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-Jonathan pictures the aftermath. "All the magicians of Mizraim were bitter and angry against him, and brought accusations against him before Pharoh, expecting to bring him down from his honour. They spake against him with the slanderous tongue which is severe as arrows" (Genesis 49:23).
The magicians had failed to interpret Pharaoh's dreams. Joseph had succeeded. The chartumim, the professional dream-readers who had advised the throne for generations, suddenly watched a Hebrew slave take their place at court. The Aramaic captures the vindictive politics of it. They did not challenge Joseph in public. They whispered in Pharaoh's ear.
The Targum's phrase is pointed. The slanderous tongue is as severe as arrows — an echo of Psalm 120:3-4, where the lashon hara is compared to "sharp arrows of the mighty." Jewish ethical tradition takes this seriously: slander is a weapon that draws blood without touching skin. Joseph, the Targum implies, survived the arrows because of character, not cunning. The arrows flew. They did not land.