Joseph Yeshua Comparison (pdf)
Vayashev Slides (pdf)
VaYashev Notes (pdf)
Overview of VaYeshev (“And He Settled”) (Genesis 37:1 – 40:23)
This week’s Portion introduces us to the next generation of Abraham’s family: Joseph. Up to this point we have learned much about Abraham (in Genesis chapters 12-23); but we didn’t learn so much about Isaac. He was the only Patriarch whom God did not allow to leave the Land (Isaac was, after all, the sacrifice in Gen 22, and he couldn’t leave the Holy Place); he re-dug the wells that his father Abraham had dug a generation earlier (Gen 24-26). We have also seen much of Jacob’s life as well (Gen chapters 27-35). But now, starting with this week’s Portion, we will shift to the next generation: Joseph.
Chapter 37 Joseph’s Problems with His Brothers
This Portion starts off with “the generations of Jacob: Joseph”. I thought Jacob had 12 sons? The only son that really mattered to Jacob was the firstborn of his beloved Rachel! And the rest of the Book of Genesis will tell us Joseph’s story. Jacob’s preference for Joseph is obvious, starting in verse 2. Most Bibles translate this verse as:
“Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers”
However, a more accurate translation would read:
“Joseph, being seventeen years old, was ruling – although just a lad – his brothers.”
And they were his half-brothers (same father but different mothers), the sons of the two concubines. Another sign of Jacob’s preference for Joseph was his “coat of many colors”, another poor translation. The Hebrew word that is translated “many colors” is pasim, meaning “reaching to the ground.” So, rather than being very colorful, it probably had extra-long sleeves or the entire garment was so long that it touched the ground. This word, pasim, is also used to describe the royal garment of Tamar, the grand-daughter of King David. Regardless of its appearance, this garment was a sign to all who saw it that Joseph was favored by his father and would have commanded the respect of all who saw him.
Joseph had two dreams: 11 sheaves in the field bowed to him; and the sun and moon and 11 stars bowed to him. In his youthful innocence (or perhaps arrogance) he told the dreams to his brothers and to his father – probably not the wisest thing he ever did! His brothers hated him even more for it, and Jacob remembered it. Don’t miss the obvious connection here to God’s promise to Abram: that his descendants would be as numerous as the sands of the seashore (a physical earthly promise) and as numerous as the stars of the heavens (a spiritual promise). I would suggest to you that this is the beginning of the Kingdom Parables that Yeshua continued in the Gospels. Yeshua’s 1,000 year Kingdom on earth – when He rules and reigns with Torah as the Law of the Land – will consist of two groups of kingdom citizens: those who survive the Great Tribulation (as the sands of the seashore) and who physically walk into the Kingdom (literally, inherit the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12); and those who rule with Him in resurrection bodies (as the stars of Heaven). Just as the 12 Disciples will rule in the Kingdom (Matt 19:27-28), so will we as the Bride of Messiah rule with Him! (selah….pause a moment to think about this). Back to Genesis!
Jacob sent Joseph to check on his half-brothers, and they took that opportunity to get him out of their lives. They seized him and cast him into a cistern, and then all of his brothers gathered together to formulate a plan to get rid of him once and for all. First they thought they should kill him; Reuben went along with this plan thinking that he could rescue Joseph before the others could kill him and thereby be restored to his father and to his rightful status of firstborn. Ultimately, Judah convinced them to sell him into slavery. The text is very confusing as to whether they sold him to the Ishmaelites or to the Midianites. This confusion comes from the translators. Verse 28 says the brothers pulled him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites. However, the words “the brothers” are italicized, meaning they are not in the original Hebrew text (if your Bible doesn’t have these words italicized, then I suggest that you get one that does; that’s the first step toward serious Bible study). So, while the brothers were arguing about what to do with Joseph, the Midianites stole him out of the pit and they sold him to the Ishmaelites who then sold him to Potiphar. Both groups sold him into slavery and the brothers got nothing for their efforts.
When they realized that he was missing from the cistern, they had to go back to the first plan…or at least tell Jacob that Joseph was dead. To convince Jacob of that, the brothers dipped his “coat of many colors” in the blood of a goat and showed it to Jacob, saying, “Do you recognize this?” He did and he assumed that his favorite son Joseph was indeed dead. An interesting point here: Jacob deceived his father Isaac with the skin of a goat, and the brothers deceived Jacob with Joseph’s coat dipped in goat’s blood.
The chapter ends with Joseph sold in Egypt as a slave to Potiphar, Pharaoh’s Head Executioner and Head of Egypt’s prison system.
