[And He Walks With Me] Genesis 37

2        The sons of Bilhah were Dan (30:6) and Naphtali (30:7). The sons of Zilpah were Gad (30:10) and Asher (30:12-13)

Joseph was the first son of Jacob’s wife Rachel (30:22-24). His account began innocently enough when the teenaged Joseph tended sheep with his brothers. It was typical for a boy who had reached the age of adulthood (i.e., 13) to work in his father’s trade, and since Jacob was a shepherd, Joseph and his brothers were, too.

Unfortunately, Joseph’s account took a bad turn when he brought a bad report about them to their father. No doubt, there was already some tension over the fact that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and even more than Bilhah and Zilpah. Because these women were slaves, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah were considered as little more than slaves. See note on 25:6.  No doubt, this caused a bit of resentment out of the gate, but now, this bad report caused them to get into trouble and raised their ire even further.

3-4        When Jacob made a long-sleeved robe for Joseph but gave nothing to any of his other sons, jealousy pushed his other sons to the boiling point. They hated him and could not bring themselves to speak peaceably to him.

8-11        As if there was not already enough conflict, Joseph shared his dreams with his brothers. The first dream did not require a rocket scientist to interpret: Joseph’s sheaf stood up while the others’ gathered around it and bowed down to the ground in homage. The second had the sun, moon, and eleven stars… bowing down to Joseph. Jacob immediately understood it as a reference to him, Rachel, and the other 11 sons of Jacob.

18        No doubt, Joseph’s distinctive coat played a part in enabling his brothers to recognize him in the distance.

21-22        At first glance, Reuben seems to be the honorable son here, but notice two things. First, even though he is the eldest son and therefore, in theory, able to take charge and tell his brothers what to do when his dad was absent, he did not do that. Instead, he tried to please his brothers by going with their plan to kill Joseph. This suggests that (a) his authority was seriously undermined by his actions in 35:22 and (b) he was afraid of what would happen if he denied his brothers their desire to kill Joseph. Second, his intent to rescue Joseph and return him to his father is admirable until one realizes he was probably doing this only to regain Jacob’s favor and discredit his brothers. This would allow him to usurp his father’s position after all!

24        The pit here was a cistern. In arid climates, wells and cisterns play a crucial role in providing water for the people, livestock, and crops. Although superficially similar in form – both are a hole dug in the ground – there is a significant difference. A well taps into an underground aquifer to provide constant fresh water. A cistern, as here, is a pit dug in a low spot to capture rain water as it runs off the surface. As such, the water of a well is to be much preferred over a cistern because cistern water is typically dirty and could be contaminated. It could also run dry.

25        The callousness of Joseph’s brothers is astonishing. They have thrown him down a cistern and left him there to die. No doubt, he is yelling for help or crying out in pain. Yet, they sat down to eat a meal.

26-27        Judah offers an alternative that is only marginally better than Reuben’s. By [selling] him to the Ishmaelites], the brothers would avoid the blood guilt of murdering their brothers, and they would receive some sort of gain for their trouble. Of course, the lesser of two evils is still evil!

28        Twenty pieces of silver would later become the assessment paid whenever a person made a special vow to the Lord (Leviticus 27:4). This is striking because the assessment did not involve transfer of ownership. In fact, Exodus 21:32 set the purchase price of a slave at thirty shekels of silver. Thus, Joseph’s brothers sold him for less than the price of a typical slave, and each profited just two shekels for their trouble. Typically, the reward for sin is far less than we might expect!

30        What am I going to do? Reuben’s only concern, again, was with himself.

34-35        Jacob here demonstrates the typical mourning ritual. He tore his [good] clothes that he was wearing; put sackcloth around his waist, sacrificing his own comfort for the itchy, heavy, uncomfortable cloth of a burlap bag; and mourned for his son many days.

It is remarkable that all his sons… tried to comfort him given that they were responsible for Joseph’s disappearance. Was this where they finally realized how terrible their act was?