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1 Now Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan.
A stranger in the land is a recurring theme in the bible, in mainly the old testament, but also the new Testament (Compare Gen 15:13, 17:8, 23:4, Exo 2:22, Heb 9: 13), It is the book of Hebrews where sometime ago, I came to the realization that I to am a stranger in a strange land. Even though Isaac was born in the land of Canaan, he was still considered a stranger in the land, in the eyes of God, and He made sure that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were always mindful of that fact. The Hebrew’s Strong’s Lexicon number for stranger is (H4033), it means a temporary dwelling place. By faith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, lived in the land of promise as a stranger (Heb 9:9), looking forward to the promise of a better place built not by man but by the hands of God Almighty, they embraced them, and confessed themselves that they were strangers in a strange land, looking forward to the promises of a place in heaven where a city awaits them, that they can truly call their own (Gen 9: 10, 13, 16). We, the baptized members of God’s church, being the spiritual Israel of today, and joint heirs of the promise, are also strangers here on this earth. Waiting for God to call us home, where we will No longer be a stranger in a strange land, but a child at home.
2 This is the history of Jacob, Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brothers. And the lad was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives; and Joseph brought a bad report of them to his father.
At the age of Seventeen, Joseph, basically tells on his brothers to his father for some kind of evil they did. We are not told what the brothers did that caused Joseph to give them a bad report. The only thing we know is that all eleven brothers were not there. Only the sons of Jacob’s concubines Bilhah, and Zilpah did Joseph give an evil report of. These sons would have been Dan and Naphtali (the sons of Bilhah), and Gad and Asher (The sons of Bilhah).
3 Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age. Also he made him a tunic of many colors. 25:28 4 But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him. v.8
Joseph was Jacobs most cherished of all his children, we are told it was because Joseph was the son of his old age. I would like to think that it was a little more than that: Joseph was also the firstborn son of Rachel, the wife Jacob loved the most. In my opinion, Joseph and Benjamin were his two favorite sons because they were the only sons Jacob and Rachel conceived together. The other brothers were envious of Joseph, and Jacob didn’t help matters by making Joseph a tunic as a sign that he was his favorite son. Jacob might as well have put a target on Josephs back in which to show the brothers where to aim their jealousies. It had to be hard for Joseph growing up day by day, listening to the hateful way in which his brothers spoke to him and treated him. Most younger brothers look up to their older siblings, and look to them for direction in their lives, someone they can go to when they are troubled for whatever cause. Joseph couldn’t do this, who does he go to? who does he look up to? I would have to say it was his father Jacob, and by all accounts of the story of this family, it was Joseph who was closest to the Lord than any of his brothers, because he had his father and only his father to bring him up in the ways of the Lord, and not be influenced by his brothers, who by all accounts, were not living a Godly life. Not to say they didn’t have God in their life, but like Esau, they were far removed from Him. This is only one man’s opinion. in all fairness to his brothers, especially Judah, to whom the promised seed will be passed down to, in which all nations of the earth would be blessed. They are still God’s chosen people, Sons of Israel, And they do follow the one true God.
5 Now Joseph had a dream, and he told it to his brothers; and they hated him even more.
Before Joseph ever had any of his dreams, his brothers already hated him. After he tells them of this particular dream they begin to hate him even more.
6 So he said to them, “Please hear this dream which I have dreamed: 7 “There we were, binding sheaves in the field. Then behold, my sheaf arose and also stood upright; and indeed your sheaves stood all around and bowed down to my sheaf.” 8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words.
