Abstract
Narrative analogy is a feature of Hebrew narrative "through which one part of the text provides oblique commentary on another." The Jacob and Joseph stories are read as analogous, most obviously because of their common plot structure: treachery between brothers, a twenty year separation, and a subsequent reunion. Fur ther bases for the relation are noted. I focus on two issues to illustrate the oblique commen tary provided by this form of analysis. First is the nature of divine intervention in human history; in different ways, both texts indicate that divine intervention is not a constant pro cess. Second are the reunions, both of which are marked by forgetting the past and turning towards the present and future; in neither re union is there a need for forgiveness or atone ment.
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