Joseph In Pharaoh’s Court

By Richard D. Patterson

[Richard D. Patterson is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Semitics and Old Testament, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia.]

Chapters 37–50 of Genesis have received abundant attention not only in the many commentaries on Genesis and biblical encyclopedias and dictionaries, but also in various special studies.[1] The narrative in these chapters has received varying treatment at the hands of its many interpreters. Among those who view the chapters as a unit, some treat it as a story (Ryken, Seybold), others as a novella (Humphreys), or history—particularly as the completion of the historical record concerning Jacob (Leupold). Of special note is the fine study by Waltke and Fredricks, who, though viewing the setting of Genesis 37–50 as “the account of Jacob’s descendants,” discuss the unit in terms of the form of a drama.[2] The interpretation of this section of Genesis also varies as to whether the primary story line revolves around Joseph, Joseph and his family, or Jacob.[3]

Much of the variety in the treatment of these chapters has to do with the way one views them in relation to Genesis as a whole. Although the basic structure of Genesis is not the focus of this study, it should be pointed out that the majority of scholarly opinion has emphasized the function of the tōléḏōṯ (תּוֹלְדוֹת, “these are the generations of. . .”) statements found in strategic places throughout Genesis, including 36:1, 9 and 37:2.[4] Because they uniformly point to the sons of the progenitor, one may readily see that the narrative in Genesis 37–50 is tied intrinsically to the account of Jacob. It is designed to bring the details of the life of the third of the great patriarchs to its conclusion.[5] Nevertheless for practical purposes the key role of Joseph as “its main protagonist” must not be overlooked.[6] So this study is concerned primarily with Joseph, and it views the narrative as a court narrative.

Joseph’s Story As A Court Narrative

Genre

Court narratives characteristically are composed of such elements as “(1) a specific test involving faith, morality, or compromise of covenantal standards, (2) the friendliness of a resident court official, (3) besting the foreigners in contests or conflict, and (4) an unexpected extraordinary resolution to a besetting problem.”[7] The best-known biblical examples are Daniel 2–6 and the Book of Esther.[8] Also the story of Joseph can be analyzed in terms of a court narrative.[9] Several elements of a court narrative are clearly present in the Joseph story, particularly in Genesis 41: the presence of a court official (the cupbearer) friendly to the protagonist (vv. 9–13); Joseph’s God-given ability to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams when the Egyptian magicians and wise men could not do so (vv. 1–8, 14–36); and Joseph’s totally unexpected promotion to high office in Pharaoh’s court (vv. 37–51).

However, not only does chapter 41 bear the impress of a court narrative; the entire Joseph narrative is a carefully crafted and well-developed story. The author has linked the various sections together to form a unified whole by means of a series of literary hooks.[10] Thus chapters 37–38 are linked by the attention given to Judah (37:26–27; 38:1–26) and by verbal repetition (“go down,” 37:35; “went down,” 38:1), a feature that continues into chapter 39 (v. 1). Chapters 37–39 have in common attention given to garments or personal items (37:3; 38:18, 25–26; 39:12–18) while chapters 38 and 39 are linked by sexual incidents.[11] Chapters 39 and 40 have a common setting in the prison (39:20–40:23), and chapters 40 and 41 feature details relative to Pharaoh’s cupbearer (40:2, 9–15; 41:9–13). Moreover, the theme of Joseph’s favored position provides an important link between chapters 37 and 39–41 (cf. 37:3; 39:2–6, 19–23; 40:4; 41:41–45, 55–56). Chapters 41 and 42 tell of events relative to the famine and dispensing of grain,[12] and chapters 42–44 feature matters concerning the silver in the brothers’ sacks (42:25–27, 35; 43:12, 21–23; 44:1–17). Also to be noted are occurrences of the verbal repetitions of movement in chapters 42–46 (42:2, 38; 43:5, 11, 15; 44:21, 25, 29; 45:9, 28; 46:1) and thematic concentration on Joseph and his brothers.

Many other thematic and lexical links could be pointed out in chapters 37–50, including the emphasis on Jacob’s youngest son Benjamin (42:3–4; 45:14) and Joseph’s weeping (44:30; 45:2, 14, 15), geographical locations such as the settings in Canaan and Egypt and the Hebrews settling in Goshen (46:28; 47:4–6), and the presence of the famine as a backdrop relative to relations between Joseph and his family (41:35–47:27). Several of the emphases of chapter 37 reappear in later chapters, such as the increasing importance of dreams (37:5–11; 40:8–19; 41:1–36), Joseph’s places of imprisonment (37:23–24; 39:20–40:23; 41:9–14), and the mention of garments (37:3; 39:11–12; 41:14, 42; 45:22).

Jacob also appears at several points in the important role of father to his family.[13] As the aged patriarch he bestows blessings on his sons and those of Joseph (48:1–49:25). Throughout the story there is an underlying emphasis on matters relative to Jacob’s approaching death (47:28–48:4) and events related to it (49:29–50:14). Details about the death and burial of both Jacob and Joseph, together with their requests to carry their remains back to Canaan (48:28–31; 50:24–26), provide closure to the narrative. Moreover, the focus on Jacob and Joseph in chapter 50 counterbalances the early verses of chapter 37, thus forming an inclusio for the narrative.

