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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: J.Read-2 AT sms.ed.ac.uk
  • Cc: b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Genesis 41: 1: "Two Years of Days"
  • Date: Wed, 15 Jul 2009 13:23:40 EDT


James Christian:

1. You wrote: “1) What age do you consider somebody to be a 'grown man'?
I venture that a few list members may disagree.”

In the ancient world and in the medieval world, a boy became a man at about
age 13 years. That is why the Bar Mitzvah custom is set at age 13 years,
symbolizing manhood. In the ancient world, ages 10-12 were a transitional
period, somewhat akin to teenage years in modern times.

If Genesis 37: 2 is interpreted (that is, misinterpreted) to mean that
Joseph is age 17 regular, 12-month years, the narrator would not call beloved
Joseph, who at that point would be a grown man, a “nar”/N(R/“boy”. No way.
Nor would favorite son Joseph at that point be a mere helper, in tending
the flock, to his older half-brothers by father Jacob’s minor wives. The
entire scene makes perfect sense if Joseph is age 8½ regular years, while not
making sense if Joseph is age 17 regular, 12-month years.

As a point of reference, on the female side, most females married at ages
13 – 15 in the ancient world, and bore their first child by age 15. Ages
10-12 were transitional years for females, when arguably they should not have
gotten married or pregnant, but fairly often they did.

A male or female older than 15 years in the ancient world was certainly an
adult. Many males in particular were poor at that age, and did not have
enough resources to take a bride. But a male older than age 15 was certainly
an adult, and was treated as such in the ancient world. Age 13 was the
approximate changeover point from being a boy to being a man, in the ancient
world.

I understand that mere servants were routinely referred to as being “boys”
/nar/N(R, throughout their teenage years, as we see at Genesis 22: 3. But
that usage was confined to mere servants. In the Patriarchal narratives,
when the narrator is talking about Joseph, the narrator does not view Joseph
as
being a mere servant. And when the narrator, YHWH and an angel of YHWH are
talking about Ishmael, they are not viewing Ishmael as being a mere
servant. So in context, nar/N(R/“boy” in chapters 37 and 21 of Genesis must
be
referring to an actual boy, that is, a male who is probably less than age 13
years, and who is certainly less than age 15 years (in regular, 12-month ye
ars).

2. You wrote: “2) Does why do you think that the Quran acknowledging
Ishmael to be 19 has a bearing? It makes no mention of whether this is 19 12
months years or 19 6 month years that you postulate. i.e. interesting but
irrelevant (quran tradition is largely of biblical origin).”

Prior to modern times, many people knew the “secret” of the ages of the
Patriarchs, namely that all stated ages in the Patriarchal narratives,
beginning at Genesis 11: 26, are set forth in terms of 6-month “years”.

(a) Hebrews. The Hebrews of course knew the “secret” of the Patriarchs’
actual ages. The Hebrews knew that the foundational moment of Judaism came
when Abraham was age 50.0 regular years, upon the birth of Isaac to
long-barren Sarah. Abraham is stated age 100 “years”, in 6-month “years”,
meaning
50.0 regular, 12-month years. That is why, per Leviticus 25: 8-10, the
Hebrew Jubilee celebration was famously set at 50 years. Although Leviticus
25: 8 mentions “seven weeks of years”, nevertheless Leviticus 25: 10
unequivocally states that it is the 50th year that is the Hebrews’ holy
Jubilee.
The true focus is on the number 50, not on 7 x 7.

(b) Medieval Christians. The medieval Christian scribes who put chapter
divisions and chapter numbers into the Bible likewise knew this “secret” of
the Patriarchs’ ages. That explains why the Book of Genesis has exactly 50
chapters. The medieval Christian scribes, like the Hebrews, knew that the
foundational moment of Judaism is when Abraham sired Isaac at age 50.0
regular years, making the number 50 special for Judaism. (Though not as easy
to
see, it can also be determined that Jacob is age 27 regular, 12-month years
when, in chapter 27 of Genesis, Jacob manages to get named the leader of the
next generation of Hebrew monotheists. The medieval Christian scribes
manipulated the chapter divisions in Genesis so that chapter numbers often fit
what the text is saying. As a less important example, you just know that
Genesis 13: 13 is not going to be a pleasant sentence, given the double
presence
of the awkward number 13.)

(c) Koran. Like the Hebrews, Jews and medieval Christians, the early
Islamic wisemen likewise knew the “secret” of the ages of the Patriarchs. It
is an objective fact that the number 19 has an outsized importance in the
Koran. (I realize that some people have gone too far with that notion, but
the
basic concept is valid.) The only sensible explanation of why the number
19 is so important in the Koran is that the Koran associates the number 19
with the moment when Ishmael broke off from the Abraham-Isaac line, and in
effect became the first Arab at that point. Using the 6-month “years” in
which all ages are stated in the Patriarchal narratives, Ishmael was age 19 “
years” when he was exiled by Abraham. That is age 9½ regular, 12-month years,
so Ishmael was a mere boy, and hence is called by both YHWH and an angel of
YHWH “boy”/N(R/nar. Likewise, each of Joseph and Dinah is involuntarily
separated from his or her father’s family at the identical age: 9½ regular
years. Note that all three are called nar/N(R, including Dinah (showing an
archaic usage of nar/N(R at Genesis 34: 3, 12 to refer to a female). Joseph
is age 8½ regular years at the beginning of chapter 37 of Genesis, per
Genesis 37: 2. But by the time Joseph is later almost murdered by his older
half-brothers and is sold to slavetraders who take young Joseph to Egypt,
Joseph
is age 9½ regular years.

(d) Medieval Christians vs. Koran. The Koran views Ishmael positively,
and hence the Koran has a positive view of the number 19. The medieval
Christians did not view Ishmael positively, and hence they did not like the
number
19. Note how the medieval Christian scribes who made chapter divisions in
Genesis managed to get chapter 19 of Genesis to be the story of evil Sodom
and Gomorrah being destroyed, and the incest of Lot with his young teenage
daughters. Since 19 x 2 = 38, we should also look at chapter 38 of Genesis.
Chapter 38 of Genesis has the other incest story, when Judah impregnates his
own daughter-in-law Tamar with twin sons.

Here we see the medieval Christians putting their own interpretation on the
Patriarchal narratives. The Hebrew author of the Patriarchal narratives
himself did not view Ishmael as being evil (Genesis 17: 20). The Hebrew
author viewed the actions of Lot’s daughters as being laudable (Genesis 19:
32),
and viewed Tamar’s actions as being laudable as well (Genesis 38: 26). It
is fascinating to note this medieval Christian commentary on the Patriarchal
narratives, based on how the medieval Christian scribes divided Genesis into
chapters so that certain actions would be associated with certain chapter
numbers.

The only reason I have mentioned (b), (c) and (d) above is to make the
basic point that prior to modern times, many people knew the “secret” of the
ages of the Patriarchs. Beginning at Genesis 11: 26 and continuing on through
the end of Genesis, all people’s stated ages are set forth based on how
many total New Years, counting both spring New Years and fall New Years,
combined, each person had witnessed. That is a sensible approach to setting
forth
people’s ages in the Patriarchal narratives, since (i) people’s ages were
increased by one at a New Year in the ancient world, and (ii) ancient Canaan
is famous for uniquely having both a spring New Year and an equally
important fall New Year, as reflected in the Jewish calendar to this very day.

If we take the numbers in the Patriarchal narratives seriously, we can make
exciting discoveries about what the text is really telling us.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

**************Can love help you live longer? Find out now.
(http://personals.aol.com/articles/2009/02/18/longer-lives-through-relationships/?ncid=emlweu
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