God gives not only Joseph the gift of interpreting dreams, but as we read here, his brothers also share of this gift. Joseph didn’t have to give them any interpretation of his dream. We will see later on in Joseph’s life that he will indeed reign over them. Throughout the ages God has revealed himself to certain people, even kings, thru dreams and visions. In these dreams and visions He reveals to them certain events that will unfold in the future, sometimes hundreds of years before they come to pass. Other times God reveals Himself to individuals to warn them of their own demise for sins they were about to commit, or have committed (Compare Gen 20:3, 31: 10-13, 31:24, 41:17-25, Dan 2:26-28, Matt 1:20, 2:13), there are many more places in the bible where God reveals himself to individuals thru dreams, I only touched the surface. The Lord God reveals Himself to us thru many ways. All we have to do is walk outside our homes, and see His creation at work: the beautiful flowers in full bloom, the birds how they fly thru the air with great ease. Look up into the heavens and see the stars, the sun, and the moon at night, and you will know that He exist (Heb 1:10) And He reveals Himself to us through dreams, for He knows the end from the beginning, and all things in between (Isa 46:9-11, 48:3-5,)
9 Then he dreamed still another dream and told it to his brothers, and said, ” Look, I have dreamed another dream. And this time, the sun, the moon, and eleven stars bowed down to me.” 42:6; Rev. 12:1 10 So he told it to his father and his brothers; and his father rebuked him and said to him,”What is this dream that you have dreamed? Shall your mother and I and your brothers indeed come to bow down to the earth before you?” 27:29 11 And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the matter in mind.
This time not only does the dream show his brothers bowing down to him but also his mother and father. Jacob ask’s his son Joseph if he and his mother would bow down to the earth before him. Joseph’s mother Rachel has been dead now for approximately ten years or more (According to my calculations), So I was left to wonder what Jacob meant when he mentions Joseph’s mother bowing down to him. Did Jacob say this figuratively? from Joseph’s earlier dream we know the sons of Jacob have the gift of interpreting dreams. Jacob to has this gift, Remember the Lord appeared to Jacob in dreams. Once He appeared Jacob to reveal to him what would become of him and his descendants, and another time to assure him that He was with him during his times of trial, as the Lord promised. (Gen 28:12-16, 31:10). Joseph shares this dream in everyone’s presence. Jacob undoubtedly senses the uneasiness from all his other sons when Joseph tells them of this dream, knowing that they already envy and hate him. In my opinion; by Jacob including Joseph’s mother Rachel into this dream (she already being dead), makes the dream to be unreliable and insignificant: How can one who is dead bow down to Joseph? In saying this, Jacob is in essence saying to everyone (Not just Joseph), that this dream is just that (A dream), and nothing else, hoping to steady his sons into hating Joseph even more than they already do. Yet! Jacob knows better than to just brush off this dream personally. In his mind he doesn’t take this dream lightly (As he probably didn’t in Joseph’s first dream). Jacob will meditate on the dream, maybe even pray to God Almighty about it, and if a time ever comes where this dream is fulfilled, Joseph will act accordingly, knowing then, that God has set Joseph apart from all his other sons, and Joesph will be blessed, him and his descendants, tremendously.
12 Then his brothers went to feed their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, I will send you to them.” So he said to him, “Here I am.”
Shechem is the place where Jacob pitched his tent and lived there for some time. He even went so far as to purchase a field from the Hamorites for one hundred pieces of silver. This is also where Jacob built an altar to God and called the place El (The God of Israel), in which to worship the Almighty One. After Isaac died, we are told that Jacob lived in the travels of his father in the land of Canaan (Gen 37:1) Jacob is now dwelling near Hebron which is south of Shechem and probably a day or two’s journey from where he sends Joseph off to find his brothers.
14 Then he said to him,”Please go and see if it is well with your brothers and well with the flocks, and bring back word to me.” So he sent him out of the valley of Hebron, and he went to Shechem. 35:27
the city of Shechem is also the place where the son of Hamor (Shechem) defiled Jacobs daughter Dinah, who is the daughter of Leah, Jacobs first wife. Because of this, Jacobs ten older sons deceived the Hamorites into being circumcised, thinking this would make things right with the house of Israel. However Jacobs sons slaughtered all the males of Shechem and stole all their possessions, their children, and even their wives while the men of Shechem were recovering from their circumcision. Jacob had to leave the land because of this for fear of retribution by all the surrounding cities, and tribes. This is probably why he sends Joseph to find them to make sure they are safe.
