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
1 Now Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father sojourned.
2 And these are his generations. Joseph, when he was sixteen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, when he was still a boy. And he was with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the wives of his father. And he accused his brothers to their father of a most sinful crime.
3 Now Israel loved Joseph above all his sons, because he had conceived him in his old age. And he made him a tunic, woven of many colors.
4 Then his brothers, seeing that he was loved by his father more than all his other sons, hated him, and they were not able to say anything peacefully to him.
5 Then it also happened that he recounted the vision of a dream to his brothers, for which reason a greater hatred began to be nurtured.
6 And he said to them, "Listen to my dream that I saw.
7 I thought we were binding sheaves in the field. And my sheaf seemed to rise up and stand, and your sheaves, standing in a circle, reverenced my sheaf."
8 His brothers responded: "Would you be our king? Or will we be subject to your dominion?" Therefore, this matter of his dreams and words provided kindling to their envy and hatred.
9 Likewise, he saw another dream, which he explained to his brothers, saying, "I saw by a dream, as if the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars were reverencing me."
10 And when he had related this to his father and brothers, his father rebuked him, and he said: "What does it mean to you, this dream that you have seen? Should I, and your mother, and your brothers reverence you upon the earth?"
11 Therefore, his brothers were envious of him. Yet truly, his father considered the matter silently.
12 And while his brothers were lodging at Shechem, pasturing their father's flocks,
13 Israel said to him: "Your brothers are pasturing the sheep at Shechem. Come, I will send you to them." And when he answered,
14 "I am ready," he said to him, "Go, and see if everything is prospering with your brothers and the cattle, and report to me what is happening." So, having been sent from the valley of Hebron, he arrived at Shechem.
15 And a man found him wandering in a field, and he asked him what he was seeking.
16 So he responded: "I seek my brothers. Tell me where they pasture the flocks."
17 And the man said to him: "They have withdrawn from this place. But I heard them saying, 'Let us go to Dothan.' " Therefore, Joseph continued on after his brothers, and he found them at Dothan.
18 And, when they had seen him from afar, before he approached them, they decided to kill him.
19 And they said one to another: "Behold, the dreamer approaches.
20 Come, let us kill him and cast him into the old cistern. And let us say: 'an evil wild beast has devoured him.' And then it will become apparent what his dreams will do for him."
21 But Reuben, on hearing this, strove to free him from their hands, and he said:
22 "Do not take away his life, nor shed blood. But throw him into this cistern, which is in the wilderness, and so keep your hands harmless." But he said this, wanting to rescue him from their hands, so as to return him to his father.
23 And so, as soon as he came to his brothers, they very quickly stripped him of his tunic, which was ankle-length and woven of many colors,
24 and they cast him into an old cistern, which held no water.
25 And sitting down to eat bread, they saw some Ishmaelites, travelers coming from Gilead, with their camels, carrying spices, and resin, and oil of myrrh into Egypt.
26 Therefore, Judah said to his brothers: "What will it profit us, if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?
27 It is better that he be sold to the Ishmaelites, and then our hands will not be defiled. For he is our brother and our flesh." His brothers agreed to his words.
28 And when the Midianite merchants were passing by, they drew him from the cistern, and they sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And these led him into Egypt.
29 And Reuben, returning to the cistern, did not find the boy.
30 And rending his garments, he went to his brothers and said, "The boy is not present, and so where shall I go?"
31 Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed,
32 sending those who carried it to their father, and they said: "We found this. See whether it is the tunic of your son or not."
33 And when the father acknowledged it, he said: "It is the tunic of my son. An evil wild beast has eaten him; a beast has devoured Joseph."
34 And tearing his garments, he was clothed in haircloth, mourning his son for a long time.
35 Then, when all of his sons gathered together to ease their father's sorrow, he was not willing to accept consolation, but he said: "I will descend in mourning to my son in the underworld." And while he persevered in weeping,
36 the Midianites in Egypt sold Joseph to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, instructor of the soldiers.
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