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Genesis 37
New English Translation

Joseph’s Dreams

37 But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,[a] in the land of Canaan.[b]

2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son,[c] was taking care of[d] the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster[e] working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.[f] Joseph brought back a bad report about them[g] to their father.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons[h] because he was a son born to him late in life,[i] and he made a special[j] tunic for him. 4 When Joseph’s[k] brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them,[l] they hated Joseph[m] and were not able to speak to him kindly.[n]

5 Joseph[o] had a dream,[p] and when he told his brothers about it[q] they hated him even more.[r] 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:[s] 7 There we were,[t] 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[u] to it!” 8 Then his brothers asked him, “Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?”[v] They hated him even more[w] because of his dream and because of what he said.[x]

9 Then he had another dream,[y] and told it to his brothers. “Look,”[z] he said. “I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, “What is this dream that you had?[aa] Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?”[ab] 11 His brothers were jealous[ac] of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.[ad]

12 When his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem, 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers[ae] are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I will send you to them.” “I’m ready,”[af] Joseph replied.[ag] 14 So Jacob[ah] said to him, “Go now and check on[ai] the welfare[aj] of your brothers and of the flocks, and bring me word.” So Jacob[ak] sent him from the valley of Hebron.

15 When Joseph reached Shechem,[al] a man found him wandering[am] in the field, so the man asked him, “What are you looking for?” 16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell[an] me where they are grazing their flocks.” 17 The man said, “They left this area,[ao] for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18 Now Joseph’s brothers[ap] saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams![aq] 20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild[ar] animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”[as]

21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph[at] from their hands,[au] saying,[av] “Let’s not take his life!”[aw] 22 Reuben continued,[ax] “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”[ay] (Reuben said this[az] so he could rescue Joseph[ba] from them[bb] and take him back to his father.)

23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[bc] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;[bd] there was no water in it.)

25 When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up[be] and saw[bf] a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt.[bg] 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not lay a hand on him,[bh] for after all, he is our brother, our own flesh.” His brothers agreed.[bi] 28 So when the Midianite[bj] merchants passed by, Joseph’s brothers pulled[bk] him[bl] out of the cistern and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites[bm] then took Joseph to Egypt.

29 Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it![bn] He tore his clothes, 30 returned to his brothers, and said, “The boy isn’t there! And I, where can I go?” 31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat,[bo] and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father[bp] and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

33 He recognized it and exclaimed, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has eaten him![bq] Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth,[br] and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and daughters stood by[bs] him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. “No,” he said, “I will go to the grave mourning my son.”[bt] So Joseph’s[bu] father wept for him.

