Gen. 36-50
Genesis 36:1-43
This chapter is complicated and difficult, the details quite baffling. The t_oÆled_oÆt_ of Isaac (25:19-35:29) has closed, so the book discusses the successions from his sons, following the custom of wrapping up the history of the unchosen line (chap. 36) before going to the chosen (chap. 37; cf. chap. 4 with chap. 5; 10:1-20 with 10:21-31; 21:8-21 with 22:1-18)./*[1]*/
Now this /is/ the genealogy of Esau, who is Edom.
by the time of Moses the Edomites had become so bitter against the Lord that they refused the peaceful overtures of Moses and would not let Israel pass through their territory. ( Numbers 20:14-21)
When Saul became king of Israel he had to fight against Edom ( 1 Sam. 14:47)
By the time of Amaziah the sons of Esau had become devil worshipers, and because Amaziah and his people worshiped the gods of Edom, God directed that they be destroyed. 2 Chron 25:20
Jeremiah prophesied
Jeremiah 49:17-18
17 “Edom also shall be an astonishment;
Everyone who goes by it will be astonished
And will hiss at all its plagues.
18 As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah
And their neighbors,” says the Lord,
“No one shall remain there,
Nor shall a son of man dwell in it.
[2]
These verses give the t_oÆled_oÆt_ *of Esau.* He had three wives: *Adah . . . Oholibamah, *and *Basemath. *Since two of these wives’ names are not the same as those listed earlier (26:34; 28:9), either the others had died or he favored these three among his six or the two took different names.
Oholibamah was a great-grand-daughter of Seir the Horite, whose descendants were living in Edom when Esau went there (36:20, 25). From these three wives *Esau *had five *sons.*
The narrative stresses two elements. First, Esau’s sons *were born* in the land (*Canaan**,* v. 5) before he moved to *Seir* (v. 8). This contrasts sharply with Jacob, whose children were born /out of/ the land, and who then moved /into/ the land. Second, *Esau* was *Edom**.* In fact all through the chapter the reader is reminded of this. Certainly Israel would understand the import of this because she often struggled with the Edomites (cf. Obad.), Esau’s descendants (Gen. 36:43).
The wording in verse 7 is striking. One thinks of Lot: *the land *was not able to bear *both* of *them* because their herds were so *great* (cf. 13:5-6). Esau, like Lot, left for the East and greener land (cf. 13:8-12).[3]
2 Esau took his wives from the daughters of Canaan: Adah the daughter of Elon the Hittite; Aholibamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon the Hivite;3 and Basemath, Ishmael’s daughter, sister of Nebajoth.4 Now Adah bore Eliphaz to Esau, and Basemath bore Reuel.5 And Aholibamah bore Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah. These /were/ the sons of Esau who were born to him in the land of Canaan.6 Then Esau took his wives, his sons, his daughters, and all the persons of his household, his cattle and all his animals, and all his goods which he had gained in the land of Canaan, and went to a country away from the presence of his brother Jacob.7 For their possessions were too great for them to dwell together, and the land where they were strangers could not support them because of their livestock.8 So Esau dwelt in Mount Seir. Esau /is/ Edom.
9 And this /is/ the genealogy of Esau the father of the Edomites in Mount Seir.10 These /were/ the names of Esau’s sons: Eliphaz the son of Adah the wife of Esau, and Reuel the son of Basemath the wife of Esau.11 And the sons of Eliphaz were Teman, Omar, Zepho, Gatam, and Kenaz.12 Now Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz, Esau’s son, and she bore Amalek to Eliphaz. These /were/ the sons of Adah, Esau’s wife.13 These /were/ the sons of Reuel: Nahath, Zerah, Shammah, and Mizzah. These were the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.14 These were the sons of Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon. And she bore to Esau: Jeush, Jaalam, and Korah.
15 These /were/ the chiefs of the sons of Esau. The sons of Eliphaz, the firstborn /son/ of Esau, were Chief Teman, Chief Omar, Chief Zepho, Chief Kenaz,16 Chief Korah, Chief Gatam, /and/ Chief Amalek. These /were/ the chiefs of Eliphaz in the land of Edom. They /were/ the sons of Adah.
17 These /were/ the sons of Reuel, Esau’s son: Chief Nahath, Chief Zerah, Chief Shammah, and Chief Mizzah. These /were/ the chiefs of Reuel in the land of Edom. These /were/ the sons of Basemath, Esau’s wife.
18 And these /were/ the sons of Aholibamah, Esau’s wife: Chief Jeush, Chief Jaalam, and Chief Korah. These /were/ the chiefs /who/ /descended/ from Aholibamah, Esau’s wife, the daughter of Anah.19 These /were/ the sons of Esau, who is Edom, and these /were/ their chiefs.
20 These /were/ the sons of Seir the Horite who inhabited the land: Lotan, Shobal, Zibeon, Anah,21 Dishon, Ezer, and Dishan. These /were/ the chiefs of the Horites, the sons of Seir, in the land of Edom.22 And the sons of Lotan were Hori and Hemam. Lotan’s sister /was/ Timna.23 These /were/ the sons of Shobal: Alvan, Manahath, Ebal, Shepho, and Onam.24 These /were/ the sons of Zibeon: both Ajah and Anah. This /was/ /the/ Anah who found the water in the wilderness as he pastured the donkeys of his father Zibeon.25 These /were/ the children of Anah: Dishon and Aholibamah the daughter of Anah.26 These /were/ the sons of Dishon: Hemdan, Eshban, Ithran, and Cheran.27 These /were/ the sons of Ezer: Bilhan, Zaavan, and Akan.28 These /were/ the sons of Dishan: Uz and Aran.
29 These /were/ the chiefs of the Horites: Chief Lotan, Chief Shobal, Chief Zibeon, Chief Anah,30 Chief Dishon, Chief Ezer, and Chief Dishan. These /were/ the chiefs of the Horites, according to their chiefs in the land of Seir.
31 Now these /were/ the kings who reigned in the land of Edom before any king reigned over the children of Israel:32 Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom, and the name of his city /was/ Dinhabah.33 And when Bela died, Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his place.34 When Jobab died, Husham of the land of the Temanites reigned in his place.35 And when Husham died, Hadad the son of Bedad, who attacked Midian in the field of Moab, reigned in his place. And the name of his city /was/ Avith.36 When Hadad died, Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his place.37 And when Samlah died, Saul of Rehoboth-/by-the-River/ reigned in his place.38 When Saul died, Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his place.39 And when Baal-Hanan the son of Achbor died, Hadar reigned in his place; and the name of his city /was/ Pau. His wife’s name /was/ Mehetabel, the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mezahab.
40 And these /were/ the names of the chiefs of Esau, according to their families and their places, by their names: Chief Timnah, Chief Alvah, Chief Jetheth,41 Chief Aholibamah, Chief Elah, Chief Pinon,42 Chief Kenaz, Chief Teman, Chief Mibzar,43 Chief Magdiel, and Chief Iram. These /were/ the chiefs of Edom, according to their dwelling places in the land of their possession. Esau /was/ the father of the Edomites.
The latter part of chapter 36 (vv. 9-40) also begins with t_oÆled_oÆt_ (*the account*, v. 9; cf. v. 1), though most see this as a minor division within the account that traced what became of *Esau.*
The sons of Esau also had sons. Thus Esau had 5 *sons *and 10 *grandsons* (either literal descendants and~/or tribes founded by them). (Esau had 11 grandsons if *Korah *[v. 16] is included. The Heb. MT lists him here but not in v. 11 or in 1 Chron. 1:36. Perhaps he died soon after becoming a chief. Or perhaps the word Korah in Gen. 36:16 is a scribal error, picked up by dittography from the Korah in v. 14.) In the Hebrew, each of the 10 grandsons and 3 of the sons—13 in all —was called a “chief” (ÕalluÆp_, vv. 15, 17-18), a head of a tribe. A picture of Esau as an overlord was emerging (cf. vv. 40-43).[4]
* *
* *
Genesis 37:1-36*
We begin now a study of one of the most exciting biographies in the Bible, that of Joseph and his brothers. The entire story illustrates the sovereignty of God and God’s providential care of His own. While Joseph had his faults, he still stands out as a spiritual giant in his own family.**[5]**
Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.2 This /is/ the history of Jacob. Joseph, /being/ seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad /was/ with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
After the heading introduces this section as the last t_oÆled_oÆt_, *the account of Jacob, *the story of Joseph begins. *Joseph* is introduced as an obedient *17*-year-old son who *brought* back a *bad report about *his half *brothers *(he did not bring a bad report about his full brother Benjamin). The substance of this report is not given. Though doing this has never been popular, it shows that Joseph was faithful as a servant. Naturally *his brothers . . . hated him* for this.[6]
Since Rachel was Jacob’s favorite wife, and Joseph was her firstborn son (30:22–24), it is easy to see why Jacob favored him in his old age. This kind of partiality in a home is bound to cause trouble. Joseph at seventeen was helping with the sheep, but soon Jacob relieved him of that duty and made him an “overseer” by giving him a “tailored coat.” Jacob wanted to make Joseph a ruler before he had really learned how to be a servant! The result—Joseph’s brothers hated him (v. 4) and envied him (v. 11).
/*[7]*/
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he /was/ the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic 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 peaceably to him.
Jacob should have know how damaging it is to favor one child over another. Look at his own life.
All these Circumstances led to a very troubled household. At least three times in Chapter 37 along, we learn that his brothers hated him, Verse 4,5,8. And once it says that they were jealous of him, Verse 11.
Perhaps the best symbol of this patriarchal favoritism was the coat of many colors which Jacob made for Joseph. What was this piece of Clothing ? the Hebrew text is surprisingly vague, according to the BDB “ tunic reaching to the palms and soles” However the LXX and Targum Jonathan both render this term “Coat of many colors” the only other time this same Hebrew phrase is used in the Tenakh is in
2 Samuel 13:18
18 Now she had on a robe of many colors, for the king’s virgin daughters wore such apparel. And his servant put her out and bolted the door behind her.
[8]
Here is describes a royal garment worn by a virgin daughter of a king.
based on this usage in 2 Sam. And from an archaeological discovery from the painted tombs of Bene Hassein in Egypt. We now know that . apparently , “In the patriarchal age, Semitic Chiefs wore coats of many colors as insignia of rulership” thus,
Joseph had made himself disliked by his brothers for reporting on them, and Jacob in giving him a coat of many colors, marked him for Chieftainship of the tribes at his fathers death.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told /it/ to his brothers; and they hated him even more.6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed:7 “There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.”8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, “Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.”10 So he told /it/ to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, “What /is/ this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?”11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter /in/ /mind/.
The *brothers . . . hated* Joseph *all the more* (37:5, 8) and were *jealous of him,* but Jacob pondered the matter (v. 11). He knew how God works; he was well aware that God could select the younger to rule over the elder, and that God could declare His choice in advance by an oracle or a dream.[9]
The scene of the first *dream* was agricultural (v. 7). There may be some hint here of the manner in which Joseph’s authority over his brothers would be achieved (cf. 42:1-3). His *sheaf* of *grain* was *upright while *their* sheaves . . . bowed down to* his. The scene of the second *dream *was celestial (v. 9). *The sun, the moon, and 11 stars *bowed *down to* him. In ancient cultures these astronomical symbols represented rulers. The *dream*, then, symbolically anticipated the elevation of Joseph over the whole house of Jacob (Joseph’s *father,* the sun; his *mother, *the moon; his 11 *brothers, *the stars, v. 10).[10]
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem.13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding /the/ /flock/ in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”14 Then he said to him, “Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?”16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding /their/ /flocks/.”17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
The occasion for selling *Joseph *came when he obediently went to his brothers *near Dothan *(v. 17) to inquire about their welfare. In spite of the hatred *Joseph* knew they held for him, he complied with his father’s wishes. From Jacob’s home in *the Valley of Hebron* (v. 14) north to *Shechem* (v. 12) was about 50 miles, and Dothan was another 15 miles north. One may wonder if they had taken their flocks to *Dothan** *with the hidden agenda of checking out the land of Shechem, whose ruler had raped their sister Dinah (chap. 34).[11]
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him.19 Then they said to one another, “Look, this dreamer is coming!20 “Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!”21 But Reuben heard /it,/ and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.”22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood, /but/ cast him into this pit which /is/ in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him”—that he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father.
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph /of/ his tunic, the tunic of /many/ colors that /was/ on him.24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit /was/ empty; /there/ /was/ no water in it.25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry /them/ down to Egypt.26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit /is/ /there/ if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?27 “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he /is/ our brother /and/ our flesh.” And his brothers listened.28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so /the/ /brothers/ pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty /shekels/ of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
*Judah* then prompted his brothers to *sell* Joseph to passing *Ishmaelites* on their way* from Gilead . . . to Egypt.* Ishmaelites were descendants of Abraham by Hagar (16:15) and the Midianites (37:28) descended from Abraham by his concubine Keturah (25:2). The term *Ishmaelites* became a general designation for desert tribes, so that *Midianite* traders were also known as Ishmaelites. *Joseph *was treated harshly by his brothers; but being sold for *20 shekels* (8 ounces *of silver*) and taken *to Egypt,* he was preserved alive.[12]
29 Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph /was/ not in the pit; and he tore his clothes.30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad /is/ no /more;/ and I, where shall I go?”31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood.32 Then they sent the tunic of /many/ colors, and they brought /it/ to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it /is/ your son’s tunic or not?”33 And he recognized it and said, “/It/ /is/ my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.”34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him.36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh /and/ captain of the guard.
Genesis 38:1-30
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name /was/ Hirah.2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name /was/ Shua, and he married her and went in to her.3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name /was/ Tamar.7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.
*Judah,* who had suggested that the brothers sell Joseph to the Ishmaelites (37:26-27), then *left* and stayed in *Adullum *(about 15 miles northwest of Hebron) and *married *a *Canaanite *woman. They had three sons, *Er . . . Onan, *and *Shelah.* This marriage to a Canaanite almost ruined Judah’s family. Intermarriage with the Canaanites had been avoided earlier (chap. 34), but not here. This account of assimilation with the people of the land helps one understand why God settled His young nation in the safety of Egypt for its growth.[13]
ONAN (oh' nan) Personal name meaning, "power." A son of Judah and his Canaanite wife, Shuah (Gen. 38:2-8). Following the death of his older brother, Er, Onan was to have married the widow and produced a son who would carry on Er's name. Onan repeatedly failed to complete the responsibilities of the marriage and thus God killed him (38:8-10). (See Levirate Law; Marriage).
SHELAH (shee' luh) Personal name meaning, "please" or "be still, rest." Son of Judah and original ancestor of clan in tribe of Judah (Gen. 46:12; Num. 26:20; 1 Chron. 2:3; 4:21). At times Shelah is the transliteration for the Hebrew name otherwise transliterated Salah. See Salah.
8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother.10 And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered /herself/ with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which /was/ on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.15 When Judah saw her, he thought she /was/ a harlot, because she had covered her face.16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she /was/ his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”17 And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give /me/ a pledge till you send /it/?”18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that /is/ in your hand.” Then he gave /them/ to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
Thus the family’s future was placed in jeopardy. *Tamar* felt she would have to take matters into her own hands if she were to be granted the rights of the levirate custom. This system was later codified by Moses for the sake of preserving the name of the deceased (Deut. 25:5-10).
[14]
20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive /his/ pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her.21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who /was/ openly by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this /place/.”22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this /place/.”23 Then Judah said, “Let her take /them/ for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she /is/ with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”25 When she /was/ brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I /am/ with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these /are/—the signet and cord, and staff.”26 So Judah acknowledged /them/ and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.
*Judah* lacked integrity (v. 16), and now he was seen to be a hypocrite. When *Tamar* was reported to be *three* months* pregnant,* he condemned her *to death* as a prostitute. Then she proved by the *seal . . . cord, and staff* that he was the guilty partner. Tamar had won the right to be the mother of Judah’s children, though in a deceitful way. Her action was desperate and risky.[15]
27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins /were/ in her womb.28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that /the/ /one/ put out /his/ hand; and the midwife took a scarlet /thread/ and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? /This/ breach /be/ upon you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet /thread/ on his hand. And his name was called Zerah.
PEREZ (Pee rehz) Personal name meaning, "breach." One of the twins born to the illicit affair between Judah and his daughter-in-law, Tamar (Gen. 38). After she was widowed and her brother-in-law, Onan, refused to fulfill his duties in levirate marriage (designed to carry on the name of the deceased through a son), she tricked her father-in-law, Judah, into an affair (vv. 13-30).
