Genesis Overview

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Given that I have recently decided to collect all of the important verses from the entirety of the Old Testament in one place, I decided to do something a little different with these overview posts. I'm going to very briefly describe the important parts in each chapter. I've also decided to collect highlights of the Christian commentary arguments here.

God's to do list: Genesis Edition

Chapter 1:

Day 1: God creates a formless earth and light
Day 2: God creates the sky
Day 3: God created dry land and plants
Day 4: God created stars, the sun, and the moon.
Day 5: God created sea creatures and birds
Day 6: God created land animals and humans, and gave humans everything.

• The commentaries try desperately to explain away the obvious scientific inaccuracies in this chapter

Chapter 2:

God rests on day 7, then he recounts the creation of man and woman. He creates the garden of eden, along with the tree with the forbidden fruit. Also, apparently one verse here is the basis for marriage.

• The existence of the forbidden fruit is justified by saying God wants us to have a choice.
• God gave man woman because marriage civilizes men, sociopaths are always single.
• Adam coming first proves men > women.

Chapter 3:

A serpent tricks Eve to eat the fruit and she shares it with Adam. They got knowledge of good and evil from the fruit and hid from God because they were naked. He punished them by giving women the pain of childbirth and making men work in the field. He then kicked them out of Eden.

• Don't even talk to people who are "evil"
• Being deceived is a sin
• Christianity brought rights to women

Chapter 4:

Adam and Eve have 2 sons, Cain and Abel. Cain killed Abel and he then he ran away from God to the east where he found a wife somehow and had a bunch of kids. Adam and Eve had a replacement son.

Chapter 5:

Explains that people used to live a long time and goes through a bunch of pointless genealogies. Very boring, don't waste your time reading this one.

• We can count the genealogies backward and see that the earth is around 10,000 years old. This doesn't match what science says because God created the universe with age built in.
• People lived longer before the flood because the effects of the fall hadn't had time to build up in the gene pool yet.

Chapter 6 (part 1, part 2)

God sees that humanity is evil and decides to kill everyone. God tells Noah to build an ark and put his family as well as 2 of every animal (and 7 of every clean animal) into it.

• Angels/demons mated with humans which partly caused the widespread problems.
• God being sad that man turned out that way doesn't mean he didn't know it would happen or that his creation had gotten away from him.
• Everyone will die eventually, so it is God's prerogative to kill you when he sees fit. Therefore God killing everyone and everything wasn't overly harsh or cruel.
• We haven't found the ark because of politics.

Chapter 7:

God follows through and kills everyone in a global flood.

• Many cultures have a flood story because they are all descendants of Noah.
• There is enough water if the earth was a perfect sphere.

Chapter 8:

Noah waits out the flood, when it is finally over he lets everyone out of the ark and immediately sacrifices some animals.

• People are inherently evil.

Chapter 9:

God tells Noah that he and his descendants are allowed to eat any animal, just not blood. God says that eye for an eye is good, then he tells people he will never kill everyone on the planet again with a flood and the rainbow is the sign of this. Later, Ham sees drunken Noah naked and is punished severely along with all of his descendants.

• Many details are added to make Ham seem like he deserves his fate. The items added include that he was insulting, looked on Noah with delight, and even that he sexually abused his father.

Chapter 10:

Worthless Genealogies

Chapter 11:

The tower of babel. People gather together instead of dispersing as God said and build a tower into the heavens. God says it is only the beginning and they will be able to accomplish anything they want now, so he makes everyone speak different languages to stop it.

• Waterproof bricks prove they didn't believe God wouldn't flood the earth again
• Building a tower to heaven is silly, they probably built a tower that looks into heaven
• It's a blessing not a curse, God is putting a check on fallen man's evil
• God in the flesh = Jesus
• Man is no better after the flood than before
• People spread out and change for their environment, he describes evolution
• Language must be from God, unless it evolved

Chapter 12:

God tells Abram to go to a new place and he then promises the Canaanites land to his descendants. Later Abram goes to Egypt and tells the Pharaoh his wife is his sister. The Pharaoh, thinking she's single, takes her as his wife and gets punished by God for this act. So he gives her back and sends them on their way

• God in human form must be Jesus
• The Canaanites are demonized to explain why God is giving away their land
• God is praised for creating famine in some place but not everywhere
• Pharaoh is cast as evil even though he never did anything wrong here

Chapter 13:

Abram and Lot have too much livestock for the land they are occupying and get in each other's way. They decide to separate

Chapter 14:

Lot get's captured and Abram rescues him.

Chapter 15:

God promises Abram that he will have a son and countless descendants who will have control over land which currently belong to other people. But first they would have to be slaves for hundreds of years.

Chapter 16:

After Sarai and Abram have trouble getting pregnant, Sarai suggests that Abram get her servant Hagar pregnant. He does that, but then Sarai gets jealous and scares Hagar away. But an angel gets Hagar to come back, so I guess everything is cool.

• An angel of the lord appeared to Abram, it must be Jesus!

Chapter 17:

God Changes Abram and Sarai's names to Abraham and Sarah. Then he promises that they would have a son, but says that Abraham must circumcise all of the men in the house for all time. Also he approves of slavery.

• God talking to Abraham must be Jesus
• Circumcising the slaves was doing them a solid

Chapter 18:

God visits Abraham and promises them again that him and Sarah will have a son. She overhears and laughs, but then lies about having laughed at God because she's afraid of him. Then God tells Abraham that he's going to potentially destroy Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham asks if he will destroy the righteous with the wicked. 

• Once again, Jesus is inserted here
• God's apparent lack of knowledge is for Abraham's benefit

Chapter 19:

Two angels go down to Sodom to check things out, and every man in town other than Lot tries to rape them. Lot offers up his virgin daughters to the crowd instead, but they are not interested. Lot is allowed to get away and the city is destroyed. Then Lot's daughters get him drunk and have sex with him while he's blacked out and they both get pregnant.

Chapter 20:

Abraham uses the same scam as in chapter 12, he says Sarah is his sister, a king takes her as a wife, then God gets pissed at the king so he gives Sarah back to Abraham and gives him a bunch of money to make the problem go away.

Chapter 21:

Isaac is born, Sarah makes Abraham kick Hagar and Ishmael out of the house, but they do fine in the wilderness so it's cool. Then Abraham makes some treaty with Abimelech.

• Isaac is a lot like Jesus

Chapter 22:

God tells Abraham to kill Isaac, then stops him right before he does it. Abraham is rewarded for being obedient and for fearing God.

