Genesis 37:20
Come, let us kill him, and cast him into some old pit: and we will say: Some evil beast hath devoured him: and then it shall appear what his dreams avail him:
Open Genesis 37:20 in the Motif Searcher, word by word across all five texts →Show on the spiral →The verse in its languages
- Vulgate (Clementine)
- venite, occidamus eum, et mittamus in cisternam veterem : dicemusque : Fera pessima devoravit eum : et tunc apparebit quid illi prosint somnia sua.
- Septuagint (Swete)
- νῦν οὖν δεῦτε ἀποκτείνωμεν αὐτόν, καὶ ῥίψομεν αὐτὸν εἰς ἕνα τῶν λάκκων, καὶ ἐροῦμεν Θηρίον πονηρὸν κατέφαγεν αὐτόν· καὶ ὀψόμεθα τί ἔστιν τὰ ἐνύπνια αὐτοῦ.
- Hebrew (WLC)
- וְעַתָּ֣ה לְכ֣וּ וְנַֽהַרְגֵ֗הוּ וְנַשְׁלִכֵ֨הוּ֙ בְּאַחַ֣ד הַבֹּר֔וֹת וְאָמַ֕רְנוּ חַיָּ֥ה רָעָ֖ה אֲכָלָ֑תְהוּ וְנִרְאֶ֕ה מַה יִּהְי֖וּ חֲלֹמֹתָֽיו
Haydock's commentary
Pit: walled around to contain water: Hebrew Bur. Bar means a well that has no walls. (Menochius)
Shall appear. They resolve to tell a lie, and easily believe that Joseph had been as bad as themselves in telling one first. If they had believed the dreams were from God, they would hardly have supposed that they could prevent them from having their effect. (Haydock)
From Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859, in the transcription made by Todd Easton and kept online by John Paul Wohlschied at johnblood.gitlab.io/haydock.
The Fathers on this verse
St John Chrysostom The Homilies of St. John Chrysostom on Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 3:5-8
And what did Joseph? tell me, that firm one, who stood up against so great a tyranny, who appears so noble against so great a flame of love, who so out-battled and overcame the madness of his mistress. For what was there not then to charm him? A beautiful person, the pride of rank, the costliness of garments, the fragrance of perfumes, (for all these things know how to soften the soul,) words more soft than all the rest! For ye know that she who loves, and so vehemently, nothing so humble but she will bring herself to say it, taking upon her the attitude of a supplicant. For so broken was this woman, though wearing gold, and being of royal dignity, that she threw herself at the knees perhaps of the captive boy, and perhaps even intreated him weeping and clasping his knees, and had recourse to this not once, and a second time, but oftentimes. …