ZERAH (Zee' ruh) Personal name meaning, "sunrise." 1. A twin born to Tamar and her father-in-law, Judah (Gen. 38:30, Zarah KJV). One of his descendants was Achan, who was executed for taking forbidden booty (Josh. 7:1,25). Zerah is included in Matthew's genealogy of Christ, although Perez was the direct ancestor (1:3).
Genesis 39:1-23
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. And Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.
POTIPHAR (Paht' ih fahr) Personal name meaning, "belonging to the sun." Egyptian captain of the guard who purchased Joseph from the Midianite traders (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). He saw great potential in Joseph's abilities and appointed him as steward over his household. Potiphar's wife tried to seduce Joseph, but he refused her advances. Because of this rejection, she told her husband that Joseph tried to rape her. Potiphar had Joseph thrown in prison.
Potiphar is described in Chapter 37:36 and 39:1 as a "Courtier of Pharaoh" the Hebrew for Courtier is Saris, in later biblical Hebrew this word usually means "Eunuch"
2 The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.3 And his master saw that the Lord /was/ with him and that the Lord made all he did to prosper in his hand.4 So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all /that/ he had he put under his authority.5 So it was, from the time /that/ he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had in the house and in the field.6 Thus he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.
Joseph was a trusted man, are you trusted, how does you employer see you, as a trusted employ or someone to keep his back on.. are you a Joseph ?
beautiful in his countenance. The same expressions are used relative to Rachel; see them explained Genesis 29:17. The beauty of Joseph is celebrated over all the East, and the Persian poets vie with each other in descriptions of his comeliness.
7 And it came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, “Lie with me.”8 But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Look, my master does not know what /is/ with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.9 “/There/ /is/ no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you /are/ his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness,* and sin against God*?”10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her /or/ to be with her.
His refusal was strengthened because he was convinced that God had called him to a special task—he had seen evidence of that in his rise from slavery. If one is to fulfill God’s plan, he cannot sin against the God who will bring it about.
( lady that want me to paint her house but really wanted more )
11 But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house /was/ inside,12 that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside.13 And so it was, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and fled outside,14 that she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, “See, he has brought in to us a Hebrew to mock us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.15 “And it happened, when he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me, and fled and went outside.”16 So she kept his garment with her until his master came home.17 Then she spoke to him with words like these, saying, “The Hebrew servant whom you brought to us came in to me to mock me;18 “so it happened, as I lifted my voice and cried out, that he left his garment with me and fled outside.”
19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.20 Then Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners /were/ confined. And he was there in the prison.
This was the second time Joseph’s clothing was used to bring a false report about him (cf. 37:31-33). In both cases he had been serving faithfully. But in both cases Joseph ended up in bondage.
*/Put him into the prison/*—literally the round house; in such a form the prison was probably built.
Joseph was put in prison rather than punished in the unusual way, by death; perhaps Potiphar was aware of his wife's roving eyes and not at all sure of Joseph's guilty.
21 But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and He gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners who /were/ in the prison; whatever they did there, it was his doing.23 The keeper of the prison did not look into anything /that/ /was/ under /Joseph/’s authority, because the Lord was with him; and whatever he did, the Lord made /it/ prosper.
*39:20b-23.* *Joseph* prospered in *prison *by God’s favor. As a result, the jailer *put Joseph in charge of *the *prison.* Joseph had prospered under God in Potiphar’s house and was put in charge, and here again he prospered under God and was put in charge. Four times, this chapter affirms, *the Lord was with Joseph *(vv. 2-3, 21, 23).
This chapter shows that Joseph was a faithful servant of God. With the dreams of prosperity in his memory (37:6-7, 9) he remained loyal to God rather than yield to temptation at the first glimpse of his rise to power. Wise rulers recognize that allegiance to God is the first requirement of an ideal king. Israel too would learn that she should remain faithful to the Lord in spite of the consequences, which included the suffering of the righteous.
This story is similar to the advice given frequently in Proverbs by King Solomon. It is folly to yield to the temptations of a flattering woman or man and ruin all prospects of a life of service to God. The way of wisdom is to consider the cost of sin. Joseph did not yield to temptation because he was convinced God had something marvelous for him to do. Joseph would not throw away God’s blessings for the pleasures of sin. Nor was he troubled because he suffered for his faithfulness. God would ultimately honor him as He had promised.
It is but of little consequence where the lot of a servant of God may be cast; like Joseph he is ever employed for his master, and God honors him and prospers his work.
1. HE who acknowledges God in all his ways, has the promise that God shall direct all his steps. Joseph’s captivity shall promote God’s glory; and to this end God works in him, for him, by him. Even the irreligious can see when the Most High distinguishes his followers. Joseph’s master saw
that Jehovah was with him; and from this we may learn that the knowledge of the true God was in Egypt, even before the time of Joseph, though his worship was neither established nor even tolerated there. Both Abraham and Isaac had been in Egypt, and they had left a savor of true godliness behind them.
2. Joseph’s virtue in resisting the solicitations of his mistress was truly exemplary. Had he reasoned after the manner of men, he might have soon found that the proposed intrigue might be carried on with the utmost secrecy and greatly to his secular advantage. But he chose to risk all rather than injure a kind benefactor, defile his conscience, and sin against God. Such conduct is so exceedingly rare that his example has stood on the records of time as almost without a parallel, admired by all, applauded by most, and in similar circumstances, I am afraid, imitated by few.
3. Joseph fled and got him out. To know when to fight and when to fly are of great importance in the Christian life. Some temptations must be manfully met, resisted, and thus overcome; from others we must fly. He who stands to contend or reason, especially in such a case as that mentioned here, is infallibly ruined. Principiis obsta, “resist the first overtures of sin,” is a good maxim. After-remedies come too late.
4. A woman of the spirit of Potiphar’s wife is capable of any species of evil. When she could not get her wicked ends answered, she began to accuse. This is precisely Satan’s custom: he first tempts men to sin, and then accuses them as having committed it, even where the temptation has been faithfully and perseveringly resisted! By this means he can trouble a tender conscience, and weaken faith by bringing confusion into the mind. Thus the inexperienced especially are often distracted and cast down; hence Satan is properly called the accuser of the brethren, Revelation 12:10.
Very useful lessons may be drawn from every part of the relation in this chapter, but detailing the facts and reasoning upon them would be more likely to produce than prevent the evil. An account of this kind cannot be touched with too gentle a hand. Others have been profuse here; I chose to be parsimonious, for reasons which the intelligent reader will feel as well as
myself. Let this remark be applied to what has been said on the sin of Onan, chap. 38.[16]
Genesis 40:1-23
That Joseph did not lose faith in God’s promise is proved by his willingness to interpret dreams. He was still convinced that God’s revelation in his two previous dreams (37:5-7, 9) would be fulfilled.
It came to pass after these things /that/ the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt offended their lord, the king of Egypt.2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief butler and the chief baker.3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph /was/ confined.4 And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them; so they were in custody for a while.
Cup bearer, - Nehimah - a trusted position, there was trust as an advisor.
A cupbearer was much more than our modern “butler” (see Gen. 40). It was a position of great responsibility and privilege. At each meal, he tested the king’s wine to make sure it wasn’t poisoned. A man who stood that close to the king in public had to be handsome, cultured, knowledgeable in court procedures, and able to converse with the king and advise him if asked (see 41:1–13). Because he had access to the king, the cupbearer was a man of great influence, which he could use for good or for evil.[17]
The wine and food tester. He served as the screen between the public and the King. It was a position of Intimacy and trust.
Baker - Egypt was renowned grommets and knew 578 varieties of bread and 38 different kinds of cakes.
*/Had offended/*— They had probably been accused of attempting to take away the king’s life, one by poisoning his drink, the other by poisoning his bread or confectioneries.
5 Then the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who /were/ confined in the prison, had a dream, both of them, each man’s dream in one night /and/ each man’s dream with its /own/ interpretation.6 And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and saw that they /were/ sad.7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who /were/ with him in the custody of his lord’s house, saying, “Why do you look /so/ sad today?”8 And they said to him, “We each have had a dream, and /there/ /is/ no interpreter of it.” So Joseph said to them, “Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell /them/ to me, please.”
9 Then the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, “Behold, in my dream a vine /was/ before me,10 “and in the vine /were/ three branches; it /was/ as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes.11 “Then Pharaoh’s cup /was/ in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.”12 And Joseph said to him, “This /is/ the interpretation of it: The three branches /are/ three days.13 “Now within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup in his hand according to the former manner, when you were his butler.14 “But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.15 “For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon.”
16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, “I also /was/ in my dream, and there /were/ three white baskets on my head.17 “In the uppermost basket /were/ all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head.”18 So Joseph answered and said, “This /is/ the interpretation of it: The three baskets /are/ three days.19 “Within three days Pharaoh will lift off your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from you.”
20 Now it came to pass on the third day, /which/ /was/ Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.21 Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.23 Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.
The *cupbearer . . . forgot him, *but God did not. In this hope Joseph had a persistent faith. His faith was not destroyed by his circumstances.
Joseph kept his focus on GOD, he is in control of my life, and he could have become bitter, but he became better for it. Trails , unfair if they be, can make us bitter of better.
------------------------------------------
As I studied this passage last week, I was reminded of Corrie Ten Boom's wonderful book The Hiding Place. Corrie Ten Boom was imprisoned by the Nazis during the Second World War for her work in helping Jews escape the hands of the Gestapo. Her darkest days were spent in Ravensbruck prison. Here is what she wrote in her book describing her situation:
Barracks 8 was in the quarantine compound. Next to us--perhaps as a deliberate warning to newcomers--were located the punishment barracks. From there, all day long and often into the night, came the sounds of hell itself. They were not the sounds of anger, or of any human emotion, but a cruelty altogether detached: blows landing in regular rhythm, screams keeping pace. We would stand in our ten-deep ranks, with our hands trembling at our sides, longing to jam them against our ears to make the sounds stop. The instant of dismissal, we would mob the doors of Barracks 8, stepping on each others' heels in our eagerness to get inside, to shrink the world back to understandable proportions. It grew harder and harder. Even within these four walls there was too much misery, too much seemingly pointless suffering. Every day something else failed to make sense; something else grew too heavy. "Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?"
Unjust suffering, loneliness, despair, anguish. Is that your spiritual calling? Are you a cold war warrior? Are you trusting the Lord amidst the trials? I am reminded of the prayer requests printed every week in our church bulletin. Will you carry these too, Lord Jesus? Here is one that says, "I ask for prayer for my son Paul and his wife, separated after only four years of marriage." Here is another: "After 15 years of marriage, my wife suddenly decided to divorce me. My 14-year-old son lives with me. Please pray she will find it in her heart to forgive the past and start afresh." Another requests prayer for a communication problem between a husband and wife of 40 years ."He will not talk to her," it says. Prayer is also requested for a woman with cancer. She recently lost her baby through sudden infant death syndrome. Will you carry these too, Lord Jesus?
In light of these situations, Joseph's being unjustly imprisoned and forgotten, Corrie Ten Boom's anguish and fear in a Nazi prison, and our own people who are suffering the trials described in our prayer sheet, I believe there are three categories of pain highlighted by Joseph's story which we would do well to look at. The first is rejection. Have you ever faced rejection by someone you love? Have you been denied and frozen out by people you care about? Joseph's brothers abandoned him. As we have just heard, there are some in our own congregation whose marriages are tragically short on communication. Parents have been rejected by their children; they want nothing to do with their value system. The pain of rejection is passed down through the generations. Joseph was cut off from the people he loved and sent away to slavery in Egypt.
Another circumstance which caused Joseph to suffer was that he was used by others. It seems the world is filled with people who use others. For the handful of givers around, there seems to be a mob of users ready to exploit them. You find them in the work-place, ready to take advantage of those who are willing to give their all. There also seems to be a mere handful of nurturers--those who raise children, volunteer for Sunday School classes, etc.--but a whole group of others ready to take advantage of them. Joseph was used by Potiphar to make money for him; and he was the target of Potiphar's wife, who wanted to use him sexually. Later Joseph was used again by Potiphar. He threw him into prison in order to placate his wife, although the Egyptian very likely knew that Joseph's account of what had occurred was trustworthy. But a slave has no rights, so he was used once again.
Have you ever been taken advantage of? Perhaps it was in a romantic situation, or at work? Are you a compassionate person who has been used by uncaring people? It's such a painful thing to suddenly discover that the person you were helping has no interest in you whatever. You've been used; you've been had.Joseph had ample time in prison to remember his rejection by his brothers and his being used by the family who purchased him.
Thirdly, Joseph suffered because he was a forgotten man. That may be the most painful circumstance of all. Joseph befriended his fellow-prisoner, offered him a word of hope from the God of hope, and yet that was all forgotten. How many men and women languish in prisons today, forgotten people? No one visits them or writes to them; no one cares for them or remembers them. They are the offscourings of the earth; forgotten and abandoned. At a luncheon in church recently for seniors who need special care--those who need walkers or wheelchairs--I was struck by how very limited these people are. These people have very little access to normal, everyday communication with the world. Some are forgotten and abandoned by the world. With the exception of a quarterly luncheon like the one we had last week, very little attention is paid to people like these. They are forgotten. That was Joseph's experience in the prison in Egypt. "Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?" Believers who have been rejected, used and forgotten often ask Corrie Ten Boom's question: "Will you carry this too, Lord Jesus?"
Here is what she wrote after she asked that question of God:
But as the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear. And that was the reason the two of us [she and her sister] were here. Why others should suffer we were not shown. As for us, from morning until lights-out, whenever we were not in ranks for roll call, our Bible was at the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its light and warmth. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God. "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." I would look about as Betsie read, watching the light leap from face to face. More than conquerors... It was not a wish. It was fact. We knew it... We were more than conquerors. Not "we shall be." We are! Life in Ravensbruck took place on two separate levels, mutually impossible. One, the observable, external life grew every day more horrible. The other, the life we lived with God, grew daily better, truth upon truth, glory upon glory.
What a remarkable story! Joseph, too, could tell of the richness of the presence of God. It is the testimony of men and women of every generation who have been called to fight a cold war. There is no place, however remote or frightening, that He does not accompany us. He will supply what we need, no matter where we find ourselves.
Genesis 41:1-57
Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh had a dream; and behold, he stood by the river.2 Suddenly there came up out of the river seven cows, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.3 Then behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ugly and gaunt, and stood by the /other/ cows on the bank of the river.4 And the ugly and gaunt cows ate up the seven fine looking and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.
5 He slept and dreamed a second time; and suddenly seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, plump and good.6 Then behold, seven thin heads, blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.7 And the seven thin heads devoured the seven plump and full heads. So Pharaoh awoke, and indeed, /it/ /was/ a dream.8 Now it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but /there/ /was/ no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.
*The magicians* belonged to a guild expert in handling the ritual books of magic and priestcraft. However, they could not *interpret *Pharaoh’s *dreams.* A later guild of wise men in Babylon also would be unable to interpret a king’s dream, and God would use another Hebrew slave, Daniel, to show that no matter how powerful a nation might be, it is still not beyond God’s sovereign control (Dan. 2).
*/Wise men/*—the persons who, according to
Porphyry, “addicted themselves to the worship of God and the study of wisdom, passing their whole life in the contemplation of Divine things. Contemplation of the stars, self-purification, arithmetic, and geometry, and singing hymns in honor of their gods, was their continual employment.”
9 Then the chief butler spoke to Pharaoh, saying: “I remember my faults this day.10 “When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, /both/ me and the chief baker,11 “we each had a dream in one night, he and I. Each of us dreamed according to the interpretation of his /own/ dream.12 “Now there /was/ a young Hebrew man with us there, a servant of the captain of the guard. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams for us; to each man he interpreted according to his /own/ dream.13 “And it came to pass, just as he interpreted for us, so it happened. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”
Notice he uses FAULTS plural, there is two faults,
1- I did not deal kindly with Joseph and mention him to thee, the other, that I was thee troubled about the interpretation of the dream, yet did not reveal to thee that he know its interpretation.
2- Indeed by the silence, the cup bearer was being unfaithful to his promise to Joseph and , at the same time , he was causing his king unnecessary Grief, it was his guilt which caused him to finally break that silence.
1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us /our /sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (NKJV)
the Greek translates Confess as "To speak the same thing about our sin ( as God does ) .
what does God think of our sins, he says that He hates sin, sin hinders our relationship with Him and son only works death and not life.
