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The Story of Joseph (Genesis 25 to 46)

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The Story of Joseph (Genesis 25 to 46) Jacob (a.k.a. “The Trickster”) and his elder twin brother, Esau, are the sons of Isaac and Rebekah, and the grandsons of Abraham and Sarah. Jacob tricks his father into giving him the inheritance blessing. To protect Jacob from his brother’s anger, his mother sends him away to live with her brother, Laban. Jacob falls in love with Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel. In order to marry her, he agrees to work for Laban for 7 years. On the wedding night, Laban substitutes Leah, Rachel’s older sister. So Jacob agrees to work another 7 years in order to marry Rachel Leah gives birth to four sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. Rachel becomes jealous, because she is childless. She gives Jacob her slave girl, Bilhah, as a concubine, who provides two sons, Dan and Naphtali. When Leah realises that she has stopped having children, she gives Jacob her slave-girl, Zilpah, who provides two more sons, Gad and Asher. Then Leah gives birth to Issachar, Zebulun and Dinah. Then, Rachel gives birth to Joseph. Receiving news from his mother that Esau’s anger has abated, Jacob returns home. En route, Jacob wrestles with a mysterious stranger who gives Jacob a new name, Israel (“One who Strives”). Shortly after, Rachel dies giving birth to Benjamin. Jacob loves Joseph most because Rachel was his favourite wife, so he gives Joseph a special coat. The famous “multi-coloured coat” comes from the King James Version of Bible (1611 AD). Today’s translations usually refer to a “coat with full sleeves,” which in Hebrew custom meant that Joseph would inherit the privileges of the first-born son, in place of Reuben. Herdsmen and labourers would not wear robes with full sleeves. To add insult to injury, Joseph tells his brothers about his dreams which indicate that they will bow down to him. The brothers plot to kill Joseph. Reuben, hoping he can later rescue Joseph, convinces them to leave him in a pit to die. Judah suggests selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites, a nomadic tribe of traders (and descendants of Abraham through the slave girl Hagar); the price is 20 pieces of silver. The brothers slaughter a goat and dip the coat in its blood to convince Jacob that Joseph has been killed by wild animals. Joseph is taken to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph, but when he turns her down she tells Potiphar that Joseph had tried to rape her. Joseph is thrown into jail. In prison, he interprets the dreams of the Pharaoh’s cup-bearer and baker. Later, when Pharaoh is troubled by a dream of seven fat cows being eaten by seven skinny ones, the cup-bearer tells him about Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams. Pharaoh sends for Joseph, who interprets the dream as a sign that 7 good harvest years would be followed by 7 years of famine. Pharaoh appoints Joseph as his second in command to oversee the storing and rationing of the food. Joseph marries the daughter of an Egyptian priest, and has two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. When the famine hits, Egypt is prepared, but Jacob’s family in Canaan is not. The ten oldest sons go to Egypt to buy food from Joseph. Although he recognises them, they don’t identify him, and speak through an interpreter. To test them, Joseph accuses them of being spies, and puts them in prison. He keeps Simeon as a hostage and sends the others to bring back Benjamin. He also returns the money they used to buy the grain. Jacob is reluctant to let Benjamin go, but finally relents when their food supply runs low again. The brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin, and buy more food. When Joseph arranges for their sacks of grain, he has his gold cup planted in Benjamin’s sack. When the “theft” is discovered, Joseph threatens to make Benjamin his slave. Judah offers to take Benjamin’s place, rather than cause Jacob more grief. Then, Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers. When Pharaoh hears of the reunion, he tells Joseph to bring the whole family to Egypt, and gives them the best land in Egypt, the region called Goshen. So Jacob and the rest of his family (about 85 people) move to Egypt..
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