Here begins the tenth and last toledotin Genesis. Jacob remains a major character throughout Genesis. Moses recorded his death in chapter 49. Nevertheless Joseph replaces him as the focus of the writer's attention at this point.795These chapters are not entirely about Joseph, however. The writer showed interest in all the sons of Jacob.
"The emphasis now shifts from Jacob's personal struggles to receive the blessing promised to Abraham and Isaac, to the events in Jacob's life that lead up to the formation of Israel as a nation."796
The story of Joseph also links the history of the patriarchs with their settlement in Egypt.
"The Joseph story . . . develops the theme of the Pentateuch by showing the gradual fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham in 12:1-3. In particular, it shows how God blesses the nations through the descendants of Abraham [cf. 50:20]."797
"The theme of the Joseph narrative concerns God's hidden and decisive power which works in and through but also against human forms of power. A soft' word for that reality is providence. A harder word for the same reality is predestination. Either way God is working out his purpose through and in spite of Egypt, through and in spite of Joseph and his brothers."798
Human responsibility is as much a revelation of this section as divine sovereignty.
Joseph faithfully served his father even bringing back a bad report of his brothers' behavior to him for which Jacob expressed his love by giving Joseph preferential treatment. However his brothers envied and hated him. God confirmed His choice of Joseph as leader, an event that perplexed Jacob and infuriated Joseph's brothers.
37:2-4 We could translate the Hebrew as follows. Joseph was "pasturing his brothers among the flocks . . ."This indicates that perhaps Jacob had placed Joseph in a position of responsibility over his brothers. This could explain in part why Joseph's brothers resented him. It is also interesting that this phrase prefigures Joseph's later shepherding role in relation to his brothers, after they became dependent on him.
Joseph's "bad report"implies that the brothers were participating in serious wicked behavior. This is not hard to believe in view of their former treatment of the Shechemites and their later treatment of Joseph and Jacob.
The use of the name Israel (v. 3) suggests that Jacob's special love for Joseph had a divine origin and was part of God's plan for the chosen family. However, Jacob's favoritism of Joseph over his other sons was wrong and fueled the brother's hatred of Joseph. Favoritism had a long history in Jacob's family (Isaac's preference for Esau, Rebekah's for Jacob, and Jacob's preference for Rachel). In every case it created major problems. Leah was hated, so her sons hated (cf. 29:31, 33).
"Son of his old age"means wise son, or son of wisdom. Joseph was old for his years; he had the wisdom of age in his youth. Joseph was born when Jacob was 91 years old, but he was not Jacob's youngest son. At least one of Joseph's brothers was younger than he, Benjamin.
The "varicolored tunic"was probably also a long robe. The sons of nobles wore long robes with long sleeves and ornamentation, like Joseph's, as did Tamar, King David's daughter (2 Sam. 13:18).
"It was a mark of distinction that carried its own meaning, for it implied that exemption from labor which was the peculiar privilege of the heir or prince of the Eastern clan."799
Such a garment identified the possessor of the birthright. This sign of Jacob's love for Joseph constantly irritated the jealous brothers.
37:5-11 Joseph's dreams were revelations from God. Joseph, his brothers, and his father did not grasp their significance fully until God brought them to pass. Joseph regarded his dreams as important, however, and therefore did not hesitate to make them known to his family.
In the first dream (v. 7) God revealed that Joseph's brothers would come to him for bread. Note the agricultural motif in both the dream and its fulfillment. His brothers did not fail to note Joseph's position of superiority over them (v. 8), and they resented still more humiliation from him.
In the second dream (v. 9), which was even more grand, Joseph was himself supreme over the whole house of Israel. The repetition of the main point of the dream confirmed that what God predicted would certainly happen (cf. 41:32). Jacob took note of these revelations but resented the possibility that his son might be in a position of authority over him (vv. 10-11).
"God's future agent and mouthpiece in Egypt could hardly make a worse impression on his first appearance: spoiled brat, talebearer, braggart."800
Textual references cannot establish whether Joseph realized that his dreams were divine prophecies or not. People evidently regarded dreams as divine revelations in the ancient East.801If Joseph did, the fact that he related them boldly to his family may indicate his faith.802
"More than likely, the dream, and its recounting, is to be understood as an unsuspecting prophecy uttered by Joseph. God has a plan for his life, a destiny in his future, and Joseph spontaneously shares the enthusiasm that revelation spawns."803
God chooses faithful, righteous individuals for positions of leadership, but those chosen may experience the jealous hatred of their brethren.
Joseph's brothers met his second recorded visit to them with great antagonism. They plotted to kill him and so render his dreams impossible to fulfill. For practical reasons they decided to sell him and to deceive Jacob into thinking that a wild beast had killed him. In spite of their plan God kept Joseph alive and safe in Egypt.
37:12-17 It was not uncommon for shepherds to lead their flocks many miles from home in search of pasture. Shechem was about 60 miles north of Hebron. Jacob owned land there. Dothan was 17 miles farther north.
37:18-24 The extreme measures Joseph's brothers considered to silence him have led some commentators to conclude that it was not just personal hatred springing from jealousy that motivated them. They may have wanted to alter the will of God as revealed in Joseph's dreams.
"The brothers' hate is therefore a rebellion against the matter contained in the dreams, against the divine power itself, standing behind them, who had given the dreams. The expression usually translated by the dreamer' [v. 19] means much more than our English word, namely, the one empowered to prophetic dreams."804
Reuben as the first-born looked after his father's interests and, knowing what sorrow Joseph's death would bring to Jacob, sought to spare Joseph's life and release him from the pit later. Joseph's place of confinement was evidently a dry well or cistern.
37:25-28 Dothan lay on a caravan route that ran from Damascus to Egypt.805Moses referred to the traders that bought Joseph as Ishmaelites (vv. 25, 27, 28) and Midianites (v. 28). Probably the caravan contained a mixture of both of these groups of Abraham's descendants who were nomadic caravan merchants. Residents of this area sometimes used these names interchangeably. "Ishmaelite"is the more generic term for a Bedouin nomad. It became a general designation for desert tribes. "Midianite"is the more specific ethnic term.806Alternatively, "Ishmaelites"may designate a league of tribes with the Midianites constituting one element (cf. 25:13-17).807Rather than agents of death, the traders proved to be God's instruments of deliverance.
Judah, like Reuben, did not relish killing Joseph. Yet he was not willing to let him go free either. Probably he dreaded the prospect of Joseph receiving the rights of the first-born since he, Judah, was in line for Jacob's blessing. His suggestion that the brothers sell Joseph implies that he knew slave trading was common in Egypt. The price agreed on for Joseph was the same price that God later specified the Israelites should pay for a slave between the ages of five and 20 years under the Mosaic economy (Lev. 27:5). These prices were evidently standard in the ancient Near East at this time. Shepherds employed by others earned about eight shekels a year.808
The significance of the action of Joseph's brothers was greater than may appear at first.
"They had not only sold their brother, but in their brother they had cast out a member of the seed promised and given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from the fellowship of the chosen family, and sinned against the God of salvation and His promises."809
37:29-36 Reuben was absent during the sale of Joseph. When he returned and found Joseph missing he felt great distress. Jacob would have held him responsible for Joseph's safety since Reuben was the eldest of the brothers. Joseph's brothers covered one sin with another.
"The message accompanying the cloak [v. 32] has a certain blunt brutality about it. They did not try to soften the blow."810
Jacob had deceived his father with the skin of a goat (27:16). Now his sons were deceiving him with the blood of a goat (v. 31).
