From Prison to Glory

Questions with Proposed Answers Included

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 39:21-Genesis 41:57

 

Genesis 39:21 And Yehovah was with He-Will-Gather [Joseph]. And He tilted grace unto him. And He gave His favour in the eyes of the prince of the house of the prison. ²²And the prince of the house of the prison gave into He-Will-Gather’s [Joseph’s] hand all the prisoners that are in the house of the prison. And all that they did there, he, he was doing. ²³There is not a prince of the house of the prison seeing all-anything in his hand in that Yehovah is with him. And what he does, Yehovah prospers.

 

Genesis 40:1 And he was after these things. The water-provider of the king of Egypt and the baker sinned to their lords, to the king of Egypt. ²And Pharaoh was furious concerning two of his eunuchs—concerning the prince of the water-providers and concerning the prince of the bakers. ³And he gave them unto the house of the prison via the guard of the house of the prince of the executioners, a place where He-Will-Gather [Joseph] is bound there. ⁴And the prince of the executioners appointed He-Will-Gather [Joseph] with them. And he ministered-to them. And they were days in the guard.

 

⁵And they dreamed a dream—both of them—a man his dream in one night, a man according-to the interpretation of his dream: the water-provider and the baker who are to the king of Egypt who are bound in the house of the prison.

 

⁶And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] came in unto them in the morning. And he saw them. And behold, they are upset. ⁷And he asked Pharaoh’s eunuchs who are with him in the guard of his lord’s house, saying, “Why are your faces bad today?” ⁸And they said unto him, “We have dreamed a dream. And no interpreter is of him.” And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] said unto them, “Are not interpretations to Elohim? Scroll-ye to me, na.” ⁹And the prince water-provider scrolled his dream to He-Will-Gather [Joseph]. And he said to him, “Via my dream—and behold a vine is to my faces. ¹⁰And in the vine are three intertwiners. And he is as budding. Her blossom elevated. Her clusters ripened grapes. ¹¹And Pharaoh’s cup is in my hand. And I took the grapes. And I squeezed them unto Pharaoh’s cup. And I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh.” ¹²And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] said to him, “This is his interpretation. Three of the tendrils—they are three days. ¹³In yet three days Pharaoh shall carry thy head. And he shall restore thee upon thy footing. And thou shalt give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according-to the first justice when thou wast his water-provider. ¹⁴But rather thou remembered me with thee just as he shall-be-good to thee. And thou shalt do grace with me, na. And thou shalt remember me unto Pharaoh. And thou shalt bring me from this house. ¹⁵For, stolen, I was stolen from the land of the Hebrews. And also here, I have not done from a blemish that they put me into a pit.”

 

¹⁶And the prince of the bakers saw that the interpretation is good. And he said unto He-Will-Gather [Joseph], “Even I am in my dream. And behold three baskets of whiteness are upon my head. ¹⁷And in the uppermost basket is from every food of Pharaoh, the doing of a baker. And the bird ate them from the basket from upon my head.” ¹⁸And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] answered. And he said, “This is his interpretation. Three of the baskets—they are three days. ¹⁹In yet three days Pharaoh shall carry thy head from upon thee. And he shall hang thee upon a tree. And the bird shall eat thy flesh from off of thee!”

 

²⁰And he was in the third day, a day of the childing of Pharaoh. And he made a drinking-party to all his slaves. And he carried the head of the prince of the water-providers and the head of the prince of the bakers in the midst of his slaves. ²¹And he restored the prince of the water-providers upon his water-providership. And he gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh. ²²And he hanged the prince of the bakers just as He-Will-Gather [Joseph] interpreted to them.

 

²³And the prince of the water-providers did not remember He-Will-Gather [Joseph]. And he forgot him.

 

Genesis 41:1 And he was at the end of two years of days. And Pharaoh dreamed. And behold, he stood upon the river. ²And behold, seven cows beautiful of the appearance and healthy-[ones] of flesh are ascending from the river. And they grazed in a marsh. ³And behold, seven other cows bad of appearance and thin-[ones] of flesh are ascending from the river after them. And they stood near the cows upon the lip of the river. ⁴And the bad-of-the-appearance and thin-[ones]-of-the-flesh cows ate the seven beautiful-[ones]-of-appearance and the healthy cows. And Pharaoh awoke.

 

⁵And he slept. And he dreamed a second time. And behold, seven healthy and good grain-heads are ascending in one stalk. ⁶And behold, seven thin and blighted-of-the-east grain-heads are springing after them. ⁷And the seven thin ears devoured seven of the healthy and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke. And behold a dream.

 

⁸And he was in the morning. And his spirit beat. And he sent. And he called all magicians of Egypt and all her wise men. And Pharaoh scrolled his dream to them. And there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh.

 

⁹And prince of the waterers spoke with Pharaoh, saying, “I remind of my sins today. ¹⁰Pharaoh was furious concerning his slaves. And he gave me into guard, house of the prince of the executioners, me and prince of the bakers. ¹¹And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. ¹²And there with us is a youth, a Hebrew, slave to prince of the executioners. And we scrolled to him. And he interpreted our dreams to us. He interpreted a man according to his dream. ¹³And he was just as he interpreted to us—so he was. He restored me upon my foundation and he hanged him.”

 

¹⁴And Pharaoh sent. And he called Joseph. And they hurried him from the pit. And he shaved. And he changed his garments. And he came unto Pharaoh.

 

¹⁵And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream. And an interpreter is not with him. And I, I have heard concerning thee to say, thou wilt hear a dream to interpret him.” ¹⁶And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “Without me! Elohim shall answer the peace of Pharaoh.” ¹⁷And Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I am standing upon the lip of the river. ¹⁸And behold, seven healthy-of-flesh and beautiful-of-appearance cows ascend from the river. And they grazed in a marsh. ¹⁹And behold, seven other very skinny and bad-of-appearance and lean-of-flesh cows are ascending after them. I didn’t see as such in all the land of Egypt for badness! ²⁰And the lean and the bad cows ate the first seven healthy cows. ²¹And they came into their midst. And it could not be known that they had come into their midst! And their appearance is bad just as at the beginning. And I awoke.

 

²²“And I saw in my dream. And behold, seven ears are ascending in one stalk, full and good. ²³And behold, seven ears—withered, emaciated, blasted with the east wind are springing up after them. ²⁴And the emaciated ears devoured the seven good ears. And I said unto the magicians. And there is not a teller for me!”

 

²⁵And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh—it is one. Elohim has told Pharaoh what He is doing. ²⁶The seven good cows—they are seven years. And the seven good ears—they are seven years. The dream—it is one. ²⁷And the seven emaciated and bad of appearance cows that are ascending after them—they are seven years. And the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.

 

²⁸ “This is the speech that I spoke unto Pharaoh. He shows unto Pharaoh what the Elohim is doing. ²⁹Behold, seven years are coming, big fullness in all the land of Egypt. ³⁰And seven years of famine shall arise after them. And all the fullness shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt. And the famine shall finish the land. ³¹And the fullness shall not be known in the land from the faces of that famine afterward. For he was very heavy! ³²And concerning the doubling of the dream unto Pharaoh twice: for the speech is established from with the Elohim. And the Elohim is hastening to do him! ³³And now Pharaoh shall see a man of understanding and of wisdom. And he has set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Pharaoh shall do. And he has visited visitors over the land. And he shall one-fifth the land of Egypt in the seven years of the fullness. ³⁵And they gathered all food of these coming good years. And he shall pile grain under the hand of Pharaoh, food in the cities. And they shall guard! ³⁶And the food shall be for appointment to the land to seven years of the famine that shall be in the land of Egypt. And the land shall not be cut via famine.”

 

³⁷And the speech was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his slaves. ³⁸And Pharaoh said unto his slaves, “Will we find as this, a man whom a spirit of gods is in him?”

 

³⁹And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “After gods making thee know all this, there is no understanding and wisdom as thee! ⁴⁰Thou, thou shalt be over my house. And all my people shall kiss upon thy mouth! Only the chair—I will be bigger than thee.”

 

⁴¹And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “See! I gave thee over all the land of Egypt!” ⁴²And Pharaoh removed his ring from upon his hand. And he gave her upon Joseph’s hand. And he dressed him, clothing of fine-linen. And he put a decking of the gold upon his neck. ⁴³And he rode him via the second chariot that is to him. And they called to his faces, “I will kneel!” And he will be given him over all the land of Egypt.

 

⁴⁴And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, “I am Pharaoh! And no man shall elevate his hand and his foot without thee in all the land of Egypt!” ⁴⁵And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Salvation of the Age [Zaphnath Paaneah]. And he gave to him Asnat daughter of Poti Pherah priest of On for a woman. And Joseph exited over the land of Egypt. ⁴⁶And Joseph is a son of thirty year via his standing to the faces of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

 

And Joseph exited from the faces of Pharaoh. And he crossed-over in all the land of Egypt.

 

⁴⁷And the land made to fistfuls in seven of the years of the fullness. ⁴⁸And he collected all food of seven years that were in the land of Egypt. And he gave food into cities. He gave food of a field of the city that is her surroundings into her midst. ⁴⁹And Joseph piled grain as sand of the sea—very much—until he ceased to scroll. For there is no scrolling!

 

⁵⁰And to Joseph: he childed two sons before the years of famine will come that Asnat, daughter of Poti Pherah priest of On, childed to him. ⁵¹And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Forgetter [Manasseh]. “For Elohim made-me-forget all my toil and all the house of my father.” ⁵²And he called the name of the second Doubly Fruitful [Ephraim]. “For Elohim fruited me in the land of my humiliation.”

 

⁵³And seven of the years of fullness that was in the land of Egypt were finished. ⁵⁴And seven of the years of the famine began to come just as Joseph said. And the famine was in all the lands. And there was bread in all the land of Egypt.

 

⁵⁵And all the land of Egypt was famished. And the people outcried unto Pharaoh to [for] bread. And Pharaoh said to all Egypt, “Go-ye unto Joseph! Ye shall do what he will say to you!” ⁵⁶And the famine was over all faces of the land. And Joseph opened all that was in them. And he broke to Egypt. And the famine gripped in the land of Egypt. ⁵⁷And all the land—they came—Egyptward unto Joseph to break, because the famine gripped in all the land.

 

 

I. Joseph’s Trustworthiness (verses 21-23)

 

Yehovah was with Joseph. Yehovah bent grace toward Joseph. Yehovah gave His favour in the eyes of the prince of the house of the prison. This resulted in the prince of the prison house giving all the prisoners in the prison into Joseph’s hand. Anything a prisoner did was because Joseph did it. No prince of the prison house concerned himself with seeing anything in the prison that Joseph did; Yehovah was with him. Yehovah prospered everything Joseph did.

 

Questions

 

1.   How many times does the text state that Yehovah was with Joseph? This must be about the fourth time. The text stated it a number of times.

 

2.   Why did Yehovah state this so many times? Yehovah is emphasizing this fact for readers so that they can see that Yehovah’s being with a person doesn’t mean the person won’t suffer; it does mean that the person will succeed in doing well.

 

3.   What does “He tilted grace unto him” mean? This means that Yehovah made the grace of those around and over Joseph go in Joseph’s direction.

 

4.   What does grace mean in the Bible? Grace is a fervent (very strong) ardent (burning) zeal (intensity toward any issue that drives a person to care enough to take action) by which one is actuated (motivated to take action). It can be toward someone or a group, or an animal, or it can be against someone or a group, or an animal.

 

      In this case, Yehovah tilted the fervent, ardent zeal of those in charge of Joseph and around Joseph toward Joseph so that they were very willing to benefit him.

 

5.   Explain what “He gave His favour in the eyes of the prince of the house of the prison” means: Yehovah had favour toward Joseph. He gave that same favour that He had to the prince of the prison house toward Joseph so that the prince saw Joseph in the same way (in the eyes of) that Yehovah saw Joseph.

 

6.   Why was grace and favour demonstrated by responsibilities? Would you like to be rewarded for doing well by being given responsibilities that include more work? Responsibilities are the greatest rewards a person can be given! Even if a person is rewarded by being given millions of dollars, that reward requires responsibilities. Yehovah will give rewards to those who are faithful in the form of responsibilities. (If you don’t know this or are unsure, consider the parable that starts in Matthew 25:14.)

 

      Those who are the happiest in life are those who take responsibilities as privileges, and do what those responsibilities require knowing that they are accomplishing good.

 

      Responsibilities always include work. If you don’t desire responsibilities, you won’t be happy or settled in life.

 

7.   Why did the prince of the prison house give other prisoners into Joseph’s hand? The prince of the prison house saw how Joseph benefited both the prisoners and the prince himself. This way, the prince didn’t have to concern himself with the welfare of the prisoners, and Joseph could tend to them with great ability. All prisoners are slaves; Joseph already had been over other slaves.

 

8.   Why did Yehovah make sure that Joseph was over the other prisoners? Joseph was in training.

 

• He learned how to deal with some of the most clever prisoners in the land, since they were part of the royal house.
• He learned how to speak to Pharaoh and to others with proper Egyptian respect.
• He learned how these men thought as they expressed themselves to him.
• He gained a grasp of perfect Egypt language and high culture.
• He learned to serve the very ones who later would need service.
• He learned great patience and work without reward.

9.   What does “all that they did there, he, he was doing” mean? This means that Joseph set their schedules and determined their meals, their exercise, their sleeping, their responsibilities, and all things that were part of prison life.

 

10. How many princes of the prison house were there? The text indicates more than one: “There is not a prince of the house of the prison seeing all-anything in his hand.” I propose that there was a prince of the house of the prison for every shift of every day so that a responsible person always oversaw the royal prison.

 

11. If the above is true, how could Joseph take the place of the princes of the prison house? Wouldn’t this be too much responsibility, giving him no sleep? If this is true, the prisoners slept when he slept (or before he went to sleep), and any prisoner who needed in the help in the night would find Joseph ready and willing to help.

