Genesis 37

Ge 37:1-4.

PARENTAL

PARTIALITY.

1. Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a

stranger--that is, "a sojourner"; "father" used collectively. The

patriarch was at this time at Mamre, in the valley of Hebron (compare

Ge 35:27);

and his dwelling there was continued in the same manner and prompted by

the same motives as that of Abraham and Isaac

(Heb 11:13).

2. generations--leading occurrences, in the domestic history of

Jacob, as shown in the narrative about to be commenced.

Joseph . . . was feeding the flock--literally, "Joseph

being seventeen years old was a shepherd over the flock"--he a lad,

with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Oversight or superintendence is

evidently implied. This post of chief shepherd in the party might be

assigned him either from his being the son of a principal wife or from

his own superior qualities of character; and if invested with this

office, he acted not as a gossiping telltale, but as a "faithful

steward" in reporting the scandalous conduct of his brethren.

3. son of his old age--Benjamin being younger, was more the son

of his old age and consequently on that ground might have been expected

to be the favorite. Literally rendered, it is "son of old age to

him"--Hebrew phrase, for "a wise son"--one who possessed

observation and wisdom above his years--an old head on young shoulders.

made him a coat of many colors--formed in those early days by

sewing together patches of colored cloth, and considered a dress of

distinction

(Jud 5:30;

2Sa 13:18).

The passion for various colors still reigns among the Arabs and other

people of the East, who are fond of dressing their children in this

gaudy attire. But since the art of interweaving various patterns was

introduced, "the coats of colors" are different now from what they seem

to have been in patriarchal times, and bear a close resemblance to the

varieties of tartan.

4. could not speak peaceably unto him--did not say "peace be to

thee"

[Ge 43:23,

&c.], the usual expression of good wishes among friends and

acquaintances. It is deemed a sacred duty to give all this form of

salutation; and the withholding of it is an unmistakable sign of

dislike or secret hostility. The habitual refusal of Joseph's brethren,

therefore, to meet him with "the salaam," showed how

ill-disposed they were towards him. It is very natural in parents to

love the youngest, and feel partial to those who excel in talents or

amiableness. But in a family constituted as Jacob's--many children by

different mothers--he showed great and criminal indiscretion.

Ge 37:5-36.

THE

DREAMS OF

JOSEPH.

5. Joseph dreamed a dream--Dreams in ancient times were much

attended to, and hence the dream of Joseph, though but a mere boy,

engaged the serious consideration of his family. But this dream was

evidently symbolical. The meaning was easily discerned, and, from its

being repeated under different emblems, the fulfilment was considered

certain (compare

Ge 41:32),

whence it was that "his brethren envied him, but his father observed

the saying"

[Ge 37:11].

12. his brethren went to feed their father's flock in

Shechem--The vale of Shechem was, from the earliest mention of

Canaan, blest with extraordinary abundance of water. Therefore did the

sons of Jacob go from Hebron to this place, though it must have cost

them near twenty hours' travelling--that is, at the shepherd rate, a

little more than fifty miles. But the herbage there was so rich and

nutritious that they thought it well worth the pains of so long a

journey, to the neglect of the grazing district of Hebron [VAN DE VELDE].

13-17. Israel said, . . . Do not thy brethren feed the

flock in Shechem?--Anxious to learn how his sons were doing in

their distant encampment, Jacob despatched Joseph; and the youth,

accepting the mission with alacrity, left the vale of Hebron, sought

them at Shechem, heard of them from a man in "the field" (the wide and

richly cultivated plain of Esdraelon), and found that they had left

that neighborhood for Dothan, probably being compelled by the

detestation in which, from the horrid massacre, their name was

held.

17. Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in

Dothan--Hebrew, Dothaim, or "two wells," recently discovered

in the modern "Dothan," situated a few hours' distance from

Shechem.

18. when they saw him afar off--on the level grass field, where

they were watching their cattle. They could perceive him approaching in

the distance from the side of Shechem, or rather, Samaria.

19. Behold, this dreamer cometh--literally, "master of

dreams"--a bitterly ironical sneer. Dreams being considered suggestions

from above, to make false pretensions to having received one was

detested as a species of blasphemy, and in this light Joseph was

regarded by his brethren as an artful pretender. They already began to

form a plot for Joseph's assassination, from which he was rescued only

into one of the wells, which are, and probably were, completely dried

up in summer.

23. they stripped Joseph out of his coat . . . of many

colors--Imagine him advancing in all the unsuspecting openness of

brotherly affection. How astonished and terrified must he have been at

the cold reception, the ferocious aspect, the rough usage of his

unnatural assailants! A vivid picture of his state of agony and despair

was afterwards drawn by themselves (compare

Ge 42:21).

