Moses Carries Up the Bones of Joseph From the Nile

"And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" (Exodus 13:19). This is to make known the praise of Moses, that while all Israel were occupied with the spoil, Moses was occupied with the bones of Joseph. This is what is written: "And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him" (ibid.). What is the meaning of "with him"? Rabbi Yohanan said: with him in the camp of the Levites. Who informed Moses where Joseph was buried? They said: Serah daughter of Asher was in that generation, and she said to Moses, "Moses, Joseph is buried in the river Nile." Moses went and stood by the river Nile and said: "Joseph, Joseph, the hour has arrived for the Holy One, blessed be He, to redeem His children. The Divine Presence is held back for you, Israel is held back for you, the clouds of glory are held back for you. If you make yourself known, well and good; and if not, then we are clear of the oath by which you adjured our fathers." Immediately the coffin of Joseph floated up and rose. And some say: he took a shard and wrote upon it the Ineffable Name and cast it into the Nile, and immediately the coffin of Joseph floated up and rose. And there were two sorcerers' dogs there, and they began barking at Moses. Moses said: "O people, you see that dogs of truth do not bark, but dogs of falsehood bark." Rabbi Yudan said: according to this proverb the dog wags its tongue, but here "to none of the children of Israel shall a dog whet its tongue" (Exodus 11:7). Two coffins traveled with Israel in the wilderness, the coffin of Joseph and the coffin of the Life of the Worlds [the Ark of the Covenant], and the nations of the world would say: "What is the nature of these two coffins?" And Israel would say to them: "This is the coffin of Joseph who died, and this is the coffin of the Life of the Worlds." And the nations of the world would taunt Israel and say to them: "And what is the way of the ark of God to be traveling alongside the coffin of a dead man?" And Israel would say: "The dead one who lies in this coffin fulfilled all that is written in this Ark."