Genesis Chapter Thirty-Seven
Read Genesis 37:1-4 – Introduction to Joseph
v.1 “And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the
land of Canaan.”
Isaac is now dead and
Jacob continues to dwell in the land that God has promised him as a stranger or
sojourner. In the writing to the Hebrews
we find the reason why and an application for us today:
Hebrews 11:9-10 “By faith he sojourned in the land of promise,
as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles
with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: 10For
he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”
First of all, why is
Jacob called a stranger and Abraham a sojourner? It is because their stay in
v.2 “These are the generations
of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock
with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of
Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto
his father their evil report.”
Time has passed and Joseph,
son of Jacob and Rachel, is now 17 years old.
He is working as a good son should, helping
keep Jacob’s flocks. As boys and even
young men are prone to do, his brothers do something or some things that are
not in keeping with the mind of Jacob or perhaps that Jacob had forbidden them
to do. We’re not told what it was just
that Joseph is now placed in the position of being the one to inform his
father. The tone of the language used
here would suggest that Joseph did so out of concern for his brothers, not to
just be a tattletale.
v.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.”
Of his twelve sons, no
one had to ask which one was Jacob’s favorite.
Joseph is Jacob’s favorite, not just because he was a son of his old
age, but also because he was the son of Rachel, the one whom Jacob loved. He is shown partiality but, if his
performance in
v.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.”
As it usually does,
Jacob’s partiality toward Joseph creates problems within his family. Joseph brothers hated him, much the same as
Esau hated Jacob with much less motivation than Esau had.
Genesis 27:41 “And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing
wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days of
mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.”
Read Genesis 37:5-11 –
Joseph’s Dreams
v.5 “And Joseph dreamed a dream,
and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.”
Joseph dreamed a
dream. Not an unusual situation but
there seems to be something more here than just a flight of mind during the
night. This was an important dream, a
dream that perhaps even his brothers understood as being an indication of
something very real that would come to them in the future.
v.6-7 “And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this
dream which I have dreamed: 7For, 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.”
In the day of Jacob
grain would be cut by hand with a scythe or a sickle and then bound into
sheaves by hand. I’m not sure how many
might be familiar with a grain binder but I worked in the fields as a young boy
where they were used and understand the concept. The grain was cut by the machine and carried
up a belt where the stalks were bound into sheaves and then dropped on the
ground. These sheaves were then later gathered up and
either put into shocks or stacks to await threshing
day. The scene in Joseph’s dream was of
these sheaves. Joseph’s sheaf stands in
the field on its own and the sheaves of his brother bow down and pay homage to
his sheave. The word obeisance no longer
appears in a modern usage dictionary but this is its meaning: to bow, curtsey
or make a gesture; to pay homage or reverence to a ruler.
v.8 “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.”
Joseph’s brothers
understood the implication of Joseph’s dreams.
The day would come when he, the youngest next to Benjamin, but the
eldest of Jacob’s favorite wife would rule over them. Consequently they resented him, not only for
that which was implied by his dreams but also because of what he told them.
v.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.”
Joseph has another
dream. In this dream, the sun, moon and
stars paid homage or reverence to him.
This is another dream that reflects those things that are yet to come about.
v.10 “10And 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?”
When Joseph revealed
his dream to his father, Jacob correctly interprets it. There would come a day, many years in the
future to be sure, when all of his brothers, his father and his mother would
indeed bow down and pay homage to Joseph as the ruler of all
v.11 “And
his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.”
The same emotion that
caused the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, envy is now in the hearts of Joseph’s
brothers against him. Stephen confirms
that this is what moved them to sell Joseph into slavery.
Acts 7:9 “And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold
Joseph into
But Jacob “OBSERVED” his saying.
What does this mean? The
scripture tells us. First of all in
Daniel as his reaction to his dream:
Daniel
And then Mary regarding the declaration of the
angels to the shepherds concerning her new-born son:
Luke
Jacob remembered these things, kept them in his heart and pondered or
meditated upon them. Dreams were
important. Frequently God appeared in
dreams or used dreams to communicate his requirements to mankind.
Read Genesis 37:12-22 – Jacob
Sends Joseph To His Brothers
v.12-13 “And his brethren went to feed their father’s
flock in Shechem. 13And
Jacob had moved from
Shechem to the plain of Mamre, specifically to
v. 14 “And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see
whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me
word again. So he sent him out of the vale of
Jacob now has Joseph to
act as a messenger. He wants to know the
situation with his sons and his flocks so he sends Joseph to find out and to
report back to him what he learns.
v.15-16 “And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in
the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou? 16And
he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.”
“AND A CERTAIN MAN
FOUND HIM…” A certain man, whether by
God’s providence or by God’s explicit design and command we’re not told. But the sons of Jacob have moved their flocks
and cannot be found in the area where they were supposed to have been. So Joseph asks him where his brothers have
gone.
v.17 “And the man said, They are departed hence; for
I heard them say, Let us go to
The man knows where
Jacob’s sons said they were going to he relays this information to Joseph and
Joseph proceeds to that place and finds them.
II Kings
v.18 “And when they saw him afar off, even before he
came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.”
Living with unbridled
hate must be a horrible condition.
