'Brothers' in the Bible

And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and he told his two brothers outside.

And he said, "Cursed [be] Canaan, a slave of slaves he shall be to his brothers."

Then Abram said to Lot, "Please, let there not be quarreling between me and you, and between my shepherds and your shepherds, for we men [are] brothers.

And he shall be a wild donkey of a man, his hand [will be] against everyone, and the hand of everyone [will be] against him, and he will live {in hostility with all his brothers}."

And he said, "No, my brothers, please do not do [such a] wrong [thing].

They settled from Havilah to Shur, which [was] opposite Egypt, going toward Asshur, opposite; he {settled} opposite all his brothers.

Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; Be lord of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Cursed be those cursing you, and blessed be those blessing you."

Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, "Behold, I have made him lord over you and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and [with] grain and wine I have sustained him. Now what can I do for you, my son?"

And Jacob said to them, "My brothers, where [are] you from?" And they said, "We [are] from Haran."

Then Shechem said to her father and to her brothers, "Let me find favor in your eyes, and whatever you say to me I will do.

And it happened [that] on the third day, while they were in pain, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, the brothers of Dinah, each took his sword and came against the unsuspecting city and killed all the males.

These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock with his brothers. Now he [was] a helper with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, the wives of his father. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.

When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and were not able to speak peaceably to him.

And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] to his brothers. And {they hated him even more}.

Then his brothers said to him, "Will you really rule over us?" And {they hated him even more} on account of his dream and because of his words.

Then he dreamed yet another dream and told it to his brothers. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream again, and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me."

And he told [it] to his father and to his brothers. And his father rebuked him and said to him, "What [is] this dream that you have dreamed? Will I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the ground to you?"

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter [in mind].

Now his brothers went to pasture the flock of their father in Shechem.

And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers pasturing in Shechem? Come, let me send you to them." And he said, "Here I [am]."

Then he said to him, "Go now, see {if it goes well for your brothers and for the flock}, then return word to me." And he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he arrived at Shechem.

And he said, "I am seeking my brothers. Tell me, please, where they are pasturing."

And the man said, "They have moved on from here, for I heard [them] saying, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Then Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

And each said to his brothers, "Look, this master of dreams is coming.

And it happened [that] as Joseph came to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe with long sleeves, that [was] upon him.

Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit [is there] if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but our hand shall not be against him, for he [is] our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed.

And he returned to his brothers and said, "The boy {is gone}! Now I, {what can I do}?"

And it happened [that] at that time Judah went down from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.

And the ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt.

Now Joseph was the governor over the land. He [was] the one who sold [food] to all the people of the land. And the brothers of Joseph came and bowed down to him with their faces to the ground.

And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he pretended to be a stranger to them. And he spoke with them harshly and said to them, "From where have you come?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food."

And Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

Then they said, "We, your servants, [are] twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan, but behold, the youngest [is] with our father today, and one is no more."

If you [are] honest, let one of your brothers be kept in prison {where you are now being kept}, but [the rest of] you go, carry grain for the famine for your households.

And he said to his brothers, "My money was returned and moreover, behold, [it is] in my sack!" Then {their hearts failed them} and each of them trembled [and] said, "What [is] this God has done to us?"

We [are] twelve brothers, the sons of our father. One is no more and the youngest [is] with our father now in the land of Canaan.'

And Judah and his brothers came to the house of Joseph--now he [was] still there--they fell before him to the ground.

So then, please let your servant remain in place of the boy as a slave to my lord, and let the boy go up with his brothers.

Then Joseph was not able to control himself before all who were standing by him. And he cried out, "Make every man go out from me!" So no one stood with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I [am] Joseph! Is my father still alive?" And his brothers were unable to answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

So Joseph said to his brothers, "Come near to me, please." And they drew near. And he said, "I [am] Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.

And he kissed all his brothers and wept upon them. And afterward his brothers spoke with him.

Then the report was heard [in] the house of Pharaoh, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come." And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Say to your brothers: 'Do this--load your donkeys and go back to the land of Canaan,

Then he sent his brothers away, and when they departed he said to them, "Do not be agitated on the journey."

Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, "I will go up and report to Pharaoh, and I will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household who [were] in the land of Canaan have come to me.

So Joseph went and reported to Pharaoh. And he said, "My father and my brothers, with their flocks and their herds, and all that they have, have come from the land of Canaan. Now [they are] here in the land of Goshen."

And from among his brothers he took five men and presented them before Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What [is] your occupation?" And they said to Pharaoh, "Your servants [are] keepers of sheep, both we and also our ancestors."

Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Your father and your brothers have come to you.

The land of Egypt [is] before you. Settle your father and your brothers in the best of the land. Let them live in the land of Goshen, and if you know there is among them men of ability, then appoint them overseers of my own livestock."

And Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and he gave them property in the land of Egypt in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had instructed.

And Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all the household of his father with food, according to the number of their children.

And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance.

And I have given to you one slope [of land] rather than your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorites by my sword and with my bow."

Simeon and Levi [are] brothers; weapons of violence [are] their swords. Let me not come into their council.

Judah, [as for] you, your brothers shall praise you. Your hand [shall be] on the neck of your enemies. The sons of your father shall bow down to you.

The blessings of your father are superior to the blessings of my ancestors, to the bounty of the everlasting hills. May they be on the head of Joseph, and on the forehead of the prince of his brothers.

with all the household of Joseph, his brothers, and the household of his father. They left only their little children and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.

