Genesis 36-37 | Joseph's Dreams

Genesis chapter 37 - Joseph's dreams, Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt

Intro music - Toby Mac
Outro music - Rob Thomas

Transcript

• Well, wherever you find yourself listening in the world today, welcome to this verse-by-verse Bible study, I’m Randy Duncan, and in this episode, we’ll be covering chapters 36 & 37 as we continue to progress through the book of Genesis
• In the last episode, we reached the end of Jacob being the primary character in the biblical narrative, and we are now transitioning to the fascinating story of Joseph. 
• But before we begin with Joseph in chapter 37, we need to address chapter 36, which is simply a listing of Esau’s descendants. Unless there is something very insightful or significant about genealogies, I usually will not spend the time reading through those in a podcast. I don’t want my listeners falling asleep on me! And so, I am going to spare you listening to 43 verses of Esau’s genealogy and descendants! I will make just a couple of comments about chapter 36, and then we are going to move right into chapter 37!
• So first, this listing of Esau’s descendants marks the end of his being mentioned in the book of Genesis. His time with us has come to an end. But the genealogies provided do serve to demonstrate that the divine blessings from God and the blessing of his father Isaac came true. 
• These descendants show how they were fulfilled in history. Esau’s descendants will go on to form the basis of the Edomite tribes. In fact, Esau will move his entire family out of Canaan and into the hillside country of Seir, which is the area southeast of the Dead Sea. And Seir will become the national territory of Esau or Edom
• In fact, later on, God tells Moses “You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. 5 Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.
• But if you continue to read through scripture, you will see how the relationship between the Israelites and the Edomites plays out, and, yes, it plays out about like you would think
• So, now that I have spared you all 43 verses of Esau’s descendants, let's now turn our attention to chapter 37, which begins following the fascinating life and story of Joseph. In fact, the remainder of the book of Genesis is primarily devoted to the story of Joseph. Even secular scholars of literature consider this to be one of the most captivating and profound human stories ever written. And so, like they tell you on the airplane, I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride!
• Verses 1-4 begin…Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.
• So Joseph is 17 years old here, and he is out pastuering the flock with his brothers, specifically Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. And he brings back a bad report of them. And although the nature of the reports is not provided, this will be one of the several reasons his brothers hated him.
• But there are other reasons they hate him. For starters, he was Jacob’s favorite. Now you would think that Jacob would not have made this mistake of showing favortism, as that is what initially led to his problems with Esau, seeing as how Rebekah and Isaac had their favorites between Jacob and Esau. But apparently, Jacob couldn’t hide how he felt about the long-awaited son of his beloved wife Rachel. 
• Secondly, Jacob had made for Joseph a “robe of many colors”. Some translations say he had a “coat of many colors”, some say “an ornamented tunic”. But a couple of words about this coat of many colors. First, the precise meaning of the Hebrew used to describe this garment, this ketoneth passim remains unclear. 
• Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes it as a “long-sleeved tunic reaching to the ankle”. In Aramaic and rabbinic Hebrew, the word pas, as in passim here, means “the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot”, so may be describing the length of the garment. Also, Ancient Near Eastern art, such as some Egyptian tombs and murals, depict figures dressed in garments made with many small rectangular panels of multi-colored cloth.  
• In 2 Samuel the same words are used to describe the distinctive dress of virgin daughters of royalty, and the princess Tamar. And so many commentators suggest it has something to do with royalty. If so, it may be a foreshadowing of Joseph’s future royal position in Egypt. Also, it may even show that Jacob is designating, and handing over to Joseph to be the future ruler of his family. And so this tunic or robe may have signified a high social standing.
• However that is definitely not how Joseph’s brothers saw things, because all it did was arouse jealousy and anger amongst them. And so, for the reasons we have discussed, Joseph’s brothers hated him, and as the text tells us, they “could not speak peacefully to him”, meaning, they could not stand even his friendly speech, or that they rebuffed every attempt by Joseph to be friendly. A slightly different way to say this is that “they could not so much as greet him”. 
