Genesis 37:5 · Bible study
Genesis 37:5 Commentary: Why the Dream Fueled the Hatred
Hebrew · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
A study page on Genesis 37:5, Joseph's dream and his brothers' intensified hatred. Commentator insights, historical context, and pastoral application.
Research Summary
- Meaning: Joseph’s dream, shared innocently, intensifies his brothers' pre-existing hatred because they understand it as a claim to rule over them.
- Key words: “Dream” (חֲלוֹם, ordinary or prophetic), “told” (נָגַד, to declare), “added” (יָסַף, to increase), “hate” (שָׂנֵא, to hate).
- Main debate: Whether Joseph told the dream naively or with some pride; whether the dream was a direct divine revelation or a natural premonition with prophetic significance.
- Theological theme: God’s sovereignty unfolding through human sin, the dream is a promise that will be fulfilled, but the path includes betrayal and suffering.
- Best use: A cautionary tale on family conflict, envy, and the cost of God’s call; also a comfort that God’s purposes are not derailed by human anger.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
WEB World English Bible 2000
Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers, and they hated him all the more.
KJV King James Version 1769
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And Joseph dreameth a dream, and declareth to his brethren, and they add still more to hate him.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and told [it] to his brethren, and they hated him yet the more.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
Now it fell out also that he told his brethren a dream, that he had dreamed: which occasioned them to hate him the more.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y soñó José un sueño, y contólo á sus hermanos; y ellos vinieron á aborrecerle más todavía.
E sonhou José um sonho e contou-o a seus irmãos; e eles vieram a odiar-lhe mais ainda.
Joseph eut un songe, et il le raconta à ses frères, qui le haïrent encore davantage.
Dazu hatte Joseph einmal einen Traum und sagte zu seinen Brüdern davon; da wurden sie ihm noch feinder.
Ook droomde Jozef een droom, dien hij aan zijn broederen vertelde; daarom haatten zij hem nog te meer.
Or Giuseppe ebbe un sogno, e lo raccontò ai suoi fratelli; e questi l’odiaron più che mai.
I śnił się Józefowi sen, a gdy go powiedział braci swej, tem go więcej mieli w nienawiści.
И видел Иосиф сон, и рассказал [его] братьям своим: и они возненавидели его еще более.
約瑟 做了 一夢，告訴 他哥哥們，他們就越 發 恨 他。
Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Genesis 37:5
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree on a basic point: the brothers' hatred did not start with this dream. Verse 4 already tells us they hated Joseph because their father loved him more, and they could not speak peaceably to him. The dream added a public, symbolic claim to Joseph's future supremacy, and that was the final straw.
Gill notes that Joseph told the dream "in the simplicity of his heart," not understanding its meaning. The brothers, however, grasped it at once. They interpreted it as Joseph’s ambition and arrogance on display, and their hatred increased. Keil and Delitzsch add that the dream pointed unmistakably to Joseph’s rule over them, and the repetition of a second dream seemed to confirm the thing as certain (compare Genesis 41:32). The Cambridge Bible observes that Joseph was already seen as a tale-bearer; now he was a boastful dreamer.
The Hebrew verb construction wayyosifu od s'no ("they added again to hate") stresses an incremental, ongoing hostility. The hatred was not a new emotion but an old wound torn open by this dream. The scholars agree: the telling of the dream did not create the conflict; it exposed and deepened what was already there.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The brothers already hated Joseph before the dream, and his telling of the dream added a specific, symbolic claim to supremacy that caused their hatred to increase measurably.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of the dream | All agree the dream symbolically pointed to Joseph's future supremacy over his brothers. | Some read it as a direct divine revelation (prophetic dream); others see it as a natural premonition heightened by God’s influence but not directly inspired. |
| Joseph's motivation in telling the dream | All agree Joseph told the dream to his brothers soon after waking. | Gill argues Joseph told it 'in the simplicity of his heart,' not understanding its meaning; others (like the brothers themselves) assume he was boasting. The text does not state Joseph's motive explicitly. |
| The brothers' response | The brothers understood the dream as a claim to dominion and hated Joseph more because of it. | Some emphasize the brothers' guilt in misjudging Joseph; others focus on the natural human resentment against perceived superiority. The role of 'envy' vs. 'hatred' is discussed. |
| Role of divine providence | God is ultimately at work through these events to fulfill His plan for Joseph and Israel. | Disagreement exists over how directly God caused the dream itself, some see it as an explicit revelation, others as a providential but not supernatural dream. All agree the outcome serves God's purpose. |
| Family dynamics and fault | The family was already dysfunctional due to Jacob's favoritism and the brothers' hatred. | Some commentators lay more blame on Jacob's partiality; others focus on the brothers' sinful response. A few warn against Joseph's potential naivety or imprudence as a contributing factor. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Dreams in the ancient Near East were rarely dismissed as random mental activity. They were understood as messages from the divine, omens of future events, or glimpses into the hidden order of things. When Pharaoh later dreams of cows and grain (Genesis 41:1), the entire court takes it seriously. Joseph’s dreams would have carried weight, and menace.