 

12. What does “there is not a prince… seeing all-anything in his hand” mean? This means that no prince oversaw anything once Joseph was put in charge.

 

13. Did the text again state that Yehovah was with him? Yes, it did again in verse 23!

 

14. How much of Joseph’s work did Yehovah prosper? He prospered all of it.

 

 

II. Double Demotions (Chapter 40, verses 1-4)

 

After Joseph gained this reputation and set of responsibilities, the following events occurred. Two eunuchs, the prince of the water providers of the king, and the prince of the bakers of the king sinned to their lords, the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was furious. He gave them to the prison house by means of the guard of the house of the prince of the executioners. This was where Joseph was interred (made a prisoner). The prince of the executioners appointed Joseph with them, and Joseph ministered to them. They were days under arrest.

 

Questions

 

1.   Did the water provider and the baker sin against God, according to Genesis 40:1? The text doesn’t indicate this. Just because Pharaoh, their lords, thought they sinned doesn’t mean that they sinned against God. They did something that was offensive to Pharaoh.

 

2.   How angry was Pharaoh at these two eunuchs? He was furious!

 

3.   What did they do? The text intentionally doesn’t give those details; they are not important for readers to know in the events being described.

 

4.   Who probably was the prince of the executioners? I propose that this was Potiphar, Joseph’s slavemaster.

 

5.   Who arrested these two eunuchs? The guard of the house of the prince of the executioners arrested them.

 

6.   The text states that Joseph was bound there. Was he tied up? No, he wasn’t. Had Joseph been tied up or shackled, he couldn’t have done the work or taken the responsibilities he was given. Being bound means that he was serving a sentence that didn’t permit him to leave.

 

7.   Who assigned Joseph to these two eunuchs? Since it was the prince of the executioners, I propose that Potiphar assigned him.

 

8.   If Potiphar is involved, what does that tell the reader about Potiphar’s view of Joseph after the accusations of Potiphar’s wife? This shows that Potiphar trusted Joseph just as much as he did before, and therefore that Potiphar did not believe the stories that his wife scrolled to him.

 

9.   In what ways did Joseph minister to them?

 

• Joseph listened to them and their situations.
• Joseph made certain they had what they needed so that they were not unnecessarily uncomfortable.
• Joseph made certain that they had appropriate exercise and chores to keep them occupied, as well as social contacts.

10. How long were they “in guard” (prisoners)? When texts refer to days like this, those texts indicate quite a while, like months. Many days could mean years, but this doesn’t say many.

 

 

III. Two Nightmares (verse 5)

 

The two arrested eunuchs, the prince of the bakers and the prince of the water providers, dreamed a dream, each one his own dream, in the same night. Each dream had an interpretation.

 

Questions

 

1.   How did they dream a dream according to the interpretation of each dream? What does that mean? They each had a dream with a separate interpretation. The text is indicating that the dreams came with interpretations. They also had a dream on the same night.

 

2.   How can one tell if a dream has an interpretation? If a dream will have an interpretation, it will be a prophetic dream (whether it will arise from Yehovah or from some other source).

 

      One way to tell if a dream has an interpretation is the way the dream affects the dreamer. When Joseph was a youth, he told his dream to his brothers, then to his brothers and father. Most folks have a difficult time remembering details of dreams. Some can remember. The dreams Joseph had strongly affected him (and they affected others). In the same way, the dreams of these two eunuchs strongly affected them. Yehovah has a way of making a dream very real and very troubling if He has sent it.

 

      Many have nightmares, and think their dreams are from their god. This will sometimes include giving an occult (hidden) interpretation to the dreams that are not from Yehovah.

 

 

IV. The First Dream (verses 6-15)

 

Joseph came to see them in the morning, and he saw that they were upset. He asked them, “Why are your faces bad today?” They told him, “We have dreamed a dream. And no interpreter is of him.” Joseph’s response was, “Are not interpretations to Elohim? Scroll-ye to me, na.”

 

The first one to scroll his dream was the prince water-provider. He described a vine that was in front of him. Three intertwining (interwrapping) vines were in this vine. The vine was as if it were budding. Its blossom elevated (went up). The clusters ripened grapes. The prince water-provider had Pharaoh’s cup in his hand. He took the grapes and squeezed them unto Pharaoh’s cup. He then gave that cup upon Pharaoh’s palm of his hand.

 

Joseph replied with the interpretation. The three tendrils, the smaller vines that intertwined with the main vain are three days. Three days from the time this prince water-provider had his dream, Pharaoh would carry his head—that is, from the prison back to Pharaoh’s headquarters. Pharaoh will restore this prince to the same place he was before: upon his footing (his pedestal). He will then give Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as usual just as before.

 

Joseph then told this man to remember him to the same degree that good would occur with the prince water-provider. Joseph told him to grace with Joseph, and remember Joseph to Pharaoh. He also told him to bring him from this prison house. Joseph explained that he had been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and that he had done nothing from even a blemish that deserved his being put into a pit.

 

Questions

 

1.   Did Joseph make a habit of visiting prisoners in the morning? He had taken the places of the princes of the prison house. Thus, he did this service 24 hours a day (that is, he was on call). He definitely visited them in the morning.

 

2.   What did Joseph mean by, “Why are your faces bad today?” The word bad indicates some harm or hurt, or some type of trouble. Joseph desired to know why their faces indicated trouble on this day.

 

3.   Did these eunuchs expect a dream interpreter for their dreams? This must have been a normal part of their religious practices.

 

4.   What did these eunuchs mean by, “there is no interpreter of him?”  They thought the two dreams meant the same thing.

 

5.   What did Joseph mean by “Are not interpretations to Elohim,” and how did the eunuchs take what he said? Joseph meant that Elohim (the Gods—that is, the Gods of Avraham) is the One Who provides all true interpretations of dreams that are prophetic. The eunuchs would have understood this according to their own view of gods, and they would have agreed with Joseph. Saints can speak truth, and non-saints can understand that truth according to their own idolatry. (Joseph knew that these men would take his words that way.)

 

6.   What does “Scroll-ye to me, na” mean? To scroll is to give the details of something in order. The word na is that Hebrew little word that is a softener, and changes a demand into something akin to a request.

 

7.   When the prince of the water provider began to give his dream, he started with “Via my dream…” What did he mean by that? He is introducing his dream by stating, “By means of my dream, …”

 

8.   What did he mean by, “behold a vine is to my faces”? He meant that a vine was straight in front of him.

 

9.   What are the three ‘intertwiners’? They are extensions of the vine that are like vine branches. The growing ends of many vines wrap around objects that they touch if they are able to wrap around them. That way, the vines support themselves using objects. (You can watch some vines do this if you are patient.)

 

10. What did he mean by, “he is as budding”? He refers to the vine. A budding vine is a vine that is about to produce flower blossoms. This vine looked as if it was about to produce these blossoms.

 

11. What occurred if her blossom elevated? In this dream, everything took place far faster than it would in nature. The blossom grew upward, then changed (into clusters of ripened grapes).

 

12. What was he making if he squeezed the grapes into Pharaoh’s cup? This normally will give grape juice. I propose that this pictured wine, which is grape juice that has been fermented into alcohol, since grape juice was rarer, and wine was appreciated. (Grape juice requires either refrigeration or pasteurization, which is boiling it and enclosing it in a container that has been boiled and sterilized; they didn’t know of this process back then.)

 

13. How did Joseph know that the three tendrils (the vine extensions that are growing and wrapping around things) are three days? Joseph couldn’t have known this. The Spirit of Yehovah told him this.

 

14. How did Joseph know that Pharaoh would carry the prince water-provider’s head in three days, and what does this mean? Carrying his head means to elevate him from the prison back to his location in the king’s house. (This has nothing to do with beheading someone.)

 

      Joseph heard his say, “Her blossom elevated.” He knew that this meant that the head of this eunuch would be lifted from prison, but he only could know that by the Spirit of Yehovah. Anyone else hearing this dream would not figure that out (or would not figure that out with certainty).

 

15. What does “And he shall restore thee upon thy footing” mean, and how did Joseph know that? This means to return this eunuch back to his former position (his footing) and rank.

 

      Joseph knew this because the dream description stated, “Pharaoh’s cup is in my hand,” and “I gave the cup upon the palm of Pharaoh.” That part of the dream didn’t require special information from the Spirit of Yehovah, since it is obvious. Yet, Joseph was absolutely certain; that requires the Spirit of Yehovah.

 

16. What does justice mean in verse 13? Justice means rendering (giving) a right decision based on all the facts. The eunuch’s original responsibilities were to be the water provider, and to give drinks of all kinds to Pharaoh. He was taught how to do this; therefore, his justice was what he had been taught—how he provided those drinks to Pharaoh. We might say that he did this according to the first rules that he had been taught.

 

17. What did Joseph mean by, “But rather thou remembered me with thee just as he shall-be-good to thee”?

 

• But rather is a way of strongly emphasizing what is being said.
• Thou remembered me is said in the past tense instead of, “Thou shalt remember me,” because Joseph told him the interpretation, and Joseph saw the result of the interpretation—that it would mean that the prince water provider would bring Joseph out of prison. Things said in the past tense in Hebrew like this are viewed as what will naturally result from what was said before. For example, I might say in English, “Open the door, and I will come in.” In Biblical Hebrew, it would said, “Open the door, and I have come in.” Joseph desired that the result of his interpreting the dream would be Joseph’s removal from the prison.
• With thee refers to the prince water provider remembering what happened to him and to Joseph, since they were both in prison together.
• Just as he shall be good to thee refers to the situation—just as the situation will be good to the prince water provider, the prince can make Joseph’s situation good.

18. What did Joseph mean by “And thou shalt do grace with me, na,” and what would be the result? Joseph respectfully asked this prince to do grace—that is, to demonstrate a fervent (very strong) and burning zeal (a strong belief in something, with actions to follow) toward Joseph. If the prince did this, he would strongly urge Pharaoh to free Joseph.

 

19. Was this the first time that Joseph told anyone that he had been stolen (kidnapped)? Readers cannot tell if this was the first time. I suspect that it was not; I suspect that Joseph told those who bought him from the folks who brought him up from the pit to sell him. This is the first time that readers can see how Joseph worded it.

 

20. What is this land of the Hebrews? I am unaware of a land of the Hebrews at this time. Joseph’s family was in Canaan, and Canaan is hardly the land of the Hebrews. I propose that Joseph spoke prophetically, though he probably didn’t know this.

 

21. Who are these Hebrews? All who descend from a man named Ever (spelled as Eber in most Bibles) are Eberites, but were called Hebrews in English. You can find his name in the following genealogy:

 

      1 Chronicles 1:24 Shem, Arphaxad, Shelah, ²⁵Eber, Peleg, Reu, ²⁶Serug, Nahor, Terah, ²⁷Abram; the same is Abraham.

 

22. What did Joseph mean by, “also here, I have not done from a blemish that they put me into a pit”? He is stating that here, in the land of Egypt, he did not do even a blemish worth of damage or wrong that would deserve his being put into the prison (the pit).

 

 

V. The Second Dream (verses 16-19)

 

 The prince of the bakers saw that the interpretation is good—that is, that the news was very good. He said to Joseph, “Even I am in my dream. And behold three baskets of whiteness are upon my head. And in the uppermost basket is from every food of Pharaoh, the doing of a baker. And the bird ate them from the basket from upon my head.”

 

Joseph answered him, “This is his interpretation. Three of the baskets—they are three days. In yet three days Pharaoh shall carry thy head from upon thee. And he shall hang thee upon a tree. And the bird shall eat thy flesh from off of thee!”

 

Questions

 

1.   Was the prince of the bakers excited to tell his dream to Joseph? He was very excited! He thought the two dreams were one, and the results would be the same for both. This was a very happy thought!

 

2.   What are three baskets of whiteness? They are three baskets that appear in the dream to be shining whiteness.

 

3.   Were the baskets stacked, or where they next to each other on his head? I cannot tell. I suspect that they were stacked.

 

4.   What are the foods of Pharaoh (“from every food of Pharaoh”)? These are all doings of a baker, so they are bakery items. Pharaoh must have eaten a lot of bread and a lot of sweet bakery items.

 

5.   What bird eats bread from a basket? Normally, a bird that eats bread doesn’t eat meat. This dream again requires the interpretation of the Spirit of Yehovah.

 

6.   Is there a difference between “Pharaoh shall carry thy head” (verse 13) and “Pharaoh shall carry thy head from upon thee”? Yes! There is a great difference! The text indicates that this eunuch (the prince baker) will be hung!

 

7.   What did the prince baker do to deserve being hung? The text doesn’t say what he did.

 

8.   How did Joseph know that the bird eating bakery goods from the top basket represented a bird that would eat the man’s flesh from off of him? Only the Spirit of Yehovah could give that interpretation. It is not obvious.

 

 

VI. Pharaoh’s Birthday Fun (verses 20-22)

 

Three days later was Pharaoh’s birthday party. He made a drinking party to all his slaves. He “carried the head” of the prince of the water providers and the head of the prince of the bakers among his slaves. He restored the prince of the water providers to providing drink for himself. And the prince of the water providers gave the cup of Pharaoh upon (into) Pharaoh’s palm of his hand.

 

Pharaoh hanged the prince of the bakers just as Joseph interpreted to them.

 

Questions

 

1.   What does “a day of the childing of Pharaoh” mean? This is the Hebrew language way of saying, Pharaoh’s birthday.

 

2.   What is a drinking party? It is a party with much alcohol.

 

3.   Is such a drinking party wrong in the eyes of Yehovah? No, it isn’t. It is actually central to Biblical tithing. Esther employed it to save many lives.

 

      Yehovah is against drunkenness (alcoholism), and He commands against that. A drinking party is not wrong in the Bible.