15 Now a certain man found him, and there he was, wandering in the field. And the man asked him, saying, “What are you seeking?” 16 So he said, “I am seeking my brothers. Please tell me where they are feeding thier flocks.” 17 And the man said, “They have departed from here, for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to Dothan.'” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.
Who is this man that Joseph happens upon? What is the significance of this encounter? This is yet another one of those verses that God inserts into His story to Moses, and inherently to us the reader, that makes me ask Why? Joseph was wondering in this field looking for his brothers, when he comes upon this man who ask’s him, “what are you seeking?” is this man an angel of the Lord? we are told in the scriptures not to be forgetful to entertain strangers because they could be angels that we are not aware of (Heb 13:2), In the Psalms David sings of angels that God puts charge over us to keep us in all our ways (Psa 91: 11), the fact that we are told Joseph is wondering in a field implies to me that he is at a loss of where his brothers are, they should be in the area that Joseph is wondering in. So the Lord sends an angel in the form of a man to guide him in the direction he must go. Again, this is just my opinion, there are no referenced scriptures I can point to, that leads me to this conclusion. However I must point out that in the Jewish community, the Rabbi’s say that it is the angel Gabriel. They point to the prophet Daniel for their understanding of just who this man is (Dan 9:21). If this is an angel sent by the Lord, then the direction He is sending him is into the lions den. In order for Josephs dreams to be fulfilled, and also to fulfill what God told Abraham about the fate of his descendants being afflicted for four hundred years (Gen 15:13), the events which are about to unfold will indeed fulfill the will of God, and in the process He will be glorified, as the One who knows the end from the beginning and all things in between. His words are true and faithful to the end.
18 Now when they saw him afar off, even before he came near them, they conspired against him to kill him. Mark 14:1 19 Then they said to one another, “Look this dreamer is coming! 20 “Come therefore, let us now kill him and cast him into some pit; and we shall say, ‘Some wild beast has devoured him.’ We shall see what will become of his dreams!” Prov. 1:11
In the life of Joseph there are many similarities between him and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This verse here is but one example of these similarities. As referenced here (Mark 14:1), points directly to the similarity between the two. We must remember that the sons of Jacob will make up what is to become, what I like to call, “The Israeli nation” one day. Just as the chief priests and the scribes (Made up of the descendants of Jacob), conspired to kill Jesus, so to the sons of Jacob are conspiring to kill Joseph. Also, as the priests and scribes did, the the brothers devise a plan so that no one will be none the wiser as to thier evil intent, in the case of the brothers their Father Jacob. as in the case between Esau and Jacob, when Esau sought to kill his brother Jacob, Rebekah made the comment, “Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” (See my commentary back in Gen 27: 43-45), Woe! to the sons of Jacob if he were to find out that they were the ones who killed his favorite son Joseph. Jacob would require blood from those who killed him. Which leads to another similarity between Joseph and Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only begotten son of God. even though we are all His children, God set Jesus apart from the rest of us (Sanctified him), and has made him special above all His other children. In the same turn Jacob sets Joseph apart from the rest of his children, he makes him a tunic of many colors, signifying the special bond between the two. “We shall see what will become of his dreams!” the brothers declare. This is obviously a rhetorical comment on the brothers part, being that they intend to kill him. but when you think about it, it has great significance in both the similarity of Joseph and Jesus Christ, the time of Joseph, and in the latter days when the King of Kings and Lord of Lord returns to this earth to save mankind from itself. As we will see later on the brothers do indeed bow down to Joseph, more than once not knowing who he is (Gen 42:6, 43:26,), And one day every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess (Isa 45:23, Rom 14:11). The similarities between these two men are too striking to just cast off as coincidence. I call Jesus man in this instance because He did strip Himself of his divinity, and came as a man, in the flesh, so that all nations of the earth would be blessed.
21 But Rueben heard it, and he delivered him out of their hands, and said, “Let us not kill him.” 42:22 22 And Rueben said to them, “Shed no blood, but cast him into this pit which is in the wilderness, and do not lay a hand on him” –That he might deliver him out of their hands, and bring him back to his father. v.29
Rueben is the firstborn of Jacob’s from his wife Leah (Gen 35:23), Being the firstborn usually comes with it certain responsibilities, and esteem. Typically the firstborn inherits the birthright (Which is the promised seed, in which all nations will be blessed), along with the blessings of land and the inheritance of his fathers goods, but as we have seen in the case of Isaac, it was not Ishmael (firstborn of Abraham through Sarah’s handmaid, Hagar), who inherited the firstborn birthright, but Isaac. I will refer the reader back to my commentary in Gen 16:3-4, for my explanation as to why this was. In the case of Esau and Jacob (Esau being the firstborn), in this case, we are told that Esau despised his birthright and sold it to Jacob for a pot of Stew (Gen 25: 31-34). This is the esteem part in which I mentioned earlier. Reuben (being the firstborn), should be esteemed as the one whose seed, is that of the promised seed in which all nations of the earth will be blessed. Being the elder brother also would make him responsible for the care of his other brothers, and his fathers house. Reuben defends his brother Joseph because he feels responsible for him, so he persuades his other brothers not to shed the blood of Joseph, but instead set him in a well until he can find the opportune time to rescue him from his brothers and bring him safely back to his father.
23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. vv. 3, 31-33
This tunic of many colors was made for Joseph by his father personally as a way of showing the deep love he had for his son. To the other brothers this tunic represented favoritism over them, and put Joseph at a higher esteem than the rest, maybe even to the point of getting a greater blessing than the other brothers, or even taking away the birthright, and so they hated him for it. To strip Joseph of this tunic was a symbolic way of stripping Joseph of any blessings he would inherit in the future, that should be given to them.
24 Then they took and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. Then they lifted their eyes and looked, and their was a company of Ishmaelites, coming from Gilead with their camels, bearing spices, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry them down to Egypt.
The pit that Joseph was cast into is actually a dried up well for water. Since this well had no water in it, there could have been all kinds of living creatures inhabiting this well, from rodents to roaches, snakes, and the like. In the twinkling of an eye Joseph has gone from being a boy of seventeen, with dreams of a future that looked very promising, stripped of the robe his father made for him, a robe that was fit for kings, and princes, to being cast into a pit full of darkness, doom and despair. While his brothers, sit above him eating a meal, having no remorse for what they had just done to their own flesh and blood. It’s as if they are having a feast in celebration of ridding themselves from that which once made them feel insignificant and subservient to their younger brother Joseph. the time that he was in this pit seemed like a lifetime to him. Time enough for him to think of the dreams he had been given, with a promise of being a king over the house of Israel, with his brothers bowing down to him, and yes even his father and mother. Knowing that these dreams of his was a gift from God as to what lie ahead for him, he must be wondering to himself, “How can this be if I am to die in this pit? ‘what would become of my dreams?” As far as he knows his brothers will leave him there to die, never being able to fulfill the promises given in his dreams. But help comes to him in the most unimaginable way. Ishmaelites happen upon Joseph and his brothers. Descendants of Abraham’s firstborn (Ishmael), son of Hagar, Sarah’s Egyptian handmaid.
26 So Judah said to his brothers, “What profit is there if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? 27 “Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh.” And his brothers listened. 42:21 28 Then Midianite traders passed by; so the brothers pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. And they took Joseph to Egypt.
