New American Standard Bible 2020
Genesis 37:21
Genesis 37:21 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
- New International Version (NIV)When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said.
- English Standard Version (ESV)But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, "Let us not take his life."
- New King James Version (NKJV)But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”
Context of Genesis 37:21
19They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer! 20Now then, come and let’s kill him, and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A vicious animal devoured him.’ Then we will see what will become of his dreams!” But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands by saying, “Let’s not take his life.” 22Then Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”--so that later he might rescue him out of their hands, to return him to his father. 23So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the multicolored tunic that was on him;
Read all of Genesis 37Genesis 37:21 word by word
וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע רְאוּבֵ֔ן וַיַּצִּלֵ֖הוּ מִיָּדָ֑ם וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֹ֥א נַכֶּ֖נּוּ נָֽפֶשׁ׃Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Genesis 37:21
- Genesis 35:22And it came about, while Israel was living in that land, that Reuben went and slept with his father’s concubine Bilhah, and Israel heard about it. Now there were twelve sons of Jacob--
- Genesis 42:22Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not tell you, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Now justice for his blood is required.”
- Joshua 10:28Now Joshua captured Makkedah on that day, and struck it and its king with the edge of the sword; he utterly destroyed it and every person who was in it. He left no survivor. So he did to the king of Makkedah just as he had done to the king of Jericho.
- Genesis 9:5I certainly will require your lifeblood; from every animal I will require it. And from every person, from every man as his brother I will require the life of a person.
- Matthew 10:28And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
Commentaries on Genesis 37:21
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21Reuben heard it - Though Reuben appears to have been a transgressor of no ordinary magnitude, if we take Genesis 35:22; according to the letter, yet his bosom was not the habitation of cruelly. He determined, if possible, to save his brother from death, and deliver him safely to his father, with whose fondness for him he was sufficiently acquainted. Josephus, in his usual way, puts a long flourishing speech in the mouth of Reuben on the occasion, spoken…Read the comment
- 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. 21-24Reuben might have been trying to regain his father's favor (35:22) by acting as the firstborn leader (compare 42:22). Reuben succeeded in saving Joseph's life, but he did not win his father's favor (37:29–30).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 5-365. Joseph dreamed a dream--Dreams in ancient times were much attended to, and hence the dream of Joseph, though but a mere boy, engaged the serious consideration of his family. But this dream was evidently symbolical. The meaning was easily discerned, and, from its being repeated under different emblems, the fulfilment was considered certain (compare Ge 41:32), whence it was that "his brethren envied him, but his father observed the saying" [Ge 37:11].Read the comment
Topics related to Genesis 37:21
In the dictionaries
Notes
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
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