Joseph's instructions to his brothers:
(לג) וְהָיָ֕ה כִּֽי־יִקְרָ֥א לָכֶ֖ם פַּרְעֹ֑ה וְאָמַ֖ר מַה־מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶֽם׃ (לד) וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֗ם אַנְשֵׁ֨י מִקְנֶ֜ה הָי֤וּ עֲבָדֶ֙יךָ֙ מִנְּעוּרֵ֣ינוּ וְעַד־עַ֔תָּה גַּם־אֲנַ֖חְנוּ גַּם־אֲבֹתֵ֑ינוּ בַּעֲב֗וּר תֵּשְׁבוּ֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ גֹּ֔שֶׁן כִּֽי־תוֹעֲבַ֥ת מִצְרַ֖יִם כׇּל־רֹ֥עֵה צֹֽאן׃
(33) So when Pharaoh summons you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ (34) you shall answer, ‘Your servants have been breeders of livestock from the start until now, both we and our fathers’—so that you may stay in the region of Goshen. For all shepherds are abhorrent to Egyptians.”
What the brothers say to Pharaoh:
(ג) וַיֹּ֧אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֛ה אֶל־אֶחָ֖יו מַה־מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶ֑ם וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֗ה רֹעֵ֥ה צֹאן֙ עֲבָדֶ֔יךָ גַּם־אֲנַ֖חְנוּ גַּם־אֲבוֹתֵֽינוּ׃
(3) Pharaoh said to his brothers, “What is your occupation?” They answered Pharaoh, “We your servants are shepherds, as were also our fathers.
What is going on here? Why the emphasis on אַנְשֵׁי מִקְנֶה, cattle-people, rather than רֹעֵה צֹאן, sheep-people or shepherds and why do Joseph's brothers not comply with his instructions?
1. Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, Jerusalem, 1937–2020
וכפי שיוסף צפה – וַיֹּאמֶר פַּרְעֹה אֶל אֶחָיו של יוסף : מַה מַּעֲשֵׂיכֶם? מה עיסוקכם? וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה בהתאם להדרכתו של יוסף אותם : רֹעֵה, רועי צֹאן עֲבָדֶיךָ, גַּם אֲנַחְנוּ גַּם אֲבוֹתֵינוּ.
As Joseph expected, Pharaoh said to his brothers: What is your occupation? They said to Pharaoh, in accordance with Joseph’s advice: Your servants are shepherds, both we and our fathers.
2. Naphtali Zvi Yehudah Berlin (Netziv), Lithuania, 1816-1893. Proto-Zionist.
3. Rabbi Harold Kushner, USA, 1935-1923
At one level, we can speculate that Joseph was the first of Abraham's line to grow up outside the Land and be integrated in the highest levels of a foreign society. His brothers, by contrast, grew up in the Land and see nothing embarrasing about being shepherds. ... We can see this passage as reflecting the healthy self-esteem of a people raised in their own land, as opposed to the concern of Diaspora Jews as to what their neighbors think of them. Etz Hayim page 284.)