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, and ironically enough the one who will inherit the birthright blessing of the promised seed, in which all nations of the earth will be blessed. Thru the Lion of Judah Salvation will come to all nations, tribes and tongues. And Judah will deliver Joseph out of this pit, thus saving him from death, just as the lion of Judah saves us all from death eternal (Gen 49:8-11, Rev 5:4-10). It is Judah, who like Reuben, convinces his brothers not to kill Joseph. Instead Judah convinces his brothers to sale him to the Ishmaelites for a profit. God knows the hearts of men, and only God knows the heart of Judah in this instance. Judah did not want to kill Joseph and be guilty of his blood, this we know for sure because he even tells his brothers not to let Joseph’s blood be upon them. He had to convince his brothers not to kill Joseph; so he entices his brothers with the things of the world that men love, or should I say lust after? (1 John 2:15-16). In this case it is the lust of the eyes, and of the flesh. The love of Money! this is their weakness, the lust of the eyes in that when they see its beauty they desire to have it, they covet it, knowing that they can buy all kinds of other worldly things with this precious metal. this love for money also produces in itself the lust of the flesh, in the case of not only the brothers, but all men who lust after the things of the world, the silver is something they feel they can’t live without, they just have to have it, again, they covet it. Josephs brothers place more value on the silver than they do on their desire to kill him. In my opinion this is what Judah is banking on in order to deliver his brother from certain death.
29 Then Rueben returned to the pit, and indeed Joseph was not in the pit; and he tore his clothes. v.22 30 And he returned to his brothers and said, “The lad is no more; and I, where shall I go?”
As I previously stated: Reuben, being the oldest brother, feels a certain responsibility for the well being of all his brothers, including Joseph, no matter how much he hated him. This is what is meant when he says in verse four, “The lad is no more, where shall I go?” But where was Reuben when all this occurred, was he tending to the flocks? did he go back into Shechem, or one of the other surrounding cities for supplies? Why would he leave Joseph alone among a pack of ravenous wolves, ready to devour him at a moments notice, if he meant to deliver him out of the hands of his brothers, so that he could return to his father with Joseph safely? (Gen 37:22). My only logical conclusion I can come to is that it was providence, (Divine guidance from God above), For He will do all His pleasure ( Isa 46: 9-10), and all things work together for the good, according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
31 So they took Joseph’s tunic, killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the tunic in the blood. vv. 3, 23 32 Then they sent the tunic of many colors, and they brought it to their father and said, “We have found this. Do you know whether it is your son’s tunic or not?” 33 And he recognized it and said, “It is my son’s tunic. A wild beast has devoured him. Without doubt Joseph is torn to pieces.” 34 Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth on his waist, and mourned for his son many days. v.29
The brothers killed a kid of the goats and dipped it in blood as a way of deceiving their father. Jacob also used a coat from the kid of goats to deceive his own father Isaac into thinking he was Esau so he could steal the blessings away from his brother. A sacrifice had to be made in order to preserve not only the nation of Israel,but also to bless Egypt, and all the known surrounding peoples, tribes, and tongues. Joseph was sent ahead (As a sacrifice), to Egypt before his brothers and father, so that he could preserve, and deliver them from certain death because of the famine (Gen 45: 5-8). In the same turn, Joseph eventually was reconciled to his brothers and he forgave them for the sins they had committed against him, for he knew they were truly repentant as he heard them confess of the sin they committed against him (Gen 42:21-23). Compare this story to that of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: Just as God preordained for Joseph to be sent to Egypt first, to preserve the seed of Jacob, and reconcile his brothers to him, so to God preordained that a sacrifice had to be made; from the foundation of the earth (1 Pet 1:18-23), That He would send us a deliverer (Rom 11:26-27), so as to reconcile man to Him, and we to would be forgiven for the remission of our sins if we would confess, and truly repent from our own sins. Like Joseph, whose brothers left him for dead (so to speak), by selling him into slavery; for to live as a slave is likening to being dead. So to did the chief priests and scribes seek to kill Jesus. As far as Josephs brothers were concerned, he was dead, they had killed him, but he was resurrected before them when they went into Egypt because of the famine in the land. And So to did the Chief priests and scribes kill Jesus, only to find out three days later that he to had been resurrected, and the promise God made to Abraham that all nations of the earth were to be blessed, were fulfilled. Just as all the nations surrounding Egypt had been blessed thru Joseph.
