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Joseph (Genesis)

Joseph (/ˈzəf, -səf/; Hebrew: יוֹסֵף, romanizedYōsēp̄, lit.'He shall add')[2][a] is an important Hebrew figure in the Bible's Book of Genesis and in the Quran. He was the first of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's twelfth named child and eleventh son). He is the founder of the Tribe of Joseph among the Israelites. His story functions as an explanation for Israel's residence in Egypt. He is the favourite son of the patriarch Jacob, and his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Biblical Egypt, where he eventually ends up incarcerated. After correctly interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh, however, he rises to second-in-command in Egypt and saves Egypt during a famine. Jacob's family travels to Egypt to escape the famine, and it is through him that they are given leave to settle in the Land of Goshen (the eastern part of the Nile Delta).

Joseph
יוֹסֵף
Joseph Overseer of the Pharaoh's Granaries (1874) by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema
Born2170 AM (c. 1590 BC)
Died
Resting placeJoseph's Tomb, Nablus, Palestine
32°12′47″N 35°16′58″E / 32.2130268°N 35.2829153°E / 32.2130268; 35.2829153
Other namesZaphnath-Paaneah (צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ)
SpouseAsenath
Children
Parents
Relatives

Scholars hold different opinions about the historical background of the Joseph story, as well as the date and development of its composition.[6] Thomas Römer argues that "The date of the original narrative can be the late Persian period, and while there are several passages that fit better into a Greek, Ptolemaic context, most of these passages belong to later revisions."[7]

In Jewish tradition, he is the ancestor of a second Messiah called "Mashiach ben Yosef", who will wage war against the forces of evil alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel.[8]

Etymology edit

The Bible offers two explanations of the name Yosēf: first, it is compared to the triliteral א־ס־ף (ʾ-s-p), meaning "to gather, remove, take away":[9] "And she conceived, and bore a son; and said, God hath taken away my reproach" (Genesis 30:23);[10] Yosēf is then identified with the similar root יסף (y-s-p), meaning "to add":[11] "And she called his name Joseph; and said, The LORD shall add to me another son." (Genesis 30:24).[12][13]

Biblical narrative edit

Birth and family edit

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".[b] When Joseph was seventeen years old, he shared with his brothers two dreams he had: 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) and made the brothers plot his demise.

Plot against Joseph edit

 
Joseph's Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob by Diego Velázquez, 1630

In Genesis 37, Vayeshev, Joseph's half-brothers were jealous of him. Most of them plotted to kill him in Dothan, except Reuben,[14][15] who suggested they throw Joseph into an empty cistern; he intended to rescue Joseph himself later. Unaware of this plan to rescue Joseph, the others agreed with Reuben.[c] Upon imprisoning Joseph, the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt, and sold Joseph to these merchants.[d] The guilty brothers painted goat's blood on Joseph's coat and showed it to Jacob, who therefore believed Joseph had died.

Potiphar's house edit

In Genesis 39, Vayeshev, Joseph was sold to Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh's guard. Later, Joseph became Potiphar's servant, and subsequently his household's superintendent. Here, Potiphar's wife (later called Zulaykha) tried to seduce Joseph, which he refused. Angered by his running away from her, she made a false accusation of rape so he would be imprisoned.[e]

Joseph in prison edit

 
Joseph in prison, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout, 17th century

The warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners and soon afterward Pharaoh's chief cup-bearer and chief baker, who had offended the Pharaoh, were thrown into the prison. Both men had dreams, and Joseph, being able to interpret dreams, asked to hear them. 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.

Joseph requested that the cup-bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison, but the cup-bearer, reinstalled in office, forgot Joseph.

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 surplus grain.

Vizier of Egypt edit

 
The triumph of Joseph (1657), Toulouse Cathedral

Following the prediction, Joseph became Vizier, under the name of Zaphnath-Paaneah (Hebrew: צָפְנַת פַּעְנֵחַ Ṣāp̄naṯ Paʿnēaḥ),[f][16] and was given Asenath, the daughter of Potipherah, priest of On,[g] to be his wife. During the seven years of abundance, Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed. In the sixth year, Asenath bore two children to Joseph: Manasseh and Ephraim. When the famine came, it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread. The narrative also indicates that they went straight to Joseph or were directed to him, even by the Pharaoh himself (Genesis 41:37–57). As a last resort, all of the inhabitants of Egypt, less the Egyptian priestly class, sold their properties and later themselves (as slaves) to Joseph for seed; wherefore Joseph set a mandate that, because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property, a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh. This mandate lasted until the days of Moses (Genesis 47:20–31).

Brothers sent to Egypt edit

 
Joseph gave orders to his servants to fill their sacks with wheat: illuminated Bible by Raphaël de Mercatelli, Ghent, late 15th century.

In the second year of famine,[17] Joseph's half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods. When they came to Egypt, they stood before the Vizier but did not recognize him as their brother Joseph, who was now in his late 30s; but Joseph did recognize them and did not speak at all to them in his native tongue of Hebrew.[18] After questioning them, he accused them of being spies. After they mentioned a younger brother at home, the Vizier (Joseph) demanded that he be brought to Egypt as a demonstration of their veracity. This was Joseph's full brother, Benjamin. Joseph placed his brothers in prison for three days. On the third day, he brought them out of prison to reiterate that he wanted their youngest brother brought to Egypt to demonstrate their veracity. The brothers conferred amongst themselves speaking in Hebrew, reflecting on the wrong they had done to Joseph. Joseph understood what they were saying and removed himself from their presence because he was caught in emotion. When he returned, the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage.[h] Then he had their donkeys prepared with grain and sent the other brothers back to Canaan. Unbeknownst to them, Joseph had also returned their money to their money sacks (Genesis 42:1–28).

The silver cup edit

The remaining brothers returned to their father in Canaan, and told him all that had transpired in Egypt. They also discovered that all of their money sacks still had money in them, and they were dismayed. Then they informed their father that the Vizier demanded that Benjamin be brought before him to demonstrate that they were honest men. Jacob became greatly distressed, feeling deprived of successive sons: Joseph, Simeon, and (prospectively) Benjamin. After they had consumed all of the grain that they brought back from Egypt, Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt for more grain. With Reuben and Judah's persistence, they persuaded their father to let Benjamin join them for fear of Egyptian retribution (Genesis 42:29–43:15).

 
Joseph's cup found in Benjamin's sack, illustration by Philip De Vere

Upon their return to Egypt, the steward of Joseph's house received the brothers. When they were brought to Joseph's house, they were apprehensive about the returned money in their money sacks. They thought that the missed transaction would somehow be used against them as way to induct them as slaves and to confiscate their possessions. So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired. The steward put them at ease, telling them not to worry about the money, and brought out their brother Simeon. Then he brought the brothers into the house of Joseph and received them hospitably. When the Vizier (Joseph) appeared, they gave him gifts from their father. Joseph saw and inquired of Benjamin, and was overcome by emotion but did not show it. He withdrew to his chambers and wept. When he regained control of himself, he returned and ordered a meal to be served. The Egyptians would not dine with Hebrews at the same table, as doing so was considered loathsome, thus the sons of Israel were served at a separate table (Genesis 43:16–44:34).

That night, Joseph ordered his steward to load the brothers' donkeys with food and all their money. The money they had brought was double what they had offered on the first trip. Deceptively, Joseph also ordered the steward to put his silver cup in Benjamin's sack. The following morning the brothers began their journey back to Canaan. Joseph ordered the steward to go after the brothers and to question them about the "missing" silver cup. When the steward caught up with the brothers, he seized them and searched their sacks. The steward found the cup in Benjamin's sack - just as he had planted it the night before. This caused a stir amongst the brothers. However, they agreed to be escorted back to Egypt. When the Vizier (Joseph) confronted them about the silver cup, he demanded that the one who possessed the cup in his bag become his slave. In response, Judah pleaded with the Vizier that Benjamin be allowed to return to his father, and that he himself be kept in Benjamin's place as a slave (Genesis 44).

