In this chapter begins the history of Joseph, with whom the remaining part of this book is chiefly concerned; and here are related the hatred of his brethren to him, because he brought an ill report of them to his father, and because his father loved him, and which was increased by the dream he…

And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, &c.] And this stands opposed unto, and is distinguished from the case and circumstances of Esau and his posterity, expressed in the preceding chapter, who dwelt in the land of their possession, not as strangers and sojourners, as Jacob…

These are the generations of Jacob But no genealogy following, some interpret this of events or of things which befell Jacob, and his family, particularly with respect to his son Joseph, as Aben Ezra and Ben Melech take the sense of the word to be from ; but the words may refer to what goes before…

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children He being the firstborn of his beloved Rachel, and a lovely youth, of a beautiful aspect, very promising, prudent and pious: the reason given in the text follows, because he was the son of his old age; being ninety one years of age when he was born;…

And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren Which they perceived by various things in his behaviour to him, by his words, his looks, his gestures, and particularly by the coat he had made him, which distinguished him from the rest: they hated him, and could not…

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren, &c.] As a dream, in the simplicity of his heart; not understanding it, or imagining there was any meaning in it; he told it not with any design to affront them, but as an amusement, and for their diversion, there being something in it odd and…

And he said unto them, hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed. ] Hear now, so the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, immediately, directly, lest he should forget it, having perhaps dreamt it the night before; though our version expresses more modesty and submission. The dream follows:

For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field So it was represented in his mind in a dream, as if it was harvest time, and he and his brethren were at work together in the field binding up sheaves of corn that were reaped, in order to be carried home: and, lo, my sheaf arose, and stood upright;…

And his brethren said unto him After he had told his dream, being highly offended with him, understanding the dream, and the meaning of it, better than he did: shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shall thou indeed have dominion over us? denying that he ever should, and reproving him for his vanity,…

And he dreamed yet another dream Relating to the name subject as the former, and, for the confirmation of it, only the emblems are different, and more comprehensive: and told it his brethren, and said, behold, I have dreamed a dream more; another dream, and which he told, either as not knowing…

And he told it to his father, and to his brethren After he had told it to his brethren, he told it to his father a second time in their hearing, that he might pass his judgment on it, and give his sense of it before them: and his father rebuked him; not as being ignorant of the meaning of the…

And his brethren envied him Notwithstanding all the precaution Jacob took to prevent it; they suspecting and fearing that these dreams portended the pre-eminence of Joseph over them, or however served to fill his mind with the hopes and expectation of it: but his father observed the saying; what…

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…

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;…

And he said to him, go, I pray thee Or “now” [[9]], directly, immediately, which is more agreeable to the authority of a father: see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; it having been many days, and perhaps months, since he had heard anything of them; and the rather…

And a certain man found him Many of the Jewish writers and, behold, he was wandering in the field; in some field near Shechem, perhaps the same his father Jacob had purchased, and where he expected to have found his brethren, and was looking out for them, going to and fro in search of them; which…

And he said, I seek my brethren Whom, no doubt, he described to the man, and told him who they were, and to whom they belonged; or otherwise the man would have been at a loss to know who he meant, and what further to say to him, and without which Joseph would never have made the following request…

And the man said, they are departed hence They had been there, in the field where he and Joseph were, and which was probably the field before mentioned; but for good reasons, perhaps for want of pasture, or in order to find better feeding for their cattle, they were gone from thence, from the…

And when they saw him afar off They knew him as soon as they saw him, by his stature, his gesture or manner of walking, and especially by his coat of various colours he now had on, ; even before he came near unto them; the distance he was from them when they first spied him is particularly remarked…

And they said one to another According to the Targum of Jonathan, Simeon and Levi said what follows: nor is it unlikely, since they were hot, passionate, cruel, and bloody minded men, as appears by the affair of Shechem; and perhaps this may be the reason why Joseph afterwards, when governor of…

Come now therefore, and let us slay him Agree to do it, and actually do it: and cast him into some pit; or, “one of the pits” [[17]], which were near, and were dug for the collection of rainwater, as was usual in those countries where water was scarce: and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured…

And Reuben heard it Overheard what they said, not being in the consultation; perhaps knowing his temper and disposition to be more mild and gentle, and being the elder brother, might fear he would overrule matters against them, and therefore Simeon and Levi did not choose to have him in the debate;…

And Reuben said unto them, shed no blood Innocent blood, as the Targum of Jonathan; the blood of a man, a brother’s blood, one that had not done anything wherefore it should be shed, and which would involve in guilt, and bring vengeance on them: he seems to put them in mind of the original law in ;…

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, &c.] To the very place where they were, and had, in a kind and obliging manner, asked of their welfare, and related their father’s concern for them, who had sent him on this errand: that they stripped, Joseph out of his coat; his coat of…

And they took him, and cast him into a pit Into the same that Reuben pointed to them, whose counsel they gladly took and readily executed, supposing he meant the same thing they did, starving him to death: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it; only serpents and scorpions, as the Targum…

And they sat down to eat bread Not at all concerned at what they had done, nor in the least grieved for the affliction of Joseph, and without any pity and compassion for him in his distress, but joyful and glad they had got him into their hands, and like to get rid of him for ever: and they lifted…

And Judah said unto his brethren In sight of the Ishmaelites, a thought came into his mind to get Joseph sold to them; what profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? it could be no advantage to them even if they could have concealed his blood from men; and if it was discovered, as…

Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites For a slave, and that will defeat his dream; and as these were going down to Egypt, where they would sell him, he would be far enough from them, and there would be no probability of his ever being lord over them: and let not our hand be upon him; to take…

Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen The same with the Ishmaelites before mentioned, as appears from the latter part of this verse; for as these were near neighbours, so they might join together in merchandise, and travel in company for greater safety, and are sometimes called the one, and…

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.

And he returned unto his brethren From the pit, and whom he suspected had took him and killed him, as was their first design, not being with them when they proposed to sell him, and did: and said, the child is not; not in the pit, nor in the land of the living, but is dead, which is sometimes the…

And they took Joseph’s coat After they had told Reuben what they had done with him, who being willing to make the best of things as it was, joined with them in the following scheme: by this it appears, that when they took Joseph out of the pit they did not put his coat on him, but sold him naked,…

And they sent the coat of many colours Which was what they dipped in the blood of the kid; this they sent to Jacob in such a condition, by the hand of some messenger; the Targum of Jonathan says, the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah; but more probably some of their servants, whom they instructed what to…

And he knew it, and said, it is my son’s coat He took it, and examined it, and was soon convinced, and well assured it was his son’s coat; read the words without the supplement “it is”, and the pathos will appear the more, “my son’s coat!” and think with what a beating heart, with what trembling…

And Jacob rent his clothes As expressive of his grief and mourning for the death of his son, as he supposed: and put sackcloth upon his loins; put off his usual apparel, and put on a coarse garment on his loins next to his flesh, as another token of his great trouble and affliction for the loss of…

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him His sons must act a most hypocritical part in this affair; and as for his daughters, it is not easy to say who they were, since he had but one daughter that we read of, whose name was Dinah: the Targum of Jonathan calls them his sons…

And the Midianites sold him into Egypt Or Medanites, who sprung from Medan, a brother of Midian, and son of Keturah, ; and were distinct from the Midianites, though they dwelt near them, and were now in company with them, and with the Ishmaelites, and were all concerned in the buying and selling of…