Why was Joseph sold by his brothers? Was there some justification for this?
The Story of Joseph. What Can we learn from it?
Contents:
1. The Family of Israel.
2. The Bad Report of Joseph about his brothers was Mistaken!!
3. The Coat of Many Colours was like Scottish Tartan!
4. The Assault on Joseph.
5. Joseph became reconciled to his brothers.
6. Always Try to be Positive.
7. Joseph as Representative of the Ten Tribes in Exile.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
1. The Family of Israel.
The Bible tells us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were the forefathers of the Hebrews.
Jacob was renamed Israel.
Israel had 4 wives and from them he begat 12 sons who became the ancestors of the 12 Tribes of Israel.
Two of the wives of Jacob, Leah and Rachel, were sisters.
Leah had a handmaiden named Zilpah.
Rachel had a handmaiden named Bilhah.
From his wife Leah Jacob begat 6 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Zebulon.
From Zilpah the handmaiden of Leah came Gad and Asher.
Israel begat from Rachel, the Favorite wife of Jacob , Joseph and Benjamin.
Rachel had a handmaiden named Bilhah from whom Jacob begat Dan and Naphtali.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2. The Bad Report of Joseph about his brothers was Mistaken!!
Genesis (NKJV) 37:
1 NOW JACOB DWELT IN THE LAND WHERE HIS FATHER WAS A STRANGER, IN THE LAND OF CANAAN. 2 THIS IS THE HISTORY OF JACOB.
JOSEPH, BEING SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, WAS FEEDING THE FLOCK WITH HIS BROTHERS. AND THE LAD WAS WITH THE SONS OF BILHAH AND THE SONS OF ZILPAH, HIS FATHERS WIVES; AND JOSEPH BROUGHT A BAD REPORT OF THEM TO HIS FATHER.
It is not clear from the text whether the "bad report" concerned all of his brothers or just the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah. The Sages however understood from the text that it could only have been the sons of Leah.
The expression "bad report" in Hebrew is "dibatam rah" which connotes something false. According to the Sages Joseph had mistaken aspects of their behaviour as indicating serious transgressions, such as eating forbidden foods and sexual immorality (Talmud Yerushalmi, Peah A;1, see Torah Temimah). The results of such a negative report may have been perceived as threatening their status and the inheritance of their families. Joseph was a danger to them!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
3. The Coat of Many Colors was like Scottish Tartan!
Genesis (NKJV) 37:
3 NOW ISRAEL LOVED JOSEPH MORE THAN ALL HIS CHILDREN, BECAUSE HE WAS THE SON OF HIS OLD AGE. ALSO HE MADE HIM A TUNIC OF MANY COLORS. 4 BUT WHEN HIS BROTHERS SAW THAT THEIR FATHER LOVED HIM MORE THAN ALL HIS BROTHERS, THEY HATED HIM AND COULD NOT SPEAK PEACEABLY TO HIM.
The tunic of many colors says Gersonides (Languedoc, southern France, 1288-1344) and others was of interwoven squares ("Mishbetsot") like those of Scottish tartan.
See:
The Scottish Tartan Cloak of Joseph
https://www.britam.org/tartan.html
Scottish Tartan and the Temple Garments
https://britam.org/tartan3.html
A similar dress was worn by daughters of King David. According to Nachmanides (Spain, 1194-1270), and Gersonides (1288-1344) such a cloak was considered a sign of royalty.
In 2-Samuel we are told how Amnon the son of David fell in love with his sister Tamar and raped her. She put ashes on her head (a sign of mourning and distress) and tore the dress she was wearing. Later Abshalom another brother of Tamar killed Amnon.
2-Samuel 13:
19 THEN TAMAR PUT ASHES ON HER HEAD, AND TORE HER ROBE OF MANY COLORS THAT WAS ON HER, AND LAID HER HAND ON HER HEAD AND WENT AWAY CRYING BITTERLY.
By giving Joseph such a robe Jacob may have been indicating that Joseph was to take precedence over his siblings most of whom were older than him.
