Genesis 37:2 - Forerunner Commentary

Genesis 37:2

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land ^awhere his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a ^abad report of them to his father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was ^athe son of his old age. Also he ^bmade him a tunic of many colors.

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they ^ahated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.

6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:

7 ^aThere we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, ^athe sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and ^ayour brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

11 And ^ahis brothers envied him, but his father ^bkept the matter in mind.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in ^aShechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of ^aHebron, and he went to Shechem.

15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”

16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. ^aPlease tell me where they are feeding their flocks.”

17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in ^aDothan.

18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, ^athey conspired against him to kill him.

19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this¹ dreamer is coming!

20 ^aCome therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

21 But ^aReuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”

22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they ^astripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.

24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

25 ^aAnd they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of ^bIshmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, ^cbalm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.

26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and ^aconceal his blood?

27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and ^alet not our hand be upon him, for he is ^bour brother and ^cour flesh.” And his brothers listened.

28 Then ^aMidianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, ^band sold him to the Ishmaelites for ^ctwenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he ^atore his clothes.

30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad ^ais no more; and I, where shall I go?”

31 So they took ^aJoseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?”

33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A ^awild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”

34 Then Jacob ^atore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and ^bmourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters ^aarose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For ^bI shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.

36 Now ^athe Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Verse Comparison: Genesis 37:2

<< Genesis 37:1

Genesis 37:3 >>

American Standard Version
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought the evil report of them unto their father.

Amplified® Bible
This is the history of the descendants of Jacob {and} this is Jacob's line. Joseph, when he was seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's [secondary] wives; and Joseph brought to his father a bad report of them.

Contemporary English Version
and this is the story of his family. When Jacob's son Joseph was seventeen years old, he took care of the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. But he was always telling his father all sorts of bad things about his brothers.

Darby English Version
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, fed the flock with his brethren; and he was doing service with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought to his father an evil report of them.

Good News Bible
and this is the story of Jacob's family. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, took care of the sheep and goats with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines. He brought bad reports to his father about what his brothers were doing.

King James Version
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, 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 wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

New American Standard Bible
These are {the records of} the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was {still} a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

New International Version
This is the account of Jacob.
Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.

New King James Version
This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
These we identify as the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, pastured the flock with his brothers while he lived as a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.

Revised Standard Version
This is the history of the family of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers; he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought an ill report of them to their father.

Young's Literal Translation
These `are' births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren among the flock, (and he `is' a youth,) with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, and Joseph bringeth in an account of their evil unto their father.

New English Translation
This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son,¹ was taking care of² the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster³ working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.⁴ Joseph brought back a bad report about them⁵ to their father.

<< Genesis 37:1

Genesis 37:3 >>