Biblical Hebrew Forum

[JimStinehart AT aol.com]

The term “adolescence” may be a misnomer in the ancient world.

Consider the title of the 1991 scholarly work below, and a brief portion of
a scholarly review of this work, which can be seen here:
_http://www.jstor.org/pss/205281_ (http://www.jstor.org/pss/205281)   
Although the specific
focus is on the Greco-Roman world, the book examines young people in the
ancient world generally.

“‘Ancient Youth:  The Ambiguity of Youth and the Absence of Adolescence in
Greco-Roman Society.’  By Marc Kleijwegt (Amsterdam, J.C. Gieben, 1991) 417
pp. fl 130

‘Ancient Youth’:  the title is both pun and program.  Kleijwegt’s subject
is the young men of preindustrial societies, especially in the cities of the
Hellenistic-Roman world;  his theme, that among the elite, at least, the
young were described in much the same terms as mature adults and were expected
to perform adult tasks….”

Since the Hebrew language of Genesis 37: 7 expresses, in Prof. Robert Alter’
s phrase, Joseph’s “gee-gosh wonderment” at his dream, that means that
Joseph is not yet a young man (age 13 regular years or older), but rather
Joseph is still a “boy”/N(R [Genesis 37: 2].  Joseph has witnessed 17 or 18 
New
Years -- counting both fall New Years  a-n-d  spring New Years -- at the
time Joseph breathlessly recounts that dream to his older half-brothers.
Accordingly, Joseph is age 9 regular years, in 12-month years, when Joseph 
tells
his older half-brothers that controversial dream with “gee-gosh wonderment”
.

Prof. Alter is one of the leading experts on the nuances of the language of
Biblical Hebrew.  On the other hand, Prof. Alter has relatively little
interest or expertise in the secular history of the ancient world.  So what we
can count on from Prof. Alter is what the nuances of the Biblical Hebrew
wording are, not an apt historical analysis of the concept of “adolescence” in
the ancient world.

The Biblical Hebrew wording of Genesis 37: 7, as analyzed by Prof. Alter,
is perfect for a 9-year-old boy excitedly and naively reporting his dream.
No 17-year-old man as smart as Joseph would do such a dumb thing, practically
inviting his adult, older half-brothers to take some definitive
counter-action against him.  No way.  The story is senseless if it is 
woodenly insisted
that at the beginning of chapter 37 of Genesis, Joseph had witnessed 17
fall New Years.  Rather, Joseph is only age 8½ years, in 12-month years, at 
the
beginning of chapter 37 of Genesis.  Joseph had witnessed a total of 17 New
Years, counting both fall New Years and spring New Years.

As to including spring New Years in setting forth Joseph’s age, in addition
to the fall New Years that were fundamental to beloved Canaan (where the
fall rains renewed plant life in Canaan), remember that Joseph was born in
Harran, in northwest Mesopotamia.  Joseph did not leave Harran until he was 
age
7 regular years.  Also, Joseph’s father, Jacob, was at Harran beginning at
age 27 regular years, and Jacob did not leave Harran until 20 regular years
later, at age 47 regular years (when Joseph was age 7 regular years).  (Jacob
’s age in 12- month years of 47 upon leaving Harran is neatly reprised when
Jacob dies at stated age 147 “years”, in 6-month “years”, per Genesis 47:
28, set forth, appropriately, in chapter 47.)  Harran celebrated only a
spring New Year, not a fall New Year, so it makes sense to include spring New
Years in setting forth Joseph’s stated age in chapter 37 of Genesis.

Joseph is not an adolescent in chapter 37 of Genesis, much less a grown man
(in the ancient world) at age 17 years in 12-month years.  No, Joseph is a “
boy”/N(R.  Joseph is age 8½ regular years at the beginning of chapter 37 of
Genesis, and Joseph acts like an 8½-year-old boy, tattling on his older
half-brothers (by minor wives) to their father (second sentence of Genesis 37:
2).  The Patriarchal narratives have pinpoint accuracy as to all ages, all
of which are always reasonable, in the historical context of the Bronze Age.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois

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