seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 37:5 Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. 6 He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: 7 We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
8 His brothers said to him, “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” And they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said.
His brothers already hated him because he was the favorite son. They were capable of almost anything. Remember, two of his brothers murdered a whole town when the prince raped [or dishonored] their sister, Dinah. I wouldn't want to make them angry. What in the world is Joseph thinking?
Bible-commentaries.com offers this.
Joseph's two dream aggravated the situation considerably. We cannot but think that Joseph must have been extremely naive to pass on these dreams. It could hardly be that he was not aware of his brothers' feelings towards him. The dreams must have kept him from loosing his self-esteem. It is hard on one's ego to be hated, especially for a person who wants to please. And Joseph seems to have been such a person. It is true that he served the Lord in Potiphar's house and in prison, but the very human tendency to want to please people was probably present also.
On the other hand Joseph used the dreams as a weapon of defense. He had to show his brothers that he was more important than they made him out to be. The dreams were a divine revelation, which played an important part in Joseph's life when he was sold and enslaved and crushed. They pulled him through. His own dreams probably stimulated his gift of explaining other people's dreams, which means that he hung on to his dreams in the darkness of his life.
On the other hand Joseph used the dreams as a weapon of defense. He had to show his brothers that he was more important than they made him out to be. The dreams were a divine revelation, which played an important part in Joseph's life when he was sold and enslaved and crushed. They pulled him through. His own dreams probably stimulated his gift of explaining other people's dreams, which means that he hung on to his dreams in the darkness of his life.
The first dream is describes in verse 7, where Joseph tell his brothers: "We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it." We read very little in the book of Genesis about Abraham's descendants being engaged in agriculture. Although their main occupation was raising of animals, they must have sown and harvested also, otherwise this dream would be completely irrelevant. The mention of grain can also be seen as a reference to the famine that would come upon the Middle East several years later, when Joseph's dream would be fulfilled. The boys do get the point; they understand that according to Joseph's dream they will bow down before him, because of his superior position. Obviously they do not take the dream seriously. They disregard any supernatural element that might be in it. To them Joseph's dreams are the products of his imagination, stimulated by the special treatment Jacob gives him. The result is an increased hatred.
I really don't know what to think about this guy. He had to know his brothers didn't want to hear anything the "favorite son" had to say. Maybe he was lonely and wanted to be part of the group.... maybe he was ignorant about emotions and just wanted to fit in. This dysfunctional family just continues to amaze me. It's hard to imagine that Jesus had these people in His family tree.