14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.15 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have had a dream, and /there/ /is/ no one who can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you /that/ you can understand a dream, to interpret it.”16 So Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “/It/ /is/ not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”
the verb 'to shave' is used it often refers to cutting either the hair on the head or on the face, in this case, apparently both Joseph's head and face were shaved because Egyptian men usually shaved both areas for Hygienic reasons.
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph: “Behold, in my dream I stood on the bank of the river.18 “Suddenly seven cows came up out of the river, fine looking and fat; and they fed in the meadow.19 “Then behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ugly and gaunt, such ugliness as I have never seen in all the land of Egypt.20 “And the gaunt and ugly cows ate up the first seven, the fat cows.21 “When they had eaten them up, no one would have known that they had eaten them, for they /were/ just as ugly as at the beginning. So I awoke.22 “Also I saw in my dream, and suddenly seven heads came up on one stalk, full and good.23 “Then behold, seven heads, withered, thin, /and/ blighted by the east wind, sprang up after them.24 “And the thin heads devoured the seven good heads. So I told /this/ to the magicians, but /there/ /was/ no one who could explain /it/ to me.”
25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh /are/ one; God has shown Pharaoh what He /is/ about to do:26 “The seven good cows /are/ seven years, and the seven good heads /are/ seven years; the dreams /are/ one.27 “And the seven thin and ugly cows which came up after them /are/ seven years, and the seven empty heads blighted by the east wind are seven years of famine.28 “This /is/ the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what He /is/ about to do.29 “Indeed seven years of great plenty will come throughout all the land of Egypt;30 “but after them seven years of famine will arise, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will deplete the land.31 “So the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it /will/ /be/ very severe.32 “And the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice because the thing /is/ established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
33 “Now therefore, let Pharaoh select a discerning and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.34 “Let Pharaoh do /this,/ and let him appoint officers over the land, to collect one-fifth /of/ /the/ /produce/ of the land of Egypt in the seven plentiful years.35 “And let them gather all the food of those good years that are coming, and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities.36 “Then that food shall be as a reserve for the land for the seven years of famine which shall be in the land of Egypt, that the land may not perish during the famine.”
Wisdom literature teaches that wisely planning ahead is a basic principle of practical living.
37 So the advice was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find /such/ /a/ /one/ as this, a man in whom /is/ the Spirit of God?”39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, /there/ /is/ no one as discerning and wise as you.40 “You shall be over my house, and all my people shall be ruled according to your word; only in regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”42 Then Pharaoh took his signet ring off his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand; and he clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.43 And he had him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried out before him, “Bow the knee!” So he set him over all the land of Egypt.44 Pharaoh also said to Joseph, “I /am/ Pharaoh, and without your consent no man may lift his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”
45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphnath-Paaneah. And he gave him as a wife Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On. So Joseph went out over /all/ the land of Egypt.
*Asenath,* from the priestly family *of On *(a city which was a center of sun worship seven miles north of Cairo and also known as Heliopolis). He also gave Joseph an Egyptian name, *Zaphenath-Paneah* (the meaning of which is unknown).* Joseph was 30* at the time of his installment, 13 years after he was sold by his brothers (cf. 37:2). Joseph’s position gave him opportunity to travel extensively across *Egypt**.* (Ps. 105:16-22 speaks of Joseph’s imprisonment, release, and rise to power.)
46 Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.47 Now in the seven plentiful years the ground brought forth abundantly.48 So he gathered up all the food of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them.49 Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for /it/ /was/ immeasurable.
50 And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: “For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father’s house.”52 And the name of the second he called Ephraim: “For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.”
*Verse 46. **/Joseph was thirty years old/*— As he was seventeen years old when he was sold into Egypt, Genesis 37:2, and was now thirty, he must have been thirteen years in slavery.
In spite of his success, he did not abandon his Israelite heritage. He gave his two sons characteristically Hebrew names. *Manasseh *(*forget*) signified that *God *had *made* him forget the misery of his separation from his family. *Ephraim *(*fruitful*) signified that *God* had *made *him fruitful *in the land of Egypt.*
53 Then the seven years of plenty which were in the land of Egypt ended,54 and the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said. The famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.55 So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Then Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do.”56 The famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians. And the famine became severe in the land of Egypt.57 So all countries came to Joseph in Egypt to buy /grain,/ because the famine was severe in all lands.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Why do you think Joseph had to spend thirteen years as a slave and later a prisoner? We are not always given insight into the reasons behind our suffering, but we sometimes are. We can make a stab at what was happening in Joseph's life during those years. The Lord knew that his people must leave Canaan because of the seductiveness of Canaanite religion and culture. In order to become a nation, his chosen needed to spend time among the Egyptians, a people who would not integrate with them. God also knew that the world needed to be protected from the coming famine, and so he sent Joseph on a 13-year humility lesson. At 17, Joseph was so impressed with himself that he could not possibly have handled being elevated to the second highest position in the land. He could not for a moment have handled the power and the glory that would be his the moment Pharaoh chose him to become his right-hand man. Joseph needed some correction before he could be entrusted with so much. In prison he learned that no matter how talented he was, that was no guarantee for success in life; that whatever he had that was worthwhile was given him by gift of God. He learned to trust God in the hard, dark, frightening days he spent in prison. That was where he learned maturity. In prison he discovered how to handle the prominence and power that would one day be his.
It is worth noting that Scripture is silent on any act of vengeance by Joseph on those who had mistreated him. When he finally came face to face with his brothers, he treated them severely but lovingly. As second-in-command of all of Egypt, of course, he could have dealt with them harshly. There is no record that he repaid Potiphar and his wife in kind for what they had done to him. He did not throw them down from their positions. There is no record that he repaid the cupbearer for his forgetfulness and ingratitude. There is not a word of Joseph's repaying others for their misdeeds. That is because Joseph saw the hand of God at work in his life all during the cold war he was called upon to partake in. Through suffering, he became competent to handle the great responsibilities that would later be his.
The apostle Peter writes, "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him because He cares for you." God knows exactly when we are ready to be used by him. We assume too much of ourselves; that we can withstand more than we can; that we are ready to make hard choices when we are yet unprepared. Let us humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God so that in the proper time he may give us the position we now long to have.
Genesis 42:1-38
When Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?”2 And he said, “Indeed I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down to that place and buy for us there, that we may live and not die.”3 So Joseph’s ten brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt.4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “Lest some calamity befall him.”5 And the sons of Israel went to buy /grain/ among those who journeyed, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.
6 Now Joseph /was/ governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and bowed down before him with /their/ faces to the earth.7 Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but he acted as a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them. Then he said to them, “Where do you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan to buy food.”8 So Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.9 Then Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed about them, and said to them, “You /are/ spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!”
*Verse 9. **/Ye are spies/*— µta µylgrm meraggelim attem, ye are footmen,
trampers about, footpads, vagabonds, lying in wait for the property of others; persons who, under the pretense of wishing to buy corn, desire only to find out whether the land be so defenseless that the tribes to which ye belong (see Genesis 42:11) may attack it successfully, drive out the inhabitants, and settle in it themselves; or, having plundered it, retire to their deserts. This is a frequent custom among the Arabs to the present day. Thus Joseph spake roughly to them merely to cover that warmth of affection which he felt towards them; and that being thus brought, apparently, into straits and dangerous circumstances, their consciences might be awakened to reflect on and abhor their own wickedness.
10 And they said to him, “No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food.11 “We /are/ all one man’s sons; we /are/ honest /men;/ your servants are not spies.”12 But he said to them, “No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land.”13 And they said, “Your servants /are/ twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and in fact, the youngest /is/ with our father today, and one /is/ no more.”14 But Joseph said to them, “It /is/ as I spoke to you, saying, ‘You /are/ spies!’15 “In this /manner/ you shall be tested: By the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here.16 “Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be tested to see whether /there/ /is/ any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you /are/ spies!”17 So he put them all together in prison three days.
*Verse 11. **/We are all one man/*’*/s sons/*— We do not belong to different tribes, and it is not likely that one family would make a hostile attempt upon a whole kingdom. This seems to be the very ground that Joseph took, viz., that they were persons belonging to different tribes. Against this particularly they set up their defense, asserting that they all belonged to one family; and it is on the proof of this that Joseph puts them, Genesis 42:15, in obliging them to leave one as a hostage, and insisting on their bringing their remaining brother; so that he took exactly the same precautions to detect them as if he had had no acquaintance with them, and had every reason to be suspicious.
18 Then Joseph said to them the third day, “Do this and live, /for/ I fear God:19 “If you /are/ honest /men,/ let one of your brothers be confined to your prison house; but you, go and carry grain for the famine of your houses.20 “And bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so.21 Then they said to one another, “We /are/ truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us.”22 And Reuben answered them, saying, “Did I not speak to you, saying, ‘Do not sin against the boy’; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us.”23 But they did not know that Joseph understood /them,/ for he spoke to them through an interpreter.24 And he turned himself away from them and wept. Then he returned to them again, and talked with them. And he took Simeon from them and bound him before their eyes.
*Verse 18. **/I fear God/*— ary yna µyhlah ta eth haelohim ani yare,
literally translated the passage runs thus, I also fear the gods; but the emphatic h ha is probably added by Joseph, both here and in his
conversation with Pharaoh, the more particularly to point out the eminence and perfection of the Supreme Being as contradistinguished from the gods of Egypt. He seems to say to his brethren, I am a worshipper of the true God, and ye have nothing to fear.
Joseph has no interest in taking revenge on his brothers for their past misdeeds. He longs, in fact, for evidence of change in their lives. Repentance and restoration, not revenge, were what he sought. As he overhears their recriminations about their treatment of him, he realizes that some of them, at least, are sorry for what they did to him. This brings a gush of tears to his eyes.
At this point it seems there is no need for further examination of the brothers' reason for coming to Egypt. Joseph has overheard their conversation. We could well ask, therefore, why not skip ahead to chapter 45 and read about their joyful reunion, when Joseph at last reveals his true identity to his brothers? Why does Joseph insist on a further examination of their motives? There is a very good reason for it, as we will see. Repentance is more than mere words. If life-giving renewal and restoration do not follow, then there was no true repentance to begin with. That is why Joseph determines to test his brothers: to see if they had indeed truly repented for their past actions.
Joseph begins by telling them that he fears the God of Abraham. That should have tipped them off that something more significant than they imagined was going on. Then he expresses an interest in their youngest brother who had remained at home. That probably made them wonder afresh why the sons of Rachel were so talked about. Joseph then orders that the money which they had paid for the grain be put in their sacks, thereby placing them in a quandary when they discover that later. Simeon, the most hardened of the brothers, was then bound and separated from his brothers. He would be kept behind.
*Verse 24. **/Took/*-*/Simeon and bound him before their eyes/*.— This was retaliation, if, as the rabbins suppose, it was Simeon who bound Joseph, and put him into the pit. A recollection of this circumstance must exceedingly deepen the sense he had of his guilt.
25 Then Joseph gave a command to fill their sacks with grain, to restore every man’s money to his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey. Thus he did for them.26 So they loaded their donkeys with the grain and departed from there.27 But as one /of/ /them/ opened his sack to give his donkey feed at the encampment, he saw his money; and there it was, in the mouth of his sack.28 So he said to his brothers, “My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!” Then their hearts failed /them/ and they were afraid, saying to one another, “What /is/ this /that/ God has done to us?”
*/In the inn/*— wlmb bammalon, from l lan, to lodge, stay, remain, etc. The
place at which they stopped to bait or rest themselves and their asses. Our word inn gives us a false idea here; there were no such places of entertainment at that time in the desert over which they had to pass, nor are there any to the present day. Travelers generally endeavor to reach a well, where they fill their girbahs, or leathern bottles, with fresh water, and having clogged their camels, asses, etc., permit them to crop any little verdure there may be in the place, keeping watch over them by turns. This is all we are to understand by the malon or inn in the text, for even caravansaries were not then in use, which are generally no more than four walls perfectly exposed, the place being open at the top.
29 Then they went to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying:30 “The man /who/ /is/ lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country.31 “But we said to him, ‘We /are/ honest /men;/ we are not spies.32 ‘We /are/ twelve brothers, sons of our father; one /is/ no /more,/ and the youngest /is/ with our father this day in the land of Canaan.’33 “Then the man, the lord of the country, said to us, ‘By this I will know that you /are/ honest /men:/ Leave one of your brothers /here/ with me, take /food/ /for/ the famine of your households, and be gone.34 ‘And bring your youngest brother to me; so I shall know that you /are/ not spies, but /that/ you /are/ honest /men/. I will grant your brother to you, and you may trade in the land.’ ”
35 Then it happened as they emptied their sacks, that surprisingly each man’s bundle of money /was/ in his sack; and when they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.36 And Jacob their father said to them, “You have bereaved me: Joseph is no /more,/ Simeon is no /more,/ and you want to take Benjamin. All these things are against me.”37 Then Reuben spoke to his father, saying, “Kill my two sons if I do not bring him /back/ to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.”38 But he said, “My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone. If any calamity should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.”
*Verse 37. **/Slay my two sons/*, */if I bring him not to thee/*— What a strange proposal made by a son to his father, concerning his grandchildren! But they show the honesty and affection of Reuben’s heart; he felt deeply for his father’s distress, and was determined to risk and hazard every thing in order to relieve and comfort him. There is scarcely a transaction in which Reuben is concerned that does not serve to set his character in an amiable point of view, except the single instance mentioned Genesis 35:22, and which for the sake of decency and piety we should wish to understand as the Targumists have explained it. See the notes.
differently these offers are received. "Kill my children if I do not return with Benjamin," Reuben offers. Jacob refuses this ridiculous gesture. What good would killing two innocent children do if Benjamin failed to return? Reuben would later be described by Jacob as "a man unstable as water." This son was apt to make emotional responses. He did so when they threw Joseph into the pit; when he was questioned by Joseph in Egypt; and again here. He always expresses his feelings, but seldom follows through on what he promises. He is a hand-wringer who doesn't accomplish anything. Reuben resembles many Christians. He honestly feels, and he expresses his honest feelings to all who will listen, but he lacks one thing: determination to change, to be different.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* *
Genesis 42:21,22- Guilt- Chuck smith
* *
* I The difficulty of removing guilt.*
* A. It has been 20 years since the brothers of Joseph treated*
* him so treacherously and sold him as a slave. He was only*
* 17 at the time, he is now 37, this is why they did not*
* recognize him. When they faced real distress they blamed*
* it on their guilt.*
* 1. For twenty years they had been carrying the guilt of*
* their deed.*
* a. Though they had been successful in the covering*
* of their guilt from their father, they could not*
* rid it from their minds.*
* b. Getting rid of guilt is an almost impossible*
* task.*
* 2. The distress they were feeling from the rough treat-*
* ment of this Egyptian lord reminded them of the*
* distress they had seen on the face of their brother*
* 20 years earilier.*
* a. You might be able to sublimate your sense of*
* guilt for years, but it is still their ready to*
* haunt you in the right circumstances.*
* b. I wonder how many times the cries and look of*
* pain on the face of Joseph haunted them in the*
* night time hours.*
* B. Psychologist often seek to help people get rid of the sense*
* of guilt.*
* 1. Often they will seek to change the value systems of*
* counsel, getting them to accept more liberal*
* attitudes.*
* a. They will ask you why you feel a certain action*
* was wrong.*
* b. Where you developed your moral code.*
* c. They will then seek to show you that the*
* behavior is very common and quite normal.*
* 2. This is why the church and some psychologists are at*
* odds.*
* a. The preaching of sin brings a person to a sense*
* of guilt.*
* b. They are seeking to say that sin is not sinful.*
* c. This is why we strongly advocate that should the*
* need ever arise in your life or that of a friend*
* to need psychological counseling, make certain*
* that you get a Christian psychologist.*
* 3. In spite of all the efforts to humanly remove guilt*
* by rationalization, it is stubborn. It may dive into*
* sub-conscious area for a time but it is not erased.*
* It will come back to haunt you.*
* *
* II. The importance of getting rid of guilt.*
* A. The guilt-complex creates a sub-conscious desire for*
* punishment.*
* 1. You may have self injury accidents.*
* a. A father who was a child beater, and often beat*
* his son was discovered to have an accident on*
* job the following day in which he would hurt his*
* right hand.*
* b. It was his form of punishing himself.*
* 2. Often this is manifested in abnormal behavior*
* patterns.*
* a. You start to do quirky things that you cannot*
* explain.*
* b. These are sub-consciously designed to bring*
* disapproval and punishment.*
* c. We see this often in children. They have done*
* something for which they feel guilty, they do*
* not want to tell you what they did, yet they*
* feel a desire for punishment, so they will start*
* doing something else to defy you and will*
* challenge you until you punish them.*
* B. The unforgotten sin can bring you into spiritual dearth.*
* 1. Before David confessed his sin with Bathsheba, and*
* was seeking to hide it, he tells how dry his life*
* became. Inwardly he was like the draught of summer.*
* 2. David said that the hand of God was on him heavily.*
* C. Unforgotten sin brings death.*
* 1. The soul that sinneth shall surely die.*
* 2. The wages of sin is death.*
* 3. Some of you have no real consciousness of God, you*
* even in your mind are questioning His existence.*
* a. You are dead to the voice of God, you confess*
* having never heard it.*
* b. You are blind to the glory of God, you seek to*
* explain creation and your existence by natural*
* phenomena. You prefer to deny all reason, set*
* your brain on the shelf and accept the absurd*
* hypotheses of evolution. You deny the law of*
* cause and effect, the second law of thermo-*
* dynamics, and design. You would explain the*
* marvelous capacities of the human brain to a*
* a series of fortutuious concurrances of*
* accidental circumstances. Science you say, give*
* me a break.*
* c. You are dead to the sense of God, you never feel*
* His presence, or know His power.*
* d. Can't you see what your sin has done to you?*
* Destroyed your reason, destroyed your fellowship*
* with God, and is now destroying you.*
* *
* III. What can remove the guilt of my sin?*
* A. God has provided for the removal of my guilt.*
* 1. Since my sin is against God, only He can offer to me*
* true forgiveness.*
* 2. Gods marvelous provisions through Jesus*[18]**
Genesis 43:1-34
Now the famine /was/ severe in the land.2 And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”3 But Judah spoke to him, saying, “The man solemnly warned us, saying, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother /is/ with you.’ ”4 “If you send our brother with us, we will go down and buy you food.5 “But if you will not send /him,/ we will not go down; for the man said to us, ‘You shall not see my face unless your brother /is/ with you.’ ”6 And Israel said, “Why did you deal /so/ wrongfully with me /as/ to tell the man whether you had still /another/ brother?”7 But they said, “The man asked us pointedly about ourselves and our family, saying, ‘/Is/ your father still alive? Have you /another/ brother?’ And we told him according to these words. Could we possibly have known that he would say, ‘Bring your brother down’?”