36 Now[bv] in Egypt the Midianites[bw] sold Joseph[bx] to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.[by]

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:1 tn Heb “the land of the sojournings of his father.”
  2. Genesis 37:1 sn The next section begins with the heading This is the account of Jacob in Gen 37:2, so this verse actually forms part of the preceding section as a concluding contrast with Esau and his people. In contrast to all the settled and expanded population of Esau, Jacob was still moving about in the land without a permanent residence and without kings. Even if the Edomite king list was added later (as the reference to kings in Israel suggests), its placement here in contrast to Jacob and his descendants is important. Certainly the text deals with Esau before dealing with Jacob—that is the pattern. But the detail is so great in chap. 36 that the contrast cannot be missed.
  3. Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”
  4. Genesis 37:2 tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”
  5. Genesis 37:2 tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.
  6. Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”
  7. Genesis 37:2 tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light—not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular—and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.
  8. Genesis 37:3 tn The disjunctive clause provides supplemental information vital to the story. It explains in part the brothers’ animosity toward Joseph.sn The statement Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons brings forward a motif that played an important role in the family of Isaac—parental favoritism. Jacob surely knew what that had done to him and his brother Esau, and to his own family. But now he showers affection on Rachel’s son Joseph.
  9. Genesis 37:3 tn Heb “a son of old age was he to him.” This expression means “a son born to him when he [i.e., Jacob] was old.”
  10. Genesis 37:3 tn It is not clear what this tunic was like, because the meaning of the Hebrew word that describes it is uncertain. The idea that it was a coat of many colors comes from the Greek translation of the OT. An examination of cognate terms in Semitic suggests it was either a coat or tunic with long sleeves (cf. NEB, NRSV), or a tunic that was richly embroidered (cf. NIV). It set Joseph apart as the favored one.
  11. Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  12. Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “of his brothers.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been replaced in the translation by the pronoun “them.”
  13. Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  14. Genesis 37:4 tn Heb “speak to him for peace.”
  15. Genesis 37:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  16. Genesis 37:5 tn Heb “dreamed a dream.”
  17. Genesis 37:5 sn Some interpreters see Joseph as gloating over his brothers, but the text simply says he told his brothers about it (i.e., the dream). The text gives no warrant for interpreting his manner as arrogant or condescending. It seems normal that he would share a dream with the family.
  18. Genesis 37:5 tn The construction uses a hendiadys, “they added to hate,” meaning they hated him even more.
  19. Genesis 37:6 tn Heb “hear this dream which I dreamed.”
  20. Genesis 37:7 tn All three clauses in this dream report begin with וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), which lends vividness to the report. This is represented in the translation by the expression “there we were.”
  21. Genesis 37:7 tn The verb means “to bow down to the ground.” It is used to describe worship and obeisance to masters.
  22. Genesis 37:8 tn Heb “Ruling, will you rule over us, or reigning, will you reign over us?” The statement has a poetic style, with the two questions being in synonymous parallelism. Both verbs in this statement are preceded by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Joseph’s brothers said, “You don’t really think you will rule over us, do you? You don’t really think you will have dominion over us, do you?”
  23. Genesis 37:8 tn This construction is identical to the one in Gen 37:5.
  24. Genesis 37:8 sn 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—they hated him because of his dream and because of his words. The dream bothered them, as well as his telling them. And their words in the rhetorical question are ironic, for this is exactly what would happen. The dream was God’s way of revealing it.
  25. Genesis 37:9 tn Heb “And he dreamed yet another dream.”
  26. Genesis 37:9 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Look.’” The order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons. Both clauses of the dream report begin with הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”), which lends vividness to the report.
  27. Genesis 37:10 sn The question What is this dream that you had? expresses Jacob’s dismay at what he perceives to be Joseph’s audacity.
  28. Genesis 37:10 tn 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 by the infinitive absolute, which lends emphasis. It is as if Jacob said, “You don’t really think we will come…to bow down…do you?”
  29. Genesis 37:11 sn Joseph’s brothers were already jealous of him, but this made it even worse. Such jealousy easily leads to action, as the next episode in the story shows. Yet dreams were considered a form of revelation, and their jealousy was not only of the favoritism of their father, but of the dreams. This is why Jacob kept the matter in mind.
  30. Genesis 37:11 tn Heb “kept the word.” The referent of the Hebrew term “word” has been specified as “what Joseph said” in the translation for clarity, and the words “in mind” have been supplied for stylistic reasons.
  31. Genesis 37:13 tn The text uses an interrogative clause: “Are not your brothers,” which means “your brothers are.”
  32. Genesis 37:13 sn With these words Joseph is depicted here as an obedient son who is ready to do what his father commands.
  33. Genesis 37:13 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Here I am.’” The referent of the pronoun “he” (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity, and the order of the introductory clause and the direct discourse has been rearranged for stylistic reasons.
  34. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  35. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “see.”
  36. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “peace.”
  37. Genesis 37:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jacob) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  38. Genesis 37:15 tn Heb “and he [i.e., Joseph] went to Shechem.” The referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity. In Hebrew, these are the last two words of verse 14, but they have been carried over to verse 15 in the NET for stylistic reasons.
  39. Genesis 37:15 tn Heb “and a man found him and look, he was wandering in the field.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the action through this unnamed man’s eyes.
  40. Genesis 37:16 tn The imperative in this sentence has more of the nuance of a request than a command.
  41. Genesis 37:17 tn Heb “they traveled from this place.”
  42. Genesis 37:18 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  43. Genesis 37:19 tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.
  44. Genesis 37:20 tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
  45. Genesis 37:20 tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”
  46. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  47. Genesis 37:21 sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
  48. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “and he said.”
  49. Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
  50. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
  51. Genesis 37:22 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
  52. Genesis 37:22 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  53. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  54. Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
  55. Genesis 37:23 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  56. Genesis 37:24 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
  57. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “lifted up their eyes.”
  58. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and they saw and look.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the event through the eyes of the brothers.
  59. Genesis 37:25 tn Heb “and their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh, going to go down to Egypt.”
  60. Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “let not our hand be upon him.”
  61. Genesis 37:27 tn Heb “listened.”
  62. Genesis 37:28 sn On the close relationship between Ishmaelites (v. 25) and Midianites, see Judg 8:24.
  63. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “they drew and they lifted up.” The referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity; otherwise the reader might assume the Midianites had pulled Joseph from the cistern (but cf. NAB).
  64. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “Joseph” (both here and in the following clause); the proper name has been replaced both times by the pronoun “him” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  65. Genesis 37:28 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ishmaelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  66. Genesis 37:29 tn Heb “and look, Joseph was not in the cistern.” By the use of וְהִנֵּה (vehinneh, “and look”), the narrator invites the reader to see the situation through Reuben’s eyes.
  67. Genesis 37:31 sn 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 family.
  68. Genesis 37:32 tn 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 sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.
  69. Genesis 37:33 sn 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 tunic in the goat’s blood was the only deception needed.
  70. Genesis 37:34 tn Heb “and put sackcloth on his loins.”
  71. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “arose, stood”; which here suggests that they stood by him in his time of grief.
  72. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “and he said, ‘Indeed I will go down to my son mourning to Sheol.’” Sheol was viewed as the place where departed spirits went after death.
  73. Genesis 37:35 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  74. Genesis 37:36 tn The disjunctive clause formally signals closure for this episode of Joseph’s story, which will be resumed in Gen 39.
  75. Genesis 37:36 tc The MT spells the name of the merchants as מְדָנִים (medanim, “Medanites”) rather than מִדְיָנִים (midyanim, “Midianites”) as in v. 28. It is likely that the letter י (yod) was accidentally omitted in the MT. The LXX, Vulgate, Smr, and Syriac read “Midianites” here. Some prefer to read “Medanites” both here and in v. 28, but Judg 8:24, which identifies the Midianites and Ishmaelites, favors the reading “Midianites.”
  76. Genesis 37:36 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  77. Genesis 37:36 sn The expression captain of the guard might indicate that Potiphar was the chief executioner. The noun "guard" derives from a verb meaning to slaughter.
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Genesis 37
New Catholic Bible

