ABSTRACT

The biblical book of Genesis begins with the creation of heaven, earth, and humankind; tells of primeval times – human existence in the garden of Eden and banishment from this paradise, the rival brothers Cain and Abel, the great flood that almost extinguished the human race, and so on – in order then to tell the stories of Israel’s ancestors, including the patriarch Joseph. Inserted at the end of the book of Genesis, the Joseph story1 forms the bridge between the patriarchal narratives about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob on the one hand, and the story of Moses and the exodus out of Egypt on the other. It explains how the Hebrews came to settle in Egypt, from where Moses eventually rescued them.