Patriarchal Sojourners of the Land Despite the Covenant Promises

 

37:1. Ya’achov/Jacob settles — “ye-shab” — inhabits the Land — “ha-e-retz” — of the temporary — sojourning — “ma-gor” — of his father in Canaan.

Recall in Reading 33, we addressed the concept of the patriarchs of our beloved Faith sojourning in the very Land that Yehovah promised them in the covenant He cut with them.

The writer of the Book of Hebrews notes this reality:

     8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9   By faith, he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise, 10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (Heb 11; LSB)

 

The third patriarch finally settles in back home, where he was always covenanted to be — Canaan — Hebron/Chevron — the home of his father Yitschaq. Of the three patriarchs, Yitschaq was the only one to have never left Hebron.

The Story of the Son Becomes the Story of the Father

 

37:2. Scholars refer to the phrase “these are the generations [of Ya’achov]” as a “toledot,” the wording generally used in the Hebrew scriptures to alert the reader that what precedes or proceeds it is a generational listing. But in this case, Ya’achov’s so-called generations have shifted into the purview or storyline of his beloved son Yosef. For Yosef’s story is Yisra’el’s/Yasharal’s saving grace, through the Will and Plans of Yehovah. Yosef would be the vessel by which Yah’s covenant with the patriarchs Avraham, Yitschaq, and Ya’achov would continue in perpetuity. Yosef preserves Yisra’el/Yasharal, despite being rejected, persecuted, maligned, assaulted, and sold into slavery by Yisra’el/Yasharal. He is, as we shall soon discuss, a type of Yahoshua Messiah.

 

It should be noted that the remaining chapters of Genesis/Beresheit chronicles Ya’achov’s life through the life of Joseph/Yosef. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum writes:

 

“The story of Joseph completes the story of Jacob” (Ariel’s Bible Commentary).

 

The Ya’achovs — Somewhat of a Dysfunctional Family

 

We begin the story of Yosef — Ya’achov’s son of 17-years — shepherding the family’s flocks — sheep and goats — with his brothers. Or so it would seem from most of our English translations.

 

Jewish tradition holds that Yosef’s age of 17 would have put him at the age common for marriage in those days. This then hints at, according to Moshe’s narrative here, Yosef assuming the role of the “Son of the Covenant.” No other son of Ya’achov, at this juncture of Hebrew history, seemed to have the unique character to assume the Son of the Covenant role. Which is not saying a lot since Yah does the choosing who the succeeding sons of the covenant are to be. But we will see evidence that Yosef ideally became the “Son of the Covenant” by the various Yah-ordained events that peppered his young life (e.g. his dreams; being beloved by daddy Ya’achov; his ascendancy to Egyptian-rulership; etc.). Not only will Yosef, through the wisdom gifted to him by Yehovah, save Yisra’el/Yasharal, but most of the nations in the Sinai peninsula.

 

 

The Hebrew term “tended” as used here in this verse is “ro-‘eh-‘et” — which also suggests Yosef shepherded his brothers.

 

The text denotes that Yosef was a helper of the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, which the JPS Torah Commentary explains as Yosef primarily “fraternized… with Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.”

 

It should be noted that Reuben, despite being complicit in his brother Yosef’s impending enslavement, saves Yosef’s life, and “unconsciously cooperates with Yah’s purpose” regarding Yosef and ultimately the nation of Yisra’el/Yasharal.

 

Furthermore, it should be noted: The question at this juncture of Moshe’s chronology is, who of Ya’achov’s sons will receive the birthright from Ya’achov, and who will become the son of the covenant? Two realities weight upon this determination here: (1) Reuben, Ya’achov’s oldest son, and by familial and patriarchal tradition the son who would be in line to receive the birthright and become the son of the covenant, violates his father Ya’achov’s marital bed by engaging in sexual relations with Ya’achov’s concubine, Bilhah. And (2), Ya’achov adored Yosef above all his sons.

 

Yosef reports to his father Ya’achov that his brothers were up to no good. This becomes the first of at least three incidents that would put Yosef at extreme enmity with his brothers. That which Yosef’s brothers had gotten themselves into that was of such ill-repute is not mentioned in the text.

