VW-Edition Bible (2010)

1Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a sojourner, in the land of Canaan. 2These are the generations 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 an evil report of them to his father. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a tunic reaching to the soles of his feet. 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.  5And Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. 6And he said to them, Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7For behold, we were binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf. 8And his brothers said to him, Shall you indeed become king over us? Or shall you indeed rule over us? So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 9Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, Behold, I have dreamed another dream: and behold, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me. 10And 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 it come to pass that your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to prostrate ourselves to the earth before you? 11And his brothers were jealous of him; but his father treasured up these words. 12And 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. And he said to him, Here I am. 14And 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 came to Shechem. 15And a certain man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, What are you seeking? 16And 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 from a distance, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19And they said to one another, Behold, this master of dreams is coming! 20Come now therefore, let us kill him and cast him into a pit; and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him. And 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 smite his soul. 22And Reuben said to them, Do not shed blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him; that he might rescue 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 reaching to the soles of his feet. 24And 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 food. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, going and bringing them down to Egypt. 26And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27Come, 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 agreed. 28Then some Midianite traders passed by; and they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt. 29And Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, 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? 31And they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. 32And they sent the tunic reaching to the soles of the feet, and they brought it to their father and said, We have found this. Do you recognize whether it is your son's tunic or not? 33And he recognized it and said, It is my son's tunic. An evil beast has devoured him. Joseph has been rent and torn to pieces. 34And Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, 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, I will go down into Sheol mourning for my son. 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.


Matthew Henry - Concise Commentary
 1   In Joseph's history we see something of Christ, who was first humbled and then exalted. It also shows the lot of Christians, who must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom. It is a history that has none like it, for displaying the various workings of the human mind, both good and bad, and the singular providence of God in making use of them for fulfilling his purposes. Though Joseph was his father's darling, yet he was not bred up in idleness. Those do not truly love their children, who do not use them to business, and labour, and hardships. The fondling of children is with good reason called the spoiling of them. Those who are trained up to do nothing, are likely to be good for nothing. But Jacob made known his love, by dressing Joseph finer than the rest of his children. It is wrong for parents to make a difference between one child and another, unless there is great cause for it, by the children's dutifulness, or undutifulness. When parents make a difference, children soon notice it, and it leads to quarrels in families. Jacob's sons did that, when they were from under his eye, which they durst not have done at home with him; but Joseph gave his father an account of their ill conduct, that he might restrain them. Not as a tale-bearer, to sow discord, but as a faithful brother.

 5   God gave Joseph betimes the prospect of his advancement, to support and comfort him under his long and grievous troubles. Observe, Joseph dreamed of his preferment, but he did not dream of his imprisonment. Thus many young people, when setting out in the world, think of nothing but prosperity and pleasure, and never dream of trouble. His brethren rightly interpreted the dream, though they abhorred the interpretation of it. While they committed crimes in order to defeat it, they were themselves the instruments of accomplishing it. Thus the Jews understood what Christ said of his kingdom. Determined that he should not reign over them, they consulted to put him to death; and by his crucifixion, made way for the exaltation they designed to prevent.

 12   How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, 1John 3:15. The sons of Jacob hated their brother because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them on further; but this laid rankling in their hearts, till they resolved on his death. God has all hearts in his hands. Reuben had most reason to be jealous of Joseph, for he was the first-born; yet he proves his best friend. God overruled all to serve his own purpose, of making Joseph an instrument to save much people alive. Joseph was a type of Christ; for though he was the beloved Son of his Father, and hated by a wicked world, yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to visit us in great humility and love. He came from heaven to earth to seek and save us; yet then malicious plots were laid against him. His own not only received him not, but crucified him. This he submitted to, as a part of his design to redeem and save us.

 23   They threw Joseph into a pit, to perish there with hunger and cold; so cruel were their tender mercies. They slighted him when he was in distress, and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, see Amos 6:6; for when he was pining in the pit, they sat down to eat bread. They felt no remorse of conscience for the sin. But the wrath of man shall praise God, and the remainder of wrath he will restrain, Pss 76:10. Joseph's brethren were wonderfully restrained from murdering him, and their selling him as wonderfully turned to God's praise.

 31   When Satan has taught men to commit one sin, he teaches them to try to conceal it with another; to hide theft and murder, with lying and false oaths: but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and one another's counsel for some time; but their villany came to light at last, and it is here published to the world. To grieve their father, they sent him Joseph's coat of colours; and he hastily thought, on seeing the bloody coat, that Joseph was rent in pieces. Let those that know the heart of a parent, suppose the agony of poor Jacob. His sons basely pretended to comfort him, but miserable, hypocritical comforters were they all. Had they really desired to comfort him, they might at once have done it, by telling the truth. The heart is strangely hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Jacob refused to be comforted. Great affection to any creature prepares for so much the greater affliction, when it is taken from us, or made bitter to us: undue love commonly ends in undue grief. It is the wisdom of parents not to bring up children delicately, they know not to what hardships they may be brought before they die. From the whole of this chapter we see with wonder the ways of Providence. The malignant brothers seem to have gotten their ends; the merchants, who care not what they deal in so that they gain, have also obtained theirs; and Potiphar, having got a fine young slave, has obtained his! But God's designs are, by these means, in train for execution. This event shall end in Israel's going down to Egypt; that ends in their deliverance by Moses; that in setting up the true religion in the world; and that in the spread of it among all nations by the gospel. Thus the wrath of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder thereof will he restrain.