Some intertexual dimensions of t

The eschatological כְּתנֶת פַּסִּים k^etonet passīm, the "coat of many colours" (AV= KJV] : some intertexual dimensions of the motif of the garment of the biblical-Qur'ānic Jospeh and its Bābī-Bahā'ī interpretations

Stephen Lambden 1987.

Under Revision and completion. 2009-10.

The Hebrew phrase כְּתנֶת פַּסִּים k^etonet passīm ^{^[1]} occurs in Genesis 37:3. As will be seen this Hebrew phrase has been translated in a variety of ways. The Authorized (King James Version, 1611) rendering "coat of many colours" perhaps being the best known:

"[3] Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a coat of many colours."

It is widely admitted by competent Hebraists among modern Biblical scholars that the exact sense of the Hebrew phrase k^etonet passīm is unknown or uncertain. ^{^[2]} It might be indicative of some kind of ornamented cloak or tunic. The Hebrew certainly indicates ,

".. some kind of ostentatious garment such as would not normally be worn by a working man. The only other place in the old Testament where the phrase occurs is in 2 Sam. I3: 18‑19 where it is `the usual dress of unmarried princesses'." (Davidson, CBC:218).

Exactly the same phrase then, occurs in the story of Absalom and his sister (children of King David) Tamar (2 Sam. 13:18-19); "And she [Tamar] had a garment of divers colours upon her; for with such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparalled. And Tamar put ashes on her head and rent the garment of divers colous that was on her.." (AV = KJV).

Speiser who wrote the Anchor Bible Commentary on Genesis in 1962 translated the Hebrew k^etonet passīm, "an ornamented tunic." wrote the following philologically learned note:

"The traditional "coat of many colors," and the variant "coat with sleeves" are sheer guesses from the context; nor is there anything remarkable about either colors or sleeves. The phrase, Heb. k^etonet passīm, occurs aside from this section (also vss. 23, 32) only in II Sam xiii 18f., where it describes a garment worn by daughters of kings. Cuneiform inventories may shed light on the garment in question. Among various types of clothing listed in the texts, there is one called kit_ (or kutinn_) pišannu (cf. JNES 8 [1949], 177). The important thing there, besides the close external correspondence with the Heb. phrase, is that the article so described was a ceremonial robe which could be draped about statues of goddesses, and had various gold ornaments sewed onto it. Some of these ornaments would occasionally come undone and need to be sent to the proper craftsman for repairs, hence the notation in the inventories. If the comparison is valid ─ and there are several things in its favor ─ the second element in the Heb. phrase, i.e.,passīm would be an adaptation of Akk. pišannu, a technical term denoting appliqué ornaments on costly vests and bodices." (Speiser, Genesis, 289-290).

In the Word Bible Commentary on Genesis 37:3 Gordon J Wenham commenbts as follows on the above interpretation of Speiser,

“Special tunic.” On “tunic,” cf. Comment on [Genesis] 3:21. What was “special” about this tunic is uncertain. Apart from this chapter, the term occurs only in 2 Sam 13:18–19 as the robe of a princess. “Many-colored” goes back to the LXX [Greek trans.] and Vulgate translation. Another possibility based on the cognate Aramaic term פס “palm of hand or foot” is that it was a long garment reaching to the ankles or the wrists, i.e., with sleeves. Speiser compares the Akkadian term kitū pišannu, a ceremonial robe with gold ornamentation. But whatever the tunic looked like, it marked Jacob’s special affection for Joseph and served as a perpetual reminder to his brothers." (p.351).

As noted above it should be noted here that the Authorized, King James' (1611) traditional version "coat of many colours" -- actually reflects the ancient Greek, Septuagint (LXX) rendering = kitona poikilon ("coat of many colours"). Gerhard Von Rad in his (OTL) Genesis, A Commentary (SCM., 3rd rev. ed, 1972) wrote,

"The garment given to Joseph by his father was a dress coat, i.e., not the clocklike wrap that the man on the street wore. It was distinguished from the usual ones by its length, and the length of its sleeves; it was a luxury which only those who did not have to work could think of having (Gu.). The garment is once again mentioned, significantly, as the garb of royal princesses (II Sam. I3. I8 f.). The LXX and its dependent Vulgate have interpreted the Hebrew word, whose meaning has not yet been satisfactorily explained, in the sense of "variegated," and the translation in the King James Version derives from that. Thus the picture of the spoiled and preferred figure Joseph is painted with very few strokes; he is the foil for the brothers who are coritriving evil." (p.351 on Gen 37:3-4).

Lowenthal, The Joseph Narrative in Genesis, (New York:Ktav, 1973), pp.16-17

"3b And he had made for him ketonet passim ─ a tunic of distinction. The meaning of this term was already lost at the time when II Sam. 13: 18ff. was written, for to explain it, its author adds, "With such robes were the king's daughters that were virgins apparelled."

The writer of the following citation does not list its source, nor does he recall it.fn8

"Reproductions of 4000 years old paintings . . . show that the garb of the Canaanite aristocrats ... contemporaries of Jacob, was an ankle‑length, chemise‑shaped gown with colored, embroidered stitches down the side and middle. Sometimes, sashes with colored, diagonal stripes draped the thighs.

"With this ornamented tunic Israel marked Joseph for the chieftainship of the firstborn after his death.!' Joseph's vanity may have caused Jacob to make the mistake of bestowing such a tunic upon him at so early an age. Or did Providence "blind" his judgment?

Since such a tunic impedes physical work, Joseph seems now to have been relieved from pasturing the sheep and, as legend has it, to have turned exclusively to study with his elders." (pp.16-17)

Some ancient Jewish and Christian translations of k^etonet passīm (Gen 37:3bβ)

Samaritan Pentateuch

= "many coloured"

Peshitta [Syriac]

= "woth long sleeves"

Aramaic Targumim

Onkelos = "a tunic of stripes" (kituna..) or `reaching to the hands and ankles'

Targum Ps. Jon. = "an embroidered garment" (..pargod)

Ancient Greek and Latin versions

Aquila + Vulgte = "of many threads"

Vulgate trans. 1949: "and he dressed him in a coat that was all embroidery"

Some Arabic and Persian translations of k^etonet passīm (Gen 37:3bβ)

Watts 1833> Rome 1671 Sergius Rissus

".so he fashioned for him a ornamented [variagated, patched?] coat"

= ADD ARABIC (.,s)ana`a lahu qamīs ^an muṣawwar ^an) cf. add (.,S)-W.R

Van Dyck "so he fashioned for him a multi-coloured coat"

= fa-EQ \O(.,s)ana`a lahu qam_EQ \O(.,s) ^an mulawwan ^an) cf. II L-W.N

Select Modern translations of the Hebrew k^etonet passīm (Gen 37:3bβ)

Authorized [King James] Version, (1611) "a coat of many colours";

^{^[1]} The word k^etonet basically signifies some kind of outer garment (see Gen 3:21; Exod. 28:4 etc). The Hebrew passīm occurs only in the aforementioned passages.

^{^[2]} So for example, Davidson NEB commentary Gen. ADD "The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain" though the phrase k^etonet passīm is basically indicative of some kind of ornamented cloak.

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The garment of Joseph in the Qur'ān and select Islamic literatures.