Download Genesis 37-39

Genesis 37-39
“The story of Joseph, the son of Jacob who was called
Israel, is a vivid representation of the great truth that’ all
things work together for good to (those) who love God’
(Romans 8:28). Joseph always seemed to do the right
thing; but still, more importantly, he did it for the right
reason.
Joseph turned every experience and all circumstances,
no matter how trying, into something good.
This ability to turn everything into something good appears
to be a Godly characteristic.
A Tribute
How can we adequately laud the life and legacy of
Jacob’s beloved son – the great ancestor of most
Latter-day Saints. His Christ-like character stands as a
magnificent model for us and all the world. Beset by
trials and temptations, he remained true. He endured
the chaffing of chains without complaint. He served
selflessly and returned love and forgiveness when
others would have responded with vengeance and
vindictiveness. He had the noble capacity to rise
above his temporary troubles and see the hand of the
Lord in his life. His indomitable spirit was submissive and
sensitive to the living light from the Lord. From and
ancient pseudepigraphic text, written well over two
thousand years ago as though it were Joseph’s last
testament, comes the following:
My brothers and my children.
Listen to Joseph, the one beloved of Israel.
Give ear to the words of my mouth.
In my life I have seen envy and death.
But I have not gone astray: I continued in the
truth of the Lord.
These, my brothers, hated me but the Lord
loved me.
They wanted to kill me, but the God of my
fathers preserved me.
Into a cistern they lowered me; the Most High
raised me up.
They sold me into slavery; the Lord of all set me
free.
I was taken into captivity; the strength of his
hand came to my aid.
I was overtaken by hunger; the Lord himself fed
me generously.
I was alone, and God came to help me.
I was in weakness, and the Lord showed his
concern for me.
I was in prison, and the Savior acted graciously
in my behalf.
Assaulted by bitter words of Egyptians, and he
rescued me.
A slave, and he exalted me.
The author undoubtedly had in mind an earthly
exaltation like sitting next to the Pharaoh’s
throne. But there is a throne far greater than
that. Surely he has now been exalted to a
heavenly throne alongside his father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather (Doctrine &
Covenants 132:29, 37).
(The Testament of Joseph 1.2-7, trans. Kee, in
Charlesworth, 819)
“Never be discouraged. If I were sunk
in the lowest pit of Nova Scotia, with
the Rocky Mountains piled upon me, I
would hang on, exercise faith and
keep up good courage, and I would
come out on top” (Joseph Smith).
Joseph, although a slave and wholly undeserving of this
fate, nevertheless remained faithful to the Lord and
continued to live the commandments and made
something very good of his degrading circumstances.
People like this cannot be defeated, because they will
not give up (Hartman Rector Jr., “Live above the Law to
Be Free,” Ensign, Jan. 1973, 130).
Genesis 37:2
What prompted Jacob to send Joseph sixty miles north to
find his older brethren is not known.
Genesis 37:3
“The Coat of Many Colors”
There is some question as to what Joseph’s coat actually was.
The Hebrew word denotes:
“a long coat with sleeves…i.e. and upper coat reaching to the
wrist and the ankles, such as noblemen and kings’ daughters
wore” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:1:335).
One noted scholar suggested that it was “a tunic reaching to
the palms of the hands and soles of the feet; the long tunic with
sleeves worn by young men and maidens of the better class; in
the case of Joseph, supposed by Bush… to have been the
badge of the birthright which had been forfeited by Reuben
and transferred to Joseph” (Wilson, Old Testament Word
Studies, s.v. “color,” 82).
In Alma 46:23 we learn that 1600 years later
General Moroni spoke of Joseph’s torn coat as a
symbol to rally his people. Perhaps it truly was a
badge of the birthright (Alma 46:23-24).
Part of the remnant of the coat of Joseph was
preserved and had not decayed.
We simply have no idea what it actually was
(some have said it was a shawl).
If indeed this coat signaled that Joseph held the
birthright, which may have been in question among
the brothers because there were four firstborn sons in
Jacob’s family, this fact would explain the intense
hostility and jealousy the coat provoked among the
other sons of Jacob.
The following brothers could easily have thought that
they should have had the birthright.
Reuben:
He was the firstborn of all the sons (he
ended up sleeping with Bilhah).
Simeon:
He was the second son of Leah and
next in line following Reuben. After
Reuben fell, he might have thought it
was his.
Judah:
He could have argued that Simeon lost the right because
of the massacre of the Schchemites (defiling of Dinah).
Dan:
He was the first born of Bilhal, who was considered
Rachel’s property.
Gad:
He was the firstborn son of Zilpah.
Joseph’s dreams, which clearly signified future leadership,
only added to the resentment among the brothers.
Two Dreams!
Genesis 37:5-11
Dream #1
All of his brothers made obeisance to his
sheaf.
Dream #2
The sun and moon and eleven stars made
obeisance to him.
Joseph was taught through dreams, visions and
revelations relevant to his future leadership.
