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Vaychi, Vayechi or Vayhi ( —
Vaychi, Vayechi or Vayhi ( — 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 lived," the first word of the parashah) is the twelfth 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 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 the ap ...
and the last in the Book of Genesis
The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning"). ...
. It constitutes . The parashah tells of 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. Ja ...
's request for burial in 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 Te ...
, Jacob's blessing
In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Etymology and Germanic paganism
The modern English language term ''bless'' likel ...
of 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 mo ...
's sons 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 daught ...
and Manasseh
Manasseh () is both a given name and a surname. Its variants include Manasses and Manasse.
Notable people with the name include:
Surname
* Ezekiel Saleh Manasseh (died 1944), Singaporean rice and opium merchant and hotelier
* Jacob Manasseh ( ...
, Jacob's blessing of his sons, Jacob's death and burial, and Joseph's death.
It is the shortest weekly Torah portion in the Book of Genesis (although not in the Torah). It is made up of 4,448 Hebrew letters, 1,158 Hebrew words, 85 verses, and 148 lines in a Torah scroll
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 Tora ...
. Unlike other parashahs, Vaychi does not begin after a space or on a new line. Jews read it the twelfth 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 G ...
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. Simc ...
, generally in December or January.
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, theparashah
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 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'')). Parashat Vayechi has no "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''
Reading , "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years," the Midrash HaGadol explained that these correspond to the 17 years that Joseph lived in his father’s home. Thus, for the 17 years that Jacob sustained Joseph, Joseph in turn sustained Jacob for the same period, measure for measure.
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that trouble follows whenever Scripture employs the word , ''vayeishev'', meaning "and he settled." Thus "Israel settled" in presaged trouble in the report of that Israel's death drew near.
Reading the words of , "and he called his son Joseph," a 
A Midrash asked why Jacob told Joseph in , "Bury me not, I pray, in Egypt." The Midrash suggested that it was because Egypt would eventually be smitten with vermin (in the 
Alternatively, reading , "Bury me not, I pray, in Egypt", the
Interpreting , the Gemara examined the consequences of Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. Rav Aḥa bar Jacob taught that a tribe that had an inheritance of land was called a "congregation," but a tribe that had no possession was not a "congregation." Thus, Rav Aḥa taught that the 
Rav Judah said in the name of 
Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from that sustenance is more difficult to achieve than redemption. Rabbi Joḥanan noted that in a mere angel sufficed to bring about redemption, whereas reported that God provided sustenance.
Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Ḥanina deduced from that the descendants of Joseph did not have to fear the evil eye. In , Jacob blessed Joseph's descendants to grow like fishes. Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Ḥanina interpreted that just the eye cannot see fish in the sea that are covered by water, so the evil eye would have no power to reach Joseph's descendants.
Interpreting , Rabbi Jose's nephew taught that as he was dying, Jacob gave his sons three signs by which his descendants might recognize the true redeemer: (1) he would come using, as Jacob did, the word "I" (, ''anoki''), (2) he would appoint elders for the people, and (3) he would say to the people, "God will remember you," as Joseph did in ). Rabbi Ḥunia omitted the word "I" (, ''anoki'') and substituted God's special secret name (the ''
Interpreting Jacob's words "exceeding in dignity" in , a Midrash taught that Reuben should have received three portions in excess of his brothers — the birthright, priesthood, and royalty. But when Reuben sinned, the birthright was transferred to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and the royalty to Judah.
The Rabbis of the Talmud disputed whether Reuben sinned. Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥman said in Rabbi Jonathan's name that whoever maintains that Reuben sinned errs, for says, "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve," teaching that they were all equal in righteousness. Rabbi Jonathan interpreted the beginning of , "and he lay with Bilhah his father's concubine," to teach that Reuben moved his father's bed from Bilhah's tent to Leah's tent, and Scripture imputes blame to him as though he had lain with her. Similarly, it was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar said that the righteous Reuben was saved from sin. Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar asked how Reuben's descendants could possibly have been directed to stand on 
A Midrash taught that because Jacob said of the descendants of Simeon and Levi in , “To their assembly let my glory not be united,” referring to when they would assemble against Moses in 
The Gemara told that the wise men of the enemy of the Jews 
The Gemara read , "The scepter shall not depart from Judah," to refer to the 
In the Jerusalem Talmud, Rabbi Levi considered the words "Zebulun s. . . boundary shall be upon Zidon" in , but since Sidon is in Asher's territory, Rabbi Levi concluded that the verse alludes to Zebulun's most distinguished descendant, 
Citing , Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that when a wife summons a husband to his marital duty, they will have children such as were not to be found even in the generation of Moses. For with regard to the generation of Moses, says, "Take wise men, and understanding and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you." But says, "So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known," without mentioning "understanding" (implying that Moses could not find men with understanding). And says, "Issachar is a large-boned donkey" (alluding to the Midrash that Leah heard Jacob's donkey, and so came out of her tent to summon Jacob to his marital duty, as reported in ). And says, "of the children of Issachar . . . were men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do." But the Gemara limited the teaching of Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani in the name of Rabbi Jonathan by counseling that such behavior is virtuous only when the wife ingratiates herself to her husband without making brazen demands.
The Gemara taught that a certain man insisted on going to court in every dispute. The Sages taught said that this proved that he descended from Dan, for can be read, "Dan shall enter into judgment with his people, as one of the tribes of Israel."
Rabbi Ḥama the son of Rabbi Ḥanina taught that the words of , "And the spirit of the Lord began to move him (
Reading the words of , "I wait for Your salvation, O God," Rabbi Isaac taught that everything is bound up with waiting, hoping. Suffering, the sanctification of the Divine Name, the merit of the Ancestors, and the desire of the World To Come are all bound up with waiting. Thus says, "Yea, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, have we waited for You," which alludes to suffering. The words of , "To Your name," allude to the sanctification of the Divine Name. The words of , "And to Your memorial," allude to ancestral merit. And the words of , "The desire of our soul," allude to the desire for the future world. Grace comes through hope, as says, "O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited (hoped) for You." Forgiveness comes through hope, as says, "For with You is forgiveness," and is followed in by, "I wait for the Lord."
A Midrash told that when the Israelites asked 
A Midrash taught that the intent of Jacob's blessing of Joseph in , "Joseph is a fruitful vine (, ''bein porat Yoseif'')," related to Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams in . Noting the differences between the narrator's account of Pharaoh's dreams in and Pharaoh's recounting of them to Joseph in , a Midrash taught that Pharaoh somewhat changed his account so as to test Joseph. As reported in , Pharaoh said, "Behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed and well-favored (, ''beriot basar, vifot toar'')." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "well-favored and fat-fleshed (, ''yifot mareh, uvriot basar'')." As reported in , Pharaoh said, "seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill-favored (, ''dalot veraot'') and lean-fleshed." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "ill-favored and lean-fleshed (, ''raot mareh, vedakot basar'')." As reported in , Pharaoh said that there were seven stalks, "full (, ''meleiot'') and good." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "healthy (, ''beriot'') and good." As reported in , Pharaoh said that there were then seven stalks, "withered, thin (, ''tzenumot dakot'')." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "thin and blasted with the east wind (, ''dakot u-shedufot kadim'')." Pharaoh began to wonder, and told Joseph that Joseph must have been behind Pharaoh when he dreamed, as says, "Forasmuch as God has shown you all this." And this was the intent of Jacob's blessing of Joseph in , "Joseph is a fruitful vine (, ''bein porat Yoseif'')," which the Midrash taught one should read as, "Joseph was among the cows (, ''bein ha-parot Yoseif'')." So Pharaoh then told Joseph, in the words of , "You shall be over my house."
Rabbi Melai taught in the name of Rabbi Isaac of 
Rabbi Isaac taught in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan that Jacob did not die. reports only that "he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.") Rav Naḥman objected that he must have died, for he was bewailed (as reports) and embalmed (as reports) and buried (as reports)! Rabbi Isaac replied that Rabbi Joḥanan derived his position that Jacob still lives from , which says, "Therefore fear not, O Jacob, My servant, says the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel, for, lo, I will save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity." Rabbi Isaac explained that since likens Jacob to his descendants, then just as Jacob's descendants still live, so too must Jacob.
Rabbi (
in, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli: Tractate Megillah'', elucidated by Gedaliah Zlotowitz and Hersh Goldwurm, volume 20, page 16b2. The
Reading the words of , "he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them," Rabbi Benjamin bar Japhet said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar that this teaches that Joseph spoke to the Brothers words that greatly reassured them, asking that if ten lights were not able to put out one, how could one light put out ten. (If ten brothers could not harm one, then how could one harm ten?)
A Baraita taught that the
* ( Deborah's song).
* (David's testament).
* (31:9 in NJPS) (Ephraim as firstborn).
''Allegorical Interpretation, I''
26:80
24:94, 26:103
8:26, 30:90–93, 62:177–81
2:5; ttp://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book16.html ''On the Migration of Abraham''5:22, 29:159–161
''On Dreams''
2:15:107–108
42:255–44:270. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st century. In, e.g., ''The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by
Late 1st century. *
*912:220:930:1037:739:1240:647:5
65:9; 66:4; 70:7
71:2
7; 72:5; 75:12; 78:10; 80:6, 10; 82:4–5, 10; 87:7; 90:4, 6; 93:7; 95:1; 96:1–100:13; 105. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
Berakhot 20a55a–b57a55b139a152aEruvin 53aPesachim 4a56a118aYoma 52b87aSukkah 25aRosh Hashanah 26aTaanit 5bMegillah 9a16a–bChagigah 3bYevamot 24a65b76aKetubot 72b111a–12aNedarim 20b30bNazir 65aSotah 9b–10a11b13a–b36bKiddushin 2aBava Kamma 17a92a113bBava Metzia 84a87aBava Batra 118a–b123aSanhedrin 5a22a95a98b105a106a109bAvodah Zarah 5b11b25aHorayot 5b6b11bZevachim 53b54b118bMenachot 37a93bChullin 92a31aNiddah 36b
In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. *
1732363839485253
(circa 750 CE), in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 115, 238, 270, 288–89, 305, 307–09, 384, 422, 436. London, 1916, reprinted New York: Hermon Press, 1970.
Genesis 47–50
*
''Hilchot Kri'at Shema (The Laws of Kri'at Shema)'', chapter 1, halachah 4
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Kri'at Shema: The Laws of Kri'at Shema: and Hilchot Tefilah The Laws of Prayer''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 5. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. *Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
''Hilchot Tefillin, UMezuzah, V'Sefer Torah (The Laws (Governing) Torah Scrolls, Tefillin, and Mezuzot)'', chapter 1, halachah 1
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Tefillin UMezuzah V'Sefer Torah: The Laws (Governing) Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Torah Scrolls: and Hilchot Tzitzit: The Laws of Tzitzit''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 7. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. *Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Sefer Ha'Avodah: The Book of (Temple) Service''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 2007. *Maimonides. ''
*
*
Spain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. * Baal Ha-Turim. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Early 13th century. In, e.g., ''Baal Haturim Chumash: Bereshis''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 1, pages 441–81. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1999. * Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov. "Sermon on ''Wa-Yehi''." Spain, 1480s. In Marc Saperstein. ''Jewish Preaching, 1200–1800: An Anthology'', pages 180–98. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. *
*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 106–13. 
*
*
*
*
*
“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
''
“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:
“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. In Robert D. Sacks
''A Commentary on the Book of Genesis''
* Leon R. Kass
“Assimilation versus Separation, by Aaron Wildavsky: To assimilate or to stay apart?”
''Commentary''. (September 1, 1993). *
*
25
. *Rachel Adelman. “Serah bat Asher: Songstress, Poet, and Woman of Wisdom.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 218–43. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (). *John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James L. Mays, pages 116–18. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 2000.
*
“Genesis 49:4 in Light of Arabic and Modern South Arabian.”
''
*
“The Inversion of the Birth Order and the Title of the Firstborn.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 60, number 4 (2010): pages 655–58.
*Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 6, 19, 22, 35, 54–57, 70, 74, 117, 139–40, 162, 164, 173, 183–84, 191, 193. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
* Shmuel Herzfeld. "Recognizing Your Children." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 65–70. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012.
*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).
* Richard C. Steiner
"Four inner-biblical interpretations of Genesis 49:10: On the lexical and syntactic ambiguities of as reflected in the prophecies of Nathan, Ahijah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 132, number 1 (2013): pages 33–60. * Marcia Falk
"When will we hear of Jacob's daughters?"
''
“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.*“The Hittites: Between Tradition and History.” ''
"Why Didn’t God Stop Them?"
'' Washington Jewish Week'', Jan. 9, 2020, page 31. *Andrew Tobolowsky
"The Problem of Reubenite Primacy: New Paradigms, New Answers."
''
Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translationHear the parashah chanted
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
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 pro ...
'')) within those open portion divisions. The first open portion spans the first three readings. Ten further open portion divisions separate Jacob's blessings for his sons in the fifth and sixth readings. The final, twelfth open portion spans the concluding sixth and seventh readings.
First reading — Genesis 47:28–48:9
In the first reading, Jacob lived inEgypt
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 ...
