This Way To Genesis

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Genesis 37:25b-28


● Gen 37:25b . . Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
coming from Gilead, their camels bearing gum, balm, and ladanum to
be taken to Egypt.

In our day, the Ishmaelites would be driving diesel trucks loaded with flat
screen TVs, 501 Levi jeans, Nike sports apparel, Apple iPhones, and Doritos.

The gum may have been tragacanth, or goats-thorn gum, because it was
supposed to be obtained from that plant.

The balm (or balsam) is an aromatic substance obtained from a plant of the
genus Amyris, which is a native of Gilead. In point of biblical fact, Gilead was
famous for its balm (Jer 8:22, Jer 46:11). Balms were of medical value in
those days.

The ladanum was probably labdanum, (possibly myrrh), a yellowish brown to
reddish brown aromatic gum resin with a bitter, slightly pungent taste
obtained from a tree (esp. Commiphora abyssinica of the family
Burseraceae) of eastern Africa and Arabia.

Gilead was located in the modern-day country of Jordan-- a mountainous
region on the east side of the Jordan River extending from the Sea of Galilee
down to the north end of the Dead Sea. It's about sixty miles long and
twenty miles wide. Its scenery is beautiful; the hills are fertile and crowned
with forests. It was on Gilead's western boundary that Jacob confronted
Laban in chapter 31, and also on Gilead's western boundary where Jacob
grappled with the angel in chapter 32.

The land of Gilead connected to a major trade route (spice road) from
Turkey and Mesopotamia to Egypt; and all points in between. Quite possibly
the Ishmaelites were following a track that would eventually take them right
down the very road that Hagar had taken towards Shur on her flight from
Sarah back in chapter 16.

The Ishmaelites were a blended people consisting of the families of Ishmael
and Midian, who were Abraham's progeny (Gen 16:15, Gen 25:2). The two
ethnic designations-- Midianites and Ishmaelites --are interchangeable (e.g.
Gen 37:28, Jdgs 8:24, Jdgs 8:26). Since the Ishmaelites were Abraham's
progeny, then they were blood kin to Jacob's clan; ergo: blood kin not only
to Joseph, but also to all the rest of the people of Israel.

● Gen 37:26-27 . .Then Judah said to his brothers: What do we gain
by killing our brother and covering up his blood? Come, let us sell
him to the Ishmaelites, but let us not do away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh. His brothers agreed.

Judah's alternative made good sea sense. There was always the risk that
somebody might rescue Joseph out of that tank and he would then high-tail
it for home and tattle on his brothers for what they did to him. With him an
anonymous slave, miles and miles away in Egypt, everything would work out
just the way most of them wanted, and the brothers would get a little
something in return for Joseph's hide.

● Gen 37:28 . .When Midianite traders passed by, they pulled Joseph
up out of the pit. They sold Joseph for twenty pieces of silver to the
Ishmaelites, who brought Joseph to Egypt.

The money in this instance isn't by weight as it had been in the purchase of
Sarah's cemetery back in chapter 23. This money is by the piece; of which
the precise nomenclature and value are currently unknown. They could have
been any size and worth; depending upon international merchant
agreements in those days. Joseph was sold at a price that Moses' Law later
fixed for juveniles. (Lev 27:5)

Incidentally, Christ was sold out for thirty pieces of silver (Matt 26:15) about
which the Bible says was a "lordly" price. (Zech 11:12-13)
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Genesis 37:29-36


● Gen 37:29-30 . .When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that
Joseph was not in the pit, he rent his clothes. Returning to his
brothers, he said: The boy is gone! Now, what am I to do?

Precisely where, and why, Reuben wasn't present when his brothers sold
Joseph isn't stated.

Reuben wasn't privy to his brothers' scheme to sell Joseph so he innocently
"informs" them of their kid brother's disappearance. Imagine his dismay to
discover that they, of all people, sold their own blood kin into slavery! How
in blazes is he supposed to explain that to his dad!?!

Reuben is so disturbed that he can't think straight; so his brothers, in their
characteristic cold, calculating way, devise yet another nefarious scheme.
They will stain Joseph's ornamental garment with blood and let their dad
draw his own conclusions about it.

● Gen 37:31-32 . .Then they took Joseph's tunic, slaughtered a kid,
and dipped the tunic in the blood. They had the ornamented tunic
taken to their father, and they said: We found this. Please examine
it; is it your son's tunic or not?

So without any explanation, nor details of the circumstances leading up to
Joseph's disappearance, they let Jacob jump to his own conclusion. That is a
very, very common, and very, very human way of perpetrating a lie.

● Gen 37:33-34 . . He recognized it, and said: My son's tunic! A
savage beast devoured him! Joseph was torn by a beast! Jacob rent
his clothes, put sackcloth on his loins, and mourned for his son many
days.

This is the very first mention of sackcloth in the Bible. It's a rough, coarse
material like burlap commonly used for packaging grain in bags. Though an
inexpensive fabric, it's prickly and chafes the skin so it's not really suitable
for undergarments. Exactly where Jacob got the idea to abuse himself like
that is unknown; but it's common in the Old Testament: mostly donned as
an outer garment rather than under.

If Joseph was "torn" then why was his tunic still in one piece? It's not
uncommon for carnivorous beasts like grizzly bears to devour a portion of
people's clothing right along with their flesh.

Well . . poor Jacob is so overcome with grief over the loss of his favorite son
that his logic chip just simply overheated and crashed. People who are
gravely upset sometimes have trouble finding their car keys even if they're
right inside their own pants pocket.

● Gen 37:35a . . All his sons and daughters sought to comfort him

"sons and daughters" is somewhat ambiguous and can indicate not just
Jacob's progeny, but every man, woman, and child in the whole family
regardless of age with himself the paterfamilias of the whole bunch.

● Gen 37:35b . . but he refused to be comforted, saying: No, I will go
down to the grave mourning for my son.

The Hebrew word translated "grave" is sheol (sheh-ole') and this is its first
appearance in the Bible.

Sheol is sometimes translated grave, sometimes hell, sometimes
netherworld (a.k.a. the world of the dead; viz: the afterlife) and sometimes
not translated at all but left as-is in Hebrew; presumably to avoid
controversy.

The New Testament equivalent of sheol is haides (hah'-dace) which is an
afterlife place where all the dead go, both the good dead and the bad dead,
and the young and the old regardless of age, race, religion, and/or gender.

The prophet Jonah went to sheol at some time during his nautical adventure
(Jonah 2:2) a place that he described as the roots of the mountains (Jonah
2:6a). Well; the mountains aren't rooted in the tummies of fish; they're
rooted down deep in the earth (Jonah 2:6b).

According to Ps 16:8-10 and Acts 2:22-31, Christ spent some time in
sheol/haides while waiting for his body to be restored to life.

According to Matt 12:40, sheol/haides is in the heart of the earth. Well;
Christ wasn't buried in the heart of the earth; he was buried on the surface
in a rock-hewn tomb. So in order for Christ to be on the surface of the earth
and simultaneously in the heart of the earth, he and his body had to part
company.

● Gen 37:35c . .Thus his father bewailed him.

Sometimes it's really best to leave people alone and let them grieve through
their loss. Many a well-meaning "comforter" has only succeeded in making
matters worse by attempting to talk friends out of their grief with good
intentioned, but nevertheless; tiresome philosophical platitudes.

And people who stifle their grief are only forestalling the inevitable. One day,
possibly when they least expect it, and quite possibly inconveniently, it will
catch up to them.

● Gen 37:36 . .The Midianites, meanwhile, sold him in Egypt to
Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh, and his chief steward.

Although slavery normally isn't regarded a blessing, in this case Joseph
couldn't have been sold into a better situation. Potiphar was well-connected
instead of just another plantation owner who would work Joseph to the
bone; undernourished, inadequately housed, and poorly clothed.

Courtiers were typically royalty's personal assistants and performed a
variety of duties. Potiphar was "chief steward". The Hebrew words means
boss of the butchers; an ambiguous term which implies not just slaughtering
and/or cooking animals for food, but also supervising capital punishments,
and/or supervising Pharaoh's personal bodyguards along with the oversight
of his own private jails; especially jails for political prisoners.
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Genesis 38:1-2


● Gen 38:1a . . About that time

Joseph was 17 when he arrived in Egypt (Gen 37:2) and 30 when he
became prime minister (Gen 41:46). When he went to work for Pharaoh; a
14-year period began, consisting of two divisions-- seven years of plenty,
and seven years of famine. After 9 of the 14 years had passed-- the 7 years
of plenty, and 2 of the years of famine --Joseph summoned his dad to Egypt
(Gen 45:6-9) which would add up to a period of only about 22 years or so.