Chapter 38 Judah and Tamar (Judah’s Unrighteousness)
Just as Joseph’s story is getting interesting, the scene changes to this sordid story of Judah and his daughter-in-law Tamar. As Joseph started his “new” life of slavery in Egypt, his brothers resumed their lives back in Canaan without him:
Judah married a Canaanite woman and had three sons with her. He chose Tamar as the wife for the oldest son. That son died, so he gave Tamar to his second son to bear children in the name of his dead brother. The second son also died childless but Judah withheld Tamar from the youngest son. Judah was then intimate with Tamar, thinking she was a harlot. Tamar gave birth to twins who are in Yeshua’s genealogy
Wow …this is the stuff of today’s TV reality shows! What is the Holy Spirit trying to tell us here?? Jewish thought uses contrasts to emphasize a point. So we see here the contrast between the un-righteousness of Judah (here in chapter 38) and the righteousness of Joseph…as we resume his story in the next chapter.
We also see here the application of the Levirate Marriage that we will learn more about in Deuteronomy 25. This is when a childless widow marries her brother-in-law (levir in Latin), and he is to raise up a child in his dead brother’s name. This Levirate tradition is showcased in the Book of Ruth, with Boaz exercising his duty to marry Ruth as the close relative of Ruth’s dead husband.
Judah displayed his un-righteousness by violating Torah in several ways:
He married a Canaanite woman
He failed to follow the Law of the Levirate Marriage
He turned from Yehovah as he thought he was engaging with a pagan temple prostitute
He negotiated with Tamar, thinking she was a temple prostitute (k’deshah, the female version of “holy”) and agreed to a goat in exchange for her “services.” The goat pattern continues here: Jacob deceived Isaac with a goat, the brothers deceived Jacob with the blood of a goat, and now Judah’s un-righteousness will be discovered because of a goat. He didn’t bring a goat along with him, so he gave Tamar collateral to insure she would get her goat. This collateral was far more valuable than any old goat; in today’s terms, he left her his driver’s license, his credit card and the keys to his safety deposit box! Tamar later used those items to convince Judah that he was the father of her “illegitimate” twins.
In spite of all of this, Judah acknowledged his un-righteousness, and the chapter ends with Tamar giving birth to twin boys. And we see Tamar’s name (along with three other women) listed in Matthew’s genealogy of Yeshua.
Chapter 39 The Righteousness of Joseph
Back to Joseph in Potiphar’s house in Egypt. Potiphar recognized that Joseph was no ordinary slave and elevated him to be master of his household; everything that happened in Potiphar’s house was under Joseph’s control.
We know the rest of the story: Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him; he resisted her and fled as she pulled his outer garment off him. It was this garment that she used to persuade her husband that Joseph had tried to attack her. Once again, Joseph’s garment had gotten him into trouble.
Instead of sentencing Joseph to death (which Potiphar had every right to do) he put Joseph in prison – a sign that he didn’t believe his wife’s story, but he had to “punish” Joseph to save face.
The chapter ends with Joseph in prison, having risen again to the position of highest authority among all the other prisoners. Even though it doesn’t look like it, God is in control of Joseph’s situation.
Chapter 40 Joseph Interprets Dreams
Pharaoh became angry with his baker and his butler (wine taster) and sent them to this same prison under Joseph’s care. While there, they both asked Joseph to interpret the dreams that they had.
The butler’s dream: A three-branched vine produced grapes which the butler picked and pressed into Pharaoh’s cup for him to drink.
Joseph’s interpretation: In three days Pharaoh will release you from prison and restore you to your former position.
The baker was encouraged by this interpretation and asked Joseph to interpret his dream.
The baker’s dream: On his head were three baskets of baked goods from which the birds ate.
Joseph’s interpretation: In three days Pharaoh will take you from prison, hang you by your neck from a tree and the birds will eat your flesh.
Not the interpretation that he had expected!
In three days’ time both dreams were fulfilled: the baker was hanged and the butler was restored to
his position in Pharaoh’s palace. Joseph’s parting words to the butler:
“Remember me…and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house.”
But, once restored, he forgot Joseph. And so it is with us; when times are bad, we cry out for mercy; but when times are good, we forget to thank God for His Provision and His Mercy.
The story of Joseph will continue next week.
The Haftarah reading is from Amos 2:6 – 3:8. The Prophet rebukes eight nations for their sins against God. Each of Amos’ eight messages follows a similar pattern. First, there is the phrase “for three sins . . . even for four.” Then, one or two specific sins are mentioned regarding the nation being addressed. And finally, a judgment is given. Amos starts with Israel’s enemies and ends with prophecies against Judah and Israel. We read of his rebuke of Israel – and a clear reference to Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery from Amos 2:6-12:
“Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble…. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. I raised up some of your sons as prophets, and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” says the Lord. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’”
The Brit Chadashah reading comes from Romans 8:28-30. Even though Joseph‘s “luck” couldn’t get any worse, God was still using Joseph’s circumstances to accomplish His Plans:
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.”
Joseph’s circumstances here, seen through “natural” eyes seem to be Yehovah’s punishment. But when we get to the end of his story and look back upon it with “spiritual” eyes, we see Yehovah used these harsh situations to refine Joseph into the man He needed him to be in order to accomplish all the things that He had in store for him. When we find ourselves in similar situations, let us remember this story of Joseph and be encouraged to persevere to the end, so that we too can accomplish those things that Yehovah has in store for us!