Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 37:12
And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
12 17 (J). Joseph’s Mission to his Brethren in Shechem
12. in Shechem ] The region of Shechem was famous for its fertility and pasturage. The fact that Jacob’s brethren selected it for pasturing their flocks, indicates that the Dinah narrative, recorded in chap. 34, belongs to a separate group of Israelite tradition. Clearly Dinah, if we may judge from Gen 30:21-24, was of the same age as Joseph. Joseph in the present chapter (cf. Gen 37:2) Isaiah 17 years old, while Dinah, to judge from Gen 34:1, must have been not less than 15; accordingly the events of that chapter would have been of quite recent occurrence. Evidently the present J narrative is independent of them.
Seeing that Jacob, according to Gen 37:14, was residing in Hebron, Shechem and Dothan would be a very great distance away from the patriarch’s residence. Apparently the writer assumes that the whole country was open grazing ground.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 37:12-17
His brethren went to feed their fathers flock
Joseph leaves his father to seek his brethren
Do you discover in this any type of the Redeemer?
Does it remind you of one who left a far better home, and descended from the bosom of a far more illustrious father, to travel through this wilderness world in quest of his wicked and wandering brethren? Brethren, there is a closer analogy between the two cases than appears at first sight. It was at his fathers command that Joseph abandoned the comforts of his fathers home and became a wanderer in search of his brethren; and it was equally at the command of His Father that Jesus came down from His eternal home in the bosom of the Father, to seek and to save our fallen race. We sadly overlook this in our theology. The Lord Jesus, then, did not come into our world unsent. He was the Messenger of the Covenant, the Sent of the Father. He did not come to do His own will, but the will of Him that sent Him. The obedience of Jesus to His Father, however, infinitely surpasses the obedience of Joseph. Joseph might have anticipated danger, but he could not certainly know that his brethren would treat him roughly and cruelly. Jesus came into the world, having a perfect knowledge of every indignity that awaited Him. Imagine yourselves each a beloved Joseph sent forth by a fond father to your brethren with a message of peace and love; speak to your fellow sinners in this way–talk to them of the glories of your Fathers home–point them to an everlasting resting-place in a Saviours arms–entreat them no longer to wander in the wilderness. (E. Dalton.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
In the parts adjoining to Shechem, in the lands which he had purchased there, Gen 33:19. Let none think strange that he should send his sheep so far from him, both because that land was his own, and because his sheep being exceeding numerous, and he but a stranger in the land, was likely to be exposed to many such inconveniences. Compare Gen 30:36. One may rather wonder that he durst venture his sons and his cattle there, where that barbarous massacre had been committed, Gen 34:25. But those pastures being his own, and convenient for his use, he did commit himself and them to that same good Providence which watched over him then and ever since, and still kept up that terror which then he sent upon them. Besides Jacobs sons and servants made a considerable company, and the men of Shechem being universally slain, others were not very forward to revenge their quarrel, where there was any hazard to themselves in such an enterprise.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. his brethren went to feed theirfather’s flock in ShechemThe vale of Shechem was, from theearliest mention of Canaan, blest with extraordinary abundance ofwater. Therefore did the sons of Jacob go from Hebron to this place,though it must have cost them near twenty hours’ travellingthatis, at the shepherd rate, a little more than fifty miles. But theherbage there was so rich and nutritious that they thought it wellworth the pains of so long a journey, to the neglect of the grazingdistrict of Hebron [VAN DEVELDE].
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. Very probably some considerable time after the telling of the above dreams; it was usual to remove flocks from place to place for the sake of pasturage; and sometimes at a great distance, as Shechem was from Hebron, where Jacob now dwelt, said i to be about sixty miles; but this is not so much to be marvelled at as the place itself, whither they went, for though Jacob had bought a parcel of a field in this place, Ge 33:19; which might be a reason for their going thither to feed their father’s flocks in his own field; yet it was the place where they had committed a most outrageous action in destroying all, the males there, and therefore might fear the inhabitants of the neighbouring cities would rise upon them and cut them off.
i Bunting’s Travels, p. 79. Ainsworth in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
In a short time the hatred of Joseph’s brethren grew into a crime. On one occasion, when they were feeding their flock at a distance from Hebron, in the neighbourhood of Shechem (Nablus, in the plain of Mukhnah), and Joseph who was sent thither by Jacob to inquire as to the welfare ( shalom, valetudo ) of the brethren and their flocks, followed them to Dothain or Dothan, a place 12 Roman miles to the north of Samaria ( Sebaste), towards the plain of Jezreel, they formed the malicious resolution to put him, “this dreamer,” to death, and throw him into one of the pits, i.e., cisterns, and then to tell (his father) that a wild beast had slain him, and so to bring his dreams to nought.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
12 And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. 14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. 17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. 19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh. 20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. 21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Here is, I. The kind visit which Joseph, in obedience to his father’s command, made to his brethren, who were feeding the flock at Shechem, many miles off. Some suggest that they went thither on purpose, expecting that Joseph would be sent to see them, and that then they should have an opportunity to do him a mischief. However, Joseph and his father had both of them more of the innocence of the dove than of the wisdom of the serpent, else he had never come thus into the hands of those that hated him: but God designed it all for good. See in Joseph an instance, 1. Of dutifulness to his father. Though he was his father’s darling, yet he was made, and was willing to be, his father’s servant. How readily does he wait his father’s orders! Here I am, v. 13. Note, Those children that are best beloved by their parents should be most obedient to their parents; and then their love is well-bestowed and well-returned. 2. Of kindness to his brethren. Though he knew they hated him and envied him, yet he made no objections against his father’s commands, either from the distance of the place or the danger of the journey, but cheerfully embraced the opportunity of showing his respect to his brethren. Note, It is a very good lesson, though it is learnt with difficulty and rarely practised, to love those that hate us; if our relations do not their duty to us, yet we must not be wanting in our duty to them. This is thank-worthy. Joseph was sent by his father to Shechem, to see whether his brethren were well there, and whether the country had not risen upon them and destroyed them, in revenge of their barbarous murder of the Shechemites some years before. But Joseph, not finding them there, went to Dothan, which showed that he undertook this journey, not only in obedience to his father (for then he might have returned when he missed them at Shechem, having done what his father told him), but out of love to his brethren, and therefore he sought diligently till he found them. Thus let brotherly love continue, and let us give proofs of it.
