This philological commentary offers students a gateway to knowledge of Hebrew language and comparative Semitics through study of the Joseph story. It has enabled generations of students to unlock, with less pain and increased incentive, the treasures of Semitic literature in general, and of Hebrew literature in particular. Students can use it to study on their own, and it is equally effective as a textbook or supplement in the classroom. It introduces the binyanim for strong and weak verbs, vocabulary, phonological rules, and elements of syntax.