Back to Genesis 37

Genesis 37:29-35

Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes. He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?” They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.”

He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.” Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him.

World English Bible · Public Domain
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Genesis 37:29-35 sits inside this longer paragraph.

Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes. He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?” They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.”

He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.” Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him. The Midianites sold him into Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, the captain of the guard.

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

    He returned to his brothers, and said, “The child is no more; and I, where will I go?”

    They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

    They took the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, “We have found this. Examine it, now, and see if it is your son’s tunic or not.”

    He recognized it, and said, “It is my son’s tunic. An evil animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.”

    Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

    All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted. He said, “For I will go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” His father wept for him.

  • KJV King James Version

    And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

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

    And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

    And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son’s coat or no.

    And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

    And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

    And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

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

    And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;

    and they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said: 'This have we found. Know now whether it is thy son's coat or not.'

    And he knew it, and said: 'It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn in pieces.'

    And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

    And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said: 'Nay, but I will go down to the grave to my son mourning.' And his father wept for him.

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Cross-references (60)

  • Genesis 37:20 (vv30, 33) Come now therefore, and let’s kill him, and cast him into one of the pits, and we will say, ‘An evil animal has devoured him.’ We will see…
  • Genesis 37:23 (v31) When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him;
  • Genesis 42:13 (v30) They said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is today with our…
  • Genesis 44:28 (v33) One went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn in pieces;” and I haven’t seen him since.
  • Job 1:20 (vv29, 34) Then Job arose, and tore his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down on the ground, and worshiped.
Show all 53 cross-references
  • Genesis 37:29 (v34) Reuben returned to the pit, and saw that Joseph wasn’t in the pit; and he tore his clothes.
  • Genesis 37:34 (v29) Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.
  • Genesis 42:38 (v35) He said, “My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he only is left. If harm happens to him along the way in which…
  • Genesis 37:3 (vv31–32) Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age, and he made him a tunic of many colors.
  • Jeremiah 31:15 (vv30, 35) Yahweh says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for…
  • Joel 2:13 (vv29, 34) Tear your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Yahweh, your God; for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in…
  • Acts 14:14 (vv29, 34) But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out,
  • Genesis 42:32 (v30) We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is today with our father in the land of Canaan.’
  • Genesis 44:13 (v29) Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.
  • Numbers 14:6 (v29) Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of those who spied out the land, tore their clothes.
  • 2 Samuel 3:31 (v34) David said to Joab, and to all the people who were with him, “Tear your clothes, and clothe yourselves with sackcloth, and mourn in front…
  • 2 Samuel 12:17 (v35) The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, and he didn’t eat bread with them.
  • Job 2:11 (v35) Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad…
  • Proverbs 28:13 (v31) He who conceals his sins doesn’t prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.
  • 2 Kings 19:1 (vv29, 34) When king Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into Yahweh’s house.
  • Genesis 31:43 (v35) Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters, the children are my children, the flocks are my flocks, and all that you see is…
  • Genesis 34:13 (v29) The sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father with deceit when they spoke, because he had defiled Dinah their sister,
  • Genesis 35:22-26 (v35) While Israel lived in that land, Reuben went and lay with Bilhah, his father’s concubine, and Israel heard of it. Now the sons of Jacob…
  • Genesis 42:31 (v35) We said to him, ‘We are honest men. We are no spies.
  • Genesis 42:35-36 (v30) As they emptied their sacks, behold, each man’s bundle of money was in his sack. When they and their father saw their bundles of money,…
  • Genesis 44:29-31 (v35) If you take this one also from me, and harm happens to him, you will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.’ Now therefore when I…
  • Genesis 45:28 (v35) Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
  • Joshua 7:6 (v34) Joshua tore his clothes, and fell to the earth on his face before Yahweh’s ark until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put…
  • Judges 11:35 (v29) When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low, and you are one of those who trouble me;…
  • 2 Samuel 1:11 (v34) Then David took hold on his clothes, and tore them; and all the men who were with him did likewise.
  • 1 Kings 13:24 (v33) When he had gone, a lion met him by the way and killed him. His body was thrown on the path, and the donkey stood by it. The lion also…
  • 1 Kings 20:31 (v34) His servants said to him, “See now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth on…
  • 1 Kings 21:27 (v34) When Ahab heard those words, he tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly.
  • 2 Kings 2:24 (v33) He looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in Yahweh’s name. Then two female bears came out of the woods, and mauled forty-two of…
  • 1 Chronicles 21:16 (v34) David lifted up his eyes, and saw Yahweh’s angel standing between earth and the sky, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over…
  • Ezra 9:3-5 (v34) When I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and pulled the hair out of my head and of my beard, and sat down confounded. Then…
  • Nehemiah 9:1 (v34) Now in the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, with sackcloth, and dirt on them.
  • Esther 4:1-3 (v34) Now when Mordecai found out all that was done, Mordecai tore his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and went out into the middle of…
  • Job 2:12 (v34) When they lifted up their eyes from a distance, and didn’t recognize him, they raised their voices, and wept; and they each tore his robe,…
  • Psalms 69:11 (v34) When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to them.
  • Psalms 77:2 (v35) In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord. My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn’t get tired. My soul refused to be comforted.
  • Proverbs 14:15 (v33) A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways.
  • Isaiah 22:12-13 (v34) In that day, the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, called to weeping, to mourning, to baldness, and to dressing in sackcloth; and behold, joy and…
  • Isaiah 32:11 (v34) Tremble, you women who are at ease! Be troubled, you careless ones! Strip yourselves, make yourselves naked, and put sackcloth on your…
  • Isaiah 36:22–37:2 (v34) Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to…
  • Jeremiah 36:24 (v34) The king and his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and didn’t tear their garments.
  • Jonah 3:5-8 (v34) The people of Nineveh believed God; and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even to their least. The news…
  • Matthew 11:21 (v34) “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would…
  • Matthew 26:65 (v34) Then the high priest tore his clothing, saying, “He has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his…
  • Luke 15:30 (v32) But when this your son came, who has devoured your living with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’
  • John 13:7 (v33) Jesus answered him, “You don’t know what I am doing now, but you will understand later.”
  • Revelation 11:3 (v34) I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
  • Genesis 44:20-23 (v32) We said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left…

