The brothers do not consult with Reuben or discuss the matter. They act immediately to take care of their problem, which is: What happened to our brother? And how do we explain it to our father?

Then they took Joseph’s robe: this clause introduces the robe as the focal point of verses 31-33. Note that Good News Translation does not begin verse 31 in this way, as they took Joseph’s robe is understood by the act of dipping it in the blood.

Killed a goat: killed when applied to a domestic animal is often expressed by a special term such as “slaughtered” in English. Goat refers here to a ram or male goat.

Dipped the robe: it is not stated whether the blood was poured into a container before dipping the garment, or if the garment was dipped into the blood in the carcass of the goat. Dipped means that parts of the garment were put into the blood. Jacob was expected to draw the conclusion that the blood was his son’s.

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 .