17 years, and lived to be 147 years old. When Jacob's death drew near, he called his son Joseph and asked him to put his hand under Jacob's thigh and swear not to bury him in Egypt, but to bury him with his father and grandfather. Joseph agreed, but Jacob insisted that he swear to, and so he did, and Jacob bowed. Later, when one told Joseph that his father was sick, Joseph took his sons Manasseh and Ephraim to see him. Jacob sat up and told Joseph that God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
appeared to him at Luz
Luz ( ''Lūz'') is the name of two places in the Bible.
Mentioned in Genesis
Luz is the ancient name of a royal Canaanite city, connected with Bethel ( Genesis 28:19; 35:6). It is debated among scholarsRashi on 28:17 whether Luz and Bethel repre ...
, blessed him, and told him that God would multiply his descendants and give them that land forever. Jacob adopted Joseph's sons as his own and granted them inheritance with his own sons. Jacob recalled how when he came from Paddan, Rachel
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her a ...
died on the way, and he buried her on the way to Ephrath
Ephrath or Ephrathah or Ephratah ( he, אֶפְרָת \ אֶפְרָתָה) is a biblically-referenced former name of Bethlehem, meaning "fruitful". It is also a personal name.
Biblical place
A very old tradition is that Ephrath refers to Bethleh ...
, near Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital of ...
. Jacob saw Joseph's sons and asked who they were, and Joseph told him that they were the sons whom God had given him in Egypt, so Jacob asked Joseph to bring them near so that he might bless them. The first reading ends here.
Second reading — Genesis 48:10–16
In the second reading, Jacob's sight had dimmed with age, so Joseph brought his sons near, and Jacob kissed them and embraced them. Jacob told Joseph that he had not thought to see his face, and now God had let him see his children, as well. Joseph took them from between his knees, bowed deeply, and brought them to Jacob, with Ephraim in his right hand toward Jacob's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Jacob's right hand. But Jacob laid his right hand on Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh, the firstborn, and prayed that God bless the lads, let Jacob's name be named in them, and let them grow into a multitude. The second reading ends here.Third reading — Genesis 48:17–22
In the third reading, it displeased Joseph that Jacob laid his right hand on Ephraim, and he lifted Jacob's right hand to move it to Manasseh the firstborn, but Jacob refused, saying that Manasseh would also become a great people, but his younger brother would be greater. Jacob blessed them, sayingIsrael
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
would bless by invoking God to make one like Ephraim and as Manasseh. Jacob told Joseph that he was dying, but God would be with him and bring him back to the land of his fathers, and Jacob had given him a portion (''shechem'') above his brothers, which he took from the Amorites
The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied la ...
with his sword and bow. The third reading and the first open portion end here.
Fourth reading — Genesis 49:1–18
In the fourth reading, Jacob gathered his sons and asked them to listen to what would befall them in time. Jacob called Reuben his firstborn, his might, and the first-fruits of his strength; unstable as water, he would not have the best because he defiled his father's bed. The second open portion ends here. In the continuation of the reading, Jacob calledSimeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, so ...
and 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 M ...
brothers in violence, prayed that his soul not come into their council — for in their anger they slew men and beasts — and cursed their descendants to be scattered throughout Israel. The third open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Jacob called Judah a lion's whelp and told him that he would dominate his enemies, his brothers would bow before him, and his descendants would rule as long as men came to Shiloh. Binding his foal to the vine, he would wash his garments in wine, and his teeth would be white with milk. The fourth open portion ends here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis'', page 306.
In the continuation of the reading, Jacob foretold that 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. Some ...
's descendants would dwell at the shore near Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
, and would work the ships. The fifth open portion ends here.
As the reading continues, Jacob called 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 providing ...
a large-boned donkey couching between the sheep-folds, he bowed his shoulder to work, and his descendants would dwell in a pleasant land. The sixth open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Jacob called Dan a serpent in the road that bites the horse's heels, and he would judge his people. Jacob interjected that he longed for God's salvation. The fourth reading and the seventh open portion end here.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Bereishis/Genesis'', page 308.
Fifth reading — Genesis 49:19–26
In the fifth reading, Jacob foretold that raiders would raid Gad, but he would raid on their heels. The eighth open portion ends here. In the continuation of the reading, Jacob foretold thatAsher
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 ''Asher' ...
's bread would be the richest, and he would yield royal dainties. The ninth open portion ends here.
As the reading continues, Jacob called 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'' m ...
a hind let loose, and he would give good words. The tenth open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, Jacob called Joseph a fruitful vine by a fountain whose branches ran over the wall, archers shot at him, but his bow remained firm; Jacob blessed him with blessings of heaven above and the deep below, blessings of the breasts and womb, and mighty blessings on the head of the prince among his brethren. The fifth reading and the eleventh open portion end here.
Sixth reading — Genesis 49:27–50:20
In the long sixth reading, Jacob calledBenjamin
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 thir ...
a ravenous wolf that devours its prey. The editor summarises: "these are the twelve tribes
The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, throu ...
". And Jacob charged his sons to bury him with his fathers in the cave of Machpelah
, alternate_name = Tomb of the Patriarchs, Cave of Machpelah, Sanctuary of Abraham, Ibrahimi Mosque (Mosque of Abraham)
, image = Palestine Hebron Cave of the Patriarchs.jpg
, alt =
, caption = Southern view of the complex, 2009
, map ...
that 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 Jews ...
bought and where they buried Abraham and Sarah
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pio ...
, 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 th ...
and Rebekah
Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
, and where he buried Leah
Leah ''La'ya;'' from (; ) appears in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two wives of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Leah was Jacob's first wife, and the older sister of his second (and favored) wife Rachel. She is the mother of Jacob's first son ...
. And then Jacob gathered his feet into his bed and died. Joseph kissed his father's face and wept. Joseph commanded the physicians to embalm
Embalming is the art and science of preserving human remains by treating them (in its modern form with chemicals) to forestall decomposition. This is usually done to make the deceased suitable for public or private viewing as part of the funeral ...
Jacob, and they did so over the next 40 days, and the Egyptians wept for Jacob 70 days. Thereafter, Joseph asked 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 the ...
's courtiers to tell Pharaoh that Jacob had made Joseph swear to bury him in the land of Canaan and ask that he might go up, bury his father, and return. Pharaoh consented, and Joseph went up with all Pharaoh's court, Egypt's elders, 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&nb ...
s, horsemen, and all Joseph's relatives, leaving only the little ones and the flocks and herds behind 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 the la ...
. At the threshing-floor of Atad, beyond the Jordan River
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
, they mourned for his father seven days, and the Canaanites remarked at how grievous the mourning was for the Egyptians, and thus the place was named Abel-mizraim
Abel-mizraim (, ''’Āḇêl-Mitsrayim,''; the "meadow of Egypt", or "mourning of Egypt") is a place "beyond," or east, of the Jordan river, at the "threshing-floor of Atad." Here Joseph and his 11 brothers (representing the future 12 tribes of ...
. Jacob's sons carried out his command and buried him in the cave of Machpelah, and the funeral party returned to Egypt. With Jacob's death, Joseph's brothers grew concerned that Joseph would repay them for the evil that they had done, and they sent Joseph a message that Jacob had commanded him to forgive them. When the brothers spoke to Joseph, he wept, and his brothers fell down before him and declared that they were his bondmen. Joseph told them not to fear, for he was not God, and even though they had intended him evil, God meant it for good, to save many people. The sixth reading ends here.
Seventh reading — Genesis 50:21–26
In the seventh reading, Joseph spoke kindly to them, comforted them, and committed to sustain them and their little ones. Joseph lived 110 years, saw Ephraim's children of the third generation, and grandchildren of Manasseh were born on Joseph's knees. Joseph told his brothers that he was dying, but God would surely remember them and bring them out of Egypt to the land that God had sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Joseph made the children of Israel swear to carry his bones to that land. So Joseph died, and they embalmed him, and put him in a coffin in Egypt. The seventh reading, the twelfth open portion, the parashah, and the Book of Genesis all end here.Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to thetriennial 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 50
Gerhard von Rad
Gerhard von Rad (21 October 1901 – 31 October 1971) was a German academic, Old Testament scholar, Lutheran theologian, exegete, and professor at the University of Heidelberg.
Early life, education, career
Gerhard von Rad was born in Nur ...
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 as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save many people alive,” to that of Amenemope, 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,” 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 49
, , and present parallel listings of theTwelve Tribes
The Twelve Tribes of Israel ( he, שִׁבְטֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל, translit=Šīḇṭēy Yīsrāʾēl, lit=Tribes of Israel) are, according to Hebrew scriptures, the descendants of the biblical patriarch Jacob, also known as Israel, throu ...
, presenting contrasting characterizations of their relative strengths:
Jacob's blessing of Reuben in , depriving Reuben of the blessing of the firstborn, because he went up on Jacob's bed and defiled it, recalls the report of that Reuben lay 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 marri ...
, Jacob's concubine, and Jacob heard of it.
Genesis chapter 50
When Joseph in told his brothers that they meant evil against him, but God meant it for good to save the lives of many people, he echoed his explanation in that God sent him to Egypt before his brothers to preserve life. Similarly, reports that God called a famine upon the land and sent Joseph before the children of Israel. Von Rad likened the theology of Joseph's statement to his brothers in , “And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,” 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.”In classical rabbinic interpretation
The parashah is discussed in theserabbi
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 of ...
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 Torah ...
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 center ...
:
Genesis Chapter 47
Reading , "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years," theMidrash HaGadol
Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is a work of aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Pentateuch, which was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century).
Its contents were compiled from the ...
asked whether he lived only seventeen years. The Midrash explained that Jacob spent these years in prosperity, happiness, and peace, so that one might say that only then did he really live. But before this, in , Jacob said, "The days of the years of my sojournings are a hundred and thirty years; few and evil have been the days of the years of my life." Thus, applies to Jacob when it says, "Though your beginning was small, yet your end should greatly increase." For the wicked enjoy happiness at first, but finally suffer endless sorrow, while the righteous experience suffering at first, but endless joy in the end, as promises, "Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads."
Reading , "Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years," the Midrash HaGadol explained that these correspond to the 17 years that Joseph lived in his father’s home. Thus, for the 17 years that Jacob sustained Joseph, Joseph in turn sustained Jacob for the same period, measure for measure.
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that trouble follows whenever Scripture employs the word , ''vayeishev'', meaning "and he settled." Thus "Israel settled" in presaged trouble in the report of that Israel's death drew near.
Reading the words of , "and he called his son Joseph," a Midrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
asked why Jacob did not call Reuben or Judah, as Reuben was the firstborn and Judah was king. Yet Jacob disregarded them and called Joseph, because Joseph had the means of fulfilling Jacob's wishes.
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
Rabbi Eliezer
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Hyrcanus ( he, אליעזר בן הורקנוס) was one of the most prominent Sages (tannaim) of the 1st and 2nd centuries in Judea, disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben ZakkaiAvot of Rabbi Natan 14:5 and colleague of Gamaliel ...
taught that in the hour of Jacob's death, he called to his son Joseph, and adjured him to swear to Jacob by the covenant of circumcision that Joseph would take Jacob up to the burial-place of his fathers in the Cave of Machpelah. Rabbi Eliezer explained that before the giving of the Torah, the ancients used to swear by the covenant of circumcision, as Jacob said in , "Put, I pray you, your hand under my thigh." And Rabbi Eliezer taught that Joseph kept the oath and did as he swore, as reports.
A Midrash asked why Jacob told Joseph in , "Bury me not, I pray, in Egypt." The Midrash suggested that it was because Egypt would eventually be smitten with vermin (in the Plagues of Egypt
The Plagues of Egypt, in the account of the book of Exodus, are ten disasters inflicted on Biblical Egypt by the God of Israel in order to convince the Pharaoh to emancipate the enslaved Israelites, each of them confronting Pharaoh and one of h ...
), which would swarm about Jacob's body. Alternatively, the Midrash suggested that it was so that Egyptians should not make Jacob an object of idolatrous worship. For just as idolaters will be punished, so will their idols too be punished, as says, "And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments."
Reading , "Bury me not, I pray, in Egypt", a Midrash explained that Jacob wanted his bones to be carried away from Egypt, lest Jacob's descendants remain there, arguing that Egypt must be a holy land, or Jacob would not have been buried there. The Midrash taught that Jacob also wanted his family quickly to rejoin him in the Land of Israel, as Jacob trusted God to fulfill God's promise in , "He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." Alternatively, a Midrash taught that Jacob feared that when God afflicted the Egyptians with the Plagues, they would surround Jacob's sepulcher and beseech him to intercede for them. If he did intercede, he would be helping God's enemies. If he did not, he would cause God's Name to be profaned by the Egyptians, who would call Jacob's God inefficacious. Alternatively, a Midrash taught that God promised Jacob in , "The land whereon you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed," (and this implied) that if Jacob lay in the land, it would be his, but if not, it would not be his.
Alternatively, reading , "Bury me not, I pray, in Egypt", the Midrash Tehillim
Midrash Tehillim (Hebrew: מדרש תהלים), also known as Midrash Shocher Tov or the Midrash to Psalms, is an aggadic midrash to the Psalms.
