Seder 38: Genesis 42:24---Why Simeon?

Joseph used his position as viceroy of Egypt to promote repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation in his family.  When his brothers came to Egypt to buy food furing a famine, he accused them of being spies, then  detained one of them---Simeon---and ordered the others to bring back their brother Benjamin.  

Genesis 42 doesn't tell us why Simeon was the one Joseph chose to detain.  A number of ideas have been proposed, as discussed by Nechama Price in her book Tribal Blueprints.  

One possibility is based on the fact that Joseph's oldest brother Reuben had not gone along with the proposal of killing Joseph  (Ge 37:21-22; 42:22).  Simeon was the second oldest and should be held responsible for what happened.  

Another possibility is that Simeon was more directly responsible for what happened to Joseph.  Perhaps he was the one who proposed the idea of killing Joseph.  After all, he and Levi had been the leaders in the Shechem massacre (Ge 34:25), and they seemed to have violent tendencies.  If Simeon and Levi together were the authors of the plan to kill Joseph, perhaps Joseph decided to split up this dangerous duo by detaining one of them.

Seder 54: Exod 13-14---Israel Travels to the Red Sea

 As the Israelites left Egypt, God chose not to lead them on the most direct route to Canaan, along the Mediterranean coast.  The direct route was also the most dangerous (Exod 13:17).  The Egyptians had a line of forts along the coastal route.  Certainly God could have protected them no matter what route they took and removed any opposition, but his goal was not to place the Israelites in Canaan in minimum time.  Instead, his goal was to teach and train them to be his representatives in the world, and to take action while trusting in him.  

"And the people of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt equipped for battle," we read in Exod 13:18.  This does not mean that the adult male Israelites were a trained fighting force, but that they were organized as an army.  

Moses must have had a lot on his mind as the people departed, but he still made sure to remember to take Joseph's coffin (v 19), as Joseph had requested before his death (Gen 50:25).  Jewish tradition (e.g., b. Sotah 13a) praises Moses for making sure to do a good deed while the people were gathering treasure.

That tradition also reflects on the fact that Israel, on its long wilderness journey, would be traveling with two boxes---Joseph's coffin and the ark of the covenant.  This was fitting, a midrash says, because Joseph had obeyed the things written on the tablets of stone contained in the ark.  

God had further lessons for Egypt and the world, as well as for Israel.  In one of them, he would, in effect, use the Israelites as "bait", leading them to a location where they appeared to be trapped in order to lure the Egyptians to come after them.  They camped somewhere near Migdol, which we now know was the name of one of the Egyptian forts (Exod 14:2).  

The Egyptians took the bait and came out with chariots.  (Archeological investigation at the Egyptian forts has found evidence of chariots, by the way.)  

It was a shock to the Israelites to see the Egyptians coming after them.  In their fear, they lashed out with sarcastic words to Moses.  Moses responded with words of encouragement (Exod 14:13-14).  He assured them that 

• God comforts the fearful.
• He delivers from distress.
• He invites and expects his people to trust in him.
• He removes danger.
• He is a warrior against the forces of evil.

Seder 47: Exo 4:18-31---Moses Accepts and Begins His Commission

 After his commissioning at the burning bush, Moses returned to his father-in-law to let Jethro know his intention to return to Egypt.  At this point Moses apparently did not say anything about his conversation with God (Exo 4:18).

God provided more encouragement for Moses to return, letting him know that he was no longer wanted for murder in Egypt (v 19).  Verse 20 notes that "Moses took the staff of God in his hand", an indication that he was accepting the position to which he had been called.  He headed back toward Sinai with his wife Zipporah and sons Gershom and Eliezer.  

On that trip God let him know that he needed to fully embrace his calling and identity as a member of the covenant people.  Apparently one of Moses' sons was not yet circumcised, and God confronted him on that issue.  Verse 24 says that God "met him and sought to put him to death" (v 24).  Zipporah, who knew what the issue was and how to do a circumcision, circumcised the son and saved Moses' life.

Different scenarios have been proposed for the background of these mysterious events.  In one of them, Zipporah has previously resisted having the son circumcised and now grudgingly does so.  In this scenario, her statement that "surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me" (v 25) was meant derisively.  

In another scenario, Moses himself also had not been circumcised properly as an infant because of the threat of death that hung over Israelite children at the time.  In this scenario, Moses was the one who had dragged his feet on the issue, and Zipporah was actually happy to have it resolved.  When she removed her son's foreskin, she "touched Moses' feet" ( v 25), "feet" being a euphemism for his genital area.  In this way, she hoped that God would accept her action as a "circumcision by proxy" for Moses, so that their marriage would be considered a covenant marriage with Moses now a valid "bridegroom of blood."  

