Man or Woman goes into a bar...what are the possible outcomes good and bad?
Man or Woman goes to the temple...what are the possible outcomes good and bad?
Genesis 34
The story revolves around the verbs "went out" and "taken" with the different characters doing those things in reaction to each other. It is fashioned in such as way as to end up being a morality play and therefore a warning to the women of Israel. The going out and taking are presented as being reactionary to each other. Dinah's going out and subsequent rape leads to Hamor's going out and trying to cover up the rape. Shechem's taking leads to Jacob's son's taking, and so on. Overall, the intent is to show a set of connected causes and effects that all lead back to the actions of Dinah and Shechem, and indicate how the actions of one or two people can affect many others. Had Dinah not played the flirt and had Shechem not subsequently given into his lust, none of this would have happened.
1 And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out [Dinah, daughter of Jacob and Leah,"went out with the girls" to see the daughters of the land and in doing so puts herself in jeopardy. "went out", in Hebrew term insinuates coquettish or promiscuous conduct.The Samaritan text, in fact, renders this "to see and to be seen." We must not make Dinah the complete innocent -- she went there to make an impression -- and she did! When dealing with others, it is very important we understand the consequences of our actions.] to see the daughters of the land [ "daughters of the land", a non-complimentary title per Gen. 24:3, 37; similar to the phrase "daughters of man" from Gen. 6:1.].
2 And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. Dinah is "taken" by Shechem. Dinah is an attractive woman who knew she was attractive, and her intent is to check out the competition as well as to check out the local men. In doing so she ends up being abducted by Shechem, the most favored and prominent son (v. 19) of the local ruler, and he rapes her "took her, and lay with her, and defiled her". From the Hebrew text it denotes physical maltreatment and humiliation thus it is unmistakable that it was rape and not simply her being taken advantage of in a compromising situation. See Deut. 21:14, Deut. 22:24.
3 And his soul clave unto Dinah the daughter of Jacob, and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. Shechem is enamored with Dinah and tries to persuade her with soft words after this violent act, to no avail. Notice how it all happens... he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her....then his soul clave unto [her], and he loved the damsel, and spake kindly unto the damsel. the act of physical violence is ironically contrasted with his affectionate behavior afterwards:
Does the sequence of his actions show that he really loved Dinah?
Had he been genuinely affectionate in the first place he would not have raped her. It almost seems to me that the affection afterwards is an attempt to justify the rape.If he really loved her what should he have done? How do people use the phrase because we are in love for their own good?
4 And Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this damsel to wife. Shechem tells Hamor to "take for me" Dinah At that time it was customary for the father to arrange the marriages, as was the case with Abraham sending his servant to obtain a wife for Isaac. "get me", literally "take for me", tying in with the rhetoric of the various "tak[ings]" in the chapter. Take take take....
5 And Jacob heard [unfortunately the text does not inform us how Jacob heard the news so quickly.] that he had defiled Dinah his daughter: now his sons were with his cattle in the field: and Jacob held his peace until they were come.However, unknown to them Jacob is somehow already aware of Shechem's rape of Dinah. When approached by them, Jacob remains silent on both their proposal of marriage as well as the issue of the rape.
Since Dinah was out to meet "daughters of the land" perhaps Dinah went out with another friend or met or made a friend in Shechem's town, and after Dinah's abduction the friend immediately went to inform Jacob.
"Jacob held his peace until they were come", Shechem and Hamor were in his presence well before the sons arrived, and Jacob felt it best to keep his cool on the matter of the rape and the marriage until the sons showed up. It is clear from Hamor's and Shechem's lack of disclosure that they do not want to deal with the issue of rape. We may therefore conclude that Jacob's silence is used as a tool against them to discern their true motives. so, not only are they not disclosing that Shechem committed the rape, Jacob is not disclosing he already knows of that fact. Jacob's concern is also obviously about starting a full scale war to the death with this other family, so his silence is in part diplomatic as well.
6 And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto Jacob to commune with him.Shechem then tells his father to arrange his marriage with her, and Hamor is only too eager to cover up his son's heinous act by cloaking it with the guise of marriage. All the while Dinah is not permitted to leave, but rather is kept at Shechem's house (v. 17, 26) in an effort to prevent the word of her rape from spreading.
Shechem and Hamor waste no time and travel the very same day as the rape occurs to Jacob's house in order to arrange the marriage. Hamor "went out" to obtain Dinah for Shechem to satify his desire for her and to cover up the rape.
