Vayetze

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vayetze, Vayeitzei, or Vayetzei (וַיֵּצֵא — Hebrew for “and he left,” the first word in the parshah) is the seventh weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It constitutes Genesis 28:10–32:3. Jews in the Diaspora read it the seventh Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in November or December.

Jacob's Dream (painting by Michael Willmann)

[edit] Summary

Jacob’s Ladder (painting by William Blake)

[edit] A ladder to heaven

When Jacob left Beersheba for Haran, he stopped at a place for the night, using a stone for a pillow. (Gen. 28:10–11.) He dreamed that he saw a ladder to heaven on which God’s angels ascended and descended. (Gen. 28:12.) And God stood beside him and promised to give him and his numerous descendants the land on which he lay, said that through his descendants all the earth would be blessed, and promised to stay with him wherever he went and bring him back to the land. (Gen. 28:13–15.) Jacob awoke afraid, remarked that surely the place was the house of God, the gate of heaven, and called the place Bethel (although the Canaanites had called the city Luz). (Gen. 28:16–19.) Jacob took the stone from under his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on it. (Gen. 28:18.) And Jacob vowed that if God would stay with him, give him bread and clothing, and return him to his father's house in peace, then God would be his god, the stone pillar would be God's house, and he would give God a tenth of what he received. (Gen. 28:20–22.)

Jacob and Rachel (painting by Palma il Vecchio)

[edit] Rachel at the well

Jacob came to an eastern land where he saw a well with a great stone rolled upon it and three flocks of sheep lying by it. (Gen. 29:1–3.) Jacob asked the men where they were from, and they said Haran. (Gen. 29:4.) Jacob asked them if they knew Laban, and they said that they did. (Gen. 29:5.) Jacob asked if Laban was well, and they said that it was, and that his daughter Rachel was coming with his sheep. (Gen. 29:6.) Jacob told the men to water and feed the sheep, but they replied that they could not do so until all the flocks had arrived. (Gen. 29:7–8.) When Jacob saw Rachel arrive with her father's sheep, he rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered Laban’s sheep. (Gen. 29:9–10.) Jacob kissed Rachel, wept, and told her that he was her kinsman, and she ran and told her father. (Gen. 29:11–12.)

[edit] Jacob and Laban

When Laban heard of Jacob’s arrival, he ran to meet him, embraced and kissed him, and brought him to his house. (Gen. 29:13.) Jacob told Laban all that had happened, and Laban welcomed Jacob as family. (Gen. 29:13–14.) After Jacob had lived with Laban for a month, Laban asked Jacob what wages he wanted for his work. (Gen. 29:14–15.) Laban had two daughters: The elder, Leah, had weak eyes, while the younger, Rachel, was beautiful. (Gen. 29:16–17.) Jacob loved Rachel, and offered to serve Laban seven years for Rachel’s hand, and Laban agreed. (Gen. 29:18–19.) Jacob served the years, but his love for Rachel made them seem like just a few days. (Gen. 29:20.) Jacob asked Laban for his wife, and Laban made a feast and invited all the men of the place. (Gen. 29:21–22.) In the evening, Laban brought Leah to Jacob, and Jacob slept with her. (Gen. 29:23.) Laban gave Leah Zilpah to be her handmaid. (Gen. 29:24.) In the morning, Jacob discovered that it was Leah, and he complained to Laban that he had served for Rachel. (Gen. 29:25.) Laban replied that in that place, they did not give the younger before the firstborn, but if Jacob fulfilled Leah’s week, he would give Jacob both daughters in exchange for another seven years of service. (Gen. 29:26–27.) Jacob did so, and Laban gave him Rachel to wife, and gave Rachel Bilhah to be her handmaid. (Gen. 29:28–29.)

[edit] Jacob’s children

Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah, so God allowed Leah to conceive, but Rachel was barren. (Gen. 29:30–31.) Leah bore a son, and called him Reuben, saying that God had looked upon her affliction. (Gen. 29:32.) She bore a second son, and called him Simeon, saying that God had heard that she was hated. (Gen. 29:33.) She bore a third son, and called him Levi, saying that this time her husband would be joined to her. (Gen. 29:34.) She bore a fourth son, and called him Judah, saying that this time, she would praise God. (Gen. 29:35.)

