Lux Domini
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.

What does Genesis 37:27 mean?

They threw Joseph into a pit, to perish there with hunger and cold; so cruel were their tender mercies.

Key themes

HopeSuffering and trialsCreationFall

Read with

Keep this verse inside Genesis 37:27-28 and alongside a few nearby related passages.

Commentary on Genesis 37:27

And his brethren were content.

Key words

Come

Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites,.

brethren

And his brethren were content.

content

And his brethren were content.

Context in Genesis 37

Show chapter context

Genesis 37 belongs to the middle movement of the book, especially the section often described as the family line through Isaac and Jacob. Genesis opens the whole Bible with creation, fall, flood, Babel, and the long patriarchal story that carries the reader from Eden to Egypt. Read this chapter with the wider themes of creation, fall, and covenant in view so the individual verses keep their proper weight.

creationfallcovenantpromise

Explore by topic

Bible verses about hope

A collection of passages on hope under pressure, future inheritance, resurrection expectation, and confidence in God’s final faithfulness.

Bible verses about suffering and trials

Key passages on grief, endurance, lament, divine mystery, and the Christian claim that suffering is neither final nor meaningless.