Miketz
Encyclopedia
Miketz or Mikeitz is the tenth weekly Torah portion (parashah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Diaspora
read it the tenth Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
. Generally, it is read on the Sabbath of Chanukah
. When Chanukah contains two Sabbaths, it is read on the second. In some years, however, Miketz is read on the Sabbath after Chanukah.
dreamed that he stood by the river
, and out came seven fat cattle, who fed in the reed-grass. And then seven lean cattle came up out of the river and ate the seven fat cattle, and Pharaoh awoke. He went back to sleep and dreamed that seven good ears of corn came up on one stalk, and then seven thin ears sprung up after them and swallowed the good ears, and Pharaoh again awoke.
In the morning, Pharaoh was troubled and sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt
and told them his dream, but none could interpret it. Then the chief butler spoke up, confessing his faults and relating how Pharaoh had put him in prison with the baker, and a Hebrew there had interpreted their dreams, correctly predicting the future. Pharaoh sent for Joseph
, who shaved, changed clothes, and came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh told Joseph that he had had a dream that none could interpret and had heard that Joseph could interpret dreams, but Joseph said that God
would give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams, and Joseph told him that the two dreams were one, a prediction of what God was about to do. The seven good cattle and the seven good ears symbolized seven years of plenty, and the seven lean cattle and the seven empty ears symbolized seven years of famine that would consume thereafter. The dream was doubled because God had established the thing and would shortly bring it to pass. Joseph recommended that Pharaoh set over Egypt a man discreet and wise, that he appoint overseers to take up a fifth of the harvests during the years of plenty, and that he store that food for the years of famine. Pharaoh told Joseph that inasmuch as God had shown him all this, there was none so discreet and wise as Joseph, and thus Pharaoh set Joseph over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring
, fine linen, a gold chain about his neck, and his second chariot, and had people cry before him “Abrech.” And Pharaoh renamed Joseph Zaphenath-paneah and gave him Asenath
the daughter of Potipherah
priest of On
to be his wife.
, for God had made him forget all his toil and all his father's house, and the second of whom he called Ephraim
, for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction. The seven years of plenty ended and famine struck, and when Egypt was famished, Joseph opened the storehouses, and sold food to the Egyptians. People from all countries came to Egypt to buy grain, because the famine struck all the earth.
saw that there was grain in Egypt, asked his sons why they sat around looking at each other, and sent them down to Egypt to buy some. Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt, but Jacob kept Benjamin
behind, so that no harm might befall him. Joseph's brothers came to buy grain from Joseph and bowed down to him with their faces to the earth. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him, for he made himself strange to them and spoke roughly with them.
Joseph remembered his dreams, and accused them of being spies. But they protested that they were not spies, but upright men come to buy food, ten sons of a man who had twelve sons, lost one, and kept one behind. Joseph told them that to prove their story, they would have to send one of them to fetch their brother, and he imprisoned them for three days. On the third day, Joseph told them that because he feared God, he would allow them to prove themselves by letting one of them be bound in prison while the others carried grain to their houses and brought their youngest brother to Egypt. They said to one another that surely they were guilty concerning their brother, and so now this distress had come upon them. Reuben
said that he had told them not to sin against their brother, but they had not listened. They did not realize that Joseph understood them, for he used an interpreter, and Joseph turned aside and wept. When Joseph returned, he bound Simeon
before their eyes, and commanded that their vessels be filled with grain and that their money be restored to their sacks.
They loaded their donkeys and departed. When they came to a lodging-place, one of them opened his sack and found his money, and their spirits fell, wondering what God had done to them. They went home and told Jacob all that had happened, and Jacob accused them of bereaving him of his children, first Joseph and now Simeon, and told them that they would not take Benjamin away. Reuben answered that Jacob could kill Reuben’s two sons if Reuben failed to bring Benjamin back, but Jacob insisted that his son would not go down with them, for Joseph was dead and only he was left, and if harm befall Benjamin then it would be the death of Jacob.
The famine continued, and Jacob told the brothers to buy more grain. But Judah
reminded Jacob that the man had warned them that they could not see his face unless their brother came with them, so if Jacob sent their brother they could buy food, but if Jacob did not send him they could not go. Jacob asked them why they had treated him so ill as to tell the man that they had a brother. They explained that the man asked them directly about their kindred, whether their father was alive, and whether they had another brother, and they answered him; how were they to know that he would ask them to bring their brother down? Judah then asked Jacob to send the lad with him, so that they could go and the family could live, and Judah would serve as surety for him, for they could have been to Egypt and back by then if they had not lingered. Relenting, Jacob directed them to take a present for the man, double money in case the return of their payment was an oversight, and also their brother, and Jacob prayed that God might show them mercy before the man and that he might release Simeon and Benjamin to them.
Joseph sat by himself, the brothers sat by themselves, and the Egyptians sat by themselves, because it was an abomination to the Egyptians to eat with the Hebrews. The brothers marveled that the servants had seated them according to their age. And Benjamin's portion was five times so much as any of his brothers’.
Joseph directed the steward to fill the men's sacks with as much food as they could carry, put every man's money in his sack, and put Joseph’s silver goblet in the youngest one’s sack. At dawn, the brothers were sent away, but when they had not yet gone far from the city, Joseph directed his steward to overtake them and ask them why they had rewarded evil for good and taken the goblet with which Joseph drank and divined
. They asked the steward why he accused them, as they had brought back the money that they had found in their sacks, and they volunteered that the one with whom the goblet was found would die, and the brothers would become bondmen. The steward agreed, with the amendment that the one with whom it was found would be a bondman and the others would go free. Hastily, every man opened his sack, starting with the eldest, and they found the goblet in Benjamin's sack. They rent their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city. Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house and fell before him on the ground. Joseph asked them what they had done, did they not know that a man such as he would divine? Judah asked how they could clear themselves when God had found out their iniquity; they were all Joseph’s bondmen. But Joseph insisted that only the man in whose hand the goblet was found would be his bondman, and the others could go in peace to their father.
King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel
whether Daniel could interpret dreams, and in Daniel replied: “'The secret which the king has asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare to the king; but there is a God in heaven Who reveals secrets, and He has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days.”
observed that having attained authority and presented with the opportunity for revenge for the ill-treatment that he had received, Joseph nonetheless bore what happened with self-restraint and governed himself. (On Joseph 28:166.)
noted that the words “two years of days (יָמִים, yamim)” in means two years. (Babylonian Talmud
Nazir 5a.)
Rabbi Johanan
taught that the wicked stand over their gods, as says, “And Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood over the river.” (The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as a god.) But God stands over them, as says, “and, behold, the Lord stood over him.” (Thus, idolaters must stand over and protect their idols, but God protects God’s people.) (Genesis Rabba
h 69:3.)
Reading in that Pharaoh “sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt . . . but there was none that could interpret them for Pharaoh, Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in Rabbi Levi's name that there were indeed interpreters of the dream, but their interpretations were unacceptable to Pharaoh (and thus “there were none . . . for Pharaoh”). For example, the magicians said that the seven good cows meant that Pharaoh would have seven daughters and the seven ill-favored cows meant that Pharaoh would bury seven daughters. They told Pharaoh that the seven full ears of corn meant that Pharaoh would conquer seven provinces and the seven thin ears meant that seven provinces would revolt against him. Thus Rabbi Joshua concluded that the words of Proverbs
“A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it not,” applied to Pharaoh’s magicians, while the continuation of the verse, “But knowledge is easy for him who has discernment,” applied to Joseph. (Genesis Rabbah 89:6.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that God intervened to cause Pharaoh to be angry with his servants, the chief cupbearer and the baker, in order to fulfill the fate of a righteous man, Joseph, in (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 13b.)
Rabbi Bana’ah argued that the import — and potential prophetic nature — of a dream on the waking world follows its interpretation. Rabbi Eleazar found Biblical support for the proposition in the chief cupbearer’s words about Joseph in “As he interpreted for us, so it came to pass.” Rava
added a qualification, concluding that a dream follows its interpretation only if the interpretation corresponds to the content of the dream, for the chief cupbearer said in “To each man according to his dream he did interpret.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55b.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
taught that those who dream of shaving should rise early and say the words of “And Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes,” to prevent thinking of Samson’s less favorable encounter with the razor in Judges
“If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.)
Rabbi Levi used and 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. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55b.)
Resh Lakish deduced from the words, “And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came,” in that Joseph did not have marital relations during the famine, and generalized that no man should. The Gemara qualified the injunction, however, teaching that childless people may have marital relations in years of famine. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 11a.) Similarly, reading “And unto Joseph were born two sons,” Rabbi Muna and Rav Huna
taught that this occurred before the famine came. (Genesis Rabbah 31:12; 34:7.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught in the name of Rabbi Johanan that when in Pharaoh conferred power on Joseph, Pharaoh's astrologers questioned whether Pharaoh would set in power over them a slave whom his master bought for 20 pieces of silver. Pharaoh replied to them that he discerned royal characteristics in Joseph. Pharaoh's astrologers said to Pharaoh that in that case, Joseph must be able to speak the 70 languages of the world. That night, the angel Gabriel
came to teach Joseph the 70 languages, but Joseph could not learn them. Thereupon Gabriel added a letter from God’s Name to Joseph’s name, and Joseph was able to learn the languages, as Psalm
reports, “He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I (Joseph) heard a language that I knew not.” The next day, in whatever language Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, Joseph was able to reply to Pharaoh. But when Joseph spoke to Pharaoh in Hebrew, Pharaoh did not understand what he said. So Pharaoh asked Joseph to teach it to him. Joseph tried to teach Pharaoh Hebrew, but Pharaoh could not learn it. Pharaoh asked Joseph to swear that he would not reveal his failing, and Joseph swore. Later, in when Joseph related to Pharaoh that Jacob had made Joseph swear to bury him in the Land of Israel, Pharaoh asked Joseph to seek to be released from the oath. But Joseph replied that in that case, he would also ask to be released from his oath to Pharaoh concerning Pharaoh’s ignorance of languages. As a consequence, even though it was displeasing to Pharaoh, Pharaoh told Joseph in “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 36b.)
Rav Judah
in the name of Samuel
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 Exodus 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
, when King Shishak of Egypt seized it from Rehoboam, as 1 Kings
reports: “And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119a; see also Avot of Rabbi Natan
41.)
, however, demurred, saying that Judah assumed an unconditional obligation to return Benjamin, for in Reuben promised, “Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him back to you,” and Judah surely promised no less than Reuben. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 173b.)
Reading Judah’s contingent vow in “Send the lad with me . . . ; if I do not bring him to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,” Rav Judah in the name of Rav
deduced that a conditional exclusion, even if self-imposed, requires formal annulment. The Gemara told that all through the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, Judah's bones were jolted about in their coffin until Moses asked God for mercy on Judah’s behalf and to annul Judah’s vow. (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 11b.)
Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman
taught that when Joseph saw Benjamin, his mind was immediately set at rest and he exclaimed in the words of “God be gracious to you, my son,” and ordered that they bring him near. Joseph then asked Benjamin whether he had a brother. Benjamin replied that he had a brother, but did not know where he had gone. Joseph asked Benjamin whether he had wife. Benjamin replied that he had a wife and ten sons. Joseph asked what their names were. Benjamin replied with their names, as listed in explaining that their names 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). (Genesis Rabbah 93:7.)
Rabbi Melai taught in the name of Rabbi Isaac of Magdala
that from the day that Joseph departed from his brothers he abstained from wine, reading to report, “The blessings of your father . . . shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was a nazirite
(since his departure) from his brethren.” Rabbi Jose ben Haninah taught that the brothers also abstained from wine after they departed from him, for reports, “And they drank, and were merry with him,” implying that they broke their abstention “with him.” But Rabbi Melai taught that the brothers did drink wine in moderation since their separation from Joseph, and only when reunited with Joseph did they drink to intoxication “with him.” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 139a.)
told that when in the steward found Joseph’s cup in Benjamin’s belongings, his brothers beat Benjamin on his shoulders, calling him a thief and the son of a thief, and saying that he had shamed them as Rachel
had shamed Jacob when she stole Laban’s
idols in And by virtue of receiving those unwarranted blows between his shoulders, Benjamin’s descendants merited having the Divine Presence rest between his shoulders and the Temple
rest in Jerusalem, as Deuteronomy reports, “He dwells between his shoulders” (Midrash Tanhuma
Mikeitz 10.)
A midrash asked who “took him, and cast him into the pit” in and replied that it was his brother Simeon
. And the midrash taught that Simeon was repaid when in Joseph took Simeon from among the brothers and had him bound before their eyes. (Genesis Rabbah 84:16.)
A Tanna
taught that in Joseph told his brethren not to take big strides and bring the sun into the city. For a Master taught that big strides rob a person of one five-hundredth part of that person’s eyesight. And on bringing the sun into the city, Rav Judah said in the name of Rav that one should always leave a city by daylight and enter a city by daylight, as reports that Joseph delayed until daylight to send his brothers away. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 10b.)
Rav Nahman bar Isaac
quoted Judah’s words, “What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves (נִּצְטַדָּק, niztadak),” in as an example of where the Torah used an abbreviation. Rav Nahman bar Isaac read niztadak as an abbreviation for “We are honest (nekonim), righteous (zaddikim), pure (tehorim), submissive (dakkim), and holy (kedoshim).” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 105a.)
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
, there are no commandments
in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
. Cairo
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:91. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0873061799.)
for the parshah is It is the story of King Solomon and the two women, one with a dead baby and one with a live baby. Joseph's rule of Egypt "becomes a precursor to wise Solomon's reign." (Gregory Goswell. "The Hermeneutics of the Haftarot." Tyndale Bulletin
58 (2007), 89.) Goswell argues that "in both cases it is wisdom that equips a man to exercise authority."
When Parshah Miketz coincides with the second Sabbath of Chanukah (as it did in 2009), the haftarah is Additionally, when Parshah Miketz occurs on Rosh Chodesh
(as it does in 2015), some congregations read additional verses in honor of the new month. (The month of Tevet
always begins during Chanukah.)
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Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual 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 Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
. It constitutes Genesis Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
read it the tenth Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
. Generally, it is read on the Sabbath of Chanukah
Hanukkah
Hanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
. When Chanukah contains two Sabbaths, it is read on the second. In some years, however, Miketz is read on the Sabbath after Chanukah.
Summary
Pharaoh’s dream
PharaohPharaoh
Pharaoh is a title used in many modern discussions of the ancient Egyptian rulers of all periods. The title originates in the term "pr-aa" which means "great house" and describes the royal palace...
dreamed that he stood by the river
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, and out came seven fat cattle, who fed in the reed-grass. And then seven lean cattle came up out of the river and ate the seven fat cattle, and Pharaoh awoke. He went back to sleep and dreamed that seven good ears of corn came up on one stalk, and then seven thin ears sprung up after them and swallowed the good ears, and Pharaoh again awoke.
In the morning, Pharaoh was troubled and sent for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
and told them his dream, but none could interpret it. Then the chief butler spoke up, confessing his faults and relating how Pharaoh had put him in prison with the baker, and a Hebrew there had interpreted their dreams, correctly predicting the future. Pharaoh sent for Joseph
Joseph (Hebrew Bible)
Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
, who shaved, changed clothes, and came to Pharaoh. Pharaoh told Joseph that he had had a dream that none could interpret and had heard that Joseph could interpret dreams, but Joseph said that God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
would give Pharaoh an answer of peace.
Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams, and Joseph told him that the two dreams were one, a prediction of what God was about to do. The seven good cattle and the seven good ears symbolized seven years of plenty, and the seven lean cattle and the seven empty ears symbolized seven years of famine that would consume thereafter. The dream was doubled because God had established the thing and would shortly bring it to pass. Joseph recommended that Pharaoh set over Egypt a man discreet and wise, that he appoint overseers to take up a fifth of the harvests during the years of plenty, and that he store that food for the years of famine. Pharaoh told Joseph that inasmuch as God had shown him all this, there was none so discreet and wise as Joseph, and thus Pharaoh set Joseph over all the land of Egypt. Pharaoh gave Joseph his signet ring
Seal (device)
A seal can be a figure impressed in wax, clay, or some other medium, or embossed on paper, with the purpose of authenticating a document ; but the term can also mean the device for making such impressions, being essentially a mould with the mirror image of the design carved in sunken- relief or...
