Survival Must Not Be Gained Through Sin: the Moral of the Joseph Stories Prefigured Through Judah and Tamar

Abstract

The reason for the placement of the long Joseph narrative between the patriarchal cycle and the Exodus account is that Joseph and Moses are being contrasted as respectively those of an assimilator and a lawgiver, between one who begins as a Hebrew and becomes an Egyptian and one who begins as an Egyptian and becomes a Hebrew. Seeing Joseph as an anti-hero explains the presence of Genesis 38, which illustrates the right path to be taken to avoid mixing with other peoples. Tamar acts rightly, in faithfulness with the divine purpose, seeking to preserve the survival of the race through proper, not sinful, means. From this perspective, Potiphar's wife emerges as a contrast to Tamar.