And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
Parallel translations
- WEB They took Joseph’s coat, and killed a male goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.
- BSB Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.
- NKJV So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
- NASB So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;
- NLT Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.
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 dip Joseph's coat in goat's blood to fake his death. They prepare a deceitful cover for their crime.
Overview
To hide their betrayal, the brothers slaughter a goat and soak Joseph's special coat in its blood. The deception ironically recalls how Jacob himself once used goat's skins and his brother's garment to deceive his father Isaac (Genesis 27). The deceiver Jacob is now deceived by his own sons, showing how sin's patterns can return upon a family.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 37:23And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
- Gen 37:3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
- Prov 28:13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
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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 37:31 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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