• When people listen to voices in their heads now they are deranged, but Abraham was not
• Abraham thought God would resurrect Isaac after he killed him
• Isaac is like Jesus
• God wanted to see that Abraham loved him more than he loved Isaac

Chapter 23:

Sarah dies and Abraham acquired some land in a place where he was a foreigner to bury her.

• Abraham says he's a foreigner because he belongs in heaven

Chapter 24:

Abraham asks his best servant to go get Isaac a bride from their homeland and not from Canaan, he complies.

Chapter 25:

After Sarah, Abraham remarried and had a bunch of kids. But he sent them away and spent virtually all of his resources of Isaac. Rebekah had trouble getting pregnant, but eventually had twins. They fought in the womb and God said they would fight forever. Esau was born first, but God said Jacob would be in charge. At some point Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a meal.

• God works in mysterious ways

Chapter 26:

God makes the same promise to Isaac that he had made to Abraham a bunch of times and tells him to stay away from Egypt. Isaac complies and stays in Gerar. Isaac told everyone that Rebekah was his sister instead of his wife so they wouldn't kill him. Apparently he is as bad a judge of character as his father. Eventually Esau marries a Hittite woman, which is a huge problem for Isaac

• no recognition that Isaac was wrong about people killing him over his wife's beauty
• Defense of racist characters

Chapter 27:

Isaac wants to give a blessing to Esau, but Rebekah manipulates Jacob so he steals the blessing and then has to flee to her homeland so Esau won't kill him in retaliation.

Chapter 28:

Jacob gets blessed by his father and is told to head to Laban to live with his mother's sister and marry one of his cousins. One the way there he has a dream and God tells him he will inherit the land. Esau adds one of Ismael's daughters to his harem.

Chapter 29:

Jacob agrees to marry Rachel, but her father tricks him into marrying his other daughter Leah as well. When God sees that Rachel is loved but Leah isn't, he makes Rachel barren and gives Leah 4 sons.

• God was teaching Jacob a lesson

Chapter 30:

Jacob has tons of kids with his wives and their servants as they fight over him. Then he and Laban negotiate the terms of him returning to the Canaanite lands. Jacob skirts these terms by manipulating the breeding of the livestock by controlling what they look at while breeding...seriously...that's in there.

Chapter 31:

Jacob decides to go back to the Canaanite lands that God has promised him. He sneaks away from Laban with his family in tow. Laban catches up to him and they agree to not fight in the future.

Chapter 32:

Jacob returns to the land of his father, and sends word to Esau hoping they can make up. It appears that Esau is still pissed. Jacob tries to appease him with gifts, then makes preparations to save his family even if he winds up dying. Also, he wrestles with God and wins.

• When the bible says that Jacob wins, it means that God wins
• God in the flesh must be Jesus

Chapter 33:

Jacob was afraid of meeting Esau, but it turned out Esau was just happy to see him

Chapter 34:

Jacob's daughter gets raped by a prince, so Jacob's sons tell his city that if they all get circumcised they can marry each other's women. When the men are recovering Jacob's sons kill all the men and steal all of their stuff including women and children.

Chapter 35:

Jacob leaves that area, and God keeps the other surrounding cities from attacking them as they leave. Also Jacob's wife Rachel and his father Isaac die.

Chapter 36:

We learn that Jacob and Esau combined have so much stuff that they can't live near each other.

Chapter 37:

Joseph is Jacob's favorite son. He is unfortunately completely unaware of how much his brothers hate him until his pisses them off to the point that they almost kill him. At the last minute they decide to sell him into slavery instead.

• Guzik assumes that since this story and one about Jesus both use astronomical objects, they must be related
• Guzik compares the trials of Joseph with modern day Christians

Chapter 38:

Judah had 3 sons, the oldest got married but God killed him before he had children. The second son was supposed to impregnate his wife and the kid would count as the older's, so the middle son didn't want to do it and God killed him as well. Judah was scared of losing his last son so he doomed her to being an eternal widow, but then she tricked him into impregnating her. She then had twins and there was some shenanigans about which was born first.

• Being around and marrying Canaanites is the source of the problem
• This message isn't about masturbation, although some say it is
• It was god's plan that she trick Judah into impregnating her

Chapter 39:

Joseph is a slave in Egypt and gets put in charge of his master's house. The master's wife wants to sleep with him, and when she gets forceful he runs. She accuses him of attempted rape and he gets thrown in jail, then he gets put in charge of the jail.

Chapter 40:

Joseph has a few high ranking guys thrown in jail with him. He interprets their dreams and tells one he will be restored to his former position, and tells the other he will be killed. Both are correct predictions.

Chapter 41:

Joseph interprets a dream for Pharaoh and then becomes his right hand man. He is put in charge of taking extra grain from people during times of surplus and selling it back to them during a famine.

• The holy spirit supposedly makes a showing

Chapter 42:

Due to the famine, Jacob sends all of his sons except for Benjamin to Egypt to get food. Joseph sees them and imprisons one (Simeon) and sends the rest home to bring back the last brother. He also sets them up to call them thieves later. Jacob refuses to send Benjamin back and abandons Simeon for dead.

• God uses famine to accomplish his goals

Chapter 43:

The brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin. They are brought in to Joseph's house to eat.

• Satan is blamed for Judah's previous poor actions

Chapter 44:

Joseph let's his brothers go, but puts their money back in their grain bags and puts his chalise in Benjamin's. Then he sends his guys to catch them stealing and brings them back. He insists that Benjamin stay with him as his slave, and Judah begs to take his place

Chapter 45:

Joseph finally tells his brothers who he is and sends for his family to live nearby and be taken care of. Pharaoh approves.

Chapter 46:

Joseph's family moves closer to Egypt and the Pharaoh approves. Also, genealogies.

Chapter 47:

The Pharaoh meets Joseph's family and once again, says they can settle in Goshen. Jacob blesses Pharaoh a few times. Then Joseph takes all of the starving people's resources in exchange for giving them their own food back and makes the slaves of the Pharaoh from now on.

• Jacob saying his life was a pilgrimage means he knew about heaven

Chapter 48:

Jacob gives his Joseph's sons a blessing, but gives the younger one a better blessing. Also, we see the narrator here alternate between Jacob and Israel. What's up with that?

Genesis 49:

We get a summary of Jacob's sons, what they have done and what they will do. They are pretty much all terrible. Also Jacob dies.

Genesis 50:

Jacob is buried, Josephs brothers lie to him saying their father wanted him to forgive them, he says God used their evil for good ends. Then Joseph dies.

