Discussion Question

335 ! 2001 Blanton-Peale Institute

Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 40, No. 3, Fall 2001 (! 2001)

Joseph and His Brothers: A Biblical Paradigm for the Optimal Handling of Traumatic Stress

SAMUEL J. MANN

ABSTRACT: The long-lasting effects of emotional trauma and the important role of unconscious emotional defenses have become increasingly recognized only in the past century. Yet their role is actually manifest, although still overlooked, in one of the most well-known of biblical stories. This paper presents the story of Joseph and his brothers, and the important lessons it teaches about unconscious defenses and the optimal handling of emotional trauma.

KEY WORDS: trauma; posttraumatic stress; child abuse; coping; emotional numbing; spiritual healing; hypertension.

Introduction

Although childhood trauma is highly prevalent in virtually all societies, rec- ognition of its persisting impact has been long delayed. This impact is well recognized today in individuals who suffer overt psychological consequences. However, among those who survive trauma without overt psychological con- sequences, the potential of past trauma to cause psychological or physical problems that first appear decades later is still widely overlooked. Such indi- viduals routinely insist that they have put the trauma completely behind them, have suffered no lingering impact, and that earlier trauma is of no relevance to later physical and emotional health.

The absence of psychological symptoms in successful trauma survivors is often attributable to unconscious emotional defenses. Such defenses are ongo- ing rather than temporary processes.1 One can argue that such defenses may

Samuel J. Mann, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at the New York Presby- terian Hospital–Weill/Cornell Medical Center in New York. He has a clinical practice and con- ducts research specializing in hypertension. He is the author of many scientific articles dealing with hypertension, published in both medical and psychological journals, and a recent book: Healing Hypertension: A Revolutionary New Approach (Wiley, 1999).

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be the preferred response to trauma, particularly during childhood.2 However, despite their value, defenses maintained for decades may ultimately fail, whether due to time or cumulative stress or other factors. Physical or psycho- logical manifestations that ultimately appear will seem unrelated to decades- old trauma, and therapy directed at the trauma will not be considered or utilized.

Our inattention to the ongoing unconscious processes operative in many successful trauma survivors is not new. Ironically, this inattention is recorded as far back as the bible, in which a well-known story offers important yet universally overlooked insights concerning the handling of traumatic stress. The purpose of this article is to convey the lessons of that famous biblical story of Joseph and his brothers.

Joseph and his brothers (Genesis: chapters 42–45)3

The story of Joseph and his brothers begins with sibling rivalry. Joseph was favored by his father, Jacob, both because he was born when Jacob was in his old age, and because he was the first child born to Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel. Until Joseph’s birth, Rachel had been infertile while Jacob’s other wife, Leah, and the maids Bilhah and Zilpah had given birth to his ten older brothers. Finally Rachel gave birth to Joseph and later to Benjamin, and then died.

Joseph was not a humble child, contributing to his brothers’ resentment of him. He did not hesitate to tell them his dream in which they all bowed down to him and he ruled over them (a dream which ultimately came true). Their jealousy and hatred of him led to their plot to kill the 17 year old Joseph. They relented, threw him into a deep pit, and then sold him to a group of Ishmaelites, who brought him to Egypt and sold him. The brothers told Jacob that Joseph had been killed. Ultimately Joseph was imprisoned in Egypt, falsely accused of making sexual advances toward his master’s wife.

Joseph eventually was summoned to Pharoah because of his ability to in- terpret dreams. His correct prediction of seven years of abundance followed by seven years of famine moved Pharoah to appoint him viceroy over Egypt to manage the famine.

During the famine, Joseph’s brothers came from the land of Canaan to seek grain and appeared before him. Joseph recognized them (they did not recog- nize him), and although it is his forgiveness that is most prominently remem- bered, he first took the opportunity to exact revenge. He accused them of spying, jailed one of the brothers, and also tormented Jacob, his father, by demanding that they bring Benjamin, the surviving son of Rachel, to Egypt. Finally, weeks later, he tearfully revealed his identity to his family and for- gave them. He invited Jacob (now named Israel) and the entire clan to come to live in Egypt to survive the famine. Ultimately Jacob’s descendents ended up as slaves in Egypt, until their later deliverance in the era of Moses.

