how many wives did joseph son of jacob have

R. 14:16). Although Bilhahs and Zilpahs children ranked lower than Leahs biological children (as Joseph will prove with his behavior later on) and Rachels future children, they were officially counted as the sons of the wives, not as the sons of the concubines. The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: Genesis 29:32-35 And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me This family, with its sordid history of deceit, jealousy, and . Joseph is also extolled by the rabbis for being a prophet, and for supporting his brothers. As Joseph had foreseen, seven years of plenty came, during which he stored up a great abundance of grain in granaries built for the purpose. 3) Levi was the third of Jacob and Leah's children. Joseph's story is recounted in some detail in the New Testament, during Saint Stephen's speech before the Sandhedrin in Acts 7. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind. [18] After two more years, the Pharaoh dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows; and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. How many years overall did he work for Laban? Many of these amplifications have been borrowed by rabbinical tradition. After being beaten by his brethren, Joseph was thrown by Simeon into a pit, among serpents and scorpions; but Joseph prayed to God and the reptiles retired to their holes (Targ. R. 1:7). After they had consumed all of the grain that they brought back from Egypt, Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt for more grain. Pseudo-Jonathan to Gen. 1:26). [16] Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison,[17] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph. display: none !important; Seeing only the powerful minister who controlled their lives and fortunes, they "bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground" (Gen. 42:6), thus fulfilling in part his earlier prophetic dream. For Jacob however, a time came when his parents urged him to leave Canaan . To sum up, true Biblical (as well as ancient Near Eastern) polygamy (having more than one wife on purpose) was really limited to Kings, and that was historically for the purpose of creating alliances and safety for the kingdom. In Genesis 29:31-30:24 the birth of twelve of Jacob's children is recorded. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. [50] He thus charged his sons to go and inquire about Joseph and his brother and despair not of God's mercy. Some declare that during the 22 years he was away from home he drank no wine (Shab. As with Bilhahs offspring, Zilpahs children are claimed and named by Leah as her own. When he. To Joseph he declared: Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. As Bilhah and Zilpah were almost undoubtedly purchased by Laban as young girls from fathers who either needed to pay debts or who could not afford to provide dowries, this term does make sense again, these were women of a special class. The following morning the brothers began their journey back to Canaan. As for kings marriages were largely about political alliances (especially with David who was shoring up support with the various tribes as well as maintaining his connection with Sauls royal line), except for Solomon, who was. At their first meeting, the brothers did not recognize him. 20 And to Joseph in the land of Egypt were born Manasseh and Ephraim, whom Asenath, the daughter of Poti-Pherah priest of On, bore to him. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren. Then he prepared a great ceremonial journey to Canaan leading the servants of the Pharaoh, and the elders of the houses Israel and Egypt beyond the Jordan River. Home The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), Even by the God of your father who shall help thee; and by the Almighty who shall bless thee With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lieth under, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. Joseph understood what they were saying and removed himself from their presence because he was caught in emotion. "All Pharaoh's officials accompanied himthe dignitaries of his court and all the dignitaries of Egyptbesides all the members of Joseph's household and his brothers and those belonging to his father's household Chariots and horsemen also went up with him. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. According to Josephus, Reuben tied a cord around Joseph and let him down gently into the pit. We think of it differently, because we simply cannot imagine a maidservant being willing or even eager to consent to such an arrangement but when we look at it in terms of the times you will see a poor woman who was a servant, probably sold by her impoverished father to Labans family because he had no money to get her married off not out of coldness but because if he died without seeing her provided for her only options were starvation or prostitution; she was resigned to perhaps never marrying, or if she did it would be to another servant, to give birth to servants. She gave birth to Joseph, one of the most important figures of the Old Testament, who saved the nation of Israel during a famine. In the Qur'an a whole chapter (sura xii) is devoted to Joseph; and Islamic commentators add many details to this "best of stories.". She then had three more sons: Simeon, Levi and Judah. | Servants of Grace Apologetics, Mishpatim in Context: Selling your daughter into slavery? Joseph Born in the wilderness, he was the youngest son in the family. The Pharaoh is said to have given Joseph, Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On, as his wife. Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment[d] (Genesis 39:120). Jacob also had some daughters, but the Bible gives the name of only one of them. He stored up in Egypt all the gold and silver of the world, and it was carried away by the Israelites when they left Egypt. This would not be a true case of polygamy, because his intention was not to have two wives, but to provide for his sister-in-law it was considered a mitzvah towards the dead brother as well as to the woman to refuse to do this for her at her request would be to deprive her of her rights within the family. Part of the problem with that verse is that it is almost always separated from the context of the verses before it the case of the woman taken as a prisoner of war, brought into a mans home and taken as a wife. . He was the first of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's twelfth child and eleventh son). Then they informed their father that the Vizier demanded that Benjamin be brought before him to demonstrate that they were honest men. (Genesis 50:2226). Edit: I have been getting some great questions so I will share my answers. [6], The Bible offers two explanations of the name Ysf: first it is compared to the Hebrew root (-s-p), meaning "to gather, remove, take away":[7] "And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach" (Genesis 30:23);[8] Ysf is then identified with the similar root (y-s-p), meaning "to add":[9] "And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son." During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed. For example, just before his death he predicted that God would visit the children of Israel and lead them out of Egypt and into the promised land. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. 14Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five souls, to come and live in Egypt. Yes, the Bible does indicate that Jacob had more than one daughter. (Genesis 45:128), Thus, Jacob (also known as Israel) and his entire house of seventy[22] gathered up with all their livestock and began their journey to Egypt. Zilpah bore Jacob his seventh and eighth sons, Gad and Asher. Yet, from this answer in Quora. in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. [29] Maimonides comments that even the villager in Shechem, about whom Joseph inquired his brother's whereabouts, was a "divine messenger" working behind the scene.[30]. I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction; the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. Now Jacob had twelve sons. How many wives did Jacob have? In the second year of famine,[20] Joseph's half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods. The latter third of the book of Genesis relates the complex and vola- tile relationship of the patriarch Jacob, his four wives, and their thirteen children (twelve sons, one daughter). For the New Testament Joseph, see, Another possible translation is "coat with long sleeves" (. (Genesis 50:1521), Joseph lived to the age of 110, living to see his great-grandchildren. He has humbled her (had sexual relations with her) and cannot sell her to another man, he must allow her to go out for nothing (she came in with no dowry). He is Jacob's favorite (Genesis 37:3). Jacob is 147 years old. M. degrees from Grace Theological Seminary. More rabbinical literature has been generated concerning him than any of the other sons of Jacob, and he is also a significant figure in Islamic tradition. I have written six books on the ancient Near Eastern and First Century context of Scripture, including a family curriculum series. What is a forbidden marriage in the Bible? No, he had two (and not by his choosing) wives and two concubines four women to whom he was connected through children. The Haran controversy wrestles with the question of how long Abraham's grandson Jacob lived in Haran. 1653. He Was the Son of Isaac. Bah' commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God. Soon, the family took up residence in the town of Bethel and later moved to Hebron. Joseph, in the Old Testament, son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel. Genesis 31:38-41. Full Bible Timeline - section on the life of Jacob. [54], This article is about the Joseph of the Book of Genesis. With Reuben and Judah's persistence, they persuaded their father to let Benjamin join them for fear of Egyptian retribution (Genesis 42:2943:15). She named him Joseph. Levirate marriage served two functions that a mans name would not cease to go forward and that a woman would not be bereft of support. He had fallen ill and lost most of his vision. How many wives did Joseph have in the Bible? In Jewish tradition, Joseph was the progenitor of the northern tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, named for his two sons. These were Jacob's sons who were born to him while he . . Her father contracted with her husbands father that she would be a wife in that house, that she would provide heirs to the house who would have rights to his share of the inheritance. His death does not change the familys obligation towards her. In the interim, Joseph's mother died giving birth to his brother, Benjamin. Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph's interpretation and gave him authority to carry out the suggested policy (Gen. 41:46). He was Rachel's firstborn and Jacob's eleventh son. The family prostrated before him hence the fulfilment of his dream aforetime.[52]. Even John Calvin, sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico-historical exegesis,[39] writes "in the person of Joseph, a lively image of Christ is presented. When Rachel had successfully provided Jacob with an heir, Leah felt her position was tenuous. He admonished and forgave them, he sent also his garment which healed the patriarch's eyes as soon as it was cast unto his face. The Egyptians would not dine with Hebrews at the same table, as doing so was considered loathsome, thus the sons of Israel were served at a separate table (Genesis 43:1644:34). [35] This tendency is represented in John Chrysostom who said that Joseph's suffering was "a type of things to come",[36] Caesarius of Arles who interpreted Joseph's famous coat as representative of the diverse nations who would follow Christ,[37] Ambrose of Milan who interpreted the standing sheaf as prefiguring the resurrection of Christ,[38] and others. Then Joseph buried Israel in the cave of Machpelah, the property of Abraham when he bought it from the Hittites. It was because of his virtue that the children of Israel passed over the Red Sea and the Jordan dry-shod (Gen. R. 84). Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. Sarah was ninety when Isaac was born and Abraham was 100 years old (21:5). As Jacob's name became synonymous with all Israel, so that of Joseph was eventually equated with all the tribes that made up the northern kingdom. Despite his wealth, most rabbis represent him as very modest, and was not vain of his power (Ex. It was the first successful production in the career of Andrew Lloyd Webber. Paul even specifically said that male leadership within the Body was to be limited to those men who only had one wife (I Tim 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6). 5:26; Jacob 1:2, 18-19). yosef] to me another son." The two principle sources are the Yahwist and the Elohist versions, with a few details included as well from the Priestly source. Ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard (Genesis 37:36, Genesis 39:1). Jacob did not wholly believe that Joseph was dead, because he could not forget him, while the dead are soon forgotten. The story of Joseph's near seduction by his master's wife bears a marked similarity to the Egyptian story of the Tale of Two Brothers, which was popular at the time of Pharaoh Seti II. Tap the title above, next to the arrow, to go to thatlesson with a link back to thispage. The eleventh son of Jacob and elder of the two sons Rachel (Genesis 30:23, 24). Really Bilhahs and Zilpahs lives would have looked bleak but they would have accepted it as their lot in life in ancient times people firmly believed that their conditions and station in life were pre-determined by the gods and hardly worth complaining about or trying to get out of. The story of Yusuf and Zulaikha was a favorite love song in the Near East. This was Joseph's full brother, Benjamin. Why did Jacob go to paddan? during the Egyptian Middle Kingdom, to a later time during the Hyksos Era (16481540 B.C.E. Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the king's dream. [32], Jewish tradition holds that Joseph had his steward plant his personal silver cup in Benjamin's sack to test his brothers. The house of Israel acquired many possessions and multiplied exceedingly during the course of seventeen years, even through the worst of the seven-year famine. I love reading and studying from you. ISBN links support NWE through referral fees, https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Joseph,_son_of_Jacob&oldid=1017043, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, More recently, Joseph figures prominently in Anita Diamant's novel. (Genesis 47:147:12) The family was then settled in Goshen. Answer (1 of 13): There are thirteen persons in the Bible who bear the name Joseph. [42] Joseph is said to have been extremely handsome, which attracted his Egyptian master's wife to attempt to seduce him. Joseph was the first son of Rachel and Jacob, and the 11th of Jacobs 12sons, Joseph was sold by his brothers into slavery in Egypt, Joseph became the slave of Potiphar a very high official in Egypt. Rachel had the perfectly acceptable legal recourse in those days to provide her husband with a surrogate, and according to the laws of the surrounding nations, any child borne by the concubine would be counted as coming from her which is exactly why Rachel, and not Bilhah, named