1 And Jacob dwelleth in the land of his father's sojournings — in the land of Canaan. 2 These [are] births of Jacob: Joseph, a son of seventeen years, hath been enjoying himself with his brethren 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 bringeth in an account of their evil unto their father. 3 And Israel hath loved Joseph more than any of his sons, for he [is] a son of his old age, and hath made for him a long coat; 4 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. 5 And Joseph dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him. 6 And he saith unto them, 'Hear ye, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed: 7 that, lo, we are binding bundles in the midst of the field, and lo, my bundle hath arisen, and hath also stood up, and lo, your bundles are round about, and bow themselves to my bundle.' 8 And his brethren say to him, 'Dost thou certainly reign over us? dost thou certainly rule over us?' and they add still more to hate him, for his dreams, and for his words. 9 And he dreameth yet another dream, and recounteth it to his brethren, and saith, 'Lo, I have dreamed a dream again, and lo, the sun and the moon, and eleven stars, are bowing themselves to me.' 10 And he recounteth unto his father, and unto his brethren; and his father pusheth against him, and saith to him, 'What [is] this dream which thou hast dreamt? do we certainly come — I, and thy mother, and thy brethren — to bow ourselves to thee, to the earth?' 11 and his brethren are zealous against him, and his father hath watched the matter. 12 And his brethren go to feed the flock of their father in Shechem, 13 and Israel saith unto Joseph, 'Are not thy brethren feeding in Shechem? come, and I send thee unto them;' and he saith to him, 'Here [am] I;' 14 and he saith to him, 'Go, I pray thee, see the peace of thy brethren, and the peace of the flock, and bring me back word;' and he sendeth him from the valley of Hebron, and he cometh to Shechem. 15 And a man findeth him, and lo, he is wandering in the field, and the man asketh him, saying, 'What seekest thou?' 16 and he saith, 'My brethren I am seeking, declare to me, I pray thee, where they are feeding?' 17 And the man saith, 'They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,' and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth them in Dothan. 18 And they see him from afar, even before he draweth near unto them, and they conspire against him to put him to death. 19 And they say one unto another, 'Lo, this man of the dreams cometh; 20 and now, come, and we slay him, and cast him into one of the pits, and have said, An evil beast hath devoured him; and we see what his dreams are.' 21 And Reuben heareth, and delivereth him out of their hand, and saith, 'Let us not smite the life;' 22 and Reuben saith unto them, 'Shed no blood; cast him into this pit which [is] in the wilderness, and put not forth a hand upon him,' — in order to deliver him out of their hand, to bring him back unto his father. 23 And it cometh to pass, when Joseph hath come unto his brethren, that they strip Joseph of his coat, the long coat which [is] upon 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 lo, a company of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, and their camels bearing spices, and balm, and myrrh, going to take [them] down to Egypt. 26 And Judah saith unto his brethren, '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 brethren hearken. 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 silverlings, and they bring Joseph into Egypt. 29 And Reuben returneth unto the pit, and lo, Joseph is not in the pit, and he rendeth his garments, 30 and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, 'The lad is not, and I — whither 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] in unto their father, and say, 'This have we found; discern, we pray thee, whether it [is] thy son's coat or not?' 33 And he discerneth it, and saith, 'My son's coat! an evil beast hath devoured him; torn — torn is Joseph!' 34 And Jacob rendeth his raiment, and putteth sackcloth on his loins, and becometh a mourner for his son many days, 35 and all his sons and all his daughters rise to comfort him, and he refuseth to comfort himself, and saith, 'For — I go down mourning unto my son, to Sheol,' and his father weepeth for him. 36 And the Medanites have sold him unto Egypt, to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, head of the executioners.
Genesis · Young's Literal Translation
Genesis 37 Young's Literal Translation
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
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)