I'm Not Alright

We had one chapter on Esau and now we're back to Jacob and his family.

Beresheet (Genesis) 37:1-2a"Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan. This is the history of Jacob."

Finishing up Jacob's story, moving onward.

Beresheet 37:2b "Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father."

At seventeen, this guy is still telling on his brothers? Really? Dang. I guess he is the second youngest, and that's kinda what they do, but still! You'd think he'd learn by now that that is no way to make friends with your older sibs.

Beresheet 37:3-4 "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him."

Don't you hate it when people play favorites and you're not the favorite? And how does Joseph qualify as the son of Israel's old age? Didn't Rachel die bearing Benjamin? Wouldn't he be the son of his old age? Maybe they were both his favorites, but Benjamin hasn't grown out of the cute munchkin stage yet and therefore, his brothers don't appear to hold a grudge against him yet. On another note, if you have siblings, then you know you probably tease each other and drive each other crazy. Most sets of siblings also love each other, so it all evens out but Joseph's brothers don't, so it doesn't. There's nothing keeping them from being total jerks.

Beresheet 37:5-7 "Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more. So he said to them, 'Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.'"

Dreams are often symbolic, and the brothers know it. They don't like it at all. Many of them probably remember the years before Joseph was born, they can't imagine actually bowing down to him. If you're an elder sibling, do you expect respect from your younger sibling(s) or do you expect to elevate them well above your station? Can you see how this would irritate his ten big brothers?

Beresheet 37:8 "And his brothers said to him, 'Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?' So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words."

See what I mean? As far as they're concerned, this simply isn't done. There are major perks to being the first born, not the second-to-last.

Beresheet 37:9 "Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, 'Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed down to me.'"

Why? Why tell them this?? They already hate your guts, Joseph! They don't want to hear your dreams! You need to be trying to make things better with them, not telling them your dreams of being elevated above them!

Beresheet 37:10-11 "So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him, 'What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?' And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind."

Not even his dad likes the idea of Joseph being elevated so high.

Beresheet 37:12-14 "Then his brothers went to feed their father's flock in Shechem. And Israel said to Joseph, 'Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.' So he said to him, 'Here I am.' Then he said to him, 'Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.' So he sent him out of the Valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem."

Formerly a thriving city, Shechem is now a field to feed the sheep at. He got in trouble with his brothers once for telling on them, and he's being asked to do it again. I'm not sure how much more he can alienate himself.

Beresheet 37:15-17 "Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, 'What are you seeking?' So he said, 'I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding their flocks.' And the man said, 'They have departed from here, for I heard them say, "Let us go to Dothan".' So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan."

So... A random guy is wandering around in the field too and knows who and where Joseph's brothers are? That would be mighty peculiar if we didn't know that angels visited earth from time to time in this book.

Beresheet 37:18-20 "Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Then they said to one another, 'Look, this dreamer is coming! Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, "Some wild beast has devoured him." We shall see what will become of his dreams!"

Really?!? They really truly hate their brother! They would kill their brother, cover it up, and break their father's heart just to be rid of him!

Beresheet 37:21-22 "But Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, 'Let us not kill him.' And Reuben said to them, 'Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him." -That he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father."

Thank you Reuben! As an eldest sibling, I would do just about anything to keep my sibs safe, even if I'm mad at them. Reuben seems to have the same idea.

Beresheet 37:23-24 "So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it."

Yeah, I'd stick my baby sister in a well if it meant her life would be saved, but just thinking of who is threatening Joseph's life is terrible.

Beresheet 37:25-28 "And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and there was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt. So Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.' And his brothers listened. Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt."

So... Why get rid of him when you can get rid of him and make money? Judah, really? Do the last seventeen years of your life with your little brother mean nothing to you? I know little sibs can be annoying, but really??

Beresheet 37:29-30 "Then Reuben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. And he returned to his brothers and said, 'The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?'"

Ah, so Reuben wasn't in on this. He did want to bring Joseph back home anyway. I imagine he probably just went to get a drink of water from the stream or maybe something for Joseph, came back, and he wasn't there. But hey! He gets two shekels out of the deal, there's a bright side to this, right? Right? No. Not really. A brother is worth way more than two shekels. FYI: A shekel is worth about a third of a dollar. They sold him for a little under $7.00. Though you do have to count for a few thousands years of inflation... Nope, not worth it.

Beresheet 37:31-32 "So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, 'We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son's tunic or not?'"

Dang. They're good at cover-ups, but I imagine Reuben couldn't look his father in the eye for awhile after this.

Beresheet 37:33-35 "And he recognized it and said, 'It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.' Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, 'For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.' Thus his father wept for him."

Jacob's sons literally sent him into a spiraling depression. Also, since when are Jacob's daughters plural? The only one we've heard of is Dinah, though I guess there could be more. There isn't a whole lot of mention for females in the Bible. Unless a woman plays an extremely important part (like Eve being the mother of all mankind), she simply isn't named. Also, do you know what sackcloth is? Think about it. Sack + cloth. When you go to buy rice in those big brown cloth sacks, they're made of burlap. That's some of the itchiest, most uncomfortable cloth that I know of. A wool sweater is itchy too, but it's warm. Burlap is not. Sackcloth isn't made for comfort, it's made to hold stuff.

Beresheet 37:36 "Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard."

That's a long way from home. Let's hope stuff starts to look up soon.

I think this song could sum up Jacob/Israel, Reuben, and especially Joseph right now. "I'm Not Alright" -Sanctus Real

-Kj