Therefore one must approach the Joseph story in terms of its literary unity. It is a narrative that has as its climax events concerning Joseph, who has the protagonist’s role at the Egyptian court in a period of critical change. In such a unified account one would expect, then, to find elements of court narrative in other places in the story as well as in the distinctive kernel in chapter 41.

A comparison with Daniel’s experiences in a foreign court can prove helpful here. Just as Daniel chapter 1 prepares for the court contest and conflict narratives in chapters 2–6 and itself also betrays certain elements of a court narrative, so also Genesis 37–38 functions as a prologue to the subsequent events at the Egyptian court. Even before chapter 41, elements of a court narrative are seen in the narrative in chapters 37–40. For example Joseph enjoyed special favor with his father (37:2–3). Once in Egypt Joseph once again found favor first with Potiphar (39:1–6) and later with the prison warden (39:20–23). He experienced distinctive testing by means of dreams (37:5–11; 40:6–19), and he faced conflicts that tested his faithfulness and morality (37:2, 8, 10–11; 39:7–20). These had unexpected resolutions—unfortunately at this stage of his life, they were unhappy ones (37:17–36; 39:20).

In a real sense Joseph’s court experience begins already with chapter 39 in connection with Pharaoh’s officer Potiphar. Here the typical U-shaped pattern is clearly evident and is tied to the ultimate outcome in chapter 41. Also the record of events concerning Joseph contains both conflict (chap. 39) and contest (chaps. 40–41) narratives. Chapter 39 portrays a conflict: an opening setting in which Joseph, because of God’s guidance (vv. 2–3), found favor with Potiphar (vv. 4–6). Then a crisis developed because of Potiphar’s wife’s lust; Joseph remained pure (vv. 6b–12) but was condemned and cast into prison (vv. 13–20). Even there he fared well and was promoted, for the Lord’s guidance was in it all (vv. 21–23).

Elements typical of court contest narratives occur in chapter 40. The discredited cupbearer and baker found no one to interpret their dreams. Once again Joseph proved equal to the task so that when things worked out true to Joseph’s interpretation, the cupbearer was restored to Pharaoh’s favor. All this provides the proper background so that Joseph would have a friend in the royal court and be invited to interpret the king’s dreams. Joseph upstaged the magicians and wise men because of his God-given ability. Having interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, he was elevated to high office. Therefore he was in a position subsequently to aid both the Egyptian populace and his family. Thus Joseph could see to the settlement of Jacob and the rest of his family in Egypt in accord with the earlier revelation to Abraham (15:12–16).

Just as Daniel 7–12 recounts the activities and prophecies of Daniel in a foreign court, so also Genesis 42–50 provides details of Joseph’s life in the Egyptian court, his reunion with his family, and his service as Pharaoh’s special officer.[14] Humphreys points out that much of what occurs in these chapters is “also set in the context of the Egyptian royal court with periodic reminders of this lavish setting provided at critical points in the narrative (Gen. 43:23, 32–34; 44:17; 45:16–20; 47:1–10).”[15]

The entire Joseph story therefore may be viewed as a court narrative. To be sure, it contains the basic features of that genre not only in formal terms in chapter 41 but also in the prior chapters.[16] The events in these chapters prepared Joseph for what transpired in Pharaoh’s court, where details of the rest of the narrative are set. That there is great variance between the Joseph story and the narratives concerning Daniel and Esther is to be expected. For as Wills observes, the many morphological structures in court tales make it impossible to compress all the court tales into a single mold. “The court legend, whether Jewish or non-Jewish as defined here has within it many morphological structures, and the key to genre definition was held to be the court as the setting in which certain issues concerning wisdom could be played out.”[17]

Discounting Wills’s treatment of these narratives as legends, one can agree with his conclusion that there is great variance within this genre. So a good case can be made for classifying the entire story in Genesis 37–50 as a court narrative.[18] Moreover, as Humphreys points out, to do so “will allow us to attend to important dimensions in the story dealing with the rapid rise of Joseph from slavery in prison to a position of authority second only to that of Pharaoh over all of Egypt.. .. This is accomplished through the hero’s abilities as an interpreter of dreams.. .. Genesis 40–41 presents the tale of a court contest in which the hero triumphs through his ability to build upon his acuteness as dream interpreter and is able to show himself a shrewd advisor as well. .. . Around this kernel the larger story develops.”[19]

Narrative Features In The Joseph Story

With its largely dramatic mode and its crucial points presented in dialogue, the Joseph story is an exciting and entertaining one.[20]

Setting

When Jacob returned to Canaan after his years with Laban, he settled briefly in Bethel but eventually moved to the Hebron Valley (35:10–21, 27–29; 37:14). This then is where Jacob and his family were living before their move to Egypt. The Egyptian location for Joseph in the account is probably in Lisht, which was situated centrally “between the delta and upper Egypt.”[21] As Steindorff and Seele observe, “Indeed, the kings devoted their most solicitous attention in this province.”[22]