, fine linen, a gold chain about his neck, and his second chariot, and had people cry before him “Abrech.” And Pharaoh renamed Joseph Zaphenath-paneah and gave him Asenath
Asenath
Asenath or Asenith is a figure in the Book of Genesis , an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph son of Jacob to be his wife...
the daughter of Potipherah
Potipherah
Potipherah was a priest of the ancient Egypt town of On, mentioned in the and of the Hebrew Bible.He was the father of Asenath, who was given to Joseph as his wife by Pharaoh, and who bore Joseph two sons: Manasseh and Ephraim....
priest of On
Heliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
to be his wife.
Joseph the provider
Joseph was 30 years old when he stood before Pharaoh, and in the seven years of plenty he gathered up grain as plentiful as the sand of the sea. Joseph and Asenath had two sons, the first of whom Joseph called ManassehManasseh (tribal patriarch)
Manasseh or Menashe was, according to the Book of Genesis, the first son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. Manasseh was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan...
, for God had made him forget all his toil and all his father's house, and the second of whom he called Ephraim
Ephraim
Ephraim ; was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph and Asenath. Asenath was an Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daughter of Potipherah, a priest of On. Ephraim was born in Egypt before the arrival of the children of Israel from Canaan...
, for God had made him fruitful in the land of his affliction. The seven years of plenty ended and famine struck, and when Egypt was famished, Joseph opened the storehouses, and sold food to the Egyptians. People from all countries came to Egypt to buy grain, because the famine struck all the earth.
Joseph’s brothers journey to Egypt
JacobJacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
saw that there was grain in Egypt, asked his sons why they sat around looking at each other, and sent them down to Egypt to buy some. Ten of Joseph's brothers went down to Egypt, but Jacob kept Benjamin
Benjamin
Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...
behind, so that no harm might befall him. Joseph's brothers came to buy grain from Joseph and bowed down to him with their faces to the earth. Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him, for he made himself strange to them and spoke roughly with them.
Joseph remembered his dreams, and accused them of being spies. But they protested that they were not spies, but upright men come to buy food, ten sons of a man who had twelve sons, lost one, and kept one behind. Joseph told them that to prove their story, they would have to send one of them to fetch their brother, and he imprisoned them for three days. On the third day, Joseph told them that because he feared God, he would allow them to prove themselves by letting one of them be bound in prison while the others carried grain to their houses and brought their youngest brother to Egypt. They said to one another that surely they were guilty concerning their brother, and so now this distress had come upon them. Reuben
Reuben (Bible)
According to the Book of Genesis, Reuben or Re'uven was the first and eldest son of Jacob with Leah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Reuben.-Etymology:...
said that he had told them not to sin against their brother, but they had not listened. They did not realize that Joseph understood them, for he used an interpreter, and Joseph turned aside and wept. When Joseph returned, he bound Simeon
Simeon (Hebrew Bible)
According to the Book of Genesis, Simeon was, the second son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Simeon. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an etiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
before their eyes, and commanded that their vessels be filled with grain and that their money be restored to their sacks.
They loaded their donkeys and departed. When they came to a lodging-place, one of them opened his sack and found his money, and their spirits fell, wondering what God had done to them. They went home and told Jacob all that had happened, and Jacob accused them of bereaving him of his children, first Joseph and now Simeon, and told them that they would not take Benjamin away. Reuben answered that Jacob could kill Reuben’s two sons if Reuben failed to bring Benjamin back, but Jacob insisted that his son would not go down with them, for Joseph was dead and only he was left, and if harm befall Benjamin then it would be the death of Jacob.
The famine continued, and Jacob told the brothers to buy more grain. But Judah
Judah (Biblical figure)
Judah was, according to the Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah. Biblical scholars, such as J. A...
reminded Jacob that the man had warned them that they could not see his face unless their brother came with them, so if Jacob sent their brother they could buy food, but if Jacob did not send him they could not go. Jacob asked them why they had treated him so ill as to tell the man that they had a brother. They explained that the man asked them directly about their kindred, whether their father was alive, and whether they had another brother, and they answered him; how were they to know that he would ask them to bring their brother down? Judah then asked Jacob to send the lad with him, so that they could go and the family could live, and Judah would serve as surety for him, for they could have been to Egypt and back by then if they had not lingered. Relenting, Jacob directed them to take a present for the man, double money in case the return of their payment was an oversight, and also their brother, and Jacob prayed that God might show them mercy before the man and that he might release Simeon and Benjamin to them.
The brothers return to Egypt
The brothers went to Joseph, and when he saw Benjamin with them, he directed his steward to bring the men into the house and prepare a meal for him to eat with them at noon. When the brothers were conducted into Joseph's house, they grew afraid that Joseph was going to hold them as bondmen because they had taken the money that they found in their sacks. So they explained to Joseph's steward how they had discovered their money returned to them and had brought it back with them, plus more money to buy grain. But the steward told them not to fear, for their God had given them treasure in their sacks; he had their money. The steward brought Simeon out to them, brought them into Joseph's house, gave them water, and fed their donkeys. When Joseph came home, they brought their present and bowed down to him. Joseph asked after their welfare and that of their father. They said that Joseph’s servant their father was well, and they bowed their heads. Joseph looked upon Benjamin and asked them whether this was their youngest brother of whom they had spoken, and he prayed that God would be gracious to Benjamin. Joseph left hastily for his chamber and wept, washed his face, returned, and called for the servants to serve the meal.Joseph directed the steward to fill the men's sacks with as much food as they could carry, put every man's money in his sack, and put Joseph’s silver goblet in the youngest one’s sack. At dawn, the brothers were sent away, but when they had not yet gone far from the city, Joseph directed his steward to overtake them and ask them why they had rewarded evil for good and taken the goblet with which Joseph drank and divined
Divination
Divination is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic standardized process or ritual...