7 And the sons of Jacob came out of the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel ["wrought folly" is a polite way of saying "committing a vile deed" -- a despicable act, senseless violence, complete insensibility to moral distinctions. It's THAT strong a word.
Further, the phrase is expanded as "wrought folly in Israel." Since the nation of Israel did not yet exist, one can only see this as a reflection by the redactor on the impact of the act. It was an act, not just against Dinah, but upon the entire house of Jacob (Israel). Here we find the first hint that the rape had a significant act on the family.] in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done. Jacob, chooses to wait until his sons are summoned from the field, and these sons are angry about what has happened to Dinah when they show up. "when they heard of it", Jacob would surely have summoned them immediately upon hearing of it himself.
8 And Hamor communed with them, saying, The soul of my son Shechem longeth for your daughter: I pray you give her him to wife.
9 And make ye marriages with us, and give your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you.
10 And ye shall dwell with us: and the land shall be before you; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions therein. And Hamor, like any good politician, omits the matter of Shechem's rape of Dinah from the conversation. Rather, he focuses on how fond he is of Dinah and he attempts to sweeten the proposal by offering them lands which are under his influence.
11 And Shechem said unto her father and unto her brethren, Let me find grace in your eyes, and what ye shall say unto me I will give.
12 Ask me never so much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye shall say unto me: but give me the damsel to wife.Shechem, being used to getting whatever he wants because he is the son of the local aristocrat, can no longer restrain himself and makes exaggerated offers of fabulous wealth in exchange for Dinah. Hamor and Shechem try to cover up the act by failing to confess their sin, deliberately omitting it from their marriage proposal (i.e. Hamor could have taken Jacob aside and confessed that his son has violated his daughter and the right thing to do was for them to marry), and instead appeal to materialistic means to persuade them. What it boils down to is Hamor is trying to protect his son's reputation, and his own in the process, as well as avoid any legalities of the issue. While it is speculative, it seems to me that Shechem is an impetuous, spoiled son of a wealthy, powerful and indulgent father. Shechem is only interested in gratifying his desires, and Hamor is only interested in avoiding the real issue.
13 And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, and said, because he had defiled Dinah their sister:
14 And they said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is uncircumcised; for that were a reproach unto us:While it is in the guise of bride-price, the brothers, knowing he has raped Dinah and is unwilling to admit to it, consider it an odious bribe.
The brothers, displeased not only over the rape but also over Shechem's attempt to cover it up with marriage, are not impressed with his ardor for Dinah.
so the come up with a cunning plan for retribution of the most ironic type.
so, what are they to "consent" to in order to effect the marriage of his son and Dinah?
Since Shechem and Hamor are being completely deceitful over the situation at hand, the sons resort to clever tactics to prevent Dinah from being raped again. They tell them they must be circumcised, which would effectively prevent any further raping. It also clearly serves as punishment to them as they must inflict pain on themselves in the source of the crime. And clearly, they had additional ulterior motives as well as is evidenced in v. 25.
15 But in this will we consent unto you: If ye will be as we be, that every male of you be circumcised;
16 Then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we will become one people.
17 But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.They use their tradition of circumcision, one easily verified if questioned, to require they do the same. In the face of such a seemingly daunting requirement, the sons post the ultimatum that Hamor and Shechem and all of their people either do it or they will take back Dinah from them, leaving no room for bargaining.The sons, knowing about the rape, know that they can force Shechem and Hamor to accept their terms by proposing this ultimatum. If they reject it, then they will go and take back Dinah from their own house thereby exposing the rape in the full view of the town. Any attempt to prevent the brothers from taking back Dinah would surely cause a ruckus in town.
18 And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor's son.
19 And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in Jacob's daughter: and he was more honourable than all the house of his father. In doing so, the sons force them to either circumcise themselves or release Dinah and therefore expose the rape. The irony is extreme as if they accept the circumcision, then they are punished in the instrument of rape, and Shechem is prevented from violating Dinah again as he would not be able to while healing from the circumcision.
Shechem and Hamor are pleased they have seemingly obtained a means of obtaining Dinah and therefore avoiding the issue of rape, so they travel back home thinking all is well. Shechem wastes no time at all in going through with the circumcision, and in doing so he sets the example to the other people of the city.
20 And Hamor and Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with the men of their city, saying,The next day Hamor and Shechem then set about convincing the rest of the people in the city that they need to circumcise themselves as well. I don�t know what they said but it must have been pretty good to accomplish something like that...
