Bereshit 41:54-42:7, 47:15 – Was Egypt the breadbasket of the world in the time of Yosef?

Bereshit 41:54,56,57 record that the famine predicted by Yosef was throughout the lands, and throughout the face of the earth. How extensive was the famine? Could it really have been all over the world? In North America? Did all the people in the world who were unable to get to Egypt and buy food from Yosef die from the famine? Was it really possible that there was enough food in Egypt to feed the entire world?

Bereshit Rabbah 90:6 writes that the famine was in three areas besides Egypt, Phoenicia (Lebanon), Arabia and Israel. Similarly, Benno Jacob (1974, p. 280) notes that the phrase "all the earth" in 41:56,57 just refers to the surrounding countries. In fact, since the point of the famine was to "force" Yaakov's family to go to Egypt, there was no need for there to have been a famine everywhere except in Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan (following the modern names) and the land of Israel. 

A related question is, did Yosef sell the grains to anybody who came to Egypt? This would be surprising since one would not expect that the Egyptians would be happy to see the grains that they grew being sold to other people in the midst of famine. It could be that they did not have a say in the matter, but 41:55 records that they were able to cry out to Pharaoh, and 47:15 records that they cried out to Yosef.

Another question about the extent of the famine is that 42:5 records that the famine was in the land of Canaan in the context of the brothers of Yosef travelling down to Egypt. Yet, after 41:54,56,57 record that the famine was in all the lands, and the brothers were going to Egypt due to the famine, why did 42:5 need to record again that the famine was in the land of Canaan? The Radak (on 42:5) explains that this information is to tell us that there were many people coming to Egypt from the land of Canaan at the same time as the brothers. I am not sure how this extra mention of the famine in the land of Canaan enables us to assume that many people were coming to Egypt from the land of Canaan. How many were then coming? Is this unspecified number important? Why did the Torah not simply write that the brothers came to Egypt amongst the people coming from the land of Canaan?

My guess is that the end of 42:5, which specifies that the famine was in the land of Canaan, is coming to tell us that people coming from Canaan due to the famine had a different status than other people who lived outside of Egypt. (A generalization and then a specification, kellal and perat.)

41:57 records that people from all the lands came to Egypt to buy food, but it does not record that they were able to buy food, only that they had to go to Yosef. My guess is that initially Yosef sold some food to anybody who came to Egypt to make it known that people could come to Egypt to buy food since he wanted his family to come to Egypt. However, he was unable to continue with this policy both because of the limit on the amount of food to sell, and that Egyptians would get upset from Yosef selling to foreigners. Once the word got out that food was available in Egypt, Yosef limited sales to people from Canaan (the end of 42:5) since he needed his family to come to Egypt. It could be that this is why 42:6 repeats that Yosef was in charge of Egypt since this authority allowed him to sell large amounts of wheat to foreigners, people from Canaan, even if this would upset the Egyptians. Afterwards, when Yosef first spoke to the brothers he asked where they were from. This was a legitimate question since at that time only people from Canaan had the right to buy food, and the brothers answered that they met this requirement, 42:7. Also, 47:15 records that Yosef had gathered all the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan. We see that people from Canaan were able to buy large quantities of food, but no other foreign country is mentioned. The second half of 47:15 then records that the people of Egypt complained to Yosef, as the people of Canaan, foreigners from the Egyptian perspective, could not complain to Yosef. Yosef then instituted the third stage of his policy, which was only to sell food to Egyptians since once Yosef’s family had come to Egypt, he had no need to keep allowing people from Canaan to buy the Egyptian wheat.

Another question concerning the purchase of the food in Egypt during the famine is that 42:1,2 record that Yaakov told his sons that they should go to Egypt to buy food. While this is a reasonable, why did Yaakov not move to Egypt during the famine, like Avraham did (12:10) and Yitzhak tried to do (26:1,2)? I believe there are six possible answers.

One, it is possible that due to the extensive famine, Egypt was not allowing foreigners to take up residence in Egypt. If this is true, then the fact that Yaakov eventually went to live in Egypt, 46:27, was a special dispensation due to Yosef.

Two, maybe logistically it was not feasible for Avraham or Yitzhak to send somebody to Egypt since their children had not yet been born, were too small, and they did not have enough trustworthy servants to bring back the food from Egypt. However, Yaakov was able to stay in Israel since his sons were old enough to bring back food.

Three, maybe once Yitzhak was told not to go to Egypt, Yaakov thought it was forbidden for him to go to Egypt (see Radak and Bekhor Shor on 46:1). Yaakov had left Israel to go to Haran, but possibly this was permitted while Egypt was not. A problem with this idea is that later, 45:28, Yaakov decided to go to Egypt before G-d told him it was okay. Yet, maybe one could argue that Yaakov was not going to leave without G-d’s approval and that was why he stopped in Be'er-Sheva, 46:1.

