Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Genesis 37:29
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
29. And Reuben ] Reuben returning to “the pit” finds it empty. The Midianites had carried off the lad. Reuben’s distress reveals his purpose to his brethren. Clearly this is a different picture from that of the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Gen 37:29-30
Reuben returned
Lessons
1.
Under the wise providence of God, helpers may come too late to so save oppressed.
2. Creatures as they intend, so may they do their utmost to save, when God will not have it so.
3. The pit, under Gods disposal, giveth up to sale, when it is intended unto freedom.
4. Nature is apt to be passionate to rending cloths upon disappointments (Gen 37:29).
5. Brotherly affection disappointed, though not true, will make one fall upon disappointers with indignation.
6. Passiom may make men judge that not to be, which is, and so may make mourners.
7. Natural affection may put men to their wits end upon disappointments, and fears of worse events (Gen 37:30). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Lessons
1. Hypocrisy may admit trouble in some evil, but conspires wilfully to do other. Reuben with them.
2. The coat of innocency may be made a cloak to cover cruelty.
3. Cruelty makes use of policy to hide itself from discovery. Kids blood for mans.
4. Sinners subtlety sometimes to put it off from themselves, makes evil worse than it is. Blood without blood (Gen 37:31.)
5. Beastly acting sinners use, to turn over their sins to beasts (so if the word be striking through).
6. The guilty have their harbingers, to conceal sin more cunningly.
7. Sin makes men shameless to bring the tokens of their wickedness to plead for them.
8. Sellers of brethren make not much to do that, which may kill their fathers.
9. Sinners use to make their refuge in lies, and so add sin to sin.
10. Impudent sinners, though they be conscious, yet make things doubtful unto others (Gen 37:32).
11. Good men may be deceived by sinners, upon that which they know.
12. Gracious souls may be too credulous toward the wicked, who speaks falsely to them.
13. Over much credulity makes men receive that which afterwards they find false (Gen 37:33). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 29. Reuben returned unto the pit] It appears he was absent when the caravan passed by, to whom the other brethren had sold Joseph.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Reuben returned unto the pit, that, according to his brethrens order, Gen 37:27, he might take him thence and sell him.
He rent his clothes, as the manner was upon doleful occurrences. See below, Gen 37:34; Num 14:6; Ezr 9:3; Job 1:20; 2:12.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
29, 30. Reuben returned unto thepitHe seems to have designedly taken a circuitous route, witha view of secretly rescuing the poor lad from a lingering death bystarvation. His intentions were excellent, and his feelings no doubtpainfully lacerated when he discovered what had been done in hisabsence. But the thing was of God, who had designed that Joseph’sdeliverance should be accomplished by other means than his.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And Reuben returned unto the pit,…. It is very probable he had pretended to go somewhere on business, with an intention to take a circuit, and come to the pit and deliver his brother, and go home with him to his father. The Jews say b he departed from his brethren, and sat down on a certain mountain, that he might descend in the night and take Joseph out of the pit, and accordingly he came down in the night, and found him not. So Josephus c says, it was in the night when Reuben came to the pit, who calling to Joseph, and he not answering, suspected he was killed:
and, behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; for neither by looking down into it could he see him, nor by calling be answered by him, which made it a clear case to him he was not there:
and he rent his clothes; as a token of distress and anguish of mind, of sorrow and mourning, as was usual in such cases; Jacob afterwards did the same, Ge 37:34.
b Pirke Eliezer, ut supra. (c. 38.) c Antiqu. l. 2. c. 3. sect. 3.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The business was settled in Reuben’s absence; probably because his brethren suspected that he intended to rescue Joseph. When he came to the pit and found Joseph gone, he rent his clothes (a sign of intense grief on the part of the natural man) and exclaimed: “ The boy is no more, and I, whither shall I go! ” – how shall I account to his father for his disappearance! But the brothers were at no loss; they dipped Joseph’s coat in the blood of a goat and sent it to his father, with the message, “ We have found this; see whether it is thy son’s coat or not.” Jacob recognised the coat at once, and mourned bitterly in mourning clothes ( ) for his son, whom he supposed to have been devoured and destroyed by a wild beast ( inf. abs. of Kal before Pual, as an indication of undoubted certainty), and refused all comfort from his children, saying, “ No ( immo, elliptical: Do not attempt to comfort me, for) I will go down mourning into Sheol to my son.” Sheol denotes the place where departed souls are gathered after death; it is an infinitive form from to demand, the demanding, applied to the place which inexorably summons all men into its shade (cf. Pro 30:15-16; Isa 5:14; Hab 2:5). How should his sons comfort him, when they were obliged to cover their wickedness with the sin of lying and hypocrisy, and when even Reuben, although at first beside himself at the failure of his plan, had not courage enough to disclose his brothers’ crime?