It has been known since the 11th century, when it was quoted by Nathan of Rome, by R. Isaac ben Juda ...
explained that , "Gather not my soul with sinners," alludes to the Egyptians, with whom Jacob sought not to be buried. Similarly, 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 w ...
taught that Jews have a rule that a righteous person may not be buried near a wicked person.
Reading Jacob's request in , "You shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burying-place", the 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 ...
asked why Jacob went to such lengths, as Jacob would be Jacob wherever he was laid to rest. What would be lacking if he were buried elsewhere? Rabbi Shimon ben 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 Juda ...
(Resh Lakish) explained in the name of 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 "Son o ...
that Israel is the land whose dead will be resurrected first in the Messianic era
In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consu ...
.
Karna deduced from that Jacob sought burial in Israel to ensure his resurrection. Karna reasoned that Jacob knew that he was an entirely righteous man, and that the dead outside Israel will also be resurrected, so Jacob must have troubled his sons to carry him to Canaan because he feared that he might be unworthy to travel through tunnels to the site of resurrection in Israel. Similarly, Rabbi Ḥanina explained that the same reason prompted Joseph to seek burial in Israel in .
Rav Judah cited to support the proposition that gravediggers must remove surrounding earth when they rebury a body. Rav Judah interpreted the verse to mean "carry with me arth
Arth is a village, a town, and a municipality in Schwyz District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.
The municipality consists of the villages Arth, Oberarth, and Goldau. The four settlements Rigi Kulm, Rigi First, Rigi Klösterli, an ...
of Egypt."
Rabbi Elazar read to report that Jacob bowed to Joseph because Joseph was in power. The Gemara read Jacob's action to illustrate a saying then popular: "When the fox has its hour, bow down to it." That is, even though one would ordinarily expect the lion to be the king of beasts, when the fox has its turn to rule, one should bow to it as well. The Gemara thus viewed Joseph as the fox, to whom, in his day, even the senior Jacob bowed down.
A Midrash read to teach that Jacob gave thanks for Leah, for says, "And Israel bowed down n thanksgivingfor the bed's head," and the Midrash read Leah (as the first who bore Jacob children) to be the head of Jacob's bed.
Genesis Chapter 48
Interpreting , the Gemara taught that until the time of Jacob, there was no illness (as one lived one's allotted years in health and then died suddenly). Then Jacob came and prayed, and illness came into being, as reports, "And one told Joseph, ‘Behold, your father is sick'" (reporting sickness for the first time in the Torah). Similarly, thePirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (also Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer; abbreviated PdRE) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and re ...
reported that from the creation of the Heaven and earth until then, no person had ever become ill. Rather, they would remain fit until the time they were to die. Then, wherever they would happen to be, they would sneeze, and their souls would depart through their noses. But then Jacob prayed, seeking mercy from God, asking that God not take his soul until he had an opportunity to charge his sons and all his household. And then, as reports, "And one told Joseph, ‘Behold, your father is sick.'" Therefore, a person is duty bound to say "life!" after another sneezes.
Interpreting , the Gemara examined the consequences of Jacob's blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh. Rav Aḥa bar Jacob taught that a tribe that had an inheritance of land was called a "congregation," but a tribe that had no possession was not a "congregation." Thus, Rav Aḥa taught that the tribe of Levi
According to the Bible, the Tribe of Levi is one of the tribes of Israel, traditionally descended from Levi, son of Jacob. The descendants of Aaron, who was the first ''kohen gadol'' (high priest) of Israel, were designated as the priestly class, ...
was not called a "congregation." The Gemara questioned Rav Aḥa's teaching, asking whether there would then be fewer than 12 tribes. 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 o ...
replied quoting Jacob's words in "Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben and Simeon, shall be mine." But Rava interpreted the words "They shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance" in to show that Ephraim and Manasseh were thereafter regarded as comparable to other tribes only in regard to their inheritance of the land, not in any other respect. The Gemara challenged Rava's interpretation, noting that mentions Ephraim and Manasseh separately as tribes in connection with their assembling around the camp by their banners. The Gemara replied to its own challenge by positing that their campings were like their possessions, in order to show respect to their banners. The Gemara persisted in arguing that Ephraim and Manasseh were treated separately by noting that they were also separated with regard to their princes. The Gemara responded that this was done in order to show honor to the princes and to avoid having to choose the prince of one tribe to rule over the other. indicates that Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah ( Hebrew: , Modern: , Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yah"), was a monarch of ancient Israel and the son and succe ...
celebrated seven days of dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
, and 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 pro ...
celebrated twelve days of dedication of the Tabernacle instead of seven in order to show honor to the princes and to avoid having to choose the prince of one tribe over the other.
Rav Judah said 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 bi ...
that , where grandchildren are equated with children, serves to remind the reader that cursing a husband's parents in the presence of the husband's children is just as bad as cursing them in the husband's presence. Rabbah said that an example of such a curse would be where a woman told her husband's son, "May a lion devour your grandfather."
Rav Papa cited to demonstrate that the word "''noladim''," meaning "born," applies to lives already in being, not just to children to be born in the future, as "''nolad''" appears to refer in .
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 "o ...
used to illustrate the effect of the law of levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obliged to marry his brother's widow. Levirate marriage has been practiced by societies with a strong clan structure in which exogamous marriage (i.e. marriage out ...
, where a brother marries his dead brother's wife and raises a child in the dead brother's name. Just as in Ephraim and Manasseh were to inherit from Jacob, so in levirate marriage the brother who marries his dead brother's wife and their children thereafter were to inherit from the dead brother.
The Gemara noted that in , Jacob exclaimed about Rachel's death as a loss ''to him'', supporting the proposition stated by a Baraita that the death of a woman is felt by none so much as by her husband.
Rabbi Ḥama the son of Rabbi Ḥanina taught that our ancestors were never without a scholars' council. Abraham was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "And Abraham was an elder well stricken in age." Eliezer
Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible.
Eliezer of Damascus
Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the Targums, the son of Nimrod. Eliezer was head of the patriarch Abraham's house ...
, Abraham's servant, was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "And Abraham said to his servant, the elder of his house, who ruled over all he had," which Rabbi Eleazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from cr ...
explained to mean that he ruled over — and thus knew and had control of — the Torah of his master. Isaac was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says: "And it came to pass when Isaac was an elder." Jacob was an elder and a member of the scholars' council, as says, "Now the eyes of Israel were dim with age." In Egypt they had the scholars' council, as says, "Go and gather the elders of Israel together." And in the Wilderness, they had the scholars' council, as in , God directed Moses to "Gather . . . 70 men of the elders of Israel."
Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from that sustenance is more difficult to achieve than redemption. Rabbi Joḥanan noted that in a mere angel sufficed to bring about redemption, whereas reported that God provided sustenance.
Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Ḥanina deduced from that the descendants of Joseph did not have to fear the evil eye. In , Jacob blessed Joseph's descendants to grow like fishes. Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Ḥanina interpreted that just the eye cannot see fish in the sea that are covered by water, so the evil eye would have no power to reach Joseph's descendants.
Interpreting , Rabbi Jose's nephew taught that as he was dying, Jacob gave his sons three signs by which his descendants might recognize the true redeemer: (1) he would come using, as Jacob did, the word "I" (, ''anoki''), (2) he would appoint elders for the people, and (3) he would say to the people, "God will remember you," as Joseph did in ). Rabbi Ḥunia omitted the word "I" (, ''anoki'') and substituted God's special secret name (the ''Shem HaMephorash
''Shem HaMephorash'' ( he, שֵׁם הַמְּפֹרָשׁ ''Šēm hamMəfōrāš'', also ''Shem ha-Mephorash''), meaning "the explicit name," is originally a Tannaitic term describing the Tetragrammaton. In Kabbalah, it may refer to a name of Go ...
'').
The Gemara read the reference in to "one portion above your brothers" to mean that like a firstborn son, Joseph received a double portion. Rav Papa asked Abaye whether perhaps Jacob merely gave Joseph an extra palm tree. Abaye answered that demonstrated that Jacob intended that Joseph would get two full portions "even as Reuben and Simeon." Rabbi Ḥelbo asked Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani why Jacob took the firstborn's birthright from Reuben and gave it to Joseph. The Gemara answered by citing to show that Reuben lost the birthright when he defiled Jacob's bed. The Gemara asked why Joseph benefited from Reuben's disqualification. Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani responded with a parable of an orphan who was brought up by an adoptive father, and when he became rich, he chose to give to his adoptive father from his wealth. Similarly, because Joseph cared for Jacob, Jacob chose to give to Joseph. Rabbi Ḥelbo challenged that reason, arguing instead that Rabbi Jonathan said that Rachel should have borne the firstborn, as indicated by the naming of Joseph in , and God restored the right of the firstborn to Rachel because of her modesty. And a Baraita read the reference in to "my sword and . . . my bow" to mean Jacob's spiritual weapons, interpreting "my sword" to mean prayer and "my bow" to mean supplication.
Rabbi Joḥanan said that he would sit at the gate of the bathhouse (''mikvah
Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
''), and when Jewish women came out, they would look at him and have children as handsome as he was. The Rabbis asked him whether he was not afraid of the evil eye for being so boastful. He replied that the evil eye has no power over the descendants of Joseph, citing the words of , "Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine above the eye (''alei ayin'')." Rabbi Abbahu
Rabbi Abbahu ( he, אבהו) was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279-320 and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin (Caesarea).
Biograp ...
taught that one should not read ''alei ayin'' ("by a fountain"), but ''olei ayin'' ("rising over the eye"). Rabbi Judah (or some say Rabbi Jose) son of Rabbi Ḥanina deduced from the words "And let them (the descendants of Joseph) multiply like fishes (''ve-yidgu'') in the midst of the earth" in that just as fish (''dagim'') in the sea are covered by water and thus the evil eye has no power over them, so the evil eye has no power over the descendants of Joseph. Alternatively, the evil eye has no power over the descendants of Joseph because the evil eye has no power over the eye that refused to enjoy what did not belong to it — Potiphar
Potiphar ( ; Egyptian origin: ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra gave") is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Potiphar is possibly the same name as Potiphera () from Late Egyptian ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra has given."
Potiphar ...
's wife — as reported in .
Genesis Chapter 49
TheSifre
Sifre ( he, סִפְרֵי; ''siphrēy'', ''Sifre, Sifrei'', also, ''Sifre debe Rab'' or ''Sifre Rabbah'') refers to either of two works of ''Midrash halakha'', or classical Jewish legal biblical exegesis, based on the biblical books of Numbers a ...
taught that Jacob demonstrated in the model of how to admonish others when one is near death. The Sifre read to indicate that Moses spoke to the Israelites in rebuke. The Sifre taught that Moses rebuked them only when he approached death, and the Sifre taught that Moses learned this lesson from Jacob, who admonished his sons in only when he neared death. The Sifre cited four reasons why people do not admonish others until the admonisher nears death: (1) so that the admonisher does not have to repeat the admonition, (2) so that the one rebuked would not suffer undue shame from being seen again, (3) so that the one rebuked would not bear ill will to the admonisher, and (4) so that the one may depart from the other in peace, for admonition brings peace. The Sifre cited as further examples of admonition near death: (1) when Abraham reproved Abimelech
Abimelech (also spelled Abimelek or Avimelech; ) was the generic name given to all Philistine kings in the Hebrew Bible from the time of Abraham through King David. In the Book of Judges, Abimelech, son of Gideon, of the Tribe of Manasseh, is pr ...
in , (2) when Isaac reproved Abimelech, Ahuzzath, and Phicol Phicol, also spelled Phichol ( KJV) or Phikol, ( he, פִיכֹל, meaning "great"; la, Phicol) was a Philistine military leader.
Phicol was the chief captain of the army of Abimelech, the Philistine king of Gerar. He entered into an alliance with ...
in , (3) when 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 ...
admonished the Israelites in , (4) when 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 bi ...
admonished the Israelites in , and (5) when 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 ...
admonished Solomon in .
The Gemara explained that when Jews recite the Shema
''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewi ...
, they recite the words, "blessed be the name of God's glorious Kingdom forever and ever," quietly between the words, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one," from , and the words, "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might," from , for the reason that Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish expounded when he explained what happened in . That verse reports, "And Jacob called to his sons, and said: ‘Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you what will befall you in the end of days.'" According to Rabbi Simeon, Jacob wished to reveal to his sons what would happen in the end of the days, but just then, 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 plac ...
'') departed from him. So, Jacob said that perhaps, Heaven forefend, he had fathered a son who was unworthy to hear the prophecy, just as Abraham had fathered Ishmael
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
or Isaac had fathered 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 ...
. But his sons answered him (in the words of ), "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One," explaining that just as there was only One in Jacob's heart, so there was only One in their hearts. And Jacob replied, "Blessed be the name of God's glorious Kingdom forever and ever." The Rabbis considered that Jews might recite "Blessed be the name of God's glorious Kingdom forever and ever" aloud, but rejected that option, as Moses did not say those words in . The Rabbis considered that Jews might not recite those words at all, but rejected that option, as Jacob did say the words. So, the Rabbis ruled that Jews should recite the words quietly. Rabbi Isaac taught that the School of Rabbi Ammi said that one can compare this practice to that of a princess who smelled a spicy pudding. If she revealed her desire for the pudding, she would suffer disgrace; but if she concealed her desire, she would suffer deprivation. So, her servants brought her pudding secretly. Rabbi Abbahu
Rabbi Abbahu ( he, אבהו) was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279-320 and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin (Caesarea).