II. The bloody and malicious plot of his brethren against him, who rendered good for evil, and, for his love, were his adversaries. Observe, 1. How deliberate they were in the contrivance of this mischief: when they saw him afar off, they conspired against him, v. 18. It was not in a heat, or upon a sudden provocation, that they thought to slay him, but from malice prepense, and in cold blood. Note, Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; for he will be one if he have an opportunity, 1 John iii. 15. Malice is a most mischievous thing, and is in danger of making bloody work where it is harboured and indulged. The more there is of a project and contrivance in a sin the worse it is; it is bad to do evil, but worse to devise it. 2. How cruel they were in their design; nothing less than his blood would satisfy them: Come, and let us slay him, v. 20. Note, The old enmity hunts for the precious life. It is the blood-thirsty that hate the upright (Prov. xxix. 10), and it is the blood of the saints that the harlot is drunk with. 3. How scornfully they reproached him for his dreams (v. 19): This dreamer cometh; and (v. 20), We shall see what will become of his dreams. This shows what it was that fretted and enraged them. They could not endure to think of doing homage to him; this was what they were plotting to prevent by the murder of him. Note, Men that fret and rage at God’s counsels are impiously aiming to defeat them; but they imagine a vain thing, Ps. ii. 1-3. God’s counsels will stand. 4. How they agreed to keep one another’s counsel, and to cover the murder with a lie: We will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; whereas in thus consulting to devour him they proved themselves worse than the most evil beasts; for evil beasts prey not on those of their own kind, but they were tearing a piece of themselves.
III. Reuben’s project to deliver him, Gen 37:21; Gen 37:22. Note, God can raise up friends for his people, even among their enemies; for he has all hearts in his hands. Reuben, of all the brothers, had most reason to be jealous of Joseph, for he was the first-born, and so entitled to those distinguishing favours which Jacob was conferring on Joseph; yet he proves his best friend. Reuben’s temper seems to have been soft and effeminate, which had betrayed him to the sin of uncleanness; while the temper of the next two brothers, Simeon and Levi, was fierce, which betrayed them to the sin of murder, a sin which Reuben startled at the thought of. Note, Our natural constitution should be guarded against those sins to which it is most inclinable, and improved (as Reuben’s here) against those sins to which it is most averse. Reuben made a proposal which they thought would effectually answer their intention of destroying Joseph, and yet which he designed should answer his intention of rescuing Joseph out of their hands and restoring him to his father, probably hoping thereby to recover his father’s favour, which he had lately lost; but God overruled all to serve his own purpose of making Joseph an instrument to save much people alive. Joseph was here a type of Christ. 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. He came to his own, and his own not only received him not, but consulted against him: This is the heir, come let us kill him; Crucify him, crucify him. This he submitted to, in pursuance of his design to redeem and save us.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 12-14:
The record does not reveal how much time elapsed between Joseph’s dreams and the events of this text. Likely it was not long, because thoughts of these dreams still rankled the brothers.
Shechem was about fifty miles from Hebron where Jacob’s family lived at this time. Jacob’s sons had left Hebron for Shechem, to pasture the flocks. This was an area which belonged to Jacob, partly by purchase (Ge 33:19), and partly by conquest (Ge 34:29). Jacob was concerned for his sons, so he sent Joseph to investigate and report back to him. Joseph readily responded to his father’s instructions and set out on his mission.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. And his brethren went. Before Moses treats of the horrible design of fratricide, he describes the journey of Joseph, and amplifies, by many circumstances, the atrocity of the crime. Their brother approaches them in the discharge of a duty, to make a fraternal inquiry after their state. He comes by the command of his father; and obeys it without reluctance, as appears from his answer. He searches them out anxiously; and though they had changed their place, he spares neither labor nor trouble till he finds them. Therefore their cruelty was something more than madness, seeing they did not shrink with horror from contriving the death of a brother so pious and humane. We now see that Moses does not relate, without a purpose, that a man met Joseph in his wanderings, and told him that his brethren had departed to Dothan. For the greater was his diligence in his indefatigable pursuit, so much the less excusable were they by whom such an unworthy recompense was repaid.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Shechem.Jacobs sons seem to have retained Shechem, by right of their high-handed proceedings. related in Gen. 34:27-29. By seizing the tafs of the Shechemites, Simeon and Levi must have added. large numbers of grown men to the roll of their retainers; and after accustoming them to their service. they would have become powerful enough to resist any attacks of the natives. (See Gen. 34:29, and Note on Gen. 17:13). But it gives us a great idea of Jacobs wealth and power, that while dwelling a little to the north of Hebron, he should send part of his. cattle so far away as to Shechem, a distance of sixty miles.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
JOSEPH SOLD INTO EGYPT, Gen 37:12-36.
13. Thy brethren in Shechem Jacob owned a tract of land near this city, which he purchased of the prince of that country . See Gen 33:19. The number and extent of their flocks made it necessary for the sons of Jacob to be much scattered abroad in order to find pasturage. Probably on their removal from Shechem, (Gen 35:1,) they left some of their flocks there, and in view of the desperate acts of Simeon and Levi (Gen 34:25) Jacob may now have feared for his sons at Shechem: and been anxious to hear from them .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.’
Over the years things and circumstances change. It may be that Joseph was now not sent with them because of how they felt about him, but it is equally likely that he was kept at home simply because of his father’s needs (he was ‘the son of his old age’) and possibly even for the very purpose of maintaining communication between home and herd. Jacob, as is the case with those who show favouritism, does not appear to be aware of how much Joseph was hated. He thought Joseph was wonderful and assumed everyone else did as well.
It is clear that any unpleasantness resulting from previous happenings at Shechem (Genesis 34) is now forgotten. It may well be that the inhabitants were just unaware of the connection of the brothers with the previous incident and they appeared peaceable enough now. Most eyewitnesses were dead or had been absorbed into the family tribe.
The land at Shechem was clearly good pasture for there is now no suggestion of separation of the flocks. Perhaps famine or raids by bandits had diminished them. There were many ups and downs in life at that time. Or perhaps Shechem was seen as fertile enough for all.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joseph Is Sold into Slavery Gen 37:12-36 records the story of Joseph being sold into slavery. The fact that there were both Ishmeelite and the Midianite traders in the account of Joseph being sold as a slave may seem a bit confusing. Some English translations read as though these two groups of traders were one and the same.
