And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Parallel translations
- WEB His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
- BSB Some time later, Joseph’s brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flocks near Shechem.
- NKJV Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
- NASB Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.
- NLT Soon after this, Joseph’s brothers went to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem.
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
Joseph's brothers went to pasture the flock near Shechem. This sets the scene for Joseph being sent to them.
Overview
The brothers traveled to Shechem to graze their father's flocks, a place with painful family history (Genesis 34). Their distance from home creates the opportunity for the events that follow. This simple movement of shepherds becomes the occasion through which God will set His larger plan in motion.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 33:18And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city.
- Gen 37:1And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
- Gen 34:25–31And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 37:12 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
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.