“Genesis 37:9-17”

Friday, March 13, 2020

“Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers, and said, 'Lo, I have had still another dream; and behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.' He related it to his father and to his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have had? Shall I and your mother and your brothers actually come to bow ourselves down before you to the ground?' His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind. Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.' And he said to him, 'I will go.” Then he said to him, 'Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.' So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, 'What are you looking for?' He said, 'I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.' Then the man said, 'They have moved from here; for I heard them say, “Let us go to Dothan.”' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.”

---End of Scripture verses---

“Now he had still another dream, and related it to his brothers” (verse 9). This second dream was an indicator that the Lord had big plans for Joseph. If his insanely jealous and bitterly enraged brothers had been in their right minds, maybe they could have deduced that these were not just the fanciful delusions of a vibrant and starry-eyed youth. “Throughout the Joseph narratives, dreams come in pairs in order to demonstrate their seriousness, as noted in 41:32. The possibility of an idle dream was recognized by the ancients.” (Nahum Sarna) The repetition of the same theme in an additional, apparently prophetical dream should have told the brothers that something larger was at work here. Then again, maybe they actually could see the handwriting on the wall and intended to put a stop whatever the Lord had in store for Joseph.

The fact that their father had given their younger brother the special “tunic” or coat indicated that his father intended to bestow further honors upon him. It very likely marked him as the head of the family! That coat said to his brothers 'You report to Joseph now!' Joseph had proven himself responsible and trustworthy in his duties, so his father may have intended to make him chief of the family. It couldn't have set well with his older brothers that the eleventh in line should be the head of the clan. And now, with these revelatory dreams giving all indications that Joseph was being set up for some kind of wide-ranging rulership, the brothers planned to put an end to these dreams before they could be fulfilled.

“Behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.” (verse 9) This second dream, while similar in theme was ethereal in nature, and implied Joseph's future position of preeminence in a more conspicuous way. This dream depicted his parents as the sun and moon bowing down before him as well. (even though Joseph's mother had been deceased for quite some time). Perhaps Bilhah had now presumed the place of honored wife in the place of Rachel after the passing of her and her sister. His brothers are represented as stars in this vision prompting Nahum Sarna to conjecture the following: “This symbolism for the brothers is perhaps suggested by the repeated image comparing Israel to the stars of the heaven.”

“His father rebuked him...” (verse 10) And even though he was initially aghast at the notion of a venerated patriarch actually coming to bow “down before” his eleventh son “to the ground,” Israel “kept this saying in mind.” (verse 11) That is to say, Israel didn't dismiss the dream has his older sons had done, and it was not a provocation to jealousy as it had been for them. He gave the matter further consideration and realized that the prophecy carried weight. Israel had his choice of Joseph validated and confirmed by the dream from God.

“Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem.” (verse 13) The narrative now shifts to a future time and a different locale to set the stage for the brothers of Joseph selling him into slavery. “Being pastoral nomads, the brothers periodically moved to temporary centers in order to secure pasturage for their livestock. The area around Shechem is blessed with an adequate water supply and fertile soil, and the city itself holds rich associations for Jacob and his family.” (Nahum Sarna)

“Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” (verse 14) Either foolishly or naively, Israel sent Joseph to check on the welfare of the brothers who despised him, and the remarkable young man eagerly agreed to go and please his beloved father. Joseph then set out on a journey toward Shechem and found them at Dothan (verses 15-16). “The entire journey must have taken about five days by foot. Joseph here exhibits a dogged persistence, undoubtedly a quality that later earned him the confidence of his Egyptian masters during his captivity. This exchange between Joseph and the man is reported only in the briefest outline. To be of help, the stranger surely must have asked for the identity of the brothers.” Nahum Sarna) He went on to comment that Dothan was “an ancient fortress town about 13 miles...northwest of Shechem, lying in a valley known for its rich pastureland.”

Please read Genesis 37:18-24 for tomorrow.

Have a blessed day!

-Louie Taylor

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