Judah the Poor Wise Man Who Delivered the City of Egypt

Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Vayigash 1:4

Curated by Arthur·Translated by Maggid (Beta)·

Another interpretation: "There was a little city" (Ecclesiastes 9:14) — this is Egypt. "And few people within it" — these are the brothers of Joseph. "And there came against it a great king" — this is Joseph. "And he built against it great siegeworks" — he said to them, "You are spies" (Genesis 42:9). "Now there was found in it a poor wise man" (Ecclesiastes 9:15) — this is Judah. "And he, by his wisdom, delivered the city" — "Then Judah drew near to him" (Genesis 44:18).

Themes

JudahEgypt

Biblical References

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Testaments of the Twelve PatriarchsJudah Recounts His Battles and Warns Against Wine and WomenJudah, fourth son of Jacob and Leah, gathered his sons and told them everything. His mother had named him Judah, saying, "I give thanks to the Lord, because He Yalkut Shimoni on TorahSatan Accuses Only in the Hour of Danger and Judah's PledgeJacob refuses to let Benjamin go. "Harm might befall him on the way," he says, and the sages catch the precise word: on the way, not at home. From this they leaYalkut Shimoni on TorahJudah Draws Near and Confronts the Ruler of EgyptJudah draws near, and the sages cannot agree what "drawing near" means. For war, says one. For appeasement, says another. For prayer, says a third. Rabbi ElazarYalkut Shimoni on TorahJudah's Plea as Threefold Appeasement and the Oath for BenjaminJudah keeps talking, and Joseph wonders aloud why this fourth-born son speaks for them all when there are older brothers present. Judah's answer goes to the bonYalkut Shimoni on TorahJudah Who Confessed and Was Crowned With KingshipWhen Jacob rebukes Reuben and Simeon, Judah goes pale. He waits for the blow, certain his father will shame him for the affair with Tamar. Instead Jacob calls hYalkut Shimoni on NachThree Kinds of Drawing Near for War Prayer and PeaceOne small verb, to draw near, carries three very different human postures, and the sages laid them side by side. When the children of Judah came up to Joshua, t