Biblical Parallels Index – Bereshit 50

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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.

Weeping

The theme of weeping repeats throughout the Yosef narratives. Tracing who, when, and why someone cries, may give insight into the various characters in the narrative.

Tools

  • Concordance – The concordance reveals that of 16 occurrences of the root "בכה" in Sefer Bereshit, a full 10 appear in the Yosef narratives.

Articles

  • See Yosef's Tears, based on a lecture by R. Aharon Lichtenstein, which traces the various instances of Yosef's weeping. R. Lichtenstein explores when it is that Yosef cries and when he shows restraint, noting that the two reflect Yosef's struggle between his inner and outer self, between Yosef the harsh Egyptian ruler, symbol of power, and Yosef the compassionate Hebrew, yearning  to fix a broken family.
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