- The use of cows as symbols for years, per known Egyptian motif appearing durante texts from the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BCE).
- The names Potiphar/Potiphera and Asenath were genuine Egyptian theophoric names (combining the names of Egyptian deities). Potiphar was based on a typical Saite Period construct combining the name of the Egyptian god Re. Asenath includes the name of the Egyptian goddess Neith, per per typical construct common from the New Kingdom evo preciso the Ptolemaic period, although the goddess’s popularity increased considerably during the Saite period sopra the Delta (664-332 BCE).
- The 40 days embalming process (describing Jacob’s death sopra Gn 50:2) was well documented con Egypt from the New Kingdom onwards.
- The “agrarian reforms” per Gen -26 describe the exemption of the temples from royal taxation, a practice that was documented from the 8 th century BCE onwards.
Despite the fact that the Egyptian elements per the story represent many different eras, Redford concluded that the composition of the Joseph story should be dated esatto the Saite period, between 640 and 425 BCE, as some of the details could not predate that period.
The Continuity of Egyptian Culture
This inability sicuro identify one specific periodo con Egyptian history that could provide the historical background sicuro the Joseph story is the result of an inherent trait https://www.datingranking.net/it/misstravel-review of ancient Egyptian culture – its continuity.
This makes it very difficult preciso date verso biblical story based on the Egyptian elements it includes. Alternatively, scholars may date the story by asking when and how Egyptian traditions found their way into the Hebrew Bible.
As biblical research grows more concerned with questions of transmission processes along the Egypt-Israel axis, an old preoccupazione has reemerged – could the Joseph story have been written by someone living mediante the Jewish dispersione mediante Egypt?
Per Diaspora Recente
The “esodo annuncio” genre was first noted with relation to the books of Esther and Daniel. Both describe one man’s rise to power con per foreign land, verso story revolving around verso royal athletique, and culminating with the successful integration of the foreigner within local elites. The preparazione durante both books is the exiled Jewish population and both display considerable knowledge of the breviligne, its officials and customs.
The underlying message of both Daniel and Esther is that one can survive and even thrive in the migrazione setting. Therefore, these books were probably written con exile, for the exiles. In 1975, the biblical scholar Arndt Meinhold first suggested that the Joe narrative scheme of per migrazione annuncio attrezzi durante the Egyptian court.
The Egyptian Sparpagliamento
The ispirazione of verso Jewish diaspora in Egypt, compiling its own inspirational literature, is compelling. However, for the most part, the Egyptian dispersione before the Persian period (5 th -4 th centuries BCE) has remained invisible to Egyptologists. For example, mediante Jer 44:1, the prophet addresses Judeans that reside sopra the land of Egypt at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph and per the land of Pathros. Most Egyptologists agree that the first three place-names can be identified as Tell Qedua (northern Sinai), Tell Defeneh (12 km west of the Suez Canal) and Memphis. Nevertheless, these sites have not yielded remains that attest onesto their foreign Judahite/Israelite element during the 6 th century BCE, the period of Jeremiah’s prophecies.
Perhaps too few Judahite and Israelite settlers were con Egypt to leave per significant mark. But it should not be surprising that some settled there after the destruction of Judah; trade relations between Egypt and Judah/Israel were maintained throughout the first millennium BCE, and those trade relations may have also led to the migration of smaller groups puro Egypt, particularly after the destructions of Samaria (722 BCE) and Jerusalem (586 BCE).