Joseph spoiled son and manipulative women.docx

Although a number of Biblical stories may have emerged from Hebrew folk-tales, there is no reason to believe that all did. In a time of uncertainty, as polities developed, many may equally have come from the Transjordan, similar in many ways to Israel and Judah and interacting with both throughout the 9^th century. As the later stories of Hebrew kings has a religious variant many must be treated carefully. From folk-tales emanating from the general area, myths turned into history and historical events altered to express religious truth, here we have the extensive Hebrew literature. This essay will show that Hebrew society, in its literature, imitated and replicated Middle-Eastern societies, that for example prophets were a Middle-Eastern political institution connected to Royal dynasties and, as with YHWH, their chosen representative god. At times, Hebrew history and literature appears influenced by Greek literature, suggesting late composition. It is folly to hold that the stories identified here were written during the period in which they are set but that nevertheless oral traditions cannot be disputed-although this paper points out the oral traditions behind each composition need not be Hebrew or of hill-country origin.

This paper presents two stories, the first apparently a literary composition without any likely foundation in fact, purporting to come from a time in the 11^th century, the other has a clearer connection to historical events but which too has been subject to the biased telling common in much early and modern history.