Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 39:4/רמב"ן על בראשית ל״ט:ד׳

אוְכָל יֶשׁ לוֹ נָתַן בְּיָדוֹ לִהְיוֹת פָּקִיד וְנָגִיד עַל כָּל אֲשֶׁר לוֹ בַּבַּיִת וּבַשָּׂדֶה. וּלְרַבּוֹתֵינוּ בּוֹ מִדְרָשׁ (ב"ר פו ה), אָמְרוּ, מְלַחֵשׁ וְנִכְנָס מְלַחֵשׁ וְיוֹצֵא, אָמַר לוֹ מְזֹג רוֹתְחִין – וְהֵא רוֹתְחִין, מְזֹג פּוֹשְׁרִין – וְהֵא פּוֹשְׁרִין, מָה יוֹסֵף, תֶּבֶן בְּעַפְרַיִים, חֲרָשִׁין בְּמִצְרַיִם, עַד הֵיכָן, עַד שֶׁרָאָה שְׁכִינָה עוֹמֶדֶת עַל גַּבָּיו, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב "וַיַּרְא אֲדֹנָיו כִּי ה' אִתּוֹ". וְהָעִנְיָן כִּי בַּעֲבוּר הֱיוֹת אֲדֹנָיו מִצְרִי לֹא יָדַע אֶת ה', אָמְרוּ כִּי בִּרְאוֹתוֹ הַצְלָחָתוֹ הַגְּדוֹלָה הָיָה חוֹשֵׁשׁ כִּי דֶּרֶךְ כְּשָׁפִים הוּא, כַּאֲשֶׁר בִּבְנֵי אַרְצוֹ, עַד שֶׁרָאָה שֶׁהָיָה מֵאֵת עֶלְיוֹן בְּמַרְאָה שֶׁנִּרְאֵית לוֹ בַּחֲלוֹם אוֹ בְּהָקִיץ בְּעַמּוּד עָנָן וְכַיּוֹצֵא בוֹ לִכְבוֹד הַצַּדִּיק:

1AND ALL THAT HE HAD HE GAVE INTO HIS HAND. I.e., to be overseer and officer in charge of all that he had in the house and in the field. Our Rabbis have a Midrash on this verse. Thus they say:²¹⁵ “He would whisper²¹⁶, Commentaries.) whenever he entered and whenever he left. If his master said to him, ‘Mix a hot drink,’ it was hot immediately in Joseph’s hands and if he said, ‘Mix it lukewarm,’ it was lukewarm. [Because he suspected Joseph of witchcraft, his master said to him,] ‘What is this, Joseph? Bringing witchcraft to Egypt is like importing straw to Ofraim!’²¹⁷ How long did his master suspect him of practicing witchcraft? It was until he saw the Divine Presence standing over him. This is the meaning of the words, And his lord saw that the Eternal was with him.”²¹⁸The point of this Midrash is that because his lord was an Egyptian who did not know the Eternal, the Sages in the Midrash said that when he saw Joseph’s great success he suspected that it was done by witchcraft, as was the case with his countrymen, until he saw in a vision which was shown to him in a dream, or, when awake, in the form of a cloud of glory or the like, that his success came from the Supreme One. This was done in honor of the righteous Joseph.