When Jacob and his family moved to Egypt, they were allowed to settle in the land of Goshen (46:28–47:2) east of the Wadi Tumilat in the eastern delta region. It was an area more suitable for shepherding and would not be too distant from Joseph’s residence. Indeed, the pharaoh would certainly be aware of conditions in the eastern delta, for there “Amenemhat I of the Twelfth Dynasty (ca. 1973–1795) established a royal estate with a temple and settlement. .. Then Sesostris III (ca. 1860) expanded the settlement, and a Canaanite population became a major element from then on into the Thirteenth and Fifteenth Dynasties, down to circa 1550.”[23] Moreover, the region provided a staging area for the forays of Twelfth Dynasty kings into Palestine, particularly under the reign of Sesostris III,[24] the ruler who invited Jacob and his family to settle in the eastern delta, the garden spot of ancient Egypt.[25] The king who reigned during Joseph’s imprisonment and whose dreams Joseph would have interpreted was Sesostris II. This Pharaoh was receptive to the coming of Semites: “It is significant that Sesostris II was in power at the time the nomarch [ruler of a nome, a subdivision of the Egyptian state] of Beni Hasan welcomed the Semitic chieftain Abisha to his city.. .. Most striking of all perhaps were the massive land-reclamation and flood-control projects undertaken under the administration of this enlightened monarch [Sesostris II].”[26] All these geographical data are most suitable to the setting of the Joseph story.

Several other data reinforce the authenticity of the local color culturally in the Joseph story. For example Joseph’s being sold into slavery for twenty shekels fits well the value of a slave in this precise time period.[27] Likewise the use of Semitic slaves[28] and even their promotion to a valued position is well known.[29] Thus Kitchen observes, “Like Joseph, other Semites in Middle Kingdom/Hyksos Egypt could be promoted. Within families, one may find them acting as cupbearer or ‘butler’ (wudpuw) and taking up skilled professions such as craftsman.”[30]

The Egyptian titles mentioned in the narrative also reflect authenticity. Thus Potiphar’s name and the name of Joseph’s father-in-law, Potiphera, are generally conceded to mean something like “he whom [the god] Re has given.” Although the precise Egyptian equivalent is disputed, the name of Joseph’s Egyptian wife, Asenath, and the name given to Joseph by Pharaoh, Zaphenath-Paneah, reflect valid Egyptian origins. “Despite the disagreement among Egypto-Semitic specialists concerning the precise etymology of the four personal names discussed here and their dating ,. .. all agree that they are undeniably Egyptian.”[31]

Without overly extending the discussion, it may safely be said concerning the cultural setting of the Joseph story that the several titles in Genesis 41–45, such as father to Pharaoh, lord of all his house, and ruler throughout all the land of Egypt (45:8), as well as matters of Egyptian court procedure, various customs (e.g., embalming the dead, 50:26), the importance of magic and dreams (40:1–41:36), and the fact of an extended (even a seven-year) famine, have all been shown to be verifiably precise.[32] Moreover, chapters 37 and 39–50 of Genesis are filled with loan words from Egyptian into Hebrew.[33] Even Joseph’s age of 110 at his death (50:26) coincidentally represents the Egyptian concept of an ideal lifetime. As for the essential authenticity of the Egyptian setting of the Joseph story Hoffmeier concludes, “There is really nothing unbelievable or incredible about the narrative.”[34]

Plot

The plot of the Joseph story is complex. Many scholars view the surface structure as revolving around the dysfunctional nature of Jacob’s family and its restoration to harmony.[35] Others view Jacob as the focal point of the narrative.[36] It must be admitted that both positions have merit, but as Longman observes, “It’s Joseph whose story we hear most fully” and he therefore is “its main protagonist.”[37] If this section of Genesis, though forming the climax of the patriarchal narratives and the concluding events of Jacob’s life, is fundamentally cast as a court narrative, then on the surface the plot is built around Joseph. This is true despite the fact that ultimately he takes his place dutifully as Jacob’s son and does not receive his father’s principal blessing.

Beneath the intricate threading of the surface plot, however, lies a twofold substratum that undergirds the Joseph story and the patriarchal narratives, namely, divine providence.[38] In the Joseph story it manifests itself in connection with Joseph’s situation in Potiphar’s house and in prison (39:2–6, 20–23). Later Joseph acknowledged to Pharaoh that God wisely superintends all things (41:16, 28) and Pharaoh also sensed Joseph’s God-given gifts (vv. 39–40). Still later Joseph twice pointed out to his brothers that God had been directing the entire situation (45:7–8; 50:19–20), and before Jacob arrived in Egypt, God had made His presence known to him (46:2–4). Both Jacob and Joseph came to realize God’s providential guidance in accord with the provisions in the Abrahamic Covenant (12:2–7; 13:14–17; 15:12–16), and so they gave instructions for their bodies to be carried back to the promised land after their death (47:28–48:4; 48:21–22; 49:29–32; 50:24–25). Waltke and Fredricks correctly observe that these chapters are concerned with “God’s covenant dealings with the patriarchs and the establishment of his plans for the children of Israel.”[39]

The plot moves along in three distinct phases. The first (chaps. 37–41) traces Joseph’s relationship to his family from his early life in Canaan until his rise to a powerful position in Egypt. It features three pairs of dreams, the first of which alienated him from his brothers and eventually brought him to Egypt; a second, which proved to be the key to his introduction to the Pharaoh; and a third, which resulted in his exaltation to high office in Pharaoh’s court.

