Old Testament · Law

Genesis 37:19

Joseph Sold

“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another. Genesis 37:19 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Genesis 37:19, in plain English

As Joseph approaches, his brothers mock him, calling him 'that dreamer' with contempt.

Why it's here

The epithet 'that dreamer' is pure sarcasm and contempt. They're reducing him to the thing that bothers them most—his dreams, his visions, his sense of being special. In calling him this, they're revealing that the dreams are what pushed them over the edge from hatred to murder.

Who's speaking

Joseph's brothers

Where it sits in the story

The very thing that will ultimately save Joseph's life—his gift for understanding dreams—is the reason they want to kill him. God's gifts in us often provoke the world's hatred first.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

The brothers identify Joseph from a distance, calling him 'that dreamer,' revealing how completely the dreams have defined him in their minds and motivated their hatred.

Language and setting

Their epithet—'behold, the master of dreams comes'—or more literally, 'the dreamer' (ba'al hachalom) reduces Joseph's identity to his visionary pretensions. The phrase is dripping with contempt and sarcasm; what Joseph intended as revelation of divine purpose the brothers experience as arrogant presumption. The fact that they recognize him 'in the distance' and identify him by his associated characteristic (the dreamer) rather than by familial relationship (my brother) demonstrates the complete estrangement of their bond. The term ba'al—master or owner—might suggest they see him as someone who 'possesses' or 'is characterized by' dreams, or it might carry ironic force: what sort of master is this young man who claims authority through dreams? The dream-identity has completely supplanted fraternal identity in the brothers' consciousness.

Voice

The brothers, in conversation with one another.

Significance

By naming Joseph 'the dreamer,' the brothers ironically confirm the very significance they seek to destroy; they cannot escape the reality of what Joseph claims through dreams, even as they attempt to eradicate him.

In context

Genesis 37:17–21

17“They have moved on from here,” the man answered. “I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So Joseph set out after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

18Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.

19“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.

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!”

21When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue Joseph from their hands. “Let us not take his life,” he said.

Read all of Genesis 37 — A father's favorite son, a coat of many colors, and brothers consumed by jealousy. What they meant for evil, God will use for something unimaginable.

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