What does Genesis 37:12 mean?
This begins a scene in which Joseph's ten older half-brothers finally act on their longstanding hatred and jealousy of him (Genesis 37:3–5). It seems neither Joseph nor Jacob anticipates this danger.First, the brothers head north to pasture their flocks in the area around Shechem. This is an interesting choice, since Jacob had moved away from this area for a very good reason. Previously, the brothers massacred all the men of Shechem in retaliation for the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34:26–27). The mention of Shechem reminds us of the level of violence these ten men are capable of when they are angry. They are deeply resentful towards Joseph. What they are about to do is motivated by hatred. However, God's plan is to use these men's angst to provide for the rescue of the entire family (Genesis 37:28; 42:6; 50:20).
Genesis 37:12–36 describes how Joseph's wildly resentful brothers finally get rid of him. They hate Joseph for being Jacob's favorite (Genesis 37:3) and for his grandiose dreams (Genesis 37:5, 9). When Joseph arrives alone at the camp of his brothers, very far from home, they have an opportunity. Only Reuben's intervention keeps them from killing Joseph outright. Instead, while Reuben is absent, the brothers sell Joseph to passing slave traders and later convince their father he has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph becomes a slave in an Egyptian home. Genesis 39 will return to Joseph's story.
Joseph, 17, is deeply loved by his father Jacob and deeply resented by his ten older brothers thanks to Jacob's favoritism. Jacob gives Joseph a princely robe, and Joseph reports dreams that predict his family will one day bow before him. When alone with Joseph in the wilderness, the brothers decide to kill him. Reuben stops them, suggesting they throw him alive into a pit, instead. While Reuben is gone, however, the brothers sell Joseph to slave-traders, later convincing their father Joseph has been killed by a wild animal. Joseph is placed in the home of an Egyptian nobleman.