8 Then Judah said to Israel his father, “Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and you /and/ also our little ones.9 “I myself will be surety for him; from my hand you shall require him. If I do not bring him /back/ to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever.10 “For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.”11 And their father Israel said to them, “If /it/ /must/ /be/ so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.12 “Take double money in your hand, and take back in your hand the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks; perhaps it was an oversight.13 “Take your brother also, and arise, go back to the man.14 “And may God Almighty (El Shaddaiv ) give you mercy before the man, that he may release your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved, I am bereaved!”
Jacob suggested that they take some of their *best products . . . to the man as a gift,* including *balm . . . honey . . . spices and myrrh . . . pistachio nuts, and almonds.* Apparently these delicacies were not available in Egypt (cf. 37:25). They also took *double the amount of silver,* returning what they had found in their money pouches before. Jacob resigned himself to the high risk involved in possibly losing a third son—first, Joseph; then Simeon; and now perhaps *Benjamin* too.
15 So the men took that present and Benjamin, and they took double money in their hand, and arose and went down to Egypt; and they stood before Joseph.16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward of his house, “Take /these/ men to my home, and slaughter an animal and make ready; for /these/ men will dine with me at noon.”17 Then the man did as Joseph ordered, and the man brought the men into Joseph’s house.18 Now the men were afraid because they were brought into Joseph’s house; and they said, “/It/ /is/ because of the money, which was returned in our sacks the first time, that we are brought in, so that he may make a case against us and fall upon us, to take us as slaves with our donkeys.”19 When they drew near to the steward of Joseph’s house, they talked with him at the door of the house,20 and said, “O sir, we indeed came down the first time to buy food;21 “but it happened, when we came to the encampment, that we opened our sacks, and there, /each/ man’s money /was/ in the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight; so we have brought it back in our hand.22 “And we have brought down other money in our hands to buy food. We do not know who put our money in our sacks.”23 But he said, “Peace /be/ with you, do not be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks; I had your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.24 So the man brought the men into Joseph’s house and gave /them/ water, and they washed their feet; and he gave their donkeys feed.25 Then they made the present ready for Joseph’s coming at noon, for they heard that they would eat bread there.
26 And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which /was/ in their hand into the house, and bowed down before him to the earth.27 Then he asked them about /their/ well-being, and said, “/Is/ your father well, the old man of whom you spoke? /Is/ he still alive?”28 And they answered, “Your servant our father /is/ in good health; he /is/ still alive.” And they bowed their heads down and prostrated themselves.29 Then he lifted his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, and said, “/Is/ this your younger brother of whom you spoke to me?” And he said, “God be gracious to you, my son.”30 Now his heart yearned for his brother; so Joseph made haste and sought /somewhere/ to weep. And he went into /his/ chamber and wept there.
*/I had your money/*.— yla ab µkpsk caspechem ba elai, your money
comes to me. As I am the steward, the cash for the corn belongs to me. Ye have no reason to be apprehensive of any evil; the whole transaction is between myself and you; receive therefore the money as a present from the God of your father, no matter whose hands he makes use of to convey it. The conduct of the steward, as well as his words, had a great tendency to relieve their burdened minds.
31 Then he washed his face and came out; and he restrained himself, and said, “Serve the bread.”32 So they set him a place by himself, and them by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate with him by themselves; because the Egyptians could not eat food with the Hebrews, for that /is/ an abomination to the Egyptians.
*Verse 32. **/They set on for him by himself/*, */etc/*.— From the text it appears evident that there were three tables, one for Joseph, one for the Egyptians, and one for the eleven brethren.
*/The Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews/*— There might have been some political reason for this, with which we are unacquainted; but independently of this, two may be assigned. 1. The Hebrews were shepherds; and Egypt had been almost ruined by hordes of lawless wandering banditti, under the name of Hycsos, or King-shepherds, who had but a short time before this been expelled from the land by Amasis, after they had held it in subjection for 259 years, according to Manetho, committing the most wanton cruelties. 2. The Hebrews sacrificed those animals which the Egyptians held sacred, and fed on their flesh. The Egyptians were in general very superstitious, and would have no social intercourse with people of any other nation; hence we are informed that they would not even use the knife of a Greek, because they might have reason to suspect it had cut the flesh of some of those animals which they held sacred. Among the Hindoos different castes will not eat food cooked in the same vessel. If a person of another caste touch a cooking vessel, it is thrown away. Some are of opinion that the Egyptian idolatry, especially their worship of Apis under the figure of an ox, was posterior to the time of Joseph; ancient monuments are rather against this opinion, but it is impossible to decide either way. The clause in the Alexandrian Septuagint stands thus, *bdelugma estin tois aiguptiois *[*pas poimhn probatwn,*] “For [every shepherd] is an abomination to the Egyptians;” but this clause is probably borrowed from Genesis 46:34, where it stands in the Hebrew as well as in the Greek. See Clarke on “Genesis 46:34”.
God will use this to keep his kids separated from those of the land
33 And they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth; and the men looked in astonishment at one another.34 Then he took servings to them from before him, but Benjamin’s serving was five times as much as any of theirs. So they drank and were merry with him.
Genesis 44
/ /
*44:1-13.* Joseph, already brilliantly successful in creating tensions during their two visits, now produced his master stroke. He tested their concern for Benjamin in order to get them to recognize their evil. If they failed this test, if they had no compassion for this second son of Rachel, then they would have no part in the fulfillment of the promises. God could start over again and make Joseph into a great nation if the others proved unworthy (cf. Ex. 32:10).
And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, “Fill the men’s sacks with food, as much as they can carry, and put each man’s money in the mouth of his sack.2 “Also put my cup, the silver cup, in the mouth of the sack of the youngest, and his grain money.” So he did according to the word that Joseph had spoken.3 As soon as the morning dawned, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.4 When they had gone out of the city, /and/ were not /yet/ far off, Joseph said to his steward, “Get up, follow the men; and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?5 ‘/Is/ not this /the/ /one/ from which my lord drinks, and with which he indeed practices divination? You have done evil in so doing.’ ”
*Verse 5. **/Whereby/*-*/he divineth/*?— Divination by cups has been from time immemorial prevalent among the Asiatics; and for want of knowing this, commentators have spent a profusion of learned labor upon these words, in order to reduce them to that kind of meaning which would at once be consistent with the scope and design of the history, and save Joseph from the impeachment of sorcery and divination. I take the word jn nachash
here in its general acceptation of to view attentively, to inquire. Now there has been in the east a tradition, the commencement of which is lost in immemorial time, that there was a CUP, which had passed successively into the hands of different potentates, which possessed the strange property of representing in it the whole world, and all the things which were then doing in it. The cup is called [P] jami Jemsheed, the cup of Jemsheed, a very ancient king of Persia, whom late historians and poets
have confounded with Bacchus, Solomon, Alexander the Great, etc. This CUP, filled with the elixir of immortality, they say was discovered when digging to lay the foundations of Persepolis. The Persian poets are full of allusions to this cup, which, from its property of representing the whole world and its transactions, is styled by them [P] jam jehan nima, “the cup showing the universe;” and to the intelligence received by means of it they attribute the great prosperity of their ancient monarchs, as by it they understood all events, past, present, and to come. Many of the Mohammedan princes and governors affect still to have information of futurity by means of a cup. When Mr. Norden was at Derri in the farthest part of Egypt, in a very dangerous situation, an ill-natured and powerful Arab, in a threatening way, told one of their people whom they sent to him that “he knew what sort of people they were, for he had consulted his cup, and found by it that they were those of whom one of their prophets had said, that Franks (Europeans) would come in disguise; and, passing everywhere, examine the state of the country; and afterwards bring over a great number of other Franks, conquer the country, and exterminate all.” By this we see that the tradition of the divining cup still exists, and in the very same country too in which Joseph formerly ruled. Now though it is not at all likely that Joseph practiced any kind of divination, yet probably, according to the superstition of those times, (for I suppose the tradition to be even older than the time of Joseph,) supernatural influence might be attributed to his cup; and as the whole transaction related here was merely intended to deceive his brethren for a short time, he might as well affect divination by his cup, as he affected to believe they had stolen it. The steward therefore uses the word jn nachash in its proper meaning: Is not
this it out of which my lord drinketh, and in which he inspecteth accurately? Genesis 44:5. And hence Joseph says, Genesis 44:15: Wot ye not — did ye not know, that such a person as I (having such a cup) would accurately and attentively look into it? As I consider this to be the true meaning, I shall not trouble the reader with other modes of interpretation.
The wine goblet which Joseph used was a very important wine goblet, First, because it was the personal possession of an Egyptian royal official, But also because the text tells us that it was a cup
" with which he regularly divines"
Divining by use of a cup was accomplished by interpreting the movements of liquids in a cup. In this way , says the diviners, the purpose and will of the gods could be determined, to an upper class Egyptian who regularly participated in this polytheism and paganism of his day, this then, was a very important cup and its theft could be a very serisou offense.
We are not told that Joseph actually practiced divination, but he want4ed his brothers to think so as part of the ploy.
6 So he overtook them, and he spoke to them these same words.7 And they said to him, “Why does my lord say these words? Far be it from us that your servants should do such a thing.8 “Look, we brought back to you from the land of Canaan the money which we found in the mouth of our sacks. How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord’s house?9 “With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord’s slaves.”10 And he said, “Now also /let/ it /be/ according to your words; he with whom it is found shall be my slave, and you shall be blameless.”11 Then each man speedily let down his sack to the ground, and each opened his sack.12 So he searched. He began with the oldest and left off with the youngest; and the cup was found in Benjamin’s sack.13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey and returned to the city.
14 So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he /was/ still there; and they fell before him on the ground.15 And Joseph said to them, “What deed /is/ this you have done? Did you not know that such a man as I can certainly practice divination?”16 Then Judah said, “What shall we say to my lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants; here we are, my lord’s slaves, both we and /he/ also with whom the cup was found.”17 But he said, “Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the cup was found, he shall be my slave. And as for you, go up in peace to your father.”
18 Then Judah came near to him and said: “O my lord, please let your servant speak a word in my lord’s hearing, and do not let your anger burn against your servant; for you /are/ even like Pharaoh.19 “My lord asked his servants, saying, ‘Have you a father or a brother?’20 “And we said to my lord, ‘We have a father, an old man, and a child of /his/ old age, /who/ /is/ young; his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother’s children, and his father loves him.’21 “Then you said to your servants, ‘Bring him down to me, that I may set my eyes on him.’22 “And we said to my lord, ‘The lad cannot leave his father, for /if/ he should leave his father, /his/ /father/ would die.’23 “But you said to your servants, ‘Unless your youngest brother comes down with you, you shall see my face no more.’24 “So it was, when we went up to your servant my father, that we told him the words of my lord.25 “And our father said, ‘Go back /and/ buy us a little food.’26 “But we said, ‘We cannot go down; if our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down; for we may not see the man’s face unless our youngest brother /is/ with us.’27 “Then your servant my father said to us, ‘You know that my wife bore me two sons;28 ‘and the one went out from me, and I said, “Surely he is torn to pieces”; and I have not seen him since.29 ‘But if you take this one also from me, and calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave.’30 “Now therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad /is/ not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life,31 “it will happen, when he sees that the lad /is/ not /with/ /us,/ that he will die. So your servants will bring down the gray hair of your servant our father with sorrow to the grave.32 “For your servant became surety for the lad to my father, saying, ‘If I do not bring him /back/ to you, then I shall bear the blame before my father forever.’33 “Now therefore, please let your servant remain instead of the lad as a slave to my lord, and let the lad go up with his brothers.34 “For how shall I go up to my father if the lad /is/ not with me, lest perhaps I see the evil that would come upon my father?”
Psalm 105:16-19 16 Moreover He called for a famine in the land; He destroyed all the provision of bread. 17 He sent a man before them -- Joseph -- /who /was sold as a slave. 18 They hurt his feet with fetters, He was laid in irons. 19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him. (NKJV)
Genesis 45:1-28
Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him while Joseph made himself known to his brothers.2 And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard /it/.3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “I /am/ Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence.4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I /am/ Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt.
With a burst of emotion *Joseph* revealed himself* to his brothers.* This (v. 2) was the third of five times *he wept* over his brothers (42:24; 43:30; 45:14; 50:17; cf. 50:1). They were stunned by the news, unable to speak for fear that *Joseph *might kill them. In this passage strong feelings and sound spiritual judgment and argument complete the wo rk of reconciliation which till now had called for severe testing. It had been the task for a wise man, and over an extended period of time Joseph accomplished the task marvelously.
5 “But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life.6 “For these two years the famine /has/ /been/ in the land, and /there/ /are/ still five years in which /there/ /will/ /be/ neither plowing nor harvesting.7 “And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.8 “So now /it/ /was/ not you /who/ sent me here, but God; and He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not tarry.10 “You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have.11 “There I will provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for /there/ /are/ still five years of famine.” ’
*Verse 8. **/He hath made me a father to Pharaoh/*— It has already been conjectured that father was a name of office in Egypt, and that father of Pharaoh might among them signify the same as prime minister or the king’s minister does among us. Calmet has remarked that among the Phoenicians, Persians, Arabians, and Romans, the title of father was given to certain officers of state. The Roman emperors gave the name of father to the prefects of the Praetorium, as appears by the letters of Constantine to Ablavius. The caliphs gave the same name to their prime ministers. In Judges 17:10, Micah says to the young Levite, Dwell with me, and be unto me a FATHER and a priest. And Diodorus Siculus remarks that the teachers and counsellors of the kings of Egypt were chosen out of the priesthood
GOSHEN:
GOSHEN (goh' shuhn) 1. The phrase, "land of Goshen," appears in the general description of territory occupied by Joshua's forces (Josh. 10:41; 11:16). Apparently it refers to the hill country between Hebron and the Negev. Some believe the phrase refers to a country.
2. The "land of Goshen" may have been named after the city of Goshen located in the district of Debir (Josh. 15:51). Goshen may have been the chief city of the region at one time. The ancient city was either located at Tell el Dhahiriyeh, twelve miles southwest of Hebron or at a location further east.
3. Goshen is primarily recognized as an area in the northeast sector of the Nile Delta. It was occupied by the Hebrews from the time of Joseph until the Exodus.
