Joseph (son of Jacob)
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Joseph or Joseph ( Hebrew יוֹסֵף jôsef ), the son of Jacob and Rachel , is a person from the Bible. The Joseph story ( Gen 37, ff EU ) establishes the transition from the fathers' stories in Genesis to the history of Israel in the book of Exodus .
In the Koran which is biblical Joseph tradition received wide. The entire twelfth sura is dedicated to Yusuf (that is his Arabic name).
Joseph in the Bible
Surname
On the occasion of his birth, the name Josef is interpreted in two ways in a playful way. His mother Rachel says (Gen. 28: 23f.):
- “God has taken my shame from me” (verbal root אסף “take away”);
- “May the LORD give me another son” (verbal root יסף “add”).
The second interpretation is philologically correct; Hebrew יוֹסֵף jôsef is a shortened sentence name that originally contained a divine name and in the long form Josifja (יוֹסִפְיָה) read: " Jah (we) may add."
Origin of the conflict of brothers
As a 17-year-old boy, Josef got into a conflict with his half-brothers, which was life-threatening for him. Gen 37.2 speaks of Joseph's indiscretion. The translations allow different interpretations:
- “Joseph told her father that she was gossiping about her” (Luther Bible, standard translation);
- “Joseph told her father what bad things were said of them” (Zurich Bible).
This motif is not taken up again and remains a mystery. The narrator gives two reasons for the brothers' hatred of Joseph:
- Dress motif : The father gives Josef a luxurious piece of clothing. The term Hebrew כתנת פסים ketonet passim is encountered again in the Hebrew Bible for the dress of a king's daughter ( 2 Sam 13.8f. EU ). With this robe, Joseph is used as the father's right hand and the age hierarchy of the brothers is turned upside down.
- Motive dream : The preference for Josef corresponds to an "excessive self-confidence", which is expressed in two dreams. The dreams revolve around the motive of prosksynesis ; in the first dream the sheaves of the brothers prostrate themselves in front of Joseph's sheaf during the grain harvest, in the second dream the sun, moon and eleven stars pay homage to Joseph. The “family council” cannot interpret these dreams. The misunderstanding of the brothers deepens their hatred of Joseph and gives rise to the tragedy that follows; the literary figure Jakob shows as a father characteristics that are typical for this actor: "his lack of feeling for justice and his indecision".
Gen 37 depicts the "spoiled and preferred prince" Joseph; in the background are the “Brothers who brood evil.” In contrast to his bold appearance as a dream-teller, Josef is helpless ( Gen 37.15 EU ) and passive in the further course . The brothers plan to kill Joseph in order to prevent his dreams from coming true ( Gen 37.20 EU ), but it is precisely with this that they start the action that will lead to Joseph's ascension.
- Motif pit : Hebrew בור bôr denotes both the cistern and the prison because an empty cistern could be used in this way. This introduces a further motif from the Joseph story in Gen. 37:20.
The brothers tear off Joseph's clothes as evidence to the father that “an evil animal” has eaten his favorite son and throw him into a dry cistern. At the end of chap. 37 Joseph is not dead, but alive in the hands of slave traders. The narrative oscillates between two scenarios of how this could come about: a) on Judas' initiative he was pulled out of the cistern by the brothers and sold as a slave to Ishmaelites ; b) According to Rubens' suggestion, he was supposed to perish in the cistern without the brothers charging blood guilt (whereby Ruben intended to save him secretly), but was discovered by Midianites and "stolen."
In local tradition, the cistern is associated with Jubb Yūsuf ("Joseph's cistern"), a now abandoned village north of Dothan, where the ruins of a caravanserai , Khān Jubb Yūsuf , from the 14th century have been preserved on Via Maris .
Joseph's rise in Egypt
Chapters 39 to 41 contain narrative material from the Jewish diaspora , with Joseph's life story developing similarly to that of Daniel and Ester : a steep but dangerous career in a foreign country. Egypt is here characterized positively as a living space (unlike in the book Exodus ), and Joseph is very much involved in Egyptian culture, which the narrator apparently approves. That would be unacceptable to other biblical authors.
As a slave, Joseph came to a “good house” in Egypt and found a position of trust there. His master is Potifar , the supervisor of the bodyguard and chamberlain of the Pharaoh ( Gen 37.36 EU ). It is quite possible that the narrator imagined that high court officials were eunuchs in Egypt , and that the literary figure Potifar he created also wants to be understood in this way.
