Kejadian 37:23

37:23 When Joseph reached his brothers, they stripped him ¹  of his tunic, the special tunic that he wore.

Kejadian 37:31-32

37:31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a young goat, ²  and dipped the tunic in the blood. 37:32 Then they brought the special tunic to their father ³  and said, “We found this. Determine now whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

Kejadian 37:2

37:2 This is the account of Jacob.

Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, ⁴  was taking care of ⁵  the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster ⁶  working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. ⁷  Joseph brought back a bad report about them ⁸  to their father.

1 Samuel 13:18-19

13:18 another band turned toward the road leading to Beth Horon; and yet another band turned toward the road leading to the border that overlooks the valley of Zeboim in the direction of the desert.

13:19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears.”

[37:23]  ¹ tn Heb “Joseph”; the proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“him”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[37:31]  ² sn It was with two young goats that Jacob deceived his father (Gen 27:9); now with a young goat his sons continue the deception that dominates this family.

[37:32]  ³ tn Heb “and they sent the special tunic and they brought [it] to their father.” The text as it stands is problematic. It sounds as if they sent the tunic on ahead and then came and brought it to their father. Some emend the second verb to a Qal form and read “and they came.” In this case, they sent the tunic on ahead.

[37:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “a son of seventeen years.” The word “son” is in apposition to the name “Joseph.”

[37:2]  ⁵ tn Or “tending”; Heb “shepherding” or “feeding.”

[37:2]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “a helper.” The significance of this statement is unclear. It may mean “now the lad was with,” or it may suggest Joseph was like a servant to them.

[37:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “and he [was] a young man with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father.”

[37:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “their bad report.” The pronoun is an objective genitive, specifying that the bad or damaging report was about the brothers.

[37:2]  sn Some interpreters portray Joseph as a tattletale for bringing back a bad report about them [i.e., his brothers], but the entire Joseph story has some of the characteristics of wisdom literature. Joseph is presented in a good light – not because he was perfect, but because the narrative is showing how wisdom rules. In light of that, this section portrays Joseph as faithful to his father in little things, even though unpopular – and so he will eventually be given authority over greater things.