Had Jacob believed more strongly in God's revelations in Joseph's dreams he might not have jumped to the conclusion that Joseph was dead, and his sorrow might not have been as great (cf. 2 Sam. 18:33). Jacob's fears were groundless, but he did not realize this because he chose in this instance to live by sight rather than by faith.
The Pharaoh referred to (v. 36) was probably Ammenemes II (1929-1895 B.C.). The capital city during this period (the twelveth dynasty) was Memphis. This is where Joseph was taken. Potiphar, as Pharaoh's bodyguard captain, would have been in charge of the king's executioners who carried out the capital sentences ordered by Pharaoh. Josephus called Potiphar Pharaoh's chief cook, which may or may not have been correct.811
This chapter is the first of many in the record of Joseph's experiences that demonstrates God's ability to cause the wrath of men to praise Him (Ps. 76:10). He can make even bad situations work for the accomplishment of His purposes and for the blessing of His elect (Rom. 8:28).
"Envy is the root of almost every sin against our brethren. And whenever it is harbored, there is an end of all peace, rest, and satisfaction. Envy is the rottenness of the bones' (Prov. xiv. 30), and no one can stand against it (Prov. xxvii. 4). Where envying is, there is confusion and every evil work' (James iii. 16)."812
"The Genesis account presents Joseph as a very unusual young man, possessed of a strong and sterling character, of a high morality and fidelity to God and his superiors. He was also characterized by gentleness in human relations. Remarkably, Joseph's spiritual and moral strength does not appear to be based on or related to God's periodic and direct revelations, as was true of Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham. Presumably then Jacob must have put a lot of character building truth into the young man's life at an early time. It does not appear that he could have obtained such information from any other source. If this is the case, Jacob did a much better job with Joseph than with his other sons."813
"They [Joseph's older brothers] had been brought up under the influence of the old Jacob, while Joseph had been the companion of the changed Jacob or Israel.'"814
The motivation of Joseph is not completely clear in the text. Consequently students of his life have made judgments about his character that are both positive and negative. Most have concluded that he was one of the greatest men in history.815A few have contested this view and have believed that he was selfish and manipulative.816I believe the textual evidence favors the former view.
People who serve faithfully as unto the Lord often experience severe persecution, but God will preserve them so they can fulfill their God-given destiny.
This chapter seems at first out of place since it interrupts the story of Joseph, but remember that this is the toledotof Jacob. This is the story of what happened to his whole family, not just Joseph. The central problem with which the chapter deals is childlessness. The events of the chapter must span at least 20 years, years during which Joseph was lost to his family (cf. 37:2; 41:46-47; 45:6).
Judah tried unsuccessfully to insure the levirite rights of his daughter-in-law Tamar. As a last resort Tamar deceived him into having sexual intercourse with her by masquerading as a prostitute. She thereby maintained her right to become the mother of Judah's children, the younger of which displaced his older twin in an unusual birth.
"The following sketch from the life of Judah is intended to point out the origin of the three leading families of the future princely tribe in Israel [Shelah, Perez, and Zerah] and at the same time to show in what danger the sons of Jacob would have been of forgetting the sacred vocation of their race, through marriages with Canaanitish women, and of perishing in the sin of Canaan, if the mercy of God had not interposed, and by leading Joseph into Egypt prepared the way for the removal of the whole house of Jacob into that land, and thus protected the family, just as it was expanding into a nation, from the corrupting influence of the manners and customs of Canaan."817
This chapter records the compromise of the Israelites, specifically Judah, with the Canaanites, Shua and Tamar, that resulted in the confusion of seed, the chosen with the condemned. Jacob alluded to this mixture in his prophecy (ch. 49). It is perhaps the basis for the prohibition against mixing various kinds of seed, yoking two different kinds of animals together, weaving two kinds of thread into cloth, etc., in the Mosaic Law.818
"One gets the distinct impression that ever since the Dinah incident (ch. 34) Jacob has less and less control over the behavior of his family."819
38:1-11 Levirite marriage (the marriage of a man to his deceased brother's wife to provide his brother with an heir) was a common custom in the ancient Near East at this time (vv. 8-10).820It was common also in Asia, Africa, and other areas, but it evidently originated in Mesopotamia. The Mosaic Law did not abolish it but restricted it in Israel to preserve the sanctity of marriage (cf. Deut. 25:5-10).
"The enormity of Onan's sin is in its studied outrage against the family, against his brother's widow and against his own body. The standard English versions fail to make clear that this was his persistent practice. When(9) should be translated whenever.'"821
Onan's refusal to give Tamar a child not only demonstrated a lack of love for his deceased brother. It also revealed Onan's selfish heart that wanted for himself what would have gone to his elder brother's heir. If Tamar had born him a son, that child would have been the perpetuator of Er's name as well as that of Onan (cf. Ruth 4:5, 21-22). God judged Onan's sin severely because descendants were important in His plans for the patriarchs. Onan was deliberately frustrating the fulfillment of God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (cf. 11:4).
Judah sinned against Tamar by forcing her to live as a widow (v. 11). He wrongly blamed Tamar for the death of his sons (cf. v. 26) rather than blaming his sons. Tamar had every right to children. Moreover as a member of the chosen family, Judah should have made certain that she had another legitimate opportunity to bear children.
Judah comes across at the beginning of this incident again as a hard and callous man. He had previously suggested selling Joseph into slavery to make money from him and deceiving Jacob despite Reuben's protests (37:26-27, 29-30). Now he showed no grief over the deaths of his sons, in contrast to Jacob who mourned inconsolably over Joseph's apparent death (37:34-35). Judah also ordered the burning of his daughter-in-law (38:24).
38:12-30 When Judah deceived Jacob, a goat and an item of clothing featured in the trick, and here a goat and an item of clothing again figure in Tamar's deception of Judah. Tamar's strategy for obtaining her right was not commendable, but the fact that she sought to obtain seed by Judah shows her legitimate desire for children at least. It may also reveal her desire to enter into the Abrahamic promises by bearing children for Judah and his sons. Jacob's family experienced deception again.
"Tamar qualifies as a heroine in the story, for she risked everything for her right to be the mother in the family of Judah and to protect the family."822
"Although Tamar's actions in this regard may seem strange to us, there is evidence that among ancient Assyrian and Hittite peoples, part of the custom was that the levirite responsibility could pass to the father of the widow's husband if there were no brothers to fulfill it. Thus Tamar was only trying to acquire that to which she had a legal right."823
Moses did not identify her motivation. Whether or not she understood and believed the promises to the patriarchs regarding their sacred vocation she did become an ancestor of the Messiah (Ruth 4:18; Matt. 1:3).
"Just as in chapter 20 where the seed of Abraham was protected by the righteous' (saddiq, 20:4; NIV, innocent') Abimelech (cf. also 26:9-11), it is the woman Tamar, not Judah the patriarch, who is ultimately responsible for the survival of the descendants of the house of Judah."824
Judah's response to his sins against God and Tamar seems to have been genuine repentance (v. 26). He confessed his wrong and repented by ceasing from further sexual relations with her, his daughter-in-law. It is evidently because his repentance was genuine that Jacob did not exclude him from receiving a special blessing as he did Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. Because he humbled himself God raised him to be the chief of the house of Israel and blessed the children that he fathered even though they were a result of his sin. (Compare God'sblessing of Solomon even though he was the fruit of the unlawful union of David and Bathsheba.)
