1 And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father sojourned, in the land of Canaan. 2 And these are the generations of Jacob. And Joseph was seventeen years old, feeding the sheep of his father with his brethren, being young; with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father; and Joseph brought to Israel their father their evil reproach. 3 And Jacob loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was to him the son of old age; and he made for him a coat of many colors. 4 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. 5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and reported it to his brethren. 6 And he said to them, Hear this dream which I have dreamed. 7 I thought ye were binding sheaves in the middle of the field, and my sheaf stood up and was erected, and your sheaves turned round, and did obeisance to my sheaf. 8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us, or shalt thou indeed be lord over us? And they hated him still more for his dreams and for his words. 9 And he dreamed another dream, and related it to his father, and to his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream: as it were the sun, and the moon, and the eleven stars did me reverence. 10 And his father rebuked him, and said to him, What is this dream which thou hast dreamed? shall indeed both I and thy mother and thy brethren come and bow before thee to the earth? 11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying. 12 And his brethren went to feed the sheep of their father to Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed their flock in Shechem? Come, I will send thee to them; and he said to him, Behold, I [am here]. 14 And Israel said to him, Go and see if thy brethren and the sheep are well, and bring me word; and he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16 And he said, I am seeking my brethren; tell me where they feed [their flocks]. 17 And the man said to him, They have departed hence, for I heard them saying, Let us go to Dothan; and Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18 And they spied him from a distance before he drew nigh to them, and they wickedly took counsel to slay him. 19 And each said to his brother, Behold, that dreamer comes. 20 Now then come, let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits; and we will say, An evil wild beast has devoured him; and we shall see what his dreams will be. 21 And Reuben having heard it, rescued him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him. 22 And Reuben said to them, Shed not blood; cast him into one of these pits in the wilderness, but do not lay [your] hand upon him; that he might rescue him out of their hands, and restore him to his father. 23 And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his many-colored coat that was upon him. 24 And they took him and cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, it had not water. 25 And they sat down to eat bread; and having lifted up their eyes they beheld, and lo, Ishmaelitish travelers came from Gilead, and their camels were heavily loaded with spices, and resin, and myrrh; and they went to bring them to Egypt. 26 And Judah said to his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren hearkened. 28 And the men, the merchants of Midian, went by, and they drew and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of gold; and they brought Joseph down into Egypt. 29 And Reuben returned to the pit, and sees not Joseph in the pit; and he rent his garments. 30 And he returned to his brethren and said, The boy is not; and I, whither am I yet to go? 31 And having taken the coat of Joseph, they slew a kid of the goats, and stained the coat with the blood. 32 And they sent the coat of many colors; and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found; know if it be thy son’s coat or no. 33 And he recognized it, and said, It is my son’s coat, an evil wild beast has devoured him; a wild beast has carried off Joseph. 34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 35 And all his sons and his daughters gathered themselves together, and came to comfort him; but he would not be comforted, saying, I will go down to my son mourning to Hades; and his father wept for him. 36 And the Midianites sold Joseph into Egypt; to Potiphar, the eunuch of Pharaoh, captain of the guard.
Genesis · Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Genesis 37 Updated Brenton English Septuagint
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Same Septuagint text as Brenton, with modernised spelling.
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Joseph
Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50
Potiphar
An Egyptian officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard who bought Joseph from the Ishmaelites, put him in charge of his household, and had him thrown into prison after his wife's…
Cited in the guide: Genesis 37:36; Genesis 39:1; Genesis 39:4
Cross references (36)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Genesis 17:8; Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:9–16; Genesis 36:7; Genesis 28:4
- 2 Genesis 35:25–26; 1 Samuel 2:22–24; Genesis 35:22; 1 Corinthians 11:18; Genesis 10:1
- 3 John 3:35; Genesis 37:32; 2 Samuel 13:18; John 13:22–23; Genesis 37:23
- 4 Genesis 27:41; 1 John 4:20; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 2:11; Psalm 69:4
- 5 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 42:9; John 17:14; Daniel 4:5; Amos 3:7
- 6 Genesis 44:18
- 7 Genesis 42:6; Genesis 44:14; Genesis 43:26; Genesis 42:9; Colossians 1:18
- 8 1 Samuel 10:27; Acts 7:35; Genesis 49:26; Acts 4:27–28; Exodus 2:14
- 9 Acts 7:9–14; Genesis 46:29; Genesis 37:7; Daniel 8:10; Genesis 43:28
- 10 Genesis 27:29; Isaiah 60:14; Philippians 2:10–11; Genesis 37:7
- 11 Acts 7:9; Luke 2:51; Luke 2:19; Daniel 7:28; Isaiah 11:13
- 12 Genesis 37:1; Genesis 33:18; Genesis 34:25–31
- 13 Ephesians 6:1–3; 1 Samuel 17:17–20; Matthew 10:16; 1 Samuel 3:16; Genesis 27:18
- 14 Genesis 35:27; Psalm 125:5; Luke 19:42; Genesis 13:18; 2 Samuel 18:32
- 15 Judges 4:22; John 4:27; Genesis 21:14; John 20:15; John 18:4
- 16 Luke 19:10; Song of Songs 1:7
- 17 2 Kings 6:13
- 18 Acts 23:12; Psalm 37:32; 1 Samuel 19:1; Psalm 37:12; Mark 14:1
- 19 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 37:5; Genesis 49:23; Genesis 37:11
- 20 Titus 3:3; Proverbs 27:4; 2 Kings 2:24; Matthew 2:2–16; Proverbs 1:11–12
- 21 Genesis 42:22; Joshua 10:28; Genesis 35:22; Matthew 10:28; Genesis 9:5
- 22 Exodus 24:11; Matthew 27:24; Genesis 42:22; Genesis 22:12; Acts 12:1
- 23 Genesis 37:31–33; Matthew 27:28; Genesis 37:3; Genesis 42:21; Psalm 22:18
- 24 Jeremiah 38:6; Zechariah 9:11; Psalm 130:1–2; Psalm 40:2; Psalm 88:8
- 25 Genesis 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; Genesis 37:28; Jeremiah 46:11; Genesis 16:11–12
- 26 Genesis 37:20; Genesis 4:10; Ezekiel 24:7; Jeremiah 41:8; Romans 6:21
- 27 Matthew 16:26; Genesis 42:21; 1 Samuel 18:17; Genesis 29:14; 2 Samuel 12:9
- 28 Acts 7:9; Psalm 105:17; Genesis 25:2; Genesis 45:4–5; Genesis 37:25
- 29 Genesis 37:34; Job 1:20; Joel 2:13; Acts 14:14; Genesis 44:13
- 30 Genesis 42:13; Genesis 42:32; Jeremiah 31:15; Genesis 42:35–36; Genesis 37:20
- 31 Genesis 37:23; Genesis 37:3; Proverbs 28:13
- 32 Luke 15:30; Genesis 44:20–23; Genesis 37:3
- 33 Genesis 44:28; Genesis 37:20; 1 Kings 13:24; 2 Kings 2:24; Proverbs 14:15
- 34 Genesis 37:29; Job 1:20; 2 Samuel 3:31; Esther 4:1–3; Nehemiah 9:1
- 35 Genesis 42:38; Job 2:11; 2 Samuel 12:17; Genesis 42:31; Genesis 35:22–26
- 36 Genesis 40:4; Genesis 37:28; 2 Kings 25:8; Genesis 39:1–23; Genesis 25:1–2
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Because Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brethren. That Joseph whom the brethren envied, and sold him into Egypt, when sold into Egypt, toiled, was humbled; when made known and exalted, flourished, reigned.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 8 (1888)