And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
What does Genesis 37:29 mean?
They threw Joseph into a pit, to perish there with hunger and cold; so cruel were their tender mercies.
Key themes
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Keep this verse inside Genesis 37:29-30 and alongside a few nearby related passages.
Commentary on Genesis 37:29
And Reuben returned unto the pit,.... It is very probable he had pretended to go somewhere on business, with an intention to take a circuit, and come to the pit and deliver his brother, and go home with him to his father. The Jews say (b) he departed from his brethren, and sat down on a certain mountain, that he might descend in the night and take Joseph out of the pit, and accordingly he came down in the night, and found him not.
Key words
- Reuben
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And Reuben returned unto the pit,.
- returned
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And Reuben returned unto the pit,.
- Joseph
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The Jews say (b) he departed from his brethren, and sat down on a certain mountain, that he might descend in the night and take Joseph out of the pit, and accordingly he came down in the night, and found him not.
Context in Genesis 37
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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.
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Glossary
- Reuben Person
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Behold a son!, the eldest son of Jacob and Leah ( Gen. 29:32 ). His sinful conduct, referred to in Gen. 35:22 , brought down upon him his dying father’s malediction (48:4).