Genesis 37:29-36 meaning

In Genesis 37:29-36, Joseph's bloodied coat persuades Jacob that his favored son is dead, while in reality Joseph is on the road to Egypt. After an attempt to keep his brothers' violent plans at bay now Reuben returned to the pit, and behold, Joseph was not in the pit; so he tore his garments. He returned to his brothers and said, 'The boy is not there; as for me, where am I to go?' (vv 29-30).

This narrative of Reuben finding the empty pit has notable similarities to that of the women seeking Jesus' body after his crucifixion, again revealing yet another parallel between Joseph and Jesus:

"And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus."
(Luke 24:2-3)

The women at the grave received a divine report that Jesus was no longer in the grave because He had risen, and they departed while marveling at what they had witnessed (Luke 24:6, 12). In John's account, Mary (like Reuben) was crying, being distressed upon discovering the empty grave,

"But Mary was standing outside the tomb weeping; and so, as she wept, she stooped and looked into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'"
(John 20:11-13)

Reuben tore his garments (v 29) because of the guilt and mournful loss of his brother. Tearing one's clothes marked irretrievable loss in ancient Israel; Reuben's subsequent question, "where am I to go?" (v 30), reveals the dread he has over the consequences of his and his brothers' actions--she, the firstborn, must answer to Jacob for the missing son. It appears that at this point in the story, Reuben is unaware that Judah and the brothers sold Joseph into Egypt as a slave just as Mary was unaware Jesus had risen.

Reuben's return, with the intention to rescue his brother, only to find him gone, reminds us that we should engage in righteous action promptly, lest we arrive too late. Jesus reminds us, in the Sermon on the Mount, "Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison" (Matthew 5:25). Hebrews urges us to repent of known sin and make things right "today" before the opportunity passes (Hebrews 4:7).

The time for right and prudent action is not open indefinitely, and once it closes, the results are often irrevocable. Hebrews 6:4-12 speaks of this principle. We also see the principle illustrated when the first generation out of Egypt refused to enter the land. Even though they repented, their opportunity to cross was revoked (Numbers 14:28-29, 39-43). Reuben delayed in the rescuing of his brother, and when he does return to rescue him, finds that his opportunity has passed.

The brothers decide to cover up their deed: So they took Joseph's tunic, and slaughtered a male goat and dipped the tunic in the blood (v 31).

The choice of a goat recalls their father Jacob's earlier deception of Isaac with goat skins (Genesis 27), showing the family's pattern of deception continuing. Goat's blood further substitutes for a human victim, prefiguring the goat offered on the Day of Atonement, whose blood is sprinkled on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant within the most holy place in the tabernacle (Leviticus 16:15).

The Day of Atonement in turn prefigures Christ who "entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption" (Hebrews 9:11-12). Further, in Revelation Jesus is described "with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God" (Revelation 19:13). Joseph's robe dipped in blood also appears to foreshadow this event.

Next, in Genesis 37:32, the brothers execute their deceitful plan to cover their sin against Joseph: They sent the varicolored tunic and brought it to their father and said, 'We found this; please examine it to see whether it is your son's tunic or not' (v 32). The words "your son" distance the brothers from Joseph to seemingly hide their guilt behind pretended ignorance.

They act as though they do not even recognize the coat of many colors that was so polarizing to the brothers' relationship. Jacob draws the fatal conclusion: Then he examined it and said, 'It is my son's tunic. A wild beast has devoured him; Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!' (v 33). When Jacob deceived his father Isaac in Genesis 27, he killed a goat to give as a meal for his father, and laid goat skins on himself to mimic his brother's hairy skin. In doing so, Isaac, who was nearly blind at the time, mistook Jacob for Esau and was deceived into blessing him. Now, Jacob falls for a similar deception to the one he himself enacted at the behest of his mother Rebekah.

The ancient mourning ritual that follows mimics Reuben's reaction in verse 29: So Jacob tore his clothes, and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, 'Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.' So his father wept for him (vv 34-35).

Sackcloth--coarse goat hair--expresses penitence and sorrow. Jacob's vow to descend to Sheol mourning for his son means that he intends his period of mourning to be unending. Sheol is a transliterated Hebrew word that refers to death, with context determining what aspect of death is being referred to. Sheol is variously translated as "pit" and "grave" and Acts 2:31 renders an Old Testament verse containing "Sheol" into Greek as "Hades."

Jacob declares that his existence is now bound up in Joseph's death. This would eventually lead to Benjamin, the second son of his beloved wife Rachel, becoming the favored son to whom Jacob's life would be bound (Genesis 44:30). The brothers will now bear the shame of inflicting harm on their unsuspecting father, a shame they will come to regret.

The prophet Jeremiah prophetically refers to this pattern of those who refuse to be comforted because of the loss of Rachel's children (Jeremiah 31:15). Prophetically, this applied to infants who died at the hands of Herod in his attempt to slay Jesus (Matthew 2:16-18). The prophecy also applied to future descendants of Jacob who would be exiled to Gentile nations prior to returning to the land.

The book of Matthew describes Jesus' fleeing from Herod to Egypt, and the subsequent killing of the baby Jewish boys, to Rachel weeping for her children who similarly was taken to Egypt (Matthew 2:16-20). Interestingly, in this New Testament passage, the New Testament Joseph who was Jesus' adoptive father receives a prophetic dream which causes Joseph, Mary, and Jesus to flee to Egypt to avoid the wrath of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:13-15).

In Egypt, the holy family was sheltered from threats in Israel until the time was right and they were led back to Galilee. Similarly, the Genesis Joseph's prophetic vision sets in motion the events which would lead to the protection of Jacob's family in Egypt until, through the Exodus, they are brought back to the land of promise.

While Jacob drowns in lament over the son he believes he has lost, the narrative turns back to Joseph: Meanwhile, the Midianites sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard (v 36).

Potiphar stands at the heart of Egyptian power, commanding the bodyguard. The Hebrew word for the royal guard, translated as bodyguard, literally means "slaughterers." They were responsible for palace security and executions. Joseph thus enters a sphere where administrative skill and integrity can shine. After immense suffering, this will precisely be the place God will use to elevate him.

This final verse of Genesis 37 leaves the reader with a question: "How will God fulfill Joseph's dreams amidst these new circumstances?" We see a similar descriptive statement at the end of Nehemiah 1: "Now I was cupbearer to the king" (Nehemiah 1:11b). After lamenting the state of his people, Israel, Nehemiah provided this brief yet important piece of information.

Just like Joseph is sold in Egypt to Potiphar, Pharaoh's officer, the captain of the bodyguard (v 36), Nehemiah was also placed in a favorable position. While in exile in a Gentile kingdom Nehemiah played a major role in God's redemptive plans to once again save the covenant family by allowing the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. Likewise, while suffering exile, Joseph is still protected and guided by God.

Although Joseph's being sold into Egyptian servitude was caused by human sin and brings with it immense human suffering, it was also according to God's sovereign will. God uses human sin to accomplish His plans because every human on the earth is born sinful and falls short of His glory (Romans 3:23). By the LORD's sovereignty, the sin of Joseph's family sets the stage for his eventual rise as a savior of Israel and the gentile nations during the seven-year, earth-wide famine.

Joseph's story is a living parable of the gospel: the righteous one cast down by his own family, his blood-stained robe presented as supposed proof of defeat, and his apparent death initiating the very rescue God preordained (Romans 8:28).