Jacob is between 130 and 147 years old. He then tested them further, by accusing Benjamin of theft. Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar's wife: he did not want to abuse his master's trust; he believed in the sanctity of marriage; and . Joseph is represented as a perfectly righteous man (tzadik gamur) and as the counterpart of his father Jacob. Yes, the Bible does indicate that Jacob had more than one daughter. In Genesis 29:31-30:24 the birth . His estranged brothers later reunited with him when they came to Egypt to buy grain during a famine, and thus Joseph became the central figure to lead the children of Israel (Jacob) during their course of exile in Egypt. The first mention of Ishmaelites (Yishma'elm) is in verse 25. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind. . (Gen. 28:3, 4) This explains why Jacob when nearly 100 years old did everything in his power to obtain God's blessing; he even wrestled with a materialized angel. In an essay posted without fanfare to its website in late October, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said for the first time that Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormon church, had as many as 40 wives. Response: We read in Genesis 41:45 that Pharaoh gave Joseph Osnat daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. Joseph occupies a very important place in Rabbinical literature, and no patriarch was the subject of so many Midrashic traditional narratives. At the age 30, Joseph married Asenath, the daughter of the priest of Heliopolis. 25 Rachel's servant Bilhah's sons were Dan and Naphtali. Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, lived in the land of Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother, and at least one half-sister. But Judah pleaded for Benjamin, offering himself as a slave instead. What is Jacob's new name? This family, with its sordid history of deceit, jealousy, and . Loads of love from me my sister Wisdom Speaks. selling him to an Ishmaelite trade caravan. JOSEPH. Later we read, "His . Before he died, he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them, and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. This caused a stir amongst the brothers. (Gen 50:7-9). Their relationship is first mentioned in Genesis 41:45. Manasseh, Ephraim are between 19 and 26. Joseph had his father embalmed, a process that took forty days. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here: The history of this article since it was imported to New World Encyclopedia: Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed. He was Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first. The later reunion of Joseph with Jacob (Israel), though anti-climactic after two previous reunions with his brothers, is one of the most poignant in the Bible. I pray you will be preserved by our maker. God punished him, therefore, by setting against him Potiphar's wife (Gen. R. 87:3). Information much needed for understanding context. Later, Joseph became Potiphar's personal servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent. And after Joseph perished, the sons of Jacob took unto themselves wives. The genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament traces Jesus' ancestry lineally, from Abraham to David, and then from David to Jesus. When the famine came which Pharoah had dreampt of, and Joseph had predicted, Joseph's father, brothers, and their families, settled in Egypt where there was food. 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. I have questioned this over the years, but didnt understand the cultural context as well as you have laid out. These children are the offspring of four different women, Leah and Rachel, his wives, and Zilpah and Bilhah, their respective handmaids. She also bore Benjamin and was a faithful wife to Jacob. [32], Jewish tradition holds that Joseph had his steward plant his personal silver cup in Benjamin's sack to test his brothers. Known best for his coat of "many colors" and his God-given ability to interpret dreams, Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous half-brothers. However, they agreed to be escorted back to Egypt. is devoted to him, the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a prophet. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors". He forgave them and sent for Jacob and the entire household to come to Egypt. The children of Israel remembered their oath, and when they left Egypt during the Exodus, Moses took Joseph's bones with him. Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph's interpretation and gave him authority to carry out the suggested policy (Gen. 41:46). Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar's wife: he did not want to abuse his master's trust; he believed in the sanctity of marriage; and it went against his ethical, moral and religious principles taught to him by his father Jacob. Full Bible Timeline - section on the life of Jacob. Scripture doesn't tell us much about Asenath, the wife of Joseph, the son of Jacob. One tradition holds that Jacob's other children came into the world only for Joseph's sake. How many wives did Abraham have? Joseph disguised his identity and devised a plot to bring the rest of the family to him: He accused them of being spies and imprisoned them for three days. As for kings marriages were largely about political alliances (especially with David who was shoring up support with the various tribes as well as maintaining his connection with Sauls royal line), except for Solomon, who was. The Haran controversy wrestles with the question of how long Abraham's grandson Jacob lived in Haran. 