Some commentators feel that chapter 38 is out of place chronologically; that
it really should have followed chapter 33 because there just isn't enough
time lapsed-- from Joseph's arrival in Egypt and Jacob's subsequent arrival
-for all the births; and all the growing-up time needed for the particulars in
chapter 38 to reach an age mature enough to sleep with a woman and father
a child (see Adam Clarke's Commentary for an analysis of the
circumstances).

"about that time" is so ambiguous, and so unspecific, and the above
mentioned time elements so narrow; that the phrase could simply indicate
that the events of chapter 38 happened not right after Joseph went to Egypt,
but most likely any time during the whole time Jacob was resident in
Canaan; in other words: any time between chapter 33 and chapter 47.
Joseph was 7 years old when Jacob returned to Canaan, and 17 when carted
off to Egypt. So, adding 10 to the 22, would make the period of "about that
time" equal to about 32 years total.

● Gen 38:1b . . Judah

Judah's saga is pretty interesting because it concerns the Israeli tribal head
chosen to perpetuate the Jewish line to Messiah (Gen 49:8-12, Heb 7:14).

Some people call this section in Genesis sordid; but I think it's actually kind
of humorous because a very resourceful Gentile girl is going to really get one
over on the "chosen people".

● Gen 38:1c . . left his brothers

One can hardly blame Judah for wanting to put some distance between
himself and the others once in a while. They were so cruel, so selfish, and so
thoughtless. People of cruelty generally make bad company what with all
their complaining, their sniping, their carping criticism, their tempers, and
their propensity to harm people. If those boys were hard hearted against
their own kid brother, just think how cruel they must have been with
animals.

Judah was no prize himself, that's true, but at least he wasn't a cold blooded
murderer at heart. I have no doubt he felt very bad at Josephs' sobbing and
begging for his life down in that pit. But I thoroughly suspect he felt that
selling his kid brother into slavery was the only way he could possibly save
the boy's life. Even if Joseph had escaped his brothers that day, they would
always be looking for another opportunity to finish the job.

● Gen 38:1d . . and camped near a certain Adullamite whose name
was Hirah.

The community of Adullum was roughly 12 miles northwest of Hebron, and
later apportioned to the tribe of Judah during Joshua's campaign. (Josh
15:35)

Some translations say that Judah "turned in" to Hirah; implying he lodged in
Hirah's home rather than set up his own pavilion. The Hebrew word is natah
(naw-taw') which simply means to stretch or spread out; which may indicate
that Judah was into a little independent ranching on his own in the area;
implying that Judah's spread neighbored Hirah's range land.

Natah is one of those ambiguous words with more than one meaning; which
only serves to accent a frustrating fact of life in the world of Bible
scholarship that it's pretty near impossible to translate ancient Hebrew texts
verbatim into the English language without making an inadvertent error here
and there.

● Gen 38:2 . .There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite,
whose name was Shua, and he married her and cohabited with her.

From the spiritual aspect; Jacob's family was practically on an island in the
midst of a sea infested with caribes. The only viable option for spouses in
that predicament was either for a prospective Canaanite to be a God-fearing
person, e.g. Melchizedek (Gen 14:18) or sincerely convert to Jacob's religion
like Ruth did. (Ru 1:16, Ru 2:11-12)

Whether the daughter converted isn't said. And since there existed no Divine
prohibitions against intermarriage with Canaanites at this time-- Israel's
covenanted law doesn't have ex post facto jurisdiction (Gal 3:17) --then
surely no one could possibly accuse Judah of a sin for marrying outside
either his religion or his ethnic identity. However, since two of Shua's boys
were incorrigible and ended up dead, slain by God, and none of her three
male children by Judah were selected to forward Abraham's line to Messiah;
Judah's choice doesn't look good.

Gen 38:2 is tricky because at first glance it looks like the girl might be the
daughter of a man named Shua. But in verse 12, the daughter's moniker in
Hebrew is Bath-Shuwa' (see also 1Chrn 3:5) which is the very same moniker
as Bathsheba's. (1Chrn 3:5)

NOTE: In Hebrew, a daughter is a bath; and a son is a ben (e.g. Judah ben
Hur).

Bath-Shuwa' (or: Bath-Shua) just simply means a daughter of wealth; which
isn't really a name at all, but a status. Exactly what the status of a
"daughter of wealth" is supposed to convey about a girl is hard to tell.
Perhaps it just means she's an eligible consideration for marriage-- like a girl
who comes of a good family; but that doesn't necessarily mean that a blue
blooded girl is the best choice. Things like education, breeding, and wealth
are no guarantee that maybe a girl from across the tracks wouldn't make a
much better wife and mother. (she'd certainly tend to be more frugal)
_

 

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Genesis 38:3-11b


● Gen 38:3-5 . . She conceived and bore a son, and he named him Er.
She conceived again and bore a son, and named him Onan. Once
again she bore a son, and named him Shelah; he was at Chezib when
she bore him.

The community of Chezib (a.k.a. Achzib and Chozeba) has been identified
with Khirbet Kueizibah by somebody named Conder (Palestine Exploration,
Jan. 1875). The Talmud mentions that a plain is in front of Chozeba; so
Kueizibah has before it the valley of Berachoth (wady Arrub); which is a bit
southwest of Adullum. So although Judah moved away from Bath-shua's
parents, it wasn't far away.

● Gen 38:6 . . Judah got a wife for Er his first-born; her name was
Tamar.

Ms. Tamar is a total mystery. Neither her family, her ethnic identity, her
age, her looks, her education, her material worth, nor anything else is
known about her. But she's the one through whom God will bring Messiah
into the world; so I think it's safe to say she was probably a much better
woman than Bath-shua.

● Gen 38:7 . . But Er, Judah's first-born, was displeasing to The Lord,
and The Lord took his life.

Er has the distinction of being the very first member of the people of Israel--
the chosen people --whom God personally clipped Himself. Er was only the
beginning because God's chosen people weren't chosen to be His pampered
pets; no, they were selected to be the number-one caretakers, and
propagators, of the knowledge of God. So then, of all the people in the
world, Jews have the least excuse for failure to comply with God's wishes
because they have always had that information at their fingertips while a
very large portion of the rest of the world; for many, many centuries, didn't.
Therefore, the status of God's chosen people isn't something to be proud of;
no, it's something to be afraid of.

"Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel--
against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt --saying:
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: that's why I will
punish you for all your iniquities." (Amos 3:1-2)

● Gen 38:8 . .Then Judah said to Onan: Join with your brother's wife
and do your duty by her as a brother-in-law, and provide offspring
for your brother.

According to Deut 5:2-4, the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with
God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy isn't retroactive.
So then Judah's directive wasn't a strict by-the-book legal requirement as
stipulated by Deut 25:5-6; but was nevertheless something that God
approved without it being a covenanted requirement.

The "duty" to which Judah referred was apparently a widely accepted
custom, not only in his own day, but in days preceding him. Some feel that
the custom had its origin in the early-day practice of purchasing a wife
rather than courting; so that she became a portion of the dead man's estate.
As such, she remained the "property" (and the responsibility) of the clan;
thus assuring widows of a livelihood, and of protection and security after
their husband's death. In that respect, being a "mail order" bride had its
advantages in an era when very few women had careers of their own outside
the home or were entitled to assistance programs.

● Gen 38:9 . . But Onan, knowing that the seed would not count as
his, spilled it on the ground whenever he joined with his brother's
wife, so as not to provide offspring for his brother.

It's been suggested that Onan's motivation for leaving his new wife childless
was to make sure Er didn't posthumously cause his own inheritance to be
reduced. As the firstborn, Er came in for a larger portion of Judah's estate
than Onan. But with Er dead and out of the way, Onan became the firstborn
by natural succession. Actually, Onan didn't have to marry Tamar; but if and
when he did, it was an implied consent to try his best to engender a boy so
the dead man would have someone to carry on his name. But Onan chose
instead to take advantage of his brother's widow and use her like a harlot;
and that was not only a cruel thing to do, but a fatal error too.

● Gen 38:10 . .What he did was displeasing to The Lord, and He took
his life also.

Some have attempted to use this passage as a proof text that it's a sin to
practice contraception. But any honest examination of the facts testifies
otherwise. Onan evaded his obligation, and married his brother's widow
under false pretenses; apparently with the full intention of protecting his
own inheritance rather than that of his dead brother.

That was unforgivable because it's all the same as fraud and breech of
contract; not to mention deplorably uncaring about a widow's predicament
(cf. Luke 7:11-15). Tamar had a legitimate right to a baby fathered by
Judah's clan, and it was their moral, if not sacred, duty to make an honest
attempt to provide her with not only a baby, but also a man by her side to
take care of her too.

● Gen 38:11a . .Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar: Stay
as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up

At this point, Judah did the unthinkable: he disowned his daughter-in-law.
That just wasn't done. When a girl married into a clan; she became one with
that clan. I can scarce believe Judah sent Tamar back to her father; and I'm
honestly surprised Tamar's dad didn't march her right back to Judah's front
door and get in his face about it and demand he fulfill his obligations to one
of Israel's own widows.

● Gen 38:11b . . for he thought: He too might die like his brothers.

No doubt Shelah's mom Bath-shua was by this time up in arms and
protesting vehemently against any more marriages of her own sons to this
"toxic" female.

I've a pretty good notion of what Judah had in mind. He had no intention of
letting Tamar anywhere near his one and only surviving male heir. As far as
he was concerned, Tamar was nothing less than a Black Widow-- one of the
those deadly spiders in the southwest that eats her mate for dinner after the
poor hormone-driven slob fulfills his one and only purpose in life.
_

 

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Genesis 38:11c-14


● Gen 38:11c . . So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

Sending Tamar back home, as an unattached girl, Judah no doubt sincerely
hoped she would meet somebody in her own neighborhood; maybe an old
boyfriend or two, and remarry before Shelah got old enough; thus, his last
son would be safe from Ms. Black Widow. But as it turned out, Tamar had
more grit than Mattie Ross of Darnel County. Judah's clan owed her dead
husband a baby boy, and that was that.

You can hardly blame her. Jacob's clan was very wealthy, so that any
children Tamar should produce by them, would have all the best that life had
to offer in early-day Palestine; plus her grandchildren would be well taken
care of too. Since nothing is said of her origin, Tamar may not have been a
blue-blooded girl like her mother-in-law, but could have easily come from a
low income community on the wrong side of the tracks. What would you do
in the best interests of your children in that situation?

● Gen 38:12a . . As time went by, Judah's wife Bath-shua died.

This event left Judah single, and eligible to remarry; so that Tamar and
Judah are now both single adults; however, Tamar is betrothed, and that
makes things a little complicated.

● Gen 38:12b . . After he got over her passing, Judah went up to
Timnah to his sheepshearers, together with his friend Hirah the
Adullamite.

Timnah-- a.k.a. Tibneh: a deserted site southwest of Zorah, and two miles
west of Ain Shems --was roughly 11 miles northwest from ancient Adullum
towards Bethlehem.

● Gen 38:13-14a . . And it was told Tamar, saying: Look, your father
in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. So she took off her
widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself,
and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah;

The Hebrew words for "open place" are weird. They mean "an open eye".
One of those words-- the one for "eye" --can also mean a spring or an
artesian well (e.g. Gen 16:7). A wayside rest, like as can be usually found on
many modern Federal highways, would probably qualify as an example of
the "open place" to which Gen 38:14 refers.

Tamar's rest stop likely included a source of water, not for cars, but for the
animals that men either herded, rode upon, or used for pack animals when
they traveled up and down the primitive trails and roads of ancient Palestine.

Sheep-shearing occurs sometime in the spring, so the weather in Palestine
at that season was sunny and warm.

Veils weren't an eo ipso indication that a woman was loose, since Rebecca
had worn one upon meeting her spouse-to-be Isaac (Gen 24:65). Although
the text says that Tamar's veil covered her face (vs. 15), it likely not only
covered her face, but her whole body, because veils were more like a burqa
than the little mask-like nets that women sometimes wear to funerals;
except that burqa's are cumbersome and ugly, whereas Tamar's veil was a
lightweight wrap, and likely quite colorful and eye-catching; and conveyed
an altogether different message than a woman in mourning.

● Gen 38:14b . . for she saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had
not been given to him as wife.

Actually, Shelah wasn't the one who owed Tamar an Israeli baby; it was
Judah, the head of the clan, and that's why he's the one she's coming after
rather than Judah's son. Tamar is a scary girl; and one you wouldn't want to
trifle with. Not many women would have had the chutzpah to do what she
did. To begin with, for a lone woman to sit out along a remote road,
unescorted, like she did, was inherently dangerous, and could have led to all
sorts of mischief.
_

 

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Genesis 38:15-17


● Gen 38:15a . .When Judah saw her, he thought she was a
prostitute,

The particular kind of prostitute in this episode is from the Hebrew word
qedeshah (ked-ay-shaw') which isn't your typical working girl, but rather a
devotee raising money for an established religion (Gen 38:21) typically a
pagan kind of religion centered upon the worship of a goddess like Ashtoreth
(a.k.a. Astarte). So one might say that a qedeshah's services were for a
worthy cause.

● Gen 38:15b . . for she had covered her face.

It's just amazing how difficult it is sometimes to recognize familiar people
when they turn up in places we least expect them. Take Jesus for example.
When he revived after his ordeal on the cross, people didn't know him right
off: close friends like Mary Magdalena didn't recognize him at first even at
close proximity (John 20:13-16). Another example is when Jesus came out
to his followers' boat during a storm on open water. At first they thought he
was a ghost, and Peter wouldn't believe it was Jesus until he gave him the
power to walk on water himself (Matt 14:25-29).

● Gen 38:16-17 . . Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he
went over to her by the roadside and said: Come now, let me sleep
with you. And what will you give me to sleep with you? she asked.
I'll send you a young goat from my flock; he said. Will you give me
something as a pledge until you send it? she asked.

The Hebrew word for "pledge" in that passage is 'arabown (ar-aw-bone')
which means a pawn (given as security) as in pawn shop. This is the very
first place in the Bible where that word is used. In the usury business, an
'arabown is forfeited if the borrower fails to repay his loan. This is a very
important principle in the divine plan.

"In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of
your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the
Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Eph
1:13-14)

The Greek word for "pledge" in that passage is arrhabon (ar-hrab-ohn')
which means essentially the same as the Hebrew word 'arabown except that
the Greek word indicates a little something extra.

Real estate transactions usually involve a sum called the earnest money.
Although it may be applied towards the purchase price of property, earnest
money itself serves a specific purpose of its own in the real estate business.
(In some areas; this is also called good faith money.)

When the contract, and all the other necessary documents are submitted to
Escrow, the buyer is required to also submit a token amount of the purchase
price. It's usually a relatively small number of dollars compared to the full
price of the property. I think ours was just $1,000 back in 1988 on a
$74,000 home. When the buyer follows through on their intent to purchase
the property, the good faith money (minus some Escrow fees of course)
goes towards the purchase.

However, if the buyer loses interest in the property and decides to renege,
then they forfeit the good faith money. No doubt that's done to discourage
vacillating buyers from fiddling around with other people's time and money.

So then, since God's Spirit is the earnest depicted in Eph 1:13-14; then,
according to the principles underlying the arrhabon, should God betray a
believer's trust by reneging on His promise to spare people who hear and
believe the gospel, then He forfeits; and the believer gets to keep the Spirit
regardless of their afterlife destiny.

But of course God won't renege because doing so would not only embarrass
Himself, but embarrass His son too as Jesus has given his word that
his followers have nothing to fear.

"I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in God who sent
me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they
have already passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

There are people who actually believe the Bible's God can get away with
reneging on His promises. A belief of that nature of course eo ipso insinuates
that the Bible's God lacks integrity, i.e. He's capable of dishonesty and can't
be trusted to make good on anything He says.
_

 

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Genesis 38:18-26


● Gen 38:18a . . He said: What pledge should I give you? Your seal
and its cord, and the staff in your hand; she answered.

The items that Tamar required for a pledge were akin to a photo ID or a
thumb print in those days. Judah's staff wasn't just a kendo stick or a
walking cane or a shepherd's crook. It was more like a king's scepter,
specially made just for him, and served the express purpose of identifying
him as the head of his tribe. Staffs were made of either wood or metal, and
usually capped with a masthead. The quality of the staff would of course
depend upon the material wherewithal of the person ordering it.

Judah's seal could have been a small, uniquely engraved cylinder, or
possibly a ring (e.g. Jer 22:24) but wasn't always worn on a finger. Way
back in Judah's day, seals were sometimes worn around the neck with a
necklace; or attached to personal walking sticks and/or staffs with a lanyard,
and forced into wax or soft clay to leave an impressed "signature". The
whole shebang-- seal, cord, and staff --was often a unit; and there were no
two alike.

The staff, with its cord and seal, was, of course, quite worthless for a shrine
prostitute's purposes. In dollar value, it was nothing, as it couldn't be sold or
traded. However, its value to Judah was why it was a good pledge item. He
would certainly want it back.

● Gen 38:18b-23 . . So he gave them to her and mated with her, and
she conceived by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on
her widow's clothes again.

. . . Meanwhile, Judah sent the young goat by his friend the
Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he
did not find her. He asked the men who lived there: Where is the
shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? There hasn't
been any shrine prostitute here; they said.

