Genesis 41

Genesis 41

Genesis 41:1 After two full years of days went by, Pharaoh dreamed, noticing that he was standing by the Nile.

Genesis 41:2 He noticed seven fat and healthy cows which came up out of the Nile and fed in the reed grass.

Genesis 41:3 He noticed after them seven other cows, ugly and thin-fleshed, coming up out of the Nile, and standing by the other cows on the bank of the Nile.

Genesis 41:4 The ugly, thin-fleshed cows devoured the fat and healthy cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

Genesis 41:5 But he fell asleep and dreamed a second time. He noticed seven ears of grain, plump and good, growing on one stalk.

Genesis 41:6 He noticed after them seven ears sprouted, thin and blighted by the east wind.

Genesis 41:7 The thin ears devoured the seven plump, full ears. And Pharaoh woke up, noticing it was a dream.

Genesis 41:8 So in the morning his breath was disturbed, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all her wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one was able to explain them to Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, and this is what he said, “Today I am reminded that I have failed.

Genesis 41:10 When Pharaoh was angry with his slaves and put me and the chief baker in the prison warden’s house,

Genesis 41:11 we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own explanation.

Genesis 41:12 There with us was a young Hebrew, a slave of the prison warden. When we told him, he explained our dreams to us, giving an explanation to each man according to his dream.

Genesis 41:13 And as he explained to us, so it came about. I was restored to my office, and the baker was executed.”

Genesis 41:14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they quickly brought him out of the pit. And after he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came in before Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:15 And Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, and this is what he said, “I have had a dream, and there is no one who can explain it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can explain it.”

Genesis 41:16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, and this is what he said , “This is not from me; God will give an answer that brings peace to Pharaoh.”

Genesis 41:17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Notice, in my dream I was standing on the banks of the Nile.

Genesis 41:18 I noticed seven cows, fat and healthy, coming up out of the Nile and feeding in the reed grass.

Genesis 41:19 I noticed seven other cows coming up after them, deprived and very ugly and thin-fleshed, such as I had never seen in all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:20 And the thin, ugly cows devoured the first seven fat cows,

Genesis 41:21 but when they had them in their bellies, no one would have known that they had them in their bellies, because they were still as ugly as at the beginning. Then I awoke.

Genesis 41:22 I also saw in my dream, noticing seven ears growing on one stalk, full and good.

Genesis 41:23 And noticing seven ears, withered, thin, and blighted by the east wind, sprouted after them,

Genesis 41:24 and the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I told it to the magicians, but no one was able explain it to me.”

Genesis 41:25 Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dreams of Pharaoh are each about the same thing; God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Genesis 41:26 The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years; the dreams are about the same thing.

Genesis 41:27 The seven lean and ugly cows that came up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears blighted by the east wind are also seven years of famine.

Genesis 41:28 It is just what I told Pharaoh; God has shown to Pharaoh what he is about to do.

Genesis 41:29 Notice, seven years will come of great fullness throughout the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:30 But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the fullness will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will finish the land.

Genesis 41:31 And the knowledge of the good years will be erased by the famine, because it will have such force.

Genesis 41:32 By Pharaoh having two dreams, it establishes that the events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them occur.

Genesis 41:33 Because of this, Pharaoh should find a wise and discerning man and set him over the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:34 Let Pharaoh make and appoint overseers over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of fullness.

Genesis 41:35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities and let them keep watch over it.

Genesis 41:36 That food will be held in reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not be destroyed by the famine.”

Genesis 41:37 This seemed to be a good idea to Pharaoh and all his slaves.

Genesis 41:38 Then Pharaoh said to his slaves, “Would we find another man like this, who has the Breath of God in him?”

Genesis 41:39 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has shown you all this, there is none so discerning and wise as you are.

Genesis 41:40 You will be over my house, and all my people will order themselves as you command. Only with regard to the throne will I be greater than you.”

Genesis 41:41 And Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”

Genesis 41:42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand and clothed him in outfits of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck.

Genesis 41:43 And he authorized him to ride in his second chariot. And they called out before him, “Bow the knee!” This is how he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:44 Also, Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, and without your consent no one will lift up hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.”

Genesis 41:45 And Pharaoh called Joseph’s name Zaphenath-paneah. And he gave him in marriage Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On. So, Joseph went out over the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:46 Joseph was thirty years old when he began standing before Pharaoh king of Egypt. And Joseph regularly went out from the presence of Pharaoh and went through all the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:47 During the seven full years the land produced abundantly.

