Genesis 37

1 Now Jacob [the supplanter, deceiver] lived [dwelt, remained, or abided] in the land [country, territory, or region] where his father [parent, ancestor, or patriarch] had resided [sojourned, or made a temporary home], the land [earth, or ground] of Canaan [the promised land, or the land of milk and honey]. word study 2 This is the account [story, history, generations] of Jacob [the father of the Israelites]. When Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] was seventeen [in his youth] years old, he was tending [caring for, feeding, shepherding] the flock [sheep, goats, or other livestock] with his brothers [male siblings, relatives], the sons [descendants, male children] of his father’s wives [women, female partners] Bilhah [a concubine of Jacob] and Zilpah [a servant of Leah and a concubine of Jacob], and he brought [reported, told, accused] their father a bad [evil, wicked, harmful] report [slander, gossip, accusation] about them. word study 3 Now Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, father of the twelve tribes] loved Joseph [Jehovah has added, a son of Jacob] more than his other sons, because Joseph had been born to him in his old age [extreme old age, a life well-lived]; so he made him a robe [tunic, long shirt-like garment] of many colors [long-sleeved, diverse colors, a special coat]. word study 4 When Joseph’s brothers [male siblings, close relatives] saw that their father [abba, paternal leader] loved [had affection for, cherished] him more than any of them, they hated [felt intense dislike, hostility] him and could not speak [communicate, utter] a kind [peaceful, friendly] word [message, greeting] to him [toward Joseph, as an object of their emotion]. word study 5 Then Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] had a dream [a prophetic vision], and when he told [declared openly] it to his brothers [male siblings], they hated [felt intense dislike] him even [still] more [to a greater degree]. word study 6 He said [Hear, I pray you] to them, “Listen [Hear, I pray you, please hear] to this [the] dream [which I have dreamed, this vision] I had [which I have dreamed, my dream]: word study 7 We [as a group, together] were binding sheaves [bundles, ties of grain] of grain in the field [outdoors, in the open land], and suddenly [without warning, in an instant] my sheaf [my bundle] rose [stood up, arose] and stood upright [straight, in an upright position], while your sheaves [your bundles, ties of grain] gathered around [surrounded, came near] and bowed down [made obeisance, showed respect] to mine [my sheaf, my bundle].” word study 8 “Do you intend [plan, propose] to reign [rule, have dominion] over us?” his brothers [male siblings, relatives] asked. “Will you actually [really, truly] rule [govern, have authority] us?” So they hated [felt intense dislike, hostility] him even more because of his dream [vision, prophetic message] and his statements [words, declarations]. word study 9 Then Joseph had another [an additional] dream [a prophetic vision, a message from God] and told it to his brothers [male siblings, close relatives]. “Look [behold, pay attention],” he said, “I had [experienced, received] another [an additional, a subsequent] dream, and this time [on this occasion, in this instance] the sun [the celestial body, a symbol of authority] and moon [the natural satellite, a symbol of reflection] and eleven [a complete unit, a symbol of perfection] stars [heavenly bodies, symbols of guidance] were bowing down [showing respect, submitting] to me [as a sign of reverence, in acknowledgment of my future role].” word study 10 He told his father [and his brethren, his relatives] and brothers, but his father [as a parent, with paternal authority] rebuked him and said, “What is this dream [vision, prophetic message] that you have had? Will your mother [female parent, nurturer] and brothers and I actually come and bow down [prostrate ourselves, show reverence] to the ground [earth, land] before you [in submission, with respect]?” word study 11 And his brothers [male siblings, close relatives] were jealous [envied, resentful] of him, but his father [parent, patriarch] kept [watched, protected] in mind [remembered, pondered] what he had said [spoken, uttered]. word study 12 Some time later [after a while, one day], Joseph’s brothers [male siblings, relatives] had gone [to walk, to move] to pasture [to feed, to care for] their father’s [parental, paternal] flocks [sheep, goats, a group of animals] near [in the area of, close to] Shechem [a city in Palestine, a place of gathering]. word study 13 Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, representing his descendants] said to him, “Are not your brothers [male siblings, close relatives] pasturing [feeding, tending to] the flocks [sheep, livestock] at Shechem [a city in Palestine, a place of gathering]? Get ready [prepare yourself, come]; I am sending [dispatching, commissioning] you to them [toward your brothers, to their location].” “I am ready [here I am, behold me],” Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name signifying addition] replied. word study 14 Then Israel told him, “Go now [please, I pray] and see how your brothers [male siblings, close relatives] and the flocks [sheep or goats, a figurative sense of people] are faring [doing, prospering], and bring word [a report, news] back to me [return, come back].” So he sent him off [departed, let him go] from the Valley [lowland area] of Hebron [a place in Palestine]. And when Joseph arrived [came, entered] in Shechem [a city in Palestine], word study 15 a man [certain individual, male person] found him wandering [to go astray, lost] in the field [open land, countryside] and asked [inquired, sought information], “What [what thing, how] are you looking for [seeking, searching]?” word study 16 “I [the speaker, referring to himself] am looking [seeking, searching] for my brothers [male siblings, close relatives],” Joseph replied [said, spoke]. “Can you please [I pray, kindly] tell me [declare, inform] where [in what place, at what location] they [those men, the ones in question] are pasturing [feeding, taking care of] their flocks [sheep, livestock]?” word study 17 “They have moved on [departed, set out] from here,” the man [individual, person] answered. “I heard [listened, gave attention to] them say [speak, utter], ‘Let us go [walk, journey] to Dothan [a city in northern Palestine].’” So Joseph [Jehovah has added, a son of Jacob] set out [journeyed, traveled] after [following, pursuing] his brothers [male siblings, relatives] and found [discovered, located] them at [in the vicinity of, near] Dothan. word study 18 Now Joseph’s brothers saw [from a distance, afar off] him in the distance [at a far point, physically or in time], and before [prior to, in advance of] he arrived [came near, approached], they plotted [conspired, made a secret design] to kill [slay, put to death] him [namely, their brother]. word study 19 “Here comes [behold, see] that dreamer [man of dreams, the one with prophetic visions]!” they said [spoke, told] to one another [each other, brothers]. word study 20 “Come now [at this time, let us act], let us kill [slay with intent, destroy] him and throw [cast away, discard] him into one [a single, unique] of the pits [cisterns, holes in the ground]. We can say [speak, declare] that a vicious [evil, bad] animal [beast, living creature] has devoured [eaten, consumed] him. Then we shall see [look, observe] what becomes [happens, comes to be] of his dreams [visions, prophetic messages]!” word study 21 When Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob] heard [listened with attention and obedience] this, he tried [endeavored, made an effort] to rescue [snatch away, deliver from danger] Joseph from their hands [power, direction, or control]. “Let us not [absolutely not, by no means] take [smite, strike] his life [soul, living being],” he said [spoke, commanded, promised]. word study 22 “Do not shed [shed or spill] his blood [the life-giving fluid]. Throw him into this pit [a deep hole or cistern] in the wilderness [a desolate, uninhabited area], but do not lay a hand [exert violence or harm] on him.” Reuben said this so that he could rescue [deliver or save] Joseph from their hands [power or control] and return [bring back or restore] him to his father [parent or ancestor]. word study 23 So when Joseph [the one Jehovah has added] came to his brothers [male siblings, close relatives], they stripped [removed, took away] him of his robe [tunic, long garment]—the robe [long-sleeved, diverse colored] of many colors [various hues, multicolored] he was wearing [had on, clothed with]— word study 24 and they took [grabbed, seized] him and threw [cast] him into the pit [cistern, empty well]. Now the pit [cistern, hole] was empty [worthless, without value], with no [none, nothing] water [liquid, source of refreshment] in it. word study 25 And as they sat down [to rest and eat] to eat a meal [bread, food], they