• They totally ignore the lie the brothers told.
• Also, God will use bad things in your life for eventual good.

Genesis 50: The Chosen People are Liars

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Jacob's Death and Burial [cont.] (v. 1-14)

Joseph asked permission to follow through with his father's instructions and bury him where he requested. The Pharaoh not only said it is okay, but he sent many people along and he was honored in his death. Even the Canaanites took notice.

He was a big deal and was honored in death. Seems pretty reasonable.

God's Good Purposes (v. 15-21)

With their father dead, Joseph's brothers were afraid he would take revenge on them for what they did to him. They sent him a letter, supposedly from their father, saying he should forgive his brothers.

Now they are lying to their brother. This is certainly small compared to stuff they've done in the past but these guys seem incredibly self-centered all around.

This is all Guzik has to say about it

This story is probably concocted. They didn’t feel they had the moral right to ask Joseph for mercy, since they sinned against him so greatly. So they put the request for mercy in the mouth of their honored and dead father.

That's nice, but what about the fact that they are liars? You don't feel that's an important detail?

Wow, Matthew Henry's take on this is completely baffling to me. He doesn't even address the fact that they are lying, he seems to think they are doing a good thing.

We have here the settling of a good correspondence between Joseph and his brethren, now that their father was dead. Joseph was at court, in the royal city; his brethren were in Goshen, remote in the country; yet the keeping up of a good understanding, and a good affection, between them, would be both his honour and their interest. Note, When Providence has removed the parents by death, the best methods ought to be taken, not only for the preventing of quarrels among the children (which often happen about the dividing of the estate), but for the preserving of acquaintance and love, that unity may continue even when that centre of unity is taken away.

Wow, he goes on for another (much longer) paragraph about this, but he never acknowledges the lie.

Gill at least acknowledges that some people see this as a lie. He never really seems to take a side on it one way or another, and therefore doesn't have to defend what they did. A little evasive but at least he acknowledged it.

Joseph says it's fine, even though they intended evil, God used it to make sure many people didn't starve.

It's always good to turn a negative into a positive, but I really hate the precedence this sets. No matter what bad thing happens, people can try to spin it as if God is using it for good. And as long as we are talking about an all-powerful God, using this as a method to make sure people survive the famine is pretty silly.

Loud as a Whisper

From Guzik

As said before, if Joseph’s brothers never sell him to the Midianites, then Joseph never goes to Egypt. If Joseph never goes to Egypt, he never is sold to Potiphar. If he is never sold to Potiphar, Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape. If Potiphar’s wife never falsely accuses him of rape, then he is never put in prison. If he is never put in prison, he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh. If he never meets the baker and butler of Pharaoh, he never interprets their dreams. If he never interprets their dreams, he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. If he never gets to interpret Pharaoh’s dream, he never is made prime minister. If he is never made prime minister, he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region. If he never wisely administrates for the severe famine coming upon the region, then his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine. If his family back in Canaan perishes from the famine, then the Messiah can’t come forth from a dead family. If the Messiah can’t come forth, then Jesus never came. If Jesus never came, then you are dead in your sins and without hope in this world. We are grateful for God’s great and wise plan.

He talks as if that is the only way this stuff could have happened. Remember, God is supposed to be all powerful, he couldn't swing another way to make this work? It has to be this convoluted and fragile of a plan?

The Death of Joseph (v. 22-26)

Before Joseph died he told his brothers that God would come visit them and bring them out of Egypt and into the land god promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was buried in Egypt.

for the verses of note post

--Lies--

Genesis 50:15-16 Joseph's brothers (the founders of the 12 tribes of Israel) are liars

"It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died"

Genesis 49: Nice Chosen People You Got There

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Jacob Blesses His Sons (v. 1-27)

Jacob gathers his sons so he can tell them what is going to happen to them.

The section title says he blesses them, but in the actual text he says he's giving them a prophecy. And it certainly seems more prophetic then blessing to me. Strange.

v2 "Assemble and listen, O sons of Jacob, listen to Israel your father."

We have the same strange name thing here. He calls himself Jacob and Israel within a few words. I just don't get it.

From Guzik's commentary (note: all commentary today will be from Guzik)

At the very beginning of the blessing, Jacob realized he was both Jacob and Israel, and his sons are sons of each. This was a place of spiritual maturity, realizing both what God made him (Israel) and what he had to battle against (Jacob)

I guess that explanation makes some bit of sense, I certainly don't know what else this could be. Still, seems weird as hell to me.

Reuben: Preeminent in dignity and power, unstable as water. He is the firstborn but not preeminent because he defiled his father's bed.

He has a ton of power but he's unstable? Awesome. Also, what does it mean that he defiled his father's bed?

Reuben’s immorality with his father’s concubine Bilhah (the mother of his brothers Dan and Naphtali) is recorded in Genesis 35:22.

Whoa, I don't remember that at all. I apparently didn't notice it when I read that chapter, although I don't really fault myself too much. I went back to the text, and this is just stuck in there in the middle of some other boring stuff. Nothing is made of it at the time.

Simeon and Levi: They are very violent. They have killed men in anger and hamstrung oxen willfully. Their anger is fierce and their wrath is cruel, they shall be separated and scattered in Israel.

Holy crap! Great job picking the chosen people God.

The second-born son Simeon and the third-born son Levi received the same “blessing” for the same evil deed. They were instruments of cruelty when they wiped out all the men of Shechem in retaliation for the rape of their sister Dinah (Genesis 34:25-29)

Ahh yes, that little incident

The sins of our past can come back and haunt us. Even when forgiven, they may carry consequences we must face for a lifetime.

I would hope so, if that sin includes slaughtering and looting an entire city.

The real problem with Simeon and Levi was their anger (in their anger they slew a man). Their anger was sin because it was rooted in self-will

No, I'm sorry but they didn't kill a man, they killed all of the men in a city, took the women and children and looted the place.

Judah: Your brothers shall praise you because your hand will be on the neck of your enemies. He's like a lion. The scepter shall not depart from him, obedient people will come to him.

So he'll kill his enemies and wind up in power. Great.

Judah wasn’t a completely exemplary character. He suggested a profit motive in getting rid of Joseph (Genesis 37:26). He did not deal faithfully with his daughter-in-law Tamar (Genesis 38:26), and he had sex with her as a prostitute (Genesis 38:18). But he did shine when he interceded and offered himself as a substitute for Joseph (Genesis 44:18-34). Overall, this blessing is an example of the riches of God’s grace.

