榮神益人－約瑟的一生 (110年)

雅各住在迦南地，就是他父親寄居的地。雅各的記略如下。約瑟十七歲與他哥哥們一同牧羊。他是個童子，與他父親的妾辟拉、悉帕的兒子們常在一處。約瑟將他哥哥們的惡行報給他們的父親。以色列原來愛約瑟過於愛他的眾子，因為約瑟是他年老生的；他給約瑟做了一件彩衣。約瑟的哥哥們見父親愛約瑟過於愛他們，就恨約瑟，不與他說和睦的話。

Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made a richly ornamented robe for him. When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him.

雅各離開迦南地，來到他母舅拉班的家裡二十年間，共生了十一個兒子，一個女兒。其中雅各心中的最愛就是約瑟這個兒子，因為他是雅各「年老生的」，如同以撒是亞伯拉罕「年老生的」一樣珍貴。約瑟這個名字的意思是「增添」(創30:24)是拉結取的名字。當年拉結生約瑟之後，雅各對拉班說：「請打發我走，叫我回到我本鄉本土去。」(創30:25)結果拉班沒有同意，他希望雅各能夠再留下來為他牧養牲畜。就這樣雅各「抓住機會」，用「巧技」(skill)，就是「智慧」(wisdom)騙「得了許多的羊群、僕婢、駱駝，和驢。」(創30:43)希伯來文的「巧技」與「智慧」都是同一個字H2451 חכמה chokmâh，雅各也真的因此「增添」了許多屬於自己的產業了。也就是在這個時候，神的使者向他顯現說：「現今你起來，離開這地，回你本地去吧！」(創31:13)