The Palace of Joseph

As I go through the story of Joseph in Genesis, I believe it wouldn't be proper to neglect mentioning the recent archaeological finds of Joseph's palace.

The Bible states that Joseph's family settled in a land called Rameses in Gen 47:11. Archaeologists did not originally know exactly where this lost city of Rameses was located until recent years.

The story of finding this lost city begins about 40 years ago in the 1970's, when the feet of a colossal statue were found in a field of an ancient Egyptian city. The name of the remains of this ancient city under the field was called Pi-ramesse by the locals. Pi-ramesse I should ad had no evidence of Semitic occupation when excavated. This city was built hundreds of years after the time of Joseph.

Some inscriptions during the excavation of Pi-ramesse indicated that the city was built over top of another ancient city called Avaris. When archaeologists dug to the level of Avaris, it was found that this city did indeed exist during the time of Joseph. Most buildings in Avaris were built in a typical Egyptian style except for one area of the city where the buildings were built in the style of ancient Canaan land and they also found the remains of a palace. Because the archaeologists found the remains of a palace in this area, it would seem to indicate that a person of high ranking Semitic origin lived there. This palace was built with 12 columns and had other features that represent significant numbers in the bible.



In the back of this palace they found a small pyramid and a tomb chapel. Some archaeologists believe that this empty tomb may have possibly been the tomb of Joseph. Along with this chapel they also found a vandalized statue. When this statue was restored, they realized that the statue had red hair. Red hair is a Semitic feature that Joseph most likely had because his father Jacob/Israel had red hair also. This is easily proven in  Genesis 25:25 when the bible describes Esau's red hair, and of course Esau was the identical twin brother of Jacob. The statue also had yellow paint for skin which is the typical way the Egyptians represented foreigners from the North that had fair skin, and of course the Bible eludes to the fact that King David, which is in the same genetic line as both Joseph and Jacob, also had fair skin; 1 Sam 16:12, 1 Sam 17:42, Song of Solomon 5:10-11, Etc, Etc...

The most distinguishing characteristic of this statue is that the outline had a Multicolored coat with distinct patterns.Although one could argue that any one of these findings are circumstantial, there is no other person that a reasonable person could come to conclude this statue of being of. One other finding that was found in this temple of the city of Avaris, was the remains of a ring that had the seal of the Pharaoh on it. It's believed this is the exact ring was given to Joseph by the Pharaoh, for Joseph to able to conduct business in order to save both Egypt and the known world Gen 41:42.

Praie the Lord for the faith of Joseph, the Bible, and for Archaeology which proves his word to be true every day!

Genesis 43:1-44:2 Joseph's Brothers Are Tested By Joseph

To see Genesis 43-44:2 without my comments click HERE.

Eventually after a while, the corn that the Israelites brought back to Canaan land was being consumed to the point in which it was close to being depleted. Realizing this situation Israel (the man) knew that either his sons would have to return to Egypt or they would eventually starve. Israel told his sons to return to Egypt to buy more corn as this was the only real decision he could make. Although he didn't want Benjamin to go with them, he knew it had to be. Judah reminded Israel that he was told by the man, who was Joseph incognito, not to return for more corn without bringing Benjamin with them. Judah promised Israel that he would personally protect Benjamin and if Benjamin did not return from this journey to Egypt than Israel could kill both him and his children as his guarantee. “Then Judah exclaimed to Israel, “send the lad with me, and I will come up, and return him alive; and If not kill me, myself, as well as my children!” Ferrar Fenton translation.

I am sure it wasn't an easy decision, but never the less it was one that had to be made because of the seriousness of the famine. The Israelites set out with their caravan again to Egypt with Israel's blessing, with money in hand that was put into their sacks to return, and they had additional money with them to buy additional corn with. They also brought as a gift to appease Joseph; spices, honey, and nuts v.11. Because they had honey and nuts this would tend to indicate that they were absolutely not on their last food stores, but time was quickly running out. As the men approached Joseph's house, they explained to Joseph's steward that they found money in their bags from their last trip. The steward told them that their God which is also the God of Abraham put the money in their sacks. Because his steward told them this, this would would indicate that the steward was of the same racial stock as his wife Aseneth, that was desended from the earlier shepherd settlers to land of On from which they came directly from Shem (Noah's son).

Joseph tests his brothers...

When Joseph saw his brothers, Joseph ended up making a feast for his half brothers (Benjamin was his only full blooded brother). For this feast Joseph arranged the brothers in order from eldest Reuben to Benjamin the youngest. Benjamin of course had the birth right blessing coming from Israel because Joseph was believed to be dead. His other 3 older brothers the sons of Leah; Reuben, Simeon, and Levi were not qualified because of their sins. The remaining brothers were not qualified because they were children of the handmaids of Leah and Rachel.

You would think that the men would get a clue from this seating arrangement of the eldest to the youngest, but to no avail did they suspect they were directly dealing with Joseph. During this feast Joseph gave Benjamin 5 times the amount of food and treated him better than the rest of his brothers in an attempt to try to stir up animosity among the brothers against Benjamin. This test was to test the brothers to see if they would sell out Benjamin just like they did to him 22 years before. In this test Joseph had his steward put his silver cup in Benjamin's grain sack in an effort to make Benjamin look like a thief so when his cup is eventually discovered in Benjamin's sack his other brothers (half brothers) could disown him and would be allowed to just walk away back to Canaan land which would leave Josephs full brother (Benjamin) to live the rest of his days with Joseph in Egypt.

All of us go through tests every day. Sometimes it seems like it's for absolutely for no reason, but, it all comes together in the end for those who remain faithful.

Praise the Lord!

Ebola And The Handling Of Disease

I have posted about Ebola before and now am hearing resurgence in talk about this relatively new disease. In a general way I try to steer clear of news in the political arena unless it happens to deal with end time Bible prophecy (eschatology). Several people have discussed the Ebola outbreak with concern, including prisoners I write to in my prison writing ministry.

Before I discuss anything about Ebola and what the Bible says about disease, there are a couple of facts that I need to mention.

Heatlh workers forcing diseased people from their homes in Liberia. Because of Government corruption, some do not want to come forward for treatment. This is only one side effect of having Government corruption without any responsibility. 

First and foremost...

Have you ever noticed that there is always a perpetual crisis going on at all times and everyone on the planet is going to always die very soon. You may remember the chicken flu a few years ago, or you may remember Y2K when all the planes were going to fall out of the sky. How about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)? If you can't remember these then you should at least be familiar with the current crisis of ISIS (which ISIS just so happens to be the same initials of the Israeli Secret Intelligence Service, commonly called the MOSSAD). Just a coincidence? Unlikely. If you listen to the news about “ISIS”. This name that wasn't even heard of a few months ago and now is on the cusp of taking over the world and beheading everyone on the planet all at one time. You of course realize that this imminent crisis is dieing out and now we have “Ebola” that will kill everyone everywhere. Please, give me a break. Meanwhile we ignore real threats such as an approaching war with Russia in the Ukraine in which Russia has the ability to destroy the United States in about a half an hour with nuclear weapons. The end result of having perpetual chaos is the Government taking rights, or freedoms away from the citizens without them noticing. I shouldn't have to tell anyone that is a Christian that man has no right to make or enforce any law that is not in the Bible.

Second...

There are more people dieing from the flu every year than people who have died from Ebola since it was first discovered or engineered. About 36,000 die from the flu every year. Of course breaking the skin to get any type of vaccination is against the laws of Yahweh (Lev 19:28) however, many people line up to get the hazardous flu shot every single year. I say hazardous for a number of reasons and will only mention one and that is because they have to put the liquid metal mercury in the vaccine. Mercury makes the vaccine shelf stable, so it has to be in there. Even if I am wrong about the flu shot and having the influenza virus directly pumped into your blood stream directly bypassing your immune system is a good thing, then when everyone else around you gets immunized, around you and you don't, then there is no chance for you to get the flu.

A waste pile of Ebola waste items being burned

What does the Bible say about the handling of diseases...

It's not my intention to spoon feed everyone all the information about disease control in the Bible. The Bible is clear that in the last days there will be pestilences among other signs of the return of Yashua Messiah, so if you cure one disease you will have another pop up. Although Africa has given us AIDS and Ebola, if they just follow the laws of Yahweh these types of diseases would stop.

 It's my intention to try to peak peoples interest to investigate for themselves what the Bible says. These are only a few among many that people should know about.

Exodus 15:26 God will save you from diseases if you follow his word. 

Deuteronomy 4:28 Keep God first and do not follow the workings of men.

If you are truly an Israelite and have the calling of God John 6:44 then you will know that you have to follow the laws of God to be truly his and his laws are a lot easier to follow then following the knee jerk reactions of men 1 John 2:4, 5:3, 3:4, Etc...

What doe the Bible say about diseases?

Actually the Bible doesn't mention the word Ebola, but does tell Israel how to handle diseases. It's also important to remember that the virus is not an airborne virus and can only be contacted through dire contact to body fluids.

This is the part where you will have to do a little bit of reading and research because is is lengthy.

Leviticus 15:1-33 talks about general cleanness.

Leviticus 14 Talks about diseases, specifically in this chapter it's leprosy, but can be applied to any disease.

Leviticus 13:1-2, 14, 52

Numbers 19:20

Numbers 19:18, Psalms 51:7  

The Bible talks about keeping diseased people away from the general population, while burning items that are contaminated. It also talks about using Hyssop oil as a disinfectant, which nothing on the market will compare to the disinfecting properties of Hyssop oil, of course they can't patent the oil, because it's been around for centuries. No Pharmacy will ever tell you to use Hyssop oil. 

To try to put it in a nutshell for all those who will not read the Bible...

It all comes down to cleanliness and disinfecting to stop the spread of disease. Avoid bodily fluids. Of course in a general way we do not live in a clean country anymore. We are overrun by non-Israelites that do not follow the laws of Yahweh and dismiss anyone that talks about the laws of Yahweh as being a kook. The laws of Islam and humanism rule this country. This is exactly why we have the resurgence of diseases and parasites in recent years such as bed lice, scabies, and tuberculosis. If the laws were followed to begin with the disease would not exist on this level because we are to be a separate people. 

I pray all Israelites will follow the laws of Yahweh and will work to stop any spread of disease. 

Joseph's Half Brothers come to Egypt for Food Genesis 42

To see Genesis 42 without my comments click HERE.

It took a famine that came directly from the Father to elevate Joseph to the position of Governor and treasurer of Egypt. This once again put him in a position to see his brothers which sold him into slavery. When Joseph's 10 Brothers came to Egypt to buy corn they did not bring their youngest brother Benjamin with them. This is because their father Jacob (Israel) wanted Benjamin to stay with him while the others went to Egypt v.4. Jacob (Israel) believed that something may happen to Benjamin along the journey. I believe that it is because he didn't trust the other sons to take care of him, probably knew that they did not have anything but their own selfish desires to motivated them.

Joseph's Half Brothers had to talk to Joseph to buy corn.

For Jacob's brothers to get the corn, they had to talk to Joseph. Joseph purposely made himself a stranger to them so they would not be recognized by speaking through an interpreter and of course he looked different being older and dressed in traditional royal Egyptian clothes. Although Egypt did have food, Egypt was fearful of Asiatic spies in which Joseph used this as a pretense to imprison his brothers for 3 days. It's possible that 3 days could have been the same amount of time that Joseph spent in the cistern before his brothers sold him into slavery.

Joseph in turn decided to test his brothers to see if they were repentant for selling him into slavery years earlier. Although his brothers were Hebrews they were not following the laws of the Father when they sold Joseph into slavery. Under Hebrew law kidnapping is punishable by death for those who kidnap and sell people into slavery. This is also true for all of us as we all have broken the Father's laws and do not deserve the forgiving grace of the Lord. So at this point, the only thing keeping his brothers alive legally and literally, is Joseph's whim.

During the 3 days Joseph had time to think. Joseph told his brothers if they want to live and all to be fine, then they will bring the corn to Jacob's household and bring their youngest brother Benjamin with them when they return to Egypt for more food. Joseph told his brothers to not come back to see him for more food again unless Benjamin was with them Gen43:3. Benjamin was Joseph's only and full blooded brother and he wanted him to be with him in Egypt.

As a pledge or hostage, Joseph decided to hold Simeon in prison while the others brought food to Jacob and for them to bring Benjamin from Canaan land. His decision to hold Simeon is because according to legend Simeon was the cruelest of the brothers and this idea can be readily supported by the fact that Simeon and Levi slew all the males of the land of Shechem Gen34:25.

Joseph's Half Brothers Beg for mercy.

When Joseph's brothers were released, Joseph had his brothers money put into their sacks without them knowing, to carry back to Canaan land, so when they opened their sacks they would be even more fearful of the situation because they would look like thieves. He also knew that they would have to return to see him or they would starve.

Undoubtedly Joseph's brothers caravan had months worth of corn and other provisions with them when they returned to Canaan land. This of course can only mean that Simeon was going to spend months in prison waiting for the others eventual return.

Joseph's brothers told Jacob (Israel) that the Governor of Egypt was holding Simeon hostage and that he personally wanted to see Benjamin to confirm that they were not spies. Jacob of course was distraught because he lost Simeon to prison and believed that Joseph was dead. Israel didn't want Benjamin to go with them because Benjamin was the only surviving son of the wife that he truly loved. Israel stated in v.38 that “...if mischief befall him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.”

Notice in the statement above that Israel (the man), stated “to the grave” he would go and he didn't say he would have sorrow until he flew off into outer space into the heavens after he dies to see his son again in heaven?

The concept of Christians going to heaven I have posted about before and will not go into here for the sake of brevity. If you wish to see the post I am referring to then click HERE.

Despite whether people agree with me or not about Christians going to heaven, I pray for all to read their Bible daily read the truth of God, and to follow his commandments! 1 John 2:4

Joseph's Commission Genesis 41

To see Genesis 41 without my comments click HERE.

