(Genesis 50:2226). The story tells of two servants of Pharaoh's household who were in jail with Joseph and asked him to interpret their dreams. The money they had brought was double what they had offered on the first trip. J. M. Sel. [24] Its redaction history may have included a first "Reuben version" originating in the northern kingdom of Israel and intended to justify the domination by the "house of Joseph" over the other tribes, this was followed by a later "Judah-expansion" (chapters 38 and 49) elevating Judah as the rightful successor to Jacob, and finally various embellishments so that the novella would function as the bridge between the Genesis and the story of Moses and the Exodus.[25]. . Abraham married Sarah, who was his niece; Isaac married Rebekah, who was his first cousin once removed; and Jacob married Leah and Rachel, who were his first cousins. Taking 130 and subtracting it from Joseph's age of 39 means Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born. Others consider the story a semi-independent novella, which has been independently added to the biblical record. The following morning the brothers began their journey back to Canaan. No, he had two (and not by his choosing) wives and two concubines four women to whom he was connected through children. [48] Similarly, the eldest son of Jacob had decided not to leave the land because of the oath taken to protect Benjamin beforehand. After bearing Judah, Leah stopped bearing children for a . The latter third of the book of Genesis relates the complex and vola- tile relationship of the patriarch Jacob, his four wives, and their thirteen children (twelve sons, one daughter). Thus, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought.". He even forced them to throw out their babies to die. Her father contracted with her husbands father that she would be a wife in that house, that she would provide heirs to the house who would have rights to his share of the inheritance. 84, xl. In Hebrew Joseph means: increaser. The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha was a favorite love song in the Near East. Joseph And His Brothers, The cultural impact of the Joseph story in early-modern times is discussed in, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 10:50. well, that did go well. The shrine called Joseph's Tomb in Nablus/Shechem is traditionally considered to be his tomb. He then sent them away with grain, retaining Simeon as a hostage (Gen. 42:1-25), while ordering them not to return without Benjamin, the only one of his brothers born of Joseph's own mother, Rachel. Jacob with Ephraim and Manasseh. Am happy to have read this. As Zipporah was a Midianite, calling her a Kusite makes absolute sense. His brothers' jealousy grew when Joseph told them of his two dreams (Gen. 37:11) in which all the brothers, as well as his parents, bowed down to him. The story of Joseph also inspired the popular autobiographical song "Coat of Many Colors," written and recorded early in the career of country icon. I put up the white board and I was marking out the family tree of the patriarchs. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out and they produced grapes. Who is Dans mom? I asked. This is great, Tyler. . I smiled. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors". Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and this made Leah sad. The family prostrated before him hence the fulfilment of his dream aforetime.[52]. [26][27] The plot begins by showing Joseph as a dreamer; this leads him into trouble as, out of jealousy, his brothers sell him into slavery. He then tested them further, by accusing Benjamin of theft. Is Polygamy Really Biblical? When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, the king asked him for a sign by which he might know that his interpretation was true. He kept the sacred records after Nephi (see 1 Ne. Because the 12 sons of Jacob became the 12 tribesGod's covenantal peoplethe 12 stones on the high priest's breastplate of course represent God's promise to them ( Genesis 28:12-15 ). A fourth group in verse 36 is named in Hebrew as mdanm that is properly identified as Medanites. Your email address will not be published. Response: We read in Genesis 41:45 that Pharaoh gave Joseph Osnat daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. Many of these amplifications have been borrowed by rabbinical tradition. There is much confusion about the word Cush in Scripture the first being that it does not actually refer to Ethiopia at all but instead a region more in the Sudan. This article incorporates text from the 19011906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. Joseph's own remains were reportedly taken by Moses with the Israelites during the Exodus (Exodus 13:19) and later buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:32). Joseph is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 26 July. How many wives did Abraham have? That night, Joseph ordered his steward to load the brothers' donkeys with food and all their money. The Egyptians would not dine with Hebrews at the