Whether and How

Abstract

Chapter 5 sets Joseph and Aseneth’s intervention in ancient debates about gentile inclusion alongside that of Jubilees and that of the apostle Paul—both of whom also play with the epithet “living God” as they wrestle with questions of gentile access to Israel and Israel’s God. Like Joseph and Aseneth, Jubilees depicts Israel’s “living God” as the creator God, but whereas Joseph and Aseneth exploits the theme of universal creator to universalize (potential) inclusion, Jubilees employs creation imagery to underscore the exclusivity of the relationship between God and (gentile-free) Israel. By contrast, Paul employs the epithet as scriptural warrant for gentile inclusion. Joseph and Aseneth and Paul share a discursive project: to construct a “myth of origins” for gentile inclusion. A comparison of the two myths proves productive for articulating the radical definition of insider identity that Joseph and Aseneth espouses.