the boys. Jacob became greatly distressed, feeling deprived of successive sons: Joseph, Simeon, and (prospectively) Benjamin. Thank you. 14 Facts About Esau Everyone Should Know. The brothers then dipped Joseph's coat in goat's blood and, returning home, showed it to their father, who concluded that Joseph had been torn apart by a wild beast. The cup-bearer took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. I am a fifty-something-year-old Bible teacher, wife of twenty-eight years to Mark, and mom of adult twin sons. This also created rivalries between their sons. Now why? The Hebrew word translated as "tender" means "soft, delicate, or lovely.". Her father, Jacob, saw that his family was deeply ashamed of his new granddaughter. Moses followed Joseph's pattern in rising from slavery to a position of royal favor in the court of the pharaohs, and would later lead the Israelites out of Egypt and back to the land of Canaan. }. People just cherry pick with the descriptions to determine prescriptives without studying out the matter. How many children did Jacob have? After they mentioned a younger brother at home, the Vizier (Joseph) demanded that he be brought to Egypt as a demonstration of their veracity. Is the word Bible pagan? Though Manasseh was the older brother, Jacob placed his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and gave him the greater blessing. Jacob therefore let the wolf go. Well, thats what I thought for many years as well and it was no wonder I was looking through a lens colored by modern movies, television shows, and ten years spent living in uber-Mormon southern Idaho. His story functions as an explanation for Israel's residence in Egypt. One opinion holds that the Holy Spirit dwelt in Joseph from his childhood until his death (Pirke R. El. So Joseph was reunited with his family, Stephen provided a brief summary of Josephs Story, Pharaoh gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah and gave him Asenath, daughter It simply was a rarity. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors". 2:1; 2 Ne. [53] These come in the forms of allusions written by the Bb and Bah'u'llh. Her name was Dinah. Is Polygamy Really Biblical? It has also been suggested that there are similarities between the rise to power of Joseph, and Manethos' tale of Osarseph, who was Syrian born, and rose to be Vizier of Egypt, beginning his career under Pharaoh Merenptah and his son Seti II. 9The fathers, moved by jealousy against Joseph, sold him into Egypt as a slave; but God was with him. What about the Ethiopian woman that Moses took as a wife in Numbers 12:1? They were directed into the province of Goshen and Joseph readied his chariot to meet his father there. To the modern proponents of polygamy (as opposed to Biblical polygamy, which was entirely different), our forefather Jacob is the shining example after all, he had four wives right? Old and nearly blind, Jacob is overwhelmed with joy, saying: "I never expected to see your face again, and now God has allowed me to see your children too" (Gen 48:11). He was Jacob's eleventh son and Rachel's first. The later reunion of Joseph with Jacob (Israel), though anti-climactic after two previous reunions with his brothers, is one of the most poignant in the Bible. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Please consider supporting this ministry, which is offered free of charge in order to help newcomers understand Biblical context and develop good spiritual fruit. Joseph predicted seven years of plenty to be followed by seven years of famine and advised the Pharaoh to appoint someone to store up surplus grain. The name of Reuben's wife is 'Ad 1 and the name of Simeon's wife is 'Adb'a, a Canaanite; 1 and the name of Levi's wife is Mlk, 2 of the daughters of Aram, of the seed of the sons of Terah; and the name of Judah . 18:7, 19; 2 Ne. selling him to an Ishmaelite trade caravan. One of the hardest things there is, is to contemplate the possibility that our point of view has been utterly contaminated after all, they never taught ancient Near Eastern context in any of the churches I attended. Her maid Bilhah is ancestor of two more ( Gen 35:25; Gen 46:23-24). 21-22; comp. He is presently pastor of the Evangelical Church of Archbold, Ohio. A midrash asked, How many times was Joseph sold? Unbeknownst to them, Joseph had also returned their money to their money sacks (Genesis 42:128). Through his father, he also has six half-brothers: Dan and Naphtali (whose . How many kids did Mary have? To add to the distinction within the family, in chapter thirty-seven, when Joseph goes tattling on his brothers, it specifically mentions that they are the sons of the neshe Bilhah and Zilpah. As a last resort, all of the inhabitants of Egypt, less the Egyptian priestly class, sold their properties and later themselves (as slaves) to Joseph for seed; wherefore Joseph set a mandate that, because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property, a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh. But you'd be wrong. So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired. is devoted to him, the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a