Hebrew translation is available
here
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I bring here a summary of an interesting discussion from the VBM Parsha discussion list. (you can subscribe to this list and other lists in the VBM site ).
Seven hundred years ago, Ramban (Bereishit 42:9) posed a difficult question, one which continues to puzzle whoever studies the book of Bereishit:
How is it that Yosef, after living many years in Egypt, having attained a high and influential position in the house of an important Egyptian official, did not send his father even one message to inform him (that he was alive) and comfort him? Egypt is only six days' travel from Chevron, and respect for his father would have justified even a year's journey! ... [It would] have been a grave sin to torment his father by leaving him in mourning and bereavement for himself and for Shimon; even if he wanted to hurt his brothers a little, how could he not feel pity for his aged father?
Abarbanel (chap. 41, question 4) poses the same question, but more bluntly: Why did Yosef hide his identity from his brothers and speak harshly to them? It is criminal to be as vengeful and recriminating as a serpent! ... How is it that as his brothers were starving and far from home, having left their families and small children and, above all, his aged, worried and suffering father waiting for them, did he not show compassion, but rather intensified the anguish by arresting Shimon?
Ramban's own astonishing answer to his question is that Yosef's goal was to guarantee the fulfillment of his dreams. Even after the first dream had been realized, he intensified the deception in order to fulfill the second dream.
He did everything in its proper time in order to fulfill the dreams, for he knew they would be fulfilled perfectly.
Rabbi Yitzchak Arama (Akedat Yitzchak, 29, ques. 9; see also Abarbanel, chap. 41, ques. 6) finds Ramban's solution puzzling.
What did he stand to gain by having his dreams fulfilled? Even had there been some advantage, that would not have justified sinning toward his father! And as for the dreams, let the Giver of dreams provide their solutions. It seems very foolish to strive to fulfill dreams, as the fulfillment does not depend on the dreamer's will.
Professor Nechama Leibowitz, in her commentary to Bereishit (p. 327), believes that dreams can indeed be acted upon. She cites as proof Gideon, who hears a Midianite tell a dream, and acts upon it (Judges 7:13,14), as well as the Babylonian exiles (Ezra 1), who did not wait for the seventy years of Jeremiah's prophecy to pass, but returned on their own, beforehand.
In my opinion, Prof. Leibowitz is mistaken. There are two differences between her examples and the case at hand, both of which are mentioned as well by R. Yitzchak Arama.
First, neither Gideon nor the Babylonian exiles committed a grave offense in following their dreams. Their dreams did not contradict honoring parents, and certainly did not call on them to cause others grief. Secondly, Scripture itself clearly differentiates dreams from prophecy:
Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream; And [let the prophet] who bears My word speak My word truthfully; What is straw to wheat? The Lord has spoken. (Yirmiyahu 23:38)
As the Talmud (Berakhot 55a) explains:
Rabbi Yochanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: Just as wheat cannot exist without chaff, there cannot be a dream without false elements. Rabbi Berekhia said: Although a dream may be partially fulfilled, it will not be fulfilled in its entirety. How do we know this? From Yosef, as it is written: "The sun (representing Yosef's father), the moon (his mother), and eleven stars [are bowing down to me]," and at the time, his mother was no longer alive.
The prophet Yirmiyahu teaches us that dreams are the outer shell of prophecy, just as chaff is the outer shell of wheat. The true prophet is able to separate grain from chaff in order to eventually produce clean flour for baking. It is dangerous to confuse the different levels, to the point where every inspired man is considered to be a prophet or seer; we could never clearly perceive the word of God. We need not deny the existence of great visionaries - or underrate their importance - even when we affirm that they are, after all, not prophets.
The Torah distinguishes Yosef's dreams from the prophetic dreams of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Ya'akov. The Patriarchs' dreams appear as pathways to divine revelation. In the Covenant between the Halves (berit bein ha-betarim), Avraham first sleeps and has a vision, and then receives God's word (Bereishit 16:12- 13; 17- 18). Ya'akov has a dream in which he sees a ladder and angels, and then God speaks to him. In Yosef's dreams, however, there is no outward prophecy or Divine revelation. Even in Yosef's solving of dreams, there is only a general feeling of prophecy:
Solutions come from God; please tell me [your dreams]. (40:8)
Not I [but] God will answer for Pharaoh's well- being. (41:16)
Only after completing his explanation does Yosef become more confident:
God is committed to doing this, and God will do it quickly. (41:39)
It is significant that Yosef uses God's universal name "E-lokim," and not the Tetragrammaton or Kel Shakkai, names God uses when He reveals Himself to Israel.
For all the parallels the Midrash draws between Ya'akov and Yosef (Bereishit Rabba 84:6), the Torah clearly differentiates the dreams of one from those of the other. This distinction draws a dividing line between the degree of revelation shown to the Patriarchs, on the one hand, and to Yosef and his brothers, on the other.
Clearly, Yosef's dreams are prophetic, and not mere nonsense. However, they are a form of ruach ha-kodesh (holy inspiration), rather than nevu'a (prophecy; see Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed II:45, where he specifically mentions Yosef as being on the "second level" of prophecy; see also Akedat Yitzchak ad loc.). Ya'akov himself provides the appropriate response to Yosef's dreams:
His father was angry at him and said: "What is this dream you dreamt? Shall I and your mother and brothers come and bow down to you?" ... but his father awaited it. (Bereishit 37:11)
R. Levi adds:
He (Ya'akov) took pen in hand and wrote down on what date, at what time, and at what place. (Ber. Rabba, 84:11)
Dreams like this are precisely the kind of experience about which the Akedat Yitzchak writes, "Let the Giver of dreams provide their solution." These dreams are not granted in order to be put into action by the dreamer. Together with the sheer experience of prophecy, these dreams grant us the power to wait. A dream which comes true without our active involvement is one that we can acknowledge, after the fact, as a prophetic dream. Only an outright prophecy, such as God's word to Gideon, should lead to action without first waiting. Certainly, only an outright prophecy can suspend a commandment, and only as a temporary measure (see Rambam, Yesodei HaTorah, ch. 9); it is unthinkable that a dream, the outcome of which is still uncertain, should suspend the fulfillment of a commandment even temporarily. Nevertheless, it is clear that Ramban considers these dreams to be full- fledged prophecies. This position is diametrically opposed to that of the Gemara (Berakhot 55a).
Even if we accept the Ramban's position on this point, his explanation of Yosef's behavior is untenable. The first dream was fulfilled when the brothers arrived in Egypt the first time.
Yosef was the ruler of the land; it was he who provided for all the inhabitants Yosef's brothers came and bowed to the ground before him. (4:26)
There were ten brothers then, excluding Binyamin, who was at home. They had come to obtain grain - the sheaves in the dream.
The second dream is fulfilled when they bring Binyamin and meet with Yosef at his palace for a meal, honoring him and offering him gifts:
Yosef came home, and they brought him the presents they had with them to his house, and bowed down to him. (43:26)
After all eleven stars had bowed down to Yosef in his own right, as second to the king of Egypt, without any direct connection to the grain, their father's turn comes:
He greeted them and said: "Is your old father, whom you mentioned, at peace? Is he still alive?" They said: "Your servant our father is at peace; he is still alive." They bent down and bowed. (43:27-28)
This painful scene, in which Yosef's brothers prostrate themselves before him in their father's name, and refer to him as "your servant our father," is the fulfillment of the second dream, in which the sun and the moon bow down to Yosef. The entire family (other than his mother, who was no longer alive) has bowed down to Yosef, albeit indirectly - in Ya'akov's case ? and without realizing the full significance of their actions.
This scene will repeat itself when Yehuda begs for Binyamin's safety and refers to Ya'akov four times as "your servant our father" (44:14,24,27,30-31). It must be noted at this point that Yosef arranged this episode in order to keep Binyamin in Egypt (since he could not foretell how Yehuda would react) AFTER the second dream had been completely fulfilled. The dreams had all come true before Ya'akov's arrival in Egypt, including the dream in which Ya'akov bows down to his son. In fact, he does not physically bow to Yosef when they are reunited in Egypt; none of the commentators suggest that he did.
