Va-Yeshev (Genesis 37: 1-40:23)
LA JOLLA, California — The parsaha covers early tattle-tale behavior of teen-ager Joseph, favored by Jacob, who preferentially gave him an ornamented tunic; Joseph’s dreams which symbolically suggested he would rule over his brothers and parents; Joseph’s assignment to join his brothers at pasture of the flocks, during which the brothers planned to kill him, but ultimately sold him to passing merchants; they bloodied his tunic with goat’s blood and presented it to Jacob to suggest Joseph was killed by a wild beast; the story diverts to detail Judah’s three sons, of which the eldest died and left a widow (Tamar); by levirate custom she was to marry a younger brother, but was detained from this by the family; soon Judah himself became a widower, and was cleverly deceived into sex with this widowed daughter-in-law; his scheme was uncovered, in addition to which Tamar gave birth to twins from the encounter; the story returns to Joseph and the accusation of a ‘pass’ on his master’s wife in Egypt, for which he was sent to prison where his dream interpretations gave rise to the beginning of a favored reputation.
This essay covers ancient stories of murder of a sibling; pagan stories of widows acting as whores; pagan stories of married society women seducing outsider men.
I have chosen three passage groups, for comparison, via the internet, with writings attributed to ancient Israel’s neighbors.
I. Genesis 37:18-20 “They (the brothers) saw him…and…conspired to kill him. They said…’Here comes that dreamer! Come now, let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits…we can say A savage beast devoured him. We shall see what comes of his dreams!’”
The internet yielded no ancient records describing such a siblings’ scheme. To my inquiry: “Ancient stories of murder of a sibling?” The answer was: None, representing a screen of 35,400,000 results.
I did visit the Osiris myth from Egypt, which formed in the 24th Century BCE. It involved the murder or the god Osiris, a primeval king of Egypt, by his brother Set, who usurped his throne. Later, Osiris’ wife restores him and together they conceive Horus. Horus challenged Set, which violent encounter resulted in Horus taking the throne. Scholars believe this struggle was inspired by an unknown regional conflict in early prehistoric Egypt.
In Egypt’s texts, the murder is alluded to, but not clearly described. Egyptians believed that written records had the power to effect reality. Thus, they avoided detailed writing about negative events such as Osiris’ death.
By the end of the New Kingdom (c. 1567 – 1085 BCE), a tradition had developed that Set had cut Osiris’ body into 42 pieces, each equated with one of the 42 provinces of Egypt. [1]
I also visited the Roman myth of its twin founders Romulus and Remus. When they were born, their uncle seized the throne from their grandfather, put the boys into a basket, and threw it into the Tiber River. From there they were rescued by a she-wolf who fed and raised them. As adults they returned their grandfather to his throne, then decided to build the city Rome. They competed over the site, leading to violence in which Romulus killed Remus and eventually became king of Rome. [2]
II. Genesis 38:12-16 and 38:24-30 “…the wife of Judah died…Tamar (his widowed daughter-in-law is frustrated over having been denied a levirate marriage) …Judah saw her…took her for a harlot…let me sleep with you..(for promised) pay…(later she was delivered by…breach (of twins, by Judah).”
The internet yielded no pagan stories of a widow acting as a whore. To my inquiry: “Ancient stories of a widow acting as a whore?” The result was: None, from a screen of about 7,420,000 results.
I did find the Greek myth of Helen of Troy (from 2700 years ago). Despite being at times applauded, she is more often damned for being sexually active, i.e. a whore described in terms of shabby sale of sex to multiple partners beyond her husband. She is the prototype of harlots by numerous writers over the centuries, including Shakespeare. [3]
In India, widows are demeaned, often called prostitutes, and ‘husband eaters.” Formerly they were forced to die by burning themselves on their husbands’ funeral pyre.
Young or old, widowed women must leave behind their colorful saris and jewelry, and shave their heads. All this is to discourage male sexual desire. She is deprived of the red dot between her eyebrows that proclaims sexual energy. In India, mortality rates are 85% higher among widows than among married women. In much of Indian society, a widow is perceived by family to be a burden and a sexual threat toward others’ marriages.
A primary form of survival of widows in the historically sacred city of Vrindavan is prostitution, where they are often forced into the trade and owned by pimps.
There is today a women’s movement to correct such abuses. [4]
III. Genesis 39: 6-9 “(His master) left all that he had in Joseph’s hands…Now Joseph was…handsome. After a time his master’s wife…said, ‘Lie with me,’ But he refused…’How could I do this most wicked thing, and sin before God?’”
The internet yielded no written ancient records describing an upper class married woman’s attempt to seduce an employee/servant. To my inquiry: “Ancient cases of high society wife seducing her employees?” The answer was: None from a screen of about 8,780,000 results.
The literature of ancient Egypt did not hesitate to present women as frivolous, capricious, and rarely trustworthy. However, severity of punishment for female adultery in Egypt was generally much lighter than in Babylon and Israel. Egyptian documents did indicate that adultery was a moral failing and a source of community discord. It seems there was a disparity between the law and the social attitude. [5]
In Egypt, chastity prior to marriage was not an important pre-requisite for marriage. In fact, ancient Egyptian contains no word for virgin. Egyptians saw sexuality as an everyday part of normal life. Unmarried adults were free to engage in affairs, and illegitimacy carried no stigma for children. Such norms are said to have reduced calls for divorce. [6}
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[1] Osiris myth, from Wikipedia
[2] The Romans; The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon
[3] History Today, December 2020, Vol. 70, issue 10, Bettany Hughes, originally published 14 Aug 2018
[4] Womens’ Media Center, International Violence Against Women, WMC Women Under Seige, June 22, 2012, Eva Corbachio and Sara Barrera
[5] Women in ancient Egypt, Women in ancient Egyptian Literature, Wikipedia
[6] Love and Marriage in Ancient Egypt, David Rymer, BA MBT May 22, 2019
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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.