Vay'chi: what makes Yosef so special?

[cellio]

Yaakov never learns, does he? When Yosef was young Yaakov singled him out

Comments

[osewalrus]

Yosef is special for several reasons. To Yaakov, of course, he is special because he is the son of his beloved Rachel. In this favoritism, Yaakov unfortunately follows the model of his parents (who each had a favorite child) rather than his grandfather Avraham (who famously loved Ishmael as he loved Yitzchak

[cellio]

Excellent comments -- thank you.

That God chose to interact with Yosef alone, among all the brothers, is certainly an important point. In focusing on the human elements in writing this, I missed that point.

And I agree that Yehudah has earned some respect here too. And he does get more than Gad, Asher, and Naftali in these final words, so I think the text thinks so too. :-)

[cellio]

Thanks for commenting. And no worries about using the English names; we each use what rolls off our fingertips most easily and we know what's meant.

Are you referring to the Hyksos? One of the people in our Shabbat torah-study group talks about them sometimes (he's of an archaeological/historical bent).

[browngirl]

I too have heard that theory, that Joseph's Pharaoh was of the Hyksos and the Pharaohs who enslaved the Israelites were the vengeful 18th Dynasty who reestablished Egyptian control of Egypt. It's a pretty compelling idea.

[indigodove]

This is all very interesting. I'm enjoying reading your post and the comments.

[cellio]

Thanks! Glad there's more light than confusion.

(Ok, technically you didn't say that, but I'm going to presume... :-) )

[browngirl]

This is a gorgeous analysis. *makes a note*