So he did some really bad stuff but also some good stuff. I guess that's pretty much the pinnacle here.

Zebulun: He will found a port city bordering Sidon

That's pretty good. Go Zebulun!

The tribe of Zebulun was noted for its faithfulness to David, supplying the largest number of soldiers to David’s army of any single tribe: of Zebulun there were fifty thousand who went out to battle, expert in war with all weapons of war, stouthearted men who could keep ranks (1 Chronicles 12:33).

Apparently being a haven for ships means that he can move men around for the wars that will come up. Not so much a port city but a Navy. Awesome.

Issachar: He was strong but lazy and became a slave

I am not sure how well I understood this one, I'm going to just copy the text here, do you think my summary is accurate?

v14-15: Issachar is a strong donkey, crouching between the sheepfolds. He saw that a resting place was good, and that the land was pleasant, so he bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant at forced labor. 

“The meaning seems to be that Issachar was strong, but docile and lazy. He would enjoy the good land assigned him but would not strive for it. Therefore, eventually he would be pressed into servitude and the mere bearing of burdens for his masters.” (Leupold)

Looks like I got this one right. Go me!

Dan: He shall be a serpent who bites the horse's heels so the rider falls backward

what?

But Dan was a troublesome tribe. They introduced idolatry into Israel (Judges 18:30). Jeroboam set up one of his idolatrous golden calves in Dan (1 Kings 12:26-30) and later Dan became a center of idol worship in Israel (Amos 8:14). 

Some think the serpent by the way refers to the idea that the Antichrist comes from the tribe of Dan (based on Daniel 11:37 and Jeremiah 8:16).

So he was trouble, good enough for me I guess.

Gad: He will be raided, but he will raid at their heels.

So is he raiding them back?

The tribe of Gad supplied many fine troops for David (1 Chronicles 12:14)

More fighting. That seems to be all that is important to these people

Asher: will produce rich food and royal delicacies

That sounds good

In Deuteronomy 33:24, Moses again took up this prophecy regarding Asher: Asher is most blessed of sons; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.

This one I thought seemed pretty clear, but I find the commentary completely baffling.

Naphtali: He is a doe let loose that bears beautiful fawns. There's a footnote that this could also be translated to mean "he gives beautiful words" or "he bears fawns of the fold"

So he either has beautiful offspring or creates good art?

Naphtali’s land was in a key portion near the Sea of Galilee, the region where Jesus did much of His teaching and ministry. It is fittingly said of him that he gives goodly words.

Joseph: He'll be attacked but will not waver, he will stand strong and be blessed by God

Well, I guess there was a little bit of blessing here, although Jacob didn't exactly bless Joseph, he just said God would in the future.

Benjamin: He is a ravenous wolf, devouring the prey and dividing the spoils

At least he shares. 

These guys seem pretty violent on the whole, they are the founders of the twelve tribes of Israel? I've asked this before, but why are these guys God's chosen people?

Jacob's Death and Burial (v. 28-33)

He told his sons he wanted to be buried next to where Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Rebekah were buried. Then he died.

Genesis 48: The Younger Brother Gets the Greater Blessing

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Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh (v. 1-22)

Jacob was ill so Joseph brought his two sons to see him. Jacob was very happy as he never thought he would see his son Joseph again, and how he even gets to meet 2 grandchildren that he didn't know existed.

This is a nice scene, it would truly be a great thing to find out your son (who you thought was dead) had children of his own.

Jacob blesses his grandchildren, but he gives the better blessing to the younger one. Joseph protests as that should go to the firstborn, but Jacob insists that the younger will be greater than the older. He also says that he is giving some land to Joseph instead of to his brothers.

My memory is spotty on this, but if wikipedia is to be believed, Joseph is almost the last son. It is pretty silly of Joseph to complain so much that the younger son is going to get special treatment when he got a ton of special treatment. Perhaps that is the whole point here.

Jacob vs Israel

I loved this movie 15 years ago

This whole thing with Jacob's name being changed has been bothering me for a while. God changed his name from Jacob to Israel in chapter 32, then again in chapter 35. In chapter 46 I pointed out that it was strange that the narrator called him Israel but God called him Jacob. And now in this chapter this narrator flops back and forth within one verse. v2

And it was told to Jacob, "Your son Joseph has come to you." Then Israel summoned his strength and sat up in bed.

I honestly don't know what to make of this, but it is certainly weird. Perhaps it is as simple as poor translating. One thought I had was that it is a merging of two different stories. Maybe there were stories about Israel and other stories about Jacob which had similar components and they eventually got melded together into one story. Perhaps they were trying to appeal to two different groups of people so they couldn't simply transfer everything to one name or the other. Obviously these are just guesses, but something has got to be up here.

Genesis 47: Just Turn Them Into Slaves

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Jacob's Family Settles in Goshen (v. 1-12)

Joseph took some of his brothers to Pharaoh and asked his permission to move to Goshen, Pharaoh said sure. The Joseph brought Jacob in to see Pharaoh and Jacob blessed the Pharaoh twice. Pharaoh asked how old he is and Jacob replied 130 years. Interestingly, Jacob also said his life has contained evil and is shorter than the life of his fathers.

Jacob blessing the Pharaoh seems strange to me, but I guess Jacob was incredibly successful. Perhaps one powerful person blessing another is just a sign of respect. Still the person in need blessing the person with plenty seems backwards.

According to Guzik, I seem to have the right idea here

Pharaoh acknowledged Jacob was a man of God by accepting his blessing. In the Egyptian religion, Pharaoh himself was thought to be a god. They considered Pharaoh the human embodiment of Ra, the sun god. This means that it was remarkable that he allowed Israel to bestow a blessing on him.

I try to take things at face value for my analysis as much as possible, but it seems to me that this was likely inserted here to add legitimacy to the story. "Look, even the powerful Pharaoh accepted Jacob's blessing". Obviously just a guess, but the whole thing certainly seems strange.

I also found the idea of evil in his life making him live less time interesting. I know people often claim that the people right after the fall lived very long (~900 years) and their years grew shorter as sin crept in. As I recall, there's wasn't a lot of actual biblical evidence for that, is this some indication of that type of thing? Furthermore, is the claim that sin will generally make people live shorter lives? This seems like it could be easily falsified.

I love how Guzik just reads into this whatever he wants to see. In describing how old he is, Jacob uses the word pilgrimage, and it is interpreted this way

Jacob confessed he was on a pilgrimage. He knew that his real home was somewhere else: heaven.

Didn't they not even have an idea of heaven back then, but instead it was all about living on through your offspring? I wish I had a good reference for this, but I'm pretty damn sure that the whole concept of heaven didn't come along until much later.

Joseph and the Famine (v. 13-31)

The famine was very harsh and everyone used all of their money to buy food from Joseph, which went into the coffers of the Pharaoh. The people then complained that they had no money and had to buy food, so Joseph said he would take their livestock. The next year they came back and said they had no food or animals and Joseph gave them food in exchange for their land and for them to work the land as slaves to Pharaoh. Since the Pharaoh owns the land, from now on he will get 20% of whatever is produced.

The biggest problem I have here is that they are buying their own food back from the government. They got taxed very severely in the times of plenty and are now having to give up everything they own to get the food back that they grew themselves. Then at the end it is declared that since they are owned by the Pharaoh they have to pay him 20% of whatever they make from now on. But that's what they had to pay for the 7 years before the famine, so what has changed? They should have just given the food back to the people, when people are starving, how does it make sense to give them food in exchange for their ability to produce more food in the future?


Jacob lived another 17 years and they prospered in Egypt, but when he was about to die he made Joseph promise to bury him where his fathers were buried rather than in Egypt.

Wait a minute, I can't believe I didn't notice this until just now. Jacob had two fathers, apparently gay marriage is endorsed in the bible. Case closed.

Genesis 46: Jacob and Joseph Reunited

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Joseph Brings His Family to Egypt (v. 1-27)

Jacob (Israel) brings his family and all of his stuff to Egypt. We also get nearly 20 verses of the names of his descendants. Your welcome.

I thought it was interesting that the narrator called him Israel, but God called him Jacob in his dream. Didn't God change his name from Jacob to Israel twice? Why does he now call him Jacob again?

[Note: I had an idea for a comic based on this, but didn't have time to make it. God is drunk and telling Jacob he is changing his name to Israel and Jacob asking God if he'll even remember this conversation in the morning, maybe I'll make it later]

Jacob and Joseph Reunited (v. 28-34)

The family settles in Goshen and Joseph goes down there to see them. The Pharaoh says they can stay there because shepherds are an abomination to Egyptians.

Did Egyptians really think that of shepherds? Seems a little nuts as it is a source of meat, I'm guessing they had no problem getting the benefits of the surrounding shepherds. Not that this type of hypocrisy is anything unique.

Jacob says that he can now die since he knows Joseph is alive.

I suppose this is an old expression akin to "Now I can die happy" or something.

Genesis 45: Joseph Comes Clean

Today's podcast

Doh, I realized when I was almost done that I should
color first, then resize. Oh well, next time (Archive)

Joseph Provides for His Brothers and Family (v. 1-28)

Recall at the end of last chapter Judah requested to sacrifice his own freedom that that of his brother Benjamin. After this, Joseph was unable to maintain his composure and he told his brothers who he really was. He told them not to be distressed or angry with themselves because it was not them, but God who put him where he is. It was so he could provide for his family and save many people from starvation.

This is interesting, and I think really the crux of this whole story. God apparently manipulated his brothers to do something bad for a much better good down the line. He was not only able to provide for his family, but he saved the lives of countless others. It seems that God has done a good thing here, even though the players wouldn't have recognized it as good while it was happening, the old "God works in mysterious ways" thing. The thing is, this only makes sense if God isn't all powerful. Some less powerful god sees a famine coming, can't do anything to stop it, but has a plan to put a particular person in power who will save a bunch of lives. For an all powerful God, these actions seem pretty lame to me.

From Guzik

Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote a remarkably wide-selling book titled When Bad Things Happen to Good People. It sold more than a half a million copies before going to paperback and was on the New York Times best-seller list for a whole year. The whole point of his book is to say God is all loving but not all powerful, that God is good, but not sovereign. So, when bad things happen to good people, it is because events are out of God’s control. Kushner advises his readers to “learn to love [God] and forgive him despite his limitations.” This certainly is not the God of the Bible!

A God who isn't all powerful certainly does seem to fit a lot better with the old testament God I would say. Although I would argue that the old testament God is also not all loving.

Joseph tells his brothers to go get their father and bring him back, along with all of their flocks and whatnot and they will be provided for during the remaining 5 years of famine. When the Pharaoh heard all of this he was happy to help Joseph's family.

Genesis 44: Joseph Frames Benjamin

Today's podcast

Joseph Tests His Brothers (v. 1-34)

Joseph once again gives his brothers grain and puts their money in their grain sacks. He also commanded that his chalice be put in Benjamin's bag. He then sends his men to chase down his brothers and accuse them of stealing.

I suppose it would have been prudent of the brothers to double check their bags before they left given the previous mix-up. Not that I would go so far as to say "they should have known" or something, but it would have certainly been prudent. I think I would have probably checked the bags, but the same impulse makes me double check that the oven is off five times before I leave my apartment, all in all, probably more harm than good.

Guzik tackles the question of why Joseph is doing all of this

Some might think he is simply using his position of power to torment his brothers in revenge for their cruelty towards him; but knowing the character of Joseph, this isn’t the case. He is guided by the hand of God, testing the hearts of his brothers, and bringing them to complete repentance.

I agree that saying he is simply tormenting his brothers is a simplification. However, I think saying he did it for their own good (to bring them to repentance) is an equally bad simplification, just in the opposite direction. 

source

When the Egyptians caught up to the brothers and accused them of stealing, Judah said it must have been one of their own servants who stole it, and furthermore whoever that turns out to be should be put to death.

That seems like a pretty harsh punishment, death for stealing. I can hear the Christians now "it was a different time". To those people, I would ask what makes the rule different now, and how can we tell which other rules in the old testament are outdated and which ones we should use today. I've heard this question asked to plenty of Christian, and I never have heard a clear answer.

They found the cup in Benjamin's bags and all of the brothers were brought back to Joseph. Joseph said that Benjamin needs to stay with him as he is the guilty party, the rest of them can go home to their father. Judah pleads with Joseph to allow him to take Benjamin's place for their father's sake.

In relation to Judah offering to take Benjamin's place, Guzik says

Judah dramatically offers to lay down his life for the sake of Benjamin. This is a dramatic change from 20 years before when the brothers did not care about Joseph, Benjamin, or even their father Jacob.

Really? They hated Joseph, sure. And they didn't care about their father enough to spare Joseph I guess. How does he justify saying that they didn't care about Benjamin? I think Guzik is just throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks. The situations are totally different. Judah never put his life on the line for Joseph.