". . . in its biographical sketches, character change is what Genesis is all about: Abram becomes Abraham; Jacob becomes Israel. Particularly in Jacob's family we see examples of character change: Reuben, violator of his father's concubine, later shows great concern for both Joseph and his father, while the upstart cocky Joseph becomes the wise statesman who forgives his brothers. Thus, this chapter has a most important role in clarifying the course of the subsequent narrative; without it we should find its development inexplicable."825
Perez (meaning a breach or one who breaks through) was the first of the twins born (vv. 27-30). He became the ancestor of David and Messiah (Matt. 1:3). Moses may have included the unusual circumstances surrounding the birth of these twins in the record to emphasize God's selection of the son through whom the line of blessing would descend.
"He [Judah] and his brothers sold their younger brother into Egypt, thinking they could thwart God's design that the elder brothers would serve the younger Joseph. Yet in Judah's own family, despite his attempts to hinder Tamar's marriage, God's will worked out in a poignant confirmation of the principle that the elder would serve the younger."826
The scarlet thread marked the second-born, Zerah (dawning, i.e., red or scarlet). It did not indicate the Messianic line. That line came through the other son, Perez. The thread is perhaps just a detail of the story that explains the names given.
"As the Jacob narrative began with an account of the struggle of the twins Jacob and Esau (25:22), so now the conclusion of the Jacob narrative is marked by a similar struggle of twins. In both cases the struggle resulted in a reversal of the right of the firstborn and the right of the blessing. . . . The brevity and austerity with which the narrative is recounted leaves the impression that the meaning of the passage is self-evident to the reader. Indeed, coming as it does on the heels of a long series of reversals in which the younger gains the upper hand on the elder, its sense is transparent."827
Judah's hedonistic willfulness in this chapter contrasts with Joseph's self-control in sexual temptation in the next.
God corrects those who disregard His plan and pursue lives of self-gratification often using talionic justice (i.e., reaping the same kind of punishment as the sin that we sow) in His discipline.
Joseph experienced God's blessing as he served faithfully in Potiphar's house. His master's wife repeatedly seduced him, but he refused her offers because he did not want to sin against God and betray Potiphar's trust. Joseph continued to enjoy God's abundant blessing even when imprisoned because of her false charge.
"Each scene in the record of Joseph's life reveals some distinctive trait of character elicited by means of a crisis."828
39:1-6 The clause "the Lord was with Joseph"occurs four times in this chapter (vv. 2, 3, 21, and 23) and explains the reason for his success. God had previously promised to be with Isaac and Jacob (26:3, 24, 28; 28:15, 20; 31:3). Yahweh is the name for God used; the covenant-keeping God of the patriarchs was with this son of Jacob far from home. Joseph had a fine physique and a handsome face, features that he shared with his mother Rachel (cf. 29:17). He proved faithful in a little and therefore the Lord placed him in charge of much (cf. Luke 16:10). Note that God blessed Potiphar because of Joseph (cf. 12:3a).
"The whole sequence of 39:2-6 is a particularly apt and clear example of the meaning of blessing in the Old Testament. Assistance and blessing belong together, though they are different. Blessing embraces both people and the rest of creation. The narrator simply presupposes that the blessing can flow over from the one whom Yahweh assists to a foreign people and adherents of a foreign religion precisely because of the one whom Yahweh assists. The power inherent in the blessing is expansive . . ."829
39:7-23 Joseph was evidently in his mid-twenties at this time. He was in a "no win"position with Potiphar's wife. As a slave he had to obey her, but as a trustworthy and moral servant of Potiphar he had to refuse her. The typical male clothing in patriarchal times consisted of mid-calf length shorts and a tunic that resembled a long T-shirt (cf. 3:21; 37:3).830Joseph regarded obedience to God as his primary responsibility (v. 9) and therefore chose as he did (cf. Ps. 51:4).
"This story about Joseph reverses a well-known plot in the patriarchal narratives. Whereas before it was the beautiful wife . . . of the patriarch who was sought by the foreign ruler, now it was Joseph, the handsome patriarch . . . himself who was sought by the wife of the foreign ruler. Whereas in the earlier narratives it was either the Lord (12:17; 20:3) or the moral purity of the foreign ruler (26:10) that rescued the wife rather than the patriarch, here it was Joseph's own moral courage that saved the day. . . . Whereas in the preceding narratives, the focus of the writer had been on God's faithfulness in fulfilling his covenant promises, in the story of Joseph his attention is turned to the human response.
"The Joseph narratives are intended then to give balance to the narratives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Together the two sections show both God's faithfulness in spite of human failure as well as the necessity of an obedient and faithful response."831
Success in temptation depends more on character than on circumstances. Character rests on commitment to the will of God. We can see Joseph's character in his loyalty to Potiphar concerning what his master had entrusted to his care (v. 9). We see it in his responsibility to God for what belonged to someone else (v. 9). It is also obvious in his responsibility to God respecting his special personal calling (37:5-9; 45:5-9). Furthermore we see it in his responsibility to God concerning his sacred vocation as a member of the house of Israel.
"It is too little observed, and especially by young men who have most need to observe it, that in such temptations it is not only the sensual that needs to be guarded against, but also two much deeper-lying tendencies--the craving for loving recognition, and the desire to respond to the feminine love for admiration and devotion . . . a large proportion of misery is due to a kind of uncontrolled and mistaken chivalry."832
Joseph's punishment was light in view of the charge against him. Joseph's integrity had obviously impressed Potiphar, but he may also have had questions about his wife's chastity (cf. Ps. 105:18). Joseph's slavery in Potiphar's house prefigures Israel's Egyptian bondage.
Because God was still with Joseph (vv. 21, 23), and because his character had not changed, Joseph experienced the same kind of favor at the hand of the chief jailer that he had from Potiphar. The Lord honored Joseph as one who had honored Him (1 Sam. 2:30).
"Yokes borne in youth have at least three results; they prove personal integrity, they promote spiritual maturity, and they prepare for fuller opportunity. In nature and in human life the best things are not the easiest but the hardest to obtain. . . .
"How nobly Joseph comported himself amidst all these trials and hardships! He might have sulked and become embittered; but instead of this his spirit was unconquerable by reason of its trust in God. He steadfastly refused to be unfaithful to his God, whatever might be the consequences. In duty he was loyal, in temptation he was strong, and in prison he was faithful. When this spirit actuates our life, difficulties become means of grace and stepping-stones to higher things. On the other hand, if difficulties are met in a fretful, murmuring, complaining, disheartened spirit, not only do we lose the blessings that would otherwise come through them, but our spiritual life suffers untold injury, and we are weakened for the next encounter of temptation whenever it comes. There is scarcely anything in the Christian life which reveals more thoroughly what our Christianity is worth than the way we meet difficulties by the use of the grace of God."833
This chapter reveals that dedication to God's calling enables His servants to resist temptation.834
When Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker had disturbing dreams in prison, Joseph foretold the cupbearer's restoration and the baker's execution, but Joseph remained in prison because the cupbearer forgot him.
The cupbearer and baker were responsible for Pharaoh's drink and food (vv. 1-4).835Perhaps both were in prison because someone had tried to poison Pharaoh, or so it seemed, and Pharaoh could not determine immediately which of the two men was responsible.
The place of confinement was the state prison: a round, wall-enclosed building probably attached to Potiphar's house as was customary in Egypt (vv. 3, 7). The chief jailer (39:21-23) was evidently in charge of the prison under Potiphar's authority. Potiphar gave Joseph the job of servicing Pharaoh's two important prisoners.
