Texts in Conversation
Deuteronomy describes God as the perfect judge, showing no partiality and taking no bribe. Jubilees gives those same qualities to Joseph, describing him as a governor of Egypt in the language the Torah uses for God.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Deuteronomy 10:17
Hebrew Bible
16 Therefore, circumcise your hearts and stop being so stubborn! 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God who is unbiased and takes no bribe, 18 who justly treats the orphan and widow, and who loves resident foreigners, giving them food and clothing.
Jubilees 40:8
Pseudepigrapha
7 He dressed him with clothing made of linen and hung a gold chain on his neck. He made a proclamation before him and said: ‘Il il and abirer.’ He put a signet ring on his hand and made him ruler over his entire household. He made him great and said to him: ‘I will not be greater than you except with regard to the throne only.’ 8 So Joseph became ruler over the entire land of Egypt. All of the pharaoh’s princes, all of his servants, and all who were doing the king’s work loved him because he conducted himself in a just way. He was not arrogant, proud, or partial, nor did he accept bribes because he was ruling all the people of the land in a just way. 9 The land of Egypt lived in harmony before the pharaoh because of Joseph for the Lord was with him. He gave him a favorable and kind reception for all his family before all who knew him and who heard reports about him. The pharaoh’s rule was just, and there was no satan or any evil one.
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Notes and References
... Besides the parallels Berger and Endres noticed, there are important ones in the descriptions of God himself as righteous judge. The qualities practiced by Joseph as ideal ruler match those exercised by God as he weighs human actions... Abraham described the Lord in similar terms in his testament to Isaac: ‘For he is the living God. He is more holy, faithful, and just than anyone. With him there is no favoritism nor does he accept bribes because he is a just God and one who exercises judgment against all who transgress his commands and despise his covenant’ (21:4...). And the angel tells Moses after the Reuben–Bilhah episode that no one was to act in this way ‘because the Lord our God, who shows no favoritism and takes no bribe, is the judge’ (33:18). It causes little wonder, then, that Joseph proved to be an astonishingly adept governor if he imitated the character and practices of the deity. ...
VanderKam, James C.
Jubilees 1: A Commentary on the Book of Jubilees Chapters 1–21
(p. 1029) Fortress Press, 2018
* 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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