Portion 10 Mi-Ketz Genesis 41:1-44:17
41:4 Etz Hayim suggests that what disturbed Pharaoh so much about his dream was his suspicion that it predicted a revolution of the poor against the rich. Pharaoh’s magicians could have suspected the same thing and either interpreted the dream that way, incurring Pharaoh’s displeasure, or withheld that interpretation fearing the consequences of what they believed to be the truth. Information provided from lower to higher ranks in the domination system is often distorted or missing to conform to what the teller of lower rank believes the higher rank wants to hear.
If this interpretation is valid then how ironic that Pharaoh would turn to a jailed foreign slave for an interpretation of his dream that will greatly enhance instead of threaten his power.
41:33 Joseph could have advised Pharaoh that news of the seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine should be widely distributed. He could have advised a system where local communities take charge of their own granaries and work out collection and distribution on the basis of need. Instead the system he suggests is designed to enhance Pharaoh’s (and Joseph’s) power. The position that Joseph creates for himself is the epitomy of everything that the Torah has described as transcending the boundaries between heaven and earth. Where Torah tells us that the image of God is in people working together as equals, Joseph now places himself above all others, extracting their labor from them and distributing it as he sees fit.
41:40 In addition to placing Joseph in the position of overseer of the agricultural tax and distribution system, Pharaoh also places Joseph in the position of overseer of Pharaoh’s personal estate (according to the interpretation in Etz Hayim), where the proceeds from the sale of food, supposedly collected from the people for their later benefit, will find its way.
41:56b The Torah tells us that the famine extends over the whole world. Neither here, nor in the other famine accounts mentioned in the patriarchal narratives, does the Torah make any connection between extreme weather and people’s sinfulness. The only exceptions are the primordial flood, which the Torah describes as a one-time-only occurrence that God regrets, and the destruction of Sodom, which is purposefully described in a way that does not resemble any natural phenomena, and is probably an alternative flood tradition transferred into the patriarchal narrative.
42:9 Joseph recalls his dream to dominate over his brothers. He rubs his power into his brothers’ faces without letting them know who he is.
42.14 Joseph deceitfully calls his brothers’ spies, while it is he who does the interrogating. As a youth, he spied on his brothers to gain favor from his father. Perhaps Joseph never thought of himself as a spy, was hurt when his brothers accused him of being one, and is now playing this game to teach his brothers a lesson that not everyone who appears to be a spy is one.
42:20 After discerning the favored status of Benjamin, Joseph plays God by testing his brothers. Joseph’s game endangers the emotional and physical health of his father.
44:16 Judah tries to lift the punishment off Benjamin’s shoulders by placing it on all the brothers equally. Joseph refuses. This is the only Torah portion in Genesis that ends in the middle of a conversation. How Judah responds to Joseph in next week’s portion is the culmination of everything that Torah has been leading up to, and the break at this point is designed to emphasize its significance.
41:4 Etz Hayim suggests that what disturbed Pharaoh so much about his dream was his suspicion that it predicted a revolution of the poor against the rich. Pharaoh’s magicians could have suspected the same thing and either interpreted the dream that way, incurring Pharaoh’s displeasure, or withheld that interpretation fearing the consequences of what they believed to be the truth. Information provided from lower to higher ranks in the domination system is often distorted or missing to conform to what the teller of lower rank believes the higher rank wants to hear.
If this interpretation is valid then how ironic that Pharaoh would turn to a jailed foreign slave for an interpretation of his dream that will greatly enhance instead of threaten his power.
41:33 Joseph could have advised Pharaoh that news of the seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine should be widely distributed. He could have advised a system where local communities take charge of their own granaries and work out collection and distribution on the basis of need. Instead the system he suggests is designed to enhance Pharaoh’s (and Joseph’s) power. The position that Joseph creates for himself is the epitomy of everything that the Torah has described as transcending the boundaries between heaven and earth. Where Torah tells us that the image of God is in people working together as equals, Joseph now places himself above all others, extracting their labor from them and distributing it as he sees fit.
41:40 In addition to placing Joseph in the position of overseer of the agricultural tax and distribution system, Pharaoh also places Joseph in the position of overseer of Pharaoh’s personal estate (according to the interpretation in Etz Hayim), where the proceeds from the sale of food, supposedly collected from the people for their later benefit, will find its way.
41:56b The Torah tells us that the famine extends over the whole world. Neither here, nor in the other famine accounts mentioned in the patriarchal narratives, does the Torah make any connection between extreme weather and people’s sinfulness. The only exceptions are the primordial flood, which the Torah describes as a one-time-only occurrence that God regrets, and the destruction of Sodom, which is purposefully described in a way that does not resemble any natural phenomena, and is probably an alternative flood tradition transferred into the patriarchal narrative.
42:9 Joseph recalls his dream to dominate over his brothers. He rubs his power into his brothers’ faces without letting them know who he is.
42.14 Joseph deceitfully calls his brothers’ spies, while it is he who does the interrogating. As a youth, he spied on his brothers to gain favor from his father. Perhaps Joseph never thought of himself as a spy, was hurt when his brothers accused him of being one, and is now playing this game to teach his brothers a lesson that not everyone who appears to be a spy is one.
42:20 After discerning the favored status of Benjamin, Joseph plays God by testing his brothers. Joseph’s game endangers the emotional and physical health of his father.
44:16 Judah tries to lift the punishment off Benjamin’s shoulders by placing it on all the brothers equally. Joseph refuses. This is the only Torah portion in Genesis that ends in the middle of a conversation. How Judah responds to Joseph in next week’s portion is the culmination of everything that Torah has been leading up to, and the break at this point is designed to emphasize its significance.
posted by ross at 6:24 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home