1. Upon their return to Egypt with Benjamin, Joseph received them kindly and prepared a feast for them. Both were hated by their brothers. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. 34), and a whole chapter Yusuf (sura xii.) Who was Leah's 4th son? In Hebrew Joseph means: increaser. Potiphar believed that Joseph was incapable of such an act and petitioned Pharaoh to spare his life. Upon their return to Egypt, the steward of Joseph's house received the brothers. (Genesis 48:122). Joseph and Asenath. [28] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). Then he commanded them to go and bring their father and his entire household into Egypt to live in the province of Goshen, because there were five more years of famine left. After this, his brothers plotted against him and would have killed him had not his brother Reuben intervened. 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. How many children did Jacob have? (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. He is the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Joseph. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article The first born of this union is still his firstborn even after he marries another woman, loves her, and has children with her. Known for: Rachel was the younger daughter of Laban and Jacob's favored wife. As Zipporah was a Midianite, calling her a Kusite makes absolute sense. Israel (Jacob) agreed to his son's invitation to move to Egypt and began the journey to see Joseph. It was during this return to Egypt that Joseph disclosed his real identity to his brothers. The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt. Is the word Bible pagan? The story of Joseph or Yusuf as it is told in Arabic literature has the same general outlines as the Biblical narrative; but in the Arabic account there is a wealth of accessory detail and incident. Answer (1 of 13): There are thirteen persons in the Bible who bear the name Joseph. Is Polygamy Really Biblical? Recall that Jacob was born in the land of Canaan, the land God promised to Abraham, and where Jacob's father Isaac was born and lived his entire life. Joseph interpreted this dream as the baker being hanged within three days and having his flesh eaten by birds. Soon, the family took up residence in the town of Bethel and later moved to Hebron. It is described in the Quran as the 'best of stories'. ISBN links support NWE through referral fees, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Joseph,_son_of_Jacob&oldid=1017043, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, More recently, Joseph figures prominently in Anita Diamant's novel. Families desperately needed heirs, and the dyadic social identity of a woman depended on her being not only a wife, but also a mother it simply didnt matter if your husband loved you best, if you had no children Rachel knew that (so did Sarah, Rebekah, Hannah and Elizabeth). Jacob's family travel to Egypt to escape the famine, and it is through him that they are given leave to settle in the Land of Goshen (the eastern part of the Nile Delta). pseudo-Jonathan), protecting her from the lustful eyes of Esau (Gen. R. 78:13). Joseph was born the 11 th of 12 sons to his father Jacob. So the final birth order of Jacob's thirteen children by these four women was: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Dinah, Joseph, and Benjamin. The younger daughter of Laban and wife of Jacob, Rachel is the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, who become two of the twelve tribes of Israel ( Gen 35:24; Gen 46:15-18). 2. Mary and Joseph ended up in Bethlehem where the birth took place. After relaying his prophecies, Israel died. The Pharaoh is said to have given Joseph, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. "Pharaoh called Joseph by the name Tzafnat-Pa'neach and gave him as his wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-Fera priest of On. His story is told in . Some believe that he built the city of Memphis, and that he was instrumental in building the obelisks and pyramids. Thats an interesting word, because although the lemma is the same isha as I discussed above neshe is tied in to the idea of a debt. How many children did Mary have after Jesus? Then Joseph buried Israel in the cave of Machpelah, the property of Abraham when he bought it from the Hittites. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and this made Leah sad. There Jacob worked for Laban, fathered eleven sons and daughter, Dinah, (Gen. 35:22-26; 46:15), and amassed livestock and wealth. The community seems to confuse quite often what is description vs prescription. Joseph's brothers were motivated by fear. In the Qur'an a whole chapter (sura xii) is devoted to Joseph; and Islamic commentators add many details to this "best of stories.". 