When the Midianites attempted to sell Joseph to Potiphar (Gen 37:36), this Egyptian perceived that Joseph was not a slave or the son of a slave, but one of noble birth. Therefore, he required a bill of sale from the Midianites lest he be stolen. The Midianites then brought the Ishmeelites before Potiphar and gave him their account that he was truly a slave whom they had purchased. Upon this testimony Potiphar purchased Joseph. This would account for Gen 39:1 which said that Potiphar purchased Joseph from the Ishmeelites.
Gen 37:36, “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”
Gen 39:1, “And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.”
Gen 37:19-20 Comments Manifestation of Sin – In Gen 37:19-20 the sin that has been abiding in heart of Joseph’s brothers for sometime is revealed. Sin in man’s heart will work itself out into actions if it is not dealt with and confessed to God.
Gen 37:21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
Gen 37:21
Gen 37:26-27 Comments Judah and Judas Compared – Note that it was Judah’s idea to sell Joseph, his brother. The name “Judas” is the New Testament word for the Hebrew name “Judah.” Also, it was Judas that sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (Mat 27:14-15).
Mat 27:14-15, “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.”
Gen 37:30 Comments – Was Reuben responsible because he was eldest?
Gen 37:33 Comments Circumstances can be fully persuasive, but absolutely wrong. Jacob lived for many years convinced that Joseph was dead. It took a great amount of persuasion for his sons to later convince him of the truth.
Gen 45:26, “And told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt. And Jacob’s heart fainted, for he believed them not.”
Gen 45:28, “And Israel said, It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him before I die.”
Gen 37:31-35 Comments The Deception of Deceiving Others – The one who has deceived others has now himself been deceived.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
Joseph Sent to Shechem
v. 12. And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. v. 13. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. v. 14. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. v. 15. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field, v. 16. And he said, I seek my brethren; tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks. v. 17. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan, v. 18. And when they saw him a far off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. v. 19. And they said one to an other, Behold, this dreamer cometh, v. 20. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him in to some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams. v. 21. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him.
v. 22. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him in to this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
Gen 37:12
And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechemi.e. the modern Nablous, in the plain of Muknah, which belonged to Jacob partly by purchase and partly by conquest (vide Gen 33:19; Gen 34:27). Shechem was at a considerable distance from the vale of Hebron, where the patriarchal family at this time resided.
Gen 37:13
And Israel (vide Gen 32:28; Gen 35:10) said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock (literally, Are not thy brethren shepherding?) in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. Either he was solicitous of the safety of his sons while in the vicinity of Shechem (Lawson), or he hoped to effect a reconciliation between them and Joseph (Candlish). And he (i.e. Joseph, in response to this invitation, expressed a willingness to undertake a mission to his brethren, and) said to him, Here am I.
Gen 37:14
And he (Jacob) said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren (literally, see the place of thy brethren), and well with the flocks (literally, and the peace of the flock); and bring me word again. So (literally, and) he sent him out of the vale of Hebron (vide Gen 35:27), and he same to Shechema distance of sixty miles.
Gen 37:15, Gen 37:16
And a certain man (or simply a man) found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field (obviously seeking some thing or person): and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my brethren:or, more emphatically, My Brethren I (sc. am) seekingtell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocksor, Where (are) they shepherding?
Gen 37:17
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to DothanDothaim, “the Two ells,” a place twelve miles north of Samaria in the direction of the plain of Esdraelon, situated on the great caravan road from Mount Gilead to Egypt, the scene of one of the greatest miracles of Elisha the prophet (2Ki 6:13-18), and, though now a deserted ruin, still called by its ancient name. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. “Just beneath Tell Dothan, which still preserves its name, is the little oblong plain, containing the best pasturage in the country, and well chosen by Jacob’s sons when they had exhausted for a time the wider plain of Shechem”.
Gen 37:18
And when (literally, and) they saw him afar off, even (or, and) before he came near unto them, they (literally, and they) conspired against him (or, dealt with him fraudulently) to slay him
Gen 37:19
And they said one to another (literally, a man to his brother), Behold, this dreamerliterally, this lord of dreams (of. Gen 14:13; Exo 24:14)comethexpressive of rancor, contempt, and hatred.
Gen 37:20
Come now therefore, and lot us slay him, and cast him into some pit (literally, into one of the pits or cisterns in the neighborhood), and we will say (sc. to his father and ours), Some (literally, an) evil beast hath devoured him (which will account for his disappearance); and we shall see what will become of his dreamsor, what his dreams will be.
Gen 37:21, Gen 37:22
And Reuben (the eldest son, and therefore probably regarding himself as in some degree responsible for Joseph’s safety) heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill himliterally, Let us not destroy his life (nephesh). And Reuben said (further) unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness (i.e. into a dry pit that was near), and lay no hand upon him; that (the adverb indicates the purpose Reuben had in view) he might rid him (translated above deliver him) out of their hands, to deliver him (or, more correctly, to return him) to his father again.
Gen 37:23
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colorsi.e. his coat of ends, or coat of pieces (vide on Gen 37:3)that was on him.