Biograp ...
taught that the Sages ruled that Jews should recite the words aloud, so as not to allow heretics to claim that Jews were adding improper words to the Shema. But in Nehardea
Nehardea or Nehardeah ( arc, נהרדעא, ''nəhardəʿā'' "river of knowledge") was a city from the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka (the Royal Canal), one ...
, where there were no heretics so far, they recited the words quietly.
Interpreting Jacob's words "exceeding in dignity" in , a Midrash taught that Reuben should have received three portions in excess of his brothers — the birthright, priesthood, and royalty. But when Reuben sinned, the birthright was transferred to Joseph, the priesthood to Levi, and the royalty to Judah.
The Rabbis of the Talmud disputed whether Reuben sinned. Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥman said in Rabbi Jonathan's name that whoever maintains that Reuben sinned errs, for says, "Now the sons of Jacob were twelve," teaching that they were all equal in righteousness. Rabbi Jonathan interpreted the beginning of , "and he lay with Bilhah his father's concubine," to teach that Reuben moved his father's bed from Bilhah's tent to Leah's tent, and Scripture imputes blame to him as though he had lain with her. Similarly, it was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar said that the righteous Reuben was saved from sin. Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar asked how Reuben's descendants could possibly have been directed to stand on Mount Ebal
Mount Ebal ( he, ''Har ʿĒyḇāl''; ar, جبل عيبال ''Jabal ‘Aybāl'') is one of the two mountains in the immediate vicinity of the city of Nablus in the West Bank (biblical ''Shechem''), and forms the northern side of the valley in ...
and proclaim in , "Cursed be he who lies with his father's wife," if Reuben had sinned with Bilhah. Rabbi Simeon ben Eleazar interpreted , "and he lay with Bilhah his father's concubine," to teach that Reuben resented his mother Leah's humiliation, and did not want Rachel's maid Bilhah to join Rachel as a rival to Leah. So, Reuben moved her bed. Others told that Reuben moved two beds, one of the Divine Presence (''Shechinah'') and the other of his father, as Jacob set a couch for the Divine Presence in each of his wives' tents, and he spent the night where the Divine Presence came to rest. According to this view, one should read to say, "Then you defiled my couch on which (the Divine Presence) went up." But the Gemara also reported disputes among the Tannaim
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mi ...
on how to interpret the word "unstable (, ''pachaz'')" in , where Jacob called Reuben, "unstable (, ''pachaz'') as water." Several Rabbis read the word , ''pachaz'', as an acronym
An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
, each letter indicating a word. Rabbi Eliezer interpreted Jacob to tell Reuben: "You were hasty (, ''paztah''), you were guilty (, ''ḥabtah''), you disgraced (, ''zaltah'')." Rabbi Joshua
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage in ...
interpreted: "You overstepped (, ''pasatah'') the law, you sinned (, ''ḥatata''), you fornicated (, ''zanita'')." Rabban Gamaliel
Gamaliel the Elder (; also spelled Gamliel; he, רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן ''Rabban Gamlīʾēl hazZāqēn''; grc-koi, Γαμαλιὴλ ὁ Πρεσβύτερος ''Gamaliēl ho Presbýteros''), or Rabban Gamaliel I, ...
interpreted: "You meditated (, ''pillaltah'') to be saved from sin, you supplicated (, ''ḥaltah''), your prayer shone forth (, ''zarhah'')." Rabban Gamaliel also cited the interpretation of Rabbi Eleazar the Modiite, who taught that one should reverse the word and interpret it: "You trembled (, ''zi'az'ata''), you recoiled (, ''halita''), your sin fled (, ''parhah'') from you." Rava (or others say Rabbi Jeremiah bar Abba) interpreted: "You remembered (, ''zakarta'') the penalty of the crime, you were grievously sick (, ''ḥalita'') through defying lust, you held aloof (, ''pirashta'') from sinning."
Rabbi Judah bar Simon taught that Moses later ameliorated the effects of Jacob's curse of Reuben in . Rabbi Judah bar Simon read , “Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out,” to refer to Moses. Rabbi Judah bar Simon read “when you come in” to refer to Moses, because when he came into the world, he brought nearer to God Batya the daughter of Pharaoh (who by saving Moses from drowning merited life in the World to Come). And “blessed shall you be when you go out” also refers to Moses, for as he was departing the world, he brought Reuben nearer to his estranged father Jacob, when Moses blessed Reuben with the words “Let Reuben live and not die” in (thus gaining for Reuben the life in the World to Come and thus proximity to Jacob that Reuben forfeited when he sinned against his father in and became estranged from him in ).
A Midrash taught that because Jacob said of the descendants of Simeon and Levi in , “To their assembly let my glory not be united,” referring to when they would assemble against Moses in Korah
Korah ( he, ''Qōraḥ''; ar, قارون ''Qārūn''), son of Izhar, is an individual who appears in the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible and four different verses in the Quran, known for leading a rebellion against Moses. Some older Engli ...
’s band, traces Korah’s descent back only to Levi, not to Jacob.
Similarly, the Gemara asked why did not trace Korah
Korah ( he, ''Qōraḥ''; ar, قارون ''Qārūn''), son of Izhar, is an individual who appears in the Book of Numbers of the Hebrew Bible and four different verses in the Quran, known for leading a rebellion against Moses. Some older Engli ...
's genealogy back to Jacob, and Rabbi Samuel bar Isaac answered that Jacob had prayed not to be listed amongst Korah's ancestors in , where it is written, "Let my soul not come into their council; unto their assembly let my glory not be united." "Let my soul not come into their council" referred to the spies, and "unto their assembly let my glory not be united" referred to Korah's assembly.
It was taught in a Baraita that King Ptolemy brought together 72 elders and placed them in 72 separate rooms, without telling them why he had brought them together, and he asked each one of them to translate the Torah. God then prompted each one of them to conceive the same idea and write a number of cases in which the translation did not follow the Masoretic Text, including, for , "For in their anger they slew an ''ox'', and in their wrath they dug up a stall" — writing "ox" instead of "man" to protect the reputation of Jacob's sons.
It was taught in a Baraita that Issi ben Judah said that there are five verses in the Torah whose meaning they could not decide, including , which one can read, "And in their self-will they crippled oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce," or one can read, "And in their self-will they crippled the cursed oxen. Their anger was fierce." (In the latter reading, "the cursed oxen" refers to Shechem
Shechem ( ), also spelled Sichem ( ; he, שְׁכֶם, ''Šəḵem''; ; grc, Συχέμ, Sykhém; Samaritan Hebrew: , ), was a Canaanite and Israelite city mentioned in the Amarna Letters, later appearing in the Hebrew Bible as the first cap ...
, a descendant of 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 Te ...
, whom Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible ( Book of Genesis, chapters 5� ...
cursed in ).
A Midrash taught that the words "I will divide them in Jacob" in foretold that scribes in synagogues would descend from the tribe of Simeon, and students and teachers of Mishnah would descend from the tribe of Levi, engaged in the study of the Torah in the houses of study. (These by their profession would thus be prevented from living in masses and would be scattered.)Genesis Rabbah 97, in, e.g., Harry Freedman and Maurice Simon, translators, ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis'', volume 2, pages 896–97.
A Midrash taught that the words "Judah, you shall your brothers praise" in signify that because (in , in connection with his daughter-in-law Tamar) Judah confessed (the same word as "praise"), Judah's brothers would praise Judah in this world and in the World To Come
The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or p ...
(accepting descendants of Judah as their king). And in accordance with Jacob's blessing, 30 kings descended from Judah, for as reports, David descended from Judah, and if one counts David, Solomon, 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 ...
, Abijah Abijah ( ') is a Biblical HebrewPetrovsky, p. 35 unisex nameSuperanskaya, p. 277 which means "my Father is Yah". The Hebrew form ' also occurs in the Bible.
Old Testament characters Women
* Abijah, who married King Ahaz of Judah. She is ...
, Asa
ASA as an abbreviation or initialism may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Accessible surface area of a biomolecule, accessible to a solvent
* Acetylsalicylic acid, aspirin
* Advanced surface ablation, refractive eye surgery
* Anterior spinal a ...
, Jehoshaphat
Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; el, Ἰωσαφάτ, Iosafát; la, Josaphat), according to 1 Kings 22:41, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father ...
and his successors until Jeconiah
Jeconiah ( he, יְכָנְיָה ''Yəḵonəyā'' , meaning " Yah has established"; el, Ιεχονιας; la, Iechonias, Jechonias), also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin ( he, יְהוֹיָכִין ''Yəhōyāḵīn'' ; la, Ioachin, Joac ...
and Zedekiah
Zedekiah (), was the 20th and last king of Judah before the destruction of the kingdom by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon. His birth name was Mattaniah/Mattanyahu ( he, מַתַּנְיָהוּ, ''Mattanyāhū'', "Gift of God"; el, Μαθθ ...
(one finds 30 generations from Judah's son Perez to Zedekiah). And so the Midrash taught it shall be in the World To Come (the Messianic era), for as foretells, "And David My servant shall be their prince forever."
The Gemara told that the wise men of the enemy of the Jews Haman
Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I ...
read Jacob's blessing of Judah in , "Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies," to teach that Haman could not prevail against a descendant of Judah. Thus reports, "Then his (Haman's) wise men and Zeresh
Zeresh (Hebrew: זֶרֶשׁ) was the wife of Haman the Agagite who is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Esther.
Zeresh advised her husband to prepare a high gallows (50 cubits) and to hang Mordecai on it ( Esther 5:14). However, she ...
his wife said to him: ‘If Mordecai
Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed.
Biblical acco ...
. . . be of the seed of the Jews (, ''ha-Yehudim''), you shall not prevail against him.'" (The word , ''ha-Yehudim'', can refer to both the Jews and the people of the tribe of Judah.) The Gemara reported that the wise men told Haman that if Mordecai came from another tribe, then Haman could prevail over him, but if he came from one of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, or Manasseh, then Haman would not prevail over him. They deduced the strength of descendants of Judah from . And they deduced the strength of descendants of Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh from , which says, "Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up your might."
The Midrash Tehillim expanded on Jacob's blessing of Judah in , “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.” The Midrash Tehillim interpreted , “You have given me the necks of my enemies,” to allude to Judah, because Rabbi Joshua ben Levi reported an oral tradition that Judah slew Esau after the death of Isaac. Esau, Jacob, and all Jacob's children went to bury Isaac, as reports, “Esau, Jacob, and his sons buried him,” and they were all in the Cave of Machpelah sitting and weeping. At last Jacob's children stood up, paid their respects to Jacob, and left the cave so that Jacob would not be humbled by weeping exceedingly in their presence. But Esau reentered the cave, thinking that he would kill Jacob, as reports, “And Esau said in his heart: ‘Let the days of mourning for my father be at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob.’” But Judah saw Esau go back and perceived at once that Esau meant to kill Jacob in the cave. Quickly Judah slipped after him and found Esau about to slay Jacob. So Judah killed Esau from behind. The neck of the enemy was given into Judah’s hands alone, as Jacob blessed Judah in saying, “Your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies.” And thus David declared in , “You have given me the necks of my enemies,” as if to say that this was David's patrimony, since said it of his ancestor Judah.
Reading , Rabbi Joḥanan noted that the lion has six names — , ''ari'', twice in ; , ''kefir''; , ''lavi'' in ; , ''laish''; , ''shachal''; and , ''shachatz''.
The Gemara read , "The scepter shall not depart from Judah," to refer to the Exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...
s of Babylon, who ruled over Jews with scepters (symbols of the authority of a ruler appointed by the Government). And the Gemara read the term "lawgiver" in to refers to the descendants of Hillel in the Land of Israel who taught the Torah in public. The Gemara deduced from this that an authorization held from the Exilarch in Babylonia held good in both Babylonia and the Land of Israel.
The School of Rabbi Shila read the words of , "until Shiloh come," to teach that "Shiloh" is the name of the Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashia ...
. And Rabbi Joḥanan taught that the world was created only for the sake of the Messiah.
The Gemara taught that if one who sees a choice vine in a dream may look forward to seeing the Messiah, since says, "Binding his foal to the vine and his donkey's colt to the choice vine," and was thought to refer to the Messiah.
When Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel to Babylon, he taught that foretold the wonders of the Land of Israel. He taught that the words of , "Binding his foal (, ''iro'') to the vine," foretold that there will not be a vine in the Land of Israel that does not require everyone in a city (, ''ir'') to harvest. He taught that the words of , "And his donkey's colt into the choice vine (, ''soreikah'')," foretold that there would not even be a wild tree (, ''serak'') in the Land of Israel that would not produce enough fruit for two donkeys. In case one might imagine that the Land would not contain wine, explicitly said, "He washes his garments in wine." In case one should say that it would not intoxicate, states, "His vesture (, ''susto'', a cognate of ''hasasah'', "enticement")." In case one might think that it would be tasteless, states, "His eyes shall be red (, ''chachlili'') with wine," teaching that any palate that will taste it says, "To me, to me (, ''li li'')." And in case one might say that it would suitable for young people but not for old, states, "And his teeth white with milk," which Rav Dimi read not as, "white teeth (, uleven shinayim)," but as, "To one who is advanced in years (, ''leven shanim'')." Rav Dimi taught that the plain meaning of conveyed that the congregation of Israel asked God to wink to them with God's eyes, which would be sweeter than wine, and show God's teeth, which would be sweeter than milk. The Gemara taught that this interpretation thus provided support for Rabbi Joḥanan, who taught that the person who smiles an affectionate, toothy smile to a friend is better than one who gives the friend milk to drink. For says, "And his teeth white with milk," which Rabbi Joḥanan read not as "white teeth (, ''leven shinayim'')," but as, "showing the teeth (, ''libun shinayim'')."
The Gemara taught that a certain man used to say that by the seashore thorn bushes are cypresses. (That is, the thorn bushes there were as attractive as cypresses elsewhere.) They investigated and found that he descended from Zebulun, for says, "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea."
In the Jerusalem Talmud, Rabbi Levi considered the words "Zebulun s. . . boundary shall be upon Zidon" in , but since Sidon is in Asher's territory, Rabbi Levi concluded that the verse alludes to Zebulun's most distinguished descendant, Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th c ...
, and deduced that Jonah's mother must have been from Sidon and the tribe of Asher.
Rabbi Joḥanan taught that the words "and he lay with her that night" in , in which the word ''hu'' appears in an unusual locution, indicate that God assisted in causing Issachar's conception. Rabbi Joḥanan found in the words "Issachar is a large-boned donkey" in an indication that Jacob's donkey detoured to Leah's tent, helping to cause Issachar's birth.
Rabbi Joḥanan taught in the name of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai
Shimon bar Yochai ( Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, ''Shim'on bar Yoḥai'') or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי, ''Shim'on ben Yoḥai''), also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century ''tannaiti ...
that and help to show the value of Torah study and charity
Charity may refer to:
Giving
* Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons
* Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing
* C ...
. Rabbi Joḥanan deduced from , "Blessed are you who sow beside all waters, who send forth the feet of the ox and the donkey," that whoever engages in Torah study and charity is worthy of the inheritance of two tribes, Joseph and Issachar (as compares Joseph to an ox, and compares Issachar to a donkey). Rabbi Joḥanan equated "sowing" with "charity," as says, "Sow to yourselves in charity, reap in kindness." And Rabbi Joḥanan equated "water" with "Torah," as says, "Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters (that is, Torah)." Whoever engages in Torah study and charity is worthy of a canopy — that is, an inheritance — like Joseph, for says, "Joseph is a fruitful bough . . . whose branches run over the wall." And such a person is also worthy of the inheritance of Issachar, as says, "Issachar is a strong donkey" (which the Targum renders as rich with property). The Gemara also reported that some say that the enemies of such a person will fall before him as they did for Joseph, as says, "With them he shall push the people together, to the ends of the earth." And such a person is worthy of understanding like Issachar, as says, "of the children of Issachar . . . were men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do."
Citing , Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that when a wife summons a husband to his marital duty, they will have children such as were not to be found even in the generation of Moses. For with regard to the generation of Moses, says, "Take wise men, and understanding and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you." But says, "So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known," without mentioning "understanding" (implying that Moses could not find men with understanding). And says, "Issachar is a large-boned donkey" (alluding to the Midrash that Leah heard Jacob's donkey, and so came out of her tent to summon Jacob to his marital duty, as reported in ). And says, "of the children of Issachar . . . were men who had understanding of the times to know what Israel ought to do." But the Gemara limited the teaching of Rabbi Samuel bar Naḥmani in the name of Rabbi Jonathan by counseling that such behavior is virtuous only when the wife ingratiates herself to her husband without making brazen demands.
The Gemara taught that a certain man insisted on going to court in every dispute. The Sages taught said that this proved that he descended from Dan, for can be read, "Dan shall enter into judgment with his people, as one of the tribes of Israel."
Rabbi Ḥama the son of Rabbi Ḥanina taught that the words of , "And the spirit of the Lord began to move him (Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution ...
) in Mahaneh-dan, between Zorah
Zorah ( he, צרעה) or Tzorah (), was a biblical town in the Judaean Foothills. It is identified with the depopulated village of Sar'a. It has been identified with the former village of Sar'a, now often referred to as Tel Tzora.
Location
Z ...
and Eshtaol
( he, אֶשְׁתָּאוֹל) is a moshav in central Israel, and a biblical location mentioned in the Books of Joshua and Judges and in the first Book of Chronicles. Located north of , it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regiona ...
", showed Jacob's prophecy becoming fulfilled. For in , Jacob foretold, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way." ( thus alluded to Samson, who belonged to the tribe of Dan and adopted the tactics of a serpent in fighting the Philistines
The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
.) Rabbi Joḥanan taught that Samson judged Israel in the same manner as God, as says, "Dan shall judge his people as One" (and God is One). Rabbi Joḥanan also said that Samson was lame in both legs, as says, "Dan shall be a serpent in the way, an adder (, ''shefifon'') in the path." (, ''shefifon'', evokes a doubling of the word , ''shefi'', from the root , "to dislocate.")
Reading the words of , "I wait for Your salvation, O God," Rabbi Isaac taught that everything is bound up with waiting, hoping. Suffering, the sanctification of the Divine Name, the merit of the Ancestors, and the desire of the World To Come are all bound up with waiting. Thus says, "Yea, in the way of Your judgments, O Lord, have we waited for You," which alludes to suffering. The words of , "To Your name," allude to the sanctification of the Divine Name. The words of , "And to Your memorial," allude to ancestral merit. And the words of , "The desire of our soul," allude to the desire for the future world. Grace comes through hope, as says, "O Lord, be gracious to us; we have waited (hoped) for You." Forgiveness comes through hope, as says, "For with You is forgiveness," and is followed in by, "I wait for the Lord."
A Midrash told that when the Israelites asked Balaam
Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of Be ...
when salvation would come, Balaam replied in the words of , "I see him (the Messiah), but not now; I behold him, but not near." God asked the Israelites whether they had lost their sense, for they should have known that Balaam would eventually descend to Gehinnom, and therefore did not wish God's salvation to come. God counseled the Israelites to be like Jacob, who said in , "I wait for Your salvation, O Lord." The Midrash taught that God counseled the Israelites to wait for salvation, which is at hand, as says, "For My salvation is near to come."
A Midrash taught that the intent of Jacob's blessing of Joseph in , "Joseph is a fruitful vine (, ''bein porat Yoseif'')," related to Joseph's interpretation of Pharaoh's dreams in . Noting the differences between the narrator's account of Pharaoh's dreams in and Pharaoh's recounting of them to Joseph in , a Midrash taught that Pharaoh somewhat changed his account so as to test Joseph. As reported in , Pharaoh said, "Behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, fat-fleshed and well-favored (, ''beriot basar, vifot toar'')." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "well-favored and fat-fleshed (, ''yifot mareh, uvriot basar'')." As reported in , Pharaoh said, "seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill-favored (, ''dalot veraot'') and lean-fleshed." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "ill-favored and lean-fleshed (, ''raot mareh, vedakot basar'')." As reported in , Pharaoh said that there were seven stalks, "full (, ''meleiot'') and good." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "healthy (, ''beriot'') and good." As reported in , Pharaoh said that there were then seven stalks, "withered, thin (, ''tzenumot dakot'')." But Joseph replied that this was not what Pharaoh had seen, for they were (in the words of ) "thin and blasted with the east wind (, ''dakot u-shedufot kadim'')." Pharaoh began to wonder, and told Joseph that Joseph must have been behind Pharaoh when he dreamed, as says, "Forasmuch as God has shown you all this." And this was the intent of Jacob's blessing of Joseph in , "Joseph is a fruitful vine (, ''bein porat Yoseif'')," which the Midrash taught one should read as, "Joseph was among the cows (, ''bein ha-parot Yoseif'')." So Pharaoh then told Joseph, in the words of , "You shall be over my house."
Rabbi Melai taught in the name of Rabbi Isaac of Magdala
Magdala (Aramaic: מגדלא, ''Magdala'', meaning "tower"; Hebrew: , ''Migdal''; ar, المجدل, ''al-Majdal'') was an ancient Jewish city on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberias. In the Babylonian Talmud it is known as Magda ...
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
In the Hebrew Bible, a nazirite or a nazarite ( he, נָזִיר ''Nāzīr'') is one who voluntarily took a vow which is described in . "Nazarite" comes from the Hebrew word ''nazir'' meaning "consecrated" or "separated". Those who put themselves ...
(since his departure) from his brethren." Rabbi Jose ben Ḥaninah 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."
The 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 ( ...
interpreted to allude to produce yields of Bethel
Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...
and Jericho
Jericho ( ; ar, أريحا ; he, יְרִיחוֹ ) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank. It is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It is the administrative seat of the Jericho Gover ...
. The Tosefta interpreted "Benjamin is a wolf that pounces" to mean that the land of Benjamin, the area of Bethel, jumped to produce crops early in the growing season. The Tosefta interpreted "in the morning he devours the prey" to mean that in Jericho produce was gone from the fields early in the seventh year. And the Tosefta interpreted "and in the evening he divides the spoil" to mean that in Bethel produce remained in the fields until late in the seventh year.
Rav and Samuel differed with regard to the Machpelah Cave, to which Jacob referred in , and in which the Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certain ...
and Matriarchs were buried. One said that the cave consisted of two rooms, one farther in than the other. And the other said that it consisted of a room and a second story above it. The Gemara granted that the meaning of “Machpelah” — “double” — was understandable according to the one who said the cave consisted of one room above the other, but questioned how the cave was “Machpelah” — “double” — according to the one who said it consisted of two rooms, one farther in than the other, as even ordinary houses have two rooms. The Gemara answered that it was called “Machpelah” in the sense that it was doubled with the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, who were buried there in pairs. The Gemara compared this to the homiletic interpretation of the alternative name for Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East Je ...
mentioned in “Mamre
Mamre (; he, מַמְרֵא), full Hebrew name ''Elonei Mamre'' ("Oaks/ Terebinths of Mamre"), refers to an ancient religious site originally focused on a single holy tree, growing "since time immemorial" at Hebron in Canaan.Niesiolowski-Spano ( ...
of Kiryat Ha’Arba, which is Hebron.” Rabbi Isaac taught that the city was called “Kiryat Ha’Arba” — “the city of four” — because it was the city of the four couples buried there: Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as ...
and Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.
A Baraita taught that in all of Israel, there was no more rocky ground than that at Hebron, which is why the Patriarchs buried their dead there, as reported in . Even so, the Baraita interpreted the words "and Hebron was built seven years before Zoan
Zoan or Tso'an (Hebrew: צֹועַן ''Ṣōʕan'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a city of Egypt in the eastern Nile delta. Book of Numbers 13:22 says that it was built seven years after Hebron was built. Psalm 78:12,43 identifies the "fiel ...
in 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 ...
" in to mean that Hebron was seven times as fertile as Zoan. The Baraita rejected the plain meaning of "built," reasoning that Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term " ...
would not build a house for his younger son 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 Te ...
(in whose land was Hebron) before he built one for his elder son Mizraim
Mizraim (; cf. Arabic مصر, ''Miṣr'') is the Hebrew and Aramaic name for the land of Egypt, with the dual suffix ''-āyim'', perhaps referring to the "two Egypts": Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. Mizraim is the dual form of matzor, meaning a "moun ...
(in whose land was Zoan, and lists (presumably in order of birth) "the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan." The Baraita also taught that among all the nations, there was none more fertile than Egypt, for says, "Like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt." And there was no more fertile spot in Egypt than Zoan, where kings lived, for says of 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 the ...
, "his princes are at Zoan." But rocky Hebron was still seven times as fertile as lush Zoan.
Rabbi Isaac taught in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan that Jacob did not die. reports only that "he gathered up his feet into the bed, and expired, and was gathered unto his people.") Rav Naḥman objected that he must have died, for he was bewailed (as reports) and embalmed (as reports) and buried (as reports)! Rabbi Isaac replied that Rabbi Joḥanan derived his position that Jacob still lives from , which says, "Therefore fear not, O Jacob, My servant, says the Lord; neither be dismayed, O Israel, for, lo, I will save you from afar and your seed from the land of their captivity." Rabbi Isaac explained that since likens Jacob to his descendants, then just as Jacob's descendants still live, so too must Jacob.
Genesis Chapter 50
Rabbi Ḥiyya bar Abba taught in the name of Rabbi Joḥanan 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 angelGabriel
In Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብር� ...
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 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."
Rabbi (Judah ha-Nasi
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 ''Mis ...
) taught that at a seaport that he visited, they called selling, , "''kirah''". The Gemara explained that this helped to explain the expression in , , "''asher kariti''," often translated as "that I have dug for myself." In the light of Rabbi's report of the alternative usage, one can translate the phrase as "that I have bought for myself."