Family reunited edit

 
Joseph recognized by his brothers, 1863 painting by Léon Pierre Urbain Bourgeois

Judah appealed to the Vizier begging that Benjamin be released and that he be enslaved in his stead, because of the silver cup found in Benjamin's sack. The Vizier broke down into tears. He could not control himself any longer and so he sent the Egyptian men out of the house. Then he revealed to the Hebrews that he was in fact their brother, Joseph. He wept so loudly that even the Egyptian household heard it outside. The brothers were frozen and could not utter a word. He brought them closer and relayed to them the events that had happened and told them not to fear, that what they had meant for evil, God had meant for good. Then he commanded them to go and bring their father and his entire household into Egypt to live in the province of Goshen, because there were five more years of famine left. So Joseph supplied them Egyptian transport wagons, new garments, silver money, and twenty additional donkeys carrying provisions for the journey. (Genesis 45:1–28)

Thus, Jacob (also known as Israel) and his entire house of seventy[19] gathered up with all their livestock and began their journey to Egypt. As they approached Egyptian territory, Judah went ahead to ask Joseph where the caravan should unload. They were directed into the province of Goshen and Joseph readied his chariot to meet his father there.[i] It had been over twenty years since Joseph had last seen his father. When they met, they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while. His father then remarked, "Now let me die, since I have seen your face, because you are still alive." (Genesis 46:1–34)

Afterward, Joseph's family personally met the Pharaoh of Egypt. The Pharaoh honored their stay and even proposed that if there were any qualified men in their house, then they may elect a chief herdsman to oversee Egyptian livestock. Because the Pharaoh had such a high regard for Joseph, practically making him his equal,[20] it had been an honor to meet his father. Thus, Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh. (Genesis 47:1–47:12) The family was then settled in Goshen.

Father's blessing and passing edit

 
Joseph weeps.

The house of Israel acquired many possessions and multiplied exceedingly during the course of seventeen years, even through the worst of the seven-year famine. At this time, Joseph's father was 147 years old and bedridden. He had fallen ill and lost most of his vision. Joseph was called into his father's house and Israel pleaded with his son that he not be buried in Egypt. Rather, he requested to be carried to the land of Canaan to be buried with his forefathers. Joseph was sworn to do as his father asked of him. (Genesis 47:27–31)

Later, Joseph came to visit his father having with him his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Israel declared that they would be heirs to the inheritance of the house of Israel, as if they were his own children, just as Reuben and Simeon were. Then Israel laid his left hand on the eldest Mannasseh's head and his right hand on the youngest Ephraim's head and blessed Joseph. However, Joseph was displeased that his father's right hand was not on the head of his firstborn, so he switched his father's hands. But Israel refused saying, "but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he," a declaration he made just as Israel himself was to his firstborn brother Esau. To Joseph, he gave a portion more of Canaanite property than he had to his other sons; land that he fought for against the Amorites. (Genesis 48:1–22)

Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages. To Joseph he declared:

Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall. The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him: But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob (From thence is the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel), Even by the God of your father who shall help thee; and by the Almighty who shall bless thee With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lieth under, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb. The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills. They shall be on the head of Joseph, And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.

— Genesis 49:22–26 KJV

After relaying his prophecies, Israel died. The family, including the Egyptians, mourned him seventy days. Joseph had his father embalmed, a process that took forty days. Then he prepared a great ceremonial journey to Canaan leading the servants of the Pharaoh, and the elders of the houses Israel and Egypt beyond the Jordan River. They stopped at Atad where they observed seven days of mourning. Here, their lamentation was so great that it caught the attention of surrounding Canaanites who remarked "This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians." So they named this spot Abel Mizraim. Then Joseph buried Israel in the cave of Machpelah, the property of Abraham when he bought it from the Hittites. (Genesis 49:33–50:14)

After their father died, the brothers of Joseph feared retribution for being responsible for Joseph's deliverance into Egypt as a slave. Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God's purpose to save lives and the lives of his family. He comforted them and their ties were reconciled. (Genesis 50:15–21)

Joseph's burial edit

 
Burying the Body of Joseph (illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible)

Joseph lived to the age of 110, living to see his great-grandchildren. Before he died, he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them, and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. (Genesis 50:22–26)

The children of Israel remembered their oath, and when they left Egypt during the Exodus, Moses took Joseph's bones with him. (Exodus 13:19) The bones were buried at Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor (Joshua 24:32), which has traditionally been identified with site of Joseph's Tomb, before Jacob and all his family moved to Egypt. Shechem was in the land which was allocated by Joshua to the Tribe of Ephraim, one of the tribes of the House of Joseph, after the conquest of Canaan.

Composition and literary motifs edit

 
Joseph interprets the dream of Pharaoh in a 19th-century painting by Jean-Adrien Guignet.

In 1970, Donald B. Redford argued that the composition of the story could be dated to the period between the 7th century BCE and the third quarter of the 5th century BCE.[21] By the early 1990s, a majority of modern scholars agreed that the Joseph story was a Wisdom novella constructed by a single author and that it reached its current form in the 5th century BCE at the earliest—with Soggin suggesting the possibility of a first or early second century BCE date.[22] Some scholars argue that the core of the story could be traced back to a 2nd millennium BCE context.[23][24] Thomas Römer argues that “The date of the original narrative can be the late Persian period, and while there are several passages that fit better into a Greek, Ptolemaic context, most of these passages belong to later revisions.”[7]

The motif of dreams/dream interpretation contributes to a strong story-like narrative.[25][26] The plot begins by showing Joseph as a dreamer; this leads him into trouble as, out of jealousy, his brothers sell him into slavery. The next two instances of dream interpretation establish his reputation as a great interpreter of dreams; first, he begins in a low place, interpreting the dreams of prisoners. Then Joseph is summoned to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh himself.[27] Impressed with Joseph's interpretations, Pharaoh appoints him as second-in-command (Gen 41:41). This sets up the climax of the story, which many regard to be the moment Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers (Gen 45:3).

Jewish tradition edit

Selling Joseph edit

 
Children of Jacob sell their brother Joseph, by Konstantin Flavitsky, 1855.

In the midrash, the selling of Joseph was part of God's divine plan for him to save his tribes. The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt.[28] Maimonides comments that even the villager in Shechem, about whom Joseph inquired his brother's whereabouts, was a "divine messenger" working behind the scene.[29]

A midrash asked, How many times was Joseph sold? In analyzing Genesis Chapter 37, there are five different Hebrew names used to describe five different groups of people involved in the transaction of selling Joseph, according to Rabbi Judah and Rav Huna. The first group identified, are Joseph's brothers when Judah brings up the idea of selling Joseph in verses 26 and 27. The first mention of Ishmaelites (Yishma'elîm) is in verse 25. Then the Hebrew phrase ʼnāshîm midyanîm sōĥrîm in verse 28 describes Midianite traders. A fourth group in verse 36 is named in Hebrew as m‘danîm that is properly identified as Medanites. The final group, where a transaction is made, is among the Egyptians in the same verse.

After identifying the Hebrew names, Rabbi Judah claims that Joseph was sold four times: First his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites (Yishma'elîm), then the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianite traders (ʼnāshîm midyanîm sōĥrîm), the Midianite traders to the Medanites (m‘danîm), and the Medanites into Egypt. Rav Huna adds one more sale by concluding that after the Medanites sold him to the Egyptians, a fifth sale occurred when the Egyptians sold him to Potiphar. (Genesis Rabbah 84:22)

Potiphar's wife edit

Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar's wife: he did not want to abuse his master's trust; he believed in the sanctity of marriage; and it went against his ethical, moral and religious principles taught to him by his father Jacob. According to the Midrash, Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar's wife. Abravanel explains that she had accused other servants of the same crime in the past. Potiphar believed that Joseph was incapable of such an act and petitioned Pharaoh to spare his life.[30] However, punishment could not have been avoided because of her class status and limited public knowledge of her scheme.

According to Legends of the Jews, the name of Potiphar's wife is Zuleikha and when she was enticing Joseph to give up to her sinful passion, God appeared unto him, holding the foundation of earth (Eben Shetiyah), that He would destroy the world if Joseph touched her.[31]

Silver cup for divination edit

Jewish tradition holds that Joseph had his steward plant his personal silver cup in Benjamin's sack to test his brothers. He wanted to know if they would be willing to risk danger in order to save their half brother Benjamin. Since Joseph and Benjamin were born from Rachel, this test was necessary to reveal if they would betray Benjamin as they did with Joseph when he was seventeen. Because Joseph the Dreamer predicts the future by analyzing dreams, alternative Jewish tradition claims that he practiced divination using this silver cup as the steward charged[32] and as Joseph himself claimed in Genesis 44:15.[33]

Raising Joseph edit

In one Talmudic story, Joseph was buried in the Nile river, as there was some dispute as to which province should be honored by having his tomb within its boundaries. Moses, led there by an ancient holy woman named Serach, was able by a miracle to raise the sarcophagus and to take it with him at the time of the Exodus.

Christian tradition edit

 
Mosaic depicting Joseph in the Cathedral of Evangelismos

Joseph is mentioned in the New Testament as an example of faith (Hebrews 11:22). Joseph is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 26 July. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite, he is known as "Joseph the all-comely", a reference not only to his physical appearance, but more importantly to the beauty of his spiritual life. They commemorate him on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers (two Sundays before Christmas) and on Holy and Great Monday (Monday of Holy Week). In icons, he is sometimes depicted wearing the nemes headdress of an Egyptian vizier. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates him as a patriarch on 31 March.

