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Genesis 37

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Part of Joseph📖 Genesis introduction

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1Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. ✦ 2This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. ✦ 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. ✦ 4But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. ✦ 5Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. ✦ 6So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: ✦ 7There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” ✦ 8And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. ✦ 9Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.” ✦ 10So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” ✦ 11And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. ✦ 12Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. ✦ 13And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.” ✦ 14Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. ✦ 15Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” ✦ 16So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” ✦ 17And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. ✦ 18Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. ✦ 19Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! ✦ 20Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” ✦ 21But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” ✦ 22And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. ✦ 23So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. ✦ 24Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. ✦ 25And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. ✦ 26So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? ✦ 27Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. ✦ 28Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt. ✦ 29Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. ✦ 30And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?” ✦ 31So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. ✦ 32Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” ✦ 33And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” ✦ 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. ✦ 35And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. ✦ 36Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Gen 37 ·30Gen 42 ·12Gen 44 ·10Matt 27 ·6Gen 35 ·5Gen 25 ·5Gen 41 ·41 Sam 17 ·4

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

  • ★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical

    On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"

  • ★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical

    A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

  • ★ Start hereVideoOverview: Genesis 1–11BibleProject · 9 min · Free

    The single best free starting point for Genesis 1–11 — clear, visual, and faithful to the literary design.

  • VideoSpoken GospelSpoken Gospel · Free · evangelical

    Short, gospel-centered videos and spoken-word poems showing how each passage points to Jesus — especially strong on the Old Testament.

  • ReferenceBook of Genesis — Visual GuideBibleProject · Free

    A free structured guide to the whole book — outline, themes, and links to each video.

  • DocumentaryIs Genesis History?Del Tackett · Free · evangelical

    A young-earth-creationist case for a literal Genesis, free on YouTube. (YEC is one view held by faithful Christians; others read Genesis differently — see the genre guide on how to read it.)

Pastoral

  • SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical

    Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Seminary

  • ★ Start hereCommentaryGenesis (Word Biblical Commentary)Gordon J. Wenham · Paid · evangelical

    For decades the gold-standard commentary on Genesis — technical but rich. (See the ranked list for alternatives like Hamilton, NICOT.)

  • BookThe Pentateuch as NarrativeJohn H. Sailhamer · ~560 pp · Library · evangelical

    A literary-theological reading that makes Genesis's design visible.

Commentaries & study tools

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