Ancient Jews Connected Joseph to the Scapegoat

There's no Scarlet thread in the story of Joseph. So why do later Jewish authors connect Joseph to the Day of Atonement? What were they seeing that we might be missing? There’s a scarlet thread used in the red heifer ritual, a scarlet thread tied around the wrist at the birth of Tamar’s twins, Rahab ties a scarlet cord in her window, and ancient Jews tied a scarlet thread onto the scapegoat on day of Atonement What does the scarlet thread mean? And how does it connect to Joseph? Well, once you see it, you won’t believe you never noticed this before. like Joseph’s coat covered in goat blood. He’s cast down into a pit. And he’s sent away to a foreign land. More than that, Joseph is identified as both the scapegoat and the high priest, and this adds a whole new layer to how we might understand Jesus atonement Beginning in Leviticus 14 and the ritual of the 2 birds, and the scapegoat of Day of Atonement in Leviticus 16, we’ll explore what theme might connect all the red threads together: Is it… Symbolic Colour Sign of splendour Ritual boundary marker Ritual context Joseph connects the red thread to Jesus. in a surprising way Bibliography: Ayali-Darshan, Dr. Noga https://www.thetorah.com/article/scapegoat-the-origins-of-the-crimson-thread Collins, Billie Jean The Hittites and Their World Douglas, Mary Jacob’s Tears: The Priestly Work of Reconciliation Griffel, Carey For Us, Not Instead of Us: The Suffering Messiah - Episode 178 https://youtu.be/VFh_125dBw4?si=d5XOZtBGuGCUXvt2 Lewis, Caleb Through the Waters: A Biblical Theology of the Book of Genesis Liebermann, Dr. Rosanne https://www.thetorah.com/article/the-protective-red-thread Morris, Henry Biblical Basis for Modern Science Noegel, Scott B. Scarlet and Harlots: Seeing Red in the Hebrew Bible Orlov, Andrei A. Divine Scapegoats: Demonic Mimesis in Early Jewish Mysticism (see esp. “The Curses of Azazel”) https://www.marquette.edu/maqom/divine123.pdf Orlov, Andrei A. The Atoning Dyad: The Two Goats of Yom Kippur in the Apocalypse of Abraham #joseph #genesis #biblestories #scapegoat #atonement #jesus #bible