Skip to main content
Bible Q

Will Joseph’s mother bow down to him in the future? (Gen 37:9-11)

Answered by . February 12, 2010 - 4:07 am

Joseph’s mother had already died (Gen. 35:19) when Joseph received the dream in Gen. 37:9-11. Joseph’s other dream (in Gen. 37:5-8) came true (Gen. 42:6), so it seems likely that this dream — including the part about his mother bowing down to him — will also come true. If this is so, it means the dream will be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God, when Jesus returns and raises the dead (including Joseph, his brothers, and his parents) to life again (1Thess. 4:13-16).

3 Replies to “Will Joseph’s mother bow down to him in the future? (Gen 37:9-11)”

  1. Thanks Luke, that helps a lot. We realised that you can’t have Rachel and Benjamin both bowing down to Joseph, as the dream suggests, in their mortal life – as Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin.

    This could mean that Jacob’s comment (‘Shall I and your mother and your brothers indeed come to bow ourselves to the ground before you?’ Gen.37:10) or at least his pondering (‘…his father kept the saying in mind.’ Gen.37:11) were towards the need of Rachel to be raised from the dead for this to be fulfilled.

    I don’t think that it records Jacob physically bowing down to Joseph in Genesis (possibly Gen.47:31). However, Joseph bows himself with tears when they were reunited, ‘He presented himself to him (Jacob) and fell on his neck and wept on his neck a good while.’ Gen.46:29

    For me this raises another question, why would Jacob and Rachel bow down to Joseph in the kingdom? Something to ponder.

  3. When Jacob rebukes Joseph, he is allowing us to see his pagan influences, which also focus us to see Rachel as the moon. Who was the moon? Jacob. I had the same puzzled look on my face when this was revealed to me. But who was the sun – Israel. This is the beginning where Jacob and Israel are used together throughout the bible.

    When God created the Sun he called it the Greater Light, the Moon the Lesser Light. Jacob is referred to as the Lesser Man, and Israel the Greater Man.