This week, all watchful eyes are fixed on one verse:

A new king arose over Egypt, who did not not know Joseph. (Exodus 1:10)

וַיָּקָם מֶלֶךְ-חָדָשׁ, עַל-מִצְרָיִם, אֲשֶׁר לֹא-יָדַע, אֶת-יוֹסֵף

It is an ominous line, suggestive of all the terror that is about to envelop the Israelite people as the Book of Exodus begins. It will begin with a fear of the growing immigrant population, move quickly into slavery, and lead eventually to state-sponsored murder.

We left the Book of Genesis with the family of Israel comfortably settled in Egypt, having secured a fertile plot of land, thanks especially to Joseph’s close relationship with the Pharaoh. But this new Pharaoh, quite pointedly, does “not know Joseph.” How is this possible? Can he really have forgotten the man who served as the right-hand to the previous king, and who saved all of Egypt from famine?

There is a debate in the midrashim, recorded by Rashi, over exactly what kind of new administration this was, and how authentic was their “forgetting”:

“A new king arose” - Rav and Shmuel debated. One said it was truly a new king. While the other said, it’s just that his laws were new, and that “he did not know Joseph,” meant that he acted as if he did not know Joseph.

ויקם מלך חדש: רב ושמואל חד אמר חדש ממש. וחד אמר, שנתחדשו גזרותיו: אשר לא ידע: עשה עצמו כאלו לא ידע

The latter opinion is that this was not simply a gap in some new leader’s historical memory, but a feigned ignorance by the old Pharaoh, played out for political purposes. Here we have hints of a dangerous psychological profile: a person who could shift personalities at will, and speak lies with total conviction. A sociopath with unlimited power - this was truly a man to fear.

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