Genesis 37:14
And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
Jacob sent Joseph out of the vale of Hebron to Shechem to see whether his brothers and the flocks were well and safe and to bring back word to him. The errand expressed Jacob's concern for his sons and his trust in Joseph to carry it out. He was anxious because his shepherd sons had been away from home for months without word, for shepherds often traveled far from home, and he feared for their safety near the place where they had been cruel to the Shechemites. He did not know that his sons had concealed their hatred, hostility, and plans against Joseph.
Joseph came to Shechem where he was expected to find them but did not find them there. He searched from field to field where Jacob expected them to be, then hurried on to Dothan after a man told him they had gone there. Though the journey was long, he made it willingly and cheerfully, eager to ease his father's worry and anxiety and to see the brothers he loved.
His love, obedience, and affection were repaid with harm and hostility. This errand led to his being seized at Dothan and sold away from home. The brothers' cruelty behind that outcome followed their father's unwise partiality and indulgence, which had angered them and had also encouraged faults in Joseph including self-sufficiency and demandingness.