Section 79 of 10437:12–36Genesis

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King James VersionGenesis 37:12–36

And his brethren went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.

And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.

Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams.

And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.

And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;

And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

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

Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

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

And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.

Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.

Scripture text: King James Version, Standardized 1769 text. Public domain in the United States.About this Bible text

Genesis 37:12–36

Joseph Is Sold and Jacob Is Deceived

A pit, silver, and a father's false funeral

Jacob sends Joseph to seek his brothers' welfare. They conspire to kill him and so disprove the dreams. Reuben proposes the pit, intending to return him. They strip him and sit down to eat. Judah proposes sale rather than murder.

Joseph is taken toward Egypt for silver. The exact trader sequence in verse 28 is disputed; the brothers' responsibility in the story as a whole is not. They use the garment and goat blood so Jacob infers a wild-animal death. Living Joseph is in Egypt. Jacob mourns a death that did not occur.

How this should shape us

Interrupt dehumanizing plans openly and get the person to safety. Do not profit from another person's captivity, and do not manipulate evidence so someone reaches the conclusion you want.

Teach it back

Explain how Genesis 37:12–36 moves from Jacob's welfare mission to Joseph in Egypt. Include Reuben's and Judah's limited interventions, the verse 28 uncertainty, the garment deception, and why later providence does not excuse the brothers' actions.

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The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.

Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties

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Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Supports: Displayed text, whole-story responsibility, remembered anguish, and later providence.

Genesis 37:12–36; 39:1; 42:21; 45:4–8; 50:15–20 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Supports: Shalom, master of dreams, pit, profit, flesh, unstated verb subjects, recognition, Sheol, and court-title forms.

WLC Genesis 37:12–36, especially vv. 14, 19, 22, 26–28, 32, 35–36

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Supports: KJV and Hebrew idioms, verse 28 supplied subjects, garment delivery, Sheol, Medanite-Midianite variant, and Potiphar-title cautions.

NET Genesis 37 notes 31–77

Genesis

Supports: Final-form movement, morally mixed Reuben and Judah, garment deception, grief, Potiphar, and Judah chapter placement.

Genesis commentary, sections 37:12–17, 37:18–30, 37:31–35, 37:36, and 38:1–30

Genesis

Supports: Whole-book placement only; no uninspected page-level conclusion is attributed.

Genesis, table of contents: 'Joseph and the Promise' beginning p. 310

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

Supports: Modern critical counterpoint for the Joseph novella, source questions, Genesis 38 placement, and bridge to Egypt.

Genesis 37–50: Joseph study guide, sections on literary form, Judah interlude, providence, and origin traditions

Divestiture, Deception, and Demotion: The Garment Motif in Genesis 37–39

Supports: Garment, divestiture, forced recognition, deception, status, and Genesis 37–39 literary connections.

JSOT 26.4 (2002), pp. 47–62, official abstract and exposed notes

The Sale of Joseph in Genesis 37:18–26: Narrative Cohesion and Coherence

Supports: Documentary reconstruction, narrative cross-links, Genesis 37:28 subject ambiguity, Midianite-Ishmaelite roles, and a final-form cohesion proposal.

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 24, Article 5 (2024), pp. 1–30, especially pp. 4–5 and 19–30

Wer verkaufte Josef? Zur Exegesegeschichte von Gen 37,25–30

Supports: Interpretation history of brothers-versus-traders readings and the modern Reuben-Midianite/Judah-Ishmaelite source reconstruction; no uninspected detail is attributed.

Theologie und Philosophie 91.2 (2016), pp. 161–195; official English summary

Sources for This Section

These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.

Biblical text

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society

USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.

Supports: Displayed text, whole-story responsibility, remembered anguish, and later providence.

Exact location: Genesis 37:12–36; 39:1; 42:21; 45:4–8; 50:15–20 in the pinned standardized 1769 KJV

Open source ↗

hebrew text morphology and lemma data

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project

Open Scriptures, Version 2.2 released 2021; repository inspected 2026

Supports: Shalom, master of dreams, pit, profit, flesh, unstated verb subjects, recognition, Sheol, and court-title forms.

Exact location: WLC Genesis 37:12–36, especially vv. 14, 19, 22, 26–28, 32, 35–36

Open source ↗

Translation and textual notes

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Biblical Studies Press

Biblical Studies Press, Digital edition accessed 2026

Supports: KJV and Hebrew idioms, verse 28 supplied subjects, garment delivery, Sheol, Medanite-Midianite variant, and Potiphar-title cautions.

Exact location: NET Genesis 37 notes 31–77

Open NET Genesis 37 ↗

modern open whole book commentary

Genesis

T. Desmond Alexander

The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023

Supports: Final-form movement, morally mixed Reuben and Judah, garment deception, grief, Potiphar, and Judah chapter placement.

Exact location: Genesis commentary, sections 37:12–17, 37:18–30, 37:31–35, 37:36, and 38:1–30

Open source ↗

modern scholarly commentary publisher material

Genesis

Bill T. Arnold

Cambridge University Press, 2009

Supports: Whole-book placement only; no uninspected page-level conclusion is attributed.

Exact location: Genesis, table of contents: 'Joseph and the Promise' beginning p. 310

Open source ↗

modern critical open study guide

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

Joel S. Baden and Yale Bible Study

Yale Divinity School, 2021 course; page inspected 2026

Supports: Modern critical counterpoint for the Joseph novella, source questions, Genesis 38 placement, and bridge to Egypt.

Exact location: Genesis 37–50: Joseph study guide, sections on literary form, Judah interlude, providence, and origin traditions

Open source ↗

One scholarly structural interpretation

Divestiture, Deception, and Demotion: The Garment Motif in Genesis 37–39

John R. Huddlestun

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 26.4, 2002

Supports: Garment, divestiture, forced recognition, deception, status, and Genesis 37–39 literary connections.

Exact location: JSOT 26.4 (2002), pp. 47–62, official abstract and exposed notes

Open source ↗

peer reviewed open literary and compositional study

The Sale of Joseph in Genesis 37:18–26: Narrative Cohesion and Coherence

Matthew McAffee

Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 24, Article 5, pages 1–30, 2024 volume; published 2025

Supports: Documentary reconstruction, narrative cross-links, Genesis 37:28 subject ambiguity, Midianite-Ishmaelite roles, and a final-form cohesion proposal.

Exact location: Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 24, Article 5 (2024), pp. 1–30, especially pp. 4–5 and 19–30

Open source ↗

peer reviewed interpretation history study

Wer verkaufte Josef? Zur Exegesegeschichte von Gen 37,25–30

Dieter Böhler

Theologie und Philosophie 91.2, pages 161–195, 2016

Supports: Interpretation history of brothers-versus-traders readings and the modern Reuben-Midianite/Judah-Ishmaelite source reconstruction; no uninspected detail is attributed.

Exact location: Theologie und Philosophie 91.2 (2016), pp. 161–195; official English summary

Open source ↗

Genesis 37:12–36, King James Version

A pit, silver, and a father's false funeral

How this should shape us

Teach it back

Go deeper

King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible — Genesis

NET Bible — Genesis with translators' notes

Genesis

Genesis

Genesis 37–50: Joseph — Study Guide

Divestiture, Deception, and Demotion: The Garment Motif in Genesis 37–39

The Sale of Joseph in Genesis 37:18–26: Narrative Cohesion and Coherence

Wer verkaufte Josef? Zur Exegesegeschichte von Gen 37,25–30