. . . So he went back to Judah and said: I didn't find her. Besides, the
men who lived there said there hasn't been any shrine prostitute
here. Then Judah said: Let her keep what she has or we will become
a disgrace. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't
find her.

It might seem silly that Judah was concerned for his tribe's honor in this
matter, but in those days, cult prostitutes did have a measure of respect in
their community, and it wasn't unusual for every woman in the community
to be expected to take a turn at supporting their "church" in that manner; so
cult prostitution wasn't really looked upon as a vice but rather as a sacred
obligation.

Judah's failure to pay up could be construed by locals as mockery of their
religion's way of doing business, thus insulting those who believed and
practiced it; so he emphasized his effort to find the woman and make good
on his I.O.U.

This appears to me the first instance of religious tolerance in the Bible; and
the circumstances are intriguing: to say the least.

● Gen 38:24 . . And it came to pass, about three months after, that
Judah was told, saying: Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the
harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.

At this time, Tamar was living with her dad; so Judah wouldn't have known
she was expecting unless a rumor mill brought the news around.

The word for "harlot" in Gen 38:24 is zanah (zaw-naw'), and the word for
"harlotry" is zanuwn (zaw-noon') and both mean adultery. Tamar is accused
of adultery because at this point, she's assumed betrothed (though not yet
married) to Shelah. (cf. Matt 1:18-19)

● Gen 38:24 . . So Judah said: Bring her out and let her be burned!

Since there were no Federal, nor any State, nor any Municipal laws in
existence in primitive Palestine, local sheiks like Judah were the Supreme
Court of their own tribes. Though Tamar was living back at home with her
dad, she remained under Judah's jurisdiction because of her past marriages
to two of Judah's sons.

NOTE: I suspect Judah saw this turn of events as a golden opportunity to
save his last surviving son from marrying Ms. Black Widow.

● Gen 38:25a . .When she was brought out,

It's odd to me that Judah didn't attend Tamar's execution: possibly because
he couldn't look her in the eye for reneging on his promise to give her
Shelah. However; Judah was in for a very big jolt to his nervous system
because Tamar produced a surprise witness.

● Gen 38:26 . . 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 and cord, and staff. So 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 saw her
again.

Actually, neither Judah nor Tamar were "righteous" in this matter. His
comment was relative. Though both had behaved rather badly; Tamar held
the high moral ground. It's like movies today. The good guys and the bad
guys are no longer distinctly moral and immoral and/or scrupulous and
unscrupulous. Often both sides of the equation are immoral and
unscrupulous; with the "good" guys just being more likable.
_

 

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Genesis 38:28-29


● Gen 38:27-28 . .When the time came for her to give birth, there
were twins in her womb! While she was in labor, one of them put out
his hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to
signify: This one came out first.

According to modern medicine, a baby isn't really born until it's head is
outside the womb; so that it's legal (in some states) to kill babies with a so
called "dilation and extraction" abortion; which is a term coined by Ohio
abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell for an abortion method in which he removes a
baby's brain while it's head is still partially within the womb, and then
completes the delivery by extracting the corpse. But in Tamar's day, even
the exit of so much as a hand was counted birth: thus Zerah became
Tamar's legal firstborn son.

● Gen 38:29 . . But just then he drew back his hand, and out came
his brother; and she said: What a breach you have made for yourself!
So he was named Perez (which means: break (as in break through a
barrier or force a way through; viz: buck the line and/or go out of
turn). Afterward his brother came out, on whose hand was the
crimson thread; he was named Zerah (which means: a rising of light;
viz: morning).

Well . . regardless of Zerah's primo-genitive prerogatives, God bypassed him
in Judah's line to Messiah; which, by Divine appointment went to Perez, the
second-born. (Matt 1:1-3)

NOTE: You'd think holy propriety would demand that the sacred line to
Messiah be pure. I mean, after all, a child of adultery and incest hardly
seems like a proper ancestor for the King of Kings. But no, an ancestry of
adultery and/or incest makes no difference to Christ. In point of fact, in time
a famous harlot from Jericho named Rahab produced yet another male in the
line to the lamb of God (Matt 1:5). And let's not forget Ruth who descended
from Lot sleeping with one of his own daughters in a cave. (cf. Gen 19:36
37, Ruth 4:10, and Matt 1:5)

According to Rom 8:3, Christ didn't come in the likeness of innocent flesh;
no, he came in the likeness of sinful flesh, and his biological ancestry
certainly proves it.
_

 

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Genesis 39:1-7


● Gen 39:1-3 . . Now when Joseph arrived in Egypt with the
Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, a member of the
personal staff of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Potiphar was the
captain of the palace guard. The Lord was with Joseph and blessed
him greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.
Potiphar noticed this and realized that The Lord was with Joseph,
giving him success in everything he did.

The identity of the Pharaoh during this moment in history is a total mystery,
and even that fact is a mystery in itself because Egypt was normally quite
meticulous in recording its accomplishments, and the names of Egypt's
dynastic successions are recorded practically without a break thru the Old,
Middle, and New Kingdoms, clear on back to 3,000 BC. But for some reason,
so far unexplained, a blank occurs in its history between 1730 to 1580 BC.

This absence of information puzzles Egyptologists; and thus far has only
been satisfactorily explained by the conquering-- and subsequent dominance
--of Egypt by an ancient people called the Hyksos; who were Semitic tribes
from Syria and Canaan. The Hyksos were of a different mentality than the
Egyptians and apparently weren't inclined to keep a meticulous record of
their own accomplishments as had their vanquished predecessors before
them.

Not only is there a dearth of documents from that period, but there aren't
even any monuments to testify of it. If perchance Joseph was in Egypt
during the Hyksos, that might explain why there exists not one shred of
archaeological evidence to corroborate the Bible in regards to its story of
Joseph in Egypt.

Joseph's success was, of course, in regards to his proficiency, and in no way
says anything about his personal prosperity because as a slave, he had no
income, owned no property, controlled no business ventures, nor maintained
some sort of investment portfolio.

How Potiphar found out that Yhvh was Joseph's god isn't said. But in
knowing, he quite naturally credited Yhvh with Joseph's proficiency because
people in those days were very superstitious. Even Potiphar's own name,
which in Egyptian is Pa-di-pa-ra, means "the gift of the god Ra".

● Gen 39:3-6a . .So Joseph naturally became quite a favorite with
him. Potiphar soon put Joseph in charge of his entire household and
entrusted him with all his business. From the day Joseph was put in
charge, Yhvh began to bless Potiphar for Joseph's sake.

. . . All his household affairs began to run smoothly, and his crops
and livestock flourished. So Potiphar gave Joseph complete
administrative responsibility over everything he owned. With Joseph
there, he didn't have a worry in the world, except to decide what he
wanted to eat!

This was all idyllic for Mr. Aristocrat; but unfortunately, there was a fly
poised to plop itself into the ointment.

● Gen 39:6b-7 . . Now Joseph was young, well built, and handsome.
After a while, his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph and said;
Sleep with me.

The apparent overture wasn't a request. Since Joseph was a slave, it wasn't
necessary for Potiphar's wife to seduce him. She only had to give him an
order, and he was expected to obey it.

It's not uncommon to find women who feel trapped in an unfulfilling
marriages. Henry David Thoreau once wrote that the mass of men lead lives
of quiet desperation. Well; some of that "mass of men" includes women.

Potiphar's wife (call her Anna for convenience) was an amorously active
woman married to the wrong man. No children are listed for her husband so
it's very possible Potiphar was a eunuch; a distinct possibility in ancient
palaces. He might have been an older man too, maybe a bit too old.

Anna probably didn't marry for love; but for security. That's understandable
since women of that day didn't have a lot of career options, nor a minority
status, nor retirement benefits, nor entitlements like Medicare and Social
Security. For women in Anna's day, marriage was often a matter of survival
rather than a matter of the heart.

She was obviously still lively and maybe would have enjoyed dinner out and
salsa dancing once or twice a week; while Potipher probably barely had
enough energy left to plop down and fall asleep in his La-Z-Boy recliner after
working 12-14 hours a day in the palace and just wanted to be left alone in
his man cave with a can of beer and CNN.

There are women who prefer older men; sometimes much older. But there
are other women, like Anna, who prefer the young ones; however,
sometimes life just doesn't give them any options.

So then, what's a desperate housewife to do when her husband is old and
boring, and here's this strapping, virile young slave guy around the house
with you all day long? Well . .you're either going to drink a lot, get witchy,
take pills, or make a move and see what happens. Unfortunately, Anna isn't
going to be a very good sport about it.
_

 

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Genesis 39:8-23


● Gen 39:8-18 . . But Joseph refused. Look; he told her; my master
trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has
more authority than I do! He has held back nothing from me except
you, because you are his wife. How could I ever do such a wicked
thing? It would be a great sin against God.

