Genesis 37-41 -- Joseph

Latter-day Saint Donny Osmond as Joseph in "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," which played on Broadway in New York City beginning in 1982. Image from Latter-day Saint Musicians.

A neighbor of mine, Sydney Bohn, shared some very interesting research she had done with our scripture study group that has application to this week's lesson on Joseph, so I will share that here and then I will link my post on Joseph.

When Adam and Eve realized that they were naked (inadequate, vulnerable), they hid from God. When He asked them why they hid and who told them they were naked, they told Him they had learned this from Satan. God's response to them was not to shame them or punish them. Instead, He clothed them in garments of skin (Genesis 3:21). The Hebrew word translated here as "garment" is kethoneth.

The word kethoneth is used in the Old Testament only three times. This is the first and it refers to a tunic or inner garment worn next to the skin. The second is to describe Joseph's coat of many colors (Gen. 37:3). In this case it is called kethoneth passim, an outer robe, a long tunic. It signified a person of authority, priestly or royal, because it was a garment not practical for manual labor. It was made of finer cloth: wool, linen, cotton, or silk. The third time is in reference to the temple priesthood clothing made for Aaron and his sons to wear in the tabernacle (Exodus 28:4). 

The New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek equivalent of kethoneth (chiton) is used to describe the specialized luxury clothing item that Jesus Christ wore to the cross, the seamless robe for which the Roman soldiers cast lots (John 19:24). (See also Psalm 22:18.) 

Adam and Eve wore their priestly clothing as they exited the Garden of Eden and entered mortal life. 17-year-old Joseph wore his until his brothers stole it from him when they sold him into slavery. Aaron and his sons wore theirs to carry out their sacred rites in the tabernacle. And Jesus Christ wore his priestly robe all the way to Golgatha. One might assume He wore it as he taught or as he cast the money-changers out of the temple.

As Latter-day Saints, we have the opportunity to receive and wear our own version of kethoneth, temple clothing next to our skin, as well as kethoneth passim, outer clothing worn during temple worship. What an honor! 

And now here is the link to my previous post on Joseph.