How do politicians and minority groups try to effect the standards of the rest of the country?
What kind of falsehoods are propogated on us today?
21 These men are peaceable with us; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade therein; for the land, behold, it is large enough for them; let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give them our daughters.
22 Only herein will the men consent unto us for to dwell with us, to be one people, if every male among us be circumcised, as they are circumcised.
23 Shall not their cattle and their substance and every beast of theirs be ours? only let us consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. Like any good politician, Hamor presents the positives of the union with Jacob's family and omits the negatives. He emphasizes how wealthy Jacob and his family are and how the people will inherit that wealth by intermarrying. Hamor presents another biased account of the attempted union between the two parties. Here he only mentions that they will obtain Jacob's wealth, he fails to mention that they will have to give up some of the local land in order for Jacob to settle there.
24 And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city; and every male was circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city.The people are convinced the deal is in their best interest, so they agree to go through with the circumcision.
Isn�t it interesting how much people will do out of greed?
25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, that two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and came upon the city boldly, and slew all the males. The following day Simeon and Levi, the two full brothers of Dinah same father and same mother as Dinah, would naturally be most incensed at her being raped, take advantage of the incapacitation of the males to go in and exact revenge.
But note throughout the story leading up to this point, it is the brothers in general who are presented as angry about the matter and not just the two of them. so it isn't like the rest of them don't care, its just that these two are most angry over it and most prone to take action over it.
26 And they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went out.They take their swords to the town and kill all of the males working their way towards Shechem and Hamor's house. When they arrive there they kill both of them and take back Dinah.
27 The sons of Jacob came upon the slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. "because they had defiled their sister", in the case of rape, the one who did it was required to pay the bride price and marry her unless the father rejected the marriage. In which case, the bride price was still required.
28 They took their sheep, and their oxen, and their asses, and that which was in the city, and that which was in the field,
29 And all their wealth, and all their little ones, and their wives took they captive, and spoiled even all that was in the house.
30 And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me to make me to stink among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites: and I being few in number, they shall gather themselves together against me, and slay me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house.Afterwards, the other sons of Jacob go and take everything, including the cattle, wives, and children, as the punitive bride-price for Dinah's rape.
Afterwards, Jacob learns what his sons have done and he disapproves of their actions. Jacob fears the locals will combine against them and destroy them as a result of the sack of the city.
What is the Reason that Joseph disapproves?
Fear not real moral issue31 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an harlot?Simeon and Levi demand the principle of protecting the sanctity of one's sister justifies their actions. Simeon and Levi get the last word in this story and it is a rather thought provoking rhetorical question, "Should our sister be treated like a harlot?" I think the intent here is to get the reader thinking over the whole matter, weighing out the different character's actions and analyzing them.
What are your thoughts is that a valid question?
Does it have a valid answer?
Was Dinah's behavior appropriate, was she acting like a whore in the first place?
What about Simeon and Levi's reactions of sacking the entire village, was their retribution a fair one in that they put all of the males of the town to the sword?
This story recounts an entire course of events that started out innocently enough with a young lady out to do some flirting, and ends up a near complete disaster. The only way things could have turned out worse is if Jacobs fears had come to fruition and his neighbors ganged up on them and wiped out his whole family, which fortunately did not happen.
What can we learn from this story?
One action can have a lot of reactions...many can get hurt...Vainity can get us into trouble.
We should be found in the right places.
We should not see how close we can come to the line.
How a coquettish woman can inspire passion and violence in men.
Passion for retribution and self-styled justice ended in the violence of the entire city.
Power of women over men and their passions is presented as powerful and potentially disastrous
How many lives were effected by the selfish actions of one man?
This was an example of how not to act toward temptation...
Joseph sold into slavery ------------------
Read the story of Joseph an his coat of many colors...
Pauls Harveys the rest of the Story...
1 And Jacob dwelt in the land wherein his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report.[He tattles on his brothers whenever he can (v. 2),"evil report", in other words, Joseph returned deliberately unfavorable reports about his brothers to their father. Compare the "evil reports" of Num. 13:32 which were biased and innaccurate.Moses sends twelve spies to search land of Canaan--Ten of them bring an evil report, telling only of the strength of its inhabitants. ]
Do you suppose that tattling all the time would make your brothers love you more or less?
