[11]
(Gen. 43:14:) AND1 MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY. Let our master instruct us: How many
Tefillot2 is one obligated to pray in a day?
3 Thus have our masters taught: One does not pray more than the three
Tefillot which the ancestors of the world instituted.
4 Abraham instituted the morning
Tefillah, as stated (in Gen. 19:27):
NOW ABRAHAM WENT EARLY IN THE MORNING UNTO THE PLACE WHERE HE HAD STOOD ('MD) BEFORE THE LORD. Isaac instituted the
Tefillah of the
minhah (the
Tefillah in the afternoon), as stated (in Gen. 24:63):
NOW ISAAC WENT OUT TO BOW DOWN (rt.: SWH) IN THE FIELD TOWARD EVENING. Jacob instituted the evening
Tefillah, as stated (in Gen. 28:11):
WHEN HE CAME (rt.: PG')5 TO A CERTAIN PLACE.
6 Now it is also written about Daniel (in Dan. 6:11):
AND THREE TIMES A DAY [HE KNELT ON HIS KNEES]. But < the text > did not explain at what hour. David came and explained (in Ps. 55:18 [17]):
EVENING, MORNING, AND NOON < I COMPLAIN AND MOAN; AND HE HEARS MY VOICE >. Therefore, one is not authorized to pray more than three
Tefillot in a day.
7 But R. Johanan said: And would that one might go on praying all day long!
8 Antoninus asked Our Holy Rabbi: Is it permitted to pray at every hour? He said to him: It is forbidden. He said to him: Why? He said to him: Lest you treat the Most High with frivolity. He did not accept < this answer > from him. What did he do? He went to him early in the morning. He said to him: Greetings, Lord.
9 An hour later he came in to him. He said to him: {'
MNH RTWQ} [Imperator]!
10 An hour later he < again > said to him:
Shalom to you, O King. He said to him: Why are you being disrespectful to the monarchy? He said to him: Let your ears hear what you are putting forth from your mouth. If you, who are flesh and blood, say this in the case of someone who asks after you every hour, how much the more so in the case of one who is disrespectful to the Supreme King of Kings, the Holy One. Thus one should not bother him all the time.
R. Jose ben Halafta says: There are times for the Tefillah, as stated (in Ps. 69:14 [13]): BUT AS FOR ME, LET MY TEFILLAH COME TO YOU LORD AT AN ACCEPTABLE TIME.11 When is an acceptable time? When the community prays. One must therefore arise early for the Tefillah since you have nothing greater than the Tefillah. So look at Moses. It was decreed against him that he not enter the land and that < he was > not to see it. But, because he was frequent in prayer (tefillah), (according Deut. 34:1): THE LORD SHOWED HIM THE WHOLE LAND…. And thus did Hezekiah pray and annul the decree < of death against himself > (in I Kings 20:1-11). So also Jacob, when he sent his sons to Egypt, prayed over them (in Gen. 43:14): AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY.
[12] [
(Gen. 43:14:) AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY (ShDY) GRANT YOU MERCY.] What was the reason for Jacob to bless them with < the formula >
GOD ShDY?
12 To teach you that a lot of afflictions had come upon him. While he was in his mother's womb, Esau had contended with him, as stated (in Gen. 25:22):
BUT THE CHILDREN STRUGGLED TOGETHER WITHIN HER.
13 And so it says (in Amos 1:11):
BECAUSE HE PURSUED HIS BROTHER WITH THE SWORD AND DESTROYED HIS WOMB. "His womb" is < what is > written.
