Midrash su Genesi 37:23

And when Joseph came amongst his brothers he sat down before them; and they took hold ‎upon him and threw him to the ground and stripped off the coat of many colors which was ‎upon him. And they took him and cast him into a pit, and in the pit was no water, but it was full ‎of serpents and scorpions. And Joseph was greatly afraid of the serpents and scorpions, and ‎he cried out with a loud voice, and the Lord hid the serpents and scorpions in the walls of the ‎pit, so that they could do Joseph no harm. And Joseph cried out from the pit unto his brothers, ‎saying: What have I done unto you and what is my sin, and why do you not fear the Lord ‎concerning me? Am I not your bone and flesh and is not Jacob, your father, my father also? ‎Why are ye doing this thing unto me this day, and how will you ever be able to look unto Jacob ‎our father? And he was crying and calling unto his brothers from the midst of the pit, and he ‎said: Oh Judah, and Simeon and Levi, my brothers, raise me from this darksome place where ‎into ye have put me, and come and have mercy upon me this day, ye children of the Lord and ‎sons of my father Jacob ' And supposing that I have sinned against you, are you not the sons of ‎Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who when they saw an orphan they had pity with him, and when ‎they found one hungry they gave him bread to eat, and if he was thirsty they gave him water ‎to drink, and if he was naked they covered him with garments. And how can ye withdraw your ‎compassion from your own brother, of your own flesh and bone, and even if I have sinned ‎against you, surely you ought to do it for the sake of my father. And Joseph spoke all these ‎words from the midst of the pit but his brothers hearkened not nor did they incline their ears ‎to Joseph’s sup plication and he was still crying and weeping in the pit. And Joseph said: Oh ‎that my father knew the thing that my brothers have done unto me and what they said unto ‎me this day. And Joseph’s brothers heard the weeping and lamentation of their brother, and ‎they moved away in order not to hear his crying in the pit. And they seated themselves at a ‎distance of about a bow-shot, and they sat down there to eat.‎

Another interpretation (of Gen. 44:18): When Judah saw that Joseph was not appeased, he began saying to his brothers: [Why] are we standing around? We will begin with this one and wind up with Pharaoh! Now they did not know that Joseph understood their language, as stated (in Gen. 42:23): NOW THEY DID NOT KNOW THAT JOSEPH UNDERSTOOD. When Joseph saw that, he began to talk to them with supplications and with gentle language. He said to them: About this Benjamin, I want only to know who < it was that > advised him to steal the goblet. Did you perhaps advise him to steal the goblet? When Benjamin heard that, he said: They did not give me advice, and I did not touch the goblet. He said to them: Swear to me. He began to swear to him. By what did he swear to him? By the separation of my brother Joseph from me,¹⁵This clause may also be translated as follows: “By the scriptural section on the separation of my brother Joseph from me (in Gen. 37:18-36).” I did not touch it. Now < I swear > neither by the launching of arrows which were sent against him, as stated (in Gen. 49:23): ARCHERS HAVE HATED HIM (Joseph); nor by the stripping with which they stripped him, as stated (in Gen. 37:23): THEY STRIPPED JOSEPH OF HIS TUNIC; nor by the throwing with which they threw him into the cistern, as stated (in Gen. 37:24): AND THEY CAST HIM INTO THE PIT; nor by the selling with which they sold him to the Ishmaelites (in vs. 28); nor by the dipping with which they dipped his tunic in the blood (in vs. 31). < By none of these do I swear > that they did not give me advice, and I did not touch the goblet. Joseph said: Who will make known to me that you are swearing truthfully about your brothers? He said to him: You can know how much I love him from the names of my sons, since I set names for them on the basis of what I feared for < each one >.¹⁶Sot. 36b (bar); Gen. R. 93:7; Tanh., Gen. 11:40. He said to him: And what were the names of your sons? He said to him (in agreement with Gen. 46:21): BELA, BECHER, ASHBEL, GERA, NAAMAN, EHI, ROSH, MUPPIM, HUPPIM, AND ARD. He said to him: Why Bela (BL')? He said to him: Because my brother was swallowed up (rt.: BL') from me. Becher (BKR)? Because he was my mother's first-born (rt.: BKR). Ashbel ('ShBL)? Because my brother was captured (NShBH). Gera? Because my brother was a sojourner (ger) with < merely > the privileges of a transient.