The Fulfilling of Joseph's Dreams and His Testing of His Brothers

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 42:1) Now when Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, Jacob said to his sons, "Why do you look at one another?" (2) And he said, "Behold, I have heard that there is corn in Egypt; go down there and buy for us from there, that we may live and not die."

Joseph was in Egypt managing the seven years of famine with the food he had stored during the seven years of plenty.  We read in the last chapter that the famine was all over, in other countries, as well, and here we read that Joseph's family was also suffering from the famine.  Jacob had heard there was grain in Egypt, obviously hearing that he could buy it, and told his sons to go to Egypt to buy them some (rather than sitting around looking at one another in despair not knowing what to do).

(3) And Joseph's ten brothers went down to buy corn in Egypt. (4) But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob did not send with his brothers, for he said, "Lest some mischief befall him."

Jacob sent ten of Joseph's brothers to Egypt to buy grain.  He did not send his youngest son, Benjamin, Joseph's only full brother of his mother Rachel, because he feared something might happen to him.  Possibly it was because he felt he was too young, but more likely it was because Benjamin was his favorite and the one he thought to his only son by his beloved Rachel.

(5) And the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan. (6) And Joseph was governor over the land; and it was he who sold to all the people of the land; and Joseph's brothers came and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the earth.

Apparently there were other people from Canaan coming to buy grain in Egypt, or perhaps they were from other countries coming the same time as Jacob's sons from Canaan.  They came directly to Joseph as he was the one who sold the stored grain to all the people in all the lands.  Joseph's brothers bowed themselves before him when they approached him.

(7) And Joseph saw his brothers and recognized them, but made himself a stranger to them and spoke roughly to them; and he said to them, "Where do you come from?" And they said, "From the land of Canaan to buy food." (8) And Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him.

Joseph immediately recognized his brothers, but he did not let on that he knew them.  He spoke roughly to them.  Knowing Joseph's character, I wonder if he truly spoke roughly or if that just meant there was no friendly familiarity.  He asked them a straight forward question to which they answered what he already knew, but they had no reason to even dream Joseph would be in the position he was, and did not recognize him.  Maybe the rough talk added to the disguise.

(9) And Joseph remembered the dreams which he dreamed of them, and said to them, "You are spies! You have come to see the nakedness of the land!"

I can't decide if Joseph is behaving righteously in this or not.  He remembered his dreams of how his brothers would bow down to him and then he accused them of being spies who came to find out if the land was so defenseless that it could be attacked.  It would seem to me he was using and enjoying his position to force them to bow down to him, but then again if he wished to detain them to get more information from them about his father and brother, perhaps he felt he had to do something like this.  I suppose, knowing what they had done to him, it could have been he thought it possible they might have done something similar to his brother.  If he had been familiar with them, maybe he would not have received such information as that.  He could be testing his brothers to try to get the truth from them. 

(10) And they said to him, "No, my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. (11) We are all one man's sons; we are true men; your servants are no spies."

The brothers deny the charge that they are spies.  By telling Joseph they were one man's sons they hoped to show it was very unlikely that ten brothers of one family would be sent on the dangerous mission as spies.  They told him they spoke the truth and had only come to buy food.

(12) And he said to them, "No, but you have come to see the nakedness of the land."

Perhaps this was Joseph's way of forcing them to give up more information about the rest of his family.  If the brothers felt in danger, they would perhaps spill all.

(13) And they said, "Your servants are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with our father this day, and one is no more."

This was surely what Joseph was waiting to hear, that his father and younger brother were alive.  It also must have been emotional for Joseph to hear them speak of him as dead.

(14) And Joseph said to them, "It is as I spoke to you, saying, 'You are spies!'  (15) In this manner you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here. (16) Send one of you, and let him bring your brother; and you shall be kept in prison, that your words may be proven to see whether there is any truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies!"

Of course, Joseph knew they were probably telling the truth, but as first in command under Pharaoh, it seemed reasonable that he would consider this suspect as first they had claimed to be ten brothers and now they said they were eleven; why would ten come and not all eleven?  In providing a way for the brothers to prove they were telling the truth to Pharaoh's right-hand man, Joseph would be able to see his younger brother again.

Many of the older Biblical commentaries that I read made a great deal about Joseph using the language "by the life of Pharaoh", many believing it was a sworn oath, and strictly forbidden by God.  To me, it's as if he was saying, "as surely as Pharaoh lives", and something completely in character with what Pharaoh's top governor would be expected to say.  I don't see that the words used constituted an oath, but even if they did, Joseph was human and made mistakes.  Some of the old commentaries seem to me to go to great lengths to make him the ultimate picture of Christ, in that he couldn't have sinned in anything he did in this picture.  Where I thought he may have been laying it on a little thickly and even enjoying a little bit that his brothers bowed down to him, there were some who suggested the noble and righteous Joseph was only doing what he did to bring his brothers to necessary repentance.  I'm not sure I buy that.  Just because Joseph's life may have been a picture of Christ's in that he was left for dead and risen up to a position that brought salvation from death to those who came to buy food from him, he was still a man.  There is and never was any sinless person other than Jesus Christ.  Just because God may have used Joesph's life and circumstances to be an example of what He would eventually do through the life of Christ, it did not mean that Joseph was expected to have been sinless in all that he did.  Even now God may use our lives to show Christ to a fallen world, and we are certainly all sinful people.  We are to strive to be Christ-like, but none of us ever were or ever will be sinless as Christ in this world.  So whether Joseph was completely righteous in his heart regarding how he handled his brothers in this, only God knows, but we will find that they all come to a place of forgiveness and reconciliation and even restoration, before it is all over, and that is what God desires for all of us as He brings us through difficulties in life.

(17) And he put them all together in ward three days. (18) And Joseph said to them the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God: (19) If you are true men, let one of your brothers be bound in your prison house; but you, go and carry corn for the famine of your houses. (20) But bring your youngest brother to me; so your words will be verified, and you shall not die." And they did so.

Joseph put his brothers in prison for three days.  It gave them a sense of their grave situation, that Joseph, as second in command to Pharaoh, meant what he said, and it may have given them time to discuss their situation and decide what to do.  Joseph let them know he was a God-fearing man so that they could trust what he said and they could expect just dealings from him.  A man who feared the one true God in Egypt must have been a rare thing, so Joseph must have meant to ease their minds and let them know they could trust him with his word.  At first he had said they would all remain in prison while only one of them went back to fetch his youngest brother, but now his orders were to let one of their brothers be left in prison while the rest went back home and fetched their youngest brother.  When they went back, they wouldn't be empty-handed; they were to carry the corn they had come to purchase in the first place.  Apparently, that is what they did.

(21) And they said one to another, "We are truly guilty concerning our brother, for we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded with us, and we would not hear; therefore this distress has come upon us." (22) And Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not speak to you, saying, 'Do not sin against the child'; and you would not listen? Therefore behold, his blood is now required of us."

While they were preparing to carry out what Joseph had ordered, they talked among themselves.  They realized their guilt concerning their brother and seemed to be truly sorry as they recalled his anguish when he pleaded with them and they ignored his pleas.  They saw their predicament as they were now receiving just measure and punishment for what they had done.  Reuben reminded his brothers that he tried to convince them not to harm the boy, but they would not listen.  He, in fact, had convinced them to throw him into the pit where he had planned to go back and get him, but that didn't work out.  Now, feeling certain Joseph was dead, Reuben said they must now suffer for the blood of their brother.

(23) And they did not know that Joseph understood them, for he spoke to them by an interpreter. (24) And he turned himself away from them and wept, and returned to them again, and talked with them, and took from them Simeon, and bound him before their eyes.

Apparently Joseph had previously only spoken to them through an interpreter, so they now spoke openly and candidly in their Hebrew language, not realizing that Joseph could understand them. Hearing them, he had to turn away from them because their words caused him to weep.  At first, I considered Reuben's words to be just an "I told you so", but Joseph was getting a chance to hear a part of the story he never knew, and it was very emotional for him.  Joseph then composed himself and returned to talking with and perhaps ordering the brothers to proceed along their way as he had directed.  Joseph himself chose to leave Simeon in prison, and let the others return to their father to fetch their brother.  Was there a reason he chose Simeon?  He may have been the most hardhearted.  From the affair of Shechem, we learned that he was rather cold-blooded in his premeditation of Shechem's murder.  Some of the early historical writers suggest it was Simeon who bound Joseph and cast him into the pit.  Perhaps Joseph chose Simeon because he remembered him to be his most bitter enemy among his brothers, or maybe because he was the least humbled and concerned about what he had done even now.  For whatever reason, it seems reasonable to suspect there was some motive on Joseph's part in binding Simeon, and he bound him before his other brothers' eyes to affect them all.

(25) Then Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with corn, and to restore every man's money into his sack, and to give them provisions for the journey; and thus he did for them.  (26) And they loaded their donkeys with the corn, and departed from there.

Joseph commanded that the brothers returning home be loaded with corn, but it appears he gave their money back to them, unbeknownst to them, and they were given provisions for the journey.  Whoever it was that Joseph commanded to do this, a servant or steward or whatever the position, he did as Joseph instructed.  The donkeys were loaded and the brothers departed.

(27) And as one of them opened his sack to give his donkey feed in the inn, he spied his money, for behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. (28) And he said to his brothers, "My money has been restored, and there it is, in my sack!" And their hearts failed them and they were afraid, saying to one another, "What is this that God has done to us?"

