“Israel loved Joseph more than all the others.” Let us try to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the story of Jacob’s favorite son.
Jacob is the patriarch. He has twelve sons and one daughter from his four wives. His flocks of sheep and goats are exceedingly large. Jacob finally reaches a moment of contentment in his life. His second-youngest son is the firstborn of his beloved Rachel. He openly favors him above all others. With Benjamin, the youngest, he seems to have an emotional issue because Rachel died giving birth to him, leaving Jacob inwardly wounded.
At 17, Joseph is the only man in the entire Bible described as “well-built and handsome.” Later, it will be said of David that he had beautiful eyes, but no one matches Joseph. The only other person about whom the same Hebrew words are used is his mother. Rachel had “a beautiful figure and was lovely.” This means Joseph’s appearance recalls his mother in her beauty and stature.
Joseph is at the peak of his attractiveness. His father gives him...
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