The Gemara asks: And from where did Moses our teacher know where Joseph was buried? The Sages said: Serah, the daughter of Asher, remained from that generation that initially descended to Egypt with Jacob. Moses went to her and said to her: Do you know anything about where Joseph is buried? She said to him: The Egyptians fashioned a metal casket for him and set it in the Nile [Nilus] River as an augury so that its water would be blessed. Moses went and stood on the bank of the Nile. He said to