Genesis 37:14

14 And he said to him, Go , I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again . So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

Genesis 37:14 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 37:14

And he said to him, go, I pray thee
Or "now" ^F11, directly, immediately, which is more agreeable to the authority of a father:

see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks;
it having been many days, and perhaps months, since he had heard anything of them; and the rather Jacob might be under a concern for them, because of the danger they were exposed to from the neighbouring tribes and nations of the Canaanites, on account of their having some time ago destroyed the Shechemites; so the Targum of Jonathan, paraphrasing on the preceding part, makes Jacob to say,

``I am afraid, lest the Horites should come and smite them, because of their smiting Hamor and Shechem, and the inhabitants of that city; come, and I will send thee''

and bring me word again;
of their welfare, and of the state of their flocks:

so he sent him out of the vale of Hebron:
the same with the plains of Mamre near the city of Hebron, which was built on a hill:

and he came to Shechem:
after he had travelled sixty miles.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 (an) "nunc", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius.

Genesis 37:14 In-Context

12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come , and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

14 And he said to him, Go , I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again . So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a certain man found him , and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him , saying , What seekest thou?

16 And he said , I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

Footnotes

• [a]. see...: Heb. see the peace of thy brethren, etc