Jacob settled in the
land where his father had lived as an alien, the land of Canaan. 2 This
is the story of the family of Jacob.
Joseph, being seventeen years old, was shepherding the flock
with his brothers; he was a helper to the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his
father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. 3
Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his children, because he
was the son of his old age; and he had made him a long robe with sleeves. 4
But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his
brothers, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably to him.
12 Now his brothers went to pasture their
father’s flock near Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not
your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.”
He answered, “Here I am.” 14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it
is well with your brothers and with the flock; and bring word back to me.” So
he sent him from the valley of Hebron.
He came to Shechem, 15 and a man found him
wandering in the fields; the man asked him, “What are you seeking?” 16 “I
am seeking my brothers,” he said; “tell me, please, where they are pasturing
the flock.” 17 The man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them
say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers, and found them
at Dothan. 18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near
to them, they conspired to kill him. 19 They said to one another,
“Here comes this dreamer. 20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him
into one of the pits; then we shall say that a wild animal has devoured him,
and we shall see what will become of his dreams.” 21 But when Reuben
heard it, he delivered him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his
life.” 22 Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this
pit here in the wilderness, but lay no hand on him”—that he might rescue him
out of their hand and restore him to his father. 23 So when Joseph
came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe, the long robe with sleeves
that he wore; 24 and they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit
was empty; there was no water in it.
25 Then they sat down to eat; and looking up they
saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels carrying
gum, balm, and resin, on their way to carry it down to Egypt. 26 Then
Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is it if we kill our brother and
conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and
not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his
brothers agreed. 28 When some Midianite traders passed by, they drew
Joseph up, lifting him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for
twenty pieces of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Genesis 37:1-4,
12-28 is the beginning of the story of Joseph. The story involves family
dysfunction, violence, and the activity of God in and through all things. It provides
a classic example of how God works in all things for those who love God (Romans
8:38). Since God is active and present in all things, even when we are not
aware of it, we can affirm the providential care of God for the people of God. We
can think of the completed story of Joseph in Genesis 37-50 as an ancient
novella, a short novel that reflects the values of the wisdom tradition in
Israel. The final canonical text seems to connect some wisdom themes newly
emerging during the reign of Solomon. Joseph, at his best, is the ideal youth
of the wisdom school. However, according to some scholars, these verses also
show signs of the history of development of the early traditions of Israel that
biblical scholars have named the documentary hypothesis. The idea is that
behind our canonical text we find various traditions that have come together. It
is a finely crafted and engaging piece of literature that stands out within the
literature of the Old Testament. The text as we have it weaves the various
scenes into a whole. We have a story rather than a compilation of individual
sagas, as we found with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It contains identifiable
literary dramatic elements, such as foreshadowing, word plays, irony, suspense,
and vivid characterizations. It has a riches to rags to riches life story that
has inspired many readers. It is a story with all the requisite dramatic parts:
envy, conspiracy, conflict, sibling rivalry, deception, lust, despair,
recovery, justice, reconciliation and more. It concludes the story of the
Patriarchal founders and forms a bridge to the story of the hardship and
struggle for the liberation of Israel that we will find in the rest of the
Torah.
As an aside, we see the polemical nature of the Qur’an (Muhammad,
570-632) when it discusses Joseph in Surah 12. There is little difference between
the story in the Bible and the story in the Qur’an. However, the application
becomes a warning for the opponents of Muhammad. They oppose Muhammad, just as
the brothers of Joseph opposed him. The opponents of Muhammad will bow before
him. In particular, this would mean Jews and Christians.
As the documentary
hypothesis applies to this passage, verses 1-2 are from the Priestly tradition.
They have the character of an insertion. Typical of this tradition, we find
references to the settlement of a patriarch, Jacob, in the land of Canaan as an
alien. We see the memory of this alien status in Deuteronomy 26:5-10 and
Leviticus 19:34. A resident alien or sojourner enjoyed protections of Torah,
equal status in the worship life of Israel, and fair labor treatment. Exodus
22:21-24 included them with widows and orphans as having protective status.
This tradition also has an interest in family lineage. In this case, it
identifies Joseph as 17 years old. He was a shepherd with his brothers. He
helped the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, two of the wives of Jacob. It also
informs us that Joseph gave a bad report about his brothers to Jacob. Thus, we
see the tensions within this family that will reflect later rivalry among the
tribes.
Then, in verses 3-4, we find the beginning of the J or Yahwist
tradition about Joseph. It refers to Jacob with his new name, “Israel.” Israel
favored Joseph, and the first exhibit is the long robe or tunic he received
from his father. Sometimes, parents are the source of dysfunction in a family,
and we see that here in the case of Israel. His favoritism toward Joseph is
obvious enough that the half-brothers of Joseph cannot carry a civil
conversation with him. The story in Genesis has seen favoritism and its
disastrous consequences in Chapter 4 (Cain and Abel), 21 (Isaac and Ishmael),
and 27 (Jacob and Esau). Verses 5-11 relate the dream of Joseph that his
brothers will bow down to him. He tells the brothers about the dream. Joseph
becomes the source of some of the dysfunction within this family. The brothers
understandably respond with jealousy. Israel “kept the matter in mind.” It may
well be that Joseph at this young age succumbs to the human illusion of wanting
to be master of all that one surveys. Our tendency is to want to control self
and all things. Yet, the more one seeks such power over others, the more one
finds oneself compelled and controlled by darker forces that will lead to
self-destruction, such as people like Nero, Napoleon, Hitler, and Mussolini
discovered.[1]
Yet, as we progress in this story, we learn that the dream is from God. It has
a prophetic character in its literal fulfillment at the end of the story of
Joseph. It will contribute to the tension with his brothers. The dream is
troublesome and demanding. He will go through slavery and imprisonment before
it becomes a reality. In any case, we see the tension mount in verses 12-19,
where Israel sends Joseph to see how things are going with his brothers. He
thought they were in Shechem, but a man told him they went to Dothan. When they
see him coming, they start their plan to kill the “dreamer,” Joseph.
In verses
20-24, we have the beginning of the Joseph story in the E or Elohist tradition.
The plot to kill Joseph will continue. Since Joseph had dreams, the brothers
wanted to kill him and claim that an animal had killed him. Reuben objected,
wanting to throw him into a pit and then rescue him later.
Then, returning to
the J tradition in verses 25-27, the brothers see Ishmaelites from Gilead in a
caravan on their way to trade in Egypt. Of course, the descendants of Ishmael are
also descendants of Abraham. Their arrival shows the providential care of the
Lord over this family. The preservation of the young Joseph, in spite of the
plan to kill him, will lead to the preservation of this family through a
famine. Judah will stress that they can now gather some money rather than kill
him. At least this sale will mean they do not kill their brother. The brothers
agree.
Then, in verse 28a from the E tradition, we now learn that Midianite
traders were Ishmaelites who bought Joseph for 20 pieces of silver. For
Christians, this purchase will remind them of the thirty pieces of silver Judas
received to betray Jesus in Matthew 28:15.
Then, in verse 28b from the J
tradition, the Ishmaelites from Gilead took Joseph to Egypt.
This part of the
story leaves us hanging. What will happen to this family? We want to keep
travelling with them.
No comments:
Post a Comment