According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. 119a; comp. Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages. In the midrash, the selling of Joseph was part of God's divine plan for him to save his tribes. The final group, where a transaction is made, is among the Egyptians in the same verse. ", "The bones of Joseph which the children of Israel had brought up from the land of Egypt, they buried at Shechem in the plot of ground that Jacob had purchased from the sons of Hamor". According to the Old Testament, Jacob was the younger twin brother of Esau, who was the ancestor of Edom . [b] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants. After identifying the Hebrew names, Rabbi Judah claims that Joseph was sold four times: First his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Yishma'elm), then the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianite traders (shm midyanm srm), the Midianite traders to the Medanites (mdanm), and the Medanites into Egypt. The Hebrew word translated as "tender" means "soft, delicate, or lovely.". Yusuf eventually obtains permission to marry her, she having lost none of her former beauty nor any of her first love for him. In the sixth year, Asenath bore two children to Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim. How many sons did Jacob have with bilhah? Is Polygamy Really Biblical? It was because of his virtue that the children of Israel passed over the Red Sea and the Jordan dry-shod (Gen. R. 84). 'Yahweh shall add'; Standard: Yhsef, Tiberian: Yhsp;[4] Arabic: , romanized:Ysuf; Ancient Greek: , romanized:Isph) is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis. 13. The time of the promises to Abraham spans the generations of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Charles L. Zimmerman holds the B. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. Joseph named his eldest Manasseh ('to forget' in Hebrew) because "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household," while his younger son was named Ephraim ('to be fruitful') "because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." (Genesis 41 . (Genesis 45:128), Thus, Jacob (also known as Israel) and his entire house of seventy[22] gathered up with all their livestock and began their journey to Egypt. Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, lived in the land of Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother, and at least one half-sister. What is a forbidden marriage in the Bible? The later reunion of Joseph with Jacob (Israel), though anti-climactic after two previous reunions with his brothers, is one of the most poignant in the Bible. He received the same name as two great prophets, one past and one future: Joseph of Egypt and the Prophet Joseph Smith. Joseph predicted seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharaoh to appoint someone to store up surplus grain. The Egyptians would not dine with Hebrews at the same table, as doing so was considered loathsome, thus the sons of Israel were served at a separate table (Genesis 43:1644:34). [18] After two more years, the Pharaoh dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows; and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. When he returned, the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage. How many wives did Joseph son of Jacob have? Jacob had 12 sons, at Hebron. The story of Joseph also inspired the popular autobiographical song "Coat of Many Colors," written and recorded early in the career of country icon. Loads of love from me my sister Wisdom Speaks. Could Paul have been saying that the husband and wife need to be one (Hebrew echad) instead of limiting a man to one wife? 12Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, so he sent our fathers there for the first time. Soon, the family took up residence in the town of Bethel and later moved to Hebron. Indeed, he blessed Joseph's sons before all the rest. [15] Both men had dreams, and Joseph, being able to interpret dreams, asked to hear them. Home Finally, after 20 years of marriage, they were blessed with twin boys, Jacob and Esau. The text says that they are Jacobs wives, and yet wives would retain ownership over their own children, so how can they be actual wives?. The narrative describes his emotional reaction upon seeing Benjamin: "Deeply moved at the sight of his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for a place to weep. Your email address will not be published. Tap a Lookup below to generate a list oflessons. The story concludes by Joseph praying, "My lord you have indeed bestowed upon me of the sovereignty and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams- the (only) creator of heavens and the earth! Here, their lamentation was so great that it caught the attention of surrounding Canaanites who remarked "This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians." The levirate marriage was for the purpose of providing a woman with offspring and so if a man was already married, he could still perform the levirate function and she would be provided for with her dead husbands share of the inheritance, which then belongs to her son (or daughter, because the Torah also says that if a man dies and has only daughters they can inherit so that his name and inheritance will not pass from Israel). 