51 Joseph called the name of the first-born Manas'seh, "For," he said, "God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father's house." 52 The name of the second he called E'phraim, "For God has . [c] Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph had died (Genesis 37:1235). In the Kitb-i-Aqdas, Bah'u'llh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph. Despite his wealth, most rabbis represent him as very modest, and was not vain of his power (Ex. How many years overall did he work for Laban? is devoted to him, the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a prophet. It simply was a rarity. The story of Joseph also inspired the popular autobiographical song "Coat of Many Colors," written and recorded early in the career of country icon. Simeon had six sons, all of whom migrated to Egypt (Gen. xlvi. 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. His death does not change the familys obligation towards her. Conversations that Christians Must Have#MeToo and #BLM, Episode 82: Mark Part 24Cosmic Encounters 3The Woman with the Issue of Blood. Jacob, before he died, blessed each of his sons and two of his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. Thus, "Joseph gathered up all the money that was in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the grain which they bought.". The first group identified, are Joseph's brothers when Judah brings up the idea of selling Joseph in verses 26 and 27. Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar's wife: he did not want to abuse his master's trust; he believed in the sanctity of marriage; and it went against his ethical, moral and religious principles taught to him by his father Jacob. 21-22; comp. As the king's appointed viceroy, Joseph built himself a magnificent palace, placing in it a great number of slaves. Rabbah l.c). Particularly galling is Jacob's reaction to Rachel the wife whom he loves deeply when she cannot become pregnant. After his phenomenal rise to power, as he is passing through the street one day, his attention is attracted by a beggar woman whose bearing shows traces of former greatness. The majority opinion of the rabbis is that Joseph always kept in mind his father and brothers. At the end of that period, the Pharaoh had a strange dream which none of his advisers could interpret. Later we will learn a lot more about Joseph, because he became a very important person. One opinion holds that the Holy Spirit dwelt in Joseph from his childhood until his death (Pirke R. El. Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar's wife: he did not want to abuse his master's trust; he believed in the sanctity of marriage; and . As we progress through the stories about Jacob and his family, you will notice that his wives are respectfully addressed by name while Bilhah and Zilpah are repeatedly called, the maidservants. Culturally, they were never elevated to the level of either Leah or Rachel and they probably never expected to be. Leah was "Tender Eyed". 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). Some of those women were also married to friends of his.Nov 11, 2014 When the Vizier (Joseph) confronted them about the silver cup, he demanded that the one who possessed the cup in his bag become his slave. Why did Jacob go to paddan? 13When they went the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and Josephs origins were revealed to Pharaoh. (Acts 7:9-13). 21 . Elkannah had two women but again, one of them was barren so I suspect that Peninah was a concubine. Bah' commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God. In Genesis 29:31-30:24 the birth . "-Genesis 41:45. It was after this that Isaac married Rebekah and Abraham took Keturah as a wife (possibly a concubine) (see Genesis 24 and 25:1). Her father contracted with her husbands father that she would be a wife in that house, that she would provide heirs to the house who would have rights to his share of the inheritance. Deceptively, Joseph also ordered the steward to put his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. The cupbearer took this opportunity to inform the king of Joseph's gift and recommended his services. He was the first of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's twelfth child and eleventh son). According to most rabbinical authorities, Joseph's coffin was sunk in the Nile (Targ. Genesis 41:45 says that after Joseph interpreted the dreams of Pharaoh 45 Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him to wife Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On. Joseph and Asenath. To Joseph he declared: Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. R. 14:16). The two principle sources are the Yahwist and the Elohist versions, with a few details included as well from the Priestly source. Jacob became greatly distressed, feeling deprived of successive sons: Joseph, Simeon, and (prospectively) Benjamin. Though Manasseh was the older brother, Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and gave him the greater blessing. Ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard (Genesis 37:36, Genesis 39:1). In Genesis 29:31-30:24 the birth of twelve of Jacob's children is recorded. For an excellent read on many matters pertaining to women in the Bible (not all of which I agree with, of course), see Matthews, Victor H., Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (1998) p 229 is directly relevant to this discussion. Joseph was the first son of Rachel and Jacob, and the 11th of Jacobs 12sons, Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt, Joseph became the slave of Potiphar a very high official in Egypt. What Leah knew was that her husband, although she had given him many sons, had no regard for her Jewish tradition even states that Jacob moved to Bilhahs tent after the death of Rachel (I dont think he ever got over that anger from the morning after the wedding). The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod commemorates him as a patriarch on 31 March. The two halves of Manasseh were often treated as two separate units in the biblical account. Judah, too, counseled against murder and convinced the brothers to sell Joseph to a company of Ishmaelite merchants, who bought him in exchange for 20 shekels of silver. Full Bible Timeline - section on the life of Jacob. He worked under the Egyptian official Potiphar but was freed and became the chief adviser (vizier) to the Egyptian Pharaoh. Thus, Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh. (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. He became the second most powerful man in all Egypt. Joseph is between 39 and 56 years old. These were Jacob's sons who were born to him while he . According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. How long did Jacob in the Bible wait to marry his wife? Esau took a third wife to please his father Isaac (Genesis 28:6-9). Some rabbis, however, charged Joseph with vanity, saying that, even before being sold, he took too much pains with his personal appearance (Gen. R. 84:7), and that he continued to do so as ruler over Potiphar's house, forgetting his father, who was mourning over his disappearance. But Joseph had taken Mary to be his wife (Matthew 1:20), and there is no suggestion that her role as Joseph's wife was in any way different from the role of any other wife. | Bible Topics 24 Rachel's sons were Joseph and Benjamin. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. Afterward, Joseph's family personally met the Pharaoh of Egypt. They were directed into the province of Goshen and Joseph readied his chariot to meet his father there. Habakkuk 3:7, in a paralellism (a literary device where something is said twice, slightly differently, in such a way as to equate two concepts), says this of Cushan. 15So Jacob moved down into Egypt, and lived there till he died, as did our fathers. 36). . As a last resort, all of the inhabitants of Egypt, less the Egyptian priestly class, sold their properties and later themselves (as slaves) to Joseph for seed; wherefore Joseph set a mandate that, because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property, a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh. There are many examples of descriptions that we don't assume to be a prescription for us today living as nomads in tents, giving each wife her own tent (modern day equivalent would be that each wife has her own home or at minimum her own personal suite), digging our own wells, making alliances via sons and daughters, being without citizenship, for husbands to devote their first year of marriage being at home with their wives, etc. When they came to Egypt, they stood before the Vizier but did not recognize him as their brother Joseph, who was now in his late 30s; but Joseph did recognize them and did not speak at all to them in his native tongue of Hebrew. As Jacob's favorite son, he received from his father a coat of many colors, which made his brothers jealous to . 38). (note that the second wife is only permissibly taken in response to barrenness), [146] If a man take a wife and she give this man a maid-servant as wife and she bear him children, and then this maid assume equality with the wife: because she has borne him children her master shall not sell her for money, but he may keep her as a slave, reckoning her among the maid-servants. She gives birth to two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Knowing that his brothers would come to buy grain, Joseph gave orders that nobody should be permitted to enter until he had given in writing his own and his father's names. The cup-bearer's dream was about a vine with three branches that was budding. He is the favourite son of the patriarch Jacob, and his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Egypt, where he eventually ends up incarcerated. popularly referred to as a "coat of many colors." Through his father, he also has six half-brothers: Dan and Naphtali (whose . Rather, he requested to be carried to the land of Canaan to be buried with his forefathers. As Jacob's name became synonymous with all Israel, so that of Joseph was eventually equated with all the tribes that made up the northern kingdom. When they met, they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while. It was a very large company." What is a forbidden marriage in the Bible? Joseph would have been approximately six years old when his family returned from Haran to Canaan. Nice going! Upon their return to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph received them kindly and prepared a feast for them. [28] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). He brought them closer and relayed to them the events that had happened and told them not to fear, that what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good. Joseph settled Jacob's growing clan with Pharaoh's blessing in the Land of Goshen (Gen. 47:29). It served a specific societal function within a context that no longer exists (much like the need for Levirate marriage). They were survival oriented, and so when greeted with the opportunity to be something greater in the family, not wives but the mothers of some of the heirs of the House, that was a chance to have a much better life and better prospects for the future. Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the king's dream. Legacy. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article The Wives of Jacob's Sons (xxxiv. Genesis 31:38-41. That night, Joseph ordered his steward to load the brothers' donkeys with food and all their money. 18A new Pharaoh arose in Egypt, who knew nothing of Joseph. He comforted them and their ties were reconciled. 1) Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. His father then remarked, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive." Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 1:26). , romanized: Rl, lit. Joseph is mentioned in the New Testament as an example of faith (Hebrews 11:22). . At last Rachel was able to have a child. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. [16] Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison,[17] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph. Modern critics have made various estimates of the historical worth of these narratives of Joseph. Her name was Dinah. And as for Jacob, he never intended to have any other wife but Rachel and only ended up in this polygamous situation because of trickery he chose to be a polygamist because it would seem that a man who was willing to work a grand total of fourteen years for a woman evidently could not imagine living without her. Zilpah bore Jacob his seventh and eighth sons, Gad and Asher. He was present at Jacob's famous reconciliation with his brother Esau. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. [29] Maimonides comments that even the villager in Shechem, about whom Joseph inquired his brother's whereabouts, was a "divine messenger" working behind the scene.[30]. As Joseph had foreseen, seven years of plenty came, during which he stored up a great abundance of grain in granaries built for the purpose. In the second year of famine,[20] Joseph's half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods. The word until speaks of a change to the first action . Both the term "Joseph" and the term "Ephraim" were also frequently used by the biblical writers to refer to the norther tribes generally or to the later northern kingdom, usually called Israel. 20. It also includes the marvelous story and time of Jacob's son Joseph (Genesis 35-50). He had fallen ill and lost most of his vision. Israel declared that they would be heirs to the inheritance of the house of Israel, as if they were his own children, just as Reuben and Simeon were. (Gen 50:7-9). 5. (Genesis 46:134). There are numerous mentions of Joseph in Bah' writings. Since in the Bible, unlike in later Jewish law, ethnic identity is determined by the father, the fact that their mother is not an Israelite does not affect their status . This was the legal world and social context of the time of the Patriarchs. She became angry and told lies about him, so he was put in jail. After bearing Judah, Leah stopped bearing children for a . Josephus claims that Potiphar fell for his wife's, Josephus refers to Potipherah (or Petephres) as the priest of, Josephus has Joseph meeting his father Jacob in, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 10:50, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 622. asaph", "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 3254. yasaph", "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 6847. Joseph interpreted this dream as the baker being hanged within three days and having his flesh eaten by birds. Who was the wife of Joseph son of Jacob? 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. Jacob lives in Egypt for seventeen years after his arrival (Genesis 47:28). Abraham then died at 175 years of age (25 . Joseph urged the first, a royal cupbearer, to get him out of prison once he was reinstated, but the cupbearer took no action on his behalf for two more years. Joseph And His Brothers, The cultural impact of the Joseph story in early-modern times is discussed in, This page was last edited on 28 February 2023, at 10:50. Some believe that he built the city of Memphis, and that he was instrumental in building the obelisks and pyramids. selling him to an Ishmaelite trade caravan. His estranged brothers later reunited with him when they came to Egypt to buy grain during a famine, and thus Joseph became the central figure to lead the children of Israel (Jacob) during their course of exile in Egypt. Joseph's wife is considered to be an Egyptian. [5], In rabbinic tradition, he is considered the ancestor of a second Messiah called "Mashiach ben Yosef", who will wage war against the forces of evil alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. Both women had a crisis of identity Rachel wasnt a mother and Leah wasnt really a wife in her own eyes. He is Jacob's favorite (Genesis 37:3). People just cherry pick with the descriptions to determine prescriptives without studying out the matter. "Pharaoh called Joseph by the name Tzafnat-Pa'neach and gave him as his wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. The steward put them at ease, telling them not to worry about the money, and brought out their brother Simeon. 