3,894 related texts · 15 related myths · Page 2 of 82
Sometimes, digging into the past brings up unexpected things... and uncomfortable questions. Against Apion isn't exactly light bedtime reading. It's a polemic, a fiery defense of J...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Psalms, uses a vivid analogy to explore exactly that feeling, focusing on the Exodus from Egypt. It hangs ...
It wasn't just about Pharaoh's decree to throw baby boys into the Nile. It was also about something seemingly mundane: bricks. to a fascinating interpretation from the Yalkut Shimo...
When Jacob finally yields, he does not send his sons empty-handed. He sends a basket of the land itself. "Take of the praiseworthy things of the land," he tells them, "and put them...
Power draws enemies. Joseph rose from a prison cell to the second throne of Egypt in a single day (Genesis 41:40), and the men he displaced never forgave him. Targum Pseudo-Jonatha...
Shemot Rabbah, a classic midrashic (rabbinic interpretive commentary) compilation – a collection of interpretations and expansions on the Book of Exodus (Shemot in Hebrew) – gives ...
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...
Sometimes, a single line hints at a whole universe of hidden narratives. Take the story of Joseph in Egypt, for example. The familiar version gives us how his brothers, driven by j...
The familiar story is this:. Joseph's brothers, consumed by jealousy, sell him into slavery. They return home, tearfully presenting their father Jacob with Joseph's bloodied cloak,...
That’s kind of what happened when Joseph and his brothers finally made peace in Egypt. Remember the story? Joseph, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, rises to power in Egyp...
The story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis, and the elaborations on it in later Jewish tradition, offer a powerful counter-narrative to that feeling. Joseph, sold into slavery by h...
Legends of the Jews turns to Joseph's Legacy of Jacob. You’d think after all those years of separation and suffering, their reunion would be a time of unadulterated joy. And it was...
In Bereshit Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Book of Genesis, we find a powerful exploration of Joseph's role during the famine. It all starts with Jacob not...
This moment, fraught with tension and brotherly love disguised as animosity, is explored in a fascinating passage from Bereshit Rabbah 93. The story opens with a quote from Ecclesi...
They found hints of it in the most unexpected places – like the story of Jacob sending Judah ahead to Joseph in Goshen (Genesis 46:28). The verse says, "He sent Judah before him to...
The verse in (Genesis 50:3) tells us, "Forty days were completed for him, as so are the days of embalming completed. Egypt wept for him for seventy days.” Then, just a verse later,...
In the middle of Judah's speech, a sentence lands that should have broken Joseph's composure on the spot. "We told my lord, We have an aged father, and a son of his old age, a litt...
The kisses Joseph gives his brothers are not only affection. In Targum Pseudo-Jonathan's reading, they are grief in advance. "And he kissed all his brethren, and wept over them, be...
The plain verse of (Genesis 46:20) simply records that Joseph married Asenath, daughter of Potiphera priest of On, and had two sons, Menasheh and Ephraim. The Targum Pseudo-Jonatha...
When Jacob finally set out to reunite with Joseph, he sent Judah on ahead. The Torah says only that Judah was to "show the way before him to Goshen" (Genesis 46:28). The Targum Pse...
The meeting between Pharaoh and Joseph's brothers was over quickly. In (Genesis 47:6) Pharaoh gave them Goshen, as expected. But the Targum Pseudo-Jonathan lingers on the second ha...
The familiar version gives us the dramatic ending – sold into slavery, rising to power in Egypt, and eventually saving his family from famine. But what about those missing pieces, ...
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 where Jacob found himself when he heard the news – unbelievable news – that his beloved son, Joseph, was not only alive but thriving in Egypt. Can you imagine the scene? His...
Remember, this is an ancient Hebrew text, not considered canon, but full of fascinating stories filling in gaps in the biblical narrative. Our story picks up with Jacob and his son...
The Book of Jasher, an ancient Hebrew text of uncertain origin, gives us a glimpse into that emotional reunion and the events that followed. It's a powerful story of family, faith,...
That’s where we find the sons of Jacob after the disappearance of Joseph. The story, as we know, isn't a happy one. The brothers, consumed by jealousy, sold Joseph into slavery and...
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...
The why behind the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine might be more dramatic than you think. Remember how Joseph, after years of hardship, finally finds himself in...
The tension, the unspoken words hanging in the air… it’s almost unbearable, isn't it? That's the kind of scene unfolding between Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, a reunion thick w...
Legends of the Jews turns to Jacob Suspected His Sons of Lying About Joseph and Simeon. The words Jacob spoke, "Me have ye bereaved of my children," weren’t just a lament. Accordin...
It wasn't exactly a warm family reunion around the dinner table. According to Ginzberg's retelling in Legends of the Jews, the whole meal was fraught with tension, suspicion, and s...
Can you feel the tension hanging in the air? That's the scene as Joseph, now a powerful figure in Egypt, finally sits down to eat with his brothers – the very ones who sold him int...
He sends Judah ahead, not just to find a place to stay, but to build a Bet ha-Midrash – a house of study. Why? What was the real reason behind this seemingly simple act? The Legend...
It wasn't just a quiet family reunion. Oh no, it was a spectacle! Joseph, now the powerful viceroy of Egypt, is preparing to meet his father. But he's not doing it alone. The Egypt...
The story unfolds as Jacob, after years of heartbreaking separation, is finally reunited with his beloved son, Joseph, in Egypt. Imagine the scene: Joseph, now a powerful figure ad...
Sometimes the Bible itself leaves you wanting more detail. That’s where the legends come in, filling in the blanks and adding layers of depth to the story. Ginzberg, in Legends of ...
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...
When Joseph's brothers stood before Pharaoh, they made it crystal clear: Egypt wasn't the final destination. It was a temporary stop, a place to weather a storm. They weren't plann...
Jacob, nearing the end of his life in Egypt, makes a request of Joseph: to be buried in the ancestral land, the land of Canaan. But Jacob wasn't content with just a promise. He wan...
Not just through a messenger, but also from his son, Ephraim, who was studying Torah with Jacob himself. Joseph doesn't hesitate. He grabs his two sons, born in Egypt, and races to...
Our ancestor Jacob, on his deathbed, wrestled with this very question. He’d just given each of his sons a unique blessing, a glimpse into their destinies. But were these destinies ...
It wasn't a simple affair, that's for sure. The Bible tells us he died in Egypt, surrounded by his family. But getting him back to the land promised to his ancestors? That was a wh...
The story returns to the funeral procession of Jacob, or as he was also known, Israel. This wasn't just any funeral. This was Jacob, the father of the twelve tribes, being returned...
Legends of the Jews turns to Wisdom of Joseph of Jacob. The familiar story is this: Joseph, the favored son, with his infamous coat, is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Y...
Life was good... for a while. Initially, the Egyptians welcomed Jacob and his family with open arms. Joseph, after all, had saved their entire kingdom from famine! But as time pass...
Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms, offers a startling perspective on the famine that forced Jacob and his family to leave Canaan. “And there w...
Sifrei Devarim reads Jacob's descent to Egypt through one word: vayagar, he sojourned. It's tempting to think he went to seize power, to claim a throne! After all, his son Joseph w...