In addition to honoring him, there was a strong tendency in the patristic period to view his life as a typological precursor to Christ.[34] This tendency is represented in John Chrysostom who said that Joseph's suffering was "a type of things to come",[35] Caesarius of Arles who interpreted Joseph's famous coat as representative of the diverse nations who would follow Christ,[36] Ambrose of Milan who interpreted the standing sheaf as prefiguring the resurrection of Christ,[37] and others.

This tendency, although greatly diminished, was followed throughout late antiquity, the Medieval Era, and into the Reformation. Even John Calvin, sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico-historical exegesis,[38] writes "in the person of Joseph, a lively image of Christ is presented."[39]

In addition, some Christian authors have argued that this typological interpretation finds its origin in the speech of Stephen in Acts 7:9–15, as well as the Gospel of Luke and the parables of Jesus, noting strong verbal and conceptual collocation between the Greek translation of the portion of Genesis concerning Joseph and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Parable of the Prodigal Son.[40]

Gregory of Tours claimed that Joseph built the pyramids and they were used as granaries.[41]

Islamic tradition edit

 
Persian miniature depicting Joseph with his father Jacob and brothers in Egypt from Zubdat-al Tawarikh in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul, dedicated to Sultan Murad III in 1583

Joseph (Arabic: يوسُف, Yūsuf) is regarded by the Quran as a prophet (Quran 6:84), and a whole chapter Surah Yusuf 12 is devoted to him, the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a person. It is described in the Quran as the 'best of stories'.[42] Joseph is said to have been extremely handsome, which attracted his Egyptian master's wife to attempt to seduce him. Muhammad is believed to have once said, "One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother; the other one half went to the rest of mankind."[43] The story has a lot in common with the biblical narrative, but with certain differences.[44] In the Quran the brothers ask Jacob ("Yaqub") to let Joseph go with them.[45] Joseph is thrown into a well, and was taken as a slave by a passing caravan. When the brothers claimed to the father that a wolf had eaten Joseph, he observed patience.[46]

In the Bible, Joseph discloses himself to his brethren before they return to their father the second time after buying grain.[47] But in Islam they returned leaving behind Benjamin because the King’s measuring cup was found in his bag.[48] Similarly, the eldest son of Jacob had decided not to leave the land because of the oath taken to protect Benjamin beforehand.[49] When Jacob learned their story after their return, he cried in grief for so long that he lost his eyesight because of sorrow.[50] He thus charged his sons to go and inquire about Joseph and his brother and despair not of God's mercy. It was during this return to Egypt that Joseph disclosed his real identity to his brothers. He admonished and forgave them, he sent also his garment which healed the patriarch's eyes as soon as it was cast unto his face.[51] The remaining verses describe the migration of Jacob's family to Egypt and the emotional meeting of Jacob and his long lost son, Joseph. The family prostrated before him hence the fulfilment of his dream aforetime.[52]

The story concludes by Joseph praying,

“My Lord! You have surely granted me authority and taught me the interpretation of dreams. ˹O˺ Originator of the heavens and the earth! You are my Guardian in this world and the Hereafter. Allow me to die as one who submits and join me with the righteous.”

— Surah Yusuf 12:101

Baha'i tradition edit

There are numerous mentions of Joseph in Bahá'í writings.[53] These come in the forms of allusions written by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. In the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá'u'lláh states that "from my laws, the sweet-smelling savour of my garment can be smelled" and, in the Four Valleys, states that "the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha," referring to Joseph.

Bahá'í commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God. In the Qayyumu'l-Asma', the Báb refers to Bahá'u'lláh as the true Joseph and makes an analogous prophecy regarding Bahá'u'lláh suffering at the hands of his brother, Mírzá Yahyá.[54]

Literature and culture edit

See also edit

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Standard: Yōsef, Tiberian: Yōsēp̄; alternatively: יְהוֹסֵף,[3][4] lit. 'Yahweh shall add'; Standard: Yəhōsef, Tiberian: Yŏhōsēp̄;[5] Arabic: يوسف, romanizedYūsuf; Ancient Greek: Ἰωσήφ, romanizedIōsēph
  2. ^ Another possible translation is "coat with long sleeves" (Jastrow 1903)
  3. ^ According to Josephus, Reuben tied a cord around Joseph and let him down gently into the pit. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.3.2., Perseus Project AJ2.3.2, .
  4. ^ The Septuagint sets his price at twenty pieces of gold; the Testament of Gad thirty of gold; the Hebrew and Samaritan twenty of silver; the Vulgar Latin thirty of silver; Josephus at twenty pounds
  5. ^ Josephus claims that Potiphar fell for his wife's crocodile tears although he did not believe Joseph capable of the crime.Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.4.1., Perseus Project AJ2.4.1, .
  6. ^ Josephus refers to the name Zaphnath-Paaneah as Psothom Phanech meaning "the revealer of secrets" Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.6.1., Perseus Project AJ2.6.1, .
  7. ^ Josephus refers to Potipherah (or Petephres) as the priest of Heliopolis. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.6.1., Perseus Project AJ2.6.1, .
  8. ^ William Whiston comments that Simeon was chosen as a pledge for the sons of Israel's return to Egypt because of all the brothers who hated Joseph the most, was Simeon, according to the Testament of Simeon and the Testament of Zebulun. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.6.4., Perseus Project AJ2.6.4, . Note 1.
  9. ^ Josephus has Joseph meeting his father Jacob in Heliopolis, a store-city with Pithom and Raamses, all located in the Egyptian country of Goshen. Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.7.5., Perseus Project AJ2.7.5, .

Citations edit

  1. ^ Genesis 46:20
  2. ^ Gesenius & Robinson 1882, p. 391.
  3. ^ "Psalms 81:6". Sefaria.
  4. ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 3084". Bible Hub.
  5. ^ Khan, Geoffrey (2020). The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew, Volume 1. Open Book Publishers. ISBN 978-1783746767.
  6. ^ Binder, Susanne (2011). "Joseph's Rewarding and Investiture (Genesis 41:41-43) and The Gold Of Honour In New Kingdom Egypt". In Bar, S.; Kahn, D.; Shirley, J. J. (eds.). Egypt, Canaan and Israel: History, Imperialism, Ideology and Literature: Proceedings of a Conference at the University of Haifa, 3-7 May 2009. BRILL. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-90-04-19493-9.
  7. ^ a b T. Römer, “How “Persian” or “Hellenistic” is the Joseph Narrative?”, in T. Römer, K. Schmid et A. Bühler (ed.), The Joseph Story Between Egypt and Israel (Archaeology and Bible 5), Tübinngen: Mohr Siebeck, 2021, pp. 35-53
  8. ^ Blidstein, Gerald J. (2007). Skolnik, Fred; Berenbaum, Michael; Thomson Gale (Firm) (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 14. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4. OCLC 123527471. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  9. ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 622. asaph". Bible Hub.
  10. ^ "Genesis 30:23". Bible Hub.
  11. ^ "Strong's Hebrew Concordance - 3254. yasaph". Bible Hub.
  12. ^ "Genesis 30:24". Bible Hub.
  13. ^ Friedman, R.E., The Bible With Sources Revealed, (2003), p. 80
  14. ^ Genesis 37:21–22
  15. ^ Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 2.3.1., Perseus Project AJ2.3.1, .
  16. ^ "Strong's Hebrew: 6847. צָפְנַת (Tsaphenath Paneach) -- "the god speaks and he lives," Joseph's Eg. name". biblehub.com.
  17. ^ Genesis 45:11
  18. ^ Genesis 42:23
  19. ^ Genesis 46:27
  20. ^ Genesis 44:18
  21. ^ Redford 1970, p. 242: "several episodes in the narrative, and the plot motifs themselves, find some parallel in Saite, Persian, or Ptolemaic Egypt. It is the sheer weight of evidence, and not the argument from silence, that leads to the conclusion that the seventh century B.C. is the terminus a quo for the Egyptian background to the Joseph Story. If we assign the third quarter of the fifth century B.C.E. as the terminus ante quem, we are left with a span of two and one half centuries, comprising in terms of Egyptian history the Saite and early Persian periods."
  22. ^ Soggin 1993, pp. 102–103, 336, 343–344.
  23. ^ Binder 2011, p. 60.
  24. ^ Shupak 2020, p. 352.
  25. ^ Kugel 1990, p. 13.
  26. ^ Redford 1970, p. 69.
  27. ^ Lang 2009, p. 23.
  28. ^ Scharfstein 2008, p. 124.
  29. ^ Scharfstein 2008, p. 120.
  30. ^ Scharfstein 2008, pp. 125–126.
  31. ^ Ginzberg, Louis (1909). The Legends of the Jews. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. pp. 44–52. Then the Lord appeared unto him, holding the Eben Shetiyah in His hand, and said to him: "If thou touchest her, I will cast away this stone upon which the earth is founded, and the world will fall to ruin.".
  32. ^ Genesis 44:15
  33. ^ Scharfstein 2008, pp. 138–139.
  34. ^ Smith, Kathryn (1993), "History, Typology and Homily: The Joseph Cycle in the Queen Mary Psalter", Gesta, 32 (2): 147–59, doi:10.2307/767172, ISSN 0016-920X, JSTOR 767172, S2CID 155781985
  35. ^ Chrysostom, John (1992), Homilies on Genesis, 46-47, trans. Robert C. Hill, Washington DC: Catholic University of America Press, p. 191
  36. ^ Sheridan, Mark (2002), Genesis 11-50, Downers Grove: InterVarsity, p. 231
  37. ^ Sheridan, Mark (2002), Genesis 11-50, Downers Grove: InterVarsity, p. 233
  38. ^ Blacketer, Raymond (2006), "The School of God: Pedagogy and Rhetoric in Calvin's Interpretation of Deuteronomy", Studies in Early Modern Religious Reforms, vol. 3, pp. 3–4
  39. ^ Calvin, John (1998), Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis, vol. 2, Grand Rapids: Baker, p. 261
  40. ^ Lunn, Nicholas (March 2012), "Allusions to the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts: Foundations of a Biblical Type" (PDF), Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society: 27–41, ISSN 0360-8808
  41. ^ A history of the Franks, Gregory of Tours, Pantianos Classics, 1916
  42. ^ Quran 12:3
  43. ^ Tottoli 2002, p. 120.
  44. ^ Quran 12:1
  45. ^ Quran 12:12
  46. ^ Quran 12:15-18
  47. ^ "JOSEPH - JewishEncyclopedia.com". www.jewishencyclopedia.com.
  48. ^ Quran 12:72-76
  49. ^ Quran 12:80
  50. ^ Quran 12:84
  51. ^ Quran 12:87-96
  52. ^ Quran 12:100
  53. ^ Stokes, Jim. The Story of Joseph in the Babi and Baha'i Faiths in World Order, 29:2, pp. 25-42, 1997-98 Winter.
  54. ^ Naghdy 2012, p. 563.
  55. ^ "The Story of Joseph and His Brethren". IMDb.
  56. ^ "The Story of Jacob and Joseph". IMDb.
  57. ^ "The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis (Video 1979)". IMDb.

