Genesis 37:30

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible

returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy is gone! What am I going to do?"

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?"

King James Version
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Lexham English Bible
And he returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone! Now I, what can I do?"

New Century Version
Then he went back to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! What shall I do?"

New English Translation
returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?"

Amplified Bible
He rejoined his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where shall I go [to hide from my father]?"

New American Standard Bible
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
And returned to his brethren, and said, The childe is not yonder, and I, whither shall I goe?

Legacy Standard Bible
Then he returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?"

Contemporary English Version
Then he went back to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone! What am I going to do?"

Complete Jewish Bible
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I go now?"

Darby Translation
and returned to his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?

Easy-to-Read Version
Reuben went to the brothers and said, "The boy is not in the well! What will I do?"

English Standard Version
and returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?"

George Lamsa Translation
And he returned to his brothers, and said to them, Where is the boy; and as for me, where shall I go?

Good News Translation
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! What am I going to do?"

Christian Standard Bible®
He went back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone! What am I going to do?”

Literal Translation
And he returned to his brothers and said, The child, he is not. And I, where shall I go?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
and came agayne to his brethre and sayde: The lad is not yonder, whyther shal I go?

American Standard Version
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Bible in Basic English
He went back to his brothers, and said, The child is gone; what am I to do?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And went agayne vnto his brethren, saying: the lad is not [yonder] wo is me, whyther shall I go?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And he returned unto his brethren, and said: 'The child is not; and as for me, whither shall I go?'

King James Version (1611)
And hee returned vnto his brethren and said, The childe is not, and I, whither shall I goe?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he returned to his brethren and said, The boy is not; and I, whither am I yet to go?

English Revised Version
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
and he to-rente his closis, and he yede to hise britheren, and seide, The child apperith not, and whidir schal Y go?

Young's Literal Translation
and he returneth unto his brethren, and saith, `The lad is not, and I -- whither am I going?'

Update Bible Version
And he returned to his brothers, and said, The child is not; and I, where shall I go?

Webster's Bible Translation
And he returned to his brethren, and said, The child [is] not: and I, whither shall I go?

World English Bible
He returned to his brothers, and said, "The child is no more; and I, where will I go?"

New King James Version
And he returned to his brothers and said, "The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?"

New Living Translation
Then he went back to his brothers and lamented, "The boy is gone! What will I do now?"

New Life Bible
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there! What can I do?"

New Revised Standard
He returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy is gone; and I, where can I turn?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
and returned unto his brethren, and said, - The, lad, is not! And, I, oh where can I, go?

Douay-Rheims Bible
And rending his garments he went to his brethren, and said: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go?

Revised Standard Version
and returned to his brothers, and said, "The lad is gone; and I, where shall I go?"

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?"

Contextual Overview

²³So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe-the robe of many colors he was wearing- ²⁴and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, with no water in it. ²⁵And as they sat down to eat a meal, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh on their way down to Egypt. ²⁶Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit will we gain if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? ²⁷Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay a hand on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh." And they agreed. ²⁸So when the Midianite traders passed by, his brothers pulled Joseph out of the pit and sold him for twenty shekels of silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to Egypt. ²⁹When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes, ³⁰returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy is gone! What am I going to do?"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Genesis 37:20, Genesis 42:13, Genesis 42:32, Genesis 42:35, Jeremiah 31:15

Reciprocal: Genesis 5:24 - he was not Genesis 42:22 - Spake I Judges 11:35 - rent his clothes Matthew 2:18 - would

Cross-References

Genesis 37:20
"Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. We can say that a vicious animal has devoured him. Then we shall see what becomes of his dreams!"

Genesis 37:35
All his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. "No," he said. "I will go down to Sheol mourning for my son." So his father wept for him.

Genesis 37:36
Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Genesis 42:13
But they answered, "Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan. The youngest is now with our father, and one is no more."

Genesis 42:32
We are twelve brothers, sons of one father. One is no more, and the youngest is now with our father in the land of Canaan.'