In a third scenario, it is Moses' firstborn son Gershom whose life is in danger.  Moses has dragged his feet on the issue, perhaps having given Gershom only a partial "Egyptian-style" circumcision in the past.  Zipporah touches the foreskin to Gershom's genitals and declares Gershom a blood relative as part of the circumcision ceremony, saving Gershom's life (see Douglas Stuart's commentary on Exodus).

In any scenario, Zipporah is the heroine in this episode.

Moses and Aaron had a joyful reunion at Sinai.  At this point, Zipporah and her sons may have been sent back home, perhaps at Aaron's urging.  Aaron would have known what dangers might be awaiting them in Egypt and may have advised Zipporah to go back (see Exod 18:2-4). 

Moses and Aaron went on to Egypt, where they met with the elders of Israel and convinced them  through the special signs that God had given Moses that their deliverance was at hand (Exod 4:28-31).  

A midrash identifies an additional factor that might have helped convince the elders.  Verse 31 mentions that the elders "heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel" (v 31).  This language about God's "visiting" them previously had been used by Joseph at the end of his life.  "God will surely visit you," Joseph had said (Gen 50:25).  In the midrash, the Hebrew phrase for "surely visit", pakod pakad'ti, was known as a kind of password that would identify their deliverer.  Serah the daughter of Asher had preserved the memory of the password, God had passed it on to Moses at the burning bush (Exod 3:16),  and Moses and Aaron's knowledge of the password helped convince the elders. 

Seder 44: Gen 50---The Deaths of Jacob and Joseph

 So great was the respect of the Egyptians for Joseph and his family that they embalmed Jacob's body and mourned his death for 70 days (Gen 50:1-3).   God had promised to make Abraham's name great (Gen 12:2), and we see here further fulfillment of this promise.  

Even so, Joseph's request that he go to Canaan to bury his father was a sensitive one (vv 4-6).  Some interpreters--e.g., Rashi---have proposed that Jacob had Joseph swear to take his body to Machpelah (Gen 47:31)  in order to give Joseph more leverage with Pharaoh.  It has also been proposed that this request caused the Egyptians to begin to question the loyalties of Joseph and his family, a first step toward the enslavement that came later.  The request reminds us of the later even more difficult requests that Moses and Aaron made to a later Pharaoh.

An impressive funeral procession, including Egyptian dignitaries along with Israel's children, traveled to Canaan for the burial.  We are reminded of prophesied times when the nations will accompany Israel to Zion to worship the true God (Isa 2:1-4; Zech 8:20-23; Zech 14:16).  

The procession was also a sort of Exodus, with Egyptian horsemen and chariots as part of the entourage.  We do not know the location of the threshing floor of Atad---which side of the Jordan it was on depends on the vantage point of the writer---but if Atad was near the Jordan, then the route followed by the procession  bore some resemblance to the actual exodus route.   

With Jacob gone, Joseph's brothers worried about what steps he might take against them.  They still felt guilty about selling Joseph into slavery.  They needn't have worried.  Joseph had always shown himself to be concerned about what God thought (Gen 39:9), not about what any human being might think.  Joseph repeated what he had told his brothers 17 years before (Gen 45:5-8).  God had worked out events in order to save many lives and further his plan.  

Early in the book of Genesis, brothers Cain and Abel had been unable to get along.  At the end of the book of Genesis, we see reconciliation among brothers.  

Joseph was about 56 years old when his father died.  He went on to live another 54 years.  Commentators point out that in ancient Egyptian culture, 110 is considered to be an ideal lifespan. 

We might imagine that since the patriarchs lived long lives---Abraham lived to be 175, Isaac 180, Jacob 147, Joseph 110---that people typically lived longer lives then.  But that doesn't seem to be the case.  In his commentary on Genesis, John Walton points out that evidence from Egyptian mummies indicates a life expectancy of 40 to 50.  The long lives enjoyed by the patriarchs were part of God's blessing to them.  

When Joseph died, he asked that his bones be taken back to Canaan when the Israelites returned there.  In doing so, he showed faith in God's promises (Heb 11:22).  This time there was no big funeral procession to Canaan, a possible indication that Joseph's influence and prestige had already waned a great deal by then.

Kyle Kettering gave a message on Seder 44 at Church of the Messiah on Feb 13, 2021.

Seder 42: Gen 47-48---Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh

 In the last years of Jacob's life, his thoughts turned to the future of his family, which was in temporary exile in Egypt but would one day return to the Promised Land.  Expressing his faith in God's promises, he arranged to be buried with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah at the cave of Machpelah (Gen 47:29-31).  This scene at the end of Gen 47 reminds us of Abraham's conversation with his servant at the beginning of Gen 24. 

