| Joseph and his brethren |
| Judah |
| Summary |
This is Part 2 of a series of studies about the life of the sons of Jacob, especially about Joseph, the first part was published as Joseph (Introduction). In the introductory part, I was mainly setting some background information for the events surrounding the life of Joseph. I had given a short outline of the history of Jacob and the times during which his twelve sons were born to him.
In this study we will now examine the records in Genesis 37 where we are told of events which happened when Joseph was about 17 years old.
Genesis 37:1 and 2:
And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
These are the generations of Jacob …
This really is the beginning of the last great section of the book of Genesis: The record about "the generations of Jacob", that is the story about his sons. We are told about the magnificent way in which God worked to make of Jacob and his family a people whom He chose to be His own people. Throughout this section, Joseph now figures quite prominently.
Joseph was the eleventh son of Jacob. These eleven sons were born in in Padan-Aram, in Haran. At first, Jacob's wife Leah, whom he had really not desired to be his wife, had born several sons. She was indeed quite a remarkable woman. Jacob had served Laban seven years as a slave in order to have Rachel, Laban's other daughter, for wife. But then, Laban betrayed Jacob and gave him his older daughter Leah to wife. Laban then was so "gracious" to give Jacob his younger daughter Rachel as wife at the end of the seven day wedding feast, but Jacob had to serve another seven years to have her as wife. Toward the end of the 14 years, Joseph had been born, when Rachel finally turned to God and when God remembered and heard her cry. Joseph then was the eleventh son of the twelve sons of Jacob, the twelve was Rachel's second son Benjamin who was born after Jacob and his family had returned to Canaan after having been in Padan-Aram for a total of 20 years. During the birth of Benjamin, Rachel died, and Joseph lost his mother when his little brother was born. Joseph was about 6 or 7 years old when the family came to Hebron and when they lived there near Jacob's father Isaac who was still living at Hebron.
The record in Genesis 37 now picks up what happened about 10 years later.
Genesis 37:2:
… Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with [was a helper to] the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.
There seemingly was always something bad and evil to report about these brothers, and Jospeh informed his father Jacob of the evil report which his half brothers had brought upon themselves. We also can see that the family wasn't always enjoying a nice time nor was everything peaceful and of a kind nature, there were also family problems in those days and in that family.
As it appears, Joseph perhaps was staying purposely away from the sons of Leah, seeking rather the company of the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.
Genesis 37:3:
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.
Jacob was also favoring his son Joseph, and he made him "a coat of many colours". This coat was actually a "long coat", the Hebrew word used literally means "a long coat to the feet", it was not the a particularly colorful coat, but rather it was a long coat. Such a coat was normally only worn by the head of the family or tribe and by his designated heir, normally the firstborn son.
Genesis 37:4:
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.
More literally this reads, "[they] could not speak to him in peace", which means nothing else than that they did not even greet him with the normal greeting "Peace to you". They ignored him, hated him, carried deep animosity against him.
Genesis 37:5–8:
And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Interesting here is that it wasn't only the content of this dream which caused his brethren to feel this way toward him, but also the way in which he told the dream - they hated him not only "for his dreams", but also "for his words".
Genesis 37:9:
And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
The first dream had to do with fields and farming, the second dream with herds and flocks. This second dream, Joseph not only told his brethren but also his father.
Genesis 37:10 and 11:
And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?
And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
Now, we should note that we are not distinctly told if these dreams were a definite revelation of God to Jospeh, nor are we told if Joseph was supposed to even tell these dreams to his brethren. We now from what happened later on, that what was depicted in these dreams did come to pass in a special way.
At the time, this talk must have seemed to be more like silly thoughts and far out phantasies of a young spoiled and favored kid. After they heard this talk, they became even more envious of him. Nevertheless, his father Jacob did observe this saying.
The situation within the family is developing rapidly toward a crisis, but no one involved had really any idea about what this would ultimately bring about. The truly remarkable thing in this whole record is not so much what the brothers and what Joseph or others did do, but rather that which God accomplished and how God was at work in the situation as a whole. We are reading about how God made sure, despite all obstacles, that this family could develop into a people.
Genesis 37:12–14:
And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.
And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.
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.
Joseph's brothers are near Shechem, several days journey away from their home at Hebron. We may remember that it had been the inhabitants of Shechem on whom Simeon and Levi had previously taken their revenge.
Joseph's honorable attitude and character, his obedience are clearly evident as he starts out from home to go and join his brethren. He is wearing his long robe, and joyfully is getting on his way to accomplish the mission his father had sent him out to do … and yet, he will not be able to bring word again to his father and, unknown to all of them, he will never again return to his father's home at Hebron.
Genesis 37:15–17:
And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.
Dothan is about 20 km (14 miles) further away than Shechem, and Joseph now is somewhat helplessly walking about in his prince's garment trying to find his brethren and to learn how they are doing so that he can go back to his father and tell him what exactly they are doing.