Sources edit

  • Gesenius, Wilhelm; Robinson, Edward (1882). A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament. Houghton Mifflin and Company.
  • Jastrow, Marcus (1903). A dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic literature. Vol. 1. London: Luzac & Co.
  • Kugel, James L. (1990). In Potiphar's House: The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts. HarperSanFrancisco. ISBN 978-0-06-064907-4.
  • Lang, Bernhard (2009). Joseph in Egypt: A Cultural Icon from Grotius to Goethe. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-15156-5.
  • Naghdy, Fazel (2012). A Tutorial on the Kitab-i-iqan: A Journey Through the Book of Certitude. Fazel Naghdy. ISBN 978-1-4663-1100-8.
  • Redford, Donald B. (1970). A study of the biblical story of Joseph: (Genesis 37–50). Leiden: Brill.
  • Redford, Donald B. (1993) [1992]. Egypt, Canaan, and Israel in Ancient Times. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-00086-2.
  • Smith, Morton (1984). "Jewish religious life in the Persian period". In Davies, William David; Finkelstein, Louis (eds.). The Cambridge History of Judaism: Introduction; The Persian period. SUNY series in Judaica. Cambridge University Press. pp. 219–78. ISBN 978-0-521-21880-1.
  • Scharfstein, Sol (2008). Torah and Commentary: The Five Books of Moses : Translation, Rabbinic and Contemporary Commentary. KTAV. ISBN 978-1-60280-020-5.
  • Shupak, Nili (2020). "The Egyptian Background of the Joseph Story: Selected Issues Revisited". In Averbeck, Richard E.; Younger (Jr.), K. Lawson (eds.). "An Excellent Fortress for His Armies, a Refuge for the People": Egyptological, Archaeological, and Biblical Studies in Honor of James K. Hoffmeier. Penn State Press. ISBN 978-1-57506-994-4.
  • Soggin, J. A. (1993). "Notes on the Joseph Story". In A. Graeme Auld (ed.). Understanding Poets and Prophets: Essays in Honour of George Wishart Anderson. Sheffield Academic Press. ISBN 9781850754275.
  • Tottoli, Roberto (2002). Biblical Prophets in the Qur'ān and Muslim Literature. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-7007-1394-3.

Further reading edit

  • de Hoop, Raymond (1999). Genesis 49 in its literary and historical context. Oudtestamentische studiën, Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap in Nederland. Vol. 39. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-10913-1.
  • Finkelstein, Israel; Silberman, Neil Asher (2001). The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-7432-2338-6. Retrieved 11 September 2011.
  • Genung, Matthew C. (2017). The Composition of Genesis 37: Incoherence and Meaning in the Exposition of the Joseph Story. Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2. Reihe. 95. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck. ISBN 978-3-16-155150-5.
  • Goldman, Shalom (1995). The wiles of women/the wiles of men: Joseph and Potiphar's wife in ancient Near Eastern, Jewish, and Islamic folklore. SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-2683-8.
  • Louden, Bruce (2011). "The Odyssey and the myth of Joseph; Autolykos and Jacob". Homer's Odyssey and the Near East. Cambridge University Press. pp. 57–104. ISBN 978-0-521-76820-7.
  • Moore, Megan Bishop; Kelle, Brad E (2011). Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 978-0-8028-6260-0.
  • Rivka, Ulmer (2009). Egyptian cultural icons in Midrash. Studia Judaica. Vol. 52. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-022392-7. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  • Schenke, Hans-Martin (1968). "Jacobsbrunnen-Josephsgrab-Sychar. Topographische Untersuchungen und Erwägungen in der Perspektive von Joh. 4,5.6". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 84 (2): 159–84. JSTOR 27930842.
  • Sills, Deborah (1997). "Strange Bedfellows: Politics and Narrative in Philo". In Breslauer, S. Daniel (ed.). The seductiveness of Jewish myth: challenge or response?. SUNY series in Judaica. SUNY. pp. 171–90. ISBN 978-0-7914-3602-8. Retrieved 8 September 2011.
  • Sperling, S. David (2003). The Original Torah: The Political Intent of the Bible's Writers. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-9833-1.
  • Völter, Daniel (1909). Aegypten und die Bibel: die Urgeschichte Israels im Licht der aegyptischen Mythologie (4th ed.). Leiden: E.J. Brill. Retrieved 8 September 2011.

