Reading the Joseph Story (Genesis 37-50) as a Diaspora Narrative

HYUN CHUL PAUL KIM

Methodist Theological School in Ohio Delaware, OH 43015

RECENT BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP has concentrated attention on the importance of the final editor(s) of the Hebrew Bible during the exilic and postexilic periods, especially diiring the regime of the Persian empire.' This was the time when both the "returnees" and the "remainees" would struggle to redefine their emerging identities and to survive as the people of Yhwh whether in the small province of Yehud or in the remote diasporic locales. Against these social environs, the Joseph novella displays subtle but noticeable clues concerning the intertribal, interethnic, and international relationships vis--vis pertinent issues of trust, betrayal, and

Earlier versions of this article were presented at the Annual Faculty Lecture at MTSO as well as at the International Conference for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Korean Old Testament Society. Special thanks to Professors Mark Brett, Antonios Finitsis, Eric Seibert, Tai-Il Wang, and the anonymous referees for their feedback and critiques. Unless otherwise noted, all translations of biblical texts are my own. ' Consider, among many works, Persia and Torah: The Theory of Imperial Authorization of the Pentateuch (ed. James W. Watts; SBLSymS 17; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2001); Yahwism afler the Exile: Perspectives on Israelite Religion in the Persian Era (ed. Rainer Albertz and Bob Becking; Studies in Theology and Religion 5; Assen; Van Gorcum, 2003); Lester L. Grabbe, A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period, vol. 1, Yehud: A History of the Persian Province ofJudah (Library of Second Temple Studies 47; London/New York: Clark, 2004); Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period (ed. Oded Lipschits and Manfred Oeming; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2006); Exile and Restoration Revisited: Essay on the Babylonian and Persian Periods in Memory of Peter R. Ackroyd (ed. Gary N. Knoppeis, Lester L. Grabbe, and Deirdre N. Fulton; Library of Second Temple Studies 73; London: Clark, 2009); Judah and the Judeans in the AchaemenidPeriod: Negotiating Identity in an International Context (ed. Oded Lipschits, Gary N. Knoppers, and Manfred Oeming; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2011).

219

220

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

reconciliation,^ Like the rest of the Book of Genesis (and possibly the entire Pentateuch), the Joseph story depicts complex themes of a champion among the underdogs and the heroics of the outsider. It signals indomitable human faith in a mysterious divine hesed in the face of exilic/postexilic turmoil.^ Put another way, in the story of the Diaspora communities, Joseph portrays a model life amid the sociopolitical, ethnic, and economic struggles and tensions between the "insiders" and the "outsiders," and between the powerful and the marginalized.'' Hence, the thesis of this article is that Joseph has a hybrid identity, which embodies a heroic character of survival and hope for the diasporic audiences. Joseph is an outsider in Egypt (from the perspective of the Egyptians) and an insider (from the perspective of his brothers when they visit). At the same time, he is an outsider with his brothers (initially) and an insider (eventually and/or ideally). This hybrid identity means that Joseph fully belongs to neither Egyptian nor Israelite communities. Yet, through walking a path between resistance and assimilation (and this is what the story aims to inspire), Joseph can contribute an astonishing "good" to both communities. With regard to Egypt, on the one hand, Joseph is an outsider who heroically saves both Egyptians and Israelites by assimilating, becoming a (Hebrew-) Egyptian, an insider Nonetheless, to the Egyptians Joseph portrays his hybrid identity as an outsider both in his characteristic contrasts with his ancestral forebears, Abraham and Jacob, and in terms of his ethnicity. With regard to Israel, on the other hand, Joseph is also an outsider, who, representing northern tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh) against southern Judah, subverts the imbalanced hier-

^ Carolyn J. Sharp, Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible (Indiana Studies in Biblical Literature; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009) 55: "The Joseph material shows a keen interest in insider/outsider boundaries and assimilation, the investiture and divestiture of political power, and the masking and unmasking of identity as it relates to power." See also Terence E. Fretheim, Abraham: Trials of Family and Failh (Studies on Personalities of the Old Testament; Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2007) 8. ^ Consider Mark G. Brett, Genesis: Procreation and the Politics of Identity (Old Testament Readings; London/New York: Routledge, 2000) 5: "The overall proposal is that the final editors of Genesis have set out to undermine the theologically legitimised ethnocentrism found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, expressed in particular by the notion of the 'holy seed' (Ezra 9.1-2). . . . Theologically, the final editors are proposing a less ethnocentric understanding of Israelite identity through a re-telling of Israelite origins." '' For the select, groundbreaking analyses on the insider-outsider dynamics, see Norbert Elias and John L. Scotson, The Established and the Outsiders: A Sociological Enquiry into Community Problems (New Sociology Library; London: Frank Cass, 1965); William Graham Sumner, Folkways (Boston: Gitin, 1906). Note Graham P. Crow, Graham A. Allan, and Marcia Summers, "Changing Perspectives on the Insider/Outsider Distinction in Community Sociology," Community, Work & Family 4 (2001) 29-48, here 35: "Elias and Scotson's . . . classic study of insiders and outsiders emphasizes the importance of established locals [insiders] employing negative stereotypes [e.g., stigmatization, taboo, monopoly of power, collective fantasy, and 'we' versus 'they' images] to blunt the threat to their position which in-migrajits [outsiders] posed."

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

221

archy, forgives his brothers, and ultimately provides for the whole network of families.^ This subversion is described through the transformations of two antagonistic but analogous "characters"Judah and Josephdemonstrating the ideal of maintaining a peaceful relationship within the household of the twelve tribes of Jacob/Israel. Here, a few remarks on the proposed definitions and approaches in this study may be necessary. First, even though the Joseph story has been read against the presumed New Kingdom era of Egypt or against the so-called Yahwistic source of David-Solomonic Israel, the "imphed readers" rather represent the readership of the post-587 B.C.E.or post-monarchy^period. Most likely, the final form of the Joseph narrative is a product of textual transmissions and redactions, but in this study I concentrate on the implied readers of the Persian period (539-331 B.C.E.) as well as the Kushite-Saite period of Egypt.* Second, Egypt in the Joseph story may well have a double meaning. On one level, Egypt is a rival superpower against Persia.^ On another level, Egypt may function as a "cipher" for Persia insofar as both empires represent the diasporic places of (forced) migration and settlement.^ As many of the implied readers were Jews living in Egypt and Persia, they could be inspired by and identify with Joseph's hardships and triumphs. Third, Joseph is a character whose identity is fluid and complex in terms of the insider-outsider dynamics.' As scholars have elucidated concerning EzraNehemiah (e.g., Ezra 9-10; Neh 13:23-31), the issues of ethnic identity have a
' Concerning a typological aspect of the sibling rivalry and tribal tensions in the Joseph story, see Marc Zvi Brettler, The Creation of History in Ancient Israel (London: Routledge, 1995) 48-61. * On the similar story types of the "weak king" during the Kushite-Saite period as a backdrop for the Joseph story, see Donald B. Redford, "Some Observations on the Traditions Surrounding 'Israel in Egypt,'" in Judah and the Judeans in the Achaemenid Period (ed. Lipschits et al.), 279364, here 285: "Genesis 39-41 clearly belongs in this category. Like Djoser and Khufu, Pharaoh faces a famine brought on by low Niles; like the king in Khamois 11, Si-sobek and Khufii, Pharaoh has dreams of great significance that he cannot inteipret; like the magician in P. Vandier, Joseph is young and unknown; like Onkh-sheshonqy, Joseph spends time in jail." ' Redford, "Some Observations," 321-22; Marc van de Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East, ca. 3000-323 BC (Blackwell History of the Ancient World; Maiden, MA: Blackwell, 2004) 267-80. 'Brett's innovative insight is noteworthy: "A covert polemic against Persia would be all the rhore subtle since it appropriates a story set in Egypt, i.e. the immediate enemy of the Persian administration. Any criticism of Egypt would ostensibly have served Persian interests, but the cunning of Genesis may be that Egypt in the Joseph story can be read as a cipher for Persia" (Genesis, 7). For a study that identifies Moses as Cyrus the Persian king, see H. Zlotnick-Sivan, "Moses the Persian? Exodus 2, the 'Other' and Biblical 'Mnemohistory,'" Z4 W' 116 (2004) 189-205. ' Some recent sociologists ground their analyses on the similar premises of complexity and fluidity, rather than on a simple insider-outsider dichotomy such as social class, economy, household type, position in kinship networks, age, or gender Although these social-scientific models come out of the contemporary community system, the way the interactions of various groups are constructed can illuminate relevant, albeit distanced, insights on the ancient world. See