The original meaning of the term is still debated. Some Egyptomologists suggest an association with the Egyptian word k aosem, meaning "inundated land." The "land of Goshen" first appears in papyrus of the Twelfth Dynasty. See Egypt. Other believe it has a Semitic origin which might indicate that settlers were in the region by 2000 B.C. or earlier. If the term is derived from the Semitic root, gosh, it probably refers to fertile land suitable for both cultivating or grazing cattle. Twice (Gen. 47:6,11) Goshen is described as the "best of the land." In the latter passage it is equated with the "land of Rameses," which was probably identical with or near to the "field of Zoan." See Avaris; Rameses; Tanis; Zoan. Zoan was apparently the Egyptian capital during the Hyksos period.
Goshen has been recognized by various names. (1) Goshen (Gen. 45:10; 46:34) is translated in the Septuagint "Arabian Gesem." The change probably resulted from the translators identifying Gesem with Geshem (Neh. 2:19; 6:1-2,6), the Arabian king who was Nehemiah's foe (see Geshem). Until recently, Goshen was believed to be Gesem in the Egyptian name of Arabia. (2) Goshen is also rendered as Heroonpolis (Gen. 46:28) in the Septuagint. Joseph met his father there. Some scholars equate Heroonpolis with the Egyptian storage city, Pithom (Ex. 1:11). See Pithom. (3) At the time of the Exodus, the Hebrews were still in Goshen (Ex. 8:22; 9:26), but began their Exodus from Rameses (Ex. 12:37; Num. 33:3), which was a city they helped to build (Ex. 1:11). Unfortunately little is known of the region prior to Rameses II. Possibly, the Hebrews settled here with the Hyksos during Joseph's time. Undoubtedly, Goshen, "land of Rameses," refers to the land around the city of Rameses and in the vicinity of Pithom. (4) It is generally agreed that Goshen is to be located in wadi Tumilat which stretches from the eastern arm of the Nile to the Great Bitter Lakes. Texts from the about 1250 B.C. describe how nomadic tribes moved from Edom past the Merneptah fortress in Teku to the wells of Pithom. See Merneptah. Teku is wadi Tumilat. It is approximately 35 miles long and covers 900 square miles.
Goshen is significant for biblical studies for four reasons. (1) The pharaoh assigned Goshen to Joseph's family when they entered Egypt (Gen. 47:6,11). The "Hebrew Sojourn" occurred there. (2) The territory lay on a route from Palestine to Egypt. (3) It may be possible to date Joseph's entrance to Egypt with the Hyksos control of the Delta. (4) Both the two cities which the Hebrews built, Rameses and Pithom, and the Hyksos capital at Zoan are key issues for settling on a date for the Exodus.
Gary D. Baldwin
A region in Egypt, rich in pasture, where the Children of Israel settled (Gen. 46:34). ‘the best of the land’ (Gen. 47:6, 11). The Septuagint identifies Goshen with Pithom, which is identified today with Tell er-Ratabeh in Wadi Thumeilat. The Bible also refers to the land of Goshen as the ‘land of Rameses’ (Gen. 47:11), which was the later name for Zoan (Tanis), to the north. Egyptian sources also mention the granting of grazing rights in the region of Pithom.[19]
12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that /it/ /is/ my mouth that speaks to you.13 “So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and bring my father down here.”14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck.15 Moreover he kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
16 Now the report of it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, saying, “Joseph’s brothers have come.” So it pleased Pharaoh and his servants well.17 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Say to your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and depart; go to the land of Canaan.18 ‘Bring your father and your households and come to me; I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you will eat the fat of the land.19 ‘Now you are commanded—do this: Take carts out of the land of Egypt for your little ones and your wives; bring your father and come.20 ‘Also do not be concerned about your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt /is/ yours.’ ”
21 Then the sons of Israel did so; and Joseph gave them carts, according to the command of Pharaoh, and he gave them provisions for the journey.22 He gave to all of them, to each man, changes of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred /pieces/ of silver and five changes of garments.23 And he sent to his father these /things:/ ten donkeys loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain, bread, and food for his father for the journey.24 So he sent his brothers away, and they departed; and he said to them, “See that you do not become troubled along the way.”
25 Then they went up out of Egypt, and came to the land of Canaan to Jacob their father.26 And they told him, saying, “Joseph /is/ still alive, and he /is/ governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still, because he did not believe them.27 But when they told him all the words which Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the carts which Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their father revived.28 Then Israel said, “/It/ /is/ enough. Joseph my son /is/ still alive. I will go and see him before I die.”
*Verse 24. **/See that ye fall not out by the way/*.— This prudent caution was given by Joseph, to prevent his brethren from accusing each other for having sold him; and to prevent them from envying Benjamin, for the superior favor shown him by his brother. It is strange, but so it is, that children of the same parents are apt to envy each other, fall out, and contend; and therefore the exhortation in this verse must be always
seasonable in a large family. But a rational, religious education will, under God, prevent every thing of this sort
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* *
* *
Genesis 45:1-8-Finding God Through Pain – Chuck smith
* *
* I The "why would God" snydrome.*
* A. This is a very dangerous syndrome.*
* 1. I think that satan often uses it to challenge the*
* existance, fairness,or the love of God.*
* a. If God really loved you, why would He allow this*
* to happen to you.*
* b. God could have averted this trajedy, why didn't*
* He?*
* c. Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you would have*
* only been here, my brother would not have died."*
* 2. Many have abandoned their faith for a time because*
* they could not understand the hows or the whys of*
* God.*
* a. If you try to talk to them about God, they will*
* often pour out a story of trajedy where it*
* appears that God was standing silently on the*
* sideline refusing to intervene.*
* b. You hear them cry, "When God allowed my child to*
* die, I couldn't believe in God anymore."*
* c. A persons faith is often predicated upon their*
* life circumstances always being what they wanted*
* to happen. Any deviation and their faith*
* crumbles.*
* B. This is a mystery filled with imponderables.*
* 1. Why does God allow evil to prosper?*
* 2. Why does God allow a child to be born with*
* deformaties?*
* 3. Why did God allow the early believers to be fed to*
* lions by the Romans.*
* 4. Why would God allow His only begotten Son to be*
* cruelly scourged and crucified?*
* C. Does God explain His whys to us?*
* 1. "#Isa 55:8" For My thoughts are not your thoughts,*
* neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD. For*
* as the heavens are higher that the earth, so are my*
* ways higher that your ways and My thoughts than your*
* thoughts.*
* 2. God's response to our quireys are often "Trust Me."*
* D. Somthing in our human nature that wants to know why.*
* 1. My two year old grandson is already at the why stage.*
* a. Why are you going to the store?*
* b. Why do you ask so many questions? Because.*
* 2. We must face the fact that we will not always know or*
* understand why certain things happened to us that*
* were not of our liking or chosing.*
* 3. We are not the captains of our fates or the masters*
* of our souls. I am glad for that.*
* 4. I am pleased that I can turn the wheel over to*
* someone far wiser than I who knows what lies beyond*
* the horizon.*
* E. Pain, emotional or physical is one of those stumbling-*
* blocks to understanding. Why would God allow me to*
* experience such pain?*
* *
* II. Discovering God through pain.*
* A. The story of Joseph is the classic example of a man who*
* discovered the plan of God through pain.*
* 1. He had experienced horrible emotional pain.*
* a. His ten older brothers all dispised him.*
* b. They conspired to kill him, they put him in a*
* pit to starve to death.*
* c. They pulled him out only to sell him as a slave.*
* d. He was falsly accused of rape and imprisoned for*
* years in a foriegn country.*
* e. For twenty years he has been separated from his*
* family. No communication. He did not even know*
* if his father was still living.*
* 2. Now as his brothers are standing before him and he*
* finally reveals to them his true identity he*
* conforts them concerning their fears that he might*
* now take vengence upon them for their vicious treat-*
* ment of him.*
* 3. He could see clearly now the purpose of God even in*
* their treachery.*
* a. God sent me here before you to preserve life.*
* You were not the ones who sent me here.*
* b. How else could God have ever gotten Joseph into*
* Egypt.*
* B. Joseph is often viewed as a type of Jesus, and truly in*
* Jesus we see the classic example again of a man suffering*
* pain that the purposes of God might be accomplished.*
* 1. The pain and agony of the cross were all a part of*
* God's plan of the preservation of His children.*
* 2. Without the cross their would be no salvation.*
* *
* III. My proper attitude toward pain. To discover God in it.*
* A. Concerning Jesus the book of Hebrews tells us that for the*
* joy that was set before Him He endured the cross though He*
* despised the shame.*
* B. Pain has a way of developing a depth of character that is*
* not found except by pain. Amy Carmichael.*
* 1. The storms of adversity drive the roots deep.*
* C. Pain can make a person better or bitter.*
* 1. Some have become bitter and turned their backs on*
* how sad indeed.*
* 2. Others have learned to just trust God all the more.*
* *
* I do not know why oft round me,*
* My hopes all shattered seem to be,*
* God's perfect plan I cannot see,*
* But some day I'll understand.*
* *
* Someday He'll make it plain to me,*
* Someday when I His face shall see,*
* Someday from pain I shall be free,*
* For someday I will understand.*
* If we could see beyond today as God does see,*
* Then all our tears we'ed wipe away,*
* Our sorrows flee,*
* Or'e present griefs we would not fret,*
* Each sorrow we would soon forget,*
* For many joys are waiting yet, for you and me.*
* *
* If we could see, if we could know, we often say,*
* But God in love a veil doth throw across our way,*
* We cannot see what lies before, so unto Him we cling the more,*
* He'll lead us till this life is ore' trust and obey.*
Genesis 46:1-34
So Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beersheba, and offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.2 Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, and said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.”3 So He said, “I /am/ God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.4 “I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up /again;/ and Joseph will put his hand on your eyes.”5 Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the carts which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.6 So they took their livestock and their goods, which they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and went to Egypt, Jacob and all his descendants with him.7 His sons and his sons’ sons, his daughters and his sons’ daughters, and all his descendants he brought with him to Egypt.
*Verse 1. **/And came to Beer/*-*/sheba/*— This place appears to be mentioned, not only because it was the way from Hebron, where Jacob resided, to Egypt, whither he was going, but because it was a consecrated place, a place where God had appeared to Abraham, Genesis 21:33, and to Isaac, Genesis 26:23, and where Jacob is encouraged to expect a manifestation of the same goodness: he chooses therefore to begin his journey with a visit to God’s house; and as he was going into a strange land, he feels it right to
renew his covenant with God by sacrifice. There is an old proverb which applies strongly to this case: “Prayers and provender never hinder any man’s journey. He who would travel safely must take God with him.
Beersheba - this is about 25 miles from where Jacob was living near Hebron.
*Verse 3. **/Fear not to go down into Egypt/*— It appears that there had been some doubts in the patriarch’s mind relative to the propriety of this journey; he found, from the confession of his own sons, how little they were to be trusted. But every doubt is dispelled by this Divine manifestation. 1. He may go down confidently, no evil shall befall him. 2. Even in Egypt the covenant shall be fulfilled, God will make of him there a great nation. 3. God himself will accompany him on his journey, be with him in the strange land, and even bring back his bones to rest with those of his fathers. 4. He shall see Joseph, and this same beloved son shall be with him in his last hours, and do the last kind office for him. Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. It is not likely that Jacob would have at all attempted to go down to Egypt, had he not received these assurances from God; and it is very likely that he offered his sacrifice merely to obtain this information. It was now a time of famine in Egypt, and God had forbidden his father Isaac to go down to Egypt when there was a famine there, Genesis 26:1-3; besides, he may have had some general intimation of the prophecy delivered to his grandfather Abraham, that his seed should be afflicted in Egypt, Genesis 15:13, 14; and he also knew that Canaan, not Egypt, was to be the inheritance of his family, chap. xii., etc. On all these accounts it was necessary to have the most explicit directions from God, before he should take such a journey.
8 Now these /were/ the names of the children of Israel, Jacob and his sons, who went to Egypt: Reuben /was/ Jacob’s firstborn.9 The sons of Reuben /were/ Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.10 The sons of Simeon /were/ Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.11 The sons of Levi /were/ Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.12 The sons of Judah /were/ Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah (but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.13 The sons of Issachar /were/ Tola, Puvah, Job, and Shimron.14 The sons of Zebulun /were/ Sered, Elon, and Jahleel.15 These /were/ the sons of Leah, whom she bore to Jacob in Padan Aram, with his daughter Dinah. All the persons, his sons and his daughters, /were/ thirty-three.
16 The sons of Gad /were/ Ziphion, Haggi, Shuni, Ezbon, Eri, Arodi, and Areli.17 The sons of Asher /were/ Jimnah, Ishuah, Isui, Beriah, and Serah, their sister. And the sons of Beriah /were/ Heber and Malchiel.18 These /were/ the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter; and these she bore to Jacob: sixteen persons.
19 The sons of Rachel, Jacob’s wife, /were/ Joseph and Benjamin.20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him.21 The sons of Benjamin /were/ Belah, Becher, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Huppim, and Ard.22 These /were/ the sons of Rachel, who were born to Jacob: fourteen persons in all.
23 The son of Dan /was/ Hushim.24 The sons of Naphtali /were/ Jahzeel, Guni, Jezer, and Shillem.25 These /were/ the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter, and she bore these to Jacob: seven persons in all.
26 All the persons who went with Jacob to Egypt, who came from his body, besides Jacob’s sons’ wives, /were/ sixty-six persons in all.27 And the sons of Joseph who were born to him in Egypt /were/ two persons. All the persons of the house of Jacob who went to Egypt were seventy.
*46:8-27.* Included in the account of the move *to Egypt* is a listing of Jacob’s *descendants.* In verse 26 the number of descendants is said to be *66,* whereas the number in verse 27 is *70.* The first number represents those who traveled with Jacob to Egypt, and the second number includes the children and grandchildren already in Egypt. The following tabulation shows how these two figures are determined:
Leah’s children and grandchildren (v. 15)
33
Zilpah’s children and grandchildren (v. 18)
16
Rachel’s children and grandchildren (v. 22)
14
Bilhah’s children and grandchildren (v. 25)
7
70
Dinah (v. 15)
+ 1
71
Er and Onan (who died in Canaan; v. 12); Joseph and his two sons, already in Egypt (v. 20)
- 5
Those who went to Egypt with Jacob (v. 26)
66
Joseph, Manasseh, Ephraim, Jacob (v. 27)
+ 4
Jacob and his progeny in Egypt (v. 27)
70
It is from these 70 (which included Joseph’s two sons born in Egypt, vv. 20, 27; cf. 41:50-52) that the nation of Israel would grow. (In the early church, Stephen referred to 75 members in Jacob’s family; see comments on Acts 7:14.)
28 Then he sent Judah before him to Joseph, to point out before him /the/ /way/ to Goshen. And they came to the land of Goshen.29 So Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel; and he presented himself to him, and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.30 And Israel said to Joseph, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you /are/ still alive.”31 Then Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s household, “I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘My brothers and those of my father’s house, who /were/ in the land of Canaan, have come to me.32 ‘And the men /are/ shepherds, for their occupation has been to feed livestock; and they have brought their flocks, their herds, and all that they have.’33 “So it shall be, when Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’34 “that you shall say, ‘Your servants’ occupation has been with livestock from our youth even till now, both we /and/ also our fathers,’ that you may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd /is/ an abomination to the Egyptians.”
Notice that it is now Judah that is trusted, he is the one that passed the Test, Judah is in the line of the messiah
Shepherds - were not trusted, the betawins even today give off a mystic of not being trusted. They were not permitted into the synagogues they were unclean, when the angles appeared to Shepherd in the field, this was unheard of .
