Genesis 40–41: On Joseph’s Rise from “Gen Pop“ to the Second in Command (Bible Talk, Ep. 14)

At the beginning of Genesis 40, Joseph is living in the belly of the beast: an Egyptian prison. By the end of Genesis 41, he’s Pharaoh‘s second-in-command. But no matter his station, God’s favor remains on Joseph.

In this episode of Bible Talk, Alex Duke chats with Jim Hamilton and Sam Emadi about Genesis 40–41.

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SHOW NOTES:

1:17 / Alex recaps that Joseph is exercising authority in prison similar to Adam exercising authority in Genesis 1 and introduces us to Joseph’s interpretation of dreams.

4:00 / Jim and Sam explain the importance of the roles of Joseph’s two new friends he met in “the clink” and why they are in prison.

6:49 / Jim tells us how Joseph’s circumstances reveal that the “world’s estimation of our standing is not ultimate…” The real privilege is to have the favor of God on our side as Joseph does.

9:17 / Sam explains how Joseph’s predicament may symbolize Jesus’ death and resurrection.

12:11 / The baker has high hopes for his dream after hearing the positive interpretation of the cupbearer’s dream from Joseph. Jim gives us details about what will happen to the baker.

13:30 / Happy Birthday, Pharoah! As the cupbearer celebrates pharaoh’s birthday, he forgets about Joseph the interpreter. Jim comments on how Joseph trusts in God’s sovereignty.

15:50 / When Pharaoh has dreams, why is God choosing “no-counts” to bring his plan to pass? Are pharaoh’s magicians not good enough? Jim and Sam give their thoughts.

21:20 / Does the interpretation come from God or from Joseph? Why would Joseph give glory to God when he could be the hero in interpreting the dream?

25:41 / Alex defines “gen-pop.” Jim and Sam are enlightened.

26:20 / In what ways does the book of Proverbs embody Joseph’s interaction with Pharaoh? How can a man who is defined as a “no-count” be so bold when talking to Pharaoh about God’s sovereignty?

33:54 / After Joseph lays out his tax plan, Pharaoh makes him second-in-command. Jim explains how Joseph has received all of this from God.

35:15 / Should Joseph’s marriage to an Egyptian be seen as a negative?

40:00 / Alex attempts to pronounce Joseph’s Egyptian name, Zaphnath-Paaneah, after Jim’s perfect pronunciation.

41:05 / How is depicted as one who is bringing about the blessing of Abraham? Jim connects us with Genesis 15 for an explanation.

RAPID-FIRE QUESTIONS:

44:18 / Sam, how can you preach the gospel from Genesis 40?

45:11 / Some ministries, like Bethel, claim to be able to teach “dream interpretation.” Why are they wrong?

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