I had no idea about what dyadic social identity was all about, or concubinage, and although I did understand the importance of political marriages (Solomon did NOT need that many alliances, just sayin) I was way too caught up in idea that black Mormons (not meaning color, but it was just what they were called in my neck of the woods) represented a sort of an ideal Biblical model for what was going on in ancient times. 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). Here is the list lifted from my answer to Who was Joseph in the Bible? Cushan and Midian are equated with each other, as are tents and curtains and affliction and trembling. ), and as recently as the reign of Pharaoh Merneptah about 1200 B.C.E. Certain rabbis declared that Joseph was ready to yield to his mistress, but that his father's image suddenly appeared to him and called him to his duty (Sotah 36b; Gen. R. 87:9). The majority opinion of the rabbis is that Joseph always kept in mind his father and brothers. Esau took a third wife to please his father Isaac (Genesis 28:6-9). You can also subscribe without commenting. Jacob had 12 sons, at Hebron. To add to the distinction within the family, in chapter thirty-seven, when Joseph goes tattling on his brothers, it specifically mentions that they are the sons of the neshe Bilhah and Zilpah. But Judah pleaded for Benjamin, offering himself as a slave instead. His father then remarked, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive." 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. He went into his private room and wept there. The Pharaoh honored their stay and even proposed that if there were any qualified men in their house, then they may elect a chief herdsman to oversee Egyptian livestock. Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, and this made Leah sad. [28] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). The composition of the story can be dated to the period between the 7th century BCE and the third quarter of the 5th century BCE, which is roughly the period to which scholars date the Book of Genesis. At this time, Joseph's father was 147 years old and bedridden. Answer and Explanation: Joseph has one wife, Asenath the daughter of Potiphar the priest of On, whom he marries in Egypt. The following morning the brothers began their journey back to Canaan. 10God saved Joseph from all his afflictions, and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The story concludes by Joseph praying, "My lord you have indeed bestowed upon me of the sovereignty and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams- the (only) creator of heavens and the earth! When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel commanded him to do. This tendency, although greatly diminished, was followed throughout late antiquity, the Medieval Era, and into the Reformation. 17:1; 1 Ne. This makes Jesus related to Adam, both as the son of God and . She became angry and told lies about him, so he was put in jail. Both were met by angels at various times (Gen. R. 84:6; Num. (Genesis 37:35, Common English Bible). Paul even specifically said that male leadership within the Body was to be limited to those men who only had one wife (I Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). The Bible tells us twice that Jacob had daughters. I have written six books on the ancient Near Eastern and First Century context of Scripture, including a family curriculum series. As Zipporah was a Midianite, calling her a Kusite makes absolute sense. Joseph likely also has this status because he is the eldest child of Jacob's favorite (deceased) wife, Rachel . In Genesis 29:31-30:24 the birth . (clearly, the reference to a second wife shows that the concubine is not a wife), [145] If a man take a wife, and she bear him no children, and he intend to take another wife: if he take this second wife, and bring her into the house, this second wife shall not be allowed equality with his wife. [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]. 21-22; comp. This was Joseph's full brother, Benjamin. The scene is a fitting resolution to Jacob's own drama, in which his father, Isaac, had been old and blind when Jacob himself deceived deceived him in order to obtain his blessing, meant for Esau. 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 . At the end of that period, the Pharaoh had a strange dream which none of his advisers could interpret. [45] Joseph is thrown into a well, and was taken as a slave by a passing caravan. Judah appealed to the Vizier begging that Benjamin be released and that he be enslaved in his stead, because of the silver cup found in Benjamin's sack. 21 . The Problems Produced by the Polygamy of the Patriarchs Full Bible Timeline - section on the life of Jacob. God punished him, therefore, by setting against him Potiphar's wife (Gen. R. 87:3). The story of Joseph also inspired the popular autobiographical song "Coat of Many Colors," written and recorded early in the career of country icon. Abraham married Sarah, who was his niece; Isaac married Rebekah, who was his first cousin once removed; and Jacob married Leah and Rachel, who were his first cousins. (notice that she is given the same treatment as a wife but is not a wife), [147] If she have not borne him children, then her mistress may sell her for money. In the midrash, the selling of Joseph was part of God's divine plan for him to save his tribes. Bilhah, they replied. According to most rabbinical authorities, Joseph's coffin was sunk in the Nile (Targ. According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. The majority of modern scholars agree that the Joseph story is a Wisdom novella constructed by a single author and that it reached its current form in the 5th century BCE at the earliest. When he regained control of himself, he returned and ordered a meal to be served. Elkannah had two women but again, one of them was barren so I suspect that Peninah was a concubine. 23 Leah's sons were Reuben (Jacob's first-born), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun. Jacob's other children are between 56 and 63. The "unloved" Leah bore seven of Jacob's childrensix sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun, as well as a daughter, Dinah. Joseph was 11th of 12 sons of a wealthy nomad Jacob and his second wife Rachel. 