Genesis 37:18
And when they saw him afar off, before he came nigh them, they thought to kill him.
Open Genesis 37:18 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- Qui cum vidissent eum procul, antequam accederet ad eos, cogitaverunt illum occidere :
- Septuagint (Swete)
- πρόιδον δὲ αὐτὸν μακρόθεν πρὸ τοῦ ἐγγίσαι αὐτὸν πρὸς αὐτούς· καὶ ἐπορεύοντο ἀποκτεῖναι αὐτόν.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וַיִּרְא֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ מֵרָחֹ֑ק וּבְטֶ֨רֶם֙ יִקְרַ֣ב אֲלֵיהֶ֔ם וַיִּֽתְנַכְּל֥וּ אֹת֖וֹ לַהֲמִיתֽוֹ
The Fathers on this verse
St John Chrysostom A Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, Homily XLIX on Acts xxiii. 6-8
Such are God’s ways of ordering: the very things by which we are hurt, by these same are we benefited. Thus it was with Joseph: his mistress sought to ruin him: and she seemed indeed to be contriving his ruin, but by her contriving she placed him in a state of safety: for the house where that wild beast (of a woman) was kept was a den in comparison with which the prison was gentle. ( Gen. xxxix. 1-20 .) For while he was there, although he was looked up to and courted, he was in constant fear, lest his mistress should set upon him, and worse than any prison was the fear that lay upon him: but after the accusation he was in security and peace, well rid of that beast, of her lewdness and her machinations for his destruction: for it was better for him to keep company with human creatures in miserable plight, than with a maddened mistress. …