The history of Joseph.

Before CHRIST

about 1729.

+ Heb. of his father's sojournings.

1729.

sheaf

wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.

2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made I Or, pieces. him a coat of many || colours.

4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.

5¶ And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.

6 And he said unto them, Hear,

and his servants are all directed by God for the advancement of Joseph: nay, the very fate of the whole kingdom, both the seven years' plenty, and the seven years' famine, were ordained, in order to bring Joseph's father and his family into Egypt, according to former prophecies.

We may observe, in Joseph's brethren, how God by afflictions brings men to a sense of their sins: insomuch as that Judah himself, who had hated Joseph because he was dear to his father, is now willing to be a bond-slave for Joseph's brother, for the very same

reason.

We may observe, what a lively type or figure Joseph is, and was so designed by God to be, of Jesus Christ. Sold by his brethren: sold to strangers: sold for a few pieces of money: the bargain proposed by his brother Judah, the very namesake of that disciple and brother, for so Christ vouchsafes to call him, who sold his Lord and Master; and after all he became the saviour of them and of all the neighbouring nations.

All these things came to pass by the direction of a wise, great, and good God, who would not let the world want such instances, to confirm their faith in Him. Bp. Wilson.

Ver. 2. These are the generations of Jacob.] Or things which happened to him. Bp. Kidder.

Patrick.

their evil report.] What evil lives they led. Bp.

3.- because he was the son of his old age:] Not because he was his youngest son, for that he was not, Benjamin being younger. But probably because, after a long season of barrenness, he was born of Rachel, the most beloved consort of Jacob; and because, at the period referred to, he was arrived at an age, when he was capable of affording more comfort to the declining years of his father, than his younger

behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.

8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.

9 ¶ And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.

10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?

Before CHRIST 1729.

brother Benjamin. The Jewish historian Josephus says, 'his father loved him above the rest of his sons, both because of the beauty of his body, and the virtues of his mind, for he excelled the rest in prudence." Bp. Patrick.

a coat of many colours.] Generally thought to signify a garment wrought with threads of divers colours, or made up of variegated pieces of silk or stuff. Bp. Patrick.

5. — dreamed a dream,] See the note on chap. xx. 3. In the manifestations which God made of Himself by dreams, the point, intended to be disclosed, was either expressly signified; or else shadowed forth by sufficient representations and emblems. These emblems again were sometimes so plain and clear, that their meaning was immediately apprehended; as in these dreams of Joseph: at other times they were more difficult to be understood, so that the person, who saw the dream, was a stranger to its meaning. In this case Providence so ordered it, that there was some one in the way, to whom the gift of interpreting dreams was vouchsafed. Of this we have instances in the dreams of Pharaoh's butler and baker, and afterwards in Pharaoh's own dreams; which were interpreted by Joseph, and the meaning justified by the accomplishment. Bp. Conybeare.

9.—the eleven stars] The obeisance of the sun, moon, and eleven stars (or constellations of the Zodiack) to him the twelfth. Dr. Hales.

Joseph's brethren conspire his death.

Before CHRIST

1729.

about 1729.

peace of thy

12 ¶ And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.

13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I.

14 And he said to him, Go, I pray + Heb. see the thee, † see whether it be well with brethren, &c. thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15¶ And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?

16 And he said, I seek my brethren tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.

17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan.

18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.

19 And they said one to another, + Heb. master Behold, this † dreamer cometh. t

of dreams.

Before CHRIST about 1729.

22.

21 And Reuben heard it, and a Chap. 42. he delivered him out of their hands s; and said, Let us not kill him.

22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.

23 ¶ And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many || colours that | Or, pieces. was on him;

24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it.

25 And they sat down to eat bread and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.

26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?

stars darkened, falling, &c. it is generally meant of kings, emperours, or other superiours, as here of father and mother. Dr. Wall.

12. their father's flock in Shechem.] Not that Shechem, I suppose, where they had so lately robbed and murdered the people, and where they had been afraid of being pursued by the neighbours: the Septuagint makes a difference in the spelling of that name and this: here it is Sychem; that Shechem it always calls Sekima: it was more northward. This Sychem and Dothan, which must be nigh it, were in the way, which the Ishmeelites took from Gilead to Egypt. Dr. Wall.

18. they conspired against him to slay him.] See in this instance the sad consequences of giving way to anger! At first perhaps the displeasure, which they conceived against their brother, was moderate, and pardonable in persons so liable to errour as men are. But then, the first cool reflections ought to have checked these resentments, and have brought them back to a better temper. Instead of this, they laid hold of every opportunity to keep up, and even to heighten their passion. They rose from one degree to another; till at length they deliberated about the commission of an action, which in former times they could not have thought on without horrour. They conspired together to slay their brother :"-to commit murder, a crime abhorred both by God and man;—and this upon so near a relation as a brother, whose life they ought to

+ Heb.

hearkened.

have defended at the hazard of their own; and at a time too, when he was performing towards them an act of brotherly love, and bringing a tender message from their father. Bp. Conybeare.

