God’s Word Translation
Genesis 37:15
15a man found him wandering around in the open country. “What are you looking for?” the man asked.
Genesis 37:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
- New International Version (NIV)a man found him wandering around in the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”
- English Standard Version (ESV)And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, "What are you seeking?"
- New King James Version (NKJV)Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”
Context of Genesis 37:15
13Israel then said to Joseph, “Your brothers are taking care of the flocks at Shechem. I’m going to send you to them.” Joseph responded, “I’ll go.” 14So Israel said, “See how your brothers and the flocks are doing, and bring some news back to me.” Then he sent Joseph away from the Hebron Valley. When Joseph came to Shechem, a man found him wandering around in the open country. “What are you looking for?” the man asked. 16Joseph replied, “I’m looking for my brothers. Please tell me where they’re taking care of their flocks.” 17The man said, “They moved on from here. I heard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
Read all of Genesis 37Genesis 37:15 word by word
וַיִּמְצָאֵ֣הוּ אִ֔ישׁ וְהִנֵּ֥ה תֹעֶ֖ה בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה וַיִּשְׁאָלֵ֧הוּ הָאִ֛ישׁ לֵאמֹ֖ר מַה־תְּבַקֵּֽשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 37:15
- Genesis 21:14Early the next morning Abraham took bread and a container of water and gave them to Hagar, putting them on her shoulder. He also gave her the boy and sent her on her way. So she left and wandered around in the desert near Beersheba.
- Judges 4:22Barak was still pursuing Sisera. When Jael came out ⌞of her tent⌟, she met him. She said to him, “Come in! I have something to show you—the man you’ve been looking for.” So Barak went into her tent. He saw Sisera lying there dead with the tent peg through his temples.
- 2 Kings 6:19Elisha told them, “This isn’t the way! This isn’t the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you’re looking for.” So he led them into Samaria.
- John 1:38Jesus turned around and saw them following him. He asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which means “teacher”), “where are you staying?”
- John 4:27At that time his disciples returned. They were surprised that he was talking to a woman. But none of them asked him, “What do you want from her?” or “Why are you talking to her?”
- John 18:4Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to him. So he went to meet them and asked, “Who are you looking for?”
- John 20:15Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” Mary thought it was the gardener speaking to her. So she said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I’ll remove him.”
Commentaries on Genesis 37:15
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-36Verses 1-36 - 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 ͂ lēdon “ledum, ladanum,” in the Septuagint ́ staktē The former is a gum produced from the cistus rose. The latter is a gum resembling…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-22Verses 12-22 How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, 1Jo 3:15. The sons of Jacob hated their brother because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-17The brothers traveled over a wide area. Shechem was about 80 kilometers (about 50 miles) from Hebron. Dothan was another 24 kilometers (15 miles) beyond Shechem.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 13-1713-17. Israel said, ... Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem?--Anxious to learn how his sons were doing in their distant encampment, Jacob despatched Joseph; and the youth, accepting the mission with alacrity, left the vale of Hebron, sought them at Shechem, heard of them from a man in "the field" (the wide and richly cultivated plain of Esdraelon), and found that they had left that neighborhood for Dothan, probably being compelled by the…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Genesis 37
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries