Genesis Chapters 37, 38 Commentary by Mark Dunagan

Genesis Chapters 37-38

Chapter 37 “Apart from the episode involving Judah and Tamar (chapter 38) and Jacob’s farewell blessing (chapter 49), the rest of Genesis is devoted to Joseph’s life” (Davis p. 262).

37:1-2 This section proceeds to describe what happened to the sons of Jacob. It appears that Jacob has been back in the land for about 11 years (30:24-26; 31:41).

37:2 The sons of Bilhah were Dan and Naphtali (35:25), and the sons of Zilpah (35:26) were Gad and Asher. Joseph’s oldest brothers, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah were mature men by this time and apparently had duties in the family which kept them generally away from Joseph. Leah’s other two younger sons, Issachar and Zebulun, were also either with them or with their mother.

Benjamin, was still quite young, and was home with Jacob.

37:2 “Brought back a bad report”: “Reported to his father some of the bad things they were doing” (Tay). Unfortunately some have viewed Joseph as a tattle-tale, and that the lesson here is to mind your own business. Yet this is the actually the reaction of his ungodly brothers towards his actions. Jacob had the right to know what was going on (Lev. 5:1), and instead of repenting, these sons get mad at the person who told the truth (Galatians 4:16). At the age of 17, Joseph had definite moral convictions and standards, and despite the inconsistent environment he found himself in, Joseph turned out to be a very godly and morally sensitive man. We must also reject the idea that Joseph was a spoiled child, for he had to work just like all the other boys in the family. Some feel that Joseph should have kept his mouth shut and simply looked the other way, yet people who want to play it safe are usually not selected by God for His purposes. Instead of being concerned about short-term peace or gain, we need to look at the big picture.

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37:3 “Varicolored tunic”: “Certain conclusions can be made on the basis of studies in the cultures of people in this area at that time in history, and it undoubtedly was a garment with bright colors and it served to indicate a position of special honor and distinction” (Aalders p. 182). “This seems to signify that Jacob favored him above the rest with the intent of granting him all or a larger portion of the inheritance” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 87). “In India coats of different colored patchwork are made for favorite children, pieces of crimson, purple, and other colors being sewed together. Jackets are sometimes embroidered with gold and silk of various colors” (Manners and Customs, Freeman, p. 42). Some feel that this event revealed that Jacob was intending to pass by the other sons and make Joseph his heir.

37:4 “Could not speak to him on friendly terms”: Their anger was so intense that they couldn’t even pretend to like him. “Would not even greet him” (NAB); “Couldn’t say a kind word to him” (Tay). “They could not address him in such a way as to wish him well, they could not offer the customary salutation of ‘peace’” (P.P. Comm. 428).

Jacob knew from experience the consequences or fall-out which often comes from family favoritism. “Israel had learnt nothing from his early experience of favoritism. It would bear an even heavier crop of hatred and deceit than it had yielded in his own youth” (Kidner p. 180). Yet, if Jacob was intending on making Joseph his heir, can we blame him? Many of the other brothers had already proven themselves unfit, including the incest committed by Reuben, the ruthlessness of Levi and Simeon, and the brothers mentioned in the above incident (37:2). Unfortunately, people who disqualify themselves through their own selfishness and foolishness often get really mad when they aren’t selected.

Instead of getting mad at Joseph, these brothers should have seriously asked the following question, “Why didn’t their father have confidence in them?” Thus, I do not see Jacob making the same mistake made by his father, who favored Esau.

Isaac favored Esau for all the wrong reasons, earthly reasons, personal preferences. Jacob favored Joseph for the right reason, he was different from the other sons, he had character. Thus, parents need to be careful about favoritism, and yet at the same time, children need to realize that they play a definite role in how their parents treat them. The godly children in a family should be rewarded, the ungodly should not.

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The Dreams 37:5-8 Again, some say that Joseph should have kept these dreams to himself and that he was only stirring up trouble, or he was doing nothing but bragging.

Yet I don’t see Joseph trying rub it in or boost his own ego. Rather, I find Joseph being a very sincere and open young man. Neither do I see him acting from arrogant or ulterior motives.

