COAT OF MANY COLORS

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of (many) colours. And when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. (Gen 37:3-4)

 Dolly Parton’s mother made her a coat of many colors, ostensibly because she was a religious woman who had been impressed by that. Although poor, her mother found what scrap material that she could find and sewed it together to make for her a coat. She did so because she loved her child.

The question is whether Joseph’s father did the same thing? Unknown before to me is that the translation of Genesis 37:3 has been questioned for years. Why would his brothers be so jealous of an odd coat? Had not Jacob given other things to his children? There was great significance in that coat, and years ago, it came to me in my thoughts. (Yes, that is how God speaks!)

My hypothesis was that the coat of many colors was not that at all, but a “coat of safety” and perhaps power. Furthermore, I thought that Jacob did not make the coat, but chose Joseph to wear it as his favored son.

It occurred to me that Joseph stole the birthright of his elder brothers each of whom would have owned it consecutively upon the death of another by the law of primogeniture — the state of being the firstborn, in this case, the first born of Jacob.

Now consider that the literal translation of the word “many” has been added for clarity to make the coat special. Rather than one color, the translators made it many colors. Others translate the Hebrew word pas much differently: ornamental, long-sleeved, and so forth. Note that the English is just a version, and that God did not authorize any version. King James authorized one version and so forth. So, to find the truth, the original text must be examined.

The root verb for pas means “disburse.” Pas itself means “palm to sole” (Strong 2006). Therefore, the literal translation accepted by many is a coat that extends from the sole of the foot to the palm of the hand.

(Note that I am not stretching the truth but examining the literal meaning of the God-inspired text. In the end, it must make sense and have continuity and consistency.) You shall see that it will.

“A coat of many colors” seems to have no significant meaning that would cause anyone to kill for it. It was not called a “mink stole” but just a coat that had some significant feature. That it was a coat of many colors had little significance because motifs reveal coats of that era that were colorful.

Of course, the reason for jealousy is that Jacob loved Joseph more than the other brothers. Or it could be that Joseph had a dream wherein he was the superior brother, and the others must bow to him.

Joseph was a chosen son for some reason. Was it because he was of special birth? Yes, he was the son born during the old age of Joseph. However, so were Benjamin and Levi who were younger.

Reuben would be the favored son by the law of primogeniture. His mother was not the intended wife of Jacob. His mother was Leah who became the first wife of Jacob because of Laban’s deceit. It seems that God would not honor the children of Leah nor the handmaidens more than the legitimate wife, Rachel.

The “legitimate” sons of Jacob were by his wife Rachel. The oldest was Joseph and the younger Benjamin. Levi, although the youngest of all, was born in Jacob’s old age but he was the son of Leah as well. What is revealed in the story of the coat of many colors, was sibling jealousy; and all of them desired to be the favored brother.

Making a long story short, Jacob blessed all his sons with their share of the new nation of Israel. Joseph, by then well established in Egypt, his two sons (half-tribes) got together only one share of the inheritance.

As it turned out they all were favored sons for various reasons; and each contributed something to the whole.

With that said, there was something significant about that coat. Was it that Jacob made it with his own hands that made it special? Again, let’s examine the Hebrew. Translated “made” the Hebrew word was ‘asa. It is a verb that could mean several different things. One of them of course is “made” but another meaning is “furnished.” It is uncertain whether Jacob made the coat or presented an existing coat to Joseph.

The Bible describes Jacob as such: “Jacob was a simple man, dwelling in tents.” Esau, his twin, and the legal owner of the birthright was a “cunning hunter” (Gen 25:27).

There was a problem therein: Rebecca, the mother, was told before their birth that the older son would serve the younger (Gen 25:23). She thought she should make that happen!

She fooled Isaac. “The first came out red, all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau” (Gen 25:25), whereas Jacob was smooth  (Gen 27:11).

He trickery to gain for Jacob the birthright was to persuade the near blind Isaac that it was Esau who brought for him soup.

Not only was Esau hairy but so was his coat. Isaac had apparently given his eldest son a hairy coat, to wit: 

And Rebekah took goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her younger son: and she put the skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck… (Gen 27:15-16) 

Note that she had fresh meat to give to Isaac, but the coat pre-existed the meat. She did not make a coat to deceive Isaac, she just searched Esau’s wardrobe and borrowed the coat that was there.

Where did Esau get the hairy coat made from a she-goat’s skin? 

23 And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called his name Nimrod, saying, At that time the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age.

24 And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush.

25 For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son.

26 And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark.

27 And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers.

28 And when Ham begat his first born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days.

29 And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years old he put on those garments.

30 And Nimrod became strong when he put on the garments, and God gave him might and strength, and he was a mighty hunter in the earth, yea, he was a mighty hunter in the field, and he hunted the animals and he built altars, and he offered upon them the animals before the Lord.

49 And Terah the son of Nahor, prince of Nimrod's host, was in those days very great in the sight of the king and his subjects, and the king and princes loved him, and they elevated him very high. (Jasher 7) 

After many things, Abram was convinced to destroy the gods of his father, Terah. Because of Abram’s deed, “In the evening of that day in that house Abram was clothed with the spirit of God” (Jasher 11:31). I submit that Abram was clothed with the most valuable “garment” of all, but not the garment of Adam that Nimrod still had and wore into battle: 

And Esau fought a desperate fight with the two men that were with Nimrod, and when they called out to him, Esau turned to them and smote them to death with his sword. And all the mighty men of Nimrod, who had left him to go to the wilderness, heard the cry at a distance, and they knew the voices of those two men, and they ran to know the cause of it, when they found their king and the two men that were with him lying dead in the wilderness. And when Esau saw the mighty men of Nimrod coming at a distance, he fled, and thereby escaped; and Esau took the valuable garments of Nimrod, which Nimrod's father had bequeathed to Nimrod, and with which Nimrod prevailed over the whole land, and he ran and concealed them in his house. (Jasher 27:8-9) 

Rebecca apparently used the garment of Adam that had been passed down to Nimrod. The coat was bounty that was won in battle by Esau and the garment used to deceived Isaac that Jacob was the mighty hunter who had killed Nimrod and deserved the garment of Adam.

Who made the garment of Adam? Was it Jacob? "Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins and clothed them"(Gen 3:21).

 God Himself made the garment of Adam, apparently from the hide of a dead she-goat that He killed. It was surely a she-goat because it was Eve, the woman, who had sinned. God completely clothed them; that is obvious from the fact that they made for themselves aprons of fig leaves (Gen 3:7).

The garment of Adam was put onto Jacob as the favored son, then Jacob (aka Israel) furnished Joseph with the same garment that Adam wore. No wonder, they were jealous; it had the power to make ordinary men into great fighters. Even Nimrod became a great hunter when it was worn, but Esau overcame Nimrod because the true garment of Adam was the “spirit of God” that Esau and his twin received from the bosom of Abraham.

The garment of Adam lost its importance and it disappeared from history because it represented the Adamic Covenant. Joseph as the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob would not need a coat of many colors to be powerful, for his “coat” was the Abrahamic Covenant that Abraham wore — the very Spirit of God!

Picture credit: Heroes Bible Trivia