisy |
ISHMAEL |
Jacob |
DREAM; DREAMER |
Commerce |
more
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expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes -> Gen 37:5; Gen 37:5; Gen 37:5; Gen 37:5; Gen 37:6; Gen 37:7; Gen 37:7; Gen 37:8; Gen 37:8; Gen 37:8; Gen 37:9; Gen 37:9; Gen 37:10; Gen 37:10; Gen 37:11; Gen 37:11; Gen 37:13; Gen 37:13; Gen 37:13; Gen 37:14; Gen 37:14; Gen 37:14; Gen 37:14; Gen 37:15; Gen 37:15; Gen 37:16; 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
NET Notes: Gen 37:5 The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:7 The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:8 The response of Joseph’s brothers is understandable, given what has already been going on in the family. But here there is a hint of uneasiness ...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:9 Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse have been rearranged in the translati...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:10 Heb “Coming, will we come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?” The verb “come” is preceded...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:11 Heb “kept the word.” The referent of the Hebrew term “word” has been specified as “what Joseph said” in the transl...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:13 Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation fo...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:14 Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
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NET Notes: Gen 37:15 Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה ...
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NET Notes: Gen 37:16 The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.
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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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