The Meaning of Genesis 37:17 Explained

Genesis 37:17

KJV: And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

YLT: And the man saith, 'They have journeyed from this, for I have heard some saying, Let us go to Dothan,' and Joseph goeth after his brethren, and findeth them in Dothan.

Darby: And the man said, They have removed from this; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them at Dothan.

ASV: And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the man  said,  They are departed  hence;  for I heard  them say,  Let us go  to Dothan.  And Joseph  went  after  his brethren,  and found  them in Dothan. 

What does Genesis 37:17 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 37:12-24 - Joseph's Brothers Plot His Death
Throughout Joseph was a very remarkable type of our Lord. There was, first, this mission of the beloved son to inquire after the well-being of his brethren, which reminds us so vividly of the advent of God's Beloved and Only Begotten Son, who brought us the Father's greeting, and came to see and know by personal inquiry how we fared. Dothan was in the northern portion of the land, and the journey must have taken time and strength; but he persisted until he found them, and came where they were. Their plot against their helpless brother was as the plot of Caiaphas and the rest against our Lord. Pilate knew that for envy they had delivered him into his hands. The pit was one of those rock-hewn cisterns that abound in Palestine, and as there was no water in it Joseph's life was not sacrificed; and there he awaited what was a kind of resurrection. The scene at the pit's mouth was recalled by Joseph in Genesis 42:9; and was never forgotten by the others, Genesis 42:21-22. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Genesis 37:17 mean?

and said the man they have departed from this [place] for I heard them say let us go to Dothan So went Joseph after his brothers and found them in Dothan
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר הָאִישׁ֙ נָסְע֣וּ מִזֶּ֔ה כִּ֤י שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֹֽמְרִ֔ים נֵלְכָ֖ה דֹּתָ֑יְנָה וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ יוֹסֵף֙ אַחַ֣ר אֶחָ֔יו וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖ם בְּדֹתָֽן

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  and  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
הָאִישׁ֙  the  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
נָסְע֣וּ  they  have  departed 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָסַע  
Sense: to pull out, pull up, set out, journey, remove, set forward, depart.
מִזֶּ֔ה  from  this  [place] 
Parse: Preposition-m, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
שָׁמַ֙עְתִּי֙  I  heard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
אֹֽמְרִ֔ים  them  say 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נֵלְכָ֖ה  let  us  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
דֹּתָ֑יְנָה  to  Dothan 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: דֹּתָן  
Sense: a place in northern Palestine, 2 miles north of Samaria, the home of Elisha.
וַיֵּ֤לֶךְ  So  went 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
יוֹסֵף֙  Joseph 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄוסֵף  
Sense: the eldest son of Jacob by Rachel.
אַחַ֣ר  after 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
אֶחָ֔יו  his  brothers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אָח  
Sense: brother.
וַיִּמְצָאֵ֖ם  and  found  them 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
בְּדֹתָֽן  in  Dothan 
Parse: Preposition-b, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: דֹּתָן  
Sense: a place in northern Palestine, 2 miles north of Samaria, the home of Elisha.

What are the major concepts related to Genesis 37:17?

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