Texts in Conversation
Jacob's adoption of Joseph's sons uses a family arrangement recognized in Hammurabi's laws. Calling them his own gives Joseph's family two inheritance shares, making the declaration a change in legal standing rather than an expression of affection.
Share:
2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Code of Hammurabi 1:195
Babylonian Legal Text
Ancient Near East
184 If a man gives no dowry to his daughter by a concubine and no husband: when her father dies, her brothers shall give her a dowry according to her father's wealth and secure her a husband. 185 If a man adopts a child as his son, giving him his name, and raises him, the grown son cannot be demanded back. 186 If a man adopts a son, and the boy after his adoption injures his foster father or mother, the adopted son shall return to his father's house. 187 The son of a palace official or the son of a woman secluded in the palace cannot be demanded back. 188 If a craftsman takes a child to raise and teaches him his craft, the child cannot be demanded back.
Genesis 48:5
Hebrew Bible
3 Jacob said to Joseph, “The Sovereign God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me. 4 He said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and will multiply you. I will make you into a group of nations, and I will give this land to your descendants as an everlasting possession.’ 5 “Now, as for your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, they will be mine. Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine just as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 Any children that you father after them will be yours; they will be listed under the names of their brothers in their inheritance.
Search:
Notes and References
“... 48:5-6. Ephraim and Manasseh as firstborn. While Jacob does not disinherit Reuben and Simeon, he adopts Joseph’s sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and gives them prioritized standing in inheritance. The adoption practice and formula here are very similar to those attested in the Code of *Hammurabi. Additionally, one *Ugaritic text features a grandfather adopting his grandson. In one sense this adoption could be seen as the means by which Joseph is given the double portion of the inheritance due to the firstborn, since two of his sons receive shares from Jacob’s inheritance. ...”
Walton, John H.
The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
(p. 75–76) InterVarsity Press, 2000
* 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.
User Comments
,