 

In essence, Yosef was the family tattler, which, given that the tattle he reported to his father was true, would not make Yosef evil.

 

Questions Arise About Who is Ya’achov’s Firstborn — Will Love Overrule Chronology?

 

37:3. The love Ya’achov has for and displays towards Yosef does not work in Yosef’s favor as it relates to his relationship with his brothers. Moshe declares the reason Ya’achov adored Yosef above all of his sons was that Yosef was “a son of his old age.”

 

Despite Benjamin/Benyamin being younger than Yosef, Yosef was Rachel’s — Ya’achov’s true love — as though he were his firstborn son. Thus, Yosef was special to Ya’achov in this sense.

 

Arnold Fruchtenbaum suggests it is Yosef’s firstborn sonship to Rachel that, in Ya’achov’s mind at least, makes him Ya’achov’s firstborn, worthy to receive the birthright.

 

As a token of Ya’achov’s love for Yosef, Ya’achov makes his beloved son “a robe with long sleeves” — a “ketonet passim.”

 

E.A. Speiser, in his book Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes, describes Yosef’s long-sleeve garment or robe as “an ornamented tunic.” Conversely, Nahum M. Sarna, in his article in the JPS Torah Commentary, suggests that the meaning of “Ketonet passim” is unclear. But the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) and the Latin Vulgate render “Ketonet passim” as “a robe of many colors,” no doubt connecting this garment — in type — to the distinctive vesture worn by the “virgin daughters of Hebrew-royalty” as recorded in 2 Samuel 13:18-19. Turns out that certain ancient pieces of Egyptian and Syrian art depict what appears to be Hebrew figures attired in elaborately designed, multi-colored robes, which seems to support Yosef’s “ketonet passim” being an elongated, technicolored robe or tunic — to borrow from the title of a popular 1980s Broadway play entitled Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat.

 

Thus, this robe Yosef receives from his father would have been a glaring indication of such firstborn or royal treatment to his brothers. Which sort of begs the question: Was this a visual notice that Yosef was to be Reuben’s replacement? Was Yosef’s “ketonet passim” a brutal, in your face, response to Reuben’s transgression? Was this in line with an ancient near eastern practice, maybe, of Yosef being appointed by Ya’achov as his clan’s future leader?

 

Regardless of the specific nuances at play here, the loudness of Yosef’s technicolored dream coat would have been a constant reminder and source of anger, hatred, and jealousy for his brothers to draw from.

 

Disdain Abounds for the Beloved Son

 

37:4. Moshe hangs this hatred, anger, and jealousy that the brethren have towards their younger brother on the fact that their father, Ya’achov, loves Yosef more than he loves them. Consequently, the brothers share no harmonious relationship with Yosef, according to the text.

 

So, what this verse is saying to us is that every attempt by Yosef to socialize with his brethren is rejected by them (reference: Nahum A. Sarna; JPS Torah Commentary). And that’s how much Yosef’s brothers despise him. What a terrible situation for any of them to have to live in.

 

The brethren’s rejection of Yosef was in effect a rejection of Ya’achov, their father, and Yehovah, their father’s sovereign.

 

Indeed, Yeshua was rejected by most of Judah because He, like Yosef, was beloved of His Father.

The Son Dreams Dreams of Prophetic Implications

 

37:5-6. After setting the base foundation for the brothers’ disdain towards Yosef (i.e. Ya’achov’s overriding love for Yosef, particularly as displayed in the “ketonet passim” Ya’achov makes for him, Moshe reveals the “straw that breaks the camel’s back” that will lead to the brothers physically accosting Yosef.

 

Yosef dreams a dream — “halom” — a prophetic dream. A dream whereby Yehovah reveals to Yosef an event that will occur sometime in the future. Yah’s communication with Yosef is not direct, but is rendered in symbols.

