Genesis 37:14

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 37:14 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Genesis 37:14 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 37

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
14And he said to him, Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren, and well with the flock; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And he said to him, go, I pray thee, etc.] Or “now” f1639, directly, immediately, which is more agreeable to the authority of a father: see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; it having been many days, and perhaps months, since he had heard anything of them; and the rather Jacob might be under a concern for them, because of the danger they were exposed to from the neighbouring tribes and nations of the Canaanites, on account of their having some time ago destroyed the Shechemites; so the Targum of Jonathan, paraphrasing on the preceding part, makes Jacob to say, “I am afraid, lest the Horites should come and smite them, because of their smiting Hamor and Shechem,…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“- Joseph Was Sold into Egypt 17. דתין dotayı̂n Dothain, “two wells?” (Gesenius) 25. נכאת neko'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…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“37:14-17 The brothers ranged far and wide. Shechem was about fifty miles from Hebron, and Dothan another fifteen miles beyond Shechem.”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification