Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

1.  It is nice to see that many people on this b-Hebrew list do not accept 
the majority view of today’s secular academic scholars that the Patriarchal 
narratives are a myth created by multiple southern Hebrew authors in the 
mid-1st 
millennium BCE.
 
Now let’s get back to looking at the fascinating puns on the names of Jacob’
s sons.  
 
2.  The next set of puns we will look at is on the name “Joseph”.  Those 
puns will likely prove to be controversial.  Everybody likes Joseph, but the 
puns 
on his name that are given by the author of the Patriarchal narratives are 
not inspiring.
 
3.  In analyzing the Patriarchal narratives, one of the main issues should be 
which son of Jacob is picked to be the leader of the next generation of the 
new monotheists, and why.  As to that critical issue, the puns on the names 
of 
Jacob’s sons may prove to be illuminating. 
 
Once we look at the puns on the name “Joseph”, we will begin to see the 
peculiar criteria that the author of the Patriarchal narratives sees as 
determining who will be the successor Patriarch in each generation.  Why does 
Isaac beat 
out Ishmael?  Why does Jacob beat out Esau?  And why does Judah beat out 
Joseph?  Are there common characteristics that define Isaac, Jacob and Judah 
as 
winners of the grand prize, and different common characteristics that define 
Ishmael, Esau and Joseph as failing to win the grand prize?  
 
We will begin to understand these critical factors when we look at the odd 
puns that the author of the Patriarchal narratives gives us on the name 
“Joseph”
.
 
Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




**************************************See AOL's top rated recipes 
(http://food.aol.com/top-rated-recipes?NCID=aoltop00030000000004)