• So, you have favoritism to begin with, then the fancy robe, and now we see Joseph bringing bad reports of his brothers to Jacob. So, he is in effect snitching on them. Although you don’t pick up on this just by reading in English, the Hebrew word used here for “report” in the “bad report” that Joseph brings to Jacob, is the word “dibba”, and that word is used to denote news slanted to damage the victim.
• In fact, dibba is the same word used in Proverbs 10:18, which says that “The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever utters slander (dibba) is a fool.” And so bottom line, this was not a good idea on Joseph’s part, ratting out his brothers, and it only throws fuel on the fire. 
• So now that we have been given the background on these family dynamics, we pick up the action with the first set of Joseph’s dreams, which only make an already bad situation even worse. 
• Verses 5-8 read……5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more. 6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed: 7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So, they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
• So, a couple of words here about Joseph’s first dream. In the Ancient Near East, dreams were a common means of divine communication and prediction, and his brothers understood full well the prophetic nature of this dream. This is actually the first dream in the Bible in which God does not speak. 
• You can tell that Joseph is still young, because even knowing how his brothers felt about him and how they must have treated him, he still goes and tells them of his dream! Again, more fuel on the fire! 
• But his brothers clearly understood what the dream meant, that they would bow down to Joseph, that they would be subordinate to him, and he would rule over them. And so, they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. 
• And so, they hated him, not only for his dreams and the information he shared, but also because of his words. IOW, it wasn’t just the information and what he said, but also because of the way he said it. This is now the third time in the last four verses we’re told that they hated him, and so it suggests an ever-increasing intensity of their hatred.
• But Joseph isn’t done yet, because he has another dream, and this second dream is mentioned in verses 9-11 which tell us…9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” 10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?” 11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.
• So, Joseph has another dream, and not learning from his brother’ reaction after sharing the first dream with them, he also shares this second dream with them. Now, an isolated dream might be misinterpreted, and even ancient people recognized that you could have just some idle dream, but two dreams with the same meaning sort of confirm the interpretation. And so, throughout the story of Joseph, we will see that his dreams come in pairs. 
• And in this second dream, we see the sun, moon, and eleven stars bowing down to Joseph. Well, again, this wasn’t difficult to interpret, and aligns with the first dream. But this time, not only does it involve his eleven brothers, who are represented by the eleven stars, but also now includes his father Jacob represented by the Sun as well as his mother, who is represented by the Moon, all coming and bowing down to him. 
• One quick side note here. When Jacob mentions Joseph’s mother here, remember that Joseph’s mother Rachel had died giving birth to his brother Benjamin when he was about six or seven years old. So, this is either symbolic, or maybe one of Jacob’s other wives had sort of become a surrogate mother to Joseph
• How do you think this second dream went over with everyone? Yes, it goes over about like you think it would have. This time though, Joseph shares the dream not only with his brothers, but also with Jacob. Now, no doubt, Jacob had heard about the first dream, but we have no record of him saying anything. But now, Jacob openly rebukes Joseph… “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”
• And so, Jacob berates Joseph here. He may have been trying to rebuke him in front of his brothers in an effort to relieve some of the tension and hostility. Or he may have been doing it to sort of humble Joseph a little bit. Jacob may have even been upset with Joseph as well, suggesting that even he, his father, would bow down to him, but either way, this repetition of the dream meaning has established the authenticity and seriousness of the message, and so even though Jacob has openly rebuked Joseph, we are told that he kept this dream in mind. IOW, Jacob might be a little upset or confused, but he takes the dreams seriously and he ponders on them. Notice also that even his brothers never dispute the meaning of the dreams. They just don’t like them!
