Charles Ellicott Commentary Genesis 37:17

"And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan." — Genesis 37:17 (ASV)

Dothan. — This town was twelve miles north of Shechem, and is famous as being the place where Elisha struck the Syrian army with blindness (2 Kings 6:13–23). It is situated in a small but fertile valley, and Jacob’s sons, having exhausted the produce of the larger plain around Shechem, had moved northward there. Not having found them at Shechem, Joseph did not know where to go, but wandered about in the field—the open downs—until he met someone who could give him information. Had he been a practised hunter, like Esau, he would have followed them by the tracks of the cattle.