It was two years after the Chief Butler was restored to his position with the Pharaoh when he suddenly remembered Joseph being in prison. The provocation for his rememberance was because the Pharaoh dreamed a dream that was not interpretable by himself nor by any of his “Wise men nor Magicians.” After hearing about Joseph's ability to interpret dreams from the Butler the Pharaoh sent for Joseph. The Pharaoh's dream consisted of unnatural acts being committed by famished kine eating fattened kine and 7 fatted ears of corn on stalks being eaten by 7 famished corn. “Kine” of course is plural for cows, and stalks of corn only grow up to 3 ears on each stalk maximum. The number seven in this dream is the number of spiritual completeness.

The Pharaoh recognized the seriousness of Joseph's interpretation.

Because this was 2 dreams that were the same it fulfilled the law of double witness that it came from Father Yahweh and would come to fruition soon v.32. Joseph's interpretation which came from God, was that there would be 7 years of plenty immediately followed by 7 years of famine and he told the Pharaoh to start preparing for it by putting an honorable man in charge of all the food and to collect 20% of all the crops to redistribute during the years of famine. Obviously, the years of plenty produced much more crop then years previously because 20% of a normal crop yield would not produce enough crop to feed everyone for the years of famine.

The Pharaoh recognized the wisdom of Joseph and recognized the righteousness of the Father being the one and only true God. He also knew there was none that was as wise and righteous as Joseph, so he put Joseph himself in charge of the collecting of the corn for Egypt. Joseph's position in Egypt was second in command as he acted as both Governor and Chief Treasurer over all of Egypt. The Pharaoh gave Joseph his personal ring. The ring was used to make an impression so Joseph could write checks. This was unusual for an Egyptian Pharaoh to do this because the Egyptians detested Hebrew sheep herders and would not even eat with a Hebrew at that time.

When Joseph was put second in command for Egypt, the Pharaoh gave Joseph a wife named Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On which she gave him two sons named Manasseh which means “forgetfulness” and Ephraim which means “fruitful.”

The land of On is located just South of the Nile Delta near Cairo.

I have heard before that some believe that Joseph's wife Asenath was an Egyptian by race. This of course is not true due to the fact that the blood line of the Messiah was pure as outlined in Luke Chapter 3 and the Messiah was not to come for the Egyptians. This can be easily be shown through the story of Hagar the Egyptian and Ishmael that did not receive the birthright from Father Abraham Gen 16 and Gen17.

The truth is that the Bible is about Israel and is written to Israel. The Bible does not mention any other group of people except for the Hebrew/Israelites with exception of when others come into contact with the Hebrew/Israelites. So anytime the Bible doesn't mention the race of a person, which in this particular case of Asenath it's automatically known they are referring to an Israelite, or the fair skin racial stock Israel came from such as given in the examples of .the wives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The land of On was in the southern Egyptian empire South of the Nile Delta and is the place where the free Hebrews of Egypt lived with their sheep. The land of On is also the same place where Mary and Joseph took the Messiah when Herod the Great was seeking to kill him. There's also evidence that there were shepherd kings that settled this land of On came directly from Melchizedek King of Salem (Salem of course was the ancient name of what we now call Jeru-Salem) Gen 14. Some believe that this person Melchizedek was actually Shem (Noah's son) and this may very well be possible because Shem was alive at the time of Abraham. The concept of Joseph's children being of pure racial stock is best summed up by Dr. Howard B.Rand in his book “Primogenesis” which on page 117 he writes:

“The priestly caste to which Joseph's father-in-law, the priest on On, belonged was undoubtedly of the line of Shem. Apparently Shem's descendants were established in the office of priesthood in Egypt at the time of the building of the Great Pyramid. Thus, the purity of the racial stock of the appointed seed was preserved in the birth of these boys to Joseph and Asenath. But it was to be expected that the descendants of these two sons would have characteristics very different from the rest of Jacob's descendants. This fact is borne out in the history of their posterity.”

Chapter 41 Closes stating that Joseph gathered up 20% of the corn from the prosperous years in Egypt and filled the storehouses with an uncountable amount of corn which he in turn sold back to the Egyptians. Some may think that selling the corn back to the Egyptians would not be the right thing to do because the corn was originally the Egyptians to begin with. The reason that he was justified to sell it back to the Egyptians is found in Jasher 50:20 when it's written that the food of the individual Egyptians was not stored properly, was full of vermin, and unfit to eat. The Egyptian government (Joseph) had to build storehouses, properly store the grain, guard the storehouses, and properly ration the corn.

I also want to add that Egyptian history talks about an Egyptian that saved Egypt and the known world that went by the name of Imhotep. It's my belief that Imhotep and Joseph were one and the same. I have posted in the past about why I believe that Joseph is Imhotep in Is Joseph Imhotep? Part 1 and in  is Joseph Imhotep? Part 2.

I pray all will see the faith of Joseph that had the faith of a mustard seed that eventually saved Egypt, the Hebrew/Israelites, and the entire known world.

Praise the Lord!