For the verses of note post

--Justice--

Genesis 44:8-9 Death penalty for stealing

"...How then could we steal silver or gold from your lord's house? Whichever of your servants is found with it shall die, and we also will be my lord's servants."

Genesis 43: Return to Egypt

Today's podcast

Joseph's Brothers Return to Egypt (v. 1-34)

They ran out of the food that they brought back, and Jacob told his sons to go back and get more food, but he still didn't want to send Benjamin. The brothers refuse to go without Benjamin and Jacob complains that they revealed Benjamin's existence at all. They say that had simply answered questions honestly and couldn't have known it would lead to a demand that Benjamin be brought to Egypt. Judah says he will be personally responsible for Benjamin's safety and Jacob finally says okay.

Now Jacob is just whiny. At least he finally came around, although I suppose it took the threat of starvation.

In response to Judah taking responsibility for Benjamin, Guzik says

Judah put his own life on the line as a surety for Benjamin. This is the first good thing we see Judah doing. Previously, he was the one who had proposed the sale of Joseph. He was the one who wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar and had sex with her as a harlot.

Previously, Satan may have directed his attack against Joseph because he believed he was the one who would ultimately bring the Messiah. To this point, God had not revealed which of the 12 it would be.

Satan not only hated the children of Jacob for what they were, but also for what God would make of them. He directs the same kind of hatred against believers today, as Satan considers the destiny God has for His people.

I find the inclusion of Satan here pretty interesting. It is a good demonstration of the mindset at work here, anything good that happens is because of God, anything bad is either man or Satan.

Jacob decides that they should bring double the money required for the grain they want in addition to the money that was mistakenly (as far as they know) put back into their bags the last time. He also had them put together a nice care package as a gift.

This seems prudent at least.

v15 "So the men took this present, and they took double the money with them, and Benjamin."

I just wanted to highlight this verse, as it stuck out to me. Benjamin didn't go with them, they took him, along with the money. He's not part of the party going down to make this transaction, he's part of their baggage. Apparently he's not useful, it seems he won't pull his weight, he's just one more thing the useful guys have to keep track of. This actually makes some sense, as Joseph was pretty worthless when he was Jacob's favorite, Benjamin has apparently taken his place. (or potentially I'm reading to much in to this)

Joseph saw them coming and told his servant to bring them into the house and they could share a meal. His brothers were afraid and talked to the servant and explained what happened to the money. He said they would be fine and got them washed up and ready for the meal. Joseph came out and they bowed, he asked about their father and they said he was fine. When he saw Benjamin he was overcome and had to leave so he could weep and not be seen. He's still not ready to reveal his identity.

They then sat everyone to eat. Joseph at by himself, the Egyptians ate together, and the brothers ate together. Egyptians were not allowed to eat with Hebrews. The brothers were amazed because Benjamin's portions were 5 times what the others got.

I guess the fact that Joseph ate by himself was a hint that he wasn't an Egyptian, although that is something they could only realize in retrospect, he could just as easily have been eccentric or something. 

for the verses of note post

--Prudence--

Genesis 43:11-12 Jacob sends a gift to the person they think they accidentally stole from

"Then their father Israel said to them, 'If it must be so, then do this: take some of the choice fruits of the land in your bags, and carry a present down to the man, a little balm and a little honey, gum, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds.Take double the money with you. Carry back with you the money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks. Perhaps it was an oversight."

Genesis 42: Jacob Has a New Favorite Son

Today's podcast

Joseph's Brothers Go to Egypt (v. 1-38)

Jacob had heard that there was grain for sale in Egypt and he told his sons to go there to get some. He sent 10 of them, but kept Benjamin behind because he was afraid he might get hurt.

What about the other 10 that he sent? Apparently with Joseph gone Jacob picked a new favorite. He seems to just be a terrible father.

From Guzik

Famine is not a good thing, but God used it. God can and does use material need and lack in our life to get us to do things we normally would never do. Normally, the brothers would never go to Egypt. But need drove them to Egypt.

We saw this in the reading from last time, that God is the cause of this famine. It appears that he did it to get this particular story to play out in this family. It might seem okay to use need to get people to act a certain way, but what happens when you consider the broader implications of this action? Think about all of the other people who are hurt by this. Certainly many died as well, collateral damage doesn't seem like it is really considered here.

This is how I picture Joseph (pic source)

As we saw last time, Joseph is in charge of selling the grain and he was the person that his brothers had to deal with to buy grain from Egypt. He recognized them, but they didn't recognize him. He basically harassed them, he called them spies and put them in jail for a few days. They explained their situation, and he said he would believe them if they went back home and brought their last brother here.

It's not completely clear to me if he is messing with them or if he is truly pissed at them and punishing them. I think it is really both, which of course makes it hard to disentangle. He loves his brothers, but they also tried to kill him and sold him into slavery. Mixed emotions I'm sure.

This is interesting, from Guzik

"One is no more": This was a lie, and the brothers knew it. They had every reason to believe Joseph was not dead, but living a horrible life of slavery. Perhaps they had repeated the lie to themselves so often they came to believe it.

He points out that they lied and said that Joseph is dead when really the sold him in to slavery. Perhaps this was part of why Joseph was so pissed, they claimed he was dead.

They didn't realize that Joseph could understand them (there was an interpreter between them) and they said that they really were guilty for what they did to Joseph and they are getting what they deserve. He turned so they couldn't see him an cried.

This is what I mean when I say he seems to really care for them. He is very moved that they still think about him and are ashamed of what they did to him.

Then he said that all of them except one (Simeon) should go home with the grain they came for. When they bring back the last brother they will get Simeon back. He also arranged for their money to be put back in their grain pouches.

I'm not sure I understand this, is he giving them the money so he can accuse them of being thieves later?

When they were travelling back one of the brother found the money in the pouch as they were feeding their donkeys. They freaked out and said "What is this that God has done to us?"

I have 2 comments here, first, why blame this on God? They know they aren't thieves, so there was apparently some kind of mix up. Are they saying that God magicked the money into their bags? Perhaps this was just a figure of speech or something. Like a way to say "this was so unlucky" or something.
Second, why not sent one of the brothers back to give the money back? What a perfect way to prove they aren't spies, "We found this money that should be yours, there was a mix up and we wanted to give it back as soon as discovered the error"

They get home and tell Jacob the whole story, and they discover not just the one bundle of money in one pouch, but all 9 have money in their sack's of grain. Jacob is distraught that another of his sons is dead. He doesn't want to let Benjamin go because he will be forfeiting yet another son.