same table, as doing so was considered loathsome, thus the sons of Israel were served at a separate table (Genesis 43:1644:34). [49] When Jacob learned their story after their return, he wept in grief till he lost his eyesight because of sorrow. So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired. It is described in the Quran as the 'best of stories'. After Jacob's death, Joseph received the Pharaoh's permission to travel with a great caravan to Canaan in order to bury the patriarch. According to the biblical account, Joseph was the son of Jacob by Rachel, the patriarch's favorite wife (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of Joseph's birth, said, "The Lord shall add [Heb. These are the generations of Jacob. JOSEPH. Moreover, Inter. Joseph did very well with Gods help. (Gen. 30:24) He was born in Padan-aram when Jacob was about 90 years old. In the Qur'an a whole chapter (sura xii) is devoted to Joseph; and Islamic commentators add many details to this "best of stories.". Joseph was then summoned. What about the Ethiopian woman that Moses took as a wife in Numbers 12:1? Jacob's other children are between 56 and 63. A. degree from Wheaton College, and the B. D. and Th. Known best for his coat of "many colors" and his God-given ability to interpret dreams, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous half-brothers. Joseph occupies a very important place in Rabbinical literature, and no patriarch was the subject of so many Midrashic traditional narratives. When the Vizier (Joseph) confronted them about the silver cup, he demanded that the one who possessed the cup in his bag become his slave. Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages. Who was the angel of When he returned, the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage. It has also been suggested that there are similarities between the rise to power of Joseph, and Manethos' tale of Osarseph, who was Syrian born, and rose to be Vizier of Egypt, beginning his career under Pharaoh Merenptah and his son Seti II. Yes, the Bible does indicate that Jacob had more than one daughter. Sefer ha-Yashar, section Wayiggash). As we progress through the stories about Jacob and his family, you will notice that his wives are respectfully addressed by name while Bilhah and Zilpah are repeatedly called, the maidservants. Culturally, they were never elevated to the level of either Leah or Rachel and they probably never expected to be. Now Jacob had twelve sons. When Joseph's half-brothers reached home after selling him, Jacob ordered them to arm themselves and capture the beast that had supposedly killed Joseph. And as for Jacob, he never intended to have any other wife but Rachel and only ended up in this polygamous situation because of trickery he chose to be a polygamist because it would seem that a man who was willing to work a grand total of fourteen years for a woman evidently could not imagine living without her. pseudo-Jonathan), protecting her from the lustful eyes of Esau (Gen. R. 78:13). Joseph was 11th of 12 sons of a wealthy nomad Jacob and his second wife Rachel. Joseph or Yosef (Hebrew: , Arabic: , Yusuf; "The Lord increases") is a major figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Joseph is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him as a patriarch on March 31. Bilhah, they replied. What is a forbidden marriage in the Bible? Thank you for your VERY well done teaching. ACTS 7:13-15 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. He brought them closer and relayed to them the events that had happened and told them not to fear, that what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good. 4. The community seems to confuse quite often what is description vs prescription. Simeon in Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature). They stopped at Atad where they observed seven days of mourning. pseudo-Jonathan). 10God saved Joseph from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. | Fact Sheet Index (Genesis 47:2731), Later, Joseph came to visit his father having with him his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. He comforted them and their ties were reconciled. Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 1:26). What Leah knew was that her husband, although she had given him many sons, had no regard for her Jewish tradition even states that Jacob moved to Bilhahs tent after the death of Rachel (I dont think he ever got over that anger from the morning after the wedding). On the third day, he brought them out of prison to reiterate that he wanted their youngest brother brought to Egypt to demonstrate their veracity. Esau. Abraham had one wife, and then only took a concubine when she was still barren at 80; he took a second wife only after the death of his first. In Canaan, Rachel gave birth to Jacob's final son, Benjamin, but, tragically, she died in childbirth. In the Kitb-i-Aqdas, Bah'u'llh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph. Later, Joseph became Potiphar's personal servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent. I think some translators/editors have erred when they separate the two sections. He went into his private room and wept there. 