Rachel envied her sister, and demanded that Jacob give her children, but Jacob grew angry and asked her whether he was in God's stead, who had withheld children from her. (Gen. 30:1–2.) Rachel told Jacob to sleep with her maid Bilhah, so that Bilhah might bear children upon Rachel’s knees who might be credited to Rachel, and he did. (Gen. 30:3–4.) Bilhah bore Jacob a son, and Rachel called him Dan, saying that God had judged her and also heard her voice. (Gen. 30:5–6.) And Bilhah bore Jacob a second son, and Rachel called him Naphtali, saying that she had wrestled with her sister and prevailed. (Gen. 30:7–8.)

mandrake roots (illustration from a 7th century manuscript of Pedanius Dioscorides De Materia Medica)

When Leah saw that she had stopped bearing, she gave Jacob her maid Zilpah to wife. (Gen. 30:9.) Zilpah bore Jacob a son, and Leah called him Gad, saying that fortune had come. (Gen. 30:10–11.) And Zilpah bore Jacob a second son, and Leah called him Asher, saying that she was happy, for the daughters would call her happy. (Gen. 30:12–13.)

Reuben found some mandrakes and brought them to Leah. (Gen. 30:14.) Rachel asked Leah for the mandrakes, and when Leah resisted, Rachel agreed that Jacob would sleep with Leah that night in exchange for the mandrakes. (Gen. 30:15) When Jacob came home that evening, Leah told him that he had to sleep with her because she had hired him with the mandrakes, and he did. (Gen. 30:16.) God heeded Leah and she conceived and bore Jacob a fifth son, and called him Issachar, saying that God had given her a reward. (Gen. 30:17–18.) Leah bore Jacob a sixth son and called him Zebulun, saying that God had endowed her with a good dowry. (Gen. 30:19–20.) And afterwards Leah bore a daughter, and called her nam Dinah. (Gen. 30:21.)

God heeded Rachel and she conceived and bore a son and called him Joseph, invoking God to add another son. (Gen. 30:22–24.)

[edit] The speckled and spotted sheep

Then Jacob asked Laban to allow him, his wives, and his children to return to his own country. (Gen. 30:25–26.) Laban conceded that God had blessed him for Jacob’s sake, and asked Jacob to name how much he wanted to stay. (Gen. 30:27–28.) Jacob recounted how he had served Laban and how Laban had benefited, and asked when he could provide for his own family. (Gen. 30:29–30.) Laban pressed him again, so Jacob offered to keep Laban’s flock in exchange for the speckled, spotted, and dark sheep and goats, and thus Laban could clearly tell Jacob’s flock from his. (Gen. 30:31–33.) Laban agreed, but that day he removed the speckled and spotted goats and dark sheep from his flock and gave them to his sons and put three day’s distance between Jacob and himself. (Gen. 30:34–36.)

Jacob peeled white streaks in fresh rods of poplar, almond, and plane trees and set the rods where the flocks would see them when they mated, and the flocks brought forth streaked, speckled, and spotted young. (Gen. 30:37–39.) Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the stronger sheep, but not before the feeble, so the feebler sheep became Laban's and the stronger Jacob's. (Gen. 30:41–42.) Jacob’s flocks and wealth thus increased. (Gen. 30:43.)

[edit] Jacob’s departure

Jacob heard that Laban's sons thought that he had become wealthy at Laban’s expense, and Jacob saw that Laban did not regard him as before. (Gen. 31:1–2.) God told Jacob to return to the land of his fathers, and that God would be with him. (Gen. 31:3.) Jacob called Rachel and Leah to the field and told them that Laban had changed his opinion of Jacob, but Jacob had served Laban wholeheartedly and God had remained with Jacob. (Gen. 31:4–6.) Jacob noted that Laban had mocked him and changed his wages ten times, but God would not allow him to harm Jacob, but had rewarded Jacob, giving Laban’s animals to Jacob. (Gen. 31:7–9.) Jacob said that in a dream God told him to return to the land of his birth. (Gen. 31:11–13.) Rachel and Leah answered that they no longer had any portion in Laban’s house and all the riches that God had taken from Laban were theirs and their children's, so Jacob should do whatever God had told him to do. (Gen. 31:14–16.)