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* *
Genesis 46:1-4- Jacob, Jacob- Chuck Smith
* *
* Intro Jacob is on his way to Egypt to see his son Joseph they*
* have departed from Hebron and are now arriving at*
* Beersheba.*
* *
* I. Fear grips the heart of Jacob.*
* A. How do we know he was afraid? God said to him do not*
* fear to go down to Egypt.*
* B. Possible reasons for his fear.*
* 1. Beersheba is the last frontier, ahead is the long*
* desert. When a little child I can remember signs out*
* in Mojave desert, Desert ahead, no services for 125*
* miles.*
* 2. He is now 130 years old, perhaps he has found the*
* travelling on a cart not that comfortable.*
* 3. His grandfather Abraham had gotten in trouble in*
* Egypt, and his father Issac was expressly told by*
* God not to go to Egypt when at another time of*
* famine he was contemplating going there.*
* 4. It is possible that he began to wonder what would*
* become of the promises of God to give this land*
* to the decendants of Abraham, if he went to Egypt.*
* 5. In his great desire to see his son Joseph it is*
* possible that he did not seek the will of God for*
* fear that God would say no, but now as he gets to*
* the edge of the land of promise the enormity of the*
* move begins to frighten him.*
* 6. Maybe God will not go with me to Egypt.*
* 7. If we go down, maybe we will never return to the land*
* of promise again.*
* 8. Maybe he remembered the vision God had given to his*
* grandfather Abraham when he had the fear of the great*
* darkness and God told him that his decendants will*
* have great affliction for four hundred years in a*
* land that was not theirs.*
* *
* II. Where to turn in fear. He offered sacrifices to the God of*
* Issac.*
* A. There were three kinds of sacrifices.*
* 1. Sin offering.*
* 2. Burnt offering.*
* 3. Peace offering.*
* B. The purpose for the sacrifice was to open up fellowship*
* with God.*
* 1. Sin breaks fellowship with God, so the first thing*
* to restored fellowship is the removing of the sin.*
* 2. The Burnt offering was one of consecration unto God,*
* surrendering your will and life to His purposes.*
* 3. The peace offering was for communion, that you might*
* just sit down and eat and commune with God over the*
* meal.*
* C. It had been 25 years since God had spoken to Jacob. The*
* last time was at Bethel when God again said his name was*
* to be changed to Isreal, and that God would give to him*
* and his decendants this land.*
* *
* III. God spoke and alliviated his fears.*
* A. How does God speak to man?*
* 1. He often speaks to us through His word.*
* 2. He speaks through His annointed servants.*
* 3. He speaks to us through nature.*
* 4. He can speak through visions and dreams.*
* 5. He spoke to Jacob through night visions.*
* B. What did God say?*
* 1. He first called him by the name Jacob. He said Jacob,*
* Jacob.*
* a. The repetition was probably for emphasis to call*
* attention to the meaning of the name.*
* b. Jacob was the name of the old man, the man after*
* the flesh.*
* c. His spiritual name was Isreal, but rarely did he*
* seek to walk after the spirit. For the most part*
* his life was lived after the flesh.*
* d. He had started out this journey in the flesh,*
* and it is not until fear grips his heart that He*
* seeks the Spirit.*
* (1) Fear is a strong motivator.*
* (2) Love is also a strong motivator.*
* (3) If God cannot motivate you through love to*
* seek His fellowship, He will often use*
* fear.*
* (4) He loves you so much that He longs for*
* fellowship and He will draw you to Himself*
* one way or another.*
* 2. "I am God the God of your fathers, fear not to go*
* down to Egypt."*
* a. Here God gives him the green light to continue*
* his journey.*
* b. "I will make of you a great nation there."*
* c. "I will go down with you to Egypt."*
* (1) It is never possible to leave the presence*
* of God, He is everywhere.*
* (2) It is possible to leave the fellowship of*
* God and that results in the loss of the*
* consciousness of His presence.*
* d. "I will surely bring you up again."*
* e. "And Joseph will put his hands on your eyes."*
* This was a reference that Joseph would be by his*
* side when he died and would do the final*
* gracious act of closing his eyelids when he*
* died.*
* C. Do you feel a fear or apprehension about the future?*
Genesis 47:1-31
Then Joseph went and told Pharaoh, and said, “My father and my brothers, their flocks and their herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; and indeed they /are/ in the land of Goshen.”2 And he took five men from among his brothers and presented them to Pharaoh.3 Then Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What /is/ your occupation?” And they said to Pharaoh, “Your servants /are/ shepherds, both we /and/ also our fathers.”4 And they said to Pharaoh, “We have come to *dwell* in the land, because your servants have no pasture for their flocks, for the famine /is/ severe in the land of Canaan. Now therefore, please let your servants dwell in the land of Goshen.”5 Then Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, saying, “Your father and your brothers have come to you.6 “The land of Egypt /is/ before you. Have your father and brothers dwell in the best of the land; let them dwell in the land of Goshen. And if you know /any/ competent men among them, then make them chief herdsmen over my livestock.”
So it appears that the land of Goshen was the best of the land of Egypt. - 900 square miles.
Dwell - kjv - Sojourn
1) to sojourn, abide, dwell in, dwell with, remain, inhabit, be a stranger, be continuing, surely
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to sojourn, dwell for a time
1a2) to abide, stay, temporarily dwell[20]
*/Hebrews 11:13/*
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
*/The New King James Version/*
It becomes very was when we begin to feel at home here.
7 Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob and set him before Pharaoh; and Jacob blessed Pharaoh.8 Pharaoh said to Jacob, “How old /are/ you?”9 And Jacob said to Pharaoh, “The days of the years of my pilgrimage /are/ one hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.”10 So Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from before Pharaoh.
*/Have not attained unto the/*-*/life of my fathers/*— Jacob lived in the whole one hundred and forty-seven years; Isaac his father lived one hundred and eighty; and Abraham his grandfather, one hundred and seventy-five. These were days of years in comparison of the lives of the preceding patriarchs, some of whom lived nearly ten centuries!
11 And Joseph situated his father and his brothers, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.12 Then Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s household with bread, according to the number in /their/ families.
13 Now /there/ /was/ no bread in all the land; for the famine /was/ very severe, so that the land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine.14 And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh’s house.15 So when the money failed in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came to Joseph and said, “Give us bread, for why should we die in your presence? For the money has failed.”16 Then Joseph said, “Give your livestock, and I will give you /bread/ for your livestock, if the money is gone.”17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and Joseph gave them bread /in/ /exchange/ for the horses, the flocks, the cattle of the herds, and for the donkeys. Thus he fed them with bread /in/ /exchange/ for all their livestock that year.18 When that year had ended, they came to him the next year and said to him, “We will not hide from my lord that our money is gone; my lord also has our herds of livestock. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands.19 “Why should we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land for bread, and we and our land will be servants of Pharaoh; give /us/ seed, that we may live and not die, that the land may not be desolate.”
*/Give your cattle/*— This was the wisest measure that could be adopted, both for the preservation of the people and of the cattle also. As the people had not grain for their own sustenance, consequently they could have none for their cattle; hence the cattle were in the most imminent danger of starving; and the people also were in equal danger, as they must have divided a portion of that bought for themselves with the cattle, which for the sake of tillage, etc., they wished of course to preserve till the seven years of famine should end. The cattle being bought by Joseph were supported at the royal expense, and very likely returned to the people at the end of the famine; for how else could they cultivate their ground, transport their merchandise, etc., etc.? For this part of Joseph’s conduct he certainly deserves high praise and no censure.
Verses 13ff describe the way Joseph managed the affairs of Egypt giving us an illustration of dedication: the people gave him their money, their lands, their possessions, and their own bodies (Rom. 12:1–2). We should give our all to Christ who has saved us and who cares for us daily.
Notice how Joseph was a good steward of what was entrusted to him.
Don’t tell the world who you are until you show them who's you are
20 Then Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh; for every man of the Egyptians sold his field, because the famine was severe upon them. So the land became Pharaoh’s.21 And as for the people, he moved them into the cities, from /one/ end of the borders of Egypt to the /other/ end.22 Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had rations /allotted/ /to/ /them/ by Pharaoh, and they ate their rations which Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their lands.23 Then Joseph said to the people, “Indeed I have bought you and your land this day for Pharaoh. Look, /here/ /is/ seed for you, and you shall sow the land.24 “And it shall come to pass in the harvest that you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh. Four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and for your food, for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”25 So they said, “You have saved our lives; let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh’s servants.”26 And Joseph made it a law over the land of Egypt to this day, /that/ Pharaoh should have one-fifth, except for the land of the priests only, /which/ did not become Pharaoh’s.
*/And as for the people/*, */he removed them to cities/*— It is very likely that Joseph was influenced by no political motive in removing the people to the cities, but merely by a motive of humanity and prudence. As the corn was laid up in the cities he found it more convenient to bring them to the place where they might be conveniently fed; each being within the reach of an easy distribution. Thus then the country which could afford no sustenance was abandoned for the time being, that the people might be fed in those places where the provision was deposited.
*Joseph* proved to be a wise administrator in the land of *Egypt**,* so that under his authority the people were saved from starvation and *Pharaoh *prospered. The ruler by now was Sesostris III (1878-1843 b.c.).
In selling *food *to *the people *during *the famine *that was *severe,* Joseph accepted *money* and *livestock *(*horses . . . sheep . . . goats . . . cattle, and don- keys*) as payment, and finally the entire *land** *of *Egypt** *itself except* the land of the priests. *Once the land belonged to *Pharaoh . . . Joseph* instructed the people to plant *seed, * which he gave them. His only stipulation was that *Pharaoh* must receive *a fifth *of all the produce. In a word, the people survived but they (except *the priests*) were *in bondage to Pharaoh.*
However, in the land *of Goshen* the *Israelites* prospered and multiplied *greatly.*
So God blessed His people according to the promises He made to Abraham. They were fast becoming a great nation. Moreover, God blessed Pharaoh because he had blessed the seed of Abraham with the best of Egypt. Later in the time of Moses, when another Pharaoh oppressed Israel, God dealt harshly with the Egyptians.
27 So Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen; and they had possessions there and grew and multiplied exceedingly.28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. So the length of Jacob’s life was one hundred and forty-seven years.29 When the time drew near that Israel must die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “Now if I have found favor in your sight, please put your hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt,30 “but let me lie with my fathers; you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place.” And he said, “I will do as you have said.”31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. So Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
*/I will lie with my fathers/*— As God had promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity, Jacob considered it as a consecrated place, under the particular superintendence and blessing of God: and as Sarah, Abraham, and Isaac were interred near to Hebron, he in all probability wished to lie, not only in the same place, but in the same grave; and it is not likely that he would have been solicitous about this, had he not considered that promised land as being a type of the rest that remains for the people of God, and a pledge of the inheritance among the saints in light.
*Jacob lived in Egypt 17 years* (cf. v. 9) to the age of *147*. (Abraham died at the age of 175 [25:7-8] and Isaac at 180 [35:28].) If the year of Jacob’s move to Egypt was 1876 b.c. (see the chart “Chronology from Solomon Back to Joseph” near 39:1-6a) then Jacob died in 1859. His birth, 147 years earlier, would have been in 2006 b.c. (see the chart “Chronology of the Patriarchs”). At the end of his life Jacob exhorted *Joseph *to *swear *that he would *bury* him *where *his *fathers *had been *buried *(cf. 49:29-33). He referred, of course, to the Cave of Machpelah which had been purchased by Abraham (chap. 23). Wanting Joseph to affirm that he would carry through on his *promise, *Jacob asked his son to *put *his *hand under* Jacob’s *thigh* (cf. comments on this custom at 24:1-9). Even as he neared death Jacob (here called *Israel*) *worshiped.*[21]
Genesis 48:1-22
Now it came to pass after these things that Joseph was told, “Indeed your father /is/ sick”; and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.2 And Jacob was told, “Look, your son Joseph is coming to you”; and Israel strengthened himself and sat up on the bed.3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,4 “and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you, and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you /as/ an everlasting possession.’5 “And now your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, /are/ mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.6 “Your offspring whom you beget after them shall be yours; they will be called by the name of their brothers in their inheritance.7 “But as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died beside me in the land of Canaan on the way, when /there/ /was/ but a little distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
*Verse 2. **/Israel strengthened himself/*, */and sat upon the bed/*.— He had been confined to his bed before, (see Genesis 47:31,) and now, hearing that Joseph was come to see him, he made what efforts his little remaining strength would admit, to sit up in bed to receive his son. This verse proves that a bed, not a staff, is intended in the preceding chapter, Genesis 47:31.
*/Hebrews 11:21/*
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
*/The New King James Version/*
Sat up =leaned on top of his staff
*48:5-7.* Jacob gave the birthright to Joseph by elevating *Ephraim and Manasseh, *Joseph’s *sons* (41:51-52), to the rank of firstborn sons, thus giving a double portion to Joseph. They thus replaced *Reuben and Simeon,* Jacob’s first two sons, born to Leah (cf. 1 Chron. 5:1-2). The recognition of Joseph’s sons would have an effect on the apportioning of the land of promise years later in the days of Joshua (Josh. 16-17). Jacob’s elevation of the sons of Joseph was prompted by his recollection of *Rachel,* his favorite wife, who *died in the land of Canaan* (cf. Gen. 35:16-20).
8 Then Israel saw Joseph’s sons, and said, “Who /are/ these?”9 And Joseph said to his father, “They /are/ my sons, whom God has given me in this /place/.” And he said, “Please bring them to me, and I will bless them.”10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, /so/ /that/ he could not see. Then Joseph brought them near him, and he kissed them and embraced them.11 And Israel said to Joseph, “I had not thought to see your face; but in fact, God has also shown me your offspring!”12 So Joseph brought them from beside his knees, and he bowed down with his face to the earth.13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought /them/ near him.14 Then Israel stretched out his right hand and laid /it/ on Ephraim’s head, who /was/ the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands knowingly, for Manasseh /was/ the firstborn.15 And he blessed Joseph, and said:
1 “God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked,
The God who has fed me all my life long to this day,
16 The Angel who has redeemed me from all evil,
Bless the lads;
Let my name be named upon them,
And the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;
And let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.”
17 Now when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took hold of his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head.18 And Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this /one/ /is/ the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know. He also shall become a people, and he also shall be great; but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.”20 So he blessed them that day, saying, “By you Israel will bless, saying, ‘May God make you as Ephraim and as Manasseh!’ ” And thus he set Ephraim before Manasseh.21 Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.22 “Moreover I have given to you one portion above your brothers, which I took from the hand of the Amorite with my sword and my bow.”
Jacob spent the last 17 of his 147 years with Joseph in Egypt, so he had his favorite son the first 17 years of Joseph’s life and then the last 17 years of his own life. Knowing that he was to die, the aged patriarch called Joseph to his bed (47:31) that he might bless his two sons. See Heb. 11:21. The two boys were at least in their early 20s (see 41:50 and 47:28). Jacob claimed the boys as his own, comparing them in status with his firstborn, Reuben and Simeon. (We will see in 49:5–7 that Simeon and Levi would disappear as separate tribes, so that Ephraim and Manasseh would take their places.) Knowing that Manasseh was the firstborn, Joseph put the boy at Jacob’s right, with Ephraim on the left, but Jacob crossed his arms and gave the blessing of the firstborn to Ephraim. This displeased Joseph, but Jacob was guided by God, for God was going to give the greater blessing to Ephraim. This is another example of the divine principle of setting aside the first to establish the second (Heb. 10:9). We saw this before in Seth and Cain, Isaac and Ishmael, and Jacob and Esau. The fact that Jacob crossed his hands brings the cross into the picture. It is through the cross that God crucified the old nature and now sets aside the natural that He might establish the spiritual. When you are born again, God rearranges your spiritual “birth order.”
Jacob also blessed Joseph in the name of the God who had “shepherded” him all his years, and he gave to Joseph a special parcel of land (v. 22, and see John 4:5). This was a token of the total inheritance they were yet to receive.
Genesis 49:1-33
And Jacob called his sons and said, “Gather together, that I may tell you what shall befall you in the last days:
2 “Gather together and hear, you sons of Jacob,
1 And listen to Israel your father.
this is the first use of the word LAST DAYS, it is a theme throughout the bible. The Last days, it is one way that God validated this book. God is not within our time domain, he sees the end , he sees the beginning. "helicopter" Praide. Bible prophecy is vital for us to understand the scriptures.
this has prophecies that are near and far- Daniel, a local situation and then a more distant one.
3 “Reuben, you are my firstborn,
My might and the beginning of my strength,
The excellency of dignity and the excellency of power.
4 Unstable as water, you shall not excel,
Because you went up to your father’s bed;
Then you defiled /it/—
He went up to my couch.
clearly a reference to Reuben’s adultery with Jacob’s concubine Bilhah (35:22).
This act was one of the ways to take over, if you remember Absolom, in the site of the people took his fathers concubine , this saying that he was now in charge, could it be that Dad was getting old and we are now going to take over , me being the first born.
The Mishnah says that this verse is to be read from the Torah in Public but not to be translated, the accentuation caused verse 22-23 to be read as one, so as to pass quickly over passage.
* *
*Verse 3. *Reuben as the first-born had a right to a double portion of all that the father had; see Deuteronomy 21:17.