Wow, Jacob is a really shitty person. He's willing to just give up on Simeon to keep from risking Benjamin. He says if Benjamin dies he won't have any left, I'm guessing that's sons from one particular wife. What about his other sons that are all right in front of him?

Guzik seems to agree with me

Apparently, Jacob didn’t think too much of Simeon. It didn’t matter to him that Simeon spent the rest of his life in an Egyptian jail.

Reuben offers up his 2 sons for Jacob to kill if he fails to bring back Benjamin safe, but Jacob says no because he doesn't want to risk Benjamin's life.

What the hell kind of offer is that? If your son dies feel free to kill your grandson? The fact that he would even offer this to Jacob means he thought it might work, and that Jacob is a horrible person. Also, Jacob didn't say how terrible of a thing it was, he just didn't want to risk Benjamin even with this...insurance? I don't know, this whole thing is screwed up.

Also, how would Reuben's sons feel about having their lives offered up as collateral? I guess we can only hope they were not privy to this particular conversation. [thanks Ahab for pointing this out] 

for the verses of note post

--Family--

Genesis 42:4,38 Jacob is still playing favorites among his children

"But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph's brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might happen to him...But he said, "My son shall not go down with you, for his brother is dead, and he is the only one left. If harm should happen to him on the journey that you are to make, you would bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol."

Genesis 42:37 Reuben offered his sons lives up for collateral

"Then Reuben said to his father, 'Kill my two sons if I do not bring him back to you. Put him in my hands, and I will bring him back to you.'"

Genesis 41: Let a Slave Run the Country

Today's podcast

Joseph Interprets Pharaoh's Dreams (v. 1-36)

The Pharaoh has a few dreams and nobody is able to interpret them for him.

The very fact that no one is able to interpret these dreams is pretty suspect alone. Even if you buy into everything else, that God is talking to Joseph and everything, I find it pretty hard to believe there isn't one scam artist seer who will make up some stuff to tell the Pharaoh.

His cupbearer remembers his time in prison and suggests that Pharaoh have Joseph interpret his dream. Joseph says the dreams mean there will be 7 years of plenty followed by 7 years of famine. He suggests that the government should collect a portion of everyone's grain during the good 7 years so no one will starve during the 7 bad years.

That's a pretty good suggestion! Setting aside resources in times of plenty for upcoming times of scarcity. In fact, this would be a smart thing to do even if they didn't know that famine was coming.

Guzik points out that Joseph here gives credit to God. He could have very easily taken credit for the reading, and yet he says that God is the source of the reading. At first I wasn't sure if this should count as humility as he was setting himself up as a prophet, but a subsequent reading makes me lean toward agreeing with Guzik. Pharaoh was already seeing value in Joseph's ability, so the appeal to God wasn't necessary to make him an asset. I think it does come off as humble.

Something noticed when reading for the podcast, verse 32 says "And the doubling of Pharaoh's dream means that the thing is fixed by God, and God will shortly bring it about." It doesn't say why God does this, just that he does. The pain and suffering caused by the famine are completely on God here. It makes me think of the problem of evil.

Joseph Rises to Power (v. 37-57)

The Pharaoh was pleased with Joseph and put him in power, he was second only to Pharaoh in Egypt.

What? He was a slave in prison, then he interprets a dream and becomes the second most powerful man in the country? Seriously?

Tried some coloring, I think it went well. (Comic Archive)

v.38 "And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?""

Guzik says "This is the first mention in the Bible of the Holy Spirit coming upon a man. Pharoah saw that Joseph was fileld with the Spirit of God."

This seems like a pretty dishonest reading to me, it seems like he's just zeroing in on that word and projecting the trinity on it whenever he can. We've seen him do it with Jesus, now he's doing it with the holy spirit. Plus, I thought the whole in in Acts 10 was the first time the holy spirit was given to people. Wasn't that supposed to be some big changeover?

Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of storing up grains, so he went all around Egypt and collected grains for storage during the time of plenty. When the famine came people complained to Pharaoh that they were hungry and he sent them to Joseph. Not only those in Egypt, but even people outside of Egypt came to Joseph to buy grain.

They had to buy the grain? If he collected the grain from them in the bad time, shouldn't he give it back in the good times? Did he buy it from them in the first place? It doesn't seem to indicate this at all. 

Guzik ends his commentary with a 34 point list comparing Joseph and Jesus. It's pretty ridiculous, but also pretty long, perhaps I'll look into them more closely and make it a post of its own.

for the verses of note post

--Greed--

Genesis 41:56 Joseph sells the people's grain back to them

"So when the famine had spread over all the land, Joseph opened all the storehouses and sold to the Egyptians, for the famine was severe in the land of Egypt."

--Humility--

Genesis 41:15-16 Joseph gives credit to God, rather than taking the credit himself

"And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I have had a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.' Joseph answered Pharaoh, 'It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh a favorable answer.'"

--Prudence--

Genesis 41:35-36 Joseph suggests saving in the good times to survive the bad times

"And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. 36 That food shall be a reserve for the land against the seven years of famine that are to occur in the land of Egypt, so that the land may not perish through the famine."

Genesis 40: Joseph Interprets Some Dreams

Today's podcast

Joseph Interprets Two Prisoners' Dreams (v. 1-23)

2 servants of the king of Egypt (a cupbearer and a baker) were thrown in the same jail as Joseph. They both had dreams and were distraught that there was no one there to interpret them, and Joseph said "Do not interpretations belong to God? Please tell them to me."

I found this statement hilarious, "Do not interpretations belong to God" sounds like he is saying that no person can interpret dreams as it is God's domain, but then he immediately says he will interpret them. So I guess the statement is that he has a direct line to God, or that talking to him is as good as talking to God. Such arrogance! (although I suppose it is justified as God seems to be making sure everything he touches turns to gold)

This is somebody's job?

Anyway, Joseph listens to the cupbearer's dream first and tells him that it means in 3 days the Pharaoh will come get him out of jail and he will get his job back. The baker hears the good interpretation and tell Joseph his dream as well. Joseph tells him that he will be killed in 3 days. Both of these interpretations come true, but the cupbearer forgets about Joseph when he gets back to his job.

Why would the cupbearer forget about Joseph so fast? If he was so desperate to get his dreams interpreted, and then Joseph interpreted it perfectly, you would think it would leave an impression.