The second section tells of Joseph as courtier in Egypt, during which time he preserved life for the Egyptians by his wise administering of affairs in the land, and for his family by bringing them to Egypt and securing for them a suitable place to live. This portion features three trips to Egypt—two by his brothers and a third made by Jacob and his whole family. Here also the earlier rift between Joseph and his brothers was healed.

The third section tells of Joseph both in his official capacity at court and in his role as Jacob’s son. This portion features three blessings given by Jacob: to Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh, to Joseph (48:12–22), and to each of Jacob’s sons (49:1–28). It also includes three requests for Jacob’s interment in Canaan (47:28–31; 49:29–32; 50:5) and one for Joseph (50:24–25).

Characterization

These chapters present interesting contrasts in the personalities of the principal characters in the narrative. From a literary perspective characters are often described as either round, flat, or as being an agent. “A round (or full-fledged) character has many traits. A round character appears complex, less predictable, and therefore more real. A flat character has only one trait and seems one-dimensional. An agent, finally has no personality to speak of and simply moves the story along.”[40] Among the many persons in these chapters only three in particular stand out as “round”: Jacob, Judah, and Joseph.

In many ways Jacob’s character is the most complex. Initially he played favorites and hence was somewhat insensitive to others’ feelings, for he “loved Joseph more than any of his other sons” (37:3; cf. 42:4, 35–38; 46:30).[41] Ostensibly this was because Joseph was born to Jacob after he was well along in years. Moreover, Joseph had been the long-awaited son of his favorite wife Rachel.

In an ironic twist Jacob, who had been known as a deceiver (27:1–16), was easily deceived by his ten sons’ ruse concerning Joseph (37:34–35).[42] His grief at what he perceived to be Joseph’s death is understandable, but his irreconcilable sorrow betrayed a certain selfish insensitivity to his family, which as family head he should have attempted to console and comfort. Similarly he reacted with regard to his own feelings when he learned of the need to send his son Benjamin if he wished to see Simeon again. His immediate reaction was one of self-pity. “You have deprived me of my children. Joseph is no more and Simeon is no more, and now you want to take Benjamin. Everything is against me!” (42:36). To Jacob, Simeon was as good as dead already—just like Joseph. The thought of losing another of his favorites was simply too overwhelming for sober reflection.

Nevertheless Jacob is also often portrayed in a positive light as the take-charge patriarch of the family. He sent his sons to find adequate grazing lands and then sent Joseph, whom he knew to be trustworthy, to ascertain their welfare and bring a report back to him (37:12–14). When during the famine he learned that there was grain in Egypt, he sent all his sons except Benjamin to buy grain (42:1–4). Again, when Jacob learned that Joseph was alive and a high official in Pharaoh’s court, he was fully in charge and readied his family to go to Egypt (45:28–46:1).

Despite his varying abilities and emotional swings, underlying it all Jacob was sensitive to divine leading. Doubtless he sensed something of divine revelation in Joseph’s dreams (37:11). Such would be confirmed to him in God’s later speaking to him “in visions of the night” (46:2–4). Renewed, Jacob spoke wisely before Pharaoh in Egypt (47:7–10).[43] Jacob’s sense of divine providence colored his later years as he made preparations for his impending death (48:3–4, 11, 15–16, 21–22; 49:29–33). Conscious of God’s leading and once again in charge of his family, Jacob gave final blessings to Joseph and his sons (48:5–20), and his final blessing to all his sons (49:1–28).[44] Interestingly, when Jacob blessed his sons, though he pronounced great blessings for Joseph, his dear son (49:22–26), Judah received the highest blessing (vv. 8–12). It was through Judah that the coming ruler was to descend (v. 10).

Judah was prominent and a leader among his brothers. It was Judah whose plan was followed when he put gain above human dignity and suggested selling rather than killing the hated Joseph (37:26–28). Judah’s craftiness and self-indulgence appear strongly throughout his treatment of his daughter-in-law Tamar (38:1–19).[45] Yet when she became pregnant by him, Judah understood that she had taken the steps she did because she had been denied her rights in her dealings with Judah and his sons (v. 26). Judah recognized his own failure in his relations with his daughter-in-law and it seems to have prepared him for a nobler life in the days that followed.

Judah again took the lead in the negotiations between the brothers and the Egyptian courtier, whom they did not recognize as Joseph (44:18–34), even going so far at one point as to offer himself as a replacement “slave” for Benjamin (vv. 33–34). Judah also served as the spokesman for the brothers in reporting the “Egyptian’s” stipulations to Jacob and assuring his father that he would be responsible for Benjamin’s safety if he would allow him to take Benjamin along to Egypt (43:3–10). Fittingly, it was Judah whom Jacob sent on ahead to Egypt to make preparations for the family’s arrival (46:28). No wonder, then, that Judah was the most prominent recipient of Jacob’s final prophetic blessings (49:8–12).

