Bourgeois Joseph recognized by his brothers

Vayigash or Vaigash (—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

for "and he drew near" or "then he drew near," the first word of the

parashah The term ''parashah'' ( he, פָּרָשָׁה ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian , Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (He ...

) is the eleventh

weekly Torah portion It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is p ...

(, ''parashah'') in the annual

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

cycle of

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting th ...

. It constitutes . In the parashah, Judah pleads on behalf of his brother

Benjamin Benjamin ( he, ''Bīnyāmīn''; "Son of (the) right") blue letter bible: https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h3225/kjv/wlc/0-1/ H3225 - yāmîn - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Rachel (Jacob's thi ...

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

reveals himself to his brothers,

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. ...

comes down to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

, and Joseph's administration of Egypt saves lives but transforms all the Egyptians into bondmen. The parashah is made up of 5,680 Hebrew letters, 1,480 Hebrew words, 106 verses, and 178 lines in a Torah Scroll (, ''

Sefer Torah A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of To ...

''). Jews read it the eleventh

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as ...

after

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...

, generally in December or early January.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...

of the

Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
'' peh'')). Parashah Vayigash has three, lesser, "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''

samekh Samekh (Phoenician ''sāmek'' ; Hebrew ''samekh'' , Syriac ''semkaṯ'') is the fifteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including the Hebrew alphabet. Samekh represents a voiceless alveolar fricative . Unlike most Semitic consonants, the p ...

'')). The first closed portion includes the first four readings and part of the fifth reading. The second closed portion includes the rest of the fifth reading. And the third closed portion includes the sixth and seventh readings.

First reading—Genesis 44:18–30

In the first reading, Judah approached Joseph, whom he likened to

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

, and recounted how Joseph had asked the 10 brothers whether they had a father or brother, and they had told him that they had a father who was an old man (Jacob), and a child of his old age who was a little one (Benjamin), whose brother was dead, who alone was left of his mother ( Rachel), and whose father loved him. Judah recalled how Joseph had told the brothers to bring their younger brother down to Egypt, they had told Joseph that the lad's leaving would kill his father, but Joseph had insisted. Judah recalled how the brothers had told their father Joseph's words, and when their father had told them to go again to buy a little food, they had reminded him that they could not go down without their youngest brother. Judah recounted how their father had told them that his wife had borne him two sons, one had gone out and was torn in pieces, and if they took the youngest and harm befell him, it would bring down his gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Judah began to explain to Joseph what would happen if Judah were to come to his father without the lad, seeing that his father's soul was bound up with the lad's. The first reading ends here.

Second reading—Genesis 44:31–45:7

In the second reading, Judah told Joseph that if Judah were to come to his father without the lad, then his father would die in sorrow. And Judah told how he had become surety for the lad, and thus asked Joseph to allow him to remain a bondman to Joseph instead of the lad, for how could he go up to his father if the lad was not with him? Joseph could no longer control his emotions and ordered everyone but his brothers to leave the room. He wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard. Joseph told his brothers that he was Joseph, and asked them whether his father was still alive, but his brothers were too frightened to answer him. Joseph asked them to come near, told them that he was Joseph their brother whom they had sold into Egypt, but that they should not be grieved, for God had sent Joseph before them to preserve life. Joseph recounted how for two years there had been famine in the land, but there would be five more years without harvests. But God had sent him before them to save them alive for a great deliverance. The second reading ends here.

Third reading—Genesis 45:8–18

In the third reading, Joseph told his brothers that it was not they who sent him to Egypt, but God, who had made him ruler over all Egypt. Joseph thus directed them to go quickly to his father and convey that God had made him lord of all Egypt and his father should come down to live in the

land of Goshen The land of Goshen ( he, אֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן, Modern: ''ʾEreẓ Gōšen'', Tiberian: ''ʾEreṣ Gōšen'') is named in the Hebrew Bible as the place in Egypt given to the Hebrews by the pharaoh of Joseph (Book of Genesis, ), and th ...

and Joseph would sustain him for the five years of famine. And Joseph and his brother Benjamin wept on each other's necks, Joseph kissed all his brothers and wept upon them, and after that, his brothers talked with him. The report went through Pharaoh's house that Joseph's brothers had come, and it pleased Pharaoh. Pharaoh directed Joseph to tell his brothers to go to

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

and bring their father and their households back to Egypt. The third reading ends here.

Fourth reading—Genesis 45:19–27

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 043

In the fourth reading, Joseph gave his brothers wagons and provisions for the way, and to each man he gave a change of clothes, but to Benjamin he gave 300

shekel Shekel or sheqel ( akk, 𒅆𒅗𒇻 ''šiqlu'' or ''siqlu,'' he, שקל, plural he, שקלים or shekels, Phoenician: ) is an ancient Mesopotamian coin, usually of silver. A shekel was first a unit of weight—very roughly —and became c ...

s of silver and five changes of clothes. And Joseph sent his father ten donkeys laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten donkeys laden with food. So Joseph sent his brothers away, enjoining them not to fall out on the way. The brothers went to their father Jacob in Canaan and told him that Joseph was still alive and ruled over Egypt, but he did not believe them. They told him what Joseph had said, and when Jacob saw the wagons that Joseph had sent, Jacob revived. The fourth reading ends here.

Fifth reading—Genesis 45:28–46:27

In the long fifth reading, Jacob said that he would go to see Joseph before he died. Jacob journeyed to

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

with all that he had and offered

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...

to God. God spoke to Jacob in a dream, saying that Jacob should not fear to go to Egypt, for God would go with him, make a great nation of him, and also surely bring him back. Jacob's sons carried him, their little ones, and their wives in the wagons that Pharaoh had sent. They took their

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

and their goods and came to Egypt, Jacob, and his entire family. The first closed portion ends here. The continuation of the fifth reading lists the names of Jacob's family, 70 men in all, including Joseph and his two children. The long fifth reading and the second closed portion end here.

Sixth reading—Genesis 46:28–47:10

Tissot Joseph and His Brethren Welcomed by Pharaoh

In the sixth reading, Jacob sent Judah before him to show the way to Goshen. Joseph went up to Goshen in his

chariot A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&n ...

to meet Jacob, and fell on his neck and wept. Jacob told Joseph that now he could die, since he had seen Joseph's face. Joseph told his brothers that he would go tell Pharaoh that his brothers had come, that they kept cattle, and that they had brought their flocks, herds, and all their possessions. Joseph instructed them that when Pharaoh asked them their occupation, they should say that they were keepers of cattle, for

shepherd A shepherd or sheepherder is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. ''Shepherd'' derives from Old English ''sceaphierde (''sceap'' 'sheep' + ''hierde'' ' herder'). ''Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations, ...

s were an abomination to the Egyptians. Joseph told Pharaoh that his family had arrived in the land of Goshen, and presented five of his brothers to Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked the brothers what their occupation was, and they told Pharaoh that they were shepherds and asked to live in the land of Goshen. Pharaoh told Joseph that his family could live in the best of the land, in Goshen, and if he knew any able men among them, then he could appoint them to watch over Pharaoh's cattle. Joseph set Jacob before Pharaoh, and Jacob

blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified Film and television * ''Blessed'' (2004 film), a 2004 motion picture about a supernatural ...

Pharaoh. Pharaoh asked Jacob how old he was, and Jacob answered that he was 130 years old and that few and evil had been the years of his life. Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left. The sixth reading ends here. Joseph Overseer of the Pharoahs Granaries

Joseph Overseer of the Pharoahs Granaries

Seventh reading—Genesis 47:11–27

In the seventh reading, Joseph placed his father and brothers in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded, and sustained them with bread while the famine became sore in the land. Joseph gathered all the money in Egypt and Canaan selling grain and brought the money into Pharaoh's house. When the Egyptians exhausted their money and asked Joseph for bread, Joseph sold them bread in exchange for all their animals. When they had no more animals, they offered to sell their land to Joseph and become bondmen in exchange for bread. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for Pharaoh—except for that of the priests, who had a portion from Pharaoh—and in exchange for seed, Joseph made all the Egyptians bondmen. At harvest time, Joseph collected for Pharaoh a fifth part of all the people harvested. In the ''maftir'' () reading that concludes the parashah,See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis'', page 294. it continued as a statute in Egypt that Pharaoh should have a fifth of all produced outside of the priests' land. And Israel lived in Egypt, in the land of Goshen, accumulated possessions, and was fruitful and multiplied. The seventh reading and the parashah end here.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the

triennial cycle The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either * The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or * The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...

of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:

In ancient parallels

The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:

Genesis chapter 45

Gerhard von Rad argued that the Joseph narrative is closely related to earlier Egyptian wisdom writings. Von Rad likened the theology of Joseph's statement to his brothers in , “And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. . . . So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and odmade me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt,” to that of

Amenemope Amenemope, also Amenemopet, Amenemipet or Amunemopet ''(ỉmn-m-ỉp3.t,'' Greek: ''αμενωφις;'' “Amun in Luxor”) is an Ancient Egyptian name. Its notable bearers were: * Amenemope (pharaoh) (died 992 BC), pharaoh, 21st dynasty * Amene ...

, who said, “That which men propose is one thing; what God does is another,” and “God’s life is achievement, but man’s is denial.”Gerhard von Rad, "Joseph Narrative and Ancient Wisdom,” in ''Problem of the Hexateuch'', pages 296–98.

In inner-Biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:

Genesis chapter 44

In , Judah retells the events first told in .