Four, maybe Yaakov was worried that if he left the land of Israel then Esav would return to the land of Israel. 36:6 records that Esav left the land of Israel because it was too much for Esav and Yaakov to live together in the land. However, if Yaakov was to leave the land for a substantial amount of time, then it was conceivable that Esav would come back, and Yaakov would have lost the land of Israel to his brother. This approach accords with Luzzatto’s (on 46:1) suggestion that Yaakov stopped in Be'er-Sheva to pray before leaving Egypt not only to inquire as to whether it was permissible for him to go to Egypt but also to ensure that he would not forfeit the land of Israel by going to Egypt.

Five, in the covenant of the pieces, G-d told Avraham that his descendants would suffer in a foreign land, and that the fourth generation would return to Israel, 15:13-16. I understand the fourth generation to be from Avraham which is Yaakov’s children, see our discussion, "Who is the fourth generation?" If this is true, then Yaakov had good reason to fear going down to Egypt since this could be the beginning of the prophecy, as in fact it was (see Ramban on 46:1 and Hizkuni on 46:3). If this approach is correct, then it could be that later Yaakov went to Egypt since his desire to see Yosef prevailed over his fear that the prophecy of the future suffering was about to begin. (This idea could also apply to reason four.)

Six, in a personal conversation, Eric Sherby suggested that maybe Yaakov did not want to leave the land of Israel in case Yosef might return.

Bibliography:

Jacob, Benno (1869-1945), 1974, The first book of the bible: Genesis, commentary abridged, edited and translated by Earnest I. Jacob and Walter Jacob, New York: Ktav Publishing House.

Bereshit 35:27-29 - The end of the toledot section of Yitzhak: The homecoming

Bereshit 35:29 records the death of Yitzhak and this verse ends the toledot section that began in 25:19, “these are the toledot of Yitzhak.” The main character in this section, except for chapters 26 and 34, was not Yitzhak but Yaakov. Yaakov is alive and plays an important role for almost the entire continuation of the book of Bereshit (his death is recorded in 49:33), but except for chapters 48,49, Yosef and Yehuda are the main characters and not Yaakov. Thus 37:2 starts a new toledot section, “these are the toledot of Yaakov,” which signals the beginning of the story of Yosef.

There are some interesting parallels between Yaakov and Odysseus, the Greek hero. Gary Rendsburg (1984, also see C.H. Gordon, 1955) writes “the entire Jacob cycle, moreover, parallels the Odyssey, Sinuhe, and Gilgamesh where the protagonist must leave home and then happily returns.” He uses the parallelism between Yaakov and the Odyssey to explain 35:2, which records that Yaakov told his family, “Purify (wash) yourself, change your garments.” He argues that chapter 35 is the homecoming of Yaakov and when in ancient literature there was a homecoming, there was always a washing and changing of clothing prior to returning home. Thus, 35:2 records a washing prior to the homecoming of Yaakov. This last point is not clear since he notes (footnote #8) that it is possible that the washing in 35:2 was for cultic reasons and not simple cleaning before coming home. The cultic reason seems more likely since the washing was a while before Yaakov returned home to his father and seems to be directly related to G-d’s command to offer sacrifices at Bet-El, 35:1. Yet, one could argue that the homecoming was to Bet-El, where Yaakov had his dream when he left home, 28:19. In addition to this possible connection between Yaakov and Odysseus, other parallels between Yaakov and Odysseus can be found.

The first parallel between Yaakov and Odysseus is their personality that both were renowned for their cleverness. Homer continually refers to Odysseus as the wise or sagacious hero and Odysseus used tricks to explicate himself from difficult situations. Yaakov also used his intellect and tricks to overcome his difficulties with Esav and Lavan. Yaakov tricked his father, 27:35, and then was tricked by Lavan, 29:23-25. Afterwards, he became wealthy by using his acumen by raising animals, 30:28-43.  He then escaped from Lavan since Lavan was about to impoverish him, 31:42.  When Yaakov returned home, he showed his sagacity by giving Esav gifts and calling Esav his lord. This allowed Esav to think that he was the superior brother, which ended the conflict peacefully. Furthermore, when Esav offered to journey with Yaakov, Yaakov realized he might be walking into a trap, so he politely but determinedly refused to go, 33:12-16, see our discussion on 33:1-16, "My brother, my enemy?"

A second parallel between Yaakov and Odysseus is the structure of the stories here of Yaakov and the Odyssey. The Odyssey is usually divided into three sections. The first four books of the story record the troubles in Odysseus’s home that due to his absence there were many suitors for his wife. The next eight books record Odysseus travels on the way home from the battle at Troy. The final twelve books record the homecoming of Odysseus that he killed all the suitors and returned to his wife, son and father.