Genesis 41:48 He gathered up all the food of these seven years, which was produced in the land of Egypt, and stored the food in the cities. He put in every city the food from the fields around it.

Genesis 41:49 Joseph stored up grain in great abundance, like the sand of the sea, until he stopped measuring it, because it could not be measured.

Genesis 41:50 Before the first year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph. Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, gave birth to them for him.

Genesis 41:51 Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “Because,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s family.”

Genesis 41:52 The name of the second he called Ephraim, “Because God has made me fruitful in the land where I was afflicted.”

Genesis 41:53 The seven years of fullness that occurred in the land of Egypt came to an end,

Genesis 41:54 and the seven years of famine began to occur, as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all lands, but in all the land of Egypt there was bread.

Genesis 41:55 When all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread. Pharaoh said to all the Egyptians, “Go to Joseph. Do what he says to you.”

Genesis 41:56 So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold the grain to the Egyptians, because the famine was strong in the land of Egypt.

Genesis 41:57 Also, all the land came to Egypt to Joseph to buy grain, because the famine was strong over all the land.

Genesis 41 quotes:

“The first thing to know about recognizing the Spirit’s witness is that he gives peace. Joseph said, “…God shall give Pharaoh an answer of Peace” (Genesis 41:16). Now it ought to be said that when the Spirit begins to work the first evidence may be the opposite of peace. When Pharaoh first had this dream, he woke up and his spirit was troubled (see Genesis 41:8). Pharaoh did not have any peace at all. The first thing the Spirit often does is to bring a person to a state of being troubled. But there is only one way to get peace and that is to believe God’s Word.”

Kendall, R. T. God Meant It for Good. MorningStar Publications, 1988. p. 78.

“Joseph was in prison for more than two years (Genesis 41:1). Basically he spent the years waiting—waiting for God to do His work. The major accomplishment of that time was not Joseph’s work for God but God’s work in Joseph. He was being prepared for the future.”

McQuay, Earl P. Joseph: Seeing God in the Worst of Times. Acćent Books, 1989. p. 63.

“Now we understand the reason for the delay. If the cupbearer had told Pharaoh about Joseph when he had first gotten out of prison, Pharaoh would have probably said, “Uh-huh” and gone on with his meal. But now, two full years later, Pharaoh immediately responded because he desperately needed someone like Joseph. The next verse is a real thriller: Pharaoh sent for Joseph and “he was quickly brought from the dungeon” (Genesis 41:14). The discipline of delay was over, the detour ended.”

Seamands, David A. Succeeding in Enemy Territory. Kingdom Pub, 1999. p. 76.

Genesis 41 links:

blessing lessons
introducing the breath of God
Joseph- out of the pit
Joseph- sons of prosperity
no stealing the show
pit or prosperity-
surrendering the schedule
the mechanics of wisdom


Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 25, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 24, 2023

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 40

Genesis 40

Genesis 40:1 It happened after this, the cupbearer of the king of Egypt and his baker failed their master the king of Egypt.

Genesis 40:2 And Pharaoh was angry with his two officers, the chief of the cupbearers and the chief of the bakers,

Genesis 40:3 and he put them in custody in the house of the prison warden, in the round house where Joseph was confined.

Genesis 40:4 The prison warden appointed Joseph to be with them, and he took care of them. They continued for some time in custody.

Genesis 40:5 And one night they both dreamed – the cupbearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were confined in the round house – each his own dream, and each dream with its own interpretation.

Genesis 40:6 When Joseph came to them in the morning, he saw them, and noticed they were troubled.

Genesis 40:7 So he asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his lord’s house, and this is what he said, “Why are your faces so bad today?”

Genesis 40:8 They said to him, “We have had dreams, and there is no one to explain them.” And Joseph said to them, “Do not explanations belong to God? Please tell them to me.”

Genesis 40:9 So the chief cupbearer recounted his dream to Joseph and told him, “In my dream I noticed a grapevine before me,

Genesis 40:10 and on the vine, there were three branches. As soon as it budded, its blossoms broke out, and its clusters ripened into grapes.

Genesis 40:11 Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup into Pharaoh’s hand.”

Genesis 40:12 Then Joseph said to him, “This is its explanation: the three branches are three days.

Genesis 40:13 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and put you back in your position, and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand as formerly, when you were his cupbearer.

