Commentary - Genesis 37:1-4

Bird's-eye view

This passage marks a major turning point in the book of Genesis. The patriarchal narrative, having focused on Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now pivots to the story of Jacob's sons, and particularly to Joseph. These opening verses are dense, setting the stage for one of the most profound dramas in all of Scripture. We are introduced to a dysfunctional family, poisoned by the father's blatant favoritism and the subsequent hatred and envy of the brothers. Jacob, who should have known better from his own upbringing, repeats the sins of his parents. This parental sin provides the fertile soil for the brothers' murderous hatred to grow. Yet, through this tangled mess of human sin, the sovereign plan of God begins to unfold. This is not merely a story about a boy with a special coat; it is the beginning of the story of how God will preserve His covenant people through a chosen and rejected son, a man who serves as one of the clearest types of the Lord Jesus Christ in the entire Old Testament.

The key elements are all put in place here: the setting in Canaan, the land of promise; the introduction of the main characters, Joseph and his brothers; the sin of the father, Jacob; the symbol of that sin, the varicolored tunic; and the result of that sin, the brothers' seething hatred. God is not the author of this sin, but He is the author of the story. He will take the evil intentions of men and weave them into a tapestry of redemption that will ultimately save them all.

Outline

Context In Genesis

Genesis 37:2 begins a new major section, marked by the formula, "These are the generations of Jacob." This is the last of the ten toledoth sections that structure the book of Genesis. While it is Jacob's story, it is told through the history of his descendants, and the narrative immediately narrows its focus to Joseph. This section follows the account of Esau's descendants in chapter 36, setting up a sharp contrast between the line of the flesh (Esau) and the line of the promise (Jacob). The events here set in motion the great migration of the Israelite family to Egypt, where they will grow into a great nation, just as God promised Abraham. This entire narrative arc, from Joseph's betrayal by his brothers in Canaan to his exaltation in Egypt and the subsequent salvation of his family, provides the historical and theological foundation for the book of Exodus.

Key Issues

The Beloved and Hated Son

The story of Joseph is the story of the gospel in miniature. It is a story that God has told, in different ways, over and over again throughout redemptive history, culminating in the life, death, and resurrection of His only beloved Son. Here, at the headwaters of this particular stream, we see all the elements that will become so familiar. We have a beloved son, set apart by the father. We have jealous brothers who represent the established order. We have a hatred that cannot coexist with the beloved son, a hatred that will lead to betrayal and a plot to kill. And we have the sovereign hand of God, taking this great evil and turning it into the means of salvation for the very ones who perpetrated the evil. This is not just a morality tale about getting along with your siblings. This is a preview of the cross. As we walk through these verses, we must keep our eyes open for the shadow of Christ, who is the true and better Joseph.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Now Jacob lived in the land where his father had sojourned, in the land of Canaan.

The story begins by grounding us in a particular place: the land of Canaan. But notice the language. Jacob is not yet a possessor of the land; he is a sojourner, just as his father Isaac had been. This is the land of promise, but the promise has not yet been fully realized. The patriarchs lived by faith, dwelling in tents, looking for a city whose builder and maker is God (Heb. 11:9-10). This status as a resident alien is crucial. The covenant family is in the world, in the promised place, but they are not yet fully home. This sets a tension that will not be resolved for centuries.

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought back an evil report about them to their father.

The phrase "These are the generations of Jacob" is a structural marker, a toledoth, signaling the start of a new chapter in the covenant history. This is Jacob's story, but it is told through what he produced, namely, his sons. The camera immediately zooms in on Joseph, seventeen years old. He is with his brothers, specifically the sons of the handmaidens, Bilhah and Zilpah. This might indicate a certain social grouping; these were the sons of the "lesser" wives, and perhaps Joseph was assigned to work with them. Then comes the first point of friction: Joseph brought an "evil report" about them to Jacob. Our modern therapeutic culture would be quick to label Joseph a tattletale. But the text does not condemn him. It says he brought a report of their evil. Joseph is functioning here as a representative of his father's authority and, by extension, God's standards. He sees wickedness and reports it. This is an early sign of the moral and spiritual divide that separates him from his brothers. He is not one of them, and this act makes that clear.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.

Here is the poisoned root from which all the subsequent misery grows. The text is blunt: "Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons." Jacob, who now goes by his God-given name Israel, is acting in a most un-princely manner. He is repeating the very sin of favoritism that tore his own family apart. Rebekah loved Jacob, and Isaac loved Esau, and the result was deception, bitterness, and exile. Jacob should have known better, but sin has a way of propagating down through the generations. The reason given is that he was the "son of his old age," but the real reason, as we know, is that he was the firstborn son of Rachel, the wife Jacob truly loved. This favoritism is not kept private. Jacob externalizes and advertises his sin by making Joseph a "varicolored tunic." This was not just a nice coat. It was likely a long-sleeved, ornate robe, the kind worn by royalty or the wealthy, not by shepherds. It was a garment that said, "I do not have to work like the rest of you. I am special." It was a constant, visual provocation to his brothers.

4 And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and so they hated him and could not speak to him in peace.

The consequences are immediate and severe. The brothers saw the blatant favoritism, and it produced a deep and abiding hatred. Jacob's sin of partiality becomes the occasion for the brothers' sin of hatred. Notice the totality of it. They hated him. And the hatred was so profound that it destroyed all possibility of normal fellowship. They "could not speak to him in peace." The Hebrew is literally that they could not speak "shalom" to him. They could not offer the common greeting of peace and well-being. Every interaction was laced with animosity. This is a family where the lines of communication have been completely severed by sin. This is not a petty squabble; it is a cold, hard hatred that, as we will soon see, is simply the precursor to murder.

Application

First, this is a stark warning to all parents. Favoritism is a destructive sin. To love one child more than another, or to show partiality in a way that provokes siblings to jealousy, is to plant dragon's teeth in your own home. You are cultivating the very bitterness and strife that God hates. Every child is a gift from God and should be loved and cherished for who they are, not measured against a favored sibling. Jacob's sin here is a textbook example of how not to lead a family.

Second, we must see the corrosive nature of envy. The brothers' hatred was fueled by envy. They saw what Joseph had, the father's love and the coat, and they wanted it. Envy is the hatred of the good of another, and it is a spiritual poison. It is what led Cain to kill Abel, and it is what led these brothers to plot the death of Joseph. And ultimately, it is what led the religious leaders of Israel to hand over the Lord Jesus to be crucified. We must be ruthless in rooting out envy from our own hearts, confessing it as the murderous sin that it is.

Finally, and most importantly, we must see the gospel. Joseph is the beloved son of the father, set apart and given a glorious robe. For this, his brothers hated him, rejected him, and cast him into a pit. But God raised him up from that pit and exalted him to the right hand of power, where he became the source of salvation for the very world that rejected him, including his own penitent brothers. Does this sound familiar? It should. Jesus is the only begotten and beloved Son of the Father. He came to His own, and His own brothers did not receive Him. They hated Him without a cause, stripped Him of His robe, and delivered Him over to death. But God raised Him from the dead and gave Him a name that is above every name, so that He might grant repentance and forgiveness of sins. The story of Joseph begins in the darkness of a sinful, broken family, but it points us to the glorious light of the Son of God, who entered into our brokenness in order to save us.