2024 notes on vayeishev (Genesis 37-40) 2024 注释vayeishev“住” 创世记37-40

(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale）

37:2 These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was feeding the flock with his brethren; and the lad was with the sons of Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives: and Joseph brought unto his father their evil report. 雅各的记略如下。约瑟十七岁与他哥哥们一同牧羊。他是个童子，与他父亲的妾辟拉，悉帕的儿子们常在一处。约瑟将他哥哥们的恶行报给他们的父亲。

2024注释: “恶行报给”：原文有说坏话的意思。有三种可能：第一是哥哥们真做了坏事，约瑟报告了爸爸。第二是哥哥没做坏事，约瑟说哥哥做了坏事，第三是哥哥没做坏事，约瑟误解了哥哥，报告爸爸他们做了坏事。圣经没有明确说到底是什么情况或某些情况的结合。我们一般理解是第一种情况。哥哥们后来能把弟弟卖了，真做了坏事也是很可能的。但圣经原文的用的词根dibbah通常有负面的意思，这与后来圣经记载以色列人的探子说应许之地的坏话所用的词根一样，参见https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/h1681/kjv/wlc/0-1/

Rashi解经也提到约瑟打小报告的负面解释，并说他因此受到惩罚。https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.37.2.4?lang=bi

我想常打小报告的人即使主观意愿是想举报真的坏事，也不免有时可能会出错冤枉别人。后来约瑟被卖后也被别人冤枉入狱，可能是主对义人要求更高，要惩罚他磨练他除去他的坏习惯。如果约瑟以前真的打小报告有这个坏习惯，他后来应该是改了，后来圣经从来没说约瑟把哥哥卖他这件事告诉爸爸。

2024 Commentary: “Brought … their evil report”:
The original Hebrew word has connotations of speaking negatively or spreading bad words. There are three possibilities regarding Joseph’s actions:

His brothers genuinely did wrong, and Joseph reported their behavior to his father.
His brothers did no wrong, but Joseph falsely accused them.
His brothers did no wrong, but Joseph misunderstood their actions and mistakenly reported them as wrongdoing.

The Bible does not specify which of these scenarios or a mix of them is correct. The typical interpretation leans toward the first scenario: that Joseph truthfully reported genuine misconduct. This is plausible given that later, his brothers sold him, a grievous wrongdoing.

However, the Hebrew root dibbah, used here for “bad report,” often carries a negative connotation. The same root is used in the Bible when the Israelite spies spread a negative report about the Promised Land (see Lexicon Entry for dibah).

Rashi points out a more critical perspective, suggesting that Joseph’s reporting could be seen as slanderous or overly negative, and that he was punished for it. Source: Rashi on Genesis 37:2.

People who habitually report wrongdoing, even with good intentions, may sometimes err and unjustly accuse others. After Joseph was sold into slavery, he himself was falsely accused and imprisoned, possibly as a divine lesson to refine his character.

If Joseph had a tendency to report negatively on others in his youth, it seems G-d helped him overcome this habit. He was never recorded in the Bible to inform his father of his brothers’ betrayal in selling him, showing restraint and maturity later in his life. This suggests that his character had been refined through his trials.

37:13 And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them. And he said to him, Here am I. 以色列对约瑟说，你哥哥们不是在示剑放羊吗？你来，我要打发你往他们那里去。约瑟说，我在这里。

2024注释: “我在这里。” 原文Hineini。Rashi 解经提到约瑟热衷于为爸爸做事，即使知道哥哥们恨他。 https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.37.13.1?lang=bi

Hineini是造物主的仆人们回应祂的呼召时常用的回应。这是神呼召亚伯拉罕献以撒时亚伯拉罕的回应（创22:1），也是神呼召摩西带以色列人出埃及时摩西的回应（出3:4）。约瑟的回应，可以象征天父的儿女愿意行天父的旨意，不顾受到他人的敌视。

2024 Commentary: “Here am I.” Hineini in Hebrew.

Rashi’s commentary mentions that Joseph eagerly responded to his father’s call to go to his brothers, even though he knew they hated him. Source: Rashi on Genesis 37:13.

Hineini is a common response used by the servants of the Creator when answering His call. It was Abraham’s reply when God called him to offer Isaac (Genesis 22:1), and Moses’ reply when God called him to lead Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:4).

Joseph’s response symbolizes the willingness of God’s children to do the Father’s will, even when facing hostility from others.

