Mikeitz: Yosef the Democrat

In this parsha, Yosef offers advice to Pharoah about how to manage the impending famine.

Bereishit 41:33-36:

לג וְעַתָּה יֵרֶא פַרְעֹה, אִישׁ נָבוֹן וְחָכָם; וִישִׁיתֵהוּ, עַל-אֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.	33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt.
לד יַעֲשֶׂה פַרְעֹה, וְיַפְקֵד פְּקִדִים עַל-הָאָרֶץ; וְחִמֵּשׁ אֶת-אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם, בְּשֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי הַשָּׂבָע.	34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt in the seven years of plenty.
לה וְיִקְבְּצוּ, אֶת-כָּל-אֹכֶל הַשָּׁנִים הַטֹּבוֹת, הַבָּאֹת, הָאֵלֶּה; וְיִצְבְּרוּ-בָר תַּחַת יַד-פַּרְעֹה, אֹכֶל בֶּעָרִים--וְשָׁמָרוּ.	35 And let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
לו וְהָיָה הָאֹכֶל לְפִקָּדוֹן, לָאָרֶץ, לְשֶׁבַע שְׁנֵי הָרָעָב, אֲשֶׁר תִּהְיֶיןָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם; וְלֹא-תִכָּרֵת הָאָרֶץ, בָּרָעָב.	36 And the food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt; that the land perish not through the famine.'

At issue is the word וְחִמֵּשׁ, wəḥimēš. The translation given above is "and take up the fifth part," but this is not the only possible translation - as we will see, it could also mean to organize.

"Taking a fifth" is attractive because of what occurs a bit later. During the years of famine, Yosef sells the Egyptians food, eventually in exchange for their lands and their very persons. In Bereishit 47:23-26:

כג וַיֹּאמֶר יוֹסֵף אֶל-הָעָם, הֵן קָנִיתִי אֶתְכֶם הַיּוֹם וְאֶת-אַדְמַתְכֶם לְפַרְעֹה; הֵא-לָכֶם זֶרַע, וּזְרַעְתֶּם אֶת-הָאֲדָמָה.	23 Then Joseph said unto the people: 'Behold, I have bought you this day and your land for Pharaoh. Lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall sow the land.
כד וְהָיָה, בַּתְּבוּאֹת, וּנְתַתֶּם חֲמִישִׁית, לְפַרְעֹה; וְאַרְבַּע הַיָּדֹת יִהְיֶה לָכֶם לְזֶרַע הַשָּׂדֶה וּלְאָכְלְכֶם, וְלַאֲשֶׁר בְּבָתֵּיכֶם--וְלֶאֱכֹל לְטַפְּכֶם.	24 And it shall come to pass at the ingatherings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, and for your food, and for them of your households, and for food for your little ones.'
כה וַיֹּאמְרוּ, הֶחֱיִתָנוּ; נִמְצָא-חֵן בְּעֵינֵי אֲדֹנִי, וְהָיִינוּ עֲבָדִים לְפַרְעֹה.	25 And they said: 'Thou hast saved our lives. Let us find favour in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharaoh's bondmen.'
כו וַיָּשֶׂם אֹתָהּ יוֹסֵף לְחֹק עַד-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה עַל-אַדְמַת מִצְרַיִם, לְפַרְעֹה--לַחֹמֶשׁ: רַק אַדְמַת הַכֹּהֲנִים, לְבַדָּם--לֹא הָיְתָה, לְפַרְעֹה.	26 And Joseph made it a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth; only the land of the priests alone became not Pharaoh's.

Here it is clear that it means taking 1/5th. On the other hand, if Yosef taxes them 1/5 after acquiring all the Egyptians, how was he able to to tax them this amount before, and what does he (that is, Pharaoh) gain? (Prehaps we can say he instituted/raised taxes temporarily because of state emergency, and later, by acquiring all of Egypt for Pharaoh, he solidified this tax.)

Rashi on Bereishit 41:34:

וחמש. כתרגומו ויזרז וכן וחמושים:
As its targum (Onkelos) "and organize/encourage" and so too וחמושים.

Rashi, (following Onkelos) refers to Shemot 13:18:

יח וַיַּסֵּב אֱלֹהִים אֶת-הָעָם דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּדְבָּר, יַם-סוּף; וַחֲמֻשִׁים עָלוּ בְנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל, מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם.

18 But God led the people about, by the way of the wilderness by the Red Sea; and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt.

Rashbam says it means taking 1/5, thus taking twice what is due the king (citing sefer Shmuel as proof that normally 1/10 goes to the king), and later, Yosef solidified this tax:

ויפקד פקידים וגו' וחמש.
שהממונים יגבו חומש כל התבואות לצורך המלך
אשר משפטו בשאר שנים לעשר
כדכתיב בשמואל את שדותיכם יעשר
עתה יטול פי שנים
וכמו כן הנהיג יוסף לבסוף
עַל-אַדְמַת מִצְרַיִם, לְפַרְעֹה--לַחֹמֶשׁ

"and let him appoint overseers ... and take up the fifth part":
That the overseers should collect 1/5 of all the crops for the needs of the king
where the general law in other years was to take 1/10
as it states in Shmuel "and your fields ... he will take 1/10."
Now you will take twice that
And similarly did Yosef do at the end (Bereishit 47:26)
"[And Joseph made it a statute] concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should have the fifth;"

Rashbam is referring to 1 Shmuel 8:14-15:

י וַיֹּאמֶר שְׁמוּאֵל, אֵת כָּל-דִּבְרֵי יְהוָה, אֶל-הָעָם, הַשֹּׁאֲלִים מֵאִתּוֹ מֶלֶךְ. {ס}	10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king. {S}
יא וַיֹּאמֶר--זֶה יִהְיֶה מִשְׁפַּט הַמֶּלֶךְ, אֲשֶׁר יִמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיכֶם: אֶת-בְּנֵיכֶם יִקָּח, וְשָׂם לוֹ בְּמֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ וּבְפָרָשָׁיו, וְרָצוּ, לִפְנֵי מֶרְכַּבְתּוֹ.	11 And he said: 'This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them unto him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots.
יב וְלָשׂוּם לוֹ, שָׂרֵי אֲלָפִים וְשָׂרֵי חֲמִשִּׁים; וְלַחֲרֹשׁ חֲרִישׁוֹ וְלִקְצֹר קְצִירוֹ, וְלַעֲשׂוֹת כְּלֵי-מִלְחַמְתּוֹ וּכְלֵי רִכְבּוֹ.	12 And he will appoint them unto him for captains of thousands, and captains of fifties; and to plow his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and the instruments of his chariots.
יג וְאֶת-בְּנוֹתֵיכֶם, יִקָּח, לְרַקָּחוֹת וּלְטַבָּחוֹת, וּלְאֹפוֹת.	13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
יד וְאֶת-שְׂדוֹתֵיכֶם וְאֶת-כַּרְמֵיכֶם וְזֵיתֵיכֶם, הַטּוֹבִים--יִקָּח; וְנָתַן, לַעֲבָדָיו.	14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
טו וְזַרְעֵיכֶם וְכַרְמֵיכֶם, יַעְשֹׂר; וְנָתַן לְסָרִיסָיו, וְלַעֲבָדָיו.	15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.

Ibn Ezra suggests the same:

וחמש. שיקנה החומש
wəḥimēš: that he should take the fifth part.

So too Targum Pseudo-Yonatan says take one part of five.

Rabeinu Bachya and Or HaChayim give both explanations as possibilities.

Let's see what Speiser writes in the Anchor Bible Genesis:

Speiser, Anchor Bible Genesis: composite image

As you can see, he adopts the "organize" translation over the "1/5." I wonder, though, at his labeling of "to take a fifth part" as traditional, as opposed to the view advanced by Ehrlich. What Ehrlich proposes it the same as Targum Onkelos and Rashi say (not to mention Or Hachayim and Rabeinu Bachya), and this is truly traditional - most Jews who study the weekly parsha do so with Targum Onkelos and Rashi. Perhaps one can ascribe this to the desire to be creative and non-traditional, for otherwise what do you have to offer. (By traditional he perhaps means the King James Bible, which translates as 1/5, but still - Onkelos and Rashi are hardly non-traditional.)