Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 41/אבן עזרא על בראשית מ״א

אויהי מקץ. לא פירש הכתוב תחלת זה החשבון וכן "ויהי מקץ ארבעים שנה" (ש"ב טו ז) וכן "ובעוד ששים וחמש שנה" (ישעי' ז ח), וכן "ויהי בשלשים שנה" (יחז' א א), ויתכן להיות שזה החשבון ליציאת שר המשקים מבית הסהר או לשבת יוסף שם

1AND IT CAME TO PASS AT THE END OF TWO FULL YEARS. Scripture does not indicate the point from which these two years are reckoned. And it came to pass at the end of forty years (II Sam. 15:7), And within threescore and five years (Is. 7:8), and Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year (Ezek. 1:1)¹ are similar. However, it is possible that Scripture’s point of reckoning is the chief butler’s release from prison or the day that Joseph was put into prison.

בוטעם ימים כבר בארתיו:

2[FULL.] I have already explained the meaning of yamim (full).²

גופרעה חלם. היה חולם, וכן ורבקה שומעת (בראשית כז, ה):

3THAT PHARAOH DREAMED. That is, was dreaming. Compare, And Rebekah heard (Gen. 27:5).³), hence I.E.’s comment. See I.E.’s comments on Gen. 27:5 and the notes thereto.

אבאחו. י"א עמק שבו צמחים. וי"א שהוא שם צמח, הבי"ת נוסף כבי"ת השביעני, במרורים (איכה ג' טו) ועל שני הפירושים, כי הוא בין אחים יפריא (הושע יג טו) הוא אחיו בן אמו:

1IN THE REED-GRASS. Some say that achu (reed-grass) means a valley with plants.⁴ Others say that achu is the name of a certain type of plant and⁵. 38. the bet of ba-achu is superfluous.⁶ as valley then the bet of ba-achu serves a purpose; it stands for “in the.” Thus ba-achu means in the growth covered valley. However, if achu is the name of a plant then the bet is superfluous, for one cannot say they fed in the plant (whatever plant achu might be). According to the latter interpretation our verse is to be translated: and they fed upon achu. It is similar to the bet of va-merorim in, He hath filled me with bitterness (va-merorim) (Lam. 3:15).⁷ rather than va-merorim. According to both of these interpretations achu here and achim in For though he be fruitful among the reed-plants (achim) (Hos. 13:15) are related and come from one root.⁸ in Hosea) is its brother (achiv) the son of his mother.” I.E. plays with achim (valley or plant) and ach (brother). His point is that both come from the same root, that our word is in the singular, and that in Hosea it is in the plural (Cherez).

אשבלים. לשון רבות נקבות ואם הוא במ"ם כמו נשים ופלגשים:

1EARS OF CORN. Shibbolim (ears of corn) is a feminine plural even though it ends in a mem.⁹ It is similar to nashim (women) and pilagshim (concubines).¹⁰

אושדופות. שארע שדפון מרוח מזרחית, כי נקרא מזרח קדם, בעבור צאת השמש בתחלה

1AND BLASTED. U-shedufot kadim means they were blasted by a wind coming from the east for kadim means east. East is so termed because the sun rises there first.¹¹ means first. Cf. Is. 23:7; Ezek. 38:17. I.E. makes this point because kedem can also mean front. However, a circular object (the earth) has no front (Krinsky). Shedufot kadim can be rendered as blasted by the east. Hence I.E. points out that east refers to an east wind.

אוטעם המלאות כמו הבריאות

1Ha-mele’ot (full) has the same meaning as ha-beri’ot (rank).¹² (rank and good). Similarly verse 7 reads, ha-beri’ot ve-ha-mele’ot (rank and full). I.E. points out that beri’ot when referring to ears of corn means full because the term bari (rank), which means fat, can only be used when referring to animals; i.e., one cannot speak of a fat plant. Hence I.E. points out that here bari means full (Filwarg). Thus beri’ot ve-tovot means the same as mele’ot ve-tovot. On the other hand I.E.’s comment may pertain only to verse 7. In this case I.E. is pointing out that the Bible there uses two synonyms, mele’ot and beri’ot, for full (Weiser).

אותפעם רוחו. מבנין נפעל, כמו "נפעמתי ולא אדבר" (תהלים עז ה), וי"א שהכל מן גזרת "הולם פעם" (ישעי' מא ז), והטעם שהרוח דומה לגוף המוכה:

1THAT HIS SPIRIT WAS TROUBLED. Va-tippa’em (was troubled) is a nifal. It is similar to nifamti¹³. The nun of the nifal is missing in va-tippa’em because it is an imperfect with a conversive vav, and the nun of the nifal is dropped in the future and is compensated by a dagesh in the first letter of the root. in I am troubled (nifamti) and cannot speak (Ps. 77:5). Others say¹⁴ that both va-tippa’em and nifamti come from the same root as pa’am (anvil)¹⁵ (that his spirit was troubled) thus is: that his spirit was beaten. in that smiteth the anvil (pa’am) (Is. 41:7). Its meaning is that his spirit was like a beaten body.¹⁶ (was beaten) can govern rucho (his spirit).

בחרטומי. מלה מרובעת ויתכן להיותה ארמית או מצרית, והם חכמי התולדה:

2MAGICIANS OF. Chartume (magicians of) comes from a quadriliteral root.¹⁷. However, it is possibly an Aramaic or Egyptian word. It means a scientist.¹⁸

גואת כל חכמיה. במזלות ופתרון חלומות:

3AND ALL THE WISE MEN THEREOF. Men learned in astrology and dream interpretation.

אאת חטאי. אעפ"י שאזכיר חטאי:

1MY FAULTS. Even though I will recall my faults.¹⁹

אפרעה קצף על עבדיו. לפי דעתי כי אין פרעה שם עצם רק שם תאר, והוא מלשון מצרים, כמו חירם בצור, גם היום יקרא כל מלך גדול על ישמעאל נגיד המאמינים על כן מצאנו פרעה בימי אברהם ובימי יוסף, ומת פרעה וקם פרעה. וכן בימי ירמיהו, הלא תראה הכתוב יפרש מה טעם פרעה, כי הוא מלך מצרים, והעד חפרע שהוא שם העצם, וכן פרעה נכה (ירמי' מו ב), כי נכה שם העצם, ואל יקשה עליך דרש כסא שלמה כי לא לקחו מלך מצרים, ועד שני שאמר שר המשקים פרעה קצף, וכן אמר יוסף "אלהים יענה את שלום פרעה" (בראשית מא טז) "הראה את פרעה" (בראשית מא כח) "יעשה פרעה" (בראשית מא לד) ואין מדרך המוסר להזכיר עם המלכים שם העצם:

1PHARAOH WAS WROTH WITH HIS SERVANTS. I believe that Pharaoh is an adjective²⁰ (king). Cf. I.E.’s comments on Gen. 1:1 and the notes thereto. and not a proper name. It is an Egyptian word. It is a title as Hiram in Tyre.²¹. We thus find a Hiram in the days of David (II Sam. 5:11) and in the days of Solomon (I Kings 5:15) (Krinsky). Similarly in our day all great Arab kings are called “prince of the believers.” Hence we find a Pharaoh in the days of Abraham and a Pharaoh in the days of Joseph.²² We also read that a Pharaoh died and a new Pharaoh arose.²³ Similarly we find a Pharaoh in the days of Jeremiah.²⁴ Do you not see that Scripture itself explains that Pharaoh is a term for the king of Egypt,²⁵ as evidenced by the terms Pharaoh Hophra and Pharaoh Neco,²⁶ wherein Hophra and Neco are proper nouns.²⁷ Do not raise any objection from the Midrash concerning Solomon’s throne,²⁸ 20, Pharaoh Neco means Pharaoh the lame. Thus Neco is an adjective. According to the Midrash this Pharaoh tried to sit on Solomon’s throne, which had been brought to Egypt by an earlier Pharaoh named Shishak, and had his leg bitten and broken by a lion, hence the name Pharaoh Neco, Pharaoh the lame. for the king of Egypt did not take it to Egypt.²⁹ Additional proof³⁰ is found in the statement of the chief butler, Pharaoh was wroth, and in Joseph’s statements, God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace (v. 16); He hath shown unto Pharaoh (v. 28); and Let Pharaoh do this (v. 34).³¹ It is not in keeping with proper etiquette to mention the king by name.

באותי ואת שר האופים. אמר אותי פעם שנית, כי כן דרך הלשון כמו "ואני אנה אני בא" (בראשית לז, ל):

2ME AND THE CHIEF BAKER. The word me is mentioned twice in this verse in keeping with Hebrew usage. Compare, and as for me, whither shall I go (Gen. 37:30).³².