The most interesting character, of course, is Joseph, the protagonist of the narrative. Although the narration does not give reasons for some of Joseph’s actions, many modern scholars evaluate Joseph negatively at some points. Particularly cited are his bringing of a bad report concerning his brothers’ activities (37:2) and his seemingly vengeful way of treating his brothers in their appearances before him (42:6–20; 43:15–44:17). For example in the earlier case Humphreys calls Joseph “a spoiled brat.”[46] Waltke and Fredricks concur, depicting Joseph as “morally good but immature and bratty,” as well as being a “tattletale and boaster.”[47] In the latter case Coats decries his high-handed and callous way of treating his brothers. “In his position with absolute power over his brothers, as Machiavellian prince free to deceive when it fits his purposes, he moves his brothers like pawns on a chess board.”[48]

Yet the treatment accorded Joseph by subsequent writers of Scripture is uniformly positive. For example an anonymous psalmist pointed out that Joseph was the human means of accomplishing the divine purpose of bringing Jacob and his family into Egypt and to a situation of fruitfulness (Ps. 105:16–24). Stephen likewise portrayed Joseph as a vital link in the fulfilling of the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant (Acts 7:9–17), and Moses depicted Joseph as the “prince among his brothers” (Deut. 33:16).[49]

Because Scripture is its own best interpreter, readers ought not impugn Joseph’s motives. In the case of his report concerning his brothers, “no doubt Joseph recognized on the strength of what he saw that this report was the truth.”[50] Rather than being a tattletale, it is more likely that Joseph was simply “about his father’s business.”[51] And Jacob found Joseph so trustworthy that he sent him a second time to report on his brothers’ welfare (37:14). As for his later dealings with his brothers, rather than being an example of vengefulness, nothing could be “further from the truth.. .. A vindictive Joseph could have dismayed his brothers with worthless sackloads, or tantalized them at his feast as they had tantalized him (37:24–25); his enigmatic gifts were a kinder and more searching test. Just how well-judged was his policy can be seen in the growth of quite new attitudes in the brothers.”[52] In fact Joseph’s threefold weeping in his dealings with his brothers points to his tender feelings and concern for them as well as his subsequent humility in confiding to his brothers. “God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. So then, it was not you who sent me here, but God” (45:7–8).

Joseph should therefore be viewed in positive terms. Joseph’s dreams bear witness to God’s choice of Joseph as a trustworthy servant in His providential plan. Moreover, Jacob’s confidence in him testifies to Joseph’s trustworthiness—qualities that would gain him the attention of Potiphar, the jailer, and Pharaoh.[53]

Pharaoh’s trust in Joseph enabled Egypt to survive well in the seven-year famine. Although it may be expected that he would suffer hostility at the hands of others (cf. John 15:18–25; 17:14), one would expect such a person to remain trustworthy and pure in his actions. And by God’s grace, Joseph did so.

Joseph truly was a remarkable man, one whose upright character enabled him to serve God, his people, and the society where he lived with an ever-increasing sense of God’s claim on his life. God guided Joseph’s moral integrity and recognizable leadership qualities so that he would be spiritually where God could use him. Not only did the better qualities of his forefathers, the patriarchs, find a balanced combination in Joseph, but also his own faithfulness and purity made him a productive servant for God. Joseph used his God-given abilities faithfully in his own home, in Potiphar’s house, in prison, and in the palace.

Artistry

The Joseph story is a work of consummate literary artistry. The author’s literary abilities can be seen in several ways. In addition to the verbal and thematic links already noted, the author used unifying patterns and type scenes to great advantage. Many have noted the fact that things occurred in pairs: two dreams (chaps. 37, 40, 41), twin boys (38:27–30), two disgraced servants of Pharaoh (40:1–19), the prominence of Jacob’s two sons by Rachel (Joseph and Benjamin), the prominence of Jacob’s sons Joseph and Judah throughout the narrative (37:26–27; 38:1–30; 43:3, 8; 44:14–18; 46:12, 28; 49:8–10).[54] Not to be forgotten are Joseph’s two sons (48:1–20), the deaths of Jacob and Joseph (49:29–33; 50:22–26), and two requests for their remains to be carried to the promised land in accord with the provisions of the Abrahamic Covenant (48:21–22; 50:24–25) as well as Joseph’s two assurances to his brothers of his concern for their welfare (45:7–11; 50:19–21).

Type scenes also display the author’s literary artistry. Ryken notes that particularly prevalent is the fourfold shift of settings, which provide for advancement in the plot. The main phases of action in the story are Joseph in his parents’ home (chap. 37), Joseph in Potiphar’s house (39:1–18), Joseph in prison (39:19–41:36), and Joseph as Pharaoh’s ruler (41:37–47:31). In each of these phases are the following elements: a head or ruler in a position of authority, the rise of Joseph to a position of dominance under that authority, people in a position of subservience under Joseph, a garment that symbolizes the moment of transition at the end of the phase, and a place that combines the qualities of imprisonment and preservation.[55]

In his classic study of biblical narrative, in which he repeatedly draws attention to the Joseph story, Alter provides an incisive summary of the author’s literary ability. He cites the exceptional literary artistry in the story, which “involves an elaborate and inventive use of most of the major techniques of biblical narrative that we have considered in the course of this study: the deployment of thematic key-words; the reiteration of motifs, the subtle definition of character, relations, and motives mainly through dialogue; the exploitation, especially in dialogue, of verbatim repetition with minute but significant changes introduced; the narrator’s discriminating shifts from strategic and suggestive withholding of comment to the occasional flaunting of an omniscient overview.”[56]

Also Seybold is impressed with the literary artistry of the Joseph story. “The reader is immediately struck by the craft of the Joseph narrative (Gen. 37–50). Rarely in Western literature has form been woven into content, pattern sewn into meaning, structure forged into theme with greater subtlety or success.”[57]

Conclusion

The closing chapters of Genesis set in the days of Jacob’s later life form a fitting conclusion and climax to the patriarchal period. It is a unified account of God’s providential working in harmony with His promises in the Abrahamic Covenant that God’s people would spend four hundred years in a foreign land before the Lord would deliver them and return them to the promised land (15:13–16).