prophet. The account of the birth of Jacob's children is found in Genesis 2930, 35. The Persian poet Firdowsi wrote an epic on this subject. Esau. 1. "[43] The story has a lot in common with the biblical narrative, but with certain differences. He and his family took everything they owned. After Joseph rejected the attempts of Potiphar's wife to seduce him, she accused him of attempted rape, and he was cast into the state prison (Gen. 39:40), where he became the most trusted inmate and remained for at least two years. The Wives of Jacob's Sons (xxxiv. He went into his private room and wept there. Thank you for your VERY well done teaching. As Jacob's favorite son, he received from his father a coat of many colors, which made his brothers jealous to . When Joseph's half-brothers reached home after selling him, Jacob ordered them to arm themselves and capture the beast that had supposedly killed Joseph. The community seems to confuse quite often what is description vs prescription. 14. Who was Jacob's first wife? Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God's purpose to save lives and the lives of his family. Joseph (/dozf, -sf/; Hebrew: , lit. The problem lies in the fact that the Hebrew word for wife, isha, is also the generic word for woman (we see this same phenomenon in Greek), and so Bilhah and Zilpah were given to Jacob as women who were there for the express purpose of bearing children otherwise known as concubines. 17As the time of the promise drew near, the promise that God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt. pseudo-Jonathan), protecting her from the lustful eyes of Esau (Gen. R. 78:13). Tsaphenath Paneach", "Allusions to the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts: Foundations of a Biblical Type", The Story of Joseph in the Babi and Baha'i Faiths, "The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (Video 1979)", "Jewish religious life in the Persian period", The Composition of Genesis 37: Incoherence and Meaning in the Exposition of the Joseph Story, "The Odyssey and the myth of Joseph; Autolykos and Jacob", "Strange Bedfellows: Politics and Narrative in Philo", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joseph_(Genesis)&oldid=1142074895, 1979, New Media Bible Genesis Project (TV)-cap. Joseph! Glad to hear from you Brian, I have received many heartbreaking messages from women whose husbands seem to think they can force them into this lifestyle when they havent even bothered to look at whether or not the reasons that existed then still exist now, which of course they do not. Plan to Trick Jacob. God blessed Leah with a firstborn son named Reuben. The word used by for echad in the LXX (Septuagint, the authorized Greek translation of the Tanach OT) and the NT (ie. He worked under the Egyptian official Potiphar but was freed and became the chief adviser (vizier) to the Egyptian Pharaoh. When he returned, the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage. Scripture doesn't tell us much about Asenath, the wife of Joseph, the son of Jacob. A fourth group in verse 36 is named in Hebrew as mdanm that is properly identified as Medanites. You are my Guardian in this world and in the Hereafter. He kept the sacred records after Nephi (see 1 Ne. Israel is another name for Jacob as, son of Isaac as. In Egypt, Joseph's character was antithetical to that of all the other slaves. [b] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants. Not only did Joseph resemble his father in appearance, but the main incidents of their lives were parallel. Yusuf eventually obtains permission to marry her, she having lost none of her former beauty nor any of her first love for him. They betrayed him by. He became the second most powerful man in all Egypt. (obviously would not happen to a wife). Tap a Lookup below to generate a list oflessons. The story tells of two servants of Pharaoh's household who were in jail with Joseph and asked him to interpret their dreams. Genesis 35:21-27 gives a list of Jacob's sons and the various woman he had them with. "[40], In addition, some Christian authors have argued that this typological interpretation finds its origin in the speech of Stephen in Acts 7:9-15, as well as the Gospel of Luke and the parables of Jesus, noting strong verbal and conceptual collocation between the Greek translation of the portion of Genesis concerning Joseph and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. The Bible tells us twice that Jacob had daughters. As we progress through the stories about Jacob and his family, you will notice that his wives are respectfully addressed by name while Bilhah and Zilpah are repeatedly called, the maidservants. Culturally, they were never elevated to the level of either Leah or Rachel and they probably never expected to be. Here, their lamentation was so great that it caught the attention of surrounding Canaanites who remarked "This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians." They commemorate him on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before Christmas) and on Holy and Great Monday (Monday of Holy Week).

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