. . . She kept putting pressure on him day after day, but he refused
to sleep with her, and he avoided her as much as possible. One day,
however, no one else was around when he was doing his work inside
the house. She came and grabbed him by his shirt, demanding: Sleep
with me! Joseph tore himself away, but as he did, his shirt came off.
She was left holding it as he ran from the house.

. . .When she saw that she had his shirt and that he had fled, she
began screaming. Soon all the men around the place came running.
My husband has brought this Hebrew slave here to humiliate us; she
sobbed. He tried to rape me, but I screamed. When he heard my loud
cries, he ran and left his shirt behind with me.

. . . She kept the shirt with her, and when her husband came home
that night, she told him her story. That Hebrew slave you've had
around here tried to humiliate me; she said. I was saved only by my
screams. He ran out, leaving his shirt behind!

Joseph's situation parallels a case in Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird
where a promiscuous woman accuses an innocent man of rape in order to
cover up her own indiscretions.

Scorned women can be very cruel. When I was a youthful, good-looking guy,
the wife (whom I was careful to avoid) of a good friend accused me to her
husband of going off on her with abusive language in a tirade.

To defend myself and expose his wife for the liar that she was, would have
meant causing my friend deep humiliation; so I elected to keep silent and
take the pain. Our friendship was of course ruined, and we parted. A few
months later, I was told they divorced. Like that was any big surprise.

● Gen 39:19-20a . .When his master heard the story that his wife
told him, namely; "Thus and so your slave did to me" he was furious.
So Joseph’s master had him put in prison, where the king’s prisoners
were confined.

I've no doubt Potiphar didn't believe a word of his wife's story or otherwise
he would have put Joseph to death rather than in a cushy jail where political
prisoners were kept, but what was he to do? Stick up for a slave over his
wife? Not happening. So Joseph was sacrificed to keep peace in the home.

● Gen 39:20-23 . . But while Joseph was there in the prison, Yhvh
was with him; He showed him kindness and granted him favor in the
eyes of the prison warden. So the warden put Joseph in charge of all
those held in the prison, and he was made responsible for all that
was done there. The warden paid no attention to anything under
Joseph's care, because Yhvh was with Joseph and gave him success
in whatever he did.

A trustee's lot in prison is much more agreeable than regular inmates.
Joseph was very fortunate to have the Lord in his corner otherwise he might
have been neglected; but as a trustee, he could roam about the cell block
like as if he were one of the guards.

Joseph had quite an advantage. His management skills weren't due to a
natural aptitude, rather, they were due to providence; just as his grandpa
Abraham's wealth and success were due to providence.
_

 

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Genesis 40:1-4a


Joseph was 17 when he arrived in Egypt, and 30 when he became prime
minister. So 13 years of his young adulthood were wasted in servitude and
prison; and all that time without even so much as a date or a girlfriend.
More than a full decade of the best years of his life went by with no female
companionship whatsoever.

A man's libido peaks in the years between 18 and 24, then begins tapering
off as he gradually gets older. Since there is no record of Joseph's
association with a special girl back home in Palestine, I think it's safe to
conclude that he had never cuddled with a girl in his entire life till he got
married sometime in his thirties. So you can see that Joseph was not only
robbed of the best years of his life, but totally missed out on something
that's very important to the psychological well being of the average red
blooded guy.

As Joseph got older, and began to realize that life was passing him by, and
that his youth was ebbing away, he no doubt began to wonder if maybe his
current situation wasn't permanent; and as the days and years continued to
go by one after another, he must have become frightened, depressed, and
desperate as he saw no plausible way to remedy his predicament and get his
life back.

We used to joke among ourselves as professional welders that adverse
conditions in the workplace build character. (chuckle) Like as if any blue
collar skull needs "character" for anything. However, people destined for
greatness can benefit immensely from character-building experiences that
serve to temper their success; for example Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was
immensely privileged and harbored a horrid superiority complex. Polio really
humbled him, and in time, Roosevelt's handicap made him a much better
man and a much better leader.

I've seen people's leadership and responsibility handed to them on the silver
platter of privilege; resulting in their treating lower ranking employees with
thoughtless contempt. If those managers had only started out laboring in
construction, selling luggage, shackled in slavery, or convicted of crimes
they didn't commit; then maybe they would have developed a sensitivity
that would have made them, not just managers, but great managers.

Under normal circumstances, Joseph's alleged crime was punishable by
death. So then, since he wasn't executed, but instead put in a prison
normally reserved for political prisoners, his circumstances tend to support
the opinion that Potiphar didn't believe his wife's story at all.

● Gen 40:1a . . Some time later,

Exactly how long Joseph had been in prison prior to this next section is
uncertain. However, his age would have been near 28 since it will be just
two years afterwards that he's released (Gen 41:1).

● Gen 40:1b-4a . . the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt
gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. Pharaoh was angry with
his two courtiers, the chief cupbearer and the chief baker, and put
them in custody, in the house of the chief steward, in the same
prison house where Joseph was confined. The chief steward
assigned Joseph to them, and he attended them.

The "chief steward" was Mr. Potiphar (Gen 39:1).

Exactly what these two muckity-mucks did to warrant being placed under
arrest isn't said, but since both men's functions were directly related to
Pharaoh's nourishment; it's reasonable to assume their offenses most likely
had something to do with the King's table. Perhaps the beverages, as well as
the food, just happened to be tainted both at the same time, thus
suggesting a conspiracy to poison their master. Since they weren't
summarily executed, it's apparent that they're just suspects at this point,
and being held without bail until Potiphar's secret service completed an
investigation into the matter. It's entirely possible that some of the lower
ranking members of the kitchen staff are being held too, though not in the
same place.

Cupbearers weren't just flunky taste testers, but were savvy advisors: thus,
in a position of great influence. They were also saddled with the
responsibility of supervising the King's vineyards in order to ensure their
potentate received only the very best beverages deserving of the rank. So
cupbearers were very competent men who knew a thing or two about not
only diplomacy, but also the wine business. Egyptian documents testify to
their wealth and power (cf. Neh 2:1).

Although the baker wasn't up as high as a cupbearer, his duties were still
critical. He didn't just make cookies and coffee cake, and/or supervise the
kitchen staff, but did the shopping too. He sniffed all the meats, fowls, and
fishes, and nibbled all the vegetables before they were ever brought inside
the castle. Without the benefit of refrigeration, his responsibility was very
great since his master could easily become gravely ill, and quite possibly die,
from eating spoiled foods.

To be placed at the service of these two high ranking courtiers was really an
honor, even though they were just as much locked up as Joseph. However,
he was a slave and they were courtiers; so there was a big difference in rank
even behind bars. But the two men had it pretty cushy. They weren't treated
like common convicts; no, they each had a very competent, fully
experienced butler with impeccable references at their service— Mr. Joseph
ben Jacob.
_

 

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Genesis 40:4b-17


● Gen 40:4b-8a . . After they had been in custody for some time,
each of the two men-- the cupbearer and the baker of the king of
Egypt, who were being held in prison --had a dream the same night,
and each dream had a meaning of its own.

. . .When Joseph came to them the next morning, he saw that they
were dejected. So he asked Pharaoh's officials who were in custody
with him in his master's house: Why are your faces so sad today? We
both had dreams; they answered, but there is no one to interpret
them. Then Joseph said to them: Do not interpretations belong to
God?

Actually, in the literal, Joseph said: Aren't interpretations with the gods?
Because the word for "God" isn't Yhvh, rather, it's 'elohiym (el-o-heem')
which isn't one of the creator's proper names, but a generic plural noun for
all gods, both the true and the false.

● Gen 40:8b . . Please tell me.

There's no record up to this point of Joseph ever interpreting a dream, not
even his own. He dreamed in the past (e.g. Gen 37:5-7, Gen 37:9) but at
the time he didn't know what his dreams meant; and in this particular
instance, I seriously doubt he believed himself able to interpret a one. I
think he was just curious. Jail is boring; what else was there to talk about?
So what's going to happen next was probably just as big a surprise to him as
it was to them.

Incidentally, there's no record of God ever speaking one-on-one with Joseph.
He believed God was providentially active in his life, but was given no
apparitions of any kind whatsoever to corroborate his confidence other than
the fulfillment of his interpretations of people's dreams; which aren't eo ipso
evidence of God at work. (e.g. Acts 16:16)

People's dreams normally don't stick in their memories for very long; but
these two men's dreams seemed (to them anyway) to be of a mysteriously
symbolic significance, and so disturbing that they can't get the details out of
their minds.

In psychoanalysis, dreams are of interest because they're often expressions
of subconscious anxieties and inner conflicts rather than portents and/or
omens.