Now, Jospeh's brethren see him coming from afar.
Genesis 37:18–20:
And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, Some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams [what his dreams are worth].
This is quite something — his own brothers are making plans to murder him. They intend to make it impossible that his dreams can come to pass by eliminating the dreamed who had such a prominent part in his dreams. We can see what man is able to do under the influence of sin and by his nature … it is quite schocking. Such are the works of the flesh, and after a while envy is fostering murder.
Genesis 37:21 and 22:
And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
Ruben was Jacob's firstborn son, he seemingly felt some kind of responsibility toward his father for his brethren. He suggests a "compromise" – let's not "shed blood", let's throw him in a pit and he can die of hunger and thirst there, at least this is how it appeared to the others. He doesn't have enough boldness to openly rebuke the others and to try and change their minds. Instead, he is planning secretly on picking up his little brother and bringing him home again to their father.
Verse 23 records how radical and unmerciful the brethren are toward Joseph when he arrives where they are.
Genesis 37:23–25:
And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.
And they sat down to eat bread: …
They didn't waste much time when Joseph arrived, but rather grabbed him, stripped him out of his long coat, threw him into an empty cistern … without bread, without water, surely bound to die of starvation. After such a deed they sat down and took care of themselves and had a meal. It is amazing what man seems to be able to do when walking in hatred and sin.
Genesis 37:25:
… and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
As they were sitting up on a hillside having their meal, down below in the valley a caravan or company was coming closer in sight, as they were travelling from Gilead (coming from a northeastern direction) through the valley on their journey to Egypt. Isn't it quite something that right at that time this caravan is showing up there?
Seeing these merchants coming closer, Judah had an idea. It seems that both Ruben and also Judah couldn't quite manage the idea of killing their brother in their hearts. Ruben had said something about not wanting to shed the blood of their brother, now Judah had an idea how they could get rid of their brother for ever without having to even kill him.
Genesis 37:26–27:
And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content.
Judah and the others are taking a step back from their original plan, but this idea of course isn't much better and still a very evil act against their own brother. The idea of Judah found acceptance, and all were content to have the possibility to finally get rid of this hated "daddy's boy" without actually having to kill him.
Genesis 37:28:
Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.
The Ishmeelites (Ishmael was a son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah's handmaid) and theMidianites (Midian was a son of Abraham by his later wife Keturah) were perhaps living in the same general area, and in several places in Scripture they are mentioned together (cp. the record in Judges 8). When we read here once about Ishmeelites and another time of Midianites we do not have necessarily a contradiction, but rather we should understand that in this company there were people from both tribes, the Ishmeelites and the Midianites, traveling together.
Now Joseph is sold by his brethren for 20 pieces of silver to these Ishmeelites as a slave. This was actually later on in the Law the price for a male slave between the age of 5 and 20 years to be redeemed.
Leviticus 27:5:
And if it be from five years old even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.
Joseph's brothers sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmeelites who then took him with them and brought him to Egypt where they sold him as a slave.
We are not told what may have transpired in the mind of Joseph as he was pulled out of the cistern and made to stand in front of those foreigners – perhaps he thought that now finally the really "bad joke" would come to an end? He probably could figure that his brothers were trying to scare him real bad and "teach him a lesson" he wouldn't quickly forget … Now, they even went as far as actually involving some foreign merchants in trying to pretend that they would sell him as a slave … surely, once the caravan was ready to move on they would end this evil game. He certainly was begging them to stop this "game" … to no avail. Or did he begin to realize that they actually meant to carry through on what they were seemingly doing?
When this trade was made between Joseph's brothers and the Ishmeelites, it seems that Ruben was not present.
Genesis 37:29-30:
And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.
And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?
Ruben, being the oldest, apparently felt some responsibility before his father for his younger brother, and he now was in a real dilemma. At least, so it seems, there was a tiny inkling of grace and mercy toward his brother Jospeh in his heart, which we will again be able to see also years later. Ruben must have at first thought that they had killed the boy (as his words "the child is not" indicate), but then he learned what had transpired.
Genesis 37:31 and 32:
And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;
And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
The brothers then fix up the long coat and bring it to their father. In their words to him the full impact of their hatred, their envy, and of the evil in their hearts can be seen. Not one word of mourning, of sadness or even of concern – only words of evil intentions and unspoken accusations come across their lips when they return to their home and to their father. Do they speak of "our brother"? No! They speak vehemently of "thy son!" And then they tell effectively their story about the long coat they "happened to have found".
Genesis 37:33 and 34:
And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
"Jacob rent his clothes" – this is a sign of grief and mourning, of pain and suffering. Jacob was convinced that his beloved son Jospeh, his great hope for the future of his family had been killed tragically.
Genesis 37:35:
And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Jacob remained in mourning for a long time, and no one could really comfort him because he simply did not want to be comforted. The first son of his favorite wife, the wife of his great love, was no more. All the great hopes which Jacob had placed in his son who had displayed such a promising character, were gone in a moment of time. This was quite a shock for Jacob in the face of the family circumstances as a whole.