Gen 37:24, Gen 37:25
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. Cisterns when empty, or only covered with mud at the bottom, were sometimes used as temporary prisons (Jer 38:6; Jer 40:15). Andleaving him, as they must have calculated, to perish by a painful death through starvation, with exquisite cold-bloodedness, paying no heed to his piteous outcries and appeals (Gen 41:21)they sat down (the callous composure of the act indicates deplorable brutality on the part of Joseph’s brethren) to eat bread (perhaps with a secret feeling of satisfaction, if not also exultation, that they had effectually disposed of the young man and his dreams): and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, Behold, a companyorchath, from arach, to walk; a band of travelers, especially of merchantmen; a caravan; (LXX.; of. Job 6:19)of IshmaelitesArabs descended from Ishmael, who occupied the district lying between Egypt and Assyria (Gen 25:18), and, as appears from the record, carried on a trade with the former country. That Ishmael’s descendants should already have developed into a trading nation will not be surprising (Bohlen) if one reflects that Ishmael may have married in his eighteenth or twentieth year, i.e. about 162 years before the date of the present occurrence, that four generations may have been born in the interval, and that, if Ishmael’s sons had only five sons each, his posterity in the fifth generation (not reckoning females) may have amounted to 15,000 persons (Murphy). But in point of fact the Ishmaelites spoken of are not described as nationssimply as a company of merchants, without saying how numerous it was (Havernick, ‘Introd.,’ 21)came (literally, coming) from Oilcad (vide Gen 31:21) with (literally, and) their camels bearing spicery, either an infinitive from , to break, to grind (?), and signifying a pounding, breaking in pieces, hence aromatic powder (Gesenius); or a contraction from (Ewald), meaning that which is powdered or pulverized. Rendered (LXX.), aromata (Vulgate), (Aquila), it was probably the gum tragacanth, many kinds of which appear in Syria (Furst, Gesenius, Rosenmller, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, Murphy), or storax, the resinous exudation of the styrax officinale, which abounds in Palestine and the East (Aquila, Bochart, Bush, ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’ Inglis)and balm (in pause , after vau of union ), mentioned as one of the most precious fruits of Palestine (Gen 43:11), rendered (LXX.) and refina (Vulgate), and derived from , to flow, to run (hence, literally, an outflowing, or out-dropping). was unquestionably a balsam, but of what tree cannot now be ascertained, distilling from a tree or fruit growing in Gilead, and highly prized for its healing properties (Jer 8:22; Jer 46:11). Vide Lexicons (Gesenius and Furst) sub voce; Michaelis, ‘Suppl.’ p. 2142; Kalisch in locoand myrrh,, (LXX.), stacte (Vulgate), pistacia, was more probably ladanum (Gesenius, Furst, Rosenmller, Keil, Kalisch, et alii), an odoriferous gum formed upon the leaves of the cactus-rose, a shrub growing in Arabia, Syria, and Palestinegoingthe caravan route from Gilead crossed the Jordan in the neighborhood of Bersan, and, sweeping through Jenin and the plain of Dothan, joined another track leading southwards from Damascus by way of Ramleh and Gazato carry it down to Egypt. At that time the land of the Pharaohs was the chief emporium for the world’s merchandise.
HOMILETICS
Gen 37:12-25
Joseph among his brethren at Dothan.
I. THE FRIENDLY MISSION.
1. Its local destination. This was Shechem, at a distance of sixty miles from Hebron, where Jacob had previously resided for a number of years and acquired a small estate (Gen 33:18, Gen 33:19), where Jacob’s sons had committed, a few years before, the terrible atrocity which made the name of Israel stink throughout the land (Gen 34:26-30); and where now Joseph’s brethren were shepherding their flocks, having gone thither either on account of the excellent pasture, or in order to be beyond the reach of Joseph and his tale-bearing, or perhaps with a mind to keep an eye on their father’s estate.
2. Its kindly intention. Joseph was dispatched to this important sheep-station in the north to require after the welfare of his brethren. That Jacob should have sent a son so tender and beloved on a journey so arduous and an errand so fraught with danger to himself, considering the well-known hostility of his brethren towards him, if a proof of Jacob’s want of consideration, was also a mark of his parental solicitude for his sons’ behavior, as well as a sign of his apprehensions for their safety, venturing, as they had, to revisit the scene of their former crimes, and perhaps it may be added, an indication of his desire to effect a reconciliation between Joseph and his brethren.
3. Its cheerful susception. Though realizing better than his father did the perilous character of the enterprise, in consequence of knowing more exactly than his father the depth of malignant feeling entertained towards him by his brethren, Joseph did not hesitate to comply with his father’s instructions, but, making nothing of the long journey, and keeping silent as to the risks of increased hatred, if nothing more, which he must have known that mission would entail upon him, cheerfully replied, Here am I. What a bright example of true filial piety and obedience!
4. Its successful completion. Arriving at Shechem, he first failed to find his brethren, and then lost his way, but ultimately, on being directed by a stranger, discovered them at Dothan. The perseverance of Joseph in carrying through his father’s commission may be profitably studied, as a pattern to all to whom any sort of work, but more especially Christian work, is entrusted.
II. THE DIABOLICAL CONSPIRACY.
1. Its innocent occasionthe approach of Joseph in his long-sleeved and long-skirted tunic. Like a gunpowder train that has been carefully prepared, and only wants the application of a spark to produce an explosion, the brethren of Joseph were only needing some trifling incident to elicit all the fratricidal hate which was already growing in their bosoms, and that incident was supplied by the sight of the coat of ends. It was a striking illustration of how great results frequently proceed from apparently insignificant causes (Jas 3:4, Jas 3:5).
2. Its murderous character. It aimed at the destruction of Joseph’s life. With unexampled unanimity, not a voice was raised against the proposal (perhaps made by Simeon) to kill him and cast his lifeless body into a pit. The proposal of Reuben must have been understood by the others as only a more excruciatingly cruel way of inflicting death, viz; by starvation. See here in Jacob’s family a development of the same spirit of murder as existed in Adam’s. Like Cain, the sons of Jacob were of that wicked one, and slew (in intention at least) their brother, and for the same reason (1Jn 3:12).
3. Its impious designto spoil his dreams. From this it is evident that they regarded his dreams as a Heaven-sent prognostication of his future greatness; else, if they regarded them as purely boyish fancies, why should they have felt annoyed at what was so evidently groundless? Hence, in seeking to prevent the realization of his dreams they were actually fighting against God. But it is just precisely in proportion as wicked men see God’s hand in any prophecy or program that they take measures to insure its defeat (cf. 1Sa 19:1; 2Ki 6:14).
4. Its ruthless execution. They took him and cast him into a pit. The crime was perpetrated
(1) with insolent humiliationthey stripped the poor lad of his pretty coat;
(2) with violent brutalitythey cast him into the pit; Jeremiah was let down by cords (Jer 38:6);
(3) with relentless crueltythey heeded not his outcries and entreaties (Gen 42:21, Gen 42:22); and
(4) with exquisite cold-bloodednesshaving dispatched their infernal business, with infinite nonchalance the ruffians sat down to eat bread, to regale their appetites after a good day’s work.
