Genesis 37:31
New International Version
Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

New Living Translation
Then the brothers killed a young goat and dipped Joseph’s robe in its blood.

English Standard Version
Then they took Joseph’s robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

Berean Standard Bible
Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

King James Bible
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

New King James Version
So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

New American Standard Bible
So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;

NASB 1995
So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

NASB 1977
So they took Joseph’s tunic, and slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood;

Legacy Standard Bible
So they took Joseph’s tunic and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

Amplified Bible
Then they took Joseph’s tunic, slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood;

Christian Standard Bible
So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a male goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

American Standard Version
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;

Contemporary English Version
Joseph's brothers killed a goat and dipped Joseph's fancy coat in its blood.

English Revised Version
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
So they took Joseph's robe, killed a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.

Good News Translation
Then they killed a goat and dipped Joseph's robe in its blood.

International Standard Version
So they took Joseph's coat, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the coat in the blood.

Majority Standard Bible
Then they took Joseph?s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood.

NET Bible
So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.

New Heart English Bible
They took Joseph?s robe and killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood.

Webster's Bible Translation
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood:

World English Bible
They took Joseph’s tunic, and killed a male goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,

Young's Literal Translation
And they take the coat of Joseph, and slaughter a kid of the goats, and dip the coat in the blood,

Smith's Literal Translation
And they will take Joseph's tunic, and will slaughter a he-goat of the goats, and will dip the tunic in the blood.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And they took his coat, and dipped it in the blood of a kid, which they had killed :

Catholic Public Domain Version
Then they took his tunic, and they dipped it in the blood of a young goat, which they had killed,

New American Bible
They took Joseph’s tunic, and after slaughtering a goat, dipped the tunic in its blood.

New Revised Standard Version
Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat, and dipped the robe in the blood.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And they took Joseph's robe, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the robe in the blood;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And they took the coat of Yoseph and they killed a kid of the goats and they dipped the coat in its blood;
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And having taken the coat of Joseph, they slew a kid of the goats, and stained the coat with the blood.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Jacob Mourns Joseph
31Then they took Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a young goat, and dipped the robe in its blood. 32They sent the robe of many colors to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe or not.”…

Cross References
Genesis 4:10
“What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground.

Genesis 9:4-6
But you must not eat meat with its lifeblood still in it. / And surely I will require the life of any man or beast by whose hand your lifeblood is shed. I will demand an accounting from anyone who takes the life of his fellow man: / Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man his blood will be shed; for in His own image God has made mankind.

Genesis 44:28
When one of them was gone, I said: “Surely he has been torn to pieces.” And I have not seen him since.

Exodus 12:7
They are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

Leviticus 17:11
For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for your souls upon the altar; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.

Deuteronomy 21:1-9
If one is found slain, lying in a field in the land that the LORD your God is giving you to possess, and it is not known who killed him, / your elders and judges must come out and measure the distance from the victim to the neighboring cities. / Then the elders of the city nearest the victim shall take a heifer that has never been yoked or used for work, ...

1 Samuel 18:17-19
Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.” / And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?” / So when it was time to give Saul’s daughter Merab to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel of Meholah.

1 Kings 21:19
Tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Have you not murdered a man and seized his land?’ Then tell him that this is also what the LORD says: ‘In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth, there also the dogs will lick up your blood—yes, yours!’”

2 Kings 9:26
‘As surely as I saw the blood of Naboth and the blood of his sons yesterday, declares the LORD, so will I repay you on this plot of ground, declares the LORD.’ Now then, according to the word of the LORD, pick him up and throw him on the plot of ground.”

Psalm 9:12
For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

Psalm 106:38
They shed innocent blood—the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.

Jeremiah 2:34
Moreover, your skirts are stained with the blood of the innocent poor, though you did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things

Ezekiel 24:7-8
For the blood she shed is still within her; she poured it out on the bare rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it with dust. / In order to stir up wrath and take vengeance, I have placed her blood on the bare rock, so that it would not be covered.’

Matthew 23:35
And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.


Treasury of Scripture

And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

Genesis 37:3,23
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours…

Proverbs 28:13
He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

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Blood Buck Coat Death Dip Dipped Goat Goats He-Goat Joseph Joseph's Kid Killed Male Robe Slaughter Slaughtered Tunic Vest Young
Genesis 37
1. Joseph is loved by Jacob, but hated by his brothers.
5. His dreams and the interpretation.
12. Jacob sends him to his brothers, who counsel to slay him.
21. At Reuben's desire they cast him into a pit;
25. and afterwards sell him to the Ishmaelites;
29. while Ruben grieves at not finding him.
31. His coat, covered with blood, is sent to Jacob, who mourns him inordinately.
36. Joseph is brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar.