14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. These years were followed by seven years of famine "over all the face of the earth," when "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy grain" (Gen. 41:56, 57; 47:13,14). I love reading and studying from you. 119a; comp. I have written six books on the ancient Near Eastern and First Century context of Scripture, including a family curriculum series. The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: Genesis 29:32-35 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment[d] (Genesis 39:120). Bilhah, they replied. After Jacob's death, Joseph received the Pharaoh's permission to travel with a great caravan to Canaan in order to bury the patriarch. Muslim theologians, especially of the Sufi tradition, use this story to symbolize the spiritual love between God and the soul. In the sixth year, Asenath bore two children to Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim. The warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners,[14] and soon afterward Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker, who had offended the Pharaoh, were thrown into the prison. However, Joseph was displeased that his father's right hand was not on the head of his firstborn, so he switched his father's hands. How many children did Jacob have? Cushan and Midian are equated with each other, as are tents and curtains and affliction and trembling. Isaac had one wife. (Genesis 49:3350:14), After their father died, the brothers of Joseph feared retribution for being responsible for Joseph's deliverance into Egypt as a slave. In the Yahwist version Joseph is sold to Ismaelites, while in the Elohist (E) narrative it is Midianites who buy him. According to Josephus, Reuben tied a cord around Joseph and let him down gently into the pit. More rabbinical literature has been generated concerning him than any of the other sons of Jacob, and he is also a significant figure in Islamic tradition. We passed on to Zilpah, and they noticed it again Gad is Leahs son!, Very good, I smiled. 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. So, did Jacob have four legally wedded wives? To add to the distinction within the family, in chapter thirty-seven, when Joseph goes tattling on his brothers, it specifically mentions that they are the sons of the neshe Bilhah and Zilpah. 1. At the age 30, Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis. Her father, Jacob, saw that his family was deeply ashamed of his new granddaughter. As the reputed ancestor of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, he is regarded by some as altogether legendary or even mythical by some critics. Joseph saw and inquired of Benjamin, and was overcome by emotion but did not show it. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. .". Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:1820) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben,[12][13] who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself. When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel commanded him to do. He wept so loudly that even the Egyptian household heard it outside. In one Talmudic story, Joseph was buried in the Nile river, as there was some dispute as to which province should be honored by having his tomb within its boundaries. . Josephs ability to interpret dreams got him out of jail and into great favour with Pharoah. He even instructed them to take his bones with them. [NOTE: Jacob is listed by Stephen individually.] Short answer: Jacob worked 7 years for Laban before he married his two wives, Leah and Rachel.Long answer: Jacob worked 7 years to pay . 4. (notice that she is given the same treatment as a wife but is not a wife), [147] If she have not borne him children, then her mistress may sell her for money. Abravanel explains that she had accused other servants of the same crime in the past. Families desperately needed heirs, and the dyadic social identity of a woman depended on her being not only a wife, but also a mother it simply didnt matter if your husband loved you best, if you had no children Rachel knew that (so did Sarah, Rebekah, Hannah and Elizabeth). I smiled. Jacob's family travel to Egypt to escape the famine, and it is through him that they are given leave to settle in the Land of Goshen (the eastern part of the Nile Delta). The Haran controversy wrestles with the question of how long Abraham's grandson Jacob lived in Haran. The cup-bearer took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. '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. Stories about Jacob in the Bible begin at Genesis 25:19. When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, the king asked him for a sign by which he might know that his interpretation was true. They returned with a wolf, but when Jacob began to reproach the beast for its cruelty, the wolf answered, in human language, that she had not committed the crime, and that she herself was searching for her lost cub. They thought that the missed transaction would somehow be used against them as way to induct them as slaves and to confiscate their possessions. One of the hardest things there is, is to contemplate the possibility that our point of view has been utterly contaminated after all, they never taught ancient Near Eastern context in any of the churches I attended. On top of all this, Leah had stopped bearing children perhaps because Jacob was no longer performing his legal obligations to continue to provide her with marital relations (at one point, she actually had to buy a night with him from her sister). | Fact Sheet Index Joseph prospered in Potiphar's household and was eventually made head of the servants. 