Genesis 37:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

NIV: His brothers said to him, 'Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.

NASB: Then his brothers said to him, 'Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?' So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

CSB: "Are you really going to reign over us? " his brothers asked him. "Are you really going to rule us? " So they hated him even more because of his dream and what he had said.

NLT: His brothers responded, 'So you think you will be our king, do you? Do you actually think you will reign over us?' And they hated him all the more because of his dreams and the way he talked about them.

KJV: And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

NKJV: And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Already hated by his ten older half-brothers (Genesis 37:4–5), Joseph has just related a wild dream he had. While farming, his brothers' bundles of wheat bowed down to his bundle in a field, as subjects would bow down to a ruler. The brothers react with pointed questions about what Joseph thinks his dream means. Of course, the symbolism of this dream is clear. Does he believe he will reign and rule over them? Their hatred, already seething, rises another notch because of his dreams and what he says about them.

This reaction might have been because the brothers are already afraid of what the dream suggested. The richly ornamented tunic given to Joseph by their father (Genesis 37:3) might have implied he was inclined to favor Joseph with a greater portion of the inheritance. This, despite Joseph being the youngest son other than his baby brother Benjamin (Genesis 35:16–18). From their perspective, Joseph is practically bragging that his dream was predicting he would become head of their clan.

While this is not exactly how the prophecy will be fulfilled, there will come a time when Joseph's brothers will all bow before him in submission (Genesis 42:6).

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.