Week 7: Joseph and His Brothers
Week 7 Overview
The Joseph narrative begins with a dream and ends in a dungeon — but the narrator never lets the reader lose sight of who is really directing the story. Sold by his brothers, falsely accused by his master’s wife, forgotten by the cupbearer he helped, Joseph descends through layer after layer of injustice. Yet in every scene, the text quietly notes: “the LORD was with Joseph.” This week we read the descent and wait for the reversal we cannot yet see.
Weekly Memory Verse
“The LORD was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master.” — Genesis 39:2 (ESV)
Daily Readings
| Day | Title | Passage |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph’s Dreams | Genesis 37:1–11 |
| 2 | Sold into Egypt | Genesis 37:12–36 |
| 3 | Joseph in Potiphar’s House | Genesis 39:1–23 |
| 4 | The Cupbearer and the Baker | Genesis 40:1–23 |
| 5 | Pharaoh’s Dreams | Genesis 41:1–40 |
Discussion
Background
The Joseph narrative is the most literarily sophisticated section of Genesis — its author employs dramatic irony, repeated motifs (clothing, dreams, pits), and carefully constructed narrative arcs. The repeated phrase “the LORD was with Joseph” in chapters 39 and 40 functions as the theological spine of the story: apparent abandonment is not real abandonment.