Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 44/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 44

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Pleading Before a Higher Power

Comparing Avraham's pleas to save Sedom with Yehuda's pleas to save Binyamin makes one question how one should approach a superior power to plead one's cause. What should be the balance between submissiveness and audacity? Interestingly, too, in both these stories commentators debate whether the plea is for mercy or for justice.

Tools

• Concordance – A concordance search¹ reveals that the phrase "ויגש...ויאמר" is somewhat rare in Torah. It appears in the stories of Avraham pleading before Hashem on behalf of Sedom (Bereshit 18:43), and Yehuda pleading on behalf of Binyamin,² (Bereshit 44:18) and only in one other story.³  The shared openings and themes of the narratives invite further comparison.

Articles

• See Yehuda's Oration and Avraham's Prayer for Sedom for individual analysis of each story, with each topic questioning whether the protagonist is pleading for mercy or for justice, and in the former, whether he is approaching from a place of submissiveness or audacity.

Theft in Sefer Bereshit

There are two stories in Sefer Bereshit in which someone is accused of theft: Lavan's accusation of Yaakov and Yosef's accusation against the brothers.

Tools

• Concordance – The concordance demonstrates that the root "גנב" occurs in only two sets of stories in Sefer Bereshit, in the interactions between Yaakov and Lavan and in the story of Yosef, when Binyamin is accused of stealing Yosef's goblet.
• Tanakh Lab – Use the Tanakh Lab to compare Yaakov's claim of innocence when accused of stealing Lavan's terafim (Bereshit 31:32), with the brother's claim of innocence when accused of stealing the goblet (Bereshit 44:9). In each case the accused is so certain of innocence that he is willing to suggest that whoever is found guilty should die. The comparison highlights the irony of the situations. The brothers are not actually guilty of theft although the incriminating evidence is found on Binyamin’s person, whereas Rachel has stolen the terafim but the objects are not found by Lavan.

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 (see Bereshit 43:9 and 44:32), 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.

Yehuda and Esther

The language of Esther's plea to Achashverosh to save the Jewish people is surprisingly similar to that of Yehuda when beseeching Yosef to spare Binyamin. These parallels indicate that both Yehuda and Esther are motivated to save the Jewish people as a whole; Yehuda has learned the importance of ensuring the family’s continuity, even when it requires his own sacrifice, as Esther is willing to take personal risk to ensure the survival of the nation.

Tools

• Tanakh Lab – Use the Tanakh Lab to compare Yehuda's pleas to Yosef on behalf of Binyamin in Bereshit 44:34 with Esther's plea to Achashverosh to save the nation in Esther 8:7.  Compare also Bereshit 44:33 with Esther 7:4 (see here), where both figures mention the willingness to be slaves if that would ensure continuity and the saving of lives. 

¹ In the concordance, toggle to the advanced mode and in the first field input the root "נגש" and in the second input "אמר".

² See Daa't Mikra on Bereshit 44:18 who notes this.

³ See Bemidbar 32:16, where Reuven and Gad request to live on the other side of the Jordan.