Joseph’s Dreams
Genesis 37:1-11
Gen.37.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- מגורי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- כנען: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Genesis 35:27 (verbal): Explicitly echoes the idea of Jacob returning/ dwelling in the land of his fathers (Mamre/Hebron) and links Jacob to the ancestral sojourn of Abraham and Isaac.
- Genesis 26:3 (thematic): God's instruction to Isaac to 'sojourn in this land' frames the patriarchal motif of dwelling/sojourning in Canaan that underlies Jacob's residence.
- Genesis 28:13-15 (thematic): God's promise to Jacob at Bethel that the land will be given to him and his offspring connects Jacob's presence in Canaan to the covenantal grant of the land.
- Genesis 12:5-8 (thematic): Abraham's journeys and temporary dwelling/altar-building in Canaan establish the prototype of the patriarchs' sojourning in the land of promise.
- Hebrews 11:9-10 (allusion): Later New Testament reflection portraying the patriarchs as sojourners who dwelt in the promised land 'as in a foreign country,' echoing the motif of temporary residence in Canaan.
Alternative generated candidates
- Jacob settled in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
- And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
Gen.37.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- תלדות: NOUN,f,pl,cs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שבע: NUM,card
- עשרה: NUM,card,m,pl
- שנה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- בצאן: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- והוא: CONJ+PRON,3,m,sg
- נער: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בלהה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- זלפה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נשי: NOUN,f,pl,abs,1cs
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- דבתם: NOUN,f,sg,poss3,pl
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- אביהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Gen.37:3-4 (structural): Immediate continuation: introduces Jacob’s favoritism (coat) and Joseph’s dreams that explain his brothers’ hostility mentioned in 37:2.
- Gen.30:1-24 (thematic): Background on Bilhah and Zilpah and their sons — explains the household relationships referenced when Joseph is said to be ‘with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.’
- Gen.37:23-28 (thematic): Narrative consequence of the tension in 37:2: the brothers’ plot against Joseph and his sale into Egypt as a result of jealousy and conflict.
- Ps.105:17-22 (allusion): Poetic retelling of Joseph’s betrayal and descent into Egypt; links the early characterization and conflict of Joseph’s youth to the larger providential story.
- Acts 7:9 (quotation): Stephen’s summary in the New Testament explicitly cites Joseph being sold by his brothers, echoing the narrative that begins in 37:2.
Alternative generated candidates
- These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, seventeen years old, was shepherding with his brothers among the flock; and he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought their bad report to their father.
- These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, a son of seventeen years, was pasturing the flock with his brothers, and he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought their bad report to their father.
Gen.37.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אהב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מכל: PREP
- בניו: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- כי: CONJ
- בן: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זקנים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- ועשה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- כתנת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- פסים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Gen.37.4 (structural): Immediate narrative follow-up: Joseph's special coat provokes his brothers' jealousy and hatred (direct continuation of the motif of parental favoritism and its consequences).
- Gen.25.28 (thematic): Parental partiality illustrated elsewhere in Genesis: 'Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game,' a similar situation where a father's preference fuels sibling tension.
- Gen.4.4-5 (thematic): Earlier prototype of sibling rivalry caused by perceived favoritism (God's favor of Abel's offering and Cain's resentment), a thematic parallel to Joseph's brothers' jealousy.
- Ps.105:17-22 (allusion): A later biblical retelling of the Joseph cycle that highlights his rise and suffering; echoes the theme of divine/human favor that marks Joseph's life (the psalm recounts his being sold and exalted).
- Luke 15:22 (thematic): Uses a special robe as a sign of restored honor and favor in the Prodigal Son parable; parallels the motif of a distinctive garment symbolizing favored status (though in a different moral context).
Alternative generated candidates
- Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of old age to him; and he made for him a tunic of many colors.
- And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a child of his old age, and he made for him an ornamented tunic.
Gen.37.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- אהב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אביהם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- מכל: PREP
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- וישנאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- ולא: CONJ
- יכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- דברו: INF,qal,inf+3ms
- לשלם: INF,qal,inf
Parallels
- Gen.37.3 (verbal): Immediate literary parallel: verse immediately preceding explains why Joseph was especially loved by his father (’Israel loved Joseph more than all his children’), echoing the language and causal link to his brothers’ reaction.
- Gen.4.4-8 (thematic): Early instance of sibling jealousy (Cain’s hatred of Abel) leading to broken relationship and violence; compares motive and emotional dynamic of fraternal hostility rooted in perceived favoritism.
- Luke 15:25-32 (thematic): Parable of the Prodigal Son: the elder brother’s anger at the father’s welcome of the younger mirrors the motif of a sibling resentful because of a father’s special favor.
- 1 Sam.18:6-9 (thematic): Saul’s jealous hostility toward David after public praise/favor echoes the pattern of hate arising when one man is preferred or celebrated above others in a family/community context.
- Gen.21:9-10 (thematic): Sarah’s demand that Hagar and Ishmael be cast out because of rivalry over Abraham’s offspring reflects another ancestral episode where competition over a patriarch’s favor produces hatred and expulsion.
Alternative generated candidates
- When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
- And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him and could not speak to him peaceably.