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Interpretation

Joseph’s story provokes several troubling questions. Why, during his years as governor of Egypt, had he not sought to communicate or re-unite with the father he loved and so end his father’s long-held grief over his presumed death? Why did Joseph torment his brothers for weeks before sending word to his father that he was alive and wanted to see him? And why did he torture Jacob by asking his brothers to bring Benjamin to Egypt? These questions have been difficult to answer. However, a perspective focusing on trauma and its effects offers an explanation as well as important insights into the han- dling of traumatic stress. New possibilities of interpretation are surprisingly evident in the text, as presented below.

Joseph was 17 when he was attacked and sold into slavery. The severity of this trauma was magnified by his young age, the betrayal by his brothers, the sudden and unexpected separation from his father, family, and homeland, and his ultimate imprisonment. The story poses the challenge, encountered in all generations, of coping with such severe trauma. What is clear is that Joseph survived, and obviously thrived.

The text does not describe Joseph as despondent, grief-stricken or irate. In fact, although the bible richly describes emotions in the context of many of its stories, it does not ascribe to Joseph any emotional experience whatsoever following these traumatic events. This conspicuous lack of mention of any emotion is suggestive of the involvement of unconscious defenses. Joseph was numbed, and was able to move on successfully. However, years later, with the appearance of his brothers in Egypt, Joseph’s emotional reaction emerges, and dominates the text.

Genesis: chap. 42

v. 6: . . . And Joseph’s brethren came, and bowed down themselves before him with their faces to the earth (fulfilling Joseph’s earlier dream).

v. 8: And Joseph knew his brethren, but they knew not him. v. 9: And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them, and

said unto them: ‘Ye are spies; to see the nakedness of the land ye are come.’

With the arrival of his brothers, Joseph’s anger and a desire for revenge were triggered.

v. 13: And they said: ‘Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest (Benjamin) is this day with our father, and one (Joseph) is not.’

v. 14: And Joseph said unto them: ‘That is it that I spake unto you, saying: ye are spies.’

Remarkably, in this passage, Joseph exhibits no reaction to the stunning news that his elderly father was still alive. His reaction conveys no aware-

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ness of any love for his father. Instead the text describes only the emergence of his anger, and the desire for revenge.

v. 17: And he put them all together into ward three days. v. 18: And Joseph said unto them the third day: . . . v. 20: . . . bring your youngest brother (Benjamin) unto me; so shall your words

be verified, and ye shall not die.’

The brothers’ three days of imprisonment matches the three days Joseph spent at the bottom of the pit, again exacting revenge. However, Joseph’s demand to bring Benjamin to Egypt will pain Jacob even more than it will pain the brothers, again indicating how completely submerged from aware- ness is his love for his father. Only the anger has thus far emerged.

v. 21. And they (the brothers) said one to another: ‘We are verily guilty concern- ing our brother (Joseph), in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he be- sought us, and we would not hear; therefore is this distress come upon us.’

v. 23: And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for he spake unto them by an interpreter.

The brothers are now expressing remorse about their betrayal of Joseph. Biblical interpreters see this remorse as one of the goals of Joseph’s actions. This remorse further opened the door to some of the long-hidden emotional pain.

v. 24: And he turned himself about from them, and wept; and he returned to them again, and communed with them, and took from them Simeon (the second oldest brother), and bound him before their eyes.

Joseph is edging toward catharsis of the repressed anguish, but the text is telling us that a little sobbing does not constitute true catharsis. His actions remain dominated by anger.

The brothers return to Canaan and report the events to Jacob, still not knowing that the governor of Egypt is their brother. The pain Joseph’s ac- tions are causing Jacob is evident in the text:

v. 38 . . . And he (Jacob) said: My son (Benjamin) shall not go down with you; for his brother (Joseph) is dead, and he is left alone; if mischief befall him by the way in which ye go, then shall ye bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.’

Jacob refuses to send Benjamin, but the famine continues, and Jacob has no choice but to send him, and to worry. Joseph’s reunion with his younger brother Benjamin further triggers the long-hidden emotional pain:

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Chap. 43

v. 30: And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother; and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

Joseph’s love for Benjamin, not previously mentioned, is surfacing. Joseph weeps, yet he continues to torment his brothers, and is apparently still re- markably unaware of any longing to see his father. He is still unable to for- give. He ordered his silver goblet to be secretly placed in Benjamin’s sack, and after the brothers leave, sends his men to look for the “missing” goblet.

Chap. 44

v. 9: ‘With whomever of thy servants it be found, . . . let him die . . . ’

The revenge continues. When the goblet is “discovered” in Benjamin’s sack, the brothers are brought back, fearing for Benjamin’s life, and for Jacob’s grief. In the confrontation that follows, the brothers have an opportunity to atone for their earlier sins. And this time they act righteously, as Judah steps forward and pleads with Joseph to spare Benjamin’s life and offers himself as a substitute for Benjamin. Some biblical commentators focus on Joseph’s need to allow his brothers to atone before he can forgive them. This inter- pretation, however, still does not account for the cruelty committed by Joseph toward his father. That cruelty can be better explained by recognizing the numbing of Joseph’s love for his father, numbing that was perhaps necessary for his psychological stability after his abduction from his family.

With the remorse of his brothers, and with the surge of emotion that can no longer be kept from awareness, the floodgates to the pain that has been kept from conscious awareness all those years, are now opened. And, concurrent with awareness of that pain, love and forgiveness finally surfaces as well.

Chap. 45

v. 1: Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them that stood by him; and he cried: ’Cause every man to go out from me.’ And there stood no man with him, while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.

v. 2: And he wept aloud; and the Egyptians and the house of Pharoah heard.

This verse powerfully describes catharsis. Catharsis is not gentle sobbing. It is uncontrollable and loud crying. The text also indicates that catharsis, (which literally means to purge or purify), is essentially different from crying or weeping. It is not simply the feeling of strong emotions; it is a process which of itself changes us. With the catharsis, and the awareness, these words immediately follow:

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v. 3: ‘I am Joseph; doth my father yet live?’ And his brethren could not answer him; for they were troubled at his presence.

v. 4: And Joseph said unto his brethren: . . . ‘I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.

v. 5: Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve life.

v. 8: . . . it was not you that sent me hither, but God.

With the catharsis Joseph’s longing for his father immediately emerges. He is also now able to wholeheartedly forgive his brothers, and to recognize the divine plan that required his being in Egypt to save the family, and future nation, from the famine.

Discussion

The text of this story can be viewed as the earliest description of the handling of traumatic stress, and particularly, traumatic stress during childhood. Childhood trauma is unfortunately highly prevalent.4,5 Its impact on adult health, both psychological and physical, has been appreciated only in rela- tively recent times. Yet Joseph’s story offers insights that have long lain dor- mant.

Joseph’s story suggests that the use of unconscious defenses allowed him to move on seemingly unaffected after severe childhood trauma, and that re- pressing such emotions may help in maintaining psychological stability. Translated to current times, successful repression of emotions related to se- vere childhood trauma plays an important role in avoiding consequences such as substance abuse, depression and anxiety disorders.

While teaching that psychological numbing is not antithetical to survival and success in life, the text also implies that repression, while desirable at the time of trauma, is not the ideal long-term solution, as it may stand in the way of emotional and spiritual healing. When emotions related to childhood trauma are handled largely by repression, the experiencing of love and for- giveness may also be blocked. Joseph’s story suggests that healing and whole- ness are possible after emotions kept from awareness have been consciously acknowledged.

