Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 37

And Jacob ... — This verse is not the beginning of a new section, but the conclusion of the Tôldôth Esau. In Genesis 36:6, we read that Esau went into a land away from Jacob. Upon this follows in Genesis 37:8, And Esau dwelt in Mount Seir; and now the necessary information concerning the other brother is given to us, And Jacob dwelt in the land ... of Canaan. In the Hebrew the conjunctions are the same.

THE TÔLDÔTH JACOB. JOSEPH IS SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS INTO EGYPT.

The generations of Jacob. — This Tôldôth, according to the consistent rule, is the history of Jacob’s descendants, and especially of Joseph. In the same way, the Tôldôth of the heaven and earth (Genesis 2:4) gives the history of the creation and fall of man. Similarly, the Tôldôth Adam was the history of the flood; and, not to multiply examples, that of Terah was the history of Abraham (see Note on Genesis 28:10). This Tôldôth, therefore, extends to the end of Genesis. It is the history of the removal, through Joseph’s instrumentality, of the family of Jacob from Canaan into Egypt, as a step preparatory to its growth into a nation.

Joseph being seventeen years old. — He was born about seven years before Jacob left Haran. Since the journey home probably occupied two full years, he would have lived in Isaac’s neighborhood for seven or eight years. Isaac’s life, as we have seen, was prolonged for about twelve years after Joseph's sale by his brothers.

And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah. — Hebrew: And he was lad with the sons of Bilhah, etc. The probable meaning of this is that, as the youngest son, it was his duty to serve his brothers, just as David had to look after the sheep while his brothers went to the festival, and he was also sent to the camp to attend to them (1 Samuel 16:11; 1 Samuel 17:17–18).

The sons of Jacob were dispersed in detachments over the large territory occupied by Jacob’s cattle. After his mother’s death, when he was about nine years old, Joseph was probably brought up in the tent of Bilhah, his mother’s handmaid. Therefore, he would naturally accompany her sons, who were also joined by the sons of the other handmaid. They do not seem to have taken any special part in Joseph’s sale.

Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. — Hebrew: Joseph brought an evil report of them unto their father.

He was the son of his old age. — Jacob was ninety-one when Joseph was born. However, at Benjamin’s birth, Jacob was eight or nine years older. According to the common belief that Jacob was only twenty years in Padan-aram, the four sons of the handmaids must have been about Joseph’s age, and Leah’s last two sons even younger.

But the epithet is intelligible if Jacob had waited twenty-seven years after his marriage with Rachel before Joseph was born. A considerable interval would then have existed between Joseph and the other sons. And though Rachel had a second son some years afterwards, Joseph would continue to be the son long looked for, whose birth had given Jacob so great happiness. In contrast, Jacob’s joy at Benjamin’s coming was bought at the terrible price of the mother’s death.

A coat of many colours. — Two explanations are given for this phrase. The first is that it was a long garment with sleeves or fringes; the other, that it was composed of patchwork of various colours. The latter is the more probable interpretation. For, from the tomb at Beni-Hassan, we learn that such dresses were worn in Palestine, as a train of captive Jebusites is represented there, clad in rich robes, the patterns of which seem to have been produced by sewing together small pieces of different colours.

Similarly, in India, beautiful dresses are made by sewing together strips of crimson, purple, and other colours (Roberts’ Oriental Illustrations, p. 43). Some have thought that Jacob, by this dress, marked out Joseph as the future head of the family in place of Reuben. They supposed this dress indicated the priestly office borne by the firstborn. However, this is doubtful, as it was Judah to whom Jacob gave the right of primogeniture.

Joseph dreamed a dream. —Although dreams generally only arise from the mind being wearied by excessive activity (Ecclesiastes 5:3) or other trivial causes; yet, since they are used by God from time to time for providential purposes, they are occasionally described as a lower kind of prophecy (Numbers 12:6–8; Deuteronomy 13:1; 1 Samuel 28:15).

In the life of Joseph, they form the turning point in his history. It should be noted that while revelations were frequently made to Jacob, from that time forward we have no record of any such direct communication from God to humanity until the time of Moses. The most that was granted to Joseph was to dream dreams; and after this, the children of Israel in Egypt were left entirely to natural laws and influences. (Compare to the note on Genesis 26:2.)

Stood upright. — Hebrew, took its station. It is the verb used in Genesis 24:13; see the note on that verse. It implies that the sheaf took the position of chief. We gather from this dream that Jacob practised agriculture, not occasionally, as had been the case with Isaac (Genesis 26:12), but regularly, as seems to have been usual also at Haran (Genesis 30:14).