The Mishnah cited for the proposition that Providence treats a person measure for measure as that person treats others. And so because, as relates, Joseph had the merit to bury his father and none of his brothers were greater than he was, so Joseph merited the greatest of Jews, Moses, to attend to his bones, as reported in .
Rav Ḥisda deduced from the words "and he made a mourning for his father seven days" in that Biblical "mourning" means seven days. And thus Rav Ḥisda deduced from the words "And his soul mourns for itself" in that a person's soul mourns for that person for seven whole days after death.
Reading , “And there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing,” the Gemara taught that even horses and donkeys participated in the mourning.
Rabbi Levi and Rabbi Isaac disagreed about how to interpret the words of , "And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said: ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us.'" Rabbi Levi taught that the brothers feared this because he did not invite them to dine with him. Rabbi Tanḥuma observed that Joseph's motive was noble, for Joseph reasoned that formerly Jacob had placed Joseph above Judah, who was a king, and above Reuben, who was the firstborn, but after Jacob's death, it would not be right for Joseph to sit above them. The brothers, however, did not understand it that way, but worried that Joseph hated them. Rabbi Isaac said that the brothers feared because he had gone and looked into the pit into which they had thrown him.
Rabban Simeon ben Gamliel
Simeon ben Gamliel (I) ( or רשב"ג הראשון; c. 10 BCE – 70 CE) was a ''Tannaim, Tanna'' sage and leader of the Jewish people. He served as Nasi (Hebrew title), nasi of the Sanhedrin, Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem during the outbreak of t ...
read to report that Joseph's brothers fabricated Jacob's request that Joseph forgive them in order to preserve peace in the family.
Rabbi Jose bar Ḥanina noted that Joseph's brothers used the word "please" (, ''na'') three times in when they asked Joseph, "Forgive, I pray now . . . and now we pray." Rabbi Jose bar Ḥanina deduced from this example that one who asks forgiveness of a neighbor need do so no more than three times. And if the neighbor against whom one has sinned had died, one should bring ten persons to stand by the neighbor's grave and say: "I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel, and against this one, whom I have hurt."
Rabbi Benjamin bar Japhet said in the name of Rabbi Elazar that bore out the popular saying: "When the fox has its hour, bow down to it." But the Gemara questioned how Joseph was, like the fox relative to the lion, somehow inferior to his brothers. Rather, the Gemara applied the saying to , as discussed above.Babylonian Talmud Megilah 16bin, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli: Tractate Megillah'', elucidated by Gedaliah Zlotowitz and Hersh Goldwurm, volume 20, page 16b2. 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 ' ...
taught that the Israelites would later recall Joseph's question in , "am I in the place of God?" The Mekhilta taught that in their wanderings in the Wilderness, the Israelites carried Joseph's coffin alongside the Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant,; Ge'ez: also known as the Ark of the Testimony or the Ark of God, is an alleged artifact believed to be the most sacred relic of the Israelites, which is described as a wooden chest, covered in pure gold, with an el ...
. The nations asked the Israelites what were in the two chests, and the Israelites answered that one was the Ark of the Eternal, and the other was a coffin with a body in it. The nations then asked what was the significance of the coffin that the Israelites should carry it alongside the Ark. The Israelites answered that the one lying in the coffin had fulfilled that which was written on what lay in the Ark. On the tablets inside the Ark was written (in the words of ), "I am the Lord your God," and of Joseph it is written (in the words of ), "For, am I in the place of God?"
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael read Joseph's statement to his brothers in , “And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good,” as an application of the admonition of , “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge."
The ''Pesikta Rabbati
''Pesikta Rabbati'' (Hebrew: פסיקתא רבתי ''P'siqta Rabbita'', "The Larger P'siqta") is a collection of aggadic midrash (homilies) on the Pentateuchal and prophetic readings, the special Sabbaths, and so on. It was composed around 845 ...
'' taught that Joseph guarded himself against lechery and murder. That he guarded himself against lechery is demonstrated by the report of him in , "But he refused, and said to his master's wife: 'Behold, my master, having me, knows not what is in the house, and he has put all that he has into my hand; he is not greater in this house than I; neither has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" That he guarded himself against murder is demonstrated by his words in , "As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good."
Reading the words of , "he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them," Rabbi Benjamin bar Japhet said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar that this teaches that Joseph spoke to the Brothers words that greatly reassured them, asking that if ten lights were not able to put out one, how could one light put out ten. (If ten brothers could not harm one, then how could one harm ten?)
Rabbi Jose
Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta (or Yose ben Halpetha) (Hebrew: רבי יוסי בן חלפתא; IPA: /ʁa'bi 'josi ben xa'lafta/) was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the M ...
deduced from Joseph's talk of providing in that when Jacob died, the famine returned.
Rabbi Eliezer taught that the five Hebrew letters of the Torah that alone among Hebrew letters have two separate shapes (depending whether they are in the middle or the end of a word) — (Kh, M, N, P, Z) — all relate to the mystery of the redemption. With the letter ''kaph
Kaph (also spelled kaf) is the eleventh letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician kāp , Hebrew kāf , Aramaic kāp , Syriac kāp̄ , and Arabic kāf (in abjadi order).
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek kappa (Κ), Lati ...
'' (), God redeemed Abraham from Ur of the Chaldees
Ur Kasdim ( he, ''ʾūr Kaśdīm''), commonly translated as Ur of the Chaldeans, is a city mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as the birthplace of the Israelite and Ishmaelite patriarch Abraham. In 1862, Henry Rawlinson identified Ur Kaśdim with ...
, as in , God says, "Get you (, ''lekh lekha'') out of your country, and from your kindred . . . to the land that I will show you." With the letter ''mem
Mem (also spelled Meem, Meme, or Mim) is the thirteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Hebrew mēm , Aramaic Mem , Syriac mīm ܡ, Arabic mīm and Phoenician mēm . Its sound value is .
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek m ...
'' (), Isaac was redeemed from the land of the Philistines, as in , the Philistine king Abimelech told Isaac, "Go from us: for you are much mightier (, ''mimenu m'od'') than we." With the letter ''nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
'' (), Jacob was redeemed from the hand of Esau, as in , Jacob prayed, "Deliver me, I pray (, ''hazileini na''), from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau." With the letter '' pe'' (), God redeemed Israel from Egypt, as in , God told Moses, "I have surely visited you, (, ''pakod pakadeti'') and (seen) that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt." With the letter ''tsade
Tsade (also spelled , , , , tzadi, sadhe, tzaddik) is the eighteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician ṣādē , Hebrew ṣādi , Aramaic ṣāḏē , Syriac ṣāḏē ܨ, Ge'ez ṣädäy ጸ, and Arabic . Its oldest phonet ...
'' (), God will redeem Israel from the oppression of the kingdoms, and God will say to Israel, I have caused a branch to spring forth for you, as says, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch (, ''zemach''); and he shall grow up (, ''yizmach'') out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord." These letters were delivered to Abraham. Abraham delivered them to Isaac, Isaac delivered them to Jacob, Jacob delivered the mystery of the Redemption to Joseph, and Joseph delivered the secret of the Redemption to his brothers, as in , Joseph told his brothers, "God will surely visit (, ''pakod yifkod'') you." Jacob's son Asher delivered the mystery of the Redemption to his daughter Serah {{about, , the Jewish wife of the Khazar ruler Sabriel, Serach (Khazar), the South Indian actress, Serah (actress), the type of Ancient Egyptian cartouche, Serekh, other meanings, Serach (disambiguation)
Serach bat Asher was, in the Tanakh, a daugh ...
. When Moses and Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
came to the elders of Israel and performed signs in their sight, the elders told Serah. She told them that there is no reality in signs. The elders told her that Moses said, "God will surely visit (, ''pakod yifkod'') you" (as in ). Serah told the elders that Moses was the one who would redeem Israel from Egypt, for she heard (in the words of ), "I have surely visited (, ''pakod pakadeti'') you." The people immediately believed in God and Moses, as says, "And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel."
Rav Judah asked in the name of Rav 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 Ḥama bar Ḥanina who said) that Joseph died before his brothers because he put on superior airs.
A Baraita taught that the Serah {{about, , the Jewish wife of the Khazar ruler Sabriel, Serach (Khazar), the South Indian actress, Serah (actress), the type of Ancient Egyptian cartouche, Serekh, other meanings, Serach (disambiguation)
Serach bat Asher was, in the Tanakh, a daugh ...
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 ''Asher' ...
mentioned in both 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 ...
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.
Noting that reported the generations from Joseph to the daughters of Zelophehad
The Daughters of Zelophehad ( he, בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד ''Bənōṯ Ṣəlāfəḥāḏ'') were five sisters – Mahlah (מַחְלָה ''Maḥlā''), Noa (נֹעָה ''Nōʿā''), Hoglah (חָגְלָה ''Ḥoglā''), Milcah (מִל� ...
, the Sifre taught that the daughters of Zelophehad loved the Land of Israel just as much as their ancestor Joseph did (when in he extracted an oath from his brothers to return his body to the Land of Israel for burial).
Rabbi Jose the Galilean
Jose the Galilean ( he, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishn ...
taught that the "certain men who were unclean by the dead body of a man, so that they could not keep the Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, 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 ...
on that day" in were those who bore Joseph's coffin, as implied in and . The Gemara cited their doing so to support the law that one who is engaged on one religious duty is free from any other.
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 Ḥama bar Ḥanina 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").
Rabbi Nathan taught that the Egyptians buried Joseph in the capital of Egypt in the mausoleum of the kings, as reports, "they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt." Later, Moses stood among the coffins and cried out to Joseph, crying that the oath to redeem God's children that God swore to Abraham had reached its fulfillment. Immediately, Joseph's coffin began to move, and Moses took it and went on his way.
In modern interpretation
The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:Genesis chapters 37–50
Donald A. Seybold ofPurdue 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 mon ...
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 controversial, ...
’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 reported that more recent scholarship finds in the Joseph story a background in the Solomonic era, as Solomon's marriage to a daughter of the pharaoh (reported in and ) indicated an era of amicable political and commercial relations between Egypt and Israel that would explain the positive attitude of the Joseph narrative to Egypt.
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 w ...
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
Zerah or Zérach ( / "sunrise" Standard Hebrew ''Zéraḥ'' / ''Záraḥ'', Tiberian Hebrew ''Zéraḥ'' / ''Zāraḥ'') refers to several different people in the Hebrew Bible.For the etymology see
An Edomite
Zerah was the name of an Edomite ch ...
in and ; and Ephraim superseded Manasseh in . Rendsburg explained Genesis's interest with this motif by recalling that David was the youngest of Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''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 rebelled ag ...
(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 - deri ...
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 H ...
(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.
Genesis chapter 48
James 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 ...
read to tell that Jacob legally adopted Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh as his own, making them coequal heirs with Jacob's other sons. Thus, while Joseph formerly was entitled to one-twelfth of Jacob's estate, after , Jacob replaced Joseph's single share with the two shares of Ephraim and Manasseh, giving Joseph in effect a double portion. Kugel reported that modern scholars see behind this incident a midcourse correction in Israel's list of tribes. At an early stage, it had become fixed that there were 12 tribes, but then reality changed. Levi had been a tribe like any other with its own tribal land, but then Levi became essentially landless, a scattered people of priests and religious functionaries, with only a few cities of their own. Simeon disappeared. To compensate for at least one of these absences, the territory elsewhere attributed to Joseph was counted as two territories, each with its own ancestor figure, Ephraim and Manasseh. The Israelites told that Joseph had two sons by those names, each a tribal founder. That way, a tribal list could omit the Levites, as in , or the Simeonites, as in , and, by replacing “Joseph” with “Ephraim and Manasseh,” still include the names of 12 tribes. Kugel reported that Jacob then blessed his two new sons, making another midcourse correction in .
Jacob's blessing promoting Ephraim to the firstborn reflected the later dominance of the originally less powerful people; whereas Manasseh originally dominated Ephraim, an Ephraimite, Jeroboam
Jeroboam I (; Hebrew: ''Yārŏḇə‘ām''; el, Ἱεροβοάμ, Hieroboám) was the first king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. The Hebrew Bible describes the reign of Jeroboam to have commenced following a revolt of the ten northern ...
, eventually took control of the whole population of the north, including Manasseh (as reported in and ).
Genesis chapter 49
Nahum Sarna
Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contributions t ...
identified three literary genre
A literary genre is a category of literature. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or length (especially for fiction). They generally move from more abstract, encompassing classes, which are then further sub-divided i ...
s in a deathbed blessing like that in and ; a farewell address like that in and ; and a tribal poem like that in and .
The 20th-century Reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
Rabbi Gunther Plaut
Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar.
...
considered it likely that at a time when the tribes were already in Canaan, although not yet a nation, the author of collected old tribal songs and memories, wove them into a poem, and incorporated the product into Jacob's life story. Plaut argued that this author composed in the same general epoch as the song of Deborah in , at a time when the tribe of Levi fell short of the priestly importance that the blessing of Moses in assigned to it, when the tribe of Simeon (not named in Deuteronomy and later absorbed into the tribe of Judah) was still worth mentioning.
Sarna reported that modern scholars deduce from the Genesis listings of Jacob's sons the evolution of the league of Israelite tribes. These scholars deduce from the listing of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah as Leah tribes that they were politically related. As their tribal territories were not contiguous, their organizing principle could not have been geographical, and their association must therefore reflect a presettlement reality. These scholars conclude that the six Leah tribes must have originated as a separate fraternity in Mesopotamia that evolved in two distinct stages. The account of the birth of Jacob's sons in preserves the earliest traditions. The position of Judah as the fourth son reflects the situation prior to Judah's ascendancy, reflected in . The handmaid tribes had a subordinate status. And the tribe of Benjamin was the last to join the Israelite league and came into being in Canaan.
Noting the similarity between the instructions in for killing the men but taking the women and livestock captive, on the one hand, and the actions of Simeon and Levi in , on the other hand, Kugel observed that it is almost as if Simeon and Levi were obeying the Deteronomic law before it was given. Kugel reported that some modern interpreters deduced that the editor responsible for inserting the Dinah
In the Book of Genesis, Dinah (; ) was the seventh child and only daughter of Leah and Jacob, and one of the matriarchs of the Israelites. The episode of her violation by Shechem, son of a Canaanite or Hivite prince, and the subsequent vengean ...
story in was particularly connected with Deuteronomy or at least familiar with its laws. These interpreters concluded that the Dinah story was a late addition, inserted to account for Jacob's otherwise referentless allusion to the violent tempers of Simeon and Levi in by importing and only slightly modifying an originally unrelated tale, probably situated during the time of the Judges.
Kugel reported that modern scholars read Jacob's blessing of Judah in to reflect a portrait of the Tribe of Judah's rise to power as epitomized by the career of King David, who came from the Tribe of Judah. In this reading, the words of , “Your hands on your enemies’ neck,” laud David’s abilities as a fighter, first as the leader of a small, vicious guerrilla band, and eventually as the commander of the regular army that subdued Judah’s enemies. And the words, “Your father's sons shall bow down before you,” reflect that David caused the other tribes to submit to his authority. These scholars thus date the blessing to the time of David or Solomon.
Reading the statement in that “the ruler’s staff shall not depart from Judah,” Rendsburg saw recognition among tenth-century BCE authors that kingship would continue with David and Solomon's family from the tribe of Judah. Rendsburg compared to , which records the covenant established between God and David, communicated via the prophet Nathan, that David's descendants would rule after him forever. Rendsburg cited this as further support for the argument that royal scribes living in Jerusalem during the reigns of David and Solomon in the tenth century BCE were responsible for Genesis.
Genesis chapter 50
Von Rad and scholars following him noted that the Joseph story bears the particular signatures of ancient Near Easternwisdom 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 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.
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.
Commandments
According toMaimonides
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 s ...
and Sefer ha-Chinuch
''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' ( he, ספר החינוך, "Book of Education") is a Jewish rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th-century Spain. History
The work's enumeration of ...
, there are no commandments in the parashah.
In the liturgy
Many Jews recite and three times as part of the ''Tefilat HaDerech
Tefilat HaDerech ( he, תפילת הדרך) or the Traveler's Prayer or Wayfarer's Prayer in English, is a prayer for a safe journey recited by Jews, when they travel, by air, sea, and even on long car trips. It is recited at the onset of ever ...
'' (Wayfarer's Prayer), said on setting out on a journey.
The Weekly Maqam
In theWeekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A ''maqam'' (), which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tune ...
, Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parashah. For Parashat Vayechi, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hijaz, the maqam that expresses mourning and sadness, as the parashah contains the death of the patriarch Jacob.
Haftarah
Ahaftarah
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'' ("Prop ...
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 (wri ...
("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 Vaychi varies according to different traditions within 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 the ...
. Generally, the haftarah for the parashah is .
Connection to the Parashah
The parashah and haftarah both report the testaments of seminal leaders of Israel to their sons, the parashah of Jacob (in ) and the haftarah of David. Both the parashah and the haftarah precede the testament with the phrase "the time drew near that he leadermust die."; . Both the parashah and the haftarah employ the word "''va-yetzav''," "he instructed." A Midrash notes that both the parashah and the haftarah use language reflecting the leader's diminution of authority: the parashah reports Jacob entreating his son, "If now I have found favor in your sight . . . Ipray thee
''Prithee'' is an archaic English interjection formed from a corruption of the phrase ''pray thee'' ( ask you o, which was initially an exclamation of contempt used to indicate a subject's triviality. The earliest recorded appearance of the word ...
"; the haftarah describes David simply as "David" instead of the title of honor "King David" used a chapter before in . In both the parashah and the haftarah, the leaders brought up unpleasant slights that haunted them to their last days: Jacob brought up that his son Reuben defiled Jacob's bed and that his sons Simeon and Levi slew men and beast in their anger; David brought up that his nephew 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 - deri ...
killed Abner
In the Hebrew Bible, Abner ( he, אַבְנֵר ) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army. His name also appears as "Abiner son of Ner", where the longer form Abiner means "my father is Ner".
Biblical narrative
A ...
and Amasa
Amasa (עמשא) or Amessai
is a person mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. His mother was Abigail (), a sister of King David (). Hence, Amasa was a nephew of David, and cousin of Joab, David's military commander, as well as a cousin of Absalom, Da ...
and that Shemei insulted David on the way to Mahanaim
Mahanaim ( he, מַחֲנַיִם ''Maḥănayīm'', "camps") is a place mentioned a number of times by the Bible said to be near Jabbok, in the same general area as Jabesh-gilead, beyond the Jordan River. Although two possible sites have been ...
.. In so doing, both leaders complained of subordinate family members who acted too zealously on what might be viewed as the leader's behalf: Jacob with regard to Simeon and Levi and David with regard to Joab.
Notes
Further reading
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Biblical
* (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 pro ...
's blessing).
* ( Deborah's song).
* (David's testament).
* (31:9 in NJPS) (Ephraim as firstborn).
Ancient
*Homer
Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the '' Iliad'' and the '' Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of ...
. ''The Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...
'' Book 9. Greece, 8th–6th century BCE. (Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
's father curses Phoenix for sleeping with his concubine).
Early nonrabbinic
* Philo''Allegorical Interpretation, I''
26:80
24:94, 26:103
8:26, 30:90–93, 62:177–81
2:5; ttp://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book16.html ''On the Migration of Abraham''5:22, 29:159–161
''On Dreams''
2:15:107–108
42:255–44:270. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st century. 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 34, 48–49, 53, 60, 70–71, 94, 171, 182, 185, 228–29, 233, 250, 254–55, 268–69, 273, 275, 299, 327, 344, 349, 395, 456–58. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
*Hebrews
The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...
br>11:21-22Late 1st century. *
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'' 2:7:5–2:8:2. 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 64–66. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
*Quran
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.: , sing. ...
2:133 (Jacob's parting words); 12:94–101 (Jacob, Joseph, and his brothers). Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
*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 Torah ...
Sotah 1:7–9. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. 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 ...
, page 449. New Haven
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...
: Yale University Press
Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous.
, Yale Universit ...
, 1988.
*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 ( ...
: Sheviit 7:12; 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, pages 242, 877. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2002.
*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 ...
: Peah 8b; Kilayim 80a, 81a; Shabbat 47b; Shekalim 43b; Sukkah 28a; Taanit 10b, 30b; Moed Katan 17a; Yevamot 70b; Ketubot 6a, 69b, 70b; Nedarim 12a; Sotah 8a–b, 39a, 43a; Gittin 30a; Sanhedrin 66a; Avodah Zarah 14b; Horayot 8b, 13b. 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 Fou ...
, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz
Chaim Zev Malinowitz (1952 – November 21, 2019) was a Haredi community rabbi, dayan (rabbinical court judge), and Talmudic scholar. Fluent in all areas of the Talmud, halakha (Jewish law), and hashkafa (Orthodox Jewish worldview), he was the g ...
, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 3, 5, 13–14, 20, 25, 28, 30–33, 36–37, 39, 45, 47, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2006–2020. 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.
*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>6:465:9; 66:4; 70:7
71:2
7; 72:5; 75:12; 78:10; 80:6, 10; 82:4–5, 10; 87:7; 90:4, 6; 93:7; 95:1; 96:1–100:13; 105. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
Harry Freedman
Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' ...
and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 44, 48, 89, 168, 238, 300, 402; volume 2, pages 585, 603, 640, 653, 658, 665, 698, 722, 739, 743, 754–56, 777, 812, 830–31, 863, 866, 881, 885–1003. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Babylonian 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 center ...
Berakhot 20a
In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006. *
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (also Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer; abbreviated PdRE) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and re ...
, chapter17
(circa 750 CE), in, e.g., ''Pirke de Rabbi Eliezer''. Translated and annotated by Gerald Friedlander, pages 115, 238, 270, 288–89, 305, 307–09, 384, 422, 436. London, 1916, reprinted New York: Hermon Press, 1970.
Medieval
*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 47–50
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 to ...
, 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 521–70. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995.
*Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Troye ...
. ''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 330–90. 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 borde ...
: Edwin Mellen Press, 1989.
* 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 410–53. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1988.
*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 s ...
. ''Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law ('' ...
''''Hilchot Kri'at Shema (The Laws of Kri'at Shema)'', chapter 1, halachah 4
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Kri'at Shema: The Laws of Kri'at Shema: and Hilchot Tefilah The Laws of Prayer''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 5. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1989. *Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
''Hilchot Tefillin, UMezuzah, V'Sefer Torah (The Laws (Governing) Torah Scrolls, Tefillin, and Mezuzot)'', chapter 1, halachah 1
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Tefillin UMezuzah V'Sefer Torah: The Laws (Governing) Tefillin, Mezuzah, and Torah Scrolls: and Hilchot Tzitzit: The Laws of Tzitzit''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, volume 7. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990. *Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Sefer Ha'Avodah: The Book of (Temple) Service''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 2007. *Maimonides. ''
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, chapter 19; part 2, chapter 45. 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 metro ...
, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' '' Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such trans ...
, pages 29, 243. 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 324–47. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013.
* Naḥmanides. ''The Disputation at Barcelona'', pages 11–18. Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, 1263. In, e.g., Naḥmanides. ''The Disputation at Barcelona''. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, pages 6–10. New York: Shilo Publishing, 1983.
*Naḥmanides. ''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 568–606. 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 ...
br>1:216a–51aSpain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. * Baal Ha-Turim. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Early 13th century. In, e.g., ''Baal Haturim Chumash: Bereshis''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 1, pages 441–81. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1999. * Shem Tov ibn Shem Tov. "Sermon on ''Wa-Yehi''." Spain, 1480s. In Marc Saperstein. ''Jewish Preaching, 1200–1800: An Anthology'', pages 180–98. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989. *
Isaac ben Moses Arama Isaac ben Moses Arama ( 1420 – 1494) was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora (probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later ...
. ''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 276–97. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.
Modern
*Isaac Abarbanel
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel ( he, יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל; 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel, or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentato ...
. ''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 397–421. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015.
*Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1550.
Bi ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 256–77. 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, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 312–35. 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 106–13. 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 English-language publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded as a distributor for Targum Press, in 2011 after Targum's shutdown, Menucha established itself as an independent publis ...
/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.
*Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
. ''Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to so ...
'', 3:42. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson
Crawford Brough Macpherson (1911–1987) was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.
Life
Macpherson was born on 18 November 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. After graduating from the Univ ...
, page 572. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982.
*Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar ( ar, حاييم بن موشي بن عطار, he, חיים בן משה בן עטר; b. - 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist ...
. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 383–440. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
*George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...
. ''Adam Bede
''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot), and was published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel has remained in print ev ...
'', chapters 3, 8, 30. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1859. Reprinted, e.g., edited by Carol A. Martin, pages 33, 84, 296. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. (Dinah calls Seth Bede's home country “this land of Goshen you’ve been used to.” Dinah says: “Adam edeis like the patriarch Joseph, for his great skill and knowledge, and the kindness he shows to his brother and his parents.” And again Dinah writes Seth about Adam: “God has given him great gifts, and he uses them as the patriarch Joseph did, who, when he was exalted to a place of power and trust, yet yearned with tenderness towards his parent and his younger brother.”).
*Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early ...
(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 451–504. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
*Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter ( he, יהודה אריה ליב אלתר, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the ''Sfas Emes'' (Ashkenazic Pronunciation) or ''Sefat Emet'' (Modern Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi ...
. ''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 2019). ...
(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
Arthur Green ( he, אברהם יצחק גרין, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston, where he ...
, pages 73–78. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
*Hermann Cohen
Hermann Cohen (4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German Jewish philosopher, one of the founders of the Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish philosopher of the nineteenth century ...
. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
, page 405. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted 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 498,715 ...
: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as we ...
: Gustav Fock, 1919.
*Abraham Isaac Kook
Abraham Isaac Kook (; 7 September 1865 – 1 September 1935), known as Rav Kook, and also known by the acronym HaRaAYaH (), was an Orthodox rabbi, and the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of British Mandatory Palestine. He is considered to be one of ...