Genesis 48 describes a formal blessing ceremony involving Jacob, Joseph, and Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh.  It is natural to compare this scene with the one in Gen 27.  This time there was no deception involved.  Jacob, like Isaac, had reduced physical eyesight, but unlike Isaac, he had clear "spiritual eyesight".

Jacob decided to adopt Joseph's two sons as his own sons, in effect giving Joseph's descendants a "double portion" that traditionally went to a firstborn son (see 1 Chron 5:1-2).  Rachel had died prematurely, and this was a way of increasing her "share" of Israel's future (Gen 48:1-7).  

Initiating the blessing ceremony, Jacob asked for his grandsons to be identified by name (v 8).  This is the meaning of his question, "Who are these?"  We can contrast Gen 48:8 with Gen 27:32, where Isaac discovered that he had been deceived.

There is also a midrash suggesting that Jacob, given prophetic insight, looked into the future in wonderment at what he saw about the future of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, and that this motivated him to say, "Who are these?"  Certainly he was given some glimpse of  the future, and this motivated his giving a greater blessing to Ephraim, the younger son, than to the older son Manasseh.

The future of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh included leadership in the apostate northern kingdom of Israel, which was conquered by Assyria in 722 BC and went into exile.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Jan 30, 2021, David Waddle noted that this exile was not the last word on the descendants of Joseph.  Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, the good shepherd (Gen 48:15; John 10), sins can be forgiven.

In his blessing of his grandsons, Jacob referred to God as "the angel who has redeemed me from all evil (v 16).  There may be a reference here to the occasions when God manifested himself to Jacob in a physical form.

The final verse of Gen 48 has raised questions.  Jacob mentioned that he was granting to Joseph a particular portion (Heb shekem) of land that he had taken "from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow" (v 22).  One possibility is that Jacob was referring to Shechem. A midrash proposes that Jacob also participated in the slaughter at Shechem, although there is no mention of this in Gen 34.  Certainly Jacob bore responsibility for what happened there, even if he wasn't directly involved.  On the other hand, Jacob may have been referring to a different portion of land not previously mentioned in the narrative.

Seder 41: Gen 46-47---A Joyful Reunion

 After 22 years apart, Jacob and Joseph were finally reunited in Egypt.  Gen 46:29 describes their joyful reunion:  "He presented himself to him and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while."  

It's not clear in verse 29 which one wept on which one's neck, which may imply that each did so to the other.  

Jacob told Joseph that he could now die in peace, having seen his son again (v 30).  We see here a foreshadowing of  a later event, when the elderly Simeon had the opportunity to hold the baby Jesus (Luke 2:25-32).  

Jacob also had the opportunity to meet Pharaoh (Gen 47:7-12).  Jacob was not overly intimidated by the monarch, as indicated by the fact that he blessed Pharaoh twice.  Jacob knew who he was, one through whom the nations would be blessed.  And Pharaoh accepted the blessings from Jacob, showing both his respect for Joseph and his respect for the wisdom of the aged. 

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 23. 2021, Kyle Kettering reflected on arrivals and departures, times that cause much anxiety and also hold great potential.  The way to make the most of that potential is to walk in love, Kyle emphasized.    

A further example of the mission of Abraham's descendants to bless the nations is seen in Joseph's administration of the grain supply during the 7 years of famine (Gen 47:13-26).  Joseph's policies saved many lives and also enriched Pharaoh.  

There are some ironies here.  Joseph, who arrived in Egypt as a slave, ended up seeing many people in Egypt become sharecroppers, while his own family fared better.  It has been argued that his policies helped lay the groundwork for the eventual enslavement of the family of Israel.         

Joseph's treatment of the poor was not harsh, especially considering the context of the times.  (Ancient tax rates tended to be pretty high.)  Those who became sharecroppers were still grateful to Jacob for helping them through the famine (v 25).  

We can see Joseph as an example of the "faithful and wise servant" described by Jesus in Matt 24:45-47.

In Egypt the children of Israel "were fruitful and multiplied greatly" (Gen 47:27).  They were carrying out the mandate of Gen 1:28.  A return to Eden had not yet occurred, but God's plan to restore blessing to the world was well underway. 

Seder 40: Gen 44-46----Joseph Reveals Himself to his Brothers

In Gen 44:18-34, Judah comes before the Egyptian official on behalf of Benjamin, pleading to be allowed to take Benjamin's place as a slave in Egypt.  He explains that it would kill their father, who was still mourning the loss of Joseph, to lose Benjamin as well. 

