Genesis 37:1-17

Genesis 37

I.                Joseph and His Brothers

a.      Genesis 37:1 – And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

·        Genesis 35:27 - And Jacob came unto Isaac his father unto Mamre, unto the city of Arbah, which [is] Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

·        Reminds us that this is not our home, we are but dwellers or sojourners until the manifestation of the sons of God

o       Romans 8:19 - For the earnest expectation of the creature (creation) waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

o       John 17:14 - I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

b.      Genesis 37:2 - These [are] the generations of Jacob. Joseph, [being] seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad [was] with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

·        Joseph 17, Jacob 108, Isaac 168 years old

o       A lot of disagreement on how old Jacob was when Benjamin was born

·        We see here that like his fathers, Joseph was also a shepherd

o       John 10:7 - Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

·        Sons of Bilhah – Dan and Naphtali

·        Sons of Zilpah – Gad and Asher

o       Sons of the handmaids

·        No mention of the sons of Leah (Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun)

c.      Genesis 37:3 - Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colours.

·        Loved - אהב 'ahab, to love

·        Matthew 3:17 - And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

·        Colours - פס pac, flat (of the hand or foot), palm, sole

·        A coat of long sleeves normally worn by the tribal chief and his heir.  All raiment in the East marks the social rank and position of the wearer.  Being the garment of the firstborn (holder of the birthright) it doubtless denotes his official and priestly position.  Companion Bible E.W. Bullinger footnote

o       Exodus 28:4 – And these [are] the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.

o       Exodus 39:1 – And of the blue, and purple, and scarlet, they made cloths of service, to do service in the holy [place], and made the holy garments for Aaron; as the LORD commanded Moses.

a.      Priestly robes

o       Psalm 45:13-14 – The king's daughter [is] all glorious within: her clothing [is] of wrought gold.  She shall be brought unto the king in raiment of needlework: the virgins her companions that follow her shall be brought unto thee.

a.      Royal robes

·        Birthright included:

o       Father’s blessing and supremacy

o       A double portion

o       Domestic Priesthood

·        Possibly it is similar to the Esau’s coat and Jacob wore into the tent when obtaining Esau’s blessing from Isaac?

o       Genesis 27:15 - And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which [were] with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son

d.      Genesis 37:4 - And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

·        Who did they hate, Joseph or their father Jacob? We assume that its Joseph, but it could also be applied to Jacob in this verse as well.

o       John 15:23 - He that hateth me hateth my Father also.

·        Psalm 18:17- He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.

·        Isaiah 66:5 - Hear the word of the LORD, ye that tremble at his word; Your brethren that hated you, that cast you out for my name's sake, said, Let the LORD be glorified: but he shall appear to your joy, and they shall be ashamed.

·        1 John 2:11 - But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.

·        1 John 4:20 - If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

II.              Joseph Communicates His Dreams

a.      Genesis 37:5 - And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told [it] his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

·        Dreamed a dream – Had a significant dream

b.      Genesis 37:6 - And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:

c.      Genesis 37:7 - For, behold, we [were] binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

·        We will see that indeed his brothers do come and bow before him

·        Was Joseph wrong to tell this dream?

o       Clearly the dream was inspired and prophetic so God had a plan in giving Joseph this dream

o       The brother’s heard the dream and were angered and their actions led to the fulfillment of the dream, so by Joseph telling the dream God’s plan was accomplished.

o       When Jesus came and revealed things from heaven that were not understood He was also hated and persecuted for this.

d.      Genesis 37:8 - And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

·        John 7:7 - The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.

·        John 8:55-59 – Yet ye have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know Him, and keep his saying.  Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.  Then said the Jews unto Him, thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?  Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was I am.  Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

o       Just as the Jews were offended at the claims of Jesus, Joseph’s brothers were also offended at his claims

·        The fact that Joseph was either the youngest of next to the youngest brother at this time probably didn’t help much in terms of gaining acceptance from his brothers.

o       Matthew 13:57 - And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

·        Jesus also may have seemed brash and confident, but like Joseph, He spoke the truth.  We never second guess what Jesus said, why do so many Judge Joseph as arrogant for speaking truth?

·        The words of Jesus brought about the same response as the words of Joseph, they were enraged and sought to kill him.

e.      Genesis 37:9 - And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

·        11 Signs of the zodiac, Joseph being the 12^th

·        Numbers 2:1-2 – And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, “Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father’s house…”

o       Ensign – each standard is said to have had as its “sign” one of the twelve original signs and 36 constellations that go back to the foundations of the world.  According to the early writings of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Chapter 2.3), who preserved Jewish tradition in his writing, Biblical astronomy was invented by Adam, Seth and Enoch.  These twelve signs of the Zodiac have been perverted through Babylonian and Greek mythologies.  Until the written scripture of Moses some 2500 years after creation the Word of God was preserved in the naming of the stars and their groupings of signs and constellations, which have since been corrupted and all original meaning lost or distorted.  See Appendix 12, The Companion Bible

o       Recommended reading – E.W. Bullinger “The Stars Also”

·        Made obeisance:

o       Genesis 42:6 – And Joseph [was] the governor over the land, [and] he [it was] that sold to all the people of the land: and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him [with] their faces to the earth.

o       Genesis 43:26 – And when Joseph came home, they brought him the present which [was] in their hand into the house, and bowed themselves to him to the earth.

o       Genesis 44:14 – And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he [was] yet there: and they fell before him on the ground.

f.       Genesis 37:10 - And he told [it] to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What [is] this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

·        Are we out of sequence? Is Jacob referring to Rachel being alive or here disembodied spirit? Could this chapter have taken place prior to chapter 35?

·        Are we given this key information just so we can see that Benjamin has not yet been brought forth, Benjamin being a “type” of the Body of Christ or the Church, and comes after the resurrected Christ.

o       We know that Rachel dies at Benjamin’s birth, if Rachel is yet alive then Benjamin has not yet been born and therefore the events of this chapter could have taken place before Rachel’s death and Benjamin’s birth.

g.      Genesis 37:11 - And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.

·        Matthew 27:18 - For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

III.            Joseph Seeks His Brothers

a.      Genesis 37:12 - And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

·        Are they going to feed the flock that remains in Shechem or are they taking a flock to Shechem

o       Remember what Jacob buried under an oak in Shechem, all of the idols from the Hivites.

o       Scripture is silent as to whether the site where the idols were buried was visited.

·        Recall that Shechem is where Simeon and Levi slaughtered all of the Hivite males.

·        Shechem is about 50 miles north of Hebron

·        Jeremiah 50:6 – My people hath been lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

o       Matthew 10:6 – But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

o       Matthew 15:24 – But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

b.      Genesis 37:13 - And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed [the flock] in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here [am I].

·        Another shadow picture of the coming Messiah, Joseph is sent by his father to check on his brothers and the flock.

·        The fact that they were grazing the flock near Shechem may have elicited some feelings of fear from Jacob as he no doubt is thinking about the events that took place there.

·        The phrase “the flock” is added

c.      Genesis 37:14 - And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

d.      Genesis 37:15 - And a certain man found him, and, behold, [he was] wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

e.      Genesis 37:16 - And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed [their flocks].

·        John 3:17 - For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

f.       Genesis 37:17 - And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

·        Dothan - דתן Dothan, "two wells"