Joseph's talebearing against his brethren made them hate him. Among all
of them Gad was particularly wrathful, and for good reason. Gad was a
very brave man, and when a beast of prey attacked the herd, over which
he kept guard at night, he would seize it by one of its legs, and whirl
it around until it was stunned, and then he would fling it away to a
distance of two stadia, and kill it thus. Once Jacob sent Joseph to
tend the flock, but he remained away only thirty days, for he was a
delicate lad and fell sick with the heat, and he hastened back to his
father. On his return he told Jacob that the sons of the handmaids were
in the habit of slaughtering the choice cattle of the herd and eating
it, without obtaining permission from Judah and Reuben. But his report
was not accurate. What he had seen was Gad slaughtering one lamb, which
he had snatched from the very jaws of a bear, and he killed it because
it could not be kept alive after its fright. Joseph's account sounded
as though the sons of the handmaids were habitually inconsiderate and
careless in wasting their father's substance.[9]
To the resentment of the brethren was added their envy of Joseph,
because their father loved him more than all of them. Joseph's beauty
of person was equal to that of his mother Rachel, and Jacob had but to
look at him to be consoled for the death of his beloved wife. Reason
enough for distinguishing him among his children.[10] As a token of his
great love for him, Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, so light
and delicate that it could be crushed and concealed in the closed palm
of one hand. The Hebrew name of the garment, Passim, conveys the story
of the sale of Joseph. The first letter, Pe, stands for Potiphar, his
Egyptian master; Samek stands for Soharim, the merchantmen that bought
Joseph from the company of Ishmaelites to whom his brethren had sold
him; Yod stands for these same Ishmaelites; and Mem, for the Midianites
that obtained him from the merchantmen, and then disposed of him to
Potiphar. But Passim. has yet another meaning, "clefts." His brethren
knew that the Red Sea would be cleft in twain in days to come for
Joseph's sake, and they were jealous of the glory to be conferred upon
him. Although they were filled with hatred of him, it must be said in
their favor that they were not of a sullen, spiteful nature. They did
not hide their feelings, they proclaimed their enmity openly.
Once Joseph dreamed a dream, and he could not refrain from telling it
to his brethren. He spoke, and said: "Hear, I pray you, this dream
which I have dreamed. Behold, you gathered fruit, and so did I. Your
fruit rotted, but mine remained sound. Your seed will set up dumb
images of idols, but they will vanish at the appearance of my
descendant, the Messiah of Joseph. You will keep the truth as to my
fate from the knowledge of my father, but I will stand fast as a reward
for the self-denial of my mother, and you will prostrate yourselves
five times before me."[11]
The brethren refused at first to listen to the dream, but when Joseph
urged them again and again, they gave heed to him, and they said,
"Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion
over us?"[12] God put an interpretation into their mouths that was to
be verified in the posterity of Joseph. Jeroboam and Jehu, two kings,
and Joshua and Gideon, two judges, have been among his descendants,
corresponding to the double and emphatic expressions used by his
brethren in interpreting the dream.[13]
Then Joseph dreamed another dream, how the sun, the moon, and eleven
stars bowed down before him, and Jacob, to whom he told it first, was
rejoiced over it, for he understood its meaning properly.[14] He knew
that he himself was designated by the sun, the name by which God had
called him when he lodged overnight on the holy site of the Temple. He
had heard God say to the angels at that time, "The sun has come."[15]
The moon stood for Joseph's mother, and the stars for his brethren, for
the righteous are as the stars.[16] Jacob was so convinced of the truth
of the dream that he was encouraged to believe that he would live to
see the resurrection of the dead, for Rachel was dead, and her return
to earth was clearly indicated by the dream. He went astray there, for
not Joseph's own mother was referred to, but his foster-mother Bilhah,
who had raised him.
Jacob wrote the dream in a book, recording all the circumstances, the
day, the hour, and the place, for the holy spirit cautioned him, "Take
heed, these things will surely come to pass."[17] But when Joseph
repeated his dream to his brethren, in the presence of his father,
Jacob rebuked him, saying, "I and thy brethren, that has some sense,
but I and thy mother, that is inconceivable, for thy mother is
dead."[18] These words of Jacob called forth a reproof from God. He
said, "Thus thy descendants will in time to come seek to hinder
Jeremiah in delivering his prophecies."[19] Jacob may be excused, he
had spoken in this way only in order to avert the envy and hate of his
brethren from Joseph, but they envied and hated him because they knew
that the interpretation put upon the dream by Jacob would be
realized.[20]