Joseph’s brothers hate him so much that they now conspire to kill
him. King Saul suffered from the same
condition:
I Samuel 19:1 “And Saul spake to Jonathan his son, and to all
his servants, that they should kill David.”
Jesus suffered and died because of the same kind of hate:
Matthew 27:1 “When the morning was come, all the chief
priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:”
As did the Apostle Paul:
Acts
v.19-20 “And they said one to another, Behold, this
dreamer cometh. 20Come 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.”
The actions of Joseph
brothers were not something that occurred in the heat of the moment but rather
a conspiracy the developed and grew over time.
It underscores the truth taught by Jesus and through the Apostle John:
Matthew
Just as the Holy Spirit gave us through the pen of the wise man,
Solomon:
Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.”
Confirmed to us through the Apostle John:
I John
So the brothers because of their hate were prepared to kill Joseph.
v.21-22 “And Reuben heard it, and he delivered
him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him. 22And 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.
Reuben, perhaps because
he was the eldest son and more mature than his brothers not only counsels
against their plan but works to rescue Joseph from the wrath of his
brothers. He prevents them from killing
Joseph immediately, convinces them to immobilize him instead, actually planning
to get him away from his brothers and return him to Jacob unharmed.
Read Genesis 37:23-28 –
Joseph is Sold into Slavery
v.23-24 “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; 24And
they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.”
When Joseph reaches his
brothers they strip the coat from him, part of the reason that they hated him
so much. Heeding the advice of Reuben
they put him in a pit, a hole in the ground apparently deep enough that he
could not get out. The scripture
enlightens us further that were was no water in the
pit so he isn’t in danger there, just restricted.
v.25 “And they sat down to eat bread: 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.”
From the beginning of
time throughout the history of
v.26-27 “And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27Come,
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.”
Apparently Joseph’s
half-brother Judah does have somewhat of a conscience. His argument is that after all he is our
brother, the son of our father and our flesh.
In addition; to just kill him would provide no profit, why don’t they
sell him instead. The buying and selling
of slaves was a common practice, accomplishes their purpose of getting rid of
Joseph from their presence so they agree, or as the scripture says “WERE
CONTENT” with that proposal.
v.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.”
Many peoples used this
caravan route, we have here both Ishmaelites and Midianites mentioned. The Ishmaelites were descendants of Ishmael,
son of Abraham and Hagar, the Midianites descendants of Midian, the son of
Abraham and Keturah.
Genesis 25:1 “Then again Abraham took a wife, and her name was Keturah. 2And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and
This verse can be somewhat confusing to some and is used by others to
claim an inconsistency in scripture. But
it would not be beyond reason to find both Ishmaelites and Midianites in the
same caravan, after all they are cousins, both being descendants of
Abraham. Nor would it be beyond reason
to find more than one caravan on this road at the same time. Because of their ancestry they are also
extended family to Joseph and his brothers but this fact apparently has no
bearing on their desire to make a profit.
So Joseph is sold for 20 pieces of silver, 10 pieces less than Christ. Of course, all of this is the plan of God,
the psalmist tells us that:
“HE SENT A MAN BEFORE HIM, even JOSEPH, who WAS SOLD FOR A
SERVANT.” Psalms 105:17
So God uses this occurrence to send someone into
Read Genesis 37:29-36 – Jacob
Mourns Joseph
v.29-30 “And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold,
Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes. 30And
he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I,
whither shall I go?”
Obviously not all of Joseph’s
brothers were present when he was sold.
Reuben, who had planned to rescue him and return to his father, returns
and finds him gone. Reuben is in great
distress; either because he was the eldest and consequently responsible for
their actions, or because he knew how Jacob would react to the loss of the son
that he loved so deeply. He asks what
does he do now and the brothers hatch a scheme to deceive their father.
v.31-32 “And they took Joseph’s coat, and killed a kid
of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; 32And 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.”
Isn’t it amazing how
one sin just leads to another? Joseph’s
brothers hated him so much that they plotted to kill him. Instead they sold him into slavery now they
have to account for him to their father.
They concoct a story, deceive Jacob by preparing Joseph’s coat of many
colors so that Jacob will reach the conclusion that they want. Then they lie to Jacob telling him that they
don’t know whether this is Joseph’s coat or not but this the way that they
found it.
Each sin is committed
in an attempt to cover up the one before and so it goes in a man’s life when he
turns to sin. Job said that he would
deserve the punishment of God if he had done this:
“If I covered my transgressions
as Adam, by hiding mine iniquity in my bosom:” Job 31:33
v.33-34 “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. 34And Jacob rent his clothes, and put
sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.”
Jacob recognizes
Joseph’s coat just as his sons knew he would.
He reaches the conclusion that some evil beast must have “DEVOURED”
Joseph, leaving nothing to bury and Jacob goes into mourning for his son.
v.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 is so distraught
that his sons and daughters fear for his well-being. They do everything that they can think of to
console and comfort him but he will not be comforted. He declares that he will go to his grave
grieving and mourning his son. Jacob is
still mourning refusing his permission when Joseph, unknown to his brothers, asked
that Benjamin be brought to
Genesis 42:38 “And he said, My son shall not go down with
you; for his brother is dead, and he is left alone: if mischief befall him by
the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow
to the grave.”
v.36 “And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh’s, and captain of the guard.”
Thus Joseph is sold as
a slave in