Genesis chapter 45

Von Rad likened Joseph's magnanimity in to that of , which counsels: “Say not: ‘I will do so to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.’” And Von Rad likened the theology of Joseph’s statement to his brothers in , “And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. . . . So now it was not you who sent me here, but God; and odmade me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt,” to that of , “A man's heart devises his way; but the Lord directs his steps”; , “There are many devices in a man's heart; but the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand”; , “A man's goings are of the Lord; how then can man look to his way?”; and , “There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord. The horse is prepared against the day of battle; but victory is of the Lord.” Joseph's explanation in that God sent him to Egypt before his brothers to preserve life finds an echo in , where Joseph told his brothers that they meant evil against him, but God meant it for good to save the lives of many people. Similarly,

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

reports that God called a famine upon the land and sent Joseph before the children of Israel.

Genesis chapter 47

Jacob's blessing of Pharaoh in echoes the promise of , , , and that through

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

's descendants would other families of the earth be blessed. The report of that the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied finds an echo in .

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources: Philo

Genesis chapter 44

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

observed that having attained authority and presented with the opportunity to avenge his brothers' ill-treatment of him, Joseph nonetheless bore what happened with self-restraint and governed himself.

Genesis chapter 47

Philo read Jacob's words in , "The days of the years of my life which I spend here as a sojourner have been few and evil; they have not come up to the days of my fathers which they spent as Sojourners," to support the general proposition that the Torah represents the wise people whom it mentions as sojourners whose souls are sent down from heaven to earth as to a foreign land. Philo taught that wise people see themselves as sojourners in a foreign land—the body perceptible by the senses—and view the virtues appreciable by the intellect as their native land.

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Tissot Joseph Converses With Judah, His Brother

The parashah is discussed in these

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

nic sources from the era of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

Genesis chapter 44

Rabbi Judah ben Ilai taught that Scripture speaks in praise of Judah. Rabbi Judah noted that on three occasions, Scripture records that Judah spoke before his brethren, and they made him king over them (bowing to his authority): (1) in , which reports, "Judah said to his brethren: ‘What profit is it if we slay our brother'"; (2) in , which reports, "Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house"; and (3) in , which reports, "Then Judah came near" to Joseph to argue for Benjamin. A

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...

taught that, as reported in the words "Judah came near to him" in , Judah did not cease from answering Joseph word for word until he penetrated to his very heart. Rabbi Judah taught that in the words of , "Judah came near" for battle, as in

2 Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Jos ...

, where it says: "So Joab and the people that were with him drew near to battle." Rabbi Neḥemiah said that "Judah came near" for conciliation, as in , where it says that "the children of Judah drew near to

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

" to conciliate him. The Rabbis said that coming near implies prayer, as in

1 Kings The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the book ...

, where it says that "

Elijah Elijah ( ; he, אֵלִיָּהוּ, ʾĒlīyyāhū, meaning "My El (deity), God is Yahweh/YHWH"; Greek form: Elias, ''Elías''; syr, ܐܸܠܝܼܵܐ, ''Elyāe''; Arabic language, Arabic: إلياس or إليا, ''Ilyās'' or ''Ilyā''. ) w ...

the prophet came near" to pray to God. Rabbi Leazar combined all these views, teaching that "Judah came near to him" ready for battle, conciliation, or prayer. Rabbi Jeremiah ben Shemaiah taught that Judah exclaimed that he would only need to utter one word (''dabar'') and bring a plague (''deber'') upon the Egyptians. And Rav Hanan taught that Judah became angry, and the hairs of his chest pierced through his clothes and forced their way out, and he put iron bars into his mouth and ground them to powder. Rav Judah taught that three things shorten a person's years: (1) to be given a Torah scroll from which to read and to refuse, (2) to be given a cup of benediction over which to say grace and to refuse, and (3) to assume airs of authority. To support the proposition that assuming airs of authority shortens one's life, the Gemara cited the teaching of Rabbi Hama bar Hanina that Joseph died (as reports, at the age of 110) before his brothers because he assumed airs of authority (when in and he repeatedly allowed his brothers to describe his father Jacob as "your servant"). Rav Judah asked in the name of

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...

why Joseph referred to himself as "bones" during his lifetime (in ), and explained that it was because he did not protect his father's honor when in his brothers called Jacob "your servant our father" and Joseph failed to protest. And Rav Judah also said in the name of Rav (and others say that it was Rabbi Hama bar Hanina who said) that Joseph died before his brothers because he put on superior airs. Similarly, a Midrash taught that Joseph was referred to as "bones" during his lifetime (in ) because when his brothers referred to his father as "your servant our father" in , Joseph kept silent. And thus the Midrash taught that the words of , "A man's pride shall bring him low," apply to Joseph, who in this encounter ostentatiously displayed his authority. Similarly, as reports that "Joseph died, and all his brethren," the Rabbis concluded that Joseph died before his brothers. Rabbi

Judah haNasi Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא‎, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ‎''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mi ...

taught that Joseph died before his brothers because Joseph "commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father" (as reports). But the Rabbis taught that Jacob had directed his sons to embalm him, as reports that "his sons did to him as he commanded them." According to the Rabbis, Joseph died before his brothers because nearly five times Judah said to Joseph, "Your servant my father, your servant my father" (four times himself in
27
an

and once together with his brothers in ), yet Joseph heard it and kept silent (not correcting Judah to show humility to their father). Dore Bible Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethren

Dore Bible Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethren

Eliezer ben Matiah, Hananiah ben Kinai, Simeon ben Azzai, and Simeon the Yemenite deduced from Judah's offer to remain instead of Benjamin in that Judah merited the kingship because of his humility. Peter von Cornelius 004

Genesis chapter 45

Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina and Rabbi Samuel ben Naḥmani differed about how prudent it was for Joseph to clear the room in . Rabbi Ḥama thought that Joseph acted imprudently, for one of them could have kicked him and killed him on the spot. But Rabbi Samuel said that Joseph acted rightly and prudently, for he knew the righteousness of his brethren and reasoned that it would not be right to suspect that they might commit bloodshed. Rabbi Elazar wept whenever he read , for if men became too frightened to answer a wronged brother, how much more frightening will they find God's rebuke. A Midrash taught that "Joseph said to his brethren: ‘Come near to me'" in so that he might show them his circumcision to prove that he was their brother.Genesis Rabbah 93:10, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis'', volume 2, page 862. Reading Joseph's reassurance to his brothers in , "And now be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither; for God sent me before you to preserve life," our Sages observed that even the wrongs done by the righteous are of service to the world, and how much more their righteous deeds. Reading Joseph's assertion to his brothers in , "God sent me before you to preserve life," the Mishnat Rabbi Eliezer taught that when a person seeks to injure an enemy, the person bars the enemy from getting any cure, but God is not so. God provides the cure before the blow, as it says in , "I would heal Israel even as the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered." So in the days of Joseph, God did not inflict famine on the Tribal Ancestors until God had sent Joseph before them. The Tosefta deduced from that before Jacob went down to Egypt there was famine there, but after he arrived, as reports, they sowed the land with seed. Rabbi Levi used
41:46
an

to calculate that Joseph's dreams that his brothers would bow to him took 22 years to come true, and deduced that a person should thus wait for as much as 22 years for a positive dream's fulfillment. Rav Huna in the name of Rabbi Joshua used as a mnemonic for calculating what year it was in the Sabbatical cycle of seven years. The

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah ...

used to help calculate (among other things) that Jacob should have been 116 years old when he came to Egypt, but since indicated that Jacob was then 130 years old, the Gemara deduced that the text did not count 14 years that Jacob spent studying in the Academy of

Eber Eber ( he, , ʿĒḇer; grc-x-biblical, Ἔβερ, Éber; ar, عٰابِر, ʿĀbir) is an ancestor of the Ishmaelites and the Israelites according to the "Table of Nations" in the Book of Genesis () and the Books of Chronicles (). Lineage ...

Rabbi Elazar interpreted Joseph's reference to Benjamin in to mean that just as Joseph bore no malice against his brother Benjamin (who had no part in selling Joseph to Egypt), so Joseph had no malice against his other brothers. And Rabbi Elazar interpreted Joseph's reference to his mouth in to mean that Joseph's words reflected what was in his heart.Babylonian Talmud Megillah 16b
in, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli: Tractate Megillah'', elucidated by Gedaliah Zlotowitz and Hersh Goldwurm, edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, volume 20, page 16b. A Midrash interpreted Joseph's reference to his mouth in to mean that Joseph asked them to note that he spoke in Hebrew. Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 042

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 042

Rabbi Elazar noted that uses the plural form of the word "necks" and asked how many necks Benjamin had. Rabbi Elazar deduced that Joseph wept on Benjamin's neck for the two Temples that were destined to be in the territory of the

tribe of Benjamin According to the Torah, the Tribe of Benjamin () was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The tribe was descended from Benjamin, the youngest son of the patriarch Jacob (later given the name Israel) and his wife Rachel. In the Samaritan Pentate ...