Judah's language in verse 22, because of pronoun ambiguity (see LEB or YLT, for example) even suggests that Benjamin could also be harmed by a separation from his father:

"Then we said to my lord, 'The boy cannot leave his father; if he should leave his father, then he would die.' "  (Gen 44:22, LEB)

Judah also tells the Egyptian official something he probably didn't know before---that Jacob has believed all along that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal (v 28).  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on January 16, 2021, Kyle Kettering noted that Judah approaches Joseph

• with initiative.
• humbly
• with no excuses or justifications
• seeking mercy.

Judah's impassioned entreaty causes Joseph, the Egyptian official, to finally break down and reveal his identity to his brothers.  To ease  their minds, he points them to the "big picture" as he has come to see it.  God had brought him to Egypt to save many lives  (Gen 45:1-8), so there was no sense in them feeling bad about the past. 

In his sermon, Kyle showed how both Judah and Joseph work toward "repairing the world."

To convince his brothers of his identity, Joseph speaks to them directly, without an interpreter (v 12).  One midrash suggests that he may have demonstrated to them that he was circumcised.  

Joseph urges his brothers to send for their father and bring the entire family to Egypt (vv 9-15).  Pharaoh readily agrees, and Joseph sends them back with plenty of provisions.  

As they are leaving, he instructs them, "Do not quarrel along the way" (v 24).  The Hebrew word for quarrel comes from a root that connotes shaking or trembling. One can shake or tremble from either fear or rage, so the verse has been interpreted in two different ways.  In one reading, he is telling them not to be afraid, because he will not be planting anything in their sacks this time (see NKJV, CEB, and NET).  In another reading Joseph wants them not to argue about how they will break the news to Jacob that they had deceived him about Joseph (as in the Amplified Bible).  Both readings seem valid.

Jacob is overjoyed to have an opportunity to see Joseph, but leaving the land is a big step.  He stops at Beersheba, on the southern border of Canaan, to seek God's will.  God assures Jacob that he should go ahead to Egypt, affirming that this move is in accord with his plan (Gen 46:1-4).

And so Jacob's extended family travels to Egypt.  Seventy members of the family are listed in Gen 46, a number that may symbolize Israel's mission to bring blessing to all nations.  Almost all of the names in the list are male.  One exception is Asher's daughter Serah.  The Bible says almost nothing about Serah,  but there are some fascinating legends about her.

Seder 40: Psalm 76---The All-Powerful Divine Warrior

Psalm 76 has been classified as a “victory hymn”, describing God as a Mighty Warrior in vivid language. Verse 3 says that “he broke the flashing arrows; the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war”.  No weapon can stand against him.

Verse 5 says that enemy soldiers “sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.”   They were completely paralyzed.  “At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned,” we read in verse 6.

No one can stand before him (verse 7), and so the earth waits in fearful silence while he speaks (verse 8).  

What is our proper response to this awesome Warrior?  His people should fear and worship him, and all nations should bring gifts to him (v 11).  

Psalm 76 is one of the Psalms of Asaph.  The original Asaph ministered at the tabernacle in the time of King David.  His descendants continued in that role.  It's not possible to link this psalm definitively to a specific military triumph of Israel.  We might think, for example, of Judah's amazing deliverance from Sennacherib and the powerful Assyrian army described in 2 Kings 19 and Isa 37.  

There are at least two connections between Psalm 76 and this week's Seder in Gen 44:18-46:27.  One is the emphasis at the beginning of the Psalm on God's presence at Zion, in the territory of Judah.  Gen 44 chronicles how Judah emerged as a leader among the sons of Israel.  

There is also an interesting connection with verse 10, which begins,  “Surely the wrath of man shall praise you.”  One way to read this statement is that God is so powerful that he can take our sinful and rebellious actions and use them for his glory, to further his own plan.

Joseph points out an example of this in Gen 45 when he reveals his identity to his brothers.  He tells them in Gen 45:5-8,

“And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.  For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest.  And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.  So it was not you who sent me here, but God.”

Joseph’s brothers had intended to harm him by selling him into slavery.  But God turned their wrath, their sinful intentions, in a positive direction to save lives and bless the world through their family. 

We see the ultimate example of Psalm 76:10 at the cross.  Jesus was put to death unjustly, but this was all part of his plan of salvation (Acts 2:22-39).

We are reminded of another familiar verse, Rom 8:28, where Paul writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” 

Joseph remained strong in faith and did not give up hope when he faced enslavement and imprisonment.  He saw a bigger picture and was able to recognize an opportunity to do good and further God’s purposes. 

