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 grazing land 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. Gershom¹

"And you will be close to me" – According to this approach, though this was not Yosef's main motivation; the personal proximity was merely an additional benefit of settling in Goshen.  Alternatively, Yosef was simply highlighting the only factor that he knew would persuade his father to uproot.

Negotiations with Paroh – why highlight shepherding? According to this position, the brothers were being upfront with Paroh, honestly sharing that they desired Goshen for its good pastures.

"כִּי תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן" – How will this factor help obtain grazing land? According to this approach, the Egyptian's disdain for herdsmen² is what determined the availability of Goshen.  Since few Egyptians engaged in shepherding, it left the rich grazing lands of Goshen uninhabited,³ making it a perfect choice for the Israelites.⁴

"לָגוּר בָּאָרֶץ בָּאנוּ" – This position might suggest that Yosef's family descended to Egypt, thinking it would be for a short stay, only until the famine ended.⁵  Thus, it was concern for their economic rather than spiritual well being, that was foremost in their minds when trying to choose a place to settle.  If so, "לָגוּר" means to sojourn rather than to actively settle.⁶

What was in it for Paroh? G. Naor⁷ posits that Paroh was in need of shepherds because he had recently amassed huge quantities of livestock.  Due to Yosef's economic policies, the Egyptian people had handed over all their cattle to Paroh in return for sustenance,⁸ but shepherds, being an "abomination", were very scarce.  Yosef, thus, had the brothers emphasize their herding experience, allowing Paroh, on his own, to realize the economic benefits which the brothers could bring him.

Paroh's grant – "בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ הוֹשֵׁב אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אַחֶיךָ יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן" – Ralbag understands "מֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ" 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, and that is what Paroh granted them.⁹

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.¹⁰
• According to G. Naor, had the brothers not continued to be involved in shepherding, it is possible that Paroh would not have agreed to let them settle, since they would not have been able to contribute to Egypt.

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

Distance from Egyptians and Paroh

Goshen was considered an ideal site for settlement since it was isolated from both Paroh, in particular, 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 assert that avoiding mingling with the Egyptians was crucial for the Israelites maintaining their national identity and not assimilating into Egyptian society.  According to Netziv, it is precisely when the brothers move out of Goshen and intermingle with Egyptian society, that the enslavement begins.  For more, see Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage.
• Prevent anti-Semitic acts – Seikhel Tov and Ralbag imply that had Yaakov's family lived amidst the Egyptians, they might have become targets of anti-Semitism, due to the hatred Egyptians held towards shepherds.

"And you will be close to me" – Since this position assumes that Goshen was at a distance from the royal court, it would need to explain that when Yosef told his father "and you will settle in Goshen and be close to me", he was merely 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 could be (relatively) close to Yosef.

"תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן" – How will this achieve isolation? According to this position, although the brothers did not want Goshen for its grazing land,¹² they nonetheless highlighted their shepherding profession, knowing that this was the most effective way of persuading Paroh to settle them there:¹³ 

• Shepherds detested – According to most of these sources, Yosef knew that shepherds were considered an "abomination"¹⁴ and 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.
• Shepherds honored – According to Abarbanel, in contrast, the  word "תועבה" is the Torah's euphemistic way of referring to idolatrous gods, and the verse is sharing that the Egyptians venerated shepherds to god-like status.¹⁵  As such, Yosef was hoping that Paroh would honor the esteemed shepherds and give them their desired plots.

Was Goshen empty of inhabitants? According to this position, to prevent assimilation, it was necessary that no Egyptians would live in Goshen.  Ma'asei Hashem and Netziv, thus, explain that Yosef's policy of population displacement was motivated by this very need. Yosef cleverly found a way to empty the entire region and resettle his family, without even causing an uproar.¹⁶  For elaboration and for other understandings of Yosef's dealings with the Egyptians, see Yosef's Economic Policies.

"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.  He further suggests that the brothers intentionally misled Paroh by saying that they had come just to "sojourn",¹⁷ thinking that it might persuade Paroh that it was unnecessary to keep the family under close guard or conscript them if they were soon to leave.¹⁸

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

• Only partially agreed – 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 palace in Egypt proper (בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ).‎¹⁹  Despite Yosef's plan, Paroh might have still desired to keep a close eye on at least one member of the intimidating clan, and thus chose the Patriarch of the family.²⁰
• Agreed above and beyond – Netziv, in contrast, asserts that Paroh not only acquiesced to the request, but added his permission for the family to settle in even better land (בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ), had they so desired.²¹  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,²² and that it therefore did not pay to enlist them as civil servants.