When the arrival of his brothers stirred the cauldron of emotions long con- cealed from his conscious awareness, the first emotion to arise in Joseph was anger, and the desire for revenge. The text indicates further that Joseph was unable to forgive until he finally experienced the depth of his emotional pain. It teaches that conscious acknowledging and experiencing of previously inac- cessible anger and deep pain may be necessary before love is reawakened. In Joseph’s case, the arrival of his brothers provided the trigger that enabled the painful process of healing to begin, the love for his father to emerge, and the meaning of the events in his life to become apparent.

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The story of Joseph and his brothers, and particularly the description of the emotional catharsis that took place years after the trauma, also offers the important observation that even in seemingly unaffected trauma survivors, unconscious defenses are operative for years or decades. The importance of this observation has not waned, given the continuing widespread failure to consider the possibility that the origin of unexplained psychological or physi- cal disorders in adults could lie in childhood trauma, even in seemingly suc- cessful survivors.

Recent studies linking childhood trauma to irritable bowel disorder and to essential hypertension support his possibility.6–8 For example, a disproportio- nate number of women who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome or unex- plained pelvic pain acknowledge a history of sexual abuse during childhood.6 Hypertension has also been associated with physical, sexual, and emotional abuse in childhood, or possibly with trauma such as ungrieved parental loss during childhood.7 Further, conscious acknowledgement of trauma-related emotions can lead to physical healing.7,8 A dramatic example is provided in a report of the rapid and sustained alleviation of severe hypertension observed in a 49-year old woman after she began to acknowledge emotions related to her having been raped when she was 14.8 Repression of emotions can provide an understanding and approach to treatment for most patients with the oth- erwise unexplained disorder of paroxysmal hypertension.9 Its potentially im- portant role in many other unexplained disorders, whose mind/body connec- tion has not been clarified, such as asthma, migraine, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and many others, is still largely unconsidered. Understanding of the mind/body link of these disorders will remain inadequate until childhood experience is given greater consideration, even in, and perhaps especially in, those who seem to have been least affected.

Joseph’s experience is mirrored in the lives of so many millions who have endured severe abuse or trauma during childhood. His story serves as a model for the successful handling of traumatic stress. However, it also teaches that even in successful survivors, ongoing unconscious defenses, even if inapparent to patient, physician, psychologist or clergyman, are still opera- tive. And it is in these most successful trauma survivors in whom the poten- tial late impact of psychological trauma is still widely overlooked, even though it is forewarned in the ancient wisdom of the Bible.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge Rev. Curtis Hart and Charles Bloom, whose sug- gestions have enhanced the message of this article.

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References

1. Freud S. Repression. J Strachey, editor, The Standard Edition of the Complete Works of Sig- mund Freud, volume 14, 1915/1957, pp. 146–158.

2. Lazerus RS. The costs and benefits of denial. In The Denial of Stress, S. Bresnitz, editor. New York: International University Press, 1983, p. 1–33.

3. Holy Bible. King James Version, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tenn. 1973. 4. Wagner PJ, Mongan P, Hamrick D, Hendrick LK. Experience of abuse in primary care pa-

tients: racial and rural differences. Arch Fam Med 1995; 4:956–962. 5. MacMillan HL, Fleming JE, Trocme N, Boyle MH, Wong M, Racine YA, Beardslee WR, Offord

DR. Prevalence of child physical and sexual abuse in the community. Results from the Ontario Health Supplement. JAMA 1997; 278:131–135.

6. Drossman DA, Leserman J, Nachman G, Li ZM, Gluck H, Toomey TC, Mitchell CM. Sexual and physical abuse in women with functional or organic gastrointestinal disorders. Ann In- tern Med 1990; 113:828–833.

7. Mann SJ. Healing Hypertension. A Revolutionary New Approach. Wiley, New York, N.Y., 1999.

8. Mann SJ and Delon M. Improved hypertension control after disclosure of decades-old trauma. Psychosom Med 1995; 57:501–505.

9. Mann SJ. Severe paroxysmal hypertension (pseudopheochromocytoma): Understanding its cause and treatment. Arch Intern Med 1999; 159:670–674.

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