"Genuine loyalty to God will always express itself in absolute faithfulness in every-day duty."836
The Egyptians and the Babylonians regarded dreams as very significant predictions (vv. 5-8).837
"There were men who had learned the technique of interpreting dreams, and there was a considerable literature on the subject."838
The dreams of the cupbearer and baker were revelations from God. Realizing that God had given him the ability to interpret their divine revelations Joseph invited the two prisoners to relate their dreams to him. He was careful, however, to give God the glory for his interpretative gift (v. 8; cf. 41:16, 25, 28, 39). Daniel also had this ability and likewise gave God the credit (cf. Dan. 2:28).839
The baker would not simply suffer execution, but his corpse would then be impaled and publicly exposed. The Egyptians did this to prevent his spirit from resting in the afterlife.840
The significance of this chapter lies in Joseph's God-given ability to interpret dreams. This gift and Joseph's use of it on this occasion prepared the way for Pharaoh's calling for Joseph to interpret his dreams two years later and exalting him in the government (ch. 41).
"Trials may be viewed from two standpoints, and it will make all the difference to our spiritual life and peace which of these two points of view we take. From the human side Joseph's suffering was due to injustice on the part of Potiphar, and ingratitude on the part of the butler. From the Divine side these years were permitted for the purpose of training and preparing Joseph for the great work that lay before him. If we look only at the human side of trial we shall become discouraged, and it [sic] may be irritated and angered, but as we turn to look at it from the Divine side we shall see God in everything and all things working together for our good."841
Those who faithfully use the abilities that God has given them, even in discouraging circumstances, demonstrate unwavering faith in God's promises to them.
Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's two dreams faithfully. This led to God elevating Joseph in the government and demonstrating His sovereign control over economic life in Egypt as He prepared to preserve Israel through the coming famine.
41:1-8 The "magicians"were "men of the priestly caste, who occupied themselves with the sacred arts and sciences of the Egyptians, the hieroglyphic writings, astrology, the interpretation of dreams, the foretelling of events, magic, and conjuring, and who were regarded as the possessors of secret arts (vid. Ex. vii. 11) and the wise menof the nation."842
"Divination ascertains the future and magic seeks to control it."843
God withheld the Egyptian diviners from comprehending the meaning of Pharaoh's dreams even though the clue to their interpretation lay in the religious symbols of Egypt.
"For the cow was the symbol of Isis, the goddess of the all-sustaining earth, and in the hieroglyphics it represents the earth, agriculture, and food; and the Nile, by its overflowing, was the source of fertility of the land."844
Yet these symbols had multiple meanings to the Egyptians, which probably accounts for the difficulty of interpretation.845
"Seven-year famines were a familiar feature of life in the ancient Near East."846
41:9-24 Joseph carefully gave God the glory for his interpretive gift in his response to Pharaoh (v. 16).
"As far as Joseph was concerned, absolute truthfulness in guarding God's honor was far more important than personal advantages."847
"Like Daniel before Nebuchadnezzar, he expressly disclaims all ability of himself to unfold the secret counsels of heaven, or exercise that wisdom for which Pharaoh seems very willing to give him credit. The same humility has been in every age a distinguishing ornament of all God's faithful servants."848
41:25-36 Joseph also presented God as sovereign over Pharaoh (vv. 25, 28). The Egyptians regarded Pharaoh as a divine manifestation in human form. By accepting Joseph's interpretation of his dreams Pharaoh chose to place himself under Joseph's God. God rewarded this humility by preserving the land of Egypt in the coming famine.
". . . the writer has gone out of his way to present the whole narrative in a series of pairs, all fitting within the notion of the emphasis given by means of the repetition: The matter is certain and swift' (v. 32). The repetition of the dreams, then, fits this pattern."849
"The intention of prophecies concerning judgments to come, is to excite those threatened with them to take proper measures for averting them."850
"The writer's emphasis on the good' and evil' represents Joseph's wisdom and discernment as an ability to distinguish between the good' (tob) and the evil' (ra'). Such a picture suggests that in the story of Joseph the writer is returning to one of the central themes of the beginning of the book, the knowledge of good' (tob) and evil' (ra'). While Joseph is able to discern between good and evil,' it is clear from this story that ultimately such knowledge comes only from God (v. 39). Joseph is the embodiment of the ideal that true wisdom, the ability to discern between good and evil,' comes only from God. Thus the lesson of the early chapters of Genesis is artfully repeated in these last chapters."851
41:37-45 Pharaoh recognized Joseph as one who had unique supernatural powers (v. 38; cf. Dan. 5:14). He probably did not identify the "spirit"in Joseph as the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity. There is no evidence that Pharaoh understood or believed in the God of Israel. Most likely he thought some deity had manifested himself or herself through Joseph.
It was not unknown in Egypt for the Pharaohs to appoint individuals who lacked previous social station or political rank to positions of authority in the government.
"At any time the king would--and did--appoint outsiders. In fact, the noteworthy careers, as preserved for us in tomb inscriptions, broke through all departmental limitations. Men of humble origin could rise to the top once their gifts were recognized; and we find that they were called to a succession of posts which would seem to us to have required entirely different preparatory training."852
To naturalize Joseph, Pharaoh gave him an Egyptian name (v. 45; cf. Dan. 1:7) and an Egyptian wife from an appropriate level of society. Joseph's father-in-law was evidently a high-ranking priest in the celebrated temple of the sun located in the city of On (Gr. Heliopolis) 10 miles northeast of modern Cairo.
Joseph's marriage to an Egyptian seems to have been Pharaoh's order, and God permitted it. The patriarchs generally avoided marriage to Canaanites, but marriage to non-Canaanite Gentiles was less serious. Joseph's wife and in-laws did not turn him away from his faith in Yahweh or his high regard for God's promises to his forefathers (cf. Moses).
41:46-57 The notation of the birth of Joseph's sons is, of course, very significant in view of God's purposes for Abraham's family (vv. 50-52). Joseph acknowledged God's goodness to him in naming both his sons. An allusion to the blessing aspect of the patriarchal promises occurs in verse 49.
"If the name of Joseph's first son (Manasseh) focuses on a God who preserves, the name of Joseph's second son (Ephraim) focuses on a God who blesses."853
Some students of Genesis have wondered why Joseph did not inform Jacob of his welfare quickly since he must have realized that Jacob would have worried about his disappearance.854In naming Manasseh, Joseph said God had enabled him to forget all his father's household (v. 51). Perhaps Joseph did not try to contact Jacob because he thought his father had set him up for what happened to him at Dothan.855This seems very unlikely to me since Jacob's sorrow over Joseph's apparent death seems genuine.
Perhaps Joseph did not try to contact Jacob because through the remarkable events by which God exalted him he came to realize that God would fulfill the rest of His promises contained in his dreams.856He may have concluded that his best course of action would be to continue to let God take the initiative as He had done so consistently in his life to that time. Joseph had come to trust God in place of his father. In this sense he had forgotten his father's household.
"Forget' does not mean here not remember' but rather to have something no longer (cf. Job 39.17; 11:16. See, too, the Arabic proverb, Whoever drinks water from the Nile forgets his fatherland if he is a foreigner'). The phrase refers, therefore, more to an objective external fact than to a subjective, psychological process."857
One might say that for Joseph life in Canaan was a closed chapter of his life.
