No 25

(Tribe of Joseph)

When Jacob was on his deathbed and was pronouncing the prophetic blessings on his 12 sons, he kept the two youngest for the last not only because they were the youngest but because they were from his beloved Rachel. We will look at Joseph first and in Genesis 49 : 22 to 26, Jacob talks about events in the past and events in the future in the life of his 11^th son.

Joseph. His name, in Hebrew, means “may he add” and in verse 22, he calls him a fruitful bough bringing to mind what Joseph called his second son, Ephraim in Genesis 41:52 “And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.” Many writers and commentators have characterized Joseph as a type of Jesus Christ with many parallels between Joseph’s experiences and events in the life of Christ. Although the parallels appear striking, they should not be overemphasized because the New Testament never mentions the name of Joseph. In Jacob’s unfolding of Joseph’s past, he states in v23 “The archers have harassed him and shot at him and hated him…” reflecting on the ill treatment Joseph received at the hands of his brothers. Joseph remained faithful to the Lord in even the direst circumstances.

Looking ahead in Joseph’s life, Jacob mentions the blessings that will be attributed to his future lineage. When Joseph was in Egypt, he took a gentile wife whose name was Asenath who gave him two sons – Manasseh and Ephraim. These two sons of Joseph were adopted by Jacob (Gen 48:5) and would be given much territory in the Promised Land; more than any of the other sons of Jacob. Manasseh actually received two portions of land – one on the east side of the Jordan River and one on the west side. Therefore, Joseph would actually have two tribes named after him and in the lists of the tribes of Israel in the Bible; Joseph’s name is replaced by the names of Manasseh and Ephraim.

The lesson of the life of Joseph is to remain faithful; this is a principle of spiritual growth that is well reflected in the words of Jesus when He told the parable of the servants “thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:21, 23)