When the Bible describes Tamar tearing her clothes it uses in the Hebrew uses the same expression ("cotonet pasim") as that given for the robe (translated as "tunic") of many colors given to Joseph.
Sforno (Rabbi Obadiah Sforno, c. 1470 - 1550, Italy) on Genesis 37:3.
# Cotonot Pasim. This was a sign that Joseph would be the leader in the house and in the field
as it says, AND I WILL CLOTHE HIM WITH THY ROBE [Hebrew "cotonetcha"] ...
AND I WILL COMMIT THY GOVERNMENT INTO HIS HAND [Isaiah 22:21].
The "cotonet passim" was not just an attractive garment. It was also a mark of rank.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
4. The Assault on Joseph.
The brothers of Joseph were disgruntled with him.
Joseph had had dreams of his father and his brothers bowing down to him.
This too exacerbated the ill feeling his brothers felt.
They felt that what appeared to be machinations of Joseph (in bearing a false report about them, etc) were endangering them and their families.
They decided to away with him.
It was intended to throw him in a pit band leave vicissitudes of nature (e.g. exposure, thirst, starvation, wild beasts, etc.) to finish him off.
At the last minute at the advice of Judah he was drawn out of the pit and sold him to a band of Arab-type MIdianite-Ishmaelites.
They took him to Egypt. An Egyptian official brought him, was pleased with his service and appointed him over his estate. The wife of the Egyptian tried to seduce Joseph and when he ran out she accused him of attempted rape. He was put in jail and there too he found favor in the eyes of those responsible and the Keeper of the Prison put him in charge of the other prisoners.
Two servants of Pharaoh, a butler and a baker, had also been imprisoned. Joseph successfully interpreted their dreams. One of the prisoners, the butler, was restored to his post in the Royal Household while the baker was executed.
Later the Pharaoh, the Ruler of Egypt, had dreams that he could not interpret. Hs butler (the same one Joseph had helped) recommended Joseph.
Joseph explained the dreams as predicting a coming 7-year famine. Pharoah placed Joseph in charge of preparing Egypt to withstand the famine.
Joseph did so and stored up grain. The famine affected surrounding nations. The brothers of Joseph came down to Egypt to buy grain.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
5. Joseph became reconciled to his brothers.
Genesis (NKJV) 45:
3 THEN JOSEPH SAID TO HIS BROTHERS, I AM JOSEPH; DOES MY FATHER STILL LIVE? BUT HIS BROTHERS COULD NOT ANSWER HIM, FOR THEY WERE DISMAYED IN HIS PRESENCE. 4 AND JOSEPH SAID TO HIS BROTHERS, PLEASE COME NEAR TO ME. SO THEY CAME NEAR. THEN HE SAID: I AM JOSEPH YOUR BROTHER, WHOM YOU SOLD INTO EGYPT. 5 BUT NOW, DO NOT THEREFORE BE GRIEVED OR ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES BECAUSE YOU SOLD ME HERE; FOR GOD SENT ME BEFORE YOU TO PRESERVE LIFE. 6 FOR THESE TWO YEARS THE FAMINE HAS BEEN IN THE LAND, AND THERE ARE STILL FIVE YEARS IN WHICH THERE WILL BE NEITHER PLOWING NOR HARVESTING. 7 AND GOD SENT ME BEFORE YOU TO PRESERVE A POSTERITY FOR YOU IN THE EARTH, AND TO SAVE YOUR LIVES BY A GREAT DELIVERANCE. 8 SO NOW IT WAS NOT YOU WHO SENT ME HERE, BUT GOD; AND HE HAS MADE ME A FATHER TO PHARAOH, AND LORD OF ALL HIS HOUSE, AND A RULER THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT.
9 HURRY AND GO UP TO MY FATHER, AND SAY TO HIM, THUS SAYS YOUR SON JOSEPH: GOD HAS MADE ME LORD OF ALL EGYPT; COME DOWN TO ME, DO NOT TARRY. 10 YOU SHALL DWELL IN THE LAND OF GOSHEN, AND YOU SHALL BE NEAR TO ME, YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN, YOUR CHILDRENS CHILDREN, YOUR FLOCKS AND YOUR HERDS, AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE. 11 THERE I WILL PROVIDE FOR YOU, LEST YOU AND YOUR HOUSEHOLD, AND ALL THAT YOU HAVE, COME TO POVERTY; FOR THERE ARE STILL FIVE YEARS OF FAMINE.
