Lyrics · Genesis
The Dreamer in the Pit
Genesis 37:1-38:30
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About this song
About this song
This song belongs to the Genesis collection. One recording is available to play here, with the complete lyrics below.
- Bible book
- Genesis
- Collection
- Genesis
- Musical styles
- Electronic
Named in this songJosephEgyptJacobJudahTamar
About the passage
Genesis 37: A coat comes home without its owner
Genesis 37 turns Jacob's unequal affection into an object everyone can see. Joseph's coat marks a preference already strong enough to poison ordinary speech between brothers, and his dreams add images of future submission to a household that is already divided. Jacob rebukes the dreams but keeps the matter in mind. When Joseph later goes looking for his brothers and their welfare, they decide on murder before he is close enough to speak. Reuben redirects the plan toward a pit because he intends a rescue, but Judah later turns Joseph's life into a question of profit and brotherhood into an argument for sale rather than bloodshed. The final deception depends on an object that is genuine and a conclusion that is false. Joseph's own coat is stained with real blood, and Jacob uses it to construct a death that never happened. While the father mourns a son he believes is gone, Genesis ends the chapter by placing that living son in Egypt, sold into Potiphar's household.
Study Genesis 37 in depthGenesis 38: Judah is asked to recognize his own belongings
Genesis 38 follows Judah into a household where death, obligation, withheld marriage, disguise, and recognition expose failures that Judah first cannot see in himself. Er dies under divine judgment, and Onan deliberately refuses the family obligation attached to Tamar while still using the relationship for himself. Judah then sends Tamar away with the apparent promise of Shelah but privately withholds the son because of fear. When Tamar realizes the arrangement has not been fulfilled, she changes her appearance and meets Judah on the road. He fails to recognize her but leaves objects that unmistakably identify him. Later, when Tamar's pregnancy becomes known, Judah pronounces a severe judgment before asking how it happened. Her evidence answers that question by turning recognition back on him. He acknowledges that she is “more righteous than I” because he did not give her to Shelah. The twins' birth then overturns an early attempt to mark firstborn priority, carrying this troubled line forward through Pharez.
Study Genesis 38 in depth