Gen.37.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויחלם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יוסף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויגד: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- לאחיו: PREP
- ויוספו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- שנא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
Parallels
- Genesis 28:10–17 (thematic): Jacob’s dream of a ladder is another formative instance of divine revelation received in sleep; parallels Joseph’s dream as a means God communicates destiny through dreams.
- Genesis 37:6–11 (structural): Immediate continuation: the specific dreams Joseph reports (sheaves, stars) explain why his brothers hate him more—directly develops v.5’s claim that he told them a dream.
- Genesis 41:1–36 (thematic): Pharaoh’s dreams and Joseph’s interpretation show the same trope of dreams as revelatory, future-disclosing phenomena and demonstrate the practical consequences of Joseph’s gift.
- Daniel 2:1–49 (thematic): Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and Daniel’s interpretation parallel the motif of sovereigns receiving meaningful dreams and of interpreters revealing God’s purposes for nations and history.
- Joel 2:28–29 (allusion): Joel’s prophecy that God will cause people to ‘dream dreams’ frames dreams as a recognized prophetic medium in Israelite tradition, providing theological context for Joseph’s visionary dreams.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told it to his brothers, and they added still to hate him.
- And Joseph dreamed a dream and told it to his brothers, and they added still more to hate him.
Gen.37.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- נא: PART
- החלום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חלמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Gen.37.5 (verbal): Immediate parallel in the same episode: Joseph announces that he dreamed and told his brothers—very similar wording and narrative function (introducing the dream).
- Gen.37.7 (verbal): Direct continuation of the dream mentioned in 37:6; gives the content (the sheaves) that Joseph asked his brothers to 'hear,' so it is the semantic fulfillment of the announcement.
- Gen.37.9 (structural): Second dream announced by Joseph (sun, moon, and eleven stars); structurally parallel as another formal "hear this dream" declaration that escalates the theme of divinely significant dreams.
- Judg.7.13-15 (thematic): A man recounts a dream to a companion as a sign of coming victory (Gideon narrative). Parallels Genesis 37:6 in the use of dreams as communicative signs that reveal future events and provoke a response.
- Joel 2:28 (thematic): Prophetic promise that sons and daughters will dream dreams (quoted in Acts 2:17). The verse situates dreams as a recognized medium of divine revelation—contextually related to Joseph’s dreams as vehicles of destiny and divine communication.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he said to them, Listen, please, to this dream that I dreamed:
- And he said to them, Hear, please, this dream that I have dreamed:
Gen.37.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והנה: ADV
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- מאלמים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אלמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- בתוך: PREP
- השדה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- והנה: ADV
- קמה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אלמתי: NOUN,f,sg,suff,1s
- וגם: CONJ
- נצבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- והנה: ADV
- תסבינה: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,pl
- אלמתיכם: NOUN,f,sg,suff,2mp
- ותשתחוין: VERB,hitpael,imperfect,3,f,pl
- לאלמתי: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,suff,1s
Parallels
- Gen.37:5 (verbal): Part of the same unit: Joseph announces a dream about sheaves bowing. The language and agricultural imagery are repeated within the immediate narrative.
- Gen.37:9 (thematic): A second dream in the Joseph cycle in which family members (sun, moon, stars) bow to Joseph — reinforces the theme of familial obeisance and divine election begun in the sheaf-dream.
- Gen.41:5-7 (verbal): Pharaoh's dreams use sheaf/ear imagery (healthy and blasted sheaves/ears). Shares agricultural dream symbolism and links to Joseph's role as interpreter and sovereign in Egypt.
- Gen.42:6 (structural): Narrative fulfillment: Joseph's brothers bow before him in Egypt, enacting the very obeisance predicted by the sheaf-dream and completing the story arc.
Alternative generated candidates
- And look, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field; and look, my sheaf rose and also stood upright, and look, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.
- Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf rose and also stood upright, and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.
Gen.37.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמרו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,pl
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- תמלך: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- עלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
- אם: CONJ
- משול: VERB,qal,inf
- תמשל: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- בנו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3ms
- ויוספו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- שנא: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- על: PREP
- חלמתיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3m
- ועל: CONJ+PREP
- דבריו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3m
Parallels
- Genesis 37:5 (verbal): Almost identical phrasing: Joseph reports a dream to his brothers and 'they hated him yet the more,' repeating the verbal motif of dreams provoking hatred.
- Genesis 37:9 (verbal): The second dream explicitly depicts brothers bowing and asks whether Joseph will 'reign over' them, directly paralleling the 'reign over us' language that triggers their hostility.
- Genesis 37:11 (structural): Summarizes the brothers' envy in response to Joseph's dreams and his father's reaction, highlighting the same theme of familial jealousy that leads to Joseph's mistreatment.
- Genesis 50:20 (thematic): Joseph later reframes his brothers' malicious intent (selling him) as part of God's providential plan—a thematic reversal of the earlier hatred and claims about ruling.
- Acts 7:9–10 (quotation): Stephen's retelling of Israel's history recalls the brothers' hostility toward Joseph and his being sold into Egypt, echoing the Genesis account and its motifs in early Christian proclamation.