and be destroyed. And Rabbi Elazar deduced that Benjamin wept on Joseph's neck for the tabernacle of Shiloh that was destined to be in the territory of the tribe of Joseph and be destroyed. Examining , the Gemara asked whether Joseph repeated his father's mistake of favoring one sibling over the others. Rabbi Benjamin bar Japhet said that Joseph was hinting to Benjamin that one of his descendants, Mordecai, would appear before a king in five royal garments, as reports. Rabbi Benjamin bar Japhet in the name of Rabbi Elazar deduced from that Joseph sent Jacob aged wine, which the Rabbi reported pleases the elderly. But a Midrash taught that the words "the good of the land of Egypt" in referred to split beans (which were highly prized). Rabbi Elazar read the words of , "See that you not fall out by the way," to mean that Joseph told his brothers not to become occupied in a discussion of legal matters, so that the discussion would not lead to an argument. The Gemara asked: Did not Rabbi Elai bar Berekhya say that if two Torah scholars are walking along the road and do not discuss Torah matters, they are worthy of being burned? The Gemara answered that Rabbi Elai bar Berekhya referred to studying by rote, by reviewing material one has already learned, which is permitted and even appropriate while traveling, while Rabbi Elazar referred to examining a law in depth, which would likely lead to conflict among scholars. Alternatively, a Baraita read the words of to mean that Joseph told his brothers not to take long strides and should enter a city to spend the night before the sun has set. The Gemara taught that taking long strides harms a person’s eyesight, and that loss is not worth the time saved. A Midrash told that when Joseph was young, he used to study Torah with Jacob. When Joseph's brothers told Jacob in that Joseph was still alive, Jacob did not believe them, but he recalled the subject that Jacob and Joseph had been studying when they last studied together: the passage on the beheaded heifer (, ''egla arufa'') in . Jacob told the brothers that if Joseph gave them a sign of which subject Joseph and Jacob had last studied together, then Jacob would believe them. Joseph too had remembered what subject they had been studying, so (as reports) he sent Jacob wagons (, ''agalot'') so that Jacob might know that the gift came from him. The Midrash thus concluded that wherever Joseph went he studied the Torah, just as his forebears did, even though the Torah had not yet been given.Genesis Rabbah 95:3, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis'', volume 2, page 882.

Genesis chapter 46

Rav Naḥman taught that when Jacob "took his journey with all that he had, and came to

" in , he went to cut down the cedars that reports his grandfather Abraham had planted there. A Midrash asked why, in , Jacob "offered sacrifices to the God of his father

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was ...

," and not to the God of Abraham and Isaac. Judah ben Pedayah, the nephew of Ben HaKappar, explained that when one encounters a teacher and the teacher's disciple walking on a road, one first greets the disciple and then the teacher. Rabbi Joḥanan said that the reason was because a person owes more honor to a parent than to a grandparent.

Resh Lakish Shim‘on ben Lakish ( he, שמעון בן לקיש; arc, שמעון בר לקיש ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judae ...

said that Jacob offered sacrifices (in thanksgiving) for the covenant with the ancestors (which Isaac had conveyed to Jacob with his blessing).

Bar Kappara Bar Kappara ( he, בר קפרא) was a rabbi of the late 2nd and early 3rd century CE, during the period between the '' tannaim'' and '' amoraim''. He was active in Caesarea in the Land of Israel, from around 180 to 220 CE. His name, meaning "S ...

discussed the question with Rabbi Jose bar Patros. One of them said that Jacob declared that as Isaac had been eager for his food (for, as reports, Isaac loved

Esau Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...

because Esau brought Isaac venison), so Jacob was eager for his food (and thus was headed to Egypt to avoid the famine). The other explained that as Isaac had distinguished between his sons (as reports, loving Esau more than Jacob), so Jacob would distinguish among his sons (going to Egypt for Joseph's account alone). But then Jacob noted on reconsideration that Isaac was responsible for only one soul, whereas Jacob was responsible for 70 souls. Rabbi Judan said that Jacob declared that Isaac blessed him with five blessings, and God correspondingly appeared five times to Jacob and blessed him (in , , , , and ). Rabbi Judan also said that Jacob wanted to thank God for permitting Jacob to see the fulfillment of those blessings. And the blessing that was fulfilled was that of , "Let people serve you, and nations bow down to you," which was fulfilled with regard to Joseph. (And thus, Jacob mentioned Isaac then on going down to witness Joseph's greatness.)

Rabbi Berekiah R. Berekiah (or R. Berekhyah; he, רבי ברכיה, read as ''Rabbi Berekhyah'') was an '' Amora'' of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He is known for his work on the Aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ' ...

observed that God never unites God's Name with a living person (to say, for example, "I am the God of Jacob," while they are alive) except with those who are experiencing suffering. (And thus Jacob referred to the God of Isaac instead of the God of Jacob.) And Rabbi Berekiah also observed that Isaac did indeed experience suffering. The Rabbis said that we look upon Isaac as if his ashes were heaped in a pile on the altar. (And thus Jacob referred to Isaac to invoke the memory of Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac in as if it had been carried out). The

Sifra Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" ...

cited , , , and for the proposition that when God called the name of a prophet twice, God expressed affection and sought to provoke a response. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that when Jacob heard that Joseph was alive, Jacob wondered whether he could forsake the land of his fathers, the land of his birth, the land of his fathers' sojournings, the land where the Divine Presence (, ''

Shechinah Shekhinah, also spelled Shechinah ( Hebrew: שְׁכִינָה ''Šəḵīnā'', Tiberian: ''Šăḵīnā'') is the English transliteration of a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the presence of God, as it were, in a pla ...

'') was, and go to an unclean land where there was no fear of Heaven. So God told Jacob (as reported in ), "Do not fear . . . I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again." Reading God's promise to Jacob in to go down with him to Egypt, a Midrash taught that God's promise was to go with Jacob and with all who are righteous like Jacob. Thus, God promised to accompany all the righteous into exile, just as God accompanied Jacob.Genesis Rabbah 94:6, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis'', volume 2, page 873. Similarly, the Sages read God's parallel use of the pronoun "I" (, ''Anochi'', as opposed to , ''Ani'') in and to teach that just as with an "I" (, ''Anochi'') Israel went down to Egypt, as reports, "I (, ''Anochi'') will go down with you into Egypt," also with an "I" (, ''Anochi'') would God take Israel out, as reports, "That I (, ''Anochi'') have sent you." And the Sages said that the use of "I" (, ''Anochi'') was also symbolic of the latter redemption, for with an "I" (, ''Anochi'') will the Jews be healed and redeemed, as says, "Behold, "I (, ''Anochi'') will send you Elijah the prophet." Rabbi Haggai said in Rabbi Isaac's name that God's promise to Jacob in , "I will surely bring you up again," only applied if "Joseph shall put his hand upon your eyes"—that is, take care of Jacob in life and in death. Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina cited , "I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again (, ''gam aloh'')," for the proposition that if one sees a camel (, ''gamal'') in a dream, Heaven had decreed death for the dreamer, but had delivered the dreamer from that fate. Rav Naḥman bar Isaac, however, derives the proposition from "The Lord also (, ''gam'') has put away your sin, you shall not die." Book of Genesis Chapter 37-18 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media)

Book of Genesis Chapter 37-18 (Bible Illustrations by Sweet Media)

A Midrash explained Judah's sons' death, reported in , as the result of Judah's failure to follow through in saving Joseph. Reading , "For this commandment that I command you this day . . . is very near to you, in your mouth, and in your heart," a Midrash interpreted "heart" and "mouth" to symbolize the beginning and end of fulfilling a precept and thus read as an exhortation to complete a good deed once started. Thus Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that if one begins a precept and does not complete it, the result will be that he will bury his wife and children. The Midrash cited as support for this proposition the experience of Judah, who began a precept and did not complete it. When Joseph came to his brothers and they sought to kill him, as Joseph's brothers said in , "Come now therefore, and let us slay him," Judah did not let them, saying in , "What profit is it if we slay our brother?" and they listened to him, for he was their leader. And had Judah called for Joseph's brothers to restore Joseph to their father, they would have listened to him then, as well. Thus because Judah began a precept (the good deed toward Joseph) and did not complete it, he buried his wife and two sons, as reports, "Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died," and further reports, " Er and Onan died in the land of

Rabbi Zadok noted that attributed sons to Leah but attributed the daughter Dinah to Jacob, and deduced that the verse thus supported the proposition that if the woman emits her egg first she will bear a son and if the man emits his semen first she will bear a girl. A

Baraita ''Baraita'' ( Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings ...

taught that the Serah the daughter of

Asher Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''As ...

mentioned in and survived from the time Israel went down to Egypt to the time of the wandering in the Wilderness. The Gemara taught that Moses went to her to ask where the Egyptians had buried Joseph. She told him that the Egyptians had made a metal coffin for Joseph. The Egyptians set the coffin in the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

so that its waters would be blessed. Moses went to the bank of the Nile and called to Joseph that the time had arrived for God to deliver the Israelites, and the oath that Joseph had imposed upon the children of Israel in had reached its time of fulfillment. Moses called on Joseph to show himself, and Joseph's coffin immediately rose to the surface of the water. Similarly, a Midrash taught that Serah (mentioned in ) conveyed to the Israelites a secret password handed down from Jacob so that they would recognize their deliverer. The Midrash told that when (as reports) “Aaron spoke all the words” to the Israelite people, “And the people believed” (as reports), they did not believe only because they had seen the signs. Rather, (as reports), “They heard that the Lord had visited”—they believed because they heard, not because they saw the signs. What made them believe was the sign of God's visitation that God communicated to them through a tradition from Jacob, which Jacob handed down to Joseph, Joseph to his brothers, and Asher, the son of Jacob, handed down to his daughter Serah, who was still alive at the time of Moses and Aaron. Asher told Serah that any redeemer who would come and say the password to the Israelites would be their true deliverer. So when Moses came and said the password, the people believed him at once. Rabbi Samuel ben Naḥman taught that Benjamin's son's names, as listed in , reflected Benjamin's loss of Joseph. The name Bela signified that Benjamin's brother was swallowed up (''nit-bala'') from him; Becher signified that he was a firstborn (''bechor''); Ashbel signified that he was taken away captive (''nishbah''); Gera signified that he became a stranger (''ger'') in a strange country; Naaman signified that his actions were seemly (''na'im'') and pleasant (''ne'im-im''); Ehi signified that he indeed was "my brother" (''ahi''); Rosh signified that he was Benjamin's superior (''rosh''); Muppim signified that he was exceedingly attractive (''yafeh ‘ad me'od'') in all matters; and Huppim signified that Benjamin did not see his marriage-canopy ('' huppah'') and he did not see Benjamin's; and Ard signified that he was like a rose-bloom (''ward''). Foster Bible Pictures 0055-1 Joseph Kisses Jacob

