The Joseph Story
Narrative, Theology, & the Christian Hope
by Patrick Henry Reardon
The following literary and theological reflections on the Old Testament story of Joseph have no other purpose than Christian edification. Besides studying the narrative as a normal part of lectio divina over the years, I have preached on certain aspects of it occasionally during more than three decades in the pulpit. I have also lectured on the text numerous times, both in parish ministry and as an Old Testament professor in college and seminary, and have researched the many technical questions connected with that text in preparation for those lectures. In these lines I intend simply to share my own reading of that section of Genesis with a wider audience of Christians. Although this reading follows sympathies that are very personal, I hope that they are not merely idiosyncratic and that others may find them helpful.1 Perhaps one will best think of the following lines as a sort of meditation.
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Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
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