Joseph is such an incredibly detailed picture of Jesus/Yeshua.  Previously, in Part 1 and Part 2, we looked at Genesis 37:1 through 41:38.  Now we’ll continue.

Please remember, this is not an exhaustive list, or complete handling of each remez, rather, the purpose is to encourage thought and individual digging.

Picking up in Genesis 41: 40

• v. 40  “You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you…’  Pharaoh’s statement is a great picture of the roles of the Father and Yeshua.  At the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, all things are under His feet…
• v. 41 “..I have set you over all the land of Egypt…”   Upon being raised, Yeshua was placed over all things…
• v. 42 “..signet ring…garments of fine linen…gold necklace around his neck…”  Rev. 1:12-16 and 19:11ff relate a bit of the glorified appearance of Messiah Yeshua.
• v. 43, 44 “‘Bow the knee’…set him over all the land…I am Pharoah, yet without your permission…”  More of the motif/connection we have been seeing.
• v. 45 ‘Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-paneah;’   We have seen Joseph’s appearance change.  He looked Egyptian when taken into the court. (41:14)  The appearance of Yeshua began to be changed when He was taken among the Gentiles.  Not long after, His name was changed…. Yeshua to Iesous to Jesu to Jesus.  Same person, but no longer called by His native name and no longer recognized by the Hebrew culture and context He was ‘raised’ in.  Of additional interest is that ‘Zaphenath-paneah,’ though much debated, possibly means ‘God speaks, he lives.’  How appropriate for Joseph, the ‘hidden savior’ of Israel.  Even more appropriate for Yeshua, the ‘hidden Messiah’ of Israel!
• v. 45 ‘he gave him Asenath…’  Just as Zaphenath-paneah (Joseph) received a foreign/undesirable bride, so did Jesus (Yeshua.)  An interesting picture/parallel is Jacob who desired Rachel, but received her second.  Jesus, likewise, desired Judah/Israel, but will receive her after the ‘Gentiles’ have come in.  (Be careful not to take this remez too far, as we do see Jews among the first and a thin stream of Torah observant believers throughout history, but the general view of history supports this picture of Zaphenath-paneah receiving the foreign/Gentile/unclean bride (i.e., not of the family).
• v. 46 ‘thirty years old…’ about the age of Yeshua when He began His ministry to ‘save the world.’
• v. 46 ‘…and went through all the land of Egypt…’   This is a picture of Jesus going to the ‘uttermost parts’ of the earth.
• v. 49 ‘ …stored up grain in great abundance like the sand of the sea…’  Hmmm.  Jesus is doing the same thing.  He is in the field harvesting grain that the descendants of Abraham might be as numerous as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea…
• v. 50 ‘…before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph…’    Here we are before the Great Tribulation and most of Christendom believes God has two plans, two families, etc…  The Jews and the Gentiles.  The Torahkeepers and the followers of Jesus…  In fact, we later find that BOTH of Joseph’s sons are sons of Israel by grafting in (Gen. 48:14-22!!).  Both keep Torah when they come to the Mountain (Exodus and Is. 2:1-5, etc).  Right now, because at least one does not know who they are, and the other may not know who Zaphenath-paneah really is…  You get the picture.  Think this one through!
• v. 51-52 “..God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household…God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction…”  What a terrific picture, through the names of Manasseh and Ephraim through the last 2000 years.  Indeed, Jesus has been made fruitful and has ‘forgotten’ the affliction of His father Isaac’s house…  But, He has not forgotten THEM.  Keep following this incredible story/picture!
• v. 55 ‘…when all the land of Egypt was famished… ‘go to Joseph, whatever he says to you, you shall do!”  The time is coming, and may soon be here when the time of spiritual ‘plenty’ is over.  Even today, believers in Jesus are feeling famished and are rightly crying out to Yeshua for bread and are willing to do ‘whatever He says.’  One of the memes I see all around me as people come to a Torah observant position is that they are willing to do whatever He says…  ‘If you love Me, keep My commandments.’  If you do not understand what I am saying here, please study it out.  This blog, the Resources page, etc…
• 42:1-2 ‘..Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt…go down and buy for us…so that we may live….’  There have been those of physical Israel who have seen the ‘Bread (of life)’ in Egypt and have bought, that they might live.  Some recognized Jesus, others have seen Yeshua.  Today, increasingly, as the famine of truth grows in the church, it is interesting that the physical sons of Jacob (Jewish) believers  in Yeshua are growing by leaps and bounds.
• v. 3 ‘…ten brothers…’  The study of the use of ‘Jacob’ and ‘Israel’ has specific significance and is fascinating.  So is the study and understanding of ‘ten brothers,’ ‘house of Judah,’ ‘house of Israel,’ ‘Ephraim,’ ‘Joseph,’ etc as the Word of the Lord relays relates information in a sometimes cryptic way.  Here, it seems to point to the ‘Lost Sheep‘ who are coming to Yeshua (Joseph) to buy grain, but as v. 8 says, ‘they did not recognize him.’  The first coming of the brothers seems to focus on the ten tribes who do not recognize of know who Zaphenath-paneah (Joseph) really is.
• v. 5 ‘…the sons of Israel came to buy grain…for the famine was in Canaan.’ The Jews are coming as well, even in Canaan (the Nation of Israel, today).  More on this later.  They are pictured well by Judah in the ‘second coming to Zaphenath-paneah.
• v. 4  ‘… Jacob did not send Benjamin…”I am afraid that harm may befall him.”‘   Benjamin is a fascinating character in this story.  He does not fit in with the ‘ten brothers’ and is the youngest in the house…  More on this later.
• v. 6-7 ‘…brothers came and bowed down…Joseph recognized them but disguised himself and spoke harshly to them…’   Judgment begins at the house of the Lord.  The Great Tribulation will shake Christendom, partly because they do NOT recognize Yeshua.  They ‘see’ Zaphenath-paneah, the Egyptian/Gentile ruler, not Joseph (Yeshua), the Hebrew Prince!
• v. 8 ‘..Joseph recognized his brothers, although they did not recognize him…’   A picture of Christendom, today.  They think they know the Savior they are looking at (Jesus), but in reality, they do not know He is really someone different (Yeshua).
• v. 9-10 ‘…you are spies…no my lord…’  Testing.
• v. 11- ‘…we are all sons of one man…’   One of the great stories of the End Times will be that Jew and Gentile believers in Yeshua/Jesus will acknowledge, ‘we are all sons of one man.’  The second and equally important story is recognizing Him for who He really is (Joseph, not Zaphenath-paneah/Yeshua, not Jesus)!

