Mann's presentation of the
ancient Orient and the
origins of Judaism is influenced by
Alfred Jeremias' 1904
Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients, emphasizing
Babylonian influence in the editing of Genesis, and by the work of
Dmitry Merezhkovsky. during the
Amarna Period, showing the great powers of the period: Egypt (green),
Hatti (yellow), the
Kassite kingdom of Babylon (purple), Assyria (grey), and Mittani (red). Lighter areas show direct control, darker areas represent spheres of influence. The extent of the Achaean/Mycenaean civilization is shown in orange. and his family adoring
Aten. Mann sets the story in the 14th century BC and makes
Akhenaten the pharaoh who appoints Joseph his vice-regent. Joseph is aged 28 at the ascension of Akhenaten, which would mean he was born about 1380 BC in standard
Egyptian chronology, and Jacob in the mid-1420s BC. Other contemporary rulers mentioned include
Tushratta and
Suppiluliuma. A dominant topic of the novel is Mann's exploration of the status of
mythology and his presentation of the
Late Bronze Age mindset with regard to mythical truths and the emergence of
monotheism. Events of the story of Genesis are frequently associated and identified with other mythic topics. Central is the notion of
underworld and the mythical
descent to the underworld. Jacob's sojourn in Mesopotamia (hiding from the wrath of
Esau) is paralleled with Joseph's life in Egypt (exiled by the jealousy of his brothers), and on a smaller scale his captivity in the well; they are further identified with the "hellraid" of
Inanna-
Ishtar-
Demeter, the Mesopotamian
Tammuz myth, the Jewish
Babylonian captivity as well as the
Harrowing of Hell of
Jesus Christ.
Abraham is repeatedly presented as the man who "discovered God" (a
Hanif, or discoverer of monotheism). Jacob as Abraham's heir is charged with further elaborating this discovery. Joseph is surprised to find Akhenaten on the same path (although Akhenaten is not the "right person" for the path), and Joseph's success with the pharaoh is largely due to the latter's sympathy for "Abrahamic" theology. Such a connection of
(proto-)Judaism and
Atenism had been suggested before Mann, most notably by
Sigmund Freud in his
Moses and Monotheism, which had appeared in 1939, just before Mann began work on the tetralogy's fourth part—although in the last installment of Mann's work, Akhenaten is postulated as the
Pharaoh of the Exodus contemporary of
Moses, while Mann in his novella "Das Gesetz" (1944) casts
Ramesses II in that role. As Joseph is saved from the well and sold to Egypt, he adopts a new name,
Osarseph, replacing the
Yo- element with a reference to
Osiris to indicate that he is now in the underworld. This change of name to account for changing circumstances encourages Amenhotep to change his own name to Akhenaten. The tetralogy closes with a detailed account of Jacob's famous
Blessing of his sons and their tribes, his death and the funeral. The characters of the individual brothers are determined by epithets taken from the text of the Blessing of Jacob throughout the details; thus Reuben is "turbulent as the waters" (and associated with
Aquarius by Jacob). Simeon and Levi are known as the "twins" (and associated with
Gemini), even though they are a year apart, and portrayed as violent bullies. Juda is a
lion (
Leo), and inherits Abraham's blessing since Jacob disrobes his elder brothers of their birthright. Zebulun shows predilection for Phoenicians and seafaring. Jacob calls "bony" Issachar a donkey to evoke
Asellus,
γ and
δ of
Cancer. Dan is sharp-witted and "suited as a judge" (
Libra). Asher is fond of dainties. Joseph is blessed by Jacob in his dual aspect of male (
Dumuzi, god of seed and harvest), with reference to
Taurus, and female (since for Jacob, his beloved Rachel lives on in Joseph, and in his affinity with the nourishing Earth), with reference to
Virgo. As Jacob comes to Benjamin, his strength is almost gone, and with his last breath he rather incoherently compares his youngest son with a wolf, partly because of
Lupus in
Scorpio. Image:Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 062.jpg|'' Jacob blessing Joseph's second son first.
Rembrandt, 1656'' Image:Friedrich_Overbeck_003.jpg|
F. Overbeck, 1816/17: Joseph is sold by his brothers. Image:Philipp_Veit_002.jpg|''
Philipp Veit, 1816/17: Joseph fleeing from Potiphar's wife. '' ==Chapter structure==