Parshat Beshalach5 min read

Moses Followed Joseph's Fragrance to the Nile

Egypt hid Joseph's coffin in the Nile to hold Israel back. On Exodus night, Moses followed the scent of Joseph's bones and carried him home.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Strangest Thing Moses Carried Out of Egypt
  2. Why Egypt Hid the Coffin in the River
  3. The Scent That Carried Across Centuries
  4. Three Days of Searching Before the Scent
  5. Two Arks Traveling Side by Side

The Strangest Thing Moses Carried Out of Egypt

The strangest thing Moses carried out of Egypt was not his staff. It was a coffin.

While Israel was loading silver, gold, garments, and whatever else a freed people could carry into the dark before dawn, Moses went to the Nile alone. He was not hunting treasure. He was honoring a four-hundred-year-old oath. Joseph had made the children of Israel swear they would carry his bones out of Egypt when the day of departure came (Genesis 50:25). The day was here. The problem was that no one living knew where Joseph's coffin was.

Why Egypt Hid the Coffin in the River

The Egyptians had been deliberate. The traditions preserved in the Legends of the Jews are specific: the Egyptians sank Joseph's coffin in the Nile because they understood what it meant. Joseph had been the reason for Israel's prosperity in Egypt. The bond between Israel and that coffin was not merely sentimental. It was a kind of anchor. The Egyptians believed that as long as they held the bones, they held something that would keep Israel from leaving.

They were wrong, but the logic was not unreasonable. Israel did love Joseph. The oath had been made in full sincerity across generations. And the coffin was at the bottom of the Nile, in the dark water, under the silt that four centuries of river had laid over it.

The Scent That Carried Across Centuries

Moses stood at the riverbank. The Talmud Bavli, in tractate Sotah 13a, records what he did: he called out. Joseph, Joseph! The time has come for the oath you made Israel swear. If you show yourself, good. If not, we are released from the oath. And Joseph showed himself.

But the Legends of the Jews reaches further back, to when Joseph was carried into Egypt the first time. The Ishmaelite traders who bought him from his brothers normally transported pitch and animal hides. The smell of their trade routes was pungent and harsh. On the day they carried Joseph, something intervened: instead of their usual cargo, they were carrying bags of perfumery. The air around Joseph on his way into Egypt was sweet and aromatic. The tradition calls this a providential dispensation, divine arrangement so that the journey that was also a kind of death would be accompanied by sweetness rather than stench.

Serah bat Asher, a woman who had lived since the generation of Jacob himself, knew where the coffin was. She also knew the secret code. Jacob had given a phrase to Joseph on his deathbed, a phrase that would identify the true redeemer to the generation that would still be waiting when he came. Joseph had passed it to his brothers. Asher had passed it to Serah. Serah told Moses the location and confirmed the phrase: I have surely visited you. When Moses spoke those words, Serah recognized him. She took him to the river. The fragrance that had accompanied Joseph into Egypt four centuries earlier was still there, rising from the water, guiding Moses to the exact place where the coffin waited.

Three Days of Searching Before the Scent

The Devarim Rabbah, a homiletical midrash on Deuteronomy compiled in Byzantine Palestine around the fifth to seventh century CE, says Moses spent three days and three nights searching the city. While everyone else was gathering the silver and gold and kneading bowls of Egypt, Moses searched without sleeping. The midrash draws the contrast deliberately: Israel was gathering what Egypt owned. Moses was gathering what Israel owed.

What Moses did on Exodus night was not logistics. It was the fulfillment of a relationship across a span of time that would have crushed most obligations. Joseph had asked to go home. Moses was the one who finally took him.

Two Arks Traveling Side by Side

The Talmud and later midrashic tradition make much of the image: two arks traveling through the wilderness together. The Ark of the Covenant carrying the living word of God. The coffin of Joseph carrying the bones of the man who had kept God's covenant at the cost of everything in his personal life. The Talmud asks what it looked like to passing nations, two boxes, one holy and one containing a dead man, traveling together. The tradition answers that the dead man in the second box had fulfilled the commandments in the first.

