18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
18 But they saw him in the distance, and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.
18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.
18 They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him.
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.
18 When Joseph's brothers saw him coming, they recognized him in the distance. As he approached, they made plans to kill him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 37:18
Commentary on Genesis 37:12-22
(Read Genesis 37:12-22)
How readily does Joseph wait his father's orders! Those children who are best beloved by their parents, should be the most ready to obey them. See how deliberate Joseph's brethren were against him. They thought to slay him from malice aforethought, and in cold blood. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, 1 John 3:15. The sons of Jacob hated their brother because their father loved him. New occasions, as his dreams and the like, drew them on further; but this laid rankling in their hearts, till they resolved on his death. God has all hearts in his hands. Reuben had most reason to be jealous of Joseph, for he was the first-born; yet he proves his best friend. God overruled all to serve his own purpose, of making Joseph an instrument to save much people alive. Joseph was a type of Christ; for though he was the beloved Son of his Father, and hated by a wicked world, yet the Father sent him out of his bosom to visit us in great humility and love. He came from heaven to earth to seek and save us; yet then malicious plots were laid against him. His own not only received him not, but crucified him. This he submitted to, as a part of his design to redeem and save us.