Tanakh & the Ancient Near East Index – Parashat Vayeshev

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Overview

Knowledge of the history, law, cultic practices and realia of the Ancient Near East can often shed much light on Tanakh. This index contains a list of links to articles which touch on the connections between Tanakh and ancient cultures.

The Sale of Yosef in Ancient Near East Context

Amos 2:6 (from the haftarah of Parashat Vayeshev) speaks of selling the poor for a pair of shoes, and has been understood by the Sages to refer to the sale of Yosef (see Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 38). See ‘For a Pair of Shoes’: A New Light on an Obscure Verse in Amos’ Prophecy by Avi Shveka for an analysis of the notion of selling a person for a pair of shoes in light of Ancient Near East law.

Levirate Marriage in the Ancient Near East

See Levirate Marriage in Israel by Millar Burrows to understand the background to levirate marriage in the Ancient Near East, and the contrasts between the institution as it is set forth in Tanakh and in Canaanite culture.
Dr. Yoshi Fargeon, in his lecture סיפורי בני יעקב בהשוואה לחוקי המזרח הקדום, attempts to demonstrate that the Patriarchs and Matriarchs might have often acted in accordance with the norms of their time rather than the later laws of Torah. As an example, he notes that the customs of levirate marriage undertaken by Yehuda and Tamar share more in common with ancient near eastern norms than with the laws of Sefer Devarim. In the ancient near east a father can perform levirate marriage in place of a brother, and there is no ceremony akin to חליצה. This explains why Yehuda had resorted to deception rather than simply officially annulling the marriage via חליצה, and why Tamar thought to force Yehuda to fulfill the obligation in place of his sons.

Egyptian Words in the Yosef Narrative

See Egyptian Background to the Yosef Narratives, which explores Egyptian loanwords that appear in the Biblical narrative of Yosef.
See Cognates and Loanwords for more extensive discussion of the etymology and meaning of these words.
See Egyptian Loanwords as Evidence for the Authenticity of the Exodus and Wilderness Traditions by Benjamin J. Noonan, which argues that the appearance of Egyptian words in the Biblical text indicates the authenticity of its narratives relating to Egypt

Visual Aids

See Olam Hamikra for images of what Yehuda’s seal, cord, and staff may have looked like.

Dream Narratives and Interpretation

For an extensive treatment of dream narratives and interpretation in the Ancient Near East, see The Interpretation of Dreams in the Ancient Near East by A. Leo Oppenheim.

Anachronisms?

In Tanakh and Archaeology (3), R. Amnon Bazak discusses claims that certain details included in the Patriarchal narratives appear to be anachronistic, and brings several approaches to resolve the issue. For example, he points to arguments that camels were not yet domesticated by the era of the Patriarchs but notes that newer archaeological evidence demonstrates that the picture is not so clear. Domestication did indeed begin in ancient times, though in a limited way. This fits well with the Biblical account of the period, in which camels do not play a central role, their numbers are small, and they are possessed mainly by the wealthy.