Joseph Curling His Hair and the Slander of His Brothers

Midrash Aggadah, Genesis 37:2

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph..." (Genesis 37:2). All these generations came about only through the merit of Joseph. Did Jacob go to Laban for any reason other than for the sake of Rachel? "Joseph, being seventeen years old." Yet you say, "and he was a lad (na'ar)"? Rather, he used to do youthful deeds: he would primp and curl his hair. "And Joseph brought their evil report" and so forth. He said to him: Your sons eat a limb from a living animal. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life, even at the time of their wrongdoing they eat only by ritual slaughter, as it is written, "and they slaughtered a kid of the goats" (verse 31).

Themes

JosephAdam EvePatriarchsJacobHumor

Biblical References

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Legends of the JewsEliphaz's LegacyThe familiar story centers on Jacob, later named Israel, and his brother Esau. Their relationship? Let’s call it “fraught.” But according to the Legends of the Legends of the JewsThe Brothers Dipped Joseph's Coat in Goat Blood for JacobThe only clue? A tattered, blood-stained coat. It's a scene ripped straight from the biblical story of Joseph, and the heartbreaking moment Jacob, his father, iLegends of the JewsJacob's Seventeen Years in Egypt Repaid the Seventeen Raising JosephTake Jacob, for instance. The story goes that Jacob, after years of hardship and separation from his beloved son Joseph, was finally reunited. And according to Targum JonathanWhy Esau's Teeth Hurt When He Kissed JacobWhen Esau and Jacob finally reunited after twenty years of separation, the Bible says Esau ran to his brother, embraced him, kissed him, and they wept (Genesis Midrash AggadahJoseph Obeys Jacob Though His Brothers Hate HimWhen Israel called out to his son, the boy answered without hesitation: "Here I am." The midrash pauses on those two small words, for in them lives the whole beMidrash AggadahWhy Jacob's Days Drew Near and His Oath to Joseph on CircumcisionThe verse says the days of Israel "drew near" to die—and the Sages heard a sorrow in that word. Wherever Scripture says a man's days "drew near," it means he fe