and spoke to their hearts: Convincing words. Before you came down here, they (the Egyptians) were spreading rumors about me that I was a slave. Through you, it became known that I am a free man. Now if I kill you, what will people say?“He (Joseph) saw a group of young men and glorified himself through them by saying, ‘They are my brothers’ and at the end he killed them. Is there such a thing as a brother who kills his brothers” (Gen. Rabbah 100:9)? Another explanation: If ten candles could not extinguish one candle, [how can one candle extinguish ten candles?] (Meg. 16b).
וידבר על לבם: דברים המתקבלים על הלב, עד שלא ירדתם לכאן היו מרננים עלי שאני עבד, ועל ידיכם נודע שאני בן חורין, ואם אני הורג אתכם מה הבריות אומרות כת של בחורים ראה ונשתבח בהן, ואמר אחי הם, ולבסוף הרג אותם, יש לך אח שהורג את אחיו. דבר אחר עשרה נרות לא יכלו לכבות נר אחד וכו':
22So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father's household, and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years.
on Joseph’s knees: As the Targum renders: [were born and Joseph raised them, i.e.,] he raised them between his knees.
על ברכי יוסף: כתרגומו, גדלן בין ברכיו:
24Joseph said to his brothers, "I am going to die; God will surely remember you and take you up out of this land to the land that He swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."
