A sceptical reading of the Bible –Genesis. 39 –40
Chapter 39
The narrative now takes us back to Joseph’s story. Joseph serves Potiphar, his Egyptian slave master well, but Potiphar realizes Joseph must have God helping him out. He exploits this by giving Joseph higher position, to make sure he gets to benefit from the wealth too. Joseph is now effectively a cash cow, or a goose laying golden eggs.
There is a problem with this arrangement though – Potiphar’s wife. She starts trying to seduce Joseph. She begs Joseph to make love to her but he refuses knowing it would cause conflict with God and Potiphar.
After several refusals, she throws herself at Joseph, who runs from the house, leaving his clothes behind. Potiphar’s wife uses them as evidence in false attempted rape charges against Joseph.
Potiphar catches Joseph and throws him in prison. He soon becomes a model prisoner, and teaches the other prisoners about God, which keeps them so well behaved, Joseph effectively becomes a prisoner prison guard. The real guards let him do their work for them. As Potiphar had done, they see that Joseph has special links to God.
Potiphar knew this divine connection too, but forgets it in relation to his wife’s allegations of sexual impropriety. Surely one so blessed by God wouldn’t molest a married woman? Or if he did, God felt it was right. Potiphar seems confused. God makes no effort to put him right on the situation.
Text studied - http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1801
Arthur Chappell
Chapter 40
Two new prisoners arrive, a baker and a butler to the King of Egypt who in some unspecified way, upset their master. Joseph takes them in his charge and the men are soon having strange dreams. Joseph, predating Freud, sets himself up as God’s interpreter of dreams and visions.
The Butler’s dream involves a grapevine he sees growing, in three branches. From it he makes wine for the Pharaoh. Joseph tells him that he will be released in three days (the three branches) and get his old job back, making real wine for the pharaoh. Joseph asks the Butler to put a good word in for him with the Pharaoh over this to help get Joseph free too.
The Baker hopes for similar good news as his dream involved him carrying three baskets of bread on his head. Unfortunately, Joseph interprets the baker’s three days as all he has left to live as he is due to be executed. . I love the casual way Joseph reveals this bad news. We don’t learn how the baker took the shock of it.
The predictions come true. The baker is hanged. The Butler is released but he forgets to put a good word in with the Pharaoh about Joseph.
Text studied - http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=1801
Arthur Chappell
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