 

4.   Why did He make this party to slaves? Since slaves were His staff, it is a staff party. He knew that folks enjoy a good party.

 

5.   What does “he carried the head of the prince of the water-providers and the head of the prince of the bakers in the midst of his slaves” mean? This means that Pharaoh took them from prison, and brought them into the party among the other staff members.

 

6.   Did the prince of the bakers figure that Joseph had been wrong? Both eunuchs were in the same position until Pharaoh ordered the execution of one of them. That may have been the shock value that Pharaoh determined to use among his slaves.

 

 

 

VII. Forget It (verse 23)

 

The prince of the water providers did not remember Joseph; he forgot him.

 

Questions

 

1.   Why does the text state both: “the prince of the water-providers did not remember Joseph,” and “he forgot him”? Did not remember can be temporary; forget is permanent (unless a reminder occurs).

 

2.   Why did he forget Joseph? I propose the following:

 

• First, he was shocked by his removal from prison and being thrust into a party.
• Secondly, he was shocked by the hanging that he and all the slaves witnessed.
• Thirdly, he drank plenty of alcohol.
• Fourthly, he did not desire to test Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s kindness to him by bringing up a Hebrew slave abomination of the Egyptians.
• Fifthly, he had a lot to do in his restored position—to much to be thinking about a three-day-old dream interpretation.
• Sixthly, he would have desired to forget everything about being in prison; Joseph would be a small detail in a nightmare.
• This eunuch did not promise Joseph to say or do anything.

Since Yehovah is the One who gives all persons their ranks at the times they receive their ranks, Yehovah was not ready for Joseph to be elevated.

 

 

VIII. Dream 1 of Pharaoh (chapter 41, verses 1-4)

 

The next event occurred two years worth of days later. Pharaoh dreamed. He stood upon the river. He saw seven beautiful appearing, physically healthy cows ascending from the river. They grazed in a marsh.

 

He then saw seven bad-looking, physically thin cows ascending from the river after them. They stood near the others cows upon the lip of the river (the shore of the river). The bad-looking, physically thin cows ate the seven beautiful appearing, physically healthy cows. Pharaoh woke up.

 

Questions

 

1.   Why does the text refer to the time as “two years of days”? This gives a reader an impression that Joseph was counting the days, and they added up to two years.

 

2.   How does a dream work and interact with the dreamer in the Bible? A dream is more like a movie; it can be watched, but active participation in it isn’t part of it. A vision, on the other hand, is totally participatory. A person can be in a dream, but the person will be passive (that is, won’t do something) in the dream.

 

      A dream is a communication if it is from Yehovah. A vision, on the other hand, is more than a communication; it invites participants to be and to do wherever the vision occurs. Thus, a vision is more like ‘astral travel’ in the occult (the idea of traveling out of body to another location to participate). (The occult likely stole the whole concept from the Bible.) Both a Biblical dream and a Biblical vision can highly emotionally affect the viewer/participant.

 

      Dreams are not necessarily what is real in normal life; visions can indeed be what is very physically real.

 

3.   What is the significance of Pharaoh standing upon (by) the river? This tells the reader that Pharaoh will stand (remain in power and alive) during the events of the dream.

 

4.   Identify this river: The river with which Pharaoh was the most familiar was the Nile River. That doesn’t prove that this is the river in the dream, but it could be for reasons given in the next question.

 

5.   Why would a river be an important part of a dream given specifically to Pharaoh? As far as the Egyptians were concerned, life in Egypt came from the Nile; it was the source of water for their crops. If the Nile had dried up, Egypt would die as a power in the region, and would become like surrounding regions: desolate. This gives me the impression that the Nile is the river in the dream.

 

6.   How can cows be viewed as beautiful of appearance? They were truly pretty animals that Pharaoh saw. (Cows can be beautiful. They have beautiful eyes, and some cultures express beautiful eyes as cow eyes.) The variety in the dream was an excellent variety. Pharaoh knew cows.

 

7.   What does “healthy ones of flesh” tell the reader? They were not skinny, and they didn’t have disease blotches on them. They were perfect examples of excellent cows—well fed and strong.

 

8.   Do cows normally graze in a marsh? That depends upon the part of the world where the cows live. Cows eat many kinds of plants. Some marsh plants are good grazing.

 

9.   What is a marsh? A marsh is an area of land covered by water where water plants grow and often thrive. It has its own type of birds—often very colorful birds—and it often has fish swimming by and under the plants. Marshes can be four feet deep. The water plants often produce beautiful flowers, and the grasses can grow very tall. Some plants float using root-like structures that are filled with air, with other root-like structures that anchor the plants so that they are not blown by the wind from place to place. Marshes can be very beautiful.

 

10. Why are the bad-appearing and thin cows ascending from the river? Whatever the reason is for the coming famine, the river will be a major part of the cause of the famine.

 

11. What is the lip of the river? This is the river’s banks, the sand along the shore of the river. It is like a person’s lip because water keeps it moist just like water from a person’s mouth.

 

12. Do cows ever eat each other? No, they don’t! That is why Pharaoh was so bothered!

 

13. What do cows eating other cows show? This shows that whatever the first set of cows represent, the second set of cows will completely eat up the first set!

 

 

IX. Dream 2 for Pharaoh (verses 5-7)

 

Pharaoh slept. He dreamed a second time. This time, he saw seven healthy and good grain heads ascending in one stalk. Then seven thin grain heads blighted (diseased) from the east wind sprung up after them. The seven thin grain ears devoured seven of the healthy and full grain ears! Pharaoh woke up, and realized this had been a dream.

 

Questions

 

1.   What is a grain head? It is the top portion of wheat or barley where the seeds form. Every grain is a form grass, but a form that produces something that can be eaten. The grain ‘head’ is at the top. Seeds form there. Those seeds are gathered, and then they are crushed into a powder called flour. That flour, when mixed with water, sugar, eggs, and other ingredients, form breads, cookies, pancakes, pie shells, and many other very tasty foods. (See if one of you can find a farmer who grows wheat, rye, or barley, who will be willing to save a grain head for you with the seeds, also called berries, still in the heads. The berries are surrounded by chaff, which is also called fiber/fibre in some ingredient lists.)

 

2.   Do seven grain-heads normally come up in one stalk? There is normally one grain head per plant, not seven.

 

3.   Why, then, are there seven grain-heads in one stalk? What does this tell the reader? This tells the reader that the seven grain heads are part of one unbroken event.

 

4.   Did the seven thin and blighted grain-heads pop up in another plant? No! They grew from the very same plant!

 

5.   What does blighted mean? This means diseased. Diseased plants have been attacked usually by a microscopic creature or item like a virus or bacterium. These weaken the plants, often making it so that they don’t produce fruit.

 

6.   Where did this blight originate, according to this dream? It originated in the east. I propose that that creature or item that caused the blight was blown by the wind.

 

7.   What are grain ears? They are the individual parts of grain heads—that is, they are the seed pods on both sides of the head, like ears are on both sides of the head.

 

8.   Do ears on grain normally devour other ears? No, they never do! This must have been a very scary dream!

 

9.   What is the difference between a healthy ear and a full ear? Some grain flowers are not pollinated while others are. Those that are not pollinated won’t produce a seed/berry, while those that are pollinated will. The ears can be healthy, yet be few in number because of a lack of pollination. If the head has both healthy and full ears, there will be much fruit (in the form of these seeds/berries).

 

10. Why does the text say, “And behold a dream,” when it already told the reader that it was a dream in verse 5? This is showing what Pharaoh realized—that it had been a dream.

 

 

X. Pharaoh’s Frustration (verse 8)

 

This next event occurred in the morning. Pharaoh’s spirit beat! He sent. He called all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh scrolled his dream to them. There was no interpreter of Pharaoh’s dreams.

 

Questions

 

1.   What does his spirit beat mean? This refers to what we call a racing heart. His heart beat very quickly, but his breathing also was very rapid (and thus his spirit, being his breath, was fast).

 

2.   What was Pharaoh’s reaction to the dream? Was he pleased? Pharaoh was very upset (and I figure that he was scared). He knew these two dreams had meanings; he desired to know what the meanings were.

 

3.   What are magicians/magi in the Bible? They are persons who have learned how to make things happen that are not supposed to happen.

 

      Some do magic tricks, giving the appearance of one thing while really doing something else. For example, some magicians can put a person in a box, then make the box appear to float in the air, even removing the box from the person while the person still appears to float. This uses the way the eye sees to hide what really is holding the person in the air.

 

      Another magic trick is turning an object into a living animal. This is also done by fooling the eyes of those watching.

 

      Other magicians truly turn objects into other objects using hidden powers (occult powers) from demons. (These are not the type of magicians that appear at magic shows.)

 

      Magicians in Egypt at this time had great power from demons. (Demons can give humans great power, which is why many give themselves to these demons; they seek power from the demons. They then become slaves to the demons even though all humans are higher in rank than any demon.) Since they had such great power, the normal Egyptian greatly feared and respected the magicians as if they were straight from the gods.

 

      The magi that later came to visit Messiah Yeshua when He was a little under two years old were really wise men; they are discussed in the next question.

 

4.   What are wise men in the Bible? They are astrologers—men who read the constellations in the sky as if they were a form of writing. The word astrology means the word of the constellation.

 

      There are many astrologers today, and many who listen to them or read what they say. Nearly all astrologers have no idea how to read the constellations, and therefore incorrectly read them, applying what they think they are seeing to individual lives of others to whom they give counsel. They make the same error that most readers of the Bible do: they apply what is written to themselves and to others instead of applying themselves to the complete messages written in the stars by Elohim.

 

      He describes that He wrote messages in Genesis 1:

 

      Genesis 1:14 And Elohim said, “Be light-sources in the firmament of the heavens to divide between the day and between the night. And be ye for signs and for appointments and for days and years.”

 

5.   Why did he call the magicians and the wise men when the issue was regarding dreams? He didn’t have others to call regarding dreams. He figured that these persons had the spirits of the gods, and therefore could answer the meanings of these dreams.

 

6.   What does “scrolled his dream” mean? To scroll anything in the Bible is to tell it in order, like one would read a scroll.

 

      Books can be opened anywhere. Scrolls, on the other hand, must be wound the place desired if the person isn’t reading in order; that is troublesome and time-consuming. Computers often feature pages that are too long for one screen; the person then scrolls the screen. Thus, even with modern computers, scrolls are still used.

 

7.   What does “there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh” mean? Pharaoh had no person who could tell what the dreams meant.

 

 

XI. Sudden Recall (verses 9-13)

 

The prince of the waterers spoke with Pharaoh, saying that he reminded Pharaoh of his sins today. He said that Pharaoh had been furious concerning his slaves and had given him into guard, the house of the prince of the executioners—both him and the prince of the bakers. He explained that both of them had dreamed a dream in one night, each man according to his dream’s interpretation. A Hebrew  slave youth belonging to the prince of the executioners had been with them. They scrolled their dreams to him, and he interpreted the dreams to them, each dream to each man. Exactly what this youth said occurred: Pharaoh restored the prince of the waterers, and he hanged the prince of the bakers.

 

Questions

 

1.   What does “I remind of my sins” mean? To sin is to do a violation against any commander. It doesn’t have to be against the God of the Bible. If a person violates a traffic law, the person has sinned against the authorities that made the traffic law.

 

      This man sinned against Pharaoh. I don’t know what he did; I have seen no text that tells. He is reminding Pharaoh of this incident.

 

2.   Why would this man remind Pharaoh of this sin? Wouldn’t he want Pharaoh to never remember it? The prince of the waterers would never be able to explain to Pharaoh why he didn’t tell him about Joseph before now without speaking of this sin. He knows that Pharaoh desires an answer, and this will distract Pharaoh from angering again. Even the prince of the waterers forgot about Joseph telling the interpretation of his dream. Once the prince of the waterers had been restored, he forgot about it, too! He is only giving Pharaoh an explanation so that Pharaoh can call Joseph to the rescue regarding the interpretation of this dream.

 

3.   What does “he gave me into guard” mean? This means that Pharaoh gave this prince of the waterers to the prison guard to take care of him while Pharaoh decided what to do.

 

4.   What does “house of the prince of the executioners” mean? This tells where the prince of the waterers was placed. This house is a prison—a prison house. The prince of the executioners is Potiphar (see verse 12).

 

5.   What does “and he was just as he interpreted to us—so he was” mean? The first he refers to the event; the event occurred just as Joseph interpreted to them.

 

6.   What does “he restored me upon my foundation” mean? This means that Pharaoh returned the prince of the waterers back to his position (‘foundation’) that he formerly held.

 

 

XII. The Call (verse 14)

 

Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. They hurried him from the pit, the prison house. Joseph shaved and changed his clothes. He then came unto Pharaoh.

 

Questions

 

1.   What is a calling in the Bible? It consists of the following:

 

• A notification of an assignment that will be given
• Giving the assignment
• Giving everything necessary to do the assignment (including power, authority and equipment)
• Giving responsibility to do the assignment exactly right (no excuses for doing it wrong at any time are acceptable)

2.   Did Joseph receive ‘a calling’ at this time in the Biblical sense of being called? Pharaoh called Joseph to hear what he had to say. Yehovah already gave Joseph a calling when He gave Joseph the dreams that he told to his brothers and to his father. Yehovah then began equipping Joseph to do that calling.

 

3.   Why did they hurry Joseph from the pit? What was the rush? They feared the pharaoh! They knew that the pharaoh was very eager to obtain an answer to these frightening dreams.

 

4.   Why did Joseph shave? Didn’t he also take a bath? The Egyptians greatly believed in being clean; Joseph didn’t need a bath. He did need to shave, however, since being shaved was important in this culture if a person appeared before the pharaoh.

 

5.   Why did he change his garments? He wore prison garments, but those were not appropriate garments to wear when appearing before the pharaoh.