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 29-36:
For some unrevealed reason, Reuben was not present when the transaction took place to sell Joseph When he returned, he went to the pit to release Joseph, but found it empty. He was filled with dismay, for as the oldest son he must account to Jacob for Joseph’s disappearance.
The brothers then resorted to a plan previously discussed, to deceive their father into believing Joseph to be dead. They killed a “kid” (he-goat), and dipped Joseph’s coat in its blood. Then they took the coat to their father and reported they had found it. Jacob identified it as the tunic he had given to Joseph, and concluded that his beloved son had been killed and devoured by some “evil” or wild predatory beast. He went into a state or prolonged mourning for his lost son. His other sons and daughters tried without success to comfort Jacob. This implies he had daughters other than Dinah, or these may have been his daughters-in-law.
Joseph was sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar. This name is an abbrevation of Poti-Phera, or Pet-Pa-Ra, “he who belongs to the sun.” He was an officer of Pharaoh, a “captain of the guard,” literally “captain of the slaughterers,” or the chief officer in charge of the royal executioners.
Joseph’s captors are identified as Midianites, or Medanites. These were descendants of Medan, a brother of Midian, both descendants of Abraham by Keturah (Ge 25:2). It was common at that time to call the Arabian merchants Ishmaelites, Midianites, and Medanites. All three terms are used in this narrative to denote the traders who purchased Joseph The caravan took its name from the Ishmaelites, who comprised the greater portion. Joseph’s actual purchasers were the Midianites or Medanites.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Gen. 37:35. The grave.] Heb. Sheol. The unseen world, or the place of departed spirits. The A.V. also renders this word in some places hell, in others the pit. Probably derived from Heb. verb sha-al, to ask or inquire. It is that condition in which we ask after the lost ones. Where are they? Others derive it from a word which means cavity or pit. It is ever craving, never satisfied, demanding the whole human race.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Gen. 37:29-36
JACOBS GRIEF FOR HIS SON
I. It was deep and overwhelming. Jacob had felt many a sorrow before, had mourned over the loss of those who were dear, but this sorrow went the deepest to his heart. The other calamities which fell upon him seemed to be more directly from the hand of God. They were to be expected in the ordinary course of Providence. But this fatality which happened to his beloved son would raise in him painful and inevitable self-questionings, and a sad sense of self condemnation. He could impute the blame to no one but himself. Why did he let the boy go alone on such a journey? Why did he send him without protection into a country abounding in wild beasts? Of course our sympathy is relieved when we know that Jacobs sorrows were founded upon no real ground of fact. But it was all real to him. This was the saddest sorrow of all.
II. It was inconsolable. He refused to be comforted. (Gen. 37:35.) It seemed now as if his whole house had been given over to destruction, every prospect ruined! He speaks as one who had lost all hope in life. To allow grief to overwhelm the soul, and sink it into such depths of sorrow, betokens a want of confidence in God and in the power of His supporting grace. Eminent saints may have grievous afflictions, but even then they should not speak of them as insupportable. God had dispelled many dark clouds for Jacob before, and he should not have given way to despondency now.
III. It cast him upon the future. He ought to have sought Gods consolations in this world, though he looked to the future for full satisfaction and recompence. But he renounced the hope of seeing any more good in what remained to him of this present life. I will go down, he said, into the grave unto my son mourning. The word rendered grave is the Heb. Sheol, the place to which the souls of men depart after death, and where they await God. Jacob did not expect to go to his son in the grave, for (as he believed) Joseph had no grave. The Hebrews had a well-known word for grave (Gen. 23:9), which would have been employed here had it been intended to convey the idea of the last resting-place of the body. Surely Jacob looked beyond the grave, where was assembled the congregation of the fathers who had resigned their souls to God. The form of the Heb. word has the idea of direction, Shoel-ward. Thus he speaks of his life as passing on to that unknown land. He does not contemplate a state of non-existence. Joseph was still his son. There was a tie still between them. Each had a personality undestroyed. His son had a being somehow and somewhere. Jacob had learned from the promises of the Covenant that God was his God, and surely he must have felt the conviction that this sacred relationship would not end at death, but last on for ever. He is not a God of the dead, but of the living, for all live unto Him. (Luk. 20:37-38.)
