These two lines from "Banns," which we read for Thursday of last week provoked my thinking because the flowering rod might initially appear to be out of place. However, it is not just a random, fantastic addition to the story. Biblically, the rod of Moses' brother, Aaron, flowers. But there is no textual precedent for the flowering of Joseph's rod. What is going on here, then? Why does the author of "Banns" have Joseph's rod flower? It seems clear that it is a reflection of the Old Testament story concerning Aaron. Flowering rods just aren't the first rhetorical device that come to mind when one wants to make a story more interesting.
I haven't had the time to do extra research regarding this topic because it has absolutely nothing to do with my paper, but I wonder if the flowering rod might have something to do with at least one the following:
- Aaron's rod was a sign that God had selected him as the head of the priestly line among the Hebrew people. Perhaps the flowering of Joseph's rod is a creative way that the author is signifying to the audience that Jesus is the fulfillment of the priests' purpose. He will be the one to make the final and perfect sacrifice. However, I imagine this meaning would have gone over the heads of the general populace.
- Perhaps the flowering rod is simply a sign of fertility (as I know some scholars have suggested). Here, too, though, I wonder if there might not be a rich biblical meaning. Obviously, Joseph is not being fertile in a sexual sense when it comes to Jesus; however, through Jesus, humans are to become "sons/daughters of the living God" (Rom. 9.26). Thus, again, the rod may signify Jesus' role as the one who fulfills divine promises. It is through Jesus that Abraham's seed truly become like the stars (Gal. 3.29), and perhaps the fertility of a flowering rod symbolizes this, connecting Jesus to Joseph and, thereby, to Abraham, too.
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