25. they sat down to eat bread--What a view does this exhibit of

those hardened profligates! Their common share in this conspiracy is

not the only dismal feature in the story. The rapidity, the almost

instantaneous manner in which the proposal was followed by their joint

resolution, and the cool indifference, or rather the fiendish

satisfaction, with which they sat down to regale themselves, is

astonishing. It is impossible that mere envy at his dreams, his gaudy

dress, or the doting partiality of their common father, could have

goaded them on to such a pitch of frenzied resentment or confirmed them

in such consummate wickedness. Their hatred to Joseph must have had a

far deeper seat. It must have been produced by dislike to his piety and

other excellencies, which made his character and conduct a constant

censure upon theirs, and on account of which they found that they could

never be at ease till they had rid themselves of his hated presence.

This was the true solution of the mystery, just as it was in the case

of Cain

(1Jo 3:12).

they lifted up their eyes, . . . and, behold, a company of

Ishmaelites--They are called Midianites

(Ge 37:28),

and Medanites, in Hebrew

(Ge 37:36),

being a travelling caravan composed of a mixed association of Arabians.

Those tribes of Northern Arabia had already addicted themselves to

commerce, and long did they enjoy a monopoly, the carrying trade being

entirely in their hands. Their approach could easily be seen; for, as

their road, after crossing the ford from the trans-jordanic district,

led along the south side of the mountains of Gilboa, a party seated on

the plain of Dothan could trace them and their string of camels in the

distance as they proceeded through the broad and gently sloping valley

that intervenes. Trading in the produce of Arabia and India, they were

in the regular course of traffic on their way to Egypt: and the chief

articles of commerce in which this clan dealt were

spicery from India, that is, a species of resinous gum, called

storax,

balm--"balm of Gilead," the juice of the balsam tree, a native

of Arabia-Felix, and

myrrh--an Arabic gum of a strong, fragrant smell. For these

articles there must have been an enormous demand in Egypt as they were

constantly used in the process of embalming.

26-28. Judah said, . . . What profit is it if we slay our

brother?--The sight of these travelling merchants gave a sudden

turn to the views of the conspirators; for having no wish to commit a

greater degree of crime than was necessary for the accomplishment of

their end, they readily approved of Judah's suggestion to dispose of

their obnoxious brother as a slave. The proposal, of course, was

founded on their knowledge that the Arabian merchants trafficked in

slaves; and there is the clearest evidence furnished by the monuments

of Egypt that the traders who were in the habit of bringing slaves from

the countries through which they passed, found a ready market in the

cities of the Nile.

they . . . lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold

him--Acting impulsively on Judah's advice, they had their poor

victim ready by the time the merchants reached them; and money being no

part of their object, they sold him for

twenty pieces of silver--The money was probably in rings or

pieces (shekels), and silver is always mentioned in the records of that

early age before gold, on account of its rarity. The whole sum, if in

shekel weight, did not exceed £3.

they brought Joseph into Egypt--There were two routes to Egypt:

the one was overland by Hebron, where Jacob dwelt, and by taking which,

the fate of his hapless son would likely have reached the paternal

ears; the other was directly westward across the country from Dothan to

the maritime coast, and in this, the safest and most expeditious way,

the merchants carried Joseph to Egypt. Thus did an overruling

Providence lead this murderous conclave of brothers, as well as the

slave merchants both following their own free courses--to be parties in

an act by which He was to work out, in a marvellous manner, the great

purposes of His wisdom and goodness towards His ancient Church and

people.

29, 30. Reuben returned unto the pit--He seems to have

designedly taken a circuitous route, with a view of secretly rescuing

the poor lad from a lingering death by starvation. His intentions were

excellent, and his feelings no doubt painfully lacerated when he

discovered what had been done in his absence. But the thing was of God,

who had designed that Joseph's deliverance should be accomplished by

other means than his.

31-33. they took Joseph's coat--The commission of one sin

necessarily leads to another to conceal it; and the scheme of deception

which the sons of Jacob planned and practised on their aged father was

a necessary consequence of the atrocious crime they had perpetrated.

What a wonder that their cruel sneer, "thy son's coat," and their

forced efforts to comfort him, did not awaken suspicion! But extreme

grief, like every other passion, is blind, and Jacob, great as his

affliction was, did allow himself to indulge his sorrow more than

became one who believed in the government of a supreme and all-wise

Disposer.

34. Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his

loins--the common signs of Oriental mourning. A rent is made in the

skirt more or less long according to the afflicted feelings of the

mourner, and a coarse rough piece of black sackcloth or camel's hair

cloth is wound round the waist.

35. and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my

son--not the earth, for Joseph was supposed to be torn in pieces,

but the unknown place--the place of departed souls, where Jacob

expected at death to meet his beloved son.