Yosef, Esther, and Daniel/0
Yosef, Esther, and Daniel1
The Exilic Challenge
In the Babylonian Exile, Jews confronted the question of whether they should risk their lives in order to continue to embrace their religion or whether they should hide their religious identities in order to comply with the foreign cultural expectations. In attempting to find the proper approach to their new situation, Jews searched for a precedent and turned to the prototype of Yosef, for insight into how a Jew should behave in exile.
Yosef proved, though, to be a complex model, as the narrative of Bereshit allow for different possible perspectives on Yosef's conduct in Egypt and his attitudes toward his Abrahamic heritage. On the one hand, when interpreting the dreams of both the butler and baker and Paroh, Yosef acknowledges that all comes from God:
וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו חֲלוֹם חָלַמְנוּ וּפֹתֵר אֵין אֹתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אֲלֵהֶם יוֹסֵף הֲלוֹא לֵאלֹהִים פִּתְרֹנִים סַפְּרוּ נָא לִי. (מ':ח')
וַיַּעַן יוֹסֵף אֶת פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר בִּלְעָדָי אֱלֹהִים יַעֲנֶה אֶת שְׁלוֹם פַּרְעֹה. (מ':ט"ז)
On the other hand, there are also indications that Joseph did not maintain his religious identity in Egypt. Joseph married the daughter of an Egyptian priest, and in naming his firstborn son, Menasheh, he expresses his gratitude to God for enabling him to forget his father’s house ("כִּי נַשַּׁנִי אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל עֲמָלִי וְאֵת כָּל בֵּית אָבִי"). Joseph’s erasure of his original identity is so complete that when his brothers arrive in Egypt, they are unable to recognize him as a Semite because of his Egyptian garb and language.