14 Because of Esau he fled to Laban. See how many troubles there were!
(Gen. 31:40:) THUS I WAS: BY DAY SCORCHING HEAT CONSUMED ME…. < Look at > how, when he left, < Laban > pursued after him to kill him, [as stated (in Gen. 31:23)]:
AND PURSUED AFTER HIM FOR A JOURNEY OF {THREE} [SEVEN] DAYS. He escaped from him; Esau came with the intention of killing him. On account of him he lost all that gift
15 (according to Gen. 32:15 [14]):
TWO HUNDRED SHE-GOATS…. He went away from Esau; the trouble about Dinah came (in Gen. 34). Then after that, the trouble with Rachel < dying > (in Gen. 35:19). Then, after these troubles, he was intending to rest a bit, until there came the trouble about Joseph (in Gen. 37); and after that, the trouble with his father, Isaac, who died (in Gen. 35:29) ten years after the sale of Joseph. So the Scripture has cried out (in Job 3:26):
I WAS NOT TRANQUIL, NOT QUIET, HAD NO REST; AND TROUBLE CAME. After that there came upon him the trouble with Simeon (in Gen. 42:24); and after that, the trouble with Benjamin (in Gen. 42:36; 43:3-15). He therefore prayed (in Genesis 43:14)
AND MAY GOD ShDY. Now he says: The one who said: Enough (
DY), to the heavens and to the earth should say: Enough (
DY), to my afflictions. For, when the Holy One created the heavens and the earth, they continued expanding until the Holy One said to them: Enough (
DY).
16 It is therefore written (in Gen. 43:14):
GOD WHO IS ENOUGH (ShDY).
[13]
(Gen. 43:29:) THEN HE (Joseph) RAISED HIS EYES AND SAW HIS BROTHER BENJAMIN, THE SON OF HIS MOTHER. He was happy that he was like his mother, for it is so written:
THE SON OF HIS MOTHER. Immediately (in Gen. 44:1):
THEN HE COMMANDED THE ONE WHO WAS OVER HIS HOUSE, SAYING: FILL THE MEN'S SACKS WITH FOOD…. He said to Manasseh
17 (in Gen. 44:1-3):
FILL THE SACKS < …. > AND < YOU SHALL PUT > MY GOBLET, THE GOBLET OF SILVER, < IN THE MOUTH OF THE SACK OF THE YOUNGEST >…. AT MORNING LIGHT THE MEN WERE SENT OFF. Why did he not send them away at night? Joseph said: If I send them away at night, there is no creature who could cope with them because they are like wild beasts. (In Gen. 49:9:)
JUDAH IS A LION'S WHELP, (in Deut. 33:22):
DAN IS A LION'S WHELP, (in Gen. 49:17):
DAN SHALL BE A SERPENT, (in Gen. 49:21):
NAPHTALI IS A HIND LET LOOSE, (and in Gen. 49:27):
BENJAMIN IS A RAVENOUS WOLF.
(Gen. 44:4:) THEY HAD LEFT THE CITY AND HAD NOT GONE FAR. Joseph said: If they go far, there is no creature able to return them.
(
Ibid., cont.:)
ARISE, GO AFTER THE MEN; for as long as the fear of a {knee} [city]
18 is over them.
(Ibid., cont.:) AND, WHEN YOU OVERTAKE THEM. See, he is confounding them with words, now harshly and now gently.
(
Gen. 44:5,
13:)
IS NOT THIS THE ONE FROM WHICH MY LORD DRINKS … ? SO THEY RENT THEIR CLOTHES…. The Holy One said to them: You caused your father's clothes to be rent for nothing (in Gen. 37:34); so you are rending < your clothes > for nothing.
19 (
Gen. 44:5, cont.:)
THEN EACH ONE LOADED HIS ASS. Not one of them was required for his ass.
20 So they arose and, striking Benjamin on his shoulder, said to him: Oh you thief, you son of a thief, you have shamed me! You are your mother's son. Thus did she {your mother} shame our father (according to Gen. 31:19):
AND RACHEL STOLE THE HOUSEHOLD GODS < OF HER FATHER >. By virtue of these blows with which they smote him on his shoulders, he was worthy of having the Divine Presence rest on his shoulders. It is so stated (of Benjamin in Deut. 33:12):
AND HE (the Lord) DWELLS BETWEEN HIS SHOULDERS.
(Gen. 44:14:) WHEN JUDAH AND HIS BROTHERS CAME TO JOSEPH'S HOUSE. What is the meaning of
TO JOSEPH'S HOUSE? Did not he not leave < his house > daily to hold court at the seat of judgment?
21 It is simply that on this day he did not leave < home > so as not to shame his brothers before the Egyptians.
(
Ibid., cont.:)
THEY FELL TO THE GROUND BEFORE HIM to fulfill that which was stated (in Gen. 37:9):
HERE WERE THE SUN, THE MOON, AND ELEVEN STARS BOWING DOWN TO ME.
(Gen. 44:15:) THEN JOSEPH SAID TO THEM: WHAT IS THIS DEED THAT YOU HAVE DONE? Joseph said to them: I am telling you for what reason this lad stole it. < He did so > to divine with it and to know where his brother was.
(Gen. 44:16:) BUT JUDAH SAID: WHAT SHALL WE SAY TO MY LORD? What shall we say about the former money? And what shall we speak about the second money? How shall we justify ourselves over the goblet?
(
Ibid., cont.:)
GOD HAS FOUND OUT THE CRIME OF YOUR SERVANTS. Do not read: "He has found out" but: "He has caused < others > to find out." Two < of us > brothers never enter a banquet hall together because of the < evil > eye. Now all of us find ourselves in a single garden bed through a single offense which took place at our hands. He said to them: This brother of yours was not with you at that time. They said to him: Everything found with the thief is seized with him. He said to them: But, if in the case of your former brother, who neither stole nor caused you grief, you said (in Gen. 37:33 // 44:28):
HE HAS BEEN TORN TO BITS; how much the more < are these words applicable > in the case of this one who has stolen and caused you grief! Go, say to his father:
HE HAS BEEN TORN TO BITS. Now are not < these > words an argument a fortiori? And, if an unfortunate incident which came about through righteous ones (like Joseph) has been sustaining the whole world,
22 how much the more so in the case of merit which the Holy One brings about through them!
23
[14] [Another interpretation] (of Gen. 43:14):
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY. Let our master instruct us: Where have they ordained that one says a blessing over the food? Where it is stated (in Deut. 8:10):
THEN YOU SHALL EAT, BE FULL, AND BLESS. So much for after < the meal >. Where < is it ordained for > before the meal? R. Hiyya taught in the name of R. Aqiva:
24 (according to Lev. 19:24:)
< ALL ITS FRUIT SHALL BE > SET ASIDE FOR PRAISES TO THE LORD. < These words > teach that one needs a blessing before < a meal > and after it (since
PRAISES is plural). The Holy One said: Just as I need to bring down rain, cause winds to blow, and bring down dews; so you need to bless me and be strictly observant in praying to me.
25 Do not see yourself in the time of prosperity despising prayer.
26 Then, when trouble arrives, you would stand up and pray! No, my child, do not do this; but, before trouble comes, you should pray ahead of time, as stated (in Job 36:19):
WILL YOUR CRY FOR HELP BE MAKE READY WHEN THERE IS NO TROUBLE, AND ALL YOUR POWERFUL FORCES?
27 You know that in the case of our father Jacob, when Benjamin was with him and he did not know what was going to happen to him, he began to pray ahead of time. It is so stated (in Gen. 43:14):
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY BEFORE THE MAN THAT HE MAY RELEASE TO YOU YOUR OTHER BROTHER AND BENJAMIN. And so the proverb says (in Ecclesiasticus 38:1):
HONOR THE PHYSICIAN BEFORE YOU HAVE NEED OF HIM.
28 What is the meaning of
(Job 36:19):
ALONG WITH ALL YOUR POWERFUL FORCES? That < those who pray ahead of time > in this way have made
POWERFUL FORCES.
[15] [
(Gen. 43:14:) AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY.] This text is related (to Ps. 32:6):
THEREFORE LET EVERY SAINT PRAY UNTO YOU IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY…. Zavday ben Levi, R. Jose ben Petros, and R. Joshua ben Levi < differed >.
29 One cited (from Ps. 31:20 [19]):
HOW ABUNDANT IS THE GOOD WHICH YOU HAVE LAID UP FOR THOSE WHO FEAR YOU; one cited (from Ps. 5:12 [11]):
BUT LET ALL WHO TAKE REFUGE IN YOU REJOICE, LET THEM EVER SING FOR JOY, AND YOU SHALL SHELTER THEM; and one cited (from Ps. 32:6):
THEREFORE LET EVERY SAINT PRAY UNTO YOU [IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY]. What is the meaning of
IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY (MTs')? In anticipation of the time of the exhaustion (rt.:
MTsH) of the day (i.e., in anticipation of the sunset of one's life, at death).
Another interpretation (of Ps. 32:6): IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY (MTs'). In anticipation of the departure (rt.: MTsH) of the soul. {R. Joshua} [R. Ishmael] said: One should pray in anticipation of the departure of the soul, for there is nothing harder than the departure of the soul.30 How does it pass away? R. Johanan said: It is like the pittore which passes out through the opening of a weshet {i.e., the rope when one is drawing it through a < hawse > hole in a ship to tie it up with it}.31 So is the soul when it leaves (yots'ah) a person. Thus a person must not trust in himself until the day of his death; and so have our masters taught (in Avot 2:4): DO NOT TRUST [IN YOURSELF] UNTIL THE DAY OF YOUR DEATH.32 Once upon a time there was a certain man, a sectarian (min) whose master would teach him and say: DO NOT TRUST IN YOURSELF UNTIL THE DAY OF YOUR DEATH. But he took issue with the words of his master. The Holy One said: This one has come to take issue with the Torah. What did he do to him? He tempted him. Now he went out on the Day of Atonement into a certain garden and saw a certain young woman, who was beautifully and tastefully adorned. There she stood before him, and he wanted to have sexual intercourse with her. He talked with her. She said to him: I am someone's wife. He said to her: That's all right. She said to him: I am the wife of a priest. He said to her: That's all right. She said to him: I am menstruating. He said to her: That's all right. And he did not move until he had had sexual intercourse with her. He went home and sat olophyzon33 {i.e., distressed}, thinking about what had come over him. Then his masters came up to visit him, and month after month they found him like someone who was sick, saying: What have I done? Yet he was not sick. What did the Holy One do? He said: How long will he grieve? The Holy One nodded to the same female demon (shedah). So she came and stood before him. She said to him: How long will you grieve? I am that woman with whom you had sexual intercourse. I am a spirit. < It happened > simply because you differed with the words of the sages who have said (in Avot 2:4): DO NOT TRUST IN YOURSELF UNTIL THE DAY OF YOUR DEATH. David also has agreed, saying: One must pray concerning the departure of his soul. He therefore said (in Ps. 32:6): < THEREFORE LET EVERY SAINT PRAY UNTO YOU > IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY (i.e., in anticipation of the time of departure).
[Another interpretation:
IN ANTICIPATION OF THE TIME OF DISCOVERY.] < It means > that someone had to be hoping for something until he knew his end. Who was this? This was Jacob. Although he said (in Gen. 37:33 // 44:28):
HE HAS BEEN TORN TO BITS, he was waiting for the Holy One. In the end he informed him that Joseph was alive. And not only that, but he < himself > brought him the good news that he was alive. (
Gen. 43:14, cont.:)
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY.
34
[16] [
(Gen. 43:14:) AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY.] This text is related (to Ps. 94:12):
BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOM YOU CHASTISE, O LORD. How is the man blessed? R. Joshua said: If chastisements come upon you, you shall < still > be able to labor in the Torah. These are chastisements of love. But, if you are not able to labor in the Torah, they are chastisements of punishment.
35 (Ibid.:)
BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOM YOU CHASTISE, O LORD; HIM YOU INSTRUCT FROM YOUR TORAH. R. Bisna said: There is no one in the world who does not come into the hands of chastisements. Here is a person who feels pain in his eyes < and > cannot sleep. < Or he feels pain > in his teeth and cannot sleep. Instead he is awake the whole night. But someone < else > is awake the whole night to labor in the Torah. The one is awake, and the other is awake. Ergo: Blessed is a person when his chastisements are in the Torah.
Another interpretation (of Gen. 43:14): AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY (ShDY).36 R. Alexandri said: Blessed is the man upon whom chastisements come.37 Then the Holy One says to them: Enough (DY) for you, because (Sh) there is an end to them. Who was this man? This was Jacob when he said to his children: GOD ShDY. May God say to my chastisements: Enough (DY) for you. Ergo: GOD ALMIGHTY (ShDY).
Another interpretation (of Gen. 43:14):
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY (ShDY). R. Aha said: These heavens were created from a curtain material, and the earth was created from snow.
