And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Parallel translations
- WEB His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him.
- BSB When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
- NKJV But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
- NASB And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.
- NLT But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn’t say a kind word to him.
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, seeing their father's favoritism, hated him and could not speak kindly to him. Their resentment hardened into hostility.
Overview
The brothers' awareness of Jacob's preference bred a hatred so deep they could not even greet Joseph peaceably. Scripture exposes the destructive power of envy within a family. This hatred of the favored son anticipates the rejection of Jesus, of whom John wrote that 'his own received him not' (John 1:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Gen 27:41And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
- 1 Jn 3:12Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
- Ps 69:4They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.
- 1 Jn 2:11But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
- John 15:18–19If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
- Gen 4:5But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.
- 1 Sam 17:28And Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spake unto the men; and Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, Why camest thou down hither? and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride, and the naughtiness of thine heart; for thou art come down that thou mightest see the battle.
- Gen 37:5And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
- 1 Sam 16:12–13And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.
- Gen 49:23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
- Ps 38:19But mine enemies are lively, and they are strong: and they that hate me wrongfully are multiplied.
- Gen 37:18–24And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
- Gen 37:11And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
- Titus 3:3For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- 1 Jn 3:10In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.
- John 7:3–5His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
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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 37:4 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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