Jeremiah 31:15
This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing consolation, because they are no more."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And he returned unto his brethren,.... From the pit, and whom he suspected had took him and killed him, as was their first design, not being with them when they proposed to sell him, and did:

and said, the child [is] not; not in the pit, nor in the land of the living, but is dead, which is sometimes the meaning of the phrase,

Jeremiah 31:15; he calls him a child, though seventeen years of age, because the youngest brother but one, and he himself was the eldest, and also because of his tender concern for him:

and I, whither shall I go? to find the child or flee from his father's face, which he could not think of seeing any more; whom he had highly offended already in the case of Bilhah, and now he would be yet more incensed against him for his neglect of Joseph, who, he might have expected, would have taken particular care of him, being the eldest son: he speaks like one in the utmost perplexity, not knowing what to do, what course to steer, being almost distracted and at his wits' end.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- Joseph Was Sold into Egypt

17. דתין dotayı̂n Dothain, “two wells?” (Gesenius)

25. נכאת n^eko't “tragacanth” or goat’s-thorn gum, yielded by the “astragalus gummifer”, a native of Mount Lebanon. צרי tsērı̂y “opobalsamum,” the resin of the balsam tree, growing in Gilead, and having healing qualities. לט loṭ, λῆδον lēdon, “ledum, ladanum,” in the Septuagint στακτή staktē. The former is a gum produced from the cistus rose. The latter is a gum resembling liquid myrrh.

36. פוטיפר pôṭı̂yphar Potiphar, “belonging to the sun.”

The sketch of the race of Edom, given in the preceding piece, we have seen, reaches down to the time of Moses. Accordingly, the history of Jacob’s seed, which is brought before us in the present document, reverts to a point of time not only before the close of that piece, but before the final record of what precedes it. The thread of the narrative is here taken up from the return of Jacob to Hebron, which was seventeen years before the death of Isaac.

Genesis 37:1-5

Joseph is the favorite of his father, but not of his brethren. “In the land of his father’s sojournings.” This contrasts Jacob with Esau, who removed to Mount Seir. This notice precedes the phrase, “These are the generations.” The corresponding sentence in the case of Isaac is placed at the end of the preceding section of the narrative Genesis 25:11. “The son of seventeen years;” in his seventeenth year Genesis 37:32. “The sons of Bilhah.” The sons of the handmaids were nearer his own age, and perhaps more tolerant of the favorite than the sons of Leah the free wife. Benjamin at this time was about four years of age. “An evil report of them.” The unsophisticated child of home is prompt in the disapproval of evil, and frank in the avowal of his feelings. What the evil was we are not informed; but Jacob’s full-grown sons were now far from the paternal eye, and prone, as it seems, to give way to temptation. Many scandals come out to view in the chosen family. “Loved Joseph.” He was the son of his best-loved wife, and of his old age; as Benjamin had not yet come into much notice. “A Coat of many colors.” This was a coat reaching to the hands and feet, worn by persons not much occupied with manual labor, according to the general opinion. It was, we conceive, variegated either by the loom or the needle, and is therefore, well rendered χιτὼν ποικίλος chitōn poikilos, a motley coat. “Could not bid peace to him.” The partiality of his father, exhibited in so weak a manner, provokes the anger of his brothers, who cannot bid him good-day, or greet him in the ordinary terms of good-will.

Genesis 37:5-11

Joseph’s dreams excite the jealousy of his brothers. His frankness in reciting his dream to his brothers marks a spirit devoid of guile, and only dimly conscious of the import of his nightly visions. The first dream represents by a figure the humble submission of all his brothers to him, as they rightly interpret it. “For his dreams and for his words.” The meaning of this dream was offensive enough, and his telling of it rendered it even more disagreeable. A second dream is given to express the certainty of the event Genesis 41:32. The former serves to interpret the latter. There the sheaves are connected with the brothers who bound them, and thereby indicate the parties. The eleven stars are not so connected with them. But here Joseph is introduced directly without a figure, and the number eleven, taken along with the eleven sheaves of the former dream, makes the application to the brothers plain. The sun and moon clearly point out the father and mother. The mother is to be taken, we conceive, in the abstract, without nicely inquiring whether it means the departed Rachel, or the probably still living Leah. Not even the latter seems to have lived to see the fulfillment of this prophetic dream Genesis 49:31. The second dream only aggravated the hatred of his brothers; but his father, while rebuking him for his speeches, yet marked the saying. The rebuke seems to imply that the dream, or the telling of it, appears to his father to indicate the lurking of a self-sufficient or ambitious spirit within the breast of the youthful Joseph. The twofold intimation, however, came from a higher source.

