Old Testament - Genesis 37 - March 7, 2022

 3/7/2022 – Genesis 37

The student manual starts with this sentence: “Time and again, good fortune seemed to abandon Joseph, but the Lord never did.” And that’s because Joseph NEVER abandoned the Lord’s commandments. No matter what happened to him, he was honest and true and helpful to all around him…except for Potiphar’s wife.

V 3 tells us outright that “Israel (Jacob) loved Joseph more than all his children.” It also tells us that he made and gave Joseph a coat of many colors. Evidently the children of wealthy families wore coats or tunics that reached to their wrists and their ankles. I had a wonderful institute instructor who said that there is one translation saying that Joseph’s coat of many colors was a sign that Jacob had taken Joseph through the temple experience.

For years there had been hard feelings and one-up-manship between Leah and Rachel, so perhaps all the sons were used to this “I’m better than you” way of living. Then again, about the birthright, Reuben, the firstborn of all the sons lost that right through not keeping the Lord’s commandments. So Simeon, the 2nd second son of Leah may have thought that he should be the one who would have the birthright. Judah could have argued that not only Reuben and lost the right, but so had Simeon and Levi, through the massacre of the Shechemites. Dan was the child of Bilhah, Rachael’s maid, but he could argue that he was Rachel’s firstborn. Gad’s mother was Zilpah’s son, Leah’s maid, so he could have thought the birthright should come to him since Rueben had forfeited it. Anyone of those boys could figure out a reason why they should be “on top”. 

Then in this selfish climate in the family, Joseph has a dream and shares that dream with his family. His dream indicated that his brothers bowed down to him. This information made his brothers hate “him yet the more for his dreams and his words”.  Then Jacob had yet another dream saying that his brothers “made obeisance to me” (v 9) This time even Jacob was upset that he and his wives would bow down to him. 

Elder Bednar taught “Revelations are conveyed in a variety of ways, including, for example, dreams vision, conversations with heavenly messengers, and inspiration.” (May 2011 Ensign, p 88.

So all his brothers were angry with him, and at the same time they envied him. Jacob sent all his other sons out to work with the flocks, but he kept Joseph at home. After some time Jacob sent Joseph to see if all was well with his brothers. 

Joseph set out on this task. His brothers had left the area where they had first been, but Jacob continued on and found them. V18 tells us “And when they [the brothers] saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, [his coat would certainly identify him] they conspired against him to slay him” [the dreamer]. Rueben convinced them not to kill him, but put him in a pit…then they would not have dirtied their hands . The put him in the pit where there was no water, and then took his coat and made it look like an animal had killed him. [Talmage read writings that indicted the brothers tore the coat in a way not to disturb sacred markings.]. But then a caravan came by, and they thought they could make money AND get rid of Joseph if they sold him as a slave. They were given 20 pieces of silver for their brother. Rueben had not been with the brothers when they sold him to the caravan. He returned by way of the pit probably hoping to get Joseph out of it, but Joseph was not there. Then Rueben found they had sold him, and he rent his clothes for he had been too late to save Joseph. 

All the sons returned home with the torn and bloody coat, and saw their father in deep mourning for many days. He could not be comforted.