Genesis 37:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

NIV: Judah said to his brothers, 'What will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

NASB: And Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?

CSB: Judah said to his brothers, "What do we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood?

NLT: Judah said to his brothers, 'What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime.

KJV: And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

NKJV: So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Joseph (Genesis 37:3–4) is trapped in a pit nearby (Genesis 37:24), having escaped being murdered only by the intervention of his oldest brother Reuben (Genesis 37:18–22). Reuben planned to come back and rescue Joseph later. Now another of Joseph's brothers sees an opportunity to not only get rid of Joseph, but to make money doing so.

Nomadic traders are passing along on their way to Egypt (Genesis 37:25). Judah starts out by asking what gain is had from killing Joseph and covering it up. Revenge was their first impulse, but Judah notices an opportunity for both vengeance and profit. In the following verse, he will suggest an alternative to murder (Genesis 37:27). Reuben's plan to rescue Joseph will fail—and it would seem he is not aware of the new plot proposed by Judah (Genesis 37:29).

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.

Accessed 4/29/2024 3:34:44 AM