11,062 related texts · 38 related myths · Page 6 of 231
Our tradition tells us stories of those who did just that. It speaks of three individuals who triumphed over their passions before God: Joseph, Boaz, and Paltê, son of Laish. Each ...
When the news reaches the palace, Pharaoh is delighted. And the Targum hears the reason under the delight. "A voice was heard in the royal house of Pharaoh, saying, The brothers of...
Bamidbar Rabbah refuses to skim the tribal offerings. Reuben's silver dish, basin, and incense ladle all become signals. The Torah tells us about Elitzur's offering: "His offering ...
It all starts with Joseph, the favored son, and a couple of very fateful dreams. "His brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers…" This line from (Genesis ...
"They sat to eat bread…" Rabbi Aḥva bar Ze’eira points out something profound here. He says, "The transgression of the tribes is remembered forever; it gave hope to the world." Isn...
This, the rabbis say, is Joseph. But then comes a twist. "And did not turn to the proud" (Psalms 40:5) – because Joseph asked the chief butler to remember him and mention him to Ph...
It all goes back to Jacob's blessings to his sons on his deathbed, a scene fraught with emotion and anticipation. And within that scene, the blessing to Judah stands out, packed wi...
His extended stay behind bars had a very specific reason. The familiar story is this: Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, rises in power in Egypt, only to be falsely...
He’s not just celebrating; he’s teaching. He’s imparting wisdom gleaned from his own tumultuous life. He urges his brothers to walk in the ways of the Lord, to make themselves wort...
Rabbi Nachman of Breslov taught that prayer is the essential weapon of the Messiah. Not a sword. Not an army. Prayer. The teaching begins with a striking image from the Zohar: the ...
If the sheaf dream was shocking, the second dream was worse. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 37:9) stays close to the Hebrew: behold, the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars, bo...
The verse is brief and the Targum does not soften it. Judah turned aside to the veiled woman at the crossroads and said, Let me now go in with thee, for he knew not that she was hi...
The Aramaic preserves two small words that change a life. Judah, standing at the place of judgment with his own seal, mantle, and staff in front of him, does not argue. He says: Tz...
This is one of the most daring glosses in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. The chief butler has told Joseph about a vine with three branches, ripening into grapes that he pressed into Phara...
The Targum gives the baker's dream two readings, the way it gave the butler's dream two readings. This is its interpretation. The three baskets are the three enslavements with whic...
The old man counted his losses aloud. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 42:36) preserves Jacob's lament word by word: "Of Joseph you said, An evil beast hath devoured him; of Sime...
The name Judah (Yehudah) comes from the Hebrew root y-d-h, to acknowledge, to confess, to praise. Jacob knows this, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan will not let the wordplay pass unused...
The Book of Jubilees, an ancient Jewish text that retells and expands upon stories from Genesis, picks up the narrative with Joseph at a pivotal moment. It tells us that on the ver...
Book of Jubilees turns to Judah Confesses That Tamar Is More Righteous. Remember the story? Judah's wife dies. He’s supposed to give his youngest son, Shelah, to his widowed daught...
More often, it's a tale riddled with injustice, with power used to justify the unthinkable. The Letter of Aristeas, a fascinating document supposedly written in the 2nd century BCE...
It’s a longing, a hope so fervent it practically vibrates off the page. This ancient text, not included in the Tanakh but preserved in the Septuagint, gives us a glimpse into the h...
Gad, ninth son of Jacob, born of Zilpah, spoke to his sons in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life. He had been valiant in keeping the flocks, guarding them at night. When...
Joseph's imprisonment wasn't just a random act of misfortune. It was, in a way, a consequence for speaking ill of his brothers before their father, Jacob. The price? Ten long years...
The story of Joseph in Egypt, as retold in Legends of the Jews by Ginzberg, offers us a powerful lesson in these very qualities. After years of hardship, Jacob and his family final...