 

Dreams during those days were invariably viewed as divine communications with humanity. Thus, when Yosef recounts his dream to his them — this first dream — the brethren take the dream and its meaning quite seriously. Thus, they do not discount or reject the dream. But as we will soon see, they instead reject Yosef’s projected role in the dream. Yosef’s brothers blame him for the dream because they bitterly viewed him as being obnoxious — essentially full of himself.

 

37:7-8. In this first dream — yes, there is another dream coming — Yosef describes to his brethren the story of the sons of Ya’achov binding/bundling sheaves of grain amid a field. At some point, Yosef’s bundle/sheaf stands itself up, or it rises above his brothers’ sheaves. And Yosef’s tall-standing sheaf/bundle remains standing as his brothers’ lesser bundles/sheaves gather round-about or encircle his sheaf and their sheafs bow down or prostrate down before his sheaf. The brothers correctly interpret the dream as they, at some point in the future, submitting themselves and paying homage to the one they despised the most: Yosef. The brethren recognize the dream is telling them that some day Yosef will assume eminent authority and power over them, of which they would submit themselves to.

 

And so, Yosef’s brethren respond to Yosef’s telling of this dream with a simple: “Will you really or truly reign — rule over us?”

 

Yosef’s brethren clearly understood the symbolism of this dream, which, as Moshe describes, drives them to despise their brother Yosef even more.

 

The very recitation of the dream by Yosef — Yosef’s words — added fuel to the fire of the hate-fest that his brothers have going on within them. And there is an increase of hostility towards Yosef.

 

Yeshua’ brethren — Judah — hated Him similarly because of the Words — His Father’s words actually — that He spoke to them.

 

37:9. After the brethren’s question is posed to Yosef regarding his prophesied reign over them, Moshe takes us immediately into the beloved son’s second dream recitation. This one is similar to the first, but this, instead of agriculture being key symbols of the dream, its the heavenly/celestial bodies: The sun. The Moon. And the stars.

 

And again, Yosef calls his brothers to attend to the recitation of his dream. But this recitation, Yosef recites in the hearing of his father Ya’achov.

Here, the sun — “ha-shemes;” the moon — “ya-rayeh;” and eleven stars — “ko-havim” are all prostrating/bowing down before him — “mish-ta-hawim” — in a sense, paying homage to him; submitting to his authority and name. Even worshiping him.

 

Near Eastern traditions contend that it is common for dreams of similar meaning to come to the dreamer in pairs, as is the case of young Yosef here.

 

This dream, however, takes on a grander scale in terms of its symbolism — the symbolism being a prophetic shadow picture of the exalted Yosef in Egypt/Mitsrayim.

 

The sun represents daddy Ya’achov. The moon mother Rachel, although Rachel is dead at this point in our story chronology, some have speculated the moon here represents Bilhah, who would be Yosef’s stepmother. And the eleven stars symbolize Yosef’s brothers.

 

37:10-11. Upon hearing the dream, daddy Ya’achov, according to the text, “rebukes” — “ga-har” —severely censures Yosef. In this censure, Ya’achov questions Yosef as to the meaning of his dream, although the dream’s meaning should not have been a mystery to him or anyone else for that matter. And Ya’achov cuts to the heart of the matter here by asking Yosef, “who in the world do you think you are? Are we all, who are your seniors in more ways than one, meant to submit ourselves to you?”

 

The fallout of Yosef’s telling of this second dream, as it relates to his brothers, is expected: more jealousy — “ke-nay.” But Yosef’s dad, instead of being insulted and angry with Yosef, like Miryam/Miriam regarding Yeshua’s many acts (Luke 2:19, 51), kept — guarded — pondered — “sha-mar” Yosef’s words in his mind. Ya’achov, on second thought, realizes that, just maybe, there is something to take note of in Yosef’s dream.

 

Beyond the hint of some obnoxiousness inherent in Yosef’s character, Moshe does not indicate that Yosef was anything but righteous. And it was Yosef’s righteousness that caused his brethren to despise him all the more (Hegg, T., Studies in the Torah — Genesis; p. 275).