Foster Bible Pictures 0055-1 Joseph Kisses Jacob

Abaye Abaye ( he, אַבַּיֵי) was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the fourth generation. He was born about the close of the third century, and died 337 CE. Biography His father, Kaylil, was the brother ...

cited the listing for

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

in to demonstrate that sometimes texts refer to "sons" in the plural when they mean a single son. But Rava suggested perhaps the word "Hushim" in was not a name but, as taught by the Academy of Hezekiah, the word "clusters" or "leaves," thus signifying that Dan's sons were as numerous as the leaves of a reed. Rava found, however, support in and

1 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

for the proposition that sometimes texts refer to "sons" when they mean a single son. Joseph and Jacob reunited

Abba Halifa of Keruya asked Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba why reported that 70 people from Jacob's household came to Egypt, while enumerated only 69 individuals. Rabbi Hiyya first argued that the Hebrew word ''et'' preceding Dinah in indicated that Dinah had a twin sister, and the twin brought the total to 70. But Abba Halifa responded that if that were so, then the parallel language of would indicate that Benjamin also had a twin sister. Rabbi Hiyya then revealed his real explanation, which he called "a precious pearl": Rabbi Hama bar Hanina taught that the seventieth person was

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu ( Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pr ...

' mother

Jochebed According to the Bible, Jochebed (; hbo, יוֹכֶבֶד, translit=Yōḵeḇeḏ, lit= YHWH is glory) was a daughter of Levi and mother of Miriam, Aaron and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concern ...

, who was conceived on the way from Canaan to Egypt and born as Jacob's family passed between the city walls as they entered Egypt, for reported that Jochebed "was born to

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

in Egypt," implying that her conception was not in Egypt. Rabbi Neḥemiah read the words "to show" in as "to teach," and thus inferred that Jacob sent Judah to prepare an academy for him in Egypt where he would teach Torah and where the brothers would read Torah.

Genesis chapter 47

The Midrash and the Talmud differed over which five brothers Joseph presented to Pharaoh in . The Midrash read the word “from among” (, ''mikzeh'') in , “And from among (, ''mikzeh'') his brethren he took five men,” to mean “from the end,” implying inferiority. The Midrash thus concluded that they were not the strongest of the brothers, and named them as

Reuben Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob. Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugu ...

, Simeon, Levi, Benjamin, and

Issachar Issachar () was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fifth of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's ninth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Issachar. However, some Biblical scholars view this as an eponymous metaphor pro ...

. The Midrash explained that Joseph took these five brothers, because he reasoned that if he presented the strongest to Pharaoh, then Pharaoh would on make them his warriors. Therefore, Joseph presented these five, who were not mighty men. The Midrash taught that we know that they were not strong from the blessing of Moses in , where every brother whose name Moses repeated in his blessing was mighty, while every brother whose name Moses did not repeat was not mighty. Judah, whose name he repeated, was mighty, for says, “And this for Judah, and he said: ‘Hear, Lord, the voice of Judah’”; therefore, Joseph did not present him to Pharaoh. Likewise

Naphtali According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali (; ) was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Bilhah (Jacob's sixth son). He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. Some biblical commentators have suggested that the name ''Naphtali ...

, as says, “And of Naphtali he said: ‘O Naphtali, satisfied with favor.’” Likewise, Asher, of whom says, “And of Asher he said: ‘Blessed be Asher above sons.’” Likewise, Dan, of whom says, “And of Dan he said: ‘Dan is a lion’s whelp.’”

Zebulun Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Som ...

too, of whom says, “And of Zebulun he said: ‘Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out.’” Gad too, of whom says, “And of Gad he said: ‘Blessed be He that enlarges Gad.’” Therefore, Joseph did not present them to Pharaoh. But the others, whose names were not repeated, were not mighty, therefore he presented them to Pharaoh. In the Babylonian Talmud, however, Rava asked Rabbah bar Mari who the five were. Rabbah bar Mari replied that Rabbi Joḥanan said that they were those whose names were repeated in the Farewell of Moses, (and thus the mightier of the brothers). Besides Judah, the five whose names Moses repeated were Dan, Zebulun, Gad, Asher and Naphtali. Explaining why Moses repeated Judah’s name in , but Joseph nonetheless excluded him from the five, Rabbah bar Mari explained that Moses repeated Judah’s name for a different purpose, which Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani recounted that Rabbi Joḥanan said. Rabbi Joḥanan interpreted the words of , “Let Reuben live and not die, in that his men become few, and this is for Judah,” to teach that during the 40 years that the Israelites were in the wilderness, the bones of Judah rolled around detached in the coffin that conveyed the bones of the heads of the tribes from Egypt to the Promised Land along with Joseph's remains. But then Moses solicited God for mercy by noting that Judah brought Reuben to confess his own sin in and (lying with

Bilhah Bilhah ( "unworried", Standard Hebrew: ''Bīlha'', Tiberian Hebrew: ''Bīlhā'') is a woman mentioned in the Book of Genesis.For the etymology, see describes her as Laban's handmaid, who was given to Rachel to be her handmaid on Rachel's ma ...

) by himself making public confession in (when Judah admitted that Tamar was more righteous than he was). Therefore, in , Moses exhorted God: “Hear Lord the voice of Judah!” Thereupon God fitted each of Judah's limbs into its original place as one whole skeleton. Judah was, however, not permitted to ascend to the heavenly academy, until Moses said in , “And bring him in to his people.” As, however, Judah still did not know what the Rabbis were saying in that assembly and was thus unable to argue with the Rabbis on matters of the law, Moses said in , “His hands shall contend for him!” As again he was unable to conclude legal discussions in accordance with the Law, Moses said in , “You shall be a help against his adversaries!” Rabbi Jose deduced from that the Egyptians befriended the Israelites only for their own benefit. Rabbi Jose noted, however, that the law of nonetheless rewarded the Egyptians for their hospitality. Rabbi Jose concluded that if Providence thus rewarded one with mixed motives, Providence will reward even more one who selflessly shows hospitality to a scholar. Rabbi Ahawa the son of Rabbi Ze'ira taught that just as lettuce is sweet at the beginning (in the leaf) and bitter at the end (in the stalk), so were the Egyptians sweet to the Israelites at the beginning and bitter at the end. The Egyptians were sweet at the beginning, as reports that Pharaoh told Joseph, "The land of Egypt is before you; have your father and brethren dwell in the best of the land." And the Egyptians were bitter at the end, as reports, "And they (the Egyptians) made their (the Israelites') lives bitter." Jacob blesses Pharaoh

A Midrash read the words of and , "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh," to mean that Jacob blessed Pharaoh that the famine should come to an end. Similarly, Rabbi Berekiah the priest taught that when Jacob came to Pharaoh, he did not leave him before blessing him, as says, "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." And the blessing that he gave was the wish that the Nile might rise to his feet (to irrigate the land). A Midrash taught that Mordecai had pity on the unbeliever King of

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

Ahasuerus Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh'';; fa, اخشورش, Axšoreš; fa, label= New Persian, خشایار, Xašāyār; grc, Ξέρξης, Xérxēs. grc, label= Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος, Asouḗros, in the Septuagint; la, Assue ...

. In explanation, Rabbi Judah quoted to say, "From my elders I receive understanding." Rabbi Judah taught that Mordecai reasoned that Jacob blessed Pharaoh, as says, "And Jacob blessed Pharaoh." And Joseph revealed his dreams to him, and

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...

revealed Nebuchadnezzar's dreams to him. So similarly Mordecai could help Ahasuerus, and hence (as reports), "he told it to

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

the queen." Tissot Joseph Dwells in Egypt

Rav Judah in the name of

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

deduced from that Joseph gathered in and brought to Egypt all the gold and silver in the world. The Gemara noted that says: "And Joseph gathered up all the money that was found in the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan," and thus spoke about the wealth of only Egypt and Canaan. The Gemara found support for the proposition that Joseph collected the wealth of other countries from , which states: "And all the countries came to Egypt to Joseph to buy corn." The Gemara deduced from the words "and they despoiled the Egyptians" in that when the Israelites left Egypt, they carried that wealth away with them. The Gemara then taught that the wealth lay in Israel until the time of King

Rehoboam Rehoboam (; , ; , ; la, Roboam, ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the last monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel and the first monarch of the Kingdom of Judah after the former's split. He was a son of and the successor to Solomon and a g ...