Formed as a court narrative, Genesis 37–50 relates how God brought His people to Egypt. That story centers on Jacob’s son Joseph, whose trials turned into triumph, as he became Pharaoh’s viceroy. In that position he was able not only to prepare Pharaoh’s people for a coming time of famine but also to aid in his family’s migration to Egypt.

The narrative breathes the air of historical authenticity, and yet it is told with great literary skill and artistry. Not only is the plot well structured and developed; it also provides an enlightening study of human character. Particularly important is a consideration of the protagonist Joseph’s personal qualities. He was God’s chosen instrument to accomplish His purposes.

It is only natural, then, that parallels between Joseph and Jesus have often been drawn. Like Joseph, Jesus was a beloved Son (Matt. 3:17), was rejected by His own (John 1:11; 5:43; 7:5, etc.), was tested (Matt. 4:1–11; Heb. 2:18; 4:15), was betrayed for silver (Matt. 26:14–16; Acts 1:16–20), and yet was ultimately triumphant and exalted to a position of honor (Acts 2:33; 5:31; Col. 2:15). However, far greater than Joseph, the Son of God has been given “the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow. .. and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9–11).

The experiences of Joseph and the Lord Jesus can also be reflected in the lives of Christians. Believers, too, often face rejection and the hatred of others (Matt. 10:22; John 15:18–21) and are often confronted by tests and trials (16:33) so that they, like Joseph, may emerge victorious (Rom. 8:35–37; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 2:14; James 1:2; 1 Pet. 1:6–7).

By learning Joseph’s “secret” of surrender to God, believers can learn the secret of successful living. As with Joseph, this begins with a clear recognition of God’s rightful lordship over the believer’s life, recognizing that His way is best (cf. Gen. 50:19–20 with Ps. 73:23–28). It is grounded in a living commitment to God’s Word that causes believers to hunger for God’s Word. But more importantly, it allows God’s Word to mold them into a life of consistent purity and holiness (cf. Gen. 39:2–6, 8–9 with Ps. 119:9–11, 65–68, 105, 111–112; John 15:7). It is experienced in a life of faithful work (cf. Gen. 45:5–8 with Matt. 20:28; 1 Pet. 3:16) for Christ so that others may come to know Him as Savior (2 Cor. 4:10–15; 5:14–6:1) and enter into the full joy of the Master’s own promise, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). At life’s end may it be said of each believer that he or she, like Joseph, lived “by faith” (Heb. 11:22; cf. 2 Tim. 4:7–8).

