Miketz
This year, Kazuo Ishiguro won the Nobel Prize in literature. I decided to read one of his books. Wikipedia ( possibly democracy's greatest product) identified Remains of the Day as his most famous book, making it the logical choice. The role of the underling is one of the main themes in this great book. What was the role of Joseph, the second in command to pharoah.
Miketz is the story of Joseph's triumph and the actualization of his dream of dominance over the other brothers. He accomplishes this from his position as viceroy, CEO, of Egypt.
When he names his first son, the grandchild of an Egyptian priest, Joseph tells us that he has forgotten his father's house... he has become Egyptian. Yet , there are three tables set when Joseph feasts with his brothers: one for Joseph, one for his brothers and one for the Egyptians - because it is an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with Hebrews. The hostility of our hosts has always been a strong force in our national unity.
This story comes in a context . Joseph demands that Benjamin be brought before him. He will ransom the imprisoned Simon, and will permit the purchase of additional grain. Reuben is the first to offer his children as security for Benjamin. When the hidden Joseph makes the unexpected demand for the youngest son , Reuben scolds his brother, he had told them not to abuse Joseph. Reuben had been ineffectual in rescuing Joseph from the pit. Now he wants to rescue Simon.
It is only when Judah, who is emerging as the natural leader, the one that came up with selling Joseph instead of killing him, offers himself as security that Jacob will allow the son of Rachel ( the intended wife) to go to Egypt. They were also starving by then
Joseph has his chalice planted in Benjamin's sack. This will be the final test for the other brothers. The purloined chalice is an echo of the escape from Lavan, when Rachel, mother of Joseph and Benjamin, stole the teraphim, the idols, from her father's house. rachel really stole the idols and succeeded in hiding them. But the curse expressed by Jacob, that the thief should die, came to pass. Benjamin had not stolen the chalice, that was a set-up. However, the brothers vowed that they would be slaves . Indeed, that came to pass. In his role as viceroy, Joseph had brought the Hebrews to the threshold of their slavery.
When he names his first son, the grandchild of an Egyptian priest, Joseph tells us that he has forgotten his father's house... he has become Egyptian. Yet , there are three tables set when Joseph feasts with his brothers: one for Joseph, one for his brothers and one for the Egyptians - because it is an abomination for the Egyptians to eat with Hebrews. The hostility of our hosts has always been a strong force in our national unity.
This story comes in a context . Joseph demands that Benjamin be brought before him. He will ransom the imprisoned Simon, and will permit the purchase of additional grain. Reuben is the first to offer his children as security for Benjamin. When the hidden Joseph makes the unexpected demand for the youngest son , Reuben scolds his brother, he had told them not to abuse Joseph. Reuben had been ineffectual in rescuing Joseph from the pit. Now he wants to rescue Simon.
It is only when Judah, who is emerging as the natural leader, the one that came up with selling Joseph instead of killing him, offers himself as security that Jacob will allow the son of Rachel ( the intended wife) to go to Egypt. They were also starving by then
Joseph has his chalice planted in Benjamin's sack. This will be the final test for the other brothers. The purloined chalice is an echo of the escape from Lavan, when Rachel, mother of Joseph and Benjamin, stole the teraphim, the idols, from her father's house. rachel really stole the idols and succeeded in hiding them. But the curse expressed by Jacob, that the thief should die, came to pass. Benjamin had not stolen the chalice, that was a set-up. However, the brothers vowed that they would be slaves . Indeed, that came to pass. In his role as viceroy, Joseph had brought the Hebrews to the threshold of their slavery.
posted by Sheldon Goldberg at 6:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home