. They asked the steward why he accused them, as they had brought back the money that they had found in their sacks, and they volunteered that the one with whom the goblet was found would die, and the brothers would become bondmen. The steward agreed, with the amendment that the one with whom it was found would be a bondman and the others would go free. Hastily, every man opened his sack, starting with the eldest, and they found the goblet in Benjamin's sack. They rent their clothes, loaded their donkeys, and returned to the city. Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house and fell before him on the ground. Joseph asked them what they had done, did they not know that a man such as he would divine? Judah asked how they could clear themselves when God had found out their iniquity; they were all Joseph’s bondmen. But Joseph insisted that only the man in whose hand the goblet was found would be his bondman, and the others could go in peace to their father.
Genesis chapter 41
In Pharaoh told Joseph that Pharaoh had heard that Joseph could interpret dreams, and in Joseph replied: “It is not in me; God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.” Similarly, in DanielBook of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
King Nebuchadnezzar asked Daniel
Daniel
Daniel is the protagonist in the Book of Daniel of the Hebrew Bible. In the narrative, when Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. However, he never converted to Neo-Babylonian ways...
whether Daniel could interpret dreams, and in Daniel replied: “'The secret which the king has asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare to the king; but there is a God in heaven Who reveals secrets, and He has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days.”
Genesis chapter 42
In Judah retells the events first told in| The Narator in | Judah in |
|---|---|
| 7And Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, but made himself strange to them, and spoke roughly with them; and he said to them: “From where do you come?” And they said: “From the land of Canaan to buy food.” 8And Joseph knew his brethren, but they did not know him. 9And Joseph remembered the dreams that he dreamed of them, and said to them: “You are spies; to see the nakedness of the land you are come.” 10And they said to him: “No, my lord, but to buy food are your servants come. 11We are all one man's sons; we are upright men; your servants are no spies.” 12And he said to them: “No, but to see the nakedness of the land you are come.” | 19My lord asked his servants, saying: “Have you a father, or a brother?” |
| 13And they said: “We your servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.” | 20And we said to my lord: “We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.” |
| 14And Joseph said to them: “That is it that I spoke to you, saying: You are spies. 15Hereby you shall be proved, as Pharaoh lives, you shall not go there, unless your youngest brother comes here. 16Send one of you, and let him fetch your brother, and you shall be bound, that your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you; or else, as Pharaoh lives, surely you are spies.” 17And he put them all together into ward three days. 18And Joseph said to them the third day. “This do, and live; for I fear God: 19if you aree upright men, let one of your brethren be bound in your prison-house; but go, carry corn for the famine of your houses; 20and bring your youngest brother to me; so shall your words be verified, and you shall not die.” And they did so. | 21And you said to your servants: “Bring him down to me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.” 22And we said to my lord: “The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die.” 23And you said to your servants: “Except your youngest brother come down with you, you shall see my face no more.” |
Genesis chapter 44
PhiloPhilo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
observed that having attained authority and presented with the opportunity for revenge for the ill-treatment that he had received, Joseph nonetheless bore what happened with self-restraint and governed himself. (On Joseph 28:166.)
Genesis chapter 41
The GemaraGemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
noted that the words “two years of days (יָמִים, yamim)” in means two years. (Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Nazir 5a.)
Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
taught that the wicked stand over their gods, as says, “And Pharaoh dreamed, and, behold, he stood over the river.” (The Egyptians worshiped the Nile as a god.) But God stands over them, as says, “and, behold, the Lord stood over him.” (Thus, idolaters must stand over and protect their idols, but God protects God’s people.) (Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 69:3.)
Reading in that Pharaoh “sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt . . . but there was none that could interpret them for Pharaoh, Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in Rabbi Levi's name that there were indeed interpreters of the dream, but their interpretations were unacceptable to Pharaoh (and thus “there were none . . . for Pharaoh”). For example, the magicians said that the seven good cows meant that Pharaoh would have seven daughters and the seven ill-favored cows meant that Pharaoh would bury seven daughters. They told Pharaoh that the seven full ears of corn meant that Pharaoh would conquer seven provinces and the seven thin ears meant that seven provinces would revolt against him. Thus Rabbi Joshua concluded that the words of Proverbs
Book of Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs , commonly referred to simply as Proverbs, is a book of the Hebrew Bible.The original Hebrew title of the book of Proverbs is "Míshlê Shlomoh" . When translated into Greek and Latin, the title took on different forms. In the Greek Septuagint the title became "paroimai paroimiae"...
“A scorner seeks wisdom, and finds it not,” applied to Pharaoh’s magicians, while the continuation of the verse, “But knowledge is easy for him who has discernment,” applied to Joseph. (Genesis Rabbah 89:6.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that God intervened to cause Pharaoh to be angry with his servants, the chief cupbearer and the baker, in order to fulfill the fate of a righteous man, Joseph, in (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 13b.)
Rabbi Bana’ah argued that the import — and potential prophetic nature — of a dream on the waking world follows its interpretation. Rabbi Eleazar found Biblical support for the proposition in the chief cupbearer’s words about Joseph in “As he interpreted for us, so it came to pass.” Rava
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
added a qualification, concluding that a dream follows its interpretation only if the interpretation corresponds to the content of the dream, for the chief cupbearer said in “To each man according to his dream he did interpret.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55b.)
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
taught that those who dream of shaving should rise early and say the words of “And Joseph shaved himself and changed his clothes,” to prevent thinking of Samson’s less favorable encounter with the razor in Judges
Book of Judges
The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its title describes its contents: it contains the history of Biblical judges, divinely inspired prophets whose direct knowledge of Yahweh allows them to act as decision-makers for the Israelites, as...
“If I am shaven, then my strength will go from me.” (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 56b.)
Rabbi Levi used and 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. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 55b.)
Resh Lakish deduced from the words, “And to Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine came,” in that Joseph did not have marital relations during the famine, and generalized that no man should. The Gemara qualified the injunction, however, teaching that childless people may have marital relations in years of famine. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 11a.) Similarly, reading “And unto Joseph were born two sons,” Rabbi Muna and Rav Huna
Rav Huna
Rav Huna , a Kohen, was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; He was born about 216, died in 296-297 ).-Youth:...
taught that this occurred before the famine came. (Genesis Rabbah 31:12; 34:7.)
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught in the name of Rabbi Johanan that when in Pharaoh conferred power on Joseph, Pharaoh's astrologers questioned whether Pharaoh would set in power over them a slave whom his master bought for 20 pieces of silver. Pharaoh replied to them that he discerned royal characteristics in Joseph. Pharaoh's astrologers said to Pharaoh that in that case, Joseph must be able to speak the 70 languages of the world. That night, the angel Gabriel
Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions, Gabriel is an Archangel who typically serves as a messenger to humans from God.He first appears in the Book of Daniel, delivering explanations of Daniel's visions. In the Gospel of Luke Gabriel foretells the births of both John the Baptist and of Jesus...
came to teach Joseph the 70 languages, but Joseph could not learn them. Thereupon Gabriel added a letter from God’s Name to Joseph’s name, and Joseph was able to learn the languages, as Psalm
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
reports, “He appointed it in Joseph for a testimony, when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I (Joseph) heard a language that I knew not.” The next day, in whatever language Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, Joseph was able to reply to Pharaoh. But when Joseph spoke to Pharaoh in Hebrew, Pharaoh did not understand what he said. So Pharaoh asked Joseph to teach it to him. Joseph tried to teach Pharaoh Hebrew, but Pharaoh could not learn it. Pharaoh asked Joseph to swear that he would not reveal his failing, and Joseph swore. Later, in when Joseph related to Pharaoh that Jacob had made Joseph swear to bury him in the Land of Israel, Pharaoh asked Joseph to seek to be released from the oath. But Joseph replied that in that case, he would also ask to be released from his oath to Pharaoh concerning Pharaoh’s ignorance of languages. As a consequence, even though it was displeasing to Pharaoh, Pharaoh told Joseph in “Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.” (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 36b.)
Rav Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
in the name of Samuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
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 Exodus 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
Rehoboam was initially king of the United Monarchy of Israel but after the ten northern tribes of Israel rebelled in 932/931 BC to form the independent Kingdom of Israel he was king of the Kingdom of Judah, or southern kingdom. He was a son of Solomon and a grandson of David...
, when King Shishak of Egypt seized it from Rehoboam, as 1 Kings
Books of Kings
The Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
reports: “And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem; and he took away the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119a; see also Avot of Rabbi Natan
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 . Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the "minor tractates", it probably does not belong in that collection chronologically,...
41.)
Genesis chapter 43
Rav Huna deduced from Judah’s commitment to Jacob with regard to Benjamin in “I will be surety for him; of my hand shall you require him,” that a guarantor becomes responsible for the debt that he has guaranteed. Rav HisdaRav Chisda
Rav Chisda was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the third generation , mentioned frequently in the Talmud.-Youth:...
, however, demurred, saying that Judah assumed an unconditional obligation to return Benjamin, for in Reuben promised, “Deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him back to you,” and Judah surely promised no less than Reuben. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 173b.)
Reading Judah’s contingent vow in “Send the lad with me . . . ; if I do not bring him to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame forever,” Rav Judah in the name of Rav
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
deduced that a conditional exclusion, even if self-imposed, requires formal annulment. The Gemara told that all through the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, Judah's bones were jolted about in their coffin until Moses asked God for mercy on Judah’s behalf and to annul Judah’s vow. (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 11b.)
Rabbi Samuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman
Samuel ben Nahman or Samuel Nahmani was a rabbi of the Talmud, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel from the beginning of the 3rd century until the beginning of the 4th century. He was a pupil of R. Jonathan ben Eleazar and one of the most famous haggadists of his time...
taught that when Joseph saw Benjamin, his mind was immediately set at rest and he exclaimed in the words of “God be gracious to you, my son,” and ordered that they bring him near. Joseph then asked Benjamin whether he had a brother. Benjamin replied that he had a brother, but did not know where he had gone. Joseph asked Benjamin whether he had wife. Benjamin replied that he had a wife and ten sons. Joseph asked what their names were. Benjamin replied with their names, as listed in explaining that their names 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
Chuppah
A chuppah , also huppah, chupah, or chuppa, is a canopy under which a Jewish couple stand during their wedding ceremony. It consists of a cloth or sheet, sometimes a tallit, stretched or supported over four poles, or sometimes manually held up by attendants to the ceremony. A chuppah symbolizes the...
) and he did not see Benjamin’s; and Ard signified that he was like a rose-bloom (ward). (Genesis Rabbah 93:7.)
Rabbi Melai taught in the name of Rabbi Isaac of Magdala
Magdala
Magdala is the name of at least two places in ancient Israel mentioned in the Jewish Talmud and one place that may be mentioned in the Christian New Testament...
that from the day that Joseph departed from his brothers he abstained from wine, reading to report, “The blessings of your father . . . shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him who was a nazirite
Nazirite
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or nazarite, , refers to one who voluntarily took a vow described in . The term "nazirite" comes from the Hebrew word nazir meaning "consecrated" or "separated"...