. ''The Lights of Penitence'', 16:1. 1925. In ''Abraham Isaac Kook: the Lights of Penitence, the Moral Principles, Lights of Holiness, Essays, Letters, and Poems''. Translated by Ben-Zion Bokser, page 119. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press 1978.
*Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 36–38. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
*Irving Fineman. ''Jacob, An Autobiographical Novel''. New York: Random House, 1941.
*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 novella ...
. ''Joseph and His Brothers
''Joseph and His Brothers'' (''Joseph und seine Brüder'') 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 (chapters 27–50), setting it in the hi ...
''. Translated by John E. Woods, pages 53, 102–03, 257, 306, 314, 396, 401, 407, 448–49, 456, 458, 463, 485, 493, 503, 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, 1447–92. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
* John M. Allegro. "A Possible Mesopotamian Background to the Joseph Blessing of Gen. xlix." '' Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft'', volume 64 (1952): pages 249–51.
*Mitchell J. Dahood. "A New Translation of Gen. 49,6a." ''Biblica
Biblica, formerly International Bible Society, was founded in 1809 and is the worldwide copyright holder of the New International Version of the Bible (NIV), licensing commercial rights to Zondervan in the United States and to Hodder & Stoughton ...
'', volume 36 (1955): page 229.
*Mitchell J. Dahood. "Is ‘Eben Yiśrā'ēl a Divine Title? (Gen 49,24)." ''Biblica'', volume 40 (1959): pages 1002–7.
*Joseph Blenkinsopp
Joseph Blenkinsopp (3 April 1927 – 26 March 2022) was an academic theologian and Old Testament scholar. He was the John A. O'Brien Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. His research ...
. "The Oracle of Judah and the Messianic Entry." ''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 80, number 1 (1961): pages 55–64.
*Mitchell J. Dahood. "MKRTYHM in Genesis 49:5." ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly
The ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' is a refereed peer-reviewed theology journal published by the Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) (CBA) in January, April, July, and October. It was established in 1939 and its circulation in 2010 w ...
'', volume 23 (1961): pages 54–56.
*Edwin M. Good. "The ‘Blessing' on Judah, Gen 49:8–12." ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 82 (1963): pages 427–32.
* Ephraim A. Speiser. ''Genesis: Introduction, Translation, and Notes'', volume 1, pages 354–78. New York: Anchor Bible, 1964.
*Walter Orenstein and Hertz Frankel. ''Torah and Tradition: A Bible Textbook for Jewish Youth: Volume I: Bereishis'', pages 134–44. New York: Hebrew Publishing Company, 1964.
*Gerhard von Rad
Gerhard von Rad (21 October 1901 – 31 October 1971) was a German academic, Old Testament scholar, Lutheran theologian, exegete, and professor at the University of Heidelberg.
Early life, education, career
Gerhard von Rad was born in Nur ...
. “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.
*John A. Emerton. "Some Difficult Words in Genesis 49." In ''Words and Meanings: Essays Presented to David Winton Thomas''. Edited by Peter R. Ackroyd and Barnabas Lindars, pages 81–93. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.
*Calum M. Carmichael. "Some Sayings in Genesis 49." ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 88 (1969): pages 435–44.
*Donald B. 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 Egyptolo ...
. ''A Study of the Biblical Story of Joseph (Genesis 37–50)''. Boston: Brill Publishers, 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 131–60. Ktav, 1973.
*George W. Coats. "Redactional Unity in Genesis 37–50." ''Journal of Biblical Literature'', 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.
*Stanley Gevirtz. "The Issachar Oracle in the Testament of Jacob." In ''Nelson Glueck
Nelson Glueck (June 4, 1900 – February 12, 1971) was an American rabbi, academic and archaeologist. He served as president of Hebrew Union College from 1947 until his death, and his pioneering work in biblical archaeology resulted in the dis ...
Memorial Volume''. Edited by Benjamin Mazar
Benjamin Mazar ( he, בנימין מזר; born Binyamin Zeev Maisler, June 28, 1906 – September 9, 1995) was a pioneering Israeli historian, recognized as the "dean" of biblical archaeologists. He shared the national passion for the archaeology ...
, pages 104–12. Jerusalem: Jewish Institute of Religion, 1975.
*Robert P. Gordon. "Targum Onkelos to Genesis 49:4 and a Common Semitic Idiom." ''The Jewish Quarterly Review
''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies ( University of P ...
'', volume 66 (1975–76): pages 224–26.
*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.
*R. David Freedman. "‘Put Your Hand Under My Thigh'—The Patriarchal Oath." ''Biblical Archaeology Review
''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the N ...
'', volume 2, number 2 (June 1976).
*Seän M. Warner“The Patriarchs and Extra-Biblical Sources.”
''
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...
'', 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:
Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC) is a Jewish seminary in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. It is the only seminary affiliated with Reconstructionist Judaism. It is accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Assoc ...
, 1979. ISSN 0191-3034.
*Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He published his translation of the Hebrew Bible in 2018.
Biography
Rober ...
. "Joseph and His Brothers." ''Commentary
Commentary or commentaries may refer to:
Publications
* ''Commentary'' (magazine), a U.S. public affairs journal, founded in 1945 and formerly published by the American Jewish Committee
* Caesar's Commentaries (disambiguation), a number of works ...
'', volume 70, number 5 (November 1980): pages 59–69.
*Matty Cohen. "MeKērōtēhem (Genèse Xlix 5)." ''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 31 (1981): pages 472–82.
*Stanley Gevirtz. "Adumbrations of Dan in Jacob's Blessing on Judah." ''Zeitschrift für die Alttestamentliche Wissenschaft'', volume 83 (1981): pages 21–37.
* Nehama Leibowitz. ''Studies in Bereshit (Genesis)'', pages 530–70. 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.
*Thomas Blass
Thomas Blass (December 25, 1941 – December 29, 2021) was an American social psychologist, Holocaust survivor, and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is known for his work regarding Stanley Milgram ...
. "The Tenacity of Impressions and Jacob's Rebuke of Simeon and Levi." ''Journal of Psychology and Theology
The ''Journal of Psychology & Theology'' (JPT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by Biola University's Rosemead School of Psychology and has been operating continuously since 1973. JPT is a quarterly journal publishing original research ...
'', volume 7 (1982): pages 55–61.
*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 ...
. ''Genesis: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching'', pages 351–80. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.
*Walter Brueggemann. "Genesis L 15–21: A Theological Exploration." In ''Congress Volume: Salamanca, 1983''. Edited by J.A. Emerton, pages 40–53. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 1985.
*Robert D. 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. In Robert D. Sacks
''A Commentary on the Book of Genesis''
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 borde ...
: 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 ...
, 1990).
* Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 49–52. 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 323–51. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1989.
* Mark S. Smith. ''The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel'', pages xxiii, 6–7, 16–19, 22–23, 35–36, 46, 51, 67, 89–90, 93, 97–98, 146, 165. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.
*''So That Your Values Live On: Ethical Wills and How to Prepare Them''. Edited and annotated by Jack Riemer and Nathaniel Stampfer. Woodstock, Vermont
Woodstock is the shire town ( county seat) of Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 3,005. It includes the villages of Woodstock, South Woodstock, Taftsville, and West Woodstock.
History
Char ...
: Jewish Lights Publishing
Jewish Lights Publishing is a publishing company. Founded in 1990 by Stuart Matlins in Woodstock, Vermont, the company publishes works for children and adults that come from a Judaic perspective, yet provide wisdom to readers of any spiritual ba ...
, 1991.
* 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. "The Daughters of Egypt." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 127–34. Northvale, New Jersey: Jason Aronson, 1995.
*Naomi H. Rosenblatt and Joshua Horwitz. ''Wrestling with Angels: What Genesis Teaches Us About Our Spiritual Identity, Sexuality, and Personal Relationships'', pages 376–86. Delacorte Press, 1995.
*Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg
Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg (born March 1944) is a Scottish contemporary Torah scholar and author.
Biography
She was born in London, England, grew up in Glasgow, Scotland, and moved to Israel in 1969, where she currently resides in Jerusalem. Zor ...
. ''The Beginning of Desire: Reflections on Genesis'', pages 352–81. New York: Image Books/Doubleday, 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 87–89. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1996.
* W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 115–21. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
*Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 77–82. 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 United ...
: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
*Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 69–84. Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (25
. *Rachel Adelman. “Serah bat Asher: Songstress, Poet, and Woman of Wisdom.” In ''Torah of the Mothers: Contemporary Jewish Women Read Classical Jewish Texts''. Edited by Ora Wiskind Elper and Susan Handelman, pages 218–43. New York and Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2000. (). *John S. Kselman. "Genesis." In ''The HarperCollins Bible Commentary''. Edited by James L. Mays, pages 116–18. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, revised edition, 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. Fi ...
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 an ...
. “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 110–17. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002.
* Michael Fishbane. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 75–79. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
*Robert Alter. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 276–96. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004.
*Jon D. Levenson
Jon Douglas Levenson is an American Hebrew Bible scholar who is the Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at the Harvard Divinity School.
Education
*A.B. ''summa cum laude'' in English, Harvard College, 1971.
*A.M. Department of Near Eastern ...
. "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 ''Poetic ...
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 94–101. 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 84–86. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005.
*W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E. S. Stern, pages 304–24. 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 established b ...
, 2006.
*Suzanne A. Brody. "Children's Blessing." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 74. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007.
*Esther Jungreis
Esther Jungreis (April 27, 1936 – August 23, 2016, 19 Menachem Av, 5776) was a Jewish, Hungarian-born, American author, and public speaker. She was the founder of the international Hineni organization in the United States. A Holocaust survivo ...
. ''Life Is a Test'', pages 85–86, 197–99, 204–05, 250–51. Brooklyn: Shaar Press, 2007.
* James L. Kugel. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 169–72, 175–97, 357–58, 421, 427. New York: Free Press, 2007.
*''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.
She was the first woman hired by the Hebrew Union College-Jewis ...
and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 281–302. New York: URJ Press, 2008.
*Jill Hammer. “Uncovering Joseph’s Bones: Parashat Vayechi (Genesis 47:28–50:26).” In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow
Judith Plaskow (born March 14, 1947) is an American theologian, author, and activist known for being the first Jewish feminist theologian. After earning her doctorate at Yale University, she taught at Manhattan College for thirty-two years before ...
, pages 68–72. 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, 1916–1932 ...
, 2009.
*Reuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer (June 30, 1933 – August 12, 2019) was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a presid ...
. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 69–73. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
*Aaron D. Rubin“Genesis 49:4 in Light of Arabic and Modern South Arabian.”
''
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 59, number 3 (2009): pages 499–502.
*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 H ...
. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Genesis: The Book of Beginnings'', pages 329–53. 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 i ...
: 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 Mon ...
: Indiana University Press, 2009.
* John H. Walton. "Genesis." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 135–37. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009.
*Bradford A. Anderson“The Inversion of the Birth Order and the Title of the Firstborn.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 60, number 4 (2010): pages 655–58.
*Calum Carmichael. ''The Book of Numbers: A Critique of Genesis'', pages 6, 19, 22, 35, 54–57, 70, 74, 117, 139–40, 162, 164, 173, 183–84, 191, 193. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012.
* Shmuel Herzfeld. "Recognizing Your Children." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 65–70. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2012.
*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).
* Richard C. Steiner"Four inner-biblical interpretations of Genesis 49:10: On the lexical and syntactic ambiguities of as reflected in the prophecies of Nathan, Ahijah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 132, number 1 (2013): pages 33–60. * Marcia Falk
"When will we hear of Jacob's daughters?"
''
The Jerusalem Report
''The Jerusalem Report'' is a fortnightly print and online news magazine that covers political, security, economic, religious and cultural issues in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Founded as an independent weekly publication in 199 ...
'', volume 25, number 20 (January 12, 2015): page 47.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 55–58. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015.
*David Fohrman. ''The Exodus You Almost Passed Over'', pages 205–63. Aleph Beta Press, 2016.
*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.*“The Hittites: Between Tradition and History.” ''
Biblical Archaeology Review
''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the N ...
'', volume 42, number 2 (March/April 2016): pages 28–40, 68.
* Jean-Pierre Isbouts. ''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 widely ...
, 2016.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 71–76. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
*Amy Soule. ''Queer Jewish Notions: Proof That God Isn't a Homophobe'', pages 33–35. Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse
iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.Kevin Abourezk"iUniverse to move to Indiana" incoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008
History
iUniverse focuses on print-on-demand self-publi ...
, 2016.
* Shai Held. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 109–19. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*James L. Kugel. ''The Great Shift: Encountering God in Biblical Times'', pages 26, 369, 397. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017.
*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 36–38. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Bill Dauster"Why Didn’t God Stop Them?"
'' Washington Jewish Week'', Jan. 9, 2020, page 31. *Andrew Tobolowsky
"The Problem of Reubenite Primacy: New Paradigms, New Answers."
''
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 139, number 1 (2020): pages 27–45.
External links
Texts
Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation
Commentaries
Academy for Jewish Religion, California
{{Book of Genesis Weekly Torah readings in Tevet Weekly Torah readings from Genesis