- published: 08 Apr 2009
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In the Hebrew Bible, the coat of many colors (Hebrew: כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים kethoneth passim) is the name for the garment that Joseph owned, which was given to him by his father, Jacob.
According to the Authorized King James Version, Genesis 37:3 reads:
The Hebrew phrase kethoneth passim is translated here as coat of many colors, but some have suggested that the phrase may merely mean a "coat with long sleeves" or a "long coat with stripes."
The Septuagint translation of the passage uses the word ποικίλος (poikilos), which indicates "many colored"; the Jewish Publication Society of America Version also employs the phrase "coat of many colors". On the other hand, the Revised Standard Version translates kethoneth passim as "a long robe with sleeves" while the New International Version notes the translation difficulties in a footnote, and translates it as "a richly ornamented robe".
Aryeh Kaplan, in The Living Torah gives a range of possible explanations:
Back through the years I go wonderein' once again back to the seasons of my youth
I recall the box of rags that someone gave us how my mama put the rags to use
There were rags of many colors and every piece was small
And I didn't have a coat and it was way down in the fall
Mama sewed the rags together sewed every piece with love
She made my coat of many colors that I was so proud of
As she sewed she told a story from the Bible she had read
About a coat of many colors Joseph wore and then she said
Perhaps this coat will bring you good luck and happiness
And I just couldn't wait to wear it and mama blessed it with a kiss
My coat of many colors that my mama made for me
Made it all from the rags that I wore it so proudly
Although we had no money I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my mama made for me
So with patches on my breaches and holes in both my shoes
In my coat of many colors I hurried off to school
Just to find the others laughin' and a makin' point of me
In my coat of many colors my mama made for me
And oh I couldn't understand it I felt I was rich
And I told them all the love my mama sewed in every stitch
And I told them all the story mama told me while she sewed
And how my coat of many colors was much more than all their clothes
But they didn't understand it and I tried to make them see
That one is only poor only if they used to be
Now I know we had no money I was rich as I could be
In my coat of many colors my mama made for me made just for me