16Their remains were brought back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham, for a price in silver, purchased from the children of Hamor in Shechem. (Acts 7:14-16). 38). So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired. A. degree from Wheaton College, and the B. D. and Th. His brothers did not understand his spirituality and saw him as a threat. This family, with its sordid history of deceit, jealousy, and . Now Jacob had twelve sons. Here, Potiphar's wife (called Zuleika in later tradition) tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Joseph was the first son of Rachel and Jacob, and the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons (Genesis 30:22-24). John 10:30) is hen and the word used by Paul in those instances is mia. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind. 10God saved Joseph from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Bible References: Rachel's story is told Genesis 29:6-35:24, 46:19-25, 48:7 . Confronting Pseudo-archaeological memes Pt 4: Was Byblos the Goddess of Writing? .". Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors". Then he commanded them to go and bring their father and his entire household into Egypt to live in the province of Goshen, because there were five more years of famine left. As a result, he was envied by his half-brothers. Joseph was then summoned. Israel is another name for Jacob as, son of Isaac as. Because the Pharaoh had such a high regard for Joseph, practically making him his equal,[23] it had been an honor to meet his father. Laws of Hammurabi: [144] If a man take a wife and this woman give her husband a maid-servant, and she bear him children, but this man wishes to take another wife, this shall not be permitted to him; he shall not take a second wife. He even instructed them to take his bones with them. Manasseh, Ephraim are between 19 and 26. Judah appealed to the Vizier begging that Benjamin be released and that he be enslaved in his stead, because of the silver cup found in Benjamin's sack. Some of those women were also married to friends of his.Nov 11, 2014 The money they had brought was double what they had offered on the first trip. Yes and No. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. How many children did Jacob have? (clearly, the reference to a second wife shows that the concubine is not a wife), [145] If a man take a wife, and she bear him no children, and he intend to take another wife: if he take this second wife, and bring her into the house, this second wife shall not be allowed equality with his wife. Joseph would have been approximately six years old . She became angry and told lies about him, so he was put in jail. Zulaikha is the wife of Kitfir (the Biblical Potiphar), through whose accusations Yusuf is thrown into prison. You can also subscribe without commenting. And Jo. The Bible tells us twice that Jacob had daughters. But Judah pleaded for Benjamin, offering himself as a slave instead. In the time of the Exodus, Serah, daughter of Asher, showed Moses where the coffin was sunk. Joseph likely also has this status because he is the eldest child of Jacob's favorite (deceased) wife, Rachel . Indeed the name Potiphar may even be a version of Merenptah's name (Poti = Ptah, Phar = Pharaoh). He is presently pastor of the Evangelical Church of Archbold, Ohio. According to another tradition, Joseph placed the gold and silver in three hidden treasuries, of which one was discovered by the Israelite villain Korah; one by the Roman Antoninus, son of Severus; and one yet undiscovered, which is being kept for the righteous in the future world (Pes. Such a blessing as always sis. Particularly galling is Jacob's reaction to Rachel the wife whom he loves deeply when she cannot become pregnant. Jacob, before he died, blessed each of his sons and two of his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. When the famine came which Pharoah had dreampt of, and Joseph had predicted, Joseph's father, brothers, and their families, settled in Egypt where there was food. She named him Joseph. Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, lived in the land of Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother, and at least one half-sister. Then he brought the brothers into the house of Joseph and received them hospitably. This would not be a true case of polygamy, because his intention was not to have two wives, but to provide for his sister-in-law it was considered a mitzvah towards the dead brother as well as to the woman to refuse to do this for her at her request would be to deprive her of her rights within the family. Gad and Asher: On the heels of Rachel's entry into the battle of the babies, Leah decided to give her maid, Zilpah to Jacob ( Genesis 30:9-12 ). Scripture doesn't tell us much about Asenath, the wife of Joseph, the son of Jacob. After this, his brothers plotted against him and would have killed him had not his brother Reuben intervened. Sarah was ninety when Isaac was born and Abraham was 100 years old (21:5). He became the second most powerful man in all Egypt. Thus, Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh. Joseph did very well with God's help. pseudo-Jonathan). I have questioned this over the years, but didnt understand the cultural context as well as you have laid out. The Bible states that this name was given to Jacob as by God later in his life: "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Genesis 32:28 .