trict of Goshen assigned to them. It is evident that in J the
migration was resolved on without the invitation, or perhaps
the knowledge, of the king.—32. for they were cattle-breeders]
a more comprehensive category than shepherds. Gu. thinks
that the representation made to Pharaoh cannot have been
strictly true, or Joseph would not have made such a point
of it;[1] and we must at least suppose that he advises them
to emphasise that side of their life which was most likely to
gain the end in view. Unfortunately, while he bids them
say they are cattle-breeders, they actually describe themselves
as shepherds (473), and yet Pharaoh would make them
cattle-overseers (476b). Some confusion of the two terms
may be suspected, but as the text stands, nothing can be
made of the distinction.—34. that ye may dwell, etc.] What
motive in the mind of the king is appealed to is not quite
clear. If the last clause—for every shepherd, etc.—be
genuine, it was the Egyptian abhorrence of the class to
which they belonged. But such a feeling would be more
likely to exclude them from Egypt altogether than to procure
their admission to the best pasture-land in the country,
where Pharaoh's herds were kept (476b). Moreover, while
there is evidence that swine-herds (Her. ii. 47) and cow-*herds
(Erman, LAE, 439 f.) were looked down on by the
Egyptians, the statement that shepherds were held in
special abhorrence has not been confirmed; and the clause
(34b(
Greek characters)) is probably an interpolation suggested by 4332. See,
further, on 473ff..—XLVII. 1-5a, 6b (J). Pharaoh grants the
request.—1. and behold . . . Goshen] It is evident that in
this narrative Joseph relies on the fait accompli to procure
a favourable response from Pharaoh. The idea that Pharaoh
decided such matters in person may be naïve (Gu.); it is
certainly a curious restriction of the absolute authority elsewhere
assigned to Joseph.—2. he had taken five, etc.] On the
32. (Hebrew characters)] regarded as a gloss by Di. KS. Ho. Gu. al.—34. (Hebrew characters)] G
(Greek characters).—(Hebrew characters)] [E] (VSTO) (Hebrew characters).—2. (Hebrew characters)] = 'from the totality of,' as
- ↑ So Eerdmans (Vorgeschichte Israels, 42; Exp., Aug. 1908, p. 124 f.), who draws the conclusion that, as the Israelites here represent themselves as nomads, they cannot have really been so!
