And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
verse value 1147
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 31 letters. The shortest word is "and·fell" (וַיִּפֹּ֥ל, 4 letters) and the longest is "and·kissed·him" (וַיִּשַּׁק־לֽוֹ, 6 letters). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "upon·the·face·of" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיִּפֹּ֥ל [and·fell] (126) + יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (156) + עַל־פְּנֵ֣י [upon·the·face·of] (240) + אָבִ֑יו [his·father] (19) + וַיֵּ֥בְךְּ [and·wept] (38) + עָלָ֖יו [upon·him] (116) + וַיִּשַּׁק־לֽוֹ [and·kissed·him] (452) = 1147.
Onkelos
Joseph fell upon his father's face and wept over him and kissed him.
Or HaChaim
וישק לו, he kissed him. The emphasis in this verse is on the word לו. Joseph kissed "him;" had Jacob been dead it would have been forbidden to kiss him seeing that the corpse exudes ritual impurity, and that impurity rises up to heaven and would harm the person who does the kissing. Inasmuch as Jacob had not died, however, Joseph was able to kiss him; Jacob simply appeared to be in a coma.
Targum Yonatan
And Joseph laid his father upon a couch of ivory which was framed with pure gold, and inlaid with precious stones, and secured with cords of byssus. There they poured out fervid wines, and there burned they most costly perfumes: there stood the chiefs of the house of Esau and the chiefs of the house of Ishmael; there stood the Lion of Jehuda, the strength of his brethren. He answered and said to his brethren, Come, and let as raise up to our father a tall cedar whose head shall reach to the top of heaven, and its branches overshadow all the inhabitants of the earth, and its roots extend to the depths of the abyss: from it have arisen the twelve tribes, and from it will arise kings, princes, and priests in their divisions, to offer oblations, and from it the Levites in their appointments for singing. Then, behold, Joseph bowed himself upon his father's face, and wept over him, and kissed him.
And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father. And the physicians embalmed Israel.
verse value 3382
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 52 letters. The shortest word is "and·commanded" (וַיְצַ֨ו, 4 letters) and the longest is "the·physicians" (אֶת־הָרֹ֣פְאִ֔ים, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·physicians" (אֶת־הָרֹ֣פְאִ֔ים), "to·embalm" (לַחֲנֹ֖ט), "the·physicians" (הָרֹפְאִ֖ים). The root רפא appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "his·servants" (root עבד, 109x in Genesis). First appearance of the root חנט ("to·embalm") in Genesis. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיְצַ֨ו [and·commanded] (112) + יוֹסֵ֤ף [Joseph] (156) + אֶת־עֲבָדָיו֙ [his·servants] (493) + אֶת־הָרֹ֣פְאִ֔ים [the·physicians] (737) + לַחֲנֹ֖ט [to·embalm] (97) + אֶת־אָבִ֑יו [his·father] (420) + וַיַּחַנְט֥וּ [and·embalmed] (89) + הָרֹפְאִ֖ים [the·physicians] (336) + אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל [Israel] (942) = 3382.
Onkelos
Joseph commanded his servants, the physicians, to embalm his father, and the physicians embalmed Israel.
Rashi
לחנט את אביו TO EMBALM HIS FATHER — Embalming is a matter of using a mixture of aromatic spices.
Ibn Ezra
"And they embalmed" — like the form of dust. It is perhaps only distantly comparable, in a loose sense, to the verse: "The fig tree has ripened its first-fruit" (Song of Songs 2:13).
Or HaChaim
ויחנטו הרופאים את ישראל. The physicians embalmed Israel. Joseph initiated this procedure because of the honour due to his father. All men of stature were embalmed, especially those connected with royalty. Alternatively, Joseph arranged for the embalming in order that people should not say that Jacob had not died or that he had died but that his body did not putrify and they would idolise him as a result. Besides, if that were to happen he would never secure permission to bury his father in the land of Canaan. Had Joseph not ordered embalming, Jacob's "body" would not have putrified. It is interesting to read the story in Baba Metzia 84 concerning the body of Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai which had lain in an attic for years without signs of decay. It is also possible that ever since the Israelites who stood at Mount Sinai rid themselves of the residual pollution by the original serpent, the bodies of the righteous of our nation no longer putrified after their deaths (Shabbat 146). Accordingly, even the mould within their entrails simply dried out and turned to dust without leaving behind any offensive odour seeing it is only the pollution associated with the original serpent which causes the food within the entrails to become putrid. Although it is said of Jacob that he did not die, the mould inside his entrails which remained within his body was apt to turn putrid. Joseph was concerned about that aspect and that is why he had his father's body embalmed. It is also possible that Joseph was unaware of these secrets when he ordered his father to be embalmed.
Chizkuni
... לחנוט את אביו, “in order to embalm his father.“ According to a commentary quoted by Rash’bam, some commentators understand the word לחנוט as derived from חנטה, blossoming, i.e. the oil for this embalming would have been taken from the plant when it had grown only one third to its ultimate height. The expression is familiar from Song of Songs 2,13, התאנה חנטה פגיה, “the fig tree has formed its small figs.” Accordingly, embalming (olive) oil is derived from as yet unripe olives. Compare also the Talmud in Megillah 13 on this subject.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויחנטו הרופאים, “the physicians embalmed.” The technique of embalming consisted of perfuming the body with a variety of spices, similar to what is written concerning King Assa of Yehudah in Chronicles II 16,14: “he was laid in a resting place which was filled with spices of all kinds, expertly blended.” This took place after the body had been washed. The wording ויחנטו which is transitive, indicates that the physicians ordered others who had expertise in that science to perform this task whereas they themselves did not touch Yaakov’s body.
And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming. And the Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days.
verse value 2186
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 56 letters. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·were·fulfilled·for·him" (וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ֙, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 56: day, day. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·were·fulfilled·for·him" (וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ֙), "are·fulfilled" (יִמְלְא֖וּ), "the·embalming" (הַחֲנֻטִ֑ים). The root יום appears 3 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "for" (root כי, 167x in Genesis); "day" (root יום, 126x in Genesis); "seventy" (root שבע, 117x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'the·embalming', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיִּמְלְאוּ־לוֹ֙ [and·were·fulfilled·for·him] (129) + אַרְבָּעִ֣ים [forty] (323) + י֔וֹם [day] (56) + כִּ֛י [for] (30) + כֵּ֥ן [so] (70) + יִמְלְא֖וּ [are·fulfilled] (87) + יְמֵ֣י [days·of] (60) + הַחֲנֻטִ֑ים [the·embalming] (122) + וַיִּבְכּ֥וּ [and·wept] (44) + אֹת֛וֹ [him] (407) + מִצְרַ֖יִם [Egypt] (380) + שִׁבְעִ֥ים [seventy] (422) + יֽוֹם [day] (56) = 2186.
Onkelos
Forty days were completed for him, for so are completed the days of embalming, and the Egyptians wept for him seventy days.
Rashi
וימלאו לו [AND FORTY DAYS] WERE FULFILLED — They (the physicians) completed the days of embalming until forty days were completed for him. ויבכו אתו מצרים שבעים יום AND THE EGYPTIANS WEPT FOR HIM THREESCORE AND TEN DAYS — viz., forty days during the period of embalming and thirty more days for mourning. They wept for him during so long a period because a blessing had come to them on his arrival in Egypt for the famine then ceased and the waters of the Nile again increased (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 26).
Sforno
ויבכו אותו מצרים, not only out of respect for Joseph and because of his decree of public mourning, but also because he was revered for his name Yisrael and what this name stood for. He deserved the same respect as royalty.
Chizkuni
ויבכו אותו מצרים, We find numerous words in the Torah where the prefix ב is missing. This is one of these words, and the phrase means: “Yaakov’s death was mourned with weeping in Egypt.” שבעים יום “for seventy days.” 40 of these days were spent embalming him, and the remaining thirty were official mourning. We also find that both Moses and Aaron were mourned for thirty days. Compare Numbers 20,20 and Deuteronomy, 34,8. A different interpretation of the “seventy days;” each of the direct descendants of Yaakov who had come to Egypt with him mourned him for one day each.
Rabbeinu Bahya
שבעים יום, “for seventy days.” Forty days embalming followed by thirty days of mourning.
And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph spoke to the house of Pharaoh, saying: "If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying:
verse value 4091
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 73 letters. The shortest word is "favor" (חֵן֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "in·your·eyes" (בְּעֵ֣ינֵיכֶ֔ם, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 355: Pharaoh, Pharaoh. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "his·weeping" (בְכִית֔וֹ), "speak·please" (דַּבְּרוּ־נָ֕א). The root דבר appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "and·spoke" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 8 words.
Onkelos
When the days of his weeping had passed, Joseph spoke with the household of Pharaoh, saying: If now I have found favor in your eyes, speak now before Pharaoh, saying:
Sforno
וידבר יוסף אל בית פרעה, he used intermediaries as a mourner in garments of mourning is not allowed to appear so before the King.
Or HaChaim
אל בית פרעה לאמור, to the household of Pharaoh to tell him, etc. This means that Joseph wanted the members of Pharaoh's household to tell the king not only the facts, but also the manner in which Joseph had related these facts. Joseph had pleaded with Pharaoh's advisers hoping that they in turn would assist him to have his wish approved. Alternatively, the Torah merely mentions the fact that Joseph asked the members of Pharaoh's household to speak to him because we learned in Yuma 4 that unless one gives express permission to relate something one has been told (even if not in confidence), it is forbidden to do so. We know this from when G'd Himself gave permission to relate what He had said (Leviticus 1,1). אם נא מצאתי חן, "If I may have found favour, etc." In this instance the word נא means both "please" and a reference to a specific time frame. Joseph meant that if Pharaoh really wanted to show his affection for Joseph, the time was right then when Pharaoh did not want anything from Joseph in return. דברו נא, "please tell, etc." The meaning is "immediately." Joseph did not want to be tardy in fulfilling the oath he had sworn to his father. באזני פרעה לאמור, "in Pharaoh's hearing, saying, etc." The reason that the word לאמור appears here again was that Joseph wanted these advisers of Pharaoh to volunteer such an appeal, not merely to be Joseph's messengers.
Chizkuni
דברו נא באזני פרעה, “please intercede on my behalf with Pharaoh;” seeing that some nineteen years earlier Pharaoh had decreed that no one in Egypt could undertake anything new until it had been approved by Joseph, Pharaoh would not look kindly at the prolonged absence from Egypt of his general manager on whom he depended so much. (Compare Genesis 41,44). Moreover, Pharaoh might be afraid that Joseph would not even return to Egypt at all. Seeing that he was familiar with all the military and political secrets of Egypt, he would be a potentially dangerous adversary.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויעברו ימי בכיתו, “when the days of weeping for him passed.” This verse teaches that one must not spend more than thirty days mourning for the loss of even the greatest leaders of Israel. We certainly did not have a greater leader than Moses and he too was mourned for thirty days, no more (Deut. 34,8). There is a tradition that the sages at the time of the death of Rabbi Yehudah Ha-Nassi first wanted to observe a whole year of mourning until they found these verses and deduced that this would be excessive and disrespectful to both Yaakov and Moses (compare Ketuvot 103).
Tur HaArokh
דברו נא באזני פרעה, “please tell Pharaoh the following:” the reason why Joseph did not tell this to Pharaoh personally, was that it was forbidden to appear in the King’s palace dressed in mourner’s garb.
My father made me swear, saying: Lo, I die; in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and bury my father, and I will come back."
verse value 6083 — אָבִ֞י = 13 (echad/ahavah)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 82 letters. Notable word values: "my·father" (אָבִ֞י) = 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "dying" (מֵת֒, 2 letters) and the longest is "made·me·swear" (הִשְׁבִּיעַ֣נִי, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 314: in·my·grave, that·I·may·bury. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "made·me·swear" (הִשְׁבִּיעַ֣נִי), "in·my·grave" (בְּקִבְרִ֗י), "I·dug" (כָּרִ֤יתִי). The root קבר appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "in·the·land·of" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·bury·me', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 5 words.
Onkelos
My father made me swear, saying: Behold, I am dying — in my grave which I prepared for myself in the land of Canaan, there you shall bury me. And now, let me go up and bury my father, and I will return.
Rashi
אשר כריתי לי means according to its plain sense “[the grave] which I have digged” just as (Exodus 21:33) “If a man shall dig (יכרה)”. There is a Midrashic explanation (Sotah 13a) which fits in with a meaning of the word כריתי, viz., אשר כריתי means אשר קניתי “which I have bought”. For R. Akiba said, “when I went to the coast-towns I heard them use for what we term מכירה “trading” the term כירה (Rosh Hashanah 26a). Another Midrashic explanation takes כריתי to be connected with כרי a piled up heap of grain, for Jacob had taken all the silver and gold which he had brought from the house of Laban and made a pile of it and said to Esau, “Take this for your share in the cave” (Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 6).
Ibn Ezra
"Which I have dug" — [the word means] I excavated, as in: "If a man digs [a pit]" (Exodus 21:33).
Or HaChaim
השביעני לאמור, "has made me swear by saying, etc." Our sages in Sotah 36 have explained that Joseph used the word לאמור to forestall Pharaoh suggesting that Joseph have his oath voided. Joseph threatened that if this were possible, he would also have his oath not to reveal that Pharaoh did not understand Hebrew voided at the same time. The plain meaning is simply that inasmuch as Joseph described only the content of the oath, not its actual wording, he had to use the word לאמור. A more homiletical approach would be this. Joseph wanted to head off Pharaoh's question why he had not consulted with him before swearing an oath which he could not keep without obtaining Pharaoh's consent. Joseph explained that there had not been time for such consultations as the oath had been sworn close to the time of Jacob's death. He indicated this by quoting his father as saying: "here I am about to die" (48,21). We have already discussed this in connection with 47,29.
Rabbeinu Bahya
בקברי אשר כריתי לי, “in the grave which I have hewn for myself.” According to the plain meaning of the text, the word כריתי is the same as in Exodus 21,33 כי יכרה איש בור, “if someone digs a pit.” According to Shemot Rabbah 31,16 the meaning of the word כריתי is related to כרי, “a big heap,” and means that Yaakov took a great heap of silver and gave it to Esau to ensure that he, as the senior son of Yitzchak, would not demand to be buried in Machpelah. The word then means “I have legally acquired my grave by paying a lot of money for the site.”
And Pharaoh said: "Go up, and bury your father, according as he made you swear."
verse value 2387
Insights
Verse structure: 7 words, 32 letters. The shortest word is "go·up" (עֲלֵ֛ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "your·father" (אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ, 6 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·bury" (וּקְבֹ֥ר), "made·you·swear" (הִשְׁבִּיעֶֽךָ). 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "your·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Pharaoh', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֖אמֶר [and·said] (257) + פַּרְעֹ֑ה [Pharaoh] (355) + עֲלֵ֛ה [go·up] (105) + וּקְבֹ֥ר [and·bury] (308) + אֶת־אָבִ֖יךָ [your·father] (434) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as] (521) + הִשְׁבִּיעֶֽךָ [made·you·swear] (407) = 2387.
Onkelos
Pharaoh said: Go up and bury your father, as he made you swear.
Rashi
כאשר השביעך ACCORDING AS HE ADJURED THEE — For except for that oath I would not permit you to do so. He did not dare, however, to say to Joseph, “Break the oath”, lest he might retort, “Then, I, too, may break the oath I made you that I will never reveal that secret about the Sacred Tongue, viz., that I possess a knowledge of it in addition to the seventy languages which you also understand but of which you have no knowledge at all — as it is related in Treatise Sotah 36b.
And Joseph went up to bury his father; and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
verse value 3523
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 59 letters. Verse gematria: 3523 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "with·him" (אִתּ֜וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "land·of·Egypt" (אֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרָֽיִם, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 167: elders·of, elders·of. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "all·the·officials·of" (כׇּל־עַבְדֵ֤י), "land·of·Egypt" (אֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרָֽיִם). The root עלה appears 2 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "and·all" (root כל, 127x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֥עַל [and·went·up] (116) + יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (156) + לִקְבֹּ֣ר [to·bury] (332) + אֶת־אָבִ֑יו [his·father] (420) + וַיַּֽעֲל֨וּ [and·went·up] (122) + אִתּ֜וֹ [with·him] (407) + כׇּל־עַבְדֵ֤י [all·the·officials·of] (136) + פַרְעֹה֙ [Pharaoh] (355) + זִקְנֵ֣י [elders·of] (167) + בֵית֔וֹ [his·house] (418) + וְכֹ֖ל [and·all] (56) + זִקְנֵ֥י [elders·of] (167) + אֶֽרֶץ־מִצְרָֽיִם [land·of·Egypt] (671) = 3523.
Onkelos
Joseph went up to bury his father, and all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him — the elders of his household and all the elders of the land of Egypt.
Ibn Ezra
"And all the servants of Pharaoh went up with him" — all the men of Egypt other than Joseph are called servants of Pharaoh.
Sforno
ויעלו אתו, voluntarily, not because Joseph had so commanded. זקני ביתו וכל זקני ארץ מצרים, seeing that Yaakov had been considered one of the wise men even in the eyes of the Egyptian intellectual elite. (compare Psalms 105,22 וזקניו יחכם”and to teach his elders wisdom.”)
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויעל יוסף לקבור את אביו, “Joseph went up in order to bury his father.” We find that nine groups of people traveled to Canaan to bury Yaakov and to eulogise him. These nine categories of people are hinted at in the text as follows: 1) Joseph went up to bury his father (verse 7). 2) All the servants of Pharaoh went up with him, i.e. the ministers; 3) the elders of Pharaoh’s palace. 4) The elders of the land of Egypt; 5) the whole household of Joseph, (verse 8) his wife and her servant maids and the children. 6) Joseph’s brothers; 7) his father’s household; 8) a military escort (verse 9) traveling in chariots. 9) A cavalry escort.
and all the house of Joseph, and his brothers, and his father's house; only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
verse value 2787
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 49 letters. The shortest word is "only" (רַ֗ק, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·his·brothers" (וְאֶחָ֖יו, 5 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "their·children" (טַפָּם֙), "they·left" (עָזְב֖וּ). The root בית appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "in·the·land·of" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "and·his·brothers" (root אח, 164x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 7 words. Full calculation: וְכֹל֙ [and·all] (56) + בֵּ֣ית [household] (412) + יוֹסֵ֔ף [Joseph] (156) + וְאֶחָ֖יו [and·his·brothers] (31) + וּבֵ֣ית [and·the·house·of] (418) + אָבִ֑יו [his·father] (19) + רַ֗ק [only] (300) + טַפָּם֙ [their·children] (129) + וְצֹאנָ֣ם [and·their·flocks] (187) + וּבְקָרָ֔ם [and·their·cattle] (348) + עָזְב֖וּ [they·left] (85) + בְּאֶ֥רֶץ [in·the·land·of] (293) + גֹּֽשֶׁן [Goshen] (353) = 2787.
Onkelos
And all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father's household — only their children and their flocks and their cattle did they leave in the land of Goshen.
And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen; and it was a very great company.
verse value 1380 — כָּבֵ֥ד = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "large" (כָּבֵ֥ד) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "with·him" (עִמּ֔וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "also·horsemen" (גַּם־פָּרָשִׁ֑ים, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 116: and·went·up, with·him. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "also·chariots" (גַּם־רֶ֖כֶב), "also·horsemen" (גַּם־פָּרָשִׁ֑ים). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·it·was" (root היה, 313x in Genesis); "with·him" (root עם, 87x in Genesis); "and·went·up" (root עלה, 60x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'also·horsemen', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֣עַל [and·went·up] (116) + עִמּ֔וֹ [with·him] (116) + גַּם־רֶ֖כֶב [also·chariots] (265) + גַּם־פָּרָשִׁ֑ים [also·horsemen] (673) + וַיְהִ֥י [and·it·was] (31) + הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה [the·troop] (108) + כָּבֵ֥ד [large] (26) + מְאֹֽד [very] (45) = 1380.
Onkelos
Chariots also went up with him, and horsemen, and the camp was exceedingly great.
Sforno
גם רכב גם פרשים. In the eyes of the military Yaakov had been considered an able general so that they paid him this last honour.
Chizkuni
ויעל עמו, “and there he took up with him (To Canaan) with him, etc;” The word ויעל in this verse may be understood just as the same word in ויעל עולות, in Genesis8,20, i.e. as a transitive form of the verb, “he caused the sacrifices to ascend.” (Rash’bam)
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויעל עמו גם רכב גם פרשים, “also chariots and horsemen went up with him (Joseph).” This was a security escort aimed at Esau and his sons. Joseph was well aware of the wickedness of Esau and his family. Already Flavius Josephus recorded in his history of the Jewish people (chapter 2) that Tzefo, (Genesis 36,11) a son of Eliphaz, oldest son of Esau began a quarrel regarding Yaakov’s right to be buried at Machpelah. This quarrel erupted into open warfare with Joseph and his troops emerging victorious. He captured this Tzefo and brought him to Egypt where he and other supporters of his remained incarcerated until Joseph died. When Joseph died, this Tzefo escaped from prison and migrated to Campagne, ruling over certain Roman tribes until eventually he ruled over all of Greece and Italy. He became the first king in Rome and built the first temple there. This is why the Torah reported here that apart from all the entourage who traveled all the way to Canaan to bestow honour on Yaakov there was a also a sizable military contingent whose purpose was defensive. ויהי המחנה כבד מאד, “it was a very imposing camp.” Perhaps the Torah also alludes to a parallel camp in the celestial regions, angels that came to guard Yaakov in death just as they had stood watch over him in life. They were the angels previously mentioned in Genesis 32,3 where they had been called “the camp of G’d.” This may be why the Torah described this entourage as כבד מאד, (in two separate words) so that the first letters in the line ויהי המחנה כבד מאד yield both the number 26 (numerical value of י-ה-ו-ה) using the letter ו from ויהי, and the letter כ from כבד as well as the letter ה from המחנה and the letter מ from מאד to allude to the name of G’d amounting to 45 (when you write the letters in the Ineffable Name as words, i.e. יוד-הא-ואו הא.)
And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, and there they wailed with a very great and sore wailing; and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
verse value 3565
Insights
Verse structure: 16 words, 69 letters. The shortest word is "which" (אֲשֶׁר֙, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·they·wailed·there" (וַיִּ֨סְפְּדוּ־שָׁ֔ם, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "to·the·threshing·floor·of" (עַד־גֹּ֣רֶן), "and·they·wailed·there" (וַיִּ֨סְפְּדוּ־שָׁ֔ם), "a·lamentation" (מִסְפֵּ֛ד). 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "and·they·came" (root בוא, 213x in Genesis); "to·his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'very', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 5 words.
Onkelos
They came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is across the Jordan, and they lamented there with a great and very intense lamentation, and he observed a mourning of seven days for his father.
Rashi
גרן האטד THE THRESHING FLOOR OF ATAD — It was so called because it was surrounded by a hedge of (אטדין) thorns (not because thorns were threshed there) Our Rabbis explained that it was so called in consequence of an incident that occurred there — that all the kings of Canaan and the princes of Ishmael came to wage war against them, but as soon as they saw Joseph’s crown hanging over Jacob’s coffin they all rose and hung their crowns on it and thus wreathed it with crowns like a threshing floor that is surrounded with a hedge of thorns (Sotah 13a).
Ibn Ezra
"And he made a mourning for his father" — after they had buried him, as our early Sages of blessed memory stated.
Chizkuni
ויעש לאביו אבל שבעת ימים, “he observed a seven day mourning period for his father.” Some commentators claim that the chieftains of Esau as well as the prince of the Yishmaelites and the sons or grandsons of Keturah assembled at that location to honour the memory of Yaakov. This was a new mourning. It was the custom that when a relative of the deceased arrived from afar to participate in the funeral, a new additional rite of mourning is observed and they weep anew over their loss.
Rabbeinu Bahya
גרן האטד, “Goren ha-Atad.” “The threshing floor of thorns.” This obviously does not make any sense as no one requires a threshing floor for threshing thorns. We must assume that the place was called such, just as we find that there was a place called גורן כידון, “the threshing ground of a spear” (Chronicles I 13,9). This too does not make sense in terms of the purpose of that threshing floor. Perhaps that threshing floor was surrounded by a large number of spears seeing that David said to Goliath: “you are confronting me with the sword, the spear, and the lance” (Samuel I 17,45). ויספדו שם מספד גדול וכבד מאד, “they held there a very great and solemn eulogy.” There were nine types of eulogies (corresponding to the nine categories of mourners who had come from Egypt). In Hebrew they are known as מספד, נהי, צעקה, הילל, נידה, מרזה, קינים, הגה, והי. [The author proceeds to quote verses from Scripture showing that these various terms for “eulogy” occur scattered throughout the Bible. Ed.] The point made by the author why so many different expressions exist for the word “eulogy” is that eulogies must take into consideration how the one eulogizing the dead related to him. 1) He must acknowledge how he benefited from the deceased’s being alive. 2) He must explain what he has lost through the death of the departed, etc. 3) He must list how the deceased enriched other people’s lives while he had been able to-do so. 4) If the deceased was a scholar, the eulogy must mention how his scholarship was unique and how the world has sustained a loss in terms of its absence forthwith. These and (5) more aspects of Yaakov’s life all formed part of the eulogies delivered on that occasion. [I have abbreviated here somewhat as the reader may surmise. Ed.] אבל שבעת ימים, “a mourning period of seven days.” These seven days of mourning were observed prior to Yaakov’s burial. We know this from verse 13 which follows and tells us: “his sons carried towards the land of Canaan and buried him there in the field of the cave of Machpelah, etc.” The mourning which we observe as a Biblical commandment always takes place after the funeral.
Kli Yakar
“And they came to Goren ha-Atad.” [The text indicates that] it was surrounded by thorns. Now, if it is the nature of every threshing floor to be surrounded by thorns, why was this one specifically called Goren ha-Atad [the threshing floor of thorns] more than other threshing floors? Was there no other threshing floor in the world surrounded by thorns except this one? Furthermore, there is a difficulty with what is written: And when the Canaanite inhabitants of the land saw the mourning at Goren ha-Atad, they said, “This is a heavy mourning for the Egyptians” — why does it need to specify at Goren ha-Atad? For it implies as if Goren ha-Atad was what caused the mourning. Additionally, why did the Egyptians eulogize [Jacob] — were they his children or relatives that they would eulogize him so wholeheartedly? Or were they such righteous people that their hearts burned within them and they were distressed at the passing of the righteous one? Moreover, the term heavy [kaved] doesn’t properly fit when describing mourning. From here it appears there is proof for what our Sages said (Tosefta Sotah 13) that in Jacob’s merit the famine ceased, and when Jacob died the famine returned to its place. Therefore, the Egyptians made a heavy mourning because the famine became severe as it was in the beginning. For the Egyptians sensed this matter — that the famine would return to its former state — through this miracle that happened to them on the way: suddenly they encountered a threshing floor that was surrounded by thorns on all sides until there remained no entrance or path to come to the threshing floor. From this they understood that it was the merit of the righteous one [Jacob] that had caused them in his lifetime to have a path to go to the threshing floor and eat from his grain and his wine vat, but in his death the wicked ones — who are compared to thorns — would prevent them from having a path to the threshing floor as they had before, for their protection had departed from them. And in Parshat Shemot, on the verse and they were distressed because of the children of Israel (Exodus 1:12), it will be explained, God willing, that the Egyptians are compared to thorns in relation to God’s vineyard, the House of Israel. Thus it was hinted to them that because of the wickedness of the Egyptians, the famine would return to its former state. And according to the way they said, our Sages of blessed memory (Bava Kamma 60a): Calamity only comes to the world because of the wicked, but it always begins with the righteous, as it is said (Exodus 22:5), If a fire breaks out and finds thorns — these are the wicked — and consumes a stack of grain that has already been consumed. You see that the thorns and grain stack mentioned here are the same as the threshing floor of Atad, for the threshing floor refers to the grain stack and Atad refers to the thorns. The righteous person is called a “grain stack” because everyone eats by virtue of his merit, as it is said (Taanit 10a), “The whole world is sustained for the sake of My son Chanina,” etc. And as it is written (Leviticus 21:1-2), He shall not defile himself for a dead person except for his relative. This refers to the righteous person, for everyone is like his relative and is called she’ero [his relative/flesh] both because of the closeness and because he sustains them, as “she’er” also means food. This is what is meant by “it begins only with the righteous” — meaning this is the beginning of the calamity that the Holy One, Blessed be He, takes from the sinful generation: the righteous person who had been feeding and sustaining the generation through his merit. The main calamity comes because of the presence of the wicked who are compared to thorns, and they cause the grain stack to already be consumed because they no longer have a mouth to eat from it, and the thorns block the path to the grain stack. And when the Egyptians saw that this miracle suddenly happened to them — that God had arranged before them a threshing floor surrounded by thorns on all sides, which was not the way of the world — they immediately sensed that God had fenced them in to prevent them from accessing the threshing floor again. Therefore, the Egyptians made a heavy mourning — meaning they mourned about the heaviness of the famine. This explains why they specifically mourned at Goren HaAtad [the threshing floor of thorns] and not before then. And when the Canaanites saw this mourning at Goren HaAtad, it was difficult for them to understand why they hadn’t conducted this mourning before arriving at this place. Rather, it must certainly be that this heavy mourning was for the Egyptians, because the severity of the famine would return to their place. Therefore, it specifically pertained to the Egyptians and not to Jacob’s sons. And this is a correct and precious allusion. And with this, it appears to me to resolve what is stated And Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead — what did they see? Furthermore, it is difficult [to understand] why they didn’t request from their father to truly command him [Joseph] so. And additionally difficult is what Joseph said I will sustain you — who requested this from him? They only asked that he not harm them. Rather, certainly Joseph was not suspected in their eyes that he would actually do evil to them, but when they saw that Jacob died and with his death the famine returned to its former state, they were afraid that even if Joseph wouldn’t do evil to them, nevertheless there was concern that perhaps he also wouldn’t do good for them and wouldn’t sustain them during the years of famine, and he will return to us the evil that we dealt him — not through active harm but through passive inaction. Therefore, Joseph needed to say to them Now do not fear, I will sustain you and your children — [meaning] you [will be sustained] for the sake of your children, for why should the children face punishment when they did not sin at all.
Tur HaArokh
ויעש לאביו אבל שבעת ימים, “he observed a seven days’ mourning period for his father.” According to Ibn Ezra this took effect as soon as they had buried Yaakov in Machpelah, in accordance with the tradition handed down by our sages. Some commentators believe that Joseph first returned to Egypt from the threshing ground of Atad, for when all the kings of the region had assembled there and had expressed fear that the Egyptians would use their presence as a pretext to invade and annex their lands, the elders of Egypt reassured them explaining that Joseph would return to Egypt immediately after the burial. (compare in part Sotah 13).
And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said: "This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians." That is why the name of it was called Abel-mizraim, which is beyond the Jordan.
verse value 4766
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 82 letters. The shortest word is "this" (זֶ֖ה, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·Canaanite" (הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֜י, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "the·mourning" (אֶת־הָאֵ֗בֶל), "at·the·threshing·floor·of" (בְּגֹ֙רֶן֙), "grievous·mourning" (אֵֽבֶל־כָּבֵ֥ד). The root אבל appears 3 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'for·the·Egyptians', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 8 words.
Onkelos
The inhabitants of the land of Canaan saw the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad and said: This is a grievous mourning for the Egyptians. Therefore its name was called Abel-Mizraim, which is across the Jordan.
Chizkuni
וירא יושב הארץ הכנעני, “the inhabitants of the land of the Canaanite tribes “saw;” the reference is to the Emorites under Sichon and to the ones under Og. They also called themselves “Canaanites.” Rashi explains thus in the Book of Numbers and in the Book of Judges and on several occasions. אשר בעבר הירדן, “whose habitat is on the East Bank of the river Jordan.” These Kings had seen the mourning being observed at the threshing ground of Atad (verse 10) which was located on Canaanite land on the East Bank. Just as the inhabitants of the land of Canaan proper called that region “East Bank,” in the days of Joshua who settled the Israelites on the West Bank, so the people residing on the East Bank called the area across the Jordan “West Bank. We have proof of this in Numbers 32,19: כי לא ננחל אתם מעבר לירדן והלאה כי באה נחלתנו מעבר לירדן מזרחה, “for we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastwards.”
Rashbam
וירא יושב הארץ הכנעני, as if the Torah had written וירא הכנעני יושב הארץ, “the Canaanite inhabitants of the land realised, etc.”
Targum Yonatan
And the inhabitants of the land of Kenaan beheld the mourning at the threshing floor of Atad, and they loosed the girdles of their loins in honour of Jakob, and spread forth their hands, and said, This is a mighty mourning of the Mizraee. Therefore he called the name of the, place Abel Mizraim, which is on the other side of Jardena.
And his sons did to him according as he commanded them.
verse value 1223 — ל֑וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 20 letters. Notable word values: "to·him" (ל֑וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to·him" (ל֑וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·did" (וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ, 5 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "he·had·instructed·them" (צִוָּֽם). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "his·sons" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "and·did" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיַּעֲשׂ֥וּ [and·did] (392) + בָנָ֖יו [his·sons] (68) + ל֑וֹ [to·him] (36) + כֵּ֖ן [thus] (70) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as] (521) + צִוָּֽם [he·had·instructed·them] (136) = 1223.
Onkelos
His sons did for him just as he had commanded them.
Rashi
כאשר צום AS HE COMMANDED THEM — What was it that he had commanded them? This you can gather from the next verse.
Ibn Ezra
"And his sons did" — the meaning is: and his sons did just as he had commanded them — they carried him and buried him in the place he had commanded.
Chizkuni
כאשר צום, “as he had commanded them;” to do during his funeral.
Rabbeinu Bahya
כאשר צום, “as he had commanded them.” Yaakov had told his sons (compare Tanchuma Bamidbar 12) “be careful with my bier and do not allow any of the Canaanites to touch it. You should carry my bier according to the following procedure: ‘Yehudah, Issachar and Zevulun to the east; Reuven, Shimon and Gad from the south; Ephrayim, Menashe and Binyamin from the west; Dan, Asher and Naftali from the north.” Joseph was not to carry the bier as he was a king. Levi was not to carry the bier as in the future he was slated to carry G’d’s Holy Ark, and it is not fitting that anyone who carries the Ark of G’d should carry the ark of a dead person. Yaakov added that if his sons were to abide by his instructions G’d would reward them with flags in the desert. This is what our sages (Rashi on verse 13) referred to when they said that this is why the Torah reports: “his sons carried him;” his grandsons did not participate in that task.
Tur HaArokh
ויעשו בניו לו כן כאשר צום, ”his sons did for him exactly in accordance with his instructions.” Rashi understands the emphasis in our verse as being the word בניו “his sons,” i.e. that his grandsons were not to be pallbearers. Some of these grandsons had been mothered by Canaanite women, and Yaakov did not want to be carried by them. If so, it seems hard to understand that Yaakov, while alive and much younger, had not forbidden his sons to marry such women, seeing that Avraham and Yitzchok had both been very concerned about this. Not only this, but Rashi himself on Genesis 38,2 where Yehudah’s marriage to the daughter of a “Canaanite” man by the name of Shua is reported, goes out of his way to explain that the word “Canaanite” in that verse is not an ethnic description but means: “a trader.” It is possible that among Yaakov’s grandchildren there were at least some who had been born to Canaanite mothers, such as “Sha-ul son of the Canaanite” in Genesis (adoptee of Shimon?) As to Rashi explaining that Ephrayim and Menashe acted as pallbearers in lieu of Levi and Joseph, although they too were grandsons of Yaakov, this is no problem, Yaakov having explicitly described both Ephrayim and Menashe as being just like Reuven and Shimon (his sons) in every respect. (Genesis 48,5)
For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a possession of a burying-place, of Ephron the Hittite, in front of Mamre.
verse value 7368
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 88 letters. The shortest word is "him" (אֹת֤וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "as·a·burial·holding" (לַאֲחֻזַּת־קֶ֗בֶר, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 407: him, him. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "in·the·cave·of" (בִּמְעָרַ֖ת). The root שדה appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "to·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis); "his·sons" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Machpelah', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 10 words.
Onkelos
His sons carried him to the land of Canaan and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham had purchased as a burial holding from Ephron the Hittite, facing Mamre.
Rashi
וישאו אותו בניו AND HIS SONS BORE HIM — His sons and not his grandsons. For thus, indeed, he had commanded them: “My bier shall not be borne by an Egyptian, nor by one of your sons because they are children of Canaanite women, but you alone shall bear it He likewise assigned them their positions, namely, three on the east-side and an equal number on the other three sides of the bier. In the same order in which later on the camps marched through the wilderness bearing their several banners they were arranged here. But the 12 tribes that formed these four divisions did not include Levi or Joseph, for Jacob had said, “Levi shall not carry my bier because he is destined to carry the holy Ark; Joseph shall not carry it because he is a king, but Manasseh and Ephraim shall take their places”. And, it is to this that Scripture refers when it says, (Numbers 2:2) “every man [shall pitch] by his own banner according to the signs” — meaning according to the sign (i.e. indication of position) which their father individually gave them with regard to carrying his bier (Midrash Tanchuma, Bamidbar 12).
Chizkuni
וישאו אותו בניו, “His sons carried him, etc;” only his sons, not any of his grandsons as they had Canaanite mothers. We have read in the Talmud tractate Pessachim folio 50, “are we to assume that Yehudah’s wife (Genesis 38,2) was really a Canaanite, in spite of the fact that Avraham had gone to great length to insure that Eliezer would not select a Canaanite wife for his son Yitzchok? (Genesis 24,3 Yitzchok) Yitzchok had similarly instructed his son Yaakov. The answer given by the Talmud is that the word Canaanite also means: “trader,” and that the Torah told us in Genesis 38,2 that Yehudah’s wife was the daughter of a well known trader, named Shua. If you were to counter how this can be squared with the opinion expressed on Genesis 37,35 where we read about Yaakov’s “sons and daughters all trying to comfort Yaakov over the disappearance and presumed death of Joseph,” that all of Yaakov’s sons had twin girls born with them, so why did Yehudah not marry one of them or a granddaughter of Yaakov? We must assume that all of these twin daughters died prematurely so that the sons of Yaakov had no other option but to marry Canaanite girls. To the additional question why they could not at least have married the children of Shimon of whom we know that he had a son by a Canaanite woman (Genesis 46,10)? B‘reshit Rabbah 80,10 suggests that Shaul borne to Shimon was actually a son of Sh’chem who had raped Dinah; one opinion offered is that Shimon buried that offspring in the land of Canaan before the brothers descended to Egypt and that this is why he is referred to as son of a Canaanite. Getting back to the question why the grandsons of Yaakov were not part of the pall bearers, of the grandfather; Joseph did not wish to do anything that could arouse jealousies among them, some being biologically qualified others not; seeing that no one would be jealous of Ephrayim and Menashe who were princes, he did not object to their being pall bearers. (They would also be founding fathers of tribes in the future) Moreover, Rashi says that Levi was not among the pall bearers, as he would be carrying the Holy Ark. More questions are raised as to how Moses could carry the coffin of Joseph at the Exodus, seeing that he too was a Levite. A suggestion is offered that Joseph’s coffin, similar to the Holy Ark, did not actually need pall bearers as it carried itself, similar to the Holy Ark which is described as carrying its bearers. (based on a verse in Psalms 80,2: כצאן יוסף יושב הכרובים, (Compare more about this in Moshav z’keynim)
And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brothers, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
verse value 3219
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 57 letters. The shortest word is "he" (ה֣וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·all·who·went·up" (וְכׇל־הָעֹלִ֥ים, 8 letters). Words sharing gematria 420: his·father, his·father. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·all·who·went·up" (וְכׇל־הָעֹלִ֥ים). The root קבר appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "his·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "and·his·brothers" (root אח, 164x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'his·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 3 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֨שׇׁב [and·returned] (318) + יוֹסֵ֤ף [Joseph] (156) + מִצְרַ֙יְמָה֙ [to·Egypt] (385) + ה֣וּא [he] (12) + וְאֶחָ֔יו [and·his·brothers] (31) + וְכׇל־הָעֹלִ֥ים [and·all·who·went·up] (211) + אִתּ֖וֹ [with·him] (407) + לִקְבֹּ֣ר [to·bury] (332) + אֶת־אָבִ֑יו [his·father] (420) + אַחֲרֵ֖י [after] (219) + קׇבְר֥וֹ [his·burying] (308) + אֶת־אָבִֽיו [his·father] (420) = 3219.
Onkelos
Joseph returned to Egypt — he and his brothers and all who had gone up with him to bury his father — after he had buried his father.
Rashi
הוא ואחיו וכל העלים אתו HE AND HIS BRETHREN AND ALL THAT WENT UP WITH HIM — here, speaking of their return to Egypt, it mentions his brothers before the Egyptians who went with him whereas when speaking of their journey to Canaan to bury their father it mentions the Egyptians before his brothers, as it is said, (Genesis 50:7) “and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh …” and afterwards it states (Genesis 50:8) “and all the house of Joseph and his brothers”. But the explanation is: because they (the Egyptians) saw how much respect the kings of Canaan paid to Jacob by hanging their crowns on his coffin they now treated them (the sons) with much respect and gave them precedence on the return journey (Sotah 13a).
Or HaChaim
וכל העולים אתו, and all those who had gone up with him, etc. The Torah tells us that not a single person who had been part of the funeral cortege failed to return to Egypt. The reason was that they had all gone only in order to perform the מצוה of burying Joseph's father. None of them returned before he had completed participating in that deed. The Torah also wants to inform us that because they were all שלוחי מצוה, charged with the performance of a good deed, none of them encountered any mishap either while going or while returning (compare Pessachim 8). Alternatively, the Torah may be telling us something entirely different. When the Torah speaks separately of Joseph and all those who buried his father as returning to Egypt, and then repeats the words: "after he had buried his father," it may differentiate between those who waited with their return until after the burial and between those who used the opportunity to conduct whatever business they had in Canaan by joining the funeral cortege. The former all returned safe and sound without mishap because they were engaged in a מצוה. The people who were motivated by their personal concerns were not included in the statement that everybody returned without fail.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וכל העולים אתו, “and all those who had been going up with him.” This verse contains an allusion to the fierce fighting which preceded Yaakov’s burial in the cave of Machpelah. This is why it was necessary for the Torah to report that all of Joseph’s family returned to Egypt in peace. Not a single person who had engaged in honoring Yaakov by traveling to Canaan to bury him came to any harm. When the brothers had fought against Shechem and had subsequently been engaged in a battle with the Emorites they also did not sustain any casualties. To make this point, the Torah had written (Genesis 35,6) “Yaakov came to Luz which is in the land of Canaan... he and all those with him.” The addition of these words at the end of the verse were also meant to hint that the family had not sustained any casualties. אחרי קברו את אביו, “after they had buried his father.” Why did the Torah suddenly mention Joseph’s part in the burial when the Torah had already stated earlier that Joseph had gone up to bury his father? Moreover, when the Torah reported that “Yaakov’s sons carried his bier,” surely this included Joseph? The reason that the Torah reports Joseph’s return from that journey at this point may be so that people should not have any doubts about Joseph discharging his oath to his father. In order to make this point quite clear the Torah here describes the return of Joseph in terms which makes it sound as if the entire procession was Joseph’s doing exclusively. To make this point clear the Torah used the singular when reporting that Joseph קברו את אביו, as if to say: “Joseph personally and single-handedly buried his father.”
And when Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said: "It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did to him."
verse value 4285 — ל֥וּ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 69 letters. Notable word values: "what·if" (ל֥וּ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "what·if" (ל֥וּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "all·evil" (אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה, 8 letters). 6 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "that·was·dead" (כִּי־מֵ֣ת), "bears·a·grudge·against·us" (יִשְׂטְמֵ֖נוּ), "and·pay·back" (וְהָשֵׁ֤ב). The root יוסף appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "their·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Joseph', dividing the verse into phrases of 8 and 7 words.
Onkelos
Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, and they said: Perhaps Joseph will bear us enmity and will repay us for all the wrong that we did to him.
Rashi
ויראו אחי יוסף כי מת אביהם AND WHEN JOSEPH S BRETHREN SAW THAT THEIR FATHER WAS DEAD — What is the meaning of “and they saw”? They could perceive that he was dead through the conduct of Joseph. Previously they used to dine at Joseph’s table and he used to receive them with open arms out of respect to his father; after Jacob’s death, however, he no longer treated them in a friendly manner (Tanchuma Yashan 2:1:2; Genesis Rabbah 100:8). לו ישטמנו means PERHAPS HE WILL HATE US. The word has many different meanings. There are examples of לו used to denote a petition, having the meaning of “Oh that!” as for instance: (Genesis 30:34) “Would (לו) it might be according to thy word”; (Genesis 23:13) “Oh that thou wouldst (לו) only hear me”; (Joshua 7:7) “Would that (לו) we had been content”; (Numbers 14:2) “Would that (לו) we had died”., There are examples of לו used in the sense of “if” and “אולי” as, (Deuteronomy 32:29) “If (לו) they were wise [they would understand this]”; (Isaiah 48:18) “If (לוא) thou wouldst hearken to my commandments, [then would thy peace be as a river]”; (2 Samuel 18:12) “If (לו) I would receive [a thousand pieces of silver] in my hands, [yet would I not put forth my hand etc.]”. There is an example of לו used in the sense of “perhaps”, — in our verse — “Perhaps he will hate us”, but there is no other example of its usage in this sense in Scripture. Here it corresponds in sense with the word אולי, “perhaps”, as for example in (Genesis 24:5) “אולי the woman will not be willing to follow me” which means “perhaps she will not etc.” As a matter of fact אולי has all the meanings of לו, for there are examples of אולי denoting a petition as for instance (2 Samuel 16:12) “Perhaps (אולי) the Lord will look upon mine eye”, (where the context shows that this involves a kind of petition that God should do this); (Joshua 14:12) “Perhaps (אולי) the Lord will be with me [and I shall drive them out]”, (involving also a petition that God should do this), where אולי has a similar meaning to לו in (Genesis 30:34) “Would (לו) it might be according to thy word”. Then again the word אולי has the meaning of “if”; for example, (Genesis 18:24) “Perhaps (אולי) there are fifty righteous [wilt Thou destroy etc.]” (which is equivalent to “if there are fifty… wilt thou destroy?”.)
Ibn Ezra
"Perhaps he will bear a grudge against us" (לוּ יִשְׁמְטֵנוּ) — perhaps he will harbor enmity toward us, as in: "And Esau bore a grudge" (Genesis 27:41). The word לוּ appears in Scripture with many different senses.
Or HaChaim
לו ישטמנו יוסף, "perhaps Joseph will hate us, etc." In this instance the word לו means "perhaps," though there is no other such instance in the Torah where the word לו is used in that sense. We need to understand why the Torah uses the word לו here in a sense which is the opposite of its regular meaning. Although it is quite impossible to mistake the meaning of this word in our context, why did the Torah not use such words as פן, or אולי if the intention was to describe the brothers as saying "perhaps?" It seems that the Torah has the brothers express a subconscious desire for Joseph to pay them back for all they had done to him. If Joseph were to do that now and the brothers would experience a similar agony to that which they had subjected him to, they would no longer have to worry about paying for their sin against him at the end of the exile. Yalkut Mishley 929 describes that the 10 martyrs executed by Hadrian were in retribution for the failure to punish the brothers who had sold Joseph at the time. Shabbat 10 attributes the exile in Egypt to the coloured coat Jacob had made for Joseph and which resulted in the jealousy of his brothers.
Chizkuni
ויאמרו לו ישטמנו יוסף, they said: “perhaps Joseph will hate us.” When the brothers had returned from burying their father in Canaan, Joseph passed the pit into which the brothers had thrown him and recited the blessing: “the G-d Who has performed a miracle for me at this place.” When the brothers heard this they became afraid that old animosities might flare up again.
Tur HaArokh
לו ישטמנו, “supposing Joseph were to turn hostile against us? They hoped that Joseph’s hostility against them would be restricted to his heart and would not manifest itself openly. [this interpretation assumes that the word לו is a wishful expression as it is elsewhere. Ed.]
And they sent a message to Joseph, saying: "Your father did command before he died, saying:
verse value 1603
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. The shortest word is "commanded" (צִוָּ֔ה, 3 letters) and the longest is "to·Joseph" (אֶל־יוֹסֵ֖ף, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 271: saying, saying. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·they·charged" (וַיְצַוּ֕וּ). The root צוה appears 2 times in this verse. 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "your·father" (root אב, 196x in Genesis); "to·Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיְצַוּ֕וּ [and·they·charged] (118) + אֶל־יוֹסֵ֖ף [to·Joseph] (187) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + אָבִ֣יךָ [your·father] (33) + צִוָּ֔ה [commanded] (101) + לִפְנֵ֥י [before] (170) + מוֹת֖וֹ [his·death] (452) + לֵאמֹֽר [saying] (271) = 1603.
Onkelos
They sent word to Joseph, saying: Your father commanded before his death, saying:
Rashi
ויצוו אל יוסף AND THEY COMMANDED SOME TO GO TO JOSEPH — The words ויצוו אל have the same meaning as in (Exodus 6:13) “and He gave them a charge unto (ויצום אל) the children of Israel”, which signifies, “He commanded Moses and Aaron to act as messengers to the children of Israel”, and this verse, too, means they charged the man whom they sent that he should act as their messenger to Joseph to speak to him as follows (the words לומר לו כן correspond to לאמר in the Bible text here). And who was it that they so charged? The sons of Bilhah who had been accustomed to associate with him, as it is said (Genesis 37:12) “When a lad he used to be with the sons of Bilhah” (Tanchuma Yashan 2:1:2). אביך צוה THY FATHER DID COMMAND — They altered the facts (they stated something that was false) for the sake of peace, for Jacob had given them no such command because Joseph was not suspect in his sight (Yevamot 65b)).