51 Joseph called the name of the first-born Manas'seh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." 52 The name of the second he called E'phraim, "For God has . The twelve sons of Jacob (Israel) from oldest to youngest were as follows. Before he died, he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them, and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the king's dream. As a result, he was envied by his half-brothers. Laws of Hammurabi: [144] If a man take a wife and this woman give her husband a maid-servant, and she bear him children, but this man wishes to take another wife, this shall not be permitted to him; he shall not take a second wife. (obviously would not happen to a wife). To Joseph he declared: Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. To Joseph, he gave a portion more of Canaanite property than he had to his other sons; land that he fought for against the Amorites. [NOTE: Jacob is listed by Stephen individually.] This family, with its sordid history of deceit, jealousy, and . Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God's purpose to save lives and the lives of his family. Our fathers found no food. Why did Jacob go to paddan? (Genesis Rabbah 84:22). Soon, the family took up residence in the town of Bethel and later moved to Hebron. An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and he said; "Take Mary home as your wife.". [28] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). Joseph would have been approximately six years old . "[43] The story has a lot in common with the biblical narrative, but with certain differences. 18:7, 19; 2 Ne. "[40], In addition, some Christian authors have argued that this typological interpretation finds its origin in the speech of Stephen in Acts 7:9-15, as well as the Gospel of Luke and the parables of Jesus, noting strong verbal and conceptual collocation between the Greek translation of the portion of Genesis concerning Joseph and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife, Jacob, before he died, gave his blessing to Josephs two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. 1653. He was Rachel's firstborn and Jacob's eleventh son. This mandate lasted until the days of Moses (Genesis 47:2031). After his phenomenal rise to power, as he is passing through the street one day, his attention is attracted by a beggar woman whose bearing shows traces of former greatness. Joseph would have been approximately six years old when his family returned from Haran to Canaan. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed. Is Polygamy Really Biblical? He forgave them and sent for Jacob and the entire household to come to Egypt. Really Bilhahs and Zilpahs lives would have looked bleak but they would have accepted it as their lot in life in ancient times people firmly believed that their conditions and station in life were pre-determined by the gods and hardly worth complaining about or trying to get out of. The cup-bearer's dream was about a vine with three branches that was budding. Who was the wife of Joseph son of Jacob? Joseph understood what they were saying and removed himself from their presence because he was caught in emotion. | Servants of Grace Apologetics, Mishpatim in Context: Selling your daughter into slavery? According to the Old Testament, Jacob was the younger twin brother of Esau, who was the ancestor of Edom . Both the term "Joseph" and the term "Ephraim" were also frequently used by the biblical writers to refer to the norther tribes generally or to the later northern kingdom, usually called Israel. Judah (left) talking to Tamar (right) (1606-1669), by Rembrandt. He is presently pastor of the Evangelical Church of Archbold, Ohio. Because the Pharaoh had such a high regard for Joseph, practically making him his equal,[23] it had been an honor to meet his father. Could Paul have been saying that the husband and wife need to be one (Hebrew echad) instead of limiting a man to one wife? These years were followed by seven years of famine "over all the face of the earth," when "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain" (Gen. 41:56, 57; 47:13,14). Elkannah had two women but again, one of them was barren so I suspect that Peninah was a concubine. Leah was "Tender Eyed". When Jacob calls his wives to him in Gen thirty-one only Leah and Rachel are named. The first born of this union is still his firstborn even after he marries another woman, loves her, and has children with her. Jacob did not wholly believe that Joseph was dead, because he could not forget him, while the dead are soon forgotten. He could not control himself any longer and so he sent the Egyptian men out of the house. As for kings marriages were largely about political alliances (especially with David who was shoring up support with the various tribes as well as maintaining his connection with Sauls royal line), except for Solomon, who was. The next two instances of dream interpretation establish