From Guzik

Here Joseph is wronged again. He thought that butler’s kindness might mean his release from prison, but it was not to be. God had another purpose.

I find this very interesting. By saying God had another purpose, is Guzik saying that God caused the cupbearer to forget? How does this mesh with the whole free will thing?

Genesis 39: Give the Slaves Control

Today's podcast

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife (v. 1-23)

Recall that in chapter 37 Joseph was sold into slavery. He was taken to Egypt and bought by Potiphar who was captain of the guard under Pharaoh. God was with Joseph and made him successful, even Potiphar recognized God's hand in helping out Joseph. So Potiphar put him in charge of everything in the house, he wasn't concerned about anything going on in he house. The blessing of the lord was on the house for Joseph's sake

I know I've asked this question a bunch of times at this point, but why is God acting this way? Why does he favor Joseph so much, why is he making him successful in everything he does like this? We've seen before that God seems to have poor judgement in the people he favors, and all we know of Joseph is that he is an arrogant jerk with no appreciation for how those around him will react to things. Perhaps God sees greatness in him and it will come out eventually...we will see.

Interesting point from Guzik, Joseph getting put in charge of the house took 11 years. This is apparently made clear in an upcoming chapter

Joseph was attractive, and Potiphar's wife wanted him to have sex with her, but he refused saying that Potiphar had been good to him and doing so would also disrespect God.

This is good, finally Joseph is showing some good judgement.

One day, Joseph came into the house and everyone was gone except Potiphar's wife. She grabbed his clothes and insisted he be with her, so he ran, leaving his clothes with her in the process. So she told everyone that he had tried to force himself on her, but he ran when she screamed. Potiphar believed her and threw Joseph in jail.

What a ridiculous story. If he tried to rape her, wouldn't she be the one who winds up naked? I guess the husband really had no choice but to believe her story, why trust a slave above your wife? But still,  her explanation is terrible.

My comic archive

God gave Joseph favor in the eyes of the jailer, and he was put in charge of all the prisoners. The warden paid no attention to anything that Joseph was doing, or what was going on under his watch.

What the hell? Was it common practice at for prisoners to be in charge of other prisoners? This is just stupid?

From Guzik

As it was in the house of Potiphar, Joseph rose to the top, becoming the chief administrator of the prison. Through his experience in both places, God sharpened the administrative skills Joseph needed to one day save his family and save the whole world.

He's giving him administrative duties so he can use them to save his family, and the world, later? How the hell is that going to play out?

for the verses of note post

--Marriage--

Genesis 39:7-8 Potiphar's wife wants Joseph to sleep with her, but he refuses

"And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, "Lie with me." But he refused..."

Genesis 38: Bang Your Brother's Widow

Today's Podcast

Judah and Tamar (v. 1-30)

Judah (one of Jacob's sons) found a Canaanite wife and had 3 sons with her (Er, Onan, and Shelah).

We don't actually learn the wife's name, we learn her father's name though.

From Guzik

Through an ungodly and unwise marriage to a Canaanite woman Judah fathered three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah. 

It isn’t hard to see the sons of Israel rapidly being corrupted by their Canaanite neighbors, and what the future will bring if they continued in that land. God had a plan to bring them out.

I hadn't really thought much of this, but Guzik has said things along these lines quite a few times. We should remember that god put them in this situation, it is because of him that they have settled here, and if he's omniscient he knew that all of this would happen. 

He gets a wife for Er named Tamar, but God didn't like Er and killed him. So Judah told Onan to bang Er's wife and raise the kids as Er's. Onan didn't like that the kids would not count as his, so he pulled out and didn't make any babies, so God killed Onan too.

Funny thing here, verse 9 is the one where the brother was "spilling his seed", and it is the verse than many have used to say masturbation is a sin. But that isn't what this story is about, it very clear that it is a very different situation. 

verification from Guzik :)

Many Christians have used this passage as a proof-text against masturbation. Indeed, masturbation has been called “onanism.” However, this does not seem to be the case here. Whatever Onan did, he was not masturbating. This was not a sin of masturbation, but a sin of refusing to care for his brother’s widow by giving her offspring, and of a selfish use of sex.

I have another thought here though, God killed Er for being Wicked, and yet he killed Onan for not helping Er produce posthumous children. That doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense! Onan is essentially being punished for not doing a favor for Er, whom God hated.

Judah told Tamar to go live with her father as a widow until Shelah was grown up.

Presumably so he could have kids for his older brother. 

Guzik seems to suggest that Judah simply was afraid his last son would die and that is why he sent Tamar away. This is supported by what happens later in the chapter. Perhaps what was said about him being too young was not true?

In the meantime, Judah's wife dies and he took a trip to Timnah. Tamar saw that Shelah was old enough and she wasn't married to him, which means Judah is dragging his heals. When she heard of his trip she changed out of her widow clothes and covered up her face and also went to Timnah. Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute and negotiated a business transaction. He said he'd give her a young goat for her services, and she took his signet, cord, and staff as collateral. Of course, later when he tried to find her again to give her the goat and get his stuff back she was gone.

source

Three months later when everyone realized she was pregnant outside of marriage, Judah wanted to burn her at the stake. But she produced the collateral and he realized what had happened. He said that she was more righteous than him since he didn't give her to Shelah.

I guess he thinks that his inaction drove her to doing what she did, and that is why he feels more guilty than her. What would be nice is if this episode demonstrated that burning at the stake is not an appropriate punishment for sex outside of marriage, but that doesn't seem to be the lesson.

From Guzik

When Tamar conceived, it certainly was not intended by Judah, but it was definitely planned by both Tamar and God.

Wait, this was God's plan? Based on what? The fact that he didn't kill everyone? I certainly didn't see any indication that God had consulted with her on this plan.

Tamar was pregnant with twins, and when she was giving birth one baby put out it's arm and the midwife tied a ribbon around it, but it went back inside. Then the other was actually born first. Perez was the one who was actually born first, Zerah was the one with the thread.

I imagine this will cause some problems as pertains to birthrights. The one with the ribbon got declared as older while the other was actually older. Hilarity ensues?

for the verses of note post

--Family--

Genesis 38:8 If your older brother dies before having children, you need to bang his wife

"Then Judah said to Onan, 'Go in to your brother's wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.'"

--Sexuality and Women--

Genesis 38:24 Death penalty for adultery (for women)

"About three months later Judah was told, 'Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.' And Judah said, 'Bring her out, and let her be burned.'"

--Violence--

Genesis 38:7-10 God kills people for "being wicked" and for pulling out of his dead brother's wife