Selective Memory/1
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לא ידע את יוסף – Ignorance or Selective Memory?
Introduction
While the closing chapters of Sefer Bereshit portray the close working relationship Yosef had with Paroh, Sefer Shemot opens by recording that after Yosef's death a new king arose in Egypt who did not know Yosef – "וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ חָדָשׁ עַל מִצְרָיִם אֲשֶׁר לֹא יָדַע אֶת יוֹסֵף" (1:8). This verse has troubled many exegetes, as since Yosef had played such a prominent role in administering Egypt, how could it be that the new king had never heard of Yosef?1