Dreams are both common and normal, and surely no one should try to
derive a message from God out of them. But these men's dreams defied
psychoanalysis because they were so weird and unnatural.

Had they been at liberty, they no doubt would have contacted one of
Pharaoh's astrologers, or an occultist or a diviner, or a highly intuitive wiz
kid to tell them the meanings. But for now they're stuck with Joseph-- a nice
enough young fellow; but a total unknown in their world regarding matters
of paranormal precognition.

● Gen 40:9-13 . .Then the chief cupbearer told his dream to Joseph.
He said to him: In my dream, there was a vine in front of me. On the
vine were three branches. It had barely budded, when out came its
blossoms and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh's cup was in
my hand, and I took the grapes, pressed them into Pharaoh's cup,
and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand.

. . . Joseph said to him: This is its interpretation: The three branches
are three days. In three days Pharaoh will pardon you and restore
you to your post; you will place Pharaoh's cup in his hand, as was
your custom formerly when you were his cupbearer.

From whence Joseph got his interpretation isn't stated. Genesis doesn't say
he heard a voice, nor does it clearly say that God gave Joseph the
interpretation. For all Joseph knew, (and them too) he was just taking a wild
guess. It probably came right out of his head sort of like intuition or an
imaginative locution.

● Gen 40:14 . . But remember me when all is well with you again,
and do me the kindness of mentioning me to Pharaoh, so as to free
me from this place.

Don't worry, he won't; nor did he promise to.

● Gen 40:15 . . For in truth, I was kidnapped from the land of the
Hebrews; nor have I done anything here that they should have put
me in the dungeon.

Joseph was telling the truth, but not the whole truth. He was in prison for
the crime of rape. Whether he actually did it or not is immaterial. And he
wasn't realistic: Joseph couldn't reasonably expect a courtier to take the
word of a criminal; and a slave at that.

● Gen 40:16a . .When the chief baker saw how favorably he had
interpreted,

Apparently, for reasons unstated, the baker was somewhat reluctant to
share his dream with Joseph at first, but relented when the first dream had a
happy ending.

● Gen 40:16b-17 . . he said to Joseph: In my dream, similarly, there
were three openwork baskets on my head. In the uppermost basket
were all kinds of food for Pharaoh that a baker prepares; and the
birds were eating it out of the basket above my head.

Birds are usually an ill omen in Scripture; sort of like the connotation borne
by serpents. So, now it comes out why the baker was reluctant to tell his
dream. If Pharaoh ever suspected that his food was being picked over by
birds, he would be very disappointed in the quality of the care that a
potentate had a right to expect from his own personal team of cooks. Food
left uncovered, exposed and out in the open, is certainly not food fit for a
king.

The baker's dream may have been his subconscious at work reminiscing the.
error of his ways. Up till now, the baker had no doubt insisted upon his
innocence; which was nothing less than feigned since he knew very well with
whom the real fault lay between himself and the cupbearer.

Apparently Pharaoh had actually gotten some sort of food poisoning, and the
investigation underway by Potiphar sought to find the source; and likely to
determine if it was in any way evidence of a conspiracy to assassinate
Pharaoh.
_

 

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Genesis 40:18-23


● Gen 40:18-19 . . Joseph answered: This is its interpretation: The
three baskets are three days. In three days Pharaoh will lift off your
head and gibbet you upon a pole; and the birds will pick off your
flesh.

It's lucky for the baker that he would be already dead before the gibbeting
because a common method of gibbeting in those days was impaling; which
was a grizzly spectacle. Wooden poles, about three to four inches in
diameter were sharpened to a pencil point and forcibly inserted into the
abdomen, up into the rib cage to catch on the spine in back of the throat;
and the pole was then set upright to suspend the victim above the ground
like human shish kabob.

I'm looking here at an impaling on an Assyrian stone relief-- in the
July/August 2006 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review --commissioned by
Sennacherib for his palace at Ninevah to celebrate the capture of Lachish.
The victims are three Israelites who still have their heads; strongly
suggesting that they were alive when the poles were run into their bellies
and up into their upper torsos.

Nobody could possibly survive an injury like that for more than a few
seconds. The pole would not only penetrate the stomach, but also the liver,
diaphragm, lungs, some large blood vessels, and the bronchial tubes;
resulting in almost instant death-- quite excruciating, and very bloody.

Public impaling was no doubt a very effective deterrent to insurrection; and
nobody in those days seemed overly concerned about executing criminals in
a "humane" manner. Cruel and unusual punishments were the norm; and
nobody dared stage an "Occupy Wall Street" protest about them lest their
days end in like fashion.

● Gen 40:20a . . Pharaoh's birthday came three days later, and he
gave a banquet for all his officials and household staff.

What really is the purpose of a birthday party anyway if not to celebrate the
continuance of your own existence?

For guys in Pharaoh's position (e.g. Kim Jong Un of N. Korea, Robert Mugabe
of Zimbabwe, and Thein Sein of Myanmar) life is good: better than what you
could ever hope to ask for; and of course that's cause for celebration. But for
the majority of their subjects, life wasn't all that good, and nothing to
celebrate. No doubt relatively few Egyptians in that day derived a significant
amount of pleasure from their own existence.

People normally count Job as one of the most righteous men who ever lived,
yet when he lost his health and wealth, Job cursed the day of his birth and
wished he was never born. (Job 3:1-26)

● Gen 40:20b-23 . . He sent for his chief cup-bearer and chief baker,
and they were brought to him from the prison. He then restored the
chief cup-bearer to his former position, but he sentenced the chief
baker to be impaled on a pole, just as Joseph had predicted.
Pharaoh's cup-bearer, however, promptly forgot all about Joseph,
never giving him another thought.

One might wonder how it was possible for the cup-bearer to not be
thoroughly amazed enough at the fulfillment of Joseph's predictions to begin
exclaiming his prison experience with such enthusiasm as to totally rivet the
attention of every single one of Pharaoh's courtiers and instantly secure
Joseph's freedom.

But if we take into account the hand of God in the glove of His people's
history, then it seems reasonable to conclude that God didn't want Joseph in
the limelight just yet; so he put a mental block in the cup man's head to
silence him for the time being.

No doubt when Joseph was apprised of recent developments by his friend
Potiphar, he was deeply disappointed, and probably a bit consternated too.
Joseph probably assumed-- and with good reason --that those successful
predictions were his ticket to freedom at last.

But even if Pharaoh had taken note of Joseph at this particular point in the
narrative, he was still Potiphar's property, and would have to remain in
custody because of his "affair" with Potiphar's wife. Dreams or no dreams,
does anyone seriously believe that Pharaoh would have taken the word of a
slave over one of his own trusted courtiers?

So even had the cup-bearer brought Joseph's ability to Pharaoh's attention,
it probably wouldn't have succeeded in gaining him the degree of freedom
he really wanted. In point of fact, it may have even resulted in his death
because Pharaoh would certainly want to know why Joseph hadn't been
summarily executed on the spot for rape. No; bringing Joseph to Pharaoh's
attention at this point would have caused problems for both the slave and
his master.
_

 

[Dino246]

I have asked you repeatedly for a response in your "Strong Women..." thread regarding your interpretation of Genesis 3:16. You have not responded.

I'm now asking you here. Please respond.

 

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Genesis 41:1-8


● Gen 41:1a . .Two years later

Poor Joseph. He's now at the very threshold of his fourth decade of life and
still hasn't slept with a girl, nor does he even really had a life of his own. He
was under his dad's thumb for seventeen years as a kid, a slave in a foreign
country for thirteen; and thus far nothing to show for it.

● Gen 41:1b-7a . . Pharaoh had a dream, and behold, he was
standing by the Nile. And lo, from the Nile there came up seven
heifers, sleek and fat; and they grazed in the marsh grass. Then
behold, seven other heifers came up after them from the Nile,
ragged and bony, and they stood by the other heifers on the bank of
the Nile. And the ragged and bony heifers ate the seven sleek and fat
ones. Then Pharaoh awoke.

. . . And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven
ears of grain came up on a single stalk, plump and good. Then
behold, seven ears, shriveled and dehydrated by the east wind,
sprouted up after them. And the shriveled ears devoured the seven
plump and full ears.

Pharaoh's dreams are all the more disturbing because they contain incidents
that are contrary to nature. Cows, as a rule, aren't carnivorous; and ears of
grain derive their nourishment from the stems of their own parent plant, not
dining upon each other.

The scenes in both dreams are extremely violent with the cows and the ears
not just sitting down to dinner, but literally attacking their neighbors with
desperate savagery, like ravenous caribes: eating everything-- flesh, hide,
hooves, bones, grains, chaff, and all --raw and uncooked.

