Genesis 37:18-24
New English Translation
18 Now Joseph’s brothers[a] saw him from a distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this master of dreams![b] 20 Come now, let’s kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild[c] animal ate him. Then we’ll see how his dreams turn out!”[d]
21 When Reuben heard this, he rescued Joseph[e] from their hands,[f] saying,[g] “Let’s not take his life!”[h] 22 Reuben continued,[i] “Don’t shed blood! Throw him into this cistern that is here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”[j] (Reuben said this[k] so he could rescue Joseph[l] from them[m] and take him back to his father.)
23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him[n] of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore. 24 Then they took him and threw him into the cistern. (Now the cistern was empty;[o] there was no water in it.)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 37:18 tn Heb “and they”; the referent (Joseph’s brothers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 37:19 tn Heb “Look, this master of dreams is coming.” The brothers’ words have a sarcastic note and indicate that they resent his dreams.
- Genesis 37:20 tn The Hebrew word can sometimes carry the nuance “evil,” but when used of an animal it refers to a dangerous wild animal.
- Genesis 37:20 tn Heb “what his dreams will be.”
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 37:21 sn From their hands. The instigators of this plot may have been the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah (see v. 2).
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “and he said.”
- Genesis 37:21 tn Heb “we must not strike him down [with respect to] life.”
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “and Reuben said to them.”
- Genesis 37:22 sn The verbs translated shed, throw, and lay sound alike in Hebrew; the repetition of similar sounds draws attention to Reuben’s words.
- Genesis 37:22 tn The words “Reuben said this” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “him”; the referent (Joseph) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Genesis 37:22 tn Heb “from their hands” (cf. v. 21). This expression has been translated as “them” here for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:23 tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.
- Genesis 37:24 tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that helps the reader or hearer to picture what happened.
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