"Just as Adam is seen in the Creation account as dependent on God for his knowledge of good and evil,' so Joseph also is portrayed here in the same terms . . . Just as Adam is made God's vicegerent' to rule over all the land, so similarly Joseph is portrayed here as the Pharaoh's vicegerent' over all his land (vv. 40-43). As Adam was made in God's image to rule over all the land, so the king here gave Joseph his signet ring' and dressed him in royal garments (v. 42). The picture of Joseph resembles the psalmist's understanding of Genesis 1 when, regarding that passage, he writes, [You have] crowned him with glory and honor./ You made him ruler over the works of your hands;/ you put everything under his feet' (Ps 8:5-7). Just as God provided a wife for Adam in the garden and gave man all the land for his enjoyment, so the king gave a wife to Joseph and put him over all the land (v. 45). . . .
"The picture of Joseph, then, looks back to Adam; but more, it looks forward to one who was yet to come. It anticipates the coming of the one from the house of Judah to whom the kingdom belongs (cf. 49:10). Thus in the final shape of the narrative, the tension between the house of Joseph and the house of Judah, which lies within many of these texts, is resolved by making the life of Joseph into a picture of the one who is to reign from the house of Judah."858
God controls the fortunes of nations to protect and provide for His covenant people.
Joseph awakened his brothers' guilty consciences when he put his brothers in prison as spies after they had come to Egypt for grain. His keeping Simeon hostage while allowing the others to bring Benjamin back pricked their consciences even further.
Joseph treated his brothers as he did to discover how they felt toward Jacob and Benjamin who had taken Joseph's place in his father's affections. He also did so to see if they had genuinely repented of their sin against himself. He apparently did not act out of revenge, and he was not vindictive. Joseph simply wanted to uncover his brothers' hearts.
"Joseph's tests of his brothers were important in God's plan to channel his blessing through the seed of Abraham. God had planned to bring the family to Egypt so that it might grow into a great nation. But because the people who would form that nation had to be faithful, the brothers needed to be tested before they could share in the blessing. Joseph's prodding had to be subtle; the brothers had to perceive that God was moving against them so that they would acknowledge their crime against Joseph and demonstrate that they had changed. If they failed the test, God could have started over with Joseph, just as he had said he would with Moses in Exodus 32:10, when his wrath was kindled against Israel."859
42:1-7 Twenty-one years after his brothers sold Joseph into slavery they bowed before him in fulfillment of his youthful dreams (vv. 6-7; cf. 37:5-9).860
"The time was when Joseph's brethren were men of high respectability in the land of Canaan, whilst Joseph himself was a slave or a prisoner in the land of Egypt. Now, by a signal reverse, Joseph was governor over all the land of Egypt, while they appeared before him as humble suppliants, almost craving as an alms those supplies of food for which they were both able and willing to pay the price demanded."861
"The double identification of Joseph as hassallit[administrator] and hammasbir[dispenser] recall Joseph's two earlier dreams, the one in which the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowed before him (his position of authority), and the other in which the brothers' sheaves bowed before his sheaf (his position of provider)."862
The chiastic structure of verses 7-24 focuses attention on the brothers' imprisonment.
"AJoseph knew his brothers and remembered (7-9a).
BJoseph accused them of being spies, but they explained their situation (9b-13).
CJoseph set out a test whereby they could prove they were honest men (14-16).
DJoseph put them in prison (17).
C'Joseph set out a new test for the brothers to prove they were honest (18-20).
B'The brothers confessed their guilt concerning their brother, and Reuben accused them of their fault (21-22).
A'Joseph understood and wept (23-24)."863
42:8-17 Joseph remembered his dreams (v. 9), and the proof of God's faithfulness undoubtedly encouraged his confidence as he proceeded to deal with his brothers. He played a role before them charging them with a crime punishable with death in Egypt. Such a serious accusation encouraged his brothers to be as honest as possible, which is what Joseph wanted.
Probably Joseph wanted to be sure that his brothers had not killed Benjamin since they had contemplated killing himself (v. 15).
The three-day imprisonment provided Joseph with time to plan his strategy, and it impressed the brothers with the importance of cooperating with Joseph (v. 17). These three days also gave the brothers a taste of what Joseph had endured for three years. Joseph may have intended that they serve one day's imprisonment for each year he had suffered incarceration because of their hatred.
"A vindictive Joseph could have dismayed his brothers with worthless sackloads, or tantalized them at his feast as they had tantalized him (37:24, 25); his enigmatic gifts were a kinder and more searching test. Just how well-judged was his policy can be seen in the growth of quite new attitudes in the brothers, as the alternating sun and frost broke them open to God."864
42:18-24 Joseph's profession of faith in God (Elohim) told his brothers that he realized he was under divine authority and therefore would be fair with them.
The brothers saw divine retribution in what had happened to them (vv. 21-23). The brothers confessed their guilt in dealing with Joseph as they had done in his hearing. However, Joseph wanted to assure himself that they had also borne the fruits of genuine repentance (i.e., taken a different course of action with Benjamin and Jacob). Therefore he did not reveal himself to them at this time.
Joseph's heart had not become hard toward his brothers because of their treatment of him. He did not hate them (v. 24).
"There is nothing more striking in the character of Joseph than the utter absence of revengeful feeling, whether it was against his brothers, or against Potiphar, or against the chief butler."865
Rather his heart remained tender, and his brothers' confession moved him. Reuben as the eldest and most responsible son would have been the logical choice to retain as a hostage. Yet because Reuben had talked his brothers out of killing Joseph, Joseph passed him over and selected Simeon who was the next oldest.
42:25-28 Joseph restored his brothers' money to them out of the goodness of his heart. His gracious act would satisfy their needs but also cause them to search their souls further as they contemplated the consequences of their good fortune. When they first discovered the money in one of their sacks, they regarded what God was doing to them as a divine punishment (v. 28).
42:29-38 Each time Jacob's sons had left home they returned with more money but minus a brother (chs. 37, 42).866Jacob despaired because he had forgotten the promises of God (v. 36). He therefore concluded that, "All these things are against me."In reality God was causing all those things to work for Jacob (cf. Rom. 8:28). He would soon realize God's blessing.
"A great portion of our present trouble arises from our not knowing the whole truth."867
Reuben's offer of his two sons was the greatest he could make to Jacob and indicates true concern for his father (v. 37). He was willing to suffer in Jacob's place so that Jacob would not need to suffer. Nevertheless Jacob declined Reuben's offer (v. 38).
Throughout this chapter we can observe the attitude of Joseph's brothers changing. Faced with a personal crisis they acknowledged their guilt. They regarded their suffering as righteous divine punishment, and they began to place Jacob's interests above their own. However their repentance was not yet complete. The process of contrition had to run further before reconciliation was possible.
When believers have unresolved guilt in their hearts, God often convicts their consciences to discover if they are spiritually sensitive enough to participate in His program.
Chapters 43-45 are a unit describing what happened when Joseph's brothers returned to Egypt. Like chapter 42, which it echoes, it consists of seven scenes arranged palistrophically with the central scene being the arrest of Joseph's brothers (44:1-13).
AJacob sends his sons to Egypt (43:1-14).
BArrival in Egypt; the steward and the brothers (43:15-25)
CLunch with Joseph (43:26-34)
DThe brothers arrested (44:1-13)
C'Joseph's self-disclosure (44:14-45:15)
B'Departure from Egypt; Pharaoh and the brothers (45:16-24)
A'Jacob receives his sons' report (45:25-28).868
Upon returning to Canaan the brothers had to persuade Jacob to let Benjamin accompany them on their next trip to Egypt, which they did with considerable difficulty. When they went back to Egypt and tried to return the money they had found in their sacks, Joseph received them graciously and dealt with them peacefully. He also showered Benjamin with lavish favoritism to test his brothers for jealousy.