Genesis 37:12-17

Joseph is sent to Dothan. Shekem belonged to Jacob; part of it by purchase, and the rest by conquest. Joseph is sent to inquire of their welfare (שׁלום shālom “peace,” Genesis 37:4). With obedient promptness the youth goes to Shekem, where he learns that they had removed to Dothan, a town about twelve miles due north of Shekem.

Genesis 37:18-24

His brothers cast him into a pit. “This master of dreams;” an eastern phrase for a dreamer. “Let us slay him.” They had a foreboding that his dreams might prove true, and that he would become their arbitrary master. This thought at all events would abate somewhat of the barbarity of their designs. It is implied in the closing sentence of their proposal. Reuben dissuades them from the act of murder, and advises merely to cast him into the pit, to which they consent. He had a more tender heart, and perhaps a more tender conscience than the rest, and intended to send Joseph back safe to his father. He doubtless took care to choose a pit that was without water.

Genesis 37:25-30

Reuben rips his clothes when he finds Joseph gone. “To eat bread.” This shows the cold and heartless cruelty of their deed. “A caravan” - a company of travelling merchants. “Ishmaelites.” Ishmael left his father’s house when about fourteen or fifteen years of age. His mother took him a wife probably when he was eighteen, or twenty at the furthest. He had arrived at the latter age about one hundred and sixty-two years before the date of the present occurrence. He had twelve sons Genesis 25:13-15, and if we allow only four other generations and a fivefold increase, there will be about fifteen thousand in the fifth generation. “Came from Gilead;” celebrated for its balm Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11. The caravan road from Damascus to Egypt touches upon the land of Gilead, goes through Beth-shean, and passes by Dothan. “Spicery.” This gum is called tragacanth, or goats-thorn gum, because it was supposed to be obtained from this plant. “Balm,” or balsam; an aromatic substance obtained from a plant of the genus Amyris, a native of Gilead. “Myrrh” is the name of a gum exuding from the balsamodendron myrrha, growing in Arabia Felix. “Lot,” however, is supposed to be the resinous juice of the cistus or rock rose, a plant growing in Crete and Syria. Judah, relenting, and revolting perhaps from the crime of fratricide, proposes to sell Joseph to the merchants.

Midianites and Medanites Genesis 37:36 are mere variations apparently of the same name. They seem to have been the actual purchasers, though the caravan takes its name from the Ishmaelites, who formed by far the larger portion of it. Midian and Medan were both sons of Abraham, and during one hundred and twenty-five years must have increased to a small clan. Thus, Joseph is sold to the descendants of Abraham. “Twenty silver pieces;” probably shekels. This is the rate at which Moses estimates a male from five to twenty years old Leviticus 27:5. A man-servant was valued by him at thirty shekels Exodus 21:32. Reuben finding Joseph gone, rends his clothes, in token of anguish of mind for the loss of his brother and the grief of his father.

Genesis 37:31-36

The brothers contrive to conceal their crime; and Joseph is sold into Egypt. “Torn, torn in pieces is Joseph.” The sight of the bloody coat convinces Jacob at once that Joseph has been devoured by a wild beast. “All his daughters.” Only one daughter of Jacob is mentioned by name. These are probably his daughters-in-law. “To the grave.” Sheol is the place to which the soul departs at death. It is so called from its ever craving, or being empty. “Minister.” This word originally means eunuch, and then, generally, any officer about the court or person of the sovereign. “Captain of the guards.” The guards are the executioners of the sentences passed by the sovereign on culprits, which were often arbitrary, summary, and extremely severe. It is manifest, from this dark chapter, that the power of sin has not been extinguished in the family of Jacob. The name of God does not appear, and his hand is at present only dimly seen among the wicked designs, deeds, and devices of these unnatural brothers. Nevertheless, his counsel of mercy standeth sure, and fixed is his purpose to bring salvation to the whole race of man, by means of his special covenant with Abraham.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 37:30. The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? — The words in the original are very plaintive, הילד איננו ואני אנה אני בא haiyeled einennu, vaani anah, ani ba!