When one of the brothers discovered his money had been given back to him, they were all very afraid.  They obviously realized the seriousness of their situation, being accused of being spies, and may have felt this was a trap and that they would surely be pursued and seized for taking corn without paying for it.  They felt certain this was God's divine judgment on them for what they had done.

(29) And they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan and told him all that had happened to them, saying, (30) "The man who is the lord of the land spoke roughly to us, and took us for spies of the country. (31) And we said to him, 'We are honest men; we are no spies. (32) We are twelve brothers, sons of our father; one is no more, and the youngest is with our father this day in the land of Canaan.' (33) And the man, the lord of the country, said to us, 'By this I will know that you are honest men; leave one of your brothers here with me, take food for the famine of your households, and be gone. (34) And bring your youngest brother to me; then I shall know that you are no spies, but that you are honest men; so I will deliver your brother to you, and you shall trade in the land.'"

The brothers went back to the land of Canaan, to their father, and told him everything that had happened.

(35) And it came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that behold, every man's bundle of money was in his sack; and when both they and their father saw the bundles of money, they were afraid.

Apparently, earlier, only one of the brothers had seen his money returned to his sack.  Now as all the brothers unloaded their donkeys and sacks, they all found their money returned to their sacks.  They were all very afraid of what this might mean, their father included.

(36) And Jacob their father said to them, "You have bereaved me of my children; Joseph is no more, Simeon is no more, and you will take Benjamin away; all these things are against me."

I don't really think that Jacob suspected any foul play in the disappearance of Joseph, although he probably knew what his sons thought of their dreamer brother and may have felt they contributed to his disappearance, though he probably never dreamed they contributed as directly as they actually did.  I think the sense of his statement here was something like, "When you guys all get together, you get into trouble, and I lose a son!"  Joseph was gone, Simeon was gone, and now they wanted to take Benjamin.  The way things had been going, the odds didn't look in Jacob's favor that he wouldn't lose Benjamin, too.

(37) And Reuben spoke to his father, saying, "Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you; put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you."

This seems a strange way to alleviate Jacob's fears--if Reuben failed to bring back Benjamin, then Jacob could kill his own grandsons, too??  But obviously, Reuben was trying to say that he would be careful and protect the life of Benjamin as he would his own two sons.

(38) And he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief should befall him along the way in which you go, then you would bring down my gray hair with sorrow to the grave."

Jacob would not agree to let Benjamin go with Reuben and the others.  Benjamin's only full brother, Joseph, was dead, at least as far as Jacob knew.  If anything happened to his only remaining son of his beloved Rachel, he felt he would never again lift up his gray head, or have any more happiness in this world, until his gray head was laid in the grave.

Is Your Life a Picture of Christ?

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 41:1) And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed; and behold, he stood by the river.

Chapter 41 begins two full years after the time Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh's chief butler and chief baker.  Joseph had asked the butler to remember him and make mention of him to Pharaoh to have him removed from prison, but it had been two years since the chief butler was restored to his position, and he never remembered to mention Joseph.  Now two years later Pharaoh had a dream.

(2) And behold, there came up out of the river seven well favored cows and fat; and they fed in a meadow. (3) And behold, seven other cows came up after them out of the river, ill-favored and gaunt, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the river. (4) And the ill-favored and gaunt cows ate up the seven well favored and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke.

In Pharaoh's dream, he stood by a river and watched seven fine looking fat cows come up out of the river followed by seven ugly and gaunt cows that ate up the seven fat cows.  At this point Pharaoh awoke.

(5) And he slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of corn came up on one stalk, plump and good. (6) And behold, seven thin ears, scorched by the east wind, sprang up after them. (7) And the seven thin ears devoured the seven plump and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

After awaking from his first dream, Pharaoh slept and dreamed again. This time he saw seven ears of plump juicy corn come up on one stalk, followed by seven thin and scorched ears springing up after the fat ears and devouring them.  Pharaoh awoke again, realizing it was just a dream.

(8) And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men there; and Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for Pharaoh.

The next morning Pharaoh was greatly troubled by his dreams and wished for an interpretation of them.  He called for all the wise men and magicians in Egypt.  The word translated as "magicians" here means "diviners" or "astrologers".  Pharaoh told them all his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them for him.

(9) Then spoke the chief butler to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults this day."

This event jarred the memory of the chief butler who had promised to mention Joseph to Pharaoh.  The butler forgot, but God had remembered Joseph and this event was certainly used by Him as a means to deliver Joseph.

(10) "Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in ward in the captain of the guard's house, both me and the chief baker, (11) And we dreamed a dream in one night, I and he; we dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. (12) And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams; to each man according to his dream he did interpret. (13) And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was; me he restored to my office, and him he hanged."

The chief butler recounted to Pharaoh the incident two years prior when Joseph correctly interpreted the dreams of the butler and the baker.

(14) Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him quickly out of the dungeon; and he shaved, changed his clothing, and came to Pharaoh.

Apparently Pharaoh was so perplexed and bothered by his dreams that he was willing to see what this Hebrew prisoner thought of them.  Joseph was brought quickly out of the prison and cleaned up and brought before Pharaoh.

(15) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it; and I have heard it said of you that you can understand a dream to interpret it." (16) And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."

Pharaoh told Joseph that he had had a dream that no one so far had been able to interpret and also that he had heard that Joseph might be able to interpret it.  Joseph answered that it was not he, Joseph, but rather God who would provide Pharaoh with an answer, an interpretation, that would put his mind and spirit to rest.  It is not that Joseph was promising the interpretation would be a peaceful one, but the knowledge of the meaning would give Pharaoh's troubled spirit peace.

(17) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the bank of the river; (18) And, behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat fleshed and well favored; and they fed in a meadow; (19) And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill favored and lean fleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. (20) And the lean and the ill favored cows ate up the first seven fat cows; (21) And when they had eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten them, for they were still ill favored, as at the beginning. So I awoke."

Pharaoh retold his first dream to Joseph with a little more detail than we first read in scripture.  He had never seen such gaunt ugly cows as the lean ones in his dream, and even after they had eaten up the fat cows, they did not change in their gaunt ugly appearance.

(22) "And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven ears came up in one stalk, full and good; (23) And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, and blasted by the east wind, sprang up after them. (24) And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears; and I told this to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."

Pharaoh then told Joseph his second dream, and then concluded with the fact that there was no one who could interpret his dreams for him.

(25) And Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh are one; God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. (26) The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are one."     

Joseph told Pharaoh that both his dreams had the same meaning and that God was showing Pharaoh what was about to happen.  The seven good cows and the seven good ears both represented seven years.

(27) "And the seven thin and ill-favored cows which came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blasted by the east wind will be seven years of famine. (28) This is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh; what God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh."

Joseph told Pharaoh that the seven gaunt cows and the seven empty ears also represented seven years, seven years of famine.  He reiterated that God was showing Pharaoh what He was about to do.

(29) "Behold, there will come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt; (30) And there will arise after them seven years of famine; and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt; and the famine will consume the land; (31) And the plenty will not be known in the land because of the famine following, for it will be very severe."

Joseph explained that first there would be seven years of abundance throughout Egypt, followed by seven years of extreme famine so great that it would swallow up all memory of the time of plenty.

(32) "And because the dream was repeated to Pharaoh twice, the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass."

Throughout scripture we learn that a thing is always repeated two or three times if it is established by God or if it is to be taken as fact:

"But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." - Matthew 18:16

This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. - 2 Corinthians 13:1

At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death. - Deuteronomy 17:6

One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins; at the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. - Deuteronomy 19:15

Do not receive an accusation against an elder except from two or three witnesses. - 1 Timothy 5:19

I love this principle established by God!  A truth will always be repeated!  If there is some obscure scripture in the Bible that seems to say something contrary to the Word or something that seems to be a new idea not formerly accepted, if it is a fact established by God, you can be sure it will be repeated elsewhere in scripture!  If you only see it once, then you can know it has been translated incorrectly.  Likewise, if you are unsure if you are walking in the path of the Holy Spirit, you can rest assured that God will confirm the thing to you if it is His will.

(33) "Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. (34) Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up one-fifth of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. (35) And let them gather all the food of those good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them keep food in the cities. (36) And that food shall be in store for the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."

After giving Pharaoh the interpretation of his prophetic dreams, Joseph then went on to give him good advice for a remedy for the evil to come.  He suggested that Pharaoh look for a wise man to oversee the collection of one fifth of Egypt's produce during the seven plentiful years to be set aside in storage for use in the seven years of famine.

(37) And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.

That advice sounded good to Pharaoh and to all his servants, as well.

(38) And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?" (39) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Inasmuch as God showed you all this, there is no one so discreet and wise as you. (40) You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than you."

When Pharaoh asked, "Can we find such a one as this...", I think the point was that they could never find one among the Egyptians who had the Spirit of God.  Since Joseph was the only one with the wisdom of God to see the truth of his prophetic dream, it made sense to him that only Joseph would be right for the job.  Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of his entire household as well as over his kingdom as he was to rule over all the people; only Pharaoh as king on the throne was to have more power than Joseph.