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen. 37:29-30. His intentions were good, and his plan seemed to be well concerted, but it was not successful. It was not by Reuben that Joseph was to be delivered; he must yet pass through a deep scene of affliction before he obtains that glory for which he was destined. God often blasts the designs that are formed for the good of His people, not because He frowns upon them, but because the whole work is not yet accomplished which He intends to accomplish by their afflictions.(Bush.)
The day came when Josephs brethren were compelled to hear Reuben and to remember bitterly this time.(Gen. 42:22).
Gen. 37:31-32. They could not deny themselves the brutal pleasure of thus insulting their father, even in the hour of his distress, for his former partiality.(Fuller.)
Gen. 37:33-34. Seldom does misfortune come alone. It is but a short time since Jacob was deprived of Rachel; now he has lost Joseph. In such a concealment of guilt they pass twenty-two years.(Lange.)
It is no evil beast, but men more cruel than tigers that have done towards him what is done; but thus Jacob thought, and thus he mourned. We are ready to wonder how Reuben could keep his counsel; yet with all his grief he did so; perhaps he might be afraid of his own life.(Fuller.)
Gen. 37:35. Josephs brethren add sin to sin, and dare to cover all with the infamous hypocrisy of comforting their father, when they themselves were the cause of his grief.
Jacob renounced the hope of seeing any more good in this world when his choicest comfort in life was taken away. He had the prospect of no days of gladness when Joseph, the joy of his heart, was torn in pieces by wild beasts. But he did not know what joys were yet before him in the recovery of his long lost son. We know not what joys or what sorrows are before us. It is rash, therefore, to prejudge the allotments of Providence, to infer the permanence of what we now feel. At any rate, we have no reason to despond while Gods throne continues firm and stable in heaven.(Bush.)
Gen. 37:36. Little did the Egyptians dream that their future lord was come to be sold in their country; still less did they know the dignity and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ when He was brought into their country by another Joseph, and by Mary his wife. Time brings the real characters and dignity of some men to light.(Bush.)
Little knew Joseph what God was in doing. Have patience, till He have brought both ends together.(Trapp).
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(29) Reuben returned.Evidently he was not present when Joseph was sold to the Midianites. This has been made into a difficulty, but really it confirms the truth of the narrative. For the difficulty arises solely from the supposition that Josephs brethren immediately after casting him into the pit sat down to eat bread, an act well described as most cold-blooded. But they were not actually guilty of it; for what the narrative says is that they were having their evening meal when the caravan came in sight. Reuben, between the casting of Joseph into the pit and the evening meal, had apparently gone a long round to fetch in the more distant cattle, and probably had remained away as long as possible, in order to feel sure that his brethren would on his return be at their dinner. He hoped thus to be able to go alone to the cistern, and rescue Joseph, and send him away home before the rest could interfere. Thus rightly understood, it is a proof of the trustworthiness of the history.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And Reuben returned to the cistern, and behold, Joseph was not in the cistern, and he tore his clothes, and he returned to his brothers and said, “The child is not, and as for me, where shall I go?
Reuben has quite clearly been away for some unknown reason. It may that he was sickened by their desire for blood and wanted to be on his own, or it may be that as the eldest he went to keep an eye on the sheep while the traders were passing. It was not unknown for a few sheep to disappear when a caravan passed by. But afterwards he goes privately to the cistern which his brothers have now left, in order to release Joseph. However, to his shock and dismay he finds that Joseph has gone. The tearing of clothes was a sign of great distress especially expressing sorrow and grief.
He comes to his brothers and expresses his dismay. He clearly feels he has the responsibility for Joseph’s welfare as his eldest brother. What is he going to say to Jacob? Then they no doubt told him what they had done.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jacob’s Grief over Joseph
v. 29. And Reuben returned unto the pit. v. 30. And he returned unto his brethren and said, the child is not; and I, whither shall I go? v. 31. And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; v. 32. and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found; know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no. v. 33. And he knew it and said, It is my son’s coat. v. 34. And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. v. 35. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him. v. 36. and the Midianites sold him
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Gen 37:29. And Reuben returned unto the pit, &c. We remarked on Gen 37:2 that the sons of Jacob fed their flocks separately: this is confirmed by the present verse. For it is unquestionable, that Reuben, after he had saved his brother Joseph’s life, left the rest of them, probably to attend his own flock; and determined to return to the pit, and rescue Joseph from it. But when he came, a stranger to what had passed, and found him not there, he was in the greatest agonies of grief, apprehending his destruction. Nor does it appear that his brethren informed him of what they had done: if they did, however, he agreed with them in the story which they related to their afflicted father. Nothing can be imagined more cruel and inhuman, than their conduct throughout all this affair: one cannot in any measure excuse their savage treatment of their aged father!
