I'll be the first to admit that parts of today's reading trip me up. In the account of Joseph's shrewd treatment of the starving Egyptians, I find it troubling that society's most vulnerable only grow more so, forfeiting assets and freedom to save their very lives. What is more, it's our hero Joseph who implements these rather harsh measures. True, he saves their lives, but in return, Pharaoh's power and portfolio skyrocket.
Here's another case where reading the Bible in context is utterly important. As we've noted along the way, Genesis is best understood in its literary relationship to the Exodus story that follows, and in its historical relationship to the Exile that solidified its "scriptural" role. This is a little complicated, so let me explain.
First, there's some irony in the report that Joseph, the Israelite, enslaves the Egyptians. In the book of Exodus, we learn of the Israelites' horrendous plight as slaves of a different Egyptian Pharaoh. On the one hand, then, this may be the story's gentle critique of the Israelite who established the system that will in turn oppress his own people. On the other hand, we find a touch of the "misery loves company" dynamic, since the Egyptians, too, were slaves in Egypt!
Now, fast forward several hundred years to the Babylonian Exile, when the people of Israel were trying to understand their own national calamity in relation to who they were as a people. In this light, Genesis 47 offers an almost-comical reversal of their plight in Exile. In the Genesis story, the Israelite exiles prosper, while the natives are enslaved. Could it be a story that injects a measure of hope into a tough circumstance? Could it offer the Exiles, and us, the sense of purpose and destiny for which we all long?
- How do you respond to Joseph's treatment of the hungry Egyptians?
- Have you ever experienced a sense of "exile" or "slavery"? How did you respond?
- What other details did you notice in today's reading?
Prayer: Thank you even for disturbing stories, O God, because they challenge our assumptions and settled opinions. Stir us to new ways of seeing that are your ways. Amen.
Breath Prayer: Just give // us seed.
