- Book: [[Genesis]] - Next chapter: [[Genesis 38]] > [!summary] Summary > - [[Joseph]]’s preferential treatment by [[Jacob]] and his prophetic dreams sparks jealousy among his brothers > - [[Reuben]] tries (and fails) to save [[Joseph]]; [[Judah]] masterminds selling him to merchants bound for [[Egypt]] > - [[Jacob]] is deceived by a blood-soaked robe and enters deep mourning while Joseph is delivered to [[Potiphar]] > [!info] Why is this here? > - Launches the [[Joseph]] saga to see how [[Jacob]]'s path to nationhood, in contrast with seeing [[Esau]]'s in the previous chapter # Overview ## v. 1-4 Joseph the **favoured son** - Family now settled in [[Hebron]] (“the land of his father’s sojournings”) - Seventeen-year-old [[Joseph]] shepherds with the sons of [[Bilhah]] and [[Zilpah]]; he brings a "bad report" of them to [[Jacob]] - [[Jacob]] loves Joseph “more than all his sons” and gives him a **kethoneth passim** ∶ a "long-sleeved / richly ornamented" robe - The brothers "hate him and cannot speak peaceably to him" > [!note] What is a *kethoneth passim*? > Only appears here and one other place in the [[Bible]]. Could be a multicoloured robe ([[Septuagint]]), but in ([[2 Samuel 13]]:18-19) it's also a robe worn by a princess ## v. 5-11 Two prophetic dreams 1. **Sheaves**: [[Joseph]]’s sheaf stands upright; brothers’ sheaves bow 2. **Celestial bodies**: Sun, moon, and eleven stars bow to him - Each retelling fuels more resentment; even [[Jacob]] rebukes the second dream yet "kept it in mind" ## v. 12-17 Journey to [[Shechem]] and redirection to [[Dothan]] - Brothers pasture flock near [[Shechem]]; [[Jacob]] sends [[Joseph]] to "see whether it is well" - A nameless man finds [[Joseph]] wandering and directs him north to [[Dothan]] ## v. 18-24 Plot & the **pit** - From afar the brothers scheme: "Here comes the dreamer!" - they consider murder - [[Reuben]] persuades them to throw Joseph alive into a dry cistern intending to rescue him later - They strip the robe and cast him into the pit ## v. 25-28 Sale to [[Ishmael]]ites ([[Midianites]]) - While eating, they spot a caravan bound from [[Gilead]] to [[Egypt]] - [[Judah]]: "What profit if we kill our brother? ...let us sell him." - They pull [[Joseph]] up and sell him for **twenty shekels of silver** > [!NOTE] Leaving the [[Promised Land]] > [[Joseph]] is taken out of [[Canaan]] ## v. 29-30 [[Reuben]]’s discovery - [[Reuben]] returns to the pit, finds [[Joseph]] gone, and tore his garments ## v. 31-35 The bloody robe deception - Brothers slaughter a goat, dip the robe in blood, and present it to [[Jacob]] - [[Jacob]] recognizes it, assumes a wild beast killed [[Joseph]], tears his clothes, dons sackcloth, and refuses consolation ## v. 36 [[Joseph]] in **Egypt** - Meanwhile, [[Joseph]] is sold to [[Potiphar]], an [[Egypt]]ian courtier, captain of [[Pharaoh]]’s guard - Sets stage for the next chapter # Details - [[Toledot]] [[Jacob]] - One last deception of [[Jacob]] for good times sake, lol - Nameless man in verse 17 -- what's up with that? - First set of [[Joseph's Dreams]] -- came in pairs, just like later pattern (Pharaoh, cupbearer/baker) - Parallels between goat deception here and [[Jacob]]’s earlier goat-skin deception of [[Isaac]] in [[Genesis 27]] - [[Reuben]] slept with [[Bilhah]], but is also the one who wants to save [[Joseph]] - Another [[Younger supplanting older]], with [[Joseph]] being second youngest # Questions - How does twenty shekels compare to 30 silvers when [[Judas]] sold out [[Jesus]]?