Then they took Joseph’s robe
The phrase "Joseph’s robe" refers to the "robe of many colors" that Jacob had given to Joseph, symbolizing his special status and favor in the family (Genesis 37:3). The Hebrew word for "robe" is "כְּתֹנֶת" (ketonet), which can denote a long garment reaching to the palms and soles, often associated with nobility or priestly status. This act of taking Joseph's robe signifies the brothers' intent to strip him of his favored position and identity. Historically, garments were significant indicators of one's role and status in ancient Near Eastern cultures, and by taking Joseph's robe, his brothers were attempting to erase his favored status in the family.

slaughtered a young goat
The act of slaughtering a "young goat" is significant in the biblical narrative. The Hebrew word for "young goat" is "שָׂעִיר" (sa'ir), which is often used in sacrificial contexts. This act of slaughtering an animal to deceive their father Jacob is deeply ironic, as Jacob himself had used goat skins to deceive his father Isaac (Genesis 27:16). The use of a goat in both instances highlights a recurring theme of deception within the family, and it underscores the cyclical nature of sin and deceit.

and dipped the robe in its blood
"Dipped the robe in its blood" is a phrase that conveys the brothers' intent to deceive. The Hebrew word for "dipped" is "טָבַל" (tabal), which means to immerse or plunge. This act of dipping the robe in blood was meant to fabricate evidence of Joseph's supposed death by a wild animal. Blood in the Hebrew Bible often symbolizes life and death, covenant, and sacrifice. By using blood to deceive, the brothers were not only committing an act of betrayal against Joseph but also against their father, Jacob. This act of deception would have profound consequences, leading to years of grief for Jacob and setting the stage for the eventual reconciliation and redemption of the family. The historical context of using blood as a means of deception or proof in ancient times underscores the gravity of their actions and the lengths to which they went to cover their sin.

(31) A kid of the goats.--Heb., a full grown he-goat. Maimonides thinks that the reason why he-goats were so often used as sin-offerings under the Levitical law was to remind the Israelites of this great sin committed by their patriarchs.

Verses 31, 32. - And they - i.e. Joseph's Brethren, including Reuben, to whom manifestly the matter had been explained (Candlish thinks Reuben may have been deceived by his brethren), and who wanted the courage either to expose their wickedness or to dissent from their device for deceiving Jacob - took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, - more correctly, a he-goat of the goats, since the name of goat seems to have belonged in a wider sense to other animals also (Gesenius); usually understood to mean the somewhat older he-goat which was used as a sin offering - Leviticus 16:9; Leviticus 23:19; Numbers 7:16; Numbers 15:24 (Furst) - and dipped the coat in the blood; and they sent the coat of many colors (vide on ver. 3), and they brought it (or caused it to be brought by the hands of a servant) to their father, and said (of course by the lips of the messenger), This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no. Either Jacob's sons had not the fortitude to witness the first outburst of his grief, or they had not the effrontery requisite to carry through their scheme in their own persons, and were accordingly obliged to employ another, probably a slave, to carry home the bloody coat to Jacob in Hebron.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then they took
וַיִּקְח֖וּ (way·yiq·ḥū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 3947: To take

Joseph’s
יוֹסֵ֑ף (yō·w·sêp̄)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3130: Joseph -- 'he increases', a son of Jacob, also the name of several Israelites

robe,
כְּתֹ֣נֶת (kə·ṯō·neṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 3801: A shirt

slaughtered
וַֽיִּשְׁחֲטוּ֙ (way·yiš·ḥă·ṭū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 7819: To slaughter, beat

a young goat,
שְׂעִ֣יר (śə·‘îr)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 8163: Shaggy, a he-goat, a faun

and dipped
וַיִּטְבְּל֥וּ (way·yiṭ·bə·lū)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine plural
Strong's 2881: To dip, to immerse

the robe
הַכֻּתֹּ֖נֶת (hak·kut·tō·neṯ)
Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 3801: A shirt

in its blood.
בַּדָּֽם׃ (bad·dām)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 1818: Blood, of man, an animal, the juice of the grape, bloodshed


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OT Law: Genesis 37:31 They took Joseph's coat and killed (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 37:30
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