III. THE ATTEMPTED RESCUE. The stratagem of Reuben was
1. Mercifully designed. Reuben, in some respects not a person to be greatly admired, weak and vacillating in his character, and easily drawn aside by stronger natures into sinful courses, appears in this matter to have been the only one of Joseph’s brethren in whom the natural affections of a brother were not completely overborne. Though he wanted the courage to resist his stronger-minded brothers, he seems to have conceived the purpose of saving, if he could, the life of Joseph. So far the stratagem was good, only it was
2. Timidly planned. The narrative would almost seem to convey that Reuben in the first onset of his opposition to his brother’s nefarious intentions had succeeded in wresting Joseph from their hands. Had he at that moment asserted himself with vigor and boldness, as became the firstborn of the house, he might have saved Joseph altogether. But, alas, true to his feeble and pusillanimous character, he allowed himself to be overcome by the clamors of his fiercer-natured brethren, and only proposed that instead of imbruing their hands in Joseph’s blood they should inflict on him the horrors of starvation. In making such a proposal of course Reuben hoped to be able to effect his deliverance, in which he might have succeeded, had he acted with promptitude and decision. But instead his stratagem was
3. Weakly carried through. Where Reuben was when his brethren were comforting their hearts with a dinner after Joseph’s consignment to the cistern, and concocting the matter of his sale, the narrative does not say; but most likely he was by himself, deliberating, and resolving, and hesitating, and delaying, instead of acting. Hence his stratagem was
4. Completely defeated. By the time he had got his mind made up to act it was too late. When he returned to the pit Joseph was gone, and, like many another procrastinator, he could only bemoan his own folly.
HOMILIES BY F. HASTINGS
Gen 37:14, Gen 37:15
Joseph leaving home.
“Go, I pray thee, see whether,” &c. Joseph left home unexpectedly. He knew not when he left it to seek his brethren that he would never come back again. After a longer journey than he anticipated Joseph finds his brethren.
I. Like many leaving home, Joseph MET WITH FAITHFUL GUIDES. There are generally companions, teachers, ministers to help.
II. Like many leaving home, Joseph FELL INTO SNARES. He could not help himself. The snares were not such as were willingly entered. The wicked entrapped him. On his youth, far from home, defenseless, and kindly-intentioned, nine cowardly men fell.
III. Like many away from home, Joseph FOUND THAT GOD CARED FOR HIM WHEN HIS EARTHLY FATHER COULD NOT. Reuben was the means of saving him from death. Sold into slavery, he was still on the highway to eminence. We have to beware of hateful and murderous thoughts, remembering “that he that hateth his brother is” (so far as intent goes) “a murderer.” In all journeyings we have to commit our way unto the Lord, and he will guide and defend.H.
HOMILIES BY J.F. MONTGOMERY
Gen 37:20, Gen 37:21
God’s providence and man’s responsibility.
I. GOD‘S PURPOSES CARRIED OUT BY MEN IRRESPECTIVE OF THEIR OWN PLANS. The word to Abraham (Gen 15:13) does not seem to have been thought of by Jacob. After long wandering he seemed to be settled in Canaan. But God was bringing to pass his word. Jacob’s injudicious fondness for Joseph, the anger and murderous design of his brethren (cf. Joh 11:50; Act 3:17), Reuben’s timid effort for his deliverance (cf. Act 5:1-42 :88), Judah’s worldly wise counsel (cf. Luk 13:31), Joseph’s imprisonment by Potiphar, the conspiracy in Pharaoh’s household, were so many steps by which the sojourn in Egypt was brought about. So in the founding of the Christian Church. The writing on the cross (Joh 19:20) pointed to three separate lines of history, two of them pagan, which combined to bring about the sacrifice of Christ and the spread of the gospel. So in the case of individuals. God’s promises are sure (2Co 1:20). There may seem to be many hindrances, from ourselves (Psa 65:3) or from circumstances; but no cause for doubt (Luk 12:32; Luk 22:35). Unlikely or remote causes are often God’s instruments. The envy of the Jews opened for St. Paul, through his imprisonment, a door to the Gentiles which otherwise he would not have had (Act 21:28; Php 1:13).
II. IT IS NO EXCUSE FOR WRONGDOING THAT IT HAS WORKED GOOD (Cf. Rom 9:19). The cruel act of his brethren brought about the realizing of Joseph’s dreams, his greatness in Egypt, the support of the whole family during the famine, and the fulfillment of God’s word; but not the less was it wrong (Gen 42:21; cf. Mat 26:24). Moral guilt depends not upon the result, but on the motive. God has given the knowledge of redemption to move our will, and the example of Christ and the moral law to guide our lives. The fulfillment of his purposes belongs to himself. He needs not our help to bring it to pass. It is not his will that we should forsake his immutable rules of right and Wrong, even for the sake of bringing on the fulfillment of prophecy. Much evil has sprung from neglect of thise.g. the maxim, Faith need not be kept with heretics. God’s will and promise, Psa 37:3-5.
III. To EACH ONE THERE IS A HISTORY WITHIN A HISTORY. Our actions lead to their appropriate results (Gal 6:8) at the same time that they tend to carry out God’s purposes, whether we will or not. Each one is a factor in the great plan which in the course of ages God is working out (Joh 5:17). Men such as they are, wise or ignorant, guided by the Spirit or resisting him, loving or selfish, pressing upwards or following worldly impulses, all are so directed by a power they cannot comprehend that they bring about what he wills (Psa 2:2-4). But along with this there is a history which concerns ourselves, which we write for ourselves, the issues of which depend immediately upon ourselves. To each a measure of time, knowledge, opportunity has been given, on the use of which the line of our course depends. Nothing can turn aside the course of God’s providence; but upon our faithfulness or unfaithfulness depends our place and joy in it. Hence encouragement to work for Christ, however small our powers (1Sa 14:6). The little is accepted as well as the great; and as “workers together with him” (2Co 6:1) our work cannot be in vain.M.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Gen 37:12 And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
Ver. 12. In Shechem. ] Sixty miles from Hebron, where Jacob now dwelt.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 37:12-14
12Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “I will go.” 14Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Gen 37:13 “Israel said to Joseph” Exactly why Joseph’s father sent him to check on his brothers is uncertain. Some have asserted (1) that he was trying to reunite the brothers or (2) that since Joseph had accurately informed him earlier (cf. Gen 37:2), that he would do so again concerning the activity of the brothers and the welfare of the flock.
