JOSEPH AND THE TECHNICOLOR COAT
For years, we have heard the story of Joseph; whose father gave him a coat of many colors. But did it ever occur to anyone to ask, why? Not, why his father gave him a gift. But why a technicolor coat? To be fair to those who might not be familiar with the biblical version of this story; I’ll start from the beginning. This, by the way, begins in Genesis 30:22-24:
And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her, and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach: And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son.
The birth of Joseph was a pretty big deal! His mother was barren for many years. And in those days, a woman who could not bear children was practically useless and always carried a stigma that was a borderline curse! From their perspective, a woman did two things: chores and children. A woman who was limited to only chores was considered not much different than an ox. But even an ox was one up and could produce offspring. So, when Rachel’s womb was finally opened, she was ecstatic and saw many colors (figuratively speaking)! And the child she brought into the world was special … or dare I say, technicolor. And she some how knew Joseph would have a younger brother down the road.
THE MANY COLORS CONSPIRACY
In Genesis 35:16-20, we find Rachel in labor for the second time but she is having trouble giving birth. Finally, in verse 18 Benjamin is born; howbeit, not in technicolor. Unfortunately, Rachel did not survive the delivery. As the story goes there were ten other brothers born by three other mothers. According to the records of Genesis 35:22-26 (not in chronological order), Leah gave birth to: Reuben (the eldest), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun. Rachel gave birth to: Joseph and Benjamin. Bilhah (Rachel’s handmaid) gave birth to: Dan and Naphtali. And Zilpah (Leah's handmaid) gave birth to: Gad and Asher. FYI: These are the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Josĕph contains his sons; Ephraim and Manasseh.
Finally, in Genesis 37:3 we find these words:
Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he [was] the son of his old age: and he made him a coat of [many] colours.
The text, coat of [many] colors, is very misleading. Why? The actual Hebrew text says: kĕthonet pasiym (kay-TOH-neht pah-SEEM). In plain and simple English, this means: a tunic (i.e. under garment) that stretches to the wrists and ankles. However, the curious element to this story is the fact that ONLY FEMALES wore such a garment! Of course, if you check your Christian references you will find them watered down by heterosexual anti-gay sources. But as the old cliché goes: Consider the Technicolor Source! And I might add; consider their intentions, as well! In addition, more recent versions translate the text: “long coat [YNG]” or “long robe with sleeves [RSV].” At this point, I cannot help but to wonder; who (in those days) wore the opposite (i.e. "short coat" or "short robe with no sleeves) that made these descriptions necessary?
THE PLOT THICKENS
You can find the kĕthonet part of the Joseph technicolor garment in various places in the Old Testament. However, the kĕthonet designed for males did not extend to the wrists and ankles. You might also find it translated, robe. But robe is from a different Hebrew word: meh’el (mehy-EHL). As Exodus 28:4 points out, the kĕthonet (coat) and meh’el (robe) were two different garments and these words were never used interchangeably. In every instance that exclusively involves males, kĕthonet, is standalone (appears without pasiym). Here are several examples you can look up: Exodus 20:40 [coats]; 29:5 [coat]; 29:8 [coats]; 39:27 [coats]; 40:14 [coats]; Leviticus 8:7 [coat]; 8:13 [coats].
Now, one might wonder why the Hebrew pasiym was translated: of [many] colors!? And I might add, the text in the brackets [many] was added TO FORCE a different meaning. Is this word (pasiym) found in other verses? As a matter of fact, it is! In 2Samuel 13:18-19, to be exact!
And [she had] a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king's daughters [that were] virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her.
And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that [was] on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
Let me point out the back story; Tamar was one of the many daughters of King David; and she was just raped by her brother, Amnon. Now, without getting heavily into how poorly translated the above text is; kĕthonet pasiym was made to resemble the text in Joseph’s case (i.e. coat of many colors). But aside from that, the verses provide the accurate use; an under garment worn by female royalty. This was the gift Israel gave to his son! And the symbolism was what made all the older brothers, jealous. The younger Josĕph was chosen to lead the family after Israel's death!
THE FINAL ANALYSIS
Now that that’s all cleared up, one might wonder why Israel would give his son such a gift; and why Joseph would appreciate it. Why would any male appreciate a garment designed for the female anatomy? Or, to say the least, not mind it? Before you dwell on the “royalty” aspect of the gift, there were similar garments, kĕthonet, designed for male royalty! The reason translators went to great lengths to change the color of kĕthonet pasiym is to eradicate any possibility that a very gifted servant of God was also a homosexual ... and it was no big deal! His father was obviously aware of it and did not seem to care. Neither did his brothers hate him because of his technicolor sexuality.
I might also point out in Genesis 37:2, Joseph is feeding his father's flocks! Ergo, he was a Sheppard. This is a common denominator (and profession) among many homosexuals in the Old Testament; beginning with Abel all the way up to David. And as we all know, he dreamed in colors; saw visions in technicolor; and turned out to be one of the most gifted Seers of the Old Testament! This means; the only people who had a problem with his sexuality were the English Translators! But in the end, he did what was expected of all males; got married and had children. Which is why his sexual preference (or that of other gay males) was not that big a deal!
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