The story of Joseph is the finest example in Genesis, or even in the
OT, of what is sometimes called 'novelistic' narrative. From the
other patriarchal biographies it is distinguished first of all by the
dramatic unity of a clearly conceived 'plot,' the unfolding of which
exhibits the conflict between character and circumstances, and the
triumph of moral and personal forces amidst the chances and vicissitudes
of human affairs. The ruling idea is expressed in the words of E, "Ye
intended evil against me, but God intended it for good" (5020; cf. 455. 7):
it is the sense of an overruling, yet immanent, divine Providence,
realising its purpose through the complex interaction of human motives,
working out a result which no single actor contemplated. To this higher
unity everything is subordinated; the separate scenes and incidents
merge naturally into the main stream of the narrative, each representing
a step in the development of the theme. The style is ample and diffuse,
but never tedious; the vivid human interest of the story, enhanced by a
vein of pathos and sentiment rarely found in the patriarchal narratives,
secures the attention and sympathy of the reader from the beginning to
the close. We note, further, a certain freedom in the handling of traditional
material, and subordination of the legendary to the ideal element in
the composition. The comparatively faint traces of local colour, the
absence of theophanies and cult-legends generally, the almost complete
elimination of tribal relations, are to be explained in this way; and also
perhaps some minute deviations from the dominant tradition, such as the
conception of Jacob's character, the disparity of age between Joseph and
his older brothers, the extreme youth of Benjamin (suggesting that he
had been born since Joseph left home), the allusions to the mother as if
still alive, etc. Lastly, the hero himself is idealised as no other patriarchal
personality is. Joseph is not (like Jacob) the embodiment of one
particular virtue, but is conceived as an ideal character in all the relations
in which he is placed: he is the ideal son, the ideal brother, the ideal
servant, the ideal administrator.
The close parallelism of J and E, together with the fact that the literary features enumerated above are shared by both, show that it had taken shape before it came into the hands of these writers, and strongly suggest that it must have existed in written form. The hypothesis of B. Luther (INS, 141 ff.), that the original author was J, and that he composed it as a connecting link between the patriarchal legends and those of the Exodus, is destitute of probability. The motive suggested is inadequate to account for the conception of a narrative so rich in concrete detail as that before us. Moreover, there is no reason to think that E is dependent on J; and it is certain that in some points (the leadership of Reuben, e.g.) E follows the older tradition. Nor is there much foundation for Luther's general impression that such a narrative must be the creation of a single mind. In any case the mastery of technique which is here displayed implies a long cultivation of this type of literature (ib. 143); and the matter of the Joseph-narratives must have passed through many successive hands before it reached its present perfection of form.
It is impossible to resolve such a composition completely into its traditional or legendary elements; but we may perhaps distinguish
