Recent research on the so-called Life of Joseph also known as In pulcherrimum Ioseph

In pulcherrimum Ioseph (IpJ), a retelling of the life of “the most beautiful Joseph,” appears among the Greek writings of the Syriac Church Father Ephraem and is preserved in at least seven languages: Greek, Latin, Coptic, Armenian, Arabic, Slavonic, and Georgian. Most scholars agree that The Life o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Standhartinger, Angela 1964- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage 2024
In: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Year: 2024, Volume: 33, Issue: 4, Pages: 288-302
Further subjects:B CPG 3938
B Genesis 37–46
B Greek Ephraem
B Joseph
B Rachel
B Joseph and Aseneth
B Benjamin
B Joseph-Christ typology
B Life of Joseph
B textual fluidity and storytelling
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Description
Summary:In pulcherrimum Ioseph (IpJ), a retelling of the life of “the most beautiful Joseph,” appears among the Greek writings of the Syriac Church Father Ephraem and is preserved in at least seven languages: Greek, Latin, Coptic, Armenian, Arabic, Slavonic, and Georgian. Most scholars agree that The Life of Joseph/In pulcherrimum Ioseph was neither written by Ephraem nor in Syriac but was originally written in Greek. Some find, however, a substantial overlap with the Syriac Joseph traditions. A Greek papyrus from the sixth to seventh century provides the earliest material evidence. Beyond the first 120 lines of the Joseph-Christ typology, the retelling of the Joseph story contains no unambiguous Christian features. This article argues that the text is likely a composition of three different parts. After introducing IpJ and its characteristics, I present an overview of manuscripts and editions to illustrate its extraordinary popularity and several Sitz im Leben of this particular Joseph story. Finally, I will return to the question of provenance and place this specific retelling of Gen 37–46 within Jewish and Christian debates on the biblical Joseph.
ISSN:1745-5286
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal for the study of the pseudepigrapha
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/09518207241252540