12 AND BEHOLD, YOUR EYES AND THE EYES OF MY BROTHER BENJAMIN SEE THAT IT IS MY MOUTH THAT SPEAKS TO YOU. 13 SO YOU SHALL TELL MY FATHER OF ALL MY GLORY IN EGYPT, AND OF ALL THAT YOU HAVE SEEN; AND YOU SHALL HURRY AND BRING MY FATHER DOWN HERE.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/genesis/gen44to47vayigash.html
Genesis 45:4AND JOSEPH SAID UNTO HIS BRETHREN, COME NEAR TO ME, I PRAY YOU. AND THEY CAME NEAR. AND HE SAID, I AM JOSEPH YOUR BROTHER, WHOM YE SOLD INTO EGYPT.
SOLD INTO EGYPT: disowned.
Genesis 45:5 NOW THEREFORE BE NOT GRIEVED, NOR ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES, THAT YE SOLD ME HITHER: FOR GOD DID SEND ME BEFORE YOU TO PRESERVE LIFE.
Joseph went into exile due to Divine Providence. His task was to use the power and position he received through exile to save and assist the rest of his brothers. This was regardless of what merit or lack of merit the brothers had. Joseph had his Divinely-appointed task to fulfill and he was going to do it.
Joseph revealed to his brothers who he was. He forgave them and encouraged them not to recriminate with each other over what they had done to him.
The brothers returned to the Land of Canaan and told their father about Joseph. Together with their father they then moved back to Egypt together with all their families.
Altogether there were 70 Israelite male descendants of Israel who went down to Egypt.
In Egypt Pharaoh gave them the area of Goshen to settle in.
{ Later in the time of Joshua the Israelites conquered Goshen and included it within the borders of Israel, Joshua 11:16}.
Sometime after the Ancestors of the Tribes had settled in Goshen, their father passed way.
The brothers feared that with their father gone Joseph might still take vengeance against him.
They sent him a note of reconciliation. Joseph replied, reassuring them:
Genesis (NKJV) 50:
19 JOSEPH SAID TO THEM, DO NOT BE AFRAID, FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD? 20 BUT AS FOR YOU, YOU MEANT EVIL AGAINST ME; BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, IN ORDER TO BRING IT ABOUT AS IT IS THIS DAY, TO SAVE MANY PEOPLE ALIVE.
The expression above "YOU MEANT EVIL AGAINST ME BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD" in the Hebrew could also imply "YOU THOUGHT WRONGLY BUT GOD CONSIDERED IT WELL."
The Sages said that the brothers judged Joseph as a pursuer of their harm, someone seeking to destroy them. By doing what they did in their eyes they were protecting themselves and their families.
They were mistaken but the blame was not wholly on their side.
Even when the Religious Court is mistaken the End Result will be positive if the motivation was a good one.