Moses had followed the fragrance to the river and pulled the coffin out of the Nile. He carried Joseph the entire length of the wilderness journey. He carried him to the border of the land Joseph had never lived to see. What Moses did was not a logistical task assigned to him as leader. It was an act of love, for a man he had never met, on behalf of a promise made before Moses was born.

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From the tradition

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The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Legends of the Jews 1:494Legends of the Jews

That feeling of responsibility, that weight of expectation... it's woven deep into the fabric of Jewish history. And no story embodies that more poignantly than the tale of Moses and Joseph's coffin.

The Israelites are finally on the verge of leaving Egypt, after centuries of enslavement. But there's a problem. A big one. They made a solemn oath, generations ago, to carry Joseph's bones with them when they left. Where is he? They need to find his coffin.

In Ginzberg's retelling in, Legends of the Jews, it was Moses who took on the daunting task. And how does he go about finding this ancient, hidden coffin? It's not what you might expect.

He takes Joseph's cup – yes, that cup, the one from the famous story in Genesis – and cuts it into four pieces. On each piece, he engraves a symbol: a lion, an eagle, a bull, and a human figure. Sound familiar? These are the four faces of the Merkabah, the divine chariot Ezekiel saw in his vision (Ezekiel 1). These symbols are deeply connected to Jewish mystical thought, representing different aspects of God's presence in the world.

Then, Moses throws each piece, one by one, into the Nile. With the first piece, the one bearing the lion, he cries out, "Joseph, Joseph, the hour for the redemption of Israel has arrived! The Shekinah (the Divine Presence) lingers here only for thy sake; the clouds of glory await thy coming. If thou wilt show thyself, well and good; if not, then we are clear from our oath."

The Shekinah, that divine presence, is said to be waiting specifically for Joseph. The clouds of glory, the protective presence of God that accompanied the Israelites, are ready to move on. But Joseph is holding them back.

Think about the weight of that moment. Moses is invoking ancient promises, appealing to Joseph's sense of duty, even hinting at a release from their obligation. It’s a powerful, almost desperate plea. But... nothing happens. The coffin doesn’t appear.

What does this say about the power of oaths, the responsibility to the past, and the complex relationship between the living and the dead in Jewish tradition? It’s a reminder that redemption isn't just about physical freedom; it's about honoring our commitments, even across generations. And sometimes, it requires a little divine intervention – or, in this case, a cup, some engravings, and a whole lot of faith.

The story continues, of course. But this initial moment, this seemingly failed attempt, speaks volumes about the burdens we carry, the promises we keep, and the enduring power of memory. And it makes you wonder: what promises are we still carrying today?

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Legends of the Jews 4:237Legends of the Jews

The Torah tells us that Moses gathered the elders and performed miracles to prove his divine appointment. But according to the Legends of the Jews, as retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, it wasn't the miracles alone that did the trick. No, it was something far more personal, something tied to a secret passed down through generations.

Jacob, on his deathbed, had revealed a secret mark, a specific phrase, to Joseph that would identify the true redeemer. Joseph, in turn, shared this with his brothers before his own passing. The last surviving brother, Asher, entrusted this knowledge to his daughter, Serah.

What was the secret? Asher told Serah, "He that will come and proclaim the redemption with the words of God, 'I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt,' he is the true redeemer." That phrase, straight from the heart of God’s promise, was the key.

Here's where the story gets really interesting. Serah was still alive when Moses returned from Midian. The elders, desperate for a sign, went to her and recounted Moses' words announcing the redemption. When she heard that he had spoken the very phrase Asher had revealed to her, she knew, without a doubt, that he was the one they had been waiting for.

And that, my friends, was enough. The secret was out. The link to their ancestral promise, delivered through Serah's confirmation, resonated deeply. It wasn't just about miracles; it was about connection, about a whispered promise finally coming to fruition. The people believed. They finally had hope.