Asael Smith (Joseph’s Grandfather) and Joseph Smith Sr.
both had seven visions prior to the First Vision.
Genesis 37:19
“The dreamer cometh”
“True”
The parallel nature of Joseph’s dreams suggest that this
future spiritual deliverance would parallel the pattern of
deliverance established in Egypt. This pattern was as
follows:
1. Joseph was broken off to a place apart from the rest of
the house of Israel.
2. Joseph resided in a distant land, unknown to his family.
3. The experiences of Joseph in the distant land prepared
the way for the salvation of Israel.
4. Israel began to be saved when they learned of Joseph
who was separated.
5. The House of Israel bowed before Joseph.
As we see, Israel’s spiritual deliverance unfolds in precisely
the same way.
Genesis 37:28
“The price for a slave”
The price received for Joseph, twenty pieces of silver, is
the same price specified later in the Mosaic law for a
slave between the ages of five and twenty (Leviticus
27:5).
Typically, the price for a slave was thirty pieces of silver
(Exodus 21:32).
Genesis 37:36
“Potiphar’s Position”
The Hebrew phrase which is translated as “captain of the
guards” literally means “chief of the butchers or slaughterers.”
Some scholars have thought that he was the chief cook or
steward in the house of the pharaoh, but other scholars believe
that butcher or slaughterer is used in the sense of executioner,
and thus Potiphar was the “commanding officer of the royal
body-guard, who executed the capital sentences ordered by
the king” (Keil and Delitzsch, Commentary, 1:1:338).
Either way, Potiphar was a important man, but the latter
position especially would give him great power and status in
Egypt.
Judah and Tamar
Genesis 38:1-30
Yuk!!!!
Had Judah faithfully kept his promise to Tamar, the
seduction would never have taken place.
Likewise, had Judah been faithful to the laws of morality,
he never would have sinned with Tamar.
Ancestry is not the determiner of one’s righteousness.
This story shows the lineage that the Messiah would come
from.
Genesis 38:5-11
Why was Tamar to marry the brothers of her
husband?
Ancient customs of the Middle East provided that a
brother of a deceased man should marry his widow.
The purpose of such a marriage was to produce a male
heir for the dead man and thus perpetuate his name and
memory. It was regarded as a great calamity to die
without a son, for then the man’s lineage did not
continue and also the man’s property reverted to
someone else’s family.
Thus, when Judah failed to keep her promise to send the
youngest son to her, Tamar resorted to deception in order
to bear children.
Genesis 38:24
“Judah’s twisted sense of values”
He had no qualms about sending Tamar
home with unfulfilled promises nor of
picking up a harlot along the road, but
when he heard that Tamar was pregnant
he was so incensed that he ordered her put
to death.
Genesis 39:2
“The Lord was with Joseph”
We assume he had been taught and lived the covenant
of Abraham. He must have had the priesthood before
he was sold, for he exercised it in Egypt (Answers To
Gospel Questions, 8:9).
Genesis 39:9
“How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against
God?”
How does the Lord feel about chastity and virtue?
Jacob 2:28
Alma 39:5
Doctrine & Covenants 59:6
Moroni 9:9
Don’t do anything like unto it!
Genesis 39:12
“He fled and got himself out”
Elder Hartman Rector Jr. taught that sometimes
running is the only thing to do!
“It is so important that young people who are
unmarried erect barriers against temptation to help
them avoid the compromising situations. May I
suggest a few barriers.
1. Never go into a house alone with one of the
opposite sex.
2. Never, never enter a bedroom alone with one of
the opposite sex.
3. Do not peck or pet.
4. Never park with just the two
of you alone.
5. Do not read pornographic
literature.
6. Do not attend “R” or “X”
rated movies, and avoid
drive-ins.
7. Do not spend time in drinking
or gambling establishments.
(Conference Report Oct., 1972, 172-73).
Genesis 39:20
Why not executed?
A slave accused of attempting to rape his master’s wife
would seem to have deserved the most severe
punishment, and yet Joseph was only imprisoned.
Could it be that Potiphar, knowing of Joseph’s character
and his wife’s character, suspected the truth and,
although he had to take action, chose a comparatively
lenient punishment?
Whatever the case, the hand of the Lord certainly
preserved Joseph from what would otherwise have.
been almost certain death.
Examining the fate of Potiphar’s wife:
The Neal A. Maxwell Institute’s Kristian S. Heal spoke about
how ancient Christians interpreted the stories of Joseph,
his brothers in Egypt and the woman whose immorality
and lies sent Joseph to prison.
The judgment of Potiphar’s wife was a story not found in
the Bible, of course, and some contradictory traditions
arose around it among ancient Christian commentators.
“There are several important morals to the story of Joseph,
and many types for our day. But one of them has to be
reconciliation and forgiveness. Forgiving someone who
has ruined your life in many ways. Who has done a great
hurt and harm to you,” Heal said. The ancient sources
couldn’t bear this silence (about the fate of Potiphar’s
wife).
Whether through traditions they had received or simply
from their own imagination, they tell us what happened.”