Chapters 25-33 follow the same structure though without all the gory killings and fantastic creatures. In chapters 25 and 27, there is trouble at home that Yaakov was not beloved by his father, and the parallel suitor here is Esav who was Yitzhak’s favorite. Chapters 28-31 record all the adventures of Yaakov when he was away from home. Coincidentally, both Yaakov and Odysseus were away from home for 20 years. While Rendsburg argued that chapter 35 should be thought of as the homecoming of Yaakov when Yaakov returns to his father, I would expand the homecoming to begin from chapters 32, as chapters 32 and 33 record that Yaakov returned to Israel and faced his brother. My understanding is that in the middle of the night Yaakov fought Esav (see our discussion on 32:25-31, 33:10, "Who fought with Yaakov?) which would parallel Odysseus fighting the suitors of his wife. But even if one follows the usual interpretation that Yaakov fought an angel, still in the end due to Yaakov, Esav left Yitzhak’s home, 36:9.

The third parallel is from James Joyce, who re-created the Odyssey in his book Ulysses. Daniel Boorstin (1992, p. 704) notes that Joyce chose Odysseus as his model since he was the most complete man in literature. Joyce writes “Odysseus is the son of Laertes, but he is father to Telemachus, husband to Penelope, lover of Calypso, companion in arms to the Greek warriors around Troy and King of Ithaca. He was subjected to many trials but with wisdom and courage came through them all.”

Could not Yaakov also be considered a complete man? Yaakov might even be more of a complete person than Odysseus if one looks at his relationships with his family members, father, mother, brother, uncle, four wives and children. For example, Yaakov is the only person, who the Torah records a conversation between the person and his mother, 27:6-13. Furthermore, Yaakov's relationship with Rahel is undoubtedly the most romantic relationship recorded in the Torah.

Joyce also notes that Odysseus did not want fight in Troy, but once he agreed he showed his heroism. This also occurred by Yaakov who did not want to fight Esav. He tried sending gifts to appease Esav, 32:14-21, but when he was attacked in the middle of the night, he showed his heroism by fighting even though he was wounded, and even insisted on getting a blessing, 32:26,27.

One difference between Yaakov and Odysseus is that Yaakov was only a leader of the family and not of many people, but by the time the family went down to Egypt, the clan consisted of 70 men. Also, in the end, Yaakov kept the family together, while Odysseus lost all his men by the time he returned home.

Erich Auerbach (1953, p. 17) notes another difference between Yaakov and Odysseus and other Greek figures, that in the stories of Homer the people do not age, while figures in Tanakh change with time. Auerbach notes that “Odysseus on his return is exactly the same as when left Ithaca two decades earlier. But, what a road what a fate, lies between the Jacob who cheated his father out of his blessings, and the old man whose favorite son has been torn to pieces by a wild beast.” Yet, if we “stop” the story of Yaakov when he returned to the land of Israel after twenty years, then he too does not yet seem to have aged. (This non-aging would exclude the story of Dinah, see our discussion above, 34:1-35:7, “How old was Dina when Shekhem wanted to marry her?” where I argue that this incident is recorded out of chronological order.) Note, Auerbach (pp. 7-12, partially quoted by N. Leibowitz, 1976, pp. 196-199) in his comparison of the Akedah with Homer has noted many other differences in style between Tanakh and the stories ascribed to Homer.

If one has accepted these comparisons between Yaakov and Odysseus, the question becomes is there any significance to the parallels? A possible answer is maybe both texts are trying to portray a real genuine hero that people can look up to. The hero is a person, who is not perfect. Thus, we see all the family relationships of the hero, the complete man of Joyce. The similar structures show the difficulties faced by the hero and how they were surmounted. The heroes are smart and show their greatness by conquering many challenges in their lifetime. They do not choose to fight, but if necessary, they are willing and able.

The depiction of Yaakov as a hero is not unique in the Torah. It also occurs by Avraham and Moshe. Avraham also overcame numerous tests, (Mishnah, Pirkei Avot 5:4 states that there were 10 tests) but Avraham was a different type of hero than Yaakov. Yaakov was a fighter who used his wisdom and strength to succeed while by Avraham the tests involved his faith in G-d. As for Moshe, some scholars have argued that the events of his birth followed the pattern of other heroes in literature, see our discussion on Shemot 2:2-6, "Moshe, a foundling?" Moshe was also a different type of hero from Yaakov and Avraham as he demonstrated great leadership abilities by guiding the people out of Egypt to the border of the Promised Land.

Bibliography:

Auerbach, Erich, 1953, Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Boorstin, Daniel J., 1992, The Creators, New York: Random House.

Gordon, Cyrus, H., 1955, Homer and the Bible, Hebrew Union College Annual, 26, pp. 43-108.

Rendsburg, Gary, 1984, Notes on Genesis XXXV, Vetus Testamentum 34:3, pp. 361-365.