Starting here and through the rest of the chapter is a series of recorded dialogues between Jacob and Joseph.
1. “come,” BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. “send,” BDB 1018, KB 1511, Qal IMPERFECT used in a COHORTATIVE sense
3. “I will go,” there is no VERB, but the common OT expression, “here I am,” which NASB translates as “I will go”
4. “go,” BDB 229, KB 246, Qal IMPERATIVE
5. “see,” BDB 906, KB 1157, Qal IMPERATIVE
6. “bring word back,” BDB 996, KB 1427, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
Gen 37:14 “and bring word back to me” Joseph had done this before in Gen 37:2.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
their father’s flock. One of the fifteen expressions with the extraordinary points (see App-31), indicating a doubtful reading, and suggesting that they had gone to feed themselves and make merry.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Josephs Brothers Plot His Death
Gen 37:12-24
Throughout Joseph was a very remarkable type of our Lord. There was, first, this mission of the beloved son to inquire after the well-being of his brethren, which reminds us so vividly of the advent of Gods Beloved and Only Begotten Son, who brought us the Fathers greeting, and came to see and know by personal inquiry how we fared. Dothan was in the northern portion of the land, and the journey must have taken time and strength; but he persisted until he found them, and came where they were. Their plot against their helpless brother was as the plot of Caiaphas and the rest against our Lord. Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered him into his hands. The pit was one of those rock-hewn cisterns that abound in Palestine, and as there was no water in it Josephs life was not sacrificed; and there he awaited what was a kind of resurrection. The scene at the pits mouth was recalled by Joseph in Gen 42:9; and was never forgotten by the others, Gen 42:21-22.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
in Shechem: Gen 37:1, Gen 33:18, Gen 34:25-31
Reciprocal: Gen 46:34 – Thy servants’ Jos 17:7 – Shechem 2Ch 10:1 – Shechem
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Joseph Seeking His Brethren
Gen 37:12-19
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
It is difficult for us to understand why Joseph’s brethren should have hated him. Joseph was but a youth of quiet mien and true integrity. His deeds were righteous and his life was clean. His being hated of his brethren only cast shame upon them.
As we run our eyes down through the opening verses of Gen 37:1-36, we discover that in each instance the hatred of Joseph’s brethren is in full accord with the hatred of Christ’s brethren.
Let us consider, then, step by step, the Scriptural reasons for the malice that was so deep-rooted against Joseph. As we consider these, we will compare them, in each case, to the Savior and those who despised and rejected Him.
1. Joseph was hated because his father loved him. This special love of Jacob for Joseph was visible to all. The coat of many colors, which the fond father gave his son, was proof sufficient.
The scribes and the Pharisees and the rulers of Israel well knew that Jesus Christ was beloved of the Father. They had heard of the voice from Heaven which had spoken at the baptismal waters. They knew about the star which had guided the wise men, and the message of the angels to the shepherds. All of this made them hate Christ. They wanted no one to hold the place of favoritism above themselves. They had long considered themselves as the elect of God, and they were unwilling to yield their place of superiority and power.
2. Joseph was hated because Joseph reported their evil deeds unto his father. Some may think that Joseph was a talebearer and that he made himself a spy against his brethren. This is altogether unjust. Was Jesus Christ a spy? and a talebearer? Yet, Jesus Christ took the robe of hypocrisy from off the scribes and the Pharisees and laid bare their evil deeds. The Lord Jesus testified of His generation, that their works were evil. He showed the hypocrisy that lay beneath the fair words of the religious hypocrites who ruled in the synagogues. He described them as wolves in sheep’s clothing. He told them that they robbed widows’ houses, and then for a pretense offered long prayers. He told them that they did their works to be seen of men, that they were blind guides and fools. Against the scribes and Pharisees Christ denounced His woes. He likened them unto whitened sepulchers, which indeed appeared beautiful outwardly, but within were full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness. He called them a generation of vipers who could not escape the damnation of hell.
3. Joseph was hated because his own righteousness contrasted the villainy of his brethren. Never did the sins of the Pharisees stand forth in stronger light than when Jesus Christ moved among them as the Holy One of God. The people readily saw the sins of the one, as they were contrasted with the righteousness of the other. Jesus Christ was so different from the scribes. They lived for themselves, He lived for others. They went about laying heavy burdens upon men’s shoulders; He cried, “Come unto Me * * and I will give you rest.”
4. Joseph was hated because of his marvelous words. Jesus Christ was hated also because He spake as no man ever spake. His words of revelation concerning the Father, concerning all the good things that the Father had prepared for His saints, were so far above and beyond the messages of the scribes that they only hated Him the more.
We may sum this all up with one word-first, concerning Joseph: “And his brethren envied him.” The second word is concerning Jesus, “He knew that for envy they had delivered Him.”
I. JOSEPH SENT TO HIS BRETHREN (Gen 37:13)
1. The analogy between Joseph sent of Jacob, and God sending His Son into the world is so simple and so striking that it hardly needs emphasis.
The key verse reads: “And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.”
Jesus Christ continually spoke of being sent forth, from the Father, and of having come down from the Father. Only once indeed, did He speak of His own birth, and then He said, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world.”
In all of this we see, first of all, the Christ of God as one with the Father in the eternity past; then we see, also, how Jesus Christ was sent forth by the Father. He did not come to earth as an adventurer. He came forth on a mission, Divinely planned and Divinely ordered.
2. When Jacob said, “I will send thee,” Joseph replied, “Here am I.” We can almost catch in this, the voice of the eternal Son as He said to the Father those same matchless words.
We must remember, that not alone in Heaven, before Christ came to earth, was He the willing servant of the Father, but that upon earth He went forth obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross.
There was no resistance with Joseph against his father’s command, although Joseph full well knew the tyranny of his brethren, and how they had ofttimes evilly entreated him.
Jesus Christ also knew that He would be despised and rejected of men and yet He went as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before His shearers, dumb, He opened not His mouth.
II. JOSEPH SENT TO SHECHEM (Gen 37:13)
1. There is one word in the Gen 37:13 which stands before us in illuminating power, that is the word “Shechem.”
We have no doubt that Jacob had fears as to the safety of his sons at Shechem. The memory of his own sojourn there and the bitter experiences which befell him had not faded from mind.