 

Yosef’s brethren were so blinded by their hatred of him they could not recognize the divine work being done in their young brother’s life. It wouldn’t be till they came crawling to Yosef, as he sat on his throne in Egypt, for life saving sustenance. Only he, Yosef, a type of Mashiyach, had been granted the power and authority to save Yisra’el/Yasharal.

 

Setting the Stage for the Son’s Glorification

 

37:12-14. With Moshe’s documentation of Yosef Dreams and the sour relationship our young patriarch has with his brethren, the stage is now set for his exultation which will lead to Israel’s salvation. But that exultation will not come without years of trials and tribulations for Yosef. A molding and a refining of this brash favored one of the Most High.

 

Our coming glorification in Yeshua Messiah, just as with our master’s glorification (i.e. we shall see Yahoshua as He presently is, and be like Him — 1 John 3:2 — will not come without the refining fire of trials, tribulations, and persecution. (Proof of this is found in the Master’s Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5).

Recall the story of the sons of Zebedee. These approached the Master requesting of him they be granted the privilege of one of them sitting on His right and the other on His left in the Master’s glory. But Yeshua responded to their naïve request with a sobering reality check:

 

“Ye know not what ye ask. Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? And be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with” (Mat 20:22; KJV)?

 

No doubt embarrassed by their Master’s stark response, but having gone this far with their foolish request, they could not walk it back. So, they, of course, declared to the Master that they could indeed endure the baptism and drink of the cup that He was destined to drink from.

The Master did not challenge James’ and John’s commitment to endure the trials, tribulations, and even martyrdom Yeshua was making reference to. But rather, the Master prophetically acknowledged to them:

 

“Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized…” (Mat 20:23; KJV).

 

And of course, history bears out that James, John, and all the other disciples/taught ones, turned apostles or sent ones, would endure great persecution, trials, and tribulations for the sake of the Gospel and the Name of Yahoshua HaMashiyach.

 

The Father Calls the Son to a Mission

 

At what will be a most fateful time in Yosef’s life, daddy Ya’achov calls him to go in search of his brethren — go out to where they were pasturing/grazing the family’s flocks in Shechem, check on their wellbeing, and return to Him with a report. And Yosef willingly avails himself to embark upon this mission simply by responding to his father with: “Hinneni.”

It’s interesting that the sons of Ya’achov would be pasturing the family’s flocks in Shechem, given the family’s tragic history there (reference back to 34:30).

And as before, knowing how much mischief his sons routinely got themselves into, Ya’achov employs his son Yosef to look in on their activities and report back to him.

In my mind, it is the inherent dangers associated with the brothers’ operating in Shechem and their propensity to get into mischief that prompts daddy Ya’achov to send Yosef to check on sons’ wellbeing.

The prophetic shadow picture of Yehovah calling upon His beloved Son, Yeshua, to go to His sons — bene Yisra’el/Yasharal — in order to bring them back to covenant and in alignment with Him is hauntingly, but beautifully depicted here in our Reading.

When the Canaanite woman begs Master Yeshua to deliver her demon-possessed daughter, He responds to the moment by declaring to His taught ones:

 

“I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the House of Yisra’el/Yasharal” (Mat 15:24; KJV).

 

Abba Yah declared to Yasharal/Yisra’el, through Moshe, that He would raise up unto them a prophet (i.e. that prophet would be Yeshua) from their midst, like unto them, that they must hearken. Yah — symbolized here in our reading as Ya’achov — would put His Words in His prophet’s (i.e. here represented by Yosef’s) mouth. And this prophet — Yeshua — fulfillment of Yosef — shall speak unto the nation Yasharal as His Father commands Him (Deu 18:15-18).

And like Yosef, Yeshua is instructed to go to his brethren who are pasturing in the dangerous city of Shechem — symbolic of the world — check on their wellbeing — their “shalom” or “davar” and return and report back to Him of their situation.

Like Yosef before him, Yahoshua came to His own who received Him not (Joh 1:11). Describing Himself before synagogue attendees in Nazareth one Shabbat, the Master recites a portion of Isaiah/Yeshayahu 61:1-2:

 

“The Spirit of Yehovah is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty them that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of Yehovah.” (Luk 4:18-19; KJV).

