Erich Auerbach describes a model of heroes from the Hebrew Bible that he believes is almost all-inclusive. Joseph and the story of his journey through slavery and imprisonment to kingship illustrate the journey from deepest humiliation to exaltation, aided by God's personal inspiration, described by the model by Erich Auerbach. God seems to require absolute and unconditional faith, because Joseph's life is designed in such a way that his humiliation proves to be an instrument of his eventual exaltation. Odysseus' journey, on the other hand, follows a similar pattern but does not seem to carry the same demands of humiliation or faith to which Joseph is subjected. While Joseph's works and faith are a journey through trials that lead him to save an entire civilization and become a greater man than anyone could have predicted, Odysseus is content to fight his way home against the consequences of his own actions. The fact that these texts served as moral and spiritual guides for ancient Greek and Hebrew cultures makes it possible to generalize these moral teachings and norms as exemplary for each culture as a whole. While the stories were produced by their respective cultures; in turn, they shaped the very cultures that gave rise to them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get an original essay Commenting on the "heroes" of the Hebrew Bible, Erich Auerbach asserts that: "There are practically none who do not do not, like Adam, suffer the deepest humiliation – and almost no one is deemed worthy of God's personal intervention and inspiration. » (Mimesis 18) Joseph fits perfectly into the mold of a “hero” of the Hebrew Bible as presented by Erich Auerbach. In Joseph's childhood, "his father loved him more than all his brothers" (Genesis 37:3) and because of his honesty, his father trusted him to report his brother's evil deeds; thus placing Joseph in a position of superiority. This proved detrimental to Joseph, as his brothers felt that eldest sons should be given favor and birthright position in the family, as tradition dictated. Later we see similar events in slavery, imprisonment and service to Pharaoh as he finds favor with his overseers and his status is raised to almost equal to that of his superiors, all like when he served as his father's eyes and ears in the fields with his father. brothers. Joseph never attributes this tendency to favoritism to himself, his own personality, his mind or his skills and in the case of Joseph's first meeting with Pharaoh, he actually denies any personal credit by saying: " It is not in me: God will give Pharaoh an answer. » (Genesis 41:16) This personal interest that God takes in all that Joseph does is concisely summarized in the last verse of the thirty-ninth chapter of the book of Genesis which states: "...the Lord was with him and what he did, the Lord made him prosper. (Genesis 39:23) As we pick up the story of Joseph during his first serious misfortune, it is safe to assume that at that time, an average boy of seventeen would wish to be left to die in the pit according to the original plan of his brothers. . However, there is no mention of Joseph complaining or asking God for favors when he is thrown into the pit or sold into slavery by his brothers. Joseph's next plunge into humiliation occurs when he is falsely accused of attempting to sleep with Potiphar's wife and imprisoned. However, even in prison, his status iselevated beyond that of the other prisoners: “And the keeper of the prison delivered into the hands of Joseph all the prisoners who were in the prison; and whatever they did there, he did it. (Genesis 39:22) So we see that even in his humiliation, he is living the best situation possible given the circumstances given to him. Auerbach's analysis of the Hebrew heroes is particularly evident in several similar situations with Joseph. While Joseph experiences extreme humiliation, he is never abandoned by God. Throughout Joseph's trials, it seems that each consecutive misfortune plunges him deeper into a humiliation from which there seems little escape. However, this does not prove to be the case as each successive incident proves to be to Joseph's advantage in the long run. For example, if Joseph had not been sold into slavery by his brothers, they would not be able to go to Egypt to buy grain because the Pharaoh would not have consulted Joseph about his dream and would not have received money. instructions for storing food during the seven years of famine. . Furthermore, if Joseph had not served in Potiphar's household and had not been falsely accused of attempting to sleep with his wife, he would never have been thrown into "the prison, a place where the king's prisoners. (Genesis 39:20) This is an important distinction as it is recognized that among Egyptian prisons, this particular prison stands out from other prisons because it is where the king's prisoners are housed. If Joseph had not served such a high-ranking man as Potiphar, it is very unlikely that he would have been sent to this particular prison. This may seem inconsequential at first, but as the story continues we see that it is actually the mention of Joseph's dream interpretation skills to the Pharaoh by his chief butler and the elder Joseph's prison companion, who facilitates Joseph's rise from chief prisoner to leader of Egypt. Joseph could never have predicted how these events would interact with his eventual exaltation and even if he could, he would be unable to control them. He simply trusts his father's doctrinal teachings and demonstrates absolute faith in God. This is all God seems to require of Joseph in order to receive His favor and blessings. This is unique in that while other patriarchs in the Bible are asked to make sacrifices, it seems that in the story of Joseph he is the sacrifice. He gives up a good 13 years of his life to slavery and imprisonment so that Egypt and his family can be saved from seven years of famine. Throughout Joseph's story, it seems that God only rewards Joseph for his faith with favor in the eyes of his superiors, but later the hand of God can be seen in each new development of Joseph's life , not only regarding circumstances, but also regarding his ability to help others through his God-given dream management and interpretation skills. He is rewarded with an ability to interpret dreams, which leads him to interpret the dreams of the head baker and the head butler during his incarceration. The Pharaoh hears this and it is through the interpretation of the Pharaoh's dream that Joseph becomes ruler in Egypt and is able to store food and save the Egyptian nation from famine. Eventually he is rewarded with the opportunity to face his brothers and his childhood vision of the eleven sheaves and the sun, the moon and the eleven stars bowing before him is realized as his brothers bow down and implore their food. The absolute dependence of the brother's survival on the..