I have to digress a moment as I think about the fact that true wisdom comes only from God:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. - Psalms 111:10

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.- Proverbs 1:7

For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. - Proverbs 2:6

There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD. - Proverbs 21:30

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? - 1 Corinthians 1:20

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their own craftiness". - 1 Corinthians 3:19

Pharaoh called his "wise" men, but there were none with the wisdom of God, except Joseph.  There are times when I look at what is happening in our country, especially with our so-called leaders and wonder how on earth they could do and say and legislate such foolishness when it seems so common-sense obvious that what they propose can't possibly work.  Because it seems so crazy and illogical, there are times when I catch myself asking, "Do they really believe what they say?"  And then I remember that Godless people do not have real wisdom and they can only do foolish things.  I think back to the time the Democrats voted God out of their platform.  Oh, the public and media pressure made them decide to vote Him back in, but a funny thing happened when they tried to take a vote.  You might not know this is you didn't watch it live on C-Span.  It was decided beforehand that they would take the vote and the guy with the floor would say that the yeas had it and the vote passed and so it would be.  But the yeas didn't have it, so he took the vote again, and the yeas still didn't have it.  He took it a third time and still the yeas did not have it. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away from the podium, but he was returned to the podium to say that the yeas did have it anyway, even though it was obvious to him and everyone else watching that they didn't.  When he stated the change had passed, there was such yelling and booing and hissing, it was chilling!  So we actually have a popular political party in this country that wants no part of God and yet people trust it to lead them?  They trust it to be wise and have their best interests at heart?  Do people really believe that this country can survive without God's blessing?  It boggles the brain, but I guess it boggles only a God-fearing brain, that is, a God-fearing heart.  And clearly evident in scripture those without God in their hearts have no wisdom to see things as they really are.  It's as simple as that. It reminds me of a former pastor of mine who used to say that there was no other explanation for what people without Jesus did.  They were sinners and they did what sinners do, sin!  Now back to Joseph, one even Pharaoh could plainly see had wisdom above all others:

(41) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt." (42) And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge over all the land of Egypt, sort of as a prime minister who himself only answered to the king.  The ring was surely the king's signet ring, and was even translated as such in newer translations of the Bible.  The signet ring was used to seal royal documents and by giving it to Joseph, the king demonstrated that those things would be under Joseph's power now.

(43) And he made him ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, "Bow the knee!" And he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh put Joseph in the second chariot indicating he was to be second to Pharaoh, and there were probably guards attending him who called out to the people as Joseph rode by.  They may have cried out something like, "Bow the knee", to let the people know this man deserved respect.  However, as it turns out, the original word "abrek" is used only this one time in scripture and the translators really weren't sure exactly what it meant.  In fact, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Definitions defines it as "a shout made to announce Joseph’s chariot".  It may have been only a shout to let the people know that there came a man of power and distinction, and not a command to bow to him.

(44) And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without you no man may lift up his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt." (45) And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-Paaneah; and he gave him as wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. And Joseph went out over all the land of Egypt.

With his words, Pharaoh made it known by his power as king, that everything every man in the land did was under Joseph's rule.  Pharaoh called Joseph "Zaphnath-Paaneah", the meaning of which is not clearly known, but most early scholars believe it meant something like "revealer of secrets".  Joseph's wife's father, Potipherah, is not to be confused with Potiphar, his old boss.  Joseph was now not only out of prison, but went about the entire land of Egypt as chief officer of it.

(46) And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph went out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout all the land of Egypt.

Joseph had been in Egypt about thirteen years by this time, as he had been sold into slavery when he was seventeen or very shortly after (Gen. 32:7).

(47) And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought forth by handfuls. (48) And he gathered up all the food of the seven years, which were in the land of Egypt, and laid up the food in the cities; he laid up in every city the food of the fields which surrounded them. (49) And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left numbering; for it was without number.

For the next seven years the land produced abundant crops, as Joseph had predicted from Pharaoh's prophetic dreams from God.  As he had said, Joseph gathered, or more likely managed the gathering of, one fifth of the food to be stored in the neighboring city of where it was gathered, so it would be accessible to the same people from which it was gathered during the time of famine.  So great was the amount of corn that was gathered that Joseph lost count for it seemed innumerable, and that was just the fifth portion that was collected.

(50) And to Joseph were born two sons before the years of famine came, whom Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah priest of On, bore to him. (51) And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh, "For God has made me forget all my toil and all my father's house."

During the seven years of abundance, Joseph's wife bore him two sons.  He named his firstborn son "Manasseh", which literally meant "causing to forget", because God had so blessed him now that he was able to forget what his brothers had done to him and all his toil and trouble in captivity in Potiphar's house and in prison.

(52) And the name of the second he called Ephraim, "For God has caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction."

Joseph named his second son "Ephraim", which literally meant "double fruit" or "fruitfulness", because God had blessed him there in that land of his captivity and made him fruitful with two sons of his own.

(53) And the seven years of plenty that were in the land of Egypt ended. (54) And the seven years of famine began to come, as Joseph had said; and the famine was in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

Just as Joseph had said, the seven years of plenty ended and famine struck, but there was food in all the land of Egypt because of the food that had been stored in all the cities throughout that land.

(55) And when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread; and Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, do." (56) And the famine was over all the face of the earth, and Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt.

When the people in Egypt began to hunger because they had no food, they cried out to Pharaoh who referred them to Joseph to do as he directed.  Joseph then opened up all the storehouses and sold food to the Egyptians.  This was food he had gathered from the people and then sold it back to them.  There is no reason not to believe that Joseph bought the food from the people's abundance with Pharaoh's money and now sold it back to them.  It is quite probable that he was able to buy it cheaply when there was so much, but there is nothing to indicate that Pharaoh was profiting greatly off the backs of his people.  Rather he was wisely (through Joseph) taking care of his people in time of need.

(57) And all countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was severe in all lands.

It was not just in Egypt that the famine was severe, but in all the countries, and they also came to Joseph in Egypt to buy food.

I believe the moral of this chapter is first that God alone gives wisdom.  Follow Him, and He can raise you up out of any situation.  Joseph, in a dungeon prison, was patient and trusted God, and was faithful to God's word, to live morally, giving glory to God, and he was exalted to the highest position in all the land of Egypt under Pharaoh.  Of course, not everyone can be made second in command, but each can be blessed and exalted in his own station in life to be used by God according to His will.  Doing God's will is to be blessed.  Biblical scholars say there is more to the story of Joseph, that he is a picture of Christ, rejected by his people, sent to what would seem a sure death, but raised up by God to be a savior to his people, as we will see later in scripture.  Certainly, we are not all called to be pictures of Christ, but then again, perhaps we are.  Yes, I do believe I am seeing for the first time that perhaps our lives should be pictures of Christ!  We are called to be like Christ:

He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. - 1 John 2:6

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. - Galatians 2:20

Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. - Ephesians 5:1-2

For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. - Galatians 3:27

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. - Romans 8:29

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. - Ephesians 2:10

Put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. - Ephesians 4:24

And there are so many more!  We are called to be pictures of Christ!  And just think about how many times people turn to Christ when they have reached rock bottom.  So many of us could give testimonies like that.  God raised us up from death to be like Christ.  I never really thought of my own life being a picture of Christ's, but God really does raise each one of us who are saved in Christ from death, whether we consider it rock bottom or not, it is a certain eternal death from which we are saved:

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. - John 3:16

Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. - Romans 6:4

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. - Romans 8:11

Wow!  I've never before thought of myself as being a picture of Christ, and I'm not!  But I do believe that could be God's plan for each of us.  He raised us from death to be Christ-like and to show others the way out of death.  More than that, Jesus said:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." - Matthew 28:19

"Verily, verily, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. - John 14:12

More than just telling people about Jesus, we are to make disciples of them, and we are to do greater works than Jesus!  Now if we were to come from unsaved death to salvation and then on to making disciples and doing greater works than Jesus, I do believe that would be a perfect picture of Christ!  How do we do greater works than Jesus?  I believe the word translated as "greater" may refer to greater in number or greater in reach "because I go to My Father".  Jesus said once He went to His Father, all who were saved would receive the Holy Spirit.  So although no one person could be greater than Jesus, the impact in the world would be greater with so many disciples each with the Holy Spirit of God.  Wow!  It all really makes me feel inadequate.  I love this current Bible study!  I am seeing things in scripture I have never before seen, and am better learning the things for which I should strive.  To be a picture of Christ--that seems far-fetched, but I can see it should be my goal.  Thank you, Jesus!

The Dreamer Becomes Also an Interpreter of Dreams

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 40:1) And it came to pass after these things, that the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker had offended their lord the king of Egypt.

"After these things" refers to Potiphar throwing Joseph in prison and then Joseph becoming well-favored by the keeper of the prison and allowed to handle all the prisoners and their affairs.  While Joseph was in prison and in charge of it, the king's butler and his baker offended their king.

(2) And Pharaoh was angry against his two officers, against the chief of the butlers and against the chief of the bakers. (3) And he put them in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. (4) And the captain of the guard charged Joseph with them, and he served them, and they continued a season in ward.

Pharaoh was angry with his chief butler and chief baker and put them in the prison that was apparently in the house of Potiphar, as we were told previously that he was the captain of the guard.  This was the same prison where Joseph was imprisoned, and it can be assumed this was Potiphar who put Joseph in charge of the prisoners.  Although he had been greatly angered by Joseph, he knew he could handle the affairs of these prisoners, and surely the keeper of the prison also had input regarding the care of prisoners.  It seems a funny interpretation that Joseph served the prisoners, but I'm sure he took care of all their needs.  The chief butler and chief baker were apparently in prison for awhile.

(5) And they dreamed a dream, both of them, each man his own dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. (6) And Joseph came in to them in the morning and looked at them, and behold, they were sad. (7) And he asked Pharaoh's officers who were with him in the ward of his lord's house, saying, "Why do you look so sad today?"