Joseph’s example reminds us to continue our efforts to find ways to spread God’s love during a time of trial.  We know that God will turn the wrath of man to his glory, and we would like to participate in what God is doing.   

Seder 39: Gen 43-44---Another Test for Joseph's Brothers

 Joseph's brothers were apprehensive when they arrived in Egypt the second time.  Would the official who was holding Simeon in custody accuse them of being thieves as well as spies?  What further things would they suffer for their treatment of Joseph 22 years before?

The Egyptian official treated them kindly, hosting a special dinner for them.  At the dinner, he seated them according to their birth order.  How did he know so much about them?  (One midrash proposes that Joseph pretended to use his special divining cup to determine the seating arrangement, as a way to explain his knowledge of their ages and heighten their awe of the powerful official.)

Things went surprisingly well for the brothers, and they headed home with more grain.  Then disaster struck.  The Egyptian official's steward stopped them and accused them of stealing the official's silver divining cup.  

This situation may have reminded the brothers of a traumatic episode from their childhood.  When their family was escaping from their great uncle Laban, Laban had pursued them, accusing them of stealing his household gods (Gen 31:25-30).  An ugly argument ensued, with their father asserting his innocence and promising death for the thief.  (Jacob had not realized at the time that Rachel had stolen the items---vv 31-32).  

This time it was the brothers who insisted on their innocence and said that whoever had the cup should die (Gen 44:9).  Then the cup was found in the sack of Benjamin (v 12).  When the brothers saw this, they tore their clothes as their father had when he had seen Joseph's bloody coat (v 13; Gen 37:34).

The Egyptian official did not suggest the death penalty for Benjamin.  He proposed that Benjamin become his slave and the others go free.  Here was a final test for the brothers.  Would they abandon Benjamin as they had Joseph?  

Judah, the one who had proposed years earlier that Joseph be sold (Gen 37:25-28), took the lead in negotiating with the Egyptian official.  The stage was set for the climax of the Joseph narrative.

Seder 38: Gen 42-43--Joseph Tests his Brothers

 When Joseph recognized his brothers, he did not tell them who he was.  Instead, he accused them of being spies and had them locked up for three days (Gen 42:8-17).  

The narrator tells us nothing about Joseph's thought process beyond a note that he remembered the dreams he had had more than 20 years before (v 9).  That note led to a suggestion by Nachmanides (1194-1270), one of the great medieval Jewish commentators, that Joseph's overall goal was to arrange for the fulfillment of his dreams.  

Most interpreters do not go in that direction, however.  A more usual suggestion is that Joseph's plan was to test his brothers and promote their repentance and the reunification of his family.  

As we continue through the narrative, we at least can keep track of Joseph's actions and their results.  His incarceration of his brothers certainly gave them an opportunity to contemplate their predicament.  They blamed their situation on what they done to Joseph all those years ago (vv 21-22).  They  felt guilty about what they had done, which can be considered a step toward repentance.  

After three days Joseph sent his brothers back home with grain, keeping Simeon in custody and ordering the others to return with their brother Benjamin.  They told their father the truth about where Simeon was, an improvement over their behavior with regard to Joseph.  

It would take some time for Jacob to accept the idea of Benjamin's making the trip to Egypt.  But as the famine continued, Judah finally persuaded him to let Benjamin go, taking personally responsibility for Benjamin's welfare (Gen 43:1-14).  Jacob decided to leave the matter in God's hands, while following his usual strategy of preparing a lavish gift for the Egyptian official (see Prov 18:16).

Seder 38: Gen 42---Joseph Meets his Brothers Again

 After 13 years as a slave in Egypt, Joseph was placed in charge of Egypt's "grain management and famine relief" program.  He supervised the stockpiling of grain during 7 years of plenty.  When the subsequent years of famine began, he supervised the distribution of grain to those who needed it.  

After his promtion to leadership, Joseph does not seem to have attempted to contact his family, although he would have been concerned about how they were doing.  He also surely wondered why they had not contacted him.  Jacob would have had the means to buy Joseph back, if only Jacob had known Joseph was a slave in Egypt.  

Having heard nothing from his family, Joseph may well have felt rejected by them.  Had he been sent away for some reason, as Ishmael and Esau had in previous generations?  In naming his oldest son Manasseh, he expressed a desire to put the past behind him (Gen 41:51).  Certainly he had plenty of responsibilities to keep him busy.

Then, after over 20 years, 10 of his brothers showed up in Egypt, seeking grain during the famine.  When they "came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground" (Gen 42:6), we are reminded of Joseph's dream about the sheaves in Gen 37:7.  Joseph thought of it too (Gen 42:9).  