38 Thus it is stated (in Is. 40:22):
WHO HAS STRETCHED OUT THE HEAVENS LIKE A CURTAIN. And the earth < comes > from snow, as stated (in Job 37:6):
FOR TO THE SNOW HE SAYS: BECOME EARTH. When the Holy One told them to be created, they continued to expand. R. Aha said: If the Holy One had not told them: Enough (
DY), they would have continued to expand until they were raised along with the dead. Jacob said: The one who said to the heavens and earth: Enough (
DY) for you, should say to my afflictions: Enough (
DY) for you.
(Gen. 43:14:) GOD WHO IS ENOUGH (ShDY).
Another interpretation (of Gen. 43:14): AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY. What is the meaning of this word (ALMIGHTY)? That GOD ALMIGHTY is strong (qasheh);39 and, if you do his will, behold, he becomes fulfilled for you. Why? Because he is strong (qasheh) in his mercy. Therefore (ibid.): < AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY > GRANT YOU MERCY.
[17] What is written above on the matter (in Gen. 42:3)? SO JOSEPH'S TEN BROTHERS WENT DOWN. When they went down to Egypt, Joseph cunningly issued three prostagmata40 {i.e., writs}:
That no slave should enter Egypt to buy grain,
That no one person should walk behind two donkeys, and
That no one should enter until he had written down his name, his father's name, and his grandfather's name.41
What did Joseph do? He commanded them to bring to him the names of the people which were written down on each and every day. They came in on the first day and brought him the names of those who had entered < the country >, and so they informed him on each and every day. When Joseph's brothers came down, they all did not enter through one gate.
42 The gatekeeper said to < one of the brothers >: What is your name? He told him: Reuben ben Jacob ben Isaac. So it was also with Simeon, and so with all of them. They brought < the names > that had been written down to Joseph. When he read them, he knew that his brothers were there. He sent for his son, Manasseh. He said: See where they are going. Manasseh went and saw them going about in the marketplace. They went from this marketplace to that marketplace, from this alley to that alley. < Then Joseph > sent after them, and they came to him. When he saw them, he certainly recognized them,
BUT (according to Gen. 42:7)
HE BECAME A STRANGER UNTO THEM. What is the meaning of
BUT HE BECAME A STRANGER UNTO THEM. R. Johanan said: He became a foreigner to them. (Ibid., cont.):
AND HE SAID UNTO THEM: WHERE DO YOU COME FROM? He said to them (in vs. 9):
YOU ARE SPIES. They said to him (in vs. 10, 13):
NO, MY LORD, BUT YOUR SERVANTS HAVE COME TO BUY FOOD < … >. WE, YOUR SERVANTS ARE TWELVE BROTHERS. R. Johanan < drew on an Aramaic metaphor and > said: < The matter > is comparable to a raven who brought fire into its nest {i.e., a raven who brought fire into its nest}.
43 He said to them: Are you brothers? They told him: Yes. Then why did you not all enter by one gate? Because our father ordered us < not to do > so because of the < evil > eye. He said to them (in vs. 16):
BY PHARAOH'S LIFE YOU ARE SURELY SPIES. When < Joseph > swore falsely, he swore by Pharaoh's head.
44 To what is the matter comparable? To a woman who stole a lamb from the flock and fled. When the shepherd ran after her, she went home and covered it with a garment. The shepherd said to her: Have you seen a lamb? She said to him: May I eat of the flesh of this one lying on the bed, if I know anything < about it > ! So < it was with > Joseph. When he wanted to swear falsely, he swore by Pharaoh's life.
(Gen. 42:10:) THEY SAID UNTO HIM: NO, MY LORD, BUT YOUR SERVANTS HAVE COME TO BUY FOOD. He said to them: You know that you are spies. Why have you gone and made the rounds of the whole country? They said to him: We had a brother, but we sold him as a slave. And from the hour that we sold him our father has sat around mourning over him. So we have come down < here > with money in our hands, saying: Wherever we find him, we will redeem him. He said to them: Can a person who sells something go back on it? They said to him: For this reason we came down with double < the money > on hand to redeem him. He said to them: What if < his owner > does not want to sell him? They said to him: Even though we are burned < alive > on his account, we will not move until we have redeemed him. He said to them (in Gen. 42:14):
IT IS AS I SAID UNTO YOU: YOU ARE SPIES. What did he do (according to vs. 24)?