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

Proximity to Yosef

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

"And you will be close to me" – According to this approach, Yosef's initial message to his father, "וְהָיִיתָ קָרוֹב אֵלַי" represents his primary reason for choosing Goshen.  After so many years apart, Yosef presumably wanted his father nearby.  It is not clear, though, if he wanted his brothers in Goshen for the same reason.  It is possible that he had completely forgiven them and looked to make up for lost years, but alternatively, he still wary and desired to keep an eye on them.  For elaboration, see Yosef's Treatment of his Family.

"כִּי תוֹעֲבַת מִצְרַיִם כׇּל רֹעֵה צֹאן"

• This position could explain that Egyptians abhorred shepherds since it was degrading for their sheep-gods to be looked after by humans. 
• Alternatively, if one posits like Shadal,Shemot 1:8About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto that the story is taking place under Hyksos rule, it is possible that lay Egyptians looked down upon shepherds for political rather than religious reasons.  They resented the new Asiatic rule and the shepherds who were associated with them.

Discussion with Paroh - "וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אַנְשֵׁי מִקְנֶה הָיוּ עֲבָדֶיךָ" – Yosef realized that while the common Egyptians distrusted shepherds, Paroh, being of the Hyksos ruling class, would look upon them favorably.  Yosef, thus, had the brothers harp on this point, hoping that Paroh would invite them to dwell nearby, in the pasture-filled land of Goshen.

Paroh's response

¹ Ralbag suggests that there was a combined total of four factors motivating Yosef to choose Goshen.  The first two of these related to the quality of the land, and the latter two (discussed below) related to a desire for segregation.

² Ralbag assumes that this disdain was related to the Egyptian veneration of sheep.

³ See Ralbag who claims that the region was not built up.  If, however, Goshen was considered not just good pasture, but also "the best" of Egyptian land, it is not clear why it would be unsettled. This might be why Ralbag assumes that when Paroh said he will give them the "best of the land" he was referring to the "best of Goshen" but not the best of Egypt as a whole.

⁴ R"Y Bekhor Shor, in contrast, suggests that the word "abomination" is simply the Torah's derogatory term to refer to Egyptian worship of sheep, and does not imply that the Egyptians had any antipathy toward shepherds.  In fact, he claims that the Egyptians venerated shepherds because they cared for and raised their gods, and for that reason wanted them to receive a choice portion of land.

⁵ Note how they explain to Paroh that there was no more grazing land in Canaan, implying that as soon as Canaan was revitalized they would return there

⁶ 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.

⁷ See his article, "כיצד הצליחו יעקב וביתו לרדת מצרימה", Orot Etzion 21 (1992): 128-139.

⁸ He is assuming that the story of Yosef's harsh policies towards the Egyptians overlapped with the brothers' descent to Egypt.

⁹ In contrast, R"Y Bekhor Shor assumes that Paroh really settled the brothers in the best of the land as a whole. Since R"Y Bekhor Shor assumes that shepherds were among the most esteemed people in Egypt, it is understandable that Paroh would want to honor them by giving them the most desired region.

¹⁰ This is especially true according to R"Y Bekhor Shor who maintains that the occupation was highly regarded.   R. BachyaBereshit 46:32About R. Bachya b. Asher adds 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.  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 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.

¹³ They could not exactly share their fears of conscription, assimilation or anti-Semitism.

¹⁴ Seikhel Tov explains that the Egyptians worshiped sheep and thus were troubled when shepherds would milk, shear, or prod their gods, viewing this as a denigration.

¹⁵ As proof, he points to the fact that both Paroh and the Egyptians owned their own cattle. Cf. R"Y Bekhor Shor in the note above.

¹⁶ According to this logic it is not clear why Goshen specifically, as opposed to any other region, was chosen.  Ma'asei Hashem suggests that all other areas had priests whom he could not uproot as part of his policy, but since Goshen and its rich grazing land had been home to shepherds whom the priests detested they had never lived there.

¹⁷ The word implied that they would leave after the famine, when in fact they had come to settle.  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.

¹⁸ This was intended to prevent Paroh from enlisting them in government service.

¹⁹ 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. 

²⁰ 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.

²¹ 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".

²² 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.