Ted...I love this article. I've never heard that sort of interpretation of Joseph's tale...where could I read more on this?
Over the past few years I've begun to read the OT differently. It isn't so much that I no longer see it as inspired, per se, but I definitely don't read it in the same way that I read the NT. I'm convinced that most of what Christians read out of the OT is almost exactly opposite of what the OT teaches.
hewhocutsdown
· 1 year ago
That's....really interesting. I'm not sure it's so much a point of the passage as perhaps an assumption, which is why so many miss those undercurrents.
I'll have to go back and read Genesis myself, but that definitely jives with later tales in Kings. Ahaz leans on Assyria, the current empire, for military support when the prophets call on him to lean on God. Hezekiah rebels, breaking the treaty and is rescued barely. Rinse, repeat; on a small and a large scale there is a distinct theme going on here. I find Jeremiah particularly interesting: calling for capitulation to the enemy and openly advocating treason. It puts his initial calling in a new light:
"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you" says the LORD.
Ted
· 1 year ago
Mark -- Yoder and Brueggeman are always good places to go. There's a collection of Yoder essays called _The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited_ that is very interesting in this light.
hewhocutsdown -- I think you're right about the distinct theme, especially if we read the OT in light of what Jesus confirms and disconfirms in the trajectory of God's people.
The typical evangelical take on the OT is a kind of pro-Constantinian reading inspired (at least in part) by the Puritans. If we look at how the NT interprets the OT, we see the undercurrents given interpretive priority.
Ted
Luke
· 1 year ago
This is a brilliant analysis. It reminds me too of Samuel's lecture to the people about kingship. Short term benefits (you won't be serving the Ammonites), long term misery (you will be serving the king).
Sara
· 1 year ago
I LOVE alternative readings like this! Well written, too. I don't know how many times I've been told that Joseph and Daniel are examples as to why Christians should be involved in the government.
All Comments
Over the past few years I've begun to read the OT differently. It isn't so much that I no longer see it as inspired, per se, but I definitely don't read it in the same way that I read the NT. I'm convinced that most of what Christians read out of the OT is almost exactly opposite of what the OT teaches.
I'll have to go back and read Genesis myself, but that definitely jives with later tales in Kings. Ahaz leans on Assyria, the current empire, for military support when the prophets call on him to lean on God. Hezekiah rebels, breaking the treaty and is rescued barely. Rinse, repeat; on a small and a large scale there is a distinct theme going on here. I find Jeremiah particularly interesting: calling for capitulation to the enemy and openly advocating treason. It puts his initial calling in a new light:
"Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you" says the LORD.
hewhocutsdown -- I think you're right about the distinct theme, especially if we read the OT in light of what Jesus confirms and disconfirms in the trajectory of God's people.
The typical evangelical take on the OT is a kind of pro-Constantinian reading inspired (at least in part) by the Puritans. If we look at how the NT interprets the OT, we see the undercurrents given interpretive priority.
Ted