Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 37:12 - 37:22

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Paul Kretzmann Commentary - Genesis 37:12 - 37:22


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

Joseph Sent to Shechem

v. 12. And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
In taking care of the immense herds and flocks of their father, they were obliged to roam far and wide over the country, Shechem being one of their stations.

v. 13. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
It may be that Jacob was filled with anxiety on account of the fact that his sons had so boldly returned to the scene of the recent slaughter.

v. 14. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren and well with the flocks; and bring me word again.
To inform himself of the well-being of his brothers and of that of the flocks, that was the errand of Joseph, and it speaks well for his obedience that he offered no objection, but declared his willingness at once. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem, which was about two days' journey from Hebron.

v. 15. And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field,
having missed the right road. And them an asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

v. 16. And he said, I seek my brethren; tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
If Joseph had not lost his way, he would have gotten his information at Shechem; as it is, he is obliged to appeal to the stranger.

v. 17. And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan,
which is a town about fourteen miles north of Shechem, toward the Plain of Jezreel. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan, that is, at Dothan, near the town, where there was good pasture for their cattle. If Joseph left the neighborhood of Shechem on the morning of the third day, he may have reached Dothan about noon.

v. 18. And when they saw him a far off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
They recognized Joseph even from a distance by the hated coat which he wore, and it was the sentiment of the majority that this would be a fine opportunity to get rid of him. It was a plan conceived in falsehood and deceit, and, to all intents and purposes, it made them murderers before God.

v. 19. And they said one to an other, Behold, this dreamer cometh,
literally, This master of dreams is coming.

v. 20. Come now, therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him in to some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.
The cold-blooded manner of their planning shows the intensity of their hatred: to kill Joseph first, and then to remove all evidence of their crime by throwing his body in some cistern in the wilderness. Their words indicate, nevertheless, that they could not throw off a feeling of apprehension as to the outcome, should the dreams of Joseph be fulfilled.

v. 21. And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, Let us not kill him.

v. 22. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him in to this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Reuben here almost redeems himself for the crime which he committed against his father. For although he, for the sake of the success of his plan, had to express himself in such a way as to lead his brothers to infer that he was willing to let Joseph die in the cistern, it was the only way to gain their consent. He hoped to find ways and means afterwards of saving Joseph's life, and of restoring him to his father. If Reuben had not yet fully repented of his great sin and was still morally weak, he at least showed evidence of a change.