''Joseph and the Way of Forgiveness: A Biblical Tale Retold'' is a 2019 novel by Stephen Mitchell, retelling the story of

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning") ...

. Written in the style of a

midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

, the novel expands on the Genesis narrative as it follows Joseph from adolescence to maturity, focusing on his thoughts and deep belief in

Yahweh Yahweh *''Yahwe'', was the national god of ancient Israel and Judah. The origins of his worship reach at least to the early Iron Age, and likely to the Late Bronze Age if not somewhat earlier, and in the oldest biblical literature he posse ...

Plot

Joseph is a handsome and intelligent youth, much more so than his shepherd brothers. Joseph loves his brothers but feels that he is better than them. Their father,

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

, loves Joseph the most because he is the son of

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

, Jacob's greatest love. After Rachel died, Jacob kept Joseph close to remind him of his lost love. Joseph's brothers know that Jacob preferred Joseph over them and they hated the dreams Joseph would tell. The brothers conspire to the enslavement and eventual imprisonment of Joseph in a pit. In the pit, Joseph ponders why his brothers would do something so brutal to him. After going through many emotions, Joseph sees himself from his brothers’ point of view and understands their motivation. After becoming a wise and important leader in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, the brothers and Joseph meet once again and Joseph forgives them for all they've done. In an epilogue, Joseph's spends his last day thinking upon his life and identity, coming to the end of his life with no regrets.

Reception

The novel received positive reception and appreciation from

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and

gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

readership. Sidra DeKoven Ezrahi from '' Tikkun'' gave the book a positive review, noting the

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

-like meditative moments integrated in the narrative, Mitchell's depiction of Joseph's transformation from a youth of folly to a mature powerful leader and the creative use of

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

amidst the English prose. Bob Bahr of the ''

Atlanta Jewish Times Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

'' commended Mitchell for "reanimat ngthis ancient character" and found the message of forgiveness inspiring.

References

{{Reflist Cultural depictions of Joseph (Genesis) Children of Jacob Novels based on the Bible Novels set in ancient Egypt Novels about siblings