Introduction
The Joseph story, like the Abraham and Jacob stories, contributes to the exposition of the theme of the Pentateuch by showing how the promises of Abraham were partially fulfilled (Dunn and John 64). Like the two preceding stories, it begins with a divine intimation of the central figure’s future destiny. In two separate dreams, Joseph sees the rest of his family bowing down before him.
His brothers’ sale of him into Egypt was designed to prevent such an outcome. However, despite his imprisonment on a false charge he rises to be an important leader over all Egypt. It is when his brothers came to Egypt that they unwittingly fulfill his early dreams.
Although some scholars have held that the Joseph story proper ends with his father’s move to Egypt, his brothers fell down before him one more time after Jacob’s death (Wiersbe 55). Even though his brothers intended to do harm to him, God intended it for good, in order to preserve numerous people. A unique setting of the Joseph story is its Egyptian setting, which has prompted much reflection by Egyptologists.
This paper is divided into two main parts. The first part lays out the major themes discussed by biblical commentaries while the second part focuses on my personal reflection.
Commentaries on Joseph’s Story
Joseph’s tactlessness in telling tales on his brothers and then recounting his dreams made his brothers angry (Kessler and Karel 24). However, as already observed, the dreams are not Joseph’s own imaginings but announcements of God’s plans and the fact that they are paired is an assurance of their eventual fulfillment. In the short term, however, they act as a catalyst for family breakdown.
The tension in the story builds as Jacob sends his darling son some fifty miles away from home in Hebron to Shechem in the north into the arms of the brothers who hate him intensely. As they see him approach, some want to kill Joseph, whereas Reuben seeks to stall proceedings by having him dumped in a pit. However, while Reuben is a way, the other brothers change their plan and decide to make money by selling Joseph as a slave.
Although the last scene with Jacob mourning inconsolably for his dead son Joseph is touching, Dunn and Rogerson argues that the choice of words was meant to remind us of Jacob, years back, deceived his father using his brother’s clothes and a goat (78). In this way, the author hints at the inescapability of divine justice.
Jacob is treated by his own sons as he treated his father. Nevertheless, as the story shows, Joseph’s sale into Egypt was meant to save lives, heal the family rift, and forward the fulfillment of the promises.
In relating the dreams, Joseph was only telling the truth. Some commentators, however, suggest that he was unwise to mention the dreams and that he was motivated by pride (Lioy 81). There are few clues to support this view. While he could have remained silent about the dreams, he chose to tell them.
Of course, regardless of whether Joseph should have kept his mouth shut, his brothers were wrong to nurse feelings of jealousy and hatred against him. Sometime after Joseph’s dreams, most of Jacob’s sons took his flocks about 50 miles north to Shechem. A desire to get away from Joseph may have been one of the reasons why they traveled so far from their home in the Valley of Hebron.
This, however, did no good as Jacob sent after them to find out how they were doing. Neither the father nor his favored son could have known that more than tow decades would pass before they laid eyes on each other again.
For some time, feelings of ill will toward Joseph had been building in the hearts of his brothers. Thus, when the siblings spotted Joseph from a distant wearing his ornate robe, they hatched a scheme to murder him. The brothers literary referred to Joseph as the master of dreams. The sarcastic tone of their statement reflected the resentment they felt toward Joseph and the dreams God had given him.
Jacob’s sons agreed to lie about the demise of Joseph. When asked about him, they would claim that a vicious, wild animal had attacked and devoured him. Their uncontrolled jealousy and hatred had brought them to such an intention. They thought they could get away with their scheme because Joseph was away from their father’s protection, and there were no witnesses nearby to report their actions.
They assumed that by getting rid of their dreaded younger brother, the siblings could prevent his dreams from coming true. They did not realize that God would use their actions to make the dreams a reality.
Some scholars think that the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah were the instigators of the murderous plot (Phillips 29). When Reuben heard the plan, he came to Joseph’s rescue by advising his brothers not to take the younger sibling’s life.
Rather than harm Joseph and thereby shed innocent blood, Reuben urged the rest to bind Joseph and place him in a cistern, presumably to die of thirst and hunger. Reuben even planned secretly to help Joseph escape and bring him back home but he did not succeed.
Personal Reflections
The materials found in the commentaries have really changed my understanding of the passage talking about Joseph being sold to Egypt. In spite of having an idea that God was in the picture and was working to save the remnant of Israel, I am surprised by some of the discoveries.
The most interesting thing to me is how some of the authors have been able to link what Joseph’s brothers did to what Jacob did when he lied to his father about being his brother Esau. In both cases, there is a mention of blood and clothing.
While in Jacob’s case, he was dressed in a sheep’s wool to pretend to be his brother Esau, Joseph’s brothers carried with them Joseph’s clothing smeared in the blood to their father so as to present a lie that their brother Joseph was dead. Another interesting observation is how the authors have connected what happened to Joseph, with how God works. Although a man may do things with evil intentions, God can use such situations positively.
In the case of Joseph, his brothers though they were eliminating him forever. However, they had no clue that it was in God’s plan that Joseph goes through what he went through for his dreams to be fulfilled eventually. Also interesting to note is God’s choice to work with the younger sons. In this case, Joseph was chosen over his older brothers.
To some extent, I am surprised by what I have discovered in some of the commentaries. The issues raised by the commentaries are a clear indication of how the bible is very well connected.
The parallel drawn between the lie told by Jacob and that told by his sons is an example of how many things spoken about in the bible are symbolic of deeper things. It would take an ardent bible scholar to discover information in the bible that may not be quite obvious to a normal reader of the bible.
Although the commentaries seem to agree in some areas, they completely differ in others. There is, for example, a common understanding that what happened to Joseph was in God’s plans to save his people in the future. The link between Jacob’s lie and that of his sons is, however, not mentioned in all the commentaries.
Conclusion
The Joseph story is a clear indication of how God chooses those to work with. It is an indication of God’s choice for the younger son in preference to the older. God chose to work with Jacob and not Esau and in Joseph’s case, Joseph was chosen over his older brothers. Many other scenarios that are similar can be found in the Bible such as David and his brothers as well as Manasseh and Ephraim.
As stated in many sections of the bible, God is always interested in the inside of a person and not the outward appearance. On many occasions, people have been surprised by God’s choice of people to work with. Men and women always get it all wrong when they focus more on the outside appearance and not on a person’s inner being.
Works Cited
Dunn, James and John Rogerson. Eerdmans commentary on the Bible, Cambridge, UK: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2003. Print.
Kessler, Martin and Karel Deurloo. A Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Beginnings, Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2004. Print.
Lioy, Daniel. International Lesson Commentary: King James Version, with NRSV Comparison, The Standard in Biblical Exposition, Based on the International Sunday School Lessons (ISSL), Colorado Springs, CO:David C Cook, 2007. Print.
Phillips, John. Exploring Psalms: An Expository Commentary, Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2002. Print.
Wiersbe, Warren. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: The Complete Old Testament, Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2007. Print.