53 distinct cross-references across this passage (60 total citations).

Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)

Explain this passage (21 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv30, 31, 35 30. And he returned. We may hence gather that…

30. And he returned. We may hence gather that Reuben, under pretense of some other business, stole away from his brethren, that, unknown to them all, he might restore his brother, drawn out of the pit, to his father; and that therefore he was absent at the time when Joseph was sold. And there is no wonder that he was anticipated, when he had taken his course in a different direction from theirs, intending to reach the pit by a circuitous path. But now at length Reuben having lost all hope, unfolds to his brethren the intention which before he dared not confess, lest the boy should be immediately murdered.

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 On vv32, 35 To wit, the messengers which were sent.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv29–35 Gen 37:29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and,…
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 32, 34, 35 Reuben returned unto the pit, that, according to his…
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v31 I. Joseph would soon be missed, great enquiry would…
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv29–35 And he returned unto his brethren,.... From the pit,…
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v35 He refused to be comforted - He resolved to…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 32, 33, 35 Verse 29. Reuben returned unto the pit] It appears…
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv31, 35 Gen 37:31. They took Joseph’s coat, and killed a…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 33, 34, 35 Ruben, who, in the mean time had been absent…
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv29, 31, 34, 35 Reuben returned unto the pit--He seems to have designedly…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv30, 32, 33, 35 30. Whither shall I go — “It is a…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35 29. And Reuben] Reuben returning to “the pit” finds…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv29, 31, 32, 34, 35 (29) Reuben returned.—Evidently he was not present when Joseph…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv29, 31, 33, 34, 35 Vers. 29, 30. And Reuben (in whose absence apparently…
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv29, 33, 35 Reuben returned
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v29 Gen_37:35. The grave.] Heb. Sheol. The unseen world, or…
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v35 Heb. "Sheol," (See Scofield "Hab 2:5").
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v29 Jacob’s Grief over Joseph
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv29, 31, 34 Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was…
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv29, 31, 32, 33, 34 37:29-30 When Reuben returned, he tore his clothes in…
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