One night both the butler and the baker each had a dream, each their own dream, not the same one.  When Joseph came in to see them the next morning, he could see that they both were sad, or troubled, which might be the better interpretation, as it is also a definition of the original word, "zaaph".  Joseph asked these officers of Pharaoh, the chief butler and the chief baker, who were in prison with him, but apparently in a different cell, if you will, since he "came in" to see them, why they looked so troubled.

(8) And they said to him, "We have dreamed a dream, and there is no interpreter of it." And Joseph said to them, "Do not interpretations belong to God? Tell them to me, please."

The butler and the baker were troubled because they didn't understand their dreams, and they told Joseph they had no interpreter here in prison.  It is evident in a future scripture that there were many interpreters of dreams around, but they were sad because they did not have access to one now.  I believe Joseph's point was that interpretations belonged to God and He could give those interpretations by His Holy Spirit to anyone He desired, so obviously feeling led by the Spirit, Joseph encouraged the butler and the baker to tell him their dreams.

(9) And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him, "In my dream, behold, a vine was before me, (10) And in the vine were three branches; and it was as though it budded, its blossoms shot forth, and its clusters brought forth ripe grapes. (11) And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand." (12) And Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it: The three branches are three days.

The chief butler told his dream to Joseph first, and Joseph began his interpretation.  The butler had dreamed of a vine that had three budding branches, and Joseph said the three branches represented three days.  He said this surely from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, because it seems three vines could have easily meant something else, or certainly a different amount of time, like three weeks or months or years.

(13) Again within three days Pharaoh shall lift up your head and restore you to your place, and you shall deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand after the former manner when you were his butler.

Joseph continued the interpretation of the butler's dream.  He further explained that the three fully ripened branches represented the butler being fully restored to his position as the chief butler of Pharaoh in three days, and that he would be back to placing Pharaoh's cup in his hand as he had once done as his chief butler.

(14) But think of me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; and make mention of me to Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house. (15) For indeed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; and here also have I done nothing that they should put me into the dungeon."

After Joseph finished the interpretation of the butler's dream, he asked that the butler remember him when he was restored to his position and all was well with him again.  He asked that the butler make mention of him to Pharaoh so that he could be released from this prison, and he explained a little of the circumstances that brought him, although he was innocent, to this prison.

(16) When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said to Joseph, "I also was in my dream, and behold, I had three white baskets on my head. (17) And in the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, and the birds ate them out of the basket on my head."

The chief baker felt encouraged by the good interpretation of the chief butler's dream and told Joseph his dream, surely expecting a similar outcome. 

(18) And Joseph answered and said, "This is the interpretation of it: The three baskets are three days. (19) Yet within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off you and will hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh from off you."

Joseph's interpretation began with the same three days, but this time rather than being restored to his position, the birds eating from out of the basket on his head represented Pharaoh having him beheaded and hung on a tree where the birds would eat his flesh.  What a sobering interpretation to I'm sure a stunned chief baker, who now had to wait three days for this horrific outcome!

(20) And it came to pass the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.

In three days, on the occasion of his birthday, Pharaoh made a feast for all his servants and lifted up the heads of his chief butler and his chief baker, which meant he probably mentioned them and brought them out of prison, but from that point, he treated their heads differently as indicated in the next verse.

(21) And he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. (22) But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

Pharaoh indeed restored the chief butler to his position, but hanged the chief baker, just as Joseph had interpreted.

(23) Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him.

The chief butler forgot all about Joseph and his request to be remembered to Pharaoh.

Flee From Sin & Follow Righteousness & God Can Bless You in Any Situation

Continuing a chronological Bible study, I now return to the story of Joseph in Egypt:

(Genesis 39:1) And Joseph was brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him down there.

Joseph's brothers had sold him to some Ishmaelites and they in turn brought Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh.

(2) And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. (3) And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand. (4) And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

Joseph was sold into what one would assume would be slavery, and yet the Lord was with him and he prospered!  He remained living in the house of his master, who was probably a very wealthy man as a high ranking officer of Pharaoh.  Potiphar could see that the Lord was with Joseph and that He prospered everything he did.  I don't believe "prosper" necessarily meant money profit, but everything he did succeeded with the favor of the Lord, and the blessings of the Lord were evidently very obvious to Potiphar.  It may be because Joseph served Potiphar so well that he found grace in his master's sight, and Potiphar put him in charge over his entire house, which surely meant over servants as well, and gave him control over all his household affairs.

(5) And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house and in the field. (6) And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. And Joseph was a handsome man, and well favored.

From the time that Joseph took charge over Potiphar's house, the Lord also blessed Potiphar for Joseph's sake, and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in his house and in his field.  Therefore, he turned absolutely everything over to Joseph and didn't take part in any of his household affairs.  It seems Joseph was also blessed in appearance.  I never knew just how much Joseph's physical beauty was celebrated in history and in literature until I read about it in this study.  Joseph was the subject of fine Persian poems and even the entire twelfth chapter of the Koran was supposedly written about Joseph where he is described "as a perfect beauty and the most accomplished of mortals".  This statement was quoted from Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible; I have not personally read the Koran.

(7) And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, "Lie with me." (8) But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. (9) There is no one greater in this house than I, neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife; how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"

Evidently Potiphar's wife noticed how handsome Joseph was and apparently lusted after him.  She boldly approached him to sleep with her, but he refused, saying that his master (and her husband) trusted him completely with absolutely everything he had, except her, his wife, and he could never betray that trust and sin so greatly against God.

(10) And it came to pass, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. (11) And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business, and there were none of the men of the house inside. (12) And she caught him by his garment, saying, "Lie with me," and he left his garment in her hand, and fled and got out.

It appears that Potiphar's wife did not want to take "no" for an answer and continually propositioned him day after day, but he continued to refuse her.  One day as Joseph went into the house to do his business, Potiphar's wife took advantage of the fact that they were alone and grabbed Joseph by his clothing and told him to lie with her.  However, Joseph fled, leaving his garment in her hand.  I always loved that verse; he didn't just refuse her verbally, he fled!  Paul oftened used that word in his writings in the New Testament to tell the reader to flee from sin:  "flee fornication" (1 Cor. 6:18), "flee from idolatry" (1 Cor. 10:14), "flee these things" (speaking of the love of money and the lusts that follow) in the sixth chapter of 1 Timothy, and "flee also youthful lusts" (2 Tim. 2:22).

(13) And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled, (14) That she called to the men of her house and spoke to them, saying, "See, he has brought in a Hebrew to us to mock us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice. (15) And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got out."

Potiphar's wife, a woman scorned, when she realized that she had been physically rejected and refused, not just in words this time, apparently sought revenge and called the other men of the house and lied about what had happened.  Obviously she had no love for her husband, or else she would not have been seeking to sleep with Joseph, but she seems to blame him for bringing this Hebrew into their household to mock them all.  She probably wanted to stir up discontent among all the men of the house to help in her case.  She proceeded to totally lie about what had happened between her and Joseph, and said that it was Joseph who made the advances toward her and when she cried out, he fled, leaving his garment.

(16) And she kept his garment by her until his master came home. (17) And she spoke to him with these words, saying, "The Hebrew servant whom you have brought to us, came in to me to mock me; (18) And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out."

Potiphar's wife kept Joseph's garment with her until her husband came home and she told him the same lie she had told the men of the house.

(19) And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spoke to him, saying, "Your servant did to me after this manner," that his wrath was kindled. (20) And Joseph's master took him and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound; and he was there in the prison.

Apparently believing his wife, Potiphar was, of course, greatly angered by what she told him had happened, and he threw Joseph into the king's prison.

(21) But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him mercy, and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. (22) And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatever they did there, it was his doing. (23) The keeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under his hand, because the LORD was with him, and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.

The Lord was still with Joseph and made him prosper even in prison!  Even in prison, he was made an overseer, and he managed all the prisoners and all that they did.  Just as Potiphar had done with the affairs of his household, the keeper of the prison entirely trusted Joseph with the affairs of the prison and saw no need to look into any of it, because he saw that whatever was in Joseph's hand prospered.  Scripture said that Potiphar had seen that the Lord was with Joseph.  Verse 23 doesn't really say specifically that the keeper of the prison saw that the Lord was with Joseph, but he did recognize that everything Joseph did prospered and he therefore trusted Joseph with everything, and that was because of the Lord's doing.  Isn't it wonderful that the Lord can bless and raise us up in any place or circumstance?!

The Fascinating Line of Judah That Produced the Lion of Judah

I am going to take an ever-so-slight detour from the chronologically ordered Bible study I have been doing by Skip Andrews.  Mr. Andrews placed the first six verses in Genesis 39 here, and then continued the rest of Genesis 39 after what is written here.  It may have been Mr. Andrews's purpose to show that at the same time Joseph began captivity in Egypt, these events with Judah's sons were happening, but I see no real reason to separate the story of Joseph, so I will study Judah's sons here and will then return to Joseph.

(Genesis 38:6) And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.

Previously in this chronological reading, it was reported that Judah had taken a Canaanite wife, and she had borne him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.  Now Judah's son Er had grown and it appears that Judah chose the wife for Er.

(7) And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD killed him.

Judah's son Er was a wicked man.  We are not told exactly what he did, but it was bad enough that the Lord took him out.  Judah started his family on the wrong foot.  He left his brothers' companionship and made friends among the Canaanites and married a Canaanite woman.  He continued friendships with the Canaanites as shown in the next few verses.  At the very least, his children were not brought up in a God-fearing home.

