Understnding the Prsh Genesis 44:18-47:27 Prsht HShvuh vgyw Bereishit (Genesis) 44:18-47:27 Vyigsh (And He Approched) We will Lern how to 1) interpret the min theme (subject) o Prsh (weekly reding rom the Torh), 2) mke themtic connections to tht Prsh (study the Scriptures relted by common theme [subject], line upon line nd precept upon precept) 3) lern how to gin greter understnding o the Prsh we re looking t through its themtic connections to other portions o Scripture. Joseph Revels Himsel to His Brothers NOTE to Prents: This study is longer thn 4 pges. You my decide to do this study in severl sessions. Lst week, we lerned tht Joseph hd mster-minded pln so tht his brothers would be plced into diicult sitution. Remember how in Prsht Vyeishev, the brothers plotted to sell Joseph into slvery, cting with cruelty towrds Joseph nd Jcob. Now, Joseph hs rrnged or similr things to hppen to them. Will they leve Benjmin who hs obviously replced Joseph s Jcob s most beloved son s slve in Egypt, turning their bcks on him s they hd Joseph? Or, will they ct in more noble mnner? Red Genesis 44:18-34. Wht seemed to be Judh s min concern bout leving Benjmin in Egypt? He ws mostly concerned bout cusing the o his ther. d deth http://restortionotorh.org/weeklyprsh/mbmvyigsh.htm 1
How mny times does Judh sy tht Benjmin s bsence would cuse Jcob to die? See Genesis 44:22, 29, 31 nd b, nd 34b! How do we know Benjmin hs tken Joseph s plce s the vorite son? Look t these themtic connections between Joseph/ Jcob nd Benjmin/ Jcob. In Genesis 37:12-14, Joseph home with his ther while the brothers went o to tend the sheep. In this week s sidr (Torh portion), Benjmin with the ther while the brothers went to Egypt. In Genesis 37:3, it sys tht Jcob Joseph more thn ll o his other sons. In this week s sidr, Judh sid tht Jcob Benjmin. In Genesis 37:3, Joseph is clled the child o his. In this week s sidr, Judh sys tht Benjmin is the child o his. In Genesis 37:34-36, Jcob reused to be comorted nd sid tht he would becuse o Joseph. In this week s sidr, Judh sid tht Jcob would i Benjmin did not return with him! As you cn see, the gret love Jcob hd or his son Joseph is now directed towrds Benjmin. Both boys were the sons Rchel bore Jcob in his old ge. Until this point, the min purpose o Judh s speech hs been to convince Joseph tht Benjmin s bsence would cuse his ther s deth. Red Genesis 44:32-34. How hs Judh s ocus suddenly chnged in Genesis 44:32-34? He is now oering Joseph n lterntive to being held s prisoner. Becuse o the ill eects Benjmin s bsence would hve on his ther, Judh then turned his eorts on getting Benjmin s relesed. Wht is the themtic essence o his pln? S 5. Judh oers to tke Benjmin s plce. Substitution remined Tht s right! Judh is oering himsel in Benjmin s plce, nd we see tht Judh is no longer thinking only o himsel s he did in Genesis 37, where he suggested to sell Joseph or proit. He is totlly concerned with his ther. He didn t sy tht he wnted to become Benjmin s substitute becuse o his gret love or Benjmin. His point ws tht he didn t wnt his ther to die. Agin, Judh hs obviously repented o his pst ttitudes o jelousy nd htred. Not like his ttitude with Joseph in the pst, now Judh is willing to ly down his lie or the lie o the son his ther loves! The Chistic Structure o Genesis 45:1-17 We hve seen chistic structures beore. Do you remember how to identiy chistic structure? A story is divided into two hlves. The themes o the irst hl o the story re repeted in the second hl o the story in reverse order. Also, the irst nd second hlves o the story usully point us to the most importnt prt o the story, the centrl xis. r l loved l B r loves o d remined old die Benjmin s ge o old d die ge 2
Pttern For Chistic Structures There re probbly hundreds o chistic structures in the Tnkh! It is teching tool the Holy One uses to help us understnd the themes o His Eternl Word. The centrl xis is lwys very, very importnt. And, ech theme on either side o the centrl xis will themticlly mtch, ech helping to understnd the other better. Let's lern quick wy o spotting them. Red Genesis 45:4-8. Did it seem s i you red certin cts twice? I you didn't notice the repeting o certin cts, then red it gin. See them this time? Let s color code out cts to revel the centrl xis Let s develop our chistic structure below. Fill in the blnks nd color code your structure: A) Genesis 45:1 Joseph told Egyptins to l the room B) Genesis 45:1b Joseph ws r to his brothers C) Genesis 45:2 Joseph w wept reveled D) Genesis 45:3 Joseph sked bout his E) Genesis 45:3b Brothers couldn't b it ws Joseph F) Genesis 45:4 Joseph sked brothers to come c G) Genesis 45:4b "I m J your brother" Joseph H) Genesis 45:4c-5 Joseph sid his brothers s him to Egypt I) Genesis 45:5b Joseph ws sent to be provider or them J) Genesis 45:6 Two yers o hunger