Genesis 37:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

NIV: Then they got Joseph's robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

NASB: So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;

CSB: So they took Joseph's robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

NLT: Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.

KJV: And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

NKJV: So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

With Joseph out of the way, sold as a slave and bound for Egypt (Genesis 37:12–30), the brothers turn their attention to concocting a story to tell their father. An extravagant example of Jacob's favoritism was the ornate robe he had given Joseph (Genesis 37:3–4). The brothers kill a goat and smear the blood on Joseph's multi-colored garment. This would give the appearance that Joseph had been mauled by a wild animal. Most likely, they took other steps to mangle the garment, making it look like something they'd recovered after an attack.

Yet again, deception continues to play a key role in the history of this family. At the urging of his mother, Jacob deceived his father by covering his hands with the skin of slaughtered animal (Genesis 27:15–17). Now his children deceive him with the blood of an animal, as well.

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 4:11:37 PM