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Complete Jewish Bible
Genesis 37:4
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His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn't speak peaceably to him.
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and were not able to speak peaceably to him.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, they hated their brother and could not speak to him politely.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly.
His brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than all of his brothers; so they hated him and could not [find it within themselves to] speak to him on friendly terms.
And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
So when his brethren sawe that their father loued him more then all his brethren, then they hated him, and could not speake peaceably vnto him.
And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they hated him and could not speak to him in peace.
to show that he was his favorite son, and so Joseph's brothers hated him and would not be friendly to him.
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, and they hated him, and could not greet him with friendliness.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother because of this. They refused to say nice things to him.
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
When his brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he loved them, they hated their brother so much that they would not speak to him in a friendly manner.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.
And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him. And they were not able to speak to him for peace.
Now wha his brethre sawe, yt his father loued him more the all his brethre, they had euell wyll at him, & coude not speake a fredly worde vnto hi.
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him.
And when his brethren saw that their father loued hym more then all his brethren, they hated hym, and coulde not speake peaceably vnto hym.
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
And when his brethren saw that their father loued him more then all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speake peaceably vnto him.
And his brethren having seen that his father loved him more than all his sons, hated him, and could not speak anything peaceable to him.
And his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
Forsothe hise britheren sien that he was loued of the fader more than alle, and thei hatiden hym, and myyten not speke ony thing pesibli to hym.
and his brethren see that their father hath loved him more than any of his brethren, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably.
And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn't speak peaceably to him.
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him.
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. So they hated Joseph and could not speak a kind word to him.
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
So his brethren saw that their father loved him, more than any of his brethren, and they hated him, and could not bid him prosper,
And his brethren seeing that he was loved by his father, more than all his sons, hated hem, and could not speak peaceably to him.
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
hated him: Genesis 37:5, Genesis 37:11, Genesis 37:18-24, Genesis 4:5, Genesis 27:41, Genesis 49:23, 1 Samuel 16:12, 1 Samuel 16:13, 1 Samuel 17:28, Psalms 38:19, Psalms 69:4, John 7:3-5, John 15:18, John 15:19, Titus 3:3, 1 John 2:11, 1 John 3:10, 1 John 3:12, 1 John 4:20
and could not speak peaceably unto him: Or, rather, "and they could not speak peace to him," i.e., they would not accost him in a friendly manner: they would not even wish him well, in the eastern mode of salutation of, Peace be to thee! It is not an unusual thing for an Arab or Turk to hesitate to return the salâm, if given by a Christian, or by one of whom he has not a favourable opinion; and this may always be considered as an act of hostility.
Reciprocal: Genesis 30:24 - And she Genesis 37:8 - reign over us Genesis 50:20 - ye thought Ecclesiastes 4:4 - This is Jeremiah 12:6 - thy brethren Matthew 5:22 - That Mark 3:25 - General Acts 7:9 - moved 2 Corinthians 13:11 - live Ephesians 4:31 - with
Cross-References
but did not accept Kayin and his offering. Kayin was very angry, and his face fell.
‘Esav hated his brother because of the blessing his father had given him. ‘Esav said to himself, "The time for mourning my father will soon come, and then I will kill my brother Ya‘akov."
Now Isra'el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe.
Yosef had a dream which he told his brothers, and that made them hate him all the more.
His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
(ii) After this, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's sheep in Sh'khem,
Isra'el asked Yosef, "Aren't your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh'khem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am."
They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him.
They said to each other, "Look, this dreamer is coming!
and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it).
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren,.... Which they perceived by various things in his behaviour to him, by his words, his looks, his gestures, and particularly by the coat he had made him, which distinguished him from the rest:
they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him; they not only inwardly hated him, but they could not conceal their hatred, but betrayed it by their speech unto him; they could not speak to him on any occasion, but in a cross, surly, ill natured manner; they could not salute him, or give him the common salutation, Peace be to thee, as Aben Ezra suggests.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- Joseph Was Sold into Egypt
17. דתין dotayı̂n Dothain, “two wells?” (Gesenius)
25. נכאת neko't “tragacanth” or goat’s-thorn gum, yielded by the “astragalus gummifer”, a native of Mount Lebanon. צרי tsērı̂y “opobalsamum,” the resin of the balsam tree, growing in Gilead, and having healing qualities. לט loṭ, λῆδον lēdon, “ledum, ladanum,” in the Septuagint στακτή staktē. The former is a gum produced from the cistus rose. The latter is a gum resembling liquid myrrh.
36. פוטיפר pôṭı̂yphar Potiphar, “belonging to the sun.”
The sketch of the race of Edom, given in the preceding piece, we have seen, reaches down to the time of Moses. Accordingly, the history of Jacob’s seed, which is brought before us in the present document, reverts to a point of time not only before the close of that piece, but before the final record of what precedes it. The thread of the narrative is here taken up from the return of Jacob to Hebron, which was seventeen years before the death of Isaac.
Genesis 37:1-5
Joseph is the favorite of his father, but not of his brethren. “In the land of his father’s sojournings.” This contrasts Jacob with Esau, who removed to Mount Seir. This notice precedes the phrase, “These are the generations.” The corresponding sentence in the case of Isaac is placed at the end of the preceding section of the narrative Genesis 25:11. “The son of seventeen years;” in his seventeenth year Genesis 37:32. “The sons of Bilhah.” The sons of the handmaids were nearer his own age, and perhaps more tolerant of the favorite than the sons of Leah the free wife. Benjamin at this time was about four years of age. “An evil report of them.” The unsophisticated child of home is prompt in the disapproval of evil, and frank in the avowal of his feelings. What the evil was we are not informed; but Jacob’s full-grown sons were now far from the paternal eye, and prone, as it seems, to give way to temptation. Many scandals come out to view in the chosen family. “Loved Joseph.” He was the son of his best-loved wife, and of his old age; as Benjamin had not yet come into much notice. “A Coat of many colors.” This was a coat reaching to the hands and feet, worn by persons not much occupied with manual labor, according to the general opinion. It was, we conceive, variegated either by the loom or the needle, and is therefore, well rendered χιτὼν ποικίλος chitōn poikilos, a motley coat. “Could not bid peace to him.” The partiality of his father, exhibited in so weak a manner, provokes the anger of his brothers, who cannot bid him good-day, or greet him in the ordinary terms of good-will.
Genesis 37:5-11
Joseph’s dreams excite the jealousy of his brothers. His frankness in reciting his dream to his brothers marks a spirit devoid of guile, and only dimly conscious of the import of his nightly visions. The first dream represents by a figure the humble submission of all his brothers to him, as they rightly interpret it. “For his dreams and for his words.” The meaning of this dream was offensive enough, and his telling of it rendered it even more disagreeable. A second dream is given to express the certainty of the event Genesis 41:32. The former serves to interpret the latter. There the sheaves are connected with the brothers who bound them, and thereby indicate the parties. The eleven stars are not so connected with them. But here Joseph is introduced directly without a figure, and the number eleven, taken along with the eleven sheaves of the former dream, makes the application to the brothers plain. The sun and moon clearly point out the father and mother. The mother is to be taken, we conceive, in the abstract, without nicely inquiring whether it means the departed Rachel, or the probably still living Leah. Not even the latter seems to have lived to see the fulfillment of this prophetic dream Genesis 49:31. The second dream only aggravated the hatred of his brothers; but his father, while rebuking him for his speeches, yet marked the saying. The rebuke seems to imply that the dream, or the telling of it, appears to his father to indicate the lurking of a self-sufficient or ambitious spirit within the breast of the youthful Joseph. The twofold intimation, however, came from a higher source.
Genesis 37:12-17
Joseph is sent to Dothan. Shekem belonged to Jacob; part of it by purchase, and the rest by conquest. Joseph is sent to inquire of their welfare (שׁלום shālom “peace,” Genesis 37:4). With obedient promptness the youth goes to Shekem, where he learns that they had removed to Dothan, a town about twelve miles due north of Shekem.
Genesis 37:18-24
His brothers cast him into a pit. “This master of dreams;” an eastern phrase for a dreamer. “Let us slay him.” They had a foreboding that his dreams might prove true, and that he would become their arbitrary master. This thought at all events would abate somewhat of the barbarity of their designs. It is implied in the closing sentence of their proposal. Reuben dissuades them from the act of murder, and advises merely to cast him into the pit, to which they consent. He had a more tender heart, and perhaps a more tender conscience than the rest, and intended to send Joseph back safe to his father. He doubtless took care to choose a pit that was without water.
Genesis 37:25-30
Reuben rips his clothes when he finds Joseph gone. “To eat bread.” This shows the cold and heartless cruelty of their deed. “A caravan” - a company of travelling merchants. “Ishmaelites.” Ishmael left his father’s house when about fourteen or fifteen years of age. His mother took him a wife probably when he was eighteen, or twenty at the furthest. He had arrived at the latter age about one hundred and sixty-two years before the date of the present occurrence. He had twelve sons Genesis 25:13-15, and if we allow only four other generations and a fivefold increase, there will be about fifteen thousand in the fifth generation. “Came from Gilead;” celebrated for its balm Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11. The caravan road from Damascus to Egypt touches upon the land of Gilead, goes through Beth-shean, and passes by Dothan. “Spicery.” This gum is called tragacanth, or goats-thorn gum, because it was supposed to be obtained from this plant. “Balm,” or balsam; an aromatic substance obtained from a plant of the genus Amyris, a native of Gilead. “Myrrh” is the name of a gum exuding from the balsamodendron myrrha, growing in Arabia Felix. “Lot,” however, is supposed to be the resinous juice of the cistus or rock rose, a plant growing in Crete and Syria. Judah, relenting, and revolting perhaps from the crime of fratricide, proposes to sell Joseph to the merchants.
Midianites and Medanites Genesis 37:36 are mere variations apparently of the same name. They seem to have been the actual purchasers, though the caravan takes its name from the Ishmaelites, who formed by far the larger portion of it. Midian and Medan were both sons of Abraham, and during one hundred and twenty-five years must have increased to a small clan. Thus, Joseph is sold to the descendants of Abraham. “Twenty silver pieces;” probably shekels. This is the rate at which Moses estimates a male from five to twenty years old Leviticus 27:5. A man-servant was valued by him at thirty shekels Exodus 21:32. Reuben finding Joseph gone, rends his clothes, in token of anguish of mind for the loss of his brother and the grief of his father.
Genesis 37:31-36
The brothers contrive to conceal their crime; and Joseph is sold into Egypt. “Torn, torn in pieces is Joseph.” The sight of the bloody coat convinces Jacob at once that Joseph has been devoured by a wild beast. “All his daughters.” Only one daughter of Jacob is mentioned by name. These are probably his daughters-in-law. “To the grave.” Sheol is the place to which the soul departs at death. It is so called from its ever craving, or being empty. “Minister.” This word originally means eunuch, and then, generally, any officer about the court or person of the sovereign. “Captain of the guards.” The guards are the executioners of the sentences passed by the sovereign on culprits, which were often arbitrary, summary, and extremely severe. It is manifest, from this dark chapter, that the power of sin has not been extinguished in the family of Jacob. The name of God does not appear, and his hand is at present only dimly seen among the wicked designs, deeds, and devices of these unnatural brothers. Nevertheless, his counsel of mercy standeth sure, and fixed is his purpose to bring salvation to the whole race of man, by means of his special covenant with Abraham.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 37:4. And could not speak peaceably unto him. — Does not this imply, in our use of the term, that they were continually quarrelling with him? but this is no meaning of the original: ולא יכלו דברו לשלם velo yachelu dabbero leshalom, they could not speak peace to him, i. e., they would not accost him in a friendly manner. They would not even wish him well. The eastern method of salutation is, Peace be to thee! שלום לך shalom lecha, among the Hebrews, and [Arabic] salam, peace, or [Arabic] salam kebibi, peace to thee my friend, among the Arabs. Now as peace among those nations comprehends all kinds of blessings spiritual and temporal, so they are careful not to say it to those whom they do not cordially wish well. It is not an unusual thing for an Arab or a Turk to hesitate to return the salam, if given by a Christian, or by one of whom he has not a favourable opinion: and this, in their own country, may be ever considered as a mark of hostility; not only as a proof that they do not wish you well, but that if they have an opportunity they will do you an injury. This was precisely the case with respect to Joseph's brethren: they would not give him the salam, and therefore felt themselves at liberty to take the first opportunity to injure him.
