‘AND JOSEPH SLEPT WITH POTIPHAR'S WIFE’: A RE-READING
Joseph's decision not to sleep with Potiphar's wife is traditionally held up by Christian and Jewish faith communities as a model of piety. Yet both the biblical text and the way the text is transmitted in traditional Judaism may suggest otherwise. From a close reading of Genesis and an ap...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
1997
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| In: |
Literature and theology
Year: 1997, Volume: 11, Issue: 2, Pages: 145-151 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Joseph's decision not to sleep with Potiphar's wife is traditionally held up by Christian and Jewish faith communities as a model of piety. Yet both the biblical text and the way the text is transmitted in traditional Judaism may suggest otherwise. From a close reading of Genesis and an appreciation of traditional Jewish cantillation, there emerges an alternate model of piety out of this biblical story—one that privileges sexual gratification over renunciation. Though ancient biblical exegetes saw complicity in Joseph's relationship with Potiphar's wife, and saw Joseph's imprisonment as punishment for the sin of irresolutely rejecting adultery, it is possible to argue that Joseph's incarceration is punishment for the sin of rejecting mutual attraction and sexual intimacy in favour of loyalty to a slavemaster. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Literature and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/litthe/11.2.145 |