When Potiphar saw the honor heaped by Pharaoh upon
Joseph, he was afraid and said to his wife, “You have
brought all these terrible things upon me. You dishonored
me and made me a disgrace and an object of derision.”
Heal said, “He is panicked and he is looking for someone
to blame.”
Potiphar can’t see how he can show his face to Joseph.
He says he always knew that Joseph was not really a
slave and that his wife’s story about Joseph trying to
assault her was a sham. Joseph had fled Potiphar’s wife’s
advances, leaving her holding his clothes. “If you had
been assaulted by him,” Potiphar tells her, “you would
have left your clothes in his hands.”
Potiphar’s wife responds, “Truly I have sinned and
wronged him. Now don’t be upset, for I will appease him
and he will honor you more than all of your friends and he
will make you a great man and a ruler over all the
freemen and nobles of Pharaoh.”
Potiphar’s wife petitions Joseph and begs his forgiveness.
Joseph sends her gifts in response and invites her to a
feast where he calls Potiphar “father” and Potiphar’s wife
“mother.”
Joseph declares, “Were it not for you, sending me to that
prison, I would never have been brought into a situation
where I could have interpreted Pharaoh's dreams.”
It is a beautiful example in the spirit of forgiveness that
Joseph showed toward his brothers --- and that Christ
shows toward sinners.
Heal said he believed this story was the earliest
thread of the fate of Potiphar’s wife.
“Other writers just couldn’t stand the idea,” Heal
said, “particularly as we see the rise of
monasticism and (the idea that) women are the
root of all evil. They couldn’t bear the idea of
Potiphar’s wife, this ‘brazen hussy,’ being forgiven
(Kristian S. Heal, Mormon Times, Sept. 18, 2010).
If any person had cause for
discouragement and bitterness, it was
Joseph, but he never faltered in his faith.
Truly, Joseph is a model to be emulated!
Doctrine & Covenants 122:7
Former U.S. president Calvin Coolidge said:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of
perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common
than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not;
unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will
not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence
and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan
‘press on’ has solved and always will solve the problems
of the human race” (Calvin Coolidge, in Wisdom for the
Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing,
comp. Larry Chang (2006), 226.
Joseph --- a type and shadow of the Savior:
1. The beloved son (Gen. 37:3).
2. Declared that he would be the ruler over the children of Israel
(Gen. 37:6-11).
3. The children of Israel saw him as taking authority over them
and rejected and hated him (Gen. 37:8, 11).
4. Sought out his brethren on behalf of his father (Gen. 37:12-17).
5. The children of Israel conspired to kill him (Gen. 37:18-20).
6. Judah (in Greek, Judas) betrayed him to the Gentiles (Gen.
37:25-28).
7. Sold for the price of a slave of his age, in pieces of silver (Gen.
37:25-28; Lev. 27:5).
8. The attempt to destroy him set in motion events that saved the
children of Israel from death.
9. Was taken captive and placed under the dominion of an
officer of the strongest army of the world.
10. Resisted temptation perfectly (Gen. 39:7-12).
11. Was falsely accused (Gen. 39:16-19).
12. Was given the name of Azphnath-paaneah, which
means Savior (Gen. 41:45).
13. Began his ministry of preparing salvation for Israel when
thirty years old (Gen. 41:46).
14. Provided bread and water to Israel and saved them
from death (Gen. 42:25).
15. Offers that bread without price (Gen. 42:25; 44:1).
16. In offering that bread, he offers the opportunity to
repent (Gen. 42:25; 44:1).
17. Forgave those who had caused him to suffer and
offered them opportunity to repent (Gen. 45:1-5, 14-15).
18. Was recognized and accepted by his people only the
second time they met (Gen. 45).
19. All bowed to him (Gen. 43:26-28).
Joseph saved Israel from physical death, and will save
Israel from spiritual death.
The following are true both of Joseph and the Lord:
1. He is the beloved son.
2. He reveals that he will rule over Israel.
3. The children of Israel reject him out of jealousy and
hate.
4. Notwithstanding their mistreatment of him, he seeks out
his brethren on behalf of his father.
5. When they cannot be found where they were thought
to be, he goes farther. He will go wherever he needs
to go to do the work of his father.
6. But the children of Israel conspire to kill him.
7. He is betrayed by the hand of Judah --- or, in the
Greek, Judas.
8. He is sold for the price of a slave of his age.
9. This very attempt to destroy him sets in motion events that will
eventually save the house of Israel from death.
10. He resists temptation perfectly.
11. He begins his public mission of preparing salvation for Israel
at the age of thirty.
12. He provides bread for Israel, saving them from death.
13. He offers that bread without price.
14. In the offering of that bread, he offers the opportunity to
repent.
Joseph is a similitude of the Savior.
Joseph’s brothers are in similitude of us.
Through our sins, we, in effect, have thrown the Savior
in a pit. We are the cause of his suffering.
We hold ourselves back from him out of guilt over the pain we
have caused him.