Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 47

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

“They Were Fruitful and Multiplied Exceedingly”

Tools

  • Makbilot Bamikra points out that the description of the increasing size of Yaakov’s family parallels earlier commands to be fruitful and multiply at the dawn of creation and after the flood, and Divine promises made to the Avot at critical junctures in their narratives. This indicates that, like in those earlier instances, Israel’s sojourn in Egypt is the beginning of a new stage of Jewish history. The description of their increase also foreshadows the sinister resentment of the Egyptians, who express alarm at their numbers as a justification for persecuting them (Shemot 1:7).

Lists of Those Who Descended to Egypt

The list of Yaakov’s family members who went to Egypt (Bereshit 46:8-27) parallels the list in Shemot 1.

Sources

Articles

  • See רשימת היורדים למצרים כמבוא לספר שמות, by Professor Yonatan Grossman, for an analysis of why these two lists appear at the end of Bereshit and beginning of Shemot, and how a subtle difference in the order of the lists indicates the transition process from the sons of Yisrael as a family to the Children of Israel, as a nation.
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