Mistake number 13 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of many colours.[his father flaunts his affection for him in his brother's face (v. 3). "coat of many colors", the JPS renders this "an ornamented tunic"
READ
In 2 Sam. 13:18-19 the garment mentioned as the distinctive dress of virgin daughters of royalty. Josephus describes is as "a long-sleeved tunic reaching to the ankle". In Aramaic and rabbinic Hebrew pas means the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot. Radak took passim to mean "striped". The Septuagint and Vulgate rendered the Hebrew "a robe of many colors".
Ancient Near Eastern art may shed some light on the subject. An Egyptian tomb painting at Beni-hasan from about 1890 B.C.E. features a Semitic clan with the men and women wearing multicolored tunics draped over one shoulder and reaching below the knees. Another Egyptian tomb has a representation of Syrian ambassadors bringing tribute to Tutankhamen. They are dressed in elaborately designed long robes wrapped around the body and over the shoulders. A mural fresco in the palace of King Zimri-lim at Mari, in southeastern Syria, shows figures dressed in garments made of many small rectangular panels of multicolored cloth.]
4 And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.[They get sick of him to the point they cannot even stand him anymore]
5 And Joseph dreamed a dream, and he told it his brethren: and they hated him yet the more.
6 And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed:
7 For, behold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright; and, behold, your sheaves stood round about, and made obeisance to my sheaf.
8 And his brethren said to him, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion over us? And they hated him yet the more for his dreams, and for his words.
Why you suppose that Josephs brothers were jealous?
What are some of the ways we react when we are jealous...what are some of the things that we do because of jealousy?
What can we do to overcome those feelings of jealousy towrd family and friend?
How do we do it? Examples?
9 And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me.
10 And he told it to his father, and to his brethren: and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, What is this dream that thou hast dreamed? Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth? Joseph goes on and on about these dreams he has about how he is superior to all of them, even bragging about them to his father
11 And his brethren envied him; but his father observed the saying.
12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in Shechem.Did you catch that? Right back to the scene of the crime, for Dinah! How appropriate that they should be in Shechem when they again committed a vile deed.
13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. [How does Joseph respond to his fathers request? Shechem is about 45 miles away]
14 And he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, and he came to Shechem. Joseph shows up and his brothers are simply infuriated with him and sick of him. At one point when the rest of the brothers are far from home pasturing the flocks, Jacob sends Joseph out to check out how things are going so he can report back to him
15 And a certain man found him, and, behold, he was wandering in the field: and the man asked him, saying, What seekest thou?
16 And he said, I seek my brethren: tell me, I pray thee, where they feed their flocks.
17 And the man said, They are departed hence; for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. [How has Joseph responded when he can�t find his brothers where they are supposed to be? He goes an extra 12 miles down the road and finds them at Dothan]
18 And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.
19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer cometh.
20 Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into some pit, and we will say, some evil beast hath devoured him: and we shall see what will become of his dreams. When his brothers see him coming their anger and frustration reaches a head and they plan to dispose of him by killing him and throwing him in a pit far out in the wilderness
21 And Reuben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands; and said, Let us not kill him.
22 And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, and lay no hand upon him; that he might rid him out of their hands, to deliver him to his father again.
How did Reuben�s reasons for sparing Joseph differ from Judah�s?
At first they want to kill Joseph, but decide instead to toss him into a pit and settle down to eat a meal while they decide what to do. In the distance they spot a band of Ishmeelites, and they have an idea -- let's sell him to the Ishmeelites, make some money, and be done with him.Reuben isn't quite as blinded by rage as are the others and he plans on a trick to preserve Joseph. Reuben suggest they just throw him into the pit in the wilderness and leave him there to die so they will not mudrer him themselves, all the while he is planning on rescuing him
23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him;
24 And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. When Joseph shows up his brothers strip him of the tunic and drag him to this pit in the wilderness and throw him in it. This pit was apparently a well during the wet season, or was for water storage and was abandoned, and was therefore deep enough to keep him from escaping
25 And they sat down to eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.Also, wherever the pit was, it was apparently far from Dothan where the brothers were camped with the flocks, for reasons we will see in a moment. Returning back from the pit to the camp they sit down to eat and see off in the distance an Ishmaelite caravan traveling to Egypt
26 And Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood?
27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. Judah comes up with an idea to dispose of him without killing him, they'll sell him to this caravan going to Egypt. Although the narrative is not clear here, it appears that Jacob's sons got up from their meal to bargain with the Ishmeelites.