At this dramatic moment "Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him" (v 8).  The word for "recognize" (nakar) is an important one in this account.  Earlier his brothers had asked their father if they recognized Joseph's bloody coat (37:32), and Judah had been asked whether he recognized the items that he had given Tamar as a pledge (Gen 38:25).  

In the failure of his brothers to recongize him, we see another way in which Joseph is a type of Jesus, since many in Israel did not recognize Jesus as Messiah when he came.  "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him," we read in John 1:11.  

In his sermon at Church of the Messiah on Jan 2, 2021, Rob Wilson emphasized the importance of our recognizing God's presence in the world and in our lives. 

Seder 37: Gen 41---Joseph's Amazing Reversal of Fortune

 Two years after Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's cupbearer and baker, another opportunity arose for Joseph to interpret dreams.  The Pharaoh himself had a pair of dreams that troubled him greatly, and his experts had been unable to give an explanation that satisfied him (Gen 41:1-8). 

We know that in ancient Egypt some "dream manuals" were compiled, giving examples of dreams and their interpretations.  The interpretations often relied upon wordplay.  Apparently the manuals were not helpful in this case.

One midrash imagines what Pharaoh's experts might have told him (Genesis Rabbah 89).  In the midrash, they say that the image of seven good cows eaten by seven bad cows stands for seven daughters of Pharaoh who will die prematurely, while the seven good sheaves eaten by seven bad ones represent seven kingdoms that Pharaoh would conquer but that would rebel against him.

The midrash reminds us of two main challenges in interpreting these dreams.  A correct interpretation would recognize that the two dreams were a pair with the same message, and that the sevens in the dream stood for seven years.  Verse 8 may imply that the experts did not pick up on the first of these challenges.  The Hebrew literally says that Pharaoh told them his dream (singular), but that they were not successful in interpreting the dreams (plural).  

Pharaoh's cupbearer then remembered Joseph's skills in dream interpretation (vv 9-13), and Joseph was brought out of prison to hear the dreams.  Joseph was careful to emphasize that he could not interpret dreams on his own, but that God could provide a satisfying interpretation (v 16).  

Joseph not only gave a convincing interpretation but offered a plan for dealing with the extended famine that he saw predicted in the dreams (vv 25-36).  Here we get a glimpse of the aspects of Joseph's character that led to his being given managerial responsibilities at an early age.  Pharaoh was greatly troubled by the dreams, and after hearing Joseph's interpretation he might have wondered if it was possible for Egypt to get through the famine successfully.  Joseph's plan helped to ease his mind.  

Joseph's plan was his resume.  After hearing Joseph's impressive presentation, Pharaoh made him the "famine czar", with authority to carry out the plan he had proposed.  He was given an Egyptian name and a wife from the Egyptian elite.  

We wonder what Pharaoh had heard previously about Joseph, Did he remember the encounter that an earlier Pharaoh had had with Abraham 200 years before (Gen 12)?  Had he heard about Joseph's talents from Potiphar?  In any case, Joseph experienced a meteoric rise to power and was put in a position to save many lives.   Once again, the nations were blessed through a descendant of Abraham.  

Thinking of the book of Genesis as a whole, Joseph is a kind of second Adam figure.  Adam failed by trusting in himself to determine good and evil.  Joseph, on the other hand, relied on God to correctly identify the "good" and "evil" cattle and sheaves.  He showed how to wisely exercise dominion over the earth (Gen 1:28).  

Christians recognize in Joseph a type of the Messiah.  Through no sin of his own, he was buried for a time in prison, but then was raised again with all things in Egypt "put under his feet" (1 Cor 15:27-28).  He was led by the Spirit of God (Gen 41:38; Isa 11:2).  

When Egypt needed bread, Pharaoh said, "Go to Joseph.  What he says to you, do" (Gen 41:55).  We are reminded of Mary's words at the wedding feast at Cana in John 2:5.  "Do whatever he tells you."

Seder 37: Psalm 126---Prayer for Continued Restoration

 After 70 years of exile in Babylon, a group of Jews returned to the land of Israel, as had been prophesied (e.g., in Jer 29:10-14).  Psalm 126 begins by expressing the joy felt by those returning exiles (vv 1-3).

Life was not easy, though, for those who returned to the ruins of Jerusalem.  They started the project of rebuilding the Temple, but the work soon stalled.  Day-to-day life was difficult.  And so they turned to God seeking further restoration (v 4).  

