The Bible Says Commentary on Genesis 37

Genesis 37:1 positions Israel exactly where God promised his fathers he would be, reminding us of the covenant blessings given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The verse signals a turning point in the narrative of Genesis: the focus is about to pass from the patriarchs to focus on Joseph, whose trials and triumphs will rescue the covenant family and preserve the line through which the Messiah will bless the nations.

Genesis 37:2-4 introduces a seventeen-year-old Joseph. He is Jacob's favored son. He works with his half-brothers, the sons of Jacob through two of his wives, tending the family flocks. Joseph reports to his father something critical though apparently accurate about his brothers during their time shepherding the flocks. It is evident that Jacob loves Joseph the most, shown by the multicolored coat Jacob gives Joseph. Joseph's brothers resent him and are unfriendly to him.

Genesis 37:5-8 records a prophetic dream Joseph has. In the dream, Joseph foresees a future in which his brothers bow before him––symbolized through sheaves of wheat. The sheaf which Joseph tied together stood above the others, and those which the brothers tied bowed to Joseph's sheaf. The telling of this dream inspires hatred in the brothers.

Genesis 37:9-11 records Joseph's second dream. This dream predicts the same as the first, that Joseph will one day stand in authority over his family. He dreams that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow to him. This represents his father, mother, and brothers. Even Jacob is annoyed by this dream, and rebukes Joseph. He challenges his son, asking him if he thinks that his family will one day bow to him. The other brothers' jealousy grows, though Jacob privately ponders the dream.

Genesis 37:12-14 describes that the older brothers lead the family flock all the way to Shechem to pasture. Jacob tells Joseph to find them and assess how they are doing. Joseph obediently agrees to set out on the journey alone.

Genesis 37:15-17 shows that, while searching in vain for his brothers around Shechem, Joseph meets an unnamed stranger who redirects him north to Dothan, where he observed the sons of Jacob leading the flock.

Genesis 37:18-24 displays how the envy among Joseph's brothers finally erupts into violent action. Seeing Joseph approach, the brothers conspire to silence both him and the dreams that challenge their pride. They plan to kill him and rub blood on his colorful robe to create a lie that a wild animal killed Joseph. But Reuben intervenes, telling the others not to kill Joseph, but to imprison him in a pit. Secretly, Reuben planned to rescue Joseph and take him home. The brothers attack Joseph, strip him, and throw him into a dry pit.

Genesis 37:25-28 describes the fallout of imprisoning their brother in a pit. The brothers of Joseph eat and recline next to the dry cistern where they are keeping Joseph. When traders pass by, Judah convinces the other brothers to sell Joseph as a slave. They sell him to Midianites bound for Egypt, receiving twenty shekels of silver for their brother's life.

Genesis 37:29-36 shows how Reuben returns to his brothers' camp and learns they have sold Joseph into slavery. He is grieved, because he meant to free Joseph and take him home. The brothers commence with their scheme to deceive their father. They kill a goat and cover Joseph's coat with its blood. When they return home, they show Jacob the coat. Jacob mourns, dressing himself in sackcloth, because he believes Joseph is dead. His sons and daughters try to comfort him, but he spurns them. He does not want to cease grieving Joseph. In truth, Joseph arrives in Egypt, alive, and is sold to the Pharaoh's captain of bodyguards, a man named Potiphar.