222

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

close relationship not merely with religious adherence but especially with socioeconomic realities such as land rights and matrilineal inheritance.'" Furthermore, Joseph's hybrid identity should encompass not only the complexity of sociopolitical and ethnic aspects but also the locations of viewpoints." For example, to the Egyptians, Joseph and his brothers are outsiders, just as Abraham and Isaac are aliens, but to the (Jewish) implied readers, Egyptians, like Ishmaelites and Edomites, are outsiders compared to the Israelites, who are the insiders. Yet, in another dimension, Joseph the vizier of Egypt, a (sociopolitical) insider, may be identified as an (ethnic) outsider like the Egyptians, in much the same way that Joseph as the forefather of Ephraim and Manasseh (northern Israel) would be considered an outsider from the viewpoint of (southern) Judah and the Judeans. The stories of the hardships and heroics of Joseph are intertwined with the very experiences of the implied readers, in their ongoing struggles and hope.'^ Joseph, like Esther and Daniel, symbolizes the heroics of the marginalized, the diasporic communities, both against the superpower empires and within themselves. Ultimately, Joseph's character portrays the Diaspora communities, who have to live with the adversities and temptations of their hybrid identity vis--vis oppression, survival, and hope. I. Joseph and the Egyptian/Persian Diasporas A. Joseph the Virtuous Egyptian In the land of Egypt, like his patriarchal and matriarchal forebears (the "wandering Aramean") who sojotimed as seminomads (Deut 26:5; cf Gen 11:31-12:3), Joseph is an alien who encountersand then himself becomes
Robert K. Merton, "Insiders and Outsiders: A Chapter in the Sociology of Knowledge," American Journal of Sociology 78 (1972) 9-47. '" Concerning the analyses of the ethnic identityingroups and outgroupsof the postexilic Persian-period Yehudites in light of matrilineal inheritance and socioeconomic elements, see Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Eleanore P. Judd, "Marriage to a Stranger in Ezra 910," in Second Temple Studies, vol. 2, Temple Community in the Persian Period (ed. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Kent H. Richards; JSOTSup 175; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994) 266-85; Bob Becking, "On the Identity of the 'Foreign' Women in Ezra 9-10," in Exile and Restoration Revisited (ed. ICnoppers et al.), 31-49; Katherine Southwood, "The Holy Seed: The Significance of Endpgamous Boundaries and Their Transgression in Ezra 9-10," in Judah and the Judeans in the Achaemenid Period (ed. Lipschits et al.), 189-224. " Homi K. Bhabha, The Location of Culture (London/New York: Routledge, 1994) 313: "Hybrid hyphenations emphasize the incommensurable elementsthe stubborn chunksas the basis of cultural identifications." See also Hans-Georg Gadamer, Truth and Method (2nd rev. ed.; London: Continutim, 2004) 268-306; Jacques Derrida, Writing and Difference (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978) 278-93. '2 Philip R. Davies, TAe Origins of Biblical Israel (LHB/OTS 485; New York: Clark, 2007) 176.

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

223

the stirprisingly virtuous Egyptian.'^ This motif of the virtuous foreigner is not uncommon throughout many of the patriarchal narratives in Genesis. For example, readers would have encountered the virtuous pharaoh whose trust and benevolence contrast with Abraham's distrust and trickery. King Abimelech of Gerar, and of the Philistines, likewise provides hospitality to the deceptive aliens Abraham and then Isaac. Readers also encounter Hagar (literally, "the alien") and her son, Ishmael, who are equally, if not inore notably, blessed by God.''' In addition, Esau, the forefather of the Edomites, is portrayed as more forgiving than Jacob, the "heel-catcher."'^ Similarly, Joseph's acts of virtue and honor as a migrant in Egypt signify key characteristics that contrast with the shameful acts of trickery by his ancestral forebears, two comparable migrants: (1) Abraham and (2) Jacob. First, Abraham's negative role with regard to his wife in Egypt provides coinciding contrasts with Joseph's positive role in Egypt. When the pertinent episodes are read together, there are intriguing similarities: both characters are located in Egypt; both deal with the famine and Pharaoh; and both confi-ont dire situations in relation to married women. We should note that, even though the phrase might be a common expression, in both texts the famine is described as "severe": "for the famine was severe [35;in IDD-'D]" (12:10); "the famine that comes afterwards will be extremely severe p^^-'D . . . nvin]" (41:31; cf 41:56-57; 43:1; 47:13,20). The parallel episodes, however, show significant contrasts. For example, whereas the famine in the land of Canaan thrusts Abraham into looming danger in Egypt, it is the famine that provides an opportunity for Joseph to get out of prison, rise to a high rank, and provide food to his own clan as well as to the Egyptians. Whereas Abraham passes his wife, Sarah, to Pharaoh to save his skin (12:11-16; cf Ezra 9:12; Deut 7:3), Joseph shuns advances from the wife of Potiphar, displaying an act of virtue (39:6-12).'* Interestingly, both texts use the same Hebrew words in describing Sarah's and Joseph's good looks: "beautiful" (12:11, and "handsome" (39:6, nxia HS"'; cf 26:7; 29:17).
'' See Theodore Hiebert, "Genesis," in Theological Bible Commentary (ed. Gail R. O'Day and David L. Petersen; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009) 24: "The image of Egypt in the Joseph traditions is overwhelmingly positive." See also Diana Lipton, Longing for Egypt and Other Unexpected Biblical Tales (Hebrew Bible Monographs 15; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2008). '''Tikva Frymer-Kensky (Reading the Women of the Bible: A New Interpretation of Their Stories [New York: Schocken, 2002] 230) considers chap. 16 to be the chiastic center of the Abraham cycle (chaps. 12-22): "The second address makes Hagar the only woman to receive a divine promise of seed, not through a man but as her own destiny." 'Interestingly, both Egyptians and Edomites are depicted positively in Genesis, whereas Ammonites and Moabites are portrayed negatively (Gen 19:30-38, which seems to echo Deut 23:4-9 [Eng 23:3-8]). '* Ronald S. Wallace, The Story of Joseph and the Family of Jacob (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001) 35; Carol J. Dempsey and Elayne J. Shapiro, Reading the Bible, Transforming Conflict (Theology in Dialogue; MaryknoU, NY: Orbis, 2011) 30-40.

