Genesis 37:2

These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
generations	תֹּלְד֣וֹת to.le.Dot	H8435	(plural only) descent · noun, common feminine plural construct
Jacob	יַעֲקֹ֗ב ya.'a.Ko	H3290	Jaakob · proper noun, a man's name
Joseph	יוֹסֵ֞ף yo.Sef	H3130	Joseph · proper noun, a man's name
seventeen	עֶשְׂרֵ֤ה 'es.Reh	H6240	ten (only in combination) · cardinal number, both genders singular absolute
years	שָׁנָה֙ sha.Nah	H8141	a year (as a revolution of time) · noun, common feminine singular absolute
old	בֶּן ben-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
feeding	רֹעֶ֤ה ro.'Eh	H7462	to tend a flock · verb, qal active participle, masculine singular absolute
flock	בַּצֹּ֔אן ba.Tzon	H6629	a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats) · preposition with the article + noun, common both genders singular absolute
brethren	אֶחָיו֙ 'e.Chav	H251	a brother (used in the widest sense of literal relation… · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
lad	נַ֗עַר Na.'ar	H5288	(concretely) a boy (as active) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
sons	בְּנֵ֥י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Bilhah	בִלְהָ֛ה vil.Hah	H1090	Bilhah · proper noun, a woman's name
sons	בְּנֵ֥י be.Nei	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Zilpah	זִלְפָּ֖ה zil.Pah	H2153	Zilpah · proper noun, a woman's name
father’s	אָבִ֑יו 'a.Viv	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
wives	נְשֵׁ֣י ne.Shei	H802	a woman · noun, common masculine plural construct
Joseph	יוֹסֵ֛ף yo.Sef	H3130	Joseph · proper noun, a man's name
brought	וַיָּבֵ֥א vai.ya.Ve'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
father	אֲבִיהֶֽם 'a.vi.Hem	H1	father · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
evil	רָעָ֖ה ra.'Ah	H7451	bad or (as noun) evil (natural or moral) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
report	דִּבָּתָ֥ם di.ba.Tam	H1681	slander · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 35:25-26 And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali:
Genesis 35:22 And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine: and Israel heard it. Now t…
1 Samuel 2:22-24 Now Eli was very old, and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel; and how they lay with the women that assembled at the door of the tab…
1 Corinthians 11:18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
Genesis 10:1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.
Genesis 30:4 And she gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife: and Jacob went in unto her.
Genesis 30:9 When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her maid, and gave her Jacob to wife.
John 7:7 The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:1-4

Moses has no more to say of the Edomites, unless as they happen to fall in Israel's way; but now applies himself closely to the story of Jacob's family: These are the generations of Jacob. His is not a bare barren genealogy as that of Esau (Gen 36:1), but a memorable useful history. Here is, 1. Jacob a sojourner with his father Isaac, who has yet living, Gen 37:1. We shall never be at home, till we come to heaven. 2. Joseph, a shepherd, feeding the flock with his brethren, Gen 37:2. Though he was his father's darling, yet he was not brought up in idleness or delicacy. Those do not truly love their children that do not inure them to business, and labour, and mortification. The fondling of chi…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 37:2

generations--leading occurrences, in the domestic history of Jacob, as shown in the narrative about to be commenced. Joseph . . . was feeding the flock--literally, "Joseph being seventeen years old was a shepherd over the flock"--he a lad, with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Oversight or superintendence is evidently implied. This post of chief shepherd in the party might be assigned him either from his being the son of a principal wife or from his own superior qualities of character; and if invested with this office, he acted not as a gossiping telltale, but as a "faithful steward" in reporting the scandalous conduct of his brethren.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 37:2

These are the generations - תלדות toledoth, the history of the lives and actions of Jacob and his sons; for in this general sense the original must be taken, as in the whole of the ensuing history there is no particular account of any genealogical succession. Yet the words may be understood as referring to the tables or genealogical lists in the preceding chapter; and if so, the original must be understood in its common acceptation. The lad was with the sons of Bilhah - It is supposed that our word lad comes from the Hebrew ילד yeled, a child, a son; and that lass is a contraction of ladess, the female of lad, a girl, a young woman. Some have supposed that King James desired the translators…

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The Church Fathers

Why does he also indicate to us Joseph's age? For you to learn that his youth constituted no obstacle to virtue and for you to have a complete awareness of the young man's obedience to his father and his sympathy for his brothers despite their savagery. Despite his being so well disposed to them, Joseph was unable to win them over to concord with him on the grounds of his youth so as to be willing to maintain the bond of love. Instead, they saw from the outset the youth's inclination to virtue and the father's favor for him and were prompted to envy him. You see, "they brought false reports about Joseph to their father Israel."
— John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 61.2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Joseph — Remover or increaser. (1.) The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of his birth, said, “God hath taken away [Heb. ‘asaph] my reproach.” “The Lord shall add…
Zilpah — Drooping, Leah’s handmaid, and the mother of Gad and Asher (Gen. 30:9-13).
Bilhah · Bears children by Jacob — Bears children by Jacob
Concubinage · . — .
Talebearer · .Joseph — .Joseph
Zilpah · Mother of Gad and Asher by Jacob — Mother of Gad and Asher by Jacob

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Genesis 37:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 37:2

Adam Clarke on Genesis 37:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 37:2

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:1-4

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 37:2

Adam Clarke on Genesis 37:2

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Genesis 37:2

John Calvin on Genesis 37:2-5

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 37:1-4

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 37:2–end

Rashi on Genesis 37:2