English: R’ Binyamin bar Yefes said in the name of R’ Elazar: “And Yisrael bowed” — this is what people say: “The fox in its hour — bow to it.”
On the daf / in context: Megillah 16b applies the popular saying to Yaakov’s bowing before Yosef. Even a greater person bows before a lesser one when the latter is in a position of power (“in its hour”).
Type of Learning
Derash on the verse (Bavli sugya) — the bowing is understood as directed toward Yosef, illustrating the practical maxim of yielding to one who currently holds authority.
What Is Learned
Even a father of the stature of Yaakov bowed before his son when that son held temporal power. The incident supplies the source for the folk-saying that one bows to the fox while it is in its hour of success.