It was also said: by bringing Jacob [179/b] and the tribes forth from his loins.

Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, said: Forty years elapsed between this vision of Joseph and its fulfilment, when his parents and brothers came to him. This is the view of most exegetes.

Al-Hasan al-Basri said: Eighty years elapsed between them. When Joseph’s brothers learned of this vision, they envied him and said, “It was not enough for him that his brothers should bow down to him; he even wanted his parents to bow down to him!” So they plotted against him.

“Surely in Joseph and his brothers there are signs for those who ask.” (7)

Allah Most High says: “Surely in Joseph and his brothers”—that is, in his account and that of his brothers—there are signs. Their names were Reuben, the eldest of them; Simeon; Levi; Judah; Zebulun—or, according to another report, Zeblun; and Asher. Their mother was Leah, daughter of Layan, who was Jacob’s cousin, peace be upon him. Four sons were born to him from two concubines, one of whom was named Zilpah and the other Bilhah (1): Dan, Naphtali—or, according to another report, Naphtuli—Gad, and Ashir. Then Leah died, and Jacob, peace be upon him, married her sister Rachel, who bore him Joseph and Benjamin. [It was also said: Ibn Yamin] (2). Thus, the sons of Jacob, peace be upon him, numbered twelve.