Genesis 37:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

NIV: Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more.

NASB: Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

CSB: Then Joseph had a dream. When he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.

NLT: One night Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him more than ever.

KJV: And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

NKJV: Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.

Joseph's life will be greatly shaped by prophetic dreams and their interpretations (Genesis 40:8; 41:15–16). In this case, a dream spoke of his own future life and relationships. Years later, his older brothers will, indeed, be at the mercy of Joseph's good will (Genesis 42:6).

At this point, Joseph's brothers view him with so much hatred they can't speak politely to him (Genesis 37:2–4). Why he chooses to share this dream is not clear. Perhaps he naively thought describing the dream to his brothers would increase his esteem in their eyes. Instead, they hated him even more. The following verses describe this dream (Genesis 37:6), and another (Genesis 37:9), making it easy to understand why the dreams provoked his jealous brothers to greater anger.

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.

Accessed 4/30/2024 11:26:56 PM