Genesis 37:18-20
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
The text emphasizes that the brothers' conspiracy to kill Joseph happened "from afar," before he was even close enough for them to speak to him. This highlights the depth of their immediate hatred, already plotting his demise the moment they recognized the favored son, driven by envy and a foreboding that his dreams might indeed come true.
They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
Joseph’s brothers are consumed by jealousy over their father’s favoritism and Joseph's boastful dreams, seeing him as a threat to their own status. When Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers while they are tending flocks far from home, they seize the opportunity to plot against him. Before he can even reach them, they see him approaching and immediately conspire to kill him.
What makes siblings turn against each other with such venom? It wasn't just a coat; it was a profound sense of injustice and favoritism.
Jacob's favoritism towards Joseph, expressed through a special "coat of many colors," ignited intense envy in his older sons. This wasn't just about a gift; it was a perceived slight, a public declaration of Joseph's elevated status over them. The text highlights that 'when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.' This deep-seated resentment festered, turning normal sibling rivalry into a dangerous animosity, setting the stage for their terrible plot.
Imagine seeing someone approaching, and your immediate thought isn't 'hello,' but 'how can we get rid of them?'
The brothers' reaction to seeing Joseph from a distance is chillingly swift and brutal. The text states, 'And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.' This wasn't a spontaneous outburst of anger, but a pre-meditated plot. The distance provided them time to formulate their murderous plan before Joseph even reached them. Their hearts were so hardened by envy and hatred that their first instinct was to end his life, revealing a profound moral corruption that had taken root.
Joseph's dreams weren't just flights of fancy; they were powerful messages from God that inflamed his brothers' hatred.
Joseph's dreams, where sheaves and celestial bodies bowed to him, were more than just youthful fantasies. They were divine revelations of his future leadership and God's sovereign plan. His brothers recognized this, saying, 'Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?' Their increased hatred stemmed not only from envy of their father's love but from a defiant rejection of God's apparent calling on Joseph’s life. They saw his dreams as a direct challenge to their own perceived status and tried to thwart God’s purpose through their wicked actions.
Ask a follow-up
Understand the original words
nakal · Hebrew Verb
The act of plotting or making a secret agreement, usually with malicious intent. It involves collective malicious action against another person or divine authority.
ba'al chalomot · Hebrew Noun phrase
A person who receives divine communications via visions or prophetic revelations during sleep. In a biblical context, it often refers to one who claims special insight or destiny, sometimes inciting envy or skepticism in others.
bowr · Hebrew Noun
A hollow place or underground cistern used for storing water or, metaphorically, a grave or place of imprisonment. It signifies danger, abandonment, and hopelessness in biblical narratives.
chayyah ra'ah · Hebrew Noun phrase
Wild or savage beasts that roam outside of human civilization. They are often used symbolically to represent chaotic, destructive forces or judgment from God.
chalowm · Hebrew Noun
Refers to the divine messages or visions given by God to reveal His will or future purposes. They are often symbolic and require interpretation by those gifted by the Holy Spirit.
This moment of conspiracy occurs within the context of intense sibling rivalry fueled by Jacob's favoritism and Joseph's prophetic dreams, setting in motion a chain of events that would ultimately lead to the salvation of Jacob's entire family.
c. 1700 BC
Jacob's Family Settles in Canaan
Jacob and his large family, including his twelve sons, establish themselves in Canaan after Jacob's return from Mesopotamia. This period is marked by the growing prominence of his favored son, Joseph.
c. 1700 BC
Joseph's Dreams and Growing Envy
Joseph, at seventeen, has two significant dreams that indicate his future authority over his brothers and father. These dreams, shared with his family, intensify their hatred and envy towards him.
c. 1700 BC
Joseph Sent to Shechem
Jacob sends Joseph from Hebron to Shechem to check on his brothers and their flocks, a journey that becomes the catalyst for his downfall.
c. 1700 BC— this verse
Brothers Plot Against Joseph
Seeing Joseph approach from a distance, his brothers, consumed by jealousy, immediately conspire to kill him and devise a plan to cover up their crime.
c. 1700 BC
Joseph Sold to Ishmaelites
Reuben's intervention prevents his brothers from killing Joseph outright. Judah then persuades them to sell Joseph to passing Ishmaelite traders for twenty pieces of silver, who take him to Egypt.
c. 1700 BC
Joseph Sold in Egypt
The Ishmaelites sell Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard, marking the beginning of Joseph's enslavement and eventual rise in Egypt.
This psalm recounts God's faithfulness to Israel, mentioning how He sent Joseph ahead of them into exile to preserve life, paralleling the brothers' harmful actions with God's purposeful plan.
Proverbs 1:11-14This passage speaks of sinners conspiring to shed blood and lie in wait for the innocent, directly mirroring the brothers' malicious plot against Joseph.
Matthew 27:1-2This New Testament passage shows the chief priests and elders of Jesus conspiring against Him, demonstrating how this pattern of betrayal and plotting against a beloved figure repeats throughout redemptive history.
John 11:47-50This passage describes the religious leaders plotting Jesus' death, not for His own sake, but because His growing influence threatened their position, reflecting the same envy and fear that drove Joseph's brothers.
calvinGenesis 37:1-36: "And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan."
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.
Istae sunt generationes Iahacob. Joseph filius septendecim annorum pascebat cum fratribus suis pecudes, et erat puer cum filiis Bil…
cambridgeGenesis 37:18: "And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him."
18–36 (JE). Joseph is sold into Egypt The composite character of the narrative becomes at this point very evident. J ( Genesis 37:21; Genesis 37:25-28 b, 31–35) relates that Judah restrains his brethren from murder, and persuades them to sell Joseph to passing Ishmaelites, who sell him as a slave to an Egyptian noble. E ( Genesis 37:22-25 ( bread ), 28a ( pit ), 28c–30, 3…
The text emphasizes that the brothers' conspiracy to kill Joseph happened "from afar," before he was even close enough for them to speak to him. This highlights the depth of their immediate hatred, already plotting his demise the moment they recognized the favored son, driven by envy and a foreboding that his dreams might indeed come true.
Joseph’s brothers are consumed by jealousy over their father’s favoritism and Joseph's boastful dreams, seeing him as a threat to their own status. When Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers while they are tending flocks far from home, they seize the opportunity to plot against him. Before he can even reach them, they see him approaching and immediately conspire to kill him.
Joseph’s brothers are consumed by jealousy over their father’s favoritism and Joseph's boastful dreams, seeing him as a threat to their own status. When Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers while they are tending flocks far from home, they seize the opportunity to plot against him. Before he can even reach them, they see him approaching and immediately conspire to kill him.
"They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him. They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierc…" — The text emphasizes that the brothers' conspiracy to kill Joseph happened "from afar," before he was even close enough for them to speak to him. This highlights the depth of their immediate hatred, a…
Get the original Greek and Hebrew, verse-by-verse context, and related passages inside the app.
Last reviewed October 2026
