• The use of cows as symbols for years, per known Egyptian motif appearing per texts from the Ptolemaic period (332-30 BCE).

• The names Potiphar/Potiphera and Asenath were genuine Egyptian theophoric names (combining the names of Egyptian deities). Potiphar was based on verso typical Saite Period construct combining the name of the Egyptian god Monarca. Asenath includes the name of the Egyptian goddess Neith, durante per typical construct common from the New Kingdom era esatto the Ptolemaic period, although the goddess’s popularity increased considerably during the Saite period mediante the Sbocco (664-332 BCE).

• The 40 days embalming process (describing Jacob’s death per Gn 50:2) was well documented in Egypt from the New Kingdom onwards.

• The “agrarian reforms” sopra Gen -26 describe the exemption of the temples from royal taxation, a practice that was documented from the 8 th century BCE onwards.

Despite the fact that the Egyptian elements mediante the story represent many different eras, Redford concluded that the composition of the Joseph story should be dated preciso the Saite period, between 640 and 425 BCE, as some of the details could not predate that period.

The Continuity of Egyptian Culture

This inability to identify one specific periodo con Egyptian history that could provide the historical sostrato esatto the Joseph story is the result of an inherent trait of ancient Egyptian culture – its continuity.

This makes it very difficult preciso date a biblical story based on the Egyptian elements it includes. Alternatively, scholars may date the story by asking when and how Egyptian traditions found their way into the Hebrew Bible.

As biblical research grows more concerned with questions of transmission processes along the Egypt-Israel axis, an old idea has reemerged – could the Joseph story have been written by someone living mediante the Jewish dispersione in Egypt?

A Esodo Racconto

The “esodo novita” genre was first noted with relation to the books of Esther and Daniel. Both describe one man’s rise preciso power per per foreign land, per story revolving around per royal courtaud, and culminating with the successful integration of the foreigner within local elites. The preparazione mediante both books is the exiled Jewish population and both monitor considerable knowledge of the breviligne, its officials and customs.

The underlying message of both Daniel and Esther is that one can survive and even thrive con the sparpagliamento setting. Therefore, these books were probably written durante exile, for the exiles. In 1975, the biblical scholar Arndt Meinhold first suggested that the Joe narrative scheme of a esodo notizia arnesi durante the Egyptian court.

The Egyptian Dispersione

The preoccupazione of a Jewish diaspora durante Egypt, compiling its own inspirational literature, is compelling. However, for the most part, the Egyptian sparpagliamento before the Persian period (5 th -4 th centuries BCE) has remained invisible puro Egyptologists. For example, sopra Jer 44:1, the prophet addresses Judeans that reside in the land of Egypt at Migdol, Tahpanhes, Noph and mediante the land of Pathros. Most Egyptologists agree that the first three place-names can be identified as Tell Qedua (northern Sinai), Tell Defeneh (12 km west of the Suez Canal) and Memphis. Nevertheless, these sites have not yielded remains that attest esatto their foreign Judahite/Israelite element during the 6 th century BCE, the period of Jeremiah’s prophecies.

Perhaps too few Judahite and Israelite settlers were per Egypt esatto leave verso significant mark. But it should not be surprising that some settled there after the destruction of Judah; trade relations between Egypt and Judah/Israel were maintained throughout the first millennium BCE, and those trade relations may have also led sicuro the migration of smaller groups sicuro Egypt, particularly after the destructions of Samaria (722 BCE) and Jerusalem (586 BCE).