REFLECTIONS.Now the envied coat is torn from his back: remorse or pity find no place in the envenomed hearts of his brethren: in vain his prayers, his tears, his anguish; they drag him to the pit, and cast him in, intending a death of famine, more dreadful than the sword: then, hardened and relentless, they sit down to eat bread; and while they satisfy their own hunger, never think on Joseph’s affliction. Note; 1. God’s Providences appear darkest, when deliverance is nearest. 2. Crying sins often stupefy the conscience to a most amazing degree of insensibility. But now, an unexpected event delivers Joseph from the pit: a caravan of merchants going to AEgypt, passes by; Judah proposes to sell, rather than kill him; he would, they thought, be as effectually sent out of the way; and thus they gratify their covetousness, as well as their revenge. The bargain is made, and Joseph, from the captivity of the pit, is sent as a slave into AEgypt. Learn, (1.) How exactly God makes common events of his Providence become critical, for purposes of his glory. (2.) God overrules wicked men, and makes one sin a bridle to a greater: covetousness saves from bloodshed. Reuben was not of the council; and on his return to the pit, how great his grief to find Joseph gone! Note; The disappointments of our well-meant endeavours are afterwards seen to be in mercy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Gen 39:1 ; Hebrews: Eunuch, or Chamberlain of Pharaoh’s household, as well as Captain of the guard.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Gen 37:29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph [was] not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
Ver. 29. He rent his clothes. ] In token of extreme passion. A custom in use also among some heathens.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gen 37:29-36
29Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments. 30He returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?” 31So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; 32and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son’s tunic or not.” 33Then he examined it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!” 34So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.” So his father wept for him. 36Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s officer, the captain of the bodyguard.
Gen 37:29 “Reuben returned to the pit. . .tore his garments” This was the traditional sign of mourning (cf. Gen 44:13). Additional signs of mourning can be seen in Gen 37:34 when Jacob finds out about the loss of Joseph. Reuben must not have been present as they spoke about their plan or when the brothers sold Joseph.
SPECIAL TOPIC: GRIEVING RITES
Gen 37:35 “Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him” Isn’t it ironical that the very ones who sold Joseph are now trying to comfort his father over his loss. There has been some speculation about the term “his daughters.” Does it refer to Dinah and others who were born later or does it refer to his daughters-in-law?
“Sheol” This is a term (BDB 982) used for “the grave” or “the afterlife.” It seems to have two possible Hebrew etymologies: (1) “to go down” and (2) “to ask,” which would involve Sheol either asking for more human beings or for men asking questions about Sheol. It seems to me that Sheol in the OT and Hades in the NT are synonymous. From rabbinical literature, and some evidence in the NT, it seems to have been separated into two parts, the righteous and the wicked. See Special Topic: The Dead, Where Are They? (Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus) .
Gen 37:36 “Potiphar” This is a Hebrew name which seems to mean “he to whom (implied Re, the sun god) gave” (BDB 806). The longer form of this same name is found in the priest of On in Gen 41:45.
“Pharaoh’s officer” The term “officer” is literally “eunuch” (BDB 710, cf. Est 1:10; Est 2:3), but because he is married, the term here means “a courier” or “an official” (cf. 1Ki 22:9; 2Ki 8:6; 2Ki 24:12) instead of a castrate.
“the captain of the bodyguard” There are two possibilities regarding this term because it literally means “the chief slaughterer” (BDB 978 CONSTRUCT 371). Some think it means “the chief cook” (BDB 371, i.e., butcher) and base this on 1Sa 9:23-24. Others believe that it means “the captain of the bodyguard” based on Gen 37:36; Gen 39:1; Gen 40:3-4; Gen 41:10; Gen 41:12 and 2Ki 25:8. It is surely possible that those close to the king (like his cooks) became his bodyguards.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
This is a study guide commentary, which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.
These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought-provoking, not definitive.