43:1-15 Judah evidently took the lead and spoke for his brothers because Jacob had already refused Reuben (42:37-38), Simeon was in Egypt, and Levi had previously forfeited his father's confidence (ch. 34). As Reuben had done, Judah offered to bear responsibility in Jacob's place.
Facing a crisis like his meeting with Esau (chs. 32-33), Jacob again prepared a lavish present to appease "the man,"Joseph.
"Jacob has no guarantee El Shaddai will do anything. His if I am to be bereaved, bereaved I shall beis the same construction as Esther's if I perish, I perish' (Est. 4:16) . . ."869
"The and Benjamin' [v. 15] hangs like the resigned sigh of a father trapped between the need to live and the possibility of a life made utterly empty through another loss."870
43:16-25 A better translation of, "I had your money,"(v. 23) is, "Your money had come to me."Joseph was not lying to his brothers.
43:26-34 Again the brothers fulfilled God's prophecy in Joseph's dreams by bowing before Joseph (vv. 26-28; cf. 37:5-9).
Benjamin was 16 years younger than Joseph, so he would have been 23 at this time (v. 29). Joseph was 39 (41:46; 45:6).
". . . according to the prevailing custom of the East, the very fact that they had been invited to Joseph's table was in itself an encouraging circumstance. Though the Orientals are for the most part a revengeful people, yet if you eat with them, you are thenceforward sure of having their protection. Even should you have done them the greatest injury, yet you need be under no apprehension from their resentment."871
The caste system in Egypt required that Joseph as a member of the upper class eat at a table separate from his Egyptian companions. The Hebrews sat at a third table since they were foreigners (v. 32). The Hebrews and other foreigners ate animals that the Egyptians regarded as sacred. The Egyptians also followed strict rules for the ceremonial cleansing of their food before they ate it. This made the Hebrews "loathsome"to the Egyptians.872Joseph hosted a meal for his brothers who years before had callously sat down to eat while he languished in a pit.873
Joseph showed respect to Benjamin as his distinguished guest by giving him larger and better servings of food than his brothers received (v. 34). Special honorees frequently received double portions, but a five-fold portion was the sign of highest privilege. With this favor Joseph sought not only to honor Benjamin but also to test his other brothers' feelings toward Benjamin. He wanted to see if they would hate him as they had hated himself, his father's former favorite. Evidently they passed this test.
"Those who would participate in God's program must be willing to take responsibility for their actions, make restitution when they are culpable, and accept their lot gratefully and without jealousy."874
Joseph next tested his brother's loyalty to Benjamin by framing Benjamin and charging him with stealing Joseph's cup. These events prompted the brothers to acknowledge that God was punishing them for their treatment of Joseph many years earlier. Judah's plea for Benjamin voiced the genuineness of the brothers' loyalty to Benjamin. It contrasts with their former disloyalty to Joseph.
Joseph wanted to discover if his brothers would sell Benjamin as a slave as they had sold him and possibly kill Jacob with sorrow. Their other alternative was to submit to slavery for Benjamin's sake. This discovery seems to have been the object of Joseph's actions as Moses related them in this chapter.
44:1-5 That Joseph practiced divination is not clear from verse 5 or verse 15. He may have, but this seems inconsistent with his character as a man of faith in Yahweh. It also seems unlikely since Joseph had the gift of interpreting dreams (divine revelations) from God. If anyone needed to resort to divination it would not have been Joseph. The first statement made by Joseph's servant may have been a lie (v. 5). The second statement made by Joseph did not claim to practice divination (v. 15). Joseph said that such a person as himself could do it. These references to divination seem intended to impress Joseph's brothers with the value of the cup that had disappeared. The brothers inferred that Joseph used it for purposes other than simply drinking.
44:6-13 The brothers' promise was not only rash but foolish since the contents of their sacks had surprised them previously (v. 9). Years earlier Laban had searched through Jacob's possessions for his teraphim that remained hidden in Rachel's tent. Jacob had pronounced a death sentence on the guilty person (cf. 31:23, 25, 33, 35). Now the Egyptians searched for Joseph's cup of divination and found it in the sack of Benjamin, Rachel's son. The brothers here also pronounced a death sentence on the guilty person.
Joseph's steward did not hold the brothers to their promise but simply stated that the "guilty"person would become a slave (v. 10).
Tearing one's clothing was a sign of great personal distress in the ancient Near East (v. 13; cf. 37:29). Here it expressed the brothers' sincere agony at the prospect of having to turn Benjamin over to the Egyptians and return to Jacob only to break his heart. They tore their clothes, as Jacob had done when he received news of Joseph's apparent death (37:34). The brothers did not suspect that they were the victims of fraud any more than Jacob did when his sons gave him Joseph's bloody coat.875
44:14-17 Judah acted as spokesman because he had promised Jacob that he would take responsibility for Benjamin's safety (v. 16; cf. 43:8-9). Judah regarded this turn of events as divine condemnation for the brothers' treatment of Joseph and Jacob years earlier.876Really it was divine discipline that God designed to produce repentance. Judah did not try to get rid of the privileged son this time. Instead he volunteered to share his fate at great personal sacrifice.
Joseph allowed Judah and the other brothers to depart and return home without Benjamin (v. 17). However Judah's refusal to do so demonstrated the sincerity of the brothers' repentance.
44:18-34 Judah explained the whole story. He did not try to hide or to excuse the brothers' guilt. This is the longest speech in Genesis. Key words are "servant"(10 times), "my lord"(7 times), and "father"(13 times).
"No orator ever pronounced a more moving oration."877
"I would give very much to be able to pray before our Lord God as well as Judah prays here before Joseph. For this is a perfect pattern of prayer, yes, of the true feeling which should be in a prayer."878
Judah manifested concern for Jacob as well as Benjamin (v. 31). Rather than hating their father for favoring Joseph and then Benjamin the brothers were now working for his welfare. The supreme proof of Judah's repentance was his willingness to trade places with Benjamin and remain in Egypt as a slave (vv. 33-34; cf. John 15:13).
"A spiritual metamorphosis for the better has certainly taken place in Judah. . . . He who once callously engineered the selling of Joseph to strangers out of envy and anger is now willing to become Joseph's slave so that the rest of his brothers, and especially Benjamin, may be freed and allowed to return to Canaan to rejoin their father."879
God teaches His people to be loyal to one another by convicting them of previous disloyalty to get them to love one another unselfishly. Such self-sacrificing love is essential for the leaders of God's people.
Joseph emotionally revealed his identity to his brothers. He assured them of God's sovereign control of his life and directed them to bring Jacob to Egypt. He then demonstrated his love for his brothers warmly.
This is one of the most dramatic recognition scenes in all literature.
Judah so impressed Joseph with the sincerity of his repentance and the tenderness of his affection that Joseph broke down completely. He wept tears of joy uncontrollably (vv. 1-2; cf. 2 Sam. 13:9).
Joseph then explained his perspective on his brothers' treatment of him. He had discerned God's providential control of the events of his life. Four times he stated that God, not his brothers, was behind what had happened (vv. 5, 7, 8, 9).
"It is divine sovereignty that undergirds the optimism of Genesis. God sent me to preserve life,' says Joseph."880
"Happy is the man whose eye is open to see the hand of God in every-day events, for to him life always possesses a wonderful and true joy and glory."881
Part of God's purpose was to use Joseph to preserve the house of Israel through the famine (v. 7).
