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.
Could not speak peaceably unto him - i:e., in a kind, friendly manner; they did not say, 'Peace be to thee,' the usual expression of good wishes among friends and acquaintances. It is deemed a sacred duty to give all this form of salutation; and the withholding of it is an unmistakable sign of dislike or secret hostility. The habitual refusal of Joseph's brethren, therefore, to meet him with 'the salaam' showed how ill-disposed they were toward him. It is very natural in parents to love the youngest, and feel partial to those who excel in talents or amiableness. But in a family constituted as Jacob's-many children by different mothers-he showed great and criminal indiscretion.