And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
All Commentaries on Genesis 37:4 Go To Genesis 37
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Envy is a terrible passion, you see, and when it affects the soul, it does not leave it before bringing it to an extremely sorry state. [It damages] the soul that gives it birth and affect[s] the object of its envy in the opposite way to that intended, rendering him more conspicuous, more esteemed, more famous—which in turn proves another severe blow to the envious person. Notice at any rate in this instance how this remarkable man is depicted as ignorant of what was going on and conversing cheerfully in great simplicity with them as his brothers who had caused the same birth pangs as he …. They for their part were in the grip of the passion of envy and were thus brought to hate him.