21. And Reuben heard it, &c.] Several reasons may be assigned for this interference of Reuben: such as the common feelings of humanity, fraternal affection, or the sense of responsibility to God for the murder of an innocent and excellent youth. Besides these reasons, which Josephus suggests, he may have either thought himself most concerned to save his brother, as being the firstborn, and therefore likely to be the first in blame: or he may have hoped, by thus piously and compassionately preserving the favourite Joseph, to recover that place in his father's affection, which he had lost by his late crime. Stackhouse.

25.

a company of Ishmeelites] They are called below Midianites. These people were near neighbours to each other; and were joined together in one company or caravan, as it is now called. It is the custom, even to this day, in the East, for merchants and others to travel through the deserts in large companies, for fear of robbers or wild beasts. Bp. Patrick.

27. Come, and let us sell him &c.] The providence of God makes use of the wickedness of men to accomplish his designs. His ways are dark, and to us unsearchable, till they are cleared up by the event. Means, to us unlikely, are applied by God to bring about the most

Before CHRIST

about 1729.

b Ps. 105. 17.

Wisd. 10. 13. Acts 7. 9.

e Chap. 44.

28.

28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, b and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.

29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.

30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go?

31 And they took Joseph's' coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood;

32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's

coat or no.

33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.

34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.

35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.

important ends and it is sometimes seen, that adversity itself is the direct way to happiness. Bps. Wilson and Conybeare.

29.- he rent his clothes.] This was an Eastern way of expressing either grief for calamity, or horror for sin. Reuben was the first we read of, who, to denote his exceeding sorrow, "rent his clothes:" and as Jacob, we find ver. 34, does the same, we may suppose it to have been an usual manner of expressing grief and uneasiness of mind in those days. Putting on sackcloth, which Jacob is here first described as doing, was afterwards common on all mournful occasions. Rend your clothes, and gird you with sackcloth, and mourn before Abner," 2 Sam. iii. 31. "Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth with ashes, and cried with a loud and a bitter cry," Esth. iv. 1-3. Stackhouse, Calmet. The child is not ;] That is, he is dead. A common Scripture phrase.

30.

35.- all his daughters] Dinah and his sons' wives. I will go down into the grave &c.] That is, to the state or place of the dead. The sense is, I will not cease mourning until I die and be laid in the grave. Stackhouse.

The translation into the grave is wrong; as if he meant to have his body laid by Joseph's. That could not be, for he thought him devoured by wild beasts. It means, into the invisible state, the state of departed souls; and in this sense it is said of several of the Patriarchs, that they were gathered unto their people," Gen. xxv. 8; xxxv. 29; xlix. 29; and of "all that VOL. I.

66

generation," which lived with Joshua, that they "were gathered unto their fathers," Judg. ii. 10. Abp. Secker.

Where parental affection exists, it will express itself in grief and mourning, when the person beloved is taken from us. Grief on such occasions is natural. Our blessed Lord Himself wept on the death of Lazarus. Care however must be taken, not to run into excess. To grieve is generous and humane; to be loud and querulous is childish; and to refuse comfort is inexcusable. It is impious towards God; it shews too great disregard to other men; and it is highly prejudicial to ourselves. Nothing can excuse such conduct in Jacob but this, that his present passion overcame his reason, and that this misfortune befel him at an age when he was least able to bear it. We find however by the event, that he got the better of his grief. When the first fit was over, he grew more moderate: time in some degree cured him of his concern; and he submitted to that misfortune, which he could not avoid. Bp. Conybeare.

Chap. XXXVIII. ver. 1. — at that time,] Judah was married about eight years before Joseph was sold; Joseph being then not above twelve years of age. Therefore the words "at that time," do not refer to the time of Judah's marriage, but to the deaths of Er and Onan ; which happened not long after Joseph was sold, and shew how Judah was punished in his children for the sale of his righteous brother. Dr. Lightfoot.

Adullamite,] A citizen of Adullam, a famous

H

+ Heb. was evil in the eyes of the LORD.

+ Heb. the days were multiplied.

8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.

12¶ And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah's wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.

14 And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by door of eyes, the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

+ Heb. the

Enajim.

town, that fell afterwards to the tribe of Judah. Patrick.

Bp. 7.- and the Lord slew him.] By some extraordinary judgment. Bp. Wilson.

Notorious sinners God reserves to his own vengeance. He doth not inflict sensible judgments upon all his enemies, lest the wicked should think there were no punishment abiding for them elsewhere. He doth inflict such judgments upon some, lest He should seem careless of evil. It were as easy for Him to strike all dead, as one : but He would rather all should be warned by one; and would have his enemies find Him merciful, as well as his children, just. Bp. Hall.

