Genesis 37:32

Old Testament Law (Torah) ASV (1901)

What does Genesis 37:32 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son`s coat or not.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son`s coat or not.
Genesis 37:32 — American Standard Version

Context — Genesis 37

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
32and they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father, and said, This have we found: know now whether it is thy son`s coat or not.

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 they sent the coat of [many] colours, etc.] Which was what they dipped in the blood of the kid; this they sent to Jacob in such a condition, by the hand of some messenger; the Targum of Jonathan says, the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah; but more probably some of their servants, whom they instructed what to say to their father when they presented it to him; not caring to appear in person at first, lest they be thrown into such commotion and confusion at their father’s distress, as might tend to lead on to a discovery of the whole affair: and they brought [it] to their father, and said, this we have found; that is, the messengers carried to the father of Joseph’s brethren, who were sent with…”
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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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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“37:32 your son: In their cold hatred, the brothers did not refer to Joseph by name or acknowledge him as their brother (see 21:10).”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification