Genesis 37
Joseph’s Dreams
1 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan.
2 This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
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.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate[a] robe for him.
4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.
6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had:
7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
9 Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10 When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?”
11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
12 Now his brothers had gone to graze their father’s flocks near Shechem,
13 and Israel said to Joseph, “As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them.”
“Very well,” he replied.
14 So he said to him, “Go and see if all is well with your brothers and with the flocks, and bring word back to me.” Then he sent him off from the Valley of Hebron.
When Joseph arrived at Shechem,
15 a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 He replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Can you tell me where they are grazing their flocks?”
17 “They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’”
So Joseph went after his brothers and found them near Dothan.
18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
19 “Here comes that dreamer!” they said to each other.
20 “Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.”
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.
22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing—
24 and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
25 As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26 Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.
28 So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels[b] of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt.
29 When Reuben returned to the cistern and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes.
30 He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy isn’t there! Where can I turn now?”
31 Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32 They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.”
33 He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.”
34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days.
35 All his sons and daughters came to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. “No,” he said, “I will continue to mourn until I join my son in the grave.” So his father wept for him.
36 Meanwhile, the Midianites[c] sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, the captain of the guard.
Footnotes:
- Genesis 37:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 23 and 32.
- Genesis 37:28 That is, about 8 ounces or about 230 grams
- Genesis 37:36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac (see also verse 28); Masoretic Text Medanites
Observation Questions
Joseph’s Dreams
Where did Jacob live? (verse 1)
What is this the account of? (verse 2)
How old was Joseph when this account starts? (verse 2)
Did Joseph tend the flocks with his brothers? (verse 2)
Did Joseph bring a bad report to his fathers? (verse 2)
Why did Israel love Joseph more than any of his other sons? (verse 3)
Did Israel make for Joseph an ornate robe? (verse 3)
When did Joseph's brothers hate him? (verse 4)
Could Joseph's brothers speak a kind word to him? (verse 4)
Was Joseph thought of differently after he told his dream? (verse 5)
What was Joseph's dream? (verse 7)
Did Joseph tell his brothers another dream he had? (verse 9)
Did Joseph's father rebuke Joseph? (verse 10)
What were the responses of Joseph's brothers and his father to the second dream he had? (verse 10-11)
Joseph Sold by His Brothers
Who's flock was being grazed near Shechem? (verse 12)
What was Joseph's reply to his father sending him to his brothers near Shechem? (verse 13)
Who found Joseph wandering around in the fields? (verse 15-17)
What did Joseph do with the information he was given in verses 15-17?
What did Joseph's brothers plot to do before he reached them? (verse 18)
What happened that allowed Joseph to live? (verse 19-22)
Did Joseph's brothers strip him of his robe? (verse 23)
Was there any water in the cistern that Joseph was thrown into? (verse 24)
When did Joseph's brothers see a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead? (verse 25)
Who said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.”? (verse 26-27)
How much was Joseph sold for? (verse 28)
Who took Joseph to Egypt? (verse 28)
What was Reuben's reaction to seeing that Joseph was not where they had left him? (verse 29)
What did Reuben say when he went back to his brothers? (verse 30)
What did Joseph's brothers do with Joseph's robe? (verse 31-33)
What was Jacob's reaction to what his children brought to him? (verse 34)
What did Jacob say when his sons and daughters came to comfort him? (verse 35)
Who was Joseph sold to? (verse 36)
Thoughts
This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
What do the dreams tell about Jacob's family line?
What do we observe about the nature of the fulfillment of prophesy?
Where do you see Jesus?
What things did Jesus say that correlate with this chapter?
Joseph's bad report in verse 2 may be the reason that he is trusted to bring a truthful report in verse 14.
The man who overheard his brothers saying, "Let’s go to Dothan." also found Joseph.
This meeting guided Joseph to the place where his brothers were.
"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'" - Matthew 21:38
The plot to kill Joseph in verse 19-22 was stopped because Reuben was going to deceive the brothers and bring Joseph back to his father. Remember the shame that had come on Reuben in Genesis 35:22?
"And it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard of it."
"The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father's marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright," - 1 Chronicles 5:1
“Come now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of these cisterns and say that a ferocious animal devoured him. Then we’ll see what comes of his dreams.” - verse 20
Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” - John 2:4b-10
“Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” - Genesis 37:9b
This is the account of Jacob’s family line.
So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— - verse 23
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. - Matthew 27:27-29
and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it. - Genesis 37:24
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king's son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. - Jeremiah 38:6
But Ebed-Melek, a Cushite, an official in the royal palace, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. While the king was sitting in the Benjamin Gate, - Jeremiah 38:7
Ebed-Melek went out of the palace and said to him, - Jeremiah 38:8
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. - Genesis 37:25
"My lord the king, these men have acted wickedly in all they have done to Jeremiah the prophet. They have thrown him into a cistern, where he will starve to death when there is no longer any bread in the city." - Jeremiah 38:9
Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, "Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies." - Jeremiah 38:10
“What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?
Come, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood.”? (verse 26-27)
So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. - Jeremiah 38:11
Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, "Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes." Jeremiah did so, - Jeremiah 38:12
So when the Midianite merchants came by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the cistern and sold him for twenty shekels[b] of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. - Genesis 37:28
and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard. - Jeremiah 38:13
As they sat down to eat their meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were loaded with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were on their way to take them down to Egypt. - Genesis 37-25
On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. - Matthew 2:11
Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? - Genesis 37: 26
All the people answered, "His blood is on us and on our children!" - Matthew 27:25
Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. - verse 31
Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together. - Genesis 22:8
When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. - Genesis 22:9
The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness. - Leviticus 16:22
“We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” - verse 32b
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