The narrator paints the picture of Josef as a “clever, agreeable, modest, capable young man” and thus corresponds to a wisdom ideal of upbringing. This ideal wisdom student is characterized by the fact that he can put himself in the most varied of circumstances, but something unavailable comes to success - his God YHWH is with him. Only now ( Gen 39.6 EU ) does the narrator add to Joseph's picture that he was "beautiful in shape and beautiful in appearance". The following episode has special narrative qualities within the Hebrew Bible. Potiphar's wife makes a sexual offer ( Gen 39.7 EU , in the original only two words: Hebrew שִׁכְבָ֥ה עִמִּֽי shikhvah ʿimmî ); Joseph refuses with a tortuous moral explanation. She continues to press the slave and finally grabs his dress, whereupon Josef escapes naked. With this dress in hand, she is suing Josef at Potifar for trying to rape her. The brothers had already used Joseph's dress as false evidence of Joseph's death after their attack; this motif is now varied. The similarity with the beginning of the Egyptian two-brother tale ( Papyrus d'Orbiney ) is striking; this is especially true for the protagonist's dilemma - if he agrees, discovery and punishment can be expected in the medium term; if he refuses, he will get into trouble immediately. The narrator gives Potiphar's reaction ( Gen 39.19 EU ) something ambiguous: “He was gripped by anger.” But to whom? It is quite possible that the anger was not directed against Joseph, since he punishes his slave not with death but with prison. And so Josef returns to the "pit".
Prisons in today's sense have only been known in Egypt since the Ptolemaic times, and therefore (assuming the author's knowledge of Egyptian conditions), the prison as the setting for the following scenes is more like a workhouse. Due to divine assistance, Joseph rises from being a simple slave laborer to being a supervisor ( Gen. 39: 22-23 EU ). Then there is the unusual situation that two courtiers (the chief cupbearer and the chief baker) fall out of favor and are kept in Joseph's detention center until their judgment is passed. Joseph is assigned to them as a waitress. When both have a significant dream, Josef provides them with the "service" of dream interpretation. He predicts a pardon for the cupbearer and the death penalty for the baker. That it is a positive and a negative dream is obvious; What Josef offers the two courtiers is to pick out the decisive features from the respective dream image and to ignore the unimportant. He combines this with a request: "But think of me, if you are okay, and show me your favor: give my name to the Pharaoh and bring me out of this house."
When everything comes to pass as Josef predicted, the reader begins to hope for Josef, but in vain: the cupbearer forgets him and Josef spends two years in prison. Then the pharaoh has two significant dreams that none of the professional dream interpreters can explain to him. Now the cupbearer remembers Josef again. Taken out of the dungeon, with his hair cut and newly clothed, Joseph appears before the Pharaoh and offers a similarly confident interpretation of the double dream as before with the two courtiers. Egypt is facing famine after some good harvests, and Joseph gives practical advice on how to prepare for it. The educational ideal that Josef stands for aims to be able to give competent advice in meaningful situations. Consequently, the Pharaoh instructs Joseph to implement his advice.
The next stage of Joseph's ascent follows: a new robe, a new, Egyptian name of honor ( Zafenat-Paneach ) and the marriage to Asenath , the daughter of the high priest Potifera of On. On is an old name for Heliopolis , the city that was used to worship and worship the Egyptian sun god. The couple have two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim . Joseph is now fully integrated in Egypt. After he has "drawn the line under his previous life", he is again confronted with his family of origin.
Settlement of the Brethren Conflict
The famine reaches the neighboring countries. Joseph's brothers also travel to Egypt to buy grain. The narrator probably imagines that they come to Egypt with multitudes of other hungry people and stand directly opposite the powerful vizier Joseph while selling grain. It is obvious that they do not recognize him; that he doesn't want to know her creates tension. Josef plays his Egyptian role credibly when he is concerned that enemy forces might infiltrate Egypt's vulnerable northeast border. Therefore he had to "examine" the Jacob sons, which is ambiguous. The brothers explain their family relationships, whereby the conversation also turns to the brother who “is no more” ( Gen 42,13 EU ) and his youngest brother Benjamin . Joseph pretends to want to check the accuracy of her information; “In fact, he wants to see how the brothers will behave towards the youngest if the latter is in danger.” By imprisoning one of the brothers, Simeon , he obliges the brothers to return. The brothers talk to each other, not suspecting that Joseph understands everything: “Yes, we have to atone for what we owed our brother. We saw him in all his distress when he begged us for mercy, but we didn't listen. ”Only now is this aspect of their previous attack on Josef added.
