Bible Strands
Genesis 37:18
Now Joseph’s brothers saw him in the distance, and before he arrived, they plotted to kill him.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joseph’s brothers observe him approaching from afar at Dothan before he reaches their location. They immediately form a conspiracy to murder him while he is still distant.
The words — וַ/יִּֽתְנַכְּל֥וּ (va/i.yit.na.ke.Lu) denotes they dealt deceptively with or plotted against him. This Hebrew root conveys the deliberate, hidden preparation of their violent intent.
The thread — The pattern of conspiring against a target appears in Acts 23:12, where Jews swear an oath to kill a man, and in 1 Samuel 19:1, where Saul commands servants to slay David. Psalms 37:12 similarly describes the wicked scheming against the righteous.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition of how visual proximity to a perceived threat triggers premeditated violence. It requires the reader to trace the exact moment observation hardens into conspiracy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
Cross-references
- Acts 23:12 When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
- 1 Samuel 19:1 Then Saul ordered his son Jonathan and all his servants to kill David. But Jonathan delighted greatly in David,
- Psalms 37:12 The wicked scheme against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them,
- Psalms 37:32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Mark 14:1 Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were two days away, and the chief priests and scribes were looking for a covert way to arrest Jesus and kill Him.
- Psalms 31:13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- John 11:53 So from that day on they plotted to kill Him.
- Matthew 21:38 But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and take his inheritance.’
- Matthew 27:1 When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death.
- Mark 12:7 But the tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’