Last week’s Torah (i.e., Vayishlach) recounted how Jacob had wrestled with a mysterious Angel before returning to the Promised Land to be reconciled with his brother Esau. No longer named Ya’akov (“heel holder” [of Esau]), but Yisrael (“prince of God”), a transformed Jacob finally returned to Hebron to see his father Isaac, nearly 34 years after he had left home. However, on the way back home his beloved wife Rachel died while giving birth to his twelfth son Benjamin.
This week’s portion (i.e., parashat Vayeshev) begins with Jacob living back in the land that God had promised to give to Abraham and Isaac with his 12 sons, but the narrative quickly turns to Jacob’s “favorite” son Joseph, who was seventeen years old at the time. The Torah states that Jacob loved Joseph more than all his other sons since he was “the son of his old age” (בֶּן־זְקֻנִים) and he was the firstborn son of his beloved wife Rachel. Indeed, Jacob made him an ornamented tunic to indicate his special status in the family.
As the favored son, Joseph’s job was expected to oversee the activities of Jacob’s other sons (i.e., Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher) and to bring “reports” about their activities back to Jacob. However, this role as the overseer and “favored son” was too much for the other brothers, and they became jealous of him and hated him.
To make matters worse, Joseph related two prophetic dreams (חֲלֹמוֹת נְבוּאִים) to his brothers that foretold that he was destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred of him (the implication of the dreams was that all of Jacob’s family would become subservient to him). Jacob rebuked Joseph for arousing his brothers’ hatred, but he inwardly took note and waited for the fulfillment of the dreams.
The portion then records that one day the brothers went out to pasture their herds but when they saw their brother Joseph coming to check on them, they conspired to kill him, though later they reconsidered and decided to sell him to some slave traders instead. After Joseph was taken away, the brothers sought to deceive Jacob by staging his son’s death – dipping his special tunic into goat’s blood and telling him that he had been maimed and killed by a wild animal…
Meanwhile Joseph was taken into the land of Egypt and sold as a slave to a man named Potiphar (פּוֹטִיפַר) who was a captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The LORD was with Joseph” (יְהִי יְהוָה אֶת־יוֹסֵף) however, and blessed everything he did. In fact, he was soon promoted to be the head of Potiphar’s entire household affairs.
Unfortunately Joseph caught the eye of Potiphar’s wife (“Zuleika”), who then began enticing him to have an affair with her. Though he steadfastly refused her advances, she became indignant over her rejection and falsely accused him of attempted rape. Potiphar was understandably outraged (at his wife?) and threw Joseph into the royal prison, but again God showed him favor there and soon was appointed to a position of authority within the prison administration.
The reading ends with two prophetic episodes in Joseph’s life that eventually would bring him to the attention of the Pharaoh himself. While in prison, Joseph met Pharaoh’s wine steward and chief baker, both of whom were incarcerated for offending the king (according to Rashi, a fly was found in the goblet prepared by the butler, and a pebble was found in the baker’s confection). Both men had disturbing dreams which Joseph correctly interpreted: in three days, he told them, the wine steward would be released but the baker would be hanged. Joseph then asked the wine steward to advocate for his release with Pharaoh. Joseph’s predictions were fulfilled, but the wine steward forgot all about Joseph…
Note that this Torah reading is prophetic regarding Yeshua the Messiah. Joseph’s jealous brothers stripped him of his “coat of many colors” and threw him into a pit — a providential event that eventually led to the deliverance of the Jewish people by the hand of a “disguised savior.” Indeed, the life of Israel’s chosen son Joseph foreshadowed the two advents of Yeshua our Messiah: the first as the LORD’s Suffering Servant (עֶבֶד יַהְוֶה), and second as the Great Deliverer (הַגּוֹאֵל הַגָּדוֹל) of the Jewish people during tribulation…
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