37:9-10 It is clear that Joseph wasn’t trying to manipulate his father, for he relates the dream in which his father bows before him. This young man is simply telling the truth, and for many people the truth is not pleasing to the ears (2 Tim. 4:2-4).

37:11 “The two attitudes in this verse are those that always divide people in their reactions to news from God. The brother’s skepticism (and anger) was emotional and hasty; the father’s open mind was the product of some humility. Israel had learnt by now, as his sons had not, to allow for God’s hand in affairs, and for His right of choice among men” (Kidner p. 181). Centuries later, Mary would also ponder things in her heart (Luke 2:51).

Sold into Slavery 37:12 “Having exhausted the grazing areas in the south, Joseph’s brothers herded their father’s flocks….. north to Dothan” (Davis p. 264). Shechem was 50 miles north, and Dothan was about another 15 miles beyond this. Jacob owned property in this region (Genesis 33:19), but years earlier they had left this region in fear of the inhabitants of the land after the massacre of the Shechemites. Yet it seems that enough time had passed that they no longer feared revenge from the people living in that region. “One may wonder if they had taken their flocks to Dothan with the hidden agenda of checking out the land of Shechem, whose ruler had raped their sister Dinah (chap. 34)” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 87). At this time, Jacob is living in the vicinity of Hebron (14).

37:13-14 In spite of the hatred and jealousy that the other brothers had in reference to Joseph, Jacob evidently did not think that Joseph was in any danger.

It never came to his mind that they would ever even think of hurting their brother. In fact, even after the brothers bring the torn coat to their father, Jacob still doesn’t suspect anything! Give credit to Joseph, despite the anger of his brothers, he still tried to be a brother to them. The hatred and consumed his

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brothers did not consume him. While they wanted to have nothing to do with Joseph, Joseph did not have similar feelings towards them, and Jacob sends Joseph, because he knows that he can depend on him for reliable information.

37:15-17 “Everything, from the ill-conceived errand to the chance meeting with the stranger, combined to deliver Joseph into his brother’s hands” (Kidner p. 181).

“Archaeologists have drawn attention to the known antiquity of Dothan and the other towns mentioned in these records, and to the sparse population of the countryside which made it possible in patriarchal times…for nomadic shepherds to roam the central hills of Palestine” (p. 181). “Dothan is twelve miles north of Samaria in the direction of Esdraelon, and is on the great caravan road from the north to Egypt” (Davis p. 265).

37:18-20 The brothers immediately see an opportunity to bring an end to Joseph and his dreams. It seems clear that they had often thought about how they could get rid of Joseph without getting themselves in trouble. “This dreamer”: “Implies one who is a master at dreaming, perhaps suggesting that he is good for nothing else” (Morris p. 541). “Let us kill him”: It is interesting how often the world’s solution to a problem is death! Abortion, suicide, euthanasia, etc….are often the world’s solution to a problem. It is ironic, that a society which seeks to hide from God, please self at every turn, is so eager to meet God in judgment!

Observe what jealousy can do to individuals. These grown men were willing to commit murder for a single coat and a couple of dreams? Really? Jealousy is so blinding.

37:21-24 Reuben was the oldest brother and had already fallen out of favor with his father (35:22). “Reuben had every cause…to hesitate over the plot. ….as eldest of the family would be chiefly answerable for it…What he did with Joseph could either ruin him or reinstate him” (Kidner p. 182).

Reuben as the oldest tried to deliver Joseph by deception rather than by asserting his authority as the eldest. “Probably he had forfeited much of his authority in his brother’s eyes by his sin with Bilhah, so that they had no great respect for him anymore” (Morris p. 542). Reuben knew the feelings of his brothers and knew that they were prepared to kill Joseph then and there. Evidently, he left the brothers to tend the sheep, fully intending to come back to the pit, rescue Joseph and send him back to Jacob (37:22).

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37:25 “The meal is a final touch of callousness” (Kidner p. 182). Dothan was located on a major trade route from the north to Egypt. “The balm of Gilead (an area roughly east of the Jordan and north of the Jabbok) was famous, and the spice-trade an important one from earliest times. Spices had many uses—in food preparation and the manufacture of incense and cosmetics” (Eerdman’s p.