אאיש כפתרון חלומו. כבר פירשתיו:

1EACH MAN ACCORDING TO THE INTERPRETATION OF HIS DREAM. I have previously explained this.³³ in his comments on Gen. 40:5.

אאותי השיב פרעה. וי"א שהוא בדבור השיב ותלה או בפתרון:

1I WAS RESTORED. By Pharaoh.³⁴), him he hanged (oto talah). The question is, to whom does “he” refer. According to the first interpretation it refers to Pharaoh, according to the second, to Joseph. Or its meaning is, Joseph’s word³⁵ or Joseph’s interpretation restored me and hanged him.³⁶

אויריצוהו. שלוחי פרעה:

1AND THEY BROUGHT HIM HASTILY. Pharaoh’s messengers.

בויגלח. המגלח:

2AND HE SHAVED HIMSELF. Someone shaved him.³⁷. If Joseph shaved himself Scripture would have used the hitpa’el va-yitgallach rather than the pi’el va-yegallach (Cherez), the meaning of which is, and he shaved. However, va-yegallach presents a problem. The subject is missing. Hence I.E. notes that it should be rendered: and someone shaved him. According to Krinsky, I.E. is of the opinion (for the aforementioned reasons) that our verse is abridged and the reader has to supply the subject. Our verse should thus be rendered: and the shaver shaved him. I.E.’s note consists of one word, ha-megalle’ach (the shaver).

אבלעדי. מלה אחת מורכבת משתי מלות והטעם שב אל תשמע חלום לפתור אותו, אמר יוסף בלעדי, פתרוני יענה אלהים את שלום פרעה וי"א כי טעמו בעבור שאמר לו כי אתה פותר חלום, אמר בלעדי, הוא הפותר, והוא אלהים שיענה את שלום המלך,

1IT IS NOT IN ME. Biladai (it is not in me) is a compound of two words.³⁸ (not) and ade (unto). It is not in me refers to And I have heard say of thee that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it (v. 15). When Joseph heard Pharaoh say this he replied, it is not in me, but God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace via my interpretation.³⁹ (it is not in me) refer to. According to this explanation biladai refers to the power to interpret dreams. The power to interpret dreams is not in me, it comes from God (Cherez). Others say that when Joseph heard Pharaoh say, thou canst interpret dreams, Jospeh replied, I am not (it is not in me) the interpreter; God is, and He will give the king an answer of peace.⁴⁰ means not I, and refers to the interpreter (Cherez). It should be noted that I.E. is vague and that Krinsky, Kaputa and others interpret differently.

בוטעם יענה שימציא תמיד, וכן "כי האלהים מענה בשמחת לבו" (קהלת ה יט) וכן "והארץ תענה" (הושע ב כד) והוא קרוב ממשמעו:

2[WILL GIVE AN ANSWER.] The meaning of ya’aneh (will give an answer) is, He will always provide. Compare, ma’aneh in for God answereth him (ma’aneh) in the joy of his heart (Eccles. 5:19), and ta’aneh in And the earth shall respond (ta’aneh) (Hos. 2:24). Nevertheless, the word is close to its primary meaning.⁴¹

אהוסיף דלות ותחת מראה אמר תאר כי זה קרוב מזה:

1[POOR AND VERY ILL-FAVORED.] In relating the dream Pharaoh added the word dallot (poor), and in place of mareh (favored) he used the term to’ar (favored) because their meanings are similar.⁴² (ra’ot mareh) and lean fleshed kine in his dream. In our verse Pharaoh describes them as poor and very ill-favored (ve-ra’ot to’ar me’od) and lean fleshed. I.E. says there is no discrepancy in the descriptions because adding a word or using a synonym does not change the meaning. He further expands on this point in his comments on Ex. 20:1 where he uses this argument to explain why there are two different versions of the Ten Commandments in the Pentateuch.

אומראיהן. ומראה כל אחת מהן רע ופה הוסיף לפרש חלומו שראה שבאו הפרות הטובות בקרב הרעות, והי' כאשר הי' בראשונה:

1BUT THEY WERE STILL ILL-FAVORED. Each one of the kine was ill-favored.⁴³ (favored) is a plural; ra (ill) is a singular. Thus marehen ra is a combination of singular and plural. I.E. explains this by noting that it means each one of the kine was ill-favored. This is how the medieval grammarians explained this type of combination (Weiser). Here Pharaoh expanded in his description of his dream and added that after the ill-favored kine had eaten the fat kine, they were still ill-favored as at the beginning.⁴⁴. Here, unlike verse 19, the addition is significant. The entire verse consists of Pharaoh’s elaboration of his dream.

אצנומות. אין לו חבר במקרא, וטעמו כמו ריקות, וי"א שפירושו צלמים כי כן בלשון ישמעאל:

1WITHERED. The word tzenumot (withered) is not found elsewhere in Scripture. Its meaning is the same as that of rekot (empty).⁴⁵ (empty). In our verse they are described as tzenumot. According to I.E., Joseph substituted a synonym. I.E. explains these substitutions in his comments on verse 19. Others say that tzenumot means images,⁴⁶ as hard. for that is its meaning in Arabic.

אשבע גדול. שם כמו רעב על כן יטעה האומר בתפלת שבת ובשובע כלכלתנו בוי"ו, כי שובע שם הפועל הוא, והנכון ובשבע כלכלתנו בלא וי"ו:

1GREAT PLENTY. Sava (plenty) is a noun. It is like ra’av (famine).⁴⁷ and ra’av are nouns. Hence the one who says in his Sabbath prayers⁴⁸ prayer. u-ve-sova kilkaltanu errs because sova spelled with a vav is an infinitive.⁴⁹ (ra’av) thou didst feed us, and didst sustain us in plenty (p. 419, The Authorized Prayer Book, trans. by J. H. Hertz). Plenty is parallel to famine. As ra’av is a noun so its parallel must be a noun. Hence the correct reading is sava and not sova. The correct way to read this prayer is without a vav, viz., u-ve-sava (and in plenty) kilkaltanu (thou sustained us).

אוטעם ולא יודע השבע. ממראיהן רע כאשר בתחלה:

1[AND THE PLENTY SHALL NOT BE KNOWN IN THE LAND.] Joseph based this on but they were still ill-favored as at the beginning (v. 21).

אועל השנות. בנין נפעל מגזרת שנים וטעמו הפרות והשבלים גם הוא לעֵד כי הדבר נכון הוא ובעבור היות שני החלומות בלילה אחד לעֵד כי ממהר האלהים לעשותו:

1AND FOR THAT THE DREAM WAS DOUBLED. Hishanot (was doubled) is a nifal. It comes from the same root as shenayim (two). Its meaning is the dream coming twice, once with kine as its symbol and then with ears of corn as its symbol, also attests⁵⁰ that the thing is established by God. Furthermore, the occurrence of the two dreams in one night is proof that God will shortly bring it to pass.⁵¹. This appears redundant; hence I.E. explains was doubled came in two versions, twice, twice in one night. It is because the thing is established by God corresponds to was doubled; and and God will shortly bring it to pass corresponds to twice.

איעשה פרעה. זו העצה או יקנה, כמו עשה לי את החיל הזה (דבר' ח יז),

1LET PHARAOH DO THIS. Ya’aseh paro (literally let Pharaoh do) is short for let Pharaoh do according to the following council. Or ya’aseh (do) means get, like asah in My power and the might of my hand hath gotten (asah) me this wealth (Deut. 8:17).⁵² means let Pharoah get. Also according to this interpretation the object is missing. It should be read: Let Pharaoh get wheat (Weiser).

בוחמש שיקנה החומש:

2AND TAKE UP THE FIFTH PART OF THE LAND. Let him buy a fifth of the produce of the land.

אויצברו בר. הפקידים וי"א כי טעם בר להיותו עם שבליו, והנכון בעיני שנקרא בר אחר מלאכת לזרות או לחבר והאומר כי אויר מצרים לח בעבור היאור, ולא יעמוד שם דנן ז' שנים, יוכל לערבו עם דברים שיעמידוהו:

1AND LAY UP CORN. The overseers. Some say that bar (corn) refers to corn in its ears.⁵³ However, I think that bar is the term applied to the corn after it has been fanned and cleansed.⁵⁴. 38 reads, fanned and cleansed. We have followed the latter. To the one who says that the Egyptian air is damp because of the Nile and it is impossible for corn to last there for seven years, we reply that it is possible to mix corn with preservatives.⁵⁵ 90:5 this is precisely what Joseph did.

