Endnote 11 – The Exodus from Egypt: Myth or Reality?

One verse relates that “Joseph was shepherding (with) his brothers among the sheep” (Genesis 37:2 [I]: roÆôeh õet õehaµw can mean either “he was shepherding his brothers” or “he was shepherding with his brothers.” The ambiguity is deliberate: he shepherds sheep, but, as a shepherd, is also destined to be a ruler; he is destined to shepherd his brothers: Donald B. Redford, A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50), Vetus Testamentum suppl. (Leiden: Brill, 1970), pp. 15–16.