Genesis 37-39

What I Noticed Today (Genesis 37-39)

Genesis 37:2-50:26

The remainder of the book of Genesis covers the story of Joseph, his life as a shepherd in Canaan, being sold into slavery by his brothers and concluding with his time spent in Egypt.

Genesis 37

In verses 2-11, Joseph’s youth and his dreams:

• At 17 years old, Joseph was a shepherd working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.
• Israel loved Joseph more than his other sons because he was born to him in his old age. His bothers were envious of the preferential treatment Joseph received from Isaac.

• Joseph had a dream about sheaves of grain in the field. His brother’s sheaves of grain were bowing down to his. The suggestion that they would bow down to him made his brothers hate him even more.
• Joseph had another dream in which the sun, moon, and 11 stars were bowing down to him. Even his father rebuked him at the suggestion that he and his mother and brothers would all bow down to him.

In verses 12-28, Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery:

• Joseph’s brothers were out tending the sheep in Shechem. Israel called to Josephs and told him to get ready; he was sending him to his brothers to see how the flocks were doing.
• Joseph went to Shechem and learned his brothers had moved the flocks to Dothan.

• His brothers saw Joseph in the distance and devised a plan to kill him and throw him into a pit.
• Reuben convinced his brothers not to kill Joseph, but to throw him into a pit (a dry cistern) hoping to rescue Joseph later and return him to Israel.
• When Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe of many colors, and threw him into the pit, intending for him to die there.
• As the brothers sat down to eat, a trading caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead on their way to Egypt appeared.
• Judah suggested they sell Joseph into slavery rather than kill him, so they agreed to sell Joseph to the Midianites (another name for Ishmaelites) for 20 pieces of silver.

In verses 29-36, Israel’s son deceives him by telling him Joseph is dead:

• Reuben returned and found Joseph gone and tore his clothes (a sign of grief).
• The brothers took Joseph’s coat, killed a goat, and covered the coat with blood.
• They sent the coat to their father, asking if this was his son’s coat.
• Jacob (Israel) recognized the coat and assumed an animal had killed Joseph.
• Jacob tore his clothes and mourned for Joseph, inconsolably.
• Meanwhile, the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard in Egypt.

Genesis 38

Genesis 38 breaks away from the story of Joseph to reveal ongoing corruption and deception in Judah’s family.

• After selling Joseph into slavery, Judah left his brothers and stayed in Adullam and married a Canaanite woman.

• Judah had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah.
• Judah got a wife named Tamar for Er, but Er was so evil the Lord put him to death.
• Judah told Onan to take Tamar and impregnate her to carry on his brother’s line. Whenever they had sex, he spilled his semen on the ground. This was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord put him to death also.
• Judah told Tamar to remain a widow in his house until his son Shelah grew up.
• Judah’s wife died, and he mourned for her.
• The Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to Timnah for the sheep shearing.
• When Tamar heard her father-in-law had gone up to Timnah, she changed her clothes and went to Timnah. Judah saw her and thinking she was a prostitute; he slept with her, promising to send a young goat from his flock. Judah left behind his signet ring, cord, and staff as collateral. Tamar was pregnant.
• Judah sent Hirah his friend back with the young goat to retrieve his ring, cord, and staff, but the woman could not be found.
• Hirah returned and reported to Judah, that not only could he not find the woman, but he had also been told there were no prostitutes there.
• Three months later, Judah was told about Tamar being pregnant. Judah called for her to be brought to him, saying she would be burned to death.
• Tamar sent the ring, cord, and staff to Judah and said these belonged to the man who made her pregnant.
• Judah recognized them and knew that Tamar was right because he had kept his other son Shelah from her.
• When it came time to give birth Tamar had twins. The first one put his hand out, and they tied a scarlet thread around it, then he pulled his hand back in. The other brother was then born, and he was named Perez (“breach”). Then the brother with the scarlet thread was born, and they named him Zerah (“scarlet”).

Genesis 39

Genesis 39 returns to the story of Joseph as a servant in the house of Potiphar.

In verses 1-6, God blessed Joseph while he was serving Potiphar:

• The Lord blessed and prospered Joseph in the house of Potiphar.
• When Potiphar saw the Lord was with Joseph, he made Joseph his personal attendant and put him in charge of all his household and all that he owned.
• The Lord blessed the house of Potiphar because of Joseph.

In verses 7-20, Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph:

• After some time, Potiphar’s wife wanted Joseph to sleep with her, but he refused, saying he was loyal to his master who trusted him, and it was an evil sin against God.
• She continued to ask Joseph to sleep with her, but he always refused. One day she grabbed him by his garment and demanded he sleeps with her. He left his garment behind and ran outside.
• She screamed for help, so the household servants heard her.
• When Potiphar returned home, she told him the lie, accusing Joseph of trying to rape her.
• When Potiphar heard this, he was furious and had Joseph thrown into the king’s prison.

In verses 21-23, the Lord blesses Joseph in prison:

• The Lord was with Joseph in prison, and he gained favor with the warden. The warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners. He did not worry about anything that was under Joseph’s authority because the Lord was with Joseph and made him successful.

Some thoughts for additional consideration:

• Jacob shows preferential treatment to his son Joseph, and the result is the other sons turn against their brother and conspire to kill him. This reminds me of what happened with Isaac and his sons Jacob and Esau.
• Lies, deceit, and treachery abound in this family! We may think that we got away with disobeying God when nothing happens, but as we see in these chapters, sometimes God’s judgment is swift and sure.
• Sometimes in life, it seems as though God has abandoned us because of the difficulties we encounter. But living for God sometimes requires us to patiently live through difficulties in order to realize God’s plan for us.

What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.

Tomorrow: Genesis 40-41