Lesson 14 - Family Reunion
As
Jacob prepares to return with all his family to Egypt, leaving the land of the promise, he must make sure that this move is a correct one. The storyteller is stressing the fact that Jacob, who has struggled all his life to help realize the promise God made to Abraham, to Isaac, and to him, must not now endanger the promise by leaving the land God has promised to him and his descendants. In a dream, God reassures Jacob that in Egypt he and his family will prosper, God will be there to protect them, and they will return to this land!2The long list of all the family members who went into Egypt was of great importance to later times. We need to remember that the people of Israel are defined as the descendants of the twelve sons of Jacob. One is identified as a Jew of the tribe of so-and-so, not simply as a son or daughter of named parents and grandparents. And it will be important for later generations to remember that this entrance into Egypt by seventy family members of Jacob (counting Joseph and his wife and two sons) and the later return as a vast multitude shows just how God can use troubles and disasters to accomplish divine purposes.
3There are wonderful scenes telling of the meeting of Jacob and Joseph and of Pharaoh's receiving Jacob. In just a few words, we see the overwhelming joy and delight of Jacob that his son Joseph is alive and we see the mutual love of these two.
4We also pick up the story of what happened to the Egyptian population during the time of the seven lean years. The story does not do Joseph credit, if we read it in light of later standards of labor/management relationship or in terms of sheer human justice and fairness. On its face, the story seems to indicate that Joseph used the terrible plight of the Egyptian population to strip them of all that they had. First, they have to spend all their available money and trade all their livestock for grain. Then they have to deed over their land to Pharaoh in order to get more grain and survive. And finally, they become tenant farmers of Pharaoh, with all the land owned by the state. They are required to turn over 20 percent to the state, retaining 80 percent for themselves.
5As we look more closely, however, Joseph's plan is not nearly as burdensome as many that the world has seen. Two other points probably were in the mind of the storytellers. The Egyptians had the opportunity to store up grain during the years of plenty, for the news of the coming famine seems not to have been kept from them. Apparently, though, many had not. Secondly, these Egyptians are the ones who will one day take part in the enslavement of the descendants of Jacob. Here, while he has the opportunity, Joseph enriches Pharaoh at the expense of the people of Egypt.
6We should note that Joseph is, from the viewpoint of the storytellers, simply doing his job as the chief administrator of all Egypt. And more over, Joseph's policy, according to the story, saves countless human lives. During the famine, people would simply have died had it not been for the intervention of the state. The loss of one's personal holdings, with a guarantee that one could keep four-fifths of the proceeds of one's earnings as a tenant of the state, would not have been considered a bad arrangement in the ancient Near Eastern world.
7Then we have one more death scene, and a blessing upon the sons of Joseph. Once again, the normal arrangement for the blessing is changed. While Joseph brings the two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, to his father with Manasseh on Joseph's left so that Jacob's right hand will be placed on his head, and Ephraim on Joseph's right side to have Jacob's left hand placed on him, Jacob crosses his hands and places the right hand on Ephraim and his left hand on Manasseh. When Joseph tries to correct Jacob's "mistake," pointing out that Manasseh is the older child, Jacob insists that he has things right. Ephraim is to be the one more blessed, for his cause will prosper the more. As the blessing is stated, the promise is given that Jacob's grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh and their families, the Joseph tribes, as they will be called, are going to have a special portion beyond that of the other brothers, the fruit of Jacob's warfare with the Amorites. We do not know of any battles that Jacob had with the Amorites, apart from the fighting around the city of Shechem reported in Genesis 34. But later tradition reports that Jacob was a mighty warrior who gained much of the land of Canaan by warfare long before the days of Joshua.
8The remaining material in Genesis completes the story of the Israelites' peaceful stay in Egypt. When the book closes, Jacob and Joseph have died and Jacob has been buried at Hebron, where Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah lie. Joseph's body is embalmed, and the brothers promise to take his body with them as they go up to the land of promise. So our historical romance ends a rich story of family life, of love, betrayal, and forgiveness.
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The End of the Joseph Story
NARRATOR:
When Israel set out on his journey with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. God spoke to Israel in visions of the night, and said,GOD: "Jacob, Jacob."
JACOB: "Here I am."
GOD: "I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there. I myself will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you up again; and Joseph's own hand shall close your eyes."
NARRATOR: Then Jacob set out from Beer-sheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob, their little ones, and their wives, in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent to carry him.
They also took their livestock and the goods that they had acquired in the land of Canaan, and they came into Egypt, Jacob and all his offspring with him, his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and his sons' daughters; all his offspring he brought with him into Egypt.
All the persons of the house of Jacob who came into Egypt were seventy.
Israel sent Judah ahead to Joseph to lead the way before him into Goshen. When they came to the land of Goshen, Joseph made ready his chariot and went up to meet his father Israel in Goshen. He presented himself to him, fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. Israel said to Joseph,
JACOB: "I can die now, having seen for myself that you are still alive."
