Texts in Conversation
In Genesis 45 Joseph insists it was God, not his brothers, who sent him ahead to Egypt to save lives. Psalm 105 echoes that interpretation, compressing the entire narrative into one line about God sending Joseph ahead and leaving the brothers out.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Genesis 45:5
Hebrew Bible
4 Joseph said to his brothers, “Come closer to me,” so they came near. Then he said, “I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. 5 Now, do not be upset and do not be angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me ahead of you to preserve life! 6 For these past two years there has been famine in the land and for five more years there will be neither plowing nor harvesting.
Psalms 105:17
Hebrew Bible
14 He let no one oppress them; he disciplined kings for their sake, 15 saying, “Don’t touch my chosen ones. Don’t harm my prophets.” 16 He called down a famine upon the earth; he cut off all the food supply. 17 He sent a man ahead of them—Joseph was sold as a servant. 18 The shackles hurt his feet; his neck was placed in an iron collar, 19 until the time when his prediction came true. The Lord’s word proved him right.
Search:
Notes and References
... There are three other verses in Psalm 105 that begin with the verb šlḥ. The first begins the psalmist's account of Joseph's life: 'He sent ahead of them a man, Joseph, sold into slavery' (verse 17). Verse 17 echoes the words spoken by Joseph to his brothers in Genesis: 'It was to save life that God sent me ahead of you' (Genesis 45:5); 'God has sent me ahead of you to ensure your survival on earth' (45:7); 'So, it was not you who sent me here, but God' (45:8). Joseph's release from prison in Psalm 105 is also described using the verb šlḥ: '[God] sent [the king] to have him [Joseph] freed; the ruler of nations released him' (Psalm 105:20). In this way, Pharaoh himself is part of the divine plan that propels Joseph forward ...
Zakovitch, Yair
Birkat Shalom: Studies in the Bible, Ancient Near Eastern Literature, and Postbiblical Judaism Presented to Shalom M. Paul
(p. 196) Eisenbrauns, 2008
* 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.
Your Feedback:
Leave a Comment
Anonymous comments are welcome. All comments are subject to moderation.