146). It appears that the “Ishmaelites” in this verse are called “Midianites” in verse 28. The terms are interchangeable at times in Scripture (Judges 8:24).

Hence the term “Ishmaelite” appears to be have been used to refer to various desert tribes, somewhat as “Arab” embraces numerous tribes in our way of speaking. Remember that both Ishamael and Midian were sons of Abraham (Genesis 16:15; 25:2), and their respective descendants were often together. In addition, possibly the caravan was composed of men from both racial lines.

37:26-28 Judah immediately realized that the brothers could not only get rid of Joseph but some money could be made in the process. Since the pit was near a major trade route, the brothers may have realized that there was a good chance that some passer-by would rescue Joseph, in which case they would be entertaining the grave risk that he would return home and tell his father what they had done” (Morris p. 543). During this whole time, we later learn that Joseph had been pleading with his brothers (Genesis 42:21), but they had completely ignored his cries for mercy. The price of a slave varied with the circumstances and the slave’s sex, age, and condition. This appears to be about the average price during this period of time, see Lev. 27:5. The word “profit” in verse 26 is a harsh monetary term, like our term “loot”. K.A. Kitchen notes that this was the correct average price for a slave in about the 18th century B.C.; earlier than this, slaves were cheaper (about 10-15 shekels).

Observe that the brothers were worried about bearing the guilt of Joseph’s death.

Judah suggested selling him. Here is a classic example of what many call “choosing the lesser of two evils”, and yet what they chose was still evil. So when people propose a solution that will seem to work—always ask, “Is it right?”

37:29-30 Apparently, Reuben had been gone during the business transaction. “as for me, where am I to go?” Being the oldest, Reuben knew that he must answer to his father. How could he tell his father? “And I, how can I go home?”

(AAT). Immediately, the brothers, including Reuben settled on a lie that they will tell their father. Instead of having the courage to pursue the caravan and buy Joseph back, or rush ahead and warn Jacob so that he can rescue Joseph, Reuben crumbles and agrees to add one sin to another. There is a great lesson

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here concerning how a group can use a sin common to the group to blackmail its own members.

37:31-33 The brothers did not suggest that Joseph may have been killed by a wild animal, they simply let Jacob reach his own conclusion. Sin which is hidden has a way of making any of us into extremely callused individuals (Ephesians 4:17-19). “The theme of deception again surfaced in the family; here Jacob was deceived once again—this time by his own sons!” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 88). It took a hard heart for the brothers to stand by and watch their father grieve without telling the truth.

Instead of questioning the sons more closely, Jacob immediately jumps to the conclusion that Joseph is dead. Here we are given a good lesson concerning the unreliable nature of our emotions and feelings (Proverbs 3:5; 16:25; Jeremiah 10:23). Jacob was absolutely sure that Joseph had been killed, and yet Joseph was alive and well. Here we see the folly of going with our heart, gut, instincts, feelings or intuition.

37:35 Now the brothers hypocritically try to comfort their father. They didn’t care about the health or feelings of their father when they deceived him, but now they start to become concerned. We need to realize that when we sin we might start something that we can’t stop or control. We often fool ourselves by thinking that we can control and manage the damage that a certain sin might cause. And when we have been desensitized by our sins, we often think that other people should just “get over” what we have done. When we are in sin we often underestimate the impact of our evil deeds. These brothers evidently thought that Jacob would be able to get over Joseph’s loss, after all (in the thinking of worldly people), Jacob had many other sons! The plural “daughters” in this verse, probably means “daughter-in-laws”. Compare with Ruth 1:11. In this verse we also learn that Jacob believed in an after-life (Sheol).

37:36 The name Potiphar (PAHT uh fur) means dedicated to Ra (the Egyptian sun god). “The captain of the bodyguard”: Appears to mean something like the leader of Pharaoh’s personal body-guard. Some suggest the meaning captain of the executioners.

Chapter 38 “The interruption of Joseph’s story with Judah’s family difficulties might seem unnecessary and trivial, but the information supplied in this chapter settles the

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problem of seniority in the tribe of Judah and supplies important information for the royal genealogy (Matt. 1:3; Luke 3:33)” (Davis pp. 267-268).