What does this story tell us? Perhaps that true leadership, true redemption, isn't just about grand gestures and displays of power. Sometimes, it's about honoring the past, about remembering the promises whispered in the darkness, and about having the wisdom to recognize the signs when they finally appear. And sometimes, it's the quiet voice of someone like Serah, keeper of the secret, who truly ignites the flame of faith.

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Sotah 13aTalmud Bavli, Sotah

And as a child Miriam would say: In the future, my mother will give birth to a son who will save the Jewish people. And once Moses was born, the entire house was filled with light. Her father arose and kissed her on her head. He said to her: My daughter, your prophecy has been fulfilled.

And once they put him into the river, her father arose and hit her on her head. He said to her: My daughter, where is your prophecy? And this is as it is written: “And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him” (Exodus 2:4), i.e., to know what will be the ultimate resolution of her prophecy. § The mishna teaches: Joseph merited to bury his father, resulting in a display of great honor to his father.

The Gemara begins its discussion of the burial of Jacob by asking: What is different initially that it is written: “And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt” (Genesis 50:7), and afterward it says in the following verse: “And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father’s house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen” (Genesis 50:8), indicating that the brothers of Joseph were second in importance to the Egyptians?

And what is different at the end that it is written: “And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren,” and afterward it states: “And all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father” (Genesis 50:14), placing the brothers before the Egyptians? Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Initially, before the Egyptians saw the honor of the Jewish people, as the Gemara will soon explain, they did not treat them with honor, so the brothers were behind the servants of Pharaoh.

And in the end, when they saw their honor, they treated the brothers with honor. The Gemara explains what honor was accorded to the family of Jacob: As it is written: “And they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven days” (Genesis 50:10). The word atad is the name of the boxthorn bush.

And does a boxthorn bush have a threshing floor? Thorns are not collected and eaten. Rabbi Abbahu says: This teaches that they surrounded the casket of Jacob with crowns, like this threshing floor that is surrounded with boxthorns, because the children of Esau and the children of Ishmael and the children of Keturah all came to the burial of Jacob. A Sage taught: Initially, they all came to wage war with the family of Jacob, but once they saw the crown of Joseph, the viceroy of Egypt, hanging on the casket of Jacob, they all took their crowns and hung them on the casket of Jacob.

A Sage taught: Thirty-six crowns were hung on the casket of Jacob. This was the great honor accorded to the family of Jacob. The Gemara continues its discussion of Jacob’s burial. The verse states: “And there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing” (Genesis 50:10).

It is taught: Even horses and even donkeys participated in the mourning. Once they reached the Cave of Machpelah, Esau came and was preventing them from burying Jacob there. He said to them: It says: “And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to Mamre, to Kiryat Arba, the same is Hebron, where Abraham and Isaac sojourned” (Genesis 35:27). And Rabbi Yitzḥak says: It is called Kiryat Arba because there were four couples buried there: Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Leah.

Esau said: Jacob buried Leah in his spot, and the spot that is remaining is mine. The children of Jacob said to Esau: You sold your rights to Jacob. Esau said to them: Though I sold the birthright, did I also sell my rights to the burial site as an ordinary brother? The brothers said to him: Yes, you also sold to Jacob those rights, as it is written that Joseph stated: “My father made me swear, saying: Behold, I die; in my grave that I have dug [kariti] for me in the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me” (Genesis 50:5).

And Rabbi Yoḥanan says in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yehotzadak: The word kira in the verse is nothing other than a term of a sale [mekhira] sharing a similar root, because in the cities overseas they call a sale kira. Esau said to them: Bring the bill of sale to me, i.e., you can’t prove your claims. They said to him: The bill of sale is in the land of Egypt. They said: And who will go to bring it?

Naphtali will go, for he is as fast as a doe, as it is written: “Naphtali is a doe let loose, he gives goodly words” (Genesis 49:21). Rabbi Abbahu says: Do not read it as “goodly words [imrei shafer]”; rather, read it as imrei sefer, i.e., the words of the book, as he returned to Egypt to retrieve the bill of sale. The Gemara relates: Hushim, the son of Dan, was there and his ears were heavy, i.e., he was hard of hearing.

He said to them: What is this that is delaying the burial? And they said to him: This one, Esau, is preventing us from burying Jacob until Naphtali comes back from the land of Egypt with the bill of sale. He said to them: And until Naphtali comes back from the land of Egypt will our father’s father lie in degradation? He took a club [kulepa] and hit Esau on the head, and Esau’s eyes fell out and they fell on the legs of Jacob.

Jacob opened his eyes and smiled. And this is that which is written: “The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked” (Psalms 58:11). At that moment the prophecy of Rebecca was fulfilled, as it is written that Rebecca said of Jacob and Esau: “Why should I be bereaved of you both in one day?” (Genesis 27:45), as Rebecca foresaw that the future bereavement for both her sons would be on the same day.

The Gemara comments: And although their deaths were not on the same day, in any event their burials were on the same day, as Esau was killed and buried on the same day that Jacob was buried. The Gemara returns to discuss the involvement of Joseph and his brothers in the burial of their father: And if Joseph would not have dealt with the burial of Jacob, would his brothers not have dealt with it? But isn’t it written: “For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah” (Genesis 50:13)?

Since it is evident that the brothers were involved in the burial, why did they not deal with Jacob’s burial needs from the outset? The Gemara answers: They said: Allow Joseph to take care of it, because there is more honor for our father to be prepared for burial by royalty than by common people [hedyotot]. § It states further in the mishna: Who, to us, had a greater burial than Joseph, as it was none other than Moses who involved himself in transporting his coffin.

The Sages taught in the Tosefta (4:6–7): Come and see how beloved mitzvot are to Moses our teacher. As, at the time of the Exodus, all the Jewish people were involved in taking the plunder from Egypt, and he was involved in the performance of mitzvot, as it is stated: “The wise in heart will take mitzvot” (Proverbs 10:8). The Gemara asks: And from where did Moses our teacher know where Joseph was buried?

The Sages said: Serah, the daughter of Asher, remained from that generation that initially descended to Egypt with Jacob. Moses went to her and said to her: Do you know anything about where Joseph is buried? She said to him: The Egyptians fashioned a metal casket for him and set it in the Nile [Nilus] River as an augury so that its water would be blessed. Moses went and stood on the bank of the Nile.

He said to Joseph: Joseph, Joseph, the time has arrived about which the Holy One, Blessed be He, took an oath saying that I, i.e., God, will redeem you. And the time for fulfillment of the oath that you administered to the Jewish people that they will bury you in Eretz Yisrael has arrived. If you show yourself, it is good, but if not, we are clear from your oath. Immediately, the casket of Joseph floated to the top of the water.

And do not wonder how iron can float, as it is written in the verses describing how Elisha was able to cause iron to float: “But as one was felling a beam, the ax head fell into the water; and he cried, and said: Alas, my master! For it was borrowed. And the man of God said: Where did it fall? And he showed him the place.

And he cut down a stick, and cast it in there, and the iron floated up” (II Kings 6:5–6). And are these matters not inferred a fortiori: And just as Elisha, who was a mere student of Elijah, and Elijah was a mere student of Moses, as Elijah studied the Torah of Moses, was able to cause the iron to float before him, all the more so would it float before Moses our teacher himself. The Gemara now presents a different version of where Joseph was buried.

Rabbi Natan says: Joseph was buried in the crypt [kabbarnit] of kings. Moses went and stood by the crypt of kings and said: Joseph, the time has arrived about which the Holy One, Blessed be He, took an oath saying that: I will redeem you. And the time for fulfillment of the oath that you administered to the Jewish people that they will bury you in Eretz Yisrael has arrived. If you show yourself, it is good, but if not, we are clear from your oath.

At that moment, the casket of Joseph shook among the caskets. Moses took it and brought it over to himself. And all those years that the Jewish people were in the wilderness, these two arks, one a casket of a dead man, Joseph, and one the Ark of the Divine Presence, i.e., the Ark of the Covenant, were traveling together, and passersby would say: What is the nature of these two arks? They said to them: One is of a dead person and one is of the Divine Presence.