Genesis 40:14 If you will only remember me, when it is well with you, and show me covenant faithfulness by mentioning me to Pharaoh, and so get me out of this house.

Genesis 40:15 Because I was really stolen out of the land of the Hebrews, and here also I have done nothing that they should put me into the pit.”

Genesis 40:16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Joseph, “I also had a dream: noticing three cake baskets on my head,

Genesis 40:17 and in the top basket there were all sorts of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them from the basket on my head.”

Genesis 40:18 And Joseph answered and said, “This is its explanation: the three baskets are three days.

Genesis 40:19 In three days Pharaoh will lift up your head – from you! – and impale you on a pole. And the birds will eat the meat from you.”

Genesis 40:20 The third day from that was Pharaoh’s birthday, he made a feast for all his slaves and lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his slaves.

Genesis 40:21 He restored the chief cupbearer to his position, and he again placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.

Genesis 40:22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had explained it to them.

Genesis 40:23 However, the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, and forgot about him.

Genesis 40 quotes

“Think about it: Even though Joseph was terribly mistreated, he maintained a humble spirit and a tender heart. Anyone locked away in an Egyptian prison had a right to be sad. Yet Joseph had the ability to shine even in the most miserable of conditions. His leadership ability was so obvious that he was even put in charge of the people he was locked up with (39:22).” Page 69.

“Even though Joseph had every reason to sulk and feel sorry for himself, what happened next in¬ dicates that, to the contrary, Joseph behaved in a way that prepared him for leadership, not pity.” Page 79.

McFarland, Alex. Stand : Seeking the Way of God. Tyndale House, 2009.

“That’s where we find Joseph in this chapter. Having been unfairly treated, unex¬ pectedly restricted by circumstances, and falsely accused, he is in prison. In fact, according to Genesis 40:15, he is in a dungeon. He’s back in a pit again, this time at the very bottom of an Egyptian pit. He’s starting all over again.”

Swindoll, Charles R. Joseph : A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness : Profiles in Character. Thomas Nelson, 1998. p. 40.

Genesis 40 links:

Joseph- the prisoners’ dreams
maybe this is it
still in the middle


Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 25, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 24, 2023

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 39

Genesis 39

Genesis 39:1 Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the prison warden, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Genesis 39:2 Yahveh was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian lord.

Genesis 39:3 His lord saw that Yahveh was with him and that Yahveh caused all that he did to succeed in his hands.

Genesis 39:4 So Joseph found favor in his sight and served as his assistant, and he made him steward of his house and put him in charge of all that he had.

Genesis 39:5 From the time that he made him steward in his house and over all that he had Yahveh blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of Yahveh was on all that he had, in house and field.

Genesis 39:6 So he left all that he had in Joseph’s hands, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was both well-built and good looking.

Genesis 39:7 And after a time his lord’s wife started staring at Joseph and said, “Lie with me.”

Genesis 39:8 But he refused and said to his lord’s wife, “Notice, because of me my lord has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my hands.

Genesis 39:9 He is not more influential in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except yourself, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and fail God?”

Genesis 39:10 And even though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

Genesis 39:11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work, while none of the men of the house was there in the house,

Genesis 39:12 she caught him by his cloak, and this is what she said, “Lie with me.” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran and got out of the house.

Genesis 39:13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his cloak in her hand and had fled out of the house,

Genesis 39:14 she called to the men of her household and spoke to them, and this is what she said “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to amuse himself with us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice.

Genesis 39:15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted my voice and cried out, he left his cloak beside me and fled and got out of the house.”

Genesis 39:16 Then she laid up his cloak by her until his lord came home,

Genesis 39:17 and she told him the same story, and this is what she said, “The Hebrew slave, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to amuse himself with me.

Genesis 39:18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his cloak beside me and fled out of the house.”

Genesis 39:19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, and this is what she said, “This is the way your slave treated me,” his anger was kindled.

Genesis 39:20 And Joseph’s lord took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

Genesis 39:21 But Yahveh was with Joseph and stretched out his covenant faithfulness to him and gave him favor in the eyes of the keeper of the round house.

Genesis 39:22 And the keeper of the round house put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the round house. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it.

Genesis 39:23 The keeper of the round house paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because Yahveh was with him. And whatever he did, Yahveh made it succeed.

Genesis 39 quotes:

“Pauls command to “flee” (1 Corinthians 10:14) translates a present imperative in the Greek, indicating something we must continually choose to do. “Continue to flee,” we could say. Joseph made the decision “day after day . . . not [to] listen to her to lie beside her or be with her” (Genesis 39:10). He chose to flee in a very real sense long before he left his garment in her hands.”

Swindoll, Charles R, and Insight for Living (Firm). Cultivating Purity in an Impure World. IFL Publishing House, 2005. p. 80.

“his second step is subtle suggestions. We might easily miss this out because it does not appear to be in the narrative of Genesis 39. But Calvin again argues that it cannot be doubted that Potiphar’s wife began by gently courting Joseph with flattering comments and simple kindnesses. He takes it that this is included in the phrase she ‘cast her eyes on Joseph’. I am sure Calvin is right. It will have begun with a smile and a little extra sentence or two. She may have called him more often than was needed, for he was bound to have been at her beck and call. She will have arranged to have him with her or deliberately she would be where he was, putting herself in his way. That is how it will have begun. And in the early stages, there was nothing he could do about that. He was, after all, her slave!”

Searle, David C. Joseph : “His Arms Were Made Strong.” Banner of Truth Trust, 2012. p. 34.

“Understand that sin is serious to God. Joseph did not bow to his own lust, or to the strategies of Potiphar’s wife, or to the cultural norms of that day. It’s interesting that in resisting, Joseph said, “How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9). Joseph cared about honoring his master, Potiphar, but he also understood that the true sin would be against God-and God was sovereign. There would be an inevitable day of judgment when he would give an account of his actions to God. Joseph knew that the measure of sin isn’t just in its effect upon our neighbor but in its affront to the majesty and holiness of our sovereign God.”

McFarland, Alex. Stand: Seeking the Way of God. Tyndale House, 2009. p. 53.

“Recall that God had promised Abraham, “I will bless those who bless you” (12:3). Potiphar had blessed Joseph with trust and a position of authority. God was therefore bringing blessing to Potiphar. Recall that God had earlier blessed Laban because of Jacob (30:27).”

Rhodes, Ron. 40 Days through Genesis. Harvest House, 2015. p. 220.

Genesis 39 links:

but he refused
Immanuel – part 1
Joseph- Potiphar’s wife
one step closer to the reason
the LORD was with him
The servant, whom you have brought among us


Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 22, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 23, 2023
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, January 22, 2019

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 38

Genesis 38

Genesis 38:1 It was at that time that Judah left his brothers and settled near an Adullamite man, whose name was Hirah.

Genesis 38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went into her,

Genesis 38:3 and she conceived and gave birth to a son, and he called his name Er.

Genesis 38:4 She conceived again, gave birth to a son, and called his name Onan.

Genesis 38:5 Yet again, she gave birth to a son and called him Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she gave birth to him.

Genesis 38:6 And Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

Genesis 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wrong in the eyes of Yahveh, and Yahveh put him to death.

Genesis 38:8 Then Judah told Onan, “Go into your brother’s wife, perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.”

Genesis 38:9 But Onan knew that the seed would not be considered his. So, whenever he went into his brother’s wife, he would waste the semen on the ground so as not to give seed to his brother.

Genesis 38:10 And what he did was wrong in the eyes of Yahveh, and he put him to death also.

Genesis 38:11 Then Judah told Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah, my son, grows up”—because he said he would die, like his brothers, apart from that. So, Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.

Genesis 38:12 In time, Judah’s wife, Shua’s daughter, died. After Judah had grieved, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

Genesis 38:13 So when Tamar was told, “Notice, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”

Genesis 38:14 she took off her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. Because she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage.

Genesis 38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.

Genesis 38:16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Hey, let me come into you,” because he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you pay me, that you may come into me?”

Genesis 38:17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me something in pledge until you send it-“

Genesis 38:18 He said, “What pledge could I give you?” She answered, “Your signet, cord, and staff that is in your hand.” So, he gave them to her and went into her, and she was conceived by him.

Genesis 38:19 Then she got up and went away, taking off her veil and putting on her widowhood clothes.

Genesis 38:20 But Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, and he did not find her.

Genesis 38:21 And he asked the men of the place, and this is what he said, “Where is the “holy woman” who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No “holy woman” has been here.”

Genesis 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No “holy woman” has been here.'”