The eminence or dignity mentioned here may refer to the priesthood; the power, to the regal government or kingdom. In this sense it has been understood by all the ancient Targumists. The Targum of Onkelos paraphrases it thus: “Thou shouldst have received three portions, the birthright, the priesthood, and the kingdom:” and to this the Targums of Jonathan ben Uzziel and Jerusalem add: “But because thou hast sinned, the birthright is given to Joseph, the kingdom to Judah, and the priesthood to Levi.” That the birthright was given to the sons of Joseph we have the fullest proof from 1 Chronicles 5:1
1 Chronicles 5:1-2
*1 *Sons of Reuben, first–born of Israel. He was indeed the first–born but, when he defiled his father’s bed, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, and he was no longer reckoned as the eldest son.*2 *Although Judah grew greater than his brothers and a leader came from him, the birthright was Joseph’s.[22]
*/Thou shalt not excel/*— This tribe never rose to any eminence in Israel; ( not one king, Judge, prophet ) was not so numerous by one third as either Judah, Joseph, or Dan, when Moses took the sum of them in the wilderness, Numbers 1:21; and was among the first that were carried into captivity, 1 Chronicles 5:26.
5 “Simeon and Levi /are/ brothers;
Instruments of cruelty /are/ /in/ their dwelling place.
6 Let not my soul enter their council;
Let not my honor be united to their assembly;
For in their anger they slew a man,
And in their self-will they hamstrung an ox.
7 Cursed /be/ their anger, for /it/ /is/ fierce;
And their wrath, for it is cruel!
I will divide them in Jacob
And scatter them in Israel.
Simeon and Levi both were sons of Leah
* *
*Simeon and Levi* were men of anarchy (*violence*) and not justice, men of uncontrolled *anger *and *fury, *with disregard for men and animals. Here was God’s moral judgment on their slaughter of the Shechemites (34:25-29). God distinguishes holy war from vengeance. Both tribes were later scattered (49:7). Simeon was largely disintegrated (with its land inside that of Judah; Josh. 19:1, 9), but Levi was afforded an honorable dispersion because it was the priestly tribe (Josh. 21)
Simeon’s descendants were later absorbed into the tribe of Judah (Josh. 19:1), *and Levi became the priestly tribe (what grace!) *having no inheritance of their own. Simeon’s numerical decline is seen when we compare Num. 1:23 (59,300) with Num. 26:14 (22,200).
*hamstring* (kjv: ‘hough’), to cut the tarsal joint tendons, preventing an animal from being able to walk (Josh. 11:6, 9; 2 Sam. 8:4; 1 Chron. 18:4). **[23]**
8 “Judah, you /are/ /he/ whom your brothers shall praise;
Your hand /shall/ /be/ on the neck of your enemies;
Your father’s children shall bow down before you.
9 Judah /is/ a lion’s whelp;
From the prey, my son, you have gone up.
He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
Nor a lawgiver from between his feet,
Until *Shiloh* comes;
And to Him /shall/ /be/ the obedience of the people.
11 Binding his donkey to the vine,
And his donkey’s colt to the choice vine,
He washed his garments in wine,
And his clothes in the blood of grapes.
12 His eyes /are/ darker than wine,
And his teeth whiter than milk.
“The duration of the power of this famous tribe is next determined: ‘the scepter of dominion,’ as it is understood Esther 8:4; Isaiah 14:5, etc., or its civil government, was not to cease or depart from Judah until the birth or coming of SHILOH, signifying the Apostle, as Christ is styled, Hebrews 3:1;
nor was the native lawgiver, or expounder of the law, teacher, or scribe, intimating their ecclesiastical polity, to cease, until Shiloh should have a congregation of peoples, or religious followers, attached to him. And how accurately was this fulfilled in both these respects!
. A wordplay was made here on the name Judah which means “praise” (cf. 29:35, niv marg.). The oracle pivots on the word *until* (49:10b). When the Promised One who will rule the nations appears, the scene will become an earthly paradise. These verses anticipate the kingship in Judah culminating in the reign of Messiah (cf. the tribe of Judah, Rev. 5:5), in which *nations* will obey Him.
The NASB renders the third line of Genesis 49:10, “Until Shiloh comes.” Many sources, including the Targum (Aram. paraphrase of the OT), see “Shiloh” as a title of the Messiah. However, the Hebrew word sûéÆloµh should be rendered “whose it is,” that is, *the scepter will not depart from Judah . . . until He comes* whose it (i.e., the scepter) is (or as the niv puts it, *to whom it belongs*).
Similar words in Ezekiel 21:27, “until He comes to whom it (the crown, Ezek. 21:26) rightfully belongs” were addressed to the last king of Judah.
With the coming of Messiah there will be paradise-like splendor. Kidner says that every line of Genesis 49:11-12 “speaks of exuberant, intoxicating abundance: it is the golden age of the Coming One, whose universal rule was glimpsed in [v.] 10c” (/Genesis,/ p. 219). For Judah, grapevines will be so abundant that they will be used for hitching posts; *wine* will be as abundant as wash water. In Judah, people’s *eyes* will be red or bright from *wine* and their *teeth* will be white from drinking much *milk.* These are picturesque ways of describing the suitability of Judah’s territory for vineyards. Such opulence will be evident in the Millennium (Isa. 61:6-7; 65:21-25; Zech. 3:10).
This passage should read, Until Messiah comes to whom belongs the thrown..
Both the Targum and the LXX translated it as a reference to the messiah . the Talmud also refers to the Messiah in Sanhedren 98b. the Midrash considers this as a Messianic reference according to Bereshit Rabbah 98:7
This is one of the ploys of the Jews we have no right to put a man to death .
13 “Zebulun shall dwell by the haven of the sea;
He /shall/ /become/ a haven for ships,
And his border shall adjoin Sidon.
Zebulun’s lot or portion in the division of the Promised Land extended from the Mediterranean Sea on the west, to the lake of Gennesareth on the east; see his division, Joshua 19:10, etc. The Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases the passage thus: “Zebulun shall be on the coasts of the sea, and he shall rule over the havens; he shall subdue the provinces of the sea with his, ships, and his border shall extend unto Sidon
14 “Issachar is a strong donkey,
Lying down between two burdens;
15 He saw that rest /was/ good,
And that the land /was/ pleasant;
He bowed his shoulder to bear /a/ /burden,/
And became a band of slaves.
Like a strong *donkey,* the tribe of *Issachar* would be *forced* to work for others. Issachar, located in the fertile broad *pleasant* plain of Esdraelon, was often subject to invading armies.
The two burdens literally mean the two sacks or panniers, one on each side of the animal’s body; and couching down between these refers to the well-known propensity of the ass, whenever wearied or overloaded, to lie down even with its burden on its back.
*Verse 15. **/He saw that rest/*— The inland portion that was assigned to him between the other tribes. He inclined his shoulder to the load; the Chaldee paraphrast gives this a widely different turn to that given it by most commentators: “He saw his portion that it was good, and the land that it was fruitful; and he shall subdue the provinces of the people, and drive out their inhabitants, and those who are left shall be his servants, and his tributaries.” Grotius understands it nearly in the same way. The pusillanimity which is generally attributed to this tribe certainly does not agree with the view in which they are exhibited in Scripture. In the song of Deborah this tribe is praised for the powerful assistance which it then afforded, Judges 5:15. And in 1 Chronicles 7:1-5, they are expressly said to have been valiant men of might in all their families, and in all their generations; i. e., through every period of their history. It appears they were a laborious, hardy, valiant tribe, patient in labor and invincible in war; bearing both these burdens with great constancy whenever it was necessary. When Tola of this tribe judged Israel, the land had rest twenty-three years, Judges 10:1.
16 “Dan shall judge his people
As one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way,
A viper by the path,
That bites the horse’s heels
So that its rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for your salvation, O Lord!
Dan is connected with the serpent and deceit. It is no surprise that idolatry in Israel started with Dan.
Serpent - same word used in Gen 3:1
Dan was the first that appears to have been seduced from the true worship of God, (see Judges 18:30,)
19 “Gad, a troop shall tramp upon him,
But he shall triumph at last.
20 “Bread from Asher /shall/ /be/ rich,
And he shall yield royal dainties.
*Gad will be attacked by *a raid of /attackers,/ *but he will attack*. The verb gaµd_ad_ means “to break into” or “to attack.” Border raids were often experienced by the tribes settled east of the Jordan River (e.g., 1 Chron. 5:18-19).
Asher would be fertile and productive, providing rich *food. *That tribe settled along the rich northern coast of Canaan.
His great prosperity is described by Moses in this figurative way: “Let Asher be blessed with children, let him be acceptable to his brethren, and let him dip his foot in oil;” Deuteronomy 33:24
21 “Naphtali /is/ a deer let loose;
He uses beautiful words.
*Naphtali,* like *a doe,* would be a *free* mountain people. Deborah sang of the people of Naphtali risking their lives “on the heights of the field” (Jud. 5:18). That tribe settled northwest of the Sea of Kinnereth (Galilee).
22 “Joseph /is/ a fruitful bough,
A fruitful bough by a well;
His branches run over the wall.
23 The archers have bitterly grieved him,
Shot /at/ /him/ and hated him.
24 But his bow remained in strength,
And the arms of his hands were made strong
By the hands of the Mighty /God/ of Jacob
(From there /is/ the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel),
25 By the God of your father who will help you,
And by the Almighty who will bless you
/With/ blessings of heaven above,
Blessings of the deep that lies beneath,
Blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
26 The blessings of your father
Have excelled the blessings of my ancestors,
Up to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills.
They shall be on the head of Joseph,
And on the crown of the head of him who was separate from his brothers.
The blessing on Joseph is longest. He is a fruitful bough, attacked by his brothers, but victorious in the end. Jacob gives Joseph a variety of blessings, material and spiritual, and he assures Joseph of ultimate victory through the God of Israel. Joseph is a “prince among his brethren” (end of v. 26).
*Verse 22. **/The sum of a fruitful vine/*— This appears to me to refer to Jacob himself, who was blessed with such a numerous posterity that in two hundred and fifteen years after this his own descendants amounted to upwards of 600, 000 effective men; and the figures here are intended to point out the continual growth and increase of his posterity. Jacob was a fruitful tree planted by a fountain, which because it was good would yield good fruit; and because it was planted near a fountain, from being continually watered, would be perpetually fruitful. The same is used and applied to Jacob, Deuteronomy 33:28: The FOUNTAIN OF JACOB shall be upon a land of corn, and wine, etc.
27 “Benjamin is a ravenous wolf;
In the morning he shall devour the prey,
And at night he shall divide the spoil.”
This tribe is very fitly compared to a ravenous wolf, because of the rude courage and ferocity which they have invariably displayed, particularly in their war with the other tribes, in which they killed more men than the whole of their own numbers amounted to.
“This last tribe,” says Dr. Hales, “is compared to a wolf for its ferocious and martial disposition, such as was evinced by their contests with the other tribes, in which, after two victories, they were almost exterminated, Judges 19, 20.” Its union with the tribe of Judah seems to be intimated in their joint conquests, expressed nearly in the same terms: “Judah went up from the prey;” “Benjamin devoured the prey.” Moses in his parallel prophecy, Deuteronomy 33:12, confirms this by signifying that the sanctuary should be fixed in his lot, and that he should continue as long as the existence of the temple itself:—
*/T/**/HE /**/B/**/ELOVED /**/O/**/F /**/T/**/HE /**/L/**/ORD /**/shall dwell with him in safety, And shall cover him all the day long, And shall dwell between his shoulders./*
*/Deuteronomy /**33**/:/**12**/./*
*/In the morning/*, */etc/*.— These expressions have been variously understood. The sense given above is that in which the principal interpreters agree; but Houbigant protests against the prophecy signifying the continuance of this tribe, as the words, “in the morning devouring the prey,” and “in the evening dividing the spoil,” are supposed to imply; “because,” he observes, “after the return from the Babylonish captivity, this tribe is no more mentioned.” But this may be accounted for from the circumstance of its being associated with that of Judah, (see 1 Kings 12:21-24,) after which it is scarcely ever mentioned but in that union. Being thus absorbed in the tribe of Judah, it continued from the morning till the evening of the Jewish dispensation, and consequently till the Lion of the tribe of Judah was seen in the wilderness of Israel.
In the morning, according to Mr. Ainsworth, “signifies the first times; for Ehud of Benjamin was the second judge that saved the Israelites from the hands of the Moabites, Judges 3:15, etc. Saul of Benjamin was the first king of Israel; he and his son were great warriors, making a prey of many enemies, 1 Samuel 11:6, 7, 11; 14:13, 15, 47, 48. And the evening, the latter times; for Mordecai and Esther of Benjamin delivered the Jews from a great destruction, and slew their enemies, Esther 8:7, 9, 11; 9:5, 6, 15, 16.”
Benjamin is compared to a wolf catching the game he pursues and then enjoying his prey at night. King Saul came from this tribe and was a conqueror; Saul of Tarsus, who *became Paul the apostle, also came from Benjamin.*
The Benjamites seem to have had a tendency to be left-handed (Judges 20:16), and in at least one instance they are described as being ambidextrous (I Chr 12:2).[24]
28 All these /are/ the twelve tribes of Israel, and this /is/ what their father spoke to them. And he blessed them; he blessed each one according to his own blessing.
29 Then he charged them and said to them: “I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that /is/ in the field of Ephron the Hittite,30 “in the cave that /is/ in the field of Machpelah, which /is/ before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place.31 “There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.32 “The field and the cave that /is/ there /were/ purchased from the sons of Heth.”33 And when Jacob had finished commanding his sons, he drew his feet up into the bed and breathed his last, and was gathered to his people.
*49:29-33.* Once more the subject of a patriarch’s grave became important as Jacob instructed Joseph to *bury *him *with* his* fathers* in* Canaan,* not in Egypt (cf. 47:29-30). That is where his hope was. At *the Cave . . . of Machpelah *(purchased by *Abraham,* 23:3-20) near Hebron were buried *Sarah* (23:19), *Abraham* (25:8-9), *Isaac* (35:27-29), *Rebekah *(Isaac’s *wife*, 49:31), and *Leah *(Jacob’s first wife, v. 31).
So *Jacob *died after 147 years (47:28) of struggle; his sorrow came to an end. Infirmities, he had many; sins, not a few. But Jacob had an unquenchable desire for God’s blessing. He had a deep piety that habitually relied on God in spite of all else. In the end he died as a man of genuine faith. He learned in his life where the real blessings came from, and he fought with God and man to be privileged to hand them on to his sons.
From Genesis 49:31 we find that Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah, had been already deposited there, and among them Jacob wished to have his bones laid; and he left his dying charge with his children to bury him in this place, and this they conscientiously performed. See Genesis 50:13.
