3,894 related texts · 15 related myths · Page 1 of 82
There is nothing more beloved than the Mincha prayer. The afternoon offering, the one between the morning and the evening, is the prayer that comes at the moment when the day is st...
Jacob said: "My way is hidden from the Lord, and my justice has passed away from my God" (Isaiah 40:27). This was Israel speaking, the whole nation's complaint condensed into one v...
The caravan forms at dawn. An old man. His sons. His grandchildren. His daughters-in-law. Seventy souls in all, according to the count the Torah gives us later (Genesis 46:27). "Ja...
The reunion scene in (Genesis 46:29) should be pure joy. After twenty-two years of believing Joseph was dead, Jacob finally sees his son alive, a ruler in a chariot, riding out to ...
The Torah sums up the family's first years in Egypt in a single line: "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen, and they had possessions therein, and grew a...
The Torah says plainly in (Genesis 47:7) that Jacob "blessed Pharaoh." It does not tell us what the blessing was. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan supplies the words: "May it please the ...
Scripture says that Jacob's family went down to Egypt numbering seventy souls (Genesis 46:27). When the sages sat down to count the names listed in the chapter, they reached only s...
Serah, daughter of Asher, one of Jacob's sons. We find her name nestled in the list of those who went down to Egypt with Jacob to escape the famine. You can find it in (Genesis 46:...
Joseph has reconciled with his brothers. Now he needs them to deliver a message, quickly. "Make haste, and go up to my father, and say to him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, The Lord h...
Before the family of Jacob was even presented to Pharaoh, Joseph coached his brothers on what to say. The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Genesis 46:34) records his instruction: say you...
The reunion. The overwhelming rush of emotion... That's the scene We find Joseph, who after years of hardship, has risen to power in Egypt. And his father, Jacob, old and weary, is...
Pharaoh sends his own invitation. "Take your father and the men of your house, and come to me, and I will give you the best of what is desirable in the land of Mizraim, and you sha...
Joseph, after some theatrics and accusations, has now demanded they bring their youngest brother, Benjamin, back to Egypt as proof of their honesty. But getting Jacob to agree? Tha...
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; ...
A small city, few people, a great king who comes and builds fortifications, (Ecclesiastes 9:14) describes something small being threatened by something enormous. The rabbis identif...
Joseph's counter-offer is designed to look generous. It is in fact the most dangerous trap he has set yet. "Far be it from me to do thus; the man in whose hand the chalice hath bee...
Three words in Hebrew, and a palace full of lies collapses. Ani Yosef. I am Joseph. "Joseph said to his brothers, I am Joseph! Is my father yet alive? But his brothers could not an...
Pharaoh is specific about the travel arrangements. He thinks of the women. He thinks of the children. He thinks of the honor due an aged patriarch. "Thou, Joseph, shalt appoint for...
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...
Joseph's request to Pharaoh hinges on a vow he cannot break. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders it simply. "My father made me swear, saying, Behold, I die, in the sepulchre which I hav...
The brothers, finally reconciled with Joseph, are presented before the ruler of the land. They aren't just any group of travelers; they're described as being of "heroic stature and...
You're not alone. Even Joseph, the powerful vizier of Egypt, had to navigate those tricky waters. The scene: Jacob, Joseph's father and the patriarch of the Israelite people, has j...
When Joseph and Benjamin finally embrace, their tears do not flow for the reasons we expect. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan reads the verse as prophecy. "He bowed himself upon his brother ...
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...
The inventory of Joseph's gift to his father is recorded with precision. "These presents he sent to his father; ten asses laden with wine and the good things of Mizraim, and ten sh...
Words did not persuade Jacob. But the wagons did. "They told him all the words of Joseph which he had spoken to them. And when he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to bring him,...
Read (Genesis 46:21) in a plain chumash and it looks like a list: Bela, Beker, Ashbel, Gera, Naaman, Ehi, Rosh, Muppim, Chuppim, Ard, ten sons of Benjamin. But the Targum Pseudo-Jo...
When Joseph bought up every private field in Egypt during the second year of famine, he left one class untouched. (Genesis 47:22) says he did not buy the land of the priests becaus...
When Jacob asked Joseph to bury him in Canaan rather than Egypt, he did not ask for a simple promise. In (Genesis 47:29) he asked Joseph to "put thy hand under my thigh", a euphemi...
Joseph's blessing is the longest Jacob delivers, and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan packs it with detail no translator could resist. "Joseph, my son, thou hast become great and mighty.. be...
Little does Jacob know the drama unfolding there, the accusations, the imprisonment of Simeon, and the demand to bring Benjamin, his youngest and most cherished son, back to Egypt....
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...
That’s where we find Joseph in this story. The scene: Joseph, after years of separation and hardship, is finally reunited with his father, Jacob. It’s a moment of profound joy, a c...
Take Jacob, for instance. The story goes that Jacob, after years of hardship and separation from his beloved son Joseph, was finally reunited. And according to Legends of the Jews,...
In the twilight of his life, Jacob, also known as Israel, had very specific instructions for his son, Joseph. We find this poignant scene in Legends of the Jews, Louis Ginzberg's m...
That’s kind of what happened to Jacob after Joseph disappeared, according to the ancient commentary, Bereshit Rabbah. The Torah tells us, "Jacob saw that there was grain [shever] i...
The ancient rabbis certainly did, and they found wisdom in the story of Judah and Joseph in the book of Genesis to guide us. Our story begins with a tense encounter. Judah, pleadin...
So, Pharaoh tells Joseph: "Say to your brothers: Do this: Load your animals, and go, and come to the land of Canaan, and take your father and your households, and come to me, and I...
The familiar reading treats the Torah focusing on the big picture, but sometimes, it's in the details that we find the most fascinating human drama. Take the story of Jacob's death...
In what lies in the other ark it is written (Exodus 20) "I am the L–rd your G–d," and of Joseph it is written (Genesis 50:19) "Am I in the place of G–d?" In what lies in this ark i...
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Genesis turns to Judah Approaches the Throne — A Prince of Pharaoh's Judgment. "Judah came near to him and said, In imploring my lord, let thy servant, I ...
The famine in the land was brutal. The people were starving. Desperate, Jacob turned to his sons: "Go again," he pleaded, "and procure food for us, that we die not." His sons were ...
Legends of the Jews turns to Judah's Cry for Benjamin Shook the Foundations of Egypt. Think about Judah. He’s standing there, facing the impossible: returning to his father Jacob w...
The ancient texts are filled with such moments, none more potent than the confrontation between Judah and Joseph in Egypt. The story unfolds as the brothers, still unaware that the...
Tension? You could cut it with a knife. And Judah, ever the fiery one, is ready to rumble. His anger flares. “The fire of Shechem burneth in my heart,” he declares, “now will I bur...
The story opens with a sage, simply called Rabbi, deeply engrossed in defining the precise borders of the tribe of Benjamin. Now, Benjamin was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, e...
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...
Legends of the Jews turns to Judah Warned Joseph Not to Provoke the Sons of Jacob. Remember, Joseph, sold into slavery by his brothers, has risen to power in Egypt. Now, his brothe...