So Jacob set his sons and his wives on camels and headed out toward Isaac and Canaan with all the animals and wealth that he had collected in Padan-aram. (Gen. 31:17–18.) Jacob tricked Laban by fleeing secretly while Laban was out shearing his sheep, and Rachel stole her father’s idols. (Gen. 31:19–20.) On the third day, Laban heard that Jacob had fled and he and his kin pursued after Jacob seven days, overtaking him in the mountain of Gilead. (Gen. 31:22–23.) God came to Laban in a dream and told him not to speak to Jacob either good or bad. (Gen. 31:24.) But when Laban caught up with Jacob, he asked Jacob what he meant by carrying away his daughters secretly, like captives, without letting him kiss his daughters and grandchildren goodbye. (Gen. 31:25–28.) Laban said that while he had the power to harm Jacob, God had told him the previous night not to speak to Jacob either good or bad, and now Laban wanted to know why Jacob had stolen his gods. (Gen. 31:29–30.) Jacob answered that he fled secretly out of fear that Laban might take his daughters by force, and whoever had his gods would die. (Gen. 31:31–32.) Laban searched Jacob's tent, Leah's tent, and the two maid-servants’ tent, finding nothing, and then he entered Rachel's tent. (Gen. 31:33.) Rachel had hidden the idols in the camel’s saddle and sat upon them, apologizing to her father for not rising, as she was having her period. (Gen. 31:34–35.) Laban searched and felt about the tent, but did not find the idols. (Gen. 31:34–35.) Angered, Jacob questioned Laban what he had done to deserve this hot pursuit and this searching. (Gen. 31:36–37.) Jacob protested that he had worked for Laban for 20 years, through drought and frost, bearing the loss of animals torn by predators, and not eating Laban’s rams, only to have his wages changed 10 times. (Gen. 31:38–41.) Had not the God of Isaac been on Jacob’s side, surely Laban would have sent Jacob away empty, Jacob said, and God had seen his affliction and awarded him what he deserved. (Gen. 31:42.) Laban answered Jacob that they were his daughters, his children, and his flocks, but asked what he could do about it now. (Gen. 31:43.)

Instead, Laban proposed that they make a covenant, and Jacob set up a stone pillar and with his kin heaped stones, and they ate a meal by the heap. (Gen. 31:44–46.) Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob called it Galeed. (Gen. 31:47.) Laban called the heap as a witness between him and Jacob, and invoked God to watch, when they were apart, if Jacob would afflict Laban’s daughters and take other wives. (Gen. 31:48–50.) And Laban designated the heap and the pillar as a boundary between him and Jacob; Laban would not pass over it to Jacob, and Jacob would not pass over it to Laban, to do harm. (Gen. 31:51–52.) Laban invoked the God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, and the God of Terah, and Jacob swore by the Fear of Isaac and offered a sacrifice. (Gen. 31:53–54.)

Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and his daughters, blessed them, and departed for his home. (Gen. 32:1.) And when Jacob went on his way, the angels of God met him, and Jacob told them that this was God's camp, and he called the place Mahanaim. (Gen. 32:2–3.)

[edit] In classical rabbinic interpretation

Rabbi Akiba (illustration from the 1568 Mantua Haggadah)

[edit] Genesis chapter 28

Once in the meat market of Emmaus, Rabbi Akiba asked Rabban Gamaliel and Rabbi Joshua about the words of Genesis 32:32, “And the sun rose on him,” inquiring whether the sun rose on only him and not on everyone. Rabbi Isaac said that it meant that the sun which had set early for his sake now rose early for him. Rabbi Isaac noted that Genesis 28:10 reports that Jacob left Beersheba in the south of the Land of Israel and went toward Haran north of the Land, and Genesis 28:11 reports that “he lighted upon the place” identified (in Genesis 28:10–22) as Bethel in the center of the Land. Rabbi Isaac explained that when he reached Haran, he asked himself how he could have passed through the place where his fathers had prayed and not have prayed there too. So Rabbi Isaac deduced that he immediately resolved to turn back, and as soon he did, the earth contracted and he immediately “lighted upon the place.” After he prayed, he sought to return to Haran, but God chose to give this righteous man a night’s rest and immediately (as Genesis 28:11 reports) “the sun was set.” (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)

