• : Genesis Chapters
  • 37, 39, 40, 41
  • Joseph sold into slavery
  • Joseph interprets dreams
  • Joseph becomes ruler in Egypt

Key Verses and Themes

This week was more focused on reading and a couple general themes, which are Joseph as a prototype of Jesus Christ and God exalting the low.

  • Parallels between Joseph and Jesus
  • Gen 37:19

— Joseph is betrayed by his brothers; Jesus betrayed by His apostle, Judas.

  • Luke 22:47-38

Gen 37:28

— Joseph is sold for 20 shekels/pieces of silver, Jesus sold for 30 shekels/pieces of silver.

  • Matthew 26:14-15

Gen 39:11-19

— Joseph is falsely accused of a crime and delivered into prison, Jesus is taken prisoner and delivered unto death during a false trial.

  • Mark 14:53-63

Gen 41:41-44

— Joseph is exalted from a low position, literally a pit that his brothers had him in before selling him, and then later the prison in Egypt, and made a powerful ruler, the right hand of Pharaoh, clothed in fine white line and gold, given a ring of power, and paraded as a king, with the crowd shouting to bow down to him.

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  • Jesus, resurrected from the dead, rising from

Sheol

, which can mean the “pit” sits on the throne on the right hand of God, is clothed in glory and victory, like that witnessed during The Transfiguration, is given authority over all things in heaven and earth, and entered as a King into into Jerusalem, which we know as Palm Sunday.

Matthew 28:18, Ephesians 1:20-22, Philippians 2:9-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 9:28-31

  • Sheol

— "the grave / the pit , the realm of the dead" In Assyrian "

  • ܫܝܼܘܿܠ

References to the New Testament & our Church practices

  • God exalting the low
  • Luke 14:11

James 4:5-6 1 Peter 5:6

See that those who humble themselves, remain strong in their faith, and never boast or become proud of the gifts and strengths that God has blessed them with, become exalted, or elevated, by God.

  • Joseph

Acts 7:9-18

St. Stephen speaks of Joseph to the Pharisees when he was defending the faith in Jesus Christ after being accused of blasphemy. Remember, for a few decades after Jesus’ resurrection, the early apostles did NOT have the Gospel nor New Testament written down for them to preach from it. Rather, they preached that Jesus Christ was crucified and resurrected, and used the Old Testament scriptures to prove that Jesus really was the Messiah.

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That's why we always keep in mind how our Old Testament scriptures relate to the New Testament; because it all points to Jesus Christ's appearance in the flesh from the very beginning! That's why we saw prophecy regarding Christ from the first few chapters of Genesis in

  • Week 1
  • Discussion Questions

Why did Joseph’s brothers react so angrily to his dreams?

Because they showed that they would worship/bow down to Joseph. Remember again the context, Joseph is the 2nd to youngest; would his brothers, even just Reuben alone, who had the birthright, bow down ot him? That would be seen as incredibly backwards and disrespectful.

Then he even sees the sun and moon join in (father and mother, although Joseph’s mother Rachel had died already giving birth to Benjamin), which is even more of an offence; a father bowing down to his son in the historical context? It would be utterly perverse (backwards)!

(Revisit after discussions of Joseph as a prototype of Christ)

What other meaning could the dream of the sun, moon, and 11 stars have?

(Since we know that the prophecy will literally be fulfilled in Week 7)

Joseph, a prototype of Christ, acts as Christ in this vision, when Christ, after His resurrection, was worshipped of the 11 Apostles and the Holy Virgin Mary, Joseph His “father” being dead in the same way Rachel was dead when Joseph had his dream.

What did Joseph’s master’s wife do to him?

She accused him of assaulting her and told her husband, and so Joseph was imprisoned because of it. She “proved” it by showing the garment that Joseph had left behind when he fled from her attempted assault.

How did the Pharaoh find out about Joseph when he was looking for someone to interpret his dreams?

The Pharaoh’s chief-cup beared was reminded about Joseph interpreting his dreams and those of the chief baker when Pharaoh was looking for dream interpreters.

What was the meaning of Pharaoh's two dreams?

That after 7 years of good yield, 7 years of intense famine would follow, which would make people forget about the 7 good years.

How does Joseph become the 2nd ruler in Egypt?

He interprets the Pharaoh’s dreams, which no one else in Egypt could, and then he warns the Pharaoh about what to do to avoid starvation during the famine, so the Pharaoh appoints him to do just that, putting him just below himself in authority.

This Week's Study

—Make a concerted effort to read what we skip in class, as now the gaps are bigger, and some important context is left out.

—Listen to these podcast episodes as we have now entered the Great Fast!