Joseph received the coat of many colors because Jacob loved him more than his other children—and Les Feldick teaches that the coat was also a visible way of designating Joseph as head of the brethren.
Genesis 37:3 says Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children and made him a coat of many colours. Les Feldick adds that this kind of garment was used in the Middle East to mark the eldest son or head of the family, and Jacob was designating Joseph as head of the brethren even though he was not the eldest. The brothers understood the coat as a public promotion, and that is why they became so jealous.
Genesis 37:3 — This verse directly states that Jacob made Joseph a coat of many colors because he loved him more than all his children.
The Bible's answer begins in Genesis 37:3: "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours." The very next verse gives the immediate result: when the brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more, "they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Later, when Joseph came to his brothers, they "stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him" (Genesis 37:23). Scripture presents the coat as the outward token of Jacob's special love for Joseph, and it becomes the visible object of the brothers' envy.
Les Feldick focuses on the cultural and family meaning of the garment. In the Middle East, the eldest son was given clothing that designated his position, and Les says Jacob gave Joseph that kind of special coat—probably a coat of many colors—to designate Joseph as head of the brethren, even though Joseph was not the eldest. That designation, Les explains, is why the brothers became so jealous. They recognized what the coat meant, and their envy surfaced when Joseph, still wearing the coat, told his dreams of his brothers bowing to him. Stephen, Les notes, summed it up by saying the patriarchs moved with envy and sold Joseph into Egypt, but God remained with Joseph.
Scripture presents the coat as the visible sign of Jacob's special love for Joseph: Israel loved Joseph more than all his children and made him a coat of many colors (Genesis 37:3). Les Feldick adds that in the Middle East, an eldest son was given clothing that designated his position, and Joseph's coat was probably that kind of garment—Jacob was designating Joseph as head of the brethren even though he was not the eldest. The brothers understood this and were jealous.
The immediate biblical reason is in Genesis 37:4: they saw that their father loved Joseph more and they hated him. Les adds the cultural detail—the coat was the visible sign of the father's choice, and it made Joseph the designated head of the house. Their hatred intensified when Joseph told his dreams: eleven sheaves bowing to his sheaf, and the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing to him. The brothers caught his meaning and were infuriated. Les also quotes Stephen's summary: the patriarchs moved with envy and sold Joseph into Egypt.
No. Les states plainly that Joseph was not the eldest, yet Jacob still gave him the coat that designated the eldest son's role. This is why the brothers saw the coat as a provocation—their father was promoting Joseph over them.
The brothers stripped Joseph of his coat of many colors when he came to them (Genesis 37:23), and Stephen says they were moved with envy and sold him into Egypt. Les notes that Joseph later told his brothers not to blame themselves, because God had sovereignly arranged his path to Egypt. Even the hostile act of selling Joseph was woven into God's plan.
Joseph as a Type of Christ: The Hidden Prophecy in Genesis 37-46
Now, in chapter 36, of all these names, we're not going to go through them. They don't mean that much to us, except for one. And I'd like to have you drop all the way down to verse 12. And for those of you who know your Old Testament at all, you'll see in verse 12 that Timnah was a concubine to Eliphaz, Esau's son, and she bear to Eliphaz, who? Amalek.
The Coat as a Mark of the Head of the Brethren
Les explains that the coat of many colors was the kind of special garment used in the Middle East to mark the eldest son's position, and Jacob used it to designate Joseph as the head of the brethren even though Joseph was not the eldest.
Dreams While Wearing the Coat
Les notes that Joseph was still wearing the coat of many colors when he told his dreams of sheaves and the sun, moon, and stars bowing to him, which made his brothers furious.
Why Israel Rejected Their Messiah — Acts 7 & Joseph Explained
Verse 1, chapter 45. Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him, and he cried, cause every man to go out from me. That is of the Egyptians. And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. You see that? And then look at the results. And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph.
God's Sovereign Plan
Les teaches that Joseph later told his brothers not to blame themselves—God had sovereignly orchestrated his path to Egypt through the years of plenty and the famine.
Why Israel Failed to Evangelize the World — Isaiah to Acts
Now we put it in there because we now know that this is part and parcel of it. But see, when Jesus said it, He hadn't yet gone to the cross. He hadn't yet died and been raised from the dead. And so I've sort of struggled trying to explain to people what was meant by, "...For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.
Envy Moves the Patriarchs
Les points to Stephen's statement that the patriarchs were moved with envy against Joseph and sold him into Egypt, while God remained with Joseph.
Bema Seat Explained: Believer Rewards & Glorified Bodies
Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons, see, or the children of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now here it comes, Beloved, now we are, present tense, now we are the sons of God, it doth not yet appear what we shall be.
Genesis 37:3: Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
This is the direct statement that Jacob made Joseph the coat because he loved him more than all his children.
Genesis 37:4: And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
Immediately after the coat is mentioned, the text explains the brothers' hatred when they saw their father's favoritism.
Genesis 37:8: And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him the more for his dreams, and for his words.
The brothers' words show they understood Joseph's dreams to mean they would bow to him.
Genesis 37:23: And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
This verse shows the coat being stripped from Joseph by the same brothers who envied him.
Acts 7:9: And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
Stephen summarizes the brothers' action as envy and notes that God was with Joseph.
Genesis 37:3 says Jacob loved Joseph more than all his children, so he made him the coat. Les Feldick explains that the coat was the kind of garment used in the Middle East to mark the eldest son or head of the household, and Jacob used it to designate Joseph as head of the brethren even though he was not the eldest.
The Bible says the brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more, and they hated him (Genesis 37:4). Les adds that the coat itself was the visible sign of Jacob's choice, making Joseph the designated head of the house. Their hatred later led them to strip the coat from Joseph and sell him into Egypt.
Les recounts that when Joseph dreamed of sheaves and of the sun, moon, and stars bowing to him, the brothers were furious and asked, 'Do you mean we're going to fall down and worship you?' Genesis 37:8 records their words: 'Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us?'
Watch the Teaching: Joseph as a Type of Christ: The Hidden Prophecy in Genesis 37-46