Alternative generated candidates
- And his brothers said to him, Will you indeed reign over us, or indeed will you rule over us? And they added still to hate him because of his dreams and because of his words.
- And his brothers said to him, Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed rule over us? And they added still more to hate him because of his dreams and because of his words.
Gen.37.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויחלם: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחר: PREP
- ויספר: VERB,piel,impf,3,m,sg
- אתו: PRON,3,m,sg,acc
- לאחיו: PREP
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- הנה: PART
- חלמתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- חלום: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- עוד: ADV
- והנה: ADV
- השמש: NOUN,f,sg,def
- והירח: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ואחד: CONJ+NUM,m,sg
- עשר: NUM,card,m,sg,cons
- כוכבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- משתחוים: VERB,hitpael,ptc,3,m,pl
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Genesis 37:5–8 (verbal): Joseph's earlier dream of sheaves that bow to his sheaf uses the same dream-motif of subordinate figures prostrating before him, preparing the narrative pattern for the greater sun/moon/stars vision.
- Genesis 37:10 (structural): Immediate narrative follow-up in which Jacob (and Joseph) interpret the sun, moon and eleven stars as his parents and brothers, explicating the meaning of the dream in the story's own terms.
- Genesis 42:6 (thematic): Later fulfillment motif: Joseph's brothers bow before him in Egypt, directly echoing the prostration imagery of the dream (their faces to the ground before him).
- Genesis 41:1–36 (structural): Parallel pattern of dream revelation and interpretation—Pharaoh's dreams and Joseph's role as interpreter mirror the function and significance of Joseph's own prophetic dreams within the Joseph cycle.
- Revelation 12:1 (allusion): Apocalyptic imagery of a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars echoes the motif of sun, moon and twelve stars as a symbolic constellation (often read typologically alongside Genesis' sun/moon/stars motif).
Alternative generated candidates
- And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers and said, Look, I have dreamed yet another dream; and look, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.
- And he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream again; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.
Gen.37.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויספר: VERB,piel,impf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- ויגער: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אביו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לו: PRON,3,m,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- החלום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- חלמת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- הבוא: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- נבוא: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- ואמך: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,ms
- ואחיך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- להשתחות: INF,hitpael
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ארצה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Gen.37:5 (verbal): The first of Joseph’s dreams (sheaves bowing) — same dream-motif and language of subordinates bowing to Joseph, foreshadowing the scene in 37:10.
- Gen.37:9 (verbal): The second dream explicitly pictures the sun, moon and eleven stars bowing; parallels 37:10’s idea and wording about father, mother and brothers prostrating.
- Gen.42:6 (thematic): When Joseph’s brothers come to Egypt they bow before him with their faces to the ground — a narrative fulfillment of the dreams Joseph reported in ch. 37.
- Ps.105:17-22 (allusion): The psalm retells Joseph’s trials and eventual exaltation (including God’s purpose in his dreams), echoing the theme of prophetic dreams leading to later vindication.
- Acts 7:9 (allusion): Stephen’s summary of Israelite history cites Joseph’s betrayal and God’s providence; it alludes to the same dream-driven conflict and eventual reversal of fortunes found in Genesis 37.
Alternative generated candidates
- And he told it to his father and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall we indeed come, I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground?
- And he told it to his father and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him, What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall we indeed come—I and your mother and your brothers—to bow ourselves to you to the ground?
Gen.37.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקנאו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- אחיו: NOUN,3,m,sg,abs
- ואביו: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRONSUF,3,m,sg
- שמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הדבר: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Acts 7:9 (allusion): Stephen recounts the Joseph story: the patriarchs were 'moved with envy' and sold Joseph — an explicit retelling of the brothers' jealousy as motive.
- Matthew 27:18 (verbal): Pilate says Jesus was handed over 'for envy' (ἐξ ἐπιθυμίας/ζήλου) — the same motive-language (envy) used elsewhere to explain hostility toward a favored figure.
- Genesis 4:5-8 (thematic): Cain's jealousy of Abel provides an earlier Israelite example of sibling envy leading to violence, paralleling the destructive dynamics between Joseph and his brothers.
- Luke 2:51 (verbal): Mary 'kept all these things in her heart' (τετήρει ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ) parallels the language of a parent 'keeping' or treasuring a saying/event, like Jacob 'keeping the matter in mind.'
Alternative generated candidates
- And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
- And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan.
These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers; he was a youth with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report about them to their father. And Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, for he was a son of old age to him; and he made for him a long robe with sleeves.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.
Joseph dreamed a dream and told it to his brothers, and they hated him even more.
He said to them: Listen, please, to the dream that I dreamed:
Look, we were binding sheaves in the midst of the field, and look, my sheaf rose and also stood upright; and look, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.
His brothers said to him: Will you indeed reign over us? Or will you indeed rule over us? And they hated him even more because of his dreams and his words.
He dreamed yet another dream and recounted it to his brothers, and he said: Look, I have dreamed a dream again; and look, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.
He recounted it to his father and to his brothers, and his father rebuked him and said to him: What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall we indeed come—I and your mother and your brothers—to bow down to you to the ground? And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind.