וּבְנֵ֖י נַפְתָּלִ֑י יַחְצְאֵ֥ל וְגוּנִ֖י וְיֵ֥צֶר וְשִׁלֵּֽם׃
און די זין פֿון נפֿתּלין: יַחצאֵל, און גוני, און יֵצֶר, און שִלֵם.
Bereshit Rabbati
(Genesis 46:24) "And the sons of Naphtali: Jahzeel and Guni." All the sons of Naphtali merited, as no member of their family intermarried with others, and their name did not change in any place. The Scriptures did not change their name, and their name was called based on the merit of their family. Jahzeel, who made a partition between the Holy One, blessed be He, and idolatry, trusting in the Holy One, blessed be He, and rejecting idolatry. And Guni, to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, became a shield. And "Jezreel and Shillem," why? Because their inclination was complete for the Holy One, blessed be He.
Bereshit Rabbah
“And the sons of Benjamin: Bela, and Bekher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Eḥi, and Rosh, Mupim, and Ḥupim, and Ard” (Genesis 46:21).
“And the sons of Benjamin: Bela…” – when Joseph stood with Benjamin, he asked him: ‘Do you have sons?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘How many?’ He said to him: ‘Ten.’ He said: ‘What are their names?’ He said to him: ‘I had one brother. His actions were fine and pleasant, and he was taken captive from me, and I gave them names based on his experience. “Bela” – as he was swallowed [nivla] up from me; “Bekher” – as he was my firstborn [bekhor] [brother]; “Ashbel” – as he was taken captive [nishba] from me; “Gera” – as he resides [gar] in another land; “Naaman” – as his actions were fine [na’im] and pleasant [ne’imim]; “Eḥi” – as he was my full-fledged brother [aḥi]; “and Rosh” – as he was a leader [rosh] for me, and he was the head [roshan] of his brothers, as it is stated: “May his blessing rest on the head of [lerosh] Joseph” (Deuteronomy 33:16); “Mupim” – as he was very fine [yafeh] in all respects, and all the halakhot that Shem and Ever transmitted to Jacob, he transmitted to him.17Mupim – mo pihem – directly from their mouths. “And Ḥupim” – as he did not see my wedding canopy [beḥupati] and I did not see his wedding canopy [beḥupato], and they concealed [veḥipu] matters in his regard and said: “A savage beast devoured him” (Genesis 37:33). “And Ard” – as he was like a rose [vered]. “And Ard” – after: [Jacob said:] “For I will descend [ered] mourning to my son to the grave” (Genesis 37:35).’
“And the sons of Naphtali: Yaḥtze'el, and Guni, and Yetzer, and Shilem” (Genesis 46:24).
“And the sons of Naphtali” – their [creations] were twisted [muftalin] on seventy-two heddles;18A heddle is an integral part of a loom. as they twisted [potelin] the work of heddles.19They were expert weavers. “Yaḥtze'el” – they broke [sheḥitzu] the gods in their hand and they cut [metzaḥtzeḥin] with their teeth and would sneer with their lips.20They would break idols, and make cutting remarks and disdainful facial expressions about idolatry (see Yefeh To’ar; Etz Yosef). However, see Matnot Kehuna, where these statements are interpreted to mean that they fashioned idols and made disparaging comments toward God. “And Guni” – they spoke in derogatory [megunim] language. “And Yetzer” – their [evil] inclination was stronger than that of all [other] people. “And Shilem” – they were devoted [mushlamim] to their inclination21Alternatively, they were devoted to God despite their strong evil inclination (Yefeh To’ar). and would repay [umshalmin] goodness with evil.
“And the sons of Benjamin: Bela…” – when Joseph stood with Benjamin, he asked him: ‘Do you have sons?’ He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said to him: ‘How many?’ He said to him: ‘Ten.’ He said: ‘What are their names?’ He said to him: ‘I had one brother. His actions were fine and pleasant, and he was taken captive from me, and I gave them names based on his experience. “Bela” – as he was swallowed [nivla] up from me; “Bekher” – as he was my firstborn [bekhor] [brother]; “Ashbel” – as he was taken captive [nishba] from me; “Gera” – as he resides [gar] in another land; “Naaman” – as his actions were fine [na’im] and pleasant [ne’imim]; “Eḥi” – as he was my full-fledged brother [aḥi]; “and Rosh” – as he was a leader [rosh] for me, and he was the head [roshan] of his brothers, as it is stated: “May his blessing rest on the head of [lerosh] Joseph” (Deuteronomy 33:16); “Mupim” – as he was very fine [yafeh] in all respects, and all the halakhot that Shem and Ever transmitted to Jacob, he transmitted to him.17Mupim – mo pihem – directly from their mouths. “And Ḥupim” – as he did not see my wedding canopy [beḥupati] and I did not see his wedding canopy [beḥupato], and they concealed [veḥipu] matters in his regard and said: “A savage beast devoured him” (Genesis 37:33). “And Ard” – as he was like a rose [vered]. “And Ard” – after: [Jacob said:] “For I will descend [ered] mourning to my son to the grave” (Genesis 37:35).’
“And the sons of Naphtali: Yaḥtze'el, and Guni, and Yetzer, and Shilem” (Genesis 46:24).
“And the sons of Naphtali” – their [creations] were twisted [muftalin] on seventy-two heddles;18A heddle is an integral part of a loom. as they twisted [potelin] the work of heddles.19They were expert weavers. “Yaḥtze'el” – they broke [sheḥitzu] the gods in their hand and they cut [metzaḥtzeḥin] with their teeth and would sneer with their lips.20They would break idols, and make cutting remarks and disdainful facial expressions about idolatry (see Yefeh To’ar; Etz Yosef). However, see Matnot Kehuna, where these statements are interpreted to mean that they fashioned idols and made disparaging comments toward God. “And Guni” – they spoke in derogatory [megunim] language. “And Yetzer” – their [evil] inclination was stronger than that of all [other] people. “And Shilem” – they were devoted [mushlamim] to their inclination21Alternatively, they were devoted to God despite their strong evil inclination (Yefeh To’ar). and would repay [umshalmin] goodness with evil.