SYNOPSIS:
Parashat Wayyeshev contains four sidrot. The first consists of; Joseph's dreams, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers; the second, Judah and Tamar; the third, Joseph in the house of Potiphar, Joseph sent to gaol; and the fourth, Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's cup-bearer and baker.
First Sidra՚ (Gen. 37:1-36): Joseph's dreams, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers
Joseph is now seventeen years old and is living the life of a shepherd along with his brothers, but he is not popular with his brothers as he presents a bad report about them to Jacob. Joseph was also Jacob's favourite, "And Israel loved Joseph above all his sons" (Gen. 32:3), this probably also did not go down well with his brothers. Jacob had a striped coat made for Joseph as a sign of his love for his son. A striped coat in the ancient Near East was not a fashion item, but the garment worn by a clan or tribal chieftain. Jacob was thus inaugurating Joseph as the future leader of the brothers. All the special attention that Jacob bestowed upon Joseph caused his brothers to hate him even more. One day Joseph had a dream which he relayed to his brothers, "Here we were binding sheaves in the field, and here my sheaf arose and it also stood upright; and here your sheaves were circling round, and bowed down to my sheaf" (Gen. 37:7). This added insult to injure and his brothers accused him of wanting to rule over them; they now hated him even more. Then Joseph dreamt another dream, which he also recounted to his brothers. In this dream the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. When Joseph told Jacob his dream, Jacob retorted, "What is this dream is this that you have dreamt; shall we come - come - I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground" (Gen. 37:10). His brothers became even more jealous of him while his father gave the matter some thought. A little while later, Joseph's brothers are tending their father's sheep near Shekhem. Israel sends Joseph to seek the well-being of his brothers and to report back on their situation. Joseph sets out from out from the Valley of Hebron and journeys to Shekhem, but when he arrives there he cannot find his brothers, nevertheless he is informed by a 'man' that his brothers had moved on to Dothan. Joseph travels on to Dothan to find his brothers. When Joseph's brothers see him from afar they plot to kill him, "And they said each man to his brother; here comes this master of dreams. And now let us go and kill him and throw him into one of the pits, and we shall say, an evil beast has devoured him; then we will see what will become of his dreams" (Gen. 37:19-20). Reuben was not pleased with this plot of his brothers and decided to do something about it so he persuades them to throw Joseph into a pit rather than taking his life. Reuben was probably hoping on rescuing Joseph from the pit and later returning him home safely. When Joseph reached his brothers they stripped him of his striped coat and cast him into a dry pit. The brothers then sat down to eat. While they were eating they noticed a company of Ishmaelites carrying precious cargo from Gilead to Egypt. Judah, obviously unaware that Reuben intended on rescuing Joseph, persuades his brothers not to kill Joseph, "For he is our brother and our flesh" (Gen. 37:27) and that it would be better if they sold him to the Ishmaelites. The brothers heeded Judah; they lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Joseph was taken with them to Egypt. Reuben had gone somewhere just before Judah had suggested selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites and so was unawares as to what had transpired. When Reuben returned and discovered what had happened he rent his garments in grief, "The child is no more, and I where am I to go" (Gen. 37:30). The brothers then took Joseph's coat, slew a goat, dipped the coat in its blood and then had the coat sent to Jacob. When Jacob recognized the coat he exclaimed, "An evil beast has devoured him, Joseph is torn - torn to pieces" (Gen. 37:33). Jacob then rent his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned his son for many days while his family tried to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted. Meanwhile, the merchants had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh.