*/ /*
*/Genesis 50:13/*
13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
*/The King James Version/*
=====++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
* *
Genesis 49:22-25- The Source of Strength- Chuck Smith
* *
* Intro Jacob is 147 years old and is dying. He calls the 12 sons*
* to his bedside and with heroic effort pulls himself into a*
* sitting position. Starting with the oldest of the sons he*
* begins to prophesy over them around the circle. Rueben you*
* my firstborn, the beginning of my strength, the excellency*
* of dignity and excellency of power. Unstable as water, you*
* shall not excel. He speaks to the sons of Leah, then Bildad*
* next Zilpah, then he comes to the sons of Rachel. Joseph.*
* *
* I. Description of Joseph.*
* A. A fruitful bough.*
* 1. Picture a peach tree, just loaded with large juicy*
* peaches.*
* 2. This is probably a reference to the opulance and*
* wealth in which Joseph lived there in Egypt.*
* 3. The fruitful bough by a well would mean that the tree*
* had an abundant supply of water.*
* B. His branches run over the wall.*
* 1. Not only is he well provided for, but he shares his*
* abundance with others.*
* 2. Fruit hanging over the wall is free picking.*
* *
* II. The problems of Joseph.*
* A. The archers have bitterly grieved him.*
* 1. This is a reference to the inner feelings of grief*
* that Joseph was exposed to*
* a. When sold by his brothers as a slave.*
* b. Being forcibly taken from his family.*
* c. Spending years in prison on false charges.*
* B. Shot at him. Think of all the arrows that were shot at*
* Joseph.*
* 1. Arrows of jealousy.*
* a. His older brothers were all jealous of the*
* extra attention paid to him by his father.*
* b. Think of the cruel words that must have been*
* directed at him.*
* c. Think of the physical abuse being the smallest*
* of the eleven brothers.*
* 2. Arrows of bitter hatred.*
* a. They had plotted to murder him.*
* b. As he was in the pit, he heard them talking of*
* just leaving him there to starve to death.*
* c. His own brothers sold him as a slave.*
* 3. Arrows of temptation.*
* 4. Arrows of lies.*
* 5. Arrows of forgetfulness.*
* 6. Arrows of despair.*
* 7. Arrows of loniness.*
* *
* III. The response of Joseph to his problems, His bow abode in*
* strength. A reference to his refusal to take revenge.*
* A. His brothers were at his mercy. He could have gotten even*
* with them for all the bitter years of cruelty and hatred.*
* 1. His words to them were never recrimatory.*
* 2. He spoke only to aliviate their fears of his possible*
* actions of retribution.*
* B. I suppose when he came into power in Egypt, he could have*
* taken action against Potiphar and his wife.*
* C. His bow was powerful his arrows true, he could have used*
* them and destroyed his adversaries.*
* 1. The power to take revenge was there.*
* 2. The opportunity to take revenge was there.*
* 3. The desire to take revenge was missing.*
* a. How can that be?*
* b. I think the desire for revenge is almost an*
* inate characteristic in man.*
* c. Little children manifest it. I'll get even.*
* *
* IV. The secret and source of his strength. The arms of his hands*
* were made strong by the mighty God of Jacob.*
* A. Teaching my sons archery.*
* 1. I got them strong bows and taught them how to string*
* them.*
* 2. I showed them how to notch the arrows.*
* 3. How to draw back on the bow string.*
* 4. How to come down on the target.*
* 5. Because of the strength of the bows, it was necessary*
* that I stand behind them and hold their wrists to aid*
* them in drawing the bow and not just let the arrow*
* fly.*
* B. This is the picture that Jacob has of Joseph. God is*
* standing behind him holding on to his wrists.*
* 1. The secret is that is not really the strength of*
* Joseph, but the strength of God.*
* 2. When God is my strength, I am as strong as God.*
* C. He is the Shepherd. The Lord is my Shepherd.*
* 1. First actual reference to God as a shepherd. "#Gen 48:15"*
* The God who has fed (raah) shepherded me *
* a. God as the provider, as the chief duty of the*
* shepherd was to provide for his sheep.*
* b. God had provided well for Joseph, a fruitful*
* bough.*
* D. The stone of Isreal.*
* 1. This is the first reference to God as a rock or a*
* stone.*
* a. This becomes a very common nomanclature for God,*
* in the Bible.*
* b. The idea is that of protection, defence and*
* strength.*
* c. To the nation of Isreal there was also a special*
* significance. The rock from whence the water*
* of life flowed to them when they were dying in*
* the wilderness. Paul tells them in Corinthians*
* that that rock was Jesus.*
* 2. In the context here the reference is to the strength*
* that God is to those who trust in Him.*
* *
* V. The Blessing of having God as our Shepherd and Rock.*
* A. Blessings of heaven above. (rain)*
* B. Blessings of the deep that lies beneath. The wells of*
* water.*
* C. Blessings of the breasts and womb. Children.*
* D. How blessed we are to be able to trust in God.*
* *
* *
Genesis 50:1-26
Then Joseph fell on his father’s face, and wept over him, and kissed him.2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. So the physicians embalmed Israel.3 Forty days were required for him, for such are the days required for those who are embalmed; and the Egyptians mourned for him seventy days.
( see detail at end of notes )
*Joseph* instructed that Jacob’s body be *embalmed *for burial in typical Egyptian fashion. The *embalming* period was seldom less than a month and normally took *40 days. The Egyptians mourned for *Jacob* 70 days*—two and one-half months—just two days short of the normal time of mourning for a Pharaoh. This showed the great respect the Egyptians had for Joseph. After the time of *mourning, Joseph* asked *Pharaoh* and got permission to go *bury* his* father* in the Cave of Machpelah in *Canaan**.*
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,5 ‘My father made me swear, saying, “Behold, I am dying; in my grave which I dug for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me.” Now therefore, please let me go up and bury my father, and I will come back.’ ”6 And Pharaoh said, “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.”
7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,8 as well as all the house of Joseph, his brothers, and his father’s house. Only their little ones, their flocks, and their herds they left in the land of Goshen.9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen, and it was a very great gathering.10 Then they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which /is/ beyond the Jordan, and they mourned there with a great and very solemn lamentation. He observed seven days of mourning for his father.11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, they said, “This /is/ a deep mourning of the Egyptians.” Therefore its name was called Abel Mizraim, which /is/ beyond the Jordan.
12 So his sons did for him just as he had commanded them.13 For his sons carried him to the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, before Mamre, which Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite as property for a burial place.14 And after he had buried his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brothers and all who went up with him to bury his father.
*50:7-9.* *Joseph* led a huge procession, including Egyptian *dignitaries . . . Joseph’s *family and *brothers,* and charioteers, to Canaan to bury his father. This was Joseph’s first time back in his homeland in 39 years (he had been in Egypt 22 years before Jacob moved there and Jacob had lived there 17 years). Centuries later the children of Israel would leave Egypt again, taking with them the bones of a patriarch, Joseph himself. Here, however, the sojourn into the land of promise was temporary; the grave was a claim to the land of promise. God had promised Jacob that He would return him to the land and that Joseph would bury him (46:4).
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him.”16 So they sent /messengers/ to Joseph, saying, “Before your father died he commanded, saying,17 ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you.” ’ Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, “Behold, we /are/ your servants.”19 Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for /am/ I in the place of God?20 “But as for you, you meant evil against me; /but/ God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as /it/ /is/ this day, to save many people alive.21 “Now therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
*Verse 16. **/Thy father did command/*— Whether he did or not we cannot tell. Some think they had feigned this story, but that is not so likely. Jacob might have had suspicions too, and might have thought that the best way to prevent evil was to humble themselves before their brother, and get a fresh assurance of his forgiveness.
22 So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s household. And Joseph lived one hundred and ten years.23 Joseph saw Ephraim’s children to the third /generation/. The children of Machir, the son of Manasseh, were also brought up on Joseph’s knees.24 And Joseph said to his brethren, “I am dying; but God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land to the land of which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”25 Then Joseph took an oath from the children of Israel, saying, “God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.”26 So Joseph died, /being/ one hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
*Verse 23. **/Were brought up upon Joseph/*’*/s knees/*.— They were educated by him, or under his direction; his sons and their children continuing to acknowledge him as patriarch, or head of the family, as long as he lived.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
EMBALMING
we translate to embalm, has undoubtedly the same meaning with the Arabic [A] hanata, which also signifies to embalm, or to preserve from
putrefaction by the application of spices, etc., and hence [A] hantat, an embalmer. The word is used to express the reddening of leather; and probably the ideal meaning may be something analogous to our tanning, which consists in removing the moisture, and closing up the pores so as to render them impervious to wet. This probably is the grand principle in embalming; and whatever effects this, will preserve flesh as perfectly as skin. Who can doubt that a human muscle, undergoing the same process of tanning as the hide of an ox, would not become equally incorruptible? I have seen a part of the muscle of a human thigh, that, having come into contact with some tanning matter, either in the coffin or in the grave, was in a state of perfect soundness, when the rest of the body had been long reduced to earth; and it exhibited the appearance of a thick piece of well tanned leather.
In the art of embalming, the Egyptians excelled all nations in the world; with them it was a common practice. Instances of the perfection to which they carried this art may be seen in the numerous mummies, as they are called, which are found in different European cabinets, and which have been all brought from Egypt. This people not only embalmed men and women, and thus kept the bodies of their beloved relatives from the empire of corruption, but they embalmed useful animals also. I have seen the body of the Ibris thus preserved; and though the work had been done for some thousands of years, the very feathers were in complete preservation, and the color of the plumage discernible. The account of this curious process, the articles used, and the manner of applying them, I subjoin from Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, as also the manner of their mournings and funeral solemnities, which are highly illustrative of the subjects in this chapter.
“When any man of quality dies,” says Herodotus, “all the women of that family besmear their heads and faces with dirt; then, leaving the body at home, they go lamenting up and down the city with all their relations; their apparel being girt about them, and their breasts left naked. On the other hand the men, having likewise their clothes girt about them, beat themselves. These things being done, they carry the dead body to be embalmed; for which there are certain persons appointed who profess this art. These, when the body is brought to them, show to those that bring it certain models of dead persons in wood, according to any of which the
deceased may be painted. One of these they say is accurately made like to one whom, in such a matter, I do not think lawful to name; *tou ouk osion poioumai to ounoma epi toioutw prhgmati onomazein*; (probably Osiris, one of the principal gods of Egypt, is here intended;) then they show a second inferior to it, and of an easier price; and next a third, cheaper than the former, and of a very small value; which being seen, they ask them after which model the deceased shall be represented. When they have agreed upon the price they depart; and those with whom the dead corpse is left proceed to embalm it after the following manner: First of all, they with a crooked iron draw the brain out of the head through the nostrils; next, with a sharp AEthiopic stone they cut up that part of the abdomen called the ilia, and that way draw out all the bowels, which, having cleansed and washed with palm wine, they again rinse and wash with wine perfumed with pounded odors: then filling up the belly with pure myrrh and cassia grossly powdered, and all other odors except frankincense, they sew it up again. Having so done, they salt it up close with nitre seventy days, for longer they may not salt it. After this number of days are over they wash the corpse again, and then roll it up with fine linen, all besmeared with a sort of gum, commonly used by the Egyptians instead of glue. Then is the body restored to its relations, who prepare a wooden coffin for it in the shape and likeness of a man, and then put the embalmed body into it, and thus enclosed, place it in a repository in the house, setting it upright against the wall. After this manner they, with great expense, preserve their dead; whereas those who to avoid too great a charge desire a mediocrity, thus embalm them: they neither cut the belly nor pluck out the entrails, but fill it with clysters of oil of cedar injected up the anus, and then salt it the aforesaid number of days. On the last of these they press out the cedar clyster by the same way they had injected it, which has such virtue and efficacy that it brings out along with it the bowels wasted, and the nitre consumes the flesh, leaving only the skin and bones: having thus done, they restore the dead body to the relations, doing nothing more. The third way of embalming is for those of yet meaner circumstances; they with lotions wash the belly, then dry it up with salt for seventy days, and afterwards deliver it to be carried away. Nevertheless, beautiful women and ladles of quality were not delivered to be embalmed till three or four days after they had been dead;” for which Herodotus assigns a sufficient reason, however degrading to human nature:
*touto de poieousi outw toude eineka, ina mh sfi oi tariceutai misgwntai thsi gunaixiù lamfqhnai gar tina fasi misgomenon nekrw prosfatw gunaikovù kateipai de ton omotecnon*. [The original should not be put into a plainer language; the abomination to which it refers being too gross.] “But if any stranger or Egyptian was either killed by a crocodile or drowned in the river, the city where he was cast up was to embalm and bury him honorably in the sacred monuments, whom no one, no, not a relation or friend, but the priests of the Nile only, might touch; because they buried one who was something more than a dead man.” -HEROD. Euterpe, p. 120, ed. Gale.
Diodorus Siculus relates the funeral ceremonies of the Egyptians more distinctly and clearly, and with some very remarkable additional circumstances. “When any one among the Egyptians dies,” says he, “all his relations and friends, putting dirt upon their heads, go lamenting about the city, till such time as the body shall be buried: in the meantime, they abstain from baths and wine, and all kinds of delicate meats; neither do they, during that time, wear any costly apparel. The manner of their burials is threefold: one very costly, a second sort less chargeable, and a third very mean. In the first, they say, there is spent a talent of silver; in the second, twenty minae; but in the last there is very little expense. ‘Those who have the care of ordering the body are such as have been taught that art by their ancestors. These, showing each kind of burial, ask them after what manner they will have the body prepared. When they have agreed upon the manner, they deliver the body to such as are usually appointed for this office. First, he who has the name of scribe, laying it upon the ground, marks about the flank on the left side how much is to be cut away; then he who is called *parascisthv*, paraschistes, the cutter or dissector, with an AEthiopic stone, cuts away as much of the flesh as the law commands, and presently runs away as fast as he can; those who are present, pursuing him, cast stones at him, and curse him, hereby turning all the execrations which they imagine due to his office upon him. For whosoever offers violence, wounds, or does any kind of injury to a body of the same nature with himself, they think him worthy of hatred: but those who are *tariceutai*, taricheutae, the embalmers, they esteem worthy of honor and respect; for they are familiar with their priests, and go into the temples as holy men, without any prohibition. As soon as they come to embalm the dissected body, one of them thrusts his hand through
the wound into the abdomen, and draws forth all the bowels but the heart and kidneys, which another washes and cleanses with wine made of palms and aromatic odors. Lastly, having washed the body, they anoint it with oil of cedar and other things for about thirty days, and afterwards with myrrh, cinnamon, and other such like matters, which have not only a power to preserve it a long time, but also give it a sweet smell; after which they deliver it to the kindred in such manner that every member remains whole and entire, and no part of it changed, but the beauty and shape of the face seem just as they were before; and the person may be known, even the eyebrows and eyelids remaining as they were at first. By this means many of the Egyptians, keeping the dead bodies of their ancestors in magnificent houses, so perfectly see the true visage and countenance of those that died many ages before they themselves were born, that in viewing the proportions of every one of them, and the lineaments of their faces, they take as much delight as if they were still living among them. Moreover, the friends and nearest relations of the deceased, for the greater pomp of the solemnity, acquaint the judges and the rest of their friends with the time prefixed for the funeral or day of sepulture, declaring that such a one (calling the dead by his name) is such a day to pass the lake; at which time above forty judges appear, and sit together in a semicircle, in a place prepared on the hither side of the lake, where a ship, provided beforehand by such as have the care of the business, is haled up to the shore, and steered by a pilot whom the Egyptians in their language called Charon. Hence they say Orpheus, upon seeing this ceremony while he was in Egypt, invented the fable of hell, partly imitating therein the people of Egypt, and partly adding somewhat of his own. The ship being thus brought to the lake side, before the coffin is put on board every one is at liberty by the law to accuse the dead of what he thinks him guilty. If any one proves he was a bad man, the judges give sentence that the body shall be deprived of sepulture; but in case the informer be convicted of false accusation, then he is severely punished. If no accuser appear, or the information prove false, then all the kindred of the deceased leave off mourning, and begin to set forth his praises, yet say nothing of his birth, (as the custom is among the Greeks,) because the Egyptians all think themselves equally noble; but they recount how the deceased was educated from his youth and brought up to man’s estate, exalting his piety towards the gods, and justice towards men, his chastity, and other virtues wherein
he excelled; and lastly pray and call upon the infernal deities (*touv katw qeouv*, the gods below) to receive him into the societies of the just. The common people take this from the others, and consequently all is said in his praise by a loud shout, setting forth likewise his virtues in the highest strains of commendation, as one that is to live for ever with the infernal gods. Then those that have tombs of their own inter the corpse in places appointed for that purpose; and they that have none rear up the body in its coffin against some strong wall of their house. But such as are denied sepulture on account of some crime or debt, are laid up at home without coffins; yet when it shall afterwards happen that any of their posterity grows rich, he commonly pays off the deceased person’s debts, and gets his crimes absolved, and so buries him honorably; for the Egyptians are wont to boast of their parents and ancestors that were honorably buried. It is a custom likewise among them to pawn the dead bodies of their parents to their creditors; but then those that do not redeem them fall under the greatest disgrace imaginable, and are denied burial themselves at their deaths.”-Diod. Sic. Biblioth., lib. i., cap. 91-93., edit. Bipont. See also the Necrokedia, or Art of Embalming, by Greenhill, 4to., p. 241, who endeavored in vain to recommend and restore the art But he could not give his countrymen Egyptian manners; for a dead carcass is to the British an object of horror, and scarcely any, except a surgeon or an undertaker, cares to touch it.[25]
----
[1]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[2]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[3]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[4]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[5]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament/, (Moody Press: The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament) Chicago.
[6]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[7]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament/, (Moody Press: The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, New Testament) Chicago.
[8]/The Holy Bible, New King James Version/, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
[9]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[10]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[11]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[12]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[13]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[14]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[15]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[16] Adam Clarks commentary
[17]Warren W. Wiersbe, /Be Determined/, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books) 1994.
[18] Chuck Smith's notes
[19]G.G. The Jerusalem, /The Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land/, (New York: Prentice Hall Press) 1990.
[20]/Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon/, (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.) 1995.
[21]Walvoord, John F., and Zuck, Roy B., /The Bible Knowledge Commentary/, (Wheaton, Illinois: Scripture Press Publications, Inc.) 1983, 1985.
[22]/The New Jerusalem Bible: Reader’s Edition/, (New York: Doubleday.) 1990.
[23]Achtemier, Paul J., Th.D., /Harper’s Bible Dictionary/, (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, Inc.) 1985.
[24]Charles F. Pfeiffer, /The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, Old Testament/, (Chicago: Moody Press) 1962.
[25] Adams Clarks notes on Gen.