Genesis 37:13 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am."

NIV: and Israel said to Joseph, "As you know, your brothers are grazing the flocks near Shechem. Come, I am going to send you to them." "Very well," he replied.

NASB: And Israel said to Joseph, 'Are your brothers not pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.' And he said to him, 'I will go.'

CSB: Israel said to Joseph, "Your brothers, you know, are pasturing the flocks at Shechem. Get ready. I’m sending you to them." "I’m ready," Joseph replied.

NLT: When they had been gone for some time, Jacob said to Joseph, 'Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Get ready, and I will send you to them.' 'I’m ready to go,' Joseph replied.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

Genesis is inspired Scripture: it is both the Word of God and ancient literature that masterfully tells a powerful story. We have already seen that Joseph's ten brothers are furiously jealous of him (Genesis 37:3–5). We know they are capable of great violence when angry (Genesis 34:26–27). And yet, Jacob—renamed Israel (Genesis 35:10)—has a puzzling way of being oblivious to some of these concerns. He barely reacted when his daughter was raped (Genesis 34:5). No immediate reaction is recorded in response to his oldest sons' depravity (Genesis 35:22). He was raised in sibling rivalry driven by his own parents (Genesis 25:27–28), yet he's overtly lavished favor on Joseph (Genesis 37:3).

Apparently blind to the hatred and tension towards Joseph, Jacob is sending Joseph with some degree of authority. Joseph had reported back on his brothers once before (Genesis 37:2). Jacob might be wondering why his sons are near Shechem (Genesis 37:12), so he will send Joseph to get a status update (Genesis 37:14). Jacob may have suspicions, and it turns out the brothers won't be where Jacob expects (Genesis 37:15–17).

This encounter suggests both Joseph and his father are clueless to the danger of letting Joseph be alone with his brothers. It's also possible Joseph may have anticipated the danger and chosen to obey his father without mentioning it.

Genesis 37:12–36 describes how Joseph's wildly resentful brothers finally get rid of him. They hate Joseph for being Jacob's favorite (Genesis 37:3) and for his grandiose dreams (Genesis 37:5, 9). When Joseph arrives alone at the camp of his brothers, very far from home, they have an opportunity. Only Reuben's intervention keeps them from killing Joseph outright. Instead, while Reuben is absent, the brothers sell Joseph to passing slave traders and later convince their father he has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph becomes a slave in an Egyptian home. Genesis 39 will return to Joseph's story.

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.