Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/580

 JOSEPH

508

JOSEPH

raised to the rank of viceroy of Egypt, he shows him- self worthy of that exalted dignity by his skilful and energetic efforts to promote the welfare of his adopted countrymen and the extension of his master's power. A character so beautiful made Joseph a most worthy type of Christ, the model of all perfection, and it is comparatively easy to point out some of the traits of resemblance between Jacob's beloved son and the dearly beloved Son of God. Like Jesus, Joseph was hated and cast out by his brethren, and yet wrought out their salvation through the sufferings they had brought upon him. Like Jesus, Joseph obtained his exaltation only after passing through the deepest and most undeserved humiliations; and, in the kingdom over which he ruled, he invited his brethren to join those whom heretofore they had looked upon as strangers, in order that they also might enjoy the blessings which he had stored up for them. Like the Saviour of the world, Joseph had but words of forgive- ness and blessing for all who, recognizing their misery, had recour.se to his supreme power. It was to Joseph of old, as to Jesus, that all had to appeal for relief, ofler homages of the deepest respect, and yield ready obedience in all things. Finally, to the Patriarch Joseph, as to Jesus, it was given to inaugurate a new order of things for the greater power and glory of the monarch to whom he owed his exaltation.

While thus recognizing the typical meaning of Jo- seph's career, one should not for a moment lose sight of the fact that one is in presence of a distinctly historical character. EfTorts have indeed been made in certain quarters to transform the history of Joseph into a story of a tribe of the same name which, at some re- mote period, would have attained to great power in Egypt, and which, at a much later date, popular imagination would have simply pictured as an indi- vidual. But such a view of the Biblical account is decidedly inadmissible. To careful scholars it will always appear more difficult to think of Joseph as a tribe that rose to power in Egypt than as an individ- ual who actually passed through the experiences which are described in Genesis. Again, they will always look upon the incidents narrated in the sacred record as too natural, and too closely related, to be entirely the product of fiction. The same historical character of the Biblical narrative is powerfully confirmed by the substantial agreement which contemporary critics feel bound to admit between the two principal documents (J, E), which, according to them, have been used in its composition: such an agreement points manifestly to an earlier oral tradition, which, when committed to writing in two distinct forms, was not materially af- fected by the altered circumstances of a later age. It is finally put beyond the possibility of a doubt by the Egyptian colouring which is common to both these documents, and which will be presently described. This Egyptian element is no mere literary dress with which the popular fancy of a later date and in a distant land could have vested more or less happily the inci- dents narrated. It belongs to the very core of the history of Jo.seph, and is plainly a direct reflection of the manners and customs of ancient Egypt. Its con- stant truthfulness to things Egyptian proves the exis- tence of an ancient tradition, dating as far back as the Egyptian period, and faithfully preserved in the com- posite account of Genesis.

The extent of the Egyptian colouring just re- ferred to in the history of Joseph has been closely investigated by recent scholars. The brown-skinned children of Ismael, who brought camels richly laden from the East to the Nile, are drawn to life on the Egyptian monuments, and the three kinds of spices they were carrying into Egypt are precisely those which would bo in demand in that country for medic- inal, religious, or embalming purposes. The existence of various overseers in the houses of Egyptian gran- dees is in perfect harmony with ancient Egyptian

society, and the mer-per or superintendent of the house, such as Joseph was, is in particular often men- tioned on the monuments. To the story of Joseph and his master's wife, there is a remarkable and well- known parallel in the Egyptian "Tale of the Two Brothers". The functions and dreams of the chief butler and chief baker are Egyptian in their minute details. In the seven cows which Pharaoh saw feeding in the meadow, we have a coimterpart of the seven cowsof Athor, pictured in the vignette of chapter cxlviii of the " Book of the Dead ". Joseph's care to shave and change his raiment before appearing in the pres- ence of Pharaoh, is in agreement with Egyptian cus- toms. His advice to gather corn during the seven years of plenty falls in with Egyptian institutions, since all important cities were supplied with granaries. Joseph's investiture, his change of name at his eleva- tion, can be easily illustrated by reference to the Egyp- tian monuments. The occurrence of famines of long duration, the successful efforts made to supply the corn to the people year after year while they lasted, find their parallels in recently discovered in- scriptions. The charge of being spies, made by Joseph against his brothers, was most natural in view of the precautions known to have been taken by the Egyp- tian authorities for the safety of their Eastern fron- tier. The subsequent history of Joseph, his divining cup, his giving to liis brothers changes of garments, the land of Ges.sen being set apart for his father and brethren, because the shepherd was an abomina- tion to the Egj'ptians, Joseph's embalming of his father, the funeral procession for Jacob's burial, etc., exhiliit in a striking manner the great accuracy of the Biblical account in its numerous and oftentimes pass- ing references to Egyptian habits and customs. Even the age of 110 years, at which Joseph died, appears to have been regarded in Egypt — as is shown by several papyri — as the most perfect age to be desired.

Joseph, a man of the tribe of Issachar, and the father of Igal who was one of the spies sent by Moses to traverse Chanaan and report on the country (Numb., xiii, S).

For Commentaries on Genesis and Works on Biblical History, see bibliography to Isaac. Works illustrative of Egyptian manners and customs; Ebers, Aegypten und die Biicher Mosea (Leipzig, 1S68); Le Page Renocf, The Tale of the Two Broth- ers in Records of the Past, 1st ser., vol. II: Wilkinson-Birch, The Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians (Boston, 1SS3) ; Wallis Bddge. The Dwellers on the Nile (London, 1893); Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt, tr. (New York, 1894); VioouR- oux, La Bible et les Decouvertes Modernes (Paris, 1896); Mas- PERo, Dawn of Civilization, tr, (London, 1896); InEM, Les Conies populaires de VEgypte Ancienne (Paris. 1905); Wiede- M-VNN, Popular Literature of Ancient Egypt, tr. (London. 1902); Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt (Chicago, 1906-1907); Duncan, The Exploration of Egypt and the Old Testament (New York, 1908).

Francis E. Gigot.

Joseph 11 (1741-90), German Emperor (1765-90), of the House of Hapsburg-Lorraine, son and successor of Maria Theresa and Francis I.

I. Develop.ment op Charactek. — Of his mother's sixteen children he was the most dtfiicuit to man- age, and her attempts to frighten him by threats of the spirit-world only laid the foundations of his religious scepticism. A soldier-tutor employed in vain the severity of a martinet; a Jesuit instructed him in religion, Latin, mathematics, and military science, but the pedantic nature of the training de- prived him of all disposition for religion and earnest studies; another tutor, who WTote fifteen large volumes for the prince's instruction in history, destroyed all his respect for the historical characters of the past. Flat- terers, and even the tutor himself, stimulated the extravagant imperiousness of the crown-prince, while Martini (professor of natural law) found in him an eager student of physiocracy — a doctrine which affected profoundly Joseph's mind, firing him with an enthusiasm for current views, the ' ' rights of man", and