Okay,
getting back to it, Jacob has 12 kids at the time of Joseph’s birth. And Joseph
is, well, I guess a typical snot-nosed youngest brother. Yes, I get to say this
because I, too, am the youngest.
Unlike with
Isaac and Jacob, Jacob dotes on the youngest. He is the favorite. So much so
that Jacob gives him a coat of many colors. Now, in our modern view, we’re
unimpressed because we can tie-dye many colors in a single shirt with easy.
Dying clothing in ancient times, though, was not only time-consuming, but very
expensive. This is a symbol of wealth and favoritism is ever there was one.
The coat
itself is not a problem. As a youngest, I can attest that we get the coolest
stuff. Why, because, generally, the parents have figured out the parenting
thing, already made all the other investments in child-raising, and have kind
of come into their own when it comes to wealth. After 12 kids, Jacob and his
women have things well in hand and he has expanded his holdings significantly.
Jacob is wealthy, so he buys the youngest the coolest thing. For me it was a TV
in my room with a VCR. My brothers still insist I was spoiled rotten (they just
jelly).
No, the
coat is not the big problem (it’s still a
problem, just not the straw that broke the camel’s back). Joseph is the
problem. See, he’s been getting dreams, and one of them he tells to his
siblings. As a result, he gets the beat down he so richly deserved.