17:1; 1 Ne. Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God's purpose to save lives and the lives of his family. In an essay posted without fanfare to its website in late October, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said for the first time that Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, had as many as 40 wives. The scene is a fitting resolution to Jacob's own drama, in which his father, Isaac, had been old and blind when Jacob himself deceived deceived him in order to obtain his blessing, meant for Esau. [31] However, punishment could not have been avoided because of her class status and limited public knowledge of her scheme. In the Qur'an a whole chapter (sura xii) is devoted to Joseph; and Islamic commentators add many details to this "best of stories.". arose that night, and took his two wives, his two maidservants1 and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. Jacob did not wholly believe that Joseph was dead, because he could not forget him, while the dead are soon forgotten. Loaded with knowledge and wisdom. The shrine called Joseph's Tomb in Nablus/Shechem is traditionally considered to be his tomb. : > 1. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt (Genesis 37). In Jewish tradition, Joseph was the progenitor of the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, named for his two sons. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, he is known as "Joseph the all-comely", a reference not only to his physical appearance, but more importantly to the beauty of his spiritual life. If later he is disgusted with her (after all, she was from a pagan nation), he cannot treat her as a slave and simply sell her away but must treat her as he would treat a divorced wife. 5:26; Jacob 1:2, 18-19). [50] He thus charged his sons to go and inquire about Joseph and his brother and despair not of God's mercy. They commemorate him on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before Christmas) and on Holy and Great Monday (Monday of Holy Week). well, that did go well. According to the biblical account, Joseph was the son of Jacob by Rachel, the patriarch's favorite wife (Gen. 30:23, 24), who, on the occasion of Joseph's birth, said, "The Lord shall add [Heb. whoa whoa whoa personal suite? How many children did Jacob have? Before he died, he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them, and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. This tendency, although greatly diminished, was followed throughout late antiquity, the Medieval Era, and into the Reformation. Thus, Joseph was indeed a "child of Isaac's old age" (Gen 37:3). of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife, Jacob, before he died, gave his blessing to Josephs two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. [51] The remaining verses describe the migration of Jacob's family to Egypt and the emotional meeting of Jacob and his long lost son, Joseph. (Genesis 50:2226). Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. Then Israel laid his left hand on the eldest Mannasseh's head and his right hand on the youngest Ephraim's head and blessed Joseph. If, however, to the sixty-six Stephen added the wives of Jacob's sons', he could have legitimately reckoned Jacob's household as numbering seventy-five, instead of seventy. 8, 10). R. 1:7). 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. How many wives did Joseph have in the Bible? Jacob should not have had more than one wife.) He stored up in Egypt all the gold and silver of the world, and it was carried away by the Israelites when they left Egypt. 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). 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. 14. Who was Jacob's first wife? 11Then a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, causing great affliction. Joseph Born in the wilderness, he was the youngest son in the family. 84, xl. Because Joseph the Dreamer predicts the future by analyzing dreams, alternative Jewish tradition claims that he practiced divination using this silver cup as the steward charged[33] and as Joseph himself claimed in Genesis 44:15.[34]. Her maid Bilhah is ancestor of two more ( Gen 35:25; Gen 46:23-24). How many sons did Jacob have with bilhah? In the Elohist version it is Rueben intervenes on Joseph's behalf, while in the Yahwist version it is Judah that saves him. For Jacob however, a time came when his parents urged him to leave Canaan . When Joseph and his mother bowed to Esau (Gen. 33:7), Joseph shielded his mother with his body (Targ. Part of the problem with that verse is that it is almost always separated from the context of the verses before it the case of the woman taken as a prisoner of war, brought into a mans home and taken as a wife.