Joseph, the Suffering Righteous One[a]

Chapter 37

Hated by His Brothers.[b] 1 Jacob dwelt in the land where his father had sojourned, the land of Canaan.

2 This is the story of the descendants of Jacob.

Joseph was seventeen years old and tended the flocks with his brothers. He was young and stayed with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. Now Joseph told his father bad reports about them.

3 Israel loved Joseph more than all his other sons because he was the son of his old age, and he had a long tunic made for him. 4 His brothers, seeing that their father loved him most of all his sons, hated him and could not speak peaceably with him.

5 Now Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, which made them hate him all the more. 6 He told them, “Listen to this dream that I had. 7 We were tying sheaves of grain in the fields, and my sheaf rose up and stood straight, while your sheaves came around and bowed before mine.”

8 His brothers said, “Would you like to reign over us and be our master?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and for what he had told them.

9 He had another dream and told it to his brothers saying, “I had another dream; listen. The sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down before me.”

10 He told it to his father and brothers, and his father scolded him and said, “What type of dream is this? Must I and your mother and your brothers bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept these things in mind.

12 Sold as a Slave.[c] His brothers went out to pasture the flocks of their father at Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “You know that your brothers have gone to pasture at Shechem. Come, I wish to send you to them.”

He answered, “Here I am.”

14 He said, “Go to see how things are going for your brothers and the animals, then return and tell me.” He had him leave from the Valley of Hebron and travel to Shechem.

15 As Joseph was wandering through the fields, he found a man who asked him, “For whom are you looking?”

16 He answered, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me how to find where they are pasturing their flocks.”

