Genesis 37:12-36
Human sin may intend harm, but God works through it to accomplish His redemptive purposes.
Scripture Text
37:12 His brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.
37:13 Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t Your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send You to them.” He said to Him, “Here I am.”
37:14 He said to Him, “Go now, see whether it is well with Your brothers, and well with the flock; and bring me word again.” So He sent Him out of the valley of Hebron, and He came to Shechem.
37:15 A certain man found Him, and behold, He was wandering in the field. The man asked Him, “What are You looking for?”
37:16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are feeding the flock.”
37:17 The man said, “They have left here, for I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” Joseph went after His brothers, and found them in Dothan.
37:18 They saw Him afar off, and before He came near to them, they conspired against Him to kill Him.
37:19 They said to one another, “Behold, this dreamer comes.
37:20 Come now therefore, and let’s kill Him, and cast Him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured Him.’ We will see what will become of His dreams.”
37:21 Reuben heard it, and delivered Him out of their hand, and said, “Let’s not take His life.”
37:22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw Him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand on Him”—that He might deliver Him out of their hand, to restore Him to His father.
37:23 When Joseph came to His brothers, they stripped Joseph of His tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on Him;
37:24 And they took Him, and threw Him into the pit. The pit was empty. There was no water in it.
37:25 They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
37:26 Judah said to His brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal His blood?
37:27 Come, and let’s sell Him to the Ishmaelites, and not let our hand be on Him; for He is our brother, our flesh.” His brothers listened to Him.
37:28 Midianites who were merchants passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. The merchants brought Joseph into Egypt.
37:29 Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and He tore His clothes.
37:30 He returned to His brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”
37:31 They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
37:32 They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is Your son’s tunic or not.”
37:33 He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured Him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”
37:34 Jacob tore His clothes, and put sackcloth on His waist, and mourned for His son many days.
37:35 All His sons and all His daughters rose up to comfort Him, but He refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for Him.
37:36 The Midianites sold Him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.
Human sin may intend harm, but God works through it to accomplish His redemptive purposes.
Genesis 37:12-36 shows that Joseph is rejected, stripped, cast down, and sold into Egypt by His brothers, while God’s sovereign plan advances through their sinful actions to preserve the covenant line.
That believers would trust God’s sovereign purposes even in the midst of injustice, betrayal, and suffering.
- 37:1–4 Jacob dwells in the land of Canaan. Joseph, seventeen years old, shepherds with His brothers, brings a bad report about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, and is loved by Israel more than all His sons because He is the son of His old age. Jacob makes Him a richly ornamented robe, and the brothers hate Joseph because of their father’s love for Him.
- 37:5–11 Joseph dreams that His brothers’ sheaves bow to His sheaf, and then that the sun, moon, and eleven stars bow to Him. He tells the dreams, and His brothers hate Him even more, while Jacob rebukes Him yet keeps the matter in mind.
- 37:12–17 Joseph’s brothers go to pasture the flock near Shechem. Jacob sends Joseph from the Valley of Hebron to check on the welfare of His brothers and the flock. Joseph wanders in the field until a man directs Him to Dothan.
- 37:18–28 The brothers see Joseph from afar, conspire to kill Him, and mockingly call Him 'this dreamer.' Reuben seeks to rescue Him by persuading them to throw Him into a pit instead of killing Him directly. They strip Joseph of His robe and cast Him into an empty cistern. Judah then persuades the brothers to sell Joseph rather than shed His blood, and Joseph is sold to Ishmaelites/Midianite traders for twenty shekels of silver, who take Him to Egypt.
- 37:29–36 Reuben returns to the pit and finds Joseph gone. The brothers slaughter a goat, dip Joseph’s robe in the blood, and deceive their father into thinking Joseph has been torn to pieces by a wild animal. Jacob mourns deeply and refuses comfort. Meanwhile, Joseph is sold in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard.
- Do not excuse the brothers’ actions as necessary for God’s plan; they are fully responsible for their sin.
- Do not interpret Joseph’s suffering as evidence of divine abandonment.
- Do not overlook the depth of deception and its impact on Jacob.
- Do not minimize Judah’s role simply because He avoids murder.
- Do not detach this passage from its fulfillment later in Joseph’s life.
- Do not assume God’s sovereignty removes human accountability.
- Do not miss the typological connection between Joseph and Christ.
- Covenant Significance : Genesis 37 is covenantally significant because it begins the movement that will carry Jacob’s family into Egypt, where the covenant household will be preserved in famine and multiplied into a people. Joseph’s rejection is therefore not an isolated family tragedy but the opening act in a larger covenant-preserving drama. The dreams also matter covenantally because they signal that Joseph will occupy a position of rule and mediating provision within the family. Though Judah remains crucial for the royal and messianic line, Joseph becomes the instrument through which the covenant family survives. The chapter therefore advances the covenant not through visible blessing in the land, but through hidden providence that leads the chosen household into a new and difficult phase of redemptive history.
- Old Testament Foundation : Genesis 33:1-20
- Old Testament Foundation : Genesis 35:22-26
- Old Testament Foundation : Genesis 42:6-9
- Old Testament Foundation : Psalm 105:16-19
- Old Testament Foundation : Genesis 50:20
- Thematic Parallel : Genesis 27:15-27
- Thematic Parallel : Genesis 42:6-9
- Thematic Parallel : Genesis 50:20
- Thematic Parallel : Acts 7:9-14
Joseph’s rejection, suffering, and eventual rise anticipate Christ, who was betrayed and delivered up according to God’s plan for the salvation of many.