אהנמצא כזה. בנין נפעל, והוא פועל עבר, כאומר הנמצא בעולם כזה, ויתכן להיות הנו"ן סימן המדברים, הנמצא אנחנו כזה דברי פרעה אל עבדיו:

1CAN WE FIND SUCH A ONE AS THIS. Nimtza (we find) is a nifal perfect and the meaning of ha-nimtza kha-zeh ish (can we find such a one as this) is, was such a one as this ever found in the world. It is also possible that the nun of nimtza is a first person plural prefix.⁵⁶ is prefixed to the Hebrew root in the first person plural imperfect. According to this interpretation nimtza is a kal. In this case the word ha-nimtza (can we find) relates to what Pharaoh said to his servants.⁵⁷ can either be a third person singular nifal perfect or a first person plural kal imperfect. In the first instance it means was found, and relates to kha-zeh ish (such a one as this); in the second, it means we will find, and it relates to Pharaoh and his servants.

אאתה תהיה. שר על ביתי:

1THOU SHALT BE OVER MY HOUSE. Thou shalt be chief over my house.

בישק. דגשות השי"ן לחסרון נו"ן נשק והוא נגיד החיל, וי"א שהוא מגזירת נשיקה בדרך רחוקה:

2SHALL BE RULED. The shin of yishak (shall be ruled) has a dagesh to compensate for the missing nun of neshek (arms),⁵⁸ is a denominative of neshek (arms), and means will be armed. its meaning being Joseph will be commander of the army.⁵⁹ as, and according unto thy word shall all my people be armed. Hence Joseph will be chief of the army. Others say that yishak is related to neshikah (kiss).⁶⁰) (Filwarg). Krinsky suggests translating it, thy word shall all my people kiss. Literally, pikha means thy mouth. However, the latter is far fetched.

גרק הכסא אגדל ממך. ידוע כי אגדל פועל עומד וטעמו לא תהיה לי גדולה ממך רק גדולת הכסא ואין "כי מנעורי גדלני כאב" (איוב לא, יח) פועל יוצא, רק פירושו גדול עמי, ודרך "אגדל ממך" במקרא ידוע, כמו "נובלת עליה" (ישעי' א ל) "ותאבדו דרך" (תהלים ב יב):

3ONLY IN THE THRONE WILL I BE GREATER THAN THOU. It is known that egdal (I will be greater) is an intransitive verb. The meaning of rak ha-kisse egdal mi-mekka is, I will not be greater than you except for the dignity of the throne.⁶¹ being intransitive refers to Pharaoh and not the throne. The word gedelani (he grew up with me) in Nay from my youth he grew up with me (gedelani) as with a father (Job 31:18) is not a transitive verb⁶² was transitive it would disprove I.E.’s contention that egdal is intransitive since they are both kals. but an intransitive verb meaning he grew up with me. The juxtaposition of an intransitive verb (egdal) with the direct object (kisse) is found elsewhere in Scripture.⁶³ Compare, For ye shall be as a terebinth whose leaf fadeth (ke-elah novelet aleha) (Is. 1:30);⁶⁴ (fadeth) is intransitive, aleha (its leaves) is the object. I.E. renders novelet alehah as, which is withering with regards to its leaves. and and ye perish in the way (ve-tovedu derekh) (Ps. 2:12).⁶⁵ (you shall perish) is intransitive. Derekh (way) is the object. According to I.E. the meaning of ve-tovenu derekh is, and you shall perish with regard to the way. Similarly the meaning of our verse is, I will be greater than you with regard to the throne (Krinsky).

אראה נתתי אותך. שמתיך למעלה על כל ארץ מצרים:

1SEE, I HAVE SET THEE OVER ALL THE LAND. I have set thee above all the land of Egypt.

אבגדי שש. מפורש בפרשת ויקחו לי תרומה:

1VESTURES OF FINE LINEN. I have explained the meaning of shesh (fine linen) in my comments on the Torah portion ve-yikchu li terumah (that they take for me an offering).⁶⁶ is white linen made from a type of flax which grows in Egypt.

ברביד הזהב. כמו "מרבדים רבדתי ערשי" (משלי ז טז):

2A GOLD CHAIN. Revid (chain) is like marvadim (coverlets) in I have decked my couch with coverlets (marvadim) (Prov. 7:16).⁶⁷ (chain) to mean a coverlet (Krinsky, Weiser).