● Gen 41:7b . .Then Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream.

The first dream was disturbing enough to wake Pharaoh from his sleep. But
the second was so vivid and so real that when he awoke, he was actually
surprised it was just a dream. And with that last dream, I'd not be surprised
he was very relieved to discover it wasn't a reality.

● Gen 41:8a . .The next morning, as he thought about it, Pharaoh
became agitated as to what the dreams might mean. So he called for
all the magicians and wise men of Egypt and told them about his
dreams,

Magicians in those days were not the same as the sleight-of-hand
entertainers of our own day. Those occultists were scary; they used dark
arts that actually worked, and they were really and truly in touch with
paranormal powers. The magicians who opposed Moses (Ex 7:11) were able
to duplicate several of God's miracles; so ancient magicians were
legitimately powerful sorcerers and to be seriously reckoned with.

I think it was mentioned previously that "wise men" were highly educated
men of extraordinary intelligence; sort of like ancient college professors and
wiz kids. Although Moses himself isn't stated to have been a wise man; he is
stated to have been educated in all that Egypt had to offer. (Acts 7:22)

Incidentally, although Genesis never mentions God directly in Joseph's life,
Stephen confirms that it was God's providence that made the young man so
successful, and protected him from mortal harm. (Acts 7:9-10)

● Gen 41:8b . . but not one of them could suggest what they meant.

No doubt the magicians and wise men would normally have guessed the
meaning of Pharaoh's dreams in an instant via their connections with the
dark world. But this time the dark world wasn't responsible for those two
dreams, and apparently God held the spirits in check and prevented them
from making any contact whatsoever with Pharaoh's counselors.

That had to be a very tense moment for the think tank. Potentates have
been known to execute brain trusts for failure to produce. (Dan 2:1-12)

One might ask how the dark beings can interpret dreams to foretell future
events. Well . . there's a lot of activity going on in the unseen world; and
quite a bit of it is being done by good angels. All that the dark angels have
to do is spy on the good angels and they can pretty much figure out what's
coming up.

Whenever you see men digging a huge, deep, square hole in a city lot, then
logic and experience tells you that a new building is going up. Well . . the
dark world has had thousands of years of experience; so factor that in and
it's not too difficult to understand how they come to know so much about the
future. And then too, you have to expect that the dark world is digging their
own holes at the same time; and they'd quite naturally be experts on the
outcomes of those.
_

 

[Dino246]

Ignoring me here too, I see. So be it.

 

[Webers.Home]

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Genesis 41:9-14


● Gen 41:9-13 . .Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh: Today I
am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with his
servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of
the captain of the guard. Each of us had a dream the same night, and
each dream had a meaning of its own.

. . . Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain
of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for
us, giving each man the interpretation of his dream. And things
turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to
my position, and the other man was hanged.

Why wait till now to talk about Josephs' abilities? Well . . first off, God more
than likely put a mental block in the cupbearers head to forget all about
Joseph; and that mental block could have been something as simple as a
very reasonable decision on the cupbearer's part. Pharaoh already had a
corps of magicians and wise men who were actually very proficient at their
jobs. What need was there to suggest taking on another one; and a Hebrew
slave at that?

No doubt during the performance of his duties over time, the cupbearer had
seen lots of dreams correctly interpreted, so Joseph's dog and pony show
was nothing new to him. The kind of mental block where people talk
themselves out of something, is quite normal and very common. But now,
circumstances are going to twinge the cupbearer's conscience, not just about
Josephs' ability, but the fact that Joseph had practically begged the man to
talk to Pharaoh and get him released as a return for the favor.

● Gen 41:14a . . So Pharaoh sent for Joseph,

Normally, Egyptians didn't associate with Hebrews (cf. Gen 43:32) and that
cultural barrier no doubt factored in to the cupbearer's mental block. But
Pharaoh was at his wit's end, and was favorably disposed to swallow his
pride for a matter that, to him, seemed of the utmost importance to not only
himself, but also to the welfare of his whole country.

● Gen 41:14b . . and he was quickly brought from the dungeon.

All this was done so that Joseph could appear in court that very day, not
some other time. Pharaoh was anxious.

● Gen 41:14c . .When he had shaved and changed his clothes,

Shaving for an Egyptian meant not only trimming and sculpting their beards
(by now, Joseph must have looked like Rumpelstiltskin) but also cutting their
hair; actually shaving their scalps bald like Vin Diesel. According to
Herodotus, the Egyptians had extreme care for cleanliness and would let
their hair and beards grow out only during periods of mourning.

● Gen 41:14d . . he came before Pharaoh.

Jiminy! Here's this no-account sheep rancher from the outback getting the
full-on attention of one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful,
monarchs in the world of that day!

You know, there comes a day-- and that day may never come for some
people --when you get that big break. It's at that moment when you better
have your ducks in a row and your peas in their pods because opportunity
knocks only for those who are prepared for it. For all others, it's bye-bye;
and don't call us; we'll call you-- or worse. If Joseph blows his big moment,
he could very well end up not just sent back to prison for life; but gibbeted
just like the baker. This is a tense moment, and somebody's life is about to
change.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

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Genesis 41:15-24


● Gen 41:15 . . I had a dream last night; Pharaoh told him; and none
of these men can tell me what it means. But I have heard that you
can interpret dreams, and that is why I have summoned you.

Potiphar of course would have been responsible for delivering Joseph, and
probably informed him of the purpose. But just to set his mind at ease, I'm
assuming Pharaoh himself personally informs Joseph of the reason why he's
there because when prisoners like Joseph were summoned to a Pharaoh, it
was more than likely for trial.

● Gen 41:16 . . It is beyond my power to do this; Joseph replied. But
God will tell you what it means and will set you at ease.

A verse like that is ambiguous since the Hebrew word translated "God" in
that verse is plural so that verse could just as accurately be read: "But the
gods will tell you what it means . . ." However, Pharaoh would have no
problem with the god being Yhvh because his land was literally infested with
gods and were a common part of everyday Egyptian life.

Although Mr. Pharaoh is probably not going to like what he hears, at least
he'll have the peace of mind of knowing what to expect. How many of us
really want our doctors to lie to us? No, we want the truth; even if it's
terminal cancer.

● Gen 41:17a . . So Pharaoh told him the dream.

Pharaoh is really grasping at straws here since Joseph had no credentials nor
could produce any references aside from the cup-bearer's to recommend
him and vouch for his skills; and he had only one successful interpretation to
his credit thus far; so you can see just how desperate Pharaoh really is.

● Gen 41:17b . . I was standing on the bank of the Nile River; he
said.

The Nile River's role in the dream is highly significant since it was a major
factor in Egypt's economy; especially its agriculture. Every year the Nile
overflowed it banks; leaving behind a deposit of silt; which kept the land's
flood plain replenished with a nice new layer of fresh topsoil. Take away the
Nile's flooding, and eventually the soils would become depleted in an era
when hardly anybody knew anything about crop rotation.

Not only that, but winds coming in from the eastern deserts would not only
dry the soils out and blow them away, but in the process leave behind sands
that would eventually render the land unproductive like during America's
depression era when its croplands turned into dust bowls.

Lower the Nile's water level significantly, and it would make irrigation very
difficult in a time without pumps powered by internal combustion engines or
electric motors.

Joseph is going to predict a famine; and in those days, as even now, famines
were caused by insufficient rainfall. Reduced rainfall results in less natural
irrigation and less runoff, so that Egypt's worst fears will be realized: crops
will dry up, the Nile won't overflow its banks, and its levels will shrink.

Back in chapter 2, Genesis says that a flow welled up from the ground to
water the whole surface of the earth, and a river watered the garden of
Eden. River systems irrigate the subsoil and replenish aquifers. Lower a river
system too much, and see what happens.

I can recall an instance, I think it was somewhere in Australia, where the
natural aquifer below a farmer's land went down because a marsh nearby
was drained for commercial purposes. The aquifer was like a dam. When it
went down, salt water moved in to take its place and the stuff percolated up
and flooded the man's property. All his trees died and the land became good
for nothing. Tamper with nature too much; and nature will tamper with you.

● Gen 41:18a . . when out of the river

That is so perfect because the Nile was Egypt's source of life; so that
whatever happened to the Nile, or whatever the Nile produced, effected
Egyptian life in a big way.

During Moses' confrontation with Pharaoh in the book of Exodus, the Nile
was turned into blood (Ex 7:17-25), and subsequently Egypt's streams,
rivers, ponds, and their pools. Next, God made the Nile produce myriads of
frogs (Ex 8:1-6), so that the frogs were so thick, they became a serious
infestation. So then, the Nile, which ordinarily was a blessing, became a
superfund site.