Second Sidra՚ (Gen. 38:1-30): Judah and Tamar
Not so long after the brothers had sold Joseph into slavery Judah separates himself from them (possibly as a result of the incident with Joseph) and becomes close allies with a Canaanite chieftain called Hirah from the city of Adullam. Hirah is Judah's right-hand man and close companion. Judah marries a Canaanite women and she bears him three sons; Er, Onan, and Shelah. Sometime later - for Er and Onan are now grown men - Judah takes a woman named Tamar as a wife for Er. However Er was bad in the eyes of YHWH, so YHWH caused him to die. Judah then says to Onan, "Come in to your brother's wife and do a brother-in-law's duty by her; to raise up seed for your brother" (Gen. 38:8). Onan realises that any child produced from his union with Tamar would not be counted as his but as his dead brother's. Therefore, every time Onan had sexual relations with Tamar he would ejaculate outside of her so as not to impregnate her. Onan was thus willing to take his pleasure with Tamar, but was not willing to fulfil his duty towards Er and bring a child into the world in his dead brother's name. This displeased YHWH, so He caused Onan to die as well. As a result of this Judah tells Tamar to remain a widow in her father's house until Shelah, Judah's youngest, is grown up and is able to fulfil for her his duty of a brother-in-law. Judah, however, is afraid that Shelah will also die like his brothers. Many years later Judah's wife dies. After he had risen from mourning for his wife, Judah goes to see his sheep-shearers at Timnah along with his companion Hirah the Adullamite. Tamar is told that Judah has gone to Timnah to shear his sheep, so she removes her widow's garments and covers herself with a veil wrapping it around her and sits down by the entrance to Enaim [עֵינַיִם - Two-wells] which is on the way to Timnah, "for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she, had not been given to him as a wife" (Gen. 38:14). When Judah sees her he mistakes her for a whore because she has covered her face. The covering of the face was a trade mark of a prostitute; this was probably done in order to hide the prostitute's identity. Judah wants to have sex with her not realising that it is Tamar in disguise. Tamar wants to know what Judah is willing to pay for her "services". Judah responds that he will send out a goat kid from the flock, to which Tamar replies only if he gives her a pledge until she receives the goat kid. Judah asks what he should give her as pledge, "and she said your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand" (Gen. 38:18). Judah hands these things over to Tamar and has sex with her. Tamar conceives through her union with Judah. Later Judah sends Hirah to deliver the goat kid to the prostitute and to retrieve his things, but Hirah can not find her. Hirah asks the people in the area, "where is the holy-prostitute the one at Enaim by the road; and they said, there has not a holy-prostitute here" (Gen. 38:21). It is interesting to note that Judah refers to the "woman" as a simple prostitute while Hirah refers to her as a holy-prostitute i.e. a prostitute connected with the worship of the Canaanite fertility goddess Ashtoreth also known as Astarte. When Hirah informs Judah that he could not find the prostitute Judah says, "let her keep them for herself, lest we shall be an object of contempt" (Gen. 38:23). Three months latter - when it became visually apparent that Tamar was pregnant - Judah is informed, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played-the-whore, and also behold she is pregnant from whoring; and Judah said, bring her out and let her be burnt" (Gen. 38:24). As Tamar is being brought out to be burnt she declares, "to the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant; and she said please recognize, to whom are these - the seal and the cords and the staff" (Gen. 38:25). Judah recognizes them and declares that she is more righteous than he, since he did not give her to Shelah his son for a wife once Shelah was old enough. Tamar gives birth to twins; Perez and Zerah.
Third Sidra՚ (Gen. 39:1-23): Joseph in the house of Potiphar, Joseph sent to gaol
In the third sidra՚ of the parashah we return to the story of Joseph, who upon entering Egypt is sold to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. The Torah informs us that Joseph was successful in all that he did; because YHWH was with him. Joseph finds favour in the eyes of Potiphar who appoints him the head steward over his house. Potiphar's house becomes blessed because of Joseph. The Torah tells us that Joseph was beautiful in looks and in form. Potiphar's wife - who is not a virtuous woman - tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph rebuffs her advances with these words, "Behold my lord, knows not what is with me in the house; and all that he has he has placed in my hands. There is no greater in this house than I, and has not withheld from me anything, but for yourself since you are his wife; and how could I do this great ill, and I would be sinning against God" (Gen. 39:8-9). Potiphar's wife would not let up, and day after day she would attempt to seduces Joseph; but to no avail. One day while Joseph is alone in the house attending to his duties, Potiphar's wife grabs his garment and demands that he lie with her. Joseph flees outside leaving his garment in her hand. The garment worn by both men and women in ancient Egypt was a single piece of white linen rapped around either the whole body or just the lower body. Potiphar's wife feeling slighted by Joseph's continuous rejection seeks revenge. So she calls out to the people of her house and tells them that Joseph tried to lie with her, however her calling out to them scared him away; and presents his garment as evidence. When Potiphar returns home his wife repeats to him the exact same story. Potiphar becomes extremely angry and has Joseph thrown in to a prison that is reserved for prisoners of the king. The Torah tells us that YHWH was with Joseph while he was in prison; being kind towards him. Joseph finds favour in the eyes of the prison warden who places the other prisoners under his jurisdiction.
Fourth Sidra՚ (Gen. 40:1-23): Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharoah's cup-bearer and baker
A little latter the Pharaoh's cupbearer (a highly trusted position, usually the king's confidant) and the chief baker "sin" (Gen. 40:1) against the Pharaoh who becomes infuriated with them and places them into the hands of the captain of the guard (Potiphar) who incarcerates them in the same prison where Joseph is imprisoned. Potiphar charges Joseph to serve on them. Some time later the Pharaoh's cupbearer and the royal baker both have dreams that disturb them. In the morning Joseph sees that they are both looking dejected, so he asks them what is bothering them. They tell Joseph that they both had dreams that they cannot interpret. Joseph says to them, "do not interpretations belong to God, please tell them to me" (Gen. 40:8). The chief cupbearer tells his dream to Joseph first. He dreamt that there was a vine in front of him and on the vine were three tendrils that budded with blossom and clusters that ripened into grapes. In the dream Pharaoh's cup was in his hand and he took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in Pharaoh's palm. Joseph then interprets his dream; the three tendrils are three days, thus in three day's time the cupbearer will be restored by Pharaoh to his former position. Joseph tells the cupbearer to remember him and bringing his plight to Pharaoh's attention in order to procure his release from the prison. "For stolen I was stolen, from the land of the Hebrews; and here too I have not done anything, that they should have put me in the pit" (Gen. 40:15). When the chief baker saw that Joseph gave a favourable interpretation to the cupbearer's dream he too told Joseph his dream. He dreamt that there were three baskets of white bread on his head and in the basket at the very top was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating the goods. Joseph then interprets the chief baker's dream. The three baskets are three days, and in three day's time the chief baker's head will be cut off by orders of Pharaoh and he will be hung on a tree, where the birds will eat his flesh. Three days later it is Pharaoh's birthday and he makes a drinking-feast for all of his servants, and as part of the celebrations he restores the chief cupbearer to his position while the chief baker is hung. But the chief cupbearer forgot all about Joseph.
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
Sibling rivalry seems to be a trade mark of Abraham's descendants. First there was Ishmael's jealousy of Isaac, also Esau and Jacob weren't exactly soul mates even though they were twins. Furthermore Er is not even willing to fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for Onan and raise a child in his dead brother's name. Moreover, amongst Jacob's own sons, Joseph cannot exactly be called 'Mr Popular'; his own brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph at the tender age of seventeen found himself as a servant in a foreign land - enough to test the fiber of any young man and Joseph's moral fibre was soon to be put to the test. Joseph a seventeen year old boy - probably with raging hormones like any normal seventeen year old boy - finds his master's wife paying more attention to him than he would like. Potiphar's wife makes several attempts to seduce Joseph but this seventeen year old lad does not succumb. When Joseph enlightens Potiphar's wife as to the reason why he is not willing to lie with her, he does not tell her that he does not find her attractive enough or that he is frightened that Potiphar might find out; Joseph's reason has nothing to do with fear or his preference in women. They do however come from his understanding of right and wrong. At the age of seventeen Joseph knew that adultery is an evil against both man and God. At this tender age Joseph had already developed an unquestionable sense of decency that would enable him to walk with God and in turn for God to be with him.
Parashat Wayyeshev contains four sidrot. The first consists of; Joseph's dreams, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers; the second, Judah and Tamar; the third, Joseph in the house of Potiphar, Joseph sent to gaol; and the fourth, Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's cup-bearer and baker.
