Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 43/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 43

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Yehuda’s Pledge

Yehuda’s offer of himself as a pledge for Binyamin calls to mind the pledge he offered to Tamar in place of payment in Bereshit 38, and underscores the significance of the episode of Yehuda and Tamar within the larger narrative of Yosef and his brothers.

Tools

• Concordance – The concordance shows that the root "ערב" appears in only one story in Torah, Yehuda's taking responsibility for Binyamin in Bereshit 43,¹ while the related noun "ערבון" appears also in but one story, that of Yehuda and Tamar in Bereshit 38.

Articles

• See ערבונו של יהודה, by Professor Yonatan Grossman, for analysis of the story of Yehuda and Tamar as background to Yehuda’s confrontation of Yosef.
• See Purpose of the Yehuda and Tamar Story for exploration of the idea that the story of Yehuda and Tamar begins Yehuda's process of change and repentance for the sale of Yosef, which culminates in his taking responsibility over Binyamin.

¹ See also Bereshit 44:32 where Yehuda tells Yosef that he has pledged himself for his brother.