(8) And Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother."

After Er died, Judah told his second son to marry Er's widow, as was apparently the custom, so that the firstborn son would have descendants.  Indeed it became a law in Deuteronomy 25:5.  Biblical historians point out that the word used for "marry" here is not the one most commonly used; the verb "yabam" is the same word as the noun that means "brother-in-law", although it may be pronounced a little differently than the noun "yabam".

(9) And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. (10) And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

From what I read, only the firstborn would have been considered his brother's child; after that, all the other children would have been considered Onan's.  However, it appears that Onan wouldn't even give his brother that.  Onan defied custom that would have honored his brother, and although his brother may not have deserved honor, he apparently did it for selfish reasons.  The act was a sin against the divine institution of marriage and the object of that marriage, the bringing forth of children.  That act greatly displeased the Lord and Onan also was killed by Him.

(11) Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Remain a widow at your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die like his brothers." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

Judah told Tamar to go live at her father's house until his youngest son, Shelah, was grown and able to marry her.  That is what he said, but that is not what he intended, for he reasoned within his heart that it was so that his youngest son would not also die like his brothers.  Tamar did as she was asked and went to live at her father's house.

(12) And in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah's wife, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

After some time Judah's wife died.  The original words transcribed as "in the process of time" give a sense of a multiplied time, even a multitude of years.  It was probably several years after Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house with the pretense that she was only waiting for Shelah to mature, and it was obvious the youngest son was never going to marry her.  Judah was comforted, indicating he had gone through his period of mourning, and now went to Timnah where his sheep shearers were.  He took along his Canaanite friend, Hirah, and they were evidently going for enjoyment after his time of mourning.

(13) And it was told Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." (14) And she took off her widow's garments, and covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown and she was not given to him as a wife.

It may have been told to Tamar in passing that her father-in-law would be passing through, but it is apparent that Tamar is deliberate in her actions because she was never given to Shelah as wife as was the custom.  She took off her widow's clothes, and whether she meant to look like a harlot or just meant to hide her identity, or both, she wrapped and veiled herself and sat in an open visible place on the road to Timnah.

(15) When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot, because she had covered her face.

Judah did indeed mistake Tamar for a harlot.  I don't believe it was because a veil meant she was a harlot, but because she sat in an open place and since she did have the veil, he didn't recognize her, and assumed she was a harlot.

(16) And he turned to her by the way, and said, "Come now, please, let me come in to you," (for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law). And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"

While it was true that Judah did not know this was his daughter-in-law, he was still guilty of fornication with a woman who was not his wife.  Tamar asked what Judah would give her.  This may have been so that she behaved like a harlot requiring payment for her hire or so that she would have something of Judah's to be used later, or again, maybe a little of both.  While I have already found Judah guilty, I am reserving judgment on Tamar.  I haven't decided if she is sinfully deceitful or just sly like a fox.  While she was deceiving Judah, I don't see that she has lied.  She did what was asked of her when she went back to her father's house after her husbands died, and she did not marry anyone else when Shelah did not marry her.  She now put herself visibly in the path of Judah, but had he not been willing to take a harlot, this thing would not have gone any further.

(17) And he said, "I will send a kid from the flock." And she said, "Will you give me a pledge till you send it?"

Judah offered to pay her a kid from his flock, but she wanted something of Judah's as a pledge until he sent it; I believe a possession of Judah's is something she wanted all along.

(18) And he said, "What pledge shall I give you?" And she said, "Your signet and your bracelets, and your staff that is in your hand." And he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. (19) And she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.

Tamar was the one who determined what personal possessions Judah gave as a pledge and he agreed to it.  He gave her what she asked for and went in to her.  It is said that she conceived as a result of it.  Afterward, Tamar went away, took off her veils, and put back on her widow's clothing.

(20) And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her. (21) Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" And they said, "There was no harlot in this place." (22) And he returned to Judah and said, "I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place." (23) And Judah said, "Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; behold, I sent this kid and you have not found her."

Judah sent the kid he had promised in payment by his friend, the Adullamite, probably Hirah, but he could not find the her.  He was, of course, looking for a harlot who sat openly by the roadside, but he didn't find one.  When he asked where she was, the men of the place said they knew of no such harlot.  He went back and reported all this to Judah, who decided they should leave well enough alone and let her keep the pledge things so that they not be embarrassed.  Judah realized his act was a shameful one, or maybe not.  Maybe he would just be embarrassed when other men realized he let a harlot trick him out of his signet, bracelets, and staff.  I'm not sure why both of them would be shamed; maybe because his friend helped him.  Perhaps it feels better to include his friend in his shame.  Judah appears to justify himself by stating that they did indeed try to pay the woman, but could not find her.

(24) And it came to pass, about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burned."

After about three months, it became obvious that Tamar was with child.  Since she was not married to Shelah, who should have been her only rightful husband at the time, it may have been assumed she must have "played the harlot".  Judah certainly seems to have taken it to be adultery and an affront to his family to want her to be burned for her act.

(25) When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child," and she said, "Please determine whose these are, the signet, the bracelets, and staff." (26) And Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.

As she had planned all along, when she was found out and brought to her father-in-law, she produced Judah's personal belongings, and of course, Judah recognized them.  He declared Tamar to be more righteous than he was because he did not give her to his son Shelah as he promised.  I agree with Judah, but it was interesting to read some of the earlier commentaries that made Tamar out to be the guiltier one, but there were just as many or maybe more who saw Judah as the guilty one, and excused Tamar.  Dr. John Gill wrote that Tamar was "the greatest criminal" because she sat in the way and purposely deceived him, knowing who he was and yet purposely had an incestual relationship with him, whereas Judah knew nothing but "simple fornication".  Wow!  That certainly was a sexist opinion if there ever was one!  I realize that in Biblical times, a woman's father-in-law became her father, and that would be seen as incestual.  However, in reality, it would seem no more incestual than a brother, which the custom encouraged.  I believe that in Judah's purposely withholding Shelah from Tamar, he would have kept her unnecessarily in widowhood for the rest of her life.  She could have played the harlot with any man, but she didn't.  She purposely sought the same bloodline of her late husband.  She probably wanted a child; I'm sure she didn't want to remain a childless widow all her life.  I believe she was more righteous than Judah in that she didn't play the harlot with just anyone.  And she never lied.  Yes, it could be said she deceived, and perhaps she was guilty of incest, but so was Judah, and he wouldn't have been if he had not himself jumped in bed with whom he thought to be a prostitute.  Therefore, weighing the two "crimes" as equal, Tamar's motives appeared purer, and Judah agreed she was more righteous than he was.  Scripture says that he never had relations with her again after this.

(27) And it came to pass, in the time of her giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. (28) And it came to pass, when she was giving birth, that one put out his hand; and the midwife took and bound on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, "This one came out first." (29) And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out; and she said, "How have you broken forth? This breach be upon you." Therefore his name was called Pharez.

Tamar gave birth to twins.  As she was giving birth, when one baby pushed forth his hand, the midwife tied a scarlet thread on it so they would know which was the firstborn.  So greatly desired were the privileges of the firstborn that it was important to know which baby that was.  However, when that first baby's hand withdrew, out came his brother.  It seems this was astonishing to the midwife.  I'm not sure what "this breach be upon you" really means, other than "you will be remembered for that breach or bursting forth".  In that case, it might make sense that this was Tamar speaking.  Sometimes there were confusing pronouns in the Bible when there were more than one person.  Perhaps Tamar was saying the name of that memory would be upon him, as she called him Phares, which literally meant "breach" or "breaking forth".

Pharez was a direct ancestor of the Messiah.  I am recalling how an earlier ancestor, Jacob, Pharez's grandfather, also scrambled to try to get out of the womb first.  Isn't it interesting that these events are even recorded?  It's as if the spirits of these babies knew what was at stake and they wanted to be the firstborn in this important lineage.  I am reminded of another marvelous passage in the first chapter of Luke where Mary was pregnant with Jesus and came to see her cousin, Elizabeth, who was pregnant with John the Baptist.  Luke 1:41-44 says that when Elizabeth first heard Mary, the baby inside of her leaped for joy and she was filled with the Holy Spirit and knew Mary was carrying her Lord.  Why did God go to such great lengths to tell us what babies in the womb did?  Was it to remind us that even in the womb they are precious human beings created by God, endowed by the Creator with the unalienable right to life?  An unalienable right, one given by God that cannot be taken away, and yet that is what we do everyday, by abortion.  How dare we take the life of another human being created by God and obviously endowed with His spirit?  We know it's wrong to take a life outside of the womb.  Isn't it interesting that Kermit Gosnell was recently found guilty of murder when he killed babies right after they were born outside of the womb because he failed to kill them "legally" inside the womb, where he would not have been found guilty of murder?  While the testimony in this trial was horrifying, I couldn't help but understand Gosnell when he was bewildered as to why what he did would be considered murder.  After all, he had been paid to kill an unwanted baby.  When he failed to do it inside the womb, wasn't it still an unwanted baby that needed to be disposed of?  Was it only outside of the womb that it became a living, breathing, feeling creation of God who deserved life that it was not only a minute before?  How absurd!  As chilling as the Gosnell testimonies were, it's the practice of abortion itself that is the most chilling.  The fact that Gosnell did not value the life of the babies he murdered had already been demonstrated by the fact he was a late-term abortion "doctor".  In Jeremiah 1:5, God told Jeremiah that He knew him BEFORE He even formed him in his mother's belly and that before he came out of the womb He had sanctified him and ordained him a prophet.  God knew that baby in the womb and even before; He must grieve terribly for the babies who never get a chance to fellowship with Him and do His will on earth.

