Joseph brings Good News: “Gospel” in the Book of Genesis

Last updated on: May 2, 2016 at 12:12 pm by Guest Contributor

Joseph brings Good News: “Gospel” in the Book of Genesis 2016-05-02T12:12:53-05:00 Guest Contributor

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This is a guest post by Matthew Distefano. You can read more of Matthew’s work at his website All Set Free and his book All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus Christ and Why That is Really Good News.

Gospel means “good news.” That is what we Christians claim the coming, dying, and rising of Jesus Christ is. But frankly, some people’s version of this “good news” doesn’t sound so good. It sometimes sounds more like Greek mythology. And so, in this piece, I am going to compare and contrast a known Greek myth (that of King Oedipus) with a paralleled biblical story (that of Joseph). What we will discover should give us the ability to narrow in on what “good news” (Gospel) should actually come to be thought of. And dare I say, it better not be the sort of good news found in myth.

Now, the story of Joseph and his brothers indeed reads as a mythology. And because of this, many people no doubt discredit it (the same is said about the Gospel). In fact, it parallels the myth of King Oedipus nearly perfectly.

Here is a summary of that Greek myth.

In the tale of Oedipus, a young boy is expelled by his royal family due to an oracle that prophesies he will kill his father (the king of Thebes) and marry his mother (the queen). After Oedipus narrowly escapes with his life, he is then cared for by another king and queen, even being raised as if he was their son. At some point though, he learns of the oracle and, in thinking that his “adoptive” parents are his real parents, flees to Thebes in order to save everyone from that sort of debacle.

During Oedipus’ journey, he quarrels with a stranger and ends up killing him. Unbeknownst to Oedipus, this stranger is really his father, and thus, indeed the king of Thebes. When Oedipus learns that the king is deceased and that a Sphinx holds the city captive, he springs into action, solving the riddle and thus freeing Thebes from the Sphinx’s grasp. As a reward, Oedipus receives—you guessed it!—the throne, thus fulfilling the prophecy. When Oedipus later learns of this fulfillment, it is said that Apollo sends a great plague on Thebes so that the people would expel their king from the city. When they do, the plague is lifted and peace returns.

Now, when we get to the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, we will notice striking similarities. I’ll concede that. But we will also notice striking dissimilarities as well! And that will be the crucial thing to pay attention to.

Like the Oedipus myth, the story of Joseph starts out with a prophecy. In this tale though, the visions come in the form of Joseph’s dreams, which all point to the fact that one day all of his brothers would bow down and serve Joseph. This infuriates the brothers so they plot to kill him (just like Oedipus’ parents did when they learned of the oracle). But, like Oedipus, Joseph narrowly escapes.

He is then sold into slavery, deceived, and imprisoned under false pretenses. But, because he has the gift of interpreting dreams, Joseph quickly garners the attention and even affection of the Pharaoh, until one day, Joseph is made Vizier, that is, the Pharaoh’s right hand man. At this point, I will note how both tales—that of Oedipus and also this one—attribute the main character’s ability to solve/interpret riddles as what leads to their rise in status. For Oedipus, he is made king of Thebes because he solved the riddle of the Sphinx. For Joseph, he becomes Vizier because of his ability to solve the riddle of the Pharaoh’s dreams (which prophesied how the land would experience seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine).

Now, during the time of the famine, Joseph’s brothers travel to Egypt to purchase much needed grain. Long story short: after Joseph deceives the brothers with was what seemed like an ill-thought-out plan, he ends the charades and reveals his identity. But he does not do so with anger or malice in his heart, but instead, with mercy. Finally, after their father, Jacob, passes away, the story ends with Joseph forgiving his brothers (who feared retribution) for their original treachery, which then causes all of them to fall at Joseph’s feet. Thus, the prophecy that they would serve him was fulfilled.

Indeed, what the Joseph story teaches is the opposite of myth! Remember, the city of Thebes finds deliverance from the curse after they expel a guilty Oedipus. The king did the crime, and so he had to be sent away. But the Joseph story states the opposite. Joseph is not guilty of anything, the brothers are. In spite of that though, the victim offers forgiveness. This is what then brings reconciliation.

If we then think about how the letter to the Colossians talks about the reconciliation (of all things) Jesus brings, we will notice the same parallel. In Colossians 1:20, it is said that peace is made through the blood of his cross, where Jesus was emphatic about this: “Father forgive them; for they know not what they are doing” (Luke 23:43). And so, if God will one day have everyone bow to him, as Paul says he will, I believe it will be in the same way all of Joseph’s brothers bowed to Joseph. If not, then I fear the Gospel shares more similarities with mythology than it does the story of Joseph. What I mean to say is that, mythology states peace and reconciliation at the expense of others (as in Oedipus’ expulsion from Thebes), while good news brings peace and reconciliation through the forgiveness of others (as in Joseph’s forgiveness of his treacherous brothers). So I hope the Gospel is the good news that the story of Joseph introduces us to. And I believe that it is.

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