The central, overarching story of Genesis is the account of the fathers of Israel, which contains the individual stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and finally Joseph . Although each account is compiled together, there is a fundamental shift in the authors' presentation of God once the account of Joseph's life begins. God is an active player, speaking and even physically interceding, in the lives of the first three patriarchs, as He directs their lives with His commandments and promises. However, in the story of Joseph's life, from chapters thirty-seven to fifty, with the exception of chapter thirty-eight, God is not an active character in the narrative. The divine influence on this fourth-generation Hebrew is undeniable, since he is able to accurately interpret dreams and seems to innately know God's will, but divinity never makes itself known to Joseph as he does to the three predecessors of man. This change in God's role may simply indicate that an author is speaking of a tradition distinct from the J or priestly traditions, or it may be symbolic in the sense that Joseph, although blessed, is not as close to God as his fathers. Whatever the historical reasons, the story of Joseph's life in the text of Genesis as a whole, from his earliest prophetic dreams to his royal burial in Egypt, stands out from the rest of the patriarchs' narrative as Joseph establishes himself as leader. among men despite the silent role of his God. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Of Joseph's three fathers, Abraham has the most interactive relationship with God, beginning with his call in chapter twelve, when God promises: "I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great..." (Genesis 12:2). From this moment on, God is an omnipresent character in Abraham's life so that he continually speaks to the old man After revealing the promised land of Canaan (Gen. 13:14-17), God verbally seals his covenant with Abraham by changing his name from Abram, requiring circumcision and once promising to. more than in return for his loyalty, the man "...will be the father of a multitude of nations (Gen. 17:4) Abraham has such a close relationship with God that he feels inclined to reason with him. divinity on the destruction of Sodom as he questions the justification for the destruction of a minority of righteous people who live in an evil city (Genesis 18:23). This scene is the only moment in Genesis where God's judgment is directly called into question, and like Abraham, who is "...but dust and ashes" (18:27) does not lose God's favor by his questioning, he proves his exceptional status among men. Despite this exalted position, God finds it necessary to give Abraham the ultimate test as he demands the sacrifice of Isaac, his only son. After proving his loyalty to God, Abraham disappears from the narrative and Isaac becomes the central patriarch. In Isaac's story, God speaks not only to him, but also to his wife Rebekah. God's presence is tangible enough that Rebekah can go directly to Him for answers when she feels the tension between Jacob and Esau in her belly (Genesis 25:22). Even Abraham had to wait for God to come to him, and while Rebekah's request does not necessarily make her more favored than her father-in-law, God's response indicates his participatory nature in this particular story. As for his interaction with Isaac himself, God comes to him twice with the same promise he made to Abraham when he said to the man: "I will multiply your descendants like the stars of theheaven, and I will give to your descendants all these countries, " (Genesis 26:4). In addition to his dialogue with Isaac, the narrator of chapter twenty-six verses twelve to thirteen says that God is directly responsible for Isaac's success during his time with Abimelech and the Philistines since "The Lord blessed him, and the man became rich." When IsaacJacob's son reached maturity, God continued his active and vocal role in the lives of the Hebrews. God first speaks to Jacob in a dream, reiterating the promise he made to Isaac and Abraham while assuring that he will bring Jacob back to Haran (Gen. 28:12-15). After Laban gives his two daughters to Jacob, God intervenes and selectively opens Leah's womb before Rachel's, and the latter is unable to have children of her own until God "... listen and open his belly” (Genesis 30:22). . According to the text, without the intercession of the divinity, Rachel would not have given birth to Joseph and Benjamin. Later, when Jacob fled Laban's house, God once again acted on his behalf by commanding Laban to leave Jacob alone (Genesis 31:24). Jacob's divine relationship continues and goes further than that of his fathers when he finds himself physically intertwined with an angel of God. Although the text does not say outright that his wrestling opponent is of divine origin, the being disappears before sunrise, which was an ancient indication of divinity (Gen. 32:26, ​​p. 41 , fn. 26). Finally, in chapter thirty-five, God commands Jacob to go to Bethel and saves his journey with “a terror,” and when the man arrives at his destination, God gives him his new name, Israel. From this point on, the nature of God's character in the story of the Patriarchs changes from a vocal role to a silent one in which his presence is only recognized by the active characters rather than by his own voice or action direct. Joseph's career begins with his two dreams which prophesied his ascendancy over his brothers. Although Jacob reproaches his son for these dreams of power, he recognizes their potential importance: “…his father kept this word in mind” (Gen. 37:11). At this point, Joseph's story has already deviated from the path of his fathers, for although they are directly compelled by the voice of God, his divine relationship is expressed more subtly through symbolic dreams. The narrator's recognition of God's presence in this episode amounts to saying that Joseph succeeded because “the Lord was with (him)” (Genesis 39:2). While Abraham's valor was tested by God's own command to sacrifice Isaac, Joseph is tested by the deception of Potiphar's wife and the unjust prison sentence that followed, and the fourth patriarch proves himself by patiently awaiting his release. With the indirect help of God, to which the text only alludes with the question: "Do not interpretations belong to God?" (Gen. 40:8) Joseph propelled his career by accurately interpreting the dreams of the cupbearer, the baker, and finally the Pharaoh himself. Joseph does not receive commands or assurances from God that he had the ability to interpret dreams, he is able to simply do it. As Egyptian prime minister, second only to Pharaoh, Joseph rose to a position of earthly power never before attained by his ancestor. From this perspective, Joseph imposes on his brothers a test of God-like justice, without explicit command from God himself, and his test forces his brothers to remember their greedy and jealous actions so that they ask sorry once it reveals itself. Joseph's power is further demonstrated when, through his own managerial abilities, independent of the direct influence of God, he becomes a competent administrator, able to successfully expand Egypt's grain reserves.