Genesis 37:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Genesis 37:25
And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
eat
לֶֽאֱכָלle.'e.khol-
H398
to eat (literally or figuratively) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
bread
לֶחֶם֒le.Chem
H3899
food (for man or beast) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
up
וַיִּשְׂא֤וּvai.yis.'U
H5375
to lift · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
eyes
עֵֽינֵיהֶם֙'ei.nei.Hem
H5869
an eye (literally or figuratively) · noun, common feminine dual construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
looked
וַיִּרְא֔וּvai.yir.'U
H7200
to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine plural
company
אֹרְחַ֣ת'o.re.Chat
H736
a caravan · noun, common feminine singular construct
Ishmeelites
יִשְׁמְעֵאלִ֔יםyish.me.'e.Lim
H3459
a Jishmaelite or descendant of Jishmael · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
came
בָּאָ֖הba.'Ah
H935
to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
Gilead
מִגִּלְעָ֑דmi.gil.'Ad
H1568
Gilad · preposition + proper noun, a place name
camels
וּגְמַלֵּיהֶ֣םu.ge.ma.lei.Hem
H1581
a camel · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
bearing
נֹֽשְׂאִ֗יםno.se.'Im
H5375
to lift · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
spicery
נְכֹאת֙ne.khoT
H5219
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute
balm
וּצְרִ֣יu.tze.Ri
H6875
distillation · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
myrrh
וָלֹ֔טva.Lot
H3910
a gum (from its sticky nature) · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
going
הוֹלְכִ֖יםhol.Khim
H1980
to walk (in a great variety of applications · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
down
לְהוֹרִ֥ידle.ho.Rid
H3381
to descend (literally · preposition + verb, hiphil infinitive construct
Egypt
מִצְרָֽיְמָהmitz.Ra.ye.mah
H4714
Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
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 37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twent…
Genesis 43:11 And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down t…
Jeremiah 8:22 Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Genesis 16:11-12 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LOR…
Jeremiah 46:11 Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured.
Genesis 25:1-4 Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah.
Genesis 25:16-18 These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their names, by their towns, and by their castles; twelve princes according to their nations.
Genesis 31:23 And he took his brethren with him, and pursued after him seven days’ journey; and they overtook him in the mount Gilead.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Genesis 37:23-30
We have here the execution of their plot against Joseph. 1. They stripped him, each striving to seize the envied coat of many colours, Gen 37:23. Thus, in imagination, they degraded him from the birthright, of which perhaps this was the badge, grieving him, affronting their father, and making themselves sport, while they insulted over him. "Now, Joseph, where is the fine coat?" Thus our Lord Jesus was stripped of his seamless coat, and thus his suffering saints have first been industriously divested of their privileges and honours, and then made the off-scouring of all things. 2. They went about to starve him, throwing him into a dry pit, to perish there with hunger and cold, so cruel were t…
they sat down to eat bread--What a view does this exhibit of those hardened profligates! Their common share in this conspiracy is not the only dismal feature in the story. The rapidity, the almost instantaneous manner in which the proposal was followed by their joint resolution, and the cool indifference, or rather the fiendish satisfaction, with which they sat down to regale themselves, is astonishing. It is impossible that mere envy at his dreams, his gaudy dress, or the doting partiality of their common father, could have goaded them on to such a pitch of frenzied resentment or confirmed them in such consummate wickedness. Their hatred to Joseph must have had a far deeper seat. It must ha…
They sat down to eat bread - Every act is perfectly in character, and describes forcibly the brutish and diabolic nature of their ruthless souls.
A company of Ishmaelites - We may naturally suppose that this was a caravan, composed of different tribes that, for their greater safety, were traveling together, and of which Ishmaelites and Midianites made the chief. In the Chaldee they are called Arabians, which, from ערב arab, to mingle, was in all probability used by the Targumist as the word Arabians is used among us, which comprehends a vast number of clans, or tribes of people. The Jerusalem Targum calls them סרקין Sarkin, what we term Saracens. In the Persian, the clause stands thus: karav…
The Church Fathers
Joseph was rejected by his brothers and was received by the Ishmaelites; in the same manner our Lord and Savior was rejected by the Jews and received by the pagans. The Ishmaelites who received Joseph carried along with them all kinds of perfumes, and this fact showed that the pagans by embracing the faith would spread the different perfumes of justice all over the world.
