The Lord of the Dreams: A Semantic and Literary Analysis of Genisis 37-50

Description

A fascinating and highly original new look at the Joseph-narrative which relies a good deal on syntactic and semantic analyses. Pirson shows that there are many elements in this story that provoke a significantly different reading of the story of Joseph and his brothers, especially when these are combined with some textual aspects previously unnoticed or neglected. Special attention is given to the meaning of Joseph's dreams, to the question of who actually sold Joseph, and to the brothers' role in the narrative. Pirson also asks why Joseph did not call home after his release from prison, and-the most important question-why did Joseph, who was Jacob's favourite son, disappear from the biblical history of Israel?

Ron Pirson is Lecturer of Old Testament Exegesis at Tilburg University, The Netherlands.

"Employing rigorous literary analysis, Pirson examines the 'Joseph Narrative' (Gen 37-50). He begins with the semantic data, then proceeds to the character development of the sons of Jacob. He treats Joseph's dreams, his sale to Egyptians, and his rise to power in that land." -The Bible Today, April/May 2006 "This work will be useful to anyone considering a detailed study of Genesis 37-50. It is a thought provoking study that enables readers to re-examine their presuppositions and conclusions about the accounts of Joseph and his brothers. The work also provides an excellent bibliographical resource for the study of this section of Genesis." -Themelios 30/3 * Themelios *