New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Genesis 37
1
Jacob lived in the land of Canaan. It's the land where his father had stayed.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 17:8
2
Here is the story of Jacob. Joseph was a young man. He was 17 years old. He was taking care of the flocks with some of his brothers. They were the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought their father a bad report about them.
Reference
3
Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons. Joseph had been born to him when he was old. Israel made him a beautiful robe.
Reference
4
Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them. So they hated Joseph. They couldn't even speak one kind word to him.
Reference
Love
1 John 4:20
Parallel theme
Genesis 27:41
Psalm 69:4
1 John 3:12
1 John 2:11
Genesis 4:5
1 Samuel 17:28
6
He said to them, "Listen to the dream I had.
7
We were tying up bundles of grain out in the field. Suddenly my bundle rose and stood up straight. Your bundles gathered around my bundle and bowed down to it."
Reference
8
His brothers said to him, "Do you plan to be king over us? Will you really rule over us?" So they hated him even more because of his dream. They didn't like what he had said.
Reference
9
Then Joseph had another dream. He told it to his brothers. "Listen," he said. "I had another dream. This time the sun and moon and 11 stars were bowing down to me."
Reference
Creation
Genesis 37:7
10
He told his father as well as his brothers. Then his father objected. He said, "What about this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers really do that? Will we really come and bow down to the ground in front of you?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 27:29
12
Joseph's brothers had gone to take care of their father's flocks near Shechem.
13
Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are taking care of the flocks near Shechem. Come. I'm going to send you to them." "All right," Joseph replied.
14
So Israel said to him, "Go to your brothers. See how they are doing. Also see how the flocks are doing. Then come back and tell me." So he sent him away from the Hebron Valley. Joseph arrived at Shechem.
Reference
📍 Valley of Hebron
15
A man found him wandering around in the fields. He asked Joseph, "What are you looking for?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Judges 4:22
16
He replied, "I'm looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are taking care of their flocks?"
Reference
Parallel theme
Luke 19:10
17
"They've moved on from here," the man answered. "I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dothan.' " So Joseph went to look for his brothers. He found them near Dothan.
Reference
📍 Dothan
Parallel theme
2 Kings 6:13
19
"Here comes that dreamer!" they said to one another.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 28:12
20
"Come. Let's kill him. Let's throw him into one of these empty wells. Let's say that a wild animal ate him up. Then we'll see whether his dreams will come true."
Reference
21
Reuben heard them. He tried to save Joseph from them. "Let's not take his life," he said.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 42:22
22
"Let's not spill any blood. Throw him into this empty well here in the desert. But don't harm him yourselves." Reuben said that to save Joseph from them. He was hoping he could take him back to his father.
23
When Joseph came to his brothers, he was wearing his beautiful robe. They took it away from him.
Reference
24
And they threw him into the well. The well was empty. There wasn't any water in it.
Reference
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 38:6
25
Then they sat down to eat their meal. As they did, they saw some Ishmaelite traders coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, lotion and myrrh. They were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
Reference
Parallel theme
Genesis 43:11
Jeremiah 8:22
Psalm 14:4
Proverbs 30:20
Genesis 31:23
Amos 6:6
References Egypt
Genesis 37:28
Genesis 37:36
Jeremiah 46:11
Genesis 39:1
26
Judah said to his brothers, "What will we gain if we kill our brother and try to cover up what we've done?
Reference
27
Come. Let's sell him to these traders. Let's not harm him ourselves. After all, he's our brother. He's our own flesh and blood." Judah's brothers agreed with him.
Reference
28
The traders from Midian came by. Joseph's brothers pulled him up out of the well. They sold him to the Ishmaelite traders for eight ounces of silver. Then the traders took him to Egypt.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 105:17
Genesis 25:2
Matthew 26:15
Isaiah 60:6
Psalm 83:9
Exodus 2:16
Matthew 27:9
References Egypt
Acts 7:9
Genesis 37:36
Genesis 37:25
29
Later, Reuben came back to the empty well. He saw that Joseph wasn't there. He was so upset that he tore his clothes.
Reference
31
Then they got Joseph's beautiful robe. They killed a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
Reference
32
They took it back to their father. They said, "We found this. Take a look at it. See if it's your son's robe."
33
Jacob recognized it. He said, "It's my son's robe! A wild animal has eaten him up. Joseph must have been torn to pieces."
Reference
34
Jacob tore his clothes. He put on black clothes. Then he sobbed over his son for many days.
Reference
35
All of Jacob's other sons and daughters came to comfort him. But they weren't able to. He said, "I'll be full of sorrow when I go down into the grave to be with my son." So Joseph's father sobbed over him.
Reference
Summary of Genesis 37
Genesis chapter thirty-seven is a significant point in the book up to this point. We have seen much of Abraam, Isaac, and Jacob, but from here on out we see much of Joseph and betrayal from the beginning.
The passage begins by settling Jacob in the land of his fathers (Canaan), and Joseph, who is seventeen years old, was pasturing sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines. Then Joseph brings a bad report about his brothers to his father. We don't see what it was exactly that Joseph reported, but we see that he was not popular with his brothers.
Furthermore, we see that Israel loved Joseph most, for he was the son of his old age, and he had made him a robe of many colors. The robe itself becomes an object of hatred to Joseph's brothers. They hate him and are unable to speak a good word about him when they see that he has received special love from his father.