looked up [lifted their eyes] and saw a caravan [company, group of travelers] of Ishmaelites [descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son] coming from Gilead [a mountainous region east of the Jordan River]. Their camels [riding or pack animals] were carrying spices [fragrant gums, like tragacanth or styrax], balm [a fragrant resin, possibly myrrh or balsam], and myrrh [a fragrant gum extracted from plants] on their way down [to go down, descend] to Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]. word study 26 Then Judah [one of Jacob’s twelve sons] said to his brothers [male siblings or close relatives], “What [in what way, to what extent] profit [unjust gain, advantage] will we gain [acquire, obtain] if we kill [slay, destroy] our brother [male sibling, close relative] and cover up [conceal, hide] his blood [the liquid essential for life]? word study 27 Come, let us sell [give over to, transfer ownership of] him to the Ishmaelites [descendants of Ishmael, a nomadic people] and not lay [place, put] a hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share] on him; for he is our brother [male sibling, close relative], our own flesh [physical body, living being].” And they agreed [listened, obeyed, were content]. word study 28 So when the Midianite traders [merchantmen, traveling traders] passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] out of the pit [a cistern or hole, often used to hold water or as a prison] and sold him for twenty [a multiple of ten] shekels of silver [a valuable metal, often referring to payment or wealth] to the Ishmaelites [descendants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son with Hagar], who took him to Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa]. word study 29 When Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob] returned [to turn back, to come again] to the pit [a cistern or a deep hole, a place of confinement] and saw that Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites] was not [absent, nowhere to be found] there, he tore [to rend or rip apart, an act of grief or distress] his clothes [garments, a covering for the body], word study 30 returned [unto his brethren] to his brothers, and said, “The boy [youth, child, young person] is gone [is not, is no more]! What am I going [where shall I go, whither shall I] to do [what can I do now]?” word study 31 Then they took [got, seized] Joseph’s [Jehovah has added] robe [tunic, long shirt-like garment], slaughtered [killed, massacred] a young [hairy, of the goats] goat [kid, female goat], and dipped [immersed] the robe [tunic] in its [the goat’s] blood [the liquid that flows through the body]. word study 32 They sent the robe [coat, tunic] of many colors [long-sleeved, diverse] to their father and said, “We found [came across, discovered] this. Examine [scrutinize, recognize] it to see whether it is your son’s [child’s, descendant’s] robe [tunic, garment] or not [whether it belongs to him or not].” word study 33 His father recognized [acknowledging, knew it] it and said, “It is my son’s [descendant, child] robe [tunic, long shirt-like garment]! A vicious [evil, bad] animal has devoured [eaten, consumed] him. Joseph [Jehovah has added] has surely been torn [ripped, pulled apart] to pieces [completely destroyed, rent asunder]!” word study 34 Then Jacob [the father of the Israelites] tore his clothes [rent his garments, in grief], put sackcloth [a coarse cloth] around his waist [loins, the seat of strength], and mourned [lamented, sorrowed deeply] for his son [child, descendant] many [numerous, a long time] days. word study 35 All his sons [children, descendants] and daughters [female children, women] tried to comfort [show pity, sympathy] him, but he refused [would not accept, rejected] to be comforted [to receive consolation, solace]. “No,” he said. “I will go down [descend, fall] to Sheol [the underworld, grave, place of no return] mourning [lamenting, grieving] for my son [child, descendant].” So his father [parent, ancestor] wept [cried, shed tears] for him. word study 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites [a tribe of people from Midian, a place of strife] sold Joseph [as a slave, to be owned by another] in Egypt [a country in northeastern Africa, a major world power] to Potiphar [a high-ranking officer, a eunuch], an officer [a ruler, leader] of Pharaoh [the king of Egypt, a powerful leader] and captain [head, chief] of the guard [the lifeguardsmen, executioners]. word study