Seder 43: Genesis 49---Blessings for the Sons of Jacob

 At the end of his life Jacob called his sons together, saying, "Gather around, that I may tell you what will happen to you in days to come" (Gen 49:1).  

The Hebrew phrase for "in days to come" be'akherit hayyamim, a phrase appearing 14 times in the Old Testament.  (the others are Num 24:14; Deut 4:30; 31:29; Is 2:2; Jer 23:20; 48:47; 49:39; Ezek 38:16; Dan 2:28; 10:14; Hos 3:5; Mic 4:1).  Many of these passages clearly have an eschatological context.

In this case, Jacob's inspired blessings often point to the future of the tribes of Israel in the Promised Land---e.g., the scattering of Simeon and Levi among the other tribes.  But they do in at least one case reach far ahead in the future.  The blessing of Judah (vv 8-12) predicts that a line of kings will come from Judah, culminating in one called Shiloh (see KJV).  

There is more than one possibility for the meaning of "Shiloh".  (This is not the town of Shiloh, or Neal Diamond's imaginary friend Shilo.)  It may mean "tribute to him" (see NRSV), or it may mean "the one to whom it belongs (see NIV).  Both of these possibilities are consistent with a reference to the coming Messiah, and indeed, Gen 49:10 is seen as a Messianic prophecy in both Jewish and Christian traditions.  Targum Onkelos in Gen 49:10 says "until Messiah comes, to whom belongs the kingdom".  Gen 49:9-10 is the source for the presentation of the risen Jesus as the lion of Judah in Rev 5.  

The poetry in Gen 49 is often cryptic.  There is lots of wordplay on the names of Jacob's sons.  The dominant themes are royalty, prosperity, and abundance.  

John Sailhamer and his students often point out that there are four major poetic passages in the Pentateuch---the others being Exod 15, Num 24, and Deut 32-33---and all contribute to the proclamation of the Gospel.  See for example Kevin Chen's wonderful book, The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch, or Michael Rydelnik's The Messianic Hope.

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on Feb 6, 2021, Rob Wilson examined the blessings of Gen 49.  

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 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 35: Gen 38---Tamar Takes Action

 Chapters 37-50 of Genesis tell the story of how two of Jacob's sons---Joseph and Judah---became leaders in the family.  But the narrative does not start out well for either of them.  In Gen 37, Joseph is sold into slavery and taken to Egypt.  And in Gen 38, Judah experiences numerous setbacks in trying to build a family.  

Living in the region that would later become the allotment of the tribe of Judah, Judah married the daughter of Shua and fathered three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Er married a woman named Tamar, but before they had any children, Er was struck dead for wicked deeds not specified in the text (Gen 38:6-7).

According to the ancient custom of levirate marriage, it was then Onan's responsibility to continue Er's line through Tamar.  Onan, however, refused to do so, and he too was struck dead for his refusal (vv. 8-10).  

With two sons dead, Judah was unwilling to risk having Shelah marry Tamar, even though the deaths of Er and Onan had not been Tamar's fault.  And then Judah's wife died as well.  At this point it was not clear that there would ever be a tribe of Judah. 

While he mourned his wife's death, Judah kept Tamar in a kind of limbo, not allowing her to marry Shelah and not releasing her from a commitment to his family.  When Judah's time of mourning was over, Shelah decided to confront her father-in-law on the road to Timnah, where he would be traveling for a sheep shearing.  It is worth noting that in some ancient law codes (e.g., the Hittite laws), the father-in law is next in line, after the dead man's brothers, to marry a childless widow.

We are not told what Tamar's intentions were when she waited for Judah at the entrance to Enaim (v 14).  Was she planning to pose as a prostitute and seduce Judah, or did she simply take advantage of his proposition?  In any case, she agreed to a liaison with Judah after Judah agreed to leave his signet, cord, and staff with her as a pledge toward full payment.  

Judah was not able to find the mysterious prostitute who now had his ID.  Meanwhile, Tamar's encounter with Judah had resulted in a pregnancy.  

When Judah found out about Tamar's pregnancy, he intended to have her put to death (v 24).  Tamar had the evidence that would exonerate herself, but she chose not to make public what Judah had done, Instead, she sent a messenger to Judah with the evidence (v 25), having faith that God would work things out in her favor.

This is a crucial point in the narrative.  According to one midrash Satan stole the evidence from the messenger, but then the angel Gabriel took it back.  

Tamar's message said, "Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff."  The words parallel those of Gen 37:32, where Judah and his brothers presented Jacob with Joseph's bloody robe.  What would Judah do now?  Would he cover up his deeds or finally accept responsibility for his actions?  He chose the latter course, and it was a turning point in his life. 

By admitting that he was at fault, Judah saved three lives, since Tamar was pregnant with twins.  One midrash says that because of Judah's actions, God later rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from death (Dan 3). 

In any case, Tamar gave birth to twin sons, Perez and Zerah, and Perez would prove to be an ancestor of Jesus the Messiah.  After reading about Tamar's courage in Gen 38, we can understand why she is mentioned in Matt 1:3 in the genealogy of Jesus.

At Church of the Messiah on Dec 5, Kyle Kettering gave a sermon on this Seder.

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.