page_title: Vayeshev
section_title: Genesis chapter 37
hierarchical_section_title: Vayeshev / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Genesis chapter 37
caption_attribution_description: العربية: 37 change me! الكتاب المقدس التوضيح من الكتاب من الفصل Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎: Біблійная ілюстрацыя да Кнігі Роду, разьдзел 37 Deutsch: Biblische Darstellung Buch change me! Kapitel 37 Ελληνικά: Βιβλική εικονογράφηση του βιβλίου της change me! Κεφάλαιο 37 English: Biblical illustration of Book of Genesis Chapter 37 Español: Ilustración bíblica de libro del change me!, capítulo 37 Français&#160;: Illustration biblique du livre de la Genèse chapitre 37 עברית: 37 האיור המקראי של change me! פרק हिन्दी: {{{hi}}} अध्याय change me! की पुस्तक की बाइबिल चित्रण Bahasa Indonesia: Ilustrasi Alkitab dari Kitab Kejadian pasal 37 Italiano: Illustrazione biblica del libro della change me! Capitolo 37 日本語: change me!37章の本の聖書の実例 Jawa: Ilustrasi Alkitab saking Kitab Purwaning Dumadi pasal 37 한국어: change me! 37 장 장부의 성경 그림 Bahasa Melayu: Ilustrasi Alkitab dari Kitab Kejadian pasal 37 Nederlands: Bijbelse illustratie van change me! hoofdstuk 37 Português: Ilustração bíblica do Livro de change me!, capítulo 37 Русский: Библейские иллюстрации Книга Бытие Глава 37 中文: 圣经change me!第37章的书籍插图
context_page_description: Vayeshev, Vayeishev, or Vayesheb is the ninth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. The parashah constitutes Genesis 37:1–40:23. The parashah tells the stories of how Jacob's other sons sold Joseph into captivity in Egypt, how Judah wronged his daughter-in-law Tamar who then tricked him into fulfilling his oath, and how Joseph served Potiphar and was imprisoned when falsely accused of assaulting Potiphar's wife.
  The parashah is made up of 5,972 Hebrew letters, 1,558 Hebrew words, 112 verses, and 190 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews read it the ninth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, in late November or December.
context_section_description: Rabbi Johanan taught that wherever Scripture uses the term "And he abode" (וַיֵּשֶׁב, vayeshev), as it does in Genesis 37:1, it presages trouble. Thus in Numbers 25:1, "And Israel abode in Shittim" is followed by "and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab." In Genesis 37:1, "And Jacob dwelt in the land where his father was a stranger, in the land of Canaan," is followed by Genesis 37:3, "and Joseph brought to his father their evil report." In Genesis 47:27, "And Israel dwelt in the land of Egypt, in the country of Goshen," is followed by Genesis 47:29, "And the time drew near that Israel must die." In 1 Kings 5:5, "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree," is followed by 1 Kings 11:14, "And the Lord stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite; he was the king's seed in Edom."
  Rabbi Helbo quoted Rabbi Jonathan to teach that the words of Genesis 37:2, "These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph," indicate that the firstborn should have come from Rachel, but Leah prayed for mercy before Rachel did. On account of Rachel's modesty, however, God restored the rights of the firstborn to Rachel's son Joseph from Leah's son Reuben. To teach what caused Leah to anticipate Rachel with her prayer for mercy, Rav taught that Leah's eyes were sore (as Genesis 29:17 reports) from her crying about what she heard at the crossroads. There she heard people saying: "Rebecca has two sons, and Laban has two daughters; the elder daughter should marry the elder son, and the younger daughter should marry the younger son." Leah inquired about the elder son, and the people said that he was a wicked man, a highway robber. And Leah asked about the younger son, and the people said that he was "a quiet man dwelling in tents." (Genesis 25:27.) So she cried about her fate until her eyelashes fell out. This accounts for the words of Genesis 29:31, "And the Lord saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb," which mean not that Leah was actually hated, but rather that God saw that Esau's conduct was hateful to Leah, so he rewarded her prayer for mercy by opening her womb first.
  After introducing "the line of Jacob," Genesis 37:2 cites only Joseph. The Gemara explained that the verse indicates that Joseph was worthy of having 12 tribes descend from him, as they did from his father Jacob. But Joseph diminished some of his procreative powers in order to resist Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39:7–12.  Nevertheless, ten sons (who, added to Joseph's two, made the total of 12) issued from Joseph's brother Benjamin and were given names on Joseph's account (as Genesis 46:21 reports). A son was called Bela, because Joseph was swallowed up (nivla) among the peoples. A son was called Becher, because Joseph was the firstborn (bechor) of his mother. A son was called Ashbel, because God sent Joseph into captivity (shevao el). A son was called Gera, because Joseph dwelt (gar) in a strange land. A son was called Naaman, because Joseph was especially beloved (na'im). Sons were called Ehi and Rosh, because Joseph was to Benjamin "my brother" (achi) and chief (rosh). Sons were called Muppim and Huppim, because Benjamin said that Joseph did not see Benjamin's marriage-canopy (chuppah). A son was called Ard, because Joseph descended (yarad) among the peoples. Others explain that he was called Ard, because Joseph's face was like a rose (vered).
  Rabbi Levi used Genesis 37:2, 41:46, and 45:6 to calculate that Joseph's dreams that his brothers would bow to him took 22 years to come true, and deduced that a person should thus wait for as much as 22 years for a positive dream's fulfillment.
  Rava bar Mehasia said in the name of Rav Hama bar Goria in Rav's name that a man should never single out one son among his other sons, for on account of the small weight of silk that Jacob gave Joseph more than he gave his other sons (as reported in Genesis 37:3), his brothers became jealous of Joseph and the matter resulted in the Israelites' descent into Egypt.
  Genesis 37:5–7 recounts Joseph's dreams. When Samuel had a
caption: Judah said, "Let us sell him to the Ishmaelites." (Genesis 37:27) (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing)
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