The dramatic story of Joseph comes to an end in this week's Torah reading when Jacob dies after asking Joseph to promise to bury him in the Land of Israel. And the most famous question asked about the saga spanning several parshas, except for how his brothers could have treated him as they did, is why Joseph didn't contact his father during the nine years he was viceroy, before his brothers came to Egypt. He was second to Pharaoh during the seven "good" years and two "bad" ones and could have sent a message before the brothers came to buy food. He could not have done so before that as he was sold as a slave to Potiphar and later thrown into jail.
How could he let his father suffer those extra nine years?
Many answers have been given to this question. This article provides a holistic approach that encompasses the entire story and helps us understand it from a political and economic point of view, one that takes human nature into account, while shedding light on the many other questions that arise from reading it:
Why did all ten brothers come to buy food? Why not send one or two? Why did they have to appear personally before Joseph to buy food? Why did he accuse them of being spies?Why did he instruct his staff to surreptitiously return their money? Why does the verse say that Pharaoh heard and it found favor in his eyes? Why would anyone expect him to feel otherwise? Why is Jacob convinced by the chariots? Why does Jacob make Joseph swear that he will bury him in Canaan? Why does the Egyptian army accompany the burial party?
Joseph, the brilliant, young and handsome Hebrew slave, was elevated to the rank of second to Pharaoh almost as soon as he became known to the Egyptian court. Like any court, it was full of intrigues and jealousies, schemes and power plays. You can be sure the nobles, sycophants and courtiers surrounding Pharaoh were furious at Joseph's appointment – some probably wanted the job, others had sons who might have been promoted to it. Their power was now curtailed by this newcomer. It must have been terrible for them to see an upstart foreigner go from being a convict to being the object of honor and homage, in addition to being granted unlimited authority.
Joseph had only Pharaoh on his side – and Pharaoh, too, might be convinced by the rumors at some point.. He had no family and no power base. His rise to power made little sense politically. This left ample opportunity to badmouth him behind his back, which is the way one combats a political appointee backed by a powerful ruler. The wagging tongues would naturally say that a Hebrew slave must be really be spying for Egypt's arch enemy, the Hittites, and they must have filled Pharaoh's ears with rumors, watching Joseph's every move for a false step. He had to be very careful to survive.
Obviously the last thing he could do was communicate with his father in Canaan, the country situated between Egypt and the land of the Hittites (today's Turkey), an act which they would report to Pharaoh as proof of the truth of their suspicions. They might or might not have seen the message as coded, but either way, Joseph could not play into their hands and even try to contact anyone outside Egypt.
Joseph realized that his family would come to buy food and wanted to meet them, but that could not be obvious. It was logical for him to organize the grain distribution for the benefit of his subjects, make sure the supply would last and prevent black market operations. Therefore, he ensured that Egypt would not accept orders from out of the country and would sell a set amount per purchaser. The brothers, therefore, all had to come so they would be able to purchase enough grain for their families, realizing that each would have to give up some of their grain for Jacob and Benjamin. It made sense for Joseph to meet purchasers from outside the country to be sure they were not spies.
Accusing the brothers of being spies, as far as the court was concerned, was a brilliant way to attack those who spoke about him behind his back and to show how loyal he was to Egypt. Then, putting the money in their sacks proved that they were what they claimed to be. Had they really been spies and found the money, they would never have mentioned it, just made sure not to return to Egypt and been repaid by their contact. Pharaoh was happy to discover that this was Joseph's family and he really was a loyal Hebrew youth who had ended up in Egypt through no fault of his own.
Still, some suspicion lingered on, as can be seen by what happens when the brothers return to Canaan.
Pharaoh decides to send his latest war vehicles, "agalot (2 wheeled chariots) al pi Par'o", to bring Jacob. This show of military power could not have been sent by anyone except a ruler and convinces Jacob that Joseph really is second to the king, but it also means that Pharaoh is covering all possibilities. He is not sending the brothers without Egyptian military strength to make sure there is no funny business.
The happy end to the saga doesn't mean that Joseph was now completely trusted in the Egyptian court. The gossip went on and Jacob knew that burying him in Israel was not going to be so easy for his son to accomplish. Jacob therefore made Joseph swear to him that he would do it. That persuaded Pharaoh, but to be sure Joseph returned, Pharaoh sent a whole army with Joseph, just to be sure there was no treason planned with the enemy – especially since Joseph knew all of Egypt's secrets.
To sum up, the political intrigue frame work for the story answers all the questions that arise when reading it, while also describing a reality – a web of court machinations and suspicion of those in power that is part of human nature and continues to this day.
Dr. Yacov M. Tabak (1945-2015) was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Columbia University where he also did his post-doctorate. He and his family moved to Israel in 1975 where he founded a chemical instruments company, was turned to for problem solving and lectured on new developments in analytic chemistry to industrial chemists. Torah, however, was his first love and he was known for original interpretations, especially the 10 part series he gave at the Israel Center on Redemption and his many talks on Arutz Sheva Radio. He died on Shabbat Parshat "Vayechi Yacov" in January 2015, 12 Tevet.