Why were Joseph's brothers *jealous* of him and his multi-colored coat?

Question

Even to a point of killing him off. If my sibling had some groovy threads, I'd tell him "Hey, nice jacket bro - it looks great on you!" How does *jealousy* transpire to premeditated murder? What is God trying to tell us about Joseph?

Answer 1

The coat came with wonderful accessories, including Italian shoes. Now do you understand the jealousy?

Answer 2

Joseph's father loved him more than his other sons, and showed it. This is what the brothers thought. The coat of many colors was a gift from his father. The brothers did not kill Joseph- they sold him into slavery. One day Joseph became a King- when he was able to locate his father and brothers-his dad thought he was dead, because they used his "coat of many colors" and some animal blood or something to make it look like he had been attacked. Anyway, the point is Joesph became King-was their ruler- but forgave them- even though he had missed his father very much.

Answer 3

Well the reason that Joseph had the coat, was it was from his father, who favored him. This preference was what caused the brother to plot against him. It was brotherly love that he was sparred in the way of being sold.

God helped him through amazing circumstances and his faithfulness was rewarded, and he a shining example of forgiveness.

He is also a great example of the fact that you'll never know what one might make of themselves. Honestly, to some he was just the little brother, but look at what he did (with God's help).

Answer 4

By the time the story has been told we see sin upon sin taking place…one sin needing another sin to cover up the first sin.

The brothers didn’t intentionally want to hurt Joseph, but by jealousy did and covered it up , and in the process lied to the father which hurt their entire family. By not telling the truth they imposed even more grief than the father could stand. …had they told the truth his grief would have been less of a burden? I think so and for the brothers as well.

Sins – They inflicted the family with:
Jealousy
Lies
Fear
Pain
Hypocrisy in the name of comfort

One sin can become many sins.


God bless you,
Faith

Answer 5

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3).
Jacob presented the special coat to Joseph as a sign that he was esteemed above his brothers. The coat signified Joseph as being Jacob’s choice as the future head of the clan—an honor normally bestowed upon the firstborn son.
There is no shortage of irony in the above passage, for Jacob (Israel) had been reared by parents who each had their favorites. The favoritism that had spoiled the tranquility of his childhood home was about to wreck his family, too. Indeed, one might think that Jacob would have learned of the dangers of favoritism, but this was not the case, for Jacob proved to be a stubborn, impetuous man and a very poor father.
In truth, Joseph’s character was far above that of Jacob’s other sons; he was the finest among those born to Jacob. In many ways, his sterling attributes parallel those of our Lord Jesus. Joseph was, in fact, a type of Christ. It is interesting to consider that no fault or sin of Joseph is mentioned in Scripture. Joseph’s life was one of character, courage, conviction, and commitment. Whether locked away in a dank and dark dungeon or ruling from an exalted throne, this noble man yielded himself to the mighty hand of God. What an extraordinary hero! In one way, it is understandable why Jacob favored him above the others; nevertheless, Jacob’s lopsided affections resulted in much family grief and tragedy. Here is a valuable lesson for all parents—never show favoritism toward any one child. No good can come from this.

Answer 6

It was not because of his coat it was because of the fact he was his Fathers favorite,and the dreams he had,God was shopwing us that he took someone that was rejected from his own family,and suffered slavery to being put in charge by Gods spiritual wisdom,and saving egypt along with reconciliation with his family and even though his family treated him that way joseph returned evil with Good and forgave them= all this equals was Joseph being taken from the pit to the palace,and God was showing us no matter what man may do nothing can stop God ,it was all for the call on his Life.

Answer 7

Joseph was the favorite of the family, and his dad did not hide it either. Joseph was also a bit proud and did show off a bit to his brothers. Basically, it was just sibling rivalry gone too far.

Answer 8

This is an example of siblings being jealous of a younger brother who is preferred over them by their father, against the conventions of the day (wefrequently hear today of siblings killing the favourite due to jealousy). The coat was a symbol of that favouritism. Also, they hated the dreams Joseph had, in which it was revealed thy would bow down to him. They therefore decided to kill him, but one of the brothers, Reuben, in order to save his life and rescue him later, persuaded them to throw him in a well (Gen. 37:22).

However, in Reuben's absence, the brothers, at Judah's prompting, sell Joseph as a slave to some Ishmaelites 37:23-29): these in turn sell him on in Egypt.
This, though, led to Joseph saving his father, his brothers and their families, during the famine that struck several years later. They did indeed bow to him, not knowing he was Joseph their brother, & bowed to him again after Jacob's death, fearing he would kill them in revenge.

The story is an ante-type -- a foreshadowing -- of what would happen to Jesus: the Jews (His brethren) rejected Him, & He will return: the Jews of that time will see & recognise Him, & mourn Him; but Jesus saves them, because they now believe in Him as their God, Lord and Saviour (1/3 of all Jews living at the outbreak of the Battle of Armageddon survive to this point, & are saved by their faith in Him (Zechariah chapter 12, esp. V 10).
There are other examples of this type throughout the Bible, so read it all, not just 'favourite passages'.

May God bless all who seek Him.

Answer 9

His multi-colored coat was representative of his fathers love and preference for him over all of his other brothers.

The custom was - if not the law - amongst this group of people, was one if I'm not mistaken, of primogeniture. The eldest son inherited his fathers title and any wealth that went with it. This was prevalent throughout all of Europe up until modern times.

I'm not positive about the era in which Joseph lived, but I'm sure that he was legally, last in line in terms of inheritance, and his brothers had every right to be jealous and envious of their fathers demonstrable preference for him.

Wotan

Answer 10

Joseph's father Jacob showed blatant favoritism toward Joseph and his brothers resented it. Joseph's lack of discretion in the way he told his two dreams to his brothers didn't help either.

Answer 11

The coat was a special gift from his father, an confirmation of Jacobs special love for this one son out of many. It was the culmination of a built up jealousy.

Another reminder of; how weak we are and how untrustworthy even the nearest of kin can be. A confirmation of there is One we can trust, and no matter how bad the situation might look from our perspective, we can still trust Him.
It also is a lesson in endurance, trust....if He brings us to it, He will bring us through it!

Soli Deo Gloria


PS, and yes, they did kill him.....by hate they killed him in their hearts