It could be nothing short of Divine Intervention that would result in the early Israelite family surviving long enough to grow into a tribe, and ultimately a nation; For throughout Genesis, at nearly every moment, her continued existence was dubious. Conflict abounded, with the intensity becoming such that families were ripped apart, and even blood was spilled.
The story of the conflict between Yisrael’s sons, in which one is sold into slavery and written off as dead, is one such example, which begins with Yoseph bringing “wicked reports” of his shepherd brothers’ behavior to back to Yisrael.
But what, exactly, were those wicked reports? What could these brothers have been doing, about which they were so furious their father would hear? How is this connected to Yisrael giving Yoseph a beautifully-ornamented tunic?
In the traditional version, these questions and others are left unanswered. This week we offer the following re-telling which seeks to fill in some of these gaps. (Gen 37)
A brief commentary follows.
Yoseph, 17 years old, herded the flock with his brothers. He was but a lad, working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, the concubines of his father.
And Yoseph saw wickedness.
For Dan would look at the sheep each morning and judge these for life and these for death. He would point to one, and Naftali would wrestle that one to the ground. Gad would take ropes and tie the sheep down so as to easily slice through the neck. Then Asher would remove the sinews and twist them, and pull them straight into bowstrings to sell for profit. And in this way, they all profited greatly.
This they learned from their grandfather's brother, Yishmael-the-Hunter, both the craft and the need. For they were afraid, lest their father should send them away, as did Avraham to Yishmael. And so the knowledge of this craft was discovered by the son-of-a-concubine, and returned to the son-of-a-concubine. And they continued to pursue profit at the expense of LIFE, and their wicked-deeds were multiplied.
And they were brazen in their wickedness. And Yoseph saw. And brought the wicked-report to their father.
"They eat the suet and wear the wool; They slaughter the fat ones. They abandon the weak. They look not after the sick, neither healing nor binding broken limbs. They force them into crushing labor, and those who flee are abandoned to the beasts of the field for food."
And Yisrael heard, and was enraged.
And therefore he loved Yoseph, over all of his brothers, for the others had hid their eyes, while Yoseph was truly the son of his father. And he made for him an ornamented tunic, praying that when the brothers see it, and hear Yoseph say “Enough!”, they would hearken.
But while his brothers saw that Yoseph was loved, they thought not as to how they, too, could win their father’s favor, and jealousy burned in their hearts.
His brothers had brought the flock to Shechem. And Yisrael sent Yoseph, with his ornamented-tunic, after them.
As he approached, his brothers said one-to-another, “Look! Here comes the one who would spy-us-out, and and rid us all of our birthright with his stories. Come! Let’s kill him and cast him into one of these pits, and we’ll say that a wild beast consumed him, and we’ll see what becomes of his stories!”
But when they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites and Midianites approaching, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, hoping to profit, suggested that they sell him instead. “Then we shall kill some of the sheep, and make profit also off of the sinews, and dine on the flesh, and wear their wool, as we are wont to do! And where will this slave be to protest?”
They did so. And then they sat down to eat.
When they had finished, they took their brother’s tunic and dipped it into the blood-of-the-innocent, and sent it to their father, saying, “We found this! Can you recognize whether it is the tunic of your son?”
And he recognized it, and he cried out, saying, “It is the tunic of my son! A hungry animal has devoured him! Yoseph is shredded to shreds!”
Commentary
In the traditional version, we know absolutely nothing of the nature of Yoseph’s reports of his brothers’ behavior- Neither what the reports were, whether they were justified, or how Yisrael reacted to them. It is noteworthy that the term for a “wicked-report,” a דבה, is the same term used to describe the report of the spies of the land of Israel; “It is a land which consumes those who dwell upon her!” (Numbers 13.32). In other words the land, upon which people depended for sustenance, for security and for resources, did the very opposite, not protecting, but devouring her inhabitants. In Yoseph’s report in the version above, he says the same of his brothers, upon whom the sheep depended for kindness, for shelter, and for food.
Those with a background in Hebrew will pick up on the etymological word-play of the brothers' names, in connecting each of them to a different stage in the slaughter of sheep and harvesting of the sinews.
Dan - To judge- this one for death, and this one for life;
Naftali - To wrestle/to twist- Wrestling the sheep to the ground;
Gad - Sinew/tendon- The part upon which their profit depended;
Asher - To make straight, or from שרר, twisting sinews together to make cords, or to make bowstrings.
While their actions are abhorrent, their fear is not unfounded. Avraham loved Yishmael and cared for Hagar- and yet, he was turned against them by the jealousy of his wife, Sarah; And therefore Hagar and Yishmael had to fend for themselves without the protection and sustenance of Avraham, the Patriarch. Could the same have happened to the concubines of Yisrael?
As for the words Yoseph uses in his report against his brothers, this comes right out of Ezekiel 34, an amazing chapter in which Yahweh criticizes the Judahite leadership for abandoning their responsibility to the people and failing in what was expected of them (verses 3-5). Yahweh speaks of the leaders as shepherds, and the abused or abandoned people as sheep. The description of the type of righteous shepherd that Yahweh-Himself would be is laid out in verses 11-16.
I will seek out my flock, wherever they are, and bring them to good pasture and watercourses. They will lie down in good folds and feed on goodly, rich pasture. If even one gets lost, I will seek him out. The injured, I will bind, the weak I will strengthen.
This chapter was very likely at hand for the author of the Gospel of Yohanan, when he put the following into the mouth of Yeshua of Nazareth (Yohanan 10):
I am the good shepherd, who lays his life down for his sheep.
Like a righteous, godly King for his subjects, the good shepherd, in Yahweh's estimation, is the one who is ready to sacrifice himself on behalf of those who depend on him.
May we do our Heavenly-Father proud, being true champions for those with whom we share this world, and find within ourselves the courage to defend the vulnerable even should it cost us our life.
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