his reputation as a great interpreter of dreams; first, he begins in a low place, interpreting the dreams of prisoners. Joseph disguised his identity and devised a plot to bring the rest of the family to him: He accused them of being spies and imprisoned them for three days. which references passages that point to Jacob having "daughters" (plural, more than one) such as Genesis 37:34-35. In fact, this is all we learn about her: Genesis 41:45: "Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave . www.simplybible.com Copyright Ron Graham 2001 2018, "the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh", "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, said confidently that the children of Israel would leave Egypt. The genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament traces Jesus' ancestry lineally, from Abraham to David, and then from David to Jesus. Bah' commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God. 13. 14. Who was Jacob's first wife? We think of it differently, because we simply cannot imagine a maidservant being willing or even eager to consent to such an arrangement but when we look at it in terms of the times you will see a poor woman who was a servant, probably sold by her impoverished father to Labans family because he had no money to get her married off not out of coldness but because if he died without seeing her provided for her only options were starvation or prostitution; she was resigned to perhaps never marrying, or if she did it would be to another servant, to give birth to servants. In his father's house, Joseph is the favored son: "Israel (another name for Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his sons since he was a child of his old age" (Genesis 37:3). Finally, after 20 years of marriage, they were blessed with twin boys, Jacob and Esau. 11Then a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, causing great affliction. Jacob was tricked into polygamy (Genesis 29:20-30) and later received two additional wives bringing the grand total of four wives (Genesis 30:4, 9). When they came to Egypt, they stood before the Vizier but did not recognize him as their brother Joseph, who was now in his late 30s; but Joseph did recognize them and did not speak at all to them in his native tongue of Hebrew. After identifying the Hebrew names, Rabbi Judah claims that Joseph was sold four times: First his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Yishma'elm), then the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianite traders (shm midyanm srm), the Midianite traders to the Medanites (mdanm), and the Medanites into Egypt. Jacob's sons, including Joseph, are listed at the end of this page. Joseph's brothers were motivated by fear. In Jewish tradition, Joseph was the progenitor of the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, named for his two sons. Jacob's concubine Bilhah gave birth to Dan . 13When they went the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and Josephs origins were revealed to Pharaoh. (Acts 7:9-13). Paul even specifically said that male leadership within the Body was to be limited to those men who only had one wife (I Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). The Pharaoh is said to have given Joseph, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. People just cherry pick with the descriptions to determine prescriptives without studying out the matter. The story of Joseph or Yusuf as it is told in Arabic literature has the same general outlines as the Biblical narrative; but in the Arabic account there is a wealth of accessory detail and incident. (7-14) Genesis 29:17. The cup-bearer took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. It was during this return to Egypt that Joseph disclosed his real identity to his brothers. Mary and Joseph ended up in Bethlehem where the birth took place. Zilpah bore Jacob his seventh and eighth sons, Gad and Asher. I have questioned this over the years, but didnt understand the cultural context as well as you have laid out. According to Josephus, Reuben tied a cord around Joseph and let him down gently into the pit. In analyzing Genesis Chapter 37, there are five different Hebrew names used to describe five different groups of people involved in the transaction of selling Joseph, according to Rabbi Judah and Rav Huna. whoa whoa whoa personal suite? They may have been: (1) the sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Joseph (the most natural inference); (2) sons of the Mary named in Mark 15:40 as "mother of James and Joses", whom Jerome identified with the wife of Clopas and sister of Mary the mother of Jesus; or (3) sons of Joseph by a former marriage. Judah appealed to the Vizier begging that Benjamin be released and that he be enslaved in his stead, because of the silver cup found in Benjamin's sack. The brothers were frozen and could not utter a word. Israel (Jacob) agreed to his son's invitation to move to Egypt and began the journey to see Joseph. In one Talmudic story, Joseph was buried in the Nile river, as there was some dispute