28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt.However, while the brothers are away from the pit eating lunch and so forth, some Midianite traders just happen to pass by the pit and pull Joseph out of it. They bring him to Egypt to be sold into slavery. It is often said that Joseph's brothers "sold him into slavery." We can see that this is not exactly so -- they planned to sell him, but he was rescued and kidnapped before they could get the chance! Returning to the pit, Reuben finds it empty and honestly doesn't know what has become of Joseph. So they tear his coat, cover it with blood, and return to their father with the news that Joseph is dead.
29 And Reuben returned unto the pit; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit; and he rent his clothes.so, Joseph was probably yelling for help and the passing Midianites heard him and had the same idea as did Judah, namely to sell him as a slave. Now, this pit Joseph was in must have been some distance from the brother's camp otherwise they would have spotted and stopped the Midianite traders from pulling him out of the pit. Also, the pit must have been far way or Reuben's ploy to free him would have been in vain as he would not have been able to rescue him in their presence.
Meanwhile, while the other brothers are eating lunch and so forth, Reuben sneaks off back to the pit to save Joseph only to discover that he was missing
30 And he returned unto his brethren, and said, The child is not; and I, whither shall I go? He naturally does not know what has happened to Joseph so he laments his fate, probably fearing the worst
31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat in the blood; The brothers not knowing what happened to him go ahead with the original plan and tell Jacob that he was killed in the wilderness by a lion or something or other and all that is left is the bloody tunic
32 And they sent the coat of many colours, and they brought it to their father; and said, This have we found: know now whether it be thy son's coat or no.
33 And he knew it, and said, It is my son's coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
34 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.They go ahead with the plan and inform Jacob and he greatly laments the apparent death of Joseph
36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard.And Joseph ultimately ends up being sold as a servant in the house of Potiphar, the Pharaoh's chief steward
so what is the point of the story?
Is it merely intended to portray some history that puts Joseph's presence in Egypt into perspective?
Maybe. I would guess it has more to do with Divine Engineering though. God is well aware of the bad feelings his brothers have with Joseph, and its not like they aren't deserved. This being the case, and His knowing that drought was imminent, He took advantage of a bad situation to have Joseph placed in Egypt in circumstances that would cure his lousy attitude, as well as provide a means of saving the rest of the family when the drought hit. Thus, even though the family was not exactly a bunch of righteous zealots, God was still working with them in order to fulfil his covenant with Abraham.
Is there anything that we can we extract from this story that can help us in our lives today?
Genesis 39
The Joseph Narrative -------------------
1 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard,[chief of the executioners one mean dude with a lot of power] an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither.
2 And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
3 And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
How did the Lord bless Joseph after he was sold as a slave?
5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
Why does Potiphar put such trust in Joseph?
7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me:[ notice the double meaning in that phrase �lie with me�] and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
How does Joseph respond to the temptation of the Potiphars wife?
He gets out of dodge as fast as possibleHow do we respond sometime when we are tempted? Do we hang around for a few more minutes to see wht is going to happen...What Is the lesson here for us?
What excuses could Joseph have made here to justify him staying?
What excuses do people offer today to try to cover moral transgression? What makes for a valid excuse?13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: Note the tinge of racism in her voice: "he [her husband] hath brought in an Hebrew [a foreigner, someone who had no business living here] unto us to mock us [lit. to attempt the greatest outrage against us]." Who says the Bible isn't relevant to our lives today? some in your classes may be interested in exploring this aspect of the story.
15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.Joseph's garments seem to get him into a lot of trouble. First, it's his coat of many colors. Now its another garment, one that Potiphar's wife is holding on to as proof of his misdeed.
17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me:
18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.
19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners [were] bound when the death sentence is not imposed immediately. some Jewish scholars seem to think that this implies that Potiphar had some doubts about Joseph's guilt.
In the world today what are some of the ways that people are punished for being good or virtuous?
How or what can we do as parents to help or kids this this kind of pressure?
21 But the LORD was with Joseph [ What does this suggest about Joseph? That he was probably not complaining or murmuring or blaming God] , and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
What can we learn from Joseph�s attitude when things go bad?
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Romans 8:28
28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it.
23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the LORD was with him, and that which he did, the LORD made it to prosper.
Lets contrast the actions and results of Shechem and Jospeh when they are tempted?
Which one was really free?
What were the prices that each had to pay?
What did each lose or gain because of there morality?
Why does the Lord place such a high importance on being morally clean?