Notes

1. See, for example, J. S. Ackerman, “Joseph, Judah, and Jacob,” in Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives, ed. Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis (Nashville: Abingdon, 1982), 2:85–113; Umberto Cassuto, “The Story of Tamar and Jacob,” in Biblical and Oriental Studies (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1973), 1:129–40; Richard J. Clifford, “Genesis 38: Its Contribution to the Jacob Story,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 66 (2004): 519–32; George W. Coats, From Canaan to Egypt: Structural and Theological Context for the Joseph Story (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1976); David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999), 60–63; W. Lee Humphreys, Joseph and His Family: A Literary Study (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1988); James L. Kugel, In Potiphar’s House (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1990); Jacob Licht, Storytelling in the Bible (Jerusalem: Magnes, 1986); R. E. Longacre, Joseph: A Story of Divine Providence (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1989); Tremper Longman III, How to Read Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2005); E. I. Lowenthal, Joseph Narrative in Genesis (New York: KTAV, 1973); Leland Ryken, Words of Delight (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987), 101–5; Donald A. Seybold, “Paradox and Symmetry in the Joseph Narrative,” in Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives, ed. Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis (Nashville: Abingdon, 1974): 1:59–73; J. Vergote, Joseph in Egypte (Louvain: Publications Universitaires, 1959); and Claus Westermann, Joseph (Augsburg: Fortress, 1996). Also Robert Alter includes many observations on the Joseph story in The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic, 1961).
2. Bruce K. Waltke with Cathi J. Fredricks, Genesis (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 491–628.
3. Jerrold S. Cooper notes several parallels between the Joseph story and the Mesopotamian story of Sargon’s rise to power in terms of folklore (“Sargon and Joseph: Dreams Come True,” in Biblical and Related Studies Presented to Samuel Iwry, ed. Ann Kort and Scott Morschauser [Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1985], 33–39). Although he denies that the Joseph story is in its present form a folk tale, he suggests that “motifs from folk literature” form a building stone in its composition (ibid., 37).
4. For a discussion of the twelve תּוֹלְדוֹת sections in Genesis see Allen P. Ross, “Genesis,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Old Testament, ed. John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1985; reprint, Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 1996), 22–26.
5. Thematically Genesis 11:27–50:20 may be viewed as built around the covenant with Abraham (12:1–3; 13:14–17; 15:7–19; 17:1–8; 22:15–18) as ratified subsequently with Isaac and Jacob. The God of Abraham becomes the God of Isaac (26:1–6) and then the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (28:10–15). This provides a theme that became crucial in God’s revelation to the Hebrews in Egypt (Exod. 3:6, 15–16; 4:5; 6:8), on their journey to the promised land (32:13; 33:1; Lev. 26:42; Num. 32:11; Deut. 1:8; 6:10; 9:5, 27; 29:13; 30:20; 34:4), and is often repeated in the rest of the Old Testament (e.g., 1 Kings 18:36; 2 Kings 13:23; 1 Chron. 16:16; 29:18; Ps. 105:9–11; Jer. 33:26). The theme continues into the New Testament era (e.g., Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:26; Luke 13:28; 20:37; Acts 3:13; 7:32).
6. Longman, How to Read Genesis, 149.
7. Richard D. Patterson, “Holding on to Daniel’s Court Tales,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 36 (1993): 445–54.
8. The court tale is well known in extrabiblical literature as well, including the Egyptian tale of Sinuhe (Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature [Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1973], 1:222–34) and the Story of Ahiqar (Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer, eds., Readings from the Ancient Near East [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002], 189–91). See also the excellent study by Lawrence M. Wills, The Jew in the Court of the Foreign King (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990), 39–49, 55–74.
9. Wills hesitatingly admits as much but suggests that a simplified version of the present story underlies the longer account (The Jew in the Court of the Foreign King, 52–55).
10. For literary linking devices see H. Van Dyke Parunak, “Transitional Techniques in the Bible,” Journal of Biblical Literature 102 (1983): 540–41; U. Cassuto, “The Sequence and Arrangement of the Biblical Sections,” in Biblical and Oriental Studies, 1:1–6; and Richard D. Patterson, “Of Bookends, Hinges, and Hooks: Literary Clues to the Arrangement of Jeremiah’s Prophecies,” Westminster Theological Journal 5 (1989): 109–51.
11. Roy B. Zuck describes Genesis 37–39 as having a ring pattern, “the purpose of which is to set off by contrast the awfulness of Judah’s sin over against Joseph’s purity” (Basic Bible Interpretation [Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1991; reprint, Colorado Springs: Cook Communications Ministries, 1996], 138).
12. An interesting contrast may be noted in the sevenfold occurrence of the verbal theme “going up” in chapter 41, while the verb “go down” appears in 42:2–3, and 38. Directional alterations are often noted throughout the entire narrative. “Going down” and “going up” each occur more than two dozen times.
13. Of interest is the fact that one of Joseph’s several Egyptian titles is “father to Pharaoh” (45:8).
14. The same features of prologue, court narrative, and details of the protagonist’s life at court may be noted in the story of Esther.
15. Humphreys, Joseph and His Family, 11.
16. Obviously the episode concerning Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 does not display any court narrative features. Yet as noted earlier, it forms a distinctive link in the united story of Joseph and has immediate hooks to chapters 37 and 39. As will be seen later, the events detailed in Judah’s affair with Tamar would have a profound effect on the development of Judah’s character that would enable him to play a prominent role in the negotiations that led to his family’s resettlement in Egypt.
17. Wills, The Jew in the Court of the Foreign King, 198.
18. This is not to deny that the Joseph narrative has the function of bringing the patriarchal narratives to their completion under the rubric of the tōléḏōṯ (תּוֹלְדוֹת) dealing with Jacob.
19. Humphreys, Joseph and His Family, 10–11.
20. As for dialogue Alter observes, “The biblical writers. .. are often less concerned with actions in themselves than with how individual characters respond to actions or produce them, and direct speech is made the chief instrument for revealing the varied and at times nuanced relations of the personages to the actions in which they are implicated” (The Art of Biblical Narrative, 66).
21. For details as to the royal residence and activities in this area during the Twelfth Dynasty see Alan Gardiner, Egypt of the Pharaohs (Oxford: Clarendon, 1961), 126–27.
