Category:Joseph (subject)

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According to Jewish (Christian, and Islamic) traditions, Joseph was one of the Twelve Patriarchs, the son of Jacob and Rachel. He was the head of the House of Joseph, the husband of Asenath, the father of Manasseh and Ephraim and therefore the forefather of the Tribe of Manasseh and the Tribe of Ephraim.

< Childhood of Joseph >

< Twelve Patriarchs -- Jacob -- Rachel -- Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs -- Twelve Tribes -- House of Joseph -- Tribe of Manasseh -- Tribe of Ephraim>

Overview

Joseph is a literary character of the early Jewish tradition. He was the protagonist of one of the longest narrative in the Pentateuch, concerning his life, the conflict with his brothers, his arrival in Egypt as a slave, his rise to fame and glory, and his final reconciliation with his family.

Childhood

Joseph, son of Jacob and Rachel, lived in the land of Canaan with ten half-brothers, one full brother, and at least one half-sister. He was Rachel's firstborn and Jacob's eleventh son. Of all the sons, Joseph was preferred by his father, who gave him a "long coat of many colors".[6] When Joseph was seventeen years old he had two dreams that made his brothers plot his demise. In the first dream, Joseph and his brothers gathered bundles of grain, of which those his brothers gathered, bowed to his own. In the second dream, the sun (father), the moon (mother), and eleven stars (brothers) bowed to Joseph himself. These dreams, implying his supremacy, angered his brothers. (Genesis 37:1–11)

Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him; (Genesis 37:18–20) wherefore, in Dothan, most of them plotted to kill him, with the exception of Reuben,[7][8] who suggested to have Joseph thrown into an empty cistern, intending to rescue Joseph himself. Unaware of this secondary intention, the others obeyed him first.[9] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants.[10] Thereafter the guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat[11] and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph dead. (Genesis 37:12–35)

A prolonged childhood as a slave

Ultimately, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard.[12] Later, Joseph became Potiphar's personal servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent. Here, Potiphar's wife (called Zuleika in later tradition) tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape, and thus assured his imprisonment.[13] (Genesis 39:1–20)

The warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners,[14] and soon afterward Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker, who had offended the Pharaoh, were thrown into the prison.[15] Both men had dreams, and Joseph, being able to interpret dreams asked to hear. The cup-bearer's dream was about a vine with three branches that was budding. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out and they produced grapes. The cup-bearer took those grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup, and placed the cup in Pharaoh's hand. Joseph interpreted this dream as the cup-bearer being restored as cup-bearer to the Pharaoh within three days. The baker's dream was about three baskets full of bread for the Pharaoh, and birds were eating the bread out of those baskets. Joseph interpreted this dream as the baker being hanged within three days and having his flesh eaten by birds.[16] Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison,[17] but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph.[18] After two more years, the Pharaoh dreamt of seven lean cows which devoured seven fat cows; and of seven withered ears of grain which devoured seven fat ears. When the Pharaoh's advisers failed to interpret these dreams, the cup-bearer remembered Joseph. Joseph was then summoned. He interpreted the dream as seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine, and advised the Pharaoh to store a surplus grain.

Following the prediction, Joseph became Vizier, under the name of Zaphnath-Paaneah,[19] and was given Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On,[20] to be his wife.

Adulthood

Joseph's marriage marks the end of his servitude. He is no longer a "child" (a "boy," a property), but a free man, and a man of power.

Joseph in Second Temple Jewish Interpretation

Second Temple Jewish authors rewrote the narrative, especially in Egypt, by making him one of the ancient Jewish heroes.

Artapanus (3rd century BCE) completely ignored all the dark sides of the ancient narrative, by exalting Joseph as a wise Jew who succeeded in becoming one of the most powerful man in Egypt.

The Book of Jubilees (2nd century BCE) also looked favorably at Joseph but precisely because of the conflict with his brothers and especially his chastity in his rejection of Potiphar's wife.

The Wisdom of Solomon and the novel Joseph and Aseneth followed the path of exaltation of Joseph in the Greco-Roman context of the Jewish diaspora, while highlighting his opposition to local Egyptian culture. In Joseph and Aseneth the echoes of the old family quarrel reemerge, some brothers being at odds with Joseph's marriage in spite of the conversion of Aseneth.

More ambivalent is the attitude of Philo, who in De Iosepho exalted the patriarch as the ideal politician, while being much more critical in De Somniis to the point of accusing him of adopting Egyptian customs.

By contrast, Josephus offered a very positive portrait of Joseph, stressing his innocence, righteousness and prophetic skills against the continuous envy by his brothers.

Joseph in later traditions

Later Rabbinic and Christian traditions would place more emphasis on the psychology of the character, often finding elements of ambivalence and guilt in his behavior.

Joseph in ancient sources

• See Joseph (sources) -- survey of ancient sources

Joseph in literature & the arts

• Joseph (arts) -- survey of fictional works

Joseph in scholarship

• Joseph (research) -- survey of scholarly works

References

• Joseph / Maren Niehoff / In: The Eerdmans Dictionary of Early Judaism (2010 Collins / Harlow), dictionary, 822-823

• / [[]] / In: The Anchor Bible Dictionary (1992 Freedman), dictionary,

External links

• Wikipedia