%0 Journal Article
%T The literary roles of Reuben and Judah in Genesis narratives: A ¡®reflection complex¡¯
%A Judah Kraut
%J Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
%@ 1476-6728
%D 2018
%R 10.1177/0309089217711029
%X Scholars have long perceived a relationship among Genesis narratives involving Reuben and Judah. Most treatments, historical in orientation, focus on the authorial and editorial processes that produced two episodes in which ¡®competing¡¯ Reuben and Judah narratives are preserved: the sale of Joseph (Gen. 37) and the guardianship of Benjamin (Gen. 42-3). Even literary studies of the Reuben and Judah characters typically address only some of the relevant narratives and reach limited conclusions about the characters¡¯ import. This study, in contrast, contends that all of the Reuben and Judah narrative passages in Genesis¡ªwhatever the processes leading to their inclusion¡ªcomprise a latent complex with a literary purpose. Reuben and Judah compel Jacob to reconsider behaviors from his own life, reminding their father¡ªrespectively¡ªof his failings and his nobler aspects. I dub this dynamic a ¡®reflection complex¡¯, consisting of multifarious intertextual links, including multiple instances of the ¡®reflection stories¡¯ described by Yair Zakovitch
%K Bilhah
%K Genesis 38
%K intertextuality
%K Judah
%K Mandrakes
%K rape of Dinah
%K reflection stories
%K Reuben
%K Tamar
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0309089217711029