Deuteronomy (NKJV) 17:
8 IF A MATTER ARISES WHICH IS TOO HARD FOR YOU TO JUDGE, BETWEEN DEGREES OF GUILT FOR BLOODSHED, BETWEEN ONE JUDGMENT OR ANOTHER, OR BETWEEN ONE PUNISHMENT OR ANOTHER, MATTERS OF CONTROVERSY WITHIN YOUR GATES, THEN YOU SHALL ARISE AND GO UP TO THE PLACE WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD CHOOSES. 9 AND YOU SHALL COME TO THE PRIESTS, THE LEVITES, AND TO THE JUDGE THERE IN THOSE DAYS, AND INQUIRE OF THEM; THEY SHALL PRONOUNCE UPON YOU THE SENTENCE OF JUDGMENT. 10 YOU SHALL DO ACCORDING TO THE SENTENCE WHICH THEY PRONOUNCE UPON YOU IN THAT PLACE WHICH THE LORD CHOOSES. AND YOU SHALL BE CAREFUL TO DO ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THEY ORDER YOU. 11 ACCORDING TO THE SENTENCE OF THE LAW IN WHICH THEY INSTRUCT YOU, ACCORDING TO THE JUDGMENT WHICH THEY TELL YOU, YOU SHALL DO; YOU SHALL NOT TURN ASIDE TO THE RIGHT HAND OR TO THE LEFT FROM THE SENTENCE WHICH THEY PRONOUNCE UPON YOU. 12 NOW THE MAN WHO ACTS PRESUMPTUOUSLY AND WILL NOT HEED THE PRIEST WHO STANDS TO MINISTER THERE BEFORE THE LORD YOUR GOD, OR THE JUDGE, THAT MAN SHALL DIE. SO YOU SHALL PUT AWAY THE EVIL FROM ISRAEL. 13 AND ALL THE PEOPLE SHALL HEAR AND FEAR, AND NO LONGER ACT PRESUMPTUOUSLY.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
6. Always Try to be Positive.
Rabbi Yehonatan Davidi points out that Joseph always looked out to build up from where ever he was. He did not let negative events from his past overwhelm him.
We have to judge others well. When people have done you wrong but the result was for your benefit then perhaps the wrongdoers had good intentions.
We should be forgiving. Too many of us allow negative thinking about the past weigh us down. This leads to depression. It should be overcome. Even great people like Winston Churchill suffered from depression. Churchill referred to it as the "black dog." Its effect can be crippling. It can be overcome by prayer, Bible study, positive thinking. Healthy living, exercise, and involvement with good causes and other people.
On the other hand,
when evil is done for the sake of it we should not forgive. An example of evil that should not be forgotten nor forgiven include the deeds of Amalek:
Exodus (NKJV) 17:
14 THEN THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, WRITE THIS FOR A MEMORIAL IN THE BOOK AND RECOUNT IT IN THE HEARING OF JOSHUA, THAT I WILL UTTERLY BLOT OUT THE REMEMBRANCE OF AMALEK FROM UNDER HEAVEN. 15 AND MOSES BUILT AN ALTAR AND CALLED ITS NAME, THE-LORD-IS-MY-BANNER; 16 FOR HE SAID, BECAUSE THE LORD HAS SWORN: THE LORD WILL HAVE WAR WITH AMALEK FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION.
Numbers (NKJV) 24:
20 THEN HE LOOKED ON AMALEK, AND HE TOOK UP HIS ORACLE AND SAID:
AMALEK WAS FIRST AMONG THE NATIONS,
BUT SHALL BE LAST UNTIL HE PERISHES.
Deuteronomy (NKJV) 25:
17 REMEMBER WHAT AMALEK DID TO YOU ON THE WAY AS YOU WERE COMING OUT OF EGYPT, 18 HOW HE MET YOU ON THE WAY AND ATTACKED YOUR REAR RANKS, ALL THE STRAGGLERS AT YOUR REAR, WHEN YOU WERE TIRED AND WEARY; AND HE DID NOT FEAR GOD. 19 THEREFORE IT SHALL BE, WHEN THE LORD YOUR GOD HAS GIVEN YOU REST FROM YOUR ENEMIES ALL AROUND, IN THE LAND WHICH THE LORD YOUR GOD IS GIVING YOU TO POSSESS AS AN INHERITANCE, THAT YOU WILL BLOT OUT THE REMEMBRANCE OF AMALEK FROM UNDER HEAVEN. YOU SHALL NOT FORGET.
The expression "AND HE DID NOT FEAR GOD" in the Hebrew may also be understood to say (Midrash Sifrei) "WHEN YOU DID NOT FEAR GOD," i.e. you were not as righteous as you should have been. You were sinful. That weakened you and made you vulnerable. Amalek took advantage of it and attacked you.
Even if in some way you may have deserved to be punished Amalek was not to volunteer himself to carry it out. Therefore, he must be requited in full.
