Texts in Conversation
Genesis 50 has Joseph ask “Am I in the place of God?” as a rhetorical question. The Greek Septuagint changes this to the declaration “I am God’s,” changing a potentially irreverent question into an affirmation of belonging to God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 50:19
Hebrew Bible
17 ‘Tell Joseph this: Please forgive the sin of your brothers and the wrong they did when they treated you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sin of the servants of the God of your father.” When this message was reported to him, Joseph wept. 18 Then his brothers also came and threw themselves down before him; they said, “Here we are; we are your slaves.” 19 But Joseph answered them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 As for you, you meant to harm me, but God intended it for a good purpose, so he could preserve the lives of many people, as you can see this day.
LXX Genesis 50:19
Septuagint
17 ‘Say thus to Ioseph: Forgive them their injustice and fault, seeing that they showed you painful things.’ And now accept the injustice of the attendants of the God of your father.” And Ioseph wept as they were speaking to him. 18 And coming to him they said, “We here are your domestics.” 19 And Ioseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for I am God’s. 20 You deliberated against me for painful things, but God deliberated concerning me for good things in order that a numerous people might be sustained, so that it might come to be as today.”
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Notes and References
In Joseph’s reply the Masoretic Text has a question “Am I in the place of God?” To the Greek translator the question was irreverent, if not impious, and so the translator substitutes an affirmation of faith τοῦ γὰρ θεοῦ εἰμι ἐγώ “for I am God’s,” that is, I am God’s servant, I belong to him. Targum Onkelos has a similar interpretation: “because I fear (am a worshipper of) God.”
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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