Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 39:19/רמב"ן על בראשית ל״ט:י״ט

אוַיְהִי כִשְׁמֹעַ אֲדֹנָיו בִּשְׁעַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ אָמְרָה לוֹ "כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה עָשָׂה לִי עַבְדֶּךָ", עִנְיְנֵי תַשְׁמִישׁ כָּאֵלֶּה, לְשׁוֹן רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על בראשית ל"ט:י"ט). וְכָךְ אָמְרוּ (בראשית רבה פ"ז:ט'), רַבִּי אַבְהוּ אָמַר בִּשְׁעַת תַּשְׁמִישׁ. וַאֲנִי תָּמֵהַּ כִּי אֲדוֹנֵי יוֹסֵף סָרִיס הָיָה, וְאִשְׁתּוֹ בִּנְעוּרָיו נְשָׂאָהּ, וְהֵם דָּרְשׁוּ (שם פו ג) "סְרִיס פַּרְעֹה", מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹּא לְקָחוֹ אֶלָּא לְתַשְׁמִישׁ וְסֵרְסוֹ הקב"ה בְּגוּפוֹ. וְעוֹד כִּי אֵיךְ תִּפְגֹּם אֶת עַצְמָהּ וְתִמָּאֵס בְּעֵינֵי בַּעֲלָהּ לֵאמֹר לוֹ כִּי זָנְתָה בְּאֹנֶס אוֹ בְּרָצוֹן, וְרָאוּי הָיָה שֶׁיַּהַרְגֶנָּה, כִּי לָמָּה לֹא צָעֲקָה מִתְּחִלָּה וְיִבְרַח כַּאֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה בַּסּוֹף. וְהִנֵּה לְאַנְשֵׁי בֵּיתָהּ אָמְרָה "בָּא אֵלַי לִשְׁכַּב עִמִּי", לֹא שֶׁשָּׁכַב אֶלָּא שֶׁבָּא לַעֲשׂוֹת כֵּן וְצָעַקְתִּי וּבָרַח, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן שֶׁתַּסְתִּיר הַדָּבָר מִבַּעְלָהּ. וְאִם תֹּאמַר כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּחַר אַפּוֹ וְיַהַרְגֵהוּ, וְדַי חִיּוּב מִיתָה לְעֶבֶד שֶׁיָּבוֹא לֶאֱנֹס אֵשֶׁת הַשַּׂר אֲדוֹנָיו. וְאֶפְשָׁר שֶׁרָצוּ לְפָרֵשׁ "כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה" עִנְיְנֵי תַּשְׁמִישׁ, בְּגִלּוּי עֶרְוָה וּמִשְׁמוּשׁ יָדַיִם, לֹא תַּשְׁמִישׁ מַמָּשׁ, שֶׁהָיָה אֲדוֹנָיו סָרִיס בְּגוּפוֹ שֶׁבָּא אֵלָיו חֹלִי שֶׁלֹּא יִתְאַוֶּה, כְּעִנְיַן הַשָּׁחוּף. וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט אֵין צֹרֶךְ, כִּי אֵין הַכָּ"ף לְדִמְיוֹן בְּדָבָר אַחֵר, וּפִתְרוֹנוֹ הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וְכָמוֹהוּ (בראשית כ"ד:כ"ח) "וַתַּגֵּד לְבֵית אִמָּהּ כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה", וְכֵן "וּבְדַבְּרוֹ עִמִּי כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה נָתַתִּי פָנַי אַרְצָה" (דניאל י טו), וְכֵן רַבִּים. אוֹ יֹאמַר כִּי בִּשְׁמֹעַ אֲדֹנָיו אֶת דִּבְרֵי אִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁאָמְרָה לוֹ עָשָׂה לִי עַבְדְּךָ כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה שֶׁהִגַּדְתִּי מִיָּד לְאַנְשֵׁי הַבַּיִת, חָרָה אַפּוֹ. וְיִתָּכֵן שֶׁשִּׁמּוּשׁ הַכָּ"ף בָּזֶה לְהַפְלָגָה, וְכֵן (בראשית מ"ד:ז') "לָמָּה יְדַבֵּר אֲדֹנִי כַּדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה", "וַתִּקְרֶאנָה אוֹתִי כָּאֵלֶּה" (ויקרא י יט). וְהִנֵּה מֵאַהֲבַת אֲדוֹנָיו אֶת יוֹסֵף לֹא הֲרָגוֹ, אוֹ שֶׁהָיָה נֵס מֵאֵת הַשֵּׁם, אוֹ שֶׁנִּסְתַּפֵּק בִּדְבָרֶיהָ מִדַּעְתּוֹ צִדְקַת יוֹסֵף, וְכֵן אָמְרוּ (בראשית רבה פ"ז:ט'), אָמַר לוֹ, יָדַע אֲנָא דְּלֵית הוּא מִנָּךְ אֶלָּא שֶׁלֹּא לְעָרֵב פְּסֹלֶת בְּבָנַי:

