Joseph supervises his brothers
The sons of Zilpah were Gad and Asher. The sons of Bilhah were Dan and Napthali. Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown) ""Joseph being seventeen years old was a shepherd over the flock"—he a lad, with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah. Oversight or superintendence is evidently implied. This post of chief shepherd in the party might be assigned him either from his being the son of a principal wife or from his own superior qualities of character; and if invested with this office, he acted not as a gossiping telltale, but as a "faithful steward" in reporting the scandalous conduct of his brethren."
This report almost seems random in its reporting. I submit that it was reported to a) Show Joseph's gift of administration, even over his older, and more experienced brothers; b) Contrast the ethical problems of his brothers; and c) Document the case that his brothers had against Joseph. No matter what, they had a reason to hate him. He was put over them because he was the son of a wife, not a handmaid; Joseph had more business and administrative talent than they did; Joseph was trusted by his father; and Joseph's actions were better than theirs.
This begs the question of why do some unrighteous people get angry at the righteous? If people are honest in business and work with team members that are dishonest, the honest person may feel ethically bound to report bad behavior on the part of teammates even if they are equals. Actually, in some instances, it may be legally incumbent on coworkers to report their fellow employees' behavior.
Created over 2 years ago