(since his departure) from his brethren.” Rabbi Jose ben Haninah taught that the brothers also abstained from wine after they departed from him, for reports, “And they drank, and were merry with him,” implying that they broke their abstention “with him.” But Rabbi Melai taught that the brothers did drink wine in moderation since their separation from Joseph, and only when reunited with Joseph did they drink to intoxication “with him.” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 139a.)
Genesis chapter 44
A midrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
told that when in the steward found Joseph’s cup in Benjamin’s belongings, his brothers beat Benjamin on his shoulders, calling him a thief and the son of a thief, and saying that he had shamed them as Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
had shamed Jacob when she stole Laban’s
Laban (Bible)
Laban is the son of Bethuel, brother of Rebekah and the father of Leah and Rachel and Bilhah and Zilpah as described in the Book of Genesis. As such he is brother-in-law to Isaac and both father-in-law and uncle to Jacob...
idols in And by virtue of receiving those unwarranted blows between his shoulders, Benjamin’s descendants merited having the Divine Presence rest between his shoulders and the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
rest in Jerusalem, as Deuteronomy reports, “He dwells between his shoulders” (Midrash Tanhuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
Mikeitz 10.)
A midrash asked who “took him, and cast him into the pit” in and replied that it was his brother Simeon
Simeon (Hebrew Bible)
According to the Book of Genesis, Simeon was, the second son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Simeon. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an etiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite...
. And the midrash taught that Simeon was repaid when in Joseph took Simeon from among the brothers and had him bound before their eyes. (Genesis Rabbah 84:16.)
A Tanna
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
taught that in Joseph told his brethren not to take big strides and bring the sun into the city. For a Master taught that big strides rob a person of one five-hundredth part of that person’s eyesight. And on bringing the sun into the city, Rav Judah said in the name of Rav that one should always leave a city by daylight and enter a city by daylight, as reports that Joseph delayed until daylight to send his brothers away. (Babylonian Talmud Taanit 10b.)
Rav Nahman bar Isaac
Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak
Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak or Rabh Naħman bar Yişħaq in actual Talmudic and Classical Hebrew was an amora who lived in Babylonia. He was a disciple of Abaye and Rava and the dean of the yeshiva at Pumbedita....
quoted Judah’s words, “What shall we speak or how shall we clear ourselves (נִּצְטַדָּק, niztadak),” in as an example of where the Torah used an abbreviation. Rav Nahman bar Isaac read niztadak as an abbreviation for “We are honest (nekonim), righteous (zaddikim), pure (tehorim), submissive (dakkim), and holy (kedoshim).” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 105a.)
Commandments
According to MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
Sefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are no commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah
Mishneh Torah
The Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
. Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:91. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0873061799.)
Generally
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is It is the story of King Solomon and the two women, one with a dead baby and one with a live baby. Joseph's rule of Egypt "becomes a precursor to wise Solomon's reign." (Gregory Goswell. "The Hermeneutics of the Haftarot." Tyndale Bulletin
Tyndale Bulletin
The Tyndale Bulletin is an academic journal published by Tyndale House in Cambridge....
58 (2007), 89.) Goswell argues that "in both cases it is wisdom that equips a man to exercise authority."
On Shabbat Chanukah
When Parshah Miketz coincides with the first Sabbath of Chanukah (as it does in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016), the haftarah is ZechariahBook of Zechariah
The Book of Zechariah is the penultimate book of the twelve minor prophets in the Hebrew and Christian Bible, attributed to the prophet Zechariah.-Historical context:...
When Parshah Miketz coincides with the second Sabbath of Chanukah (as it did in 2009), the haftarah is Additionally, when Parshah Miketz occurs on Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh ḥodesh is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the appearance of the new moon. The new moon is marked by the day and hour that the new crescent is observed...
(as it does in 2015), some congregations read additional verses in honor of the new month. (The month of Tevet
Tevet
Tebet is the fourth month of the civil year and the tenth month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar. It follows Kislev and precedes Shevat. It is a winter month of 29 days...
always begins during Chanukah.)
Further reading
The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Ancient
- Epic of GilgameshEpic of GilgameshEpic of Gilgamesh is an epic poem from Mesopotamia and is among the earliest known works of literature. Scholars believe that it originated as a series of Sumerian legends and poems about the protagonist of the story, Gilgamesh king of Uruk, which were fashioned into a longer Akkadian epic much...
6:92-113 Mesopotamia, 14th–11th century BCE. In, e.g., James B. PritchardJames B. PritchardJames Bennett Pritchard was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon...
, Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament, 84-85. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0691035032. (Bull of Heaven and seven years of famine).
Biblical
(improvident oath). (improvident oath). (interpreting dreams).Early nonrabbinic
- Philo the Epic Poet. On Jerusalem. Fragment 3. 3rd–2nd century BCE. Quoted in EusebiusEusebius of CaesareaEusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...
. Preparation for the GospelPreparation for the GospelΕὑαγγελικὴ Προπαρασκευή , commonly known by its Latin title Praeparatio evangelica, was a work of Christian apologetics written by Eusebius in the early part of the fourth century AD...
. 9:24:1. Translated by H. Attridge. 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. CharlesworthJames H. CharlesworthJames H. Charlesworth is the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is noted for his research in Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Dead Sea Scrolls,...
