Bible Strands
Genesis 37:19
“Here comes that dreamer!” they said to one another.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joseph’s brothers speak to one another as they spot him approaching from a distance. Their dialogue occurs immediately before they finalize their plot to kill him and observe the outcome of his prophetic claims.
The words — The phrase בַּ֛עַל הַחֲלֹמ֥וֹת הַלָּזֶ֖ה (Ba.'al ha.cha.lo.mot ha.la.Zeh) literally renders as “master of the dreams of this [one]” or “this dreamer.” It is preceded by הִנֵּ֗ה (hi.Neh), meaning “there!” or “behold!”, marking the brothers’ immediate recognition of Joseph.
The thread — The brothers’ focus on “dreams” echoes Joseph’s initial vision in Genesis 37:5 and his father’s earlier ladder dream in Genesis 28:12. Each reference tracks how divine revelation provokes human jealousy and conflict.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition of how resentment interprets divine communication as a personal threat. It requires the reader to observe the direct link between prophetic claims and the human impulse to destroy them.
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 they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Cross-references
- Genesis 28:12 And Jacob had a dream about a ladder that rested on the earth with its top reaching up to heaven, and God’s angels were going up and down the ladder.
- Genesis 37:5 Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.
- Genesis 37:11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what he had said.
- Genesis 49:23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.