Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
יוֹסֵף בֶּן שְׁבַע עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה הָיָה רֹעֶה אֶת אֶחָיו בַּצֹּאן
וְהוּא נַעַר אֶת בְּנֵי בִלְהָה וְאֶת בְּנֵי זִלְפָּה נְשֵׁי אָבִיו
וַיָּבֵא יוֹסֵף אֶת דִּבָּתָם רָעָה אֶל אֲבִיהֶם:
When Yosef was 17 years old he was a shepherd with his brothers.
He was “na’ar et” the children of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father’s wives.
Yosef brought bad reports about them to their father.
The word “na’ar” can mean “young person,” “child,” or “servant.”
The word “et” could mean lots of things: “of” or “to” or “with.” It depends on context.
What does “na’ar et” mean here? What was the nature of Yosef’s relationship with the children of Bilhah and Zilpah? (Bilhah and Zilpah were Yaakov’s wives who had come into the home as Leah and Rahel’s servants.)
רָגִיל אֵצֶל בְּנֵי בִלְהָה, לְפִי שֶׁהָיוּ אֶחָיו מְבַזִּין אוֹתָן וְהוּא מְקָרְבָן.
Yosef would spend his time with the children of Bilhah because his brothers made fun of them for being the children of servants; but Yosef would bring them close.
Rashi thinks that “na’ar et” here means “child with.” So the pasuk is saying that Yosef and the children of the servants were doing childish things together. In other words, they were friends!
בַּעֲבוּר הֱיוֹתוֹ קָטָן שָׂמוּהוּ בְּנֵי הַשְּׁפָחוֹת שַׁמַּשׁ לָהֶם.
Yosef was the youngest, so the children of Bilhah and Zilpah made him their servant.
Ibn Ezra understands “na’ar et” as “the servant of.” This means the children of Bilhah and Zilpah were taking advantage of Yosef.
- How do you understand the bad reports (from the end of the pasuk) that Yosef brought to his father according to each interpretation?
- What different picture of Yosef and his brothers do you get from each of these interpretations?
- How might the time that Yosef spent with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah have influenced his later behavior? What would Rashi say, and what would Ibn Ezra say?
- As you read the rest of our parashah, what evidence can you find for each interpretation?
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