Getting back to what Joseph said above:
Genesis (NKJV) 50:
19 JOSEPH SAID TO THEM, DO NOT BE AFRAID, FOR AM I IN THE PLACE OF GOD? 20 BUT AS FOR YOU, YOU MEANT EVIL AGAINST ME; BUT GOD MEANT IT FOR GOOD, IN ORDER TO BRING IT ABOUT AS IT IS THIS DAY, TO SAVE MANY PEOPLE ALIVE.
Joseph was sold as a slave. From slavery he rose to become the virtual ruler of Egypt. Even though the Egyptians had initially identified him as a Hebrew to his brothers he was a foreigner the ruler of a foreign land virtually an Egyptian. The Egyptians had saved and dressed him as one of them. He used an interpreter to commune with them. perhaps the Pharoah whose dreams he had interpreted was not the same one whom he represented by the time his brothers came to him? At all events from the point of view of Divine Providence, as Joseph saw it, all this was in order that by virtue of him becoming a foreigner he was able to save many people including his own kin.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
7. Joseph as Representative of the Ten Tribes in Exile.
Joseph going down into Egypt pre-adumbrates (foreshadows) his descendants from the Ten Tribes who would become virtual Gentiles, lose their identity, not be recognized by Judah, nor even be aware of who they really are themselves. All this was in order that by becoming virtual Gentiles they should save humanity and also help rescue the Jewish People and facilitate the foundation and stabilization of the State of Israel in these days leading up (perhaps) to the End Time.
See:
Ephraim Repents.
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/erepents.html
More About the Future of Ephraim and the Reason for Exile and Loss of Identity. Rabbi David Moshe Valle and Rabbi Avraham HaCohen Kook.
Rabbi Moseh Valle (1697 - 1777 CE, Padua, Italy):
# IT IS A KNOWN MATTER THAT ISRAEL DID NOT DESCEND INTO THE REALMS OF POLLUTION OTHER THAN FOR THE NEED TO CLARIFY HIS DESTINY. HE NEEDED TO FULFILL THE WILL OF GOD AND REFORM THE WORLD THROUGH REDIRECTING ITS FORCES. WHEN THIS IS DONE THEY SHALL RETURN TO THEIR SOURCE. THERE WILL BE NO NEED TO REMAIN IN THAT SITUATION ANY MORE. THIS IS THE MEANING OF, 'EPHRAIM SHALL SAY, 'WHAT HAVE I TO DO ANYMORE WITH IDOLS?'" (Hosea 14:8). #
Extract from:
The Yearning of Ephraim for Redemption
https://britam.org/kook8.html
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook (1865-1935) was a leading authority in the Rabbinic World of Religious Zionists and is much revered among present-day Jews in Israel. He opined that Jews (i.e. Israelites) who were lost among the Gentiles would have had a positive influence in bringing the whole of Humanity closer to redemption. What he says may also be applied to the Lost Ten Tribes as he himself indicates in his writings concerning Messiah son of Joseph that parallel the words of Rabbi David Moshe Valle on Ephraim.
# THE VITAL POTENTIALITY THAT IS ENCLOSED IN ISRAEL ENCOMPASSES WITHIN IT THE ABILITY TO ACHIEVE SANCTITY, PURITY OF ATTITUDE, PSYCHOLOGICAL PURIFICATION, AND AN EAGER READINESS TO RECEIVE THE STRONG FLOW OF DIVINE INSPIRATION. EVEN THOUGH EXTERNAL CIRCUMSTANCES CAUSED A BLOCKAGE OF THE MENTAL FACULTIES AND DIMINISHING OF DEEDS THE NATURE OF BODY AND SOUL HAS NOT ENTIRELY CHANGED. THERE WAS A MIXING-IN BY WHICH A PORTION OF THE ISRAELITES BECAME ASSIMILATED AMONGST THE PEOPLES AND SWALLOWED UP BY THEM. THIS MIXING OF THE BLOOD BY BEING TAKEN IN AMONGST THE GENTILES, HAS CAUSED A GREAT FERMENTATION. DUE TO THE CLARITY AND STRONG SURGE OF ISRAELITE LIFE-FORCE THE SPIRIT OF THE GENTILES HAS BEEN AFFECTED. CONSEQUENTLY THEY HAVE PROGRESSIVELY BEEN BECOMING MORE AND MORE SUITED TO RECEIVE THE APPEARANCES OF DIVINE LIGHT, OF CLEAR REVELATION AND MENTAL LUCIDITY. THIS PHENOMENON STANDS READY TO INCREASINGLY MAKE ITS APPEARANCE IN THE WORLD THROUGH THE LIGHT OF ISRAEL THAT IS MOVES TOWARDS REVIVAL AND ASCENSION. AN INNER PUSH CAUSED BY A RENEWED [ISRAELITE] SPIRITUAL APPROACH WILL CAUSE ALL PEOPLES TO MOVE FORWARD.