First Sidra՚ (Gen. 37:1-36): Joseph's dreams, Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers
Joseph is now seventeen years old and is living the life of a shepherd along with his brothers, but he is not popular with his brothers as he presents a bad report about them to Jacob. Joseph was also Jacob's favourite, "And Israel loved Joseph above all his sons" (Gen. 32:3), this probably also did not go down well with his brothers. Jacob had a striped coat made for Joseph as a sign of his love for his son. A striped coat in the ancient Near East was not a fashion item, but the garment worn by a clan or tribal chieftain. Jacob was thus inaugurating Joseph as the future leader of the brothers. All the special attention that Jacob bestowed upon Joseph caused his brothers to hate him even more. One day Joseph had a dream which he relayed to his brothers, "Here we were binding sheaves in the field, and here my sheaf arose and it also stood upright; and here your sheaves were circling round, and bowed down to my sheaf" (Gen. 37:7). This added insult to injure and his brothers accused him of wanting to rule over them; they now hated him even more. Then Joseph dreamt another dream, which he also recounted to his brothers. In this dream the sun, the moon and eleven stars bowed down to him. When Joseph told Jacob his dream, Jacob retorted, "What is this dream is this that you have dreamt; shall we come - come - I and your mother and your brothers, to bow down to you to the ground" (Gen. 37:10). His brothers became even more jealous of him while his father gave the matter some thought. A little while later, Joseph's brothers are tending their father's sheep near Shekhem. Israel sends Joseph to seek the well-being of his brothers and to report back on their situation. Joseph sets out from out from the Valley of Hebron and journeys to Shekhem, but when he arrives there he cannot find his brothers, nevertheless he is informed by a 'man' that his brothers had moved on to Dothan. Joseph travels on to Dothan to find his brothers. When Joseph's brothers see him from afar they plot to kill him, "And they said each man to his brother; here comes this master of dreams. And now let us go and kill him and throw him into one of the pits, and we shall say, an evil beast has devoured him; then we will see what will become of his dreams" (Gen. 37:19-20). Reuben was not pleased with this plot of his brothers and decided to do something about it so he persuades them to throw Joseph into a pit rather than taking his life. Reuben was probably hoping on rescuing Joseph from the pit and later returning him home safely. When Joseph reached his brothers they stripped him of his striped coat and cast him into a dry pit. The brothers then sat down to eat. While they were eating they noticed a company of Ishmaelites carrying precious cargo from Gilead to Egypt. Judah, obviously unaware that Reuben intended on rescuing Joseph, persuades his brothers not to kill Joseph, "For he is our brother and our flesh" (Gen. 37:27) and that it would be better if they sold him to the Ishmaelites. The brothers heeded Judah; they lifted Joseph out of the pit and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Joseph was taken with them to Egypt. Reuben had gone somewhere just before Judah had suggested selling Joseph to the Ishmaelites and so was unawares as to what had transpired. When Reuben returned and discovered what had happened he rent his garments in grief, "The child is no more, and I where am I to go" (Gen. 37:30). The brothers then took Joseph's coat, slew a goat, dipped the coat in its blood and then had the coat sent to Jacob. When Jacob recognized the coat he exclaimed, "An evil beast has devoured him, Joseph is torn - torn to pieces" (Gen. 37:33). Jacob then rent his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned his son for many days while his family tried to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted. Meanwhile, the merchants had sold Joseph in Egypt to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh.
