Joseph is now the ruler of Egypt. The famine he predicted has come to pass. It extends beyond Egypt to the land of Canaan. Seeking to buy food, Joseph’s brothers make the journey to Egypt. They arrive at the palace of the man in charge of grain distribution:

Now Joseph was governor of the land [Egypt]; it was he who dispensed food to all its people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him, their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers as soon as he saw them, but he acted like a stranger and spoke harshly to them . . . Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (Gen. 42:6-8)

Now Joseph was governor of the land [Egypt]; it was he who dispensed food to all its people. When Joseph’s brothers arrived, they bowed down to him, their faces to the ground. Joseph recognized his brothers as soon as he saw them, but he acted like a stranger and spoke harshly to them . . . Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. (Gen. 42:6-8)

We owe to Robert Alter the idea of a “type-scene,” a drama enacted several times with variations, and these are particularly in evidence in the book of Bereishit. There is no universal rule as to how to decode the significance of a type-scene. One example is boy-meets-girl-at-well, an encounter that takes place three times, between Abraham’s servant and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel, and Moses and the daughters of Jethro. Here, the setting is probably not significant (wells are where strangers met in those days, like the water-dispenser in an office). What we must attend to in these three episodes is their variations: Rebecca’s activism, Jacob’s show of strength, Moses’s passion for justice. How people act toward strangers at a well is, in other words, a test of their character. In some cases, however, a type-scene seems to indicate a recurring theme. That is the case here. If we are to understand what is at stake in the meeting between Joseph and his brothers, we have to set it alongside three other episodes, all of which occur in Bereishit.

The first takes place in Isaac’s tent. The patriarch is old and blind. He tells his elder son to go out into the field, trap an animal, and prepare a meal so that he can bless him. Surprisingly soon, Isaac hears someone enter. “Who are you?” he asks. “I am Esau, your elder son,” the voice........

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