224

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

Moreover, both Abraham and Joseph meet dramatic changes of status: Abraham is rebuked by Pharaoh and expelled fi-om Egypt, albeit with newly acquired wealth (12:17-13:2); Joseph, however, is accused by Potiphar and his wife and is thrown in prison, though Yhwh does acknowledge his loyalty (39:13-23). Abraham's cowardly act allows him to survive at the expense of his wife and Pharaoh, but Joseph's honorable act eventually allows him to thrive, through whom "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (cf 12:3). Therefore, contrary to the sister-wife episodes of the Abraham and Isaac narratives, which depict the protagonists in a morally dubious, if not shameful, way (cf 20:1-18; 26:6-11), the Joseph narrative, with the adaptation of ancient Egyptian literature," portrays this exiled Hebrew as a person of honor. It would not be difficult for the Diaspora Jews to empathize with this Hebrew-Egyptian, who presents a model of justice, mercy, and humility in his walk with God (cf. Mic 6:8). Jacob and Joseph share comparable characteristics, yet there are also contrasting depictions and imphcations. Intriguing similarities are evident: both Jacob and Joseph are the younger sons; both are favored by one of the parents; and both struggle with their siblings, especially in terms of heirship, inheritance, and (now we add) honor.'* But here too we find key thematic contrasts, in which the parallel motifs subtly align Joseph more closely with Esau than with Jacob. Jacob is "loved" by his mother (25:28), but Joseph, like Esau, is "loved" by his father (37:3). When readers learn that Joseph is the youngest son (Gen 37:3), they might naturally assume that, just like the younger twin Jacob, Joseph will use trickery to win the heirship. But the story overthrows that assurhption. Whereas Jacob deceptively takes away the birthright of Esau, his older twin, Joseph is banished entirely fiom his family by his older brothers. Interestingly, whereas Jacob the younger son tricks Esau into "selling" his birthright (25:31, 33), it is Judah the older son who concocts the idea of "selling" Joseph into slavery (37:27-28). Jacob the trickster meets his protg not in Joseph but in Judah (37:31^35). Conversely, when it comes to the issues of forgiveness and virtue, it is Esau to whom Joseph compares more closely. In terms of ethnic identity, Joseph the Egyptian governor forgives his brothers, the Israelites (Gen 45:5, 11). Toward the end of the Joseph novella, when Joseph's brothers fear his retaliation (50:17), he shows benevolence: "'As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for
" E.g., The Story of Two Brothers (Anubis and Bata) and The Story ofSi-nuhe. See ANET, 18-25, 31-32. For a discussion of ancient Greek literature as well as Indian and Persian legends with a similar motif, see Hermann Gunkel, Genesis (Mercer Library of Biblical Studies; Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1997; German original, 1901) 405-6. ' * Naomi Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis: A Household Economics Perspective (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). For an extensive analysis of the folkloristic patterns in the stories of Jacob and Joseph, see Susan Niditch, Underdogs and Tricksters: A Prelude to Biblical Folklore (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987) 70-125. Peter D. Miscall explicates the three-part plot movement in both stories: initial deception, twenty-year separation, and eventual reunion and reconciliation ("The Jacob and Joseph Stories as Analogies," JSOT 6 [1978] 28-40).

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

225

good, for the sake of preserving many people alive, as it is today. Now fear not; as for me, I will provide for you and your little ones,' Thus he comforted them and spoke to their hearts" (50:20-21). The phrase in Joseph's assurance is strikingly similar to the expression of consolation in Isaiah: "Thus he comforted them and spoke to their hearts" (Gen 50:21; U-^)H ^^2T^... Qnn); "Comfort, comfort, my people, . . , Speak to the heart of Jerusalem" (Isa 40:1-2; ^^\2^ . . ."'W lOnJ 1Qn3 DVWTT 2b~bv)}^ The exact word "forgiveness" is not in Joseph's speech, but the intent is there. The resolution of this consolation is reminiscent of the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau. It is Esau, the forebear of the Edomites, who forgives his twin brother, Jacob, the name-bearer of Israel (33:4).^'' When the stories are read intertextually, just as Esau the Edomitewho earlier vowed that "the days of mourning for my father are approaching; and I will kill Jacob my brother" (27:41)forgives Jacob the Israelite, so Joseph the Hebrew-Egyptian forgives his brothers the Israelites (cf. Deut 23:8-9 [Eng. 23:7-8]).2' Therefore, Joseph, with courage and fidelity, is portrayed as an ideal Jew in an Egyptianized Diaspora, who practices hospitality, pursues solidarity with forgiveness, and preserves faith in Yhwh, Admittedly, both Abraham and Jacob in the aforementioned episodes have to survive on foreign soil. They do survive but mainly with dishonorable deeds.^^ In contrast, Joseph, who is excluded from the ancestral group in the divine title (Exod 3:6, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"), not only survives while upholding his virtue but also thrives and ends up becoming a great savior of Israel, not unlike Moses, In a way, these narratives present to the implied readers two alternatives of how to survive as an underdog: either utilize trickery or maintain virtue. Readers are invited to ponder these options, without too hastily plunging into judgment, yet the model involving Joseph as the outsider fares much better than the others. B. Joseph the Dangerous Egyptian While Joseph's story champions the underdog, the outsider who survives and wins the hospitality of the powerful, it can also reveal the undeniable temptation
' ' Walter Brueggemann, Genesis (Interpretation; Atlanta: John Knox, 1982) 377-78; Terence E. Fretheim, "The Book of Genesis," MB 1:319-674, esp. 672. ^^ Frank Anthony Spina, The Faith of the Outsider: Exclusion and Inclusion in the Biblical Story (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005) 33-34. ^' Jon D. Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: The Transformation of Child Sacrifice in Judaism and Christianity (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993) 67-68. ^^ For an alternative perspective on Joseph as the "normative" character and Jacob as the "subversive" character, see Carleen Mandolfo, " 'You Meant Evil against Me': Dialogic Truth and the Character of Jacob in Joseph's Story," JSOT 28 (2004) 449-65. Note also John B. Anderson, Jacob and the Divine Trickster: A Theology of Deception and Yhwh's Fidelity to the Ancestral Promise in the Jacob Cycle (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbiaims, 2011) esp. 160-71.

