reynolds-the-quran-in-its-historical-context-2

436 Joseph Witztumexample,,when Jacob sees Joseph's bloodstained garment it is said that "the lightof his eyes dimmed (f:zsek niihra d- 'aynaw)." 51 Both Joseph and Benjamin aredescribed as the light of their father's eyes, 5 2 and when Jacob is reunited withJoseph he says: "my eyes were enlightened by seeing you (nhar 'aynayba-f:zzatak)." 53 Similar phrases are found in PsN, Balai, the dialogue poem betweenJoseph and Benjamin, Ephraem Graecus, and Romanos. 54As for Joseph sending a garment to his father, this may reflect the Syriactradition which follows the reading of the Peshitta to Genesis 45:23. In contrast tothe Masora, where Joseph only sends his father donkeys loaded with foodand other good things, in the Peshitta he also sends him garments and silver. 55Unsurprisingly, this is picked up in later Syriac sources. 5651 Weinberg, Geschichte, 24. See also ibid., 23, 25, 26. Similarly, Joseph laments over Jacob saying:"[your sons] darkened the light of your eyes;" Link, Geschichte, II. See already Niif, Josef, 69.Niif notes that unlike the Qur'iin, PsB does not refer to full blindness. The exegetes on Q 12:84,however, argue over whether it refers to excessive crying, to complete blindness or impairedeyesight; see al-Riizi, al-Tafsir, 18:195-96, and cf. Q 5:83 and 9:92.52 Weinberg, Geschichte, 24; Link, Geschichte, 20.53 Link, Geschichte, 26.54 PsN, 573 ("On account of mourning for Joseph my eyesight has diminished I and for Simeon too Imourn with my own sorrow"); Balai, 285 (where Jacob says to Benjamin: "Come in peace, light ofmy eyes, I for seeing you has strengthened your father"); Brock, Soghyatha, 15-16 ("light of myeyes, Joseph"); Lash, "Sermon," 13 ("May Jacob's eyes I not be darkened again I as he waits tosee I my return to him") and 23 ("I shall die, Joseph, I my light and my support"); Grosdidier deMatons, Romanos, 228 (Joseph and Benjamin as Jacob's two eyes), and 240 (the night of discouragementisdriven away from Jacob's eyes; the light of his children is like the twelve hours of daylight).In PsB Joseph is described also as "the staff of his father's old age" (Weinberg, Geschichte, 23 and25). Compare Tobit 5:18, where Tobiah's mother calls him "the staff of our hands." The similarity iseven more pronounced in the Vulgate version ofTobit 5:18 ("the staff ofour old age") and 10:5 ("thelight of our eyes, the staff of our old age"). Since the Book of Tobit draws on the Joseph narrativeextensively (see the studies cited in J.A. Fitzmayer, Tobit, Berlin: de Gruyter, 2003, 35), it is possiblethat it later influenced retellings of the Joseph story. Interestingly, Jerome claims to have based histranslation ofTobit on an Aramaic source; ibid., 19-21. For a history of the phrase "a staff of old age"(though not including PsB), see D.A. Bertrand," 'Un baton de vieillesse', a propos de Tobit 5,23 etI 0,4 (Vulgate)," Revue d'histoire et de phi/osophie re/igieuses 71, 1991, 33-37.55 A similar reading is found in the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Jubilees 43:22 ("and he also sent to hisfather clothing and money and ten asses which were carrying wheat. And he sent them off'). Thetwo readings differ in one letter (wiiw), which·affects the relationship between Genesis 45:22 and23 as well as the meaning of Hebrew ke-z6t. The text of the Masora is translated in the NRSV thus:"(22) To each one of them he gave a set of garments; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred piecesof silver and five sets of garments. (23) To his father he sent the following (ke-z6t): ten donkeys( 'asarti bamorim) loaded with the good things of Egypt, and ten female donkeys loaded with grain,bread, and provision for his father on the journey." The Peshitta, on the other hand, might berendered along the lines of: "(22) And he gave to each man a set of garments; but to Benjamin hegave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of garments. (23) And to his father he sent §!!