'He shall add';[1] Standard: Ysef, Tiberian: Ysp; alternatively: ,[2][3] lit. They betrayed him by. [24] Its redaction history may have included a first "Reuben version" originating in the northern kingdom of Israel and intended to justify the domination by the "house of Joseph" over the other tribes, this was followed by a later "Judah-expansion" (chapters 38 and 49) elevating Judah as the rightful successor to Jacob, and finally various embellishments so that the novella would function as the bridge between the Genesis and the story of Moses and the Exodus.[25]. Your email address will not be published. After he had washed his face, he came out and, controlling himself, said, 'Serve the food'" (Gen 43:30-32). Joseph named his eldest Manasseh ('to forget' in Hebrew) because "God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father's household," while his younger son was named Ephraim ('to be fruitful') "because God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering." (Genesis 41 . When the famine came, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread. Jacob's other children are between 56 and 63. Abraham had one wife, and then only took a concubine when she was still barren at 80; he took a second wife only after the death of his first. Great article Tyler! He withdrew to his chambers and wept. Leah was "Tender Eyed". You can also subscribe without commenting. Since in the Bible, unlike in later Jewish law, ethnic identity is determined by the father, the fact that their mother is not an Israelite does not affect their status . Pharaoh made Joseph governor over Egypt and all Pharaohs house. Jacob should not have had more than one wife.) Jacob was tricked into polygamy (Genesis 29:20-30) and later received two additional wives bringing the grand total of four wives (Genesis 30:4, 9). [21] After questioning them, he accused them of being spies. The story begins in Canaan - modern day Palestine, Syria and Israel - around 1600 to 1700 BC. Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 1:26). People just cherry pick with the descriptions to determine prescriptives without studying out the matter. He has humbled her (had sexual relations with her) and cannot sell her to another man, he must allow her to go out for nothing (she came in with no dowry). Jacob lives in Egypt for seventeen years after his arrival (Genesis 47:28). 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. 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. Posted by Tyler Dawn | Nov 19, 2015 | Biblical Context Studies, Women's issues | 6 |, (Note: Yes, I do understand that it is actually called polygyny when a man has multiple wives, and polygamy can be either male or female but for purposes of using a familiar term to everyone I am simplifying this by calling it polygamy). What about the Ethiopian woman that Moses took as a wife in Numbers 12:1? For Jacob however, a time came when his parents urged him to leave Canaan . 3) Levi was the third of Jacob and Leah's children. The historicity of Joseph's story is debated, with dates ranging from an early estimate beginning around 2000 B.C.E. Then the Hebrew phrase shm midyanm srm in verse 28 describes Midianite traders. Joseph was the favorite son of his father, who made him a richly ornamented coat. 10God saved Joseph from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Then Israel laid his left hand on the eldest Mannasseh's head and his right hand on the youngest Ephraim's head and blessed Joseph. yosef] to me another son." (Genesis 49:3350:14), After their father died, the brothers of Joseph feared retribution for being responsible for Joseph's deliverance into Egypt as a slave. It has also been suggested that there are similarities between the rise to power of Joseph, and Manethos' tale of Osarseph, who was Syrian born, and rose to be Vizier of Egypt, beginning his career under Pharaoh Merenptah and his son Seti II. The cup-bearer took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Israel is another name for Jacob as, son of Isaac as. [5], In rabbinic tradition, he is considered the ancestor of a second Messiah called "Mashiach ben Yosef", who will wage war against the forces of evil alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel. After the (presumed) death of Joseph, we read, "All of his [Jacob's] sons and daughters got up to comfort him . Jacob's concubine Bilhah gave birth to Dan . The family prostrated before him hence the fulfilment of his dream aforetime.[52]. ACTS 7:13-15 13 And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh. Yes and No. Then Joseph is summoned to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh himself. What happens when a man is required to take his dead brothers wife, if he is already married Deut 25:5? 