Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 37:13

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].

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Having kept him for some time at home, and supposing that length of time had cooled their heats, and worn out their hatred, he now sends him to them.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

13-17. Israel said, . . . Do not thybrethren feed the flock in Shechem?Anxious to learn how hissons were doing in their distant encampment, Jacob despatched Joseph;and the youth, accepting the mission with alacrity, left the vale ofHebron, sought them at Shechem, heard of them from a man in “thefield” (the wide and richly cultivated plain of Esdraelon), andfound that they had left that neighborhood for Dothan, probably beingcompelled by the detestation in which, from the horrid massacre,their name was held.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

And Israel said unto Joseph,…. After his brethren had been gone some time to Shechem:

do not thy brethren feed [the flock] in Shechem? this question is put, not as ignorant of it, or doubting about it, but to put Joseph in mind of it, and in order to what follows:

come, and I will send thee unto them; which is pretty much he should, considering the length of the way, sixty miles, the dangerous place in which they were feeding their flocks, and especially seeing his brethren envied and hated him; but Jacob might think that by this time things had wore off of their minds; and it is certain he had no suspicion of their hatred rising so high as to attempt his life; and it is plain he had none concerning them, when his coat was brought to him, but believed it was wild beasts that had devoured him:

and he said unto him, here [am I]; showing his readiness to obey his father, and go on this errand, though it was a long journey, and he to go it alone, and his brethren also bore no good will to him.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

‘And Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” And he said to him, “Go now. See whether it is well with your brothers and well with the flock, and bring me word again.” So he sent him out of the Vale of Hebron and he came to Shechem. ’

Jacob sends Joseph to find out how things are not knowing that they are no longer at Shechem but have moved to Dothan. Constant changes of pasturage were needed for the large flocks. This reminds us that in the lives of all the patriarchs, while they themselves settled down at various places, their herds and flocks often had to be on the move.

“He sent him out of the Vale of Hebron.” Is there a hint of something ominous here? He was going never to return. The city of Kiriath-arba or Hebron was over a thousand feet above sea level but may or may not have existed at this time. It was ‘built seven years before Zoan in Egypt’ (Num 13:22) possibly around 1720 BC. The valley may, however, already have been called the Vale of Hebron (‘confederacy’) because a confederacy was formed or met there, later giving its name to the city. (Otherwise it could be a scribal updating, a common feature of ancient manuscripts).

Gen 37:15-17 a

‘And a certain man found him, and lo, he was wandering in the countryside, and the man asked him, saying, “What are you looking for?” And he said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, I beg you, where they are feeding the flock.” And the man said, “They have departed elsewhere, for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.” ‘

Joseph is unable to find his brothers in Shechem and while searching for them rather helplessly is at a loss what to do. However, fortunately he meets a man who knows where they have gone. He may have received hospitality from the brothers or met them at a well, where people tended to gather, and heard their conversation.

This piece of reminiscence suggests that Joseph remembers vividly little incidents about his last days in Canaan. They were imprinted on his mind. This almost irrelevant incident given in detail bears all the marks of an involved eyewitness.

Gen 35:17 b

‘And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.’

Joseph is not disturbed at the thought of meeting his brothers, otherwise he could have made not finding them an excuse to go back. He sets out determinedly for Dothan where at last he spots them.

The fertile plain of Dothan lies between the hills of Samaria and the Carmel range. It was on the trade route to Egypt. Dothan itself is known from inscriptions and excavation.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Joseph’s question leads the mind to that, Son 1:7 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Gen 37:13 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].

Ver. 13. And he said to him, Here am I. ] “Children obey your parents,” – quorum divina est dignitas, saith Chrysostom: our parents are Y , saith another; and Philo, for this maketh the fifth commandment a part of the first table, “for this is right.” Eph 6:1 Blind nature saw it to be so. For it is not fit, saith the philosopher, to cross the gods, a man’s own father, and his tutor or teacher. a

a M Y, , D . – Aristot., Rhetor.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)