35 And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, “For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.” Thus his father wept for him. 36 Now the Midianites had sold him in Egypt to Potiphar, and officer of Pharaoh and captain of the guard.
In the beginning of this chapter we were told that Israel loved Joseph more than any of his children because he was born when Israel was old in his years. I believe personally that he also loved Joseph more than all his children because he was the firstborn of Rachel (The woman he loved the most). Here in the end of this chapter Israel’s love for Joseph is expressed in his mourning over the loss of him. Israel cannot be comforted by anyone, his love for Joseph is so deep, that he even says he will mourn for him for the rest of life. The brothers use a In verse thirty five it is revealed to us that Dinah was not the only daughter Jacob had. Dinah is just the only one whose life has an important significance in God’s story to us, and role she played in guiding Israel’s destiny as to where they would settle, and be known to the inhabitants in the land in which they were strangers in. In verse twenty seven the brothers say they will sell Joseph to a caravan of Ishmaelites that happen to be passing by . Here we read they sell Joseph to the Midianites. The Midianites are a tribe that lives in the land of Ishmael (Abraham’s firstborn son of Hagar). It is the same as me being a Texan, yet I live in America. Not all Americans are Texans, but all Texans are Americans,; just as all Midianites are Ishmaelites, but not all Ishmaelites are Midianites. Joseph is sold to the Midianites, who in turn sale him into slavery to the Egyptians. In my opinion this is the beginning of the four hundred years of slavery the descendants of Abraham’s will endure as told to him in a dream by the Lord God Almighty (Gen 15:12-14). it appears that most scholars, and even in the Jewish teachings, teach that the four hundred years of affliction began at the time of Abraham’s departure from the land of Haran to Canaan, and the extra thirty years (Exo 12:40-41), which Moses states was a total of four hundred and thirty years, was from Abraham’s departure to the land of Canaan, to the time that Ishmael was mocking Isaac during his weaning celebration when Isaac was but a child. During my own studies of this prophecy I could not buy into this theory, and I will give my reasoning as to why. In Genesis fifteen verse thirteen Abraham’s seed twice is mentioned as being strangers in a land that is not “theirs,” Abraham was never afflicted or even in slavery at any time while he was alive, neither was His son Isaac. Joseph is seventeen years old at the beginning of this chapter. The way I understand this chapter he is still seventeen or maybe eighteen from the time of the beginning of this chapter up the end when he was sold into slavery. Abraham’s dream was that his descendants would be afflicted for four hundred years. Moses says they lived in Egypt four hundred and thirty years. How do we reconcile this difference? let me give my opinion. Joseph was the first descendant to be afflicted and sold into slavery to Egypt, and then years later his brothers, and father come into Egypt. Now we know that the dream the Pharaoh had, and interpreted by Joseph would account for fourteen years of Joseph’s time in Egypt (Gen 41:17-30). Before the time of this dream, Joseph was first a slave of a man named Potiphar who was an officer of the Pharaoh, and captain of the guard. in chapter thirty nine we are told that the Lord was with Joseph and he prospered while in the house of Potiphar, and he made Joseph ruler over all of his household and during this time the Lord blessed Potiphar s house and all that he had for Joseph’s sake (Gen 39:1-5), All this had to take some time for these blessings to be performed upon Potiphar and his household (probably a few years), as a matter of fact, verse five said all this had to come to pass before the blessings came. In my opinion, when Joseph first became a slave to Potiphar it also took some time before he trusted Joseph enough to make him ruler of his house. After this in verse thirty seven it says again that “it came to pass” that the wife of Potiphar made advancements, over and over towards Joseph. Finally, after many refusal’s by Joseph, Potiphar s wife accused Joseph of trying to rape her, in turn he was put into prison (Gen 39:”7-14). While Joseph was in prison, the Lord was once again with him and blessed him to where he eventually was made overseer of the prison by the keeper of the prison (Gen 