He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?”
Parallel Translations
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He told it to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked him, and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves down to you to the earth?”
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And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
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And he told it to his father, and to his brethren; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him: 'What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee to the earth?'
Cross-references (4)
Passages linked to Genesis 37:10 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Genesis 27:29 Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers. Let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you. Blessed be everyone who blesses you.”
- Genesis 37:7 for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and behold, your sheaves came around, and bowed down to my sheaf.”
- Isaiah 60:14 The sons of those who afflicted you will come bowing to you; and all those who despised you will bow themselves down at the soles of your feet. They will call you Yahweh’s City, the Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
- Philippians 2:10-11 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (12 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 10. And his father rebuked him. If Jacob suspected…
10. And his father rebuked him. If Jacob suspected that the dream originated in vain ambition, he rightly rebuked his son; but if he knew that God was the author of the dream, he ought not to have expostulated with him. But what he did know it, may be hence inferred, because he is afterwards said seriously to have considered it. For Moses, making a distinction between him and his sons, says that they breathed nothing but the virus of envy; while he revolved in his own mind what this might mean; which could not have happened, unless he had been affected with reverence. But seeing that a certain religious impression on the subject rested on his mind, how was it that he rebuked his son? This truly was not giving honor to God and to his word. For it ought to have occurred to the mind of Jacob that, although Joseph was under his authority, he yet sustained a prophetic character. It is probable, when he saw his sons so malevolent, that he wished to meet the danger by feigning what he did not feel: for he was not offended at the dream, but he was unwilling to exasperate the minds of those who, on account of their pride, would not bear to be in subjection. Therefore I do not doubt that he feignedly reproved his son, from a desire to appease contention. Nevertheless, this method of pretending to be adverse to the truth, when we are endeavoring to appease the anger of those who rage against it, is by no means approved by God. He ought rather ingenuously to have exhorted his sons not to “kick against the pricks.” Or at least he should have used this moderate address, “If this is a common dream, let it be treated with ridicule rather than with anger; but if it has proceeded from God, it is wicked to speak against it.” It is even possible that the unsuitableness of the dream had struck the mind of the old man. For we know how difficult it is entirely to throw off all sense of superiority. Certainly, though Jacob declines slightly from the right course, yet his piety appears to be of no common order; because his reverence for the oracle so easily prevailed over every other feeling. But the most wicked obstinacy betrays itself in his sons, seeing they break out into greater enmity. For though they despise the dream, yet they are not made angry about nothing. Gladly would they have had their brother as a laughing-stock; but a certain secret sense of the Deity constrains them, so that, with or against their will, they are compelled to feel that there is something authentic in the dream. Meanwhile, a blind ferocity impels them to an unintentional resistance against God. Therefore, that we may be held in obedience to God, let us learn to bring down our high spirits; because the beginning of docility is for men to submit to be brought into order. This obstinacy in the sons of Jacob was most censurable, because they not only rejected the oracle of God through their hatred of subjection, but were hostile to his messenger and herald. How much less excusable, then, will be our hardness, if we do not meekly submit our necks to the yoke of God; since the doctrine of humility, which subdues and even mortifies us, is not only more clearly revealed, but also confirmed by the precious blood of Christ? If, however, we see many refractory persons at this day, who refuse to embrace the gospel, and who perversely rise up against it, let us not be disturbed as by some new thing, seeing that the whole human race is infected with the disease of pride; for by the gospel all the glory of the flesh is reduced to nothing; rather let us know that all remain obstinate, except those who are rendered meek by the subduing influence of the Spirit.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Not despising the vision, but seeking to appease his…
Not despising the vision, but seeking to appease his brethren.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 37:10 And he told [it] to his father,…
Gen 37:10 And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
Ver. 10. And his father rebuked him.] Either as not yet understanding the mystery, or dissembling it. It is wisdom, at some time, and in some place, to pretend a dislike of another man’s fact (so far as we may with truth), for the preventing of envy. This, some think, was Jacob’s drift here. And therefore he draws an argument, ab impossibili et absurdo; Shall thy dead mother rise and reverence thee? A likely matter: and yet, as light as Jacob made of it, to unload Joseph of the envy, he laid it to heart. {Gen 37:11}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain His father rebuked him; not through anger at Joseph,…
His father rebuked him; not through anger at Joseph, or contempt of his dream, for it follows, he observed it; but partly lest Joseph should be puffed up upon the account of his dreams, and principally to allay the envy and hatred of his brethren.