£hthings (hakanti) as well as ten donkeys (w- 'esrti /lmiirin) loaded with the good things of Egypt, andten female donkeys loaded with grain, wine, and provision for his father on the journey."56 In PsB (Link, Geschichte, 24) Joseph sends his father ten suits of clothing. Later Benjamin dressesJacob in these clothes. In Brock, Soghyatha, 16, Joseph tells Benjamin to bring his clothes to Jacoband inform him that he is alive (compare Balai, 274). In Balai, 278, Joseph sends his father threehundred pieces of silver.Joseph among the Ishmaelites 437As for the delivery of the news, according to PsB, when the brothers give Jacobthe good news about Joseph, Benjamin shows his father the royal garments in whichJoseph has dressed him. 5 7 In Balai's account the brothers first use the garments tobreak the good news to Jacob. They wear their fancy new attire to arouse his curiosity,and when he inquires where they obtained garments fit for kings, they tell himthe good news concerning Joseph. Initially, Jacob does not believe them, but he isgradually convinced by the wagons and the memory of the dreams. What fullypersuades him, however, are the garments which Benjamin shows him:Afterwards they brought before him I the three hundred pieces of silver thathe [=Joseph] had sent him, and the five sets of garments I that his brotherBenjamin gave him [=Jacob], 58 and then Jacob believed and was convinced Ithat Joseph the son of Rachel is alive. His spirit which had sufferedcame to rest I and he gave thanks and glorified God. The old man rose as amighty one I the ancient one as a youth. 5 9By having the garments convince Jacob that Joseph is alive, these Syriac sourcescreate a nice symmetry with the beginning of the story where a gari:nent played acentral part in the attempt to persuade Jacob that his son was dead. The Qur'anthen sharpens this symmetry in three ways: it refers only to one garment with nomention of wagons, it is said to belong to Joseph, and the word used to denote it(qamf~) is the very same one which describes the garment used in the attempt todeceive Jacob at the beginning of the story (Q 12:18). 60 Scholars have noted theenhanced symmetry in the Qur'anic version, but have not been aware that in thisthe.Qur'an develops a trend found in the Syriac tradition. 61Shared departures from the Biblical version constitute the strongest argument forthe Syriac background ofQ 12. Other such examples could be adduced, but I leavethat for another study and proceed now to examine the supporting evidence in orderto illustrate the range of similarities between the Qur' an and the Syriac sources.57 Link, Geschichte, 24.58 Following Bedjan's text. In a note he considers an emendation which would result in: "that hisbrother (=Joseph] gave Benjamin." The Peshitta's reading of Genesis 45:23, however, makes suchan emendation unnecessary.59 Balai, 287-91. The second homily ofPsN ends abruptly before we are told what exactly convincedJacob.60 Both Genesis and the Syriac texts use different words in the two instances. The word qamr,, whichoccurs only in Q 12, is used also for Joseph's garment which is tom by his master's wife frombehind and eventually proves his innocence (Q 12:25-28). In this way the Qur'an leads itsaudience to compare the roles that garments play in the story. A discussion of the clothing motif inQ 12 is found in Afsar, "Plot motifs," 179-85.61 For the chiastic structure of Q I2 generally, see M. Mir, "The Qur'anic story of Joseph: Plot,themes, and characters," The Muslim World 76, 1986, (I-15) 1-3; J. Hiimeen-Anttila," 'We willtell you the best of stories': A study on surah Xll," Studio Orientalia 67, 1991, (7-32) 26-28; andespecially Cuypers, "Structures rhetoriques," 134-95. For the structural importance of the garment,see Afsar, "Plot motifs," 185. Another example of enhanced chiasm in the Syriac texts and theQur'iin was noted above regarding the reconciliation scene between Joseph and Potiphar's wife.