On the brothers’s second trip to Egypt with Benjamin, the narrator takes a closer look at Joseph: Benjamin is introduced to him, he speaks to him in a friendly manner, is overwhelmed by emotions, goes into his private rooms, breaks down there in tears, has been washed Face and return self- controlled to continue playing the role of the vizier ( Gen 43: 29–31 EU ). There is a feast; everything seems fine. However, when they go home, the brothers are stopped and checked on the way. Josef's caretaker accuses the brothers of stealing a silver cup from his master. In Benjamin's sack is the silver cup that Josef had previously hidden there.
In the next scene the brothers are gathered in front of Joseph. Joseph, who cynically behaves as powerful and omniscient ( Gen 44.15 EU ), insists that Benjamin is now his slave; the others could freely return to their father. At this dramatic climax, Judah begins a speech that, according to Gerhard von Rad, can be regarded as a “little work of art in itself”. Because Judah tries to negotiate where there is actually no more room for negotiation. He offers himself as a slave instead of Benjamin and paints the plight of old Jacob, who could not bear the loss of Benjamin ( Gen 44: 18–34 EU ). When Joseph hears this, he can no longer contain himself, but begins to cry loudly and reveals himself to his brothers. He orders that his father Jacob and his family come to Egypt. That's how it happens.
When Jacob dies, a new problem arises: What connects the brothers after the father's death? Joseph's answer shows that he too has changed: He no longer plays God.
“When these words were brought to him, Joseph wept. His brothers then went there themselves, fell down before him and said: Here we are as your servants. Joseph answered them, “Do not be afraid. Am I in God's place? You had evil in mind against me, but God had good in mind in order to achieve what is happening today: to keep many people alive. So don't be afraid! I myself want to take care of you and your children. So he comforted them and spoke to their hearts. "
According to Konrad Schmid, it is characteristic of the Joseph story that the religious interpretation of the whole story is finally put into the mouth of the main character. "God's actions in history cannot be objectively identified, but there are permissible subjective interpretations."
Josef is 110 years old; despite old age, he is the first of the brothers to die. He is embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt. Later, the coffin is the exodus of Israelites from Moses carried from Egypt. According to Jos 24.32 EU , Joseph is buried in Shechem on a piece of field that Joseph's father Jacob had bought. The Josef grave in today's Nablus is a memorial to Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Impact history
In Islam , Joseph is a prophet whose story is described in the Koran (Sura Yusuf) and who, like the rose, is considered a symbol of perfect beauty in Persian literature .
Visual arts
In the Christian world, Joseph's story was often typologically understood as the Old Testament equivalent of Jesus of Nazareth . The image of the brothers throwing Joseph into the well was often understood in iconography as an image of baptism. The representation of the history of Joseph in the visual arts is only found sporadically from the 4th century onwards. The outer cheeks of the Maximian cathedra from the middle of the 6th century are decorated with scenes from the legend of Joseph. The box with scenes from the story of Joseph from Constantinople was made before 1204.
Two choir windows of the Erfurt Cathedral from 1390 are among the most important medieval representations. Several events in the story of Joseph, such as the etching Joseph narrating his dreams, were taken up by Rembrandt van Rijn .
In the 19th century an extensive fresco cycle was created by the Nazarenes Peter von Cornelius , Friedrich Overbeck , Wilhelm von Schadow and Philipp Veit , the so-called frescoes of Casa Bartholdy, which were painted on plaster, later removed and now in the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin Original suspension from 1879 can be seen. Marc Chagall took up the Old Testament story in the 20th century .
literature
In the early modern period Hugo Grotius wrote a tragedy based on the Joseph story with the title Sophompaneas , after Daniel Heinsius had said in his treatise De Tragoediae Constitutione (On the construction of the tragedy, 1611, 2nd ed. 1643) of the material that he had it move to tears.
In the 17th century two important baroque novels designed the Joseph story: Assenat (1670) by Philipp von Zesen and Des excellently chaste Joseph in Egypt's biography (1671) by Hans Jakob Christoffel von Grimmelshausen . The most significant literary implementation of the Josef material was created by Thomas Mann with the novel - Tetralogy Joseph and his brothers ; but also the dramatic treatment of the subject by the Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet as Joseph in Egyptland (1948) is considered a play of international standing, although it was hardly known in West Germany .