• Keep in mind one other thing here too. If his brothers, and even Jacob, rejected his dreams and their meaning, they are indirectly opposing God, because God is the one who supplied the dreams. And so, they are essentially rejecting God’s plan for the family. But before we judge them too harshly here, how many times do we do the exact same thing? How many times do we get upset over situations in our lives that maybe we don’t fully understand or agree with, not allowing for the possibility that God has a different plan in mind? That maybe God’s answer to what you want right now is simply “no”, or “not right now”, or “I have something else in mind for you”. 
• But with all of that background information, and understanding the brothers’ hatred of Joseph, we shift gears in the scene now beginning in verse 12.
• Verses 12-17 read….12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So, he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. 15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’” So, Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
• So, Jacob sends Joseph to check on his brothers who are pasturing the flocks in Shechem. If you remember, Shechem was the site of the bloody revenge taken by Jacob’s sons over the rape of their sister Dinah. And so, the fact that Joseph is going to find them in Shechem here is sort of an ominous sign
• Now you may have a visual in your mind that Jacob sent Joseph to Shechem and that Joseph just started walking for several minutes until he arrived. But Jacob and his family lived in Hebron. That is 50 miles from Shechem, and so Joseph was in for a 50-mile journey here, which would have taken him about 5 days or so by foot. 
• But Joseph comes across a man, presumably a Shechemite, and learns his brothers have headed to Dothan. Ironically, Joseph would be safer in the presence of a stranger from Shechem than he will be with his own brothers
• So, Joseph heads to Dothan, which is about another 13 miles from Shechem, where he finds his brothers. And what kind of reception do you think they give him? How do you suppose they received him? Let's find out…verses 18-24 read…
• 18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. 19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.” 22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. 24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there was no water in it.
• So, how’s that for a reception? Here they were, in Dothan, far away from Jacob and any control he may have had over the situation. And just the mere sight of Joseph ignites the hatred they harbor against him. I mean, they don’t even refer to him by his name, they don’t refer to him as “our brother”, but refer to him only by what fuels their resentment, calling him a dreamer. And they conspire to kill him
• The Hebrew verb used here for “kill” is harag, and it means a ruthless violence. It’s the same word used for haram when Cain murdered Abel
• They conspire to murder Joseph and then throw him into one of the pits. Now these pits were actually cisterns that were hewn out of rock intended for gathering and storing water during the rainy season. 
• Many of these cisterns have been discovered by archaeologists all over Israel, and they are large, bottle-shaped pits that were anywhere from 6 to 24 feet deep. Dried out pits were also used as temporary places of detention, or as dungeons. 
• In fact, the prophet Jeremiah was cast into a cistern of Malachiah when King Zedekiah’s officials didn’t like what he had to say. Jeremiah 38 tells us that “They took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king's son, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.
• But what we see here is that Reuben, the oldest brother, heard their plan, and steps in and tries to stop it. He comes to Joseph’s rescue here. He says, “Let’s not take his life.” Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the wilderness, but do not lay a hand on him”. When Reuben says “Let us not”, what the Hebrew is actually conveying is “We shall not”, meaning, that statement is made with a decisiveness that tolerates no opposition. It’s clear that this is the final decision, and if you notice, the brothers don’t say another word here
• Reuben said this so that he might rescue him out of their hand and restore him to Jacob. His plan was to step in, just have them toss him into the pit, and then later come back and rescue him out of the pit, and bring him back home to his father Jacob. 
• So how does this all play out? Well, when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the robe of many colors that he wore. And they took him and threw him into a pit.
• It doesn’t say here that they let him down by ropes like Jeremiah was…no, they tossed Joseph into the pit. But before they did, they stripped him of his special robe, the robe that caused so much jealousy amongst them. If they couldn’t kill him, they could at least get rid of the symbol of their father’s favoritism, and so in a way, they are symbolically dethroning the royal son. 
• But we continue with verses 25-28…25 Then they sat down to eat. And looking up they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him. 28 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.