1AND IT CAME TO PASS, WHEN THE MASTER HEARD. She told him about it at the time of conjugal intimacy. Matters such as these did your servant to me, i.e., matters of intimacy such as these. So says Rashi.So also did they say in Bereshith Rabbah:²³⁹ “Rabbi Abahu said, ‘She said it to him at the time of conjugal relations.’”Now I wonder. Joseph’s master was a castrate,²⁴⁰ who had married his wife during his youth, and the Rabbis expounded, “ ‘Sris’ (a captain of) Pharaoh²⁴¹ — this teaches us that he bought Joseph for carnal purposes only, but the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Joseph’s master to become castrated.”²⁴², the same word mentioned in the verse above. Moreover, how would she dare discredit herself and become loathsome in the eyes of her husband by telling him that she had committed adultery, whether by force or with acquiescence, which would have merited mortal punishment, for why did she not cry out at the outset, so that he should run away, as she did at the end? Now to the men of her house she said, He came unto me to lie with me,²⁴³ but not that he lay with her, only that he came to do so, but she cried out and he fled. And surely she would hide the matter from her husband. And should you say that she told him so in order that his anger be kindled against him and that he should kill him, [it would have been sufficient for this purpose that she say that he attempted to violate her, for] any servant that attempts to violate his master’s wife deserves the death penalty!It is possible that they intended to explain the expression, Matters such as these, as meaning matters of intimacy, meaning, exposing and caressing but not actual intimacy, as his master had become physically castrate, having been visited by a disease which resulted in a lack of desire for conjugal relations, as is the case with a shachuf.²⁴⁴In line with the literal interpretation of Scripture there is no need for all this, for the Hebrew letter kaph, in the word kadvarim, is not for the purpose of expressing comparison to other matters. Instead its meaning is “these things.”²⁴⁵ A similar usage [of the letter kaph is found in these verses]: And she told her mother’s house ‘kadvarim ha’eileh’ (according to these words);²⁴⁶ And when he had spoken unto me ‘kadvarim ha’eileh’ (according to these words) I set my face toward the ground.²⁴⁷ There are many similar verses. It may be that the verse is saying that when his master heard his wife’s words which she told him — “Your servant did unto me such matters as these which I had immediately related to the men of the house” — then his anger was kindled.It is possible that the kaph is here used for exaggeration, similar to its use in the verses: Why speaketh my lord ‘kadvarim ha’eileh’ (such words as these)?²⁴⁸ And there have befallen me such things as these (‘ka’eileh’)?²⁴⁹Now due to his master’s love for Joseph he did not kill him, or it was a miracle of G-d, or knowing Joseph’s righteousness, he doubted her words. Similarly the Rabbis said in Bereshith Rabbah:²⁵⁰ “The master said to Joseph, ‘I know this charge against you is false, but lest a stigma fall on my children,²⁵¹ [I will put you in prison].’”