THIS IS A CONSEQUENCE RESULTING FROM THE HIDDEN ABILITY OF THOSE ISRAELITES WHO IN ANCIENT TIMES ASSIMILATED. [THEIR DESCENDANTS] WILL BE YEARNING AND STRIVING TO DECLARE THE NAME OF ISRAEL ON THEIR INHERITANCE. THIS WILL BE A GOAL THEY WILL FEEL A NEED TO ACHIEVE. THE SPIRITUAL URGE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE DIVINE WILL PROGRESSIVELY ENLIGHTEN THE NATIONAL SPIRIT AND INCREASINGLY COME TO DOMINATE IT. EVENTUALLY THEY WILL BE ABLE TO REACH COMPLETE ENLIGHTENMENT THROUGH THE SUPREME LIGHT OF THE WORD OF GOD. THIS WILL OUT-SHINE IN ITS GLORIOUS PERFECTED APPEARANCE ALL THE DARKNESS OF THE WORLD. #
Source: Rabbi Avraham Isaac Kook, "Shemoneh Kevatsim, Kovets," (a free translation from "The Eight Chapters," 8;205 written ca. 1917 in London, Great Britain. Published straight from the unedited manuscript in ca. 2005 though it may appear elsewhere in one or other of the edited works.
See:
The Divine Purpose for the Exile and Division of the Tribes
https://britam.org/tape3.html
The Jewish People agreed to some extent to be sent into Exile.
He says that:
# THE TIME IS VERY NEAR WHEN THE WORLD WILL BE IMPROVED. AT SUCH A TIME WE WILL BE ABLE TO MANAGE A KINGDOM ACCORDING TO THE PRINCIPLES OF GOODNESS, UPRIGHTNESS, AND CLEAR DIVINE INSPIRATION. ##
It is the opinion of Rabbi Kook, that the Jewish People preferred to be Exiled among the nations until times had changed and it would be possible for an independent people to act once more like human beings should act. The Jewish People were not prepared to pay the price of becoming Barbarians in order to maintain an independent national existence, as it was required in the past, up to now, when things have changed. The point is, however, that SOMEBODY HAD TO. Somebody had to do this. Some part of the Twelve Tribes of Israel had to fulfill the role of becoming a nation no matter what the cost. Part of the task of the Israelite Tribes was to be become a great and mighty nation. This was unconditional and had to be fulfilled. The Lost Ten Tribes took this task upon themselves. In order to fulfill this task, they had to lose their identity. They had to become barbarians and to act as cruelly and as badly as everybody else did throughout history. They did however evolve. They went forward. They improved themselves. They improved the ways they treated their own people and how they treated others. They went upward and they dragged the rest of the world (to some degree) upward with them. They became a light to the Nations, a "Brit-Am\", a Covenant of Peoples, bound together in agreement to respect each other and to do good together to the best of their ability. Now, at the present time, things have come full circle.
In "Eulogy in Jerusalem" (1907 on the death of Benjamin Zeev Herzl) Rabbi Kook spoke of the Messiah son of Joseph and the Messiah son of David and of the reunification of Judah and Joseph in general..
Rabbi Kook said that Joseph represents the materialistic aspect of the Hebrew nation in which on a superficial level there is a great similarity with the other nations.
