Click Arrow To Start Audio

GENESIS – LESSON SIXTEEN

I. THE TESTING OF JOSEPH (Genesis 37-39)

A. Joseph tells brothers of his dreams (37:1-11)

1. Joseph at seventeen feeds flock with his brothers (v.1-4).

a. Joseph given coat of many colors showing Jacob’s love for the child of his old age.

b. This love source of jealousy among Joseph’s brothers.

2. Joseph’s two dreams: (v.5-11)

a. Brother’s sheaves bow down to Joseph’ sheave (v.5-8).

b. Sun, moon and eleven stars bow down to Joseph (v.9-11).

c. Brothers hate Joseph even more due to implications of dreams, and Jacob keeps sayings in mind.

B. Joseph is sold into Egypt (37:12-36)

1. Joseph sent by father to see how his brothers and the flock are doing in Shechem (v.12-14).

2. Joseph finds brothers in Dothan (v.15-17).

3. Brothers want to kill “the dreamer” (v.18-20).

4. Reuben counsels brethren not to kill Joseph but place him in a pit – Reuben plans to come later and send                 Joseph back to his father (v.21-24)

5. Judah counsels brothers to sell Joseph to caravan of Ishmaelites going to Egypt (v. 25-28)

6. Brothers deceive Jacob with bloody coat of many colors into thinking Joseph is dead (v. 29-35).

7. Midianites sell Joseph to Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh (v.36).

C. The family of Judah (38:1-30)

1. Jacob begats three sons with the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite (v.1-5).

a. Er

b. Onan

c. Shelah

2. Judah takes Tamar as a wife for Er (v.6-7).

a. Er is wicked

b. Jehovah slays Er.

3, Onan rejects Judah’s demand that he perform the duty of a husband’s brother (v.8-10)

a. Jehovah slays Onan for his sin.

4. Judah promises Tamar his youngest son Shelah when he is of age if she will remain a widow in her father’s                 house (v. 11).

5. Jacob seeks comfort when his wife dies (v. 12-23)

a. Tamar goes to Timnah where Jacob has gone to be with his friend Hirah the Adullamite to shear sheep.

b. Tamar sees that she has not been given Shelah to be her husband though he is grown up.

c. Tamar appears to Jacob as a prostitute at the gate of Enaim, and he promises to send her a kid of the                 goats and pledges his signet, cord and staff in order to go in unto her.

d. Tamar conceives and covers herself in the garment of widowhood again and departs.

e. Jacob’s friend, the Adullamite, cannot find the supposed prostitute when he takes the goat in order to                 obtain again the pledge for Judah.

6. Tamar produces the pledges of Judah when she is accused of playing the harlot three months later (v. 24-30).

a. Judah confesses his error for not giving Shelah to Tamar as he had promised.

b. Tamar gives birth to twins.

(1). Zerah has hand bound with scarlet thread when his hand comes out first.

(2). Perez is actually born first – makes a breach for himself.

D. Joseph in Slavery and in Prison (39:1-23).

1. Potiphar buys Joseph from the Ishmaelites (v.1-6).

a. Jehovah is with Joseph – makes him to prosper.

b. Joseph is made an overseer of Potiphar’s house.

c. Jehovah causes Egyptian’s house to prosper because of  Joseph.

2. Joseph refuses Potiphar’s wife’s persistent sexual advances (v. 7-18)

a. He flees after she grabs his garment.

b. She falsely accuses Joseph of forcing himself upon her.

3. Potiphar in anger puts Joseph in prison (v. 19-23)

a. Jehovah is with Joseph in prison – makes him prosper.

b. Joseph put in charge of the prisoners by the keeper of the prison.

QUESTIONS:

1. Why did Joseph’s brothers hate him?

2. Should Jacob carry any of the blame for this hatred among his children?

3. How did this hatred manifest itself verbally?

4. Why did Jacob’s dreams cause his brethren to hate him more?

5. Whom do the sun, moon and stars represent in Joseph’s second dream?

a. What way of teaching did you use to establish your conclusion?

6. How far did Joseph travel to meet up with his brothers who were feeding the sheep?

7. How was Joseph received when he found his brothers?

8. Did the brother’s heed the counsel of Reuben or the counsel of Judah regarding Joseph?

9. What did the brothers do to deceive Jacob?

10. How do the feelings of Jacob instruct us regarding relying on feelings to establish truth?

11. Why was Onan slain?

12. What did Judah promise Tamar?

13. Why did Judah think Tamar was a harlot?

14. What was given to the supposed harlot as a pledge and for what was the pledge given?

15. What was Jacob’s attitude when he understood that no prostitute was found to receive his promise?

16. How did Tamar defend herself from the accusations of playing the harlot?

17. Why did Jacob say, “she is more righteous than I”?

18. Why was the name “Perez” given to one of the twins of Jacob and Tamar?

19. How did Jehovah manifest that He was with Joseph when he was a slave in Potiphar’s house?

20. How did Joseph defeat the temptation to commit fornication?

21. What circumstantial evidence did Potiphar’s wife use against Jose

22. What is wrong with this statement: “If you do right you will never suffer wrong”?

23. What could you have said to Joseph as you visited him in prison to give him true comfort?