Jacob’s Dream (painting by Jusepe de Ribera)

The Gemara noted that Genesis 28:11 reports that “he took of the stones of the place” (in the plural), but Genesis 28:18 reports that “he took the stone” (in the singular). Rabbi Isaac deduced that all the stones gathered themselves together into the same place so as to be the stone upon which this righteous man would rest his head, and as a Tanna taught in a Baraita, all the stones merged into one. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)

Rabbi Joshua ben Levi (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or a Baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yose the son of Rabbi Chanina (according to the Babylonian Talmud) said that the three daily prayers derived from the Patriarchs, and cited Genesis 28:11 for the proposition that Jews derived the evening prayer from Jacob, arguing that within the meaning of Genesis 28:11, “came upon” (vayifga) meant “pray,” just as a similar word (yifge’u) did in Jeremiah 27:18 (according to the Jerusalem Talmud) or another similar word (tifga) did in Jeremiah 7:16 (according to the Babylonian Talmud). (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 43a; Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 26b.)

Interpreting Jacob’s dream of a ladder in Genesis 28:12, a Tanna taught that the width of the ladder was 8,000 parasangs (perhaps 24,000 miles). The Tanna noted that Genesis 28:12 reports “the angels of God ascending and descending on it,” and thus deduced from the plural that at least two angels were ascending and two descending, and when they came to the same place on the ladder, there were four angels abreast. And Daniel 10:6 reports of an angel that “His body was like the Tarshish,” and by tradition the sea of Tarshish is 2,000 parasangs long. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)

A Tanna taught that the angels ascended to look at the sight of Jacob above and descended to look at the sight below, and they wished to hurt him, and thus immediately (as Genesis 28:13 reports) “the Lord stood beside him.” Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish said that were it not expressly stated in the Scripture, we would not dare to say it, but God is made to appear like a man who fans his son to protect him from the heat. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)

The Gemara asked what the significance was of God’s promise in Genesis 28:13 to give Jacob “the land on which you lie,” which would have been about 6 feet of land. Rabbi Isaac deduced that God rolled up the whole Land of Israel and put it under Jacob, thus indicating that his descendants would easily conquer it. (Babylonian Talmud Chullin 91b.)

The Tosefta deduced from Genesis 28:21 that Jacob spoke as if God was not Jacob’s God when Jacob was not in the land of Canaan. (Tosefta Avodah Zarah 4:5.)

Rabbi Jacob bar Idi pointed out a contradiction between God’s promise to protect Jacob in Genesis 28:15 and Jacob’s fear in Genesis 32:8; Rabbi Jacob explained that Jacob feared that some sin might cause him to lose the protection of God's promise. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 4a, Sanhedrin 98b.)

Rabbi Ilai taught that the Sages ordained at Usha that if a man wishes to give charity liberally, he should not spend more than a fifth of his wealth. Rav Nahman (or some say Rav Aha bar Jacob) cited Genesis 28:22 as proof for the proposition, as in the words “And of all that You shall give me, I will surely give a tenth to You,” repetition of the verb “to give a tenth” or “tithe” implies two tenths or one fifth. The Gemara did the math and questioned whether the second tenth would not be less than the first tenth, as it would be taken from the nine-tenths that remained after the first tenth had been given away and thereby represented only 1/10 x 9/10 = 9/100 of the original capital. Rav Ashi replied that the words “I will . . . give a tenth of it” in Genesis 28:22 implied that he would make the second like the first. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 50a.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 29

The Gemara read Genesis 7:8 to employ the euphemistic expression “not clean,” instead of the brief, but disparaging expression “unclean,” so as not to speak disparagingly of unclean animals. The Gemara reasoned that it was thus likely that Scripture would use euphemisms when speaking of the faults of righteous people, as with the words, “And the eyes of Leah were weak,” in Genesis 29:17. (Babylonian Talmud Baba Batra 123a.)

Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words “He withdraws not his eyes from the righteous” in Job 36:7 to teach that God rewards righteousness, even generations later. The Gemara taught that in reward for Rachel’s modesty as shown in her dealings with Jacob, God rewarded her with King Saul as a descendant. The Gemara taught that Jacob asked Rachel, “Will you marry me?” She replied, “Yes, but my father is a trickster, and he will outwit you.” Jacob replied, “I am his brother in trickery.” She said to him, “Is it permitted to the righteous to indulge in trickery?” He replied, “Yes, with the pure you show yourself pure, and with the crooked you show yourself subtle.” (2Sam. 22:27.) He asked her, “What is his trickery?” She replied: “I have a sister older than I am, and he will not let me marry before her.” So Jacob gave her certain tokens through which he could identify her. When night came, she said to herself, “Now my sister will be put to shame,” so she gave Leah the tokens. Thus when Genesis 29:25 reports, “And it came to pass in the morning that, behold, it was Leah,” we are not to infer that up until then she had not been Leah, but rather that on account of the tokens that Rachel had given Leah, Jacob did not know until then that it was Leah. Therefore God rewarded Rachel with having Saul among her descendants. (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 13a–b, Bava Batra 123a.)

Rachel and Leah (illustration by Dante Gabriel Rossetti)

Rabbi Helbo quoted Rabbi Jonathan to teach that the firstborn should have come from Rachel, as Genesis 37:2 says, “These are the generations of Jacob, Joseph,” but Leah prayed for mercy before Rachel did. On account of Rachel’s modesty, however, God restored the rights of the firstborn to Rachel’s son Joseph from Leah’s son Reuben. To teach what caused Leah to anticipate Rachel with her prayer for mercy, Rav taught that Leah’s eyes were sore (as Genesis 29:17 reports) from her crying about what she heard at the crossroads. There she heard people saying: “Rebecca has two sons, and Laban has two daughters; the elder daughter should marry the elder son, and the younger daughter should marry the younger son.” Leah inquired about the elder son, and the people said that he was a wicked man, a highway robber. And Leah asked about the younger son, and the people said that he was “a quiet man dwelling in tents.” (Genesis 25:27.) So she cried about her fate until her eyelashes fell out. This accounts for the words of Genesis 29:31, “And the Lord saw that Leah was hated, and He opened her womb,” which mean not that Leah was actually hated, but rather that God saw that Esau’s conduct was hateful to Leah, so he rewarded her prayer for mercy by opening her womb first. (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 123a.)

The seven days of Jacob’s wedding feast in Genesis 29:27–28 are reflected in the Sages’ ruling that if a groom developed symptoms of skin disease (tzaraat), they granted him a delay of inspection to the end of the seven days of his marriage feast. (Babylonian Talmud Moed Katan 7b.)

Rabbi Johanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai that Genesis 29:35 showed that from the day that God created the world, no man praised God until Leah did upon the birth of Judah. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 7b.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 30

Rebbi (or some say Rabbi Judah ben Pazi) said in the name of the academy of Yannai that Dinah was originally conceived as a boy, but when Rachel prayed for another son in Genesis 30:24, God transformed Dinah’s fetus into a girl, and that is why the description of Dinah’s birth in Genesis 30:21 uses the word “afterward,” showing that this happened after Rachel prayed. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 92a.) Rabbi Judah ben Pazi said in the name of the academy of Rabbi Yannai that Rachel showed that she was a prophetess when in Genesis 30:24 she prophesied that she would bear another son, and by using the singular “son” she foretold that Jacob would have just one more son. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 92a.)

The Tosefta deduced from Genesis 30:30 that before Jacob arrived, Laban’s house had not received a blessing, and deduced from Genesis 30:27 that it was because of Jacob’s arrival that Laban was blessed thereafter. (Tosefta Sotah 10:7.)