¹⁷Gk.: xenia, i.e., “rights of a foreigner” or “guest privileges.” Naaman (N'M)? Because his words were pleasing (N'M). Ehi ('HY)? Because he was my brother ('HY) from < the same > mother, and I had none but him. Rosh (which means "head")? Because he was older than I. Muppim (MPYM)? Because he learned Torah from our father's mouth (MPY) and taught it to me. When all his brothers would return to shepherding, he would sit with my father and learn the traditions which he had received from Shem and Eber. Huppim (rt.: HPP)? Because he has been covered over (rt.: HPP) until this day. Another interpretation of Huppim: Because I did not see his wedding canopy (huppah) nor did he see my wedding canopy. Another interpretation of Huppim (rt.: HPP): Because until now I have been mourning over him and going barefoot (rt.: YHP). And Ard ('RD)? Because he brought (rt.: YRD) all of us down here. Another interpretation of ARD (from Gen. 37:35): NO, I WILL GO DOWN ('RD) MOURNING TO MY SON IN SHEOL. Will you please not bring down ('RD) Daddy to Sheol through grief! And so Judah said (in Gen. 44:34): FOR HOW SHALL I GO UP UNTO MY FATHER < IF THE LAD IS NOT WITH ME >? When Joseph heard that, he was not able to suppress his compassion, as stated (in Gen. 45:1-3): JOSEPH COULD NOT RESTRAIN HIMSELF…. AND HE WEPT ALOUD…. THEN JOSEPH SAID UNTO HIS BROTHERS: I AM JOSEPH. When he said to them: I AM {YOUR BROTHER JOSEPH} … (in vs. 3, cont.): HIS BROTHERS COULD NOT ANSWER HIM BECAUSE THEY WERE DISMAYED BECAUSE OF HIM. R. Eleazar b. R. Simeon said in the name of R. Eleazar ben Azariah:¹⁸Gen. R. 93:11. Now, if in the case of Joseph, when he said to his brothers: I am Joseph, they knew what they had done with him and were unable to answer him; how much the less will a creature be able to stand when the Holy One comes to dispute with each and every one of < his > creatures and to tell him his deeds, just as it is written (in Amos 4:13): FOR BEHOLD, THE ONE WHO FORMS THE MOUNTAINS, < CREATES THE WIND, AND TELLS ONE WHAT HIS THOUGHT IS > … !

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere: Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me (Mal. 3:1). Observe that every misfortune that occurred to Joseph likewise befell Zion. It is written of Joseph: and Israel loved Joseph more than all his children (Gen. 38:3), and of Zion it is written: God loves the gates of Zion (Ps. 87:2). Concerning Joseph it is stated: And they hated him (Gen. 37:8), and about Zion: She hath uttered her voice against Me, therefore I have hated her (Jer. 12:8). With reference to Joseph it is said: For behold, we are binding sheaves (Gen. 37:7), and in regard to Zion: Ye shall come home with song, bearing sheaves (Ps. 126:6). It is written of Joseph: Shalt thou indeed rule over us? (Gen. 36:8), and of Zion: That sayeth unto Zion: “Thy God reigneth” (Isa. 52:7). Joseph: And Joseph dreamed a dream (Gen. 37:5), and Zion: When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream (Ps. 126:1). Joseph: Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee? (Gen. 37:10), Zion: They shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth (Isa. 49:23). Joseph: And his brothers envied him (Gen. 37:11), Zion: I am jealous of Zion with great jealousy (Zech. 8:2). Joseph: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren (Gen. 37:14), Zion: Seek the peace of the city (Jer. 29:7). Joseph: They saw him from afar off (Gen. 37:18), Zion: Remember the Lord from afar off (Jer. 51:50). Joseph: And before he came near unto them they conspired (Gen. 37:18), Zion: They hold crafty converse against the people (Ps. 83:4). Joseph: And they stripped Joseph of his coat (Gen. 37:23), Zion: They shall strip thee of thy clothes (Ezek. 23:26). Joseph: They took him and cast him into the pit (Gen. 37:24), Zion: They have cut off my life in the dungeon (Lam. 3:53). Joseph: And the pit was empty (Gen. 37:24), Zion: And in the pit there was no water (Jer. 38:6). Joseph: And they sat down to eat bread (Gen. 37:25), Zion: We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to have bread enough (Lam. 5:6). Joseph: And they drew near and lifted up Joseph (Gen. 37:28), Zion: Ebed-Melech the Cushite drew him up (Jer. 38:13). Joseph: And Jacob rent his garments (Gen. 37:34), Zion: And in that day did the Lord, the God of hosts, call to the weeping (Isa. 22:12). Joseph: All his sons and all his daughters rose to comfort him (Gen. 37:35), Zion: Strain not to comfort me (Isa. 22:4). Joseph: And the Midianites sold him into Egypt (Gen. 37:36), Zion: The children also of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Jevanim (Joel 4:6).

[Gen. 46:28:) NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH.] The text is related (to Mal. 3:1): BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER TO CLEAR A WAY BEFORE ME…. Come and see. Everything which happened to Joseph happened to Zion.³⁷Tanh., Gen. 11:10. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:3): NOW ISRAEL LOVED JOSEPH; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 87:2): THE LORD LOVES ALL THE GATES OF ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:4): THEY (Joseph's brothers) HATED HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 12:8): < MY HOUSE > HAS SET ITS VOICE AGAINST ME, THEREFORE I HAVE HATED IT. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:7): AND HERE WE WERE BINDING SHEAVES; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 126:6): HE SHALL SURELY COME BACK BEARING HIS SHEAVES WITH REJOICING. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:8): THEN HIS BROTHERS SAID TO HIM: SHALL YOU INDEED REIGN OVER US? And it is written about Zion (in Is. 14:7): WHO SAYS TO ZION: YOUR GOD REIGNS. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:5): ONCE JOSEPH DREAMED A DREAM; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 126:1): WHEN THE LORD BROUGHT BACK THE RESTORATION OF ZION, WE WERE LIKE DREAMERS. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:10): ARE WE TO COME, I AND YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR BROTHERS, AND BOW DOWN TO THE GROUND FOR YOU? And it is written about Zion (in Is. 49:23): THEY SHALL BOW DOWN FOR YOU, NOSE TO THE GROUND, AND LICK THE DUST OF YOUR FEET. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:11): SO HIS BROTHERS WERE JEALOUS OF HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Zech. 8:2): I AM JEALOUS FOR JERUSALEM WITH A GREAT JEALOUSY. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:14): PLEASE GO AND SEE HOW YOUR BROTHERS ARE FARING (shalom); and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 29:7): AND SEEK THE WELFARE (shalom) OF THE CITY. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:18): NOW THEY SAW HIM FROM AFAR; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 51:50): REMEMBER THE LORD FROM AFAR. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:18): THEY CONSPIRED AGAINST HIM TO KILL HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 83:4 [3]): THEY DEVISE INTRIGUE AGAINST YOUR PEOPLE. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:23): THEY STRIPPED JOSEPH < OF HIS TUNIC > ; and it is written about Zion (in Ezek. 23:26): AND THEY SHALL STRIP YOU OF YOUR CLOTHES. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:24): AND THEY CAST HIM INTO THE PIT; and it is written about Zion (in Lam. 3:53): AND THEY HAVE DESTROYED MY LIFE IN THE PIT. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:24): BUT THE PIT WAS EMPTY WITH NO WATER IN IT; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 38:6): AND THERE WAS NO WATER [IN THE PIT], ONLY MUD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:25): THEN THEY SAT DOWN TO EAT BREAD; and it is written about Zion (in Lam. 5:6): < WE HAVE HELD OUT A HAND TO EGYPT >, TO ASSYRIA TO BE FILLED WITH BREAD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:28): THEY PULLED AND RAISED JOSEPH FROM THE PIT; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 38:13): {AND EBED-MELECH THE ETHIOPIAN BROUGHT JEREMIAH UP}…. [AND THEY RAISED JEREMIAH BY THE ROPES AND BROUGHT HIM UP FROM THE PIT]. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:34): THEN JACOB RENT HIS GARMENTS AND PUT SACKCLOTH ON HIS LOINS; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 22:12): AND IN THAT DAY [THE LORD] GOD OF HOSTS CALLED TO WEEPING AND MOURNING, TO BALDNESS AND TO GIRDING WITH SACKCLOTH. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:35): BUT HE REFUSED TO BE COMFORTED; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 22:4): PRESS NOT TO COMFORT ME. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 37:36): BUT THE MIDIANITES SOLD HIM INTO EGYPT; and it is written about Zion (in Joel 4:6 [3:6]): AND YOU HAVE SOLD THE CHILDREN OF JUDAH AND THE CHILDREN OF JERUSALEM TO THE CHILDREN OF THE GREEKS. All the bad things which happened to Joseph happened to Zion and likewise the good things. It is stated about Joseph (in Gen. 39:6): NOW JOSEPH WAS BEAUTIFULLY BUILT WITH A BEAUTIFUL APPEARANCE; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 48:3 [2]): BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE, JOY OF THE WHOLE EARTH, < EVEN MOUNT ZION >.³⁸Cf. above, 9:18. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:21): THE LORD WAS WITH JOSEPH; and it is written about Zion (in I Kings 9:3): MY EYES AND MY HEART SHALL BE THERE FOR ALL TIME. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:9): HE IS NO GREATER < IN THIS HOUSE THAN I > ; and it is written about Zion (in Ps. 99:2): THE LORD IS GREAT IN ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 39:21): AND HE EXTENDED HIS FAITHFULNESS UNTO HIM; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 2:2): I HAVE REMEMBERED IN YOUR FAVOR THE FAITHFULNESS OF YOUR YOUTH. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:14): HE SHAVED AND CHANGED HIS GARMENTS; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 4:4): WHEN THE LORD SHALL HAVE WASHED AWAY THE FILTH OF THE CHILDREN OF ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:40): ONLY WITH RESPECT TO THE THRONE SHALL I BE GREATER THAN YOU; and it is written about Zion (in Jer. 3:17): THEY SHALL CALL JERUSALEM THE THRONE OF THE LORD. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 41:42): AND HE CLOTHED HIM WITH CLOTHES OF FINE LINEN; and it is written about Zion (in Is. 52:1): AWAKE, AWAKE, PUT ON YOUR SPLENDOR, O ZION. It is written about Joseph (in Gen. 46:28): NOW HE HAD SENT JUDAH AHEAD OF HIM < UNTO JOSEPH TO SHOW THE WAY BEFORE HIM >; and it is written about Zion (in Mal. 3:1): BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER TO CLEAR A WAY BEFORE ME.

When Yosef came up to his brothers, they stripped Yosef of his tunic, the colorful tunic that was on him" (Genesis 37:23) Rabbi Elezar said: he [Yosef] came mocking them. "And they stripped Yosef" - this is when they took his traveling cloak. "His tunic" this is [them stripping off] his shirt. "The colorful tunic" this is the tunic itself. "That was on him" this is his breeches. "And they seized him" we read they seized him, but the word can be read as "he seized him" and who was that? Shimeon. When did Yosef pay him back for this? After: "And he took Shimeon from them". "And they tossed him in the pit, and the pit was empty, there was no water in it" - No water in it, but there were snakes and scorpions. There were two pits [in the area] one filled with stones and another with fiery snakes and scorpions. Rav Acha said: the pit was empty - Yaakov's pit emptied. There was no water in it - there were no words of Torah, that are compared metaphorically to water, such as you say "Oy, all who are thirsty come to water" (Isaiah 55:1). It is written "when a man is found stealing a person from his brothers" (Deut. 24:7) and here you are, selling your brother.