Bereshis 37
37
[VAYESHEV]
1And Ya'akov dwelt in the eretz megurei Aviv (in the land wherein his father was a ger) in Eretz Kena'an.
2These are the toldot Ya'akov. Yosef, being seventeen years old, was ro'eh with his achim to the tzon; now the na'ar was with the bnei Bilhah, and with the bnei Zilpah, the ne'shei Aviv (the wives of his father); and Yosef brought unto Avihem (their father) dibbatam ra'ah (a bad, evil report of them).
3Now Yisroel loved Yosef more than all his children, because he was the ben zekunim (the son of his old age); and he made him a kesones passim (ketonet [tunic] reaching to palms and soles).#37:3 See Messianic significance Jn 19:23
4And when his achim saw that Avihem loved him more than all his achim, they hated him, and could not speak with shalom unto him.
5And Yosef dreamed a chalom (dream),#37:5 See Mt 2:22 and he told it to his achim; and they hated him yet the more.
6And he said unto them, Hear, now, this chalom which I have dreamed:
7For, hinei, we were binding alummim (sheaves of wheat) out in the sadeh, and, hinei, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, hinei, your alummot (sheaves of wheat) gathered around it, and bowed down to my sheaf.
8And his achim said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his chalomot (dreams), and for his devarim.
9And he dreamed yet another chalom, and told it his achim, and said, Hinei, I have dreamed a chalom more; and, hinei, the shemesh and the yarei'ach and the eleven kokhavim bowed down to me.
10And he told it to Aviv, and to his achim: and Aviv rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this chalom that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and Immecha and Achecha indeed come to bow down ourselves to the ground before thee?
11And his achim had kina (jealousy, envy) toward him; but Aviv was shomer over the saying.
12And his achim went for the purpose to be ro'eh tzon Avihem in the vicinity of Shechem.
13And Yisroel said unto Yosef, Do not thy achim ro'im in Shechem? Come and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Hineni.
14And he said to him, Go, now, see about the shalom achecha, and the shalom hatzon; and bring me devar. So he sent him out of the Emek Chevron, and he went to Shechem.
15And a certain ish found him, and, hinei, he was wandering in the sadeh; and the ish asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16And he said, I seek my achim; tell me, now, where they ro'im (feed their flocks).
17And the ish said, They are departed from here; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dotan. And Yosef went after his achim, and found them in Dotan.
18And when they saw him merachok (afar off, in the distance), even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to kill him.
19And they said one to another, Hinei, this ba'al hachalomot cometh.
20Come now therefore, and let us kill him, and throw him into one of the borot (pits), and we will say, Some chayyah ra'ah (evil wild beast) hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his chalomot.
21And Reuven heard it, and he saved him out of their yadayim; and said, Let us not take his nefesh.
22And Reuven said unto them, Do no shefach dahm (shedding of blood), but throw him into this bor that is in the midbar, and lay no yad upon him; that he might rescue him out of their yadayim, to take him back to Aviv.
23And it came to pass, when Yosef was come unto his achim, that they stripped Yosef of his kesones,#37:23 See Jn 19:23 his kesones hapassim that was on him;
24And they took him, and threw him into the borah (pit); and the bor was empty, there was no mayim in it.
25And they sat down to eat lechem; and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, hinei, a caravan of Yishm'elim was coming from Gil'ad with their gemalim bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Mitzrayim.
26And Yehudah said unto his achim, What betza (profit, gain) is it if we kill achinu (our brother), and conceal his dahm?
27Come, and let us sell him to the Yishm'elim, and let not yadeinu (our hands) be upon him; for he is achinu (our brother) and besareinu (our flesh). And his achim agreed.
28Then there passed by anashim Midyanim socharim (men of Midyan, traders); and they drew and lifted up Yosef out of the bor, and sold Yosef to the Yishm'elim for esrim kesef; and they took Yosef to Mitzrayim.
29And Reuven returned unto the bor; and, hinei, Yosef was not in the bor; and he made the keriah of his clothes.#37:29 compare Mk 14:63
30And he returned unto his achim, and said, The yeled is not; and I, where shall I turn?
31And they took the kesones Yosef, and did shachat the se'ir izzim (slaughtered the kid of the goats), and dipped the kesones in the dahm;
32And they sent the kesones hapassim, and they brought it to Avihem; and said, This have we found; examine for identification purposes now whether it be the kesones Binecha or no.
