TLDR: Jacob favored Joseph not only because favoritism ran in the family, but because Joseph was the firstborn son of Rachel, the wife Jacob loved most, and because Joseph was born to him in his old age (Genesis 37:3). Joseph also carried emotional significance in a house marked by rivalry, infertility, and years of longing. Jacob’s favoritism, though understandable in human terms, still produced division and harm among the brothers.
Joseph was born to Jacob in his old age
Why was Joseph favored over his brothers by his father? Joseph was his father’s favorite, Jacob, among all his sons. This is evident when his father gives him an ornate robe.
But why was Joseph truly favored in his father’s eyes?
The bible does not give much immediate context other than in Genesis 37: 3 – Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other sons, because he had been born to him in his old age; and he made an ornate robe for him.
However, if we unpack the story further and look at it in context in relation to Joseph’s lineage, we can answer this question more thoroughly.
Joseph was the son of Jacob’s beloved wife, Rachel
If we go back to Genesis 35: 24 – The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
We see that Joseph is the son of Jacob’s favorite wife, Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel deeply, so much that he was willing to work seven years to marry her. Those seven years felt like days because he was so in love with her.
However, after Jacob was promised Rachel by his uncle Laban, Laban tricked him and gave him his older daughter, Leah, instead. He did this because of the cultural custom that the younger daughter could not be given in marriage before the older one.
So Jacob, with his love for Rachel so unwavering, was willing to work another 7 for Laban years to marry Rachel.
Genesis 29: 28-30 – (28) And Jacob did so. He finished the week with Leah, and then Laban gave him his daughter Rachel to be his wife. (29) Laban gave his servant Bilhah to his daughter Rachel as her attendant. (30) Jacob made love to Rachel also, and his love for Rachel was greater than his love for Leah. And he worked for Laban another seven years.
Joseph Represented God’s Remembrance Of Rachel
Leah and Rachel, because of Jacob’s favoritism, became sister rivals. Rachel could not conceive, and Leah was not loved by Jacob. Both longed for something they could not seem to have. Yet with Rachel, after many years of infertility, God remembered her and acted on her behalf.
Genesis 30: 22-24 – (22)Then God remembered Rachel; he listened to her and enabled her to conceive. (23)She became pregnant and gave birth to a son and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” (24) She named him Joseph, and said, “May the Lord add to me another son.”
Rachel endured many years of infertility, and Joseph was the answer to all those years of suffering. You could almost see Joseph as a miracle child. Now, the Bible does not say that directly, but if you know anyone who has struggled with infertility and was later gifted by God with a child, you can understand how, in human eyes, favoritism could easily show up.
Favoritism Through The Generations
Joseph’s mother, whom Jacob married, was Rachel. Genesis 35: 24 – The sons of Rachel: Joseph and Benjamin.
Rachel was favored over her older sister Leah, whom Jacob also married. Jacob was favored by his mother, Rebekah, and Jacob’s brother Esau was favored by their father, Isaac.
As you can see, the sin of favoritism runs deep.
James 2: 1-4 My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. (2) Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. (3) If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” (4) have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
Favoritism affected Joseph’s lineage for generations. It became a sin that was passed down again and again, what some might call a generational sin.
Favored By God
On the other hand, Joseph was “favored,” not shown “favoritism,” in the eyes of God. The Lord was with Joseph, so he prospered in everything he did, and God blessed him, giving favor not only to Joseph, but to those around him as well.
Genesis 39: 2-5 (2)The Lord was with Joseph so that he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. (3)When his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him success in everything he did, (4)Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. (5)From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the Lord blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the Lord was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field.
Joseph experienced divine impartiality from God, whereas Joseph’s lineage carried the sin of partiality through human favoritism.
When someone is favored by God, it is not favoritism, it is a divine gift from God, something that cannot be earned, which is grace. It is not based on a lack of fairness that devalues others, but on the sovereign, impartial plan of God.