hve pst; Five more to go. I1) Genesis 45:7 Joseph ws sent or gret delivernce o his mily H1) Genesis 45:8 Joseph sid the Holy One s him to Egypt G1) Genesis 45:8b lj ws mster over Phroh's household Joseph F1) Genesis 45:9-11 Joseph requested tht his ther be brought c E1) Genesis 45:12 Joseph tried to c them tht he ws Joseph D1) Genesis 45:13 Joseph sent messge to his C1) Genesis 45:14-15 Joseph w B1) Genesis 45:16 Joseph's brothers were r to Phroh wept A1) Genesis 45:17 Phroh told Joseph's brothers to l Egypt, nd return leve believe ther hed convince reveled hed COLOR BROWN COLOR ORANGE COLOR YELLOW COLOR GREEN COLOR LIGHT GREEN COLOR LIGHT BLUE COLOR BROWN COLOR BLUE COLOR PURPLE COLOR PINK COLOR RED COLOR GREEN COLOR YELLOW COLOR ORANGE COLOR PINK COLOR PURPLE COLOR BLUE COLOR LIGHT BLUE COLOR LIGHT GREEN Notice how ech prt o the chistic structure is themticlly equl to its mtching prt. Level G my seem themticlly unblnced. However, the importnce o equting, Joseph (your brother), with Joseph (mster over Phroh's household) is right to the point when you remember the drems he hd. This is Joseph, the brother who hd drems tht one dy his brothers would bow to him becuse he would be mster over them. The themtic connection with Joseph (mster over Phroh's household) shows us tht Joseph's drems were right on! 3 leve close sold ther sent close
Wht re we to think bout the centrl xis? Seems kind o strnge tht the most importnt lesson o this chistic structure is tht two yers o mine hve pst nd ive remin. Wht seems to be the most importnt point concerning the centrl xis? n The two nd ive nd lck o ood. numbers The Torh seems to be stressing the ct tht even though two yers o the mine hve pst, ive more yers remin. Does this chistic structure point to ny o the min pieces o the centrl xis? Yes. It points to the ct tht Joseph ws sent by the Holy One to provide bred/ ood or them or the reminder o the yers! So, the preservtion o lie by providing ood or ive yers is the importnt theme. Speking o the number ive, hve you noticed how oten it hs been used in the story o Joseph's reconcilition with his brothers? Think bout these things: Genesis 43:34 And he took nd sent messes unto them rom beore him: but Benjmin's mess ws ive times so much s ny o theirs. And they drnk, nd were merry with him. Genesis 45:6 For these two yers hth the mine been in the lnd: nd yet there re ive yers, in the which there shll neither be ering nor hrvest. Genesis 45:11 And there will I nourish thee; or yet there re ive yers o mine; lest thou, nd thy household, nd ll tht thou hst, come to poverty. Genesis 45:22 To ll o them he gve ech mn chnges o riment; but to Benjmin he gve three hundred pieces o silver, nd ive chnges o riment. Genesis 47:2 And he took some o his brethren, even ive men, nd presented them unto Phroh. Genesis 41:34 Let Phroh do this, nd let him ppoint oicers over the lnd, nd tke up the ith prt o the lnd o Egypt in the seven plenteous yers. Genesis 47:24 And it shll come to pss in the increse, tht ye shll give the ith prt unto Phroh, nd our prts shll be your own, or seed o the ield, nd or your ood, nd or them o your households, nd or ood or your little ones. Genesis 47:26 And Joseph mde it lw over the lnd o Egypt unto this dy, tht Phroh should hve the ith prt; except the lnd o the priests only, which becme not Phroh's. The number ive is the most importnt number in Joseph s pln. Remember Joseph s Egyptin nme, Zphenthpneh, which mens the Bred/ Food-Mn o Lie. His nme ws prophetic o the role he ulilled. He provided bred or the entire world, not just Egypt. Let s see how noticeble the number ive is in Joseph s lie. In Genesis 41:34, we lern tht one- o the produce o the seven yers o plenty will be stored to provide ood or the seven yers o mine. ith ive In Genesis 43:34, Joseph provided times more ood or Benjmin thn he did or his other brothers. ive Although this pssge doesn t directly pertin to Joseph providing ood to the world during the seven yers o mine, note the themtic connection between ood nd the number ive! Also see, in Genesis 43:29, Joseph blessed Benjmin by stting, my God be grcious to you my son. Red Genesis 45:11. Once gin, we see the number ssocited with Joseph providing ood or his loved ones. ive In Genesis 45:22, Joseph gve Benjmin chnges o clothing. Hmmm, interesting. Here we see Joseph giving to Benjmin nd the number ive. 4 ive
