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Genesis · Literal Standard Version

Genesis 37 Literal Standard Version

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  • Protestant
  • OT: Masoretic Hebrew
  • NT: Majority (Byzantine) text
  • Protestant (66 books)
  • Very literal
  • 2020
  • CC BY-SA 4.0

Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings

1 And Jacob dwells in the land of his father’s sojournings—in the land of Canaan. 2 These [are] the generations of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, has been enjoying himself with his brothers among the flock (and he [is] a youth), with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and Joseph brings in an account of their evil to their father. 3 And Israel has loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and has made for him a long coat; 4 and his brothers see that their father has loved him more than any of his brothers, and they hate him, and have not been able to speak [to] him peaceably. 5 And Joseph dreams a dream, and declares to his brothers, and they add still more to hate him. 6 And he says to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 that, behold, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and behold, my bundle has arisen, and has also stood up, and behold, your bundles are all around, and they bow themselves to my bundle.” 8 And his brothers say to him, “Do you certainly reign over us? Do you certainly rule over us?” And they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words. 9 And he dreams yet another dream, and recounts it to his brothers, and says, “Behold, I have dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.” 10 And he recounts to his father, and to his brothers; and his father pushes against him, and says to him, “What [is] this dream which you have dreamed? Do we certainly come, I, and your mother, and your brothers—to bow ourselves to you, to the earth?” 11 And his brothers are zealous against him, and his father has watched the matter. 12 And his brothers go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem, 13 and Israel says to Joseph, “Are your brothers not feeding in Shechem? Come, and I send you to them”; and he says to him, “Here I [am]”; 14 and he says to him, “Now go see the peace of your brothers, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word”; and he sends him from the Valley of Hebron, and he comes to Shechem. 15 And a man finds him, and behold, he is wandering in the field, and the man asks him, saying, “What do you seek?” 16 And he says, “I am seeking my brothers, please declare to me where they are feeding.” 17 And the man says, “They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,” and Joseph goes after his brothers, and finds them in Dothan. 18 And they see him from afar, even before he draws near to them, and they conspire against him to put him to death. 19 And they say to one another, “Behold, this man of the dreams comes; 20 and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast has devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.” 21 And Reuben hears, and delivers him out of their hand, and says, “Let us not strike the life”; 22 and Reuben says to them, “Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and do not put forth a hand on him,” in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back to his father. 23 And it comes to pass, when Joseph has come to his brothers, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] on him, 24 and take him and cast him into the pit, and the pit [is] empty, there is no water in it. 25 And they sit down to eat bread, and they lift up their eyes, and look, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels carrying spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt. 26 And Judah says to his brothers, “What gain when we slay our brother, and have concealed his blood? 27 Come, and we sell him to the Ishmaelites, and our hands are not on him, for he [is] our brother—our flesh”; and his brothers listen. 28 And Midianite merchantmen pass by and they draw out and bring up Joseph out of the pit, and sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they bring Joseph into Egypt. 29 And Reuben returns to the pit, and behold, Joseph is not in the pit, and he tears his garments, 30 and he returns to his brothers and says, “The boy is not, and I—to where am I going?” 31 And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood, 32 and send the long coat, and they bring [it] to their father, and say, “We have found this; please discern whether it [is] your son’s coat or not.” 33 And he discerns it and says, “My son’s coat! An evil beast has devoured him; torn—Joseph is torn!” 34 And Jacob tears his raiment, and puts sackcloth on his loins, and becomes a mourner for his son many days, 35 and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuses to comfort himself, and says, “For I go down to my son mourning, to Sheol,” and his father weeps for him. 36 And the Midianites have sold him to Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.

People & places in this chapter

From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.

People

  • Joseph

    Ruler in Egypt

    Betrayed and enslaved, he rose to rule Egypt and saved his family from famine.

    Cited in the guide: Genesis 37; 39–50

  • Potiphar

    Pharaoh's captain of the guard

    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. 1 Genesis 17:8; Genesis 23:4; Hebrews 11:9–16; Genesis 36:7; Genesis 28:4
  2. 2 Genesis 35:25–26; 1 Samuel 2:22–24; Genesis 35:22; 1 Corinthians 11:18; Genesis 10:1
  3. 3 John 3:35; Genesis 37:32; 2 Samuel 13:18; John 13:22–23; Genesis 37:23
  4. 4 Genesis 27:41; 1 John 4:20; 1 John 3:12; 1 John 2:11; Psalm 69:4
  5. 5 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 42:9; John 17:14; Daniel 4:5; Amos 3:7
  6. 6 Genesis 44:18
  7. 7 Genesis 42:6; Genesis 44:14; Genesis 43:26; Genesis 42:9; Colossians 1:18
  8. 8 1 Samuel 10:27; Acts 7:35; Genesis 49:26; Acts 4:27–28; Exodus 2:14
  9. 9 Acts 7:9–14; Genesis 46:29; Genesis 37:7; Daniel 8:10; Genesis 43:28
  10. 10 Genesis 27:29; Isaiah 60:14; Philippians 2:10–11; Genesis 37:7
  11. 11 Acts 7:9; Luke 2:51; Luke 2:19; Daniel 7:28; Isaiah 11:13
  12. 12 Genesis 37:1; Genesis 33:18; Genesis 34:25–31
  13. 13 Ephesians 6:1–3; 1 Samuel 17:17–20; Matthew 10:16; 1 Samuel 3:16; Genesis 27:18
  14. 14 Genesis 35:27; Psalm 125:5; Luke 19:42; Genesis 13:18; 2 Samuel 18:32
  15. 15 Judges 4:22; John 4:27; Genesis 21:14; John 20:15; John 18:4
  16. 16 Luke 19:10; Song of Songs 1:7
  17. 17 2 Kings 6:13
  18. 18 Acts 23:12; Psalm 37:32; 1 Samuel 19:1; Psalm 37:12; Mark 14:1
  19. 19 Genesis 28:12; Genesis 37:5; Genesis 49:23; Genesis 37:11
  20. 20 Titus 3:3; Proverbs 27:4; 2 Kings 2:24; Matthew 2:2–16; Proverbs 1:11–12
  21. 21 Genesis 42:22; Joshua 10:28; Genesis 35:22; Matthew 10:28; Genesis 9:5
  22. 22 Exodus 24:11; Matthew 27:24; Genesis 42:22; Genesis 22:12; Acts 12:1
  23. 23 Genesis 37:31–33; Matthew 27:28; Genesis 37:3; Genesis 42:21; Psalm 22:18
  24. 24 Jeremiah 38:6; Zechariah 9:11; Psalm 130:1–2; Psalm 40:2; Psalm 88:8
  25. 25 Genesis 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; Genesis 37:28; Jeremiah 46:11; Genesis 16:11–12
  26. 26 Genesis 37:20; Genesis 4:10; Ezekiel 24:7; Jeremiah 41:8; Romans 6:21
  27. 27 Matthew 16:26; Genesis 42:21; 1 Samuel 18:17; Genesis 29:14; 2 Samuel 12:9
  28. 28 Acts 7:9; Psalm 105:17; Genesis 25:2; Genesis 45:4–5; Genesis 37:25
  29. 29 Genesis 37:34; Job 1:20; Joel 2:13; Acts 14:14; Genesis 44:13
  30. 30 Genesis 42:13; Genesis 42:32; Jeremiah 31:15; Genesis 42:35–36; Genesis 37:20
  31. 31 Genesis 37:23; Genesis 37:3; Proverbs 28:13
  32. 32 Luke 15:30; Genesis 44:20–23; Genesis 37:3
  33. 33 Genesis 44:28; Genesis 37:20; 1 Kings 13:24; 2 Kings 2:24; Proverbs 14:15
  34. 34 Genesis 37:29; Job 1:20; 2 Samuel 3:31; Esther 4:1–3; Nehemiah 9:1
  35. 35 Genesis 42:38; Job 2:11; 2 Samuel 12:17; Genesis 42:31; Genesis 35:22–26
  36. 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).

  1. Quotes verse 37:28 Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms (Psalm LXXVII)

    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)