Joseph was the son of Jacob's beloved wife Rachel, born in Jacob's old age. The tension between his mother's status and the other wives, especially Leah, meant his brothers were already sensitive to any favoritism. The tunic of many colors (verse 3) had been a visible symbol that Joseph was the heir apparent over his older half-brothers. By the time of our verse, Joseph is seventeen years old, working in the fields with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the concubines' children (Cambridge Bible notes this arrangement was likely to keep him humble, but it also isolated him). He had already "brought an evil report" of them to his father (verse 2), earning him the label of tale-bearer (Poole Annotations).
Into this volatile mix, Joseph tells his dream. The brothers immediately read it as a claim to supremacy: "Will you indeed reign over us?" (verse 8). Their hatred, already hot, boils over. The cultural background of dreams as authoritative, combined with the family dynamics of favoritism and resentment, makes the reaction nearly predictable.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Genesis 37:5. The Hebrew text is stable across major manuscripts. The verb form wayyosifu ("they added") with od ("still/again") is attested consistently, supporting the sense of incremental increase in hatred.
Reception History
In Jewish tradition, this verse is read as part of the Joseph cycle that teaches about divine providence and sibling rivalry. The Midrash often focuses on the brothers' failure to see God's hand in Joseph's dreams. Christian interpreters have long seen Joseph as a type of Christ, a beloved son who suffers rejection by his own people before being exalted. The dream, in this reading, becomes a foreshadowing of Christ's eventual rule. The verse is also frequently cited in sermons on envy and the cost of speaking God's truth into a hostile environment. Augustine, in his homilies on Genesis, used this passage to warn against the sin of envy, noting how it blinds the envious to God's plan. Throughout church history, the verse has served as a mirror for examining how God's promises can provoke opposition even from those closest to us.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The existing wound. The brothers already hated Joseph (verse 4). The dream didn't create the envy, it exposed it.
- The message that hurts. Joseph’s dream pointed to a future where his brothers bowed to him. They understood better than he did what it meant, and they resented both the content and the telling.
- The escalation toward evil. This intensified hatred leads directly to the plot to kill Joseph (verse 20). The dream that was meant to comfort Joseph becomes the catalyst for his suffering, yet God uses it all.
Five-point outline
- Favoritism feeds family conflict. Jacob’s open love for Joseph over the others built a foundation of bitterness.
- Joseph’s vulnerability. A seventeen-year-old boy, isolated, tells a dream he does not fully understand. His naivety may have been genuine, but it was dangerous in a home already divided.
- The brothers’ interpretation. They saw the dream as a claim to rule. Their question (“Will you indeed reign over us?”) shows they already felt threatened.
- The multiplying effect of sin. Each layer, the father’s partiality, Joseph’s report, the dream, piles more fuel on the fire. Hatred grows incrementally, as the Hebrew verb suggests.
- God’s hidden hand. The dream is prophetic. God is working out a plan to save many lives (Genesis 50:20), but the path runs through human jealousy and betrayal.
Illustration hooks
- The child who blurts out a truth at the dinner table. Joseph’s naivety is like a child who innocently repeats something embarrassing, not realizing the offense he causes. The hearers assume malice where there is none.
- The intern promoted over senior colleagues. The brothers see Joseph as the young upstart given everything. The dream feels like gloating, even if Joseph didn't intend it that way.
- A prophecy that brings trouble before it brings glory. The tension between God’s promise (Joseph will be exalted) and the immediate result (hatred, a pit, slavery) mirrors the Christian experience of living between the “already” and “not yet.”
