In finding someone who epitomizes a patriarch like Abraham, Moses, and David; I chose a person who people do consider him one and not one. He is a patriarch's son and became one of the promising leaders of Egypt, building their economic system. Realizing everything he has done to build Egypt into a wealthy society, I chose Joseph as my patriarch and comparing it to the past and current leaders of Israel, the Prime Minster. As we discussed in class about the lineage of the Israelites in their quest to teach their young children about the econmic system and how to provide for family life is much sustained in the their culture.
The stories concerning Joseph differ in many ways from the stories of the patriarchs. First of all, they have about them certain of the characteristics of wisdom stories. The theme of the stories is that goodness is always rewarded and evil is always punished, which is a major theme of the Book of Proverbs, also the theme of the oppressed, righteous man who overcomes all obstacles and comes out on top, particularly because he possesses the wisdom to interpret dreams(Genesis 40-41). Both leaders start at the bottom of the societal level and eventually worked their way up to one of the prominent leaders for their people.
The second difference in these stories is in how God communicates with Joseph. There are no divine messengers "no theophanies (appearance of deity of a person). Instead, God guides Joseph through the events and circumstances of life. (Genesis 44-45) God guide the Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to do the right thing for the people and bring peace in to the city. The people see the Prime Minister as one of God's guides to cease all violent actions and live in harmony like their ancestors. .
In the former Prime Minister's Ehud Barak last name; Barak was the Deborah's general to rally the people to fight against the enemy, but he refused to go unless she went with him.
