Daily Bible Portion (Sunday)
Daily Bible Portion - 1 of 7
"HE DWELT"
Weekly Reading>>Genesis 37:1-40:23, Amos 2:6-3:8, Acts 7:9-16
Joseph’s Life: Part One
In the last study we followed Jacob being led under the Spirit of the Holy One’s guidance, which enabled him to work out the salvation of his soul. As the story continues, it now turns to focus on Jacob’s son Joseph, the firstborn of his beloved wife Rachel.
Slander
Genesis 37:2-4
We enter our study with Joseph at the age of seventeen tending sheep with his brothers Dan and Naphtali (his half brothers from Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah), and brothers Gad and Asher (from Leah’s maidservant Zilpah). When Joseph returned from the field he brought back a negative report about his brothers. In Scripture we are not told what that bad report was, but gossip and slander (lashon hara in Hebrew) against someone causes division. By the power of the tongue Joseph set in motion his future exile from his own family.
Joseph gained firstborn status over his elder brothers when Leah’s firstborn son Reuben dishonored his father. As a consequence, Rubin’s preeminent standing was not honored. This resulted in Joseph being the next inline as Rachel’s firstborn (Genesis 35:22). Because of Joseph’s positioning, his father Jacob gave him a coat that set him apart from his brothers. This coat in Hebrew is the word katan (Strong’s #H3801), a talit worn over the body with four tzitzit on the corners (Deuteronomy 22:12). They can also be used to display a future rank and honor of position in the family. Those who wore the katan were usually firstborn who studied Torah and were sons of the Covenant. Joseph’s coat was multi-colored. As we will see, this katan came to be a prophetic garment representing the twelve tribes of Israel (a multi-colored people) who would come forth from Jacob. It also represented the mantle of responsibility given Joseph in the future role of deliver for his family.
In the book "Joseph" by Yair Davidi, he refers to the multi-colored garments as cotonet pasim in Hebrew. The word translated as pasim means strips, denoting both a pattern of interwoven lines and different colors, i.e. a tartan-type design. Cotonet pasim (TWOT 1789a) can also mean overcoat or dress, or a kind of tartan cloak or kilt. Yair Davidi quotes J. Wall, “I cannot see why Joseph’s brothers would be jealous of him for his colorful apparel, unless the colors somehow were an indicator of rank. In Scotland, one’s rank was shown by the number of colors one wore on the kilt, one color being the lowest rank, seven colors being the highest.”
continues tomorrow...
"HE DWELT"
Weekly Reading>>Genesis 37:1-40:23, Amos 2:6-3:8, Acts 7:9-16
Joseph’s Life: Part One
In the last study we followed Jacob being led under the Spirit of the Holy One’s guidance, which enabled him to work out the salvation of his soul. As the story continues, it now turns to focus on Jacob’s son Joseph, the firstborn of his beloved wife Rachel.
Slander
Genesis 37:2-4
We enter our study with Joseph at the age of seventeen tending sheep with his brothers Dan and Naphtali (his half brothers from Rachel’s maidservant Bilhah), and brothers Gad and Asher (from Leah’s maidservant Zilpah). When Joseph returned from the field he brought back a negative report about his brothers. In Scripture we are not told what that bad report was, but gossip and slander (lashon hara in Hebrew) against someone causes division. By the power of the tongue Joseph set in motion his future exile from his own family.
1 Peter 3:10-11 “For he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.’”
Joseph gained firstborn status over his elder brothers when Leah’s firstborn son Reuben dishonored his father. As a consequence, Rubin’s preeminent standing was not honored. This resulted in Joseph being the next inline as Rachel’s firstborn (Genesis 35:22). Because of Joseph’s positioning, his father Jacob gave him a coat that set him apart from his brothers. This coat in Hebrew is the word katan (Strong’s #H3801), a talit worn over the body with four tzitzit on the corners (Deuteronomy 22:12). They can also be used to display a future rank and honor of position in the family. Those who wore the katan were usually firstborn who studied Torah and were sons of the Covenant. Joseph’s coat was multi-colored. As we will see, this katan came to be a prophetic garment representing the twelve tribes of Israel (a multi-colored people) who would come forth from Jacob. It also represented the mantle of responsibility given Joseph in the future role of deliver for his family.
In the book "Joseph" by Yair Davidi, he refers to the multi-colored garments as cotonet pasim in Hebrew. The word translated as pasim means strips, denoting both a pattern of interwoven lines and different colors, i.e. a tartan-type design. Cotonet pasim (TWOT 1789a) can also mean overcoat or dress, or a kind of tartan cloak or kilt. Yair Davidi quotes J. Wall, “I cannot see why Joseph’s brothers would be jealous of him for his colorful apparel, unless the colors somehow were an indicator of rank. In Scotland, one’s rank was shown by the number of colors one wore on the kilt, one color being the lowest rank, seven colors being the highest.”
continues tomorrow...