The passersby would ask: And in what way is it the manner of a dead person to travel with the Divine Presence? They said in response:

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Legends of the Jews 1:36Legends of the Jews

Consider Joseph, sold into slavery in Egypt. It’s a story The familiar version gives us, but have you ever thought about the smell of the story?

Normally, the Ishmaelite traders, the ones who bought Joseph from his brothers, dealt in rather unpleasant goods: pitch, for example, and animal hides. Imagine the stench! But this time, something was different. It seems providence intervened.

Instead of their usual cargo, these traders were carrying bags of perfumery. Why? The Legends of the Jews tells us that this was no accident. It was "a providential dispensation," a divine arrangement so that "sweet fragrance might be wafted to Joseph on his journey to Egypt." The air around Joseph, usually filled with the harsh odors of trade, was now filled with sweet, aromatic scents. It was fitting, wasn’t it? According to tradition, Joseph himself possessed a remarkable fragrance. His body emitted "a pleasant smell, so agreeable and pervasive that the road along which he travelled was redolent thereof."

The scene: a young man, betrayed and sold into slavery, yet surrounded by an aura of sweetness. When he arrived in Egypt, the story continues, the perfume emanating from him spread throughout the land. Royal princesses, drawn by the captivating scent, followed it until they found the source: Joseph himself.

It’s an incredible image, isn’t it? A scent so powerful it could lead people to him. And the story doesn't end there.

Even after his death, Joseph’s bones retained this remarkable fragrance. According to the Legends of the Jews, it was this very scent that allowed Moses to identify Joseph’s remains centuries later. Remember the oath the children of Israel made, to return Joseph’s bones to the Holy Land? It was this fragrance, this lingering essence of Joseph, that enabled Moses to fulfill that sacred promise.

So, what does this all mean? Is it just a fanciful tale, an embellishment of the Joseph story? Or is it something more? Perhaps it's a reminder that even in the darkest of times, even in moments of betrayal and hardship, there can be a subtle sweetness, a hint of divine favor, that guides us and those around us. And maybe, just maybe, our actions, our very being, can leave a fragrance that lingers long after we're gone.

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Devarim Rabbah 11:7Devarim Rabbah

The answer, according to Devarim Rabbah, isn't what you might immediately think. It's not just about Moses being a great prophet; it's about a specific act of kindness and dedication he showed long before the Exodus.

The story unfolds in Egypt, at the cusp of Israel's redemption. While the Israelites were busy gathering silver and gold – as the Torah describes (Exodus 12:35-36) – Moses was on a very different mission. He was desperately searching for the coffin of Joseph. Why? Because Joseph, before his death, had made the children of Israel swear an oath to carry his bones out of Egypt when they finally left (Genesis 50:25). They couldn't just leave without him.

That Moses exerted himself for three days and three nights, tirelessly searching the city. Imagine the scene: everyone else is caught up in the excitement of impending freedom and newfound wealth, and there’s Moses, driven by a sense of duty and loyalty to a promise made generations ago.

Exhausted and perhaps disheartened, Moses encountered Segula, who, according to some traditions, is Serah, the daughter of Asher (Sota 13a). She saw his weariness and asked why he was so troubled. He explained his quest to find Joseph's coffin. Segula knew where it was.

She led him to the Nile River. "In this place," she said, "they crafted a coffin weighing five hundred talents, and the magicians and astrologers cast it into the stream. They told Pharaoh that if the Israelites could never find Joseph's bones, they would never be able to leave Egypt." A powerful bit of ancient strategy!

So, Moses stood on the riverbank and addressed Joseph directly. Can you imagine the scene? He called out, "Joseph, you know the oath you administered to Israel: 'God will remember you, and you shall bring up my bones with you' (Genesis 50:25). Accord deference to the God of Israel and do not delay the redemption of Israel. You have good deeds to your credit; ask for mercy before your Creator and rise from the depths!"