We know some of the ways in which God answered those prayers.  He sent prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage the people to work on rebuilding the Temple.  Haggai affirms God's faithfulness in Haggai 2:4-5:

"Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the LORD.  Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong all you people of the land, declares the LORD.  Work, for I am with you, declares the LORD of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt.  My Spirit remains in the your midst.  Fear not."

Psalm 126 ends with a note of confidence that God will be with those who step out in faith to follow him.  

"Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!  He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him" (vv 5-6).

The midrash on Ps 126 identifies Jacob as an example of verse 6.  Jacob left home for Haran with little more than the clothes on his back, and returned with substantial wealth and a large family.  We can also think of Joseph, who was taken to Egypt as a slave and emerged from imprisonment 13 years later as one of the highest officials in Egypt.

Seder 36: Gen 39---Joseph Resists Temptation

Genesis 39 resumes the saga of Joseph, who was sold as a slave in Egypt to Potiphar, the captain of the guard under Pharaoh.  Joseph's managerial talents soon became evident, and Potiphar eventually felt confident placing Joseph in charge of his household affairs (vv 1-6). 

Potiphar's wife, however, had a different kind of household affair in mind.  In an ancient example of sexual harassment, she tried to seduce Joseph.  The Book of Jubilees pictures her putting pressure on him for a year.  

But Joseph withstood the pressure and refused to give in to Potiphar's wife.  Although he was far from home, he had not lost his connection to the God of Jacob and the teaching he must have received from Jacob as a child.  

Joseph's example has always been important for those who are striving to resist sexual temptation.  Paul had Joseph's example in mind when he admonished early Christians to  "flee from sexual immorality" (1 Cor 6:18).  

The book of Fourth Maccabees, a philosophically-oriented work from the Second Temple period, holds up Joseph's example as proof that it is possible to obey the 10th commandment (You shall not covet) by the mastery of reason over emotion (4 Macc 2).  

Seder 35: Gen 38---Who Did Jacob's Sons Marry?

 For Abraham, it was very important that Isaac marry a woman in Abraham's clan (Gen 24).  For Isaac and his wife Rebekah, it was important that her son Jacob marry someone from that same clan (Gen 28:1-2).  

But the book of Genesis never raises the subject of who Jacob's twelve sons were supposed to marry.   There are at least a couple of reasons why this apparently ceased to be an issue.  For one thing, Jacob and his father-in-law Laban had parted on less-than-amicable terms (Gen 31:51-54), so Jacob would not have been likely to send any of his sons back to Haran in search of wives.  

Also, by this point the identity of the covenant family may have become well enough established that assimilation into the surrounding Canaanite culture was no longer such a danger---at least after the destruction of Shechem.  Jacob's family was not absorbed into Shechem, but it's possible that some of the women captured from Shechem (Gen 34:29) married sons of Jacob.

We are given information about the wives of three of those sons.  Judah married the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua (Gen 38:2).  We are not told her name, and she is referred to in 1 Chron 2:3 simply as Bath-shua ("daughter of Shua").  Simeon also married a Canaanite (Gen 46:10), and Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of an Egyptian priest (Gen 41:45). 

Ancient readers of Genesis were curious and concerned about the lack of information given on this subject.  Some sought to fill in the gaps.  For example, the book of Jubilees (second century BC) lists names of wives of Jacob's sons in verses 20-21 of chapter 34:

"And after Joseph perished, the sons of Jacob took unto themselves wives. The name of Reuben's wife is 'Ada; and the name of Simeon's wife is 'Adlba'a, a Canaanite; and the name of Levi's wife is Melka, of the daughters of Aram, of the seed of the sons of Terah; and the name of Judah's wife, Betasu'el, a Canaanite; and the name of Issachar's wife, Hezaqa: and the name of Zabulon's wife, Ni'iman; and the name of Dan's wife, 'Egla; and the name of Naphtali's wife, Rasu'u, of Mesopotamia; and the name of Gad's wife, Maka; and the name of Asher's wife, 'Ijona; and the name of Joseph's wife, Asenath, the Egyptian; and the name of Benjamin's wife, 'Ijasaka.  And Simeon repented, and took a second wife from Mesopotamia as his brothers."

Notice that Jubilees, in its desire for Jacob's sons not to have mixed too much with the Canannites, has some of them going back to Haran to marry women from Abraham's clan.  

Seder 34: Gen 37:21-36---Selling Joseph

 As they saw Joseph approaching them at Dothan, Joseph's brothers entertained the idea of actually killing him (Gen 37:20).  Then Reuben, the oldest, persuaded the group to spare Joseph's life but put him in a dry cistern that was nearby.  His plan was to go to the cistern later and release Joseph (vv 21-22).  

