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Divestiture, Deception, and Demotion: The Garment Motif in Genesis 37–39

Religious Studies, College of Charleston, 66 George Street, Charleston, SC 29424, USA

In a previous issue of JSOT, Victor Matthews treats the garment motif in the Joseph story, but does not include the Judah/Tamar story (Gen. 38) in his analysis. I argue that this chapter is more concerned with garments or personal objects than any in the Joseph narrative, and therefore deserves examination alongside chs. 37 and 39. In all three chapters, garments play a pivotal role in plot development as markers of status and authority by which identities are revealed or concealed. The motif is manifest in a variety of ways: deception through loss or removal of garments, deception through forced recognition, and authority signified via possession of garments or personal items. The Judah/Tamar episode in ch. 38 demonstrably shapes in various ways the reader’s understanding of garment-related events in these chapters.

Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 26, No. 4, 47-62 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/030908920202600403


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