אהמשנה. מגזרת שנים, כי המלך כאחד, ואחריו המשנה כמו שני לו ואחריו השלש כמו שלישי:

1THE SECOND. Mishneh (the second) comes from the same root as shenayim (two). The king is like the numeral one, next comes the mishneh which means second to him, and afterward the shalish (adjutant) which means the same as shilishi (third).⁶⁸ means second in rank and shalish third in rank (Netter). Mishneh can be taken to refer to the chariot, as Rashi interprets. Hence I.E. points out that mirkevet ha-mishneh (the second chariot) is to be rendered: the chariot of the second in rank (Cherez).

במרכבת. עץ נתונה על ארבעה סוסים, ומרכבת שלמה לעדה:

2CHARIOT. A wooden chariot pulled by four horses,⁶⁹ (chariot) to mean a horse or mule. Cf. Rashi. as is evidenced by the chariot of Solomon.⁷⁰ (merkavah) came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. Now four times 150 gives 600. Hence each chariot had four horses.

גאברך. כל אדם קורא לפניו אכרע ואשתחוה, זו המלה מבנין הכבד הנוסף, ויברך על ברכיו (דה"ב, ו, יג) מהקל וכלם מגזרת ברכים, ויאמר ר' יונה המדקדק הספרדי כי אברך שם הפועל, והאל"ף תחת ה"א כמו אשכם ושלוח (ירמי' כה ד) ולפי דעתי שאל"ף אשכם לשון המדבר:

3ABRECH. Every man called before him, I will bend the knee (avrekh)⁷¹ is a first person singular. However, the verb preceding it, va-yikre’u (and they cried), is a plural. Thus rather than avrekh we would expect navrekh, hence I.E.’s comment. and I will bow down. The word avrekh is a hifil. However, the word va-yivrakh in and kneeled down (va-yivrakh) upon his knees (II Chron. 6:13) is a kal. Both words come from the same root, birkayim (knees).⁷². Rabbi Jonah, the Spanish grammarian,⁷³ said that avrekh is an infinitive, with an alef taking the place of the heh,⁷⁴ is a variant of havrekh. This answers the question raised in note 70. According to this comment avrech is not a first person singular but rather an infinitive. The verse thus reads: and they cried before him, bend the knee (havrekh). This is also the opinion of Kimchi. as we find in the word ashkem in sending them betimes (ashkem) and often (Jer. 25:4).⁷⁵ is to be interpreted as if written hashkem. I.E. quotes Jer. 25:4, sending them betimes and often. However, in this verse the word for betimes is written hashkem with a heh. The reference therefore must be to Jer. 25:3 (speaking betimes and often) where the word for betimes is written ashkem with an alef. Either we have a scribal error or I.E. quoted from memory and erred. However, I believe that the alef of ashkem is a first person future prefix.⁷⁶ has not been substituted for an alef, its meaning being: I arose and spoke (Krinsky). Hence we cannot use Jer. 25:3 as an analogy for a heh being substituted for an alef.

אאני פרעה. אני לבדי המלך, ואין אדם שיהיה ברשותו זולתך,

1I AM PHARAOH. I alone am king and aside from you no one is permitted to act freely.⁷⁷

בוטעם רגלו, לו רשות ללכת או על דרך משל,והוא הנכון:

2[HIS FOOT.] The meaning of his foot is permission to go any place.⁷⁸. 38. The same applies to his hand; i.e., no one may do anything without your (Joseph’s) permission (Weiser). It may also be a figurative expression.⁷⁹ The latter is its correct meaning.

אצפנת פענח. אם זו המלה מצרית לא ידענו פירושה, ואם היא מתורגמת לא ידענו שם יוסף ויהיה פי' פענח כאשר תרגם המתרגם ארמית, והיא מלה מרובעת:

1ZAPHENATH-PANEAH. If this is an Egyptian word then we don’t know what it means.⁸⁰ On the other hand, if this is a Hebrew translation of Joseph’s Egyptian name then we don’t know what Joseph’s Egyptian name was. In the latter case⁸¹ is Hebrew. the meaning of paneah is in accordance with Onkelos’ translation,⁸² as revealed. He renders zaphenath-paneah, a man before whom all secrets (tzefunot) are revealed. and it is a quadriliteral.⁸³.

בכהן און. עובד השם או עובד עו"ג, כי כהן בכל המקרא כי אם משרת על דעתי:

2PRIEST OF ON. The term kohen (priest) can be applied to one who serves the Lord or to one who serves idols, for I believe that when this term is used in Scripture it means one who ministers.⁸⁴ does not mean a priest of the Lord; it means any priest. Hence kohen on means priest of On.

