And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
Parallel translations
- WEB His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.
- KJV And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
- NKJV And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
- NASB And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
- NLT But while his brothers were jealous of Joseph, his father wondered what the dreams meant.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The brothers envied Joseph, but Jacob pondered the matter. Jealousy grew while Jacob quietly weighed the dream's meaning.
Overview
The brothers' reaction was envy, the dangerous resentment that would soon drive them to violence. Jacob, by contrast, kept the saying in mind, sensing that God might be at work. His thoughtful pondering recalls and anticipates Mary, who 'kept all these things, pondering them in her heart' (Luke 2:19), as God's purposes unfolded.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Acts 7:9Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him
- Luke 2:19But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
- Luke 2:51Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
- Dan 7:28Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
- Jas 4:5Or do you think the Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us yearns with envy?
- Matt 27:18For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
- Isa 11:13Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart, and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off. Ephraim will no longer envy Judah, nor will Judah harass Ephraim.
- Acts 13:45But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they blasphemously contradicted what Paul was saying.
- Eccl 4:4I saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
- Ps 106:16In the camp they envied Moses, as well as Aaron, the holy one of the LORD.
- Gen 26:14–16He owned so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.
- Jas 3:14–16But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth.
- Gal 5:21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Isa 26:11O LORD, Your hand is upraised, but they do not see it. They will see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame. The fire set for Your enemies will consume them!
- Titus 3:3For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.
- Mark 15:10For he knew it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over.
- Gen 24:31“Come, you who are blessed by the LORD,” said Laban. “Why are you standing out here? I have prepared the house and a place for the camels.”
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Christ at the center
From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.
How Genesis 37:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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