genesis 39 and 40

Read Genesis 39 and 40 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions for our chapters today are:

Gen 39:1-23 {p} Joseph in Egypt
Gen 40:1-23 {p} Joseph in prison

In the middle of the narrative of Joseph, there is one chapter that stands out like a sore thumb: Gen 38, the narrative of Judah. It just so happens, in God’s paragraph divisions, that Gen 38:1-30 that we read yesterday concludes with a weak paragraph division, and Gen 39:1-23 today concludes with a strong paragraph division. To us they seem to be about two unrelated topics — but to God, Gen 38:1-39:23 together are two facets of the same topic.

Remember what we learned yesterday about Judah? The smaller chiastic structure from Gen 37:21-30 opens and closes with Reuben, the firstborn of the brethren. He turned the brothers from killing Joseph to merely putting him in a pit, so that he could return him to their father later. But the central axis is Judah’s counsel. His brothers listened to him and not to Reuben. He was responsible for Joseph being sold as a slave in Egypt. We speculated that Judah’s heart so smote him with the realization of what he had done, that he departed from his brothers, and from the covenant and promise of Abraham, to go live among the Canaanites. We speculated that he considered himself no longer worthy of God. You know, only the people who know they have done wrong, in whom the Spirit is working to convict of sin and righteousness, hide from God. The proud and arrogant shake their fist at Him and dare Him to strike them with lightning.

And here is the key to the whole puzzle: Judah departed from his brothers, and dwelt among the Canaanites. Joseph departed from his brothers, and dwelt among the Egyptians. Both Canaan and Egypt are types for the kingdom of darkness. This is why God considers these two seemingly unrelated chapters, related. God is shining a spotlight on Judah, and on Joseph, together for a reason … they become His two witnesses in the earth. (More on that as we progress through Scripture.)

We can add to our strong themes of Genesis, then:

Gen 35:1-29 {px3} Repentance + return + renewal of the covenant for the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Gen 36:1-37:36 {sx3+p} The seed of Esau contrasted with the seed of Jacob (Joseph and his brothers)
Gen 38:1-39:23 {s+p} Judah + Joseph departed from their brothers among the Canaanites + Egyptians
Gen 40:1-23 {p} Joseph in prison

There is an extraordinary number of threes in these chapters concerning the life of Joseph: he was made overseer three times (f0r his father, for Potiphar, and for the keeper of the prison); he was cast down three times (into a pit, into slavery, and into prison); three days figure in each dream he interpreted in prison. Three is a sign of Messiah in Torah, and the abundance of threes is telling us to pay attention, because here is a Messianic prophecy. Joseph is a prophetic type of Messiah. The prophecy of Messiah, is that just as Joseph was cast down, so also was Messiah:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Phi 2:5-8

For further reading:
Joseph in Egypt (Assoc. for Biblical Research) part two, part three