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  • From: JimStinehart AT aol.com
  • To: yishalom AT sbcglobal.net, b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Cc: George.Athas AT moore.edu.au
  • Subject: Re: [b-hebrew] Fw: Re: Names of Rachel's Second-Born Son
  • Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:44:13 -0400 (EDT)


In trying to determine why Jacob called Rachel’s second-born son BN-YMYN,
and whether chapter 37 of Genesis is a flashback that refers back to the time
period right before the bloody Shechem incident and Benjamin’s birth, an
important and highly informative source is the scholarly article written by
our very own fine moderator, Prof. Yigal Levin, “Joseph, Judah and the ‘
Benjamin Conundrum’”. I urge everyone to read this article, especially p.
237,
on the Internet here:
_http://biu.academia.edu/YigalLevin/Papers/185399/Joseph_Judah_and_the_Benjamin_Conundrum_

(http://biu.academia.edu/YigalLevin/Papers/185399/Joseph_Judah_and_the_Benjamin_Conundrum)


Prof. Levin makes the following key points at p. 237 of his article [I have
placed my own numbering in brackets in order to correlate with my own
comments below]:

“The role of Benjamin, however, seems to be somewhat obscure. [1] In the
first place, there seems to be a question of whether he had been born when
the story [chapter 37 of Genesis] begins. [2] The story of Benjamin’s birth
and the death of Rachel, while Jacob and family were still en-route from
Bethel toward Bethlehem-Ephrathah, is told in Gen 35, 16-20. [3] Joseph’s
second dream (37, 9) seems to pre-suppose his having eleven brothers. On the
other hand, [4] verse 3 [of chapter 37 of Genesis] states that Joseph was
Israel
’s youngest, born in his old age (כִּֽי־בֶן־זְקֻנִים הוּא לֹו
), and [5] Jacob’s reaction to the second dream (verse 10) also seems to
presuppose that Joseph’s mother was still alive. [FN 78:] Some of the
medieval
commentators, in an attempt to harmonize these contradictions, [6]
explained that the memory of Rachel’s death was the reason that Jacob did not
lavish
his love on Benjamin (Hezkuni), and that [7] his understanding of Joseph’s
dream as including Rachel was what caused Jacob’s anger (Rashi). [8] Others
assumed the dream to refer to Bilhah, the dead Rachel’s handmaiden who had
raised Joseph from youth.”

In my view, however, there are no “contradictions” at all.

1. Benjamin is not born until shortly after Jacob is forcibly taken to
Egypt. Chapter 37 is a flashback. That’s why the name “Benjamin” never
appears in chapter 37 of Genesis. When Benjamin is born in chapter 35 of
Genesis, Joseph has already vanished from the family [and is in Egypt].

2. Chapter 35 of Genesis physically appears before chapter 37 of Genesis,
but chapter 35 of Genesis relates what happens in Year 13 tenfold [Year 130,
being 130 years in 12-month years after Abraham’s birth], when Joseph was
the equivalent of stated age 20 and was already in Egypt. Chapter 37 of
Genesis is a flashback, which starts when Joseph is stated age 17 [having
witnessed 17 fall and spring New Years, and as such being a “boy”/nar per
Genesis
37: 2, age 8½ in 12-month years], which is Year 128.5, and ends about 12
months later in Year 129.5, shortly before the bloody Shechem incident in
chapter 34 of Genesis, which occurs in Year 130 [Year 13 tenfold;
historically,
Shechem’s ruler was indeed assassinated in Year 13]. [The contemporary
Hebrew audience could follow these numbers, so they knew right away from the
Genesis 37: 2 reference to Joseph being stated age 17 that chapter 37 of
Genesis was a flashback, since Joseph is the equivalent of stated age 20 in
Year
13 tenfold (and is in Egypt) when Benjamin is born in chapter 35 of Genesis.
Yes, Genesis 35: 22-26 lists the names of all 12 of Jacob’s sons, but it
does not say that either Judah or Joseph were there at Shechem for the bloody
Shechem incident, and they weren’t. The narrator of course knows that
Joseph is safe in Egypt, though Jacob did not know that. Other than that
listing of all 12 sons, the names “Judah” and “Joseph” do not appear in
chapters
34-35 of Genesis, because those two all-important sons had already left the
family.]

