And Pharaoh Called Yosef's Name Tsafnath Pa'anei'ach (Ber. 41:45)

[Yaaqov Ben Yisrael]

One of the most overlooked facts of Torah is how much Egyptian is actually utilized in its narratives, especially in those narratives of Yosef and Ya'aqov's day, and even in the story of the Exodus. We have a wide range of Egyptian idioms, phrases, words and even Egyptian syntax. There is no doubt in my mind that I...srael stayed in Egypt, as there is linguistic if not historical support for this.

Yosef is called by Pharaoh Tsafnath Pa'nei'ach. There have been many interpretations concerning this name. Many have been mere guesswork, others more scholarly. Most have altered the name, or involved grammatical irregularities. In any case, with those interpretations, the critics win, as there is no mention of a vizier in Egypt by their contrived name for Yosef.

A simple way to look at the Hebrew form, and important too, is to understand that the Hebrew only represents the Hieroglyphic title of Yosef. In this way we can reconstruct the Hieroglyphic nature of Tsafnath Pa'nei'ach. In Hieroglyphic Tsafnath Pa'nei'ach would be: Df-n-t iw p'nh which means He Who Feeds May He Live. This was an honorary title given to Yosef for saving the Egyptians from the famine.

There is evidence from the 13th dynasty of a king of Egypt who is called S'nh t'.wy He Who Keeps Alive (feeds) the Two Lands (Egypt) (Hieroglyph Texts, British Museum IV, plate 22).

This may or may not have been the Biblical Yosef, and as long as research is blocked by the Egyptians, we may never know. However, the fact remains, that the narrator of these stories had an intimate knowledge of Egypt, and was familiar with court etiquette.

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יִשָּׂ֨א יְהוָ֤ה׀ פָּנָיו֙ אֵלֶ֔יךָ וְיָשֵׂ֥ם לְךָ֖ שָׁלֹֽום

May YHWH Lift His Countenance To You and Grant You Shalom, Amein!

 

שָׁלוֹם וּבְרָכָה 

Shalom U'vrakhah

 

חָכָם יַעֲקֹב בֶּן יִשְׂרָאֵל

Ya'aqov ben Yisrael

 

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