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This article examines the dynamics of good and evil as represented in the Joseph story (Gen. 37-50). It examines the story’s plot, the larger conceptual framework of the narrative’s Pentateuchal setting, as well as the semantic indicators and associated attitudes/behaviors qualified as good ([ILLEGIBLE]) and/or evil ([ILLEGIBLE]). The main objectives of this article are: (1) to identify the main issues within the story’s concept of the dynamics of good and evil; (2) to promote a more thorough consideration of the place of Joseph and God in those dynamics; and (3) to generate hermeneutical inquiries about the dynamics of good and evil using the insights gained from this examination—inquiries that are more relevant to contemporary discussion (e.g. understanding human atrocities, forgiveness, and reconciliation).

Scholars continue to respond to Willis's foundational work of the 1960s, and to each other, using a variety of classical and new methodologies to treat questions of unity, coherence, theme, and other aspects of the book of Micah. Sampling works that use literary criticism, text criticism, form criticism, historical criticism, tradition criticism, redaction criticism, rhetorical criticism, feminist and womanist approaches, canonical and intertextual approaches, and inter-disciplinary approaches, as well as innovative combinations of these (both multi-critical and multi-disciplinary), this article follows the progress of methodological trends in Micah scholarship from the 1980s to the present. These trends have generated new questions regarding ideological concepts such as justice; class differences and power; and the book's use in the church.

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