NARRATOR: Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household,
JOSEPH: "I will go up and tell Pharaoh, and will say to him, 'My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. The men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock; and they have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that they have.' When Pharaoh calls you, and says, 'What is your occupation?' you shall say, 'Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our ancestors'--in order that you may settle in the land of Goshen, because all shepherds are abhorrent to the Egyptians."
(Genesis 47)
NARRATOR: So Joseph went and told Pharaoh,
JOSEPH: "My father and my brothers, with their flock sand herds and all that they possess, have come from the land of Canaan; they are now in the land of Goshen."
NARRATOR: From among his brothers he took five men and presented them to Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to his brothers,
PHARAOH: "What is your occupation?"
NARRATOR: And they said to Pharaoh,
BROTHERS: "Your servants are shepherds, as our ancestors were. We have come to reside as aliens in the land; for there is no pasture for your servants' flocks because the famine is severe in the land of Canaan. Now, we ask you, let your servants settle in the land of Goshen."
NARRATOR: Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,
PHARAOH: "Your father and your brothers have come to you. The land of Egypt is before you; settle your father and your brothers in the best part of the land; let them live in the land of Goshen; and if you know that there are capable men among them, put them in charge of my livestock."
NARRATOR: Then Joseph brought in his father Jacob, and presented him before Pharaoh, and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Jacob,
PHARAOH: "How many are the years of your life?"
NARRATOR: Jacob said to Pharaoh,
JACOB: "The years of my earthly sojourn are one hundredthirty; few and hard have been the years of my life. They do not compare withthe years of the life of my ancestors during their long sojourn." Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the presence of Pharaoh. Joseph settled his father and his brothers, and granted them a holding in theland of Egypt, in the best part of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaohhad instructed.
NARRATOR: And Joseph provided his father, his brothers, and all his father's household with food, according to the number of their dependents. Now there was no food in all the land, for the famine was very severe. The land of Egypt and the land of Canaan languished because of the famine. Joseph collected all the money to be found in the land of Egypt and in the land of Canaan, in exchange for the grain that they bought; and Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house.
When the money from the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan was spent, all the Egyptians came to Joseph, and said, "Give us food! Why should we die before your eyes? For our money is gone." And Joseph answered,
JOSEPH: "Give me your livestock, and I will give you food in exchange for your livestock, if your money is gone."
NARRATOR: So they brought their livestock to Joseph; and Joseph gave them food in exchange for the horses, the flocks, the herds, and the donkeys. That year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock. When that year was ended, they came to him the following year, and said to him,
PEOPLE: "We can not hide from my lord that our money is all spent; and the herds of cattle are my lord's. There is nothing left in the sight of my lord but our bodies and our lands. Shall we die before your eyes, both we and our land? Buy us and our land in exchange for food. We with our land will become slaves to Pharaoh; just give us seed, so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate."
NARRATOR: So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh. All the Egyptians sold their fields, because the famine was severe upon them; and the land became Pharaoh's. As for the people, he made slaves of them from one end of Egypt to the other. Only the land of the priests he did not buy; for the priests had a fixed allowance from Pharaoh, and lived on the allowance that Pharaoh gave them; therefore they did not sell their land.
Then Joseph said to the people,
JOSEPH: "Now that I have this day bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you; sow the land. And at the harvests you shall give one-fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own, as seed for the field and as food for yourselves and your households, and as food for your little ones."
PEOPLE: They said, "You have saved our lives; may it please my lord, we will be slaves to Pharaoh."
NARRATOR: So Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt, and it stands to this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth. The land of the priests alone did not become Pharaoh's.
Thus Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the region of Goshen; and they gained possessions in it, and were fruitful and multiplied exceedingly. Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years; so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred forty-seven years.
When the time of Israel's death drew near, he called his son Joseph and said to him,
JACOB: "If I have found favor with you, put your hand under my thigh and promise to deal loyally and truly with me. Do not bury me in Egypt. When I lie down with my ancestors, carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place."
JOSEPH: "I will do as you have said."
JACOB:"Swear to me";
NARRATOR: and he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of his bed.
(Genesis 48)
NARRATOR: After this Joseph was told, "Your father is ill." So he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
When Jacob was told, "Your son Joseph has come to you," he summoned his strength and sat up in bed. And Jacob said to Joseph,
JACOB: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and he blessed me, and said to me, 'I am going to make you fruitful and increase your numbers; I will make of you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your offspring after you for a perpetual holding.'
Therefore your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are now mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are. As for the offspring born to you after them, they shall be yours. They shall be recorded under the names of their brothers with regard to their inheritance.
For when I came from Paddan, Rachel, alas, died in the land of Canaan on the way, while there was still some distance to go to Ephrath; and I buried her there on the way to Ephrath"
NARRATOR: (that is, Bethlehem).
When Israel saw Joseph's sons, he said,
JACOB: "Who are these?"
NARRATOR: Joseph said to his father,
JOSEPH: "They are my sons, whom God has given me here."
JACOB: "Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them."