Judah specializes in the Spiritual Principle that is unique to the Israelite Nation.
The original intention was that
# ISRAEL SHOULD BE A HOLY NATION DEDICATED TO THE ALMIGHTY GOD OF ISRAEL. THEY SHOULD BE ONE NATION IN THE LAND [EZEKIEL 37:22], A LIGHT TO THE PEOPLES [ISAIAH 42]..
# THE PRINCIPLE OF MATERIAL PROGRESS (REPRESENTED BY JOSEPH) WOULD BE REFINED AND SANCTIFIED BY PROXIMITY TO THE PECULIAR HOLINESS OF ISRAEL. THE PRINCIPLE OF SPIRITUALITY (JUDAH) WOULD BE STRENGTHENED AND INVIGORATED WITH POWERFUL AND PLENTIFUL VITAL ENERGY [FROM JOSEPH] ENABLING IT TO REVEAL THE MAJESTY AND GLORY OF ISRAEL. THIS WOULD EVENTUALLY RESULT IN THE RAYS OF THE MAJESTY OF ISRAEL ENLIGHTENING THE WHOLE WORLD.
# THIS PEOPLE WOULD HAVE BECOME THE MOST EXALTED SPIRITUAL AND HOLY POLITY THAT WAS POSSIBLE IF IT WERE NOT FOR TRANSGRESSION THAT CAUSED REJECTION OF THE HOUSE OF DAVID.
Rabbi Kook explains that due to their lack of unification neither of the two sides was able to properly carry out their own peculiar function as they should have. Both sides are lacking and inadequate. They need each other and the rest of mankind needs them.
Eventually reunification will take place and the Prophecy of the two sticks (Ezekiel 37) will be fulfilled.
See:
Who is MBJ?
What is the Task of MBJ and Who May he Be?
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/mbjtoday/mbywho.html
https://hebrewnations.com/articles/bible/mbjtoday/mbywho.html#a5
# JUST AS IN THE BEGINNING, JOSEPH WAS THE PROVIDER SENT BY GOD TO SAVE MANY FROM STARVATION, WHO SUSTAINED JACOB AND HIS SONS MATERIALLY WHEN THEY CAME TO EGYPT LOOKING FOR GRAIN [SO IN FUTURE GENERATIONS, THE DESCENDANTS OF JOSEPH WOULD DEVELOP THE MATERIAL SIDE OF JEWISH NATIONAL EXISTENCE].
# JUDAH ON THE OTHER HAND, SYMBOLIZES THAT WHICH IS DISTINCTIVE ABOUT THE JEWISH PEOPLE: 'JUDAH BECAME HIS SANCTIFIED ONE.' [PSALMS 114:2]. N THE OTHER HAND CONCERNING JOSEPH THE PSALMIST SAYS, 'SHILOH, A TENT PITCHED AMONG MEN.' [PSALMS 78:60].
# THE PURPOSE OF CHOOSING THE KINGDOM OF DAVID WAS THAT THESE TWO FACULTIES BE INTEGRATED, THAT THEY NOT CANCEL, BUT RATHER REINFORCE ONE ANOTHER.
# AT ITS NADIR IT WAS SAID, 'EPHRAIM IS ASSIMILATED AMONG THE PEOPLES; EPHRAIM IS A CAKE READILY DEVOURED' (HOSEA 7:8).
# WHEN THESE TWO FORCES WORK AT CROSS PURPOSES AS A RESULT OF THE CALAMITY OF EXILE, SHORTSIGHTEDNESS AND DISARRAY, THESE ARE THE 'BIRTHPANGS OF MESSIAH,' OR TO BE MORE EXACT, THE 'BIRTH PANGS OF MESSIAHS' (PLURAL). THE PSALMIST WRITES: 'THAT YOUR ENEMIES HAVE DEFIED, O LORD; THAT THEY HAVE DEFIED THE FOOTSTEPS OF YOUR MESSIAHS.' [PSALMS 89:52] i.e.. TWO FOOTSTEPS OF TWO MESSIAHS.