There are a number of verses not directly related to the Joseph/Yeshua line in this post, but they do directly relate to the Great tribulation and the historical/prophetic picture we see in the life of Joseph.

• v. 17 ‘…so he put them in prison for three days…’  A picture of the three and a half year tribulation?
• v. 21 ‘…truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us…’  Judah, as we will see later in this series, will admit and accept responsibility for ‘selling’ Joseph/Yeshua.
• v. 36 ‘…Simeon is no more…’ Interesting verse here where we see the prophecy of Simeon ‘disappearing.’  In fact, Simeon was absorbed by Judah, once in the land and ‘disappeared… yet, he is listed among the gates in Ezekiel 48 and among the peoples of Revelation 7.  Is his later ‘release from prison’ a prophecy of his restoration?
• v. 38 “Jacob said, ‘My son shall not go down with you; for his brother is dead, and he alone is left.  If harm should befall him on the journey you are taking, then you will bring my gray hair down to Sheol in sorrow.'” The verse definitely has some remez implications… seems to be the Father speaking and declaring that His plan WILL come to fruition lest He be broken…  Thoughts?

There are other verses in the last couple chapters, but I think we hit the high spots.  A number of the hints that we have seen are reiterated in some of the verses we skipped.

If you see something special, be sure to share in the comments.

Shalom!