Immediately, the coffin began to bubble up from the depths, rising like a piece of wood. Moses lifted it onto his shoulder and carried it, with all of Israel following behind. They were carrying gold and silver, but Moses was carrying Joseph's coffin.

According to Devarim Rabbah, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: "Moses, you say that you performed a minor action; as you live, this kindness that you performed is great, and you did not pay attention to the silver and the gold. I, too, will perform this kindness for you, and I will tend to you."

And that, my friends, is why Moses was granted the unique privilege. It wasn't just about his leadership or his prophetic abilities. It was about his unwavering commitment to a promise, his selflessness in prioritizing a mitzvah, a sacred obligation, over personal gain. He valued honoring the dead and keeping a promise above the lure of riches. His act of chesed (Lovingkindness), of loving-kindness, mirrored back to him in the ultimate act of divine care. What a powerful evidence of the enduring value of loyalty and compassion. It makes you think about the small acts of kindness we perform and how they might resonate far beyond what we imagine.

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Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 13:19Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus

The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 13:19) tells a story the Hebrew only hints at. Moses, on the night Israel leaves Egypt, is not packing or leading. He is recovering a body.

Joseph had made Israel swear a double oath on his deathbed (Genesis 50:25). "God will surely remember you, and you shall carry up my bones with you." Centuries passed. The Egyptians, according to older midrash reflected in the Targum, had sunk Joseph's metal coffin into the Nile (Nilos), partly to sanctify the river, partly to ensure no Hebrew could ever take it out.

So, on the night of nights, while the rest of Israel plunders Egypt and gathers lambs, Moses walks to the riverbank. The Targum says he "carried up the ark in which were the bones of Joseph, from out of the Nilos, and took them with him." The word ark here is the same teva as Noah's ark and the basket that held baby Moses, a floating casket raised from the water.

The detail matters. The liberation of Israel begins not with weapons but with a promise kept. Moses, the greatest prophet, spends the night of freedom fulfilling the last request of a man dead for over two hundred years.

Takeaway: the Targum teaches that redemption carries the bones of the ancestors with it, and that freedom is inseparable from loyalty to the dead.

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Midrash Aggadah, Exodus 13:19Midrash Aggadah

"And Moses took the bones of Joseph," etc. This teaches that all Israel stretched out their hands to the spoil that they brought up from Egypt, but Moses busied himself only with a commandment. For when Joseph died and the Egyptians heard that he had made his brothers swear that they would not go up from Egypt until they took his bones up with them, they placed Joseph in a coffin of lead and cast it into the river Nile, and they said: From now on they will not be able to bring him up. And Moses wrote the Explicit Name and cast it into the Nile, and Joseph's coffin floated up upon the surface of the waters, and Moses stood and took it. "For he had surely sworn", and why two oaths? Rather, he made his brothers swear that they would make their children swear. "From here with you", this teaches that each and every tribe brought up its prince with it.

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Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis 50:26Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis

"And Joseph died, the son of a hundred and ten years. And they embalmed him with perfumes, and laid him in an ark, and submerged him in the midst of the Nilos of Mizraim."

The Torah says Joseph was placed in a coffin in Egypt. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis (50:26) says something stranger. They sank him. Into the Nile.

Why? Other midrashic traditions preserved alongside our Midrash Aggadah collection explain the Egyptians' reasoning: Joseph had been a blessing to their land. They believed burying him in the river would carry that blessing into every canal and field his waters touched. They wanted him to be theirs forever, a submerged righteous one irrigating the kingdom.

The Targum's reader knows the rest of the story. Moses will later stand on the banks of this same Nile, whispering Joseph's name, asking the waters to give the coffin back. And the coffin, according to midrashic tradition, will rise to the surface on its own. The bones Joseph made his brothers swear about (Genesis 50:25) will be ferried across the Yam Suf, sea of reeds, beside the Ark of the Covenant.

The Nile thought it had swallowed Joseph. In truth, it was only holding him for the journey. What Mizraim calls possession, the covenant calls transit.

Beloved, the places that try hardest to hold you are often the places you are merely passing through.

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