In this illuminating study of early biblical interpretation, James Kugel examines a series of exegetical stories that elaborate on the Joseph narrative in Genesis. These stories--which appear in such diverse source as rabbinic midrash, Christian writing, liturgical poetry, and the Qur'an--often contain details or whole incidents not found in the Bible itself. In tracing the development and function of these tales, Kugel reveals a dynamic interpretive process: the living, changing significance of texts through generations of discussion, analysis, and application.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
[A] masterful literary study of ancient biblical exegesis...Kugel makes a compelling case for the existence in antiquity of a broad intercommunal communication regarding the meaning of biblical texts...While the formulation and modes of transmission of such a tradition remain a mystery, the rich literary evidence assembled here will give many historical scholars food for thought. (Martin S. Jaffe Religious Studies Review )
Review
Kugel's own wit and imagination reveal the inventive brilliance of those anonymous, forgotten readers [of the Bible], and our own reading will never be quite the same afterward. (Wayne A. Meeks, Yale University )
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More About the Author
James L. Kugel, Starr Professor of Hebrew at Harvard from 1982 to 2003, now lives in Jerusalem. A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and its interpretation, he is the author of The God of Old and The Great Poems of the Bible. His course on the Bible was regularly one of the two most popular at Harvard, enrolling more than nine hundred students.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great First Major Book on Joseph and Potiphar's Wife,
By B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: In Potiphar's House: The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts (Paperback)
In Potiphar's House, The Interpretive LIfe of Biblical Texts by James Kugel.
One wonders how one can find material for a whole book on a single chapter 39 from Genesis, comprised of only 23 verses. But Robert Alter has called this chapter the most elegantly balanced chapter in all of Genesis. While Kugel's book may be the first, it is not the only book dedicated to this story, as Shalom Goldman's 'The Wiles of Women, The Wiles of Men' addresses exactly the same story, covering much of the same ground, but with enough differences to make both books worth reading if, as I did, you happen to be writing a paper on this Genesis chapter. Goldman spends much of his space addressing influences to the story and parallels outside the realm of Jewish Midrash. Kugel limits himself to Jewish commentary, but covers it in more depth. In part II of his book, Kugel also addresses other Biblical themes which fall within his rubric of 'motifs'. His subjects there are the story of Lamech, Cain's great-great-great-grandson, who was blind, and who kills his ancestor; Psalm 137 ('By the rivers of Babylon...); Leviticus 19:17 'Thou shall not hate your brother...'; and 'Nine Theses' which is a summary of Kugel's working principles throughout his career and many publications on Biblical and midrashic techniques. This is the book you want to read after you have read his 'How to Read the Bible', and you want more. It is similar to the 'Ladder of Jacob', but I suspect the subject is more interesting to a wider general audience. And even if your interest stops after Joseph is landed in the pokey, the first half of the book is well worth the read, especially as a supplement to what you may find on this story in feminist exegesis. I suspect Kugel demonstrates that a male writer is capable of expressing the female point of view, and showing sympathy for it (even if I think Potiphar's wife is the clear culprit in the story).
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant,
By Henrikson "Thinks" (Israel) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: In Potiphar's House: The Interpretive Life of Biblical Texts (Paperback)
This is a brilliant piece of writing that opens the Bible as never before. It will make you appreciate a great literature even more
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