External links edit

  •   Media related to Joseph (son of Jacob) at Wikimedia Commons
  • BBC - Joseph

joseph, genesis, this, article, about, joseph, book, genesis, testament, joseph, saint, joseph, other, uses, joseph, disambiguation, joseph, hebrew, יו, romanized, yōsēp, shall, important, hebrew, figure, bible, book, genesis, quran, first, sons, jacob, rachel. This article is about the Joseph of the Book of Genesis For the New Testament Joseph see Saint Joseph For other uses see Joseph disambiguation Joseph ˈ dʒ oʊ z e f s e f Hebrew יו ס ף romanized Yōsep lit He shall add 2 a is an important Hebrew figure in the Bible s Book of Genesis and in the Quran He was the first of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel Jacob s twelfth named child and eleventh son He is the founder of the Tribe of Joseph among the Israelites His story functions as an explanation for Israel s residence in Egypt He is the favourite son of the patriarch Jacob and his jealous brothers sell him into slavery in Biblical Egypt where he eventually ends up incarcerated After correctly interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh however he rises to second in command in Egypt and saves Egypt during a famine Jacob s family travels to Egypt to escape the famine and it is through him that they are given leave to settle in the Land of Goshen the eastern part of the Nile Delta Josephיו ס ף Joseph Overseer of the Pharaoh s Granaries 1874 by Sir Lawrence Alma TademaBorn2170 AM c 1590 BC Paddan Aram Aram Naharaim present day Harran Turkey DiedSecond Intermediate Period of Egypt present day Egypt Resting placeJoseph s Tomb Nablus Palestine32 12 47 N 35 16 58 E 32 2130268 N 35 2829153 E 32 2130268 35 2829153Other namesZaphnath Paaneah צ פ נ ת פ ע נ ח SpouseAsenathChildrenManasseh son Ephraim son 1 ParentsJacob father Rachel mother RelativesReuben half brother Simeon half brother Levi half brother Judah half brother Dan half brother Naphtali half brother Gad half brother Asher half brother Issachar half brother Zebulun half brother Dinah half sister Benjamin brother Rebecca grandmother Isaac grandfather Esau uncle Leah aunt stepmother Laban grandfather and great uncle Abraham great grandfather Sarah great grandmother Potipherah father in law Scholars hold different opinions about the historical background of the Joseph story as well as the date and development of its composition 6 Thomas Romer argues that The date of the original narrative can be the late Persian period and while there are several passages that fit better into a Greek Ptolemaic context most of these passages belong to later revisions 7 In Jewish tradition he is the ancestor of a second Messiah called Mashiach ben Yosef who will wage war against the forces of evil alongside Mashiach ben David and die in combat with the enemies of God and Israel 8 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Biblical narrative 2 1 Birth and family 2 2 Plot against Joseph 2 3 Potiphar s house 2 4 Joseph in prison 2 5 Vizier of Egypt 2 6 Brothers sent to Egypt 2 7 The silver cup 2 8 Family reunited 2 9 Father s blessing and passing 2 10 Joseph s burial 3 Composition and literary motifs 4 Jewish tradition 4 1 Selling Joseph 4 2 Potiphar s wife 4 3 Silver cup for divination 4 4 Raising Joseph 5 Christian tradition 6 Islamic tradition 7 Baha i tradition 8 Literature and culture 9 See also 10 References 10 1 Notes 10 2 Citations 10 3 Sources 10 4 Further reading 11 External linksEtymology editThe Bible offers two explanations of the name Yosef first it is compared to the triliteral א ס ף ʾ s p meaning to gather remove take away 9 And she conceived and bore a son and said God hath taken away my reproach Genesis 30 23 10 Yosef is then identified with the similar root יסף y s p meaning to add 11 And she called his name Joseph and said The LORD shall add to me another son Genesis 30 24 12 13 Biblical narrative editBirth and family edit 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 b When Joseph was seventeen years old he shared with his brothers two dreams he had 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 and made the brothers plot his demise nbsp Joseph s dream of grain nbsp Joseph s dream of starsPlot against Joseph edit See also Jacob in Hebron nbsp Joseph s Bloody Coat Brought to Jacob by Diego Velazquez 1630In Genesis 37 Vayeshev Joseph s half brothers were jealous of him Most of them plotted to kill him in Dothan except Reuben 14 15 who suggested they throw Joseph into an empty cistern he intended to rescue Joseph himself later Unaware of this plan to rescue Joseph the others agreed with Reuben c Upon imprisoning Joseph the brothers saw a camel caravan carrying spices and perfumes to Egypt and sold Joseph to these merchants d The guilty brothers painted goat s blood on Joseph s coat and showed it to Jacob who therefore believed Joseph had died Potiphar s house edit In Genesis 39 Vayeshev Joseph was sold to Potiphar the captain of Pharaoh s guard Later Joseph became Potiphar s servant and subsequently his household s superintendent Here Potiphar s wife later called Zulaykha tried to seduce Joseph which he refused Angered by his running away from her she made a false accusation of rape so he would be imprisoned e Joseph in prison edit nbsp Joseph in prison by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout 17th centuryThe warden put Joseph in charge of the other prisoners and soon afterward Pharaoh s chief cup bearer and chief baker who had offended the Pharaoh were thrown into the prison Both men had dreams and Joseph being able to interpret dreams asked to hear them 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 Joseph requested that the cup bearer mention him to Pharaoh to secure his release from prison but the cup bearer reinstalled in office forgot Joseph 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 surplus grain Vizier of Egypt edit nbsp The triumph of Joseph 1657 Toulouse CathedralFollowing the prediction Joseph became Vizier under the name of Zaphnath Paaneah Hebrew צ פ נ ת פ ע נ ח Ṣap naṯ Paʿneaḥ f 16 and was given Asenath the daughter of Potipherah priest of On g to be his wife During the seven years of abundance Joseph ensured that the storehouses were full and that all produce was weighed In the sixth year Asenath bore two children to Joseph Manasseh and Ephraim When the famine came it was so severe that people from surrounding nations came to Egypt to buy bread The narrative also indicates that they went straight to Joseph or were directed to him even by the Pharaoh himself Genesis 41 37 57 As a last resort all of the inhabitants of Egypt less the Egyptian priestly class sold their properties and later themselves as slaves to Joseph for seed wherefore Joseph set a mandate that because the people would be sowing and harvesting seed on government property a fifth of the produce should go to the Pharaoh This mandate lasted until the days of Moses Genesis 47 20 31 Brothers sent to Egypt edit See also Seven year famine nbsp Joseph gave orders to his servants to fill their sacks with wheat illuminated Bible by Raphael de Mercatelli Ghent late 15th century In the second year of famine 17 Joseph s half brothers were sent to Egypt to buy goods When they came to Egypt they stood before the Vizier but did not recognize him as their brother Joseph who was now in his late 30s but Joseph did recognize them and did not speak at all to them in his native tongue of Hebrew 18 After questioning them he accused them of being spies After they mentioned a younger brother at home the Vizier Joseph demanded that he be brought to Egypt as a demonstration of their veracity This was Joseph s full brother Benjamin Joseph placed his brothers in prison for three days On the third day he brought them out of prison to reiterate that he wanted their youngest brother brought to Egypt to demonstrate their veracity The brothers conferred amongst themselves speaking in Hebrew reflecting on the wrong they had done to Joseph Joseph understood what they were saying and removed himself from their presence because he was caught in emotion When he returned the Vizier took Simeon and bound him as a hostage h Then he had their donkeys prepared with grain and sent the other brothers back to Canaan Unbeknownst to them Joseph had also returned their money to their money sacks Genesis 42 1 28 The silver cup edit The remaining brothers returned to their father in Canaan and told him all that had transpired in Egypt They also discovered that all of their money sacks still had money in them and they were dismayed Then they informed their father that the Vizier demanded that Benjamin be brought before him to demonstrate that they were honest men Jacob became greatly distressed feeling deprived of successive sons Joseph Simeon and prospectively Benjamin After they had consumed all of the grain that they brought back from Egypt Jacob told his sons to go back to Egypt for more grain With Reuben and Judah s persistence they persuaded their father to let Benjamin join them for fear of Egyptian retribution Genesis 42 29 43 15 nbsp Joseph s cup found in Benjamin s sack illustration by Philip De VereUpon their return to Egypt the steward of Joseph s house received the brothers When they were brought to Joseph s house they were apprehensive about the returned money in their money sacks They thought that the missed transaction would somehow be used against them as way to induct them as slaves and to confiscate their possessions So they immediately informed the steward of what had transpired The steward put them at ease telling them not to worry about the money and brought out their brother Simeon Then he brought the brothers into the house of Joseph and received them hospitably When the Vizier Joseph appeared they gave him gifts from their father Joseph saw and inquired of Benjamin and was overcome by emotion but did not show it He withdrew to his chambers and wept When he regained control of himself he returned and ordered a meal to be served The Egyptians would not dine with Hebrews at the same table as doing so was considered loathsome thus the sons of Israel were served at a