, when King

Shishak Shishak, Shishaq or Susac (, Tiberian: , ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, an Egyptian pharaoh who sacked Jerusalem in the 10th century BCE. He is usually identified with the pharaoh Shoshenq I.Troy Leiland Sagrillo. 2015.Shoshenq I and bib ...

of Egypt seized it from Rehoboam, as reports: "And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house." The

Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael ( arc, מְכִילְתָּא דְּרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל IPA /məˈχiltɑ/, "a collection of rules of interpretation") is midrash halakha to the Book of Exodus. The Jewish Babylonian Aramaic title ' ...

, the Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon, and the Tanna Devei Eliyahu praised Joseph, as reports that he "brought the money into Pharaoh's house" and did not steal any of it. Joseph is governor

Resh Lakish deduced from the words "and as for the

gyptian Windel Beneto Edwards (born 25 October 1983), better known by his stage name Gyptian (), is a Jamaican reggae singer. He often appears with roots reggae songs within the reggae subgenre dancehall. Early life Born to a Seventh-day Adventist ...

people, he osephremoved them city by city" in that Joseph exiled the Egyptians from their home cities so that they could not later berate the Hebrews for being exiles. Reading the words of , "He osephremoved them city by city," a Midrash taught that similarly, the Israelites were not forced into exile from the Land of Israel until the

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

n king

Sennacherib Sennacherib ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: or , meaning " Sîn has replaced the brothers") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from the death of his father Sargon II in 705BC to his own death in 681BC. The second king of the Sargonid dynas ...

had mixed up the whole world, as quotes Sennacherib saying, "I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and have brought down as one mighty the inhabitants." Rabbi Abba ben Kahana taught that Joseph inspired the Egyptians with a longing to be circumcised and convert to

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in th ...

. Rabbi Samuel read the words "You have saved our lives" in to mean that Joseph had given them life both in this world and in the World to Come, through acceptance of Judaism. A Midrash noted the difference in wording between , which says of the Israelites in Goshen that "they got possessions therein," and , which says of the Israelites in Canaan, "When you come into the land of Canaan, which I gave you for a possession." The Midrash read to read, "and they were taken in possession by it." The Midrash thus taught that in the case of Goshen, the land seized the Israelites, so that their bond might be exacted and so as to bring about God's declaration to Abraham in that the Egyptians would afflict the Israelites for 400 years. But the Midrash read to teach the Israelites that if they were worthy, the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isr ...

would be an eternal possession, but if not, they would be banished from it. Rabbi Joḥanan taught that wherever Scripture uses the term "And he abode" (, ''vayeshev''), as it does in , it presages trouble. Thus in , "And Israel abode in Shittim" is followed by "and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab." In , "And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan," is followed by , "and Joseph brought to his father their evil report." In , "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen," is followed by , "And the time drew near that Israel must die." In , "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree," is followed by , "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was the king's seed in Edom."

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Jewish sources: Nahmanides painting

Genesis chapter 47

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

taught that Joseph did not show favoritism to his own family in distributing food during the famine. Naḥmanides read , “And Joseph sustained his father, and his brethren, and all his father's household, with bread, ''according to the want of their little ones'',” to mean that Joseph gave his own family what they needed and no more. Reading , “ osephremoved the population to cities,” Rashbam commented, “Just as

did,” citing , likening Joseph to a hated Assyrian king who besieged Jerusalem.

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:

Genesis chapters 37–50

Donald A. Seybold of

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and ...

schematized the Joseph narrative in the chart below, finding analogous relationships in each of Joseph's households. Ephraim Speiser argued that in spite of its surface unity, the Joseph story, on closer scrutiny, yields two parallel strands similar in general outline, yet markedly different in detail. The

Jahwist The Jahwist, or Yahwist, often abbreviated J, is one of the most widely recognized sources of the Pentateuch (Torah), together with the Deuteronomist, the Priestly source and the Elohist. The existence of the Jahwist is somewhat controversia ...

’s version employed the

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

and the name “Israel.” In that version, ''Judah'' persuaded his brothers not to kill Joseph but sell him instead to ''Ishmaelites'', who disposed of him in Egypt to an ''unnamed'' official. Joseph's new master ''promoted'' him to the position of chief retainer. When the brothers were ''on their way'' home from their first mission to Egypt with grain, they opened their ''bags'' at a night stop and were shocked to find the payment for their purchases. ''Judah'' prevailed on his father to let Benjamin accompany them on a second journey to Egypt. Judah finally convinced Joseph that the brothers had really reformed. ''Joseph'' invited Israel to settle with his family in ''Goshen''. The

Elohist According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah,McDermott, John J., ''Reading the Pentateuch: A Historical Introduction'' (Pauline Press, 2002) p. 21. Via Books.google.com.au ...

’s parallel account, in contrast, consistently used the names “Elohim” and “Jacob.” Reuben—not Judah—saved Joseph from his brothers; Joseph was left in an empty cistern, where he was picked up, unbeknown to the brothers, by Midianites; they—not the Ishmaelites—sold Joseph as a slave to an Egyptian named Potiphar. In that lowly position, Joseph served—not supervised—the other prisoners. The brothers opened their sacks—not bags—at home in Canaan—not at an encampment along the way. Reuben—not Judah—gave Jacob—not Israel—his personal guarantee of Benjamin's safe return. Pharaoh—not Joseph—invited Jacob and his family to settle in Egypt—not just Goshen. Speiser concluded that the Joseph story can thus be traced back to two once separate, though now intertwined, accounts. John Kselman noted that as in the Jacob cycle that precedes it, the Joseph narrative begins with the deception of a father by his offspring through an article of clothing; the deception leads to the separation of brothers for 20 years; and the climax of the story comes with the reconciliation of estranged brothers and the abatement of family strife. Kselman reported that recent scholarship points to authorship of the Joseph narrative in the Solomonic era, citing Solomon's marriage to Pharaoh's daughter (reported in ) as indicative of that era as one of amicable political and commercial relations between Egypt and Israel, thus explaining the positive attitude of the Joseph narrative to Egypt, Pharaoh, and Egyptians. Kselman argued that the Joseph narrative was thus not part of the Jahwist's work, but an independent literary work. Gary Rendsburg noted that Genesis often repeats the motif of the younger son. God favored

Abel Abel ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hābīl is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He was the younger brother of Cain, and the younger son of Adam and Eve, the first couple in Biblical history. He was a shepherd ...

over Cain in ; Isaac superseded Ishmael in ; Jacob superseded Esau in ; Judah (fourth among Jacob's sons, last of the original set born to Leah) and Joseph (eleventh in line) superseded their older brothers in ; Perez superseded Zerah in and ; and

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughte ...

superseded Manasseh in . Rendsburg explained Genesis's interest with this motif by recalling that David was the youngest of Jesse’s seven sons (see ), and Solomon was among the youngest, if not the youngest, of David’s sons (see ). The issue of who among David’s many sons would succeed him dominates the Succession Narrative in through .

Amnon Amnon ( he, אַמְנוֹן ''’Amnōn'', "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the th ...

was the firstborn, but was killed by his brother

Absalom Absalom ( he, ''ʾAḇšālōm'', "father of peace") was the third son of David, King of Israel with Maacah, daughter of Talmai, King of Geshur. 2 Samuel 14:25 describes him as the handsomest man in the kingdom. Absalom eventually rebelle ...

(David’s third son) in . After Absalom rebelled, David’s general

Joab Joab (Hebrew Modern: ''Yōʼav'', Tiberian: ''Yōʼāḇ'') the son of Zeruiah, was the nephew of King David and the commander of his army, according to the Hebrew Bible. Name The name Joab is, like many other Hebrew names, theophoric - de ...

killed him in . The two remaining candidates were

Adonijah According to 2 Samuel, Adonijah ( he, , ''’Ǎḏōnīyyā''; "my lord is Yah") was the fourth son of King David. His mother was Haggith as recorded in the book of . Adonijah was born at Hebron during the long conflict between David and the ...

(David’s fourth son) and Solomon, and although Adonijah was older (and once claimed the throne when David was old and feeble in ), Solomon won out. Rendsburg argued that even though firstborn royal succession was the norm in the ancient Near East, the authors of Genesis justified Solomonic rule by imbedding the notion of ultimogeniture into Genesis’s national epic. An Israelite could thus not criticize David’s selection of Solomon to succeed him as king over Israel, because Genesis reported that God had favored younger sons since Abel and blessed younger sons of Israel—Isaac, Jacob, Judah, Joseph, Perez, and Ephraim—since the inception of the covenant. More generally, Rendsburg concluded that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis; their ultimate goal was to justify the monarchy in general, and the kingship of David and Solomon in particular; and Genesis thus appears as a piece of political propaganda. James Kugel cropped

Calling it “too good a story,” James Kugel reported that modern interpreters contrast the full-fledged tale of the Joseph story with the schematic narratives of other Genesis figures and conclude that the Joseph story reads more like a work of fiction than history.

