Genesis 37:3

Summary

The verse states that Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons and explains this favoritism through Joseph's status as a "son of old age," followed by the making of a special garment for him.

Key words

• Yisra'El ("Israel", H3478) — the patriarch's name used as subject, contrasting with the LXX's use of "Iakob" in the same verse.
• 'aHav ("he loved", H0157G) — qal perfect, denoting a completed state of love rather than an ongoing action.
• ben-zeKunim ("son of old age(s)", H1121A + H2208) — a construct chain literally "son of old-ages," explaining the reason (ki, H3588A) for the father's preference.
• 'Asah ("he made", H6213H) — sequential (waw-consecutive) perfect, linking this action directly to the preceding statement of love as the next event in sequence.
• ketonet paSim ("garment of palms/soles", H3801 + H6446) — a construct phrase whose exact referent (a long garment, possibly reaching hands and feet) is debated, since paSim literally relates to "palms" and "soles" rather than color.

What the text says

The verse opens with the subject Yisra'El followed by the perfect verb 'aHav, establishing a completed, settled state of love rather than a momentary emotion. The phrase mi-kol-baNav ("more than all his sons") uses the comparative preposition min with the construct kol ("all of") plus baNav ("his sons"), forming a comparison of degree. The causal clause introduced by ki ("for/because") explains this preference: ben-zekuNim hu lo — "he was a son of old age to him" — a construct phrase where ben ("son of") governs zekuNim ("old ages," plural), a common Hebrew way of expressing "a son born in [someone's] old age."

The narrative then shifts with the waw-consecutive verb 'Asah ("and he made"), which continues the sequence of events initiated by the love statement — the making of the garment is presented as a direct narrative consequence, not merely an additional fact. The object of this action, ketonet paSim, is a construct noun phrase whose second element, paSim, is grammatically plural and literally tied to "palms" and "soles," making its precise meaning (length, decoration, or material) linguistically ambiguous in the Hebrew itself.

Differences between versions

The LXX names the father "Iakob" where the Hebrew and Vulgate read Yisra'El ("Israel"). The Vulgate renders the reason clause as "because he had begotten him in old age" (eo quod in senectute genuisset eum), shifting the construct phrase ben-zekuNim into a verbal clause about begetting rather than the nominal "son of old age" of the Hebrew. Both the LXX (chitōna poikilon, "multicolored tunic") and the Vulgate (tunicam polymitam, "tunic of many threads") interpret ketonet paSim as a garment of varied color or weave, an interpretive rendering not directly derivable from the Hebrew paSim ("palms/soles").