8.1.4 Gen. 42 – 45: Joseph and his Brothers

It is now of unheard-of beauty how the conversation between the vizier and the sons of Jacob slowly approaches the no-longer-present Joseph and how the dark shadow of the unforgotten Joseph falls over the soul of the brothers, while the dead man stands before them shaken.” (vRad, 314) This is world-class literature. Especially touching is how Joseph, who has risen to supreme power, turns away because he must weep (42, 24, similarly 43, 30). The story of the game of hide-and-seek, which continues almost like a detective story, is neatly divided into different scenes, which are almost “performances” in the sense of plays (vRad, 18).

It is striking, however, that Joseph has by now adopted the pagan custom of prophesying from the cup (44:5), and that the narrator apparently finds nothing wrong with it either (similar to the cultic prostitution in Gen. 38).

The drama continues to intensify. At the climax of the plot, where Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, he finally cries so loudly that everyone can hear. Here, after all, the theological interpretation comes through: “For the sake of your lives God has sent me before you.” (45, 5)

With the transfer of the old Jacob to Egypt becomes clear again,

that here actually still the toledoth (genealogy) of Jacob is present and

not primarily the Joseph story. Both are now intertwined

interwoven. 46, 6-27 are clearly recognizable as a genealogy and are

generally attributed to P.

Touching also the reunion between father and son: 64, 28ff.