NARRATOR: Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age, and he could not see well. So Joseph brought them near him; and he kissed them and embraced them. Israel said to Joseph,
JACOB: "I did not expect to see your face; and here God has let me see your children also."
NARRATOR: Then Joseph removed them from his father's knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right, and brought them near him. But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, crossing his hands, for Manasseh was the firstborn. He blessed Joseph, and said,
JACOB: "The God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, the angel who has redeemed me from all harm, bless the boys; and in them let my name be perpetuated, and the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude on the earth."
NARRATOR: When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on the head of Ephraim, it displeased him; so he took his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head to Manasseh's head. Joseph said to his father,
JOSEPH: "Not so, my father! Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head."
NARRATOR: But his father refused, and said, "I know, my son, I know; he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great. Nevertheless his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his offspring shall become a multitude of nations."
So he blessed them that day, saying, "By you Israel will invoke blessings, saying, 'God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.
Then Israel said to Joseph,
JACOB: "I am about to die, but God will be with you and will bring you again to the land of your ancestors. I now give to you one portion more than to your brothers, the portion that I took from the hand of the Amorites with my sword and with my bow."
The physiological effects of aging differ widely among individuals. However, chronic ailments, especially aches and pains, are more prevalent than acute ailments, requiring older people to spend more time and money for medical problems than younger people. The rising cost of medical care has caused a growing concern among older people and societies, in general resulting in constant reevaluation and reform of institutions and programs designed to aid the elderly with these expenses.
In ancient Rome and medieval Europe the average life span is estimated to have been between 20 and 30 years. Life expectancy today has expanded in historically unprecedented proportions, greatly increasing the numbers of people who survive over the age of 65. Therefore, the instances of medical problems associated with aging, such as certain kinds of cancer and heart disease, have increased, giving rise to greater consideration, both in research and in programs, for accommodating this increase.
Certain aspects of sensory and perceptual skills, muscular strength, and certain kinds of memory tend to diminish with age, rendering older people unsuitable for some activities. There is, however, no conclusive evidence that intelligence deteriorates with age, but rather that it is more closely associated with education and standard of living. Sexual activity tends to decrease with age, but if an individual is healthy there is no age limit for its continuance.
Many of the myths surrounding the process of aging are being invalidated by increased studies in gerontology, but there still is not sufficient information to provide adequate conclusions.
Demographic and socioeconomic influences. In general the social status of an age group is related to its effective influence in its society, which is associated with that group's function in productivity. In agrarian societies the elderly have a status of respectability. Their life experiences and knowledge are regarded as valuable, especially in preliterate societies where knowledge is orally transmitted. The range of activities in these societies allows the elderly to continue to be productive members of their communities.
In industrialized nations the status of the elderly has altered as the socioeconomic conditions have changed, tending to reduce the status of the elderly as a society becomes more technologically oriented. Since physical disability is less a factor in productive capability in industrialized countries, this reduction in social status is thought to have been generated by several interrelated factors: the numbers of still able-bodied older workers outstripping the number of available employment opportunities, the decline in self-employment which allows a worker to gradually decrease activity with age, and the continual introduction of new technology requiring special training and education.
Although in certain fields old age is still considered an asset, particularly in the political arena, older people are increasingly being forced into retirement before their productive years are over, causing problems in their psychological adaptations to old age. Retirement is not regarded unfavourably in all instances, but its economic limitations tend to further remove older people from the realm of influence and raise problems in the extended use of leisure time and housing. As a consequence, financial preparation for retirement has become an increased concern for individuals and society.
Familial relationships tend to be the focus of the elderly's attention. However, as the family structure in industrialized countries has changed in the past 100 years from a unit encompassing several generations living in close proximity to self-contained nuclear families of only parents and young children, older people have become isolated from younger people and each other. Studies have shown that as a person ages he or she prefers to remain in the same locale. However, the tendency for young people in industrialized countries to be highly mobile has forced older people to decide whether to move to keep up with their families or to remain in neighbourhoods which also change, altering their familiar patterns of activity. Although most older people do live within an hour from their closest child, industrialized societies are faced with formulating programs to accommodate increasing numbers of older people who function independently of their families.
A significant factor in the social aspects of old age concerns the values and education of the generation itself. In industrialized countries especially, where changes occur more rapidly than in agrarian societies, a generation born 65 years ago may find that the dominant mores, expectations, definitions of the quality of life, and roles of older people have changed considerably by the time it reaches old age. Formal education, which usually takes place in the early years and forms collective opinions and mores, tends to enhance the difficulties in adapting to old age. However, resistance to change, which is often associated with the elderly, is being shown to be less an inability to change than a trend in older people to regard life with a tolerant attitude. Apparent passivity may actually be a choice based on experience, which has taught older people to perceive certain aspects of life as unchangeable. Adult education programs are beginning to close the generation gap; however, as each successive generation reaches old age, bringing with it its particular biases and preferences, new problems arise requiring new social accommodations.
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