Commento su Genesi 45:16

והקל נשמע בית פרעה AND THE FAME THEREOF WAS HEARD IN PHARAOH’S HOUSE — It is the same as בבית, in the house of Pharaoh and here it denotes the actual house (cp. 45:2).

JOSEPH’s BRETHREN ARE COME. The intent thereof is that Joseph told the house of Pharaoh that he had honorable brothers in the land of the Hebrews, for he had been stolen away from there,⁵¹See above, 40:15. and now the Egyptians heard that Joseph’s brothers had come as he said.

This was good in the eyes of Pharaoh. He reasoned that if Yoseif’s family settled there he would have more of a stake in the country’s welfare and would perform his duties more diligently.

והקול נשמע בית פרעה, the report reached Pharaoh's palace, etc. Inasmuch as the Torah (verse 2) had already reported Joseph as crying out aloud, the Torah now had to report that the reason for Joseph's strange behaviour had become clear. Pharaoh and his servants now realised that a great reunion had taken place.

וייטב, the Egyptians were very relieved to see that Joseph was the member of a distinguished family. Avraham’s family was an internationally known family.

באו אחי יוסף, “Joseph’s brothers have arrived;” he had always told Pharaoh that he had a number of brothers who occupied distinguished positions in the land of Canaan, and that he had been kidnapped from there. Now, when the people in Pharaoh’s entourage heard about the arrival of Joseph’s brothers, they rejoiced, as it confirmed Joseph’s status prior to his appointment, something that had been somewhat clouded up until now.

The same as בבית פרעה — in Pharaoh’s house, and here it is meant literally. You might ask: Why is v. 2 different? There, Rashi said that וישמע בית פרעה does not mean a house literally, but the people of the house. But this is not a question. There, it could not mean a house literally, because it is written וַיִשְמַע, in the active form, [meaning: “Pharaoh’s house heard.”] This cannot be [understood literally. If it meant there as it does here] it would have said וַיִשָמַע, in the passive form, conveying that it was heard in Pharaoh’s house, as it is written here: “The news was heard (נשמע) in Pharaoh’s house.” (R. Meir Stern)

Dass auch Pharaos Diener sich mit Josefs Freude und mit dem Umstand freuten, dass er durch das Band der Familie nun dauernd dem Lande erhalten blieb, zeugt für Josefs hohe Sittlichkeit, die ihm selbst im Kreise der Staatsdienerschaft keine Neider aufkommen ließ.

AND IT PLEASED PHARAOH WELL, AND HIS SERVANTS. For it was a disgrace to them to be ruled by a stranger, a servant [of whom it is said], out of prison he came forth to be king,⁵²Ecclesiastes 4:14. and now when his honorable brothers came to him, and it became known that Joseph was worthy to stand before kings,⁵³See Proverbs 22:29. they all rejoiced in the matter.

וייטב בעיני פרעה ובעיני עבדיו, and both Pharaoh and his servants were pleased about this. Whereas up until now they had felt embarassed that a former slave ruled over them, the brothers' arrival made it clear that Joseph had never been a slave.