Shechem stands at once for sin and sin’s tragedy. It was to Shechem that Joseph was sent.
It was to a world sunken in iniquity and covered with shame that God sent Jesus Christ.
When we think of our Lord wrapped in swaddling clothes, we think of how He was circumscribed by being found in fashion as a man. When we think of Him as lying in a manger mid the cattle and the plunder, we consider Him as mixing and mingling with the publicans and the sinners and the outcasts of earth,
Jesus Christ did, indeed, come down, to seek and to save that which was lost. He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He came to a land in which He would find Himself an alien, rejected and despised of men.
2. The meaning of the word Shechem is “Shoulder.” This was because the city was situated on the shoulder of a hill from whence the waters made their way either to the Mediterranean, or to the Valley of the Jordan. The word itself is suggestive of servitude-the servant bends his shoulders to his burden. It was this which Jesus Christ did. He came in fashion as a man and being found in form as a servant He humbled Himself. He was among men as one who served. He went about doing good, healing the sick, raising the dead. It seems to us that upon His shoulders the burdens of the whole world rested. Finally, He laid bare His shoulders and bore His Cross-bore the Cross upon which He was to die, that He might bear the sins of the world.
III. JOSEPH SENT FROM THE VALE OF HEBRON (Gen 37:14)
1. “So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron.” The word “Hebron” means, “Fellowship” or “communion.” Hebron therefore makes us think, first of all, of Joseph’s comradeship with his father. His father, Jacob, loved him and gave him every consideration.
Beyond Joseph and his happy home we pass on to our Lord and His Heavenly Home. Christ once spoke of the glory He had with the Father before the world was. In Heaven there was unbroken joy and fellowship between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Even on earth that fellowship was maintained in a most gracious way, save when, on the Cross, the Lord passed alone around the cycle of His suffering.
It is also the privilege of saints, even now, to dwell in their Hebron, for Christ said, “We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” There is no comradeship which can be compared to that which we have with the Father, and with our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. The VALE of Hebron gives an added significance. A vale is a place of quietness and perfect peace. It is the place where the fruit trees grow and where the shade of the forests gives rest and repose.
As we turn our faces toward the Eternal City we can but think of its river, with the trees growing on either side of its crystal waters. We do not wonder that songs of the Heavenly state are often centered in the rest that awaits the sons of God.
Even now He makes me lie down in green pastures and beside the waters of quietness; but what will it be over there in the eternal vales of God?
Thank God for the perfection of peace that shall be ours when we are with Him in Glory. It was from that “vale of Hebron,” thus symbolic, that Joseph went down to Shechem; and it was from Heaven’s vale that Christ came down to a world of sin. and woe.
IV. JOSEPH WANDERING IN THE FIELD (Gen 37:15)
“And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field.” As Joseph came to the land of Shechem he came to a strange land, and he wandered about seeking his brethren.
1. The field suggests the world. We remember the parable of the Sower, wherein Christ said, “The field is the world.” Joseph in the field makes us consider Christ in the world. “He was in the world, * * and the world knew Him not.” “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
2. Joseph, wandering, suggests the Savior homeless and friendless among men. We read that the foxes had their holes and the birds of the air their nests, but that the Son of Man had nowhere His head to recline. When He was born there was no home in which to lay Him; when “He died there was no grave of His own, in which to lay His body.
We should not pass by this thought without suggesting that we, too, are strangers and pilgrims in this world. We have no abiding city. We are wanderers among men.
3. Another thought that comes to us: Joseph, wandering in the field, speaks of Christ going hither and thither, from town to town, and village to village, seeking for that which was lost. On one occasion the Master said, “Let us go into the next towns * * also: for therefore came I forth.”
The Church, also, should go out through the lanes of the city, on through the byways and hedges, and even to the uttermost parts of the earth. Paul said, “Having hope, when your faith is increased, that we should be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you.”
God grant that we may ever keep in mind, that, as Jacob sent Joseph, so also the Father sent the Son; and as the Father sent the Son, so also the Lord has sent us. All are “wanderers in the field.”
V. JOSEPH WENT AFTER HIS BRETHREN (Gen 37:16-17)
Step by step we are finding in Joseph the unmistakable outline of Christ and His coming forth from the Father to the earth.
1. Christ came primarily to His own people, Israel. We read from Joseph’s lips these striking words: “I seek my brethren.” Our Lord said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” His quest on earth was preeminently a search for His own.
It was not until after Christ was risen that He gave the commission, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.” It was not until the veil of the Temple was rent at the time of Christ’s death, that the middle wall of partition was broken down and the Gentiles became fellow heirs and members of the one body.
2. Christ came to His own people and sought until He found them. Joseph came to Shechem and found his brethren had gone to Dothan. Then, Joseph went from Shechem to Dothan and there he found them.
The Lord gave a parable of a man who had an hundred sheep, and one of them was lost. Thus the shepherd left the ninety and nine in the wilderness and went out after that which was lost until he found it. In this parable the Lord Jesus was showing the faithfulness of His own heart in seeking Israel.
The journey from Heaven to earth was a long one, but it was not too long for the Master’s love. The journey from the cradle to the Cross was also long. As the Lord of life passed along this way, the days grew on toward the eventide. The darkness deepened and the threatening clouds hung over His head. Yet, the Master pressed on His way, all forespent. Up Calvary’s rough and rugged road He trod until He reached the hill that was lone and gray. It was there, in truth, that He found His own. It is from there that He made possible the future restoration of His people. He shall yet bring them Home with rejoicing.
VI. JOSEPH’S RECEPTION BY HIS BRETHREN (Gen 37:18)
The Scripture says, “And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.”
1. There was an utter contempt toward Joseph’s spirit of love and sympathy. Joseph had come from his father unto his brethren. He had come with messages of love from the father. He had come because the father’s heart yearned after his sons. Yet, his brethren rose up against him and conspired to slay him.
The Lord Jesus Christ came forth from the Father. He came because of the Father’s concern for His chosen people. He came with messages of love, and with gifts of unspeakable worth, and yet His brethren, the Jews, conspired also against Him to slay Him.
