From Rick, part 2:
I was thinking last night that two big aspects are the wrestling match between God and Jacob on Jacob's return to the Promised Land, and the structure of the 12 tribes matriarchy - as to just who is running the show.
With the wrestling match, God again makes a theophany and engages Jacob in a bizarre all night wrestling match outside the city renamed from the Hittite Luz to Bethel. Because the creator of the Universe is unable to defeat Jacob, God renames Jacob to 'Israel'. Only a literalist 'true believer' could take this seriously, leaving those of a less credulous bent to either think it is mere hyperbolic balderdash, -- or to perhaps think that this is an indicator of external human synthesis, with God a euphemism for the human 'lords' of the day.
By this time in the narrative Jacob's offspring have sprung, from 4 different mothers, - that we are told of at least. There are additional unnamed daughters besides the Canaanite ravaged Dinah.
So it is this synthetic 'tree' of Jacob's (Israel) that one is meant to determine the relative status of the tribes with respect to each other, or perhaps really just the pertinent tribes that survived the relocations. This would be Judah, Levi, Joseph and Benjamin. With Joseph's tribe divided into two half-tribes, that of Ephraim and Manasseh. These 4 tribes are from Leah and Rachel, with all the others not appearing to make much difference and thus get lost in the winds of history.
The lineage of Judah, the 4th son of the hated wife, is ultimately made sovereign over Judea and Israel, thus the 'lion of Judah'. But Joseph's lineage is a fruitful bough, even whose branches run over the wall. And Joseph's lineage of the Eternal Blessing is mothered by an Egyptian high priest's daughter.
22Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel: )
25Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
Address :
<http://biblehub.com/kjv/genesis/49.htm>
In the following it is Judah, whose dark actions have initiated the adventures of Joseph's, and who thus does all the talking with Joseph (who has yet to reveal his identity). Judah admits that if he doesn't return home to Jacob with Jacob's remaining son of Rachel (Benjamin) that Judah will be uniquely blamed, and as well all the sons are servants of Joseph, who is art even as Pharaoh.
14And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house; for he was yet there: and they fell before him on the ground. 15And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that ye have done? wot ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? 16And Judah said, What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants: behold, we are my lord's servants, both we, and he also with whom the cup is found. 17And he said, God forbid that I should do so: but the man in whose hand the cup is found, he shall be my servant; and as for you [Judah], get you up in peace unto your father.
Judah Pleads for Benjamin
18Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant: for thou art even as Pharaoh.
32For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then I shall bear the blame to my father for ever. 33Now therefore, I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34For how shall I go up to my father, and the lad be not with me? lest peradventure I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Address :
<http://biblehub.com/kjv/genesis/44.htm>
So Judah, knowing he is trapped makes himself surety for the safety of Benjamin for Jacob's sake.
28And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to direct his face unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen. 29And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel his father, to Goshen, and presented himself unto him; and he fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while.
Address :
<http://biblehub.com/kjv/genesis/46.htm>
Additionally, with such claims as Britain being the House of Ephraim, we can see yet another possible linkage to Constantine, via Constantine's father's seat of the Western quarter of the Roman Empire being in York. Constantine's mother is said to have been a Brit, by some accounts.
Also, I should add that it is not just that monotheism itself is inherently intolerant and antagonistic compared to polytheism, but the ~600 Mosaic laws are all complete inversions of Egyptian and other pagan cultural norms. One might think that with a different animating force than being proposed here, that perhaps 10 or 50 inverted laws might be sufficient and thus not garner too much external animosity towards the new religious society. Many of these laws are so petty in nature, it seems that the only reason for doing so is to create a pariah state of the day, akin to a North Korea perhaps. In this case, the new society of Judah literally does become the Suffering Servant of the human lords. Servant as made so by the Genesis 44 narrative.