226

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

to abuse of power by the insider, especially within the empire. The empire has been and is still dangerous and seductive, cold and utterly utilitarian.^-' Joseph as the Hebrew-Egyptian ruler thus betrays the conceptual tension between the good and virtuous Joseph (47:1-12) and the bad and oppressive Joseph (47:13-26). In the overall plot movement, scholars have observed a subtle but notable tension, or deterioration, in the heroics of Joseph. ^ " ^ There is the Joseph who maintains loyalty to his master, Potiphar, and would not fall for the temptation of Potiphar's wife. He is the one who interprets Pharaoh's dream through reliance on God's revelation. This Joseph is the one who generously embraces his brothers and grants them food. Then there is another Joseph who, with such cold control of emotion, interrogates his unsuspecting brothers to the point of causing added agony to his father, Jacob.^^ He is also the one who promulgates the oppressive loan system that results in the enslavement of the people: "As for the people, he made them pass over fi-om one comer of Egypt to the other comer. . . . They said, 'You have preserved our lives; may we find favor in the eyes of my lord, by becoming Pharaoh's slaves'" (47:21, 25).^* It is difficult to pinpoint how these two conflicting depictions correlate and where clear-cut divisions stand.^^ The narrator deliberately juxtaposed both perspectives. Sociologically, in the ancient structure it was often the "enlightened" powerful, rather than the "empowered" powerless, who could actually motivate social change.^^ Even though the poor can affect society, their tangible impacts
^^ Edward W. Said, Orientalism (New York: Vintage, 1978); James C. Scott, Domination and the Art of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1990). ^''Brueggemann, Genesis, 334; see also Brett, Genesis, 109-36. ^^ Meir Stemberg {The Poetics of Biblical Narrative: Ideological Literature and the Drama of Reading [Indiana Literary Biblical Series; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1985] 285-308), in his meticulous analysis, examines four main undercurrents"punishing, testing, teaching, and dream fulfillment"in Joseph's inference and making sense of the past. For the subtle portrayal of Joseph as a flawed character, see Mark A. O'Brien, "The Contribution of Judah's Speech, Genesis 44:18-34, to the Characterization of Joseph," CBQ 59 (1997) 429-47. 2'Carole R. Fontaine, '"Here Comes This Dreamer': Reading Joseph the Slave in Multicultural and Interfaith Contexts," in Genesis (ed. Athalya Brenner, Archie Chi Chung Lee, and Gale A. Yee; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2010) 131-45. ^' David M. Carr, Reading the Fractures of Genesis: Historical and Literary Approaches (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1996) 286; Jean Louis Ska, "Judah, Joseph, and the Reader (Gen42:6-9 and44:lS-34),"mDasAlteTestamentEinGeschichtsbuch? Beitrgedes Symposiums "Das Alte Testament und die Kultur der Moderne " anlsslich des 100. Geburtstags Gerhard von Rads (1901-1971), Heidelberg, 18.-21. Oktober 2001 (ed. Erhard Blum, William Johnstone, and Christoph Markschies; Altes Testament und Moderne 10; Mnster: Lit, 2005) 27-39; Sharp, Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible, 60. ^^ We can recall the classic works of Plato, Aristotle, Confucius, Mencius, Machiavelli, and Max Weber See Mark R. Sneed, The Politics of Pessimism in Ecclesiastes: A Social-Science Perspective (SBLAncient Israel and Its Literature 12; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2012) 133-37.

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

227

can be easily obliterated when the elite act without right consciences. It is thus no coincidence that in the ancient world, as well as throughout the Deuteronomistic History and prophetic literature, the ruling class (especially the king) was harshly criticized for injustice and corruption, which would naturally exacerbate and perpetuate societal ills. Hence, Joseph the virtuous hero should give the Hebrews hope that there are "good insiders" who may use their power to help the powerless. An insider savior whose humble origin is from the outsiders would know what it means to live and suffer as an outsider. Alternatively, Joseph the newly endowed powerthat-be has to tread the thin line between justice and oppression, between reformation and contamination. Joseph, though once an outsider, has become not only an insider but also a typically authoritative overlord. This tension depicts the duality between the ideal, positive admonition (an insider hero) and the oft-real, pessimistic satire (an insider foe). Consequently, the narrative points out the dangerous closeness between power and oppression, the inescapable duplicity of advancement and captivity. These multifaceted configurations underscore the ongoing struggles that the implied readers had to face and deal with^between conflict and reconciliation, between retaliation and peacejust as Joseph himself had to persevere and overcome.

C. Joseph the Persian

Joseph's dramatic progress from hvimble origins to imperial governor certainly makes him an extraordinary figure. Such a notion is remarkable, especially when it is read against the likely sociohistorical settings of the rebiiilding and survival periods under the Persian empire. Frank Criisemann attests: "As a whole, this system belongs to the Persian period.... Here at the end, twenty five generations from the first human beings, the post-exilic addressees of Genesis find their own ancestors, and thus they find themselves."^' It is noteworthy that Herodotus (6.41) records how Darius the king of Persia acts favorably toward Metiochus, the captured son of the Athenian general Miltiades. This account, albeit with a tone of propaganda, is strikingly reminiscent of the elevated status and favor enjoyed by Joseph, as if mirroring the Persian setting: "Darius, however, when the Phoenicians brought Metiochus into his presence, was so far from doing him any

^' Frank Crsemarm, "Human Solidarity and Ethnic Identity: Israel's Self-Definition in the Genealogical System of Genesis," in Ethnicity and the Bible (ed. Mark G. Brett; BIS 19; Leiden: Brill, 1996) 57-76, here 64-65. See also Erhard S. Gerstenberger, Israel in the Persian Period: The Fiflh and Fourth Centuries B.C.E. (Biblical Encyclopedia 8; Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, 2011) 189-95; Joseph Blenkinsopp, "Abraham as Paradigm in the Priestly History in Genesis," ySZ. 128 (2009) 225-41, esp. 233-35.

228

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75, 2013

hurt, that he loaded him with benefits. He gave him a house and estate, and also a Persian wife, by whom there were children bom to him who were accounted Persians."^" Likewise, recent biblical scholars have gathered various social-scientific data pertaining to the environment of the Yehud province under the benign Persian govemance. The so-called humanitarian Persian policies, however, leave many aspects of the ancient Persian culture and politics with more uncertainty than convincing evidence.^' Daniel L. Smith-Christopher probes such suspicious reconstructions: "Part of the myth of the Persian benevolence is the idea of an end to the exile in 539. But all that ended was Neo-Babylonian hegemony, to be replaced by that of the Persians."-'^ Likewise, Donald B. Redford's historiographical assessment should be noted: "The re-imposition of Persian mle proved to be as benign as ever, and the temples enjoyed a quick retum to normal life. Nothing could be farther from the truth."" Against this backdrop, that the Hebrew slave becomes a powerful ruler and liberator could have presented a model of hope and an inspiration. This idea of a hero may indeed have been what kept the hope of the Diaspora communities alive amid their unceasing agonies. The story has its "fantasy" elements. Nevertheless, as one located away from his roots, Joseph symbolizes to the implied readers a triumph of hope, just as the heroics of Esther would do. Joseph can be read as the Genesis template of Esther.^'' The implied readers in Diaspora communities would be reminded that they are all God's children, all fellow aliens and pilgrims, pursuing liberty from oppression, salm from hatred, and hope from despair. Furthermore, Joseph as a heroic Diaspora displays the dilemma of identity

^^ Herodotus, The Persian Wars (trans. George Rawlinson; New York: Random House, 1942) 447. " For example, concerning the recent debates on the historical reconstruction of Cyrus's peaceful annexation of Babylon, see Reinhard G. BCratz, "From Nabonidus to Cyrus," in Melammu Symposia HI: Ideologies as Intercultural Phenomena, Proceedings of the Third Annual Symposium (Chicago, 2731 October 2000) (ed. A. Panaino and G. Pettinato; Milan: Universit di Bologna & Islao, 2002) 143-56; David Vanderhooft, "Cyrus II, Liberator or Conqueror? Ancient Historiography concerning Cyrus in Babylon," in Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period (ed. Lipschits et al.), 351 -72. ^^ Daniel L. Smith-Christopher, A Biblical Theology of Exile (OBT; Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002) 65; idem, "The Book of Daniel," ATO 7:17-152, here 23-34. See also Amlie Kuhrt, "Ancient Near Eastern History: The Case of Cyrus the Great of Persia," in Understanding the History of Ancient Israel (ed. H. G. M. Williamson; Oxford: Oxford University Press, 107-27). '' Redford, "Some Observations," 321. Redford fiirther presents the textual and archaeological evidence for the Persian acts of devastation on the (Egyptian) rebels as well as the domination over the domestic and cultic life of the Egyptians (pp. 320-23). 2'' R. Norman Whybray, Introduction to the Pentateuch (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 59. It is noteworthy that there is no direct appearance of God to human characters or divine intervention in human affairs in this Joseph narrative (see Bill T. Arnold, Genesis [New Cambridge Bible Commentary; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009] 315).