1) Reuben was Jacob's firstborn. Unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed him first. Joseph's own remains were reportedly taken by Moses with the Israelites during the Exodus (Exodus 13:19) and later buried at Shechem (Joshua 24:32). Judah, too, counseled against murder and convinced the brothers to sell Joseph to a company of Ishmaelite merchants, who bought him in exchange for 20 shekels of silver. Joseph interpreted this dream as the cup-bearer being restored as cup-bearer to the Pharaoh within three days. At the end of that period, the Pharaoh had a strange dream which none of his advisers could interpret. When Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dreams, the king asked him for a sign by which he might know that his interpretation was true. Indeed, he blessed Joseph's sons before all the rest. For example, just before his death he predicted that God would visit the children of Israel and lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land. When we look at Jacobs situation, the >description< of it and how much sorrow and dysfunction followed, it's not for us to overlook all that and consider it as a prescription to do to our own family! Jacob's sons, including Joseph, are listed at the end of this page. 13When they went the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and Josephs origins were revealed to Pharaoh. (Acts 7:9-13). In icons, he is sometimes depicted wearing the nemes headdress of an Egyptian vizier. Joseph is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him as a patriarch on March 31. Rabbah l.c). the time has come for the Israelites to be rescued from their oppressors; come up and do not cause us any further delay!" Efforts to Bear Children. Then he prepared a great ceremonial journey to Canaan leading the servants of the Pharaoh, and the elders of the houses Israel and Egypt beyond the Jordan River. The brothers conferred amongst themselves speaking in Hebrew, reflecting on the wrong they had done to Joseph. But Israel refused saying, "but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he," a declaration he made just as Israel himself was to his firstborn brother Esau. If later he is disgusted with her (after all, she was from a pagan nation), he cannot treat her as a slave and simply sell her away but must treat her as he would treat a divorced wife. He became the second most powerful man in all Egypt. Some of those women were also married to friends of his.Nov 11, 2014 She then had three more sons: Simeon, Levi and Judah. In the Kitb-i-Aqdas, Bah'u'llh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph. After Joseph rejected the attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him, she accused him of attempted rape, and he was cast into the state prison (Gen. 39:40), where he became the most trusted inmate and remained for at least two years. Finally, after 20 years of marriage, they were blessed with twin boys, Jacob and Esau. Joseph was sworn to do as his father asked of him. He wept so loudly that even the Egyptian household heard it outside. 11Then a famine came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, causing great affliction. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph had also returned their money to their money sacks (Genesis 42:128). He and his family took everything they owned. Joseph's story is recounted in some detail in the New Testament, during Saint Stephen's speech before the Sandhedrin in Acts 7. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. 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). On top of all this, Leah had stopped bearing children perhaps because Jacob was no longer performing his legal obligations to continue to provide her with marital relations (at one point, she actually had to buy a night with him from her sister). 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. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. The text says that they are Jacobs wives, and yet wives would retain ownership over their own children, so how can they be actual wives?. (Genesis Rabbah 84:22). (Gen. 30:24) He was born in Padan-aram when Jacob was about 90 years old. [50] He thus charged his sons to go and inquire about Joseph and his brother and despair not of God's mercy. The sons by . Charles L. Zimmerman holds the B. Though Manasseh was the older brother, Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and gave him the greater blessing. For an excellent read on many matters pertaining to women in the Bible (not all of which I agree with, of course), see Matthews, Victor H., Gender and Law in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East (1998) p 229 is directly relevant to this discussion. 'Yahweh shall add'; Standard: Yhsef, Tiberian: Yhsp;[4] Arabic: , romanized:Ysuf; Ancient Greek: , romanized:Isph) is an important figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis. He is presently pastor of the Evangelical Church of Archbold, Ohio. Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:1820) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben,[12][13] who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself. Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt (Genesis 37). Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages. According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. I put up the white board and I was marking out the family tree of the patriarchs. How many years overall did he work for Laban? The Priestly source adds some statistics and gives a list of the people who went down to Egypt, while a later editor has supplied details to make the accounts appear as one, such as Joseph's subterfuge of sending the brothers back to Canaan first to get Benjamin, and later to get Jacob.
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