This particular story plunges us into the land of the Philistines. Imagine the scene: A night filled with inexplicable terror. A "great crying" echoes across the land as people wit...
It's far more than just a tale of sibling rivalry and Egyptian intrigue. According to the Legends of the Jews, compiled by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, Jacob endured the hardships of his ...
Jacob, anxious and yearning for news of his sons and the flock, sends Joseph out to check on them. Time passes. Too much time. A knot of unease tightens in Jacob’s stomach. He can'...
The Torah tells us of Jacob's deep love for Joseph, a love that perhaps bordered on favoritism. So, picture Jacob, now alone, consumed by grief. The text says that while his sons w...
Legends of the Jews turns to Joseph's First Chaotic Days as a Slave in Egypt. Well, the Legends of the Jews, that amazing compilation of rabbinic lore gathered by Louis Ginzberg, f...
Legends of the Jews turns to Potiphar's Wife Heard About Joseph's Good Looks. Then… trouble arrives. Potiphar's wife enters the picture. We don’t get her name here, though late ant...
The ancient texts hint that such intense feelings aren't always random. Sometimes, they're woven into the very fabric of destiny, though perhaps not in the way we expect. Think abo...
That's a glimpse into the world of Joseph and Zuleika, as recounted in Legends of the Jews. The story, a vibrant expansion of the biblical narrative, paints Zuleika, Potiphar's wif...
He faced a test that could have changed his life forever. The story goes that when Potiphar's wife, Zuleika, tried to seduce him, he refused. "I fear my master," he said, according...
That's where Joseph found himself in the house of Potiphar. Potiphar, believing his wife's lies, had Joseph brutally flogged. Can you picture it? The sting of the whip, the injusti...
Remember the story? Potiphar's wife, Zuleika, falsely accused Joseph of trying to seduce her. It was a mess. A really, really big mess. And things were about to get even more compl...
It sounds like a dream. But what if everyone around you is dead-set against it? That's the situation Joseph found himself in, according to Ginzberg's Legends of the Jews, when Phar...
When Joseph's brothers arrived in Egypt seeking to buy grain, they were asked their names, and the names of their father and grandfather. Can you feel the tension? The guard taking...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob Wrote a Letter to the Ruler of Egypt Not Knowing It Was Joseph. “I have said all now that is in my heart," he declared. These aren't just words; ...
Legends of the Jews turns to The Brothers Arrived Humbled and Reduced to Begging. They arrive at Joseph's house – remember, they don't know it's him yet, disguised as a powerful Eg...
It can make you feel like you can take on the world. That's the feeling that must have coursed through Joseph's brothers as they strode back into the Egyptian city. Remember, these...
Legends of the Jews turns to Benjamin Pleaded for Mercy and Joseph Could Barely Hold Back. The story unfolds with Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, testing his brothers who a...
He’s risen from slavery to become a ruler, second only to Pharaoh himself! But beneath the surface of power, there’s a whisper of doubt, a nagging feeling that he’s still seen as a...
When Joseph, after years of hardship, finally rose to power in Egypt, his first thought was for his family. Famine gripped the land, and he knew his brothers and father were strugg...
It's quite a story, one that goes far beyond the familiar narrative in Genesis. Famine had gripped the land, remember? And the people, desperate for food, first spent all their mon...
On his deathbed, Jacob imparted crucial knowledge to his son Joseph, the key to recognizing the future redeemer of Israel, the one who will deliver them from the harsh bondage of E...
Legends of the Jews turns to An Army of Seir Attacked Joseph's Family Three Days After Jacob Died. The Ginzberg's says masterful retelling in Legends of the Jews, Joseph and his br...
The story of Joseph, his coffin, and Moses is one such tale. It's a powerful reminder that even in the chaos of escape and liberation, honoring a pledge matters deeply. The scene: ...
A tale of loyalty, promise, and righteous living. before he passed, Joseph made his brothers promise to carry his bones with them when they finally left Egypt. A pretty big ask. Bu...
