This is the history of the family of Jacob: for history see the comments on toledoth under Gen 37.1. The Handbook takes This to point forward to the Joseph story beginning here. The statement may also be expressed, for example, as “This is the story of Jacob’s family” or “These are the things that happened in Jacob’s family.” In many languages this is the customary and natural opening of a story; and some translators may wish to place it before the statement of verse 1: “This is the story of … Jacob was still living in Canaan, the land where….”
If the translator prefers to interpret verse 2a as pointing back to chapter 36, then it is best to make the words of 37.1-2a a conclusion to chapter 36. In that case history must be translated by a word or expression equivalent to “genealogy” or “list of descendants” (Anchor Bible, “Such, then, is the line of Jacob”).
If the division and subdivision headings are not sufficient as introduction to this part, it may be necessary to open the story of Joseph by making verse 2b a time clause; for example, “When Joseph was seventeen years old, he and his brothers tended the flocks….”
Joseph, being seventeen years old is literally “Joseph a son of seventeen years.” For a similar use of this Hebrew idiom, see 17.1. We may restructure this to say, for example, “When Joseph was seventeen years old….”
Was shepherding the flock: that is, he was caring for or looking after the flock. Flock refers to sheep and goats. See Good News Translation.
His brothers; he was a lad with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah: in many versions his brothers is taken to mean the same as the sons of Jacob’s concubines (see 22.24) Bilhah and Zilpah. These brothers were Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher; and because they were not all the brothers Joseph had, some translations say “some of his brothers:….” But this interpretation assumes that the words he was a lad with only serve to link the two expressions. The Hebrew, which is rendered literally in Revised Standard Version, may also have a different sense, namely that out of all his brothers he was usually in the company of the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. New Revised Standard Version and Anchor Bible also take this to be the sense; but they take the Hebrew word for lad in the sense of “servant” or “assistant” rather than as “a youth,” giving a translation like “he was a helper to…” or “he was assisting….” Translators may follow either interpretation. Note also that in some languages brothers who have the same father but different mothers are called by a special term.
Brought an ill report of them means Joseph told his father that his brothers were doing something bad. There is no way of knowing what this may have been. The same expression is used in Num 14.37, in which the scouts brought back to Moses “an evil report” about the land. We may translate, for example, “Joseph told his father about the bad conduct of his brothers” or “Joseph told his father that his brothers did things they should not do.” In some languages there are special terms for telling about the bad deeds of others; in English, for example, “Joseph reported them to his father.”
Quoted with permission from Reyburn, William D. and Fry, Euan McG. A Handbook on Genesis. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1997. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .