Keeping Up With the Jacobson’s: An Introduction to Genesis 37–50

This Sunday we enter a new section of Genesis. In Genesis 37 we begin the final “generation” in the first book of the Bible, the tenth toledot in a book of ten generations (cf. Gen. 2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10; 11:27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2). From Genesis 37–50, we will see how God superintends the sinful (and righteous) decisions of Jacob’s twelve sons, the sons who in time will become the twelve tribes of Israel. And to familiarize ourselves with this next section, I want to offer two points of introduction.

Looking at the chronology of this section and its structure, we will get a sense of the big picture of Genesis 37–50. And that big picture will help us see the arc of the storyline that we will see in the weeks ahead. So, let’s take a look.

The Chronology of Genesis 37–50

To start with the Bottom Line Up Front, Genesis 37 digresses some twelve years in time. Though it takes work to see this, the payoff is worth it. Following the careful work of James Jordan, we can plot the history like this:

• Joseph stood before Pharaoh at age 30 (Gen. 41:46).
• At the end of 7 years of plenty, Joseph was 37 (Gen. 41:29-30).
• At the end of 2 years of famine, when Jacob came to Egypt, Joseph was 39 (Gen. 45:6) and Jacob was 130 (Gen. 47:9).
• Therefore, Jacob was 91 when Joseph was born (130-39=91).
• Jacob had served Laban 14 years when Joseph was born (Gen. 30:25). [And Jacob would serve Laban for six more years (Gen. 31:41), which means Joseph was six when he returned with his father.]
• Therefore, Jacob was 77 when he came to Padan-Aram (91-14=77). [And he was 97 when he returned to the land.]¹

Working backwards in time, the digression of Genesis 37 becomes apparent. And more than that, the digression helps us see the devastation that Joseph’s ‘death’ caused for Jacob and his sons. But again, to see the chronology requires us to connect a few more dots. So here are five more observations.

1. Genesis 25:26 says that Isaac was 60 years old when Jacob was born, which means that Isaac was 157 when Jacob returned to the land. And he would be 168, when Joseph was sold into slavery.
2. Because Joseph was six when he returned to the land (see above) and seventeen when he was sold into slavery (Gen. 37:2), we can discern that eleven years passed between Jacob’s return and Joseph’s enslavement. And it would be twelve more years (after Joseph was gone) before Isaac died at the age of 180 (Gen. 35:24).
3. On this timeline, Isaac died one year before Joseph was exalted in Egypt. Joseph came to Egypt at seventeen and was delivered at age thirty. Thus, it was twenty-two years between Joseph’s death and his apparent resurrection, when Jacob brought his family to Egypt, in the second year of the famine.
4. In the flow of Genesis, Moses places the death of Isaac in the storyline in Genesis 35:24, which is before Joseph’s captivity in Egypt. And this means that Genesis 37 is digressing in time twelve years, to the time when Joseph was seventeen, Jacob was 108, and Isaac was 168.
5. Put all of this together, and the chronology tells us that the events of Reuben’s sin with Bilhah (Gen. 35:22) and Dinah’s rape (Gen. 34:2) came after Joseph was lost to slavery, not before. This explains why the sons of Jacob were pasturing the flock near Shechem (Gen. 37:12–13), and why Reuben, as the firstborn, was still acting as the head of his brothers (Gen. 37:21–22), a position that he would lose when he sinned against his father (see Gen. 49:3–4).

From these chronological notes, we get a sense of how Moses arranged Genesis. He was not writing Genesis as a strict chronology. Rather, his purposes were theological. At the same time, this chronology also makes us reconsider the Jacobson family.

Remember: when we looked at the family dysfunction of Jacob and his sons in Genesis 34, great blame fell at Jacob’s feet. After all, he permitted his daughter to spend time with the women of the land, the same kind of women that made life bitter for Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 26:35). But more than that, Jacob failed to avenge Dinah’s sin or deliver her from Shechem’s house. As a result, her brothers Levi and Simeon took action. Yet, with this chronology in view, the story becomes more complicated.

As the order of events go, Jacob lost his beloved son, the son of his favorite wife before the episode with Dinah and before Reuben lay with Rachel’s servant Bilhah (Gen. 35:24). And if the story of Jacob in Genesis 37–44 is any indicator, the loss of Joseph deeply affected Jacob.

Previously, Jacob showed great strength in building his fortune in Haran, and he showed great righteousness in seeking peace with Esau when he returned to the land. Equally, he wrestled with God all night in pursuit of God’s blessing. Yet, all of that appears absent in Genesis 34, when his daughter is raped. And we wondered why. Now, however, we seem to have a reason. It appears that when Jacob lost Joseph, he lost all his righteous resilience too.

This, of course, does not excuse his failures. But it does provide us with a sobering reminder. When families face unspeakable tragedies, the individuals who are most harmed by the unjust loss can often respond with spiritual malaise or flagrant sin. In Jacob’s case, it is not too much to say that when this patriarch lost his beloved son, he lost everything. And as a result, his family suffered greatly. And as we will soon learn, it was all perpetrated by the sins of Jacob’s sons.

Indeed, the number of lessons we find here about sin and its consequences are myriad. And for anyone who has faced loss and lethal injustice, this tragic storyline brings strong medicine, because as the chronology comes into focus it magnifies the pain and the problems of Jacob’s family, but also it amplifies the meaning of Genesis 50:20. In that verse, which sheds light on Genesis 37–50, we find these gracious words from Joseph to his brothers “What you [my brothers] meant for evil, God meant for good.”

Indeed, the providence of God is a central feature of this final generation. And by looking at the chronology, it helps us to see how God can work good from the darkest events of life. And more, the redemption that is found in these chapters comes through one beloved son who dies and rises again—a feature that Moses puts at the center of Genesis 37–50.

The Structure of Genesis 37–50

If knowing the timing of the Joseph story helps us situate the history of Israel’s descent into Egypt, the literary structure does even more. Again, Moses is not giving us straight history; he is giving us God’s work in history. That is to say, the Spirit of Christ is leading Moses to write this history in ways that highlight the work of God. And that means that we should not simply try to follow the order of events (the chronology); we should try to see what is most important in the text. And the best way to do that is to see the literary structure of the text.

So far in Genesis, we have seen Moses employ chiastic structures multiple times. This was true in Genesis 1–11, Genesis 12–25, and Genesis 25–35. And not surprisingly, we see it again in Genesis 37–50. And importantly, we see that Joseph’s revelation to his brothers, when they come before him in Egypt is the center of plot. Take a look.² 

(A) Joseph the Dreamer (37:2–11)
     (B) Jacob Mourns the “Death” of Joseph (37:12–36)
        (C) Judah and Tamar (38:1–30)
           (D) Joseph’s Enslavement in Egypt (39:1–23)
              (E) Joseph, Savior of Egypt (40:1–41:57)
                 (F) Journeys of Brothers to Egypt (42:1–43:34)
                    (G) Joseph Tests the Brothers (44:1–34)
                    (G') Joseph Reveals His identity (45:1–28)
                (F') Journey of Family to Egypt (46:1–27)
             (E') Joseph, Savior of Family (46:28–47:12)
          (D') Joseph’s Enslavement of the Egyptians (47:13–31)
       (C') Jacob Favors Joseph and Judah (48:1–49:28)
     (B') Joseph Mourns the Death of Jacob (49:29–50:14)
(A') Joseph the Provider (50:15–26)

From this outline, it helps us see how certain problems in the story are resolved or reversed. Equally, this chiastic structure shows us what Moses wants to highlight—the revelation of the beloved son.

As the story unfolds, there are many persons and providences that make the drama come to life. But in all of them, God is working in history to reveal patterns that point to Christ. This will begin with the dreams that reveal how the eleven sons will bow down and worship their exalted brother, and it will conclude with these sons finding reconciliation because of their brothers sacrifice.³  And in between, we will see multiple ways that Moses points forward to Christ through the life, “death,” and resurrection of Joseph who is a type of Christ.

Indeed, even in the New Testament, we learn in Matthew 1:16 that Jesus is the son of Joseph, who is the son of Jacob. This genealogy—from Jacob, to Joseph, to Jesus—is not accidental. It tells us that Matthew is reading Jesus’s story in light of Israel’s story. And conversely, as we read the story of the twelve sons of Jacob, it tells us that this sacred history is ordained by God to do more than reveal Joseph’s identity. It is given so that we can see more of Christ.

To that end, let’s pray for God to open our eyes as we come to Genesis 37–50.

For His Glory and your joy in Jesus,

Pastor David

1. These notes come from James Jordan’s chronology, https://www.biblicalhorizons.com/biblical-chronology/6_06/.
2. This chiastic structure comes from Kenneth Mathews, Genesis11:27–50:26, 680. Other potential structures can be found here.
3. This is one point of emphasis that my friend Sam Emadi makes in his book, From Prisoner to Prince: The Joseph Story in Biblical Theology. I would encourage you to pick up a copy of his book, which we have on our church bookshelf.