 

6.   What does pharaoh mean? It means unbridled in Hebrew. Anyone who is unbridled has no one who controls that person at that time. A bridled animal can be controlled and directed—shown where to go and what to do. The pharaoh was supposedly a god (according to Egyptian religious beliefs), and therefore should not be run by anyone else, including any other god.

 

      I use both Pharaoh (as if it is a name, but it isn’t) and the pharaoh (as if it is a title, because it is a title—the title king.) The Bible uses this word as a title and as something like a name. I capitalize it when I use it like a name.

 

7.   Did Joseph come to Pharaoh under guard? Yes, indeed! He was still a prisoner and a slave.

 

 

XIII. Pharaoh Speaks (verses 15-21)

 

Pharaoh said to Joseph that he dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter with him. He told Joseph that he heard concerning him—that he will hear a dream to interpret it. Joseph’s response was, “Without me, God shall answer the peace of Pharaoh.” Pharaoh spoke unto Joseph detailing his dream. In his dream he is standing upon the lip (shore) of the river. He described the seven physically healthy and beautiful-appearing cows ascending from the river and grazing in a marsh. Seven other very skinny and bad-looking lean-fleshed cows ascended after them. Pharaoh had never seen cows like this in Egypt, they were so bad-looking. The lean and bad cows ate the first seven healthy cows. Thus, the healthy cows came into the midst (insides) of the bad-looking cows, but the bad-looking cows didn’t change appearance after swallowing the healthy and good-looking cows; they appeared just as bad as at the beginning. Pharaoh awoke.

 

Questions

 

1.   What did Pharaoh mean by “an interpreter is not with him”? Him refers to the dream. It didn’t come with an interpreter!

 

2.   What did Joseph mean by “without me” when he answered Pharaoh, “Without me! Elohim shall answer the peace of Pharaoh”? Joseph was strongly telling the pharaoh that the answer had nothing to do with Joseph or some power that Joseph had. Elohim (Gods) will give the answer. Joseph did not desire to give the pharaoh the impression that Joseph had some power to do these things.

 

3.   Joseph stated, “Elohim shall answer the peace of Pharaoh.” What does this mean? This means that Elohim will both answer Pharaoh, and will respond to Pharaoh so that he will have peace. It is as if Pharaoh’s peace were another person!

 

4.   Again, what is the lip of the river? It is the shore, since it is watered by the river like a person’s lip is watered in his/her mouth.

 

5.   What did Pharaoh mean by “they came into their midst” in verse 21? He saw that the good cows came into the stomach of the bad cows! This was a frightening dream.

 

6.   If he saw them come into their midst, why does he state, “and it could not be known that they had come into their midst”? Once he saw the cows eat the other cows, the eating cows then returned back to the skinny look they had; they didn’t gain any weight and they didn’t appear fatter after eating the cows.

 

 

XIV. Pharaoh Continues (verses 22-24)

 

Pharaoh continued that he saw in his dream. Seven full and good grain ears are ascending in one stalk. Seven withered, and emaciated grain ears blasted from the east wind sprang up after them. The emaciated ears devoured the seven good ears. Pharaoh told this to the magicians, and no one told him what this meant.

 

Questions

 

1.   What does emaciated mean? This means so skinny, that it appears starved almost to death.

 

2.   What does blasted mean? This is another word for blighted, indicating that something has been hit by disease.

 

3.   The sentence, “And I said unto the magicians,” doesn’t seem complete. What does it mean? The sentence is complete in Hebrew, but not in English. We might add this to the sentence: “And I said this unto the magicians.” Pharaoh gave the details to the magicians.

 

4.   What does “there is not a teller for me” mean? It means that there is no one who can tell Pharaoh what this means.

 

 

XV. The Interpretation (verses 25-27)

 

Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh—it is one. Elohim has told Pharaoh what He is doing.” Pharaoh could now know the source of these events.

 

Joseph continued with the interpretation: “The seven good cows—they are seven years. And the seven good ears—they are seven years. The dream—it is one.” Pharaoh now understood that he actually had just one dream marked with one good period of seven years.

 

“And the seven emaciated and bad of appearance cows that are ascending after them—they are seven years. And the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine.” Pharaoh could have peace to the extent of knowing what the dream meant.

 

Questions

 

1.   Who will be the cause of all these events, according to verse 25? Elohim will be the cause; these verses describe what Elohim will be doing.

 

2.   Why would Elohim do these things? You will have to read a number of chapters to see the answer. He will use the events to bring the Israelis into the land of Egypt so that they can quickly become a great race.

 

3.   Why did Elohim give two dreams that He said are one dream? They are two parts of the same dream; one part says what will happen to the grain, and the other says what will happen to cattle.

 

 

XVI. The Reasoning (verses 28-36)

 

Joseph then told the events again, but in more detail: “This is the speech that I spoke unto Pharaoh. He shows unto Pharaoh what the Elohim is doing.”

 

Joseph explained that seven years are coming in which a “big fullness” of great crops and cattle growth will be in all the land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them to the degree that all the fullness (the great crops) will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will finish the land. This will be a very heavy famine.

 

He explained the doubling of the dream, giving it twice: “the speech is established from with the Elohim,” and “the Elohim is hastening to do him,” referring to the event.

 

Joseph then did something very curious. He began instructing Pharaoh on what to do:

 

• “Now Pharaoh shall see a man of understanding and of wisdom.”
• Pharaoh “has set him over the land of Egypt.”
• Pharaoh “has visited visitors over the land,” these ‘visitors’ being commanders who will keep a personal eye on what is occurring with authority to give orders, being responsible men.
• Pharaoh must divide the land into five sections during the seven years “of the fullness.”
• The visitors must gather all food of the coming good years.
• The grain gathered must be piled (in silos) under Pharaoh’s hand, the food being stored in the cities.
• The visitors must guard the food.
• The gathered food will only be used for ‘appointment’ during the seven years of famine in the land of Egypt.

The land won’t be ‘cut’ by the famine if these things are done.

 

Questions

 

1.   If Joseph is speaking to Pharaoh, why does he act as if Pharaoh isn’t there? I propose that no one was permitted to speak directly to Pharaoh using pronouns like you, your, etc. He was not only viewed as being a king, but also as a god. Speaking directly to him would have made the speaker and Pharaoh on equal rank.

 

2.   Who shows unto Pharaoh what the Elohim is doing? Elohim shows unto Pharaoh what Elohim is doing!

 

3.   What is this big fullness? It is a very large crop and great cattle productivity.

 

4.   What does “the famine shall finish the land” mean? This means that the strength of the land will be used up, and those in the land will be destroyed (if something isn’t done). Egypt will become an unimportant country with few inhabitants.

 

5.   What does “for he was very heavy” mean, and why is it in the past tense? He is the famine. It is in the past tense because Elohim prophetically sees it as accomplished, and Joseph is therefore telling Pharaoh that it is as good as done.

 

6.   Why was the dream doubled, according to verse 32? It was doubled to show that “the speech is established from with the Elohim,” indicating that it will not be reversed (even by prayer), and that “Elohim is hastening to do him,” indicating that it will occur right away.

 

7.   Why did Joseph begin to tell Pharaoh what to do (verse 33)? Wouldn’t this anger Pharaoh? Joseph knew that this news was shocking. Joseph had been called to counsel Pharaoh. Counseling in the Bible always includes not just telling what should be done, but also being the person to get it done. Counseling isn’t just talking (in the Bible); it is also giving the solution to the problem and helping accomplish that solution.

 

      This did not anger Pharaoh, since he would not have known what to do. It showed Pharaoh that Joseph was “a man with a plan.” Many lives were at stake; the entire land of Egypt was in danger of great destruction.

 

8.   Why did Joseph say “And now Pharaoh shall see a man of understanding and of wisdom” instead of “And now Pharaoh shall find a man of understanding and of wisdom”? This seeing is finding. Pharaoh has many slaves whom he can observe (see). He needs to see one who will be the best for the position.

 

9.   What is understanding in the Bible? It is a combination of insight and discernment. Insight is the ability to see into something—being sensitive to its cause and what it is doing. Discernment is being able to distinguish between two or more things that seem exactly alike. If a person has both insight and discernment regarding something, the person has an understanding of it.

 

10. Why wound understanding be so important to solve this problem? The person in charge must be able to see the problems, must know their causes, must be able to give help without being fooled by those who will take advantage, and must know what it is like to lose everything.

 

11. What is wisdom in the Bible? It is the skill that a person shows by living and responding in a manner that is right and beneficial to others.

 

12. Why did Joseph tell Pharaoh to set someone else over the land of Egypt? Wasn’t this a very bold thing to say to a king, implying that the king didn’t have either the wisdom or the understanding? Joseph’s wisdom was from Yehovah. Joseph knew that Pharaoh would not be able to handle the upcoming crisis. Joseph knew that his own position of life would be jeopardy if something wasn’t done that was right to take care of the famine!

 

      What Joseph did was very bold, but Pharaoh needed to hear the bold statements.

 

13. What shall Pharaoh do (the sentence reading, “Pharaoh shall do”)? Pharaoh shall take steps to prepare for the coming famine. Joseph is speaking to Pharaoh as if Joseph is a trusted counselor.

 

14. What are visitors in this text, and why does Biblical Hebrew use the word visitors? A Biblical visitor is one who comes with authority and responsibility to command and to inspect. Thus, the person visits (like an officer who reviews the troops to see if they are truly trained right and are ready for the next steps). In military branches, a person who is not from the unit is brought to inspect the unit to judge whether the unit is fit for the next stage. This person is a visitor, and is responsible for his or her judgment.

 

15. What does “he has visited visitors over the land” mean? Pharaoh himself will ‘visit’ (inspect and judge worthy) the ‘visitors’ who will be over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh is the chief commander over the land.

 

16. What does “he shall one-fifth the land of Egypt” mean and involve? I propose that this means that Pharaoh should divide the land into fifths—that is, into five sections, like five states. That way, one visitor, one commander, can be over one section. This would be wise if there are five different economies in Egypt: one where they grow wheat, say, and one where they grow cattle; one where they grow flax (for linen), and one where they mainly fish. The persons who will be the ‘visitors’ must know each area very well, and what each area needs. Otherwise, the people will become afraid during the famine, and will go violent. That is the greatest danger during a famine.

 

      If this is correct, Joseph was militarizing Egypt, making it into a military-styled government in order to handle the upcoming crisis.

 

17. The text states, “And they gathered all food of these coming good years.” Who gathered, and when did they gather? Joseph said this before Pharaoh decided what to do. Joseph said this in the past tense as if Joseph saw the entire event.

 

      When Hebrew uses a command followed by a past tense form, this tells the reader that if the first part is done (the command), the natural result will be the second part (said in the past tense).

 

      For example, if I were to say, “Throw me the ball, and I will throw it back to you,” you would understand what I am saying. In Hebrew of the Bible, however, the form would be different, and would be like this: “Throw me the ball, and I threw it back to you,” showing cause and effect. This is the same form that Joseph used.

 

18. If they gathered all the food of the coming good years, what would the Egyptians eat? I understand that Joseph is referring to the extra food beyond what the Egyptians need and will purchase or sell to each other for food.

 

19. How will they pile the grain? They will put the grain in storage buildings that we call silos. These grain elevators make it possible to store grain for a long time. Egypt is a very dry country; that is good for grain storage. These silos can be very tall, and have what look like escalators to raise the grain unto the top of the pile in the building.

 

20. How could they pile all that grain under Pharaoh’s hand? The hand of anyone in the Bible is the authority and power of that person. This is the way very young children see hands.

 

21. Why must the food be kept in the cities? Those citizens who produced the food must be able to see that it is not being taken and used by some other group or power; that would start riots and even cause an overthrow of the government. As long as the food stays where it was produced, those who rely on the food will be satisfied that it is in safe keeping.

 

22. Who shall guard the grain? Those in those cities shall guard the grain! They will gladly and voluntarily do that.

 

23. What does “and the land shall not be cut via famine” mean? The word cut has to do with death. It is used to describe the slicing of an animal’s throat that is about to be sacrificed. If the land is cut, that means that it is killed. These actions that Joseph has described will keep the land of Egypt from being killed!

 

 

XVII. The Responses (verses 37-38)

 

Joseph’s speech was good in the eyes of Pharaoh and all his slaves! Pharaoh’s reaction was quick: “Will we find as this, a man whom a spirit of gods is in him?”

 

Questions

 

1.   Why was the speech good in their eyes instead of in their ears? While they heard the speech, they imagined what was being described and what should be done. They saw that it would work. Therefore, it was good in their eyes, not just in their ears.

 

2.   Why would Pharaoh’s slaves think that this speech was so good? Wouldn’t they be jealous of Joseph who is counseling their king? Some of these very slaves had been under Joseph’s care; he had been very kind to them and had listened to them. Some knew of the dreams of Pharaoh, and how disturbed he was over them; Joseph gave an excellent answer. They were pleased that Pharaoh was pleased, and some considered Joseph a true friend.

 

3.   What decision did Pharaoh have to make at this time? He had to make the decision regarding who would lead the entire land of Egypt in this crisis.

 

4.   What spirit did Pharaoh figure was in Joseph, and which gods gave their one spirit to Joseph, in Pharaoh’s mind? Pharaoh saw how quickly and easily Joseph interpreted the dreams and counseled Pharaoh about what to do. Pharaoh assumed that Joseph had to have a spirit in him that gave him such a quick and accurate response.

 

      I cannot tell what gods Pharaoh had in mind. He didn’t believe in the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob; Pharaoh was himself considered a god! The Egyptians held a number of gods, not just one. I thought it interesting that Pharaoh mentioned one spirit with a number of gods. Pharaoh saw Joseph as being under the power of more than one god!

