Genesis 46–47: On “Rosebud,” Clunky Portmanteaus, and—At Last!—the Reunion of Father and Son (Bible Talk, Ep. 18)

It’s been decades since Jacob found out his beloved son Joseph had been torn apart by wild animals (Gen. 33:37). But at the end of last week’s episode, he discovered he was wrong! Joseph is alive! And so he wants to go see him before he dies.

In this episode of Bible Talk, Alex Duke chats with Jim Hamilton and Sam Emadi about Genesis 46–47. They cover this long-awaited reunion, and the tribes of Israel settling in Goshen.

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SHOW NOTES:

1:03 / Jacob journeys to Egypt to seek reconciliation with Joseph.

4:10 / For a few chapters, God had been moving behind-the-scenes. But here, he reemerges front-and-center. Sam explains why, and it has to do with the Abrahamic Covenant.

6:02 / And now . . . another genealogy! The one and only “Swami Sam” breaks down the genealogy of Genesis 46.

9:00 / Sam explains how the numbers 7 and 70 reveal that this family is the new humanity, the seed that will fulfil the promise in Genesis 3:15.

10:55 / Oh, how the tables have turned! Jim and Sam are enlightened by Alex’s observation of Rachel being mentioned first to show Jacob’s affection for her.

11:37 / Sam reads Genesis 46:28–30 and comments on Joseph and Jacob’s sweet reconciliation.

12:46 / Jim reads Genesis 46:31–34 and comments on Joseph’s use of cultural knowledge to strategize a plan to cause Pharoah to give them the best land in Egypt.

15:13 / Why does Moses focus on this conversation between Joseph and Pharoah? Is there anything ironic about this passage?

17:37 / Why does Jacob bless Pharaoh? How can old-man Jacob “bless” the king of a world superpower? Sam and Jim explain how the promise of Abraham and his descendants blessing the nations is in view here.

21:35 / Alex jokingly says that the point of this passage is that communism is successful. Jim contrasts communism with what’s actually going on with Joseph and Pharaoh.

28:54 / While Joesph chats with Pharaoh, what’s going on with the people of Israel? Sam gives us two key takeaways.

30:24 / Genesis 12:3 says, “I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you.” How is this promise relevant to what’s happening to Israel and what’s to come?

31:34 / Alex asks, “Why would he (Jacob) forgo a golden and bejeweled sarcophagus for a dirty cave in Machpelah?” Jim says that even Jacob’s death and burial is an act of faith, and a fulfillment of Joseph’s dream.

RAPID-FIRE QUESTION:

35:45 / What happened to all the people who were with Abraham in Genesis 14? Where did they go?