The Joseph of Genesis as Hellenistic Scientist

To today’s confrontations between religion and science Jovanovic
contrasts the vibrant collaboration that characterizes Jewish,
Christian, and Islamic beginnings. Designation of the patriarch Joseph
as both a dream interpreter and a diviner (Gen. 44.4, 15) is a
specific example of biblical appropriation of the ancient
Mediterranean understanding of cup divination and dream interpretation
as among the scientific activities of its social, spiritual and
academic elite.

Jovanovic argues that the image of Joseph as a Hellenistic scientist
nourished the popularity of early Jewish and Christian literature on
Joseph. The works of Josephus and Philo, Rabbinic midrashim, and the
newly discovered The Ethiopic Story of Joseph, as well as Jubilees,
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs and Joseph and Aseneth, hold
that Joseph’s profession was that of a scientist of vision. The
interpretation of the symbolic images in dreams and cup divination was
a scientific method of communication with the divine and of prediction
of the future, which Jovanovic calls revelation by visual effects.

Joseph’s image as an Egyptian academic provoked varied responses in
Hellenistic Jewish circles. The dismay expressed by Jubilees and Philo
arose from Joseph’s perceived betrayal of religious and traditional
values. The acclamation of Josephus and The Ethiopic Story of
Josephdemonstrates that a number of Hellenistic Jews believed that
their creative integration into the vibrant Hellenistic culture could
be successful and deepen their own Jewish identity

While previous scholarship has focused on representations of Joseph
either as an ethical model or as a type of Christ, this is the first
major work that explores the image of Joseph as an ancient scholar and
spiritual expert.