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

229

for all subsequent communities of faith. Toward the end of the Joseph novella, the narrator implicitly raises the question whether Joseph would return to the promised land in Canaan or remain in Egypt. Perhaps it invites the implied readers to come to their own conclusion. On the one hand, the text hints at the process of Joseph's "Egyptianization," such as his shaving himself and changing his clothes (41:14), taking the Pharaoh's signet ring (41:42), and obtaining an Egyptian name and vsdfe (41:45).^^ Not only is Joseph's name changed to "Zaphenath-paneah" (41:45), but Joseph also marries an Egyptian woman.^* The texts in various places suggest that Joseph was recognized not as a Hebrew but rather as an Egyptian (e.g., 42:8; 43:32; 44:18; 50:11). Joseph spends the rest of his life in Egypt, remaining a governor there (Gen 50:2-26). Yet, on the other hand, Joseph strives to maintain his Hebrew identity. Even after he undertook the Egyptian name and wife, Joseph identifies himself as the brother of his Hebrew siblings: "I am your brother" (45:4; cf. 45:16; 50:25). It should be noted that the tradition of having both a Hebrew name and a foreign name can be traced back to mid-eighteenth-century B.C.E. Egyptian texts and even later during the time of Judas Maccabeus.^^ It is incorrect to assume that merely changing or adopting a foreign name meant that one had abandoned his or her original identity. Joseph's two half-Egyptian sons retain Hebrew names, even though his firstborn, Manasseh, means "God has made me forget all my travail and all my.father's house" (41:51). Indeed, Joseph is portrayed as one who longs to return home. Whether it is to honor and follow his father Jacob's footsteps (Gen 47:29-31 ; 49:29-32) or to restore his Israelite heritage, Joseph asks to be buried in his homeland (50:25; cf Exod 13:19; Josh 24:32). Like Joseph, many of the implied readers had to settle in the diasporic corners of Egypt, Persia, and elsewhere. Some returned to the promised land, but a great majority of them presumably would not or could not returneven if they so wished. Jon D. Levenson, in his study of Esther, explains that her heroics demonstrate the legitimacy of the Diaspora communities' staying wherever they reside and continuing to live their lives with faith and solidarity.^^ Genesis suggests that it might not matter whether the Diaspora people emigrate or return, assimilate or
' ' Aaron Wildavsky {Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel [New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1993] 119-29, 191-208) claims that Joseph embodies an example of "assimilation" as opposed to "separation," for which "Hebraicized" Daniel represents a contrasting parody on "Egyptianized" Joseph, just as Moses represents the "Anti-Joseph." ' ' Leon R. Kass, The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis (New York: Free Press, 2003) 514: "When Joseph finally gets the clothingand customsthat suit him perfectly, it will not be as a prince in Israel but as the lord chamberlain of Egypt." Consider also Nahum M. Sama, Understanding Genesis (Heritage of Biblical Israel I ; New York: Schocken, 1966) 222; Wildavsky, Assimilation versus Separation, 120. " See, e.g., "Asiatics in Egyptian Household Service," ANET, 553-54. ^* Jon D. Levenson, "The Scroll of Esther in Ecumenical Perspective," JES 13 (1976) 440-52.

230

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

separate. It does not matter where their locales might be. What matters is whether and how they preserve their faith and share solidarity with one another Therefore, the didactic message of the Joseph story to the diasporic implied readers would be this: Do not despair over your outsider status in the harsh environment of Egypt and, at the same time, do not desert who you are, children of Abrahamic patriarch and Sarahic matriarch; while survivingand even occasionally thriving as an insiderin Goshen, Ecbatana, or anywhere else. n . Joseph and His Israelite Brothers Joseph's relationship with his brothers signifies the intertribal tensions among the diverse sociopolitical groups of Israel, especially from the perspective of the implied readers. Insofar as these intertribal relations are concerned, Joseph, though an Israelite, is essentially an outsider. In this regard, he represents an underdog, a younger brother who dares to exemplify reconciliation,-'^ Reading the Joseph narrative from this perspective, I will concentrate primarily on the implicit sibling rivalry between Judah and Joseph, that is, between southern Judah and northern Israel. I propose to examine this relationship through the two major thematic threads extant in the Joseph narrative: (1) the transformation of Judah (from hatred to loyalty) and (2) the transformation of Joseph (from self-centered dreamer to embodying the ideals of reconciliation and unity). A. Judah's Transformation If Joseph, as the Hebrew-Egyptian, and Pharaoh.exemplify virtue (hospitality in a foreign land), Judah illustrates a shocking antithesis (hostility from within). That the concluding novella of Genesis is predominantly devoted to Joseph already places Judah in a minor role. Yet the overall narrative does include episodes in which Judah plays a part. These seem to paint a parallel picture to that of Joseph, that is, a key character's, gradual but profound transformation. Such clues of transformation are evident, especially in Judah's relations with (1) Reuben, (2) Tamar, and (3) Benjamin. First, the duplicate reports of the plot to kill Joseph highlight Judah's cruelty vis--vis Reuben's compassion (37:18-31). Scholars have cogently identified two sources in this text: the E source of Reuben (37:21-24, 28a, 29-31) and the J source of Judah (37:18-20, 25-27, 28b).''" Yet many have wondered about
^' Levenson, Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son, 66; Hiebert, "Genesis," 22. ''"E. A. Speiser, Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes (AB 1; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1964) 291. For a detailed source analysis of the Joseph narrative, see Antony F. Campbell and Mark A. O'Brien, Sources of the Pentateuch: Texts, Introductions, Annotations (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993) 120-21, 175.