 

5.   Did Joseph have the spirit of gods in him? The Bible doesn’t tell at this time. Elohim gave Joseph interpretation, understanding and wisdom. Those are what he needed to do his task. Yehovah gives His Spirit to a person when that person must do what cannot be done and must be done. What Joseph did required Yehovah to give him the explanation, but Joseph already had wisdom and understanding. That doesn’t mean that Joseph didn’t have (or need) the Spirit of Yehovah; I just don’t have strong evidence either way.

 

6.   If they had looked, would they have been able to find someone else in Egypt in whom is a spirit of gods for this task? They would not have found anyone in the entire area for this task.

 

 

XVIII. The Logic (verses 39-40)

 

Pharaoh figured that there was no understanding and wisdom like Joseph, since Elohim had made him know all this. Pharaoh commanded that Joseph would be over Pharaoh’s house. All the people of Egypt would kiss upon Joseph’s mouth! Pharaoh only reserved one part for himself: the chair, and thus his own authority, as bigger than Joseph’s authority.

 

Questions

 

1.   What did Pharaoh see so that he concluded that no one had understanding and wisdom like Joseph? He saw that gods made him know all this. (The word for gods is elohim; yet it is sometimes used for false gods in the Bible. I have no reason to believe that Pharaoh knew who Elohim of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob was.) If the gods made him know this, it must be because the gods have given Joseph understanding and wisdom to take care of the problem!

 

2.   Was Pharaoh’s reasoning good? It was good!

 

3.   Why did Pharaoh put Joseph over his house? He hadn’t known Joseph for more than about two minutes! Why would he risk this to a slave/prisoner? Pharaoh understood much about Joseph from his answer, from the way he answered, and from his conduct and the way he treated others who had been imprisoned under him. Many had a high view of folks who showed great wisdom and understanding back then. Pharaoh didn’t see this as a risk, but as an opportunity.

 

      I don’t know what he knew about Potiphar and the effect that Joseph had on Potiphar’s house—that is, that it was greatly blessed while Joseph was put in charge. I also don’t know what Pharaoh knew about how well the prison was run under Joseph. Pharaoh did know that all his slaves were very comfortable with Joseph’s understanding and wisdom. Therefore, Pharaoh trusted him.

 

4.   What does “all my people shall kiss upon thy mouth” mean? This means that all will show affection toward Joseph and will respect his rank.

 

      An expression today is ‘to kiss up,’ which is a slang way of speaking of kissing someone else’s tuchas (rear end). It isn’t kind. Pharaoh used a much kinder expression for ‘kissing up’: kissing upon his mouth. Joseph will be in charge.

 

5.   To what chair did Pharaoh refer? He referred to the king’s chair, known as the throne.

 

6.   What did Pharaoh mean by “Only the chair—I will be bigger than thee”? This means that the throne of the pharaoh will still be above Joseph; Pharaoh will be ‘bigger’ (more important) than Joseph.

 

 

XIX. New Rank (verses 41-43)

 

Pharaoh had more to say to Joseph: “See! I gave thee over all the land of Egypt!” Joseph was now in charge of the entire land. He wanted Joseph to see that he had done this. So, he removed his ring from his hand and gave the ring upon Joseph’s hand.

 

Pharaoh then dressed Joseph so that he would appear with the rank that he now had. He dressed him in fine linen, linen cloth made from very small threads so that it was very soft. He then decked his neck with gold.

 

Pharaoh had several chariots. The second chariot became the one Joseph would use. Slaves of Pharaoh would then call as Joseph came, “I will kneel!” so that everyone kneeled before Joseph. This had to occur over all the land of Egypt.

 

Questions

 

1.   What did Pharaoh mean by “I gave thee over all the land of Egypt”? He ‘gave’ Joseph to be the ruler over all the land. Joseph was his property. Pharaoh had the right to set Joseph’s rank, and he did, giving Joseph to the land of Egypt. Now all of Egypt owned Joseph!

 

2.   How can a ring be upon someone’s hand? If it is on someone’s finger, it is on the hand, since the finger is on the hand.

 

3.   Who dressed whom? Pharaoh dressed Joseph! The text makes it sound very personal!

4.   What is special about fine linen? Linen is made from a plant that looks a little like wheat; the plant is called flax. The fibers of the flax plant are used to make thread. (Does anyone have access to a spinning wheel and to someone who knows how to spin thread, who can show this?) The finer (smaller) the thread, the softer the finished cloth made from the thread will be.

      The next time you are in a store that sells sheets and pillowcases, look at the packages with sheets in them. The packages will give the thread count. The more expensive sheets will have a higher thread count, because the threads are smaller (the sheets are the same sizes, so that more threads means smaller threads).

      Pharaoh clothed Joseph in fine linen, a soft and very comfortable material. It is also far more expensive.

5.   What is a decking of gold? It is like a necklace, but it is very wide. Its purpose is to show rank and wealth.

6.   Why was it called a decking of the gold? It was the gold of Pharaoh. This way, all would see and know that Pharaoh placed him in this position.

7.   Was this second chariot special? It was Pharaoh’s second chariot, one that all would recognize belongs to Pharaoh. Even the chariots had ranks attached to them!

8.   Why did they call, “I will kneel”? This told hearers both what to say and what to do.

9.   Who is he and who is him in, “he will be given him over all the land of Egypt”? He refers to this type of authority and respect; him refers to Joseph.

 

 

XX. Name and Freedom (verses 44-46)

Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh! And no man shall elevate his hand and his foot without thee in all the land of Egypt!” Joseph now had complete authority over every person in Egypt (except Pharaoh).

He then gave Joseph a new name: Salvation of the Age.

Joseph needed a woman (wife), so Pharaoh chose Asnat who was the daughter of Poti Pherah, a priest of a god called On.

Joseph then began his duties, ‘exiting’ (going out) over the land of Egypt.

Joseph’s promotion from prison to his standing “to the faces of” (in front of) Pharaoh occurred when Joseph was thirty years old. He then left Pharaoh to cross over all the land of Egypt.

 

Questions

 

1.   Why did Pharaoh start by saying, “I am Pharaoh!”? He was showing he ‘absolute’ authority. He knew that no one in Egypt would argue with this authority. If he gave Joseph authority, no one would dare argue with this!

2.   What does “no man shall elevate his hand and his foot without thee in all the land of Egypt” mean? If the hand shows power and authority, no one will elevate (raise up) his own power without Joseph’s approval. If the foot shows movement, like taking action on plans or a project, no one will do anything (including anything new) without Joseph’s approval. The entire set of political (who rules), economic (how money is earned and exchanged) and social (how individuals and groups behave with each other) rules were in Joseph’s power and authority. He could do what he needed to do to bring Egypt through this famine.

3.   Pharaoh gave Joseph a new name. Did Joseph like his new name? Joseph was a slave. If his slavemaster desired to rename him, Joseph knew that this was a kindness.

      Joseph knew that he wasn’t the salvation of the age, but he knew that Yehovah was. Yet, Yehovah had sent him to save this age (period of time).

4.   Pharaoh gave Joseph the woman Asnat. Did Pharaoh ask Joseph if he wanted her? Did Pharaoh ask Asnat or Asnat’s father if she or he desired Asnat to be married to a slave who is a sheepherder, and therefore is an abomination to the Egyptians? Pharaoh did whatever he desired to do. Asnat’s father was a priest. The priesthood had to stand with Joseph during this time, so marrying a priest’s daughter to Joseph was a very good political decision!

      Pharaoh didn’t ask Joseph. He knew Joseph would be satisfied.

      Pharaoh didn’t ask Asnat (as far as I know); Pharaoh didn’t normally need to ask folks; he did what he desired to do. I can’t prove it, but I suspect that Asnat felt privileged to have Pharaoh arrange this match. She would be married to the second most important person in the entire land!

      I don’t know if Pharaoh asked Poti Pherah permission to marry his daughter. Poti Pherah desired to please Pharaoh. Displeasing him was a way to get killed. Poti Pherah became far more important after this marriage, since his daughter was married to the second most important person is the land of Egypt.

      I have thought about this match, and how Joseph, who is an abomination (thoroughly morally and ethically disgusting) to the Egyptians because he shepherded sheep, was married to a priest’s daughter. What did she think of this? Was it a step up in rank and society for her, or was it a step down? Yet, the priests could not answer Pharaoh’s dream, and Joseph did! I knew that Joseph would win her heart, and thus her love, very soon in their marriage. Her husband was saving the entire land! Her husband was a very kind and deeply loving man who could easily show great emotions or could hide them when necessary. He had the respect and ear of Pharaoh! He was loved by Pharaoh’s chief executioner, and had the greatest respect of some who had been in prison.

5.   What does “Joseph exited over the land of Egypt” mean? This means that Joseph traveled the entire land to learn all he could about every section of it so that he could:

 

• determine where to build the silos
• learn the cultures of the various parts of Egypt
• learn the economies (how folks make money) of the various parts of Egypt
• get to know who is a wise and respected leader in the various parts, since he would have to have others under him who could command
• get to know the various religious practices of the land so that he didn’t interfere with these things

      He needed to know and understand all of the land of Egypt in order to do no harm to the various cultures and to have the most cooperation for what needed to be done.

6.   How old was Joseph when he first stood before Pharaoh? He was “a son of thirty year,” the Biblical Hebrew way of saying that he was thirty years old. That may seem old, but he was very young to be taking the responsibility of an entire, very powerful country.

 

 

XXI. Gathering (verses 47-49)

The land produced fistfuls of grain—a very large amount compared to a normal crop. Joseph collected all food during these seven years. He “gave” (placed) food into cities (into storage) during this time. He stored the food of the field surrounding a city in the middle of that city. Joseph piled the grain as if it were the sand of the sea; it was so much that he quit keeping records of the amounts. No one was able to keep records of the amounts.

 

Questions

1.   What is a fistful in this text? It is like when we use our two hands together to scoop up something like sand, and then we press it into two tight balls in our hands. Even compressed, it is a fistful. I propose that each grain stalk produced a fistful of grain. In any case, this showed that a great amount of grain was produced.

2.   If he collected all food of seven years in the land of Egypt, what did the Egyptians eat? The text doesn’t say that he collected all the food of seven years, but rather all food. There are always various types of food eaten in various cultures. Joseph made certain to collect the varieties of foods grown or caught (as in fishing) while productivity was very high. Folks in every area needed to have those foods later. This means that a culture that would rely on fishing for its main foods needed to preserve fish (by smoking, salting or by some other means) so that there would be fish to eat. Dates from date palms needed to be stored; olives needed to be preserved; grapes needed to be dried to raisins so that they could be used during the time of almost no grape production. All food of every variety needed to be stored. Joseph oversaw this.

      In the meantime, the Egyptians obtained normal stores of food for their daily needs as they normally did—from their lands or from the marketplace.

3.   The text states, “he gave food into cities.” To whom did he give this food? He gave this food to overseers who would make certain that it was well preserved, and not used until he gave orders for it to be used.

4.   What does “he gave food of a field of the city that is her surroundings into her midst” mean? This means that Joseph made sure that the storage of grain and other foods was always located in the very same city where the field was attached. Joseph never moved grain of the field or food from a field of one city to another city. He always kept the grain and food items with those who had grown the grain and the food items.

5.   What does scroll mean? This describes a way of keeping records. The beginning of the record starts at the top. The records go down the page. If a scroll is used instead of a book, the records continue down the scroll until the scroll ends. Computer pages scroll!

6.   What does “for there is no scrolling” mean? This means that there was no way those who kept records were able to keep up with the information! The food items were being produced and put into storage faster than they could scroll their record-keeping scrolls!

7.   Who owned all this foodstuff that was put into storage? Joseph purchased it, using Pharaoh’s wealth. I learned that it belonged to Pharaoh since Joseph will sell to the Egyptians what they need for food.

 

XXII. Consolation (verses 50-52)

Joseph had two sons before the years of famine came. His wife was Asnat. She was the daughter of Poti Pherah (not related to Potiphar). Poti Pherah was a priest of a god named On. Joseph called the firstborn Forgetter (Manasseh) because Elohim had caused him to forget all his toil and even the house of his father. He called the second son Doubly Fruitful (Ephraim) because Elohim caused him to be fruitful in the land of his humiliation.

 

 

Questions

1.   Joseph called the name of the firstborn Forgetter. Joseph said, “For Elohim made-me-forget all my toil and all the house of my father.” What toil did he forget? Did he really forget all the house of his father? What does that mean? He forgot the toil of his being a slave in Potiphar’s house, and the toil of his being a slave in prison. He even forgot all the toil that he now had to do as a slave for the joy of being a father (and, I propose, of having a very wise wife).

      Joseph did forget all the house of his father, because he was so occupied with his new responsibilities. His life before he was kidnapped was now far behind him; he was part of a new world. I propose that even the faces of his brothers and father became distant in his memory.

2.   What does “Elohim fruited me in the land of my humiliation” mean? The made-up word fruited means to cause to bear/produce fruit. Elohim cause Joseph to be very productive in this land, including having children (another form of fruit in the Bible).

      This land was the land of his humiliation. He had been kidnapped into it, humbling him down to a slave without family. He had been stripped by Potiphar’s wife because he refused to do wrong; Potiphar found him humiliated by his wife. He had been put into prison as if he were a criminal, humiliating him. He had interpreted dreams, then he had been forgotten, humiliating him. Now, in this land, Elohim caused him to bear fruit.

 

 

XXIII. The Beginning of Famine (verses 53-54)

Seven years of very good crops and productivity in the land of Egypt finished. Seven years of famine began just as Joseph said. The famine was in all the lands. Yet, there was food in all the land of Egypt.

 

Questions

1.   The text states, “the famine was in all the lands.” Does this mean that the famine was over the entire planet? The famine could have been over the entire planet. I could tell that it was over all the lands that were around Egypt, since folks will come to Egypt to obtain food.