37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. 有些米甸的商人从那里经过，哥哥们就把约瑟从坑里拉上来，讲定二十舍客勒银子，把约瑟卖给以实玛利人。他们就把约瑟带到埃及去了。

2024注释: 有时看起来，做对的事反而遭遇不幸。约瑟不顾哥哥们的敌视行父亲的意愿，反而被卖为奴。

2024 Commentary: Sometimes, it seems that doing the right thing leads to misfortune. Joseph, despite facing hostility from his brothers, chose to obey his father’s wishes, yet this resulted in him being sold into slavery.

39:9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 在这家里没有比我大的。并且他没有留下一样不交给我，只留下了你，因为你是他的妻子。我怎能作这大恶，得罪神呢？

2024注释: 约瑟拒绝与奴隶主的妻子行淫，因为他不愿得罪造物主。Rashi解经提到，不可淫乱是造物主对挪亚子孙（当时的全人类）的诫命。https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.39.9.1?lang=bi

2024 Commentary: Rashi’s commentary mentions that the prohibition against sexual immorality was one of the commandments given by the Creator to Noah’s descendants, which at that time encompassed all of humanity. Source: Rashi on Genesis 39:9.

39:20 And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 把约瑟下在监里，就是王的囚犯被囚的地方。于是约瑟在那里坐监。

2024注释: 有时看起来，不做坏事反而遭到不幸。因为不愿犯罪行淫，约瑟反而被奴隶主的妻子诬陷入狱。

2024 Commentary: Sometimes, it seems that refraining from wrongdoing can lead to misfortune. Because Joseph refused to commit adultery, he was falsely accused by his master’s wife and thrown into prison.

40:23 Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, but forgat him. 酒政却不记念约瑟，竟忘了他。

2024注释: 约瑟在监狱里帮助过酒政。酒政是为埃及王调酒的近臣，约瑟希望酒政出狱后向法老求情释放约瑟。结果酒政出狱后忘了这事。

至此，我们看到约瑟先因为行好事（为父亲做事）而遭难（被卖为奴），后因为不行坏事（不与主人的妻子淫乱）而进一步遭难（入狱）。

这是本读经进度的结束。但是，这不是整个故事的结束。下两个读经进度我们看到，约瑟成了埃及宰相，救了饥荒中的全世界，包括卖他的哥哥们。他的两次遭难，都不是没有作用的，第一次，是奴隶贩子把约瑟从西亚带到北非的埃及，第二次，是在狱中约瑟认识了埃及王的近臣，后来埃及王释放了约瑟，任命他作宰相应对未来的饥荒。

约瑟的故事，毕竟在今世就看到了一个美好的结局。但是，在有些情况，有人行好事反而遭难，有人不行坏事反而遭难，直到今生结束。但今生的结束，也还不是整个故事的结束。今生只是整个故事的一小部分。这不是猜想，而是圣经记载的已经开始了的事实。新约里的耶稣，和他的很多使徒们，都是做好事而死的，但这不是故事的结束，耶稣已经复活了，来世将要降临，我们正在盼望着这新的篇章 …

2024 Commentary: Joseph, while imprisoned, assisted Pharaoh’s cupbearer, a close attendant responsible for serving wine to the Egyptian king. Joseph hoped the cupbearer would plead his case before Pharaoh after being released. However, upon his release, the cupbearer forgot about Joseph’s request.

Up to this point, we observe Joseph suffering twice for righteousness’ sake. First, he suffered for doing good (serving his father) when his brothers sold him into slavery. Later, he suffered again for refraining from evil (refusing to sin with his master’s wife), which led to his imprisonment.

This is where this reading portion ends, but it is not the end of Joseph’s story. In the next reading portions, we see Joseph rise to become Egypt’s prime minister, ultimately saving the world from famine, including his brothers who betrayed him. Joseph’s trials were not without purpose. The slave traders first brought him from Asia to Egypt, and subsequently the imprisonment introduced him to Pharaoh’s officials, which eventually led to his release and elevation as prime minister to manage the impending famine.

Joseph’s story ends beautifully in this life, but not all situations conclude as such in the present world. Sometimes, people suffer for doing good or refusing to do evil, and this suffering may continue until the end of their earthly lives. Yet even the end of this life is not the end of the story. Life in this current world is but a small chapter in a much larger narrative.

This is not mere speculation but a truth established in Scripture. In the New Testament, Jesus and many of His apostles were persecuted and killed for doing good. However, their deaths were not the end of their stories. Jesus has already risen, and the coming age will bring the new chapter of the story we await with hope …