MPV Commentary

5. Joseph had a dream that was significant enough to engage his family's serious consideration. Dreams were highly valued in ancient times, and this one was clearly symbolic. The meaning was easily understood, and since it was repeated under different circumstances, its fulfillment seemed certain (compare Ge 41:32). This led to his brothers envying him, but their father observed the saying.

12. Joseph's brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem, a valley known for its abundant water supply. They traveled from Hebron, which must have taken them nearly twenty hours, or about fifty miles at a shepherd's pace. However, the rich and nutritious herbage made it worth the journey.

13-17. Jacob asked his sons if they were feeding their father's flock in Shechem. Anxious to learn how his sons were doing, he sent Joseph on a mission to find them. The youth accepted the task with enthusiasm and left Hebron to search for them at Shechem. He heard from a man in the field that they had moved to Dothan, likely due to the negative reputation their family had gained after the massacre.

17. Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan. This was a few hours' distance from Shechem.

18. When they saw him approaching from afar, they could perceive him on the level grass field where they were watching their cattle. They noticed him coming from the side of Shechem or Samaria.

19. "Behold, this dreamer is coming," his brothers said, using a bitterly ironic tone. Dreams were considered suggestions from above, and making false pretensions to having received one was seen as blasphemy. Joseph's brothers viewed him as an artful pretender, and they began to form a plot for his assassination.

23. They stripped Joseph of his coat with many colors, leaving him in a state of shock and terror. A vivid picture of his agony and despair would later be drawn by his brothers (compare Ge 42:21).

25. They sat down to eat bread, showing no remorse or regret for their actions. Their common share in the conspiracy was just one dismal feature in this story. The rapidity with which they formed a plan and executed it is astonishing.

26-28. Judah suggested selling Joseph as a slave to the passing merchants, who were known to trade in slaves. This proposal was based on their knowledge that Arabian merchants trafficked in slaves, and there is evidence from Egyptian monuments that traders brought slaves from various countries and sold them in Nile cities.

27. They lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty pieces of silver. The money was likely in rings or shekels, and the total sum did not exceed £3 if weighed in shekel weight.

28. They brought Joseph into Egypt, taking a route that would lead them directly westward across the country to the maritime coast. This route was safer and more expeditious than going overland through Hebron.

29-30. Reuben returned to the pit, intending to secretly rescue Joseph from a lingering death by starvation. However, his plans were not part of God's design for Joseph's deliverance.

31-33. They took Joseph's coat as evidence of their crime and planned to deceive their father with it. The commission of one sin often leads to another to conceal it.

34. Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his loins, the common signs of Oriental mourning. A rent in the skirt was made according to the mourner's feelings, and a coarse piece of black cloth was wound around the waist.

35. He said, "For I will go down into the grave unto my son," meaning the unknown place where he expected to meet his beloved son at death.