Genesis 37.29-33-Jacob's Sons Deceive Him Into Believing Joseph's Dead
Sunday November 5, 2006
Genesis: Genesis 37:29-33-Jacob’s Sons Deceive Him Into Believing Joseph’s Dead
Lesson # 233
Please turn in your Bibles to Genesis 37:2.
This morning we will continue with our study of Genesis 37, which presents to us the story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers.
By way of review of Genesis 37, we have noted the following:
In Genesis 37:2, we saw Joseph giving his father Jacob a slanderous report of his brothers.
In Genesis 37:3-4 we saw Israel favoring Joseph over his other sons because he was the son of his old age, which led to Joseph’s brothers resenting him.
Then, in Genesis 37:5-11 we saw Joseph having two prophetic dreams, which he relates to his brothers resulting in Joseph being the object of his brother’s hate and jealousy, which eventually led to their plotting to kill Joseph.
In Genesis 37:12-24, we saw Joseph’s brothers attempting to kill him but are restrained by Reuben who suggests an alternative plan to throw Joseph into a cistern and let him die by natural causes.
However, Reuben’s real intent was to buy time so he could deliver Joseph at a more opportune moment when his brothers were not around.
In Genesis 37:25-28, we saw Joseph’s brothers selling him into slavery.
This morning we will continue our study of Genesis 37, by noting Genesis 37:29-33, which records Jacob’s sons deceiving him into believing that Joseph was killed by a wild animal.
Genesis 37:2, “These are the records of the generations of Jacob. Joseph, when seventeen years of age, was pasturing the flock with his brothers while he was still a youth, along with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father.”
Genesis 37:3, “Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a varicolored tunic.”
Genesis 37:4, “His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers; and so they hated him and could not speak to him on friendly terms.”
Genesis 37:5, “Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more.”
Genesis 37:6-7, “He said to them, ‘Please listen to this dream which I have had; for behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf.”
Genesis 37:8, “Then his brothers said to him, ‘Are you actually going to reign over us? Or are you really going to rule over us?’ So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.”
Genesis 37:9, “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.’”
Genesis 37:10, “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?’”
Genesis 37:11, “His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.”
Genesis 37:12, “Then his brothers went to pasture their father's flock in Shechem.”
Genesis 37:13, “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.’”
Genesis 37:14, “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.’”
Genesis 37:15, “A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, ‘What are you looking for?’”
Genesis 37:16, “He said, ‘I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.’”
Genesis 37:17, “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.”
Genesis 37:18, “When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death.”
Genesis 37:19, “They said to one another, ‘Here comes this dreamer!’”
Genesis 37:20, “Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!”
Genesis 37:21, “But Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, ‘Let us not take his life.’”
Genesis 37:22, “Reuben further said to them, ‘Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him’ -- that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father.”
Genesis 37:23-24, “So it came about, when Joseph reached his brothers that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.”
Genesis 37:25, “Then they sat down to eat a meal. And as they raised their eyes and looked, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing aromatic gum and balm and myrrh, on their way to bring them down to Egypt.”
Genesis 37:26, “Judah said to his brothers, ‘What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood?’”
Genesis 37:27, “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother, our own flesh. And his brothers listened to him.”
Genesis 37:28, ‘Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they (Joseph’s brothers) pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.”
Genesis 37:28, ‘Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they (Joseph’s brothers) pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels (word “shekels” not found in original Hebrew text) of silver. Thus they brought Joseph into Egypt.”
Genesis 37:29, “Now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments.”
Genesis 37:30, “He returned to his brothers and said, ‘The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?’”
The fact that Genesis 37:29 records Reuben as “returning” to the pit (the empty cistern) indicates that he was not present when his brothers sold Joseph to the Midianites.
A comparison of Genesis 37:29 with 30 reveals that the brothers had left the vicinity of the pit and went about their business.
Reuben knowing they were gone evidently came back secretly, with the intention of freeing Joseph from the pit.
However, to his great surprise and dismay, Joseph is gone.
The fact that Reuben’s brothers do “not” respond to his questions as to the whereabouts of Joseph and their lack of surprise that Joseph was not in the pit, and their attempt to murder Joseph not too long ago, would lead Reuben to believe that his brothers had in fact killed Joseph and disposed of the body.
There is no indication that Joseph’s brothers informed Reuben that they had sold Joseph into slavery but rather he believes that Joseph is dead since if his brothers had informed Reuben that they sold Joseph into slavery, he would have pursued the caravan to Egypt in order to buy Joseph back!
Reuben’s brothers would “not” want to inform him that they sold Joseph to the Midianites since they knew he would pursue the caravan and buy Joseph back since he previously prevented them from killing Joseph.
Therefore, by delivering Joseph they would risk having their conspiracy to kill him exposed, not to mention their actions in selling him into slavery!
Judah would have no desire to tell Reuben of his scheme since he also knew that Reuben would pursue the caravan and buy Joseph back from the Midianites, which would result in exposing his scheme to sell Joseph into slavery, even though the scheme was an attempt to save Joseph from death.
In the ancient world, the tearing of one’s garments was a common sign of mourning, grief and dismay (See Leviticus 10:6; 13:45; 21:10).
Reuben’s emotional reaction not only expressed his dismay at what he thought was the death of Joseph but also that he would be held responsible by Jacob, now Israel, since he was the oldest in the family.
