Legends of Old Testament characters, from the Talmud and other sourcesBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
Legends of Old Testament characters, from the Talmud and other sources
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends
Therefore Joseph said, “Take my shirt and go to my father, and pass my
shirt before his face, and he will recover his sight. Then take all that
you have, and come down into Egypt.”[429]
When the caravan left Memphis, the sons of Jacob carried with them
abundance of corn and the shirt of Joseph; and the wind was in their
backs, and blew the scent of the shirt from the gate of Memphis into
Canaan. And Jacob snuffed the wind, and said, “O women! O children! I
can smell Joseph.”
They all thought, “He is deranged,” but they said, “It is forty years
since Joseph died, and thou canst think of nothing else; thou art always
insisting that he is alive.”
When the caravan was near the dwelling of Jacob, Judah brought the shirt
of Joseph in, and said, “On the day upon which I bore the bloody coat of
Joseph, I said a wolf had devoured him. Now I bring thee good news.” And
he cast the shirt upon the face of his father, and Jacob recovered his
sight.[430]
The story in the Sepher Hadjaschar, or Book of Jasher, is more poetical.
As the sons were approaching the home of their father, Sarah, the
adopted daughter of Asher, came to meet them. She was very beautiful and
graceful and modest, and could play sweetly on the harp. They gave her
the kiss of peace, and told her the tidings. Then she went singing home,
accompanying her words upon the harp, “Joseph is not dead, God has been
his protector, and he lives, and is governor in Egypt; rejoice and be
glad of heart!” Then Jacob was filled with hope and consolation, and he
said, “Because thou hast revived my spirit, my daughter, death shall
never seize on thee.”[431]
After that, Jacob went down into Egypt, that he might see his son Joseph
before he died. And when they met, they fell on one another’s neck and
wept, and kissed; and Jacob said to his son, “Tell me, I pray thee, what
evil thy brothers did to thee.” But Joseph answered, “Nay, my father, I
will tell thee only how great good the Lord did to me.”
We have heard how that Joseph married Zuleika, the wife of Potiphar, but
this is not a universal tradition. It is said in Genesis that he had to
wife Asenath, daughter of Potipherah, priest of On. Many suppose that
this Asenath was the daughter of Potiphar, the old master of Joseph, and
that her mother was Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and the following
story is related of Asenath:—
She was a maid of wondrous beauty, of which she was very proud, and she
greatly despised all men, though she had never seen any, saving her
father. She dwelt in a tower next to her father’s house, ten stories
high, which contained everything that the eye could desire, and also
idols in gold and silver, which she daily worshipped. Asenath was as
tall as Sarah, as comely as Rebekah, and as beautiful as Rachel.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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