separate table Genesis 43 16 44 34 That night Joseph ordered his steward to load the brothers donkeys with food and all their money The money they had brought was double what they had offered on the first trip Deceptively Joseph also ordered the steward to put his silver cup in Benjamin s sack The following morning the brothers began their journey back to Canaan Joseph ordered the steward to go after the brothers and to question them about the missing silver cup When the steward caught up with the brothers he seized them and searched their sacks The steward found the cup in Benjamin s sack just as he had planted it the night before This caused a stir amongst the brothers However they agreed to be escorted back to Egypt When the Vizier Joseph confronted them about the silver cup he demanded that the one who possessed the cup in his bag become his slave In response Judah pleaded with the Vizier that Benjamin be allowed to return to his father and that he himself be kept in Benjamin s place as a slave Genesis 44 Family reunited edit See also Jacob in Egypt nbsp Joseph recognized by his brothers 1863 painting by Leon Pierre Urbain BourgeoisJudah appealed to the Vizier begging that Benjamin be released and that he be enslaved in his stead because of the silver cup found in Benjamin s sack The Vizier broke down into tears He could not control himself any longer and so he sent the Egyptian men out of the house Then he revealed to the Hebrews that he was in fact their brother Joseph He wept so loudly that even the Egyptian household heard it outside The brothers were frozen and could not utter a word He brought them closer and relayed to them the events that had happened and told them not to fear that what they had meant for evil God had meant for good Then he commanded them to go and bring their father and his entire household into Egypt to live in the province of Goshen because there were five more years of famine left So Joseph supplied them Egyptian transport wagons new garments silver money and twenty additional donkeys carrying provisions for the journey Genesis 45 1 28 Thus Jacob also known as Israel and his entire house of seventy 19 gathered up with all their livestock and began their journey to Egypt As they approached Egyptian territory Judah went ahead to ask Joseph where the caravan should unload They were directed into the province of Goshen and Joseph readied his chariot to meet his father there i It had been over twenty years since Joseph had last seen his father When they met they embraced each other and wept together for quite a while His father then remarked Now let me die since I have seen your face because you are still alive Genesis 46 1 34 Afterward Joseph s family personally met the Pharaoh of Egypt The Pharaoh honored their stay and even proposed that if there were any qualified men in their house then they may elect a chief herdsman to oversee Egyptian livestock Because the Pharaoh had such a high regard for Joseph practically making him his equal 20 it had been an honor to meet his father Thus Israel was able to bless the Pharaoh Genesis 47 1 47 12 The family was then settled in Goshen Father s blessing and passing edit Main article Blessing of Jacob nbsp Joseph weeps The house of Israel acquired many possessions and multiplied exceedingly during the course of seventeen years even through the worst of the seven year famine At this time Joseph s father was 147 years old and bedridden He had fallen ill and lost most of his vision Joseph was called into his father s house and Israel pleaded with his son that he not be buried in Egypt Rather he requested to be carried to the land of Canaan to be buried with his forefathers Joseph was sworn to do as his father asked of him Genesis 47 27 31 Later Joseph came to visit his father having with him his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh Israel declared that they would be heirs to the inheritance of the house of Israel as if they were his own children just as Reuben and Simeon were Then Israel laid his left hand on the eldest Mannasseh s head and his right hand on the youngest Ephraim s head and blessed Joseph However Joseph was displeased that his father s right hand was not on the head of his firstborn so he switched his father s hands But Israel refused saying but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he a declaration he made just as Israel himself was to his firstborn brother Esau To Joseph he gave a portion more of Canaanite property than he had to his other sons land that he fought for against the Amorites Genesis 48 1 22 Then Israel called all of his sons in and prophesied their blessings or curses to all twelve of them in order of their ages To Joseph he declared Joseph is a fruitful bough even a fruitful bough by a well whose branches run over the wall The archers have sorely grieved him and shot at him and hated him But his bow abode in strength and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob From thence is the Shepherd the Stone of Israel Even by the God of your father who shall help thee and by the Almighty who shall bless thee With blessings of heaven above Blessings of the deep that lieth under Blessings of the breasts and of the womb The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills They shall be on the head of Joseph And on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren Genesis 49 22 26 KJV After relaying his prophecies Israel died The family including the Egyptians mourned him seventy days Joseph had his father embalmed a process that took forty days Then he prepared a great ceremonial journey to Canaan leading the servants of the Pharaoh and the elders of the houses Israel and Egypt beyond the Jordan River They stopped at Atad where they observed seven days of mourning Here their lamentation was so great that it caught the attention of surrounding Canaanites who remarked This is a deep mourning of the Egyptians So they named this spot Abel Mizraim Then Joseph buried Israel in the cave of Machpelah the property of Abraham when he bought it from the Hittites Genesis 49 33 50 14 After their father died the brothers of Joseph feared retribution for being responsible for Joseph s deliverance into Egypt as a slave Joseph wept as they spoke and told them that what had happened was God s purpose to save lives and the lives of his family He comforted them and their ties were reconciled Genesis 50 15 21 Joseph s burial edit nbsp Burying the Body of Joseph illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible Joseph lived to the age of 110 living to see his great grandchildren Before he died he made the children of Israel swear that when they left the land of Egypt they would take his bones with them and on his death his body was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt Genesis 50 22 26 The children of Israel remembered their oath and when they left Egypt during the Exodus Moses took Joseph s bones with him Exodus 13 19 The bones were buried at Shechem in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor Joshua 24 32 which has traditionally been identified with site of Joseph s Tomb before Jacob and all his family moved to Egypt Shechem was in the land which was allocated by Joshua to the Tribe of Ephraim one of the tribes of the House of Joseph after the conquest of Canaan Composition and literary motifs editSee also Tale of Two Brothers nbsp Joseph interprets the dream of Pharaoh in a 19th century painting by Jean Adrien Guignet In 1970 Donald B Redford argued that the composition of the story could be dated to the period between the 7th century BCE and the third quarter of the 5th century BCE 21 By the early 1990s a majority of modern scholars agreed that the Joseph story was a Wisdom novella constructed by a single author and that it reached its current form in the 5th century BCE at the earliest with Soggin suggesting the possibility of a first or early second century BCE date 22 Some scholars argue that the core of the story could be traced back to a 2nd millennium BCE context 23 24 Thomas Romer argues that The date of the original narrative can be the late Persian period and while there are several passages that fit better into a Greek Ptolemaic context most of these passages belong to later revisions 7 The motif of dreams dream interpretation contributes to a strong story like narrative 25 26 The plot begins by showing Joseph as a dreamer this leads him into trouble as out of jealousy his brothers sell him into slavery The next two instances of dream interpretation establish his reputation as a great interpreter of dreams first he begins in a low place interpreting the dreams of prisoners Then Joseph is summoned to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh himself 27 Impressed with Joseph s interpretations Pharaoh appoints him as second in command Gen 41 41 This sets up the climax of the story which many regard to be the moment Joseph reveals his identity to his brothers Gen 45 3 Jewish tradition editSelling Joseph edit See also Vayeshev Miketz Vayigash and Vayechi nbsp Children of Jacob sell their brother Joseph by Konstantin Flavitsky 1855 In the midrash the selling of Joseph was part of God s divine plan for him to save his tribes The favoritism Israel showed Joseph and the plot against him by his brothers were divine means of getting him into Egypt 28 Maimonides comments that even the villager in Shechem about whom Joseph inquired his brother s whereabouts was a divine messenger working behind the scene 29 A midrash asked How many times was Joseph sold In analyzing Genesis Chapter 37 there are five different Hebrew names used to describe five different groups of people involved in the transaction of selling Joseph according to Rabbi Judah and Rav Huna The first group identified are Joseph s brothers when Judah brings up the idea of selling Joseph in verses 26 and 27 The first mention of Ishmaelites Yishma elim is in verse 25 Then the Hebrew phrase ʼnashim midyanim sōĥrim in verse 28 describes Midianite traders A fourth group in verse 36 is named in Hebrew as m danim that is properly identified as Medanites The final group where a transaction is made is among the Egyptians in the same verse After identifying the Hebrew names Rabbi Judah claims that Joseph was sold four times First his brothers sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites Yishma elim then the Ishmaelites sold him to the Midianite traders ʼnashim midyanim sōĥrim the Midianite traders to the Medanites m danim and the Medanites into Egypt Rav Huna adds one more sale by concluding that after the Medanites sold him to the Egyptians a fifth sale occurred when the Egyptians sold him to Potiphar Genesis Rabbah 84 22 Potiphar s wife edit Joseph had good reasons not to have an affair with Potiphar s wife he did not want to abuse his master s trust he believed in the sanctity of marriage and it went against his ethical moral and religious principles taught to him by his father Jacob According to the Midrash Joseph would have been immediately executed by the sexual assault charge against him by Potiphar s wife Abravanel explains that she had accused other servants of the same crime in the past Potiphar believed that Joseph was incapable of such an act and petitioned Pharaoh to spare his life 30 However punishment could not have been avoided because of her class status and limited public knowledge of her scheme According to Legends of the Jews the name of Potiphar s wife is Zuleikha and when she was enticing Joseph to give up to her sinful passion God appeared unto him holding the foundation of earth Eben Shetiyah that He would destroy the world if Joseph touched her 31 Silver cup for divination edit Jewish tradition holds that Joseph had his steward plant his personal silver cup in Benjamin s sack to test his brothers He wanted to know if they would be willing to risk danger in order to save their half brother Benjamin Since Joseph and Benjamin were born from Rachel this test was necessary to reveal if they would betray Benjamin as they did with Joseph when he was seventeen Because Joseph the Dreamer predicts the future by analyzing dreams alternative Jewish tradition claims that he practiced divination using this silver cup as the steward charged 32 and as Joseph himself claimed in Genesis 44 15 33 Raising Joseph edit In one Talmudic story Joseph was buried in the Nile river as there was some dispute as to which province should be honored by having his tomb within its boundaries Moses led there by an ancient holy woman named Serach was able by a miracle to raise the sarcophagus and to take it with him at the time of the Exodus Christian tradition edit nbsp Mosaic depicting Joseph in the Cathedral of EvangelismosJoseph is mentioned in the New Testament as an example of faith Hebrews 11 22 Joseph is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on 26 July In the Eastern Orthodox Church and those Eastern Catholic Churches which follow the Byzantine Rite he is known as Joseph the all comely a reference not only to his physical appearance but more importantly to the beauty of his spiritual life They commemorate him on the Sunday of the Holy Forefathers two Sundays before Christmas and on Holy and Great Monday Monday of Holy Week In icons he is sometimes depicted wearing the nemes headdress of an Egyptian vizier The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod commemorates him as a patriarch on 31 March In addition to honoring him there was a strong tendency in the patristic period to view his life as a typological precursor to Christ 34 This tendency is represented in John Chrysostom who said that Joseph s suffering was a type of things to come 35 Caesarius of Arles who interpreted Joseph s famous coat as representative of the diverse nations who would follow Christ 36 Ambrose of Milan who interpreted the standing sheaf as prefiguring the resurrection of Christ 37 and others This tendency although greatly diminished was followed throughout late antiquity the Medieval Era and into the Reformation Even John Calvin sometimes hailed as the father of modern grammatico historical exegesis 38 writes in the person of Joseph a lively image of Christ is presented 39 In addition some Christian authors have argued that this typological interpretation finds its origin in the speech of Stephen in Acts 7 9 15 as well as the Gospel of Luke and the parables of Jesus noting strong verbal and conceptual collocation between the Greek translation of the portion of Genesis concerning Joseph and the Parable of the Wicked Tenants and the Parable of the Prodigal Son 40 Gregory of Tours claimed that Joseph built the pyramids and they were used as granaries 41 Islamic tradition editMain article Joseph in Islam nbsp Persian miniature depicting Joseph with his father Jacob and brothers in Egypt from Zubdat al Tawarikh in the Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum in Istanbul dedicated to Sultan Murad III in 1583Joseph Arabic يوس ف Yusuf is regarded by the Quran as a prophet Quran 6 84 and a whole chapter Surah Yusuf 12 is devoted to him the only instance in the Quran in which an entire chapter is devoted to a complete story of a person It is described in the Quran as the best of stories 42 Joseph is said to have been extremely handsome which attracted his Egyptian master s wife to attempt to seduce him Muhammad is believed to have once said One half of all the beauty God apportioned for mankind went to Joseph and his mother the other one half went to the rest of mankind 43 The story has a lot in common with the biblical narrative but with certain differences 44 In the Quran the brothers ask Jacob Yaqub to let Joseph go with them 45 Joseph is thrown into a well and was taken as a slave by a passing caravan When the brothers claimed to the father that a wolf had eaten Joseph he observed patience 46 In the Bible Joseph discloses himself to his brethren before they return to their father the second time after buying grain 47 But in Islam they returned leaving behind Benjamin because the King s measuring cup was found in his bag 48 Similarly the eldest son of Jacob had decided not to leave the land because of the oath taken to protect Benjamin beforehand 49 When Jacob learned their story after their return he cried in grief for so long that he lost his eyesight because of sorrow 50 He thus charged his sons to go and inquire about Joseph and his brother and despair not of God s mercy It was during this return to Egypt that Joseph disclosed his real identity to his brothers He admonished and forgave them he sent also his garment which healed the patriarch s eyes as soon as it was cast unto his face 51 The remaining verses describe the migration of Jacob s family to Egypt and the emotional meeting of Jacob and his long lost son Joseph The family prostrated before him hence the fulfilment of his dream aforetime 52 The story concludes by Joseph praying My Lord You have surely granted me authority and taught me the interpretation of dreams O Originator of the heavens and the earth You are my Guardian in this world and the Hereafter Allow me to die as one who submits and join me with the righteous Surah Yusuf 12 101Baha i tradition editThere are numerous mentions of Joseph in Baha i writings 53 These come in the forms of allusions written by the Bab and Baha u llah In the Kitab i Aqdas Baha u llah states that from my laws the sweet smelling savour of my garment can be smelled and in the Four Valleys states that the fragrance of his garment blowing from the Egypt of Baha referring to Joseph Baha i commentaries have described these as metaphors with the garment implying the recognition of a manifestation of God In the Qayyumu l Asma the Bab refers to Baha u llah as the true Joseph and makes an analogous prophecy regarding Baha u llah suffering at the hands of his brother Mirza Yahya 54 Literature and culture editSomnium morale Pharaonis 13th century by Cistercian monk Jean de Limoges is a collection of fictional letters exchanged between Pharaoh Joseph and other characters of the narrative regarding the interpretation of Pharaoh s dream Joseph and his Brethren 1743 an oratorio by George Frideric Handel Josephslegende The Legend of Joseph is a 1914 work by Richard Strauss for the Ballets Russes Joseph and His Brothers 1933 1943 a four novel omnibus by Thomas Mann retells the Genesis stories surrounding Joseph identifying Joseph with the figure of Osarseph known from Josephus and the pharaoh with Akhenaten 1961 film The Story of Joseph and His Brethren Giuseppe venduto dai fratelli 55 1974 film The Story of Jacob and Joseph 56 1979 New Media Bible Genesis Project TV cap Joseph And His Brothers 57 The long running musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice is based on the biblical story of Joseph up through Genesis chapter 46 It was adapted into the 1999 film of the same name In 1995 Turner Network Television released the made for television film Joseph starring Ben Kingsley as Potiphar Lesley Ann Warren as Potiphar s wife Paul Mercurio as Joseph and Martin Landau as Jacob In 2000 DreamWorks Animation released a direct to video animated musical film based on the life of Joseph titled Joseph King of Dreams American actor Ben Affleck provided the speaking voice of Joseph with Australian singer David Campbell providing his singing voice Yousuf e Payambar or Joseph the Prophet is an Iranian television series from 2008 directed by Farajullah Salahshur which tells the story of Prophet Joseph from the Quran and Islamic traditions The cultural impact of the Joseph story in early modern times is discussed in Lang 2009 Rappresentatione di Giuseppe e i suoi Fratelli Joseph and his Brethren a musical drama in three acts composed by Elam Rotem for ensemble Profeti della Quinta 2013 Pan Classics Jose do Egito English Joseph of Egypt is a Brazilian miniseries produced and broadcast by RecordTV It premiered on January 30 2013 and ended on October 9 2013 It is based on the biblical account of the book of Genesis that deals with the patriarch Joseph son of Jacob The 2003 VeggieTales children s video The Ballad of Little Joe retells Joseph s Genesis stories in the style and setting of an American Western film The 2019 novel Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness by Stephen Mitchell