33And he recognized it, and said, It is the kesones beni; a chayyah ra'ah hath devoured him; Yosef is without doubt torn in pieces.
34And Ya'akov made the keriah of his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for beno yamim rabbim.
35And all his banim and all his banot rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down to beni mourning to Sheol. Thus Aviv wept for him.
36And the Midyanim sold him into Mitzrayim unto Potiphar, a seris Pharaoh (courtier of Pharaoh), a sar hatabbachim (a captain of the slaughterers, executioners, i.e., captain of the guard).
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Bereshis 37: TOJB2011
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THE ORTHODOX JEWISH BIBLE
FOURTH EDITION © Artists For Israel Intl Inc., 2002-2011, 2021.
Genesis 37
37
Joseph dreams of power
1Jacob lived in the land of Canaan where his father was an immigrant. 2This is the account of Jacob’s descendants. Joseph was 17 years old and tended the flock with his brothers. While he was helping the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives, Joseph told their father unflattering things about them. 3Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons because he was born when Jacob was old. Jacob had made for him a long#37.3 LXX many-colored robe. 4When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of his brothers, they hated him and couldn’t even talk nicely to him.
5Joseph had a dream and told it to his brothers, which made them hate him even more. 6He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had. 7When we were binding stalks of grain in the field, my stalk got up and stood upright, while your stalks gathered around it and bowed down to my stalk.”
8His brothers said to him, “Will you really be our king and rule over us?” So they hated him even more because of the dreams he told them.
9Then Joseph had another dream and described it to his brothers: “I’ve just dreamed again, and this time the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
10When he described it to his father and brothers, his father scolded him and said to him, “What kind of dreams have you dreamed? Am I and your mother and your brothers supposed to come and bow down to the ground in front of you?” 11His brothers were jealous of him, but his father took careful note of the matter.
Joseph’s brothers take revenge
12Joseph’s brothers went to tend their father’s flocks near Shechem. 13Israel said to Joseph, “Aren’t your brothers tending the sheep near Shechem? Come, I’ll send you to them.”
And he said, “I’m ready.”
14Jacob said to him, “Go! Find out how your brothers are and how the flock is, and report back to me.”
So Jacob sent him from the Hebron Valley. When he approached Shechem, 15a man found him wandering in the field and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16Joseph said, “I’m looking for my brothers. Tell me, where are they tending the sheep?”
17The man said, “They left here. I heard them saying, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
18They saw Joseph in the distance before he got close to them, and they plotted to kill him. 19The brothers said to each other, “Here comes the big dreamer. 20Come on now, let’s kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns, and we’ll say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what becomes of his dreams!”
21When Reuben heard what they said, he saved him from them, telling them, “Let’s not take his life.” 22Reuben said to them, “Don’t spill his blood! Throw him into this desert cistern, but don’t lay a hand on him.” He intended to save Joseph from them and take him back to his father.
23When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped off Joseph’s long robe, 24took him, and threw him into the cistern, an empty cistern with no water in it. 25When they sat down to eat, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with camels carrying sweet resin, medicinal resin, and fragrant resin on their way down to Egypt. 26Judah said to his brothers, “What do we gain if we kill our brother and hide his blood? 27Come on, let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites. Let’s not harm him because he’s our brother; he’s family.” His brothers agreed. 28When some Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph up out of the cistern. They sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver, and they brought Joseph to Egypt.
29When Reuben returned to the cistern and found that Joseph wasn’t in it, he tore his clothes. 30Then he returned to his brothers and said, “The boy’s gone! And I—where can I go now?”
31His brothers took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in the blood. 32They took the long robe, brought it to their father, and said, “We found this. See if it’s your son’s robe or not.”
33He recognized it and said, “It’s my son’s robe! A wild animal has devoured him. Joseph must have been torn to pieces!” 34Then Jacob tore his clothes, put a simple mourning cloth around his waist, and mourned for his son for many days. 35All of his sons and daughters got up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, telling them, “I’ll go to my grave mourning for my son.” And Joseph’s father wept for him. 36Meanwhile the Midianites had sold Joseph to the Egyptians, to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s chief officer, commander of the royal guard.
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