Dreamcoat

Genesis 37:1-11
Joseph’s Dreams

I admit, “dreamcoat” is not in scripture, but it’s the word that keeps coming to me. We can blame Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber for coining the term in the title of their musical about this story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Scripture doesn’t call it a dreamcoat, just a coat, because it is given before Joseph’s dreams. Most of us churched folks who grew up in Sunday School know it from the King James Version description -- “ the coat of many colors.” Other translations describe it as an “ornamented robe” (NSRV), an “elaborately embroidered coat” (MSG), a “beautiful robe” (NLT), and simply a “long robe” with a footnote of “many colored” in the CEB. However it is described, it is a garment that would be cumbersome (and hot) to wear when doing manual labor and one that would not be suitable for someone in their station in life.  
 
The flamboyant coat or robe obviously has deep symbolism. In fact, the entire story has deep symbolism. Earlier in Jacob’s story, he was renamed as “Israel.” His twelve sons represent the twelve tribes of Israel. Jacob had returned to Canaan, so they are living as immigrants still dreaming of the day when this land becomes theirs, as promised by God. After a long bout of sister-wives drama, Jacob makes a bold statement. He gives a deeply symbolic gift that goes against business as usual.
 
Perhaps Jacob is tired of waiting and wants to do something to move things along. Perhaps he is still grieving the death of his beloved, Rachel, and he gives their firstborn son a special gift in her memory. Perhaps he wants to continue to do the unexpected by giving the symbolic gift to his favorite son instead of the eldest.
 
Joseph is seventeen years old when he receives this gift, so there has to be a lot that we don’t know that influenced this gift. We do have to question why Joseph? He is 11th in the birth order. Why is he the favored one? Joseph is the long-awaited arrival after Jacob and Rachel’s barrenness. Jacob loved Rachel and only wanted to marry her. Laban tricked Jacob into marrying her sister, Leah, first. Rachel’s and Leah’s servants were “given” to Jacob as well, so many of these siblings are half-siblings all living together in one big conflict bubble.    
 
Jacob makes it worse by playing favorites and seeing something in Joseph that places him above the rest. Jacob was a dreamer too, so maybe he saw himself in Joseph. Maybe Joseph had been having dreams that he had shared with only his father before these two dreams. Maybe Jacob wanted to receive favored treatment from his father instead of having to force it, so Jacob is living vicariously through Joseph to be the younger son who has a place of authority and favor.
 
There has to be a deeper reason why Jacob gives Joseph this dream coat. During this time, the fashion was on trend, thanks to an Egyptian influence. Some men wore knee-length, colorful garments. Priests also dressed in robe-like garments. Clothing communicated rank and status, and each part, the fabric, ornamentation, color, and length, indicated the person’s position in society. We don’t know exactly what each meant, but Jacob knew that this gift would set Joseph apart, if only in his eyes.
 
Joseph does end up in a place of authority and favor over his brothers and even his father, but it takes a long time to get there. Was it because of this gift? Did it manifest his future? And, where is God in all of this?
 
Biblical study and interpretation often leave more questions than answers, as this story does, but I invite you to explore the reflection questions to see if you see things differently. Next week, we’ll dig into Part 2 of this dream: The Fall-Out.
 
Reflection questions:
What is significant about the “Dreamcoat” given before the dreams?
Why was Joseph really the favored one?
What is the significance of Joseph’s dreams?
 
Action: Watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Is Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Weber’s rendition true to scripture? What does it make you understand about this story?