Genesis 37-41 I Come Follow Me I Handmaidens, Harems and Heroines I Lynne Hilton Wilson

Scripture Central

Religion & Spirituality

4.7 • 914 Ratings

🗓️ 2 March 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

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Summary

In this episode of Handmaidens, Harems, and Heroines, Lynne Hilton Wilson explores the rich and often complicated stories of women in Genesis 37–41, shining a thoughtful Latter-day Saint lens on narratives that are frequently overshadowed by the story of Joseph. Dr. Wilson brings depth and cultural insight to the account of Dinah, whose story in Genesis 34 echoes into the later family tensions surrounding Joseph; Tamar, whose courageous and calculated actions in Genesis 38 preserve covenant lineage; and Potiphar’s wife, a powerful yet unnamed Egyptian woman whose encounter with Joseph in Genesis 39 raises questions about power, agency, morality, and voice. With careful attention to ancient Near Eastern context and covenant theology, this episode highlights how these women—whether victims, heroines, or antagonists—play essential roles in moving the Abrahamic story forward. Dr. Wilson invites viewers to look beyond surface readings and consider issues of honor, inheritance, justice, and faith in a patriarchal world. As Joseph rises from slavery to leadership in Egypt, the stories of these women remind us that God’s purposes unfold through complex human experiences—and that even the most difficult narratives in Genesis offer profound spiritual lessons for modern disciples.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Daughters of Jacob, the wife of Judah, Tamar, Potipher's wife, Estonia.
0:04.6	We have some fabulous women, great women of faith and great women of not so much faith.
0:11.1	But let's start in Genesis 34 with this difficult little young girl, Dinah.
0:15.7	She's the seventh child of Jacob and Leah.
0:18.2	She is the only named daughter.
0:20.3	We can't just skip over her.
0:22.5	We don't know if the story is an abduction, if she was consenting to a future marriage.
0:27.7	The word that's used in Hebrew to refer to these daughters of Jacob comforting him may have been
0:33.1	his birth daughters, may have been his granddaughters, or may have been his daughters in law,
0:40.5	because there were many by this time. So we're a little bit unsure as to who they were. And as we
0:46.1	look at other ancient texts, hello, welcome back to Scripture Central. I'm Lynn Hilton Wilson, part of the team that tries to build enduring faith in Jesus Christ by illuminating and defending our scriptures.
1:03.5	And today we get to look at Genesis 37 to 41. As part of my commentary, I like to focus on the handmaidens, the harems, the heroines,
1:13.2	and we've got seven fabulous women in these chapters.
1:17.6	Actually, we skip a couple chapters between last week's Come Follow Me Lesson and this week's,
1:22.3	and I do not want to skip Dinah.
1:25.2	So she's in Genesis 34.
1:26.8	I'm going to go to talk about her a little bit.
1:29.7	And then we'll move on to the daughters of Jacob, the wife of Judah, Tamar, Potiphar's
1:35.0	wife, Estonia.
1:35.9	We have some fabulous women, great women of faith and great women of not so much faith
1:41.6	that I want to cover today.
1:44.0	But let's start in Genesis 34 with this difficult little young girl, Dinah.
	...

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