Aggada -- Translations into English; Bible. Old Testament -- Legends; Jewish legends; Midrash -- Translations into English
To the resentment of the brethren was added their envy of Joseph,
because their father loved him more than all of them. Joseph's beauty
of person was equal to that of his mother Rachel, and Jacob had but to
look at him to be consoled for the death of his beloved wife. Reason
enough for distinguishing him among his children.[10] As a token of his
great love for him, Jacob gave Joseph a coat of many colors, so light
and delicate that it could be crushed and concealed in the closed palm
of one hand. The Hebrew name of the garment, Passim, conveys the story
of the sale of Joseph. The first letter, Pe, stands for Potiphar, his
Egyptian master; Samek stands for Soharim, the merchantmen that bought
Joseph from the company of Ishmaelites to whom his brethren had sold
him; Yod stands for these same Ishmaelites; and Mem, for the Midianites
that obtained him from the merchantmen, and then disposed of him to
Potiphar. But Passim. has yet another meaning, "clefts." His brethren
knew that the Red Sea would be cleft in twain in days to come for
Joseph's sake, and they were jealous of the glory to be conferred upon
him. Although they were filled with hatred of him, it must be said in
their favor that they were not of a sullen, spiteful nature. They did
not hide their feelings, they proclaimed their enmity openly.
Once Joseph dreamed a dream, and he could not refrain from telling it
to his brethren. He spoke, and said: "Hear, I pray you, this dream
which I have dreamed. Behold, you gathered fruit, and so did I. Your
fruit rotted, but mine remained sound. Your seed will set up dumb
images of idols, but they will vanish at the appearance of my
descendant, the Messiah of Joseph. You will keep the truth as to my
fate from the knowledge of my father, but I will stand fast as a reward
for the self-denial of my mother, and you will prostrate yourselves
five times before me."[11]
The brethren refused at first to listen to the dream, but when Joseph
urged them again and again, they gave heed to him, and they said,
"Shalt thou indeed reign over us? or shalt thou indeed have dominion
over us?"[12] God put an interpretation into their mouths that was to
be verified in the posterity of Joseph. Jeroboam and Jehu, two kings,
and Joshua and Gideon, two judges, have been among his descendants,
corresponding to the double and emphatic expressions used by his
brethren in interpreting the dream.[13]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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