Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Sforno · Torah

Sforno on Genesis 41:34/ספורנו על בראשית מ״א:ל״ד

איַעֲשֶׂה פַרְעֹה וְיַפְקֵד. וְתַעֲשֶׂה שֶׁזֶּה הַנָּבוֹן שֶׁתִּבְחַר יִפְקֹד פְּקִידִים בְּכָל עִיר וָעִיר, לְמַעַן יַכִּירוּהוּ לְשַׂר עֲלֵיהֶם, וְהָיוּ לַאֲחָדִים בְּיָדוֹ בְּכַוָּנָה אַחַת, וְלֹא יִהְיוּ חֲלוּקֵי דֵעוֹת, כְּעִנְיַן "וְקַמְתָּ וְעָלִיתָ אֶל הַמָּקוֹם" (דברים יז:ח).
1יעשה פרעה ויפקד, and see to it that this man appoint officials as his delegates in each and every city so that these officials will be known locally as their superiors as well as accepting the authority of their economic czar and that all of them work together in harmony. Special conditions require special measures. Once the Jewish people were dispersed in their own country, the Torah also legislated measures of centralising supreme religious authority in Jerusalem as we know from Deuteronomy 17,8 וקמת ועלית אל המקום אשר יבחר ה' אלוקיך בו, “you will arise and ascend to the place which the Lord your G’d will select for being this the seat of this central authority.”