● Gen 41:18b-24a . . there came up seven heifers, sleek and fat; and
they grazed in the marsh grass. After them, seven other heifers
came up-- ragged and bony, I had never seen such ugly cows in all
the land of Egypt. The hideous heifers ate up the seven fat heifers
that came up first. But even after they ate them, no one could tell
that they had done so; they looked just as hideous as before. Then I
woke up.

. . . In my dreams I also saw seven heads of grain, full and good,
growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads sprouted--
withered and thin and dehydrated by the east wind. The thin heads
of grain swallowed up the seven good heads.

This second dream sounds like a redux of The Little Shop Of Horrors.

● Gen 41:24b . . I told this to the magicians, but none could explain it
to me.

Since Pharaoh's brain trust couldn't figure out the dreams, then they
certainly wouldn't be able to devise effective contingency plans to deal with
their meanings. It's always nice to know the future so you can get ready for
it; and certainly nobody likes to be kept in the dark.
_

 

[Webers.Home]

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Genesis 41:25-32


● Gen 41:25a . .Then Joseph said to Pharaoh:

Note Joseph's quick response time. He didn't even go off and pray about it
and wait for an answer from God-- no: right to it. Since Genesis doesn't say
that God spoke inside Joseph's head, or by an audible dictation that only his
own ears could hear; then I have to assume he figured out the meanings of
those dreams by intuition.

That's not an unreasonable assumption. Even in the secular world, there are
people who have the Midas touch; good investments just seem to come
second nature to them. And how about "gifted" musicians, painters, and
sculptors? I once watched spell bound as a young man drew pencil drawings
of super heroes. He made no erasures, and the heroes came out in perfect
physical proportion; in any posture he chose for them; and viewed from any
angle.

I asked him how he did it. He said he didn't know; they just came out. Well;
Joseph's gift wasn't music, or charcoal, or pencil, or complex mathematics,
or paints, or sculpture, or architecture, or engineering. His gift was dreams;
and he was really good at it too. But if you were to ask him how he did it;
he'd not answer "I don't know; they just come out". Instead; he would no
doubt answer it was a gift from the gods; especially one god in particular.

● Gen 41:25b-32 . . Both dreams mean the same thing. God was
telling you what he is about to do. The seven fat cows and the seven
plump heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. The
seven thin, ugly cows and the seven withered heads of grain
represent seven years of famine. This will happen just as I have
described it, for God has shown you what he is about to do.

. . .The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity
throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven
years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten and
wiped out. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so
terrible that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As
for having the dream twice, it means that the matter has been
decreed by God and that he will make these events happen soon.

The "twice" method was first seen in Gen 37:5-11. Peter's vision (Acts 10:9
17) was the same one three times over, while Joseph's and Pharaoh's two
dreams apiece were redundant, indicating that God meant business and
wasn't going to change His mind regarding this matter. You know though,
with some people, no matter how many times, or in how many ways, you try
to tell them something, they refuse to listen; like when a girl keeps saying
NO to a boy's advances and he just keeps coming on anyway because for
some strange reason the boy thinks she doesn't mean it; and he's somehow
convinced that her protests aren't serious.

Everybody accepted Joseph's interpretation without question-- Pharaoh and
all the magicians and wise men (Gen 41:37) --and that is pretty amazing in
itself.

Suppose you were President Obama in San Diego for a one-night campaign
fund raiser and a Secret Service agent assigned to protect the President said
he heard that the Border Patrol had an illegal immigrant from Sinaloa in
custody for rape down in San Ysidro who says he knows exactly how to
balance the Federal budget, stop processed food from poisoning Americans,
eradicate genetically engineered crops, solve all your problems with Iran and
North Korea, and get America out of Afghanistan. Would you be interested? I
don't think so; you'd have to be pretty desperate.

I believe that while Pharaoh and his corps of geniuses were listening to
Joseph's interpretation, God was doing a number on their minds so that they
would accept what Joseph was telling them; and by the time he finished,
they were amazed that they hadn't thought of the interpretation themselves
because it seemed not only quite simple, and obviously true; but also the
only possible explanation.

God wasn't bringing all these things to pass for the purpose of embarrassing
or of dethroning the king of Egypt (not this one anyway). As a matter of
fact, Pharaoh's control over the country would be strengthened by these
events. The underlying purpose of it all had to do rather with God's plans
and purposes for the people of Israel. Therefore, not only did God give
Pharaoh the dreams, and give Joseph the true interpretation of the dreams,
but also provided an effective action plan for Egypt's survival.

People often complain that they can't respect a hell-fire God because He only
uses the threat of eternal suffering as coercion to get people in line. But the
Bible's talk of hell and eternal suffering isn't meant to intimidate people. No,
it's just like Pharaoh's dreams: talk of hell and eternal suffering is meant as
an early warning of things to come-- inevitable things.

A Danger Foreseen;
Is Half-Avoided.
(Cheyenne Proverb)
_

 

[Webers.Home]

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Genesis 41:33-36


● Gen 41:33-36 . . Now therefore I suggest Pharaoh look out a man
discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let Pharaoh
do this, and let him appoint officers over the land, and take up the
fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years.

. . . And have them gather all the food of those good years that
come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh, and let them
keep food in the cities. And that food shall be for store to the land
against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of
Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.

A grain czar "wise and discreet" was necessary so that the man appointed
wouldn't be tempted to profit from his own country's misfortune like so
many of Wall Street's psychopathic barracudas are wont to do. Thank God
Pharaoh had the cool to realize that what his country faced was not just long
lines at the gas pumps, but nothing less than a full blown national
emergency.

On the other hand, a central bureaucracy could easily lead to despotism, red
tape, favoritism, cronyism, nepotism, corruption, payoffs, bribes, artificial
shortages, black marketing, and political manipulation; especially if all the
available food supplies were in the hands of self-serving corporations like
ENRON, Monsanto, Bechtel, and Nestlé.

The success of Joseph's plan relied heavily upon the integrity of its
administrator. The right man would be a savior; the wrong man could
become a tyrant; and if the top man was a crook, everybody under him
could be expected to be crooked too, and instead of a program intended to
help the poor, it would only serve as a golden opportunity to line the pockets
of officials like Indian Agents of the old west who embezzled Native
Americans out of thousands of dollars worth of food, tools, livestock,
implements, shelter, and clothing.

It's been shown by historians that tithing was practiced in ancient Egypt and
other nations, as a form of taxes or tribute to the king; but a 20 percent levy
would be very unusual, and might well be resisted, especially if enacted by
an unpopular sovereign. Thus, the chief administrator of Joseph's plan would
have to be skilled in diplomacy and persuasion: a veritable expert on how to
win friends and influence people.

Actually, the 20 percent wasn't a hardship. Egypt's agricultural production
was so good that no doubt at least 20 percent went to waste anyway even
after all the people were satisfied and Egypt's export commitments were
fulfilled. (Here in the USA, we waste upwards of 40% of our annual
purchases of food)

Some citizens might gripe at first, but it's hard to feel deprived when things
are going good. The seven years of plenty would be a time of bumper crops
and overabundance; and heck, you could give the children's food to the dogs
and not hurt them. The only real malcontents in Egypt would be people who
are never happy about anything anyway.

Americans themselves have so much left over that there's enough perfectly
good food thrown out in the dumpsters behind super markets and fast food
chains like Wendy's, Carl's Jr, Subway, McDonalds. Arby's, Taco Bell,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Burger King to easily feed every homeless
person in the USA three meals a day. And that's not even counting all the
other restaurants and food courts that are tossing out literally tons of edible
garbage every hour of the business day.

Although someone might get the wrong impression, there was really no
indication in Joseph's presentation that he was throwing his hat in the ring.
Such a thought could hardly have crossed his sheep-herder's mind. The last
thing Joseph wanted was a long-term commitment to Federal employment in
a foreign country when the only thing on his mind was getting back home to
his dad in Hebron.

Joseph was not only an alien, but a slave; and a jailbird accused of rape. He
had never held a political office of any kind whatsoever. His only experience
in business management was the oversight of Potiphar's household affairs;
nor had he any experience in either running or participating in a bureaucracy
of the magnitude of which he spoke.

But there are people like Joseph who have a God-given aptitude in certain
areas. The don't need training and they don't need experience. They're like
some combat platoon sergeants who, when you throw them into the mouths
of canons, don't panic and don't get flustered. They perform like they've
been doing that sort of thing all their lives.

Joseph probably wasn't aware that he had a God-given knack for running a
big show like a national food bank. But God was, and that's exactly why He's
going to persuade those big shots to put His own man in charge because the
very survival of the people of Israel heavily depended upon an effective
contingency to meet those inevitable seven years of famine; and even after
the famine ended, there would still yet be a time of recovery before Egypt
got back up to speed.
_