Then Joseph makes things much worst for himself, on purpose or not. Joseph told them a dream he had. He was binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly his sheaf rose and stood upright, while all their sheaves gathered around and bowed down to his. His brothers did not take this well at all. Do you intend to reign over us? Do you mean to rule us? They asked him. They hated him all the more because of his dream and the words he had spoken.
But Joseph told them another dream which was even more outrageous. The sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him. Joseph told this dream to his father and his brothers, and his father rebukes him a little and asks if it will actually come to pass that he is going to rule over his brothers, since his mother and brothers, and he and his brothers are going to bow down to him. Joseph's brothers are jealous of him, but the text lets us know that his father kept the matter in his mind. It seems that Jacob, while rebuking Joseph, saw potential in the dreams.
Some time later Joseph's brothers went to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, and Israel sent Joseph to see how his brothers and the flocks were faring. Joseph set out, and when he drew near, he saw that his brothers had departed from Shechem and were in Dothan. So Joseph came toward them.
When Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, they began to devise a plot against him. Here comes the dreamer. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. Here comes that one who wants to rule over us. They even thought about killing him, because they knew he hated their dreams and talked about them openly. But Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob, took issue with them and said that he would save Joseph and return him to his father later, and they would not shed blood. Instead they would toss him into an empty cistern out in the wilderness.
And when Joseph came near they stripped him of his robe of many colors and cast him into the cistern with their hands tied behind his back. While they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelite traders from Gilead, coming from the country, camels laden with spices, balm, and myrrh, going down to Egypt. Judah told his brothers a different idea. What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, and let us not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, and our own flesh and blood. And his brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Midianites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took him to Egypt.
It seems that Reuben wasn't there when Joseph was sold. When he returned to the cistern, he tore his clothes and told them that Joseph wasn't there, where can I turn.
To cover up for the lies told to Jacob they took Joseph's robe of many colors and killed a goat, dipping the robe in its blood, and brought it to their father, letting him believe what he wanted. Jacob recognized the robe, and was sure that a wild beast had torn his son apart, and he tore his clothes, and mourned for Joseph for many days, and refused to be comforted by any of his sons or daughters, saying that he would go down to the grave mourning for his son. The sons of Jacob mourned with him over Joseph, but the text lets us know that they were actually mocking him.
The passage ends by taking us to Egypt, where the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. This is a most interesting conclusion to this chapter. What can we learn from Joseph being betrayed and sold into slavery by his own brothers?
The passage begins by settling Jacob in the land of his fathers (Canaan), and Joseph, who is seventeen years old, was pasturing sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's concubines. Then Joseph brings a bad report about his brothers to his father. We don't see what it was exactly that Joseph reported, but we see that he was not popular with his brothers.
Furthermore, we see that Israel loved Joseph most, for he was the son of his old age, and he had made him a robe of many colors. The robe itself becomes an object of hatred to Joseph's brothers. They hate him and are unable to speak a good word about him when they see that he has received special love from his father.
Then Joseph makes things much worst for himself, on purpose or not. Joseph told them a dream he had. He was binding sheaves of grain in the field, and suddenly his sheaf rose and stood upright, while all their sheaves gathered around and bowed down to his. His brothers did not take this well at all. Do you intend to reign over us? Do you mean to rule us? They asked him. They hated him all the more because of his dream and the words he had spoken.
But Joseph told them another dream which was even more outrageous. The sun, moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to him. Joseph told this dream to his father and his brothers, and his father rebukes him a little and asks if it will actually come to pass that he is going to rule over his brothers, since his mother and brothers, and he and his brothers are going to bow down to him. Joseph's brothers are jealous of him, but the text lets us know that his father kept the matter in his mind. It seems that Jacob, while rebuking Joseph, saw potential in the dreams.
Some time later Joseph's brothers went to graze their father's flocks near Shechem, and Israel sent Joseph to see how his brothers and the flocks were faring. Joseph set out, and when he drew near, he saw that his brothers had departed from Shechem and were in Dothan. So Joseph came toward them.
When Joseph's brothers saw him from a distance, they began to devise a plot against him. Here comes the dreamer. Come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns. Then we'll see what comes of his dreams. Here comes that one who wants to rule over us. They even thought about killing him, because they knew he hated their dreams and talked about them openly. But Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob, took issue with them and said that he would save Joseph and return him to his father later, and they would not shed blood. Instead they would toss him into an empty cistern out in the wilderness.
And when Joseph came near they stripped him of his robe of many colors and cast him into the cistern with their hands tied behind his back. While they were sitting down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelite traders from Gilead, coming from the country, camels laden with spices, balm, and myrrh, going down to Egypt. Judah told his brothers a different idea. What do we gain by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, and let us not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, and our own flesh and blood. And his brothers agreed. They sold Joseph to the Midianites for twenty shekels of silver, and they took him to Egypt.
It seems that Reuben wasn't there when Joseph was sold. When he returned to the cistern, he tore his clothes and told them that Joseph wasn't there, where can I turn.
To cover up for the lies told to Jacob they took Joseph's robe of many colors and killed a goat, dipping the robe in its blood, and brought it to their father, letting him believe what he wanted. Jacob recognized the robe, and was sure that a wild beast had torn his son apart, and he tore his clothes, and mourned for Joseph for many days, and refused to be comforted by any of his sons or daughters, saying that he would go down to the grave mourning for his son. The sons of Jacob mourned with him over Joseph, but the text lets us know that they were actually mocking him.
The passage ends by taking us to Egypt, where the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, an official of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. This is a most interesting conclusion to this chapter. What can we learn from Joseph being betrayed and sold into slavery by his own brothers?