Messiah ben Joseph
David C. Mitchell's stunning monograph
“There is in rabbinic literature,” writes David C. Mitchell in the first paragraph of his Messiah ben Joseph, “a figure called Messiah ben Joseph.” His story might sound familiar: He “comes from Galilee to die, pierced by ruthless foes, at the gate of Jerusalem. Upon his death, Israel are scattered amidst the nations. But his death . . . confounds Satan, atones for sin, and abolishes death itself. And then he is raised to life again” (1). Vaguely familiar, I trust.
A Messianic Joseph is no figment of the rabbinic imagination, but deeply rooted in Scripture, from Genesis to the Gospels. In the penultimate chapter of Genesis, Jacob promises Judah a scepter, but the blessing on Joseph is far more elaborate than that of Judah. Jacob acknowledges the “slings and arrows” Joseph endured at the hands of his brothers and in Egypt (“they hated him, the bowman”), then promises a “Shepherd Rock” will come from Joseph who will wear a crown on the “head of the nazir of his brothers” (Gen 49:26). As Mitchell shows, the promise is even more astonishing than it appears, since the Shepherd-Rock will emerge from “the Might of Jacob,” that is, from God Himself – will emerge, Mitchell insists, highlighting the future promise of this King. Ramban is right: This Rock from Joseph is the same rejected Rock spoken of in Psalm 118, the rejected Rock that becomes chief cornerstone.
Jacob’s blessing on Joseph describe him as “firstborn,” with the double inheritance of the firstborn (Ephraim and Manasseh), and also as nazir, the one-set-apart, the crown of his brothers. Jeremiah later takes up Joseph’s claim to primacy, identifying Ephraim as Yahweh’s “firstborn son, my darling lad” (Jer 31:9, 20). Jacob also promises Joseph will be a fruitful shoot by a spring, “fruitful” (porat) punning on the name of Joseph’s son, Ephraim, who has already been told that “his seed will fill the nations” (Gen 48:19).
Moses picks up the theme (Deut 33), giving Joseph more air time than any tribe besides Levi.