One more thought on the genealogy of Jesus:  Tamar was also a direct ancestor of the Messiah!  She could have very easily had no descendants at all, if Judah had his way, but she is privileged to have a place in history in the genealogy of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:3).  The line of Judah could have been stopped here, but for the actions of Tamar.  I don't know at this point in my study if Shelah had other children.  What interesting people we have in the ancestry of Christ!  Jacob, Judah, and Tamar, a few very interesting ones so far.  This is one of those times when I think of skeptics of the Bible who try to negate the Bible because of the killing and lying and cheating and whores, but those are the kinds of things, and these are the kinds of people, who make it very real!  If people were going to make up a fiction and call it the Word of God, I believe they would have used more righteous-appearing folks to be ancestors of the Messiah!

(30) And afterward his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and his name was called Zarah.

Then the son with the scarlet thread, who would have been the firstborn, came out, and he is forevermore in scripture named second behind his brother in genealogies.  He was called Zarah which literally meant "dawning, shining, rising".  He did dawn first, but Pharez broke forth first and was forever listed first whenever the names of Judah's and/or Tamar's sons were listed.

(1 Chronicles 2:4) And Tamar, his daughter-in-law, bore him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.

What Joseph's Brothers Meant for Evil Against Him...

My chronological Bible study now takes me to Genesis 37.

(Genesis 37:1) And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

After a ten-year detour after God told him to leave Laban and Padan Aram and return to the land of his father, Jacob finally made it back there and now dwelled in the land of Canaan, "where his father was a stranger".  Canaan was the land of promise to his father Isaac and Isaac's father Abraham before him, but at this time they were still "sojourners" in this land.

(2a) These are the generations of Jacob.

Rather than a mere genealogy of names, this begins a history of events of the children of Jacob.

(2b) Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought to his father their evil report.

Joseph, Jacob's son by Rachel, was now 17 years old and was feeding the flock with his brothers.  It appears he was specifically with Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher, the sons of Jacob's concubines Bilhah and Zilpah.  Joseph brought to his father his brothers' "evil report".  The original word "ra" that was transcribed as "evil" can mean a whole range of bad from disagreeable to mischievous to downright evil.  The word transcribed as "report" is "dibbah" and means "whispering, slander, defamation, evil report".  I believe boys may have just been boys and said things in the fields that they would not have said in the presence of their father, but Joseph told on them.  It appears that this was an ongoing practice and not just one isolated event.

(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 colors.

Israel, or Jacob, loved Joseph more than all his children.  The scripture tells us it was because he was the son of his old age, and so was Benjamin special we are later told for the same reason (Gen. 44:20).  At this stage, Joseph may have been the favorite because he was the firstborn son of his beloved Rachel.  Also Joseph confided "secrets" to his father, as we were told in verse 2, so they probably had a closer relationship than the others did.  For whatever reasons, Joseph was Jacob's favorite and the father evidently treated this son specially and made him a coat of many colors.

(4) And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved Joseph more than he did the rest of them and was so open and visible about it, they hated their brother and couldn't even speak amicably to him.  It's really no wonder.  Perhaps Jacob couldn't help his feelings for Joseph, but he certainly could have been less transparent about the lopsided love he had for one over the others.  I suppose Jacob learned this parenting trick honestly as his parents also played favorites, but remember the trouble that caused!

(5) And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. (6) And he said to them, "Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: (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 bowed down to my sheaf."

Joseph dreamed a dream which he told his brothers and they apparently hated him even more because of it.  Again it's no wonder; I believe this is a dream he could have kept to himself.  He told his brothers that he had dreamed that they were all binding sheaves in the field, when Joseph's sheaf stood upright and all his brothers' sheaves stood around his sheaf and even bowed down to it.  Telling them that dream certainly should have endeared his brothers to him!

(8) And his brothers said to him, "Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?" And they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Obviously, his brothers were not happy with Joseph's dream in which it appeared they would come to bow down to him.  They hated him even more for his dreams, but I believe it was mostly because of his words.  He could have kept his dreams to himself and they couldn't have hated him for that reason, but because he told his dreams to his brothers, that really fueled their hate for him.

(9) And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his brothers, and said, "Behold, I have dreamed another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars bowed down to me." (10) And he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, "What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow down ourselves to the earth before you?"

Joseph had another dream that he told his brothers and his father.  Even his father rebuked him as it seemed the dream meant that he and Joseph's mother and Joseph's eleven brothers were indicated by the sun, moon, and stars in Joseph's dream.  That might be, but it also may be, since Joseph referred to "the eleven stars", that Joseph was one of the twelve stars of the zodiac (not an unnatural thought for the times) and all the other heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and the other eleven stars, bowed down to him.  After all, his mother was dead by this time, but then again, any remaining wife of Jacob could have been indicated by this dream.  The dream was prophetic and representative of a time when Joseph would have dominion over not only his family but a whole people.

(11) And his brothers envied him, but his father observed the saying.

His brothers hated Joseph all the more because of the dreams and were jealous of him.  Even though his father had rebuked him, he kept the matter in mind.  He may have rebuked Joseph for his own good, not so much because he found the dream to be a silly idle dream, but because Joseph might appear to be boasting of it to his brothers.  It appears that Jacob felt in his heart that there might be something to these dreams.

(12) And his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

I found it interesting that they were still going to Shechem.  I guess Jacob had bought a parcel of land there (Gen. 33:19), and I suppose they might have full reign of the place since they killed all the men off there, but I would think it might be a hostile environment in the midst of the surrounding cities, considering what they had done to Shechem and his father.  Anyway, it seems it was a usual custom back then to move flocks from place to place for good pasturage, and Jacob apparently still owned a perfectly good field in Shechem, so that is where his flocks were at this present time.

(13) And Israel said to Joseph, "Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." And he said to him, "Here I am." (14) And he said to him, "Please go see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me." So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem.

I have read that it could have been sixty miles from the valley of Hebron to Shechem, so Joseph's brothers could have been gone a long time, and Jacob may have sincerely been concerned about their well-being, especially at Shechem which may have been considered the center of hostile territory for them.  However, if that is the case, it seems odd that he would send his beloved Joseph there all alone, but it appears that is what he did.

(15) And a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field; and the man asked him, saying, "What are you seeking?"

It appears that Joseph made it to the field at Shechem and was wandering around in it looking for his brothers when a man saw him and asked what he was seeking.  I have read that the early Jewish writers supposed this was an angel.  I don't doubt that Joseph may have been protected on this journey, especially if it was dangerous territory, but then again, it is perfectly reasonable to think a mortal man saw him if he was just wandering around a field because he thought his brothers would be there.

(16) And he said, "I seek my brothers; please tell me where they are feeding their flocks." (17) And the man said, "They have departed from here, for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" And Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

Joseph asked the man where he might find his brothers, if he should know, and the man indeed told him that he had heard them say they were going to Dothan, and that is where Joseph found them.

(18) And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. (19) And they said one to another, "Look, this dreamer is coming! (20) Come now therefore, and let us kill him and cast him into some pit; and we will say, 'Some evil beast has devoured him,' and we shall see what will become of his dreams!"

I can't help but notice how the fact is written in two different ways--"when they saw him afar off" and "even before he came near to them".  It is obvious that Joseph's brothers sought to kill him in cold blood by premeditated murder.  They would murder him and then lie about it, but then I guess lying is what murderers always have to do.  I also find their statement that they will see what will become of his dreams interesting, because in fact, they will indeed see that in the future.

(21) And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, "Let us not kill him." (22) And Reuben said to them, "Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him", that he might rid him out of their hands to deliver him to his father again.

When Reuben heard the plan of his other brothers, he saved Joseph from their schemes.  He told them not to kill him, but to just throw him into a pit that was there in the wilderness.  He planned to go back and retrieve him from the pit and return him to their father. 

(23) And it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colors that was on him. (24) And they took him and cast him into a pit, and the pit was empty; there was no water in it.

What a reception Joseph received when he came up to his brothers!  Again we have redundancy in the words that they stripped Joseph of "his coat, his coat of many colors".  While it might be the second part more fully explained the first, Biblical scholars say it meant they stripped off more than his outer coat of many colors, but also his other clothing.  They stripped him naked or nearly so and threw him into the pit.  It is pointed out that there was no water in it.  This might be mentioned for different reasons.  Perhaps it was purposely a dry pit so that he would not drown and Reuben would be able to retrieve him later.  It also may be that the brothers were content to have no water in it so that Joseph would thirst and starve to death.  Chilling thought that brothers could do such a cruel thing!

(25) And they sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and there a company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, carrying it down to Egypt.

Wow, they have just purposely left their brother to die, and obviously felt no remorse, as they sat down to eat.  While they were eating, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites bearing spices from Gilead and taking them to Egypt.

(26) And Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? (27) Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh." And his brothers were content.

I don't know if Judah literally meant there was no monetary profit in merely killing their brother and hiding the fact, or if he meant "what good is it" because it would be difficult to hide and surely they would be found out and would have trouble to pay if and when Joseph was discovered.  I can't believe that he suddenly had an attack of conscience and didn't want to kill his own flesh and blood.  Maybe if there was another way, he'd just as soon not have to kill him, but was happy to get rid of him just the same.  Perhaps seeing that they could profit from getting rid of him, he used a pretense of conscience to justify why they should do it this way.  The brothers agreed to this plan.

