12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock in Shechem . 13 Israel said to Joseph , "Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem ? Come , and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "I will go ." 14 Then he said to him, "Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock , and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron , and he came to Shechem . 15 A man found him, and behold , he was wandering in the field ; and the man asked him, "What are you looking for?" 16 He said , "I am looking for my brothers ; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock." 17 Then the man said , "They have moved from here ; for I heard them say , 'Let us go to Dothan .' " So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan . 18 When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death . 19 They said to one another , "Here comes this dreamer e ! 20 "Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits ; and we will say , 'A wild beast devoured him.' Then let us see what will become of his dreams !" 21 But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said , "Let us not take his life ." 22 Reuben further said to them, "Shed no blood . Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness , but do not lay hands on him"-that he might rescue him out of their hands , to restore him to his father .
23 So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers , that they stripped Joseph of his tunic , the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit . Now the pit was empty , without any water in it. 25 Then they sat down to eat a meal . And as they raised their eyes and looked , behold , a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead , with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh , on their way to bring them down to Egypt . 26 Judah said to his brothers , "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood ? 27 " Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother , our own flesh ." And his brothers listened to him. 28 Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit , and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver . Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt . 29 Now Reuben returned to the pit , and behold , Joseph was not in the pit ; so he tore his garments . 30 He returned to his brothers and said , " The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go ?"
31 So they took Joseph's tunic , and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood ; 32 and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said , "We found this ; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not." 33 Then he examined it and said , "It is my son's tunic . A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces !" 34 So Jacob tore his clothes , and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days . 35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted . And he said , "Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son ." So his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar , Pharaoh's officer , the captain of the bodyguard .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 37:12-36
Commentary on Genesis 37:12-22
(Read Genesis 37:12-22)
How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, 1 John 3:15. The sons of Jacob hated their brother because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them on further; but this laid rankling in their hearts, till they resolved on his death. God has all hearts in his hands. Reuben had most reason to be jealous of Joseph, for he was the first-born; yet he proves his best friend. God overruled all to serve his own purpose, of making Joseph an instrument to save much people alive. Joseph was a type of Christ; for though he was the beloved Son of his Father, and hated by a wicked world, yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to visit us in great humility and love. He came from heaven to earth to seek and save us; yet then malicious plots were laid against him. His own not only received him not, but crucified him. This he submitted to, as a part of his design to redeem and save us.
Commentary on Genesis 37:23-30
(Read Genesis 37:23-30)
They threw Joseph into a pit, to perish there with hunger and cold; so cruel were their tender mercies. They slighted him when he was in distress, and were not grieved for the affliction of Joseph, see Psalm 76:10. Joseph's brethren were wonderfully restrained from murdering him, and their selling him as wonderfully turned to God's praise.
Commentary on Genesis 37:31-36
(Read Genesis 37:31-36)
When Satan has taught men to commit one sin, he teaches them to try to conceal it with another; to hide theft and murder, with lying and false oaths: but he that covers his sin shall not prosper long. Joseph's brethren kept their own and one another's counsel for some time; but their villany came to light at last, and it is here published to the world. To grieve their father, they sent him Joseph's coat of colours; and he hastily thought, on seeing the bloody coat, that Joseph was rent in pieces. Let those that know the heart of a parent, suppose the agony of poor Jacob. His sons basely pretended to comfort him, but miserable, hypocritical comforters were they all. Had they really desired to comfort him, they might at once have done it, by telling the truth. The heart is strangely hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Jacob refused to be comforted. Great affection to any creature prepares for so much the greater affliction, when it is taken from us, or made bitter to us: undue love commonly ends in undue grief. It is the wisdom of parents not to bring up children delicately, they know not to what hardships they may be brought before they die. From the whole of this chapter we see with wonder the ways of Providence. The malignant brothers seem to have gotten their ends; the merchants, who care not what they deal in so that they gain, have also obtained theirs; and Potiphar, having got a fine young slave, has obtained his! But God's designs are, by these means, in train for execution. This event shall end in Israel's going down to Egypt; that ends in their deliverance by Moses; that in setting up the true religion in the world; and that in the spread of it among all nations by the gospel. Thus the wrath of man shall praise the Lord, and the remainder thereof will he restrain.