There is a Scripture in Isa 53:1-12 which shows the travesty of this whole scene: “Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Jesus Christ came to relieve the oppressed, and yet He was Himself, oppressed. He came to save men from the power of Satan and from the slaughter of sin, and yet they led Him as a Lamb to be crucified. He came to cut off from His people the tyranny of Rome, and yet He, Himself, was cut off from the land of the living.
2. The attitude of Joseph’s brethren toward Joseph is still the attitude of the world toward Christ. Jesus Christ at this moment is being set at nought by men. There is no more room for Him now, than there was when He came of yore. His own people Israel still receive Him not, neither will the Gentiles have Him to rule over them. In all of this we stand amazed. What is there which Christ has done that He should be so maligned and so trodden underfoot? Surely, His own people Israel, and surely the world in their treatment of Christ, have manifested the spirit of the viper which stings the hand which reaches forth to feed it.
VII. THE CHARGE AGAINST JOSEPH (Gen 37:19)
Let us quote the words which Joseph’s brethren used as their excuse for seeking to slay him. They said, “Behold, this dreamer cometh.”
1. In this charge against Joseph there was nothing worthy of death. It was no sin to have dreamed dreams, particularly, when those dreams were Divinely ordered, and Divinely true.
Against the Lord Jesus Christ there was nothing found worthy of death. The Lord looked His haters in the face and said, “Which of you convinceth Me of sin?”
After Pilate had heard all of the accusations which they brought against Christ, he said, “I find no fault in this Man.” The populace went so far as to suborn witnesses. These they paid to fabricate lies against the Lord.
2. In. this charge against Joseph there was a distinct rebellion against Joseph because of his superiority. His brothers knew that Joseph’s dream set forth the truth that Joseph was in every way their superior, but particularly, he was a superior in righteousness.
Those who sought to slay the Christ set their faces against Him, not because of any sin which they had found in Him, but because He was the Son of God.
3. In this charge against Joseph there was an attempt to bring to nought the purport of Joseph’s dream. This is plainly set forth in the next verse, when his brothers said, “Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.”
When the Jews set themselves against Christ as He hung upon the Cross, they wagged their heads against Him and reviled Him. Tauntingly they said, “Let Him (God) deliver Him now, if He will have Him.” “Let Him now come down from the Cross, and we will believe on Him.” They were determined by killing Christ to utterly spoil every claim He had ever made to Deity.
AN ILLUSTRATION
STORY OF THE KNIGHT
Joseph seemed to count his sufferings as “all joy.”
“‘Thuanus repenteth of Ludovicus Marsacus, a knight of France, when he was led, with other martyrs that were bound with cords, to execution, and he for his dignity was not bound, he cried, “Give me my chains, too; let me be a knight of the same order.'”
Certainly, it is an honor to be made vile for God; David purposed to abound in such vileness (2Sa 6:22). Shame for Christ’s sake is an honor no more to be declined than the highest dignity a mortal man can wear. Among the early Christians the relatives of martyrs were a sort of aristocracy, and the martyrs themselves were regarded as the nobility of the Church. We need a spice of the same spirit at this day. A true believer should tremble when the world commends him. but he should feel complimented when it utterly despises him.
What do we suffer, after all? The most of us are but feather-bed soldiers. Our ways are strewn with roses compared with those who endured hardness in the olden time. We are poor and mean successors of noble ancestors-ennobled by their supreme sufferings. If we cannot reach their superior dignity, nor hope to wear the ruby crown of martyrdom, at least let us not shun such glory as may be obtainable, but accent with cheerful patience whatever of opprobrium this worthless world may honor us with.”
Fuente: Neighbour’s Wells of Living Water
An Opportunity For Revenge Joseph’s brothers took their father’s sheep to the area around Shechem. Remember, this area would have been fraught with potential danger because of the slaughter worked by Simeon and Levi. That may have been why Jacob sent Joseph to check on his brothers. However, when he arrived at Shechem in the valley of Hebron, he could not find them. A man told him he had heard them say they were going on to Dothan.
Joseph caught up to his brothers in Dothan. Before he ever reached them, they said, “Look, this dreamer is coming! Come 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!” Reuben suggested they not shed blood but cast Joseph into a pit, or empty cistern. The inspired writer says his plan was to rescue Joseph and safely return him to his father ( Gen 37:12-22 ).
Fuente: Gary Hampton Commentary on Selected Books
Gen 37:12. To feed in Shechem In the parts adjoining to Shechem, probably in the lands Jacob had purchased there. After the cruel and barbarous massacre which Jacobs sons had been guilty of toward the Shechemites, it is a wonder they should venture to seek pasture for their flocks in that neighbourhood; but it is no wonder that their father should be anxious for their safety. It must be observed, however, as the LXX. make a difference in the spelling of the name of that place where they had so lately robbed and murdered the people, and this where they were now feeding their flocks, some suppose that this was not the same Shechem, but another at some considerable distance from it. Be this as it will, as either place was at least forty, if not sixty miles from Hebron, if Jacob had any idea of the envy and malice which actuated his other sons against Joseph, it is not to be supposed that he would have sent him among them, and have thus put his life in their hands. The providence of God, however, was in the whole affair, for his own glory, and the preservation of the lives of many.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Gen 37:12-17. Some assign to J; more probably it belongs to J and E. To J Gen 37:12-13 a, Gen 37:14 b; to E Gen 37:13 b, Gen 37:14 a may be allotted. Gen 37:15-17 may belong to either. Shechem has fine pasturage, Dothan (p. 30, 2Ki 6:13-15*), 15 miles N. of it, still finer.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
2. The sale of Joseph into Egypt 37:12-36
Joseph’s brothers met his second recorded visit to them with great antagonism. They plotted to kill him and so render his dreams impossible to fulfill. For practical reasons they decided to sell him and to deceive Jacob into thinking that a wild beast had killed him. In spite of their plan God kept Joseph alive and safe in Egypt. Ironically, by selling Joseph into Egypt his brothers actualized the dreams they sought to subvert. The focus of this pericope is deceit, which is a recurring feature of the Jacob and Joseph narratives.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
It was not uncommon for shepherds to lead their flocks many miles from home in search of pasture. Shechem was about 60 miles north of Hebron. Jacob owned land there (Gen 33:19). Dothan was 17 miles farther north.