(28) Then Midianite merchantmen passed by, and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver; and they took Joseph to Egypt.

The Midianites and Ishmaelites were considered one and the same; they were neighbors and often intermingled and the names are interchanged by the author (Moses) to mean the same group of people.  John Wesley points out something interesting about this event.  It was Judah's idea to sell Joseph for twenty pieces of silver just as Judas would betray our Lord for thirty; even the betrayers' names are almost the same.  I think there will be many more similarities between Joseph and Jesus as I know Joseph will come to save his people.

(29) And Reuben returned to the pit, and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his clothes.  (30) And he returned to his brothers and said, "The child is no more; and I, where shall I go?"

Apparently Reuben was not with his brothers when the others saw the Ishmaelite caravan and decided to sell their brother.  He had probably purposely separated from them so he would not arouse suspicion when he went back to get Joseph out of the pit.  Reuben tore his clothes which was a sign of distress and anguish.  He went back to his brothers very distraught exclaiming that the child was "no more" and wondered where he could go then.  Usually "no more" was a phrase meaning "dead"; how could he possibly return to his father to tell him Joseph was gone?  Maybe he meant the child was gone from the pit and where would he go to look for him?  Either way, he was greatly distressed over it.

(31) And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood. (32) And they sent the coat of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, "We have found this; do you know whether it is your son's coat or not?"

I would assume all the brothers, Reuben included, jumped into action to cover their cruel deed.  They killed a kid and dipped the coat in its blood; they obviously wanted their father to believe Joseph was dead so that it would end the matter and he wouldn't be looking for him.  It appears they couldn't even face their father and they sent the coat by messenger to him.

(33) And he knew it and said, "It is my son's coat; an evil beast has devoured him; Joseph is without doubt torn to pieces." (34) And Jacob tore his clothes and put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

Of course, Jacob knew the coat and he assumed, as his other sons had planned, that Joseph had been killed by a wild animal.  He tore his clothes and also put on sackcloth, which was not only a sign of distress, but also mourning, and he mourned for his son for many days.

(35) And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted, and he said, "For I will go down into the grave to my son mourning." Thus his father wept for him.

Jacob only had one daughter that we know of, unless she was the only one mentioned because of the note-worthy events in her life, and there were others we don't know about.  Perhaps daughters-in-law were included, although I believe there was only one of those at this time.  The sense is that all his family tried to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.  How hypocritical of his sons to try to comfort their father when they were the ones who unnecessarily put him through this!  Jacob mourned and cried for his son, saying surely he would die of grief and join his son in death.

(36) And the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.

Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar in Egypt, whom this scripture says was an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh.  The word translated as "officer" is "saris" which usually meant "eunuch".  Quite often officers were eunuchs, so perhaps the meanings came to be interchangeable, as later scriptures tell that Potiphar had a wife.  But then again, I have read that eunuchs often had wives; they just obviously didn't have children, and that that might be the reason for Potiphar's wife's discontent with her husband.  Wow, "captain of the guard" appears to mean "chief of the butchers"!  Have I seen that phrase before now in scripture and not seen its meaning?  "Tabbach", the word translated as "guard" means "butcher" or "executioner".  Strong's extrapolates that because a guard would be called upon to execute, the word naturally means "guard", as well.  Come to find out, it is also translated as "cook", a butcher of animals to be cooked, in other places in scripture.  It's interesting to me that the image of an officer and captain of the guard of Pharaoh paints a different picture than does a eunuch butcher, but then again, a frustrated eunuch butcher of men sounds pretty terrible!  And that is where 17-year-old Joseph finds himself, in the hands of Potiphar.

Getting Back on the Right Track

Continuing my chronological Bible study:

(Genesis 35:1) And God said to Jacob, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother."

In the last chapter, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi had just deceived and killed Shechem and his father Hamor and all the men in their city because of Shechem's rape of their sister, Dinah.  Once again, Jacob found himself in a place where he was not safe where someone might want to kill him, so God told him to go to Bethel.  God reminded Jacob that that is where He appeared to Jacob when he fled for his life from Esau.  In sending Jacob back there, God was sending Jacob back to the place where he made a vow to God; God was reminding Jacob of his vow from Genesis 28:20-22, that if God was with him, protected him, gave his provisions, and allowed him to go back to his father's land in peace, then Jacob would recognize that the Lord was his God and he would tithe a tenth to him.  Jacob had declared that the pillar he had set at Bethel would be God's house.  God had certainly done His part in protecting and blessing Jacob; now it was time for Jacob to return to God and remember his vow.

(2) Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, "Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments. (3) And let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me in the way which I went."

After God spoke to him, Jacob then told his wives and children and all the servants and those of his household to put away all their strange gods and cleanse and purify themselves.  The word translated as "strange" is as a stranger or a foreigner, so should be thought of as "foreign" gods.  His family had obviously picked up foreign idols living in this pagan land.  Rachel herself had stolen gods from her father's house if she still had them at this time.  Dinah had wanted to be worldly and see what those other young women experienced and may have picked up some of their idols.  It could be the servants who had the strange gods, Cannanite servants who came into service later, like the ones Jacob's family acquired through the plundering of Shechem's city.  Jacob announced that it was now time to put away all those foreign idols and get cleansed and go to Bethel where Jacob would make an altar to God, and he stressed that this is the God who has been with him when he was in distress and wherever he went.

(4) And they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their hands, and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

All of the household of Jacob did indeed give up their foreign gods.  The earrings they handed over were surely not regular jewelry worn by women but were the kind that were worn as amulets or charms decorated with magical characters and images of some pagan god, as was the practice back then.  When you think about it that way, Dinah could have easily picked up that fashion statement when she went out into the world to see what the other young women were doing.  Think about how many bad symbols and images and customs a young girl could pick up in our present culture!  These earrings were symbols of pagan gods and had no place in Jacob's family.  I'm not sure why he hid them in a particular place.  I am assuming he buried them to hide them from anyone who might return to retrieve them, and he purposely left them in (or by) Shechem and away from his household and Bethel and their altar to God.

(5) And they journeyed, and the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.

Despite Jacob's fear that what his sons had done to the Shechemites would make him despised by the other Canaanite cities and make his family easy prey to their enemies, God protected Jacob and his company as they traveled.  For whatever reason God projected to them, the people of these cities greatly feared what Jacob and his God might do to them, and they let his family be.

(6) So Jacob came to Luz, which is in the land of Canaan, that is, Bethel, he and all the people who were with him.

The place was formerly called Luz, but Jacob had named it Bethel.  He and his family and all who were with him came safely to Bethel.

(7) And he built an altar there and called the place El Bethel, because there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.

As instructed by God, there Jacob built an altar in the place where God had appeared to him when he had fled from Esau.  He now called the place El Bethel, which meant "God of Bethel" or "the God of the House of God".

(8) But Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she was buried beneath Bethel under an oak, and the name of it was called Allon Bachuth.

There is much speculation among Biblical scholars as to how Rebekah's nurse came to be with Jacob and his family, but the passage doesn't say that the nurse was specifically with them when she died.  I believe this may have been merely an explanation of another name by which this place was also known, something the early reader would have understood better than we do now.  Because a beloved nurse also died and was buried at Bethel, the place was also known as Allon Bachuth, which literally meant "oak of weeping".

(9) And God appeared to Jacob again, when he came out of Padan Aram, and blessed him. (10) And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, but Israel shall be your name." And He called his name Israel.

It seems to me that verse 9 is a continuation of the thought started in verse 7--Jacob built the altar because that is where God appeared to him when he fled from Esau and he also appeared to him when he came out of Padan Aram, and that is when He told him he would be called Israel.  It seems to me that this is a retelling of how Jacob first came to call this place Bethel.  God had brought Jacob back to this place so that Jacob would remember all that God had done for him.

(11) And God said to him, "I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be from you, and kings shall come out of your loins. (12) And the land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and to your descendants after you will I give the land." (13) And God went up from him in the place where He talked with him. (14) And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone, and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. (15) And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, Bethel.

I still believe this is a retelling of the original meeting with God when he named this place Bethel, which meant "House of God".  However, most of the Biblical scholars I have read believe God is renewing His covenant with Jacob.  It is certain that God wanted Jacob to return here so that he would remember his vow to God, and to remember God's promise to him, even if He did not speak to him again, but He probably did; who am I to argue with those scholars?  It doesn't change the essence of this passage; God either told Jacob again or made sure it was all clear in his mind and his heart again.  He renewed the Abrahamic covenant and promised Jacob that he and his descendants would inherit this land and that nations and kings would come from him.

As I am following a chronological Bible study designed by Skip Andrews, I am now going to Genesis 38:

(Genesis 38:1) And it came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.

There is some discrepancy among Biblical scholars as to when Judah started his own family, but it is of Mr. Andrews's opinion that it happened after, or maybe about the time of the rape of Dinah, and before the birth of Benjamin.  As I am already in the midst of this chronological order, I don't want to change now and risk missing anything, so I will continue with this assumption.  As Dinah wanted to go explore the customs of the other young women in the world, so it looks as if Judah desired to meet and make friends with new people--he departed from his brothers.

(2) And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shuah, and he took her, and went in to her.

Shuah was the name of the Canaanite, not the daughter.  It appears that Judah took the daughter of Shuah to be his wife, with hers and her father's consent, and not by force, but we can be sure that Judah did not consult his father, as the marriage to a Canaanite woman would have been greatly discouraged.

