Difference between revisions of "Gen 41:46-47:26"

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Home > The Old Testament > Genesis > Genesis 36-50 > Chapters 41b-47a
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Summary

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The relationship of Chapters 41b-47a to the rest of the Joseph cycle is discussed at Genesis 36-50.

• 41:46-57: Egyptians pay all their gold for grain in 1st year
• 42:1-38: brothers pay for grain 1st year, Simeon unwilling hostage
• 43:1-14: brothers return to Egypt with Benjamin in 2nd year
• 43:15-34: brothers eat with Joseph
• 44:1-17: Joseph’s cup in Benjamin’s sack, brothers agree to serve Joseph
• 44:18-34: Judah a willing ransom, Joseph revealed
• 45:1-28: Jacob’s family invited to Egypt
• 46:1-47:12: Jacob’s family given resources in Egypt in 2nd year
• 47:13-26: Egyptians pay herds, lands, and themselves for grain in 2nd year

Discussion

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Verse 43:32: The Abominable Shepherd

In Flavius Josephus's book, often given the title "Flavius Josephus against Apion" or "Antiquity of the Jews", Josephus makes some noteworthy remarks regarding Egyptian history. In seeking to prove that his people are very ancient, Josephus refers to the works of one of his antagonists, one Manetho, an Egyptian historian very notable for having been able to peruse Egypt's national histories and provide a glimpse of Egypt that the Greeks, the Romans, and others were incapable of offering. Josephus cites Manetho as recounting a tale of how certain Phoenician shepherds known as the Hycsos invaded the land of Egypt and caused great trouble for a time. While Josephus seeks to connect this group with his own people (and there are striking similarities) it is generally owned that these events were of greater antiquity even than Abraham, the Hycsos being finally expelled, per the footnotes in my copy of the Work of Josephus, about 37 years before Abraham left Haran. While, however, historians agree that the Hycsos can not possibly be the same group as the Israelites, the events do suggest a rather satisfying reason why the Egyptians might culturally consider the keeping of sheep to be an abomination and further, why the Israelites might so easily be made suspect on a national level, falling from the great favor they had from Joseph's service to the Pharaohs. (see: Josephus, Against Apion, 1.14)

• v. 46:34 - See the exegesis for Gen 43:32 for some thoughts on why the Egyptians might consider shepherd abominable.

Points to ponder

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I have a question

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Resources

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Notes

Footnotes are not required but are encouraged for factual assertions that average readers cannot easily evaluate for themselves, such as the date of King Solomon’s death or the nuanced definition of a Greek word. In contrast, insights rarely benefit from footnoting, and the focus of this page should always remain on the scriptures themselves rather than what someone has said about them. Links are actively encouraged on all sections of this page, and links to authoritative sources are preferable to footnotes.

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