“As a rude interruption of the Joseph story it serves other purposes as well. It creates suspense for the reader, with Joseph’s future in the balance; it puts the faith and chastity of Joseph, soon to be described (chap. 39), in a context which sets off their rarity” (Kidner p. 187).

38:1 Judah appears to move away from the rest of the family for awhile.

Whether he wanted to get away from his grieving father or was attempting to forget about what he had done to his brother, we don’t know He visited the city of Adullam (a DULL um), which was about 15 miles northwest of Hebron. Like Samson and Esau, there is a haphazardness about the way that Judah goes about finding a wife. Adullam was a long established Canaanite settlement. “In Joshua 12:15 Adullam is mentioned as one of the Canaanite city-kingdoms conquered by the Israelites. In Joshua 15:35 it is included among the places in the Shephelah, or the foothills that lay between the hill country….and the coastal lowlands” (Aalders p. 192).

38:2-5 Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons. Er (ur), Onan (OH nan), and Shelah. By the time of Shelah’s birth the family had moved to Chezib (KEE zib), evidently a small town in the area.

38:6-7 Judah arranges a marriage for his firstborn with a Canaanite woman named Tamar. But Er is a wicked man and God strikes him dead. The fact that the specific sin engaged in by Er isn’t mentioned should warn us that God is completely just in striking any one of us death for any sin. Ananias and Sapphira will die for committing what many people today would consider to be a little white lie (Acts 5:1ff).

38:8-9 Er had left no heir, so Judah commanded Onan to have relations with Tamar, so that his brother would have an heir. We will later find such legislation in the law of Moses (Deut. 25:5). Yet even prior to the law, such an arrangement was common in Near Eastern law codes. The child conceived in such a relationship would be considered the heir of the dead brother.

Onan was a very selfish man. He knew that the child conceived wouldn’t carry on his own line, but rather, his brother’s line. He had no interest in seeing that his brother’s family survived and grew. Yet, he went into Tamar and wasted his seed on the ground. Kidner notes that he did not merely do this once, but many times, “The standard English versions fail to make clear that this was his

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persistent practice. When (verse 9) should be translated ‘whenever’” (p. 188).

“However, Onan repeatedly used that law for sexual gratification. He took advantage of the situation, but refused the responsibility that went with it” (Bible Knowledge Comm. p. 88). Please note what is condemned. Onan was killed because he deliberately refused to see that his brother had offspring. Morris notes, “it is clear that God’s judgment was not visited on Onan….for so-called coitus interruptus, or for involuntary nocturnal emissions” (p. 550). Hence this passage is not teaching that birth control is sinful or that every sexual encounter between husband and wife must be for the purpose of having children. In 1 Corinthians 7:1ff, the sexual relationship between husband and wife is mentioned, without any reference to procreation. Or that the husband’s seed must go inside his wife every time they have relations. Onan was having sexual intercourse with Tamar, and he was spilling his seed for the express purpose of not wanting to raise up children for his brother. It appears if these children would have been viewed as solely his descendants, then he would not have had a problem with having children by Tamar.

38:11 In view of what has happened to the two sons, Judah isn’t really anxious to give his third son to Tamar, but Judah’s insincerity would eventually be revealed as postponement followed postponement. “For he had clearly decided that Tamar was ill-omened, and had no intention of hazarding his last remaining son —or of facing Tamar’s wrath by saying so” (Kidner p. 188).

Like many parents, Judah was blind to the evil’s of his own children. He immediately suspected that their was something wrong with Tamar, instead of realizing that his sons had died because they were very evil men! This will not be the last time that a parent sides with their sinful children, instead of siding with their son or daughter-in-law.

Tamar’s Plot 38:12-15 Judah’s wife (who is never named), dies. Then Judah and his Canaanite friend went up to the yearly sheep-shearing at Timnah. Davis notes, “Which was often a time for licentious and unrestrained behavior, she disguised herself as a harlot, or more specifically, a temple prostitute” (p. 268). “Although Tamar’s actions in this regard many seem strange to us, there is evidence that among Assyrian and Hittite peoples, part of the custom was that the … responsibility could pass to the father of the widow’s husband if there were not brothers to fulfill it. Thus Tamar was only trying to acquire that to which she had a legal right” (Aalders p. 194).