The Torah does tell us that when Ya'akov was on his deathbed, Yosef came to see him, and "Yisrael bowed at the head of the bed" (47:31). But it is not clear whether his bowing is before Yosef or before God (Megilla 16b, Sifri Devarim 6) - the simple reading suggests the latter - and certainly, his bowing does not come about through Yosef's initiative. It is precisely the verse cited by Ramban in support of his contention which actually contradicts his theory:
Yosef recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him. He remembered the dreams he dreamt and told them: "You are spies." (42:8-9)
It is clear that only at this point does Yosef remember his dreams, as he suddenly realizes that the first dream has been fulfilled (see Rashi to 42:9).
Since Yosef remembers his dreams only when his brothers arrive in Egypt, why did he not send word to Ya'akov before that? As ruler of Egypt, it was certainly within his capacity to do so.
Ramban answers that the ten brothers' bowing down at the first meeting was not the realization of the first dream, as the eleventh brother had not yet bowed down to him. Yosef's first dream, however, does not specify the number of brothers making sheaves! Binyamin could not have been in the fields with them at the time, as he was eight years younger than Yosef and hence only nine years old.
Thus, even in a dream Yosef could not have seen Binyamin working in the fields. Even if we accept Ramban's assertion that these dreams are prophetic, we may not distort the content of the dreams. The second dream is never completely fulfilled, as Ya'akov himself did not bow down to Yosef, nor did Rachel, who had not been alive for many years. The family's economic dependence on Yosef cannot be considered a literal fulfillment of the sheaves' bowing down before him.
Ramban himself apparently realized the difficulties inherent in attempting to coordinate the story of the goblet with the dreams. He therefore proposes a second motive for Yosef's actions at this point:
The second affair, which he caused by means of the goblet, was not intended to trouble them. Yosef was afraid that they hated Binyamin, or were jealous of their father's love for him as they had been jealous of [Yosef] ... Perhaps Binyamin had realized that they had harmed Yosef and this had led to acrimony between them. Yosef did not want Binyamin to go with them lest they harm him, until he had verified their love for him. (Ramban, 42:9)
Abarbanel agrees:
Even after Yosef tested his brothers by accusing them of espionage, he was still not certain whether they loved Binyamin or whether they still hated Rachel's children, so he focused on Binyamin to see whether they would try to save him. (chap. 42, quests. 4,6)
In the words of Akedat Yitzchak:
Yosef's intentions were evidently to see whether they still hated him or whether they regretted their actions. (chap. 42, question 2)
This second solution is no less problematic than the first. First of all, we cannot avoid the feeling that the exegetes are attempting to explain away what seems to be an accidental outcome as a preconceived plan of events. The Torah itself indicates that Yosef simply had wanted to keep Binyamin behind, after their brothers had gone home. Possibly he feared that they would harm Binyamin at some point, as Ramban suggests, or he may have wished to reveal his identity to Binyamin alone and discuss with him plans for bringing Ya'akov to Egypt. He may even have intended to force Ya'akov to come to Egypt by holding Binyamin hostage. It might be that he simply wanted to hear from Binyamin all that had transpired since he was sold. He may have wanted Binyamin's cooperation in establishing the tribes of Rachel as a separate entity. But it seems utterly far-fetched that Yosef planned the affair of the goblet so that Yehuda would intervene and offer to be enslaved instead of Binyamin, forcing Yosef into an emotional situation in which, losing his self- control, he would finally reveal his identity,
All of this indeed came about, but none of it was premeditated. Yosef could not have intended to test his brothers' attitude toward Binyamin. What would he have done if, as was quite possible, they had accepted the situation as God's will, as punishment for their sin, and left Binyamin with him as they had left Shimon? Would this have proven either that they were not sorry for what they had done to Yosef or that they did not love Binyamin? Does submission to the power of a tyrant prove anything? When Avraham agreed that Sarah be taken by Avimelech, did that mean he did not love her? She herself did not object to this unpleasant means of survival in a strange land (Bereishit 12:10; see Ramban and Ha'amek Davar ad loc.).
At no point in Yehuda's long speech is there any mention of the brothers' feelings toward each other or toward Binyamin. Yehuda's expressed concern is with his "old father" whom they left behind, and who interested the ruler so much. Ya'akov is Yehuda's last resort, and Yehuda plays it for all it is worth, hinting all the while at Yosef's responsibility for any outcome.
Can we be sure that, had Yehuda not committed himself to his father under penalty of "eternal guilt," that this outburst would have occurred? It can certainly be taken as a sign of repentance in general. But it was not evoked by any feeling of love or pity toward Binyamin or Yosef, but rather by a feeling of responsibility to his father.
There are two explicit references in our story to the brothers' attitude toward Yosef. The first is during their first visit to Egypt; the second is after Ya'akov's death.
Yosef hears his brothers express regret at their behavior towards him, when they had only just arrived in Egypt. This regret is coupled with the realization that all that is befalling them is a result of that behavior:
They said to each other: This is our fault, because of our brother; we saw his suffering when he cried out to us and we did not listen; That is why this misfortune came upon us. (42:21)
Yosef restrains himself at this point, apparently with some difficulty, and maintains his deception. At no later time does he acquire any new insights into their character. This confession was elicited freely without any pressure whatsoever; they never imagined he could understand them "because the interpreter was between them."
After Ya'akov's death, the brothers return to Yosef fearing retribution.
Yosef might wish to harm us. (50:15)
Most commentators believe that they then lie and invent the story of Ya'akov's deathbed charge, in order to save their lives (Rashi on 50:16; Ramban on 45:27). Their bowing to Yosef at this point, knowing who he is, may be considered the final fulfillment of the dreams.
His brothers also bowed down to him and said: "We are your slaves." (50:16-18)
In our attempt to understand Yosef's motivation for waiting so many years, and then deceiving his brothers, we have ruled out the desire for forcing the dreams to come true - as "dreams come to us without our consent" - and certainly do not justify torturing old and suffering parents. Furthermore, as we saw earlier, Yosef remembers his dreams only when his brothers appear before him in Egypt.
Testing their regret could also not have been the reason, as he had already heard them express repentance in his presence. He revealed himself later only because he heard of his father's suffering. True, the brothers, especially Yehuda, were found to be repentant. This was, indeed, part of a master plan. But the plan was devised not in Yosef's court, but in a higher domain:
The brothers were occupied with selling Yosef, Yosef was occupied with mourning and fasting, Reuven was occupied with mourning and fasting, Ya'akov was occupied with mourning and fasting, and God was occupied with creating the light of the Messiah. (Ber. Rabba 85:4)
When Yosef does follow his own initiative and asks the chief cupbearer to intercede before Pharaoh on his behalf, he spends two more years languishing in prison.
In summary, I believe that our question outweighs all its proposed solutions.
What, then, do I believe to be the correct understanding of Yosef's behavior? The answer will have to wait until next week's shiur. In the meantime, I invite readers to submit answers of their own to parsha@etzion.org.il.
Netzach613@aol.com: Maybe Yosef thought that his father was in on it- that's why he sent him to find his brothers and then the brothers ambushed him. He had just received a rebuke from his father about his dreams. He couldn't write home because he thinks his father and his brothers were all out to get him.
Rskrausz@aol.com: For many years my wife asked me this question each year as these parshios were read. After much thought I think I have a solution which fits very nicely with everything the Torah tells us .
Yosef thought or at least seriously considered the possibility that Yakov was part of the conspiracy against him.
When he was sold it was by no means clear that all of the brothers would continue as shevatim. As in previous generations one brother or perhaps the sons of one mother would become the chosen people.
Yakov publicly rebuked Yosef for his dreams and Yosef did not know that he secretly "shomar es hadavar".
Yakov sent Yosef on the dangerous mission to find out what the brothers were doing. In fact the medrash says that they knew it was dangerous and credits Yosef for still going. In retrospect Yosef may have thought Yakov was intentionally sending him to the fate that awaited him.
Yosef names his oldest child Menashe meaning as the posuk says that he intends to forget all his troubles AND to forget his father's house. If Yosef thought that he was rejected we can understand why he wanted to forget his father's house.
When he saw the brothers without Binyomin he may have suspected that the same fate as had befallen him happened to Binyomin. Perhaps the Bnei Rochel were to be rejected. Binyomin was at that toime a grown man with ten children and could certainly have made the journey. He wanted Binyomin to come to Egypt either to insure his safety or at least to verify that he was still alive. It is only just before Yosef reveals himself that he hears for the first time that Yakov thinks that Yosef was eaten by an animal (ach toraf toraf). At this point he realizes that Yakov was not part of the conspiracy (perhaps confirmed by Binyomin) and he immediately reveals himself and asks as to the welfare of his father.
abu.z@att.net: Lichvod HaRav, Shalom!
I think part of the answer as to why Yosef did not make contact with his father Yaacov is found in their relationship.
In parshat Vayeshev chap37 pasuk3 we are told that Yaakov loved Yosef more than all his other brothers. No where does it say that Yoseph truely loved Yaakov. Secondly, Yosef was seventeen, a grown man in those days, not a child, yet he is still acting like one by telling his father bad things about the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah.
Then later on Yosef tells his brothers of his dreams and Yaakov rebukes him for it. The favorite son has now been embarrassed in front of his brothers. He's been rejected not only by his brothers, but by his father too. Yosef is later carried off to Egypt and probably felt that there really was nothing to return to. His mother was dead, his brothers hated him, and his father now chastised him in full view of his brothers. (and he may have thought that if the brothers didn't succeed in killing him this time what is to say that they would not succeed the next time. Egypt was safe).
Another point may be that Yaakov himself did not expect Yosef to make contact with him. In Cap.37 passuk 14 it says: ...so he sent him out of the valley of Hevron. Yet as we are well aware Hevron is not in a valley at all. I believe what the passuk is really saying is instead of translating the word Emek as valley it should be thought of as DEEP as in Amokh. Yaakov was invoking the memory (and spirit) of those that are buried there, Avraham, Yitzchak, Sara VeRivkah, to in some way accompany Yosef on the journey he was about to begin. Both Yaakov and Yosef were in this together (although not on a conscious level) and Hashem was orchestrating the symphony.
Shalom uvracha,
Simcha Zamir
Note: Hevron IS in a valley, amidst the hills today called the Hevron hills.
I suggest that the answer to your question is that Yosef, from the moment he laid eyes on his brothers in Mitzraim, resolved that he would not reveal his identity to them until he was satisfied that they had learned the lesson of Arevut in the years since they betrayed him. On the eve of his family's yerida to Mitzraim, Yosef felt that this family clan, currently just a band of brothers and a father, would thrive as an "Am," and thus survive Mitzraim, only if they had learned how to act towards each other out of a sense of Arevut.
The story of the sale of Yosef gets things going by focusing on the difference between Reuven's and Yehuda's responses to the brothers' vengefulness. Both Reuven and Yehuda disdain murder; Reuven acts to save Yosef out of a sense of fear ("I will be the one who gets blamed," as Rashi hears him say) and Yehuda takes a pragmatic approach ("What profit is there in killing him?"). Neither acts out of a sense of pure solidarity, or Arevut. From that moment on, the Torah seems almost preoccupied with the idea of Arevut and gives multiple subliminal messages about its importance. First the story of Yehuda and Tamar. Why is it placed immediately after the story of the sale of Yosef and how is it connected to that story? I suggest that the answer lies in the fact that the Yehuda/Tamar episode introduces the concept of "airavon" to Yehuda. Yehuda was almost undone by an airavon that he left with his disguised daughter-in-law and, in the end, both of them were saved by it. The sudden introduction of this concept in the Torah is not coincidental; this episode seared the importance of a pledge -- a secured obligation -- in Yehuda's consciousness.
Later, when Yaakov finally had to face the unavoidable necessity of sending Binyamin with his brothers to Mitzraim, Reuven responds with his customary defensiveness: "I'll bring Binyamin back, or you can kill my two sons," he tells Yaacov, as if that were any comfort. Yehuda, though, has learned a lesson: "Anochi a'arvanu; miyadi tevakshenu." "I will return him, because I pledge myself to that goal, not because I fear the consequences of failing; in short, I am his airavon." This strikes a chord with Yaakov and he lets Binyamin go.
Yosef knows his brothers have learned the crucial lesson of Arevut only when he is confronted by Yehuda after arresting Binyamin. That Yehuda would stand up to the viceroy of Mitzraim to save his brother Binyamin out of an expressed sense of Arevut -- in stark contrast to his behavior when Yosef had been threatened years earlier -- tells Yosef unmistakably that the mission has been accomplished and he can reveal himself, finally, to his brothers and his father.
