LESSON 20
Genesis for Today: Chapters 36-37
by Herb Drake
Copyright (c) 1998, 2020, Herb Drake.
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Esau's Descendants
Chapter 36 provides a break in the main thread of the Patriarchal History in Genesis. We need to catch up on Esau because his descendants continue to become factors in the balance of the Old Testament. These are the important points:
- The list of three wives correlate poorly with the two mentioned earlier (26:34 and 28:9), probably because the there was little interest in them by those who transmitted the narrative.
- Esau had left Hittite territory in Canaan and settled in the hill country of Se'ir which and become known as "Edom" (red), which became his name after he sold his birthright to Jacob. (Deuteronomy 2:12 indicates that Esau's descendants displaced the Horites, the early inhabitants of Edom.)
- There is a hint that Esau's sons and grandsons became clan leaders.
- The king list that begins in 36:31 is interesting in that all of these are grandsons, not sons of Esau.
The Story of Joseph
The focus of Genesis is now directed at Joseph. He is treated so sympathetically that one can almost be sure that the blessing of the promise will go though him. He seems to be the ideal model for modern children; we can suppose that he always brushes his teeth before going to bed, tends to his homework with dilligence, never tells a lie, and has unfailing faith in God. Remember, however, that he was the child of favoritism, and the effect that had not only on his own character but also on the character of his brothers.
That Joseph has dreams, and that those dreams contain symbolism that will put him over all his brothers, starts his story. But when he relates those dreams to his brothers, he is showing the naivety of the teenager that he is--even his father rebukes him. His brother's hatred of him also increases when Jacob gives him a special coat (often translated "many colors," but is more likely a coat with sleeves). This coat is the first instance of a prominant "garment" theme that is cleverly woven into the narrative. This special coat can be called "The Garment of Favoritism."
Joseph's prophetic dreams might bear a message for today. Shoule we take our own dreams seriously? There are many books on this subject, and many even keep a journal at their bedside to record their dreams.
Joseph's brothers turn their hatred into action when Jacob, unwisely, sends Joseph on a hazardous journey to report on his brothers, who are pasturing his flock near Shechem. Their plot against Joseph's life is not only based on favoritism, but also because they worry that the dreams may one day be fulfilled.
The plot is formed when the brothers see Joseph approaching and decide to kill him and throw his body into a pit. At this point, many translations get confused in an attempt to include two sources into one. One source, is called Northern because it favors Reuben as the reticent brother. The other source is called Southern because it favors Judah in that role. Both start the same way, and both end up with Joseph in Egypt. Two sources may be clarified as follows:
| Northern | Southern |
|---|---|
| 21: But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands saying "Let us not take his life." 22: And Reuben said to them "Shed no blood; cast him into this pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him--that he might rescue him out of their hand, to restoe him to his father. 23: So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeeves that he wore; 24: and they took him and cast him into a pit. 28a: Then Midianite traders passed by; 29: When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes 30: and returned to his brothers, and said, "the lad is gone; and I, where should I go?" | 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 slay 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." 28b: And they drew Joseph up and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt. |
The brothers put goat's blood on Joseph's robe and present it to Jacob as evidence that their brother died of some mysterious mishap in the wilderness. We are not surprised that Jacob takes this news bitterly, believing that he has lost his favorite son. The news hits him so hard that he doesn't challenge the report at all. It is at this point that Benjamin now becomes the favorite, as Jacob mourns Joseph for many days, refusing to be comforted.
When Joseph arrives in Egypt, he is sold to Potiphar, the captain of the guard and one of Pharaoh's officials.
This is the second time goats have been used to deceive a father. H. E. Fosdick has likened sin to a Trojan horse; attractive on the outside, sin lies within to wreak subsequent destruction.
| Genesis 34-35 | Genesis 38-39 |