 

Thus, the “shalom” or “davar” of Yisra’el/Yasharal is symbolized in Yosef being sent to see to the wellbeing of the sons of Yisra’el and his father’s flocks.

Upon preparing to meet His “passion” and be exalted unto His Father, Yeshua reports to Father Yah, all that He’s accomplished out of obedience to His instructions, as recorded in John 17:1-26.

This is a partial fulfillment of our prophetically oriented Torah Reading today.

 

It should be noted that Yosef would embark upon a 50-mile journey to Shechem from Hebron. Thus, Ya’achov sending his beloved son, as did Abba Yah, to Yeshua, such a distance, unaccompanied, over dangerous territory, would be a most risky proposition and task. But Yosef gladly obeys and embarks upon this deadly mission. Isn’t this exactly what our Master did? Praise Yah that Yeshua accepted and successfully completed the mission and task set before Him, just as His predecessor Yosef did.

 

The Son’s Searching For His Brothers in a Dangerous Land

 

37:15-17. The text informs us that upon Yosef’s arriving in the area of Shechem, the area where it was believed by daddy Ya’achov, his brothers were pasturing the family’s flocks, the brothers were nowhere to be found. Thus, Yosef is left to wander about searching for them.

Yeshua described Himself as the Son of Man who came to “seek and save those who are lost” (Luk 19:10). Beloved, the spiritual and prophetic parallels in our reading are too rich to overlook.

Continuing: It is not until a mysterious “man” — “ish” — stumbles upon Yosef wandering about the land that Yosef is redirected to the brothers’ new grazing location in Dothan — a town about 13 miles northwest of Shechem.

 

The Son’s Persistence in Seeking Out His Brethren

 

We see the persistence of Yosef in his search for the brethren and the family flocks, as instructed by daddy Ya’achov, clearly played out here. Even after completing the no doubt arduous 50-mile trek from his home base in Hebron to Shechem, and then not finding his brethren there, the text notes that Yosef wanders about Shechem — how long he wanders is not mentioned in our text — searching for his brethren. And he persists in his search for them until he is pointed to their new location in Dothan.

How picturesque is this in terms of our Master Yahoshua, Who obediently came to Roman-occupied Judea/Yehudah, to seek and to save that which was lost? Indeed, Master Yeshua would not be deterred from His mission, just as His predecessor Yosef would not be deterred from his.

Who the mysterious man was that steered Yosef to his brethren in Dothan is not revealed in our text. But given the necessity — spiritually speaking — for Yosef to find his brethren and then be subject to their assaults and then sold into slavery, it is possible the man was an angel who appears as a man. Certain Rabbinic sages identify this mystery man as Gabriel/Gavriel, who is endeared as being the “guardian” — “mal-akh” — of Yisra’el/Yasharal.

And so, when it comes to fulfilling His Will and Plans, Yah will use whomever and whatever is available to Him to do so:

 

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than yours. And My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa 55:9; KJV).

 

The Conspiracy to Murder the Son

 

37:18-20. As the brethren see their brother Yosef approach them at their Dothan grazing location, the text states that “they conspired or plotted against him to kill him” (vs. 18; LEB). Apart from this, where have we come across such rhetoric in scripture?

 

“And consulted that they — the Jerusalem/Yerushalayim religious leaders — that they might take Yahoshua… and kill Him” (Mat 26:4; KJV).

 

“And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Him — Him being Yahoshua…” (Luk 22:2; KJV).

 

“… the Jews — that being the religious leaders — took counsel to kill Him — the Him being Yeshua of course” (Joh 7:1; KJV).

 

Before Yosef reaches the brethren, they conspire to destroy him, tempering and justifying their thoughts of him by awarding him the title of “Master of Dreams.”

Recall that as part of their torment of Him, Master Yeshua’s tormentors musingly referred to Him as “King of the Jews” verbally, via a placard they placed above Him on His execution stake, and in their placing upon His head a crown of thorns.