"In using terms like remnantand survivors, Joseph is employing words that elsewhere in the OT are freighted with theological significance. It may well be that in the deliverance of his brothers and his father Joseph perceives that far more is at stake than the mere physical survival of twelve human beings. What really survives is the plan of redemption announced first to his great grandfather."882
Joseph called God "Ha Elohim,"the personal God, the God of their fathers (v. 8).
"The theme of divine providential care is put into words by Joseph himself (45:7-8; 50:20), summing up the whole patriarchal story."883
Joseph had evidently been planning for his father's family to move down to Egypt if or when his brothers would prove that their attitude had changed (v. 10). Goshen (a Semitic rather than an Egyptian name) was the most fertile part of Egypt (cf. v. 18). It lay in the delta region northeast of the Egyptian capital, Memphis.
Joseph then embraced Benjamin and all his brothers to express his love and to confirm his forgiveness (vv. 14-15).
After this three-fold expression of Joseph's goodwill toward them (weeping, explaining, and embracing), the shocked and fearful brothers gained the courage to speak. They now recognized Joseph as the one they had so cruelly abused and who was now able to crush them if he chose to do so.
Outstanding in this section is the way in which Joseph's perception of God's ways made him gracious, forgiving, and accepting rather than bitter and vindictive. He saw the love of his God behind the cruelty of his brothers. He had accepted all that had come to him as the will of God, and therefore he experienced the blessing of God.
Reconciliation is possible when there is forgiveness, and forgiveness is possible when there is recognition of God's sovereignty.
Joseph's brothers returned to Jacob with news of Joseph's survival and prosperity. Israel (Jacob) then moved to Egypt in response to Joseph's invitation and God's encouragement.
As a result of Joseph's presenting his family members to Pharaoh, they received the best of Egypt's land. Jacob blessed Pharaoh in return for his goodness. In the years that followed Joseph bought almost all of Egypt for Pharaoh, saved the Egyptians' lives, and furthered Israel's prosperity and blessing. Through him all the nations near Egypt also received blessing (cf. 12:3).
Jacob demonstrated his faith in God's promises by demanding that his sons bury him in the Promised Land. He showed he had learned that God will bless those He chooses to bless by blessing the younger Ephraim over the older Manasseh.
Jacob blessed all 12 of his sons and foretold what would become of each of them and their descendants. He disqualified Reuben, Simeon, and Levi from leadership and gave that blessing to Judah. He granted the double portion to Joseph. This chapter is the last one in Genesis that gives the destinies of the family members of Abraham's chosen line. It contains blessings, curses, judgments, and promises, all of which are prominent in Genesis.
"These chapters, then, take the story from the first mention of Abram in 11:26 to the first mention of Israel as a people, a people blessed by God with a special blessing."921
The writer of Genesis called this section Jacob's blessing (v. 28). Isaac had prophetically outlined the future of his two sons' families (ch. 27). Earlier Noah had prophesied the future of Canaan's descendants (9:25-27). Likewise Jacob by divine inspiration foretold major characteristics of each of the twelve tribes that would issue from his twelve sons (v. 1). Each blessing contains at least one of these elements: 1) a synopsis of the son's personality, 2) a hint as to his potential, and 3) a prophecy of his future.
"Jacob predicted how things would turn out for each of his sons and their descendants, should they continue to display the character they had displayed thus far."922
This is the first long poem in the Bible.
"This chapter, in that it is poetry, seems to be intended to be a high point of the toledot ya'aqob(i.e., chaps. 37-50), if not the whole book of Genesis."923
This blessing rested on God's promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Each son learned how his branch of the family would benefit from and be a channel of blessing relative to the patriarchal promises. The natural character of each son and the consequences of that character would have their outcome in the future of the Israelites. The choices and consequently the characters of the patriarchs affected their descendants for generations to come.
"The Spirit of God revealed to the dying patriarch Israel the future history of his seed, so that he discovered in the character of his sons the future development of the tribes proceeding from them, and with prophetic clearness assigned to each of them its position and importance in the nation into which they were to expand in the promised inheritance."924
Jacob assumed in his blessing that his family would increase and possess the land of Canaan. This optimism reveals his faith.
"God gave His people this prophecy to bear them through the dismal barrenness of their experiences and to show them that He planned all the future. For Jacob's family, the future lay beyond the bondage of Egypt in the land of promise. But the enjoyment of the blessings of that hope would depend on the participants' faithfulness. So from the solemnity of his deathbed Jacob evaluated his sons one by one, and carried his evaluation forward to the future tribes."925
The scope of his prophecy extends into the millennial age. God did not fulfill these prophecies completely during the lifetime of Jacob's sons. He did not do so during Israel's years in the land beginning with the conquest of Joshua and ending with the captivities. Moreover He has not done so since then.
"Jacob's last words to his sons have become the occasion for a final statement of the book's major theme: God's plan to restore the lost blessing [lost in the Fall] through the offspring of Abraham.
"By framing Jacob's last words between v. 1 and v. 28, the writer shows where his interests lie. Jacob's words look to the future--'in days to come'--and draw on the past, viz., God's blessing of mankind. It is within that context we are to read and understand Jacob's words in this chapter."926
49:1-4 Reuben.As the first-born, Reuben could have anticipated preeminence among his brothers, leadership of the tribes, priesthood within the family, and the double portion of the birthright. However, he forfeited these blessings preferring rather to give free reign to his lust (35:22; cf. Esau). The leadership of the tribes therefore went to Judah, the priesthood to Levi eventually (cf. Exod. 32:25-29; Num. 3:12-13), and the double portion to Joseph. Joseph was the first-born of the favored Rachel whereas Reuben was Leah's first-born. Joseph's priority was not due solely to Jacob's preference, however, but to the will of God as revealed in Joseph's dreams.
"About no other tribe do we know so little as about Reuben. . . . The tribe produced no significant man, no judge, no king, no prophet."927
Irresolution marked the Reubenites in the time of Israel's judges (Judg. 5:15-16).
"This forfeiture is fulfilled historically in later times when the Reubenites living in Transjordan are integrated into the tribe of Gad.
"From this first oracle the teaching is clear that the behavior of one individual affects the destiny of his descendants."928
49:5-7 Simeon and Levi.These two were brothers not only by blood but also in disposition. They were violent, wicked men (34:25-31). Because of their wickedness they would have no independent tribal territory, but their descendants would live scattered among the other tribes. By the second census, just before the Israelites entered Canaan, the Simeonites had become the weakest tribe (Num. 26:14). Moses passed over the Simeonites in his blessing of the Israelites (Deut. 33). This tribe received only a few cities within the allotment of Judah rather than a separate geographical territory (Josh. 19:1-9). The Simeonites eventually lost their tribal identity among the other tribes, especially Judah (cf. 1 Chron. 4:27, 38-43).
The Levites also received no large land grant, but Joshua gave them several cities in which they lived among the other tribes (Josh. 21:1-40). The Levites gained a special blessing at Mt. Sinai by siding with Moses when the other Israelites apostatized (Exod. 32:26-28; Num. 3:5-13; 18:6-32).
Even though these first three tribes suffered punishment for their sins, Jacob's prophecies about them were still a blessing. They retained a place in the chosen family and enjoyed the benefits of the patriarchal promises as Jacob's heirs.
49:8-12 Judah.Judah possessed a lion-like nature. As such he became the leader of the other tribes (43:3-10; Judg. 1:1-2; 3:9; 20:18; etc.). Through him came David and Messiah, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Judah led the other tribes in the march through the wilderness (Num. 2:1-3) and in the monarchy.
