Genesis 37:27

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 37:27 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.
Genesis 37:27 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 37

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
27Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto him.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, etc.] For a slave, and that will defeat his dream; and as these were going down to Egypt, where they would sell him, he would be far enough from them, and there would be no probability of his ever being lord over them: and let not our hand be upon him; to take away his life, either by stabbing or starving him: for he [is] our brother, [and] our flesh; they had all one father, though different mothers, and therefore, as the relation was so near, some sympathy and compassion should be shown; some degree of tenderness at least, and not savageness and cruelty: and his brethren were content; they agreed to the motion, inasmuch as they supposed it…”
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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…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification