Vayeishev 39:1 · unit 1

Parashas Vayeishev · Passuk 39:1

The Complete Passuk

וְיוֹסֵ֖ף הוּרַ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יְמָה וַיִּקְנֵ֡הוּ פּוֹטִיפַר֩ סְרִ֨יס פַּרְעֹ֜ה שַׂ֤ר הַטַּבָּחִים֙ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י מִיַּד֙ הַיִּשְׁמְעֵאלִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר הוֹרִדֻ֖הוּ שָֽׁמָּה׃

When Joseph was taken down to Egypt, Potiphar, a courtier of Pharaoh and his prefect—an Egyptian—bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him there.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sotah 13b.

Sefaria — Sotah 13b

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
וְיוֹסֵף הוּרַד מִצְרָיְמָה — אָמַר רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר: אַל תִּקְרֵי הוּרַד אֶלָּא הוֹרִיד, שֶׁהוֹרִיד אַצְטַגְנִינֵי פַּרְעֹה מִגְּדוּלָּתָם.

English: “And Yosef was brought down to Mitzrayim” — R’ Elazar said: do not read “was brought down” but “he brought down,” for he brought down Pharaoh’s astrologers from their greatness.

On the daf / in context: Yosef’s descent is read as the eventual lowering of Egyptian magical prestige when he alone interprets dreams correctly.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — not a formal named middah of the 13. A vowel/reading shift turns passive exile into active historical consequence.

What Is Learned

Yosef’s arrival in Mitzrayim is the beginning of the fall of Pharaoh’s astrologers from power.