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Re: about Joseph and Aseneth
To Al et al.,
The main argument of my 1994 Princeton dissertation was that Joseph and
Aseneth is best read as a document stemming from the Jewish center in
Heliopolis, and probably written in the second century BCE. I believe
that the central honeycomb scene is a typical revelation-scene, where an
angel shows Aseneth how some bees, who are "wearing" linen, scarlet,
purple, and violet (the four priestly materials), leave their honeycomb
and establish a second comb, similar to the first, on Aseneth's lips and
mouth. This is a symbolic depiction of Jewish priests leaving Jerusalem
and establishing a second temple, similar to the first, in Heliopolis,
Egypt.
An Oniad context also helps elucidate other elements in the novel, such
as its obssession with Levi, who is much more prominent than Judah,
Reuben, or Joseph's other brothers; its interest in warfare (the Oniads
were soldier-settlers); its emphasis on close relations between Egypt's
Jews and its king (in spite of its dislike of Egyptians in general), etc.
I published a preliminary analysis of the honeycomb scene in the
Proceedings of the last Int. Con. of Jewish Studies (Jerusalem). The
dissertation itself is available through UMI, and a revised edition will
be published shortly with Scholars Press. I am working on the final
revision at this very moment. In the next SBL, a session is planned on
Joseph and Aseneth, and I hope the book will be out by then.
Yours,
Gideon Bohak
UMich