Mr. Joseph and Mrs. Potiphar is a ballad by Georg Weerth . In the Bar zum Krokodil (1927) is a couplet on the same topic by Fritz Löhner-Beda , set to music by Willy Engel-Berger .
music
In 1733 Pietro Metastasio wrote the oratorio libretto Giuseppe riconosciuto , which was subsequently set to music more than 50 times.
In 1743 Georg Friedrich Handel wrote his oratorio Joseph and his Brethren , HWV 59, based on a text by James Miller . It premiered on March 2, 1744 in London .
In 1807, Étienne-Nicolas Méhul wrote his opera Joseph based on a libretto by Alexandre Duval . The work achieved great popularity throughout Europe in the 19th century.
In 1914 the ballet Josephs Legende , op. 63, was premiered by Richard Strauss in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Paris. Hugo von Hofmannsthal designed the libretto together with Harry Graf Kessler .
More recently, Andrew Lloyd Webber has taken up the subject in his musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat .
The musical "Josef - Eine Traumkarriere" from 1988 was written by Jürgen Werth (text) and Johannes Nitsch (music).
Movie
In 1982, the German film producer Curt Linda took up the subject in Shalom Pharao .
In 1995, US director Roger Young filmed Joseph's life story as part of the TV series “The Bible”, with Ben Kingsley as Potifar, Paul Mercurio as Josef, Martin Landau as Jakob and Lesley Ann Warren in the role of Potifars wife ( The Bible - Joseph ). The two-part, three-hour film received an Emmy for Best Picture and Ben Kingsley an Emmy for Best Male Supporting Actor .
The feature film “The Dreamer” (2014) updates the Joseph story in the 21st century.
Remembrance day
March 31 on the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod calendar .
literature
- Meir Bar-Ilan: Sūrat Yūsuf (XII) and Some of Its Possible Jewish Sources . In: Alberdina Houtman, Tamar Kadari, Marcel Poorthuis, Vered Tohar (eds.): Religious Stories in Transformation: Conflict, Revision and Reception . Brill, Leiden 2016, ISBN 978-90-04-33512-7 . ( PDF )
- Jürgen Ebach : Josef and Josef. Literary and hermeneutic reflections on the connections between Genesis 37–50 and Matthew 1–2. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2009, ISBN 978-3-17-021036-3 (165 pages).
- Michael Fieger , Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The Entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph (= The Old Testament in dialogue. An outline of an Old Testament dialogue. Volume 1). Lang, Bern 2007, ISBN 3-03911-437-9 .
- Friedemann W. Golka : Joseph - biblical figure and literary figure. Thomas Mann's contribution to Bible exegesis. Calwer Verlag, Stuttgart 2002, ISBN 3-7668-3788-5 .
- Siegfried Kreuzer : Josef. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 3, Bautz, Herzberg 1992, ISBN 3-88309-035-2 , Sp. 661-665.
- Bernhard Lang : Joseph in Egypt. A biblical story by Goethe and Voltaire (= Paderborn University Speeches. Volume 120), University of Paderborn, Paderborn 2011.
- Rüdiger Lux : Josef: the chosen one among his brothers (Biblical figures 1). Evangelische Verlags-Anstalt, Leipzig 2001, ISBN 3-374-01848-3 .
- Maren Niehoff: The figure of Joseph in post-biblical Jewish literature (works on the history of ancient Judaism and early Christianity 16). Brill, Leiden u. a. 1992, ISBN 90-04-09556-X .
- Hans-Christoph Schmitt : The non-priestly Joseph story. A contribution to the latest Pentateuch criticism (supplements to the journal for Old Testament science 154). Walter de Gruyter, Berlin a. a. 1980, ISBN 3-11-007834-1 .
Web links
- Rüdiger Lux : Joseph / Joseph story. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
Individual evidence
- ^ Rüdiger Lux : Josef / Josefsgeschichte. In: Michaela Bauks, Klaus Koenen, Stefan Alkier (Eds.): The Scientific Biblical Lexicon on the Internet (WiBiLex), Stuttgart 2006 ff.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad : The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 306.
- ↑ Jörg Lanckau: The Lord of Dreams: a study on the function of dreams in the Joseph story of the Hebrew Bible . TVZ, Zurich 2006, p. 143.