(3) And she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.

Judah's firstborn son was Er, a name that literally meant "watchful". 

(4) And she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.

The daughter of Shuah bore Judah another son, and called his name Onan, which literally meant "strong".  I don't know if there is any significance to this, but the scripture said that Er was named by his father Judah, and Onan was named by his mother.

(5) And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah, and he was at Chezib when she bore him.

Judah's wife bore him a third son, and his name was called Shelah, which literally meant "request" or "petition", according to my sources, Strong's and Brown-Driver-Briggs.  However, Dr. John Gill, in his commentary, said it signified "tranquil, quiet, peaceable and prosperous, and is a word that comes from the same root as Shiloh, that famous son of Judah that should spring from him".  I saw that Albert Barnes wrote that it meant either "request" or "rest".  I then did a little more digging and saw that there is another word "shelah", perhaps pronounced a little differently, but spelled the same way, which did mean "at rest" or "at ease".  I really don't know which meaning was meant by the parents of Shelah, other than Dr. Gill's opinion, but at least I know why there could have been such discrepancy in the meaning of the name.  Shelah was born at Chezib, which I read in one old commentary, would have been important to the early reader and descendants of Shelah.  The birthplace of the other two sons was not mentioned because they did not have any children. 

In my chronological study, it is assumed that Judah married a Canaanite woman and had children about the same time as the rape of Dinah, and may be one of the reasons that Jacob saw "sin in the camp" and recognized his family's need to return to Bethel and remember their Lord.  Now the study returns to Jacob and his family leaving Bethel.

(Genesis 35:16) And they journeyed from Bethel; and there was but a little way to go to Ephrath, and Rachel labored in childbirth, and she had hard labor.

Jacob and his family now left Bethel after they had returned for Jacob to build an altar and remember his vow to the Lord.  There was just a little way to go to Ephrath, which we learn in a later verse is the same as Bethlehem.  I will reflect on the meaning of the name when it is mentioned again in that verse.  Meanwhile, they were almost to Ephrath, or Bethlehem, when Rachel went into hard labor.

(17) And it came to pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife said to her, "Do not fear; you will have this son also."

The midwife may have just been trying to comfort Rachel with these words, but she was surely aware of Rachel's words at the birth of Joseph, that "the Lord shall add to me another son", especially since the meaning of the name Joseph was "Jehovah has added" or "let Him add".  Now the midwife comforted Rachel with the words that she would indeed have another son.

(18) And it came to pass, as her soul was departing (for she died), that she called his name Ben-Oni, but his father called him Benjamin.

Rachel died in childbirth, but she did give birth to another son she called Ben-Oni, which literally meant "son of my sorrow".  She probably named him this because of the pain and sorrow with which she brought him into the world, or maybe because of her sorrow when she realized she was going to leave him and this world as she was dying.  I can't help but think of how Rachel had so desperately wanted children that she had told Jacob to give her children or else she would die (Gen. 30:1), and now she died giving birth to one.  I can certainly understand why Jacob would rename the child, so that the name was not a constant reminder of the pain and sorrow with which the boy's mother died.  He renamed the child Benjamin which literally meant "son of the right hand", which meant someone very dear and much loved.  The child would be as his right hand or maybe he literally meant the child was the son of his right hand, the son of someone very dear to him.

There is something else, something rather amazing when I think about it, in this scripture.  The verse did not merely say that Rachel died; it said her soul "was departing".  The soul departed from the body "for she died".  Her body obviously didn't depart or go anywhere, but her soul is said to have departed.  Is this not beautiful proof that there is an immortal spirit in man that exists separately from the body?  Indeed Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was; and the spirit shall return to God who gave it."

(19) And Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath, a name which literally meant "fruitfulness".  Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions defines it as "ash-heap: place of fruitfulness".  I don't know whether the name of the place was always Ephrath, or if Jacob called it that because out of the ash heap of pain and sorrow came fruitfulness, but it came to be better known as Bethlehem, which literally meant "house of bread", and it was the birthplace of our savior, Jesus Christ, the bread of life.

My chronological study now takes me to Genesis 48:

(Genesis 48:7) And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan on the way, when there was but a little way to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath, that is, Bethlehem.

This was Jacob's retelling of the event of Rachel's death to his son Joseph when he was an adult with children of his own.  I do find it interesting that Jacob recalled the time as "when I came from Padan", even though he had already left Padan, journeyed to Succoth where he built a house and booths (though this must have been a brief stay), went to Shalem, a city of Shechem, where he bought land and had to have lived for awhile before the rape of Dinah because she couldn't have been more than a little girl when they first left Padan.  I had read that Demetrius the Chronographer, a chronicler of Jewish history who lived in the third century B.C., seemed to have written with preciseness as he gave the date of every incident in Jacob's life, even giving a birth month and year for each of his children.  He reported that Jacob had lived with Rachel for 23 years when she died.  Jacob worked the second seven years for Rachel after she became his wife and then worked an additional six years for Laban for the speckled cattle; therefore it was ten years after he left Padan Aram that Rachel died.  I guess a little 10-year detour away from where God would have him is unimportant at the end of Jacob's life.  However, if this is the way that this time is thought of, as when Jacob "came from Padan", then I can see why scholars believe that God appeared to Jacob "again, when he came out of Padan Aram" (Genesis 35:9), and renewed his covenant with him.

Now back to Genesis 35:

(Genesis 35:20) And Jacob set a pillar on her grave, which is the pillar of Rachel's grave to this day.

The monument or pillar on Rachel's grave continued to stand to the day of the writing of this book in Genesis, and it is mentioned even later as a landmark in the book of 1 Samuel, the tenth chapter.

(21) And Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the tower of Edar.

After he buried Rachel, Jacob, or Israel, as he was now called by God, moved on and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Edar, the name which literally means "tower of the flock", and was said to be a shepherd's watchtower about a mile from Bethlehem.  Some scholars have written that this was the place where the angel came to the shepherds and reported the birth of Christ.

(22a) And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine; and Israel heard about it.

During the time Jacob dwelled in that land, his oldest son Reuben lay with Rachel's maid, Bilhah, who had become Jacob's concubine and the mother of some of his children.  I purposely divided this one verse into two parts because it is said that there was a great blank pause here in the original text.  I don't know why it would have been transcribed as one verse.  The early commentaries look at the pause as there was nothing else that could be said about this despicable act.  Jacob heard about it and surely received the news with great grief of heart and was not able to speak of it.  However, he did remember the incident when he blessed his sons when he was old (Gen. 49:4).  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes points out that this shows "that the fathers were not chosen for their merits, but only by God's mercies, whose election was not changed by their faults."

(22b) Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: (23) The sons of Leah were Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; (24) The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin; (25) And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's maidservant, were Dan and Naphtali; (26) And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's maidservant, were Gad and Asher; these were the sons of Jacob who were born to him in Padan Aram.

The twelve sons of Jacob, who became the twelve patriarchs, heads of twelve tribes, are named.  A general statement is made that they were all born in Padan Aram, but of course, we know that Benjamin was born on the road, thought of as "on the way" when Jacob "came from Padan" (Gen. 48:7).

(27) And Jacob came to his father Isaac at Mamre, to the city of Arbah, which is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned.

Finally Jacob made it "from Padan Aram" back to his father's land.  Most scholars assume he must have surely visited his father before this time as he had been in the land for ten years, and he was now returning, either because of the death of his mother or because his father was getting very old.  However, as this is the first mention in scripture, and the fact I have found the whole ten-year trip "from Padan Aram" sort of suspect, I am taking scripture literally here and assuming he is just now getting back "from Padan Aram" and to the land of his father.  It certainly appears that Jacob thought of it that way when he referred back to it (Genesis 48:7).  Mamre was a plain that belonged to a man probably of the same name as gathered from another scripture (Gen. 13:18), and where we were told that Abraham once lived.  The plain was near the city called Kirjath Arba (Gen. 23:2) or just Arbah here, and the city was also called Hebron.

I haven't seen any indication that the early scholars saw this as I did.  Oh sure, they all saw that Jacob had seen his need to get back to God and remember his vow to Him, but I see a little more.  I believe that perhaps Jacob was lax and took his time in getting back to his father's land which was what God had told him to do.  That may be why he had so many problems with his children in the land--Dinah going off to see the other girls in the land and subsequently being raped, Judah associating with the Canaanites and marrying a Canaanite woman, and Reuben sleeping with his concubine--all these things occurring before Jacob finally made it to his father in Mamre.  Perhaps if Jacob had just gone straight back to his father as God had told him to do and when He said He would be with him (Gen. 31:3), maybe none of these things would have happened.  Perhaps they dawdled in the Canaanite land too long.  Not only did Jacob need to remember his vow to God, but he had to be reminded to do as God had told him.  He needed to remember what God had done for him and of God's promise to be with him and of his promise to make God his Lord.  God did His part and was always with Jacob, but Jacob had forgotten his vow and let his family get involved with foreign gods and they had to be spiritually cleansed.  I believe the point of this chapter is that Jacob sort of got off track for about ten years.  I believe that he saw it that way and that is why when he spoke of this time later in life, it was just a detour on the way from Padan Aram back to the land of his father.  It must be pointed out that God was still with Jacob during that ten years and protected him from being killed by the Canaanites after the Shechem ordeal, just as God may help us through some stupid mistakes.  God is still with us, but things would be easier and a lot less messy if we would just do it His way the first time.  And thankfully, God will mercifully remind us of that fact and prompt us to get back to Him!