Jacob’s preferential treatment of Joseph reached a climax in the special coat, or tunic, he made for him. The meaning of the word
passim,
“of many colors,” is uncertain. It is used also in
2 Sam. 13:18, 19 to describe the dress of Tamar, the daughter of King David. The LXX, Vulgate, and Syriac rendering,
“colorfully dyed,” forms the basis of the translation found in most modern Bibles. A painting on the wall of a nobleman’s tomb at Beni Hasan in Egypt, dating from the time of Abraham, depicts a group of Asiatic men, women, and children, of whom some wore nothing but two-colored loincloths, and some, tunics that reached to the knee but left one shoulder bare. Some of these were of plain white material, but others had blue and red designs. The chief’s garment was especially colorful, and is distinguished from the others by a beautiful design woven into the fabric. The tunic Jacob gave to Joseph may have resembled this one. As pointed out here, however, the word
passim is of uncertain origin. If, as seems probable, it is the plural of
pas,
“extremity,” it would refer to the hands and the feet. In
Dan. 5:5, 24,
pas is the word translated
“part.” Accordingly, then, Joseph’s coat, or tunic, would be one with long sleeves, and one which also reached to his feet. Such a garment would not be suitable to wear while working, and was, furthermore, the kind worn by children of noble rank. The RSV reads,
“a long robe with sleeves.” The Hebrew grammatical construction suggests the idea that Jacob not only made one such coat for Joseph but
“used to make” them for him. In either case this coat excited the suspicion that Jacob intended to pass by this older children and bestow the birthright upon Joseph. Little wonder that his brothers all hated him (PP 209)!