 

Returning to our reading: The brothers devise a plot to murder Yosef and dispose of his remains by throwing it into one of the pits — “bo-rot” — cisterns that littered the area they were temporarily dwelling in (vs. 20). A “bo-rot” or cistern is a hole that the ancient natives of the Land would dig out in either the ground or a rock to capture rain for drinking water. And upon discarding Yosef’s remains, the brethren would tell their father Ya’achov that Yosef was “killed and devoured” by a wild animal.

These are driven, not only by their hatred and jealousy of Yosef, but to ensure that Yosef would not achieve the authority and eminence over them that his dreams seemed to suggest. They say to one another: “Then we will see what his dreams become” (vs. 20). In other words, let’s stop the Yosef train before it’s too late.

 

Isn’t this what the enemy sought to do regarding Yeshua? The enemy in having Yeshua crucified? Sought to stymie the plans of Yehovah and foil the arrival of the Malchut Elohim/Ahlohim — The Kingdom of Yah?

 

The Brethren’s plot would inflict upon Yosef and his memory the greatest indignity as Yosef’s body would be indiscriminately tossed into a pit, hopefully never to be recovered and given a respectable burial.

 

Reuben’s Interference in the Murder Plot Furthers Yehovah’s Plan and Will

 

37:21-22. Our text then describes Ruben’s intervention on Yosef’s behalf. Being the oldest of all of Ya’achov’s sons, Ruben’s words — his esteem as the oldest son — would stymie or alter the conceived murder plot leveled at his younger brother. Moshe records two imperatives from Ruben: (1) the Brethren will not murder Yosef; and (2) the Brethren will not harm or shed Yosef’s blood. 

 

But all indications are that Ruben has other plans for Yosef, which if they come to fruition, might restore his first born status in the sight of his father. Remember, Ruben made the immoral, knuckle-headed error of having a sexual relationship with his father’s concubine Bilhah. That transgression led to his diminished position as his father’s eldest son. But we see here in verse 22 Ruben working up a plan to rescue Yosef from the Brethren and restore him unharmed to Daddy Ya’achov. In Reuben’s mind, this would certainly bolster his position in the family hierarchy in his daddy’s eyes. This is my opinion. Nevertheless, Reuben “fulfilled some first born responsibilities by stopping the plan of the brethren to destroy Yosef” (Fruchtenbaum, A.G., The Book of Genesis).

 

The Sons of Yisra’el Attempt to Destroy the Father’s Beloved — But Unbeknown to them, They are Fulfilling the Will and Plans of Yah

 

37:23-24. So, upon Yosef coming into his brother’s presence, the first thing they do is strip him of the ornamented robe or tunic his father Ya’achov gave him. This techni-color dream coat that Yosef wore serves as a visual trigger to the brethren’s jealousy and hatred. This loudly tangible object of daddy Ya’achov’s love for Yosef had to first be removed from Yosef. The object of the father’s love for his son would become the object of grief for the father. Additionally, the robe/tunic provided a degree of dignity to Yosef. Thus, the brethren strip Yosef of his dignity first and foremost.

 

What did our masters tormentors and executioners do? They stripped him of his dignity for all the world to see; to, in effect, discredit Him.

Moshe at this juncture in our story gives us no sign of what Yosef is thinking or feeling. How is he responding to this assault? Moshe doesn’t even tell us if Yosef struggles against the actions taken against him by his brothers. That is, not till Genesis/Beresheit 42:21, where Yosef’s response to this violent assault is revealed:

 

Then each said to his brother, ‘Surely we are guilty on account of our brother when we saw the anguish of his soul when he pleaded for mercy to us and we would not listen…’” (LEB).

 

37:25. The coldness — Callousness of Yosef’s brethren is highlighted by them sitting down to enjoy a meal as their younger brother languishes in a dark, dry cistern. No doubt Yosef was terrified and utterly beside himself. Interestingly, Reuben was not a party to this meal. He’s apparently absent. Beyond knowing that his brother Yosef was languishing in the cistern he, along with his brethren, tossed him into, he would not be privy to his brother’s plans to entirely rid themselves of Yosef given the chance.