2.   What is the distinction between bread and food in the Bible? Since bread is the main food item for folks living in the Middle East, it is the word for food. Bread is sometimes used for food in general, and it is sometimes used just for bread. A reader must determine this; texts will almost always give clues regarding this.

 

 

XXIV. Rationing (verses 55-57)

All the land of Egypt was now in need of food. The people shouted unto Pharaoh for food. Pharaoh’s response to all Egypt was to go to Joseph. They must do whatever he told them to do.

All parts of Egypt had the famine. Joseph opened the storage silos for the people, and he ‘broke’ grain to them (he measured out portions). The famine gripped in the land; it wouldn’t let go. All came toward Egypt unto Joseph to break (portion out) grain.

 

Questions

1.   What does “all the land of Egypt was famished” mean? This means that the land, the animals, and the people were all greatly affected by this famine. The land was not doing well, and crops were dying. The animals needed to be fed, since they were not finding what they needed from the land. The people suffered terrible crop failures, and were becoming hungry.

2.   What does “the people outcried unto Pharaoh to [for] bread” mean? I made up the word outcried so that it had the meaning of shouting out, begging and demanding bread (food). They lacked food, and greatly desired to eat food that was there. They went to Pharaoh so that he would open food supplies for them.

3.   Why did Pharaoh tell them to go to Joseph? That is why Pharaoh chose Joseph—to take care of all problems associated with this famine! Pharaoh didn’t desire to have to deal with this. Joseph must do it.

4.   What does “the famine was over all faces of the land” tell a careful reader? It tells the careful reader that the famine was even hitting fishermen! They normally have food even when crops fail. This wasn’t the case for them. They were finding few fish and were becoming hungry.

      No part of Egypt was unaffected!

5.   What did Joseph open (the text states, “Joseph opened all that was in them”)? Joseph opened all the stored food that was in the cities.

6.   Did the people come and take what they wanted? No; that would have led to hoarding. Instead, he broke to Egypt (see the next question regarding this).

7.   What does “he broke to Egypt” mean? This means that he, Joseph, determined how much each house should get. This breaking is taking a large quantity, like a bagful, and giving part of that, and not the whole amount. It is giving it out by measure.

8.   The text states, “all the land—they came—Egyptward unto Joseph to break, because the famine gripped in all the land.” What is included in “all the land”? This is more than just Egypt. Those in areas around Egypt also came to Egypt to obtain food. They came to Joseph to give them a portion to take with them.

9.   Did Joseph personally give food to every individual? No; Joseph had slaves working under him who gave correctly sized portions of food to those who came so that there would be no hoarding, and so that there would be enough to last through the seven years.

 

 

 

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Joseph’s Dreams

Did Jacob love Joseph more than all his sons put together? Why did Jacob love the other sons less?

What did Jacob do to make the special garment for Joseph? Where they lived was very hot in the summer, why was it a multi-layered garment?

 

Who gave Joseph his dreams?

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 37

 

Continue reading “Genesis 37 – Joseph’s Dreams”

Joseph’s Dreams

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 37

 

Genesis 37:1 And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) dwelt in the land of the sojournings of his father—in the land of Canaan.

 

²These are the childings of He-Will-Heel (Jacob).

 

He-Will-Gather (Joseph), a son of seventeen year, was a shepherd with his brothers in a flock. And he is a youth with the sons of Via-Languishing (Bilhah) and with the sons of Her-Trickling (Zilpah), his father’s women. And He-Will-Gather (Joseph) brought their bad defiance unto their father.

 

³And He-Will-Prince-Mighty [One] (Israel) loved He-Will-Gather (Joseph) more than all his sons because he is a son of oldnesses. And he made to him a cotton-garment of sheer/full-coverings. ⁴And his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers. And they hated him. And they were not able to speak to him for peace.

 

⁵And He-Will-Gather (Joseph) dreamed a dream. And he told to his brothers. And they increased to hate him more. ⁶And he said unto them, “Hearken-ye-to this dream, na, that I dreamed. ⁷And behold, we are binding sheaves in the midst of the field. And behold, my sheaf arose. And she also took a stand. And behold, your sheaves shall surround her. And they worshipped to my sheaf.” ⁸And his brothers said to him, “Reigning, shalt thou reign over us? If dominating, shalt thou have dominion via us?” And they increased to hate him more concerning his dreams and concerning his speeches.

 

⁹And he dreamed yet another dream. And he scrolled him to his brothers. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed yet a dream. And behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars are prostrating to me.” ¹⁰And he scrolled unto his father and unto his brothers. And his father rebuked into him. And he said unto him, “What is this dream that thou dreamed? Coming, shall we—I and thy mother and thy brothers—come to prostrate to thee landward?” ¹¹And his brothers envied into him. And his father guarded the speech.

 

¹²And his brothers walked to pasture their father’s flock in Shoulder (Shechem). ¹³And He-Will-Prince-Mighty [One] (Israel) said unto He-Will-Gather (Joseph), “Are not thy brothers pasturing in Shoulder (Shechem)? Walk. And I sent thee unto them.” And he said to him, “Behold, I am.” ¹⁴And he said to him, “Walk, na. See the peace of thy brothers and the peace of the flock. And return to me a Speech.” And he sent him from the valley of Brotherhood (Hebron).

 

And he came to Shoulder (Shechem). ¹⁵And a man found him. And behold, he is wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What wilt thou seek?” ¹⁶And he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell to me, na; where are they pasturing?” ¹⁷And the man said, “They journeyed from here. For I hearkened-to them saying, ‘We shall walk to Decree (Dothan).’” And He-Will-Gather (Joseph) walked after his brothers.

 

And he found them in Decree (Dothan). ¹⁸And they saw him from a distance. And before he will approach unto them and they beguiled him to slay him. ¹⁹And they said a man unto his brother, “Behold, lord of the dreams came to this! ²⁰And now, walk ye. And we murdered him! And we cast him into one of the pits. And we shall say, ‘A bad animal ate him.’ And we saw what his dreams shall be!”

 

²¹And They-Saw-A-Son (Reuben) hearkened. And he rescued him from their hand. And he said, “We will not smite a being!” ²²And They-Saw-A-Son (Reuben) said unto them, “Shed no blood. Cast him unto this pit that is in the wilderness. And send ye not a hand into him”—in order to rescue him from their hand to return him unto his father.

 

²³And he was just-as He-Will-Gather (Joseph) came unto his brothers. And they stripped He-Will-Gather (Joseph), his cotton-garment, the cotton-garment of the sheer/full-coverings that is upon him. ²⁴And they took him. And they cast him pitward. And the pit is empty—no water is in him. ²⁵And they sat to eat bread.

 

And they lifted up their eyes. And they saw. And behold, a path of Ishmeelites came from Witness-Heap (Gilead). And their camels are carrying grated-spices and balm and myrrh walking to make-descend Egyptward. ²⁶And He-Confessed-Yehovah (Judah) said unto his brothers, “What is the profit when we will slay our brother and will conceal his blood? ²⁷Walk ye! And we sold him to the Ishmeelites! And our hand shall not be into him. For he is our brother—our flesh.” And his brothers hearkened.

 

²⁸And Midiani merchantmen crossed-over. And they drew. And they ‘ascended’ He-Will-Gather (Joseph) from the pit. And they sold He-Will-Gather (Joseph) to Ishmeelites via twenty of silver. And they brought He-Will-Gather (Joseph) Egyptward.

 

²⁹And They-Saw-A-Son (Reuben) returned unto the pit. And behold, no He-Will-Gather (Joseph) is in the pit! And he tore his clothes. ³⁰And he returned unto his brothers. And he said, “The child is not! And I—where shall I go?”

 

³¹And they took He-Will-Gather’s (Joseph’s) cotton-garment. And they slaughtered a kid of the goats. And they immersed the cotton-garment in the blood. ³²And they sent the cotton-garment of sheer/full-coverings. And they brought unto their father.

 

And they said, “We found this. Recognize, na. Is he the cotton-garment of thy son? If not?” ³³And he recognized her. And he said, “Cotton-garment of my son. A bad animal ate him. He tore. He tore He-Will-Gather (Joseph).” ³⁴And He-Will-Heel (Jacob) tore his clothes.

 

And he put sackcloth into his loins. And he mourned concerning his son multiplied days. ³⁵And all his sons and all his daughters arose to console him. And he refused to be consoled. And he said, “For I will descend unto my son mourning Sheolward!” And his father wept-for him.

 

³⁶And the Midianites sold him unto Egypt to Potiphar, a eunuch of Pharaoh, prince of the executioners.

 

 

I. The Beginning of the Story (verses 1-2)

 

Jacob obediently and righteously continued to live in Canaan, the land of his father’s sojournings.

 

Jacob’s generations included the times of the events regarding Joseph.

 

Joseph the seventeen-year-old was a shepherd over a flock, along with his brothers. He is a youth who is with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s women.

 

He brought his father their bad defiance.

 

Questions

 

1. Why is the land in which Jacob dwelt called “the land of the sojournings of his father”? It was never Avraham’s permanent home. It was where he sojourned, not where he was a citizen.

 

Hebrews 11:8  Abraham obeyed by faith when he was called to go out into a place that he will receive for an inheritance afterward. And he went out not knowing to where he was going. ⁹He sojourned in the land of promise by faith, as in a strange country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs of the same promise with him. ¹⁰For he looked for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

 

2. What does “these are the childings” mean? These are the births that Jacob had, along with what happened to the children born.

 

3. Which sons were very defiant? The sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the two slavewomen, were very defiant.

 

4. Why do you think they were defiant? The text doesn’t say. These older brothers were adult men. They knew they were born from slaves, and not from wives who normally inherit. I propose that they were jealous of Joseph for another reason: he was the son of a wife. Such jealousy will be an excuse for defiance.

 

5. Weren’t Jacob’s sons a little old to be obedient to their father, as if they were still little children? I don’t see where Jacob often commanded them. Folks had to live together in order to be defended. The land was a wild place where violence was normal. Any group needed a leader. Jacob was the leader. I propose that the sons of the slavewomen did whatever they desired once they were no longer under the watchful eye of Jacob, the leader.

 

6. Why did Joseph bring their bad defiance unto their father? Didn’t Jacob know that this would anger them? Joseph was obedient, and Jacob told Joseph to report to him. Joseph didn’t question his father’s wisdom.

 

Jacob should have known that this would anger them. I propose that Jacob thought that they would respect him (Jacob) and not harm their brother over the reports.

 

7. Why did Jacob receive the information that Joseph brought? Jacob had already seen just how violent and wrongheaded his sons could be. He therefore found it necessary to hear what they did and what they plotted. The entire camp could be slaughtered by the foolish behaviour of these sons.

 

 

II. The Sheer Garment (verses 3-4)

 

Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because Joseph was born when Israel was very old in so many ways. He made Joseph a cotton garment that was sheer and that fully covered.

 

Joseph’s brothers saw that Israel loved him more than all his brothers. They hated him. They could not bring themselves to speak to him for peace.

 

Questions

 

1. Did Jacob love Joseph more than all his sons put together? Yes. If the text had meant that he loved Joseph more than any son, it would have worded it that way!

 

2. Why did Jacob love the rest of the sons less than Joseph?

 

• Joseph was the son of Jacob’s old age.
• Joseph obeyed his father.
• Joseph was willing to serve.
• Joseph’s character was excellent; the characters of the brothers were very bad.

3. What does “he is a son of oldnesses” mean, and why is oldnesses plural? Joseph is a son of every form of old age that Jacob experienced.

 

• Jacob was old in years.
• Jacob was physically old, and therefore not as strong as he used to be.
• Jacob now had time to enjoy his sons; the other sons were born while Jacob worked so very hard, day and night, every day of the week.
• Jacob bonded more with Joseph than with the other sons due to his wiser and more elderly views.

4. What did Jacob do to make the garment? Jacob must have made the thread and then the material. These steps would have taken so many hours for a small amount of material. Making a garment that was full-sized with sleeves would have taken years of work with hours of work on many days.

 

I cannot tell if Jacob had help. He may have had help from slaves. The Bible gives Jacob credit for making the garment.

 

5. What is a garment of sheer/full coverings? If the garment is sheer, it is very light-weight and almost see-through. (Multiple layers would keep it from being see-through.) If the garment is full, it covers down to the ankles, up to the neck, and also the arms. If it is a garment of coverings, it is multi-layered.

 

6. Where they lived was very hot in the summer. Why would Jacob make a multi-layered garment for Joseph? A garment that consists of several layers that are all very light weight is far, far cooler in the desert.

 

The first layer is next to the skin. That layer gets wet with perspiration. The second layer touches the first layer, but not continually all over its surface; air easily moves between the two layers when the person wearing the garments moves. That causes good evaporation (when water turns into water vapour, and goes into the air) of the perspiration. The evaporation causes great cooling. The third layer (and more layers, if there are more) takes the heat of the sun, and the air cools those outer layers. Thus, all the layers together are like a very efficient air conditioner. To this very day, male and female desert dwellers in the area wear these types of outfits.

 

7. How did the brothers come to know that Jacob loved Joseph more than them? In everyday life situations, Jacob’s reactions toward Joseph contrasted with (were the opposite of) Jacob’s reactions toward them. They could tell.

 

8. Why did they hate Joseph instead of hating Jacob? Jacob was their father; they didn’t feel right about directly hating him. They could hate Joseph, since Joseph couldn’t do anything about it. That way, they could indirectly hate Jacob while not openly showing it.

 

This is what folks often do: they hate someone, but can’t get away with it; so they hate what that someone truly loves.

 

9. Why didn’t the brothers work to gain Jacob’s approval? They were part of a group: part of something like a gang. They instead wanted to please the members of their group more than they desired to please Jacob. I propose that they figured that it would be too much work, and that Jacob would not approve of them no matter what they did. (Bitter folks draw conclusions like this.)