THEN HE TOOK SIMEON FROM THEM < AND BOUND HIM BEFORE THEIR EYES >. He (Joseph) said < to himself >: He bound me and cast me into the pit; I also am binding him. What did they do? They loaded up, went to their father,
AND (according to vs. 29)
RELATED TO HIM ALL THAT HAD HAPPENED TO THEM. He said to them (in Gen. 43:2):
GO AND BUY US A LITTLE FOOD. Judah said to him (in vs. 3):
THE MAN SOLEMNLY WARNED US, SAYING: YOU SHALL NOT SEE MY FACE < UNLESS YOUR BROTHER IS WITH YOU >. He said to them: I will not send Benjamin even though I am killed. They said to him: It is better for you to lose one life and not seventy. What did he do? He gave them Benjamin and began to pray for them (in Gen. 43:14):
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY BEFORE THE MAN, seeing that (according to Gen. 42:30):
THE MAN < THE LORD OF THE LAND > SPOKE < …HARSHLY >. He therefore said (in Gen. 43:14):
BEFORE THE MAN.
45
Another interpretation (of Gen. 43:14):
AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY. < These words > speak about Israel and about their captivity. (Ibid., cont.:)
GRANT YOU MERCY.
(Ps. 106:46:) AND HE DID GRANT THEM MERCY BEFORE ALL THEIR CAPTORS.
(
Gen. 43:14, cont.:)
THAT HE MAY RELEASE (ShLH) TO YOU. (Mal. 3:23 [4:5]:)
BEHOLD, I AM SENDING (ShLH) YOU < THE PROPHET ELIJAH BEFORE THE COMING OF THE GREAT AND AWESOME DAY OF THE LORD >.
(
Gen. 43:14, cont.:)
YOUR BROTHERS.
46 < These are the brothers > who are beyond the Sambatyon River.
47
(Ibid., cont.:) THE OTHER ONE AND BENJAMIN. These are the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. In that hour we shall sing a song, [as stated (in Jer. 31:12):] THEN THEY SHALL COME AND SING ON THE HEIGHT OF ZION, WHERE THEY SHALL BE RADIANT AT THE GOODNESS OF THE LORD: OVER NEW GRAIN, WINE, AND OIL, OVER THE YOUNG OF THE FLOCK AND THE HERD. SO THEIR LIFE SHALL BE LIKE A WATERED GARDEN, AND THEY SHALL NEVER LANGUISH AGAIN.
The End of Parashat Miqqets.
1. Sections 11, 12, and 13 are missing from Buber’s Oxford MS and are added by Buber from Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34.
2. The Tefillah, also called the Eighteen Benedictions or the ‘Amidah, forms the central intercession of the Jewish liturgy.
3. Tanh., Gen. 10:9.
4. Ber. 26b (bar.); yBer. 4:1 (7a); cf. Ber. 4:1;
5. The parallel text in the traditional
Tanhuma (Gen. 10:9) explains that ‘
MD,
SWH, and
PG‘ all denote prayer and finds the evidence in Ps. 106:30, Ps. 102:1, and Jer. 7:16 respectively.
6. See Acts 10:9.
7. TBer. 3:8; Ber. 31a; see yBer. 4:1 (7a).
8. Cf. Deut. R. 2:1 and M. Sam. 2, which argue against reciting the three services at one time.
9. Gk.: Kyrie chaire.
10. The Latin word originally designated a general, but in imperial times imperator became the title of Roman emperors. Buber has taken this reading from the traditional Tanhuma because he can make no sense of his manuscript, which reads: ’MNH RTWQ.
11. yMak. 2:7 (31d); Lam. R. 3:43 (9); M. Pss. 65:4; PRK 24 (or 25):2.
12. Tanh., Gen. 10:10; below, 10:16.
13. Cf. PRK 3:1.
14. DESTROYED HIS WOMB would normally be read as a metaphor and translated by an expression such as “cast off all pity.”
15. Gk.: doron.
16. See above, 1:11; 3:25. below, 10:16.
17. I.e., his son. So below, 10:17; see also Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, Gen. 44:1, which names Manasseh as Joseph’s steward.
