| ToC | Reading the Old Testament | . . . Chapter 2. Genesis 12-50 | ToC |
The Joseph cycle, Genesis 37-50, is one of the most artfully crafted works of Hebrew literature. Some call it a short story, others a novella. Whereas most other Hebrew stories are only a few paragraphs long, the Joseph narrative sustains a story line over many chapters. In spite of the variety of its sources, the Joseph cycle is a cohesive tale of sibling rivalry and providential deliverance.
Source Analysis. In a sense it is curious that Joseph should get so much attention. Judged on the basis of later tribal history, Joseph is not the most significant of Jacob/Israel's sons. Instead, Judah would be the expected focus. His tribe is the source of so much later history and the home of the Davidic monarchy. Still, Ephraim was the core of the Northern Kingdom, and Joseph was the father of Ephraim and Manasseh, the two largest tribes of the ten northern tribes. Certainly this is one reason the Elohist writer, who contributed a sizable proportion of the cycle, was interested. In the Yahwist version Judah tried to save his brother Joseph, but in the Elohist version it was Reuben, the firstborn of Leah.
 The Joseph cycle is a mixture of elements from three pentateuchal sources, the Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly. See Table 2.D for the distribution of sources in the Joseph cycle.
The Joseph cycle continues the theme of birth order and birthrights found in both the Abraham and Jacob cycles. Joseph is the son who receives the greatest attention, though as the firstborn of Rachel, he was not the firstborn overall. Reuben, the firstborn overall, was denied preeminence because he slept with one of Jacob's wives. Judah was one of the youngest sons of Jacob and Leah, yet he became one of the premier tribes of Israel. This theme is reinforced by Jacob switching the blessing on Manasseh and Ephraim.
The birthright details may have been included in Israel's epic to explain later geographical and social realities. The tribes of Judah and Ephraim rose to preeminence, even though they did not descend from firstborn sons. There may have been an additional interest in the issue of birth order to support the legitimacy of David, Israel's greatest king. He was the youngest son of Jesse, not the oldest. Likewise Solomon, David's son, was not first in line for the throne by birth order.
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| ToC | Reading the Old Testament | . . . Chapter 2. Genesis 12-50 | ToC |
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