39:21-23). During this stay in prison Joseph interprets a couple dreams by other inmates, and he accurately interprets these dreams to the inmates, (Gen 40) This eventually leads Joseph out of prison to go and interpret the dream of the Pharaoh, of the seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. Moses said that his people were in slavery for four hundred and thirty years (Exo 12:20-41). Then in Genesis forty one verse forty six we read that Joseph was thirty years old upon entering the house of the Pharaoh. That would be thirteen years since he entered into Egypt. Then we have the seven years of plenty, followed by seven years of famine. This would add up to twenty seven years since he first entered into Egypt. We do not know exactly when the first seven years of plenty began from the time the Pharaoh appointed Joseph ruler of his house. What we do know is that Joseph got married, left the Presence of the Pharaoh, and went thru all the land of Egypt. The logistics to make ready the people, and store up all the land of Egypt, for the coming seven years of plenty, would be tremendous and take time. This could account for the extra three years, making it a total of thirty years since Joseph was sold into slavery. The point I am trying to make here is that if we take into account of the time Joseph first entered into Egypt, the time that his brothers and family joined him, and the end of the famine, could add up to about thirty years. Accounting for the extra thirty years we read in Exodus 12:40-41, verses the vision of Abraham’s that it would be four hundred years they were servants to Egypt and finally being afflicted by them (Gen 15:13). Again I want to state that this is my humble opinion as to when the four hundred years of affliction began. Upon naming Ephraim (Joseph’s second born), he states that the Lord caused him to be fruitful in the land of his affliction (Gen 41:52). Joseph calls Egypt “The land of my affliction,” even though Joseph wasn’t a slave for the first thirty years, as a whole, while in Egypt, in his mind he was afflicted the whole time there, one reason could be because his soul yearned to be with his father, another reason maybe was because of what his brothers had done to him. Jacob was in Joseph’s thoughts continuously, it pained him to be away from him, not only that, it hurt Joseph to think of what his brothers had done to him. Yes! he was truly afflicted even in the best of times while in Egypt. “out of the mouth of babes,” interestingly enough this saying comes from the scriptures (Psa 8:2, Matt 21:16), I didn’t know this when I thought it, but something led me to write it down here, and to see where this saying came from. after discovering where this came from I think it is very fitting I added this to my commentary, which leads me to believe that maybe it is God’s Spirit that led me to this scripture. “He will send us a comforter” (John 14:15-18, Acts 1:8), but I digress. Jacob came into the land of Egypt when he was 130 years of age, and lived for seventeen more years until his passing ( Gen 47:28). According to my genealogy chart, and family tree, which I have kept record of, beginning with the creation of Adam, this puts Jacob arriving in the land of Egypt at the year 2238 AC (After creation); I would refer the reader to go to my charts menu to see the genealogy charts I have recorded to see where and how I get my dates. In my opinion, Jacob himself was never afflicted while in Egypt, as his son Joseph was when he first arrived there. This leads me to believe that the prophecy giving to Abraham, by the Lord: that his descendants would be strangers in a land, serve the people of that land, and eventually be afflicted by these people (Gen 15:13), began at the time of Joseph’s arrival into Egypt when he was seventeen years old. According to Genesis 47:28 Jacob died at the age of one hundred and forty seven years old, after living in Egypt for seventeen years (Gen 47:9), Joseph was approximately thirty six years of age when his father Jacob came into the land of Egypt (Gen 41:46), this is a rough estimate on my part, and cannot be proven thru the scriptures, but based solely upon my research in the matter. With this said, based upon my own conclusions, I personally put the time of the vision given to Abraham (Gen 15:13), began around the years 2200-2206 AC (After Creation). This would make Joseph somewhere between the ages of 30-36 years of age. This is all based upon my premise that the vision given to Abraham in chapter fifteen of Genesis, began with the arrival of Joseph into the land of Egypt.