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

231

the editorial purpose of the conflation of these sources.'*' The following observations suggest that this doublet accentuates Judah's negative character in contrast to Reuben's positive role.''^ At first glance, both Reuben and Judah appear to be rescuing Joseph from being killed. Nevertheless, their attitudes and intentions are not the same. Reuben interferes, suggesting that Joseph be thrown into a pit rather than killed.''^ The narrator gives a clue to Reuben's real motive, "in order that [Reuben] might rescue [Joseph] from their hands and bring him back to his father" (37:22b). Next, Judah interferes and proposes to sell Joseph as a slave to the Ishmaelites. This may sound quite compassionate, "let our hands not be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh" (37:27), except that the true motive lies not in Joseph's welfare: "What gain is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood?" (37:26). The real motive, as Naomi Steinberg elucidates, is not mere jealousy but rather the right of primogeniture and inheritance, which drives Judah's conspiracy: "Family fission, indeed family breakdown, comes early in the story of Jacob's family when the eleven brothers who stand to be disinherited if only one son becomes lineal heir decide to take action against the favored son, Joseph."^ Accordingly, whereas Reuben the firstborn's intention is to save Joseph, Judah is determined to eliminate him. Victor P. Hamilton's rationale seems plausible: There is no indication that Judah really desires to rescue his brother, as there was with Reuben. Joseph could be retrievedfroma cistern, but he cannot be retrieved once he
"" Hermann Gunkel, The Legends of Genesis: The Biblical Saga and History (New York: Schocken, 1964; German original, 1901) 83: 'The means that is applied over and over again to prolong the account is to report the same scene twice, though of course with variations." See also Gordon J. Wenham, Genesis 16-50 (WBC 2; Dallas: Word, 1994) 354. "^For a seminal analysis of these contrasts in light of the Reuben version versus the Judah version, see Donald B. Redford, A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Genesis 3 7-50) (VTSup 20; Leiden: Brill, 1970) 132-37; George W. Coats, From Canaan to Egypt: Structural and Theological Context for the Joseph Story (CBQMS 4; Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 1976) 60-79; Hugh C. White, "Reuben and Judah: Duplicates or Complements?" in Understanding the Word: Essays in Honor of Bernhard W. Anderson (ed. James T. Butler, Edgar W. Conrad, and Ben C. Ollenburger; JSOTSup 37; Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1985) 73-97. Note also a review of various source-critical approaches on this issue and a compelling conclusion by Carr {Reading the Fractures of Genesis, 287): "The presence of Judah and Reuben in the story is not a priori an indicator of any kind of transmission history. Indeed, closer analysis indicates that they are carefully coordinated with each other, and the use of both corresponds to an overall tendency of the story to work with pairs." "'Nahum M. Sama {Genesis n'^X-Q: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation [JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989] 259) perceptively translates the cohortative phrase as "We shall not!" rather than 'Xet us not" (37:21): "The statement is made with a decisiveness that tolerates no opposition.... Indeed, the brothers do not say another word, either of assent or dissent (contrast v. 27)." ^ Steinberg, Kinship and Marriage in Genesis, 123.

232

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

is sold to strangers headed for a foreign land. . . . It is a crime that is considered a capital offense.''^ It is further noteworthy, following Meir Stemberg's compelling analysis, that Joseph's ensuing tit-for-tat interrogation helps Joseph to learn of "the (to him) startling revelation that the eldest has been innocent all along": Reuben says, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the lad,' but you did not listen" (42:22)."* If these contrasting depictions stand, we can get a better sense of why the two sources are put together. It is to intensify the differences between Reuben and Judah.''^ We should note that later on, in the dramatic reconciliation scene, Judah's agonizing lament echoes that of Reuben: When Reuben returned to the pit, lo, Joseph was not in the pit, and he tore his garments. He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy is no more, and, as for me, where can IgoT (37:29-30) And [Joseph's brothers] tore their clothes. . . . For how can I [Judah] go up to my father '\ithe boy is with me no more? (44:13, 34)

The difference is that, compared to Reuben's sympathy, it would take far more time in the plot development for Judah to demonstrate his own compassion and loyalty. Furthermore, the implied readers would be well aware that Reuben is not only the firstborn (46:8; 49:3) but also the tribal outsider, together with Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Numbers 32; cf Josh 18:7).''^ From the perspective of Judah, these tribes belong to the northern tribe of Israel and the other side of the Jordan River. The contrast is startling: Judah the symbol of the southern kingdom is a cold-hearted mastermind in banishing Joseph, presumably forever (cf. Gen 44:20), but Reuben the symbol of the northern kingdomlocated outside the promised landhas every intention of saving Joseph. Put together, Judah the insider is portrayed more viciously than Reuben the outsider. Second, the Judah-Tamar episode in Genesis 38 connotes contradictory concepts similar to the Judah-Reuben disparity. The initial description of this narra"5 Victor P. Hamilton, The Book of Genesis: Chapters 18-50 (NICOT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995) 421. See also Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative (New York: Basic, 1981)166. ^ Stemberg, Poetics of Biblical Narrative, 291. ^'James S. Ackerman, "Joseph, Judah, and Jacob," in Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives, vol. 2 (ed. Kenneth R. R. Gros Louis, with James S. Ackerman; Bible in Literature Courses; Nashville: Abingdon, 1982) 85-113. Consider also Jan P. Fokkelman's chiastic structure of 37:18-33, which centers on none other than Judah {Reading Biblical Narrative: An Introductory Guide [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999] 81). *^ For an innovative sociological analysis of the exile in light of immigration models, see John J. Ahn, Exile as Forced Migrations: A Sociological, Literary, and Theological Approach on the Displacement and Resettlement of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (BZAW 417; Berlin/New York: de Gruyter, 2011).

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

233

tive is already revealing: "At that time Judah went downfi-omhis brothers" (38:1). This vnll be mirrored later in Gen 39:1, "Joseph was taken down to Egypt" (cf. 37:25).'" It is as though Judah's moral status will be brought low, which would paradoxically signify his positive ttiming point as well. Tamar is clearly an outsider, quite possibly a Canaanite woman, and subsequently a widow. ^ In contrast, Judah is an insider, who ironically marries a Canaanite woman (38:2; cf. 28:6-9). Even in this episode, Judah does not fare well with regard to the issue of integrity. In the end, Tamar has to take an extreme measure, "playing the whore" with Judah (38:12-24a; cf Josh 2:1), to eam her rightfiil family and honor. Put differently, it is as though readers encotinter another Ruth the Moabite in the persona and courage of Tamar the Canaanite, in that both outsiders play crucial roles in the lineage of Judah (Gen 38:27-30), and eventually of David (Ruth 4:18-22).5' At the same time, readers may detect a small note of Judah's positive ttiming point. When the enraged Judah sees the signet ring (Gen 38:18, 25; cf. Josh 2:18, 21), he acknowledges, "she is more righteous than I, on the account that I did not give her to my son Shelah" (38:26). Readers learn that Tamar the outsider is more righteous than Judah the insider. Judah is indeed brought low, morally and ethnically.'^ Nevertheless, we also leam of Judah's acknowledgment of Tamar's uprightness, demonstrating his integrity to this marginalized woman. Compared to the preceding chapter (chap. 37), we now find Judah displaying genuine empathy and honor, as Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss comment: "Yet this is the first reported occasion where anyone has called Judah to account for his actions; he rises to the occasion by taking responsibility for his earlier words and actionsalbeit indirectly. It marks a definite step in his maturation."^^ Third, Judah's thorough transformation culminates in the dramatic "silver
"Robert Alter, Genesis: Translation and Commentary (New York: W. W. Norton, 1996) 217. On the literary structure with the matching motifs of "sexual temptation involving Judah'' (chap. 38) and "Joseph" (chap. 39), see David A. Dorsey, The Literary Structure of the Old Testament: A Commentary on Genesis-Malachi (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999) 58-63. ^^ Gerhard von Rad, Genesis (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster, 1972) 358; Claus Westermann, Genesis 37-50 (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1986) 51; Fretheim, "Book of Genesis," 604-7. 5' Redford, Biblical Story of Joseph, 16-17. "Richard J. Clifford, "Genesis 38: Its Contribution to the Jacob Story," CBQ 66 (2004) 519-32, here 524: "Judah is not just impetuous; he is a sinner. He sinned in marrying a Canaanite, in visiting a prostitute, and in peremptorily ordering the burning of his daughter-in-law." Concerning the thematic correlation between the father-daughter unions of Lot and his daughters (Genesis 19) and the Judah-Tamar union (Genesis 38), see Terry J. Prewitt, The Elusive Covenant: A Structural-Semiotic Reading of Genesis (Advances in Semiotics; Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990) 80; Eleanor Ferris Beach, "An Iconographie Approach to Genesis 38," in A Feminist Companion to Reading the Bible: Approaches, Methods and Strategies (ed. Athalya Brenner and Carole Fontaine; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997)285-305. ^'Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, eds., The Torah: A Women's Commentary (New York: URJ, 2008) 219.