In Genesis 47:2, Joseph presented his brothers to Phroh. But guess wht. He only presented o them. Lter, Joseph puts one- tx on the Egyptins. Wow! Here ive, there ive, everywhere ive, ive. So wht is the signiicnce o the number ive? Let s red ew more pssges beore we nswer tht question. Red Genesis 42:25-28, 35; 43:18-23; 44:1 nd 8. Lst week we tlked bout how Joseph seemed to be plying cruel gme with his brothers. But how do we explin the returned money? I he ws getting revenge, why didn t he mke them py or their grin? This is nother proo tht Joseph ws not trying to be cruel to his brothers to get revenge. He hd one gol to ind out i his brothers hd chnged/ repented or not. As he dierent things to help himsel to know whether or not they hd repented, he showered them with grciousness he returned the money giving them the ood they needed, without cost. Considering how they treted Joseph, did they deserve to be given their ood or ree? O course not. Thereore, Joseph ws being very grcious to them. You see, grce is when you receive something good tht you don t deserve. Mercy is when you don t receive the bd tht you do deserve. Friends, the Holy One uses the number FIVE to tech us bout GRACE! I you rered A-G in our structure, you will notice tht the number ive is mentioned with cts o grce. This is why it relly sticks out in this story. Why Joseph ws sent to Egypt Red Genesis 45:6, the centrl xis o our chistic structure. Think bout the verses right beore nd ter Genesis 45:6. According to Genesis 45:5-7, wht is the rel reson why Adoni mde Joseph viceroy over Egypt? So tht he could the lives o his mily! In Genesis 42:2 it sy, Jcob must send his sons to Egypt to buy ood so tht they cn live nd not die. In Genesis 43:8, it sys Judh must tke Benjmin to Egypt so they cn live nd not die. In Genesis 45:7 it sys, God sent me beore you to preserve posterity or you in the erth, nd to sve your lives by gret delivernce. According to Genesis 43:7 nd 27, wht does Joseph wnt to know bout Jcob? Is he still? According to Genesis 45:26 nd 28, wht does Jcob wnt to know bout Joseph? s live Is he still? live sve ith According to Genesis 47:25, why is Egypt so thnkul to Joseph? l Joseph s ledership secured or the entire ntion. You see Friend, this is story bout LIFE nd DEATH! I Joseph hd not interpreted Phroh s drems nd stored ood during the seven yers o plenty, Egypt nd the rest o the world would hve perished. Remember, this ws mine in the EARTH, not just Egypt. So, we cn esily see tht the Holy One s purpose or sending Joseph to Egypt ws so tht he could secure lie or his mily nd the entire world. Mthemtics 101 Let s review Joseph s course o ction. During the seven yers o plenty, Egypt stored one-ith o their grin so they would hve enough to survive during the seven yers o mine. I you sved one ith o your income over the next seven yers, do you think your svings would be enough to sustin you during seven yers without regulr income? I seriously doubt it. Yet red wht the Torh sys bout the grin Joseph stored during those seven 5 lie ive
yers Genesis 41:48-49! I don t know bout you, but something isn t dding up. I I sved twenty percent o my income or seven yers, t the end o seven yers I d hve 1 nd 2/5th o my slry sved, not money like the snd o the se in gret bundnce. How could the grin he stored hve become so lrge tht he cesed counting? Now red Genesis 41:53-57. Not only did Egypt hve enough bred or themselves, they were ble to sell bred to the entire then known world!!! Surely, this is not simple mth we re deling with here. In ct, s you continue to red the story o the mine, you will relize tht Egypt never rn out o grin. They only rn out o mens to buy the grin ew times. How cn we explin this odd hppening? One explntion could be tht the Holy One the grin! multiplied Tht s right. In ct, I d hve to sy tht ny other explntion other thn one which relies upon the supernturl power o Adoni would hve to be incorrect. The mth would never work out. Red Genesis 47:13-27. Plese notice the ollowing consequences o the seven yers o mine: All the money rom the lnd o Egypt nd Cnn ws given to Joseph. Joseph then gve the money to Phroh. All the livestock o Egypt ws sold to Joseph or ood. Joseph then gve the livestock to Phroh. All the lnd in Egypt ws sold to Joseph or ood. Joseph then gve the lnd to Phroh. The lnd o the priests ws not included. Joseph resettled the entire ntion o Egypt. Joseph obtined the people o Egypt s sers or Phroh. The people o Egypt re thnkul to Joseph or sving their lives nd they willingly give their lives in service to Phroh. Do you see ny theme tht is constnt throughout Joseph s ctions? All o his ctions re directed towrds to Phroh. s m service Tht s right. At ech step, Joseph tkes wht the people bring, nd gives it to Phroh. He is Phroh s ithul servnt. Furthermore, the people o Egypt hppily serve Phroh s sers o the stte. This seems lmost too good to be true. Yet, it ws. Find the hidden words or this weeks Prsh V F O S E V I F S U J A A L B G O S D O A A Y M O E Y P W E C O I I I A E P H E T I A D G N P S T A B F O P Y A E C I V R E S I C S S R E G R A I N R L N H L D R E O D E A T H O B E N J H M I N D S E S U O H E R O T S N L I V E S T O C K N S VAYIGASH EGYPT FIVE TWO FOOD FAMINE SERVICE PHARAOH LIVESTOCK GRAIN MERCY LIFE DEATH 6