Genesis 37:36:
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.
And so Joseph came down to Egypt, and he was sold by the Midianites (or the Ishmeelites) as a slave to a man named Potiphar, who was quite influential and who had a high position at Pharaoh's court.
At this point in the narrative (in Genesis 38) there is a digression with the record of an event about Judah which is to give us some further insights into this man's heart and life. Here we can see one of the best of Jacob's sons and how he gets himself involved in a rather dubious situation in the land of Canaan. This record does help us also to understand better what happened later on and how God already was preparing that His people to be, the family of Jacob, would need to get away from these type of surroundings and be in a different place more conducive for the further development and growth.
Genesis 38:1 and 2:
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
Judah took a Canaanite to be his wife; perhaps he should have learned a lesson from his ancestors because already once in the generation before such a choice had not led to a happy ending. Esau and his wives had been quite a heartache to Isaac and his wife Rebecca. Judah seemingly had sought a bit of distance from the other brothers and now he is about to have his own family.
Genesis 38:3:
And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
Some texts actually have here, "and she called his name Er." "Er“ is the name of Judah's son.
Genesis 38:4 and 5:
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
Here we can see that it was the mother, and not Judah, who actually gave these children their names.
Genesis 38:6–9:
And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD [the result of the influences in Canaan]; and the LORD slew him.
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
Onan was also a wicked person. He wanted to "take along" the sexual pleasures, but didn't want to fulfill his responsibility toward the widow of his brother. He too had not considered the LORD and what He thought of this.
Genesis 38:10 and 11:
And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did …
Judah also was influenced in a wrong way in his thinking by what was happening around him.
Genesis 38:11–14:
… And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
Tamar now grabs a hold of some rather drastic measures (at least she waits until after the death of Judah's wife!) in order to finally receive what has been rightfully hers all along.
Genesis 38:15–17:
When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
Tamar obviously did not have any financial interest in this matter, but rather was contemplating something quite different in her mind.
Genesis 38:18–20:
And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: …
It may have begun to dawn on Judah that he had gone a little too far here, and he now wanted to get his pledge back. However, a rather unpleasant surprise awaited him.
Genesis 38:20–23:
… but he found her not.
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.
And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: …
Judah wants to keep this matter rather quiet, for slowly this thing is turning out to become an uncomfortable and dubious matter.
Genesis 38:23:
… behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
He quiets his conscience, for at least he had tried to do what he had promised.
Genesis 38:24:
And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
Judah may have thought about this situation with his daughter in law Tamar and her experiences with those husbands who all died. Now, he was told that he had committed whoredom, which was unacceptable, and he reacted to such news by ordering her to be burned.
Genesis 38:25 and 26:
When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
Judah was learning a tremendous lesson in this. This matter here proved to be for him a step toward good as becomes evident later on in what he was then willing to do when a lot more and something far more important was at stake which also concerned Joseph.
Genesis 38:27:
And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
Once again twins are born into this family, and also this time there is an interesting thing happening with reference to the order of birth.
Genesis 38:28–30:
And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.
And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
Quite remarkable is that by this somewhat selfish endeavor of Tamar the line which finally leads to Jesus Christ is continued. Pharez is that son of Judah through whom this line continues to David and then on to Jesus Christ as can be seen from the record of the book of the generations of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1-17.
Genesis 38 is inserted into the record about the story of Joseph and what happened to him, this topic is being continued in Genesis 39.
Genesis 39:1:
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
In the record we have read thus far there is no mention of what actually transpired on that day when the 10 brothers conspired to sell their little brother to the Ishmeelites.
Later on, in chapter 42, where we can read about an event which happened many years later (at the time when Jospeh's brothers showed up in Egypt and came to Joseph) we are told in a few words how Joseph had begged them and pleaded that they should not deal with him in such a way.
Genesis 42:21:
And they said one to another, We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he besought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.
When they sold Jospeh to the Ishmeelites, he had besought them and his soul had been filled with anguish. He had no desire whatever to go to Egypt, and for sure he had not intention to go there as a slave.
And so now Joseph was in the hands of the Ishmeelites, and leaving his brothers behind as the caravan once again began to move away in a southerly direction. He may have looked back in disbelief and wonder about his brothers for a short while. Not long afterwards, the company was passing by the place from where he could see Hebron up on the hills, the place where his father was so eagerly awaiting the return of his beloved son to hear how his other sons were doing. And yet, without Jacob having the slightest idea of it, Jospeh was just passing by a few miles away, bound as a slave, on his way to Egypt.
No Joseph was returning to Hebron to Jacob's house, only the other sons appeared after some time. They showed up and handed Jacob a long coat covered in blood … who knows, perhaps it was the time that their 17 year old brother was being sold to Potiphar on a slave market in Egypt and was brought to the house of the Egyptian.