Genesis 38:23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or else we will be laughed at. Notice I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

Genesis 38:24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has been a prostitute. Notice, she is pregnant by prostitution.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned up.”

Genesis 38:25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, ” I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” And she said, “Recognize whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”

Genesis 38:26 Then Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he was not intimate with her again.

Genesis 38:27 When the time of her labor came, they noticed there were twins in her uterus.

Genesis 38:28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand. And this is what she said: “This one came out first.”

Genesis 38:29 But as he drew back his hand, notice, his brother came out. And she said, “What a break-out you have made for yourself!” Therefore, his name was called Perez.

Genesis 38:30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Genesis 38 quotes:

“The pledge’s importance for resolving the crisis to Tamar’s life is emphasized by the fact that she breaks her characteristic silence in the narrative only twice, once when she bargains for the pledge (Gen 38:16—-18) and again when she produces it to identify Judah in this subsection (Gen 38:25).”

Menn, Esther Marie. Judah and Tamar (Genesis 38) in Ancient Jewish Exegesis : Studies in Literary Form and Hermeneutics. Brill, 1997. p. 27.

“Genesis 38 starts out with Judah making two bad decisions. One, in leaving his family and connecting with someone on a lower plain, and two, in marrying the wrong woman. As you’ll see as we go further, God doesn’t need a perfect situation to fulfill his will. The Scriptures say that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord and those who are the called according to his purpose. Thanks be to God that by the end of this chapter, Judah is back on course for his destiny. But many people find themselves married to the wrong person, and whether it’s a person who lacks faith in God or a person that they married only for the physical attraction and the excitement of a sexual relationship, sometimes they never find themselves on course to complete their destiny. Remember, choosing a mate is not God’s responsibility, but yours. Therefore your choice should be made carefully soberly and deliberately with much counsel, prayer and of course the inner peace that comes from God.”

Clark, Eric Kincaid. Good Girl Gone Bad. Dog Ear Publishing, 2005. p. 15.

“She is banished from Judah’s house and sent back to her father’s house. As a childless widow in her father’s house, Tamar has no financial resources and she belongs to no one. She is not part of her husband’s house and she really does not belong in her father’s house anymore. And, she is not legally free to marry another man as long as her husband has a living brother.”

Essex, Barbara J. Women in the Bible. Pilgrim Press, 2001. p. 27.

Genesis 38 links:

ACST 17. The Holy One
Judah- for adults only
our messy world
revenge of the “holy woman”


Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 22, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 23, 2023

GENESIS in Jeff’s library

Genesis 37

Genesis 37

Genesis 37:1 Jacob lived in the land his father wandered, in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 37:2 This is the history of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was tending the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

Genesis 37:3 Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a tunic with long sleeves.

Genesis 37:4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Genesis 37:5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

Genesis 37:6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream that I have dreamed:

Genesis 37:7 Notice, we were binding up sheaves in the field, and see, my sheaf got up and stood upright. And notice, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed themselves down to my sheaf.”

Genesis 37:8 His brothers asked him, “Are you really going to rule over us? Or are you really going to have control over us?” So, they hated him even more because of his dreams and because of his words.

Genesis 37:9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Notice, I have dreamed another dream. Notice, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

Genesis 37:10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and asked him, “Why have you dreamed a dream like this? Will I and your mother and your brothers really come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

Genesis 37:11 And his brothers were envious of him, but his father monitored the situation.

Genesis 37:12 His brothers went to tend their father’s flock near Shechem.

Genesis 37:13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers tending the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Notice me.”

Genesis 37:14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if there is peace with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So, he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

Genesis 37:15 And a man found him, noticing him wandering there in the fields. And the man asked him, and this is what he said, “What are you looking for?”

Genesis 37:16 “I am looking for my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are tending the flock.”

Genesis 37:17 And the man said, “They have gone away, because I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So, Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Genesis 37:18 They saw him from a distance, and before he came near them, they conspired against him to murder him.

Genesis 37:19 They said to one another, “Notice the dreamer coming.

Genesis 37:20 Come now, we should murder him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce living thing has eaten him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Genesis 37:21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his throat.”

Genesis 37:22 And Reuben said to them, “Shed no blood; throw him into this pit here in the open country, but do not lay a hand on him”- so that he might rescue him out of their hand to restore him to his father.

Genesis 37:23 So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his tunic, the long-sleeved tunic that he wore.

Genesis 37:24 And they took him and threw him into a pit. The pit was empty; there being no water in it.

