Comments on: OT Lesson 11 Study Notes: Genesis 34 and 37-39

By: arden arcade sacramento

arden arcade sacramento — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:27:53 +0000

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[...]OT Lesson 11 Study Notes: Genesis 34 and 37-39 « Feast upon the Word Blog[...]…

By: Derek

Derek — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 17:59:22 +0000

More like telling the person in question that you could only accept them if they allowed you to baptize them, and then when you baptize them, you hold them under until they drown. To murder them is deplorable enough, but to use a sacred ordinance to accomplish that goal makes it that much more blasphemous.

By: kirkcaudle

kirkcaudle — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 01:39:21 +0000

Yes, the Moroni 46 connection makes this all the more interesting!

By: Robert C.

Robert C. — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:26:26 +0000

Thanks Jim and Kirk for these thoughts about Joseph’s coat/garment(s) and the Tamar-Judah episode. Thinking about all of this—Joseph’s coat of many colors, Tamar’s keeping of Judah’s things and taking of her “widow’s garments” (3:13), and the piece of Joseph’s garment that Potiphar’s wife keeps—in light of Captain Moroni’s reference to Joseph’s garment in Alma 46:23ff, has provided a rich and swirlingly provocative set of images and thoughts for my scripture study today!

By: kirkcaudle

kirkcaudle — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:54:39 +0000

“Notice a parallel between Joseph’s first difficulty and this: in both he loses his cloak and, as the next verses show, in both it is used as a testimony against him. Does that parallel tell us anything? We see very similar wording in verse 6 and verse 12: “he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand” (verse 6) and “he left his garment in her hand” (verse 12). Is the writer making a point with that wording? If so, what is it?”

I am not sure what to make of all this. However, I would like to add one more verse to this equation. In Gen. 37:33 it is the garment of Joseph that puts him into bondage in the first place, and leads his father to believe he is dead.

By: kirkcaudle

kirkcaudle — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:10:01 +0000

Chapter 38:

I am not sure how the whole chapter fits into the Joseph story, but I think v27-30 could provide some clues.

Pharez can mean “one who breaks through.” His brother Zarah tried to come out first, but Pharez broke through. Zarah can be seen as the older brother and Pharez as the younger. Although the older tried to come out first god had other plans. Through these birth god shows that the elder will serve the younger and that the older cannot thrawt the plans of god.

This story could also referring to the tribe of Perez who later became dominant over the descendents of his brother. However, that still parallels the Joseph narrative.

By: kirkcaudle

kirkcaudle — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:56:21 +0000

Chapter 34: What was the sin of Dinah’s brothers?

I think at least part of the answer is found in 34:22. Levi and Simeon asked Hamor and his son Shechem to circumcise all of their males. This is a gross abuse of a sacred covenant. They asked them to make a covenant with god knowing full well they would just kill them after they made it.

To put this into perspective, imagine somebody raping your daughter. After he rapes her you ask him (and his family) to be baptized. Then, a few days after they were baptized you murdered them.

Therefore, I think the “sin” had more to do with the misuse of something sacred then it did with the actual murder. Although, at the sametime, I am not totally discounting the murder.

By: Jim F.

Jim F. — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:39:10 +0000

Thanks, Tom. I think that the Joseph story is one of the most moving in scripture. The scene in which he reconciles with his brothers is (next lesson–chapter 45) is incredibly well-written and, therefore, moving.

By: Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 04:26:10 +0000

Excellent analysis and questions. Chapter 38 does stick out a bit. It disrupts the flow of the Joseph narrative in what seems to be tangent. I assumed something similar to what you pointed out. It seems like Judah’s infidelity makes Joseph’s fidelity stand out more prominently.

I also liked your point about Jacob favoring Joseph because of his own background. I didn’t see that before.

The story of Joseph is an incredibly engaging one. I told it to my 9-year-old one night, and the next night asked her to tell me as many details as she could remember. She related nearly the entire story in as much the same detail as I told it.

By: OT Lesson 11 Study Notes: Genesis 34 and 37-39 | Times & Seasons

OT Lesson 11 Study Notes: Genesis 34 and 37-39 | Times & Seasons — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:01:39 +0000

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