פירוש על בראשית 40:15

THE LAND OF THE HEBREWS. This means the land of Hebron, wherein dwelt Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham, the head of the lineage, was called “Abraham the Hebrew”²⁷⁵Above, 14:13. since he came from across the River Euphrates, and he was honored among the nations for in him was fulfilled the blessing, And I will make thy name great.²⁷⁶Ibid., 12:1. It is for this reason that all of his seed are called Ivrim (Hebrews). They hold on to this name in order not to intermingle with the various peoples in the Canaanite lands, and this name has been established as the name for all Israel’s seed forever. This is the meaning of the verse, He hath brought in a Hebrew unto us,²⁷⁷Ibid., 39:14. since Joseph told them “I am a Hebrew,” and he did not want them to take him as a Canaanite. And the land where they resided was called “the land of the Hebrews,” that is to say, the land in which the Hebrews are.²⁷⁸But not that it is theirs. It may be that it was so called because they were its leaders and nobles, even as it says, Thou art a prince of G-d in the midst of us,²⁷⁹Above, 23:6. and it is further written, Touch not My anointed ones.²⁸⁰Psalms 105:15.

כי גנב גנבתי וגם פה לא עשיתי מאומה, the reason why he will have me released will be due to your words, for it will be found that neither my status as slave nor that as prisoner is due to any fault of mine. I have never had a trial nor been convicted of any wrongdoing

כי גנוב גנבת, "for I have been kidnapped, etc." The reason the word גנבתי is repeated here is that Joseph endured a double kidnapping. His body was kidnapped, and the people who bought him were fooled because they thought they had bought a slave, whereas in fact they paid for a free man. As a result the people who had paid for Joseph did not really own him. Perhaps Joseph wanted to explode the myth that no slave could ever rule nor wear royal robes in Egypt by explaining that this did not apply to him seeing he had never been a slave (compare Bereshit Rabbah 89,7). Since Joseph realised that the chief butler's dream indicated that he, Joseph, would rise to greatness, he was insistent that the chief butler be aware that he had been born free, that his present status as a slave was due only to his having been kidnapped from his homeland.

כי גנב גנבתי, I have been abducted from my home in the land of the Hebrews. He could say this as the family of his father was very well known in the whole region seeing that already Yitzchok and Avraham the patriarchs had dwelled in the land of Canaan (by that time for about 250 years) It is therefore in order to refer to the land of Canaan as the “land of the Hebrews,” [quite apart of any promise G’d had made to the patriarchs. Ed.]

כי גנוב גנבתי, “for I have been twice kidnapped, etc.” Not only was I kidnapped from my homeland, but here too I have not committed any wrong that would justify my being in jail.

Eigentümlich wird das Land schon hier ארץ העברים genannt; es muss also diese Familie in den Augen der Völker schon so bedeutsam dagestanden haben, dass das Land als ihr Land bezeichnet werden konnte.

כי גונב גונבתי מארץ העברים, “for I have been kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews;” Joseph merited being buried in the land of Israel because he was proud to acknowledge that he was a Hebrew. Moses, on the other hand, who had allowed the daughters of Yitro to describe him as an Egyptian, was denied that privilege. (Compare Exodus2,19.) [This editor has never understood this, as at the time described in that verse, Moses was still at the watering troughs and could not have heard it. Ed.]

מארץ העברים, “from the land of the Hebrews.” Clearly, Joseph did not speak about a state ruled by Hebrews, but he used this adjective to recall that he was descended from Avraham who had been the first עברי to take up residence in the land of Canaan after leaving Mesopotamia.

Joseph added גם פה, that even while in Egypt he was innocent of the charges that had landed him in jail. He explained that the so-called evidence of sperm on the gown of his accuser had been refuted by the clergy (compare Targum Yonathan ben Uzziel on 39,14). This is why Joseph later on treated the Egyptian clergy with extreme leniency during the years of famine (47,22). Had it not been for the clergy's objectivity at the time, Joseph did not need to make any concessions to them as Pharaoh had authorised him על פיך ישק כל עמי, that Joseph's authority extended over the entire nation (41,40).