22. George Steindorff and Keith C. Seele, When Egypt Ruled the East (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957), 20.
23. Kenneth A. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2003), 347.
24. For details see James H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt (London: Histories and Mysteries of Man, 1988), 1:303–4.
25. Eugene H. Merrill notes that the predicted seven years of famine would have begun in Sesostris III’s inaugural regnal year (Kingdom of Priests [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987], 50).
26. Ibid. For an Egyptian frontier official’s report of Asiatics migrating into the eastern delta region seeking pasturage for their flocks see James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 3rd ed. (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 259.
27. For details see Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 344–45.
28. Charles F. Aling cites evidence for the use of slaves in Twelfth Dynasty Egypt from the Brooklyn Papyrus in which “over half of the slaves listed were Asiatics” as “evidence that Palestinian slaves like Joseph were common in Egypt at that time” (Egypt and Bible History [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981] 31).
29. See James K. Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), 84.
30. Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 349.
31. Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt, 87. Of interest also is the sensationalist report in David M. Rohl, Pharoahs and Kings (New York: Crown, 1995), 353–66. Rohl claims to have identified a large pyramid tomb in the palace garden at Tell ed Daba (Avaris) as belonging to Joseph. He suggests that the now badly battered statue found there is of Joseph. Rohl describes the statue as having eyes “staring serenely eastward toward the Promised Land” (ibid., 365). Furthermore “wrapped around the Asiatic official, enveloping all but his head, neck, arms, and feet, is a wonderous coat of many colours, which” displays Joseph’s “coat of many colours in all its original glory” (ibid., 366). Rohl places the events of the Joseph story in the latter Twelfth and Thirteenth dynasties, but this locates the temporal setting two centuries later than the generally accepted chronology.
32. See the discussions in Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt, 88–98; Humphreys, Joseph and His Family, 154–75; and Kitchen, On the Reliability of the Old Testament, 347–52.
33. For details see the study by Thomas O. Lambdin, “Egyptian Loan Words in the Old Testament,” Journal of the American Oriental Society 73 (1953): 146–55.
34. Hoffmeier, Israel in Egypt, 97. It should be pointed out, however, that Hoffmeier favors a thirteenth century B.C. dating for the composition of the narrative. For matters of the date and historical setting of the narrative as adopted here see Merrill, Kingdom of Priests, 30–31, 49–55; Ross, “Genesis,” 89; and J. Barton Payne, “Chronology of the Old Testament,” in Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. Merrill C. Tenney (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975), 1:832–34.
35. See, for example, Waltke and Fredricks, Genesis, 493–96.
36. Thus Franz Delitzsch wrote that “Joseph might be described as the moving principle of the following narrative” (Gen. 37–50), but “Jacob remains the head of the house, and the center around whom the whole revolves” (Genesis, in Franz Delitzsch and C. F. Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, trans. James Martin [Edinburgh: Clark, 1875; reprint; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1956], 329).
37. Longman, How to Read Genesis, 149.
38. Ryken calls this the “hidden plot” (Words of Delight, 102).
39. Waltke and Fredricks, Genesis, 491.
40. Tremper Longman III, Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987), 91–92.
41. Unless noted otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.
42. As for Jacob’s trickery see Richard D. Patterson, “The Old Testament Use of an Archetype: The Trickster,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 42 (1999): 385–94.
43. Jacob’s speaking of his years as “few” revealed that he was aware that the Pharaoh was considered to be a living god, hence immortal. As Joseph Free pointed out, “The Egyptian archaeological sources help us understand that Jacob was observing a detail of etiquette in thus speaking to Pharaoh. Since the Egyptian king was regarded as an eternally living god, it was fitting for Jacob to refer to his own hundred and thirty years as ‘few’ ” (Archaeology and Bible History [Wheaton, IL: Scripture Press, 1962], 79–80).
44. In an interesting allegorical twist the Epistle of Barnabas (13:5) suggests that Jacob’s giving of the primary blessing to Ephraim, Joseph’s younger son, was a Spirit-led act symbolic of the coming of faith and greater blessing to those outside the Old Covenant (Michael W. Harmer, ed., The Apostolic Fathers, trans. J. B. Lightfoot and J. R. Harmer, 2nd ed. [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989], 180).
45. For a defense of the Judah-Tamar episode as authentically original to the account and its unity with the rest of the Joseph story see Cassuto, “The Story of Tamar and Jacob,” 1:29–40.
46. Humphreys, Joseph and His Family, 87.
47. Waltke and Fredricks, Genesis, 498.
48. Coats, From Canaan to Egypt, 88. For further negative assessments of Joseph’s character see the summary by Kenneth A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27–50:26, New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2005), 671–73.
49. In Ezekiel 37:15–28 the names of Jacob, Joseph, and Judah are brought together in terms of covenant fulfillment, and in Obadiah 1:18 Jacob and Joseph are linked. See also Zechariah 10:6 and Hebrews 11:21–22.
50. H. C. Leupold, Exposition of Genesis (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1942), 954.
51. J. T. Cromer, personal communication to author, July 2006.
52. Derek Kidner, Genesis (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1967), 199.
53. One wonders whether Potiphar’s anger at his wife’s charges against Joseph (39:19) was against Joseph or his wife. A more drastic fate could have awaited Joseph had Potiphar been convinced completely of his wife’s truthfulness. As Waltke and Fredricks affirm, “Attempted rape was a capital offense. The milder punishment suggests that Potiphar does not altogether believe his wife. He probably knows her character” (Genesis, 522). See also Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis Chapters 18–50, New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 471.
54. Judah’s spiritual growth from greedy opportunist (37:26–27) to a leading role among his brothers (chaps. 43–46) and to progenitor of the messianic line (49:10) demonstrates the powerful spiritual change that took place as a result of his affair with Tamar (chap. 38). In this light, rather than being a misplaced or separate story pieced into the Joseph narrative, it is an integral hinge between chapter 37 and the later chapters.
55. Ryken, Words of Delight, 102.
56. Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative, 176.
57. Seybold, “Paradox and Symmetry in the Joseph Narrative,” 59.