JOSEPH’S NEW NAME
Readers who have been following this blog for a while know that I love series. It made more sense, to do a series when I was able to publish a new post every week, – but even now, within this current format, I am still happy to proceed with the series we started two months ago: reclaiming the Biblical names. Today, we will discuss the names from the last part of the book of Genesis – Joseph’s saga. This is undoubtedly one of my favorite pieces of Scripture, and there are so many amazing details and delicious nuances in the story of Joseph, particularly in the names, that I can’t wait to share with you all these details and nuances. I hope you will discover some new insights into this well-known story!
In Genesis 41, we witness an amazing scene: Joseph (who was just brought from his prison) is interpreting Pharaoh’s dream. Very impressed, Pharaoh decides to make him the second man in Egypt, stating that only Pharaoh’s throne will separate his authority from that of Pharaoh. As a sign of Joseph’s new identity, “Pharaoh… gave Joseph the name Zaphenath-Paneah.”
There is no agreement among Egyptologists as to what this name may actually mean, and to this day there has not been an interpretation accepted by all. The ancient Jewish interpretive tradition, however, derives the name Zapheath-Paneah from Hebrew (and not Egyptian) roots: פִּעְנֵחַ צפן (paneah and tsaphan). What are the meanings of these roots?
Tzaphan means “to hide, treasure or store up”. We find a good example in the well-known words of Ps.119: Thy Word have I hid in mine heart… (In Hebrew it’s:בְּ֭לִבִּי צָפַ֣נְתִּי Belibi tsaphanti…). Paneach means “to decipher; to figure out, solve; decode, interpret”. Thus, Zaphenath-Pa’neach, the Egyptian name of Joseph, might be translated as: “He who explains hidden things”. That really could be the name that Pharaoh would give to Joseph – after all, he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams.
But this name also might be translated as “The Revelation of the Hidden”. Then, it would reflect not only Pharaoh’s understanding of Joseph, but the entire plan of God in this story. You might remember that the Scripture we read during Purim, is the Book of Esther. The name of this book in Hebrew – Megillat Esther (the Scroll of Esther) – is very profound: the name Esther (אסתר) is probably related to the word “nistar”: “hidden”, “concealed”; while the word Megillah might be related to the word “megaleh”: “reveal”. The words “Megillat Esther” can therefore literally be translated as “the Revelation of the Hidden” – exactly, like Zaphenath-Pa’neach, the Egyptian name of Joseph: thus understood, both expressions would relate to the unfolding of God’s hidden plan.
FORGET MY FATHER’S HOUSE
When, after all Joseph’s suffering and trials, we finally see him being successful and influential, we are struck by a very interesting detail in this narrative. When his first son was born in Egypt, Joseph called him Menashe: “because God has made me forget (nashani –נשני) all my labor and my father’s house.” Forget his father’s house? Didn’t Joseph love his father? Why did he want to forget him so badly that even the name of his son had to remind him constantly of this forgetting?
First of all, we have to remember that Joseph didn’t know what we the readers do —he didn’t know that his brothers had deceived his father and that Jacob thinks that Joseph is dead. He was probably wondering, especially during his first years of slavery: “Why doesn’t my father look for me”? Egypt is so close to Canaan, we can assume that Joseph expected his father to come and look for him – but as we know, that didn’t happen.
At some point, Joseph may have decided that Jacob was involved in the plot – after all, it was his father who sent him to check on the brothers. Joseph knew that his father loved him, but he also knew the stories of the Fathers: Abraham loved Ishmael – but God chose Isaac; Isaac loved Esau – but God chose Jacob. Joseph was sure that if it was God’s will for him to be banished from his family, his father would accept and obey this will; and probably, it’s what Joseph had been thinking all this time. Hence this surprising name of his firstborn: “God has made me forget … my father’s house”.
JOSEPH’S SONS
During Shabbat celebration on Friday evenings, Jewish fathers bless all their children with the priestly blessing.[1] The introduction, however, depends on whether the child is a boy or girl. For boys, the introductory line is:
May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe!
Why do Jewish fathers bless their sons by the names of Joseph’s sons? Why are the sons of Joseph chosen for this blessing rather than the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
Two sons were born to Joseph in Egypt. We just discussed “the name of the firstborn” Manasseh. The name of the second he called Ephraim.[2] The name Ephraim is derived from the root פָּרָה – here “to make fruitful”. Evidently, Joseph was able to forget his suffering and move on: to become fruitful and productive in the foreign land.