Sforno
ויצוו אל יוסף, they commanded Yaakov’s servants or outsiders concerning Joseph. We find a similar construction in Exodus 6,13 ויצום אל בני ישראל, where G’d commanded Moses and Aaron to address the Israelites. לאמר אביך צוה, he commanded that we should say what we have to say as something that originated with us and not with him, as he did not think for a moment that you might want to avenge yourselves on us. However, he consented that if we were worried, we could take the initiative and express our concerns to you. לפני מותו, so closely before his death that we could not speak to you about this at that time.
Or HaChaim
ויצוו אל יוסף, they ordered emissaries to tell Joseph, etc. We again have to explore the meaning of the word לאמור in this context. If it means that the emissary were to speak to Joseph, the Torah should have added the words אל יוסף. Perhaps the brothers did not want the emissary to tell Joseph that the brothers had sent them but to tell him that he himself had overheard their father command the brothers to tell him of this conversation at the appropriate time. This would account for the word לאמור being used twice in this verse.
Chizkuni
ויצוו אל יוסף, according to the Jerusalem Targum they instructed the sons of Bilhah to tell Joseph in the name of their father that he had said before being gathered in to tell Joseph etc. etc.”
So shall you say to Joseph: Forgive, I pray you now, the transgression of your brothers, and their sin, for that they did to you evil. And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him.
verse value 4586 — עַבְדֵ֖י = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 83 letters. Notable word values: "servants·of" (עַבְדֵ֖י) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "forgive" (שָׂ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "thus·you·shall·say" (כֹּֽה־תֹאמְר֣וּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 301: forgive, forgive. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "thus·you·shall·say" (כֹּֽה־תֹאמְר֣וּ), "please" (אָ֣נָּ֡א), "the·transgression·of" (פֶּ֣שַׁע). The root יוסף appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "thus·you·shall·say" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God·of" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "to·him" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'your·father', dividing the verse into phrases of 17 and 4 words.
Onkelos
Thus shall you say to Joseph: Please, forgive now the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you. And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father. And Joseph wept when they spoke with him.
Rashi
שא נא לפשע עבדי אלהי אביך NOW, PRAY, FORGIVE THE TRESSPASS OF THE SERVANTS OF THE GOD OF THY FATHER — After having repeated to Joseph the words which his brothers stated had been their fathers message, “forgive thy brothers’ sin” the messengers were to add as a petition of the brothers “Now, pray etc.”, meaning “If you will not forgive them although they are your brothers, forgive them because they are the servants of the God of thy father”, implying though your father be dead, his God still lives and they are his servants.
Ibn Ezra
"Please" (אָנָּא) — an expression of appeasement.
Sforno
ויבך יוסף, when they mentioned their father and the fact that he had not thought him capable of holding a grudge and acting upon it.
Chizkuni
ועתה שא נא, “and now, etc;” from this word on, the sons of Bilhah added words of their own.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ויבך יוסף בדברם אליו, “Joseph wept when they were speaking to him.” As soon as the brothers merely mentioned the name of their father Joseph already started weeping. This was due to the great love he had for his now departed father. This stirred his sense of compassion, especially seeing that his brothers asked his forgiveness. The Torah does not spell out that Joseph actually forgave his brothers. Our sages (Bava Kama 92) point out that if a person has wronged his fellow man and regrets this wrong and determines not to act in the manner which had offended his fellow man he is not forgiven by G’d until after he has made an effort to obtain forgiveness by the aggrieved party first. At any rate, the Torah is not on record anywhere that Joseph did forgive his brothers. This was the reason why the sin committed against Joseph resulted in the ten martyrs being executed by torture at the hands of the Romans. I tend to think that of the word פשע in this verse contains an allusion. This sin could be divided into two parts. 1) the sin of the brothers including the unwitting part of it in their capacity as Joseph’s brothers. 2) The sin in their capacity as servants of the Lord G’d whom their father Yaakov revered. Had the Torah not wanted to hint that part of those sins had not been forgiven it should have written merely ועתה שא נא לפשעם, “and now, please, do forgive their sin (sing.).” The wording before us appears to make G’d’s forgiveness conditional on Joseph’s forgiveness. In other words: “if you Joseph forgive the sin of the brothers against you, then I G’d, will be able to forgive their sin seeing they are servants of the same G’d as your father Yaakov.” The concise meaning of the verse is: “the sin of the servants of your father’s G’d is the one they committed against their brother.”
Kli Yakar
Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they have done you evil. The verse should have said “please forgive the transgression and sin of your brothers” — why did it insert your brothers between the connected words [transgression and sin]? And what reason [for Joseph forgiving them] is given [by his] saying for they have done you evil? It appears that there were both a transgression and a sin here. The transgression was that they wanted to kill him with their own hands, and he was not deserving of death by human hands even according to their claim that they considered him a slanderer. The sin was that they sold him as a slave. They have some defense for this latter action, as they could argue that since he brought evil reports about them, saying that they called the children of the handmaids “slaves,” they therefore repaid him in kind by selling him as a slave. Therefore it says please forgive the transgression of your brothers because regarding the transgression they have no defense, thus they are requesting forgiveness and mercy. However, regarding their sin, it is logical that you should forgive because they repaid you evil — meaning they have some defense in that they repaid you for that evil, namely the evil report [Joseph gave about his brothers]. This also explains why the transgression is mentioned before the sin, for it is not the way of those seeking forgiveness to first ask about the greater matter and then about the lesser one — it should be the opposite. But according to our explanation, it is well understood. [End of the Book of Genesis — with the help of He who made all in six days.]
Tur HaArokh
ויבך יוסף בדברם אליו, “Joseph cried when they spoke to him.” He cried when he realized that they suspected him of harboring hostile thoughts against them. This verse is proof that Joseph had never informed Yaakov that the brothers had sold him, for if Yaakov had been aware of it, he would have ordered Joseph not to hold a grudge against the brothers on that account and to make up with them According to the Midrash, after Joseph’s original meeting with his father in Egypt, Joseph made a point of never again to meet his father without someone else being present so that his brothers would not have reason to suspect him of his telling his father that they had sold him.
And his brothers also went and fell down before his face; and they said: "Behold, we are your bondmen."
verse value 1028
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 39 letters. The shortest word is "to·you" (לְךָ֖, 2 letters) and the longest is "also·his·brothers" (גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו, 6 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "also·his·brothers" (גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·they·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "before·him" (root פנים, 133x in Genesis); "and·they·went" (root הלך, 113x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'before·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֵּלְכוּ֙ [and·they·went] (72) + גַּם־אֶחָ֔יו [also·his·brothers] (68) + וַֽיִּפְּל֖וּ [and·fell] (132) + לְפָנָ֑יו [before·him] (176) + וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ [and·they·said] (263) + הִנֶּ֥נּֽוּ [here·we·are] (111) + לְךָ֖ [to·you] (50) + לַעֲבָדִֽים [as·servants] (156) = 1028.
Onkelos
His brothers also went and fell before him and said: Behold, we are yours as servants.
Rashi
וילכו גם אחיו AND HIS BRETHREN ALSO WENT in addition to sending their messengers.
Chizkuni
וילכו גם אחיו, Joseph’s brothers also followed themselves after having sent ahead the sons of Bilhah. (They did after they saw him weep).
And Joseph said to them: "Fear not; for am I in the place of God?
verse value 2127 — אֱלֹהִ֖ים = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 34 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֛י, 2 letters) and the longest is "do·not·fear" (אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ, 7 letters). The root אל appears 2 times in this verse. 7 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "to·them" (root אל, 242x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'do·not·fear', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: וַיֹּ֧אמֶר [and·said] (257) + אֲלֵהֶ֛ם [to·them] (76) + יוֹסֵ֖ף [Joseph] (156) + אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ [do·not·fear] (648) + כִּ֛י [for] (30) + הֲתַ֥חַת [in·place·of] (813) + אֱלֹהִ֖ים [God] (86) + אָֽנִי [I] (61) = 2127.
Onkelos
Joseph said to them: Do not fear, for I fear Hashem.
Rashi
כי התחת אלהים אני FOR AM I INSTEAD OF GOD — Am I perhaps (do you think that I am) in His stead? The ה of התחת expresses a question. Even if I wished to do you harm would I at all be able to do so? For did you not all design evil against me, and you did not succeed because the Holy One, blessed be He, designed it for good. How, then, can I alone, without God’s consent, do evil to you.
Ibn Ezra
The Gaon [Saadia] says that "Am I in place of God?" means: as though I were in place of God — that you have fallen before me and said, "We are your servants"?
Sforno
התחת אלוקים אני, while it is true that I am a judge, a surrogate of His, charged with the task of carrying out His decrees, and I could punish anyone who was empowered by Him to carry out His decrees. This is analogous to the principle that one court must not annul the rulings of a previous court on the same subject.” (Eduyot 1:5) It is true that you had been charged by G’d to carry out His decrees, but you did not send me here deliberately but G’d. (Genesis 48:8)
Or HaChaim
כי התחת אלוקים אני, "Am I then in G'd's place?" Joseph meant: "if you are guilty it is up to G'd to punish you; it is not up to me to revenge myself or to hold a grudge against you." Joseph may not have told the brothers that he had forgiven them because under Noachide law the matter did not depend on his forgiveness at all. Under Noachide law, once a person has committed the sin of kidnapping or robbery, he is guilty of the death penalty. The fact that the victim forgave the criminal is irrelevant to the penalty. Joseph added that he had to interpret the brothers' actions in a manner which reflected credit upon them.
Rabbeinu Bahya
אל תיראו כי התחת אלוקים אני, “do not fear! For am I instead of G’d?” He meant that the reason they did not have to be afraid of him was that he himself was a G’d-fearing man. He implied, as explained by Onkelos who uses the word דחלא — “real fear”, that even if he were bent on retaliation this would only backfire as G’d would punish him in turn. The letter ה at the beginning of the word התחת must not be understood as introducing a question but as part of Joseph conception of “fear of the Lord.” If one “fears” the Lord it is because one knows that He returns tit for tat. We have other examples where such letters ה which at first glance appear to introduce a question do not in fact do so. Compare Samuel I 2,27 הנגלה נגליתי אל בית אביך. The translation of these words is clearly not: “did I appear in the house of your father?” Rather these words need to be translated as: “I revealed Myself to your father’s house.” Joseph repeated the words “do not be afraid,” in both verse 19 and 21. The first “fear” he spoke of was the brothers’ fear of him; the second fear he spoke of was the fear of the famine which had started again. This is why he added immediately, (concerning their second fear) “I will provide for you.” (Compare my comments on Genesis 47,14).
Tur HaArokh
התחת אלוקים, “if in lieu of G’d?” Some commentators understand Joseph as remonstrating with his brothers who had prostrated themselves before him as if he were G’d, something most inappropriate, especially when they said: “here we are ready to be your slaves.” [Jews are G’d’ servants, not men’s. Ed.]
And as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
verse value 3452 — אֱלֹהִים֙ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 13 words, 51 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִים֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "upon·me" (עָלַ֖י, 3 letters) and the longest is "you·intended" (חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "you·intended" (חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם), "intended·it" (חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ), "for·good" (לְטֹבָ֔ה). The root חשב appears 2 times in this verse. 12 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "bring·about" (root עשה, 152x in Genesis); "this·day" (root יום, 126x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'evil', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 9 words. Full calculation: וְאַתֶּ֕ם [you] (447) + חֲשַׁבְתֶּ֥ם [you·intended] (750) + עָלַ֖י [upon·me] (110) + רָעָ֑ה [evil] (275) + אֱלֹהִים֙ [God] (86) + חֲשָׁבָ֣הּ [intended·it] (315) + לְטֹבָ֔ה [for·good] (46) + לְמַ֗עַן [in·order·to] (190) + עֲשֹׂ֛ה [bring·about] (375) + כַּיּ֥וֹם [this·day] (76) + הַזֶּ֖ה [this] (17) + לְהַחֲיֹ֥ת [to·preserve] (453) + עַם־רָֽב [a·numerous·people] (312) = 3452.
Onkelos
You intended evil against me, but before Hashem it was reckoned for good, in order to bring about as it is this day — to preserve a great people.
Ibn Ezra
"In order to bring about" (לַעֲשֹׂה) — this is the infinitive form [of the verb].
Sforno
ואתם חשבתם עלי רעה, you had mistakenly considered me as a רודף, someone threatening your very lives. Had you not erred, your actions would have been perfectly justified. אלקים חשבה לטובה, G’d exploited your error for something good.
Or HaChaim
ואתם חשבתם עלי רעה, והאלוקים חשבה לטובה, "what you had planned as harm for me, G'd planned it for good, etc." The whole matter is comparable to that of a person who plans to give his friend a poisoned drink in order to kill him, but who mistakenly pours him a cup of wine. Legally speaking, such a person is not guilty before a human tribunal. Similarly, the brothers were not guilty before Joseph though they were guilty before a Heavenly Tribunal. It is possible that the forgiveness of the victim even to a Jewish criminal would not free the criminal from the death penalty if the deed had been committed under circumstances warranting such a verdict.
Rashbam
אלוקים חשבה לטובה, you were the unwitting agents of G’d and you are therefore not to blame. G’d had planned that it should all be for the good.
Targum Yonatan
You indeed imagined against me evil thoughts, that when I did not recline with you to eat it was because I retained enmity against you. But the Word of the Lord thought on me for good; for my father hath caused me to sit at the head, and on account of his honour I received; but now not for the sake of my (own) righteousness or merit was it given me to work out for you deliverance this day for the preservation of much people of the house of Jakob.
Now therefore do not fear; I will sustain you, and your little ones." And he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.
verse value 3283
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 50 letters. The shortest word is "and·now" (וְעַתָּה֙, 4 letters) and the longest is "do·not·fear" (אַל־תִּירָ֔אוּ, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "sustain" (אֲכַלְכֵּ֥ל), "and·your·dependents" (וְאֶֽת־טַפְּכֶ֑ם), "upon·their·heart" (עַל־לִבָּֽם). 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "do·not·fear" (root אל, 242x in Genesis); "and·spoke" (root דבר, 133x in Genesis); "I" (root אנכי, 56x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·your·dependents', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: וְעַתָּה֙ [and·now] (481) + אַל־תִּירָ֔אוּ [do·not·fear] (648) + אָנֹכִ֛י [I] (81) + אֲכַלְכֵּ֥ל [sustain] (101) + אֶתְכֶ֖ם [you] (461) + וְאֶֽת־טַפְּכֶ֑ם [and·your·dependents] (556) + וַיְנַחֵ֣ם [and·reassured] (114) + אוֹתָ֔ם [them] (447) + וַיְדַבֵּ֖ר [and·spoke] (222) + עַל־לִבָּֽם [upon·their·heart] (172) = 3283.
Onkelos
And now, do not fear. I will sustain you and your children. He comforted them and spoke words of consolation to their hearts.
Rashi
וידבר אל לבם means HE SPOKE words that found ready entrance INTO THEIR HEART: Before you came down hither people spread rumours about me that I was born a slave; through you it became public that I am a free-man by birth. If I were to kill you what would people say? “He saw a party of fine young men and he prided himself on his relationship with them, saying “These are my brothers”, but afterwards he killed them. Have you ever heard of a man killing his brothers?!” (Genesis Rabbah 100:9) Another interpretation is: He said to them, “Ten lights could not extinguish one light; how, then, can one light extinguish ten lights?” (Megillah 16b).
Rabbeinu Bahya
וינחם אותם וידבר אל לבם, “he comforted them and spoke to their heart.” Rashi has this to say about these words of comfort: Joseph demonstrated to the brothers how his own status had been made more secure by their very existence. As long a they had not come to Egypt he had been suspected of being a slave who by a quirk of fate had risen to power. Ever since the arrival of his brothers such an accusation could not be sustained. If he were to revenge himself on them now these same people would conclude that they had not really been his brothers at all but had been hired by him to play that part in order to legitimise himself as a free man. After all, who would believe that he killed his actual brothers!? Moreover, from a logical point of view, if the ten of them had been unable to extinguish his light, how could he single-handedly hope to extinguish their collective lights?
And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were born upon Joseph's knees.
verse value 2836
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 51 letters. The shortest word is "even" (גַּ֗ם, 2 letters) and the longest is "of·Ephraim" (לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 156: Joseph, Joseph. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "of·Ephraim" (לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם), "Machir" (מָכִיר֙), "son·of·Manasseh" (בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה). The root יוסף appears 2 times in this verse. 9 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis); "were·born" (root ילד, 193x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'third·generation', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיַּ֤רְא [and·saw] (217) + יוֹסֵף֙ [Joseph] (156) + לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם [of·Ephraim] (361) + בְּנֵ֖י [sons·of] (62) + שִׁלֵּשִׁ֑ים [third·generation] (680) + גַּ֗ם [even] (43) + בְּנֵ֤י [sons·of] (62) + מָכִיר֙ [Machir] (270) + בֶּן־מְנַשֶּׁ֔ה [son·of·Manasseh] (447) + יֻלְּד֖וּ [were·born] (50) + עַל־בִּרְכֵּ֥י [upon·the·knees·of] (332) + יוֹסֵֽף [Joseph] (156) = 2836.
Onkelos
Joseph saw the children of Ephraim of the third generation; also the children of Machir son of Manasseh were born and were raised by Joseph.
Rashi
על ברכי יוסף [WERE BORN] ON JOSEPH’S KNEES — The meaning is as the Targum gives it: He brought them up upon his knees.
Ibn Ezra
"Sons of the third generation" — because the word בְּנֵי is in the construct state, the sons referred to are of the fourth generation [i.e., great-grandchildren]. "Were born" (יֻלְּדוּ) — [means] they were reared.
Chizkuni
גם בני מכיר בן מנשה, “also the sons of Machir, a son of Menashe;” the word גם is meant to include Ephrayim and his children in what is described in this verse. How are we to understand this in practice? Joseph only saw Ephrayim’s grandchildren, whereas he did live to see Menashe’s great grandchildren. We know this from which of the descendants of Joseph are listed in the portion of Pinchas (Numbers 26,2937) there as founders of בתי אבות, clans, all of whom were born during Joseph’s life time. (Bamidbar Rabbah 14,7)
Rabbeinu Bahya
וירא יוסף לאפרים בני שלשים, “Joseph lived long enough to see three generations of his son Ephrayim.” The true meaning is that whereas Joseph saw three generations from his son Menashe, he saw four generations from his son Ephrayim (Ephrayim plus his great grandson). This is based on the word בני being a possessive of the word שלשים. [However, according to the cantillation, the tipcha under the word בני means it belongs to the word אפרים, Ed.] There is some allusion to this fertility of Ephrayim in Yaakov’s blessing who foresaw greater things for Ephrayim than for Menashe. Concerning the latter Yaakov had said that “he too would develop into a nation,” the implication being that it would take him longer, i.e. more years to do so The word גם in the line גם בני מכיר בן מנשה indicate that Menashe also lived in Joseph’s home; however, seeing that Joseph loved Menashe better than Ephrayim, the Torah mentions the fact that Menashe’s grandchildren were born on Joseph’s knees rather than those of Ephrayim. The מכיר named here was actually Gilead, son of Machir, son of Menashe. He was the grandfather of Tzelofchod (Numbers 27,1). The Torah wanted to show that Joseph raised righteous people in his own home, people who in turn produced daughters of outstanding caliber such as the daughters of Tzelofchod.
