Joseph's Dreams: A Prophecy of His Future Greatness

GEN 37

Joseph’s Dreams

1 Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan.

Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke

Of his father's sojournings—מגורי אביו megurey abiv, Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, as the margin very properly reads it. The place was probably the Valley of Hebron, see Gen 37:14.

2 These are the generations of Jacob.

Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father.

The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. JOH 7:7

3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors.

The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. JOH 3:35

4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him.

Rashi

And could not speak peacefully to him—From what is stated to their discredit we may infer something to their credit: they did not speak one thing with their mouth having another thing quite different in their hearts (Bereshit Rabbah 84:9).

דַבְּרוֹ means speak . . . to him.

3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.

4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.”

5 For not even his brothers believed in him. JOH 7:3-5

5 Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. JOH 17:14

Study Guide for John 17, by David Guzik

I have given them your word—Jesus faithfully delivered the word from God the Father unto his own disciples. Even Jesus saw himself as a messenger.

I have given them your word—“Not merely the oral teaching, but the whole revelation of the Father as manifested in the words and acts and personality of Jesus Christ” (Trench).

“See how the Lord Jesus himself takes all his teaching from the Father. You never hear from him any boast about being the originator of profound thoughts. No, he just repeated to his disciples the words he had received from the Father: ‘I have given unto them the words which you have given me.’ If Jesus acted thus, how much more must the messengers of God receive the word from the Lord’s mouth, and speak it as they receive it!” (Spurgeon)

6 He said to them, “Hear this dream that I have dreamed:

7 Behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and behold, my sheaf arose and stood upright. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.”

. . . so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth . . . PHP 2:10

23 By myself I have sworn;

from my mouth has gone out in righteousness

a word that shall not return:

“To me every knee shall bow,

every tongue shall swear allegiance.”

Rashi

By myself I have sworn and from my mouth has gone out in righteousness to accept all those who return to me. I spoke a word that will not return. What is the righteousness that from my mouth has gone out? To me every knee shall bow, and I will accept them, as the matter is stated (Zep 3:9): “For at that time will I change for the people a pure speech, to call all of them upon the name of the Lord . . .”

24 Only in the Lord, it shall be said of me,

are righteousness and strength;

to him shall come and be ashamed

all who were incensed against him.

25 In the Lord all the offspring of Israel

shall be justified and shall glory. ISA 45:23-25

Rashi

In the Lord . . . shall be justified and shall glory—Through the promise of the support of his love they shall be justified and shall glory of his strength.

Shall glory—Porvantir in O.F.

8 His brothers said to him, “Are you indeed to reign over us? Or are you indeed to rule over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.

Rashi

And for his words—For the evil report which he used to bring to their father.

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” LUK 19:14

9 Then he dreamed another dream and told it to his brothers and said, “Behold, I have dreamed another dream. Behold, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”

10 But when he told it to his father and to his brothers, his father rebuked him and said to him, “What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?”

Rashi

But when he told it to his father and to his brothers—But when he told it to his brothers, he told it again to his father in their presence.

His father rebuked him because he was arousing hatred against himself.

Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come—“Is not your mother long since dead?” He did not, however, understand that the statement alluded to Bilhah who had brought him up as though she were his mother (Bereshit Rabbah 84:11). Our rabbis inferred from here that there is no dream without meaningless components (Berakhot 55). Jacob, however, intended to make his sons forget the whole matter, so that they would not envy him, and on this account he said, “Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come, etc.” Just as it is impossible in the case of your mother so the rest is absurd.

11 And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up. MAT 27:18

Joseph Sold by His Brothers

12 Now his brothers went to pasture their father's flock near Shechem.

Rashi

To pasture their father's flock—There are dots over the word אֶת, for they went only to “pasture” i.e., feed themselves (Bereshit Rabbah 84:13).

13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock at Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “Here I am.”

Rashi

“Here I am”—An expression denoting humility and readiness: he was zealous to perform his father’s bidding, although he was aware that his brothers hated him (Bereshit Rabbah 84:13).

Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. MAT 10:16

14 So he said to him, “Go now, see if it is well with your brothers and with the flock, and bring me word.” So he sent him from the Valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.

15 And a man found him wandering in the fields. And the man asked him, “What are you seeking?”

Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” JOH 1:38

16 “I am seeking my brothers,” he said. “Tell me, please, where they are pasturing the flock.”

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. LUK 19:10

17 And the man said, “They have gone away, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.’ ” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.

Rashi

They have gone away—They departed from brotherhood.

“Let us go to Dothan”—To seek some legal pretexts (נִכְלֵי דָתוֹת)” to put you to death. According to the literal sense, however, it is the name of place, and Scripture never really loses its literal sense (Shabbat 63a).

18 They saw him from afar, and before he came near to them they conspired against him to kill him.

Rashi

They conspired—They became filled with plots and craft.

Against him—Heb. אֹתוֹ, similar to אִתּוֹ or עִמוֹ, i.e. אֵלָיו, to him.

But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.” MAT 21:38

19 They said to one another, “Here comes this dreamer.

20 Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits. Then we will say that a fierce animal has devoured him, and we will see what will become of his dreams.”

Rashi

And we will see what will become of his dreams—R. Isaac said, this verse calls for a homiletic explanation. The Holy Spirit says thus: They (the brothers) say, “Let us kill him,” but the verse concludes: “and we will see what will become of his dreams.” Let us see whose word will stand up, yours or mine. It is impossible that they (the brothers) are saying, “and we will see what will become of his dreams,” because, since they will kill him, his dreams will come to nought.

21 But when Reuben heard it, he rescued him out of their hands, saying, “Let us not take his life.”

Rashi

“Let us not take his life”—Heb. לֹא נַכֶּנוּ נָפֶשׁ. Literally, let us not smite him the soul. This is equivalent to מַכַּת נֶפֶשׁ, let us not deal him a deadly blow, which means death.

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. MAT 10:28

Commentary on the Bible, by Adam Clarke

Do not fear those who kill the body—Των αποκτεινοντων. Those who slay with acts of cruelty, alluding probably to the cruelties which persecutors should exercise on his followers in their martyrdom. But cannot kill the soul. Hence we find that the body and the soul are distinct principles, for the body may be slain and the soul escape; and, secondly, that the soul is immaterial, for the murderers of the body are not able, μη δυναμενων, have it not in their power, to injure it.

Fear him—It is, not hell-fire we are to fear, but it is God; without the stroke of whose justice hell itself would be no punishment, and whose frown would render heaven itself insupportable. What strange blindness is it to expose our souls to endless ruin, which should enjoy God eternally; and to save and pamper the body, by which we enjoy nothing but the creatures, and them only for a moment!

Study Guide for Matthew 10, by David Guzik

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell—God is the one to fear, not the men who persecute the followers of Jesus. The worst they can do is to destroy the body, but being a coward before God can have eternal consequences.

“Hence we find that the body and the soul are distinct principles, for the body may be slain and the soul escape; and, secondly, that the soul is immaterial, for the murderers of the body are not able, have it not in their power, to injure it” (Clarke).

“There is no cure for the fear of man like the fear of God” (Spurgeon).