However, what was so special about Joseph’s sons? Why on Friday evenings, during Shabbat celebration, do Jewish fathers bless their sons by the names of Joseph’s sons? Why are the sons of Joseph chosen for this blessing rather than the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?
We do not know much about these boys, and yet there had to be something about them that turned them into a paradigm for blessings. First, Ephraim and Menashe are the first brothers in the Torah whose relationship is not marked by jealousy and rivalry, and this fact alone presents a powerful testimony to the peace in Joseph’s heart and Joseph’s home. Moreover, these two children grew up in exile, completely separated from their extended family, and yet they obviously remained faithful to Israel and to the God of Israel – otherwise, Jacob would not select Joseph’s two sons for the blessings across the ages. There is a powerful message in this blessing. When we say to our sons: “May God make you like Ephraim and Menashe,” we wish them to be fruitful – and to be always spiritually connected to their people and their God, regardless of where they live and grow up.
THE MEANING OF JUDAH’S NAME
We read in Gen. 44:14: So Judah and his brothers came to Joseph’s house, and he was still there; and they fell before him on the ground.
Do you know where in the Bible we have the same expression: “Judah and his brothers”? When we open the New Testament, we read in Matthew: Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers. Judah and his brothers – this is how scripture sees this story. Why? Because the story of Joseph is also the story of Judah. We are watching the transformation of Judah’s character throughout this story. We are watching Judah gradually becoming the man he was meant to be; watching him beginning to live up to his calling, contained in his name. But what is the meaning of Judah’s name?
Let’s start from the beginning—from Judah’s birth. When Leah gave birth to her fourth son, she declared: “This time I will praise the Lord”. Therefore she named him Judah.” In English, of course, we don’t see a connection: I believe this is one of the greatest losses we experience when reading our Bible in translation only – the meaning of the Hebrew names is completely lost in translation. Translations and adaptations don’t simply change the original meaning, but render the names meaningless. Unless we take time to go back into the Hebrew, the Biblical names of people and places in translation will continue to have no connection at all with the original reference points and ideas buried within the text itself. The connecting words: “therefore”, or “because”, or “so” seem meaningless in these cases – as in Gen. 3:20: And Adam: called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living; or in Gen. 25:26: Afterward his brother came out, and his hand took hold of Esau’s heel; so his name was called Jacob. However, when we read these Scriptures in Hebrew, the connections are very evident—and this becomes absolutely clear in the naming of Judah: the verb lehodot (להודות) means “to thank “or “to praise”, and the Hebrew name for Judah, Yehudah (יהודה), is the noun form of the root Y-D-H (ידה), “to thank” or “to praise”.
Therefore, Judah’s Hebrew name, Yehudah (יהודה), can be translated literally as “thanksgiving” – and this is something that many Bible readers are aware of (even those who don’t know Hebrew). This is also the first, and very important, lesson of the name Judah. We all know that King David was a descendant of Judah: The Book of Samuel makes it very clear that God bestows His anointing on a monarchic line arising from the Tribe of Judah. We have to thank the Lord to become part of His plan and His story, and to bring His blessing upon our descendants.
I suppose, many of my readers know it. However, few would be aware that this Hebrew verb, lehodot, has yet another meaning: to admit, to confess. For example, Vidui, the Hebrew name of a special prayer of confession read before and during Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), comes from the same root. Thus, the name provides an important insight into the character of Judah: Judah has to be a man of confession! Indeed, within Joseph’s saga, Judah admits his sin, experiences a change of heart, and begins to live up to his name: Judah – the Repentant one!
Judah was the very first Biblical figure who was ready to acknowledge his sin and repent; he repents twice in the book of Genesis—with Tamar and with Joseph; his words become part of Yom Kippur prayers and thus designate the attitude that the Lord desires from his children. I believe, it’s because of this repentant heart that Judah was so special in the eyes of the Lord, – as many centuries later Judah’s descendant Ring David, also a man of repentant heart, was very special in the eyes of the Lord as well: “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God”[3].
[1] Num. 6:24-26
[2] Gen. 41:52
[3] Ps. 51:17
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Dear Julia,
Believe it or not, I’m still around. Thank you for this wonderful lesson! Did you ever think of writing a book about Biblical names and their meaning? I have a couple of books that claim to know the meaning of names in the Bible, but they are by Christian Authors and I find that they aren’t always correct. I can’t find a book about names with a Jewish Author.
May God Bless you and keep you and your love ones safe. My prayers are with all of Israel for Shalom!!