as to which province should be honored by having his tomb within its boundaries. Gad and Asher: On the heels of Rachel's entry into the battle of the babies, Leah decided to give her maid, Zilpah to Jacob ( Genesis 30:9-12 ). yosef] to me another son." He is the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Joseph. Sarah was ninety when Isaac was born and Abraham was 100 years old (21:5). After the (presumed) death of Joseph, we read, "All of his [Jacob's] sons and daughters got up to comfort him . Great article Tyler! Israel. [35] This tendency is represented in John Chrysostom who said that Joseph's suffering was "a type of things to come",[36] Caesarius of Arles who interpreted Joseph's famous coat as representative of the diverse nations who would follow Christ,[37] Ambrose of Milan who interpreted the standing sheaf as prefiguring the resurrection of Christ,[38] and others. These were Jacob's sons who were born to him while he . lol does it come with a jetted jacuzi tub? 34), and a whole chapter Yusuf (sura xii.) For Jacob however, a time came when his parents urged him to leave Canaan . He is presently pastor of the Evangelical Church of Archbold, Ohio. However Jacob gave the greater blessing to the younger Ephraim, Moses, before he died, gave a similar blessing to the house of Joseph, which he called, Jospeh had great faith in God. Jacob's daughters, like too many Bible women, often go unnamed, are mentioned only in passing, or both. Jacob, before he died, blessed each of his sons and two of his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. The story of Joseph's near seduction by his master's wife bears a marked similarity to the Egyptian story of the Tale of Two Brothers, which was popular at the time of Pharaoh Seti II. 21 . His estranged brothers later reunited with him when they came to Egypt to buy grain during a famine, and thus Joseph became the central figure to lead the children of Israel (Jacob) during their course of exile in Egypt. Joseph ordered the steward to go after the brothers and to question them about the "missing" silver cup. As Jacob's name became synonymous with all Israel, so that of Joseph was eventually equated with all the tribes that made up the northern kingdom. Now we get to your verse if he sends her away and she has provided him with children despite the fact that he hates her he cannot treat her sons with contempt when it comes time to give the inheritance. The word until speaks of a change to the first action . Rachel had the perfectly acceptable legal recourse in those days to provide her husband with a surrogate, and according to the laws of the surrounding nations, any child borne by the concubine would be counted as coming from her which is exactly why Rachel, and not Bilhah, named the boys. She told Jacob, "Here is my maid Bilhah. The steward found the cup in Benjamin's sack - just as he had planted it the night before. After Joseph rejected the attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him, she accused him of attempted rape, and he was cast into the state prison (Gen. 39:40), where he became the most trusted inmate and remained for at least two years. The narrative describes his emotional reaction upon seeing Benjamin: "Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. Then the Hebrew phrase shm midyanm srm in verse 28 describes Midianite traders. Then he brought the brothers into the house of Joseph and received them hospitably. arose that night, and took his two wives, his two maidservants1 and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. Modern critics have made various estimates of the historical worth of these narratives of Joseph. Joseph's story is recounted in some detail in the New Testament, during Saint Stephen's speech before the Sandhedrin in Acts 7. When he regained control of himself, he returned and ordered a meal to be served. She was no longer the mother of all of Jacobs children Rachel had a child now and she was the one who was truly regarded, by Jacob, as his wife. The scene is a fitting resolution to Jacob's own drama, in which his father, Isaac, had been old and blind when Jacob himself deceived deceived him in order to obtain his blessing, meant for Esau. Nice going! Joseph predicted seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharaoh to appoint someone to store up surplus grain. Moses, led there by an ancient holy woman named Serach, was able by a miracle to raise the sarcophagus and to take it with him at the time of the Exodus. Legacy. When the brothers claimed to the father that a wolf had eaten Joseph, he observed patience. Even John Calvin, sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico-historical exegesis,[39] writes "in the person of Joseph, a lively image of Christ is presented. In the Elohist version it is Rueben intervenes on Joseph's behalf, while in the Yahwist version it is Judah that saves him. The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: Genesis 29:32-35 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me
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