This sheet on Exodus 13 was written by Marc Bregman for 929 and can also be found here
When the Israelites finally began the Exodus from Egypt, it was Moses who “took with him the bones of Joseph, for he had exacted an oath from the children of Israel, saying, ‘God will be sure to redeem you. Then you shall carry up my bones from here with you’” (Exodus 13:19). But how did Moses manage to recover Joseph’s remains? For, it had been hundreds of years since Joseph had been “embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt” (Genesis 50:26).
According to Midrash Tanhuma, Beshalah 2, it was the immortal Hebrew wise-woman, Serah bat Asher, the granddaughter of the Patriarch Jacob, who yet again came to the rescue. Here is how the ancient midrash might be expansively re-imagined:
Serah led Moses to the banks of the Nile and said "My voice is weak with age, and your voice is thick and your speech heavy. But perhaps you can find the words to make Joseph hear again”. Moses gazed into the dark waters of the river until words welled up from within him. Stretching forth his staff out over the still waters, he cried out: "Joseph, son of Jacob! The oath our forefathers swore to inter your bones in our homeland has finally come. And we are poised to go there now! But we cannot end our enslavement in Egypt without you!”. Still, the waters remained unmoved. Then, Serah, reaching into folds of her robe, pulled forth a gold pendant. Embossed on it was the head of a horned bull and below were incised, in ancient Hebrew characters the words: Aleh Shor "Arise, Oh Bull". Immediately, Moses understood what he must do. He took the pendant and cast it with all his might. As it arched out over the waters of the Nile, he cried out the words: Aleh Shor! Now, thunder rolled, lightning flashed in the heavens and the waters of the Nile began to ripple. Slowly, a magnificent Egyptian sarcophagus, adorned with the head of a horned bull, appeared and floated up to the surface. Moses wadded into the river and shouldered Joseph's coffin. As he slowly made his way to what lay ahead, Moses bowed slightly, not only from the weight of the holy burden he bore, but also in deep humility and gratitude to the undying Serah bat Asher.
According to Midrash Tanhuma, Beshalah 2, it was the immortal Hebrew wise-woman, Serah bat Asher, the granddaughter of the Patriarch Jacob, who yet again came to the rescue. Here is how the ancient midrash might be expansively re-imagined:
Serah led Moses to the banks of the Nile and said "My voice is weak with age, and your voice is thick and your speech heavy. But perhaps you can find the words to make Joseph hear again”. Moses gazed into the dark waters of the river until words welled up from within him. Stretching forth his staff out over the still waters, he cried out: "Joseph, son of Jacob! The oath our forefathers swore to inter your bones in our homeland has finally come. And we are poised to go there now! But we cannot end our enslavement in Egypt without you!”. Still, the waters remained unmoved. Then, Serah, reaching into folds of her robe, pulled forth a gold pendant. Embossed on it was the head of a horned bull and below were incised, in ancient Hebrew characters the words: Aleh Shor "Arise, Oh Bull". Immediately, Moses understood what he must do. He took the pendant and cast it with all his might. As it arched out over the waters of the Nile, he cried out the words: Aleh Shor! Now, thunder rolled, lightning flashed in the heavens and the waters of the Nile began to ripple. Slowly, a magnificent Egyptian sarcophagus, adorned with the head of a horned bull, appeared and floated up to the surface. Moses wadded into the river and shouldered Joseph's coffin. As he slowly made his way to what lay ahead, Moses bowed slightly, not only from the weight of the holy burden he bore, but also in deep humility and gratitude to the undying Serah bat Asher.
Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
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