These are the generations of Jacob. The opening of a new section (cf. Genesis 2:4; Genesis 5:1 &c.). Joseph, the son of Rachel, and born in Padan-aram (Genesis 30:24)—being seventeen years old,—literally, a son of seventeen years, thus making Jacob 108—was feeding the flock with his brethren;—literally, was shepherding; not his brethren (Bush), but with his brethren, in, or among, the flock—and the lad was—literally, and he a lad, aetate, moribus et innocentia (Lyra), non tantum aetate sed et ministerio (Poole), but most probably designed simply as a note of his age.
Pererius, following the Vulgate, connects the clause with what precedes; Calvin, Dathius, Lange, Murphy, Kalisch, and others conjoin it with the words that follow; the LXX; Willet, Rosenmüller, Keil, Ainsworth, Bush, &c.
regard it as a parenthetical statement—with—not in the capacity of a servant (Vatablus) or of a ward (Kalisch), but of a companion—the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives.
With these rather than the sons of Leah, as being less supercilious and haughty than the children of the first wife (Lawson), or as being less opposed to him than they (Lange), or more probably as being nearer to his own age than they (Keil), or perhaps as having been brought more into contact with the handmaids' children, and in particular with those of Bilhah, Rachel's maid, who may have been to him as a mother after Rachel's death (Rosenmüller).
And Joseph brought unto his (rather, their) father their evil report. Not accusavit fratres suos apud patrem crimine pessimo (Vulgate), or κατὴνεγκαν ψόλον πονηρὸν προς Ισραὴλ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν (LXX.
), as if Joseph drew down upon himself their calumnious reports, but carried to his father an evil report concerning them (Kalisch); not informed him of what he himself saw of their evil deeds (Lawson), though this need not be excluded, but repeated the דִּבָּה, or fama, always of a bad character (Rosenmüller), which was circulating in the district respecting them—tunics rumores qui subinde de iis spargebantur (Dathius);—the noun being derived from an onomatopoetic root, דָּבַב, signifying to go slowly, or to creep about.