Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2017 11:46:39 GMT
Shalom. Now as you may all know, Joseph son of Rachel was the beloved son of Jacob and preferred over his step brothers. Have you wondered why? It is simple. He was beautiful. He was aesthetically pleasant. Why was he beautiful? Good genes. His mother Rachel was a beautiful lady.
טז וּלְלָבָן, שְׁתֵּי בָנוֹת: שֵׁם הַגְּדֹלָה לֵאָה, וְשֵׁם הַקְּטַנָּה רָחֵל.
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
יז וְעֵינֵי לֵאָה, רַכּוֹת; וְרָחֵל, הָיְתָה, יְפַת-תֹּאַר, וִיפַת מַרְאֶה.
17 And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon.
It gets worse.
During Jacob's stay, he fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, Rachel's older sister, had been substituted for Rachel. Whereas "Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful," "Leah had tender eyes". Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. He assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her. When God “saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb”, (Gen 29:31) and she gave birth to four sons.
So let this be clear. Leah was not beautiful and Rachel was beautiful. Rachel bore a beautiful son Joseph. Joseph was loved more by Jacob, as was Rachel. Why? Because they were more beautiful.
Leah's sons were always jealous of Joseph, because he was more beautiful, and they were probably not that good looking. It seems G-d himself favored Joseph above his aesthetically unpleasant brothers.
Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, and this is represented by a "long coat of many colors". When Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed to his own. In the second dream, the sun (father), the moon (mother), and eleven stars (brothers) bowed to Joseph himself. These dreams, implying his supremacy, angered his brothers.
Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:18-20) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him
Joseph was very handsome.
Potiphar's wife Zuleika tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment
It had been over twenty years since Joseph had last seen his father. When they met, they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while. His father then remarked, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” (Genesis 46:1-34)
My point? Aesthetics are very important in this world. It made Joseph almost the Pharaoh of Egypt based on his beauty alone.
What was Leah's fault? What was her sons' fault? Why were made subservient to more beautiful looking Joseph?
Isn't Tanakh shallow ?? Had Joseph been ugly and had bad genes, and had be been one of the sons of Leah and not Rachel, G-d would not have preferred him. Jacob would not have preferred him. He would not have gone far in life either.
טז וּלְלָבָן, שְׁתֵּי בָנוֹת: שֵׁם הַגְּדֹלָה לֵאָה, וְשֵׁם הַקְּטַנָּה רָחֵל.
16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel.
יז וְעֵינֵי לֵאָה, רַכּוֹת; וְרָחֵל, הָיְתָה, יְפַת-תֹּאַר, וִיפַת מַרְאֶה.
17 And Leah's eyes were weak; but Rachel was of beautiful form and fair to look upon.
It gets worse.
During Jacob's stay, he fell in love with Rachel and agreed to work seven years for Laban in return for her hand in marriage. On the night of the wedding, the bride was veiled and Jacob did not notice that Leah, Rachel's older sister, had been substituted for Rachel. Whereas "Rachel was lovely in form and beautiful," "Leah had tender eyes". Later Jacob confronted Laban, who excused his own deception by insisting that the older sister should marry first. He assured Jacob that after his wedding week was finished, he could take Rachel as a wife as well, and work another seven years as payment for her. When God “saw that Leah was unloved, he opened her womb”, (Gen 29:31) and she gave birth to four sons.
So let this be clear. Leah was not beautiful and Rachel was beautiful. Rachel bore a beautiful son Joseph. Joseph was loved more by Jacob, as was Rachel. Why? Because they were more beautiful.
Leah's sons were always jealous of Joseph, because he was more beautiful, and they were probably not that good looking. It seems G-d himself favored Joseph above his aesthetically unpleasant brothers.
Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, and this is represented by a "long coat of many colors". When Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed to his own. In the second dream, the sun (father), the moon (mother), and eleven stars (brothers) bowed to Joseph himself. These dreams, implying his supremacy, angered his brothers.
Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:18-20) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him
Joseph was very handsome.
Potiphar's wife Zuleika tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment
It had been over twenty years since Joseph had last seen his father. When they met, they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while. His father then remarked, “Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive.” (Genesis 46:1-34)
My point? Aesthetics are very important in this world. It made Joseph almost the Pharaoh of Egypt based on his beauty alone.
What was Leah's fault? What was her sons' fault? Why were made subservient to more beautiful looking Joseph?
Isn't Tanakh shallow ?? Had Joseph been ugly and had bad genes, and had be been one of the sons of Leah and not Rachel, G-d would not have preferred him. Jacob would not have preferred him. He would not have gone far in life either.