1. What seems to be the source of the tension between Joseph and his brothers?
2. Describe the special tunic that Jacob had made for Joseph. What did it symbolize?
3. Why did the biblical author include Gen 37:15-17?
4. List the signs of mourning found here in Gen 37:29; Gen 37:34 and other parts of the OT.
5. Describe your view of Sheol and how it relates to the NT term, Hades.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
he rent: Gen 37:34, Gen 34:13, Num 14:6, Jdg 11:35, 2Ki 19:1, Job 1:20, Joe 2:13, Act 14:14
Reciprocal: Gen 29:32 – his name Gen 42:22 – Spake I Gen 44:13 – General Lev 13:45 – his clothes Jos 7:6 – rent 2Sa 1:2 – clothes 2Sa 1:11 – rent 2Sa 3:31 – Rend 2Sa 13:31 – arose 2Ki 18:37 – with their clothes rent Ecc 3:7 – time to rend Jer 48:37 – upon the loins
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reuben was absent during the sale of Joseph. When he returned and found Joseph missing he felt great distress. Jacob would have held him responsible for Joseph’s safety since Reuben was the oldest of the brothers. Joseph’s brothers covered one sin with another.
"The message accompanying the cloak [Gen 37:32] has a certain blunt brutality about it. They did not try to soften the blow." [Note: Leupold, 2:973.]
Jacob had deceived his father with the skin of a goat (Gen 27:16). Now his sons were deceiving him with the blood of a goat (Gen 37:31).
Had Jacob believed more strongly in God’s revelations in Joseph’s dreams he might not have jumped to the conclusion that Joseph was dead, and his sorrow might not have been as great (cf. 2Sa 18:33). Jacob’s fears were groundless, but he did not realize this because he chose in this instance to live by sight rather than by faith.
The Pharaoh referred to (Gen 37:36) was probably Ammenemes II (1929-1895 B.C.), and the capital of Egypt during this period (the twelveth dynasty) was Memphis. This is where Joseph was taken. Potiphar, as Pharaoh’s bodyguard captain, would have been in charge of the king’s executioners who carried out the capital sentences ordered by Pharaoh. "Potiphar" is a shortened form of Potiphera (Gen 41:45) meaning "he whom Ra [the sun-god] has given." The meaning of the Hebrew word saris, translated in Gen 37:36 "officer" or "official," changed in meaning in the first millennium B.C. to "eunuch." [Note: Kitchen, Ancient Orient . . ., pp. 115-66.] Josephus called Potiphar Pharaoh’s chief cook, which may or may not have been correct. [Note: Josephus, 2:4:1. See Magen Broshi, "The Credibility of Josephus," Journal of Jewish Studies 33:1-2 (Spring-Autumn 1982):379-384.]
This chapter is the first of many in the record of Joseph’s experiences that demonstrates God’s ability to cause the wrath of men to praise Him (Psa 76:10). He can make even bad situations work for the accomplishment of His purposes and for the blessing of His elect (Rom 8:28).
"Envy is the root of almost every sin against our brethren. And whenever it is harbored, there is an end of all peace, rest, and satisfaction. Envy is ’the rottenness of the bones’ (Prov. xiv. 30), and no one can stand against it (Prov. xxvii. 4). ’Where envying is, there is confusion and every evil work’ (James iii. 16)." [Note: Thomas, pp. 361-62.]
"The Genesis account presents Joseph as a very unusual young man, possessed of a strong and sterling character, of a high morality and fidelity to God and his superiors. He was also characterized by gentleness in human relations. Remarkably, Joseph’s spiritual and moral strength does not appear to be based on or related to God’s periodic and direct revelations, as was true of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. Presumably then Jacob must have put a lot of character building truth into the young man’s life at an early time. It does not appear that he could have obtained such information from any other source. If this is the case, Jacob did a much better job with Joseph than with his other sons." [Note: H. Vos, p. 134.]
"They [Joseph’s older brothers] had been brought up under the influence of the old Jacob, while Joseph had been the companion of the changed Jacob or ’Israel.’" [Note: Thomas, p. 355.]
Joseph’s motives are not completely clear in the text. Consequently students of his life have made judgments about his character that are both positive and negative. Most have concluded that he was one of the greatest men in history. [Note: See Thomas Mann’s 1,600-page Joseph and His Brothers.] A few have contested this view and have believed that he was selfish and manipulative. [Note: E.g., Maurice Samuel, Certain People of the Book; idem, "Joseph-The Brilliant Failure," Bible Review 2:1 (Spring 1986):38-51, 68.] I believe the textual evidence favors the former view primarily, though some of his early actions seem to be unwise at best and arrogant at worst.
People who serve faithfully as unto the Lord often experience severe persecution, but God will preserve them so they can fulfill their God-given destiny.