234

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

cup" episode, where his dealings with Benjamin mark its climax (Genesis 42-44). In fact, it is when Judah finishes one of the most dramatic speechesindeed, the longest speech in Genesis (44:18-34)that Joseph "could no longer control" his emotion and reveals his true identity (45:1). Judah's decisive transformation can be noted even from the gradual movement within his discourse, as Stemberg deciphers, "the shift in person from plural ['we,' 'your servants'] to singular ['I,' 'your servant'] correlates with a shift from their collective to his personal responsibility and therefore, it is hoped, judgment."^'' Hence the powerful plea in Judah's willingness to sacrifice himself for the sake of Benjamin: "Now, please let your servant remain, instead of the boy, as a slave to my lord; and let the boy go up with his brothers" (44:33). The implied readers should be well aware of the apparent hostility between the tribes of Benjamin and Judah throughout the monarchic period, considering the fact that iCing Saul came from the tribe of Benjamin (1 Sam 9:1-2) and King David from the tribe of Judah (1 Sam 17:12). Even after the deaths of Saul and Jonathan, the Deuteronomistic Historian records episodes illustrating the persistent animosity between these two dynastic tribes: for example, the curse of Shimei, "from the clan of the house of Saul," on David (2 Sam 16:5; cf. 2 Sam 21:1-14) and the revolt of Sheba the Benjaminite (2 Samuel 20).^^ Put simply, of the twelve tribes, it would be the animosity between these two tribes that would stand out as malevolent and lasting. Fascinatingly, our Genesis accounts record Benjamin to be the youngest son of Jacob, the only full sibling with Joseph from the same mother, Rachel (Gen 35:24), Considering Benjamin's volatile locale on the border of the two divided kingdoms, as the smallest tribe of Israel (cf. 1 Sam 9:21), historians aptly refer to the Benjaminite tribe as the "southem Ephraimite tribe."^* In this symbolic relationship, the narrative builds up a tension between the vulnerable Benjamin and the predominant Judah, in which Judah demonstrates unexpected, selfless love toward Benjamin. As Robert Alter sums up, "[T]wentytwo years earlier, Judah engineered the selling of Joseph into slavery; now he is prepared to offer himself as a slave so that the other son of Rachel can be set
" Stemberg, Poetics of Biblical Narrative, 308. ^'On the continuing Benjaminite-Judean conflicts during the Persian period, see Joseph Blenkinsopp, "Benjamin Traditions Read in the Early Persian Period," in Judah and the Judeans in the Persian Period (ed. Lipschits et al.), 629-45; in the same volume, Yairah Amit, "The Saul Polemic in the Persian Period," 647-61; and Gary N. Knoppers, "Israel's First King and 'the Kingdom of Yhwh in the Hands of the Sons of David': The Place of the Saulide Monarchy in the Chronicler's Historiography," in Saul in Story and Tradition (ed. Carl S. Ehrlich; FAT 47; Tbingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2006) 187-213; Brettler, Creation of History, 91-111. ^* J. Maxwell Miller and John H. Hayes, A History of Ancient Israel and Judah (2nd ed.; Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2006) 86-87. See also Davies, Origins of Biblical Israel, 105-15, 137-40. For a historical reading of this relationship as "the struggle between Judah and Joseph for control over Benjamin," see Yigal Levin, "Joseph, Judah, and the 'Benjamin Conundrum,'" ZAW 116 (2004) 223-41, here 236. We should also note that Mordecai and presumably Esther are of the Benjaminite tribe (Esth 2:5-7).

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

235

e."'^ The familiar history is reversed and the bitter relationship is marvelously turned sweet. Thus, in this provocative episode, there is an emphatic reversal of enmity between these two hostile tribes. The implied readers would leam of reconciliation. The episodes skillfully insinuate how Judah has been transformed: from the cold-blooded mastermind (compared to Reuben), to the mortified but empathetic father-in-law (through Tamar), and finally to the authentically caring, compassionate brother (toward Benjamin).'^ In association with these key outsiders (Reuben, Tamar, and Benjamin), the Joseph narrative portrays Judah the insider's profound transformation: from jealousy and hatred to love and loyalty. B. Joseph's Transformation At the outset, the Joseph narrative points out the relational rivalry and reconciliation between Joseph the outsider and Judah the insider. Yet, insofar as such oppositional depictions are extant, we can find parallel patterns for both of these characters. Just as this novella depicts, as delineated above, Judah's moral and humane transformation, so it portrays Joseph's relational and theological transformation. In a nutshell, as Marvin A. Sweeney expounds, "the Joseph narrative is a study in the development of character and leadership as Joseph's abilities to overcome adversity, to leam from his own mistakes, and as a result to develop his own capacities for leadership."^' First of all, one would have to say that Joseph enters the plot as a selfcentered dreamer. This (second) youngest son is the favored one of his father, as the first child of his beloved wife, Rachel (Gen 30:22-24; 35:24; cf. 29:18, 20, 30): "Israel loved Joseph more than all of his sons, because he was the son of his old age; and he had made for him a long garment with sleeves" (37:3; cf. 3:21). Jacob's favoritism can be explained by the fact that Joseph is the youngest, the underdog among his brothers, yet the narrative does not condone this favoritism. Readers are drawn to empathize with the hatred of Joseph's brothers, though it is not legitimized (37:4-5). Next, this egoistic youth Joseph endures one of the most dramatic hardships in the Hebrew Bible and rises to be a profoundly transformed leader. Joseph becomes not only a powerful, ruler but also a compassionate leader. What is striking in this change may be Joseph's perspectives on his relationship with his brothers and the whole clan. In terms of relationship, Joseph's maturation is interdependent with that of his brothers.
^^ MXsr, Art of Biblical Narrative, 175. See also Sama, Genesis, 307; Westermann, Genesis 37-50,137-38. 5* David W. Cotter, Genesis (Berit 01am; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2003) 288; Clifford, "Genesis 38," 532. 5' Marvin A. Sweeney, Tanak: A Theological and Critical Introduction to the Jewish Bible (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012) 77.