Second Sidra՚ (Gen. 38:1-30): Judah and Tamar
Not so long after the brothers had sold Joseph into slavery Judah separates himself from them (possibly as a result of the incident with Joseph) and becomes close allies with a Canaanite chieftain called Hirah from the city of Adullam. Hirah is Judah's right-hand man and close companion. Judah marries a Canaanite women and she bears him three sons; Er, Onan, and Shelah. Sometime later - for Er and Onan are now grown men - Judah takes a woman named Tamar as a wife for Er. However Er was bad in the eyes of YHWH, so YHWH caused him to die. Judah then says to Onan, "Come in to your brother's wife and do a brother-in-law's duty by her; to raise up seed for your brother" (Gen. 38:8). Onan realises that any child produced from his union with Tamar would not be counted as his but as his dead brother's. Therefore, every time Onan had sexual relations with Tamar he would ejaculate outside of her so as not to impregnate her. Onan was thus willing to take his pleasure with Tamar, but was not willing to fulfil his duty towards Er and bring a child into the world in his dead brother's name. This displeased YHWH, so He caused Onan to die as well. As a result of this Judah tells Tamar to remain a widow in her father's house until Shelah, Judah's youngest, is grown up and is able to fulfil for her his duty of a brother-in-law. Judah, however, is afraid that Shelah will also die like his brothers. Many years later Judah's wife dies. After he had risen from mourning for his wife, Judah goes to see his sheep-shearers at Timnah along with his companion Hirah the Adullamite. Tamar is told that Judah has gone to Timnah to shear his sheep, so she removes her widow's garments and covers herself with a veil wrapping it around her and sits down by the entrance to Enaim [עֵינַיִם - Two-wells] which is on the way to Timnah, "for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she, had not been given to him as a wife" (Gen. 38:14). When Judah sees her he mistakes her for a whore because she has covered her face. The covering of the face was a trade mark of a prostitute; this was probably done in order to hide the prostitute's identity. Judah wants to have sex with her not realising that it is Tamar in disguise. Tamar wants to know what Judah is willing to pay for her "services". Judah responds that he will send out a goat kid from the flock, to which Tamar replies only if he gives her a pledge until she receives the goat kid. Judah asks what he should give her as pledge, "and she said your seal and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand" (Gen. 38:18). Judah hands these things over to Tamar and has sex with her. Tamar conceives through her union with Judah. Later Judah sends Hirah to deliver the goat kid to the prostitute and to retrieve his things, but Hirah can not find her. Hirah asks the people in the area, "where is the holy-prostitute the one at Enaim by the road; and they said, there has not a holy-prostitute here" (Gen. 38:21). It is interesting to note that Judah refers to the "woman" as a simple prostitute while Hirah refers to her as a holy-prostitute i.e. a prostitute connected with the worship of the Canaanite fertility goddess Ashtoreth also known as Astarte. When Hirah informs Judah that he could not find the prostitute Judah says, "let her keep them for herself, lest we shall be an object of contempt" (Gen. 38:23). Three months latter - when it became visually apparent that Tamar was pregnant - Judah is informed, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played-the-whore, and also behold she is pregnant from whoring; and Judah said, bring her out and let her be burnt" (Gen. 38:24). As Tamar is being brought out to be burnt she declares, "to the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant; and she said please recognize, to whom are these - the seal and the cords and the staff" (Gen. 38:25). Judah recognizes them and declares that she is more righteous than he, since he did not give her to Shelah his son for a wife once Shelah was old enough. Tamar gives birth to twins; Perez and Zerah.
Third Sidra՚ (Gen. 39:1-23): Joseph in the house of Potiphar, Joseph sent to gaol
In the third sidra՚ of the parashah we return to the story of Joseph, who upon entering Egypt is sold to Potiphar an official of Pharaoh and captain of the guard. The Torah informs us that Joseph was successful in all that he did; because YHWH was with him. Joseph finds favour in the eyes of Potiphar who appoints him the head steward over his house. Potiphar's house becomes blessed because of Joseph. The Torah tells us that Joseph was beautiful in looks and in form. Potiphar's wife - who is not a virtuous woman - tries to seduce Joseph. Joseph rebuffs her advances with these words, "Behold my lord, knows not what is with me in the house; and all that he has he has placed in my hands. There is no greater in this house than I, and has not withheld from me anything, but for yourself since you are his wife; and how could I do this great ill, and I would be sinning against God" (Gen. 39:8-9). Potiphar's wife would not let up, and day after day she would attempt to seduces Joseph; but to no avail. One day while Joseph is alone in the house attending to his duties, Potiphar's wife grabs his garment and demands that he lie with her. Joseph flees outside leaving his garment in her hand. The garment worn by both men and women in ancient Egypt was a single piece of white linen rapped around either the whole body or just the lower body. Potiphar's wife feeling slighted by Joseph's continuous rejection seeks revenge. So she calls out to the people of her house and tells them that Joseph tried to lie with her, however her calling out to them scared him away; and presents his garment as evidence. When Potiphar returns home his wife repeats to him the exact same story. Potiphar becomes extremely angry and has Joseph thrown in to a prison that is reserved for prisoners of the king. The Torah tells us that YHWH was with Joseph while he was in prison; being kind towards him. Joseph finds favour in the eyes of the prison warden who places the other prisoners under his jurisdiction.
