JOSEPH GOES INTO A WELL

In chapter 37, verse 24 of the first book of the Bible (Bereishit), the story of Joseph begins. He had a contentious relationship with his siblings. 

Joseph’s brothers were angry with him. He bragged about the coat that their father, Jacob, had given him. He told them of dreams wherein he was the master, and they were all underlings. He criticized them to their father.

In the Torah, his brothers cast Joseph into a pit (a well), which is described as follows: “the pit was empty, there was no water in it.” The apparent redundancy sparked the interest of the Torah commentators. If the well was empty, then there is no need to point out that there was no water in it. 

So, what was it empty of? Who knew it was empty? The brothers could determine there was very little water by throwing a stone in and not hearing a splash. They could not know there was no water. How could they know it was otherwise empty? After all, a dry well in the desert could have snakes and scorpions, which would likely kill Joseph. But if there was truly no water at all, then there would be no other life forms, including snakes and scorpions. The text says “no” water. 

All life on earth requires some water. That’s why we look for evidence of water when we send ships to explore other planets. If there had ever been water somewhere, then there could have been some sort of life. Without proof that there had been water on another planet at some point, it is impossible to conjecture that life had evolved. 

The well had no water; it was absolutely dry. Therefore, there were no creatures in the well. The absence of water settles this issue. Declaring that “the well was empty” would not refer to scorpions or snakes; neither could live in a totally dry environment.

Remember, the Bible is primarily a document about spiritual and quality-of-character issues. The emptiness of the well must refer to something that relates to the soul.

Examining the motivating issues brings insight.      

His brothers hated Joseph because their father, Jacob, made it plain that Joseph was his favorite son by giving him a “fine woolen tunic.” (also known as a “coat of many colors”) That is painful. The text goes on to say, “they could not speak to him peacefully.”  

Then Joseph told his family about his dreams. His brothers became angry at him because they felt he was telling them that he was better than them. Their hatred increased when he implied that he would dominate them. Joseph’s false ego was so dominant that he was hardly aware of the pain he caused others. 

Joseph was arrogant about his position and his future. This lad believed he was fated for greatness and that his dreams were forecasting his future potential. And he wanted to tell others about how wonderful he was to become. He was bragging. 

A dream is not just a left-over memory from sleep. It is also a desire and an aspiration. We all have dreams about our own futures. Joseph connected the two types of dreams. He was showing his conceit and his egotism.

His disdainfulness toward them angered his brothers. His holier-than-thou attitude enraged them. 

Joseph’s dreams were presumptuous assumptions about his future. Talking about them was an act of arrogance and pride. Believing that destiny will make you great requires hope and faith and high self-esteem. Joseph’s overbearing manner manifested itself in his speech and actions. That is not greatness. That is self-aggrandizement. Not a characteristic of kindness or goodness.

The only solution the brothers could envision was to get rid of him.

The brothers initially decided to murder him. Then agreed to put Joseph in a well, figuring he would die there. Eventually, they pulled him out of the well and sold him to some traders who were passing nearby.  

Back to the well.

The well had no water. Water is the basis of life. There was no life in the well. It was devoid of everything. It was completely empty.

The well was empty of hope. Hope requires life. Hope connects current aspirations to future achievements. It fuels the desire and impetus to pursue dreams and ambitions. It drives the effort to create and build. It inspires the desire and energy to make the world better.

Hope is a necessary component for building self-esteem and gaining confidence in life. A corollary is that it also enhances pride and insolence. These appear to be contradictory extensions of what seems to be a valuable and laudable quality. Being human, this fact is not surprising.    

Joseph was much too full of himself. Jacob contributed to this by favoring this child over the others. Jacob’s feelings toward Joseph arose from his great love of Joseph’s mother, Rachel, who died young. Isaac and Jacob had forceful mothers who guided them to their destinies. Sarah and Rebecca had to overcome Abraham’s and Isaac’s tendencies to ignore the limitations of Issac’s brother Ishmael and Jacob’s brother Esau.

There is a pattern of lack of insight and improper action in the ways the patriarchs related to their sons. They each pursued a pathway to mistakes in child rearing. Abraham would have allowed his eldest to corrupt Isaac. Isaac would have given his blessing to his eldest. Jacob did spoil Joseph. 

Rachel was not alive to prevent Jacob from spoiling Joseph, their first-born son. So Joseph was overindulged by his father. Consequently, as a teenager, Joseph developed an attitude of superiority. His siblings despised him for that.

Joseph’s arrogance blinded him to the feelings and needs of others.  

He could not realize his destiny in a healthy way if it was all about him. He had to be focused on the needs of others.

Great biblical characters experienced some sort of spiritual cleansing that allowed the personal growth that would be needed to assume their ultimate positions in history. For each, dwelling in the unknown was necessary for the big change.  

Noah had to live through a flood in a world of water. Abraham and Jacob had to leave their homes to an unknown country. Moses had to dwell in the desert to clear his mind and heart in order to become a great leader. The Hebrews had to travel in the desert to overcome the slave mindset. This type of cleansing process for the mind, soul, and emotions is a repeated theme in the Bible. 

Similarly, Joseph had to fall into the well-of-no-hope to destroy his arrogance. Like the others mentioned above, Joseph needed to be thrust into a strange and fearful place to overcome his limitations. He required the impetus, space, and time for self-reflection. This led him to question his motives and actions. The well-of-no-hope compelled him to consider the feelings of other people. It forced him to awaken and develop his inner sense of humility. 

And it worked.

We don’t hear from Joseph until he is in Egypt. When the wife of Potiphar tries to seduce him, he declares his single-minded purpose of serving Potiphar. He is no longer centered on his own desires and gratifications. He has subjugated himself to another. He is shedding his obsession with himself. He does this again in prison, focusing on the problems of those he meets in the jail. He is becoming a kind and giving person. 

He doesn’t know it yet, but he is developing the type of personality he will need to accomplish greatness. His service to others in Egypt shows that he recreated hope to supplant the doubt and fear and anxiety of that dry well. Although hope was taken from him in the well, he still had his faith and the character strength of his ancestors. Faith nourishes hope, as hope inspires faith.

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