Why Live in Goshen/2

Why Live in Goshen?

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Good Grazing Land

Yosef wanted his family to live in Goshen because it had high quality land, with good grazing for their cattle.

Sources:RashiBereshit 46:34About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 46:34Bereshit 47:4About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Ralbag #1-2Bereshit Beur HaMilot 46:34About R. Levi b. Gershom,¹

אַנְשֵׁי מִקְנֶה / רֹעֵה צֹאן – It is the brothers' occupation as shepherds which leads to the choice of Goshen for their settlement.

"כִּי תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן" and the choice of Goshen

• Honored – According to R"Y Bekhor Shor, the word "abomination" is simply the Torah's derogatory term to refer to Egyptian idolatry, and says nothing about the Egyptian's feelings towards shepherds.²  In fact, he claims that the Egyptians esteemed shepherds because they cared for and raised their gods, and for that reason desired that they live in a good portion of land.
• Disdained – According to Ralbag, in contrast, the Egyptians found shepherds abominable,³ and did not want to live in the same vicinity.  Since there was an uninhabited area in Goshen,⁴ Yosef knew that he would be able to have his brothers settle there

Conversation with Paroh

• Paroh amenable – Ralbag implies that, once Paroh invited the brothers to dwell in Egypt, Yosef had the authority to place them wherever he wished.  Nonetheless, out of his uprightness, Yosef still made sure to get Paroh's specific permission for rights to Goshen. 

• Paroh needed convincing – G. Naor⁵ posits, in contrast, that Yosef realized that it would not be a simple matter, in a time of famine, to convince Paroh to permit the settlement of an entire clan of foreigners.  He realized, however, that since the Egyptian nation had handed over all their cattle to Paroh,⁶ but shepherds (being an "abomination") were very scarce, Paroh was in need of shepherds for himself.  Yosef thus had the brothers emphasize their cattle herding, allowing Paroh to realize on his own the benefit the brothers could bring him.

Paroh's response – "בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ" – Ralbag understands this to mean the best of the land of Goshen, rather than the best of Egypt.  The brothers had no special need for quality agricultural land, only the best of the grazing area.  In contrast, R"Y Bekhor Shor assumes that Paroh really settled the brothers in the best of the land as a whole.⁷

"לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ" – According to this approach, it is possible that when the family descended to Egypt they thought that it would be for a short stay, until the famine ended.  They explain to Paroh that they seek land because there was no more grazing land in Canaan, implying that as soon as Canaan was revitalized they would return there.  If so, "לָגוּר" means to sojourn rather than to actively settle.⁸

Why shepherd in Egypt?

• If the family was planning on returning to Canaan, it is obvious that they would want to continue in their longstanding profession.⁹
• In addition, R. BachyaBereshit 46:32About R. Bachya b. Asher posits that the occupation gave them both economic and spiritual benefits.  It helped them attain the necessary provisions of wool, meat and milk (perhaps especially important in time of famine), while the solitude facilitated attaining closeness to the Divine.¹⁰ 
• According to G. Naor, had the brothers not continued to be involved in shepherding, it was possible that Paroh would not have agreed to let them settle since they would not have what to contribute to Egypt.

"And you will be close to me" – This approach could read this as an additional benefit of settling in Goshen; Yosef would be close enough to look after the family.  Alternatively, Yosef was simply highlighting the factor that he knew would persuade his father to uproot.

Location of Goshen – This position might set Goshen in the eastern Delta, an area which had both grazing and farming lands.

Distanced from Egyptians and Paroh

Goshen was considered an ideal site for settlement since it was isolated from both Paroh and the Egyptians at large.

Sources:JosephusAntiquities of the Jews 2:7:5About Josephus, Seikhel TovBereshit 46:34About R. Menachem b. Shelomo, Ramban, Bereshit 45:10About R. Moshe b. NachmanRalbag #3-4Bereshit Beur HaMilot 46:34About R. Levi b. Gershom, AbarbanelBereshit 45:9About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, R. Avraham SabaTzeror HaMor Bereshit 46:31About R. Avraham Saba (Tzeror HaMor), R. Eliezer AshkenaziMa'asei Hashem, Ma'asei Avot 42About R. Eliezer Ashkenazi (Ma'asei Hashem), Keli YekarBereshit 46:32About R. Shelomo Ephraim Lunshitz, R. S"R HirschBereshit 46:33About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, NetzivBereshit 46:2-4Bereshit 46:31-34Bereshit 47:3-6Bereshit 47:20-21Shemot 1:7About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin

Desire for distance – These sources raise several possibilities as to why the nation wanted to live in isolation:

• Out of sight of Paroh – Ramban and Abarbanel emphasize the desire to distance themselves from the royal court and its negative influences.¹¹ Netziv adds that Yosef feared that, if they stayed in the vicinity, Paroh might want to enlist the brothers in some form of government service.
• Prevent assimilation – Ralbag, R. Saba, R. Hirsch, and Netziv all maintain that not mingling with the Egyptians was crucial for the Israelites to maintain their national identity and not assimilate into Egyptian society.¹²
• Prevent antisemitic acts – Seikhel Tov and Ralbag imply that had the family lived amid the Egyptians, they might have become targets of antisemitism, due to the hatred Egyptians held towards shepherds.

"כִּי תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן"

• Shepherds abhorred - Most of these sources assume that the Egyptians denigrated shepherds.  Seikhel Tov explains that they were troubled that shepherds would milk, shear, prod and control the sheep, rather than revere and worship them.  It was this disgust on the part of the Egyptians, which Yosef hoped would allow the Israelites to settle apart from them in Goshen.
• Shepherds honored – Abarbanel explains that the word "תועבה" is the Torah's euphemistic way of referring to idolatrous gods; thus the verse is saying that the Egyptians venerated shepherds to god-like status.¹³  As such, they would be willing to give them whatever land they wished.

Discussion with Paroh - "וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אַנְשֵׁי מִקְנֶה הָיוּ עֲבָדֶיךָ" – According to this position, though the brothers did not want Goshen for its grazing land¹⁴ (but rather for its isolation), they nonetheless highlighted their shepherding profession since they know that this is what might convince Paroh to settle them there. 

• According to most of these sources, Yosef assumed that Paroh would want to distance the "abhorred" shepherds from regular Egyptian society and thus be amenable to their settling in the distant Goshen.
• According to Abarbanel, in contrast, Yosef was hoping that Paroh would honor the esteemed shepherds and give them their desired plots.

Paroh's Response - בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ הוֹשֵׁב אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אַחֶיךָ יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן

• Agreed above and beyond –Netziv asserts that Paroh not only acquiesced to the request, but added that he would be willing for the family to settle in even better land (בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ), had they so desired.¹⁵  According to Netziv, Paroh's agreement stemmed in part from his (mis)understanding that the brothers would only be in Egypt for a short while,¹⁶ and that it therefore did not pay to put them to state service.

• Only partially agreed - Alternatively. it is possible that Paroh only partially agreed to Yosef's request.  According to Chizkuni, although Paroh sent the brothers to live in Goshen, he had Yaakov live close to the place in Egypt proper (בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ).‎¹⁷  Paroh might have wanted to keep a close eye on at least one member of the intimidating clan, and thus chose the Patriarch of the family.¹⁸

Yosef's policy of population displacement – According to Ma'asei Hashem and Netziv, Yosef's decision to displace the Egyptians was motivated by the need to empty Goshen of its inhabitants so as to give the city to his family without causing an uproar.¹⁹  For elaboration and for other understandings of Yosef's dealings with the Egyptians, see Yosef's Economic Policies.

"And you will be close to me" – Since this position posits that Goshen was at a distance from the royal court, it would have to explain that when Yosef told his father "and you will settle in Goshen and be close to me" he was contrasting Goshen with Canaan, and not other cities in Egypt.  This was simply a way of convincing Yaakov to move to Egypt, so that he oculd be (relatively) close to Yosef.

"לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ" – Netziv maintains that Yaakov and family were aware that their descent to Egypt marked the beginning of the Egyptian exile and it is for this reason that they feared the potential for assimilation.  Netziv suggests that the brothers intentionally misled Paroh by saying that they had come just to "sojourn",²⁰ and implying that they would leave after the famine, when in fact they had come to settle.²¹  This might be supported by the text's saying that Yosef gave them an "אֲחֻזָּה", which connotes a more permanent inheritance.

Where was Goshen – This approach would place Goshen at a distance from the capital.

Proximity to Yosef

Yosef chose Goshen so that the family would be close to him.

¹ Ralbag assumes that there were multiple factors motivating Yosef to choose Goshen, both those relating to the quality of the land, and those relating to a desire for segregation.

² This is a difficult read of the verse, since according to R"Y Bekhor Shor it should read "תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל צֹאן"  and not "כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן". Later, however, Moshe speaks of the sheep themselves an "abomination" - "כִּי תּוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם נִזְבַּח לַי"י אֱלֹהֵינוּ הֵן נִזְבַּח אֶת תּוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם לְעֵינֵיהֶם וְלֹא יִסְקְלֻנוּ" (Shemot 8:22).

³ According to him, the Egyptians worshiped sheep.  As such they might have looked down upon any who who supervised and led sheep, as it suggests that the shepherds felt that they were superior to the sheep-gods.

⁴ If, however, Goshen was considered "the best" of Egyptian land, it is not clear why it would be unsettled, and why, of all people, the Egyptians would allow the detested shepherds to live there. This might be why Ralbag assumes that Paroh gave them the "best  of Goshen" but not the best of Egypt as a whole.

⁵ See his article, "כיצד הצליחו יעקב וביתו לרדת מצרימה", Orot Etzion 21 (1992): 128-139.

⁶ He is assuming that the story of Yosef's harsh policies towards the Egyptians overlapped with the brothers' descent to Egypt.

⁷ Since R"Y Bekhor Shor assumes that shepherds were among the most esteemed people in Egypt, it is understandable that he would want to honor them by giving them the most desired region.

⁸ See the Haggadah of Pesach where the verse is explained, "מְלַמֵּד שֶׁלֹא יָרַד יַעֲקֹב אָבִינוּ לְהִשְׁתַּקֵעַ בְּמִצְרַיִם אֶלָּא לָגוּר שָׁם".  R"Y Bekhor Shor disagrees and asserts that the simple sense of the verse is that the brothers came to settle more permanently.  The later description "וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲחֻזָּה בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם" might support his reading as the word "אֲחֻזָּה" connotes a more permanent settlement.

⁹ This is especially true according to R"Y Bekhor Shor who maintains that the occupation was highly regarded.

¹⁰ Moreover, he posits that the Patriarchs knew that eventually they would be exiled to Egypt where there would be a danger of acculturating and worshiping Egyptian gods. To prevent any notion of worshiping sheep, they chose the profession of shepherds which would make it difficult for their descendants to revere or see any divinity in such animals.

¹¹ See N. Leibowitz, Iyyunim Be Sefer Bereshit (Jerusalem, 1992):369, who suggests that Abarbanel might be peaking from his own experiences as a court official, knowing too well that proximity to the palace could also be detrimental.

¹² This is consistent with Netziv's repeated emphasis throughout this story and the beginning of Shemot on the importance of the nation living alone. He lauds Yosef for trying to prevent their assimilation and points out that it is only after his death that the nation leaves the confines of Goshen. This mixng with Egyptian society, he claims, is one of the reasons that the enslavement eventually begins.

¹³ As proof, he points to the fact that both Paroh and the Egyptians owned their own cattle.  Cf. R"Y Bekhor Shor above.

¹⁴ According to the Netziv, even after the brothers are given and settle in Goshen, they actually did not shepherd at all.  The entire claim was just part of the ruse to convince Paroh.

¹⁵ He claims that later, in addition to Goshen, Yosef gave the brothers fields and vineyards outside the city as well,  "וַיּוֹשֵׁב יוֹסֵף אֶת אָבִיו וְאֶת אֶחָיו וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲחֻזָּה בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ". 

¹⁶ See bullet below that according to Netziv, the brothers said that they were coming to "sojourn" in Egypt despite knowing that the exile was beginning, just in order to deceive Paroh.  Cf. Ramban, in contrast, who assumes that the brothers sincerely asked for permission for just a short duration and Paroh responded by telling Yosef that they should be treated as full citizens.

¹⁷ According to him the verse should read as if it has a semi colon after the phrase "בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ הוֹשֵׁב אֶת אָבִיךָ".  According to Chizkuni, Paroh's motives were positive; he thought that the elderly Yaakov would do better in teh clean air of the Egyptian capital. 

¹⁸ Alternatively, if Yaakov was viewed as an esteemed prophetic figure, Paroh might have hoped that his living in proximity to the court would earn him prestige.

¹⁹ Ma'asei Hashem asserts that Yosef picked Goshen specifically since he wanted the family to be totally isolated from all Egyptians. All other areas had priests whom he could not uproot as part of his policy, but since Goshen and its rich grazing land was home to shepherds (whom they detested) they had never lived there.

²⁰ He tries to mitigate the deceit by suggesting that it was not really a lie since the family never really wanted to become full fledged citizens, but rather to always be distinct from the population, as foreigners.

²¹ This was intended to prevent Paroh from enlisting them in government service.