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Judah propositions her (16). Instead of waiting for future payment, Tamar insists on a pledge. “The cord (18) makes it clear that the signet was not a ring but a seal (probably cylindrical) hung round the neck, which was part of the dress of any man of substance. The staff, often carved, was equally distinctive of its owner” (Kidner p. 189). Therefore these items could be traced directly to Judah, and they couldn’t belong to any other person. The signet (“your seal”) was really important, it contained the owner’s name, and the impression of which was of the same validity as a written signature is among us. What Judah did was immoral, but beyond that, it demonstrated very little wisdom on his part. He basically handed over to this stranger his own personal signature, almost like giving her his ATM card and pin number. So much for the argument that famous or powerful men don’t do stupid things! The Bible is filled with examples of powerful people who were willing to risk not only their eternal destiny, but their family, their empire for a moment of sin (i.e. David, Solomon, etc…).

38:20-23 Judah attempts to send payment to what he thought was a temple prostitute, but his friend can’t find her. “To pursue this matter any farther could become very embarrassing for a man of Judah’s position….He consoled himself with having put forth an effort to pay the woman, but since she could not be found, the whole matter was best forgotten” (Aalders p. 195). Observe how sinners are often very concerned about their “reputation”. People want a good reputation, but they don’t want to live the type of life that gives meaning and substance to such a reputation.

38:24 Judah’s double standard for morality is nothing new. In fact, even in our so-called enlightened and liberated society, sexually immoral women are still typically viewed in a worse light than the sexually immoral man.

Tamar is an interesting woman. She was married to a very evil man, but she puts her own life on the line by trying to see that his family line doesn’t end. She takes the risk in being charged with a capital crime and allows herself to be exposed to public ridicule. From what Judah says, it seems clear that even in Canaanite society, adultery and or prostitution practiced by an engaged woman was taken very seriously. When people depart from God, they are bound to fall into moral standards which are inconsistent and hypocritical. It is interesting that prostitution was legal, but it brought the death penalty for a certain class of women. Carefully note that the motive for Tamar’s trap wasn’t sexual desire, rather it was the desire to produce an heir for her dead husband.

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38:25 Apparently, Tamar waited until the last minute to spring her trap. She sent the rod and seal to Judah, saying that these belong to the man who is the father of my child. What a shock to Judah to find that he was the adulterer!

38:26 Give credit where credit is due, at least Judah is honest enough and humble enough to admit his sin on this occasion. He didn’t try to argue that Tamar had stolen these items from his tent or that she had falsely accused him.

Proud Judah, humbly acknowledges that Tamar, a Canaanite woman is more righteous than he is.

38:27-30 “The pre-natal struggle, not unlike that of Jacob and Esau (25:22-26), brings a violent chapter to a fitting end, and appropriately launches the tribe of Judah on its career. The scarlet thread is the kind of detail which a family remembers…but Perez (‘breaking out’) is reckoned the firstborn in the genealogies, and it was his line that led to David (Ruth 4:18ff) and so to Christ” (Kidner p. 189). (See Matthew 1:3-16). The name Zerah, actually means ‘red’ or ‘scarlet’.

“What was so significant was the connection with Judah’s dealing with Joseph (37:26-28). He and his brothers sold their younger brother into Egypt, thinking they could thwart God’s design that the elder brothers would serve the younger Joseph. Yet in Judah’s own family despite his attempts to hinder Tamar’s marriage, God’s will worked out in a poignant confirmation of the principle that the elder would serve the younger. The line of promise would carry on through Perez…for God’s program cannot so easily be set aside” (Bible Knowledge Comm. pp. 89-90).

Once again we see that the Bible has nothing to hide. If the Old Testament was a mere human production of the Jewish race, then obviously this story would have been omitted! For Judah, was the ancestor of such men as David! Beyond this we also see how God is able to use even sinners to achieve His purposes.

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