17 That man said, “They pulled up their camp from here and I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ”

Joseph therefore went in search of his brothers, and he found them in Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and, before he could draw close to them, they plotted to put him to death.

19 They said to one another, “Here comes the dreamer. 20 Come, let us kill him and throw him in some cistern. We will say, ‘A wild animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what becomes of his dreams.”

21 But Reuben heard this and wanted to save him from their hands. He said, “Let us not take his life.” 22 Then he said to them, “Do not spill his blood. Throw him into this cistern in the desert, but do not lay your hands upon him.” He intended to save him from their hands and restore him to their father.

23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long tunic that he wore. 24 They took him and cast him into a dry cistern.

25 They then sat down to eat. When they looked up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites from Gilead with camels laden with gums, balm, and myrrh. It was carrying these things to Egypt.

26 Judah said to his brothers, “What would we gain if we killed our brother and concealed his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites. This way, we will not have laid hands on him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” His brothers agreed with him.

28 Now some Ishmaelite traders passed by, and his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Thus Joseph was brought into Egypt.

29 When Reuben returned to the cistern, he found that Joseph was no longer there. He ripped his garments, 30 and he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! Where can I turn?”

31 They took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the tunic in its blood. 32 They then sent their father the long tunic and dispatched this message, “We have found this; do you know if this is your son’s tunic?”

33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph has been torn to pieces.”

34 Then Jacob ripped his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned his son for many days. 35 All his sons and his daughters came to console him, but he did not want to be consoled. He said, “No! I wish to go down into the netherworld mourning my son!” Thus did his father weep for him.

36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, a counselor of Pharaoh and a commander of the guard.

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:1 Under the rule of the Hyksos, who had come from Asia Minor (ca. 1750–1560 B.C.), Semites who had immigrated with them into Lower Egypt would fill high offices. The events of Joseph’s life seem to fit better into a somewhat later period, at the beginning of the 18th dynasty (16th century B.C.), when it was still possible for Asiatics to hold high offices in Egypt. Joseph, who has been given the position of viceroy, finds himself charged with saving the people from famine and then with settling his own people in Goshen, a fertile region on the edges of the delta. The story, which belongs in the sapiential genre, combines contributions from the Yahwist and Elohist sources to bring to light the providential aspects hidden in the mystery of the suffering righteous man (Gen 45:4-13; 50:19-21).
    It is evident that the Lord does not intervene openly but through the interplay of circumstances and the more or less upright behavior of individuals, but he does provide for the well-being of the vast human family by using the activity of those whom he has chosen; he even uses their sin to save them. The narrator has all the sons of Jacob going down into Egypt; as the ancestors of the twelve tribes they prepare the way, in a suitable environment, for the growth of the chosen people, which will, at the proper time, enter the Promised Land.
  2. Genesis 37:1 The story brings out the three reasons that feed a growing hatred in Joseph’s brothers: his reporting of stories about them, their father’s predilection for him, and his dreams. The long tunic is a princely garment, quite different from the short coat worn by shepherds, and Jacob was seriously imprudent in thus differentiating among his sons. As for the dreams, the Bible warns that these are most often vain (Deut 13:2-4; Jer 29:8-9); sometimes God does use them to make himself known to human beings (Num 12:6), but he alone explains their meaning (Gen 40:8; 41:16). Joseph will later on show that he himself possesses this special prophetic charism.
  3. Genesis 37:12 Some textual obscurities have led many critics to see in this passage the fusion of two different versions. In the Yahwist version the cause of the hatred would be the father’s predilection; the Yahwist tradition, which had its center in Jerusalem and in the tribe of Judah, would be focusing on the doings of its own people. In the Elohist version, however, the hatred would be caused by the dreams. In narrating a complex event the storytellers may concentrate on one element rather than another, but this does not prevent both versions from being substantially true.
    Joseph, who is hated and sold through no fault of his own, suffers the consequences of the error of his father, who is unable to control his own feelings, and of the baseness of his brothers who, like so many people, are hostile to the voice of a prophet.
    Joseph will be a type of the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world (1 Pet 2:24).
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