Short answer: Genesis 37 introduces Joseph as the favored son, his two prophetic dreams that anger his brothers, their plot to kill him, his sale into slavery, and Jacob's inconsolable grief. The chapter sets in motion the providential narrative that will preserve Israel during famine.
Introduction
Genesis 37 marks a major turning point in Genesis. The narrative shifts from Jacob to his son Joseph, whose story will occupy the remainder of the book. Joseph's dreams reveal God's sovereign plan, but the path to fulfillment runs through betrayal, slavery, and suffering. This chapter introduces the theme that runs through the Joseph narrative: human evil cannot thwart God's purposes.
Joseph's Dreams and Family Tension (37:1-11)
Jacob settles in Canaan. Joseph, seventeen years old, brings a bad report about his brothers to Jacob. Israel loves Joseph more than his other sons and gives him a richly ornamented robe. Joseph dreams two dreams: in the first, his brothers' sheaves bow to his sheaf; in the second, the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow to him. Even his father rebukes him but keeps the matter in mind.
Jacob lived in the land of his father’s travels, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. Joseph brought an evil report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a tunic of many colors. His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him. Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.” His brothers asked him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. He dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, “Behold, I have dreamed yet another dream: and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars bowed down to me.” He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?” His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.
Genesis 37:1-11 (World English Bible)
The Brothers' Plot to Kill Joseph (37:12-24)
Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers pasturing the flocks near Shechem. Joseph finds them at Dothan. Seeing him from afar, the brothers plot to kill him and throw him into a pit, claiming a wild animal devoured him. Reuben secretly plans to rescue Joseph and return him to Jacob. They strip Joseph of his robe and throw him into an empty pit.
His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” He said to him, “Here I am.” He said to him, “Go now, see whether it is well with your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. A certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. The man asked him, “What are you looking for?” He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.” The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” Joseph went after his brothers, and found them in Dothan. They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes. Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see what will become of his dreams.” Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take his life.” Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him; and they took him, and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
Genesis 37:12-24 (World English Bible)
Joseph Sold into Slavery (37:25-28)
While the brothers eat, a caravan of Ishmaelites approaches from Gilead carrying spices to Egypt. Judah proposes selling Joseph rather than killing him. The brothers pull Joseph from the pit and sell him for twenty pieces of silver. The Ishmaelites take Joseph to Egypt.
They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on him; for he is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to him. Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
Genesis 37:25-28 (World English Bible)
Jacob's Grief (37:29-36)
Reuben returns to the pit and finds Joseph gone — he tears his clothes in grief. The brothers dip Joseph's robe in goat's blood and present it to Jacob. Jacob recognizes it and mourns inconsolably, refusing comfort. Meanwhile, the Midianites sell Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes. He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?” They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.” He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.” Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him. The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
Genesis 37:29-36 (World English Bible)
Frequently Asked Questions
What was Joseph's special robe, and why did it cause so much conflict?
Joseph's robe was a richly ornamented or long-sleeved tunic, traditionally called a 'coat of many colors.' It was a visible sign of Jacob's favoritism, which fueled the brothers' jealousy and hatred. In ancient culture, such a garment signified special status and inheritance rights.
Why did Joseph's brothers hate him so much?
Joseph's brothers hated him for multiple reasons: Jacob's open favoritism (demonstrated by the special robe), Joseph's reports of their wrongdoing, and his prophetic dreams suggesting he would rule over them. The combination of family dysfunction and divine revelation created explosive conflict.
What is the significance of Joseph being sold for twenty pieces of silver?
Twenty pieces of silver was the standard price for a slave in the ancient Near East. This detail connects to the larger theme of Joseph's humiliation and eventual exaltation. It also foreshadows later biblical references to the price of a slave, including Zechariah 11:12 and the betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
Biblical Fidelity Check
This article faithfully presents the biblical account of Joseph's betrayal and sale into slavery as recorded in Genesis 37. The narrative of Joseph's dreams, his brothers' jealousy, the sale to the Ishmaelites, and Jacob's grief are drawn directly from the World English Bible translation. The providential theme is presented as the text itself teaches.
Related Bible Studies
- Genesis 39 — Joseph in Potiphar's House
- Genesis 40 — Joseph Interprets Dreams
- Genesis 41 — Joseph Becomes Vizier
- Genesis 45 — Joseph Reveals Himself
- Genesis 50 — Joseph's Final Years
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