And after burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father.

And when the brothers of Joseph saw that their father [was] dead, they said, "It may be [that] Joseph will hold a grudge against us and pay us back dearly for all the evil that we did to him."

"Thus you must say to Joseph, 'O, please now forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.' So now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.

Then his brothers went also and fell before him and said, "Behold, we [are] your servants."

And Joseph said to his brothers, "I [am about] to die, but God will certainly visit you and bring you up from this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

And Joseph died and all of his brothers and all of that generation.

{And then} in those days when Moses had grown up, he went out to his brothers, and he saw their {forced labor}, and he saw an Egyptian man striking a Hebrew man, [one of] his brothers.

And Moses went, and he returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and he said to him, "Please let me go, and let me return to my brothers who [are] in Egypt, and let me see whether they [are] yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, "Go in peace."

Then Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan the sons of Uzziel, Aaron's uncle, and he said to them, "Come forward. Carry your brothers from {the front of} the sanctuary to {outside the camp}."

Then Moses said to Aaron and to his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "You must not let your hair hang loosely, and you must not tear your garments, so that you will not die and he will be angry with all the community. But your brothers, all the house of Israel, may weep [because of] {the burning that Yahweh caused},

" 'As for the priest [who is] higher than his brothers, on whose head the oil of anointment is poured and {he was ordained} to wear the garments, he shall not dishevel his head, and he shall not tear his garments.

after he is sold redemption shall be for him; one of his brothers may redeem him,

They can attend their brothers in the tent of assembly to keep [their] responsibilities, but they will not do work. This is what you will do concerning the Levities and their responsibilities."

{He has allowed you to approach him}, you with all your brothers, the descendants of Levi, but yet you also seek the priesthood.

Moreover, bring your brothers with you, the tribe of Levi the tribe of your father, that they may be joined to you and minister [to] you, you and your sons with you before the tent of testimony.

Look, I myself have chosen your brothers the Levites from the midst of the children. They are a gift to you given from Yahweh to perform the work of the tent of assembly.

And the people quarreled with Moses and spoke, saying, "If only we died when our brothers were dying {before} Yahweh!

And behold, a man from the {Israelites} came and brought to his brothers Midianite woman before the eyes of Moses and before the eyes of all of the community of the {Israelites}, and they [were] weeping [at] the doorway of the tent of assembly.

Why should the name of our father disappear from the midst of his clan because he does not have a son? Give us property in the midst of the brothers of our father."

"{The statements of the daughters of Zelophehad are right}. You must surely give them [the] property of an inheritance in the midst of their father's brothers, and you must transfer the inheritance of their father to them.

And if he has no daughter, you must give his inheritance to his brothers.

If he has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his father's brothers.

If his father has no brothers, then you must give his inheritance to his nearest relative from his own clan, and he will take possession of it. It will be as a decree of stipulation for the {Israelites}, just as Yahweh commanded Moses.'"

But Moses said to the descendants of Gad and to the descendants of Reuben, "Will your brothers go to war while you yourselves live here?

Where [can] we go up? Our brothers have {made our hearts melt}, {saying}, "The people are greater and taller than we are, [and there are] great fortified cities [reaching] up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites [living] there." '

and instruct the people, {saying}, "You [are] about to cross [through] the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who are living in Seir; they will be afraid of you, and [so] be very careful.

And so we passed by our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, past the road of the Arabah, from Elath and Ezion Geber, and we turned and traveled along the route of the desert of Moab.

"And I charged you [all] at that time [when I] said, "Yahweh has given you--to [all of] you--this land to possess. All the {warriors} shall cross over, ready to fight, before your brothers, the {Israelites}.

until Yahweh shall give rest to your brothers as [he did] to you, and also they take possession [of] the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to them beyond the Jordan; then they may return, each [one] to his possession that I have given to them.

Therefore {there was not} for Levi an allotment or an inheritance [along] with his brothers; [rather] Yahweh [is] his inheritance [just] as Yahweh your God {promised} to him.

If [there] is a poor [person] among you from [among] one of your brothers in one of your {towns} that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you shall not harden your heart, and you shall not shut your hand toward {your brother who is poor}.

And there shall not be for them an inheritance [of land] in the midst of his brothers; [rather] Yahweh is his inheritance, [just] as he {promised} to them.

and he may minister in the name of Yahweh his God, [just] like all his brothers, {the Levites who stand there} {before} Yahweh.

And the officials shall continue to speak to the troops, and they shall say, '{What man} is afraid {and disheartened}? Let him go, and let him return to his house, and let him not cause the heart of his brothers to melt like his.'

"When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as wife, and he shall perform his duty as brother-in-law [with respect to] her.

The [one] saying of his father and of his mother, 'I have not regarded them,' and his brothers he [did] not acknowledge, and his children [he did] not know, but [rather] they observed your word, and your covenant they kept.

and with the choice things of [the] earth and its fullness, and the favor of [the one] {who dwelt} in [the] bush. Let them come to the head of Joseph, and to the crown of the prince among his brothers.

And of Asher he said, "Blessed {more than sons} [is] Asher; {may he be the favorite} of his brothers, {dipping his feet in the oil}.

and you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that belongs to them; you will deliver our lives from death."

[When] we come to the land, you must tie this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and you must gather your father and mother, and your brothers, and your whole family to your house.