[edit] Genesis chapter 31

It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Akiva said that one of three things that he liked about the Medes was that when they held counsel, they did so only in the field. Rav Adda bar Ahabah said that Genesis 31:4, where Jacob called Rachel and Leah to the field, could be cited in support of the practice. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 8b.)

[edit] Commandments

Hosea (painting from Siena's Duomo)

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parshah. (Maimonides. Mishneh Torah. Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180. Reprinted in Maimonides. The Commandments: Sefer Ha-Mitzvoth of Maimonides. Translated by Charles B. Chavel, 2 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1967. ISBN 0-900689-71-4. Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 1:87. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1991. ISBN 0-87306-179-9.)

[edit] Haftarah

The haftarah for the parshah is:

for Ashkenazi Jews: Hosea 12:13–14:10
for Karaite Jews: Hosea 11:7–13:5

[edit] The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For Parshah Vayetze, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Ajam, the maqam that expresses happiness, commemorating the joy and happiness of the weddings of Jacob to Leah and Rachel.

[edit] Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

[edit] Biblical

Genesis 24:10–28 (courtship at the well); 44:9 (improvident oath).
Exodus 2:15–21 (courtship at the well); 22:12 (domestic animals lost to wild animals).
Judges 11:30–31 (improvident oath).

[edit] Classical rabbinic

Tosefta: Sotah 10:7–8; Avodah Zarah 4:5. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:877; 2:1275. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 43a, 92a. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 1–2. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Genesis Rabbah 68:1–74:17. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Genesis. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.

Talmud

Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 4a, 7b, 8b, 26b, 42a, 60a, 62b; Shabbat 80b, 115b; Eruvin 100b; Yoma 38b, 74b, 77a; Sukkah 53a; Rosh Hashanah 11a; Taanit 2b; Megillah 9a, 10b, 13b, 17a; Moed Katan 7b, 15a, 21b; Yevamot 26b–27a, 28b, 62b, 97b, 103b; Ketubot 7b, 47b, 50a, 91b; Nedarim 20b, 64b; Nazir 23b, 50a; Bava Kamma 65b; Bava Metzia 93b; Bava Batra 123a–b; Sanhedrin 29a, 39b, 98b; Makkot 19b; Avodah Zarah 3a, 5a, 9a, 24b; Menachot 63a; Chullin 18b, 91b; Bekhorot 45a; Niddah 31a–b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

[edit] Medieval

Rashi. Commentary. Genesis 28–32. Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 1:309–57. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. ISBN 0-89906-026-9.
Judah Halevi. Kuzari. 2:14, 50, 80. Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 91, 114, 133. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
Zohar 1:146b–65b. Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, The Zohar. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Hobbes

[edit] Modern

Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan, 3:34, 36; 4:45. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 437, 460, 676–77. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Mesillat Yesharim, ch. 4. Amsterdam, 1740. Reprinted in Mesillat Yesharim: The Path of the Just, 53. Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1966. ISBN 0-87306-114-4.
Irving Fineman. Jacob, An Autobiograhical Novel. New York: Random House, 1941.

Mann

Thomas Mann. Joseph and His Brothers. Translated by John E. Woods, 24–25, 37, 47, 51, 87, 103–12, 119–20, 124–25, 135, 138, 142, 173–305, 307, 313, 323, 334, 337, 384–86, 388–92, 425, 460, 474, 488, 491–93, 502–03, 511, 515, 517, 519, 524, 530, 669–70, 676–77, 690–91, 693, 715–16, 729–30, 778, 805, 814, 883, 915. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
Charles Reznikoff. Luzzato: Padua 1727. Mid 20th Century. In Harold Bloom. American Religious Poems, 247. Library of America, 2006. ISBN 978-1-931082-74-7.
Margaret Atwood. The Handmaid's Tale. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1986. ISBN 0-395-40425-8.
Denise Levertov. “The Jacob’s Ladder” in Harold Bloom, American Religious Poems, 379. Library of America, 2006. ISBN 978-1-931082-74-7.