Dem bones, dem bones

[Let's hear again from our favorite guest blogger, the Candyman!-LNM]

This week's portion takes us to the end of Genesis, where the scene is rather bleak. The brothers have been driven out of Canaan, the promised land, from hunger, and find themselves in a foreign land. Their patriarch, Jacob (who describes his days as "full of hardship"), has recently passed away, and now Joseph, their protector, lies on his deathbed. It is against this backdrop that Joseph promises his brothers,

“And God will surely remember you, and raise you up from this land, to the land he has promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… God will surely remember you, and you shall raise up my bones with you from here.” (v. 50:24-25)

וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל-אֶחָיו, אָנֹכִי מֵת; וֵאלֹהִים פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֶתְכֶם, וְהֶעֱלָה אֶתְכֶם מִן-הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת, אֶל-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לְאַבְרָהָם לְיִצְחָק וּלְיַעֲקֹב. וַיַּשְׁבַּע יוֹסֵף, אֶת-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר: פָּקֹד יִפְקֹד אֱלֹהִים אֶתְכֶם, וְהַעֲלִתֶם אֶת-עַצְמֹתַי מִזֶּה

This symbol—Joseph's coffin rising from its grave—resembles resurrection, as does Joseph's rising from the pit during his lifetime (see last week's post). What's even more interesting is that Joseph juxtaposes the image of the Israelites "rising" (Hebrew ELH) from Egypt and his own bones rising. Joseph seems to be suggesting that his bones, his symbolic resurrections, are linked with Israel's redemption from exile.

You can't understand the chumash/Pentateuch without understanding the later Prophets (i.e. the prophets that aren't taught in schools because 'they are too hard'). The image of bones and resurrection is reminiscent of a passage in Ezekiel (37:1-14). There, resurrection is used in the context of a very different national crisis, the destruction of the first Temple and the exile of the Israelites to Babylonia. Ezekiel watches in disbelief as a heap of dry human bones wears anew sinews and flesh, returning to life. The image, God explains, is symbolic (v. 11-12):

"And He said to me: Son of man, these bones are all of the house of Israel; behold, they say, “Our bones have dried up, and our hope is lost, and we are doomed.” Therefore, prophesy to them, saying, “So says my Lord, God: Behold, I am opening your graves, and I shall bring you up from your graves, My nation; and I shall bring you to the land of Israel…"

ְ וַיֹּאמֶר, אֵלַי, בֶּן-אָדָם, הָעֲצָמוֹת הָאֵלֶּה כָּל-בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל הֵמָּה; הִנֵּה אֹמְרִים, יָבְשׁוּ עַצְמוֹתֵינוּ וְאָבְדָה תִקְוָתֵנוּ--נִגְזַרְנוּ לָנוּ. לָכֵן הִנָּבֵא וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵיהֶם, כֹּה-אָמַר אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה, הִנֵּה אֲנִי פֹתֵחַ אֶת-קִבְרוֹתֵיכֶם וְהַעֲלֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם מִקִּבְרוֹתֵיכֶם, עַמִּי; וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם, אֶל-אַדְמַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

The symbolism here is strikingly similar to that of the Joseph narrative. Like Joseph’s bones, the dried bones in Ezekiel’s vision are a symbol of hope for a nation recently exiled. In both cases, the bones are linked to a return to the homeland of Israel. In the Ezekiel story, though, the symbol of bones has an added significance. Bones are used to relay Ezekiel's vision of hope precisely because they are a symbol of hopelessness—the Israelites say, metaphorically, "Our bones have dried up, and our hope is lost." This was particularly appropriate for the generation of the Babylonian exile, whose faithlessness is a running theme for the prophets of the exile.

The similarities between the Joseph narrative and Ezekiel's vision suggest that the Joseph narrative was written with not only the Egyptian, but also the Babylonian exile in mind. Reading the story of Joseph, an exile in Ezekiel’s day might well identify with the message of hope and redemption embodied in Joseph’s bones. For such an individual, the entire redemption from Egypt would be a symbol for a promised redemption from Babylon. The Joseph story seems conveniently appropriate for this audience.

Furthermore, a second exile/descent to Egypt occurred shortly after the Babylonian conquest. What happened was that the remaining Judeans in Israel feared Babylonian reprisal after the Babylonian prefect, Gedaliah, was assassinated. So, they turned tail and ran away to their ally Egypt, against God's wishes (Jeremiah 40-43). An alter apikorus (elder heretic) in Israel once explained to me that this "self-imposed exile" to Egypt is the real reason for the fast of Gedaliah observed on 3 Tishrei.

Now, whoever wrote the Joseph story knew a decent amount about Egypt. It's tempting to speculate that the author was one of these second Egyptian exiles, living at the time of Jeremiah or Ezekiel. Drawing upon what he knew of Jewish folklore and Egyptian culture, this exile crafted a powerful, symbolic folk tale about resurrection and redemption, bringing hope to a people whose bones were almost entirely dry.


[Author's note: again, this material is copyrighted, please contact me before reproducing it. Thanks!]