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. Some believe that he built the city of Memphis, and that he was instrumental in building the obelisks and pyramids. (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. Through his father, he also has six half-brothers: Dan and Naphtali (whose . He wept so loudly that even the Egyptian household heard it outside. , romanized: Rl, lit. ASENATH, mysterious wife of Joseph of Egypt - Women In The Bible When they flee Laban in chapter thirty-two, verse twenty-two specifically mentions two wives and two female servants, and again in thirty-three verse one, Leah and Rachel are named, along with the two female servants. In chapter thirty-five, after Rachels death, Reuben is specifically stated to have had sexual relations with his fathers concubine. It served a specific societal function within a context that no longer exists (much like the need for Levirate marriage). The Persian poet Firdowsi wrote an epic on this subject. After the events of (Gen Ch. [b] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants. When he returned, the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage. To Joseph he declared: Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. Stories about Jacob in the Bible begin at Genesis 25:19. This sets up the climax of the story, which many regard to be the moment Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers (Gen 45:3). 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. Because she was now barren (for whatever reason), she was in the legal position to give her own maidservant to Jacob as another woman, concubine. 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. The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt. 13When they went the second time Joseph was recognized by his brothers, and Josephs origins were revealed to Pharaoh. (Acts 7:9-13). Both women had a crisis of identity Rachel wasnt a mother and Leah wasnt really a wife in her own eyes. Why Did Jacob Wrestle With An Angel? - FAQS Clear 16Their remains were brought back to Shechem, and laid in the tomb that Abraham, for a price in silver, purchased from the children of Hamor in Shechem. (Acts 7:14-16). Rachel had the perfectly acceptable legal recourse in those days to provide her husband with a surrogate, and according to the laws of the surrounding nations, any child borne by the concubine would be counted as coming from her which is exactly why Rachel, and not Bilhah, named the boys. Thus, Joseph was indeed a "child of Isaac's old age" (Gen 37:3). There Jacob worked for Laban, fathered eleven sons and daughter, Dinah, (Gen. 35:22-26; 46:15), and amassed livestock and wealth. What happens when a man is required to take his dead brothers wife, if he is already married Deut 25:5? Joseph was fully trusted by his master, Potiphars wife took a fancy to Joseph, but he refused to sin with her. Joseph correctly predicted their futures: one would be reinstated in his post while the other would be executed. When Joseph and his mother bowed to Esau (Gen. 33:7), Joseph shielded his mother with his body (Targ. Response: We read in Genesis 41:45 that Pharaoh gave Joseph Osnat daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, to be his wife. On the third day, he brought them out of prison to reiterate that he wanted their youngest brother brought to Egypt to demonstrate their veracity. Joseph is also extolled by the rabbis for being a prophet, and for supporting his brothers. The first mention of Ishmaelites (Yishma'elm) is in verse 25. It is later mentioned in Genesis 41:50 that before the years of famine, Joseph had two sons with Asenath. They stopped at Atad where they observed seven days of mourning. 1653. 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. Tsaphenath Paneach", "Allusions to the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts: Foundations of a Biblical Type", The Story of Joseph in the Babi and Baha'i Faiths, "The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (Video 1979)", "Jewish religious life in the Persian period", The Composition of Genesis 37: Incoherence and Meaning in the Exposition of the Joseph Story, "The Odyssey and the myth of Joseph; Autolykos and Jacob", "Strange Bedfellows: Politics and Narrative in Philo", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_(Genesis)&oldid=1142074895, 1979, New Media Bible Genesis Project (TV)-cap. However, Joseph was displeased that his father's right hand was not on the head of his firstborn, so he switched his father's hands. When the Vizier (Joseph) confronted them about the silver cup, he demanded that the one who possessed the cup in his bag become his slave. Sefer ha-Yashar, section Wayiggash). The Hebrew word translated as "tender" means "soft, delicate, or lovely.". They thought that the missed transaction would somehow be used against them as way to induct them as slaves and to confiscate their possessions. As with Bilhahs offspring, Zilpahs children are claimed and named by Leah as her own. The family, including the Egyptians, mourned him seventy days. 5. They also discovered that all of their money sacks still had money in them, and they were dismayed. . Then Joseph is summoned to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh himself. Joseph had his father embalmed, a process that took forty days. She gives birth to two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. 3) Levi was the third of Jacob and Leah's children. What Does the Bible Say About How Many Wives Did Joesph Have Before He People just cherry pick with the descriptions to determine prescriptives without studying out the matter. With Reuben and Judah's persistence, they persuaded their father to let Benjamin join them for fear of Egyptian retribution (Genesis 42:2943:15). 2. When they were brought to Joseph's house, they were apprehensive about the returned money in their money sacks. This also created rivalries between their sons. Joseph Born in the wilderness, he was the youngest son in the family. Joseph was called into his father's house and Israel pleaded with his son that he not be buried in Egypt. Rachel in the Bible - Jacob's Wife and Mother of Joseph - Learn Religions Afterward, Joseph's family personally met the Pharaoh of Egypt. The latter third of the book of Genesis relates the complex and vola- tile relationship of the patriarch Jacob, his four wives, and their thirteen children (twelve sons, one daughter). These children are the offspring of four different women, Leah and Rachel, his wives, and Zilpah and Bilhah, their respective handmaids. These were Jacob's sons who were born to him while he . The Vizier broke down into tears. 