גויצא יוסף. יצא שמו, כטעם "ויצא לך שם בגוים" (יחז' טז יד) או יצא ועבר על כל מקום והכריזו עליו כדי שיכירוהו:

3AND JOSEPH WENT OUT. His name went out, as in And thy renown went forth among the nations (Ezek. 16:14).⁸⁵ Or it means he went out and traveled throughout the land and they announced who he was that he might become known.⁸⁶ literally and not applying it to his name.

אאת כל אוכל. אין פי' כל כי הי' מתים ברעב, וכן וכל הארץ באו (בראשית מא נז) רק טעמו שקבץ כל אשר יכול:

1ALL THE FOOD. All is not to be taken literally, for if it were, then all should have starved to death. All in And all countries came (v. 57) is similar.⁸⁷ The meaning of And he gathered up all the food is: and Joseph gathered as much of the food as he could.

אכי נשני אלהים. טעמו כי אמר, ויאמר ר' יהודה המדקדק הראשון, כי נשני על משקל חנני, ויאמר ר' משה הכהן הספרדי כי הפתח תחת חירק:

1FOR GOD HATH MADE ME FORGET. Its meaning is, because he said God hath made me forget.⁸⁸ and for God etc. Cf. I.E.’s comment on Gen. 26:7. Rabbi Judah, the first Hebrew grammarian,⁸⁹ says that nashani (made me forget) follows the paradigm of channani (dealt graciously with me) (Gen. 33:11).⁹⁰ comes from the root chet, nun, nun. Similarly nashani comes from the root nun, shin, shin. They are both kals. However, Rabbi Moses Ha-Kohen, the Spaniard, says that (in nashani) a pattach has been substituted for the chirik.⁹¹ is a pi’el coming from the root nun, shin, heh. Compare, tzivvani whose root is tzadi, vav, heh. The problem is that the first letter of a pi’el perfect is vocalized with a chirik, and nashani is vocalized with a pattach, hence Rabbi Moses’ explanation that a pattach has been substituted for a chirik. Thus nashani is a variant of nishani.

אוַתְחִילֶנָה. מבנין הקל פעל הכפל:

1AND THE SEVEN YEARS OF FAMINE BEGAN. Va-techillenah is a kal and comes from a root whose second and third letters are identical.⁹². This comment presents difficulties. Techillenah is obviously a hifil. If it were a kal it would be vocalized techullenah. Futhermore, this word is never encountered in the Bible in the kal. The entire comment is missing in Vat. Ebr. 38. Similarly S.D. Luzzato had manuscripts of I.E. which omitted this comment. For an attempt to justify this comment see Krinsky.

בבכל הארצות. סביבות מלכות מצרים:

2IN ALL LANDS. All the lands adjacent to Egypt.⁹³ 90:6, the hunger was in three lands, Phoenecia, Arabia and Palestine. The point is that if the hunger was in lands far from Egypt, how did they survive since they couldn’t come to Egypt to buy food?

אויפתח יוסף את כל. האוצרות שהיו עמם:

1AND JOSEPH OPENED ALL. The storehouses which they had.⁹⁴ (in them). I.E. interprets ba-hem to mean, had with them, i.e., their storehouses.

בוישבור למצרים. פירוש נתן שבר למצרים, וטעמו קנין:

2AND SOLD UNTO THE EGYPTIANS. It means he gave corn (shever) to the Egyptians.⁹⁵ (and sold) is a denominative of corn or grain. Va-yishbor refers to a corn purchase.⁹⁶ means, and he sold (Krinsky). Va-yishbor usually means, and he bought corn. This is the sense in which this root is used throughout Chap. 42 and in Is. 55:1. However, here va-yishbor seems to mean, and he sold corn. I.E.’s apparent solution to the problem is to explain that va-yishbor can apply either to the seller or to the buyer as the transfer of corn (shever) is effectuated by two individuals, the one giving (selling) the corn and the other buying it. The aforementioned is how Kimchi explains va-yishbor and it appears to be the meaning of I.E.’s comment (Cherez).

אלשבור אל יוסף. הפוך וכן הוא, וכל הארץ באו מצרים אל יוסף לשבור:

1TO JOSEPH TO BUY CORN. The clause is inverted⁹⁷ and must be understood as: And all the countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn.