Post by Séamus on Apr 11, 2022 12:35:37 GMT
"Palestinians set fire to a West Bank shrine revered by Jews as Israeli forces operated in the occupied territory.... Joseph's tomb in the West Bank city of Nablus is a flashpoint prayer site. Some Jews believe the biblical Joseph is buried in the tomb" (today's newspaper didn't cite source)
There's interesting symbolism in reflecting on a vandalised tomb of Joseph,whether real or cenotaph;a man who was forced to exist among higher echelons of the global power of his day,far removed from the family-based culture he was born into. And yes Genesis specifically states Joseph's instructions about his body's eventual return to the land promised to his greatgrandfather.
Colm Tóibín once published a (largely unreadable,I thought) collection of short stories,one of which had an obnoxious female, successful film-producer character; largely raised in America,obviously American accented. An interesting paragraph is unforgettable- in Ireland to make a film,during an altercation with a real pub-owner during a take in his real pub, she was shocked and horrified when he asked/told her that she was Irish wasn't she? Thousands of years before this the same question about identity and identifying could have been asked of Jacob's second youngest son in ancient Egypt.
"Hebrews are subjected to forced labour.... why? history provides us with the answer by telling us about the invasion of the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings, Semitic in origin,who occupied the land of the Nile for more than a century. The pharoah who appointed Joseph as his chief minister was probably a Hyksos. The Hebrews were cousins of these invaders and worked with them. As a result,when the 'leprosy of Asia' had been ejected by the nationalist movement led by the priests of Thebes they found themselves treated as collaborators of the occupiers" (What is the Bible, Henri Daniel-Rops 1958)
Questions about nationalism and possibilities of extremism on either side appear, particularly in France,this Easter- the serene figure of the forgiving Joseph of Egypt as his tomb burns in West Bank might serve as a worthwhile reflection on nationality and identify.
There's interesting symbolism in reflecting on a vandalised tomb of Joseph,whether real or cenotaph;a man who was forced to exist among higher echelons of the global power of his day,far removed from the family-based culture he was born into. And yes Genesis specifically states Joseph's instructions about his body's eventual return to the land promised to his greatgrandfather.
Colm Tóibín once published a (largely unreadable,I thought) collection of short stories,one of which had an obnoxious female, successful film-producer character; largely raised in America,obviously American accented. An interesting paragraph is unforgettable- in Ireland to make a film,during an altercation with a real pub-owner during a take in his real pub, she was shocked and horrified when he asked/told her that she was Irish wasn't she? Thousands of years before this the same question about identity and identifying could have been asked of Jacob's second youngest son in ancient Egypt.
"Hebrews are subjected to forced labour.... why? history provides us with the answer by telling us about the invasion of the Hyksos or Shepherd Kings, Semitic in origin,who occupied the land of the Nile for more than a century. The pharoah who appointed Joseph as his chief minister was probably a Hyksos. The Hebrews were cousins of these invaders and worked with them. As a result,when the 'leprosy of Asia' had been ejected by the nationalist movement led by the priests of Thebes they found themselves treated as collaborators of the occupiers" (What is the Bible, Henri Daniel-Rops 1958)
Questions about nationalism and possibilities of extremism on either side appear, particularly in France,this Easter- the serene figure of the forgiving Joseph of Egypt as his tomb burns in West Bank might serve as a worthwhile reflection on nationality and identify.