John Calvin Commentary Genesis 37:23

"And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him;" — Genesis 37:23 (ASV)

They stripped Joseph out of his coat. We see that these men are full of fictions and lies. They carelessly strip their brother; they feel no dread at casting him with their own hands into the pit, where hunger worse than ten swords might consume him. They do this because they hope their crime will be concealed, and they believe that by taking home his clothes, no suspicion of his murder will be aroused, for they reason their father would believe he had been torn by a wild beast.

In this way, Satan deludes wicked minds, so that they entangle themselves with frivolous evasions. Conscience is indeed the source of moral restraint; but Satan so soothes with his allurements those whom he has entangled in his snares, that conscience itself, which should have summoned them as guilty before the judgment seat of God, only hardens them further.

For, having found excuses, they rush far more boldly into sin, as if they could commit with impunity whatever escapes human sight. Surely it is a reprobate mind, a spirit of madness and insensibility, that is restrained from any bold transgression only by a fear of human shame, while the fear of divine judgment is trampled underfoot.

And although not all are carried to such extremes, the fault of giving more honor to men than to God is all too common. The repetition of the word coat in Moses' account is emphatic, showing that this token of the father’s love could not soften their hearts.