The scepter (v. 10) was and is the symbol of royal command, the right to rule. Judah was to exercise leadership among the tribes until Shiloh came at which time Shiloh would extend Judah's rule to worldwide dominion. Judah's leadership was not consistently preeminent in the history of Israel, however.
Shiloh (lit. the "bearer of rest") is a proper name. It refers here not to the city in Canaan of that name but to a person who would arise in the tribe of Judah and bring peace to the world, namely, Messiah (cf. 3:15; Num. 24:17). We should probably translate it "whose it (the ruler's staff) is"or "to whom it belongs"rather than transliterate it "Shiloh"(cf. Ezek. 21:26-27).929Another live option is "until tribute is brought to him."930
"Whichever of these interpretations is adopted, . . . all at least agree that this line is predicting the rise of the Davidic monarchy and the establishment of the Israelite empire, if not the coming of a greater David. And if the primary reference is to David, traditional Jewish and Christian exegetes would agree that like other Davidic promises it has a greater fulfillment in the Messiah."931
Because Reuben, Simeon, and Levi had disqualified themselves Judah received the leadership of the tribes and the blessing that normally went to the first-born. This is how the leadership of the tribes and the Messianic line fell to Judah.
Everything after "Until"(v. 10) describes millennial conditions.
"No Judean would tie his ass to a vine [v. 11], for it would be eaten up, of course. Anyone who can be so careless and who can wash his garments in wine, lives in paradisiacal abundance."932
"The sense of the imagery is that wine, the symbol of prosperity and blessing, will be so plentiful that even the choicest vines will be put to such everyday use as tethering the animals of burden and vintage wine will be as commonplace as wash water. Verse 12 returns to the picture of the king of Judah. His eyes are darker than wine and his teeth whiter than milk. He is a picture of strength and power."933
This prophecy is the first of many that associate bumper crops with the golden age of future blessing that follow in the Old Testament.
49:13-21 These verses contain Jacob's shorter blessings on the other sons except Joseph and Benjamin whose blessings follow these.
"True to the poetic qualities of the text, the images of the destiny of the remaining sons are, in most cases, based on a wordplay of the son's name. The central theme uniting each image is that of prosperity."934
Zebulun(v. 13) later obtained territory between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. This was a thriving commercial area though Zebulun never had permanent "waterfront property."Perhaps the men of Zebulun worked for the Phoenicians in their maritime trade (cf. Deut. 33:19). Zebulun will extend to the sea in the Millennium when his borders will extend as far as Sidon on the Mediterranean (cf. Ezek. 48:1-8, 23-27). An important caravan route from Mesopotamia to Egypt passed through his territory.
Issachar(vv. 14-15) would prefer an agricultural way of life and what it produced rather than political supremacy among the tribes. Lower Galilee including the valley of Jezreel, which Issachar obtained, was a pleasant and productive farming area.935
Dan(vv. 16-18) would be a judge in Israel. This prophecy came to reality partially during Samson's judgeship. Dan's victories benefited all Israel. Yet this tribe led Israel into idolatry (Judg. 18) and was therefore similar to a serpent (v. 17). Jacob asked Yahweh to deliver his descendants in the future (v. 18).
"Jacob's heartfelt aside in 18 is enigmatic: it could arise from a father's prayer, like Abraham's for Ishmael (17:18), or possibly from the sudden memory of his own treachery, long renounced, called up by the acts and the words (heel[s], 17, 19) associated with his own name."936
Gad(v. 19) would also be effective in battle.
Asher(v. 20) would enjoy very fruitful soil, namely, the lowlands of the Carmel range north along the Mediterranean coast. This area contained some of the most fertile land in Canaan.
Naphtali(v. 21) evidently would enjoy the admiration and appreciation of the other tribes in a special way (cf. Judg. 4 and 5). Jacob could have meant that Naphtali would exchange his freedom for a more sedentary domesticated lifestyle in the land, or that he would accommodate to the Canaanites.937
49:22-26 Joseph's blessing was especially abundant. The two tribes that bore his sons' names would see its fulfillment even though during his lifetime Joseph had faced much opposition. Judah received the leadership of the tribes, but Joseph obtained the double portion of the birthright (cf. 1 Chron. 5:2).
Jacob's names for God in this blessing are noteworthy: "the Mighty One of Jacob"(cf. Isa. 1:24; et al.), "the Shepherd"(48:15), and "the Stone of Israel"(cf. Deut. 32:4, 18, et al.).
"Blessing is one of the key words of Genesis . . . occurring some eighty-eight times in the book. Here in two verses [25 and 26], like the finale of a fireworks display, the root occurs six times (verb 1x, noun 5x) making a brilliant climax to the last words of Jacob. The God-given blessings of the future will far outshine those already experienced."938
49:27 Benjaminproduced many warriors in Israel's history (e.g., Ehud, Saul, Jonathan, et al.) and demonstrated a warlike character among the tribes (Judg. 5:14; 20:16; 1 Chron. 8:40; ch. 12; 2 Chron. 14:8; 17:17; et al.).
49:28 In his twelve sons Jacob blessed all the future tribes of Israel.939This is the first mention of the 12 tribes in the Bible. This was the third of Jacob's blessings, the first being on Pharaoh (ch. 47) and the second on Joseph's sons (ch. 48).
"Within Jacob's words to each of the sons (after Judah), the theme of blessing has been evident in two primary images. First, the reverse side of the blessing is stressed in the imagery of the victorious warrior. The defeat of the enemy is the prelude to the messianic peace. Second, the positive side of the blessing is stressed in the imagery of great prosperity and abundance. Behind such imagery of peace and prosperity lies the picture of the Garden of Eden--the Paradise lost. The focus of Jacob's words has been the promise that when the one comes to whom the kingship truly belongs, there will once again be the peace and prosperity that God intended all to have in the Garden of Eden."940
Sailhamer also proposed that this poetic section plays a significant role in the larger structure of the Pentateuch.
"At three macrostructural junctures in the Pentateuch, the author has spliced a major poetic discourse onto the end of a large unit of narrative (Ge 49; Nu 24; Dt 31). A close look at the material lying between and connecting the narrative and poetic sections reveals the presence of a homogeneous composition stratum. It is most noticeably marked by the recurrence of the same terminology and narrative motifs. In each of the three segments, the central narrative figure (Jacob, Balaam, Moses) calls an audience together (imperative: Ge 49:1; Nu 24:14; Dt 31:28) and proclaims (cohortative: Ge 49:1; Nu 24:14; Dt 31:28) what will happen (Ge 49:1; Nu 24:14; Dt 31:29) in the end of days' (Ge 49:1; Nu 24:14; Dt 31:29). . . .
In sum, the apparent overall strategy of the author in these three segments suggests that one of the central concerns lying behind the final shape of the Pentateuch is an attempt to uncover an inherent relationship between the past and the future. That which happened to God's people in the past portends of future events. To say it another way, the past is seen as a lesson for the future. . . .
"The narrative texts of past events are presented as pointers to future events. Past events foreshadow the future. It is not hard to see that such a hermeneutic leads to a form of narrative typology. We should, then, look for signs of such a typology in the composition of the smaller units of narrative in the Pentateuch as well as in the arrangement of the legal material."941
A believer's works during this life significantly determine the extent of divine blessing he and his descendants will receive in the future.
Joseph received permission from Pharaoh to bury Jacob in Canaan as he had requested. He then assured his brothers of his favor in spite of how they had treated him and testified that God would fulfill His promises.
