Genesis 45 Analytical Essay

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Structure The literary structure of the Joseph account in Genesis presents itself as sequential. This is evident in the smooth progression of events from the moment Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in verse 4 towards the conclusion of this narrative, where the brothers return to Jacob to tell break the news that Joseph, his beloved son, had invited them to settle in the land of Goshen close to him. The sequential structure of the narrative affords further subdivision of Genesis 45 into four distinct sections: Joseph reveals himself to his brothers (verses 1-4), Joseph forgives his brothers (verses 5-15), Pharaoh commands Joseph (verses 16-20), Pharaoh and Joseph send provisions with the brothers (verses 16-24) and Jacob discovers that …show more content…

The emphasis on the emotional language used within this biblical passage helps us correlate the theme of salvation to Jesus. In spite of his love often being one-sided - him to us - Jesus still shares it with us unconditionally. In Genesis 45 the only person who shows any emotion is Joseph, who on several occasions weeps with joy when faced with the possibility of reuniting with his family. We too should experience this emotion as we experience forgiveness, reconciliation and salvation through the sacrament of confession. Jesus also reveals his one-sided love for us by enduring a humiliating death on the cross. Scholars have studied this observation to question the authenticity of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers (Genesis 45). The fact that he invites his family to immigrate to Egypt so that he could assume responsibility for their welfare validates the authenticity of his forgiveness. The observation that these scholars are highlighting is the fact that Joseph’s brothers did not rid themselves of their guilt until Joseph reassured of his forgiveness following Jacob’s death. Correlating this again to the sacrament of confession emphasizes the importance of trusting that the ultimate sacrifice of our crucified Lord secures our unconditional forgiveness by the Father, and our reconciliation with Him. Further research on this particular biblical passage is its prevalence of numeration within this passage (e.g., v

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