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. Even John Calvin, sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico-historical exegesis,[39] writes "in the person of Joseph, a lively image of Christ is presented. I am a fifty-something-year-old Bible teacher, wife of twenty-eight years to Mark, and mom of adult twin sons. When Rachel did not have any children, she became upset. The steward put them at ease, telling them not to worry about the money, and brought out their brother Simeon. Jacob, before he died, blessed each of his sons and two of his grandsons, the two sons of Joseph. [21] After questioning them, he accused them of being spies. In the Bible, the name Joseph was first mentioned as the eleventh son of Jacob, and the He and his family took everything they owned. Joseph is regarded by Muslims as a prophet (Qur'an, suras vi. "Give me children, or I shall die," she says to Jacob (Genesis 30:1). 1. [28] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). In the interim, Joseph's mother died giving birth to his brother, Benjamin. Glad to hear from you Brian, I have received many heartbreaking messages from women whose husbands seem to think they can force them into this lifestyle when they havent even bothered to look at whether or not the reasons that existed then still exist now, which of course they do not. Joseph interpreted this dream as the cup-bearer being restored as cup-bearer to the Pharaoh within three days. Joseph is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 26 July. The Wives of Jacob's Sons (xxxiv. To sum up, true Biblical (as well as ancient Near Eastern) polygamy (having more than one wife on purpose) was really limited to Kings, and that was historically for the purpose of creating alliances and safety for the kingdom. Then they informed their father that the Vizier demanded that Benjamin be brought before him to demonstrate that they were honest men. 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. What about the Ethiopian woman that Moses took as a wife in Numbers 12:1? 13When they went the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and Josephs origins were revealed to Pharaoh. (Acts 7:9-13). 17:1; 1 Ne. Many of these amplifications have been borrowed by rabbinical tradition. After being beaten by his brethren, Joseph was thrown by Simeon into a pit, among serpents and scorpions; but Joseph prayed to God and the reptiles retired to their holes (Targ. The next two instances of dream interpretation establish his reputation as a great interpreter of dreams; first, he begins in a low place, interpreting the dreams of prisoners. which references passages that point to Jacob having "daughters" (plural, more than one) such as Genesis 37:34-35. In fact, this is all we learn about her: Genesis 41:45: "Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave . 14 Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people. Joseph and Asenath. Despite his wealth, most rabbis represent him as very modest, and was not vain of his power (Ex. Joseph would have been approximately six years old when his family returned from Haran to Canaan. Joseph interpreted this dream as the baker being hanged within three days and having his flesh eaten by birds. Am happy to have read this. Joseph was sworn to do as his father asked of him. After bearing Judah, Leah stopped bearing children for a . 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). The Bible states that this name was given to Jacob as by God later in his life: "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." (Genesis 32:28 . 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. Judah is the fourth son of the patriarch Jacob and his first wife, Leah: his full brothers are Reuben, Simeon and Levi (all older), and Issachar and Zebulun (younger), and he has one full sister, Dinah. (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. Her name was Dinah. The story concludes by Joseph praying, "My lord you have indeed bestowed upon me of the sovereignty and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams- the (only) creator of heavens and the earth! 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. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. What is Jacob's new name? At the end of that period, the Pharaoh had a strange dream which none of his advisers could interpret. Such a blessing as always sis. God blessed Leah with a firstborn son named Reuben. As they approached Egyptian territory, Judah went ahead to ask Joseph where the caravan should unload. Did Jacob have 4 wives? He received the same name as two great prophets, one past and one future: Joseph of Egypt and the Prophet Joseph Smith. She has seen her sister Leah bear Jacob three sons (presumably within three years), and can no longer take the pain of being the barren wife. Joseph saw and inquired of Benjamin, and was overcome by emotion but did not show it. At this time, Joseph's father was 147 years old and bedridden. [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. . 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). Edit: I have been getting some great questions so I will share my answers. The steward found the cup in Benjamin's sack - just as he had planted it the night before. The reason that Joseph selected Simeon may have been that the latter was the eldest after Reuben, who was spared by Joseph in return for his interference on Joseph's behalf many years before (Gen. xxxvii. However there are two separate lands related to the epithet Cush. Kusiteand Kusan are both used and they are spelled almost exactly the same the only difference being a tav vs a nun at the end of the word. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors". www.simplybible.com Copyright Ron Graham 2001 2018, "the ten thousands of Ephraim and the thousands of Manasseh", "By faith Joseph, when he was dying, said confidently that the children of Israel would leave Egypt. In Jewish tradition, Joseph was the progenitor of the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, named for his two sons. Indeed the name Potiphar may even be a version of Merenptah's name (Poti = Ptah, Phar = Pharaoh). He was also the first born of his mother Rachel, whom his father loved more than any of his wives and made Joseph Jacob's favorite son (Genesis 29-30:24; Genesis 37:1-4). Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment[d] (Genesis 39:120). In the second year of famine,[20] Joseph's half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods. .". So, did Jacob have four legally wedded wives? How many wives did Abraham have? This is great, Tyler. He forgave them and sent for Jacob and the entire household to come to Egypt. Here is the list lifted from my answer to Who was Joseph in the Bible? They also discovered that all of their money sacks still had money in them, and they were dismayed. "All Pharaoh's officials accompanied himthe dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egyptbesides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. In the Yahwist version Joseph is sold to Ismaelites, while in the Elohist (E) narrative it is Midianites who buy him. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. However, it is instructive to note that only Dinah is mentioned (Genesis 30:19-21; 34:1-3; 46:15) . The story of Joseph's near seduction by his master's wife bears a marked similarity to the Egyptian story of the Tale of Two Brothers, which was popular at the time of Pharaoh Seti II. 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. [44] In the Quran the brothers ask Jacob ("Yaqub") to let Joseph go with them. [45] Joseph is thrown into a well, and was taken as a slave by a passing caravan. Confronting a Devastating Doctrine: Are Children Is Hand Washing Commanded? Joseph was the first son of Rachel and Jacob, and the 11th of Jacob's 12 sons (Genesis 30:22-24). His brothers did not understand his spirituality and saw him as a threat. How many years overall did he work for Laban? He admonished and forgave them, he sent also his garment which healed the patriarch's eyes as soon as it was cast unto his face. Could Paul have been saying that the husband and wife need to be one (Hebrew echad) instead of limiting a man to one wife? 3. Jacob should not have had more than one wife.) 3) Levi was the third of Jacob and Leah's children. At the age 30, Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis. 84, xl. Joseph Born in the wilderness, he was the youngest son in the family. Moses followed Joseph's pattern in rising from slavery to a position of royal favor in the court of the pharaohs, and would later lead the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the land of Canaan. We passed on to Zilpah, and they noticed it again Gad is Leahs son!, Very good, I smiled. The Pharaoh is said to have given Joseph, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Half of Manasseh's tribe settled east of the Jordan, while the other half settled west of it. The first mention of Ishmaelites (Yishma'elm) is in verse 25. The problem lies in the fact that the Hebrew word for wife, isha, is also the generic word for woman (we see this same phenomenon in Greek), and so Bilhah and Zilpah were given to Jacob as women who were there for the express purpose of bearing children otherwise known as concubines.