Genesis 37:25 Then they sat down to eat. When they looked up, they noticed a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.

Genesis 37:26 Then Judah said to his brothers, “What gain is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?

Genesis 37:27 Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, because he is our brother, our own flesh.” And his brothers listened to him.

Genesis 37:28 Then Midianite traders passed by. And they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver shekels. They took Joseph to Egypt.

Genesis 37:29 When Reuben returned to the pit and noticed that Joseph was not in the pit, he tore his clothes

Genesis 37:30 and he came back to his brothers and said, “The boy is gone, and I, where can I go?”

Genesis 37:31 Then they took Joseph’s tunic and slaughtered a goat and dipped the tunic in the blood.

Genesis 37:32 And they sent the sleeved tunic and brought it to their father and said, “We have found this; please identify whether it is your son’s tunic or not.”

Genesis 37:33 And he identified it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A ferocious living thing has eaten him. without doubt, Joseph is torn to pieces.”

Genesis 37:34 Then Jacob tore his clothing and put sackcloth around him and mourned over his son for many days.

Genesis 37:35 All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, “No, I will go down to Sheol[1] to my son, mourning.” Thus, his father wept for him.

Genesis 37:36 Meanwhile the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the prison warden.[2]


[1] שְׁאוֹל = Sheol (the death state). Genesis 37:35; 42:38; 44:29, 31.

[2] ‎ שַׂ֖ר הַטַּבָּחִֽים = prison warden, Genesis 37:36; 39:1; 40:3, 4; 41:10, 12.


Genesis 37 quotes:

“In the first 10 verses of Genesis 37, we learn that Joseph was a confident, bold young man, much loved by his father-and envied by his brothers. Nei¬ ther Joseph nor Jacob understood the depths of the brothers’ hatred. That jealousy, and the strange blindness of Joseph and Jacob to it, changed the family’s destiny.”

McFarland, Alex. Stand : Seeking the Way of God. Tyndale House, 2009. p. 17.

“Old Jacob, in order to show how much he loved Joseph, did what he thought was a good thing. He made Joseph a coat of many colors “…a richly ornamented robe” (Genesis 37:3 Niv). But Jacob did Joseph no favor in doing this. Worse than making it though, was wearing it. Perhaps Joseph should have gone to his father and fallen down before him and said, “Please don’t make me wear this.” But Joseph was quite happy to put it on. He was a spoiled, arrogant teenager who was utterly insensitive to his brothers’ feelings. When his brothers saw that his father loved him the most, “…they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:4). That was a predictable reaction, and Jacob should have thought of that. It did not mean they hated their father — they hated Joseph. Jacob did this to the son that he loved so much, turning his other sons against Joseph. It is another caution to parents that it is harmful to show any kind of favoritism to a particular child. We are doing the child no favor at all. We are not even thinking of the child, but only of ourselves. Joseph’s coat of many colors did more for Jacob than it did for Joseph. Being partial is not a sign of love but a demonstration of our own weakness, which we are also passing on to a child.”

Kendall, R. T. God Meant It for Good. MorningStar Publications, 1988. p. 16.

“His elderly father loved him dearly, but his brothers really hated him. They never seemed to have a kind word to say to him; in fact, they “could not speak peaceably unto him” (Genesis 37:46). It seems safe to assume they treated him as an enemy and were very jealous. I don’t want to paint a detailed picture of his childhood because the Scriptures say very little about that time of his life. Considering the complicated household he lived in, and the fact that his mother was not there to protect him, it doesn’t seem as though his life could have been very joyful. We frequently hear that the damage that occurs in the life of a young child can affect them for years and years to come. Physical damage is bad enough, but the emotional damage caused by verbal abuse can linger well past childhood. If Joseph’s brothers never spoke kind or even peaceable words to him, can you imagine some of the painful events of his childhood?”

Mouliert, Gwen. Overcoming Bitterness : Get Away from Me Satan! Fire Wind, 2000. p. 167.

Genesis 37 links:

Excursus- Sheol- The Old Testament Consensus
IN A DREAM #4 – jeffersonvann
Israel- losing the favorite son
rough paths
Sheol in the Bible- The Old Testament Consensus
the courage to dream
THE PROMISE TO DAVID – jeffersonvann
three hells
three ruined outfits


Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, January 22, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Monday, January 23, 2023

GENESIS in Jeff’s library