236

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

This mutuality is noticeable in the way Judah's long speech (44:18-34) is immediately followed by Joseph's long speech (45:3-13). Terence E. Fretheim delineates the significance of the literary juxtaposition of these two speeches: "In and through what [Judah] says . . . he enables the story of this family to move to a new level, setting the stage for the reconciliation that follows. Without Judah, Joseph's ensuing speech would not have been possible. Joseph's theological interpretation of events builds upon Judah's confession."^'' In other words, Judah's transformation was paramount in inspiring the transformation of all the brothers, in particular, that of Joseph. This emotionaland relationalbreakthrough on Joseph's part is sketched in the narrator's hyperbolic artistry: "[Joseph] lifted the voice of his weeping so loudly that the Egyptians heard him and the household of Pharaoh heard him" (45:2). Moreover, the content of Joseph's speech is as moving as that of Judah's. Joseph's speech reveals that he clearly remembers the past torment: "I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt" (45:4). The literary artistry in the depiction of Joseph's psychological process can indicate not only that the brothers would be scared of what Joseph would say next but also that Joseph may remind himself and/or his brothers of the unforgotten fact concerning "whom you sold into Egypt."*' It is understandable that Joseph has every reason to execute vengeance on these nefarious brothers. Yet Joseph's past recollections and present perspectives are in marked contrast to the anticipations of the terrified brothers. Joseph, the once self-centered youth, now reflects and considers his brothers' selling him into exilic banishment and slavery (45:5a) as the divine guidance that let him save the lives of the whole clan: "For it is for saving life that God sent me here ahead of you" (45:5b; cf 45:7-8): What follows this astounding insight is Joseph's equally awe-inspiring care and solidarity for the remnants of his kindred (45:9-11; cf. Jeremiah 29). Joseph's awakening implicates the whole family, as Adele Berlin observes: "It is a story of a family that, quite literally, found itself"*^ Thus, Joseph has grown and changed, "from death- to life-thoughts, from a fixation about the past to shaping the iture, and from egocentricity through selective fraternity to a sense of familial responsibility."^^ Finally, the Joseph narrative elucidates Joseph's theological transformation toward the resilient hope that, through the human pursuit of peace and through God's mysterious faithfrilness, good will overcome evil. The subversive motif of Joseph as the outsider underscores the goals of reconciliation and harmony. Toward the end of the narrative, in reply to the fear-stricken brothers who plead
'" Fretheim, "Book of Genesis," 641. *' W. Lee Humphreys, The Character of God in the Book of Genesis: A Narrative Appraisal (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001) 221. *^ Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative (Bible and Literature Series 9; Sheffield: Almond, 1983) 51. '2 Stemberg, Poetics of Biblical Narrative, 290.

THE JOSEPH STORY AS A DIASPORA NARRATIVE

237

with Joseph, "here we are, yoxir slaves" (50:18), Joseph's retrospective is significant: "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, for the sake of preserving many people alive, as it is today" (50:20). Joseph's hateful kindred indeed schemed great evil against him. But readers find that, through Joseph, God turned evil into good. As Walter Bnieggemann construes matters, "[Pjerhaps in this address to the brothers, the 'good' that God had first discerned in creation (1:31) is renewed and reasserted."^ Thus, with regard to Joseph's own faith journey with God, the Joseph novella highlights God's mysterious but sovereign faithfulness. Readers have been informed that in those lowest moments of Joseph's life, "Yhwh was with him" (39:3; 21, 23; cf 21:20; 48:21). The narrator highlights that it is God who gave the promise to Abraham and Sarah that continues to unfold to their descendants (12:2-3).*^ Just as God's working out of "good" amid "formless void" and "darkness" (1:2; cf 1:31) creates thematic bookends with God's making human "evil" into "good" (50:20), so now the divine promise of blessing to Abraham and Sarah is assuredly fulfilled.^* Who could that channel of blessing possibly be? Joseph the younger brother, Joseph the northern outsider, Joseph the Hebrew-Egyptian Diaspora. It is through Josephnot Judah, normatively expected by the implied readerswho would be a blessing, not only to his own clan but also to many others, including the Egyptians! Through Joseph, and admittedly alongside Judah and all his siblings. Genesis invites readers to imagine the hopes of survival (heroics and freedom) and the ideals oislm (reconciliation and unity). As a result, the Joseph story strives to transform the implied readers as well. To them, the text discloses that Judah, too, was morally suspect. Admittedly, Joseph married an Egyptian woman, like Esau, who took an Ishmaelite woman (28:8-9), contrary to Isaac and Jacob (24:2-4; 28:1-7). But Judah married a Canaanite (38:2). Joseph's two sons are half-Egyptians, like Ishmael, "Abraham's half-Egyptian son."*^ Not far removed, however, the birth story of Judah's twin sons (38:12-30) is similar to that of Lot's sons, Moab and Ammon (19:30-38). Nonetheless, despite these ethical shortcomings and ethnic limitations, the Joseph
^ Brueggemann, Genesis, 296. '* Reinhard G. Kratz, The Composition of the Narrative Books of the Old Testament (London/ New York: Clark, 2005) 276: "The [Joseph] narrative did not come into being as a bridge between the patriarchs and the exodus but primarily as a continuation and further conclusion of the patriarchal history." See also Konrad Schmid, Genesis and the Moses Story: Israel's Dual Origins in the Hebrew Bible (Siphrut 3; Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2010). ** George W. Coats, Genesis, with an Introduction to Narrative Literature (FOTL 1 ; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1983) 312: "Joseph's role in Egypt now does not relate to preserving the family of Jacob, but to preserving many people without reference explicitly to familial ties." For a judicious analysis of Joseph as an "antitype" to Adam, in light of the literary bracketing between Genesis 1-11 and the Joseph novella, see Bruce T. Dahlberg, "The Unity of Genesis," in Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives, vol. 2 (ed. Gros Louis and Ackerman), 126-33. *' Lo\) H. Silberman, "Listening to the Text," JBL 102 (1983) 3-26, here 23.

238

THE CATHOLIC BIBLICAL QUARTERLY | 75,2013

narrative highlights the change and maturity of both Judah and Joseph toward peace and reconciliation. Therefore, the additional message of the Joseph story to the diasporic implied readers would be this: Dear sisters and brothers in Elephantine, Susa, or Yehud, let us not be too legalistically judgmental or morally haughty, but rather let us build unity instead of enmity, peace instead of quarrels, and good instead of evil, as Judah and Joseph demonstrate in their transformation that we are all kindred (cf 13:8). III. Conclusion In addition to the explicit themes of creation, sin, progeny, covenant, blessing, and so on. Genesis depicts key underlying concepts intricately associated with "relationships." These relationships include divine-human, parent-child, husband-wife, master-servant, and so forth. In the Joseph narrative, especially as a Diaspora narrative for the implied readers of the Persian period, the theme of relationship covers the areas of socioethnic class and intertribal and insideroutsider dynamics. The narrative penetrates the important issues of mercy, forgiveness, and unity versus envy, violence, and disunity. These issues are complexly entwined with the dynamics between insiders and outsiders, and between the southern and northern tribes of Israel. Overall, this fascinating story poses the existential, ethical, and ethnic questions concerning relationship: Would we strive to be bridge builders and peacemakers in this broken world? Would we convert hatred and erunity into compassion and solidarity? Would we trust in the possibility of good within one another and God amid rampant evil? Strictly speaking, Joseph should be considered an Israelite, an "insider"; after all, he was a son of Jacob/Israel. Yet the narrative also hints that Joseph was an "outsider," as a Hebrew-Egyptian with hybrid identity, an ancestor of the northern Israel, a representative of the out-groups (Ephraim and Manasseh), and a Diaspora away from the promised land. It is his hybridity that makes him a great role model for the Diasporas, in his embodying the ideal balancing between resistance and assimilation and in his positive transforming of "either-or" (or "neithernor") limitations into "both-and" potentials. Reading the Joseph story as a Diaspora narrative, we may summarize the fundamental theme of this novella (Genesis 37-50), in light of the larger framework within the entire Pentateuch, with the following concept: it reminds us of a coherent teaching of the Torah concerning "relationship" in that our love of God (Deut 6:4-5) is best demonstrated by our love of our kin, neighbors, and outsiders as ourselves: "You shall not take vengeance or keep anger against any fellow of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yhwh" (Lev 19:18).

Copyright of Catholic Biblical Quarterly is the property of Catholic Biblical Association of America and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.