, 783–84. New York: Anchor BibleAnchor Bible SeriesThe Anchor Bible project, consisting of a Commentary Series, Bible Dictionary, and Reference Library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture begun in 1956, when individual volumes in the commentary series began production...
, 1985. ISBN 0-385-18813-7. (Joseph in Egypt). - JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
. AntiquitiesAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
2:5:4–6:8. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - Joseph and AsenethJoseph and AsenethJoseph and Aseneth is an ancient apocryphal expansion of the Book of Genesis's account of the patriarch Joseph's marriage to Aseneth....
1st century BCE.–2nd century CE. In, e.g., James H. CharlesworthJames H. CharlesworthJames H. Charlesworth is the George L. Collord Professor of New Testament Language and Literature and director of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is noted for his research in Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Hebrew and Christian Bibles, the Dead Sea Scrolls,...
, The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, 2:177–247. New York: Doubleday, 1985. ISBN 0-385-18813-7. - Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
12:43–79. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
- Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Berakhot 4b, 60a, 75b; Kilayim 72b; Maaser Sheni 45a. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–2, 5, 10. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2005–2009. - Genesis RabbaGenesis RabbaGenesis Rabba is a religious text from Judaism's classical period. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical interpretations of the Book of Genesis ....
h 89:1–92:9. Land of Israel, 5th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Berakhot 55b, 56b; Shabbat 105a, 139a; Pesachim 2a, 7b; Taanit 9a, 10b, 11a; Megillah 13b; Yevamot 17b, 22a, 88a; Ketubot 27b, 30a; Nazir 5a; Sotah 13b; Bava Metzia 39a, 53b; Bava Batra 4a, 15a, 173b; Sanhedrin 63b, 92a, 112b; Makkot 11a, 11b, 19b; Chullin 85a, 91a, 95b. Babylonia, 6th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Genesis 41–44. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:447–91. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9. - Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 4:15. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 221. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
- ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the 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 and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
1:25a, 145a, 175a, 183a, 193a–205a, 206a; 2:198a; 3:22b, 62b, 268a. Spain, late 13th century.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:34. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 431. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950. - Judah Leib GordonJudah Leib GordonJudah Leib Gordon, also known as Leon Gordon, was among the most important Hebrew poets of the Jewish Enlightenment....
. Osenath, Daughter of Potiphera. VilnaVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
, Russia, 1868. - Abraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac KookAbraham Isaac Kook was the first Ashkenazi chief rabbi of the British Mandate for Palestine, the founder of the Religious Zionist Yeshiva Merkaz HaRav, Jewish thinker, Halachist, Kabbalist and a renowned Torah scholar...
. The Lights of Penitence, 11:6. 1925. Reprinted in Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems. Translated by Ben Zion BokserBen Zion Bokser-Biography:Bokser was born in Lubomi, Poland, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 13 in 1920. He attended City College of New York and Rabbi Isaac Elhanan Theological Seminary, followed by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America and Columbia University...
, 83. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978. ISBN 0-8091-2159-X.
- Irving Fineman. Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel. New York: Random House, 1941.
- Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 257, 274–75, 526–27, 609, 672–74, 765, 788, 1007–253, 1287–373. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - Anne FrankAnne FrankAnnelies Marie "Anne" Frank is one of the most renowned and most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Acknowledged for the quality of her writing, her diary has become one of the world's most widely read books, and has been the basis for several plays and films.Born in the city of Frankfurt...
. The Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young GirlThe Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen...
: The Definitive Edition. Edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler; translated by Susan Massotty, 107. New York: Doubleday, 1995. ISBN 0-385-47378-8. Originally published as Het Achterhuis. The Netherlands, 1947. (“As the Benjamin of the Annex, I got more than I deserved.”) - 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, 59–73. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1974. ISBN 0-687-22131-5.
- Arnold Ages. “Why Didn’t Joseph Call Home?” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 9 (4) (Aug. 1993).
- Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - Leon R. KassLeon KassLeon Richard Kass is an American physician, scientist, educator, and public intellectual, best known as proponent of liberal education via the "Great Books," as an opponent of human cloning and euthanasia, as a critic of certain areas of technological progress and embryo research, and for his...
. The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, 561–93. New York: Free Press, 2003. ISBN 0-7432-4299-8. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Incubus.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 72. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- Esther JungreisEsther JungreisEsther Jungreis is the founder of the international Hineni movement in America. A Holocaust survivor, she has made it her life's mission to bring back Jews to Orthodox Judaism.-Biography:...
. Life Is a Test, 106–12. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007. ISBN 1-4226-0609-0. - Lisbeth S. Fried. “Why Did Joseph Shave?” Biblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology ReviewBiblical Archaeology Review is a publication that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible and the Near and Middle East . Covering both the Old and New Testaments, BAR presents the latest discoveries and...
33 (4) (July/Aug. 2007): 36–41.
Texts
Commentaries
- Aish.com
- Academy for Jewish Religion, California
- Academy for Jewish Religion, New York
- American Jewish University
- Anshe Emes Synagogue, Los Angeles
- Bar-Ilan University
- Chabad.org
- Department for Jewish Zionist Education
- eparsha.com
- Jewish Theological Seminary
- MyJewishLearning.com
- Ohr Sameach
- Orthodox Union
- OzTorah, Torah from Australia
- Pardes from Jerusalem
- Parshah Parts
- Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
- Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld
- Reconstructionist Judaism
- Sephardic Institute
- Shiur.com
- 613.org Jewish Torah Audio
- Tanach Study Center
- Torah from Dixie
- Torah.org
- Union for Reform Judaism
- United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
- United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
- What’s Bothering Rashi?