Tag: Joseph/Yosef

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Genesis 37–40: Joseph and Judah’s school of hard knocks

Two lion cubs play fighting, learning how to fight for real when they grow up. Photo by Freeimages.com/Kimberlee Kessler Designs via Creative Commons License

God prepared two self-centered “brats” — Yosef (Joseph) and Yehudah (Judah) — and their descendants to become the saviors of their families. Yosef was a tattle-tale and a bit of a braggart, but Yehudah was willing to throw weaker, younger people to the wolves, either figuratively or literally to obtain a higher status in his society. God really cares about how you treat other people, especially those who are weaker and less fortunate. In the Torah reading וישב Vayeshev (Genesis 37–40), we learn from Yosef and Yehudah their life lessons the hard way.

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Yosef foreshadows Yeshua’s grace

"Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)" by Gustave Doré, 1866
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), "Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)," Doré's English Bible, wood engraving, Wikimedia Commons, 1866.

Aesop’s ancient saying “familiarity breeds contempt” could easily sum up how Yosef’s brothers treated him in his early years and how many leaders of Yisra’el treated Yeshua. The prophetic parallels between Yosef and Yeshua the Mashiakh sharpen further in the Torah section Vayigash (“he approached”).

In it, the brothers’ contempt turns to fear when they realize their plots against Yosef have put them at his mercy. It’s also a picture of the Day of the LORD, when Yisra’el then the world must confess, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD.”

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 41:1-44:17: Yitzkhak’s and Yosef’s extended passion play

"Joseph, Overseer of Pharaoh's Granaries" by Sir Lawrence Ima-Tadema, 1874
Sir Lawrence lma-Tadema (Dutch/British, 1836–1912). "Joseph, Overseer of Pharaoh’s Granaries," Oil on panel, Wikipedia Commons, 1874.

Torah section Miketz (“from the end,” Genesis 41:1-44:17) is a passion play of the Mashiakh. The suffering Yosef puts his brothers through was not only a recollection of Yosef’s own sufferings but also a foreshadowing of the suffering of the future Anointed One.

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 37–40: What’s your legacy in the Kingdom of God?

"Judah and Tamar" by School of Rembrandt, c. 1650-1660
School of Rembrandt, "Judah and Tamar," Wikipedia Commons, c. 1650-1660

Are you living where God wants you to live? That’s the question the LORD explored with Yosef and Yehudah in the Torah section Vayeshev, which means “and he dwelled.” It introduces in earnest the two main characters ― biblically, called “houses” ― in the leadership of Israel’s legacy, the knowledge of and connection with the Creator.

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 37:1–40:23: All Yosef’s life’s indeed a stage for Mashiakh

The account of Yosef seems larger than life as it is: His coat of many colors. His dreams of greatness over his older brothers and even his parents. His being sold by those brothers into slavery in Mitsraim, then rising from prison to vice president of the mighty ancient empire that built the pyramids. But that’s for a later discussion. This time, Hallel Fellowship teacher Daniel explores a messianic play in the Torah reading Vayeshev, which means “he settled” and covers Genesis 37-40. Yosef was playing the role of Mashiakh consistently through his life. His father, Ya’akov, played God the Father. Older brother Yehudah played the leadership of the people of Yisrael, and brother Ruben also has a prophetic role. There are also two different “harlots” in this story. One is righteous — Tamar — and one is evil — Potiphar’s wife. Through it all, we see that God is the one in control of all things, not Yehudah. Mashiakh hadn’t yet become flesh, yet we read all about Him in Yosef’s life.

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Genesis 50: Yisra’el pleads with Yosef to forgive his brothers

Richard Agee

After the death of Yisra’el, fka Ya’akob (Jacob), 10 of his dozen sons approached Yosef (Joseph) with a message from their father: Don’t seek revenge for selling him as a slave. Yosef lived out the “second greatest commandment” in his response, showing he trusted God’s plan that had violently separated him from his family and landed him in prison for a few years.

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Genesis 47-48: Ya’akob moves to Goshen; Yosef takes control via the famine; Yisra’el blesses Ephraim & Manasseh

Richard Agee

Ya’akob (Jacob) blessed pharaoh of Mitsraim (Egypt) upon arrival there. Ya’akob blessed the sons of Yosef (Joseph), Ephraim and Manasseh, as if they were his own elder sons. As we have noticed in past studies of the account of Yosef in Genesis, there are parallels between the roles of pharaoh, Yosef and Yisra’el (Israel), f.k.a. Ya’akob, and those of the Father, the Son and a people called Yisra’el.