How did Yaakov know upon receiving word from Yosef what had transpired and why Yosef hadn't contacted him earlier? Through the gift of the Agalot. We are told that there was an "inside" message from Yosef to Yaakov in this gift, because they had been learning the parsha of Egla Arufa when they were separated. But what was the message? I suggest it was the message of Arevut. What else does the ceremony of Egla Arufa mean if not the collective responsibility of members of a community for each other? It's not surprising that Yosef and Yaakov would be dwelling on these matters when Yosef's turbulent confrontation with his brothers' divisiveness heated up. And it's not surprising that Yosef would be thinking again about these matters when that confrontation was resolved.
By the time we finish Sefer B'reishit, G-d's prized creation -- man -- has come full circle: from Kayin's terrible outcry, "hashomer achi anochi" in the beginning of the Sefer, to Yehuda's beseeching plea, "ki avdecha arav et hana'ar" at the end of the Sefer. From separation to solidarity Now we're ready for the story of a nation; on to Sefer Sh'mot.
BSD
5 Tevet
In my humble opinion the answer lies in an overlooked Ramban Gen. 46;27, I quote from Chavel Eng. version: "It is my opinion, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, that it was never told to Jacob throughout his entire lifetime that the brothers had sold Joseph. Rather he thought that Joseph had strayed in the field, and those who found him took him and sold him into Egypt. The brothers did not want to tell him of their sin, being afraid for their lives, lest he be wroth and curse them as he did nto Reuben, Simeion and Levi, while Joseph in his good ethical conduc t did not want to tell him."
Joseph did not contact his father because in that case his father would surely have asked him what had happened from the time he sent him to Shechem and he would have been contstrained to tell him the truth. But then his brothers would have been cursed and he and Bnejamin would have been left alone to carry on the tradition. In his behaviour with his brothers later we see that he loved them and wished to carry on his fathers heritage with them.
His original plan, when he recognized his brothers, was to pretend he did not know them, conspire to have them bring Benjamin to him to Egypt and have them return to Canaan and carry on without him. And, of course, he did not know that his father thought him dead and mourned for him all this time. He must have reasoned that his father had forgotten about him. Indeed so, since there is no evidence that efforts were made to find him.In the end there would two Jewish nations, one in Canaan and one in Egypt.
What frustrated Joseph's plan was Judah's pleading. Joseph realized that taking away Binyamin would cause his father to die, and that is noted again and again by Judah in his pleas. He could not suffer that, broke down and revealed himself.
And this theory would explain the strange "meeting" of Jacob and Joseph as the former arrive in Egypt, with the Torah emphasizing Joseph's harnessing his chariot (47:29). And the rabbis in the midrash are puzzled just exactly what happened, but they all agree that there was some resentment on the part of Jacob. It is to be noted that all the meetings that Joseph had with his father were formal and public--this one and at the end of Jacob's life when he blessed his grandchildren. No intimate meeting between Joseph and Jacob is recorded in the Torah. This was deliberate on Joseph's part so that his father would never have an opportunity to ask him what happened.
Modestly submitted
yom rishon vayigash
Sabbath Shalom
Rony Shapira
Rabbi Ezra Bick: How do you know that Yaacov never communicated with his father during his stay in Lavan's house? I could find no support for this assertion.
Sol Zalcgendler [soloz@juno.com]: Thank you for "The Intractable Question". A few points and an attempt at a solution:
1. You state "All of this came about but none of this was premeditated". Yosef could not have intended to test his brothers' attitude towards Binyajim.
Could he not see it as a test and if they did not attempt to protect Binyamin he would act. Yes he didn't know what Yehuda would do and it proved to move him. and he no longer had to feel as Binyomin's protector - because Yehuda took RESPONSIBILITY. The first time a brother spoke up for a brother.
2. "Why did Yosef not send word to his father?"
Early answer - (appropriate to Yosef in Egypt) because the last time he was with Yaakov he sent Yosef to his brothers. Yosef could have felt his father had a part in what happened to him.
Later answer - (appropriate for visits of brothers to Yosef as Egyptian viceroy and after Yakov is reunited with him). Because Yaakov would have destroyed the family if he was told explicitly what the brothers had to say.
Sincerely,
Sol Zalcgendler
rhpositive [rhpositive@email.msn.com]: For an interesting answer to why Yosef did not contact his father see The Artscroll Stone Chumash on Breishis Perek37 Posuk28 (page 205)