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Joseph and His Brothers

37 Jacob lived in the land of Canaan, where his father Isaac had lived, and this is the story of his family.

When Jacob's son Joseph was 17 years old, he took care of the sheep with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.[a] But he was always telling his father all sorts of bad things about his brothers.

Jacob loved Joseph more than he did any of his other sons, because Joseph was born when Jacob was very old. Jacob had even given Joseph a fancy coat[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 37.2 Bilhah and Zilpah: See 30.1-13.
  2. 37.3 fancy coat: Or “a coat of many colors” or “a coat with long sleeves.”

Joseph’s Dreams

37 Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed,(A) the land of Canaan.(B)

This is the account(C) of Jacob’s family line.

Joseph,(D) a young man of seventeen,(E) was tending the flocks(F) with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah(G) and the sons of Zilpah,(H) his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report(I) about them.

Now Israel(J) loved Joseph more than any of his other sons,(K) because he had been born to him in his old age;(L) and he made an ornate[a] robe(M) for him.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 37:3 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain; also in verses 23 and 32.