 

10. What does “they were not able to speak to him for peace” mean? When they did speak to Joseph, I propose that they showed anger, contempt, and sarcasm (saying things that are the opposite of the way one feels or sees things, like saying to a girl who is wearing an old and worn-out dress, “That’s such a pretty, new dress you are wearing,” or like saying to a child who hasn’t learned to fight, “Come on, Mr. Tough!”). I propose that they ignored him or used snide (nasty and insulting) remarks when speaking to him or about him in his hearing.

 

11. Had the brothers had good character, how would they have acted toward Joseph? They would have been kind to  him, helpful to him, and peaceable with him. They would have taught him good things, and they would have shared with him. Had they done these things, Jacob would have responded well to them even if only for Joseph’s sake.

 

 

III. Dream #1 (verses 5-8)

 

Joseph dreamed a dream. He told the dream to his brothers. They increased their hatred of him.

 

Joseph said to them, “Hearken-ye-to this dream, na, that I dreamed.”

 

“And behold, we are binding sheaves in the midst of the field. And behold, my sheaf arose. And she also took a stand. And behold, your sheaves shall surround her. And they worshipped to my sheaf.”

 

Joseph’s brothers said to him, “Reigning, shalt thou reign over us?” They also said, “If dominating, shalt thou have dominion via us?”

 

They used Joseph’s dreams and speeches as reasons to increase their hatred of him.

 

Questions

 

1. Why did Joseph tell his dream to his brothers? Didn’t Joseph know that his brothers hated him? I think Joseph knew. He was seventeen; he knew contempt and hatred. The problem was this: Joseph loved his brothers even though they hated him. Joseph told them important things—things important to him.

 

2. Why did they increase to hate him more? Once folks begin to hate someone or a group, they will delight in every excuse to increase their hatred. This makes them feel like their original hatred was justified. Folks always want to be able to justify their hatred to themselves and to their friends.

 

3. What is hatred? I propose that this word means to desire to see another or an object damaged or killed; or, to refuse to aid or preserve another person when aiding or preserving would be for the person’s benefit.

 

4. What does na mean? It is a Hebrew word that softens whatever is being said, making it less demanding or harsh.

 

5. Explain the dream in verse 7: I propose the following. Joseph and his brothers are binding sheaves (stalks upon which a grain, like wheat, grows). Thus, the brothers are all working. Joseph’s sheaf arose; it gained rank and importance. Joseph’s sheaf also took a stand; Joseph’s work became a leader; the work was with food. The sheaves of the brothers shall surround her; their work for food and their food will be part of the audience of the work and food for which Joseph works. The sheaves of the brothers worshipped Joseph’s sheaf; their work and their food will be subject to Joseph’s work and his food.

 

6. Why did Joseph’s brothers immediately assume that Joseph’s dream meant that Joseph would reign over them? They thought that the sheaves represented Joseph and them. They also thought that worshipping (prostrating: that is, bowing down flat) indicated that Joseph would reign over them.

 

7. What does “If dominating, shalt thou have dominion via us” mean? The first part, “If dominating,” makes the statement that follows much stronger, as if to say, “Wilt thou indeed be dominating?” To dominate is to have greater power and authority over anyone or any group.

 

Joseph’s brothers desired to know if Joseph thought that he would have higher authority and greater power over them than they had.

 

8. What speeches did Joseph give? Joseph told his dreams. The brothers considered Joseph’s telling his dreams as speeches!

 

9. What does an increase in hatred finally lead a person to do? An increase in hatred can finally lead to murder.

 

 

IV. Dream #2 (verses 9-11)

 

Joseph dreamed again. He scrolled the dream to his brothers. He said, “Behold, I dreamed yet a dream. And behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars are prostrating (that is, lying flat in a demonstration of humility) to me.” He later scrolled the same dream to his father and to his brothers. His father rebuked into him (told him off in a very ‘in your face’ manner). He said unto him, “What is this dream that thou dreamed? Coming, shall we—I and thy mother and thy brothers—come to prostrate to thee landward?”

 

His brothers’ response was envy. His father’s response was to guard Joseph’s speech.

 

Questions

 

1. Who gave Joseph these dreams? These dreams are from Yehovah!

 

2. In verse 9, he scrolled this dream to his brothers. In verse 10, he scrolled it unto his father and his brothers. Were these two separate events? They were! I propose that the brothers brought Joseph to their father to hear this dream because they were so angry about it-another dream that ‘put everyone down’ in their view.

 

3. What was Jacob’s initial (first) reaction to this dream, and why? Jacob’s reaction was anger! He not only rebuked Joseph, but he rebuked into him, like ‘in his face’!

 

Jacob knew what the dream meant—or he thought he knew. Instead of seeing this dream as just a dream, Jacob saw this dream as significant. He also thought that the dream came from Joseph himself, and it angered Jacob!

 

4. What was Jacob’s next reaction? Jacob’s next reaction was to ask, “What is this dream that thou dreamed?” It was as if Jacob was blaming Joseph for the dream, as if Joseph dreamed it on purpose!

 

Jacob then began to interpret the dream: “Coming, shall we—I and thy mother and thy brothers—come to prostrate to thee landward?” This was so unreasonable.

 

5. Would Jacob, Raquel, and the eleven brothers come to prostrate to Joseph? If Jacob meant Raquel by mother, she had died (Genesis 35:19). If Jacob meant Leah, who was now Joseph’s stepmother, she was alive, and this makes more sense. We will have to wait and see what occurs.

 

6. What does prostrate mean? It means to lay flat, face-down before another, showing submission (recognizing being under the authority and power of another).

 

7. What does landward mean? This means toward the land, and indicates that a person prostrating will be face down toward the soil.

 

8. What was the reaction of the brothers? Their reaction was envy. They were jealous of the position Joseph held with his father!

 

9. What could they have done to change their own reactions to Joseph? If they would have only made up their minds to love their brother and to work with him, Jacob would have gained much affection for them, and they would have felt much better toward their brother, Joseph. Anyone can change his or her reaction toward others. A person who is jealous of another can instead determine to be kind to that person. The feelings will sometimes follow the right behaviour.

 

10. What was the after-reaction of Jacob to this dream? Jacob’s reaction was to guard the speech.

 

11. What does he “guarded the speech” mean? This means that he listened very carefully to the speech (the description of the dream), and he determined to keep it in his memory. Guarding in this way is keeping a very accurate record of something in order to remember it.

 

12. If Jacob was so angry over the dream, why did Jacob choose to guard it instead of choosing to forget it? Jacob knew inside that the dream was significant. That was one reason why it bothered him so much. It didn’t sound like a good thing. It sounded more like Joseph was going to mistreat his family in order to gain rank and power over them.

 

 

V. The Assignment (verses 12-14)

 

Joseph’s brothers walked to pasture their papa’s flock in a location called Shchem in Hebrew (Shechem in your Bibles). Israel asked Joseph a question: “Are not thy brothers pasturing in Shechem? Walk. And I sent thee unto them.” Joseph’s response was, “Behold, I am.”

 

Israel told Joseph to walk, but he said it in a way that wasn’t demanding. Israel desired to know whether his brothers had peace, and whether the flock had peace. He then desired Joseph to return a speech to him about these things. Israel sent Joseph from the valley of Hebron, the valley of brotherhood.

 

Questions

 

1. Why did the brothers walk to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem? The grass was good there!

 

2. Why did Jacob start by asking, “Are not thy brothers pasturing in Shoulder (Shechem)?” If he had done what we might do, and say, “Thy brothers pasturing in Shechem,” that makes it sound like Jacob is informing Joseph of what he didn’t know. Instead, the question shows that Jacob knew that Joseph already knew this! It is a kinder way to speak.

 

3. Jacob told Joseph, “Walk. And I sent thee unto them.” Why didn’t he say, “Walk, and I will send thee unto them”? “Walk” is a command. The result of obeying the command is that Jacob will have sent Joseph unto his brothers. The Hebrew language puts results of a command or a future statement in the past tense.

 

4. Why didn’t Joseph go with his brothers in the first place? The text doesn’t tell why. We can only guess if the text doesn’t tell.

 

5. Why did Joseph answer, “Behold, I am”? He was indicating that his attention was there with his father and his words, and that he was present and available to do what he said. The short expression, “Behold, I am,” has much meaning.

 

6. What were the three purposes of Jacob’s sending Joseph to his brothers? The Three purposes were:

 

• To see the peace of his brothers
• To see the peace of the flock
• To return to Jacob a speech

7. What does “see the peace of thy brothers” mean? This means to see if his brothers have peace and if they are at peace with others. It is like our saying, “to see how they are doing.” Yet, seeing if there is peace is a little different. It includes finding out if they are in trouble (in which case they don’t have peace), if they are fighting among themselves, if they are causing trouble to others, etc.

 

8. What does “see the peace of the flock” mean? This means to find out how the flock is doing—whether it is grazing well and without enemies nearby, etc. If the flock has good grass, no enemies and no wounded, it will do well, it will grow, it will produce good wool and milk, and it will be well tended.

 

9. What speech did Jacob desire from Joseph? Jacob wanted to hear a detailed account of the brothers’ actions, on the health of the flock, on where they were, and on what they were planning to do.

 

10. Where was Jacob located during this time? He was located in Hebron Valley, meaning the Valley of Brotherhood.

 

11. Exactly how many brothers were there shepherding the sheep at this time? Ten brothers were there. The youngest, Benjamin, is too young to be with them.

 

 

 

VI. Joseph Wanders (verses 14-17)

 

Joseph arrived at the Shechem area. A man who is not identified in this text found Joseph wandering in the field. The man asked him, saying, “What wilt thou seek?” Joseph said, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell to me, na, where are they pasturing?” This man responded, “They journeyed from here. For I hearkened-to them saying, ‘We shall walk to Dothan.’”

 

Joseph walked after his brothers.

 

Questions

 

1. Did Joseph know the way to Shechem? Yes, he knew the way very well. Joseph knew the countryside like most know their own streets.

 

2. The text states, “And a man found him.” Who is this man? The text doesn’t identify the man. We have found several cases of unidentified persons in Genesis who have very important roles to play. This man is one example.

 

3. If the man found him, was the man looking for him? The man may have accidentally come across Joseph wandering in the field. I don’t personally think that it was accidental. There is something different about this man.

 

4. Why was Joseph wandering in the field? Was Joseph lost? Joseph was not lost. He didn’t know where he could find his brothers. They were supposed to be there.

 

Most fields that we know are flat. A field that includes hills can make it harder to see persons and animals unless one goes up one of the hills. Even then, seeing persons and animals can depend on where one is looking and where the persons and animals are located. (They might all be behind a big rock in the same field.)

 

Joseph was wandering because he wanted to find signs of his brothers and the flocks.

 

5. Why did the man ask him, “What wilt thou seek?” The man could tell that Joseph was looking for something. The man knew more than Joseph knew, and could help him.

 

6. Joseph answered, “I am seeking my brothers. Tell to me, na, where are they pasturing?” Joseph’s question assumes that the man knows. How did Joseph know that the man knew? The man had asked him, “What wilt thou seek?” as if the man might know. I can’t tell how Joseph knew.

 

When strangers met under peaceful circumstances, they would talk to each other and would tell things to each other. If this man had met Joseph’s brothers, they might have spoken about where they were headed.

 

7. The man said, “For I hearkened-to them saying, ‘We shall walk to Decree (Dothan).’” Why would they tell this man where they are going? The way the text is worded, I can’t tell whether they discussed their plans with this man, or whether this man overheard them speaking to each other. It is worded more like he overheard them. Yet, he would have to be very close to them to make out the words they were saying.

 

8. Why did Joseph believe a stranger? While this area was very dangerous in some ways, it was safe in other ways. Strangers who were alone were often both friendly and very helpful. Today, trusting strangers isn’t very smart. Some who trust strangers end up dead. Joseph knew the ways of the area.

 

 

 

VII. The Plot of Evil (verses 17-20)

 

Joseph found them in Dothan, as the man had said. Joseph’s brothers saw him while he was a distance away. Before he got near to them, they beguiled him in order to slay him.

 

The brothers said to each other, “Behold, lord of the dreams came to this!” referring to the location. They then said, “And now, walk ye. And we murdered him! And we cast him into one of the pits. And we shall say, ‘A bad animal ate him.’ And we saw what his dreams shall be!”

 

Questions

 

1. Was Dothan a city in which Joseph found his brothers? Dothan was a location. The text doesn’t indicate any homes or businesses, but instead fields.

 

2. How could they tell that the one coming was Joseph? His garments were unique. They knew how they appeared from a distance, seeing him approaching them many times.

 

3. What does beguile mean? It means to deceive, to trick, to fool someone into being a sucker.

 

4. What did they do to beguile him? The text doesn’t say. Joseph won’t arrive to his brothers until verse 23. So, whatever they did, they did at a distance. I propose that they made their plot, then they called for him to come to them as if they desired to see him.

 

5. What did they determine to do to Joseph? They determined to murder him by slaying him.

 

6. What did they mean by calling Joseph “lord of the dreams”? That was their bitter way of making fun of him.

 

7. What is this in, “lord of the dreams came to this”? It refers to the location—to Dothan.

 

8. What was their plan for Joseph? Their plan was:

 

• To walk to Joseph
• To murder Joseph
• To cast Joseph into one of the pits
• To report to their father and family that a bad animal ate Joseph

9. What was wrong with this plan? Besides its being murder, if they returned with a report and with no body that has been torn by an animal, or at least without any bones, and if they don’t show real mourning, I don’t think members of the family will believe them.

 

10. What did they mean by, “And we saw what his dreams shall be”? If he is murdered, none of his dreams can possibly occur. They truly hated what his dreams described.

 

 

VIII. Reuben’s Counterplot (verses 21-22)

 

Reuben hearkened to their plotting. He then rescued him from their hand. Reuben said, “We will not smite a being!”

