Genesis 37:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?"

NIV: When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him and said, "What is this dream you had? Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow down to the ground before you?"

NASB: He also told it to his father as well as to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have had? Am I and your mother and your brothers actually going to come to bow down to the ground before you?'

CSB: He told his father and brothers, and his father rebuked him. "What kind of dream is this that you have had?" he said. "Am I and your mother and your brothers really going to come and bow down to the ground before you?"

NLT: This time he told the dream to his father as well as to his brothers, but his father scolded him. 'What kind of dream is that?' he asked. 'Will your mother and I and your brothers actually come and bow to the ground before you?'

KJV: And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

NKJV: So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

Joseph has revealed a second prophetic dream (Genesis 37:5–7) where the sun, moon, and 11 stars bowed down to him (Genesis 37:9). As the story of Genesis will reveal, Joseph's dreams will be fulfilled (Genesis 42:6). His family will eventually bow down before him, in submission and need.

Leading up to this, Joseph's brothers already hated him so much they couldn't speak politely (Genesis 37:4). Genesis doesn't comment as to whether Joseph was wise to tell them about the dreams instead of keeping them to himself. All the same, things are beginning to reach a boiling point for this family. Even Jacob, who clearly loves and favors Joseph over his brothers (Genesis 37:3), scolds him for suggesting they will one day bow themselves to the ground as if they were his subjects. Jacob's own experience with dreams (Genesis 28:10–16) suggests he's not angry at Joseph for having the dream, but for the way he chose to share it.

Jacob's harsh reprimand likely provides Joseph's brothers with enough justification to finally act on their hatred and jealousy in the following verses (Genesis 37:18, 28).

Genesis 37:1–11 describes Jacob's love and favor for one of his sons, Joseph. The most obvious sign of this extreme partiality is an extravagant robe given to Joseph by his father. Jacob seems to have forgotten the damage done by his parents' own favoritism (Genesis 25:27–28). He ignores or fails to recognize the jealous hatred brewing among his other sons. The situation festers until the brothers can't say a kind word to Joseph. After Joseph reports two prophetic dreams which suggest he will one day rule over them all, they become even more jealous and enraged.

Joseph, 17, is deeply loved by his father Jacob and deeply resented by his ten older brothers thanks to Jacob's favoritism. Jacob gives Joseph a princely robe, and Joseph reports dreams that predict his family will one day bow before him. When alone with Joseph in the wilderness, the brothers decide to kill him. Reuben stops them, suggesting they throw him alive into a pit, instead. While Reuben is gone, however, the brothers sell Joseph to slave-traders, later convincing their father Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph is placed in the home of an Egyptian nobleman.

Following the death of Isaac and the story of Esau's people, Genesis begins a section called the "generations of Jacob." The story will focus primarily on Jacob's son Joseph. Joseph is deeply hated by his brothers. While alone with him in the wilderness, they sell him to slave-traders, who take Joseph to Egypt. Chapter 38 details some of the scandals which happened while Joseph was gone. Genesis 39 will resume a focus on Joseph's experiences.

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.