and he (Jacob) dwelt...

The reading two weeks ago was Genesis 37:1-40:23.

Here is a summary:


Chapter 37:
Tattletale Joseph has dreams that he will be exalted above his family.
Israel sends out Joseph to his brothers, they lynch and sell Joseph to Ishmeelites for 20 pieces of silver.
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The father mourns the loss of his son, seeing the coat soaked in goat blood.
Midianites sell Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar, officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard.


Chapter 38:
Judah lives in a home of Hirah, an Adullamite; he has children Er, Onan, and Shelah with a Canaanite daughter of Shuah in Chezib.
Judah takes a wife for Er, Tamar, but Yahweh slays wicked Er.
Judah has Onan be with Tamar, but Yahweh slays wicked Onan.
Judah fears for Shelah, and has Tamar wait with her parents.
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Judah's wife dies, and he goes to Timnah with Hirah.
Tamar goes veiled to Timnah, Judah propositions her, and leaves his belonging as collateral with her; Tamar conceives as a result.
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3 months later, Judah is told by a third party Tamar is pregnant by some man.
Indignant, Judah pronounces her to be burned.
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Tamar reveals the father's belonging, and Judah pronounces Tamar more righteous than he for keeping Shelah.
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Tamar has twins.
Pharez, who is the younger, comes out first then the older, Zarah.


Chapter 39:
Joseph in Egypt prospered in Potiphar's house because Yahweh blesses him, and as a result becomes the overseer of the house.
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Day after day, the wife lusted after Joseph, but Joseph refused in fear of God.
One day Joseph was alone, and she grabbed Joseph by the coat; Joseph flees, leaving his coat.
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She accuses Joseph of rape with the coat, and Joseph is put in prison.
Joseph becomes the overseer of the prison because Yahweh blesses him.


Chapter 40:
The chief butler and the chief baker of Pharaoh are put in prison.
They both have disturbing dreams.
The butler's interpretation is good.
Joseph asks him to remember him when he is free.
The baker dies in 3 days.
The butler forgets about Joseph.



Very similar to the last reading, there is a chapter/story that seems artifically (or rather divinely) inserted in the middle of a narrative:
The last one was with Dinah, which was right in the middle of Jacob/Israel's journey.
This one with Tamar, a daughter-in-law of Judah, right in the middle of Joseph's life.

I'm not quite sure why, but here are some thoughts...

Comparison:
Both of the parentheses involve in their foci a woman. Both are referred to as a harlot, although they really are not. Both involved a party giving a seemingly honest pledge, and both had a party doing some kind of deceiving/scheming.

Contrast:
Dinah played a very passive role, but Tamar was more active in her role. The deceiving party was Jacob's sons with Dinah, Tamar deceived Jacob's son Judah. Tamar is in the line of the Messiah, Dinah has no recorded children.

I've checked a couple of commentaries, but they seem to focus on each passage, and not so much on such things as this.


So after some prayer and seeking God, this is a conclusion:
(remember Acts 17:11; i.e. don't believe what I say, but do your own homework...)

Usually, when two things are contrasted, they represent death or life; for example, from chapter 40, the butler, who represented the wine from the communion which is the Spirit, was to live, as opposed to the baker who represented the bread, which is the flesh, was to die.

Perhaps Dinah, who had no children, which was in the middle of the narrative of Jacob/Israel, who had questionable character represents death, and Tamar, whose descendant is Jesus, which was in the middle of the narrative of Joseph, who had impeccable character represents life.

As believers, in life or in death, we know that
God is good.


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