잠언 27:23의 인용 해설

וידע א־להים, “G-d knew.” A construction similar to Proverbs 27,23: ידוע תדע פני צאנך, “make sure that you know the looks of your flocks;” G-d summoned His mercy in order to react to their problems. Another exegesis of the repeated name of G-d here: the expression וירא אלהים, refers to G-d seeing what the Egyptians were doing to the people publicly; the expression וידע אלהים, refers to G-d seeing what they were doing to the Israelites where no one saw it. This is also how our sages in the Haggadah shel Pessach understand this verse, i.e. the first expression refers to the Egyptians making it almost impossible for the Israelites to maintain marital relations. The second expression tells the reader that although due to the intimate and private nature of having marital relations there were no witnesses to these sufferings, G-d goes on record that He is a living witness. Nothing can be concealed from Him.

והאנשים רועי צאן, “and the men are shepherds of flocks.” Joseph meant that they were self-employed and had minded their own flocks. In order to make doubly sure that Pharaoh should not misunderstand and think that his brothers worked as employees for others, he added: “for they have been cattlemen.” They were very wealthy. If they had chosen this vocation of their fathers before them, they were motivated by two considerations. 1) It was a very profitable vocation. They reaped the wool of the sheep, the milk, the young animals, etc. It is a vocation which does not require a great deal of physical labor and does not tempt those who pursue it to commit sins, dishonest business practices, etc.. Solomon already said in Proverbs 27,23: “make sure that you know the looks of your flock; pay attention to the herds.” 2) Seeing the brothers were aware of the prophecy that when the time came they would be exiled in Egypt and they were aware that the Egyptians worshipped the ram in the zodiac, they chose this vocation in order that their descendants would be familiar with sheep and the limitations of such animals. This would be an antidote to the temptation to deify sheep. When you examine Scriptures you will find that a majority of the righteous people of whom the Torah tells us were shepherds. Hevel, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moses, the prophet Samuel, King Saul prior to his election as king, as well as David, all practiced this vocation. They used this as an excuse to separate themselves from urban centers as they realized that most sins are the direct result of people living together in urban centers. A rural life, relatively lonely, keeps one from most of the temptations offered in the city. It reduces one’s opportunity to engage in slander, libel, petty thievery, violence, etc.. Compare what happened to Lot after he began to associate with the city dwellers of Sodom. He was forced to flee Sodom, leaving all his wealth behind in order not to become killed by association with the sinners of that city. He absorbed his lesson and henceforth resided on a mountain, far from an urban society. He had taken temporary refuge in Tzoar, citing the fact that that town was of recent origin as proof that they could not yet have become too guilty in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 19,20). Even this fact did not persuade him to settle there but he moved to a mountain preferring the isolation of the mountain to associating with sinners.
Another advantage to living in isolation on a mountain is that such isolation enables one to better concentrate on one’s Creator and, if one has attained the proper degree of spiritual preparation, to qualify for prophecy, for a communication from G’d.