The Absence and Influence of Genesis 48 (the Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh) in the Book of Jubilees
While scholars have acknowledged the literary dependence of Jubilees 31 (the blessing of Levi and Judah) on Genesis 48 (the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh), little work has been done to understand the purpose of this intentional intertextuality. This article examines the literary influence of Gene...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage
[2017]
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| In: |
Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2017, Volume: 26, Issue: 4, Pages: 255-273 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Book of Jubilees
/ Intertextuality
/ Levi, Biblical person
/ Judah Biblical character
/ Joseph Patriarch
/ Priest
/ King
/ Jacob
/ Blessing
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| IxTheo Classification: | HB Old Testament HD Early Judaism |
| Further subjects: | B
Blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh
Genesis 48
Judah
Levi
Joseph
intertextuality
Jubilees
inheritance
B Bible. Chronicle 1. B Bible. Genesis 48 B Bible. Chronicle 2. |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | While scholars have acknowledged the literary dependence of Jubilees 31 (the blessing of Levi and Judah) on Genesis 48 (the blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh), little work has been done to understand the purpose of this intentional intertextuality. This article examines the literary influence of Genesis 48, the effect of its absence, and the altered roles of Levi, Judah, and Joseph in Jubilees in order to determine why the author made the literary decision to pattern one scene of blessing after the other. This article suggests that the author's decision to omit Genesis 48 and to present not one but two similar scenes of blessing in its place is part of a larger strategy to negotiate the interpretive problem of the prominent status given to Joseph's sons in Genesis 48. By replacing Ephraim and Manasseh with Levi and Judah, but allowing Joseph to receive the double portion of land, the author of Jubilees reflects an interpretive tradition, also found in the Targums, Genesis Rabbah, and the Testaments of the Patriarchs, that understands the inheritance of Jacob to be threefold and distributed three ways—the birthright to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and the kingship to Judah. |
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| ISSN: | 1745-5286 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0951820717718420 |