Gen. 34:7 Did vileness in Israel: An emphatic Hebrew expression motivated by a sin that has injured a family or an entire community, which appears several times later in the Old Testament.See Joshua 7:15.
Gen. 34:13 Jacob's sons had inherited his deceptive tendencies. Nevertheless, GOD utilized their plan as a way of punishing the Hivite sinners (v.7).
Gen. 34:14 The Hivites were perhaps related to the Philistines, the only inhabitants of the Middle East who didn't practice circumcision. (The Philistines originally came from Crete and weren't related to any of the surrounding peoples.)
Gen. 34:21-24 The Hivites considered circumcision a small price to pay in comparison with an alliance that promised to increase their wealth and power.
Gen. 34:27-29 Simeon, Levi and their armed men allowed no one to live in Shechem, and with their brothers stole everything that had value, including their sons and their women (see the note for 48:22).
Gen. 34:30,31 This cruel act cost Simeon and Levi their father's blessing (see 49:5-7). Jacob was terrified by the imminent vengeance of the neighboring communities, but his two sons were unrepentant.
Gen. 35:1 Reaffirming the Promises (HBH) Jacob traveled on the Bethel, again in the footsteps of Abraham (35:1-7; see 12:8). There, as he had before, Jacob saw the LORD in a vision and received yet another promise of the divine presence and blessing (35:9-12). He would father nations and kings and would inherit the land of his fathers. The list of his immediate descendants (35:23-26) attests to the onset of promise fulfillment. Even Esau, who had to settle for a secondary blessing (27:39-40), gave rise to a mighty people (Gen. 36).
Gen. 35:2-4 Jacob knew the truth, that would later be codified in the 2nd Commandment, that GOD hated representations of himself or any other gods. Later the prophets emphatically denounced the use of images in Israel. Change your clothes: This action meant a repentant change of heart, as occurred with Christian baptism, although the strange gods had been hidden under something carefully identified as an oak. Thus paganism remained deeply rooted in their hearts.
Gen. 35:4 Strange gods: See the note for 31:19. The earrings were apparently charms.
Gen. 35:5 The terror of GOD could have been a natural disaster, a plague, or simply a great fear of the sons of Jacob. The expression normally alludes to a certain type of catastrophe attributed to the LORD. GOD continued protecting his chosen.
Gen. 35:6,7 Bethel: Again Jacob worshiped GOD in the place where he had encountered him many years earlier (see 28:11-22).
Gen. 35:9-15 GOD confirmed the Abrahamic covenant to Jacob, as well as his new name Israel (see the note for 32:28). From here on, the story refers alternately to "Jacob" and "Israel".
Gen. 35:11 GOD Almighty: See the note for 17:1,2.
Gen. 35:14 See the note for 28:16-18.
Gen. 35:20 Until today indicates that this clause was written centuries later. Rachel's sepulcher: It is said that it was still there in Saul's time (see I Sam. 10:2), and the place where tradition places it, between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, is the site where the Church of the Crusaders was built.
Gen 35:21 The location of Edar is unknown.
Gen. 35:22 Reuben's indiscretion later cost him his primogeniture (see 49:3,4).
Gen. 35:27 Jacob finally arrived at the house of his father, not merely for a visit, but with all his belongings. Apparently, Isaac had been ill and totally blind for several years.
Gen. 36:1-43 An interlude paves the way to the final section of Genesis. It also serves as a record of the fraternal relations between Esau and Jacob, and among their respective families. Some of these names appear in every part of the Scripture, and many of them figure in the Book of Job. The descendants of Amalek became bitter enemies of Israel for generations, until they were finally destroyed by Saul and David. (However, there were Amalekites in Hezekiah's time, who were defeated by 500 men from the tribe of Simeon, who took their land and left them dispossessed [I Chron. 4:39-43].)
Gen. 36:2 See the note for 26:34,35.
Gen. 36:7,8 Esau and his clan replaced the Horites (v.20), the original inhabitants of Seir. Verses 20-30 give a list of the Horite kings.
Gen. 36:43 See the introduction to Obadiah: "Background".
Gen. 37:1-50:26 Deliverance Through Joseph: (HBH) Israel's role as the people of promise was being jeopardized by their acceptance of the loose moral standards of the native Canaanites. The incest between Reuben and his father's servant-wife (35:22) hints at that moral compromise. Judah's marriage to the Canaanite Shua and his later affair with his own daughter-in-law, Tamar, makes the danger clear. To preserve His people, Yahweh removed them from that sinful environment to Egypt, where they could mature into the covenant nation that He was preparing them to be.
This explains Joseph's story. His brothers sold him to Egypt to be rid of their brother the dreamer. GOD, however, used their act of hate as an opportunity to save Israel from both physical famine and spiritual extinction. The rise of Joseph to a position of authority in Egypt in fulfillment of his GOD-given dreams illustrates the LORD's blessing upon His people. Joseph's wisdom in administering the agricultural affairs of Egypt again fulfilled GOD's promise that "I will bless him who blesses you". What appeared to be a series of blunders and injustices in Joseph's early experiences proved to be GOD at work in unseen ways to demonstrate His sovereign, kingdom work among the nations.