His rhetorical question “as for me where do I go” expresses his anguish over the fact that as the oldest, it would be up to him to convey the bad news to Israel, which he knew would result in his father blaming him and that he has no idea as to what he is going to tell his father as to how Joseph was killed.
However, his brothers already have a plan, namely, to tell their father that wild animals had killed Joseph, which would was the alibi that they had originally come up with until Reuben stopped the murder of Joseph from taking place (See Genesis 37:20).
The fact that Reuben is very upset because he thinks Joseph is dead speaks well of him, however his failure to confront his brothers over what he believes is the murder of Joseph reveals a lack of moral courage on his part.
More than, likely he lived in fear of Simeon and Levi because he saw what they were capable of when they killed every man in the city of Shechem.
In fact, he becomes a co-conspirator with his brothers in deceiving their father that Joseph was killed by wild animals.
Genesis 37:31-32, “So they took Joseph's tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood; and they sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, ‘We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not.’”
The brothers do “not” overtly tell a lie but they do deceive their father into thinking that Joseph was killed by wild animals.
They simply will let their father make the deduction that Joseph is dead by means of the evidence they present to him, which was the long sleeved multicolored coat that he gave Joseph.
There is a subtle irony in the use of the blood of a slaughtered male goat in order to deceive Jacob since Jacob deceived his blind father Isaac with the use of goat skins and Esau’s clothing (See Genesis 27:9, 16).
Now, he is being deceived by his sons with goat’s blood and his son’s clothing.
“Varicolored tunic” is composed of the feminine singular form of the noun kuttoneth (tn#T)K|) (koot-to-neth), which means, “tunic” and the masculine plural form of the noun pas (sP^) (pas), which means, “long tunic with long sleeves.”
This tunic extended to the wrists and ankles of a person, which is significant since men in the days of the patriarchs did not work in long sleeves but rather in short sleeves while those in long sleeves were the overseers or employers of those in short sleeves.
This long sleeved coat was more than likely multicolored since the people of the Middle East in the days of the patriarchs were fond of dressing their children in gaudy attire as it still the case today among the Arabs and the country people of the Middle East.
This kethoneth passim, “long sleeved robe” was a mark of distinction indicating exemption from labor which was the peculiar privilege of a king or a prince.
Therefore, Joseph’s brothers resented him because this long sleeved robe marked him as exempt from work and expressed Israel’s desire that Joseph rule over his brothers.
This long sleeved garment expressed publicly Israel’s rejection of Reuben in receiving the birthright as a result of committing adultery and incest with his concubine Bilhah as well as his rejection of Simeon and Levi as well for being the ringleaders in the massacre of Shechem.
The long sleeved multicolored coat would establish for Jacob the identity of its owner.
The Hebrew text of Genesis 37:32 clearly indicates that Jacob’s sons did “not” personally hand their father Joseph’s bloody coat but rather sent messengers to perform this task along with a message to him about the bloodied coat.
“They sent” is the verb shalach (jl^v*) (shaw-lakh), which refers to “persons who are sent by other persons such as the action of sending messengers.”
“Brought” is the verb bo (aw)B), which is used in the hiphil stem and is semantically connected with the verb shalach expressing a single process.
Therefore, since the verb shalach refers Jacob’s sons sending a messenger to their father, the verb bo expresses that this unidentified messenger, probably a servant brought Joseph’s bloodied coat to Jacob.
The fact that Jacob’s sons do not personally present Joseph’s bloodied coat to him but rather send a messenger to do this reveals not only that they sought to avoid any suspicion of involvement in Joseph’s demise but also their cowardice and dislike for their father because he favored Joseph over them.
The bluntness of the message sent by Jacob’s sons to him “We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not” expresses their resentment towards Jacob for favoring Joseph over them since it does “not” attempt to soften the blow of Joseph’s death.
The fact that Jacob’s sons do not personally present Joseph’s bloodied coat to him but rather send a messenger to do this also indicates that at least some of the brothers like Reuben and Judah felt guilty and did not want to experience the grief of their father.
Notice also, that in the message to their father, Jacob’s sons simply state that they “found” Joseph’s coat and not “where” they found it.
Genesis 37:33, “Then he examined it and said, ‘It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!’”
Jacob recognizes the coat and then sees that it is stained with blood, which gives him a disturbing mental picture of Joseph actually being torn to pieces by a wild animal.
Jacob immediately recognizes the long sleeved multicolored coat that he gave to Joseph but does “not” question his sons more carefully.
He jumps to the conclusion that a wild beast had devoured him and did “not” take the time to notice that the coat was “not” torn in pieces but rather simply had blood spattered all over it.
Therefore, instead of analyzing and thinking about what he saw and questioning his sons as to “where” they found Joseph’s coat, he lets his emotions get the best of him.
Emotion is the responder to what is in the mentality of the soul and cannot think.
Therefore, Jacob does not think about the evidence presented to him but instead gets emotional, which blinds him to the fact that since the coat was “not” torn but rather was still intact would indicate that Joseph was “not” torn to pieces by a wild animal since if he was, the coat would have been torn too.
Now, if we could we have our deacons pass out the communion elements and let us take a few minutes to meditate upon the Lord and prepare ourselves for the Lord’s Supper.
1 Corinthians 11:23-24, “For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, ‘This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’”
1 Corinthians 11:26, “For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.”