- ↑ Markus Witte: The non-priestly written Joseph story . In: Jan Christian Gertz (Ed.): Basic knowledge of the Old Testament . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 6th revised and expanded edition Göttingen 2019, pp. 279–285, here p. 280.
- ↑ Jörg Lanckau: The Lord of Dreams: a study on the function of dreams in the Joseph story of the Hebrew Bible . TVZ, Zurich 2006, pp. 189–192.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 307.
- ↑ This trait of the Joseph story is a striking parallel to the Oedipus saga, and it is likely that this material, which was picked up by several Greek writers, was known through cultural contact in Israel. Cf. Konrad Schmid : Commentary on Gen. 37: 18-20, in: Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Explained - The Commentary on the Zurich Bible . Volume 1, TVZ, Zurich 2010, p. 121 f.
- ↑ Jörg Lanckau: The Lord of Dreams: a study on the function of dreams in the Joseph story of the Hebrew Bible . TVZ, Zurich 2006, p. 213.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 309. “Should one interpret this in such a way that the Midianites sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites? The assumption of a double narrative thread is much closer. ”In terms of editorial criticism, a Juda-Ishmael basic narrative and a Ruben-Midian adaptation can be distinguished. Cf. Markus Witte : The non-priestly written Joseph story . In: Jan Christian Gertz (Ed.): Basic knowledge of the Old Testament . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 6th revised and expanded edition Göttingen 2019, pp. 279–285, here p. 282.
- ^ Robert Hillenbrand : Mamlūk Caravansarais in Galilee . In: Ders .: Studies in Medieval Islamic Architecture . Vol I. The Pindar Press, London 2001, pp. 397-446, here p. 406
- ↑ Markus Witte: The non-priestly written Joseph story . In: Jan Christian Gertz (Ed.): Basic knowledge of the Old Testament . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 6th revised and expanded edition Göttingen 2019, pp. 279–285, here p. 284.
- ↑ Michael Fieger , Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph , Bern 2007, p. 8: "The strikingly positive attitude towards Egypt, which can be seen as exceptional in the Bible, is remarkable."
- ↑ Michael Fieger, Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph , Bern 2007, p. 91 f.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 318 f.
- ↑ Josef's activity as a manager of a large household requires an appropriate education, e.g. B. Knowledge of the Egyptian script, which is hardly likely for an illiterate farmer. The narrator does not problematize how Joseph acquired this education. Michael Fieger, Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The Entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph , Bern 2007, p. 93.
- ^ Robert Alter : The Art of Biblical Narrative , Revised and updated . Basic Books, New York 2011, p. 91.
- ↑ Michael Fieger, Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph , Bern 2007, p. 99 f.
- ^ Konrad Schmid: Commentary on Gen. 39: 11-20, in: Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Explained - The Commentary on the Zurich Bible . Volume 1, TVZ, Zurich 2010, p. 127.
- ↑ The term Hebrew בור bôr meets for Joseph's place of detention in Gen 40.15 EU and Gen 41.14 EU .
- ↑ Michael Fieger, Sigrid Hodel-Hoenes: The entry into Egypt. A contribution to the Old Testament story of Joseph , Bern 2007, p. 105 f.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 325.
- ↑ Gen 40.14 EU ; Translation: Zurich Bible.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 326.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 329.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 331.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 334 f.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 335.
- ^ Konrad Schmid: Commentary on Gen. 42.7–16, in: Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Explained - The Commentary on the Zurich Bible . Volume 1, TVZ, Zurich 2010, p. 133.
- ↑ Gen 42.21; Translation: Zurich Bible.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 340.
- ↑ a b Konrad Schmid: Commentary on Gen. 42.7–16, in: Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zurich (Ed.): Explained - The Commentary on the Zurich Bible . Volume 1, TVZ, Zurich 2010, p. 149.
- ↑ Gerhard von Rad: The first book of Mose, chap. 25.19-50.26 . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1953, p. 378.
- ^ Friedrich Rückert : The Koran (German translation) in the Gutenberg-DE project
- ↑ Omar-i-Khajjam : Sayings. Translated from Persian by Friedrich Rosen , Insel-Verlag, 5th edition. Leipzig 1973 (= Insel-Bücherei, 407), pp. 20 and 60 f.
- ↑ https://www.discogs.com/de/J%C3%BCrgen-Werth-Johannes-Nitsch-Josef-Eine-Traumkarriere/release/5941341
- ↑ March 31 in the Ecumenical Lexicon of Saints