The story of Joseph is replete with narrative contradictions. Source criticism has long dominated the quest for textual coherence. But how are we to make sense of the integrated text?
Joseph is a model of wisdom. In one story, however, where it is told how Joseph acquired all Egyptians and their land for Pharaoh (Gen 47:13–26), readers can only wonder whether his conduct is really held up as an example. As it seems, the Torah uses this story to teach an important lesson: wisdom is good, but it is to be channeled by the law.
Translating the Torah from Hebrew into a different language is a huge challenge: What is the right balance between composing a text that reads smoothly while capturing the flavor of its original language? When I translated the Torah and the Early Prophets, I navigated this tension in favor of keeping the Hebrew flavor.
The Meaning of God’s Revelation to Jacob in Chapter 46
Contemporary abuse of a once popular biblical hero.
Egyptologists have long searched the details of the Joseph story for clues to when the story was written. Does the Jewish experience as a diaspora community in Egypt hold the clue to the story’s origin?
A close look at the different references to Jacob’s descendants, and their number in both the MT and the LXX shows how the tradition of Jacob’s descendants developed over time.
וַיֹּאמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יוֹסֵף אָמוּתָה הַפָּעַם אַחֲרֵי רְאוֹתִי אֶת פָּנֶיךָ כִּי עוֹדְךָ חָי׃
בראשית מו:ל
Then Israel said to Joseph, “Now I can die, having seen for myself that you are still alive.”
Gen 46:30
