11,062 related texts · 38 related myths · Page 4 of 231
The tradition turns to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs (also known as Song of Solomon). The rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, find layers...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Joseph and His Brothers of Jerusalem. Rabbi Yehuda bar Simon, for example, connects the phrase "fair, my love, like Tirtza" to offerings. Yes, offerin...
In the beautiful pattern of Jewish tradition, the role of elders is absolutely fundamental. It’s a theme that echoes throughout our sacred texts. Vayikra Rabbah, specifically Vayik...
The story of Joseph, as told in the Book of Jubilees, gives us a glimpse. The familiar version gives us the broad strokes: sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, falsely accuse...
It turns out, even Biblical heroes felt it too. Take Joseph, for example. You know, the guy with the coat of many colors? His story, as told in the Torah, is already But the Legend...
It’s a story brimming with jealousy, deception, and ultimately, reconciliation. But tucked within the familiar narrative is a curious detail about why Jacob, Joseph’s father, remai...
That feeling… it’s a universal one. But Jewish tradition teaches us that even in the darkest moments, hope remains. Take the story of Joseph, languishing in an Egyptian prison. The...
The Targum does not soften the sentence. At the end of three days, Pharoh with the sword will take away thy head from thy body, and will hang thee upon a gibbet, and the birds will...
Reuben tried the one guarantee that could possibly move his father. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:37) preserves the oath: "Slay my two sons with a curse if I do not bring h...
Benjamin, twelfth and last son of Jacob, born of Rachel, had lived a hundred and twenty-five years. He kissed his sons and began to speak. "As Isaac was born to Abraham in his old ...
The story of Joseph, as retold in Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, opens with just that kind of primal animosity. The scene: Joseph, the favored son, approaches his brothers. But in...
The Mekhilta identifies one of the hidden miracles of the Egyptian exile: the Israelites never abandoned the Hebrew language. Despite living for centuries among Egyptian speakers, ...
Joseph's dying request to his brothers included a subtle but legally significant phrase: "And you shall bring up my bones from here with you" (Genesis 50:25). The Mekhilta zeroes i...
The Book of Jasher, a collection of Jewish legends and lore, fills in some of those gaps, offering a more detailed (and sometimes surprising) account. So, the brothers have just to...
Remember Joseph, the favored son sold into slavery in Egypt? He's now a powerful figure, and his brothers, unknowingly standing before him, are begging for the release of their you...
It all revolves around Joseph’s coat – that infamous coat of many colors. The story goes that after selling Joseph into slavery, Jacob's sons were immediately overcome with regret....
The familiar story is this: the coat of many colors, the dreams, the rise to power in Egypt. But what about before all that? What was Joseph really like as a teenager? In Legends o...
The familiar version gives us the basics: Joseph, the favored son, with his infamous coat, is tossed into a pit by his jealous brothers. But what happened exactly down there? And h...
The coat of many colors, the jealousy, the betrayal. But what about those first few hours after that fateful act? In Legends of the Jews, that amazing compilation of rabbinic tales...
After the whole heartbreaking ordeal of selling Joseph into slavery to the Midianites, Judah's brothers came to him with a proposition. "If things were normal," they said, "our fat...
Legends of the Jews turns to Potiphar — Joseph in the Days of Moses. The Torah tells us Joseph's brothers sold him to a caravan heading to Egypt. But what happened when he actually...
After all the drama with his brothers, being sold into slavery, and landing in Egypt, Joseph finally caught a break. He rose through the ranks, becoming a powerful figure in Potiph...
This one involves Joseph, yes, that Joseph, the one with the coat of many colors, the dreamer who rose to power in Egypt. But before the famine, before the brothers came begging fo...
The scene: Jacob, on his deathbed, surrounded by his sons. You’d think it would be a time for peace, reflection, maybe a little bit of forgiveness. But no. Jacob’s got some things ...
The story of Joseph, as told in Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, gives us a pretty dramatic example. Remember Joseph? The favorite son of Jacob, sold into slavery in Egypt? H...
Legends of the Jews turns to Reuben Told His Father He Had Liver Pain to Hide His Guilt. Reuben, knew he was partially responsible for the sale of Joseph into slavery. Can you imag...
What made Eli the priest live so long? The midrash gives a simple answer: Torah study. "Fortunate is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of ...
When Joseph told his father the dream of the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars, Jacob rebuked him. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:10) reports the rebuke: What dream is thi...
Book of Jubilees turns to Tamar Disguises Herself and Confronts Judah. Judah's life wasn't easy. He had just lost his wife. According to Jubilees, after the mourning period, Tamar ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Judah Rallied His Brothers for Battle Crying God Is with Us. The story unfolds with Judah, ever the fiery leader, rallying his brothers. "The Lord our ...
Her name was Tzafnat, daughter of Peniel, and her father had been high priest of Israel. She had grown up in the holiest household in the land, with the aroma of incense in her clo...
The conspiracy speech of Joseph's brothers, preserved in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:20), ends with a sentence that is, in its own dark way, one of the most revealing lin...
How much is a brother worth? Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:28) gives the answer with almost unbearable precision. The Midianite traders pulled Joseph out of the pit and sol...
The Torah says Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt and bowed before him. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:6) inserts an astonishing middle act: before they bowed, they searched...
Joseph escalates the pressure with a legal framing. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:16) preserves the formula: send one to fetch your youngest brother while the rest remain b...
Ten brothers stood before him, and Joseph picked Simeon. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:24) preserves the reason the Torah leaves quiet: Simeon "had counselled them to kill ...
Judah steps up with the reminder. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 43:3) records his words to Jacob: "The man attesting attested to us saying, You shall not see the sight of my f...
The brothers were defending themselves. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 43:7) preserves their explanation: "The man demanding demanded (to know) about us, and about our family, ...
The seating at Joseph's feast is arranged with a precision that should be impossible. The brothers stare at the place cards and cannot account for what they see. "They sat around h...
The Torah states, almost in passing, that Joseph "removed the people to cities from one end of the border of Egypt to the other" (Genesis 47:21). Why? The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan gi...
The funeral was over. Jacob lay in the cave of Machpelah, and the family rode back to Egypt together. That should have been the end of it. But when Joseph stopped coming to the fam...
Comes the answer. Joseph looks at his brothers, these old, frightened men. And finally explains the awkward meal. "You indeed imagined against me evil thoughts, that when I did not...
“The couriers went out urgently by the king’s command, and the order was issued in the Shushan citadel; the king and Haman sat to drink, and the city of Shushan was confounded” (Es...
“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king sa...
Book of Jubilees turns to Jacob — Joseph Among the Fathers. So, where were we? Joseph's brothers, simmering with jealousy, had a change of heart. They almost killed him. But instea...
That’s kind of what happened after Joseph's incredible rise to power in Egypt. Remember Joseph? Sold into slavery by his brothers, then, through a series of unbelievable events, ri...
Legends of the Jews turns to Simon Threw Joseph Into a Pit Full of Snakes and Scorpions. The brothers, consumed by jealousy, were plotting against him. Reuben, trying to mitigate t...
Sometimes, the answers are hidden in stories… stories that stretch back millennia. Consider the story of Joseph, sold into slavery by his own brothers. A heartbreaking betrayal. Bu...