 

So, as the brethren eat, they spot an Ishmaelites Merchant Caravan heading towards Egypt or Mitsrayim.

Turns out an ancient trade route ran through Dothan. 

 

The Sons of Yisra’el Rid Themselves of the Father’s Beloved Son

 

37:26-27. Judah/Yehudah comes up with the idea of once and for all ridding themselves of Yosef while also making some scratch/some cash in the process by selling his brother to the Ishmaelite/Midianite merchants. No muss — no fuss. Clean and efficient. And there would be no blood on their hands, so to speak. Of course, all the brethren agree to this plan, with the sole exception being Reuben, who is still absent at this juncture of the story. Why is Reuben absent? The text does not say. Could be that he had a falling out with his brothers over what they should do with Yosef.

 

37:28-30. Thus, the brethren, still absent of Ruben, Pull Yosef up out of the cistern and hand him over to the merchants — Ishmaelites/Midianites — these were combined tribes of people — for twenty-pieces of silver. In those days, two pieces of silver was the going price for a slave in those days.

 

Little did the brethren realize at this juncture that their respective acts — Reuben stopping the brethren from murdering Yosef, and the remaining brethren agreeing to sell Yosef into slavery — were essentially bringing salvation to Yisra’el. These were fulfilling the Will, Purpose, and Plans of the Creator of the Universe — El Elyon — Al Alyon:

 

“O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of Yah! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out” (Rom 11:33; KJV)!

 

Reuben reappears after the brethren sell Yosef to the Egyptian-bound merchants, oblivious to what has become of his younger brother. Having checked the pit or cistern and not finding Yosef, Reuben goes sideways: Fearing the worse has befallen Yosef: “the boy — Yosef — is gone,” Reuben cries. That being, Yosef is no more. “Now I, Reuben bemoans, what can I do” (i.e. as for me, whither do I go to escape the grief that is sure to grip our father. Reuben feels responsible for this situation and he realizes he has feloniously failed in his responsibilities as the firstborn of Yisra’el/Yasharal (reference Fruchtenbaum).

 

The Sons of Yisra’el Cover-up Their Crime

 

37:31-35. Reuben’s lament is abruptly cut off by a description of the brethren’s cover-up of the situation. These slaughter a goat and dip Yosef’s robe/tunic in the slain animal’s blood, giving the false impression that Yosef has fallen victim to a wild animal that tragically took his life.

Moshe here does not reveal to us whether the brethren inform Reuben of what they did to Yosef. Seems these kept Reuben in the dark. But for the sake of getting past this tragedy, they all — all the brethren — participate and perpetuate the cover-up by sending ahead of themselves the tainted garment to their father Ya’achov back in Hebron (vs. 32).

Once the brethren arrive back home, no doubt having solidified their cover-up story among themselves by this time, they ask their father to identify who the blood-soaked tunic/robe might belong to. And playing the role of innocent informants, they ask their father leading questions in order to advance and cement their cover-up in the mind of their father:

 

“We found this… please examine it… Is it the robe of your son or not” (vs. 33).

 

Of course, these all knew their father would identify the tainted robe as belonging to Yosef:

 

“The robe — “ha-ke-to-net” — of my son! A wild animal has devoured him! Yosef is surely torn to pieces!”

 

Beyond asking their father to identify the owner of the ornamented robe, the brethren need not risk incriminating themselves in this heinous cover up any further. For their father, Ya’achov, puts the pieces to this contrived crime together in his own mind and his own utterances of extreme grief.

 

And as common among the ancient Semites in these days upon learning of a tragedy such as the death of a loved one, Ya’achov rents the very clothes he is wearing, adorns sackcloth about his hips/loins, and engages in several days of mourning over the loss of his beloved son (vs. 34).

Ya’achov is inconsolable. So much so that he declares he will accompany his son Yosef in death (vs. 35). No doubt the patriarch felt responsible for Yosef’s presumed death, having sent him out in search of his brethren and the flocks, alone, out into dangerous lands.

