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Joseph as eunuch (1)

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Topics (move over topic to see place in topic list) Eunuch devotees (kurgarru/gallos) 03 Religious festivals, cults, rituals and practices 03.02 Cult of Ištar 03.02.02 Devotees of Ištar 03.02.02.02 Eunuch devotees (kurgarru/gallos) Self-castration 03 Religious festivals, cults, rituals and practices 03.02 Cult of Ištar 03.02.04 Transsexuality/androgyny 03.02.04.01 Self-castration	Keywords eunuchs
Period 1st century CE Roman Empire	Channel Jewish-Roman philosophers and scholars

Text
Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation 3.84 (236-237):
According to another account (= interpretation) it would be noblest to become a eunuch, if (in this way) our soul should be able to escape wickedness and unlearn passion. So Joseph too, the self-controlling character, when pleasure says to him ‘Sleep with me and, being human, indulge in human passions and enjoy the delights that come in life’s course’, refuses to comply with her.

Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Philo of Alexandria, Allegorical Interpretation 3.84 (236-237)

Bibliography

Abusch 2002, 111

Abusch, Ra'anan. “Eunuchs and gender transformation. Philo's exegesis of the Joseph narrative.” In: Shaun Tougher (ed.). Eunuchs in Antiquity and Beyond. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales, London: Duckworth 2002, 103-122.

Amar Annus

URL for this entry: http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0000446.php

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