Joseph faithfully served his father even bringing back a bad report of his brothers' behavior to him for which Jacob expressed his love by giving Joseph preferential treatment. However his brothers envied and hated him. God confirmed His choice of Joseph as leader, an event that perplexed Jacob and infuriated Joseph's brothers.
37:2-4 We could translate the Hebrew as follows. Joseph was "pasturing his brothers among the flocks . . ."This indicates that perhaps Jacob had placed Joseph in a position of responsibility over his brothers. This could explain in part why Joseph's brothers resented him. It is also interesting that this phrase prefigures Joseph's later shepherding role in relation to his brothers, after they became dependent on him.
Joseph's "bad report"implies that the brothers were participating in serious wicked behavior. This is not hard to believe in view of their former treatment of the Shechemites and their later treatment of Joseph and Jacob.
The use of the name Israel (v. 3) suggests that Jacob's special love for Joseph had a divine origin and was part of God's plan for the chosen family. However, Jacob's favoritism of Joseph over his other sons was wrong and fueled the brother's hatred of Joseph. Favoritism had a long history in Jacob's family (Isaac's preference for Esau, Rebekah's for Jacob, and Jacob's preference for Rachel). In every case it created major problems. Leah was hated, so her sons hated (cf. 29:31, 33).
"Son of his old age"means wise son, or son of wisdom. Joseph was old for his years; he had the wisdom of age in his youth. Joseph was born when Jacob was 91 years old, but he was not Jacob's youngest son. At least one of Joseph's brothers was younger than he, Benjamin.
The "varicolored tunic"was probably also a long robe. The sons of nobles wore long robes with long sleeves and ornamentation, like Joseph's, as did Tamar, King David's daughter (2 Sam. 13:18).
"It was a mark of distinction that carried its own meaning, for it implied that exemption from labor which was the peculiar privilege of the heir or prince of the Eastern clan."799
Such a garment identified the possessor of the birthright. This sign of Jacob's love for Joseph constantly irritated the jealous brothers.
37:5-11 Joseph's dreams were revelations from God. Joseph, his brothers, and his father did not grasp their significance fully until God brought them to pass. Joseph regarded his dreams as important, however, and therefore did not hesitate to make them known to his family.
In the first dream (v. 7) God revealed that Joseph's brothers would come to him for bread. Note the agricultural motif in both the dream and its fulfillment. His brothers did not fail to note Joseph's position of superiority over them (v. 8), and they resented still more humiliation from him.
In the second dream (v. 9), which was even more grand, Joseph was himself supreme over the whole house of Israel. The repetition of the main point of the dream confirmed that what God predicted would certainly happen (cf. 41:32). Jacob took note of these revelations but resented the possibility that his son might be in a position of authority over him (vv. 10-11).
"God's future agent and mouthpiece in Egypt could hardly make a worse impression on his first appearance: spoiled brat, talebearer, braggart."800
Textual references cannot establish whether Joseph realized that his dreams were divine prophecies or not. People evidently regarded dreams as divine revelations in the ancient East.801If Joseph did, the fact that he related them boldly to his family may indicate his faith.802
"More than likely, the dream, and its recounting, is to be understood as an unsuspecting prophecy uttered by Joseph. God has a plan for his life, a destiny in his future, and Joseph spontaneously shares the enthusiasm that revelation spawns."803
God chooses faithful, righteous individuals for positions of leadership, but those chosen may experience the jealous hatred of their brethren.
