4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
4 When his brothers realized that their father loved him more than them, they grew to hate him - they wouldn't even speak to him.
4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
4 But his brothers hated Joseph because their father loved him more than the rest of them. They couldn't say a kind word to him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 37:4
Commentary on Genesis 37:1-4
(Read Genesis 37:1-4)
In Joseph's history we see something of Christ, who was first humbled and then exalted. It also shows the lot of Christians, who must through many tribulations enter into the kingdom. It is a history that has none like it, for displaying the various workings of the human mind, both good and bad, and the singular providence of God in making use of them for fulfilling his purposes. Though Joseph was his father's darling, yet he was not bred up in idleness. Those do not truly love their children, who do not use them to business, and labour, and hardships. The fondling of children is with good reason called the spoiling of them. Those who are trained up to do nothing, are likely to be good for nothing. But Jacob made known his love, by dressing Joseph finer than the rest of his children. It is wrong for parents to make a difference between one child and another, unless there is great cause for it, by the children's dutifulness, or undutifulness. When parents make a difference, children soon notice it, and it leads to quarrels in families. Jacob's sons did that, when they were from under his eye, which they durst not have done at home with him; but Joseph gave his father an account of their ill conduct, that he might restrain them. Not as a tale-bearer, to sow discord, but as a faithful brother.