And Joseph said to his brothers: "I die; but God will surely take account of you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
verse value 5281
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 87 letters. The shortest word is "dying" (מֵ֑ת, 2 letters) and the longest is "to·his·brothers" (אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 461: you, you. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·God" (וֵֽאלֹהִ֞ים), "and·bring·up" (וְהֶעֱלָ֤ה), "swore" (נִשְׁבַּ֛ע). The root פקד appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·said" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "which" (root אשר, 313x in Genesis); "from·the·land" (root ארץ, 305x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'dying', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 14 words.
Onkelos
Joseph said to his brothers: I am dying. Hashem will surely remember you and will bring you up from this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
Tur HaArokh
ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו הנה אנכי מת, “Joseph said to his brothers: ‘here I am about to die;’” this indicates that they all survived him.
Rashbam
ויאמר יוסף אל אחיו אנכי מת והאלוקים פקוד יפקוד אתכם, the following verse proves what he had in mind when he commanded his brothers to take along with them his remains to the land of Canaan.
And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying: "God will surely remember you, and you shall carry up my bones from here."
verse value 4358 — אֱלֹהִים֙ = 86 (Elohim)
Insights
Verse structure: 12 words, 55 letters. Notable word values: "God" (אֱלֹהִים֙) = 86, equal to Elohim. The shortest word is "surely·take·notice" (פָּקֹ֨ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "my·bones" (אֶת־עַצְמֹתַ֖י, 7 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "and·carry·up" (וְהַעֲלִתֶ֥ם), "my·bones" (אֶת־עַצְמֹתַ֖י). The root פקד appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "saying" (root אמר, 604x in Genesis); "God" (root אלה, 301x in Genesis); "sons·of" (root בן, 248x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'saying', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 7 words. Full calculation: וַיַּשְׁבַּ֣ע [and·made·swear] (388) + יוֹסֵ֔ף [Joseph] (156) + אֶת־בְּנֵ֥י [sons·of] (463) + יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל [Israel] (541) + לֵאמֹ֑ר [saying] (271) + פָּקֹ֨ד [surely·take·notice] (184) + יִפְקֹ֤ד [will·take·notice] (194) + אֱלֹהִים֙ [God] (86) + אֶתְכֶ֔ם [you] (461) + וְהַעֲלִתֶ֥ם [and·carry·up] (551) + אֶת־עַצְמֹתַ֖י [my·bones] (1011) + מִזֶּֽה [from·here] (52) = 4358.
Onkelos
Joseph made the children of Israel swear, saying: Hashem will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וישבע יוסף את בני ישראל, “Joseph made the children of Israel swear an oath.” Actually, we would have expected the Torah to write: “Joseph adjured his brothers.” However, he made even later generations take this oath as he did not know precisely when the opportunity would come to keep this oath. This is why Moses felt duty-bound to raise Joseph from his grave before the Israelites left the country and to take his bones with them (compare Exodus 13,19). The meaning of the verse there is that Moses felt that unless he located Joseph’s remains and took them with, the entire nation would be guilty of not honoring their oath. Joseph had the extraordinary merit that 600,000 men all functioned as his pall bearers throughout the many years they were in the desert until finally they laid him to rest at Shechem (Joshua 24,32). It is a well known tradition that the righteous are buried when they have been accompanied by a mass funeral cortege. Our sages (Ketuvot 17) elaborated saying: “as his arrival so his exit.” [The arrival refers to the Torah being given in the presence of 600,000 people. It is fitting that when someone who personifies the Torah leaves this earth that he should also be accompanied by a similar number of people. Ed.]. והעליתם את עצמותי מזה, “you will bring my bones up from this. ” He meant “from this place.” Some commentators claim that each tribe took with them the remains of their respective founders, i.e. that the remains of all of Yaakov’s sons were eventually buried in ארץ ישראל. (Compare Pesikta d'Rav Kahane in Beshalach.)
Tur HaArokh
וישבע יוסף את בני ישראל, “Joseph adjured the Children of Israel.” When he realized that his brothers were advanced in age, he included also their offspring in this oath as none of his surviving brothers might be alive when the Israelites would leave Egypt. Everyone knew of the exile that awaited them in Egypt and that its conditions would be very harsh. The reason that he did not make them swear to transfer his remains to the Land of Canaan immediately after his death, may well have been that he knew that it was beyond their political power to have such an illustrious ruler as Joseph buried in a foreign country. פקוד יפקוד אתכם אלוקים, “when G’d will eventually recall you, etc.” Joseph reminds his brothers that he is merely a mortal human being, whereas G’d, Who is eternal, will in due course remember them and liberate them from their exile. The reason why he chose the expression פקד as characterizing this redemption may be because this expression was used by the Torah when soldiers returned from battle without having incurred any casualties. (Numbers 31,49) The word also lends itself to allusions of a numerical nature, i.e. the original number of years of slavery i.e. 400 would be reduced by the numerical value of the word פקוד i.e. 190, so that in actual fact the stay of the Israelites in Egypt would amount to only 210 years after Yaakov’s arrival there, the number being characterized by the numerical value of the word רדו, the word used by Yaakov when he instructed his sons to go down to Egypt to buy food in the first place. (compare Genesis 42,2)
So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old. And they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.
verse value 3189
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 46 letters. The shortest word is "him" (אֹת֔וֹ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·embalmed" (וַיַּחַנְט֣וּ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Genesis. Unique to this verse in Genesis (hapax): "son·of·hundred" (בֶּן־מֵאָ֥ה), "and·placed" (וַיִּ֥ישֶׂם), "in·the·coffin" (בָּאָר֖וֹן). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "years" (root שנה, 169x in Genesis); "Joseph" (root יוסף, 156x in Genesis); "son·of·hundred" (root בין, 146x in Genesis). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'years', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 5 words. Full calculation: וַיָּ֣מׇת [and·died] (456) + יוֹסֵ֔ף [Joseph] (156) + בֶּן־מֵאָ֥ה [son·of·hundred] (98) + וָעֶ֖שֶׂר [and·ten] (576) + שָׁנִ֑ים [years] (400) + וַיַּחַנְט֣וּ [and·embalmed] (89) + אֹת֔וֹ [him] (407) + וַיִּ֥ישֶׂם [and·placed] (366) + בָּאָר֖וֹן [in·the·coffin] (259) + בְּמִצְרָֽיִם [in·Egypt] (382) = 3189.
Onkelos
Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; they embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.
Ibn Ezra
"And they embalmed him" — the physicians. "And he was placed in the ark" — one person placed him [there]. The root is י-ש-מ, on the pattern of "and He formed" (וַיִּיצֶר) (Genesis 2:7). Rabbi Jonah the grammarian says that the ḥireq here stands in place of a shureq, but this seems far-fetched to me. The reason the beit of בָּאָרוֹן is voweled with a qamatz is that it refers to the ark he had prepared for himself. Here ends the portion of Vayechi, and the Book of Genesis is completed with the help of God, may He be blessed.
Sforno
ויחנטו אותו ויישם בארון, in the very same casket in which the embalming had taken place. They placed his remains therein and he was never interred in the earth. This is why his casket remained well known throughout the generations. Until “Moses took the bones of Joseph, etc.” (Exodus 13,19)
Chizkuni
ויישם בארון, “he was placed in a coffin;” as opposed to being interred; the reason that he was not interred was so that his descendants when the time came could take his remains with them to the Holy Land as they had sworn to him that they or their children would do. The construction of ויישם is similar in meaning to ויושם. We find a similar construction in Exodus 30,32: על בשר אדם לא ייסך, “it must not be rubbed on any person’s flesh (skin).” The prefix letter ב in the word: בארון has the vowel kametz under it. This is meant to inform the reader that the coffin had already been prepared for Joseph during his lifetime, i.e. he was placed in the coffin with which he had been familiar. This is the only one of the patriarchs of which temporary burial in a casket has been reported, as the later generations, who had not even been alive when he died, would transport him from Egypt.
Rabbeinu Bahya
וימת יוסף בן מאה ועשר שנים “Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten.” According to the Talmud (Sotah 9), Joseph, who had buried his father, received his reward in that someone greater than either he or his father, namely Moses, took care of his earthly remains. Exodus 13,19 relates that Moses took the remains of Joseph. This was not as simple as it seems, and our sages (Tanchuma Beshalach 2) describe how Moses lowered a plate or piece of parchment on which he had written “arise ox” into the river Nile. He called out: “Joseph, Joseph, your brethren are about to be redeemed and your absence is delaying the Presence of G’d from moving with us. If you want to be redeemed and to join our journey, arise! If you fail to arise now, we will be free from the oath you have made us swear to take you along.” All of this had become necessary because the Egyptians had placed Joseph’s body in a metal coffin and had hidden it by lowering it into the river Nile to prevent the Israelites from having access to it. This is the deeper meaning of the final words of the Book of Genesis ויישם בארון במצרים, “he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.” Moses also received a reward for having performed these rites on Joseph by Someone greater than he when G’d Himself buried him (Deut. 34,6). This teaches us that anyone who engages in the performance of מצות can look forward to great reward. Such a reward may accrue to him many years after he performed the good deed in question. If he did not receive his reward for the מצוה while alive on earth, he may be sure that his deed has been recorded by G’d and he will receive the appropriate reward in the hereafter. These considerations are another reason for encouraging people to perform מצות with eagerness instead of dragging their feet while doing so. However, one must be careful not to perform these מצות in order to become known as a pious individual or in order to reap the benefit in terms of honor received by one’s peers. The performance of מצות should only be designed to confer honor on G’d and His Holy Name. The psalmist (Psalms 131,3) expressed it best when he said: ”O Israel wait for the Lord now and forever.” We also have a verse in Psalms 31,25: “be strong and of good courage, all you who wait for the Lord.” A third verse conveying a similar message is found in Jeremiah 17,7: “Blessed is he who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord alone.” Finally, Isaiah 26,4 conveys the same message when he wrote: “Trust in the Lord forever and ever, for in The Lord G’d you have an everlasting Rock.”
Tur HaArokh
ויישם בארון, “he was placed in a coffin.” Ibn Ezra draws attention to the vowel kametz under the letter ב which suggests that this coffin was a known entity, drawing the conclusion that Joseph, personally, had prepared his coffin prior to his death.
Onkelos
Or HaChaim
Targum Yonatan