Joseph and his Brothers

So many of the stories in the Ancestor Period of Genesis are ripe with family dysfunction, particularly concerning strife among brothers. Much of it can be traced back to the parenting skills of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs and the stories' motif of playing favorites. Sarah, primarily, and her husband Abraham favored Isaac over Ishmael; Isaac was partial to his son Esau while his wife Rebekah much preferred Esau's brother Jacob; and following the pattern, Jacob's favorite son was Joseph over his daughters and eleven other sons. The sons grew to hate Joseph, especially after their father gave him a fancy coat which had either long sleeves or many colors, depending on which translation you favor over the others. (There's that pattern again!) Joseph's brothers finally decided to solve the Joseph problem either by killing him, throwing him into a pit, or selling him as a slave to the Ishmaelites. They did throw him into a pit for a while, but thought better of it and finally opted to enslave him for a profit. An irony of the story is that he is sold to the descendants of Ishmael, the first rejected ancestral son to be tossed out into the desert. (Image from PowerPoint: Birth of a Nation; Joseph, Part 1)

Family bonds

Certainly one of the most disturbing stories in Genesis is the Binding of Isaac. Like a lot of these ancient narratives, it leaves us with many more questions than answers, which makes it one of the more tantalizing of the tales. What did the original readers think of this? Did they get the idea that their God was telling them that through this example, God would provide and they were not required to burn their children like some of their Idol worshiping neighbor's did? Isaac was no child in this story. Some say he could have been in his late 30's. Was the plot about Abraham neglecting his patriarchal duty of finding his son a wife? (In those days, those not married and perpetuating the family line might as well have been dead!) I personally wonder where Sarah stood in this situation. She is not mentioned in the story, but we do know that Abraham never went back to her encampment after this, but to Beersheba where he later married Keturah. Who would want to face the strong willed Sarah after the attempted sacrifice of her beloved Child of Laughter? What does this story mean to you? (Image from Binding of Isaac PowerPoint presentation. -We know the text really says Abraham just heard the voice of the Angel of the Lord, but we were tired of drawing close-ups of Abraham with his hand cupped behind his ear.)