Joseph Sanctified God's Name and Gained a Letter of His Name

(On verses 11–12) Rav Kahana bar Bizna said in the name of Rabbi Shimon the Pious: Joseph, who sanctified the Name of Heaven in private, had one letter of the Holy One's Name added to his own; Judah, who sanctified the Name of Heaven in public, had his whole name called after the Holy One. What was Joseph's deed? It is written, "And it came to pass on a certain day, that he came into the house to do his work" (Genesis 39:11) — this teaches that both of them intended a sinful act. Rav and Shmuel: one said "to do his work" literally; the other said he entered to attend to his needs. "And there was none of the men of the house there in the house." Is it possible that a house as great as that wicked man's had no one in it? It was taught in the school of Rabbi Yishmael: that day was their festival day, and all had gone to the house of their idol; and she said she was ill, saying, "I have no day to seize Joseph like this one." "And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me." At that moment the image of his father's face appeared to him. She said to Joseph, "Your brothers are destined to be inscribed upon the stones of the ephod, and you among them. Do you wish your name to be erased from among them, and to be called 'one who shepherds harlots wastes wealth'?" Immediately, "His bow remained firm" (Genesis 49:24), "And his arms were made supple" — he dug his nails into the ground. "By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, from there the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel" — from there he merited to be called the Stone of Israel, as it says, "Shepherd of Israel, give ear, who leads Joseph like a flock" (Psalms 80:2). They said: Joseph was worthy that twelve tribes should issue from him as they did from his father, as it says, "These are the generations of Jacob: Joseph," and so on. Even so, they came forth from his brother Benjamin, and all were named after him: "And the sons of Benjamin" (Genesis 46:21) — "Bela," because he [Joseph] was swallowed up among the nations; "Becher," because he was the firstborn to his mother; "Ashbel," because God took him captive; "Gera," because he sojourned in lodgings; "Naaman," because he was exceedingly pleasant; "Echi and Rosh," because he was "my brother and my chief"; "Muppim and Huppim," because he did not see my wedding canopy and I did not see his; "and Ard," because he went down among the nations.