 

Reuben said unto them, “Shed no blood. Cast him unto this pit that is in the wilderness. And send ye not a hand into him.” He determined to rescue Joseph from their hand and to return him unto his father.

 

Questions

 

1. To what did Reuben hearken? He hearkened to the plot of his brothers to murder Joseph. He listened to the details.

 

2. Was Reuben in on the plot? He was in on the plot, but not to murder Joseph. That would not work well for him. The firstborn son was responsible for the rest of the children in a greater way than the rest of the children were for their brothers and sisters.

 

3. Verse 21 states that he rescued him from their hand. Had the brothers seized Joseph physically with their hands? No! Joseph had not even arrived. Reuben rescued Joseph from their hand (singular, for they together acted as if they all controlled one hand) by what he said. Their plot to murder Joseph was finished when Reuben stopped it with words. Thus, Reuben rescued Joseph from their hand.

 

4. Did this act make Reuben a good guy? You will see the answer to this later in this chapter.

 

5. Why did the brothers listen to Reuben? Reuben was one of them. He was no better than they were, but he was older and was a leader. If he said that they wouldn’t smite a being, he knew they wouldn’t—not yet.

 

6. What was Reuben’s idea? His idea was to cast him unto a pit that they found. It was deep enough and large enough that Joseph could not escape. Reuben then would rescue Joseph (again) from their hand and would return him unto his father.

 

7. Doesn’t this act make Reuben a good guy? It sounds like he is a good guy; wait and see what he does next.

 

 

IX. The Stripping (verses 23-25)

 

Just as Joseph came unto his brothers, they stripped him–the sheer cotton garment that he wore. They then took him and threw him toward a pit. The pit was empty and without water. They then sat down to eat bread.

 

Questions

 

1. Why did they strip Joseph of his garment first? That garment represented everything they hated about Joseph. It was the love and attention of their father toward him—toward Joseph. I propose that, as far as they were concerned, he had no right to that garment.

 

2. What was Joseph doing while they were stripping him, taking him and casting him? This text doesn’t say, but another does:

 

Genesis 42:21 And they said a man unto his brother, “But we are guilty-[ones] concerning our brother—that we saw the tribulation of his being during his beseeching unto us, and we did not hearken. Therefore this tribulation came unto us!”

 

Joseph besought his brothers (he almost begged his brothers to not do what they were doing). They refused to hearken to him, they hated him so much.

 

3. How deep was this pit? It was deep enough and big enough that Joseph would not have been able to get out of it without being lifted out. It may have been where a well had formerly been, but now it was a dry pit.

 

4. What was important about the pit being dry? Joseph might have drowned had there been water in the pit. Since it was dry, Joseph suffered from a lack of water, now that his clothes were removed.

 

5. Was Joseph completely naked? He may have had a loin cloth, serving a similar function of underpants, but the text doesn’t tell us.

 

6. How far did they go away from the pit before they sat to eat bread? The events about to be described will answer this question.

 

7. What did their sitting to eat bread show? This showed that they had no problem with what they had done. It didn’t even harm their appetites.

 

 

X. The Profitable Opportunity (verses 25-27)

 

The brothers lifted their eyes. And they saw—a path of Ishmaelites came from Gilead. Their camels carried grated spices, balm and myrrh. The camels walked, bringing these items down toward Egypt.

 

Judah said unto his brothers, “What is the profit when we will slay our brother and will conceal his blood? Walk ye! And we sold him to the Ishmaelites! And our hand shall not be into him. For he is our brother—our flesh!” His brothers hearkened.

 

Questions

 

1. At what were they looking before they lifted up their eyes? They were looking at their circle of brothers, their food, and the countryside just beyond where they were. They weren’t looking far away for anything.

 

2. How far away was the path of the Ishmaelites, and what is a path? A path in this case is what we would call a camel train—a number of persons with camels walking them or riding them through the dry areas going from one city to another. It is a path because they follow each other.

 

The path was a good distance away. Had it been close, they would have heard the men and animals.

 

3. Why does the Bible tell what they were carrying? This shows that they were merchants loaded with merchandise, heading for Egypt.

 

4. What is balm? According to Easton’s Revised Bible Dictionary, the word balm is “contracted from Bal’sam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark. The Hebrew word denotes [a very valuable] gum of a tree growing in Gilead… It was celebrated for its medicinal qualities.”

 

5. What are grated spices? They are spices that have been finely ground to a powder so that they can be used in cooking, perfumes and other things.

 

6. What is myrrh? It is the resin of a tree (the liquid sap of a tree that dries into a gummy, firm substance) that gives off a fragrance when it is put on hot coals or any fiery hot surface. Its smell is not bad—pretty gentle; yet it can hide the smells of a dead body.

 

You can purchase myrrh in your area. If you do, have an adult place some on an iron skillet on a stove, a heat it until it boils and smokes. You can see that it is not a bad smell, and was expensive and in demand in Joseph’s day (and in Yeshua’s day, and even today). It won’t be all that expensive today.

 

7. What was Judah’s better idea about what to do with Joseph? Judah saw no profit in slaying their brother and concealing his blood. Selling him, on the other hand, would bring some profit. Judah also said that their hand would not be “into him”—into Joseph if they did this.

 

8. What does “our hand shall not be into him” mean? It describes something like slugging or stabbing a person in its picture. If their hand is into their brother, they are harming or killing him.

 

9. Why did Judah bring up, “he is our brother—our flesh”? Was Judah softening toward Joseph? No, he wasn’t! He was speaking as if he cared for his own brother, his own flesh, when he really didn’t care! This is a form of sarcasm (saying something when obviously meaning the opposite, like, “you are so kind,” when that person being called kind just did something mean). Judah was acting like a politician.

 

10. Who else in the Bible was willing to sell someone else who was a brother in order to make money? Judas Iscariot (Judah, a man of cities) did the same thing.

 

11. Who were the Ishmaelites? They were descendants from Avraham, and thus were cousins of Joseph and his brothers.

 

 

XI. Joseph is Taken (verse 28)

 

Now, merchants from Midian crossed the range. And they drew and caused Joseph to ascend from the pit. And they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites by way of twenty worth of silver. The Ishmaelites brought Joseph toward Egypt.

 

Questions

 

1. Who were these Midianites? They were from Avraham by another wife: Keturah. One son was named Midian.

 

2. How did the Midianites know that Joseph was in the pit? They heard him as he called to his brothers.

 

3. Did they then let Joseph go? No! They took him as a slave!

 

4. Didn’t they know who Joseph was—that he was a son of Avraham, like they were? They knew. Joseph would have told them. They didn’t care. They had no love for the children of Avraham through Sarah. Sarah’s children obtained the inheritance, not Keturah’s children. They didn’t see Joseph as one of their brethren.

 

5. What did they do with Joseph? They sold him to the Ishmaelites, the very ones to whom Joseph’s brothers had decided to sell him!

 

6. Did the Ishmaelites know who Joseph was? They knew. Joseph would have told them. They didn’t care. They had no love for the children of Isaac. This was a good way to make some money.

 

7. Was twenty of silver a lot of money? It wasn’t a huge amount; it was a very good profit.

 

8. Were they kidnapping Joseph? Yes, they were. Yehovah will later rule that as a death-penalty offense.

 

9. Why didn’t they return Joseph to Jacob, and get some funds from Jacob for the service? They wanted a quick return on their purchase, and didn’t desire to go out of the way.

 

 

XII. The Shock (verses 29-30)

 

Reuben now returned to the pit. And behold, no Joseph is in the pit! Reuben tore his clothes. He then returned unto his brothers. And he said, “The child is not! And I—where shall I go?”

 

Questions

 

1. Why was Reuben going to the pit? I see two possibilities:

 

• Reuben went to the pit to get Joseph in order to return him to his father
• Reuben went to the pit to get Joseph in order to cooperate with the rest by selling him to the Ishmaelites.

I cannot tell which he was about to do except by what he did or didn’t do next.

 

2. Why was Reuben so upset? Wasn’t this a good solution to the problem of Joseph? Reuben now knew that he would be held responsible for Joseph’s disappearance. Reuben wasn’t upset because of his brother’s being gone as much as he was about how he, Reuben, would be viewed. That is why he asked, “Where shall I go?”

 

 

XIII. The Quick Fix (verses 31-32)

 

They took Joseph’s cotton garment. They slaughtered a kid of the goats. They immersed the cotton garment in the blood. They then sent the sheer, full cotton garment coverings, and they brought them unto their father.

 

Questions

 

1. Who took Joseph’s garment and immersed it in the blood of a slaughtered goat? The other nine brothers (remember that Benjamin isn’t involved). I don’t think that Reuben knew what to do; I am thinking that the others did it for him.

 

2. The text states, “They sent the cotton garment…” By what means did they send it? I don’t see any indication that anyone else was there. If they packaged it and put it on one of the animals, that would be sending it.

 

3. Why did they bring the garment to their father? They wanted to give him proof that Joseph was dead.

 

 

XIV. The Cold and Hot Response (verses 32-34)

 

The brothers said to their papa, “We found this. Recognize, na. Is he the cotton-garment of thy son? If not?” Jacob recognized the garment, of course. Jacob then said, “Cotton-garment of my son. A bad animal ate him. He tore. He tore He-Will-Gather (Joseph).”

 

Questions

 

1. They said, “We found this.” Were they lying? Yes, they were.

 

2. What did they mean by, “Recognize na”? They were gently asking him to look at the garment and see if it is the one that belonged to Joseph.

 

3. Why did they say “If not” at the end? They asked him, is this the garment, or isn’t it? The expression, “If not,” is like saying, “Isn’t it?”

 

4. How did Jacob respond? Jacob was grief-struck. He responded with great grief.

 

5. How did they expect Jacob to respond? They didn’t expect him to react that strongly, since they hated Joseph. They thought that their own feelings were not that far from their father’s feelings. They knew that Joseph was still alive, so that the idea of grief wasn’t part of their thinking. Jacob truly went into grief and shock. I am convinced that they were not ready for his reaction.

 

6. Why didn’t they tell him that he was still alive when he reacted that way? They felt they couldn’t go back, now. They would just wait for this to be over.

 

7. Why did Jacob assume that a bad animal ate him? Jacob could not imagine any other explanation.

 

 

XV. No Consolation (verses 34-35)

 

Jacob covered himself with sackcloth. He mourned concerning his son a large number of days. All his sons and daughters arose to console him, and he refused to be consoled. He said, “For I will descend unto my son mourning Sheolward!” Joseph’s father wept for him.

 

Questions

 

1. What does “he put sackcloth into his loins” mean? This means that he wrapped sackcloth—gunnysack material—around his waste and legs.

 

Doing this indicated mourning. Gunnysack material is very scratchy and uncomfortable, and it shows complete poverty. A person who went into mourning in that culture would put this on, rather than soft, expensive materials, as a reminder of man and what he really is. This also told others that he was in mourning.

 

2. How many days are multiplied days? This would be more than the normal days of mourning—between 40 and 70 days, so it would go on for probably half a year or more.

 

3. How many sons and how many daughters did he have? He had twelve sons, if we include Joseph. Benjamin was very young to be doing any consoling. Thus, ten sons tried to console him.

 

The text doesn’t tell how many daughters he had. The expression, “all his daughters,” gives me the impression that he had more than three, but I don’t know.

 

4. Why did Jacob refuse to be consoled? Jacob could tell that something wasn’t right with his other sons and daughters (except Benjamin), though he couldn’t put his finger on it. Jacob had done the mourning, and I propose that Joseph’s brothers couldn’t take Joseph’s death very seriously (since they knew he wasn’t dead). I propose that Jacob was very angry with the ten sons, but couldn’t put his finger on why. A refusal to be consoled is sometimes caused by the recognition that something, some injustice, wasn’t right.

 

5. What did Jacob mean by “I will descend unto my son mourning Sheolward”? All who died at that time went to Sheol, a divided chamber in the very center of planet earth. The chamber was divided by a great gulf, an area of space where no one could go. On one side of Sheol was Paradise, and those on that side were very comfortable. They had the Salvation of God. On the other side of Sheol was an area that was torments, where there was no water, and there was a flame that tormented everyone there while they thirsted night and day.

 

Jacob knew that he would go down to Sheol when he died, and would mourn all the way down there until he came to his son. Even then, he would mourn, since his son had been killed.

 

6. Verse 35 ends with, “And his father wept for him.” Was this at the beginning of the time of mourning, or was it many days later? This included many days later. The man kept mourning for his son.

 

7. What does the fact that they didn’t finally tell their father that Joseph was alive show? This shows how much they really hated Jacob, not Joseph. They saw the torment of Jacob, but they said nothing to lessen his mourning. That was hatred toward him.

 

 

XVI. Joseph’s New Home (verse 36)

 

The Midianites sold Joseph unto Egypt to a man named Potiphar. He was one of Pharaoh’s eunuchs, and he was prince of Pharaoh’s executioners.

 

Questions

 

1. What is a eunuch? It is a male, a boy or a man, whose testicles have been either disintegrated or removed so that he will have absolutely no sexual desire. While this will cause his voice to become higher in pitch, he can be a very strong man.

 

Kings who had many wives desired to have eunuchs take care of the women. Eunuchs would not be drawn to the women, and they would not be easily tempted by women or by other sexual things.

 

Kings also used eunuchs in other places of justice so that a beautiful woman could not turn them by making sexual advances.

 

2. What is a prince of the executioners? This is like a captain over those who execute (put to death) criminals. Potiphar was a very high-ranking man under the Pharaoh (a term used for a king in Egypt).

 

3. What was the advantage of a prince of the executioners being a eunuch? The advantage was that he could not be easily swayed against doing his duty by a beautiful woman.

 

4. Did Joseph’s brothers make any money from the sale of Joseph? No! They never made any money.