Questions your congregation is asking
- Was Joseph wrong to tell the dream? Was he prideful, or just a kid sharing something amazing?
- How do we handle God-given dreams or callings when the people closest to us react with hostility?
- This story feels uncomfortably like my own family, where favoritism, jealousy, and misunderstanding have caused deep rifts. Is there any hope for healing?
Leading a Discussion
This verse is a hinge. It shows how a divine promise can land inside a broken family and create more pain before it brings redemption. The group should sit with the discomfort: the dreamer is innocent, the hearers are guilty, yet both are caught up in a larger story God is telling. Let the questions lead you beneath the surface of the characters' actions to the hidden sovereignty of God.
Discussion questions
- Observation: Read Genesis 37:5 in context with verses 2, 4 and 8. What do we already know about the family dynamics before the dream is told?
- Interpretation: The Hebrew phrase “they added still more to hate him” (YLT) uses the verb yasaph, to add or increase. Why is the incremental nature of their hatred significant here?
- Interpretation: The brothers ask, “Will you indeed reign over us?” (verse 8). What does this question reveal about how they understood the dream?
- Application: Joseph told the dream “in the simplicity of his heart” (Gill suggests). Have you ever shared something good, a blessing, a calling, a success, only to have it misunderstood and used against you? How did you respond?
- Application: The dream was from God, yet it caused more conflict. How does this challenge our expectation that following God’s plan will bring immediate peace? Where else in Scripture do we see this pattern?
- Application: Jacob’s favoritism was a key cause of the hatred. In what ways do our own preferences, in families, churches, or workplaces, create environments where resentment can grow?
- Response: What is one step you could take this week to address an existing conflict before it escalates, as the brothers’ hatred did?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Genesis 28:12 | He dreamed and saw a stairway set upon the earth, and its top reached to heaven. Behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. |
| Genesis 37:4 | His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, and they hated him, and couldn’t speak peaceably to him. |
| Genesis 37:8 | His brothers asked him, “Will you indeed reign over us? Will you indeed have dominion over us?” They hated him all the more for his dreams and for his words. |
| Genesis 40:5 | They both dreamed a dream, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cup bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. |
| Genesis 41:1 | At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. |
| Genesis 42:9 | Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed about them, and said to them, “You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land.” |
| Genesis 49:23 | The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecuted him: |
| Numbers 12:6 | He said, “Now hear my words. If there is a prophet among you, I, Yahweh, will make myself known to him in a vision. I will speak with him in a dream. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
Cambridge Bible notes that the verse's English translation is awkward, and the real point is that Joseph, the favored wife's older son, was sent to work in the fields with the sons of the concubines. This arrangement made his life there inherently difficult, and his report about his brothers brought him the reputation of a tale-bearer.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva note highlights that Joseph's recounting of his dream did not merely reveal his brothers' existing hatred but intensified it. By telling them, he gave their resentment new fuel, making it burn even hotter.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill emphasizes that Joseph told his dream in complete innocence, not understanding its meaning and even finding it odd or amusing. The brothers, however, instantly grasped the dream's significance and assumed Joseph was boasting, which deepened their hatred more than his earlier offense of carrying a bad report about them to their father.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB points out that the dream's meaning was unmistakable, and its repetition under different images confirmed the prophecy as certain. Jacob treated it as a matter worth pondering, while the brothers reacted with envy, already sensing its implications.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil and Delitzsch argue that Joseph’s dreams functioned as prophetic presentiments rather than direct divine revelations or mere ambition. They suggest these visions arose from a blend of inward feelings and subtle divine influence, keeping God’s ultimate purposes hidden until the right time. This view explains why Jacob retained the memory while the brothers reacted with jealousy to what they saw as pride.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange observes that no divine name appears in Genesis 37 except Elohim in verse 9, noting Joseph's history rests on an Elohistic foundation. This contrasts with the later Jehovah-period and highlights a shift in how God is revealed through different patriarchal eras.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees Josephs dreams as Gods way of preparing him for the long troubles ahead, giving him a glimpse of future glory to sustain him through the suffering. The sheaves bowing to Josephs full sheaf pointed ahead to the very occasion when his brothers would seek him for grain.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley notes that Joseph's piety as a young man prepared him to receive God's revelation. God gave him a vision of his future advancement early, precisely because he would face severe trials ahead, and this prospect was meant to sustain him through those troubles.