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
Balm — Contracted from Bal’sam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark. (1.) This word occurs in the…
Camel — From the Hebrew gamal, “to repay” or “requite,” as the camel does the care of its master. There are two distinct species of camels, having, however, the common characteristics of being “ruminants…
Dromedary — (Isa. 60:6), an African or Arabian species of camel having only one hump, while the Bactrian camel has two. It is distinguished from the camel only as a trained saddle-horse is distinguished from a…
Gilead — Hill of testimony, (Gen. 31:21), a mountainous region east of Jordan. From its mountainous character it is called “the mount of Gilead” (Gen. 31:25). It is called also “the land of Gilead” (Num.…
Gilead, Balm of — The region of Gilead abounded in spices and aromatic gums, which were exported to Egypt and Tyre (Gen. 37:25; Jer. 8:22; 46:11; Ezek. 27:17). The word “balm” is a contracted form of “balsam,” a word…
Ishmael — God hears. (1.) Abraham’s eldest son, by Hagar the concubine (Gen. 16:15; 17:23). He was born at Mamre, when Abraham was eighty-six years of age, eleven years after his arrival in Canaan (16:3;…
Ishmeelite — (1 Chronicles 2:17) and Ish’me-elites (descendants of Ishmael), (Genesis 37:25,27,28; 39:1) the form in which the descendants of Ishmael are given in a few places in the Authorized Version.
Merchant — The Hebrew word so rendered is from a root meaning “to travel about,” “to migrate,” and hence “a traveller.” In the East, in ancient times, merchants travelled about with their merchandise from place…
Myrrh — Heb. mor. (1.) First mentioned as a principal ingredient in the holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:23). It formed part of the gifts brought by the wise men from the east, who came to worship the infant Jesus…
Reuben — Behold a son!, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:32). His sinful conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22, brought down upon him his dying father’s malediction (48:4). He showed kindness to Joseph,…
And they sat down to eat bread,.... Not at all concerned at what they had done, nor in the least grieved for the affliction of Joseph, and without any pity and compassion for him in his distress, but joyful and glad they had got him into their hands, and like to get rid of him for ever:
and they lifted up their eyes, and looked, after they had eaten their food, or while they were eating it:
and, behold, a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead; a place of merchandise for spices and balm, and such like things after mentioned. The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan call them Arabians; and the Targum of Jerusalem, Saracens; these were the posterity of Ishmael, who came out of Arabia to Gilead,…
And they sat down to eat bread. This was an astonishing barbarity, that they could quietly feast, while, in intention, they were guilty of their brother's death: for, had there been one drop of humanity in their souls, they would at least have felt some inward compunctions; yea, commonly, the very worst men are afraid after the commission of a crime. Since the patriarchs fell into such a state of insensibility, let us learn, from their example, to fear lest, by the righteous anger of God, the same lethargy should seize upon our senses. Meanwhile, it is proper to consider the admirable progress of God's counsel. Joseph had already passed through a double death: and now, as if by a third death…
Reuben had saved Joseph's life indeed by his proposal; but his intention to send him back to his father was frustrated. For as soon as the brethren sat down to eat, after the deed was performed, they saw a company of Ishmaelites from Gilead coming along the road which leads from Beisan past Jenin (Rob. Pal. iii. 155) and through the plain of Dothan to the great caravan road that runs from Damascus by Lejun (Legio, Megiddo), Ramleh, and Gaza to Egypt (Rob. iii. 27, 178). The caravan drew near, laden with spices: viz., נכאת, gum-tragacanth; צרי, balsam, for which Gilead was celebrated (Gen 43:11; Jer 8:22; Jer 46:11); and לט, ladanum, the fragrant resin of the cistus-rose. Judah seized the opp…
The Ishmaelite traders were descendants of the slave child who was cast out for mocking Isaac. Now they would enslave Joseph. When he was sold for twenty pieces of silver and carried to Egypt, he was at least preserved alive.
Rashi on Genesis 37:25
ארחת means what the Targum says — A CARAVAN; this is called ארחת with reference to the travelers on the road (ארח) who compose it.
וגמליהם נשאים AND THEIR CAMELS WERE BEARING etc. — Why does Scripture specially announce what they were laden with? It is to tell you how great is the reward of the righteous: it is not usual for Arabs to carry anything but naphta and itran (tar) which are evil-smelling, but for this one (Joseph, the righteous) it was specially arranged that they should be carrying fragrant spices so that he should not suffer from a bad odour (Genesis Rabbah 84:17).
נכאת SPICERY — Every collection of many kinds of spices is called נכאת. So, too, (2 Kings 20:13) “and he showed t…
Camel, The · Used for: Carrying burdens — Used for: Carrying burdens
Commerce · General references — General references
Egypt · .Imports of — .Imports of
Exports · .Of spices — .Of spices
Gilead · .Exported spices, balm, and myrrh — .Exported spices, balm, and myrrh
Imports · .Spices — .Spices
Ishmaelites · Merchants of, buy Joseph — Merchants of, buy Joseph
Ishmaelites, The · Were the merchants of the east — Were the merchants of the east
Jealousy · .Joseph’s brothers, of Joseph — .Joseph’s brothers, of Joseph
Joseph · .His father’s partiality for, excites the jealousy of his brethren — .His father’s partiality for, excites the jealousy of his brethren
Midianites · General references — General references
Myrrh · Traffic in — Traffic in
Reuben · Adroitly seeks to save Joseph from the conspiracy of his brothers — Adroitly seeks to save Joseph from the conspiracy of his brothers
Spices · Exported from Gilead — Exported from Gilead
Travellers · Often collected together and formed caravans — Often collected together and formed caravans
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).
