with the example set him by Abraham and Isaac, did
he consider worth while having lived,[1] and this happy time
was of short duration. When Joseph was snatched away,
but eight years had elapsed since his return to his father's
house.[2]

And yet it was only for the sake of Joseph that Jacob had
been willing to undergo all the troubles and the adversity
connected with his sojourn in the house of Laban. Indeed,
Jacob's blessing in having his quiver full of children was due
to the merits of Joseph, and likewise the dividing of the
Red Sea and of the Jordan for the Israelites was the reward for
his son's piety. For among the sons of Jacob
Joseph was the one that resembled his father most closely in
appearance, and, also, he was the one to whom Jacob transmitted