Donald Redford Donald Bruce Redford (born September 2, 1934) is a Canadian Egyptologist and archaeologist, currently Professor of Classics and Ancient Mediterranean Studies at Pennsylvania State University. He is married to Susan Redford, who is also an Egyptol ...

and other scholars following him suspected that behind the Joseph story stood an altogether invented Egyptian or Canaanite tale that was popular on its own before an editor changed the main characters to Jacob and his sons. These scholars argue that the original story told of a family of brothers in which the father spoiled the youngest, and the oldest brother, who had his own privileged status, intervened to try to save the youngest when his other brothers threatened him. In support of this theory, scholars have pointed to the description of Joseph (rather than Benjamin) in as if he were Jacob's youngest son, Joseph's and Jacob's references to Joseph's mother (as if Rachel were still alive) in Joseph's prophetic dream in , and the role of the oldest brother Reuben intervening for Joseph in , , and . Scholars theorize that when the editor first mechanically put Reuben in the role of the oldest, but as the tribe of Reuben had virtually disappeared and the audience for the story were principally descendants of Judah, Judah was given the role of spokesman and hero in the end. Von Rad and scholars following him noted that the Joseph story bears the particular signatures of ancient Near Eastern

wisdom literature Wisdom literature is a genre of literature common in the ancient Near East. It consists of statements by sages and the wise that offer teachings about divinity and virtue. Although this genre uses techniques of traditional oral storytelling, it ...

. The wisdom ideology maintained that a Divine plan underlay all of reality, so that everything unfolds in accordance with a preestablished pattern—precisely what Joseph says to his brothers in and . Joseph is the only one of Israel's ancestors whom the Torah (in ) calls “wise” (, ''chacham'')—the same word as “sage” in Hebrew. Specialties of ancient Near Eastern sages included advising the king and interpreting dreams and other signs—just as Joseph did. Joseph displayed the cardinal sagely virtue of patience, which sages had because they believed that everything happens according to the Divine plan and would turn out for the best. Joseph thus looks like the model of an ancient Near Eastern sage, and the Joseph story looks like a didactic tale designed to teach the basic ideology of wisdom. George Coats argued that the Joseph narrative is a literary device constructed to carry the children of Israel from Canaan to Egypt, to link preexisting stories of ancestral promises in Canaan to an

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

narrative of oppression in and liberation from Egypt. Coats described the two principal goals of the Joseph story as (1) to describe reconciliation in a broken family despite the lack of merit of any of its members, and (2) to describe the characteristics of an ideal administrator.

Genesis chapter 45

Commenting on and ,

Walter Brueggemann Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...

wrote that the Joseph story's theme concerns God's hidden and decisive power, which works in, through, and sometimes against human power. Calling this either providence or predestination, Brueggemann argued that God thus worked out God's purpose through and in spite of Egypt, and through and in spite of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph Siffrein Duplessis - Benjamin Franklin - Google Art Project

Joseph Siffrein Duplessis - Benjamin Franklin - Google Art Project

Genesis chapter 47

Alluding to the policies implemented by Joseph in , on June 2, 1787,

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading int ...

told the Constitutional Convention: “There is scarce a king in a hundred who would not, if he could, follow the example of pharaoh, get first all the peoples money, then all their lands, and then make them and their children servants for ever.” Samuel Driver wrote that Joseph's famine relief measures in reflected poorly on Joseph's character, as to seize the surplus produce and then compel the Egyptians to impoverish themselves to buy it back was not consistent with justice and equity. Von Rad and Gunther Plaut argued that readers should not judge Joseph by modern opinion, but should place his actions in context. Von Rad and Nahum Sarna cited higher Babylonian charges for comparable loans. Hillel Millgram, however, citing an ancient Egyptian tomb declaration, argued that Joseph comes off poorly even by ancient Egyptian ethical standards. Shlomo Ganzfried

Commandments

According to

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no

commandments Commandment may refer to: * The Ten Commandments * One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism * The Great Commandment * The New Commandment The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...

in the parashah. Reading , "and Joseph shall pass his hand over your eyes," the '' Kitzur Shulchan Aruch'' taught that one should close the eyes of a dead person at death. Following the example of Joseph, if a child of the deceased is present, the deceased's child should do it, giving preference to the firstborn son. Haggadah 14th cent

In the liturgy

The

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

Haggadah The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...

, in the ''magid'' section of the Seder, reports that Israel "went down to Egypt—forced to do so by the word f God" and some commentators explain that this statement refers to God's reassurance to Jacob in to "fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt." Shortly thereafter, the Haggadah quotes for the proposition that Israel did not go down to Egypt to settle, but only to stay temporarily.

Haftarah

haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', he, הפטרה) "parting," "taking leave", (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros'') is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pro ...

is a text selected from the books of

Nevi'im Nevi'im (; he, נְבִיאִים ''Nəvīʾīm'', Tiberian: ''Năḇīʾīm,'' "Prophets", literally "spokespersons") is the second major division of the Hebrew Bible (the '' Tanakh''), lying between the Torah (instruction) and Ketuvim ...

("The Prophets") that is read publicly in the synagogue after the reading of the Torah on Sabbath and holiday mornings. The haftarah usually has a thematic link to the Torah reading that precedes it. The specific text read following Parashah Vayigash varies according to different traditions within Judaism. In general, the haftarah for the parashah is .

Summary

God's word came to

Ezekiel Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is ac ...

, telling him to write on one stick "For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions," to write on a second stick "For Joseph, the stick of

, and of all the house of Israel his companions," and to join the two sticks together into one stick to hold in his hand. When people would ask him what he meant by these sticks, he was to tell them that God said that God would take the stick of Joseph, which was in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his companions, and put them together with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick in God's hand. Ezekiel was to hold the sticks in his hand for people to see, telling them that God said that God would gather the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they had gone, bring them into their own land, and make them one nation with one king, no longer two nations with two kings. No longer would they defile themselves with idols or transgressions, but God would save them and cleanse them, so that they would be God's people, and God would be their God.

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

would be king over them, and they would have one shepherd and observe God's statutes. They and their children, and their children's children forever, would dwell in the land that God had given Jacob, where their fathers had dwelt, and David would be their prince forever. God would make an everlasting covenant of peace with them, multiply them, and set God's sanctuary in the midst of them forever. God's dwelling-place would be over them, God would be their God, and they would be God's people. And the nations would know that God sanctified Israel, when God's sanctuary would be in their midst forever..

Connection to the Parashah

The parashah and the haftarah both tell stories of the reconciliation of Jacob's progeny. The parashah and the haftarah both tell of the relationship of Judah and Joseph, in the parashah as individuals, and in the haftarah as representatives for the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah ( he, , ''Yəhūdā''; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒁕𒀀𒀀 ''Ya'údâ'' 'ia-ú-da-a-a'' arc, 𐤁𐤉𐤕𐤃𐤅𐤃 ''Bēyt Dāwīḏ'', " House of David") was an Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. C ...

and the

Kingdom of Israel The Kingdom of Israel may refer to any of the historical kingdoms of ancient Israel, including: Fully independent (c. 564 years) *Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy) (1047–931 BCE), the legendary kingdom established by the Israelites and uniting ...

Notes

. ''Exagōgē''. 2nd century BCE. Translated by R.G. Robertson. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 2: Expansions of the "Old Testament" and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms, and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic works''. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, page 808. New York:

Anchor Bible The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. Ove ...

, 1985. *

''Allegorical Interpretation''
3.62.177

11.48; 12.51

9.29

13.57

17.80

5.21–22; 36.199; 37.203–04

51.251

31.171; 32.173–74

1.17.172

38–43.

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

, Egypt, early 1st century CE. In, e.g., ''The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by

Charles Duke Yonge Charles Duke Yonge (30 November 1812 – 30 November 1891) was an English historian, classicist and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works. His younger brother was George Edward Yonge. Biogr ...

, pages 70, 100, 134, 179, 241, 255, 272–73, 298, 355–56, 380, 435–58. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993. *

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

. ''Antiquities''
2.6.9

Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by

William Whiston William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...

, pages 63–65. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. *

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , si ...

12:80–101. Arabia, 7th century.

Classical rabbinic

Tosefta The Tosefta ( Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...

Berakhot 4:18; Sotah 10:9. Land of Israel, circa 300 CE. In, e.g., ''The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction''. Translated by

Jacob Neusner Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books. Life and career Neusner was born in Hartfor ...

, pages 27, 877. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002. *

Beshallah 1–2. Land of Israel, late 4th century. In, e.g., ''Mekhilta According to Rabbi Ishmael''. Translated by Jacob Neusner, volume 1, pages 130, 136.

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

: Scholars Press, 1988. And ''Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael''. Translated by Jacob Z. Lauterbach, volume 1, pages 122, 128. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1933, reissued 2004. *

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

: Eruvin 20b; Megillah 15b; Yevamot 47b; Nedarim 20b; Nazir 34b; Sotah 9a.

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...

, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 16, 26, 30, 33, 35–36. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2012–2017. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009. * Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon Beshallah 20:3, 21:1. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai''. Translated by W. David Nelson, pages 83, 87. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. *

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...

br>25:330:839:1240:3655:8
63:3; 79:1; 80:11; 82:4; 84:20; 89:9; 90:1, 6; 93:1–96. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 207, 237, 323, 327, 330, 489; volume 2, pages 543, 557, 573, 668, 737, 743, 754, 783, 800–01, 826–27, 831, 857–59, 861–62, 864, 866–71, 873–76, 880, 882–83, 916–21, 923–24, 928, 990. London: Soncino Press, 1939. First page of the first tractate of the Talmud (Daf Beis of Maseches Brachos)

First page of the first tractate of the Talmud (Daf Beis of Maseches Brachos)

Leviticus Rabbah Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus (''Vayikrah'' in Hebrew). It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel (c. 1035–1106) in his ''Arukh'' as well as by Rashi (1040–1105) ...

