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.
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.
- KJV 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.
- 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.
- 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 27:41Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him. Esau said in his heart, “The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.”
- 1 Jn 4:20If a man says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who doesn’t love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
- 1 Jn 3:12unlike Cain, who was of the evil one, and killed his brother. Why did he kill him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s righteous.
- Ps 69:4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head. Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty. I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
- 1 Jn 2:11But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and doesn’t know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- John 15:18–19If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you.
- Gen 4:5but he didn’t respect Cain and his offering. Cain was very angry, and the expression on his face fell.
- 1 Sam 17:28Eliab his oldest brother heard when he spoke to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David, and he said, “Why have you come down? With whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride, and the naughtiness of your heart; for you have come down that you might see the battle.”
- Gen 37:5Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
- 1 Sam 16:12–13He sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with a handsome face and good appearance. Yahweh said, “Arise! Anoint him, for this is he.”
- Gen 49:23The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecute him:
- Ps 38:19But my enemies are vigorous and many. Those who hate me without reason are numerous.
- Gen 37:18–24They saw him afar off, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him.
- Gen 37:11His brothers envied him, but his father kept this saying in mind.
- Titus 3:3For we were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- 1 Jn 3:10In this the children of God are revealed, and the children of the devil. Whoever doesn’t do righteousness is not of God, neither is he who doesn’t love his brother.
- John 7:3–5His brothers therefore said to him, “Depart from here, and go into Judea, that your disciples also may see your works which you do.
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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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