No one was more aware of this than Joseph, at least in later years. After he had revealed himself to his brothers, he said, "GOD sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance" (45:7). Years later after Jacob's death, when Joseph's brothers feared his revenge, he reminded them that they had intended to harm him, "but GOD intended it for good to accomplish...the saving of many lives" (50:20). Human tragedy had become the occasion of divine triumph. Joseph's dying wish - to be buried in the land of promise - looks past the future tragedy of Israel's experience of slavery and anticipates GOD's triumph in the exodus (5)22-26).
Gen. 37:2 The story of the people of Jacob in Egypt had been revealed to Abraham (15:13-16). Consequently, this is part of GOD's sovereignty, working through Joseph's brothers.
Gen. 37:3 And Israel loved Joseph more: Being the firstborn of Jacob's favorite wife, Rachel, it's not by chance that he became Joseph's favorite son We don't know the actual appearance of this tunic of diverse colors. This translation follows the text of the Septuagint, "diverse colors", but it could also deal with "a large tunic with fringes". An inscription, in another Semitic language, Accadian, suggests "an ornamented tunic" like royalty used.
Gen. 37:5 A dream confirms GOD's providence. This is acted out through Joseph.
Gen. 37:5-10 See section 6 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Genesis.
Gen. 37:11The two attitudes described here are typical reactions to the message received from GOD.
Gen. 37:17 Dothan was 24 km north of Shechem.
Gen. 37:25 Aromas, balsam and myrrh were products of Palestine used in Egypt for embalming, making cosmetics, and as medicine.
Gen. 37:28-32 Midianite merchants: Medan and Midian were Abraham's son with Keturah (25:1), and were later considered by Israel to be members of the same tribe as their half-brother Ishmael (see Judges 8:22-24). What they did was a type of kidnapping, which is punishable by death, according to Exodus 21:16 and Deuteronomy 24:7.
Gen. 37:28 Twenty pieces of silver was a fair price for a male slave under twenty years old (Lev. 27:5).
Gen. 37:34 Remained mourning: A vest made of goat's or camel's hair.
Gen. 38:1-30 Joseph's story is interrupted to put on record who succeeded Judah. This is important because Pharez (v.30) was a direct ancestor of David (Ruth 4:18-22), and Judah played an important role in the history of the Hebrew people. The story revolves around the "levirate" (marriage law), a provision promised to assure lineage, through his brother, to a man who has died childless (Deut. 25:5-10).
Gen. 38:1 Adulan is found in the hills, around 14.5 km northeast of Hebron. A nearby cave served as a refuge to David when he was pursued by Saul (I Sam. 22:1).
Gen. 38:7 And Jehovah took his life: Israel attributed the bad as well as the good, death as much as life to GOD (see Is. 45:7). This premature death was a punishment for Er's sin.
Gen. 38:9 The descendants...his: The firstborn of the marriage with the brother's widow was considered his son. When is equivalent to "each time that", which indicates that Onan wasn't prepared to accept the responsibility of being a father.
Gen. 38:10 Onan was judged for his continual and conscious rebellion against the purpose for that type of marriage.
Gen. 38:15 Harlot here designates a prostitute of a pagan religion. This shows Judah's depravity as well as the world that surrounded him; it wasn't only an act of fornication, but of idolatry.
Gen. 38:23 Despised: Judah is ironically concerned with his reputation.
Gen. 38:24 Be burned: Judah was using a legal expression. Again, the Mosaic Law later incorporated this earlier provision: death by fire for adultery (Lev. 21:9), or more commonly, by stoning (Deut. 22:24).
Gen. 38:25 The seal was a personal identification that hung on a tight fitting cord around the owner's neck. The staff probably had a distinctive carving on the end. Tamar had a natural talent for the drama; she knew that nobody else in the family could identify the ownership of these objects more rapidly.
Gen. 38:27-30Birth is undoubtedly a miraculous event. This is another incident through which divine providence awards the preferred position to the younger of the sons.
Gen. 39:3 Potiphar was wise enough to see that everything which he entrusted to Joseph prospered in his hand. In these ancient cultures, people sought men filled with divine power like Joseph.
Gen. 39:4 See section 6 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Genesis.
Gen. 39:6 Of the bread that he ate: Joseph was excluded from supervising the meals, possibly because of the Egyptian prejudice against the practice of eating with Asiatics (43:32).
Gen. 39:7-20 The honorable conduct of Joseph was returned with injustice. However, GOD considers, remembers, and prospers Joseph in the midst of what is undoubtedly a test sent by Him (Psa. 105:19).
Gen. 39:9 See section 6 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Genesis.
Gen. 39:20 Joseph should have been executed. The prison sentence shows divine providence and indicates that Potiphar may not have completely believed his wife.
Gen. 39:21 See section 6 of "TRUTH IN ACTION" at the end of Genesis.
Gen. 39:23 In spite of the fact that Jehovah prospered him, "they afflicted his feet with fetters, his person was placed in jail" (Psa. 105:18).
Gen. 40:1 The cupbearer was the man who first tested everything that the Pharaoh ate and drank; he did it in front of the king to discover if anyone had poisoned it. Someone with that position must be trustworthy, and so became almost a counselor to the throne, as was Nehemiah, cupbearer to King Artaxerxes more than 1,000 years later. The baker must have also been a man of trust.
Gen. 40:6-8 On top of being a man of integrity, Joseph was considerate toward others. GOD was undoubtedly foremost in his thoughts.
Gen. 40:15 Joseph had been sold. From his perspective, it seemed that he was suffering the same unjust treatment again.
Gen. 40:23 But forgot him contrasts with the attitude of GOD, who remembered Joseph (41:37-45).
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