After putting Joseph in the cistern, the brothers sat down to eat.  When they saw a caravan approaching on a trade route that passed close by, Judah suggested the idea of selling Joseph to the traders.  His suggestion carried the day (vv 25-27).  

Verse 28 reports, "Then Midianite traders passed by.  And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver.  They took Joseph to Egypt."

There is some ambiguity in this verse about who sold Joseph, based on the identity of "they" in the phrase "And they drew Joseph up."  Two possibilities have been proposed:

(1) The usual interpretation is that Joseph's brothers sold him to the traders.  In this scenario Reuben, who apparently has been apart from the others for some reason, shows up at the cistern after the sale and finds Joseph already gone (vv 29-30).  

This raises the question of where Reuben was.  One midrash proposes that he was not eating with his brothers because he was fasting in an attempt to atone for his earlier sin with Bilhah (Gen 35:22).  

(2) An alternate interpretation is that the brothers overestimated the amount of time they had to get back to the pit before the traders arrived.  While they were eating, Midianites lifted him out of the pit and sold him to Ishmaelites.  Reuben left the meal early to rescue Joseph at the cistern and found him already gone.  

Twenty two years later, Joseph introduces himself to his brothers saying, "I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt" (Gen 45:4).  Proponents of scenario (2) argue that whoever sold Joseph, it was his brothers who were responsible for his enslavement, since they had put him in the pit.  Even if the Midianites had sold him, Joseph might have suspected that his brothers had cut a deal with the Midianites.

Whatever the details of the sale, the brothers proceeded to dip Joseph's special coat in goat's blood and take it back to Jacob, leading Jacob to believe that Joseph was dead.  Jacob, who had deceived his father with goatskins (Gen 27:16), was now the victim of his sons' deception.    

Seder 34: Gen 37:11----What Child is This?

 Jacob loved his son Joseph, the older son of his favorite wife Rachel.  He was grooming Joseph to one day be a leader in the family, as evidenced by the special coat that he had made for him.  Still, he was taken aback by the dreams that the 17-year-old was having.  Joseph summarized one of the dreams this way:  "Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me" (Gen 37:9).  

Since Joseph had 11 brothers, Jacob could see what the dream symbolized.  This was a bit too much, even coming from his talented son.  "What is this dream that you have dreamed?"  he asked Joseph.  "Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?" (v 10)

Still, Jacob had experience with messages from God that came in dreams (Gen 28:12-15; 31:11-13), so he "kept the saying in mind" (v 11).  Its meaning probably would become clear later.  

Genesis 37:11 is one example of a motif that runs through ancient Jewish literature, and through the Scriptures in particular.  A person hears a remarkable saying, a prophecy or something said by and/or about a precocious child.  In that situation, the person will "keep the saying in mind" or "hide it in their heart" to see what might happen later.

There is another example in Daniel 7, after Daniel had a dream vision about four beasts, representing four kingdoms.  Those kingdoms would be followed by an eternal divine kingdom ruled by "one like a son of man" (vv 13-14).  After this dream, Daniel says, "My thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart" (v 28).  

There are further examples in Jewish literature of the Second Temple period.  Two of them involve Levi, another one of Jacob's sons.  One comes from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, a fictional work from the first or second century BC that pictures the deathbed advice of the sons of Jacob to their descendants.  In his testimony, Levi describes a heavenly vision in which he is told by the Most High, "I have given thee the blessings of the priesthood until I come and sojourn in the midst of Israel (T Levi 5:2-3).  After the vision Levi says, "And I kept these words in my heart" (T Levi 6:2-3).  

A similar statement appears in the Aramaic Levi Document, a text that may have been used by the author of the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs.  Fragments of this document have been found in the Cairo Genizah and in Caves 1 and 4 at Qumran.     

An additional example comes from another Dead Sea Scrolls text, the Genesis Apocryphon (1Q20).  In column 6 of this document, Noah receives a vision and afterward says, "And I hid this mystery in my heart, and did not make it known to anyone." 

This motif appears in the New Testament twice in Luke 2.  Shepherds near Bethlehem are told by an angel, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11).  When the shepherds told Mary, the mother of the baby, what the angel had said, "Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart" (v 18).  

Later, when Jesus was 12, he stayed in Jerusalem for a few days after the Days of Unleavened Bread and became separated from his parents.  When they finally found him at the Temple, engaging in discussions with the sages, he asked his parents, "Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" (v 49)  

Mary, like Jacob, did not understand then what he was saying, but again, she "treasured up all these things in her heart" (v 51).

This is one of a number of ways in which we will see events in the life of Joseph pointing forward to Jesus.