I know some people think they really know a character from reading about him or her. I am pretty sure I would know Anne Shirley* or Jack Aubrey** or Dave Martyniuk*** if I met any one of them on the street. Their creators have really defined their characters through their writing. But I don't feel I know anyone from the Bible that well.
Okay, maybe Jesus. Maybe. But I'm not sure, because the one I think I read of is rarely the one I hear about in theology or in Church. So maybe not.
But Joseph. Joseph ben Israel is another thing. His personality really comes through in the chapters of Genesis.
This last one is a great example. The brothers come back to Egypt bringing Benjamin with them. Joe has them brought to his house by his steward and you can feel their trepidation. They are scared. But Joseph comes in and asks, "Are you well? Is your father well? Is he still alive?" You can feel Joe's excitement. And then he sees his little brother Benjamin, "his mother's son". Joseph is so overcome that he must leave the room. Literally, Joseph hastens away because his compassion for his brother makes him burn (excites him), and he wants to weep. So he goes to a room and weeps there. And then HE WASHES HIS FACE!!
I loved that! Such a real thing to do - something so human and vulnerable - not wanting the brothers to know he was crying. Washing his face and then coming back in the room.
I loved Joseph then.
* in Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
** in Master and Commander (and a score of other novels) by Patrick O'Brian
*** in The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay
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