4

In Vayeshev 39:4 the pasuk reads:

וַיִּמְצָ֨א יוֹסֵ֥ף חֵ֛ן בְּעֵינָ֖יו וַיְשָׁ֣רֶת אֹת֑וֹ וַיַּפְקִדֵ֙הוּ֙ עַל־בֵּית֔וֹ וְכָל־יֶשׁ־ל֖וֹ נָתַ֥ן בְּיָדֽוֹ׃

Seemingly, there should be the word אשר in between the words כל and יש. In fact, the pasuk immediately afterwards phrases it like that twice:

וַיְהִ֡י מֵאָז֩ הִפְקִ֨יד אֹת֜וֹ בְּבֵית֗וֹ וְעַל֙ כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶשׁ־ל֔וֹ וַיְבָ֧רֶךְ יְהוָ֛ה אֶת־בֵּ֥ית הַמִּצְרִ֖י בִּגְלַ֣ל יוֹסֵ֑ף וַיְהִ֞י בִּרְכַּ֤ת יְהוָה֙ בְּכָל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר יֶשׁ־ל֔וֹ בַּבַּ֖יִת וּבַשָּׂדֶֽה׃

So why isn't there an אשר in pasuk 4?

user6591
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    Rashi says this is a lashon katzar, but it seems very strange to have this singular instance in all of tanach stuck right in the middle of a narrative which goes on to say the full version twice. – user6591 Dec 18 '22 at 02:55
  • Related: https://judaism.stackexchange.com/q/18799 – Fred Dec 18 '22 at 03:19

1 Answers1

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The normal form is כל אשר לו with no יש, and כל אשר יש לו isn't much more common. It's not uncommon for the text to vary its style slightly between repetitions, much as a modern writer would. Another example is בשלמי/באשר למי in Yonah, or ללון/ללין in the Rivkah narrative.

user25970
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  • B'reishis Rabba (60:6, followed by Rashi on B'reishis 24:23) imputes meaning to the difference between ללון/ללין (Eli'ezer requested lodging for one night [ללין], and Rivka offered him lodging for multiple nights [ללון]). Ibn Ezra (ad loc.) comments that Eli'ezer's request used the intensive form (pi'el) while Rivka used the standard kal. One might take the Ibn Ezra's observation to indicate that Rivka was actually warning Eli'ezer that he might find less hospitality than he hoped. – Fred Dec 18 '22 at 03:18
  • Rabbeinu Bechaye (24:23) also addresses this. || Anyway, this is a valid answer, +1. – Fred Dec 18 '22 at 03:30