Fourth Sidra՚ (Gen. 40:1-23): Joseph interprets the dreams of Pharoah's cup-bearer and baker
A little latter the Pharaoh's cupbearer (a highly trusted position, usually the king's confidant) and the chief baker "sin" (Gen. 40:1) against the Pharaoh who becomes infuriated with them and places them into the hands of the captain of the guard (Potiphar) who incarcerates them in the same prison where Joseph is imprisoned. Potiphar charges Joseph to serve on them. Some time later the Pharaoh's cupbearer and the royal baker both have dreams that disturb them. In the morning Joseph sees that they are both looking dejected, so he asks them what is bothering them. They tell Joseph that they both had dreams that they cannot interpret. Joseph says to them, "do not interpretations belong to God, please tell them to me" (Gen. 40:8). The chief cupbearer tells his dream to Joseph first. He dreamt that there was a vine in front of him and on the vine were three tendrils that budded with blossom and clusters that ripened into grapes. In the dream Pharaoh's cup was in his hand and he took the grapes and squeezed them into Pharaoh's cup and put the cup in Pharaoh's palm. Joseph then interprets his dream; the three tendrils are three days, thus in three day's time the cupbearer will be restored by Pharaoh to his former position. Joseph tells the cupbearer to remember him and bringing his plight to Pharaoh's attention in order to procure his release from the prison. "For stolen I was stolen, from the land of the Hebrews; and here too I have not done anything, that they should have put me in the pit" (Gen. 40:15). When the chief baker saw that Joseph gave a favourable interpretation to the cupbearer's dream he too told Joseph his dream. He dreamt that there were three baskets of white bread on his head and in the basket at the very top was all manner of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating the goods. Joseph then interprets the chief baker's dream. The three baskets are three days, and in three day's time the chief baker's head will be cut off by orders of Pharaoh and he will be hung on a tree, where the birds will eat his flesh. Three days later it is Pharaoh's birthday and he makes a drinking-feast for all of his servants, and as part of the celebrations he restores the chief cupbearer to his position while the chief baker is hung. But the chief cupbearer forgot all about Joseph.
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
Sibling rivalry seems to be a trade mark of Abraham's descendants. First there was Ishmael's jealousy of Isaac, also Esau and Jacob weren't exactly soul mates even though they were twins. Furthermore Er is not even willing to fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for Onan and raise a child in his dead brother's name. Moreover, amongst Jacob's own sons, Joseph cannot exactly be called 'Mr Popular'; his own brothers sold him into slavery. Joseph at the tender age of seventeen found himself as a servant in a foreign land - enough to test the fiber of any young man and Joseph's moral fibre was soon to be put to the test. Joseph a seventeen year old boy - probably with raging hormones like any normal seventeen year old boy - finds his master's wife paying more attention to him than he would like. Potiphar's wife makes several attempts to seduce Joseph but this seventeen year old lad does not succumb. When Joseph enlightens Potiphar's wife as to the reason why he is not willing to lie with her, he does not tell her that he does not find her attractive enough or that he is frightened that Potiphar might find out; Joseph's reason has nothing to do with fear or his preference in women. They do however come from his understanding of right and wrong. At the age of seventeen Joseph knew that adultery is an evil against both man and God. At this tender age Joseph had already developed an unquestionable sense of decency that would enable him to walk with God and in turn for God to be with him.