• So, after his brothers cast Joseph into the pit, they just sit down and enjoy a meal. There are few lines in the Bible that are more damning than this one. They toss their brother into a pit where they intend to just leave him to die of hunger or thirst, or by some wild animal, and then, just sit down to eat like everything is normal, totally indifferent to his cries for help. Ironically, their next meal in Joseph’s presence will be much different.
• But they look up at some point and see a band of Ishmaelite, or Midianite, traders passing through.  In the absence of Reuben, Judah gets the idea that,” Hey, I have an idea. We can at least profit something here. What profit is there if we simply kill our brother? Let’s sell him! Not only will make a profit, but his blood will not be on our hands. After all, he is our brother”. Well, like I am fond of saying, never underestimate a person’s ability to rationalize!
• Now, to be fair to Judah, it is unclear whether or not this is a desperate attempt by him to save his brother's life, or if it is indeed a twisted idea to profit a little money while also getting rid of Joseph. It is possible that in the absence of Reuben, the idea of killing Joseph may have resurfaced amongst the brothers, and so this was Judah’s way of protecting his life.
• BTW, later in scripture, in Exodus, you see that Torah Law regards selling a person into slavery as a capital offense. It was a death sentence. Exodus 21:16 says “Whoever steals a man and sells him, and anyone found in possession of him, shall be put to death.” Let that sink in for just a second. How did a Christian nation, a supposedly Christian society, ever get to the point of Antebellum slavery? There are many reasons and many opinions on that, and I’m not getting into that right now, there are plenty of other people who are more qualified than I am to discuss that issue, but Exodus 21:16 is just another example of the value God places on the inherent worth and dignity of all human beings, all of whom are made in the image of God.  
• But either way, the Midianite traders pull Joseph up out of the pit, and they buy him for 20 shekels of silver, and then take him away to Egypt. BTW, 20 shekels of silver was the price of a male slave between the ages of five and twenty, and even Leviticus 27:5 mentions this. 
• But why did the traders take Joseph to Egypt? So, they could sell him. So, they could sell him in the slave market. Commercial slave-trafficking was well established in Egypt at this time. 
• Now, I want to take the opportunity right here to point out an observation. Some people have mentioned that Joseph’s life and Jesus’ life had several parallels, and some even see Joseph as sort of a model or type of Jesus. 
• So just to give you a flavor of what they are referring to, consider this. The birth of Joseph, if you remember, was miraculous, as was the birth of Jesus. Joseph was loved by his father; Jesus was also loved by his father. Joseph was sent by his father to his brothers, Jesus was also sent by his father. Joseph was hated by his brothers; Jesus was hated by many of his brethren. His brothers plotted to kill Joseph; the Jews plotted to kill Jesus. Joseph was stripped of his coat; Jesus was stripped of his. Joseph was sold for pieces of silver; Jesus was betrayed for pieces of silver. Joseph was taken out of the pit, his potential grave, alive. Jesus resurrected from his tomb, alive. 
• Now these are just a few of many others that are mentioned, but I just wanted to introduce you to that thought, and as we continue through the story of Joseph, I will mention more parallels as we come to them.
• But finishing out this chapter, verses 29-36 continue…29 When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes 30 and returned to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go?” 31 Then they took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 And they sent the robe of many colors and brought it to their father and said, “This we have found; please identify whether it is your son's robe or not.” 33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. 35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Thus, his father wept for him. 36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.
• So sometime after the Midianite traders had taken Joseph out of the pit, and headed off to Egypt, Reuben returns to the pit to rescue Joseph, but he was too late. Joseph was already gone. But this indicates that Reuben had no idea of the plan to sell Joseph. Remember that I said Reuben wasn’t present when the brothers were eating and brought up again the idea of killing Joseph. They wouldn’t have done that in Reuben’s presence. So, we don't know where Reuben was, only that there are strong indications that he was not there at the time. If he had been with them, he would have obviously known Joseph wasn’t in the pit, so he wouldn’t have gone back to get him out. He also would have known that Joseph wasn’t dead.
