창세기 39:17의 미드라쉬

(Gen. 37:2:) AND JOSEPH BROUGHT BAD REPORTS OF THEM < UNTO HIS FATHER >. What is the meaning of BAD REPORTS? That he had said something slanderous against his brothers. And what slanderous thing did he say against them? R. Judah said: He said against them that they would cut a limb from a living animal and eat it.¹⁴yPe’ah 1:1 (15d-16a); Gen. R. 84:7. The Holy One said to him: You have said something slanderous against the tribes. Tomorrow, by your life, you are going down to Egypt. Then you shall invite them to eat with you, but they shall suspect you there in regard to the ritual slaughtering. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 43:32): THEY SERVED HIM BY HIMSELF, < AND THEM BY THEMSELVES >…. R. Me'ir says: He said to him: My brothers have set their eyes on Canaanite women. The Holy One said to him: You have said something slanderous against your brothers. Tomorrow, by your life, you are going down to Egypt. Then that woman (Potiphar's wife) shall say (in Gen. 39:17): THE HEBREW SLAVE < WHOM YOU BROUGHT TO US > CAME UNTO ME < TO FONDLE ME >. Ergo (in Gen. 37:2): AND JOSEPH BROUGHT < BAD REPORTS OF THEM UNTO HIS FATHER >.

Another comment on He executeth justice for the oppressed: This alludes to the righteous Joseph, whose mistress wronged him, when she said: The Hebrew servant came in unto me (Gen. 39:17). “I will sever your pay if you do not hearken to me,” she told him, and he replied: He who giveth bread to the hungry (Ps. 146:7) will feed me. “I will put you in chains,” she shouted, and he retorted: The Lord looseth those that are bound up (ibid.). “I will blind your pretty eyes,” she cried; and he answered: The Lord openeth the eyes of the blind (ibid., v. 8). Finally, she said to him: “I will have you banished,” and he retorted: The Lord preserveth strangers (ibid., v. 9).

When she realized that he would not pay any attention to her, she began to complain against him to her husband, as it is said: The Hebrew servant, whom thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me (Gen. 39:17). Thereupon Joseph’s master seized him and imprisoned him for twelve years.