Fragrance of Joseph

The Ishmaelites who carry Joseph to Egypt are carrying “aromatic gum, balm, and myrrh” with them (Genesis 37:25), which are among the goods of the land that Jacob later sends to Vizier Joseph, not knowing he’s Joseph (cf. Genesis 43:11).

This has several layers of meaning. As Jacob Hanby, a Trinity House student, pointed out, it contrasts Joseph to his brothers Simeon and Levi, who have made Jacob’s company a “stench” in the nostrils of the people of the land (Genesis 34:30). Joseph will bring a more pleasing aroma to the Gentiles. The incense of his life and wisdom will rise before Pharaoh.

Another pointed out that these may be spices used for burial. Joseph has just been “buried alive” in a pit, and now he’s heading down to Egypt, where he’ll be buried again first as a slave and then in prison, and ultimately will die in Egypt, where he will be embalmed and mummified. But he will be preserved through those burials and rise.

I suspect there’s a connection with the scene in the Song of Songs (5:6-11), where someone sees Solomon’s palanquin coming from the wilderness in a cloud of frankincense and myrrh. Like Yahweh Himself, Solomon comes to the land in an aromatic cloud. Joseph, who will become the ruler of Egypt, also comes out of the wilderness to the land he will rule surrounded by perfumes and sweet aromas. The Ishmaelite caravan becomes a royal entourage transporting Egypt’s future king incognito.