3. At the time of Joseph’s second dream regarding 11 stars, Rachel is
visibly pregnant, but has not yet given birth [with the birth happening quite
a
few weeks later]. Joseph’s dream understandably anticipates that his
pregnant mother Rachel will give birth to a second son who will live to
adulthood.

4. Joseph was Jacob’s youngest son for 10 years [in 12-month years] from
Year 120 until Year 130, when Benjamin was born. Jacob was age 40 at Joseph’
s birth. Joseph was always Jacob’s favorite son until Joseph disappeared.
That was natural because Joseph was Jacob’s youngest son, and more
importantly, Joseph during those 10 years was Jacob’s only son by Jacob’s
favorite
main wife, Rachel.

5. Rachel is definitely alive at the time Joseph has his dream of 11 stars
and the sun and the moon all bowing down to Joseph. Chapter 37 is told as
a flashback, going back to the time period a month or so before Benjamin’s
birth. [In chapter 35 of Genesis, Jacob is age 50 in 12-month years at
Benjamin’s birth, being the same age as Abraham at Isaac’s birth.]

6. Jacob d-i-d lavish his love on Benjamin, for the first 15 years of
Benjamin’s life [until all the Hebrews were forced to go to Egypt, when Jacob
is age 65 in 12-month years, which is stated age 130 per Genesis 47: 9;
note that a-l-l the stated ages in the Patriarchal narratives make perfect
sense in all ways; Joseph is age 25 in 12-month years when all the Hebrews
move to Egypt]. Benjamin was born a month or so after Joseph disappeared.
All the love that Jacob had lavished on Joseph for 10 years was now lavished
on Benjamin for the next 15 years [in 12-month years]. That was natural
because Benjamin was Jacob’s youngest son, and more importantly, Benjamin
during
those 15 years was Jacob’s only son by Jacob’s [deceased] favorite main
wife, Rachel, who, to the best of Jacob’s knowledge, was a son who was still
alive.

7. Jacob in fact was not particularly angry at Joseph’s dream, though such
dream was presumptuous. Rather, it was Joseph’s older half-brothers who
understandably were outraged at Joseph’s dream, which definitely seemed to
say
that Joseph thought that Joseph would soon be ruling over all of them. Why
would such a dream be thought to make Jacob terribly mad? Jacob in fact
was unduly favoring Joseph at that point [the coat of many colors], and
indeed
was planning in due course at that point on eventually naming Joseph as
Jacob’s successor.

8. Bilhah had nothing to do with anything! Joseph was raised by his birth
mother, Rachel, who was pregnant with her second son when Joseph
disappeared at age 9½ [in 12-month years, being the same age as Ishmael and
Dinah when
they were involuntarily separated from their father’s family; that’s the
equivalent of stated age 19, and is why the Koran has that famous sura “19
is over it”]. Joseph never saw his mother again. Joseph is age 10 [in
12-month years, which is the equivalent of stated age 20] when he arrives in
Egypt. Joseph never got to see his only full-brother until the Hebrews came
to
Egypt 15 years after Joseph had disappeared. [Chapter 46 of Genesis records
every grandson Jacob ever had, including those many grandsons who were born
after the Hebrews moved to Egypt. Benjamin moves to Egypt at age 15 in
12-month years, and sires all his sons after moving to Egypt.]

Please note that there are no contradictions whatsoever here, once one
realizes that chapter 37 of Genesis is told as a flashback. With Joseph
recently having disappeared and being presumed dead, it is not surprising
that a
grieving Jacob spontaneously decided to call Rachel’s second-born son
BN-YMYN,
meaning that Jacob was planning in due course to put his “right hand”/YMYN
on this one “son”/BN of Rachel to designate him as Jacob’s successor.
That sequence makes perfect sense in all regards, once one realizes that
Joseph
is already gone, having recently vanished from the family. It is Joseph’s
recent absence, you see, that makes it sensible for Jacob to call Rachel’s
second-born son BN-YMYN/“Son of my Right Hand”, that is, Jacob’s
heir-apparent [whereas for the previous 10 years, prior to his recent
disappearance,
Joseph had been Jacob’s favorite son and heir-apparent].

There are n-o contradictions in chapters 37 and 35 of Genesis, which were
composed in the Late Bronze Age by a single author who knew nothing about
any later notion of an Exodus or a Conquest. The Patriarchal narratives are
much older, and more historically accurate, than university scholars realize.

Jim Stinehart
Evanston, Illinois




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