How did Joseph's story differ from that of the other patriarchs?

Answer 1

Strictly speaking the Patriarchs are Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, so in the narrowest sense Joseph was not a Patriarch.

The content of the story of Isaac is often very similar to that of Abraham, and there are even similarities between the narrative of Jacob and the narrative of Isaac, whereas the narrative of Joseph is very different. Presumably, however, what is being sought are underlying, essential differences.

Leon R. Kass (The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis) points out that, whereas The Bible has God talking to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, God never talks to Joseph. The text frequently talks about God, using the name Yahweh (YHWH), but whenever Joseph talks about God, he uses another name, Elohim. It is as if Joseph's words come from a different tradition. Elohimcan also mean 'gods', depending on the context and whether the associated verb is singular or plural, but sometimes Kass says that Joseph's words could be interpreted either way - he is talking about the Hebrew God or more generally about the Egyptian gods. English translations assume that God is meant.

All the lifespans of the main characters in Genesis involve numerology patterns, based around the number 17. The Patriarchs were the most important of all the main characters and this is probably why they share the most elegant pattern in their lifespans1. Joseph lived to 110 years, which does not conform to the numerological pattern of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but is consistent with the pattern for Levi, Moses and Joshua2. This demonstrates that Joseph was never thought of a one of the Patriarchs.

Footnote

1In the lifespans of the Patriarchs, it should be noted that:

• Each lifespan involves a perfect square (5, 6 and 7) in a numeric series,
• The third factor also forms a series (7, 5, 3)
• In each case the sum of the factors is 17.

Name

Lifespan

Pattern

Abraham

175

(5x5) x 7

Isaac

180

(6x6) x 5

Jacob

147

(7x7) x 3

2The numerological pattern for lifespans for main characters after the Patriarchs are simpler but nevertheless remarkably consistent, always involving the number 17:

Name

Lifespan

Pattern

Joseph

110

5x5 + 5x17

Levi

137

7x5 + 6x17

Moses

120

7x5 + 5x17

Joshua

110

5x5 + 5x17