retells the story of Joseph in the form of a midrash with emphasis on the thoughts and beliefs of a flawed Joseph See also editBook of Joseph Latter Day Saints Joseph s tomb List of slaves Yousuf e Payambar YusufzaiReferences editNotes edit Standard Yōsef Tiberian Yōsep alternatively י הו ס ף 3 4 lit Yahweh shall add Standard Yehōsef Tiberian Yŏhōsep 5 Arabic يوسف romanized Yusuf Ancient Greek Ἰwshf romanized Iōseph Another possible translation is coat with long sleeves Jastrow 1903 According to Josephus Reuben tied a cord around Joseph and let him down gently into the pit Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 3 2 Perseus Project AJ2 3 2 The Septuagint sets his price at twenty pieces of gold the Testament of Gad thirty of gold the Hebrew and Samaritan twenty of silver the Vulgar Latin thirty of silver Josephus at twenty pounds Josephus claims that Potiphar fell for his wife s crocodile tears although he did not believe Joseph capable of the crime Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 4 1 Perseus Project AJ2 4 1 Josephus refers to the name Zaphnath Paaneah as Psothom Phanech meaning the revealer of secrets Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 6 1 Perseus Project AJ2 6 1 Josephus refers to Potipherah or Petephres as the priest of Heliopolis Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 6 1 Perseus Project AJ2 6 1 William Whiston comments that Simeon was chosen as a pledge for the sons of Israel s return to Egypt because of all the brothers who hated Joseph the most was Simeon according to the Testament of Simeon and the Testament of Zebulun Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 6 4 Perseus Project AJ2 6 4 Note 1 Josephus has Joseph meeting his father Jacob in Heliopolis a store city with Pithom and Raamses all located in the Egyptian country of Goshen Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 7 5 Perseus Project AJ2 7 5 Citations edit Genesis 46 20 Gesenius amp Robinson 1882 p 391 Psalms 81 6 Sefaria Strong s Hebrew Concordance 3084 Bible Hub Khan Geoffrey 2020 The Tiberian Pronunciation Tradition of Biblical Hebrew Volume 1 Open Book Publishers ISBN 978 1783746767 Binder Susanne 2011 Joseph s Rewarding and Investiture Genesis 41 41 43 and The Gold Of Honour In New Kingdom Egypt In Bar S Kahn D Shirley J J eds Egypt Canaan and Israel History Imperialism Ideology and Literature Proceedings of a Conference at the University of Haifa 3 7 May 2009 BRILL pp 52 53 ISBN 978 90 04 19493 9 a b T Romer How Persian or Hellenistic is the Joseph Narrative in T Romer K Schmid et A Buhler ed The Joseph Story Between Egypt and Israel Archaeology and Bible 5 Tubinngen Mohr Siebeck 2021 pp 35 53 Blidstein Gerald J 2007 Skolnik Fred Berenbaum Michael Thomson Gale Firm eds Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol 14 pp 112 113 ISBN 978 0 02 866097 4 OCLC 123527471 Retrieved 7 November 2019 Strong s Hebrew Concordance 622 asaph Bible Hub Genesis 30 23 Bible Hub Strong s Hebrew Concordance 3254 yasaph Bible Hub Genesis 30 24 Bible Hub Friedman R E The Bible With Sources Revealed 2003 p 80 Genesis 37 21 22 Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 2 3 1 Perseus Project AJ2 3 1 Strong s Hebrew 6847 צ פ נ ת Tsaphenath Paneach the god speaks and he lives Joseph s Eg name biblehub com Genesis 45 11 Genesis 42 23 Genesis 46 27 Genesis 44 18 Redford 1970 p 242 several episodes in the narrative and the plot motifs themselves find some parallel in Saite Persian or Ptolemaic Egypt It is the sheer weight of evidence and not the argument from silence that leads to the conclusion that the seventh century B C is the terminus a quo for the Egyptian background to the Joseph Story If we assign the third quarter of the fifth century B C E as the terminus ante quem we are left with a span of two and one half centuries comprising in terms of Egyptian history the Saite and early Persian periods Soggin 1993 pp 102 103 336 343 344 Binder 2011 p 60 Shupak 2020 p 352 Kugel 1990 p 13 Redford 1970 p 69 Lang 2009 p 23 Scharfstein 2008 p 124 Scharfstein 2008 p 120 Scharfstein 2008 pp 125 126 Ginzberg Louis 1909 The Legends of the Jews Philadelphia Jewish Publication Society pp 44 52 Then the Lord appeared unto him holding the Eben Shetiyah in His hand and said to him If thou touchest her I will cast away this stone upon which the earth is founded and the world will fall to ruin Genesis 44 15 Scharfstein 2008 pp 138 139 Smith Kathryn 1993 History Typology and Homily The Joseph Cycle in the Queen Mary Psalter Gesta 32 2 147 59 doi 10 2307 767172 ISSN 0016 920X JSTOR 767172 S2CID 155781985 Chrysostom John 1992 Homilies on Genesis 46 47 trans Robert C Hill Washington DC Catholic University of America Press p 191 Sheridan Mark 2002 Genesis 11 50 Downers Grove InterVarsity p 231 Sheridan Mark 2002 Genesis 11 50 Downers Grove InterVarsity p 233 Blacketer Raymond 2006 The School of God Pedagogy and Rhetoric in Calvin s Interpretation of Deuteronomy Studies in Early Modern Religious Reforms vol 3 pp 3 4 Calvin John 1998 Commentaries on the First Book of Moses Called Genesis vol 2 Grand Rapids Baker p 261 Lunn Nicholas March 2012 Allusions to the Joseph Narrative in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts Foundations of a Biblical Type PDF Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 27 41 ISSN 0360 8808 A history of the Franks Gregory of Tours Pantianos Classics 1916 Quran 12 3 Tottoli 2002 p 120 Quran 12 1 Quran 12 12 Quran 12 15 18 JOSEPH JewishEncyclopedia com www jewishencyclopedia com Quran 12 72 76 Quran 12 80 Quran 12 84 Quran 12 87 96 Quran 12 100 Stokes Jim The Story of Joseph in the Babi and Baha i Faiths in World Order 29 2 pp 25 42 1997 98 Winter Naghdy 2012 p 563 The Story of Joseph and His Brethren IMDb The Story of Jacob and Joseph IMDb The New Media Bible Book of Genesis Video 1979 IMDb Sources edit Gesenius Wilhelm Robinson Edward 1882 A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament Houghton Mifflin and Company Jastrow Marcus 1903 A dictionary of the Targumim the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi and the Midrashic literature Vol 1 London Luzac amp Co Kugel James L 1990 In Potiphar s House The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts HarperSanFrancisco ISBN 978 0 06 064907 4 Lang Bernhard 2009 Joseph in Egypt A Cultural Icon from Grotius to Goethe Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 15156 5 Naghdy Fazel 2012 A Tutorial on the Kitab i iqan A Journey Through the Book of Certitude Fazel Naghdy ISBN 978 1 4663 1100 8 Redford Donald B 1970 A study of the biblical story of Joseph Genesis 37 50 Leiden Brill Redford Donald B 1993 1992 Egypt Canaan and Israel in Ancient Times Princeton University Press ISBN 978 0 691 00086 2 Smith Morton 1984 Jewish religious life in the Persian period In Davies William David Finkelstein Louis eds The Cambridge History of Judaism Introduction The Persian period SUNY series in Judaica Cambridge University Press pp 219 78 ISBN 978 0 521 21880 1 Scharfstein Sol 2008 Torah and Commentary The Five Books of Moses Translation Rabbinic and Contemporary Commentary KTAV ISBN 978 1 60280 020 5 Shupak Nili 2020 The Egyptian Background of the Joseph Story Selected Issues Revisited In Averbeck Richard E Younger Jr K Lawson eds An Excellent Fortress for His Armies a Refuge for the People Egyptological Archaeological and Biblical Studies in Honor of James K Hoffmeier Penn State Press ISBN 978 1 57506 994 4 Soggin J A 1993 Notes on the Joseph Story In A Graeme Auld ed Understanding Poets and Prophets Essays in Honour of George Wishart Anderson Sheffield Academic Press ISBN 9781850754275 Tottoli Roberto 2002 Biblical Prophets in the Qur an and Muslim Literature Psychology Press ISBN 978 0 7007 1394 3 Further reading edit de Hoop Raymond 1999 Genesis 49 in its literary and historical context Oudtestamentische studien Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap in Nederland Vol 39 BRILL ISBN 978 90 04 10913 1 Finkelstein Israel Silberman Neil Asher 2001 The Bible Unearthed Archaeology s New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Sacred Texts Simon and Schuster ISBN 978 0 7432 2338 6 Retrieved 11 September 2011 Genung Matthew C 2017 The Composition of Genesis 37 Incoherence and Meaning in the Exposition of the Joseph Story Forschungen zum Alten Testament 2 Reihe 95 Tubingen Mohr Siebeck ISBN 978 3 16 155150 5 Goldman Shalom 1995 The wiles of women the wiles of men Joseph and Potiphar s wife in ancient Near Eastern Jewish and Islamic folklore SUNY Press ISBN 978 0 7914 2683 8 Louden Bruce 2011 The Odyssey and the myth of Joseph Autolykos and Jacob Homer s Odyssey and the Near East Cambridge University Press pp 57 104 ISBN 978 0 521 76820 7 Moore Megan Bishop Kelle Brad E 2011 Biblical History and Israel s Past The Changing Study of the Bible and History Wm B Eerdmans Publishing ISBN 978 0 8028 6260 0 Rivka Ulmer 2009 Egyptian cultural icons in Midrash Studia Judaica Vol 52 Walter de Gruyter ISBN 978 3 11 022392 7 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Schenke Hans Martin 1968 Jacobsbrunnen Josephsgrab Sychar Topographische Untersuchungen und Erwagungen in der Perspektive von Joh 4 5 6 Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palastina Vereins 84 2 159 84 JSTOR 27930842 Sills Deborah 1997 Strange Bedfellows Politics and Narrative in Philo In Breslauer S Daniel ed The seductiveness of Jewish myth challenge or response SUNY series in Judaica SUNY pp 171 90 ISBN 978 0 7914 3602 8 Retrieved 8 September 2011 Sperling S David 2003 The Original Torah The Political Intent of the Bible s Writers NYU Press ISBN 978 0 8147 9833 1 Volter Daniel 1909 Aegypten und die Bibel die Urgeschichte Israels im Licht der aegyptischen Mythologie 4th ed Leiden E J Brill Retrieved 8 September 2011 External links edit nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Joseph Genesis nbsp Media related to Joseph son of Jacob at Wikimedia Commons BBC Joseph Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Joseph Genesis amp oldid 1215562998, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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