• But when he returns, he goes to the pit to find Joseph gone, not knowing that his brothers sold him. And Reuben is visibly upset, so much that he rent his clothes, or tore them. Now this practice of “ke-rah” this tearing of a garment, has been practiced by Jews for thousands of years, and is actually still practiced to this day when mourning a close relative who has died. 
• And he tells his brothers, “The boy is gone, and I, where shall I go? Reuben doesn’t know what to do. He definitely doesn’t want to face his father Jacob, because as the oldest, he would be held most responsible. 
• Hindsight of course is always 20/20, but what Reuben should have done was to confront his brothers right then and there. And then he should have headed off to catch-up with the traders who had just purchased Joseph. He should have paid them a little more than they would have earned in Egypt at the slave trade market, so that he could bring Joseph back, and then apologized to them for the inconvenience and misunderstanding. But, that’s not what he did. He did nothing. It’s been said that the only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing
• So, what did they do? They took Joseph's robe and slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. Then they took his robe of many colors and brought it to their father Jacob, and said, “We found this, is it your son's robe or not.”? And of course, Jacob recognizes the robe right away, and says, “It is my son's robe. A fierce animal has devoured him. Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces.” 
• They say that one of the most difficult things in life is to lose a child. And I personally know a few people who have. And I have witnessed firsthand the anguish and indescribable pain and sense of loss associated with that. 
• And so, it’s almost hard to imagine children putting their father through that sort of pain and suffering on purpose, and all based on a lie. They cannot hide their contempt for Joseph even now. It comes through even in the way they ask Jacob, “Is this your son’s robe”? Rather than asking, ‘is this our brother Joseph’s robe”?
• And just to make sure you caught this; the brother’s never actually lied. They never tell Jacob that wild beasts have killed Joseph. They merely present him the robe and ask him if it is Joseph’s. Jacob recognizes that it is, and then he assumes that Joseph has been devoured by wild beasts. So, they didn’t kill Joseph themselves, nor did they lie to their father. I wonder if they actually convinced themselves they had not technically done anything wrong? 
• Now, I’ve mentioned several times throughout Genesis where sharp irony has existed, and right here may be one of the most obvious and painful twists of irony to date. So, think about this. Remember, years ago, Jacob is the one who deceived his father Isaac, stealing the blessing from his brother Esau. And do you remember how he did it? By covering his skin with the skin of a goat and putting on Esau’s clothes. And now, his own sons deceive him with the blood of a goat and the clothes of his son, Joseph. Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
• And Jacob is unfortunately experiencing that right here. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning. And he wept for him. I truly cannot even imagine this sense of grief and loss a parent must feel. Made worse by the fact that Jacob knew he was the one who sent Joseph to check on his brothers in the first place. 
• Joseph was seventeen years old at the time. It’s interesting to note that Joseph lived with his father Jacob for 17 years, and Jacob will end up living with Joseph for the last 17 of his life!
• And this chapter ends with the last verse telling us that “Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard.” Now I’m not going to get into that right now, as there will be plenty of opportunities for that in upcoming chapters. But just know that Joseph was ultimately sold to the highest official in the court of the Egyptian king.
• But as we end this chapter, I think about both Jacob and his indescribable grief and pain at the loss of his son, as well as Joseph himself, who has been stripped by his brothers, tossed into a pit to die, then pulled and sold into slavery in a foreign land. Can you imagine the pain, and grief, and feelings of betrayal that Joseph must have felt? 
• And there are times in all of our lives where we feel like we are sitting down in the pit. When you find yourself in the valley, in the bottom of the pit, and you feel abandoned and all alone, and you feel like your cries for help are not heard, cry out to God, because he promised to never leave us or forsake us.
• In Ex 14:14, God says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you …”