8.- marry her, and raise up seed &c.] This is the first mention of the custom, which nevertheless seems to have been a very common one, and well understood by Onan ; for he knew that the firstborn son was not to be accounted his, but his deceased brother's; to be called by his name, and inherit his estate. Stackhouse.

She deceiveth Judah.

Before CHRIST

15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because about 1727. she had covered her face.

16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughterin-law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?

17 And he said, I will send thee + a kid from the flock. And she said, Heb. a kid Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?

18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.

of the goats.

of joy. Judah, having finished the time of mourning for his wife, went to recreate himself with his friends, at this festival season. Bp. Patrick.

14. - covered her with a vail,] As all women did in the Eastern countries, when they went abroad. This is still the practice, and is required by several passages in the Koran. Bp. Patrick.

and sat in an open place,] Hoping to impose herself, either upon Judah himself, on his return from the feast, or upon Shelah, whom she presumed he would take with him. This most desperate and unlawful proceeding of Tamar was probably undertaken out of revenge upon Judah, for not fulfilling his promise, but retaining Shelah from her, after he was fully arrived at man's estate. Pyle.

15. because she had covered her face.] This is not the reason, why he took her for an harlot; but why he did not know her to be his daughter-in-law, because he could not see her face. He thought her to be an harlot, because she sat in the highway, where she publickly exposed herself. Selden, Bp. Patrick.

18.thy bracelets,] According to the views of different commentators, the word, translated "bracelets," is supposed to be a cloak, or girdle; Bp. Patrick, Pyle.

Before CHRIST

Joseph advanced.

Before CHRIST

+ Heb. become a con

tempt.

24 ¶ And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughterin-law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I

Or, Where

fore hast thou reach

made this

30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand and his name was against thee? called Zarah.

CHAP. XXXIX.

1 Joseph advanced in Potiphar's house. 7 He resisteth his mistress's temptation. 13 He is falsely accused. 20 He is cast in prison. 21 God is with him there.

to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,

27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.

28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out and she said,

A scarf; Bp. Kidder. A handkerchief: Bp. Hall, Sir J. Chardin. A fillet or wreath, worn about the head; Harmer.

The ancient Hebrews wore their seals or "signets" in rings on their fingers, or in “bracelets” on their arms: as is now the custom in the East. See Cant. viii. 6. Calmet.

23. — Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed:] Though the fact, he had committed, was not punished by the laws, yet men were ashamed it should be known, which was a sign that they were sensible of its moral turpitude. Agreeable to this is the sense of Judah's words: "It is better to lose what she hath of our's, than, by inquisition after it, to divulge the business, and increase our shame." Bp. Patrick.

24.Judah said, Bring her forth,] If Judah had not forgotten his sin, his pity had been more than his hatred, to this of his daughter's. How easy is it to detest those sins in others, which we flatter in ourselves! Bp. Hall. let her be burnt.] Some think burning was the punishment for adultery in those days; others, that the punishment depended on the will of the supreme governour, whom some suppose Judah himself to have been, as chief in his own family. Others suppose, that by burning is meant no more than branding her in the forehead. All this proceeds on the supposition of her being an adulteress, as the wife of Shelah, by virtue of the first contract with his eldest brother. Bp. Patrick.

26. - She hath been more righteous than 1;] Tamar had kept her faith with Judah for a considerable time, living long a widow in expectation of being married, as she ought to have been, to his son Shelah. In that respect,

2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.

3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.

4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.

That is,

a breach. d 1 Chron. 2. 4. Matt. 1. 3.

1729.

she had been more righteous and faithful to Judah, than he had been to her. Dr. Waterland.

It is not meant, that in this matter she had committed a less sin, than he; for she had knowingly committed adultery and incest, whereas he had not by design committed either. She was more wicked in the sight of God; yet she may be said to be juster before Judah; or to have done no more to him, than what he justly deserved. Stackhouse.

he knew her again no more.] This abstaining from sin is necessary, and without it we cannot be said to repent. Bp. Kidder. If this had not cost Judah many a sigh, he had no more escaped his father's curse than Reuben did. The difference was not in the sins, but in the men. Bp. Hall.

Chap. XXXIX. ver. 2. And the Lord was with Joseph,] To guide him in his deportment, and in the management of all affairs committed to him. Bp. Patrick. He was favourable and merciful to him in his affliction. Bp. Kidder. he was in the house of his master] One of his domestick servants. Bp. Patrick.

4.- overseer] The office, to which Joseph was thus promoted, was one of great trust and honour; for he was made superintendent of all the property of Potiphar. Fragments to Calmet.

Here was a prodigious change of circumstances. He who a little before was sold by his brethren, brought down to Egypt, and delivered over to Potiphar as a slave, is now advanced to a creditable and advantageous post; made steward to a rich and great man; the director of all his fortunes. This instance should teach us to rely