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 . 1. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. I pray you will be preserved by our maker. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph had also returned their money to their money sacks (Genesis 42:128). How many wives did Abraham have? Because Joseph the Dreamer predicts the future by analyzing dreams, alternative Jewish tradition claims that he practiced divination using this silver cup as the steward charged[33] and as Joseph himself claimed in Genesis 44:15.[34]. 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! Answer (1 of 10): If you are talking about Jacob (Israel)'s son Joseph, then he had one wife. [48] Similarly, the eldest son of Jacob had decided not to leave the land because of the oath taken to protect Benjamin beforehand. What is a forbidden marriage in the Bible? As the king's appointed viceroy, Joseph built himself a magnificent palace, placing in it a great number of slaves. Joseph's sons born in Egypt by Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, Priest Although this very well may offend our modern sensibilities, Zilpah and Bilhah had a better life than they had hoped for, in the end. In the Yahwist version Joseph is sold to Ismaelites, while in the Elohist (E) narrative it is Midianites who buy him. It simply was a rarity. the time has come for the Israelites to be rescued from their oppressors; come up and do not cause us any further delay!" The final group, where a transaction is made, is among the Egyptians in the same verse. The historicity of Joseph's story is debated, with dates ranging from an early estimate beginning around 2000 B.C.E. 4) Judah was the next. [a] When Joseph was seventeen years old, he shared with his brothers two dreams he had had: in the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed to his own. 14Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five souls, to come and live in Egypt. Conversations that Christians Must Have#MeToo and #BLM, Episode 82: Mark Part 24Cosmic Encounters 3The Woman with the Issue of Blood. Christian Apologetics & Intelligence Ministry, Tyler Dawn How Many Wives did Jacob Have? These dreams, implying his supremacy, angered his brothers (Genesis 37:111) and made the brothers plot his demise. Her maid Bilhah is ancestor of two more ( Gen 35:25; Gen 46:23-24). Thus, Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh. Rav Huna adds one more sale by concluding that after the Medanites sold him to the Egyptians, a fifth sale occurred when the Egyptians sold him to Potiphar. [15] Both men had dreams, and Joseph, being able to interpret dreams, asked to hear them. [h] It had been over twenty years since Joseph had last seen his father. The first born of this union is still his firstborn even after he marries another woman, loves her, and has children with her. He was Rachel's firstborn and Jacob's eleventh son. Israel (Jacob) moves to Egypt to join Joseph - Bible Blender M. degrees from Grace Theological Seminary. | The Hub It was after this that Isaac married Rebekah and Abraham took Keturah as a wife (possibly a concubine) (see Genesis 24 and 25:1). For Jacob however, a time came when his parents urged him to leave Canaan . Particularly galling is Jacob's reaction to Rachel the wife whom he loves deeply when she cannot become pregnant. When the famine came, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread. This was the legal world and social context of the time of the Patriarchs. Joseph's brothers were motivated by fear. By way of background, the Bible tells us that God created the first man, Adam, out of dust, and then created Eve out of Adam's ribs (Genesis 2:7,22). Joseph's story is recounted in some detail in the New Testament, during Saint Stephen's speech before the Sandhedrin in Acts 7. Jacob is 147 years old. 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 . is devoted to him, the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a prophet. Jacob is between 130 and 147 years old. Hope that makes sense. Joseph's wife is considered to be an Egyptian. Legacy. Joseph, in the Old Testament, son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel. (Genesis 50:1521), Joseph lived to the age of 110, living to see his great-grandchildren. lol does it come with a jetted jacuzi tub? If, however, to the sixty-six Stephen added the wives of Jacob's sons', he could have legitimately reckoned Jacob's household as numbering seventy-five, instead of seventy. Old and nearly blind, Jacob is overwhelmed with joy, saying: "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too" (Gen 48:11). This caused a stir amongst the brothers. Part of the problem with that verse is that it is almost always separated from the context of the verses before it the case of the woman taken as a prisoner of war, brought into a mans home and taken as a wife. popularly referred to as a "coat of many colors." After they had consumed all of the grain that they brought back from Egypt, Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt for more grain. . The brothers conferred amongst themselves speaking in Hebrew, reflecting on the wrong they had done to Joseph. The account of the birth of Jacob's children is found in Genesis 2930, 35. Am happy to have read this. 118b); they were given to lust, while Joseph was chaste and resisted temptation. When the brothers claimed to the father that a wolf had eaten Joseph, he observed patience. You are my Guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. But you'd be wrong. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: a chronology - British Bible School [16] Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison,[17] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph. During this period of famine, Joseph's brothers, except for Benjamin, also came down to Egypt to buy grain. They returned with a wolf, but when Jacob began to reproach the beast for its cruelty, the wolf answered, in human language, that she had not committed the crime, and that she herself was searching for her lost cub. Isaac had one wife. "[40], In addition, some Christian authors have argued that this typological interpretation finds its origin in the speech of Stephen in Acts 7:9-15, as well as the Gospel of Luke and the parables of Jesus, noting strong verbal and conceptual collocation between the Greek translation of the portion of Genesis concerning Joseph and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.