 

The Son Begins His Journey Towards Fulfilling the Will of His Heavenly Father

 

37:36. And immediately, Moshe shifts over to Yosef’s real time situation: The Midianites sell Yosef to an Egyptian by the name of Potiphar (i.e. “The Gift of Ra”), whom the text describes as a court official of Pharaoh and a commander of the guard — i.e. the Chief of the Executioners.

 

Spiritual Applications and Closing Thoughts and Reflections

 

On the subject of dreams and Hebrew dreamers, Fruchtenbaum in his commentary on Genesis/Beresheit, notes that Yah frequently spoke to His people through dreams as mentioned in Numbers 12:6:

 

“And He — Yah — said, ‘Hear now My Words: If there be a prophet among you, I YHVH, will… speak unto him in a dream’” (KJV).

 

Indeed, in a broad sense here, Yosef would be a prophet. And because Yehovah is often revealing to His dreamers His Will and Plans, within Hebrew society, there would be no need for an interpreter of said dreams. Such as the case here in our reading.

Secondly, Yah employs Hebrews to interpret the dreams of non-Hebrews as noted in various historic scriptural passages such as Yosef to Egyptian rulers and Daniel to Babylonian officials and rulers.

And thirdly, Yah through various means, including dreams, reveals Himself, His Will, and His plans to His people, who are then meant to reveal those received revelations to the world.

 

“YHVH, Who at sundry times and in divers manners — including dreams — spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Heb 1:1; KJV)

 

“What advantage then hath the Jew?… Much every way: Chiefly, because that unto them, were committed the oracles of Yah” (Rom 3:1-2; KJV).

 

Then we have this prophetic passage, the content of which is clearly linked to the reading before us today:

 

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman, clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve-stars: (2) And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.” (Rev 12:1-2; KJV)

 

This is a fulfillment of the prophetic shadow that is depicted here in Yosef’s second dream. But the Revelation symbolism here is distilled down to the woman being Yisra’el/Yasharal, as the nation is often depicted as Yehovah’s wife.

 

                                                                                                 

 

 

Our Torah Reading provides us with a rich Messianic prophetic shadow picture. Virtually every aspect of the Yosef story as depicted in our reading is reflective of the Person and Ministry of Yeshua Messiah.

 

• Like Yosef, Yahoshua was beloved by His Father Yehovah (Mat 3:17; 17:5)
• Like Ya’achov did to Yosef, Yehovah appointed Yeshua to shepherd Yisra’el (Mar 6:34).
• Yosef was destined to become royalty. Yeshua was and remains as royalty. And there’s coming a day, as occurred when Yosef ruled in Egypt, when every knee will bow and every tongue confess that He is Master to the glory of Yehovah (Philippians 2:10-11).
• As Yosef eventually ruled over his brethren from his throne in Egypt, eventually Judah will receive Yeshua as her Mashiyach (Zec 12).
• Yahoshua’s brethren despised Him for the Words He spoke; the Words that came, not from Him alone, but from His heavenly Father. Nevertheless, like Yosef experience whereby his brothers rejected him and sought to rid themselves of him, Yeshua’s brethren also rejected Him (Joh 11).
• Like his predecessor Yosef, Yeshua would be killed by His brethren: The very ones He was sent to redeem and minister to. (Luk 19:10) He was thrown into Sheol — like the cistern that Yosef was thrown into by His brethren. But in the end, He, like Yosef, was raised from death and would be exalted on high by Yehovah Sabaoth. (Psa 110)
• Often that which man tends for evil, Yah uses for good (Gen 50:20). In the case of Yosef, his brethren intended to rid themselves of him. But Yah exalted Yosef to the throne of Egypt and Yisra’el would be saved from the devastating famine. In the case of Yeshua, the enemy attempted to stymie the Will and Plans of Yah by crucifying Him. But Yah’s Plan of Salvation, Redemption, and Restoration was gloriously worked through the evil actions of the Enemy. Praise Yah.
• The Gospel of the Kingdom is played out in grandeur in our Torah Reading.
• Yehovah knows the end from the beginning (Isa 46:10). Thus, Torah Readings such as the one we studied today are indeed shadows of good things to come (Heb 10:1).