32:5. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, page 187, 414, 452. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *Babylonian

Berakhot 55a–b56b63bPesachim 119aBeitzah 16aMegillah 16a–bChagigah 4b13a–bBaba Kama 92aBava Batra 119b–120a123a–24a143bAvodah Zarah 9bChullin 60bNidah 31a

Sasanian Empire The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...

, 6th century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. * Esther Rabbah 7:20. 5th–11th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, page 103. London: Soncino Press, 1939. * Song of Songs Rabbah 1:56; 4:25; 6:20. 6th–7th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Song of Songs''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 9, pages 55, 78, 219, 265. London: Soncino Press, 1939. * Ruth Rabbah 4:1. 6th–7th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Ruth''. Translated by L. Rabinowitz, volume 8, pages 19, 49. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Ecclesiastes Rabbah Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (Hebrew: קהלת רבה) is an aggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without commenta ...

7:6, 33; 9:12. 6th–8th centuries. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Esther''. Translated by Maurice Simon, volume 8, pages 175, 205, 243–44, 251, 256. London: Soncino Press, 1939.

Medieval

Avot of Rabbi Natan Avot de-Rabbi Nathan (), usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era (c.700–900 CE). Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the " minor tractat ...

, 41. Circa 700–900 CE. In, e.g., ''The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan.'' Translated by Judah Goldin, page 172. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1955. ''The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan: An Analytical Translation and Explanation.'' Translated by Jacob Neusner, page 256. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1986. * Deuteronomy Rabbah 1:13; 8:4. Land of Israel, 9th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, pages 14, 27, 150–52. London: Soncino Press, 1939. *

Exodus Rabbah Exodus Rabbah (Hebrew: שמות רבה, ''Shemot Rabbah'') is the midrash to Exodus. Contents Exodus Rabbah is almost purely aggadic in character. It contains 52 sections. It consists of two sections with different styles, dubbed "Exodus Rabba ...

3:3, 4, 8; 15:16; 18:8; 40:4. 10th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Deuteronomy''. Translated by Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, pages 5, 9, 56, 61, 63, 68, 177, 180, 225, 454, 464–65. London: Soncino Press, 1939. Rashi woodcut cropped

* Tanna Devei Eliyahu. Seder Eliyyahu Rabbah 24. 10th century. In, e.g., ''Tanna Debe Eliyyahu: The Lore of the School of Elijah''. Translated by William G. Braude and Israel J. Kapstein, page 285. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1981. *

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

. ''Commentary''
Genesis 44–47

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near ...

, France, late 11th century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 1, pages 493–520. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. * Rashbam. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e.g., ''Rabbi Samuel Ben Meir's Commentary on Genesis: An Annotated Translation''. Translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 310–30.

Lewiston, New York Lewiston is a town in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 15,944 at the 2020 census. The town and its contained village are named after Morgan Lewis, a governor of New York. The Town of Lewiston is on the western bord ...

Edwin Mellen Press The Edwin Mellen Press or Mellen Press is an international independent company and academic publishing house with editorial offices in Lewiston, New York, and Lampeter, Wales. It was founded, in 1972, by the religious studies scholar Profess ...

, 1989. *

Numbers Rabbah Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew). In the first prin ...

3:8; 8:4; 12:2; 13:3, 20; 14:7, 8, 12; 19:3; 22:8. 12th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Numbers''. Translated by Judah J. Slotki, volume 5, pages 40, 49, 83, 213, 217, 450; volume 6, pages 506–08, 551, 599, 602–03, 623, 750, 834. London: Soncino Press, 1939. * Abraham ibn Ezra. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Mid-12th century. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Genesis (Bereshit)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, pages 396–410. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1988. *

. ''

The Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...

'', part 1, chapters 18, 27– 28, 45, 70; part 2, chapters 45, 48; part 3, chapters 38, 46.

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by Michael Friedländer, pages 27, 36, 38, 58, 107, 235–36, 243, 250, 340, 359. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. *

Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ( he, חזקוני). In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through ...

. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 310–23. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013. Zohar

Naḥmanides Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah: Genesis.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 1, pages 529–67. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1971. *

Zohar The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...

1:93b, 119a, 149b, 153b, 180b, 197a, 205a–211b, 216b, 222a, 226a; 2:4b, 16b, 53a, 85a; 3:206a. Spain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. * Isaac ben Moses Arama. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 270–76. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.

Modern

* Isaac Abravanel. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492–1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 1: Bereishis/Genesis''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 353–96. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015. * Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 240–55. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997. *

Moshe Alshich Moshe Alshich he, משה אלשיך, also spelled Alshech, (1508–1593), known as the ''Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy)'', was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century. The Alshich was born ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elev ...

, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 294–312. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000. *Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 99–105.

Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618. As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its southern border with Detroit. The city was original ...

Targum Press Menucha Publishers is an Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Writt ...

Feldheim Publishers Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, ...

, 2004. * Chaim ibn Attar. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 354–82. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999. Shadal

* Samuel David Luzzatto (Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.''

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 432–50. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012. * Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter. ''Sefat Emet''.

Góra Kalwaria Góra Kalwaria (; "Calvary Mountain", yi, גער, ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 201 ...

(Ger),

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 67–72. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012. *Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 33–35. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936. Thomas Mann 1937

Thomas Mann Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...

. '' Joseph and His Brothers''. Translated by John E. Woods, pages 257, 274–75, 464, 541–42, 547, 568–69, 663, 668, 672, 717–18, 722, 758, 788, 792–94, 796–97, 803–04, 852–53, 859, 878, 881, 886, 923, 1373–447. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. *Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 122–33. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964. * Gerhard von Rad. “The Joseph Narrative and Ancient Wisdom.” In ''The Problem of the Hexateuch and Other Essays'', pages 292–300. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. LCCN 66-11432. * Donald B. Redford. ''A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50)''. Boston:

Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international academic publisher founded in 1683 in Leiden, Netherlands. With offices in Leiden, Boston, Paderborn and Singapore, Brill today publishes 2 ...

, 1970. *George W. Coats. "The Joseph Story and Wisdom: a Reappraisal." '' Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', volume 35 (1973): pages 285–97. *Eric I. Lowenthal. ''The Joseph Narrative in Genesis'', pages 96–131. Ktav, 1973. *George W. Coats. "Redactional Unity in Genesis 37–50." ''

Journal of Biblical Literature The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). First published in 1881, ''JBL'' is the flagship journal of the field. ''JBL'' is published quarterly and incl ...

'', volume 93 (1974): pages 15–21. *Donald A. Seybold. "Paradox and Symmetry in the Joseph Narrative." In ''Literary Interpretations of Biblical Narratives''. Edited by Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis, with James S. Ackerman & Thayer S. Warshaw, pages 59–73. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974. *George W. Coats. ''From Canaan to Egypt: Structural and Theological Context for the Joseph Story''. Washington, D.C.:

Catholic Biblical Association The Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) is an American learned society dedicated to the academic study of the Bible. The suggestion to form a permanent association of biblical scholars was made at the beginning of 1936 at a meeting in ...

, 1976. *Seän M. Warner
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
'' Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 50–61. * J. Maxwell Miller
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources: A Response.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 1, number 2 (June 1976): pages 62–66. *Peter D. Miscall
“The Jacob and Joseph Stories as Analogies.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 3, number 6 (April 1978): pages 28–40. *Ivan Caine. “Numbers in the Joseph Narrative.” In ''Jewish Civilization: Essays and Studies: Volume 1''. Edited by Ronald A. Brauner, pages 3–17.

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

: Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, 1979. *

Robert Alter Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He published Hebrew Bible (Alter), his translation of the ...

“Joseph and his Brothers.”
'' Commentary'' (November 1980). *

Nehama Leibowitz Nechama Leibowitz ( he, נחמה ליבוביץ׳; September 3, 1905 – April 12, 1997 ) was a noted Israeli Bible scholar and commentator who rekindled interest in Bible study. Biography Nechama Leibowitz was born to an Orthodox Jewish fa ...

. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 483–529. Jerusalem: The

World Zionist Organization The World Zionist Organization ( he, הַהִסְתַּדְּרוּת הַצִּיּוֹנִית הָעוֹלָמִית; ''HaHistadrut HaTzionit Ha'Olamit''), or WZO, is a non-governmental organization that promotes Zionism. It was founded as the ...

, 1981. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010. *

. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 335–58. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. *Robert Sacks
"The Lion and the Ass: A Commentary on the Book of Genesis (Chapters 44–50)."
''Interpretation: A Journal of Political Philosophy'', volume 12, numbers 2 and 3 (May and September 1984): pages 141–92. * Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 45–48. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987. * Nahum M. Sarna. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 306–23, 411. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989. *Lawrence M. Wills. ''Jew in the Court of the Foreign King: Ancient Jewish Court Legends''. Fortress Press, 1990. *

Frederick Buechner Carl Frederick Buechner ( ; July 11, 1926 – August 15, 2022) was an American author, Presbyterian minister, preacher, and theologian. The author of thirty-nine published books, his work encompassed different genres, including fiction, autob ...

. ''The Son of Laughter'', pages 220, 260–74. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. KassPCOB

* Leon R. Kass
“Assimilation versus Separation, by Aaron Wildavsky: To assimilate or to stay apart?”
''Commentary''. (September 1, 1993). *

Aaron Wildavsky Aaron Wildavsky (May 31, 1930 – September 4, 1993) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management. Early years A native of Brooklyn in New York, Wildavsky was th ...

. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel''. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1993. *Judith S. Antonelli. "Serach: Daughter of Asher." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 123–26. Northvale, New Jersey:

Jason Aronson Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, perso ...

, 1995. *Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling With Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 363–75. Delacorte Press, 1995. Gunther Plaut cropped

* Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 314–51. New York: Image Books/Doubelday, 1995. *

Ellen Frankel Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and also served as CEO of the JPS for 10 years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, serving as JPS's f ...

. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah'', pages 84–86. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996. * W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 108–14. New York: UAHC Press, 1996. *Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 71–76.

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997. *Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 26–38, 165–78, 241–54. Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (
21–23
. Israël Finkelstein-2007

Erica Brown Erica Brown (born September 7, 1966) is an American writer and educator who lectures widely on subjects of Jewish interest and is scholar-in-residence for the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, and a consultant to other Jewish organization ...

. “Strange Words Between Strangers: Jacob’s Encounter with Pharaoh.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 244–61. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (). *

Israel Finkelstein Israel Finkelstein ( he, ישראל פינקלשטיין, born March 29, 1949) is an Israeli archaeologist, professor emeritus at Tel Aviv University and the head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa. Fin ...

and

Neil Asher Silberman Neil Asher Silberman (born June 19, 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American archaeologist and historian with a special interest in biblical archaeology. He is the author of several books, including ''The Hidden Scrolls'', '' The Message a ...

. “Searching for the Patriarchs.” In ''The Bible Unearthed: Archaeology's New Vision of Ancient Israel and the Origin of Its Sacred Texts'', pages 27–47. New York: The Free Press, 2001. *Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 470–77. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002. * Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 71–75. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002. * Leon R. Kass. ''The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis'', pages 593–615. New York: Free Press, 2003. *

. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 256–76. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. * Jon D. Levenson. "Genesis." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by

Adele Berlin Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland. Berlin is best known for 1994 work ''Poet ...

and

Marc Zvi Brettler Marc Brettler (Marc Zvi Brettler) is an American biblical scholar, and the Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University. He earned his B.A., M.A., and PhD from Brandeis University, where he previously served as Dora Gold ...

, pages 88–94. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *

John Van Seters John Van Seters (born May 2, 1935 in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian scholar of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the Ancient Near East. Currently University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of North Carolina, he was formerly ...

. “The Joseph Story: Some Basic Observations.” In ''Egypt, Israel, and the Ancient Mediterranean World: Studies in Honor of Donald B. Redford''. Edited by Gary N. Knoppers and Antoine Hirsch. Boston: Brill Publishers, 2004. *''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 77–83. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005. * W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 286–303. New York:

Union for Reform Judaism The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms establishe ...

, 2006. *Suzanne A. Brody. "Intense spotlight." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 73. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. *Shmuel Goldin. ''Unlocking the Torah Text: Bereishit'', pages 241–61. Jerusalem:

Gefen Publishing House Gefen Publishing House (הוצאת גפן) is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield. Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield ...

, 2007. *

James L. Kugel James L. Kugel (Hebrew: Yaakov Kaduri, יעקב כדורי; born August 22, 1945) is Professor Emeritus in the Bible Department at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at ...

. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 171, 176–97, 440. New York: Free Press, 2007. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 259–80. New York: URJ Press, 2008. * Denise L. Eger. “Forgiveness as a Queer Response: Parashat Vayigash (Genesis 44:18–47:27).” In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow, pages 64–67. New York:

New York University Press New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University. History NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown. Directors * Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–1 ...

, 2009. *Naomi Graetz. "From Joseph to Joseph." '' The Jerusalem Report'', volume 20 (number 19) (January 4, 2009): page 45. * Reuven Hammer. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 63–67. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009. Sirjonathansacks

Jonathan Sacks Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United ...

. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 301–27.

New Milford, Connecticut New Milford is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is in western Connecticut, north of Danbury, on the banks of the Housatonic River, and it shares its border with the northeastern shore of Candlewood Lake. It is th ...

: Maggid Books, 2009. *Carolyn J. Sharp. “‘Am I in the Place of God?’: Joseph the Pretender.” In ''Irony and Meaning in the Hebrew Bible'', pages 54–61.

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside the Indianapolis metropolitan area. According to the Mo ...

Indiana University Press Indiana University Press, also known as IU Press, is an academic publisher founded in 1950 at Indiana University that specializes in the humanities and social sciences. Its headquarters are located in Bloomington, Indiana. IU Press publishes 140 ...

, 2009. * John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 133–35.

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...

, 2009. *Bradford A. Anderson
“The Inversion of the Birth Order and the Title of the Firstborn.”
''

Vetus Testamentum ''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international ...

'', volume 60 (number 4) (2010): pages 655–58. *Isaac Kalimi
“Human and Musical Sounds and Their Hearing Elsewhere as a Literary Device in the Biblical Narratives.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 60 (number 4) (2010): pages 565–70. Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

*Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 16–17, 21–23, 49, 54–56, 63, 74, 80, 95, 97, 117, 126, 139, 141, 193. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012. *

Shmuel Herzfeld Shmuel Herzfeld (born October 9, 1974) is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi. He previously served as the Senior Rabbi of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue in Washington, D.C. He is a teacher, lecturer, activist, and author. Early life and ...

. "A Shepherded Community." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 59–64. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012. Darahorn

*Hillel I. Millgram. ''The Joseph Paradox: A Radical Reading of Genesis 37–50''. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012. *Eve Woogen
“The Best of Stories: Yusuf as Joseph in Hebrew Translations of the Qur'an.”
''Classics Honors Projects''. (2012). *Walter Brueggemann. “Truth Speaks to Power: Moses.” In ''Truth Speaks to Power: The Countercultural Nature of Scripture,'' pages 11–42. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013. (Pharaoh through Joseph used food as a weapon to transfer power to the central monopoly). *

Dara Horn Dara Horn (born 1977) is a Jewish American novelist, essayist, and professor of literature. She has written five novels and in 2021, released a nonfiction essay collection titled ''People Love Dead Jews'', which was a finalist for the 2021 Kirkus ...

. ''A Guide for the Perplexed''. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2013. (novel retelling the Joseph story). *Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 51–54. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015. *Katie M. Heffelfinger
“From Bane to Blessing: The Food Leitmotif in Genesis 37–50.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 40 (number 3) (March 2016): pages 297–320. *

Jean-Pierre Isbouts Jean-Pierre Isbouts (born 1954) is a professor in the Social Sciences PhD program of Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and an archaeologist, author, screenwriter, director, and producer of works addressing various histori ...

. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 80–87. Washington, D.C.:

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

, 2016. * Jan Joosten
“Biblical Rhetoric as Illustrated by Judah's Speech in Genesis 44.18–34.”
''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'', volume 41, number 1 (September 2016): pages 15–30. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 65–70. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016. *

Shai Held Shai Held (born July 2, 1971) is a rosh yeshiva (Rabbinic dean) and Chair in Jewish Thought at Mechon Hadar. He founded Mechon Hadar in 2006 with Rabbis Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker. Education Held attended Ramaz High School and studied a ...

. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 99–108. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *James L. Kugel. ''The Great Shift: Encountering God in Biblical Times'', pages 25 34. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. Liana Finck (30817591717) (cropped)

*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 33–35. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017. *Andrew Tobolowsky
"The Problem of Reubenite Primacy: New Paradigms, New Answers."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 139, number 1 (2020): pages 27–45. * Liana Finck. ''Let There Be Light: The Real Story of Her Creation'', pages 313–19. New York: Random House, 2022.

External links

Texts

Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translationHear the parashah chanted

Commentaries

Academy for Jewish Religion, CaliforniaAcademy for Jewish Religion, New YorkAkhlah: The Jewish Children's Learning NetworkAleph Beta AcademyAmerican Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic StudiesAscent of SafedBar-Ilan UniversityChabad.orgeparsha.comG-dcastJewish Theological SeminaryMechon HadarMiriam AflaloMyJewishLearning.comOhr SameachOzTorah, Torah from AustraliaOz Ve Shalom—Netivot ShalomPardes from JerusalemProfessor James L. KugelRabbi Dov LinzerRabbi Jonathan SacksRabbi Shmuel HerzfeldReconstructionist JudaismSephardic InstituteShiur.comTeach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry HillTheTorah.comTorah from DixieTorah.orgTorahVort.comUnion for Reform JudaismUnited Synagogue of Conservative JudaismYeshivat Chovevei TorahYeshiva University
{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings in Tevet Weekly Torah readings from Genesis

Readings

First reading—Genesis 44:18–30

Second reading—Genesis 44:31–45:7

Third reading—Genesis 45:8–18

Fourth reading—Genesis 45:19–27

Fifth reading—Genesis 45:28–46:27

Sixth reading—Genesis 46:28–47:10

Seventh reading—Genesis 47:11–27

Readings according to the triennial cycle

In ancient parallels

Genesis chapter 45

In inner-Biblical interpretation

Genesis chapter 44

Genesis chapter 45

Genesis chapter 47

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 44

Genesis chapter 47

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Genesis chapter 44

Genesis chapter 45

Genesis chapter 46

Genesis chapter 47

In medieval Jewish interpretation

Genesis chapter 47

In modern interpretation

Genesis chapters 37–50

Genesis chapter 45

Genesis chapter 47

Commandments

In the liturgy

Haftarah

Summary

Connection to the Parashah

Notes

Further reading

Ancient

Early nonrabbinic

Classical rabbinic

Medieval

Modern

External links

Texts

Commentaries