18. In the square Hebrew print, the difference between the two readings is slight. Buber is certainly correct in reading “city.” “Knee” must represent a scribal error.
19. Gen. R. 84:20; 92:8.
20. Tanh., Gen. 10:10, probably has the correct reading: “Not one of them was required to assist his companion.”
21. Gk.: bema (“rostrum”).
22. Cf. the parallel version in Tanh., Gen. 10:10: “So if, in the case of an unfortunate incident which comes about through this righteous person, he has been sustaining all who come into the world…. ” In this version the reference is more clearly to Joseph’s misfortune which resulted in his feeding the world during the famine.
23. See above, note 35.
24. Ber. 35a.
25. Tanh., Gen. 10:10.
26. The parallel in Tanh. reads: “Do not be scornful in the time of prosperity so as not to pray.”
27. Biblical translations generally emend the text. The present translation is required by the context of the midrash. So also in Sanh. 44b.
28. The proverb is cited in Aramaic and probably circulated separately. The parallel account in the traditional Tanhuma, however, cites R. Eleazar (ben Pedat) as attributing the Aramaic saying to Ben Sira’s book, where it appears in 38:1. yTa‘an. 3:6 (66d) also gives the saying in Aramaic but simply attributes it to R. Laezar (= Eleazar ben Pedat). Exod. R. 21:7 and PR 25:2 attribute the saying to Eleazar (ben Pedat) but cite it in Hebrew.
29. They differed over what verses they cited when they were dying. See yAZ 3:1 (42c). For variations in the verses cited, see Gen. R. 62:2; 92:2; Exod. R. 52:3; M. Pss. 5:11; cf. also Lev. R. 7:2; PRK 24:5.
30. Tanh., Gen. 10:10.
31. This scribal addition in Buber’s MS is essentially the interpretation of Rashi on Ber. 8a and of the pseudo-Rashi on MQ 28b-29a; but cf. Jastrow, p. 1161, s.v. pittore for an alternative interpretation. See also Eccl. R. 6:6:1; Lev. R. 4:2.
32. Cf. a shorter version of the following story in yShab. 1:3 (3b); above, 1:27.
33. A variant of the Greek olophyromenos, which means “lamenting.”
34. Cf. Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34: “And not only that, but his mouth proclaimed the good news that he was alive. Where is it shown? Where it says (in Gen. 43:14, cont.): AND MAY GOD ALMIGHTY GRANT YOU MERCY BEFORE THE MAN THAT HE MAY RELEASE TO YOU YOUR BROTHER, i.e.. Simeon. THE OTHER ONE, i e., Joseph. AND BENJAMIN, i.e., Benjamin.”
35. Gen. R. 92:1; see Ber. 5a.
36. Tanh., Gen. 10:10; above, 10:12.
37. Gen. R. 92:1.
38. See above, 1:11; 3:27; 10:12.
39. The Hebrew word also means “hard,” “severe,” “cruel,” and “incomprehensible.”
40. The Greek word means “commands.”
41. Tanh., Gen. 10:8; Gen. R. 91:10; above, 10:8, 10.
42. Gk.: pyle.
43. The scribe who copied Buber’s MS felt that this Hebrew rendering was necessary because the midrash renders the metaphor in Aramaic. Gen. R. 91:7 explains that the Holy Spirit lit up within them and made them blurt out that they were brothers.
44. Gen. R. 91:7.
45. I.e., Jacob prayed that the same man who had previously spoken harshly now would grant them mercy.
46. The plural, which is possible in an unpointed text, is necessary here in order to fit the interpretation.
47. A legendary river where the ten tribes were exiled. So Gen. R. 73:6; PR 31:10; Numb. R. 16:25; below, Numb. 4 (suppl.):6; cf. ySanh. 10:6 or 5 (29c). According to Gen. R. 11:5, the river would cease to flow on the Sabbath. Similarly PR 23:8. See also Sanh. 65b. Pliny the Elder, HN 31:18 (24), knows of the legend but places the stream in Judaea. Cf. Josephus, BJ 7:96-99, who locates the river, which he calls Sabbatikon, in Lebanon and says that the Sabbath was the only day on which it did flow.