Thy mother: either,
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1. Rachel, who was now dead, and therefore must rise again and worship thee; whence he may seem to infer the idleness of the dream, because the fulfilling it was impossible. Or rather,
2. Leah, his stepmother, one that filled his mother’s place, being now Jacob’s only wife, and the mother of the family.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And his brethren envied him,.... Notwithstanding all the precaution…
And his brethren envied him,.... Notwithstanding all the precaution Jacob took to prevent it; they suspecting and fearing that these dreams portended the pre-eminence of Joseph over them, or however served to fill his mind with the hopes and expectation of it:
but his father observed the saying; what Joseph had said in relating his dream; he laid it up in his mind and kept it there, often thought of it, and waited to see its accomplishment.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain His father rebuked him - Probably to lessen the…
His father rebuked him - Probably to lessen the offense which his brethren would take at it; yet he took notice of it more than he seemed to do.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 37:10. He told it to his father —…
Gen 37:10. He told it to his father — The dream was so strongly impressed upon his mind, and that, no doubt, by the Spirit of God, that he could not rest till he had acquainted his father with it. His father rebuked him — Not through anger or contempt of his dream, for it follows, he observed it; but partly lest Joseph should be elated with the idea of superiority over his brethren, and give place to pride on account of his dreams, and principally to allay the envy and hatred of his brethren. In his thus rebuking him, although in regard to Joseph without cause, Jacob is an example worthy of the imitation of all parents, who, when they observe any appearance of arrogance, self-exaltation, or aspiring after high things in any of their children, ought always to check it, as being a sinful disposition, and often productive of very evil consequences. Shall I and thy mother — Leah, his step-mother, one that filled his mother’s place, and was now Jacob’s only wife, and the mother of the family. Or he means, “Shall thy mother Rachel rise from the dead to come and join with me in worshipping thee?” In which sense of the words he seems to infer the idleness of the dream, the fulfilling of it being impossible.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Worship. This word is not used here to signify…
Worship. This word is not used here to signify divine worship, but an inferior veneration, expressed by the bowing of the body, and that, according to the manner of the eastern nations, down to the ground.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 10. thy mother] Implying that Rachel was still alive.…
10. thy mother] Implying that Rachel was still alive. Her death was recorded in Gen_35:19 (J). Presumably this version (E) assumed that her death occurred later.
The sun represented his father, and the moon his mother; each of his brethren is represented by a star. There is nothing in this scene which really favours astronomical or astral theories of interpretation.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (10) His father rebuked him.—In making the sun and…
(10) His father rebuked him.—In making the sun and moon bow down before him. Joseph’s dream seemed to violate the respect due to parents. As Jacob probably regarded his son’s dreams as the result of his letting his fancy dwell upon ideas of self-exaltation, he rightly rebuked him; while, nevertheless, “observing his saying.” (Comp. Luk_2:51.)
Thy mother.—Rachel was certainly dead, as Joseph had at this time eleven brethren. Nor did Leah ever bow down before him; for she died at Hebron (Gen_49:31). The enumeration of “sun, moon, and stars,” means Jacob, his wives, and his children, that is, the whole family, elders and juniors, were to make obeisance to Joseph. It is a general phrase, like that in Gen_35:26, and is not to be too literally interpreted. But as the handmaids were both of them younger than either Rachel or Leah, they may have gone down with Jacob into Egypt; and probably Bilhah had done a mother’s part by Joseph after Rachel’s death.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And he told it to his father, and to…
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren whom it manifestly concerned, as, for the like reason, he had reported the first dream only to his brethren. That he does not tell it to his mother may be an indication that Rachel was by this time dead. And his father rebuked him, either to avoid irritating his brethren (Calvin), or to repress an appearance of pride in Joseph (Lange, Murphy, Inglis), or to express his own surprise (Candlish) or irritation (Keil), or sense of the absurdity of the dream (Lawson), which he further demonstrated when he addedand said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed! Shall I and thy mother
(1) "Rachel, who was neither forgotten nor lost" (Keil), who may possibly have been living at the date of the dream ("Speaker"s Commentary"), though then Joseph could not "have had eleven brothers; who, being dead, was referred to in order to show the impossibility of its ever being fulfilled (Kalisch, Pererius); or
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(2) Leah, as the chief mistress of Jacob"s household (Willet, Hughes, Inglis); or
(3) Bilhah, Rachel,s maid, who had probably acted as Joseph s mother after Rachel"s death (Jewish interpreters, Grotius, and others); or, what seems more probable,
(4) the term "mother" is here introduced simply for the sake of giving completeness to the symbol (Kurtz, Murphy)and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee Joseph"s brethren ultimately did so in Egypt; (Gen_41:6) Joseph"s father practically did so when he recognized Joseph"s greatness and depended on him for support. (Gen_47:12) It is certain that Leah died before the immigration to, (Gen_49:31) and it cannot be determined whether Bilhah or Zilpah went to Egyptto the earth. Jacob seems here, by intensifying Joseph"s language, to resent the claim which it conveyed.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 37:10 your mother and I: Joseph’s birth mother, Rachel,…
37:10 your mother and I: Joseph’s birth mother, Rachel, was dead (35:19). Leah was now the matriarch of the clan.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.