Pensamento Judaico sobre Números 26:53

Bereshit Rabbah's comment in Section 84, that as soon as the righteous wish to enjoy this world, Satan interferes, claiming it should be enough for them to know that they enjoy eternity in the world to come, will be explained in Chapter 30. The plain meaning of vayeshev Yaakov is that Jacob settled down. Since the Torah had previously reported the settling down of Esau in the mountains of Seir, the Torah now proceeds to describe Jacob as settling in Canaan, the home of his fathers, the land for which he had longed and toiled for so long to return to. The word "these" in this case means "such" or "thus," describing the character and condition of Jacob's descendants, and the developments which resulted from these conditions. Compare Genesis 27,46, "From the daughters of Chet such as these," or Numbers 26,53, "To these the land shall be divided," meaning to "people such as these." (5) Since Joseph was young and delicate, he had not yet assumed the task of tending sheep with his brothers as a regular duty, but rather did so as a pastime whenever the brothers grazed their flocks near his home. At such times, the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah would watch over his well being. Since he was close to them, he would carry tales of their doings to his father. The surrounding population, observing handsome people like the sons of Jacob, were jealous and accused the brothers of all kinds of misdeeds in order to discourage their respective wives from getting involved with them. The brothers would discuss such matters among themselves, and Joseph, instead of trying to suppress the fact that he had overheard these conversations, repeated them at home. In this way, he created the impression that the subject matters of the conversations he had overheard should be taken at face value, and reflected on the lifestyle of his brothers.