^{Previous parasha (#8): Vayetzei Next parasha (#10): Miketz}

Parasha #9: Vayeshev (וַיֵּשֶׁב‎)

Reading passages

Torah: Genesis 37:1-40:23 (Hebrew: פָּרָשַׁת וַיֵּשֶׁב)
Haftarah: Amos 2:6-3:8

Summary

Parasha Vayeshev (“he settled”) recounts the history of Jacob’s sons selling their brother Joseph into Egyptian captivity out of jealousy for their father’s favoritism and Joseph’s dreams of future dominance. The brothers deceive Jacob into believing that Joseph has been killed by a wild animal by showing him Joseph’s blood-stained coat. Additionally, the parasha delves into the story of Judah’s mistreatment of his daughter-in-law Tamar, who ingeniously tricks him into fulfilling his levirate duty by disguising herself as a prostitute, leading to the birth of Perez and Zerah. The portion also describes Joseph’s service to Potiphar, an Egyptian officer, and his subsequent imprisonment due to false accusations from Potiphar’s wife, who claims Joseph attempted to assault her after he consistently rejects her advances. While in prison, Joseph’s ability to interpret dreams brings him to the attention of Pharaoh’s cupbearer and baker, setting the stage for his later rise to power in Egypt.

Parasha Data Sheet

Verse	Query	Description
Gen. 37:2	Toldot predicate phrase	Identifying specific family histories (Toldot’s).
Gen. 37:3	The special coat	Where else the ketonet passim (כְּתֹ֥נֶת פַּסִּֽים)?
Gen. 37:12	Dotted nota accusivus	The ETH is dotted, which might (according to Midrash Rabbah) indictes Josephs brothers were feeding themself (instead of the sheep).
Gen. 37:21,22	Deliver from the hand	locate texts with the words (in any order) “delivered from the hand” (Query: Timothy Baze).
Gen. 37:32; 38:25	Expression הַכֶּר־נָא	Locate where the expression ‘recognize yeah’ is used.
Gen. 38:1	At that time	Where else is the expression ‘at that time’ (בָּעֵ֣ת הַהִ֔וא) used?
Gen. 40:16	A good interpretation	Because the baker heard the ‘tov’ interpretation (כִּ֣י טֹ֣וב פָּתָ֑ר) of the cupbearer’s dream.

GitHub	NBviewer	Short description
Vayeshev	Vayeshev	Shalom with/out wav (Gen. 37:4).
hapax	hapax	Find unique words (hapax legomena) in this parasha.
Lexical parallels	Lexical parallels	Find lexical parallels between verses
Delta SP and MT	Delta SP and MT	Identify differences between the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP) and Masoretic Text (MT).

Hebcal

Additional details about Jewish calendar and holiday information, offering users a resource for tracking Hebrew dates, candle lighting times, and other relevant information in the Jewish calendar. Hebcal entry for parasha Vayeshev.

AI generated image

The following image was created by DALL.E as illustration for this parasha. The following prompt was AI generated as prompt to the image: “An artistic depiction of Parasha Vayeshev: Jacob sitting pensively in the land of Canaan, surrounded by a serene yet tense atmosphere, symbolizing his desire for peace. Nearby, Joseph, adorned in his vibrant multicolored robe (ketonet passim), stands out among his brothers, who watch him with mixed emotions. The scene is set under a vivid Middle Eastern sky, with flocks of sheep grazing in the distance and subtle hints of the unfolding drama, such as shadows of a pit and caravan traders in the background.”