Benjamin is Born

Genesis 35:19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).

Genesis 35:20 And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel’s grave to this day.

Genesis 35:21 Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder. :22 And it happened, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father’s concubine; and Israel heard about it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: 

The birth of Benjamin in Canaan (v. 18) furnished reason to simply review the sons born outside of Canaan, with only one sad note preceding it, i.e., the sin of Reuben, which tainted the qualifier “Jacob’s firstborn” in the listing. 

Jacob’s Twelve Sons

Genesis 35:23 the sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; :24 the sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; :25 the sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; :26 and the sons of Zilpah, Leah’s maidservant, were Gad and Asher. These were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

Isaac Dies

Genesis 35:27 Then Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, or Kirjath Arba (that is, Hebron), where Abraham and Isaac had dwelt.:28 Now the days of Isaac were one hundred and eighty years.

Genesis 35:29 So Isaac breathed his last and died, and was gathered to his people, being old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.

Ca. 1885 b.c. Isaac’s funeral brought his two sons back together, as Abraham’s funeral had done for Isaac and Ishmael
(25:9). Jacob, back in the land before his father’s death, fulfilled yet another part of his Bethel vow (28:21, “return to my
father’s house in safety”).

Genesis 36 (Summary):  The Family of Esau, The Chiefs of Edom, The Sons of Seir, The Kings of Edom, The Chiefs of
Esau

Joseph Dreams of Greatness

Genesis 37:1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

This by-line into the story of Jacob’s son, Joseph, informs the reader that Jacob’s father, Isaac, hence his sons as well, though in the land, had not yet entered into possession of their inheritance. They were still alien residents.

Genesis 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father. 

Eleven years had passed since he had entered the land of Canaan with his family, since Joseph was born 6 years before departing from Haran. 

Whether Joseph brought this bad report at his own initiative or reported back at the father’s demand on 4 of his brothers (e.g., v. 14) is not elaborated upon, nor specifically cited as the cause of the brothers’ intense dislike of Joseph. 

Genesis 37:3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 

It marked the owner as the one whom the father intended to be the future leader of the household, an honor normally given to the firstborn son.

Genesis 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

Genesis 37:5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.

Genesis 37:6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: :7 There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”

Genesis 37:8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Genesis 37:9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”

Genesis 37:10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”

Genesis 37:11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 

Unlike the brothers, who immediately rejected any meaning to Joseph’s words yet still allowed the dream to sorely irritate them into greater resentment of their brother (v. 19), the father, notwithstanding his public admonishment of Joseph, continued to ponder the meaning of the dreams.

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

Genesis 37:12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. :13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”

Genesis 37:14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

Genesis 37:15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” :16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.” :17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

Genesis 37:18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.

Genesis 37:19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming! :20 Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”

Genesis 37:21 But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”

Genesis 37:22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.

Genesis 37:23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him.

Genesis 37:24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

Genesis 37:25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. 

Also known as Midianites. The descendants of Ishmael and of Abraham through Keturah and Midian (25:1, 2) were sufficiently intermarried or were such inveterate travelers and traders, that they were viewed as synonymous groups. These were coming W from Gilead.

Genesis 37:26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?  :27 Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened.

This criminal behavior would later be prohibited by the Mosaic legislation. Exodus 21:16 “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death. Deuteronomy 24:7 “If a man is found kidnapping any of his brethren of the children of Israel, and mistreats him or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die; and you shall put away the evil from among you.

Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit,
and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.

This was the average price of a slave at that time in the second millennium b.c. Although most slaves were part of the booty of military conquest, private and commercial slave-trading was also common. Joseph was sold into slavery ca. 1897 b.c.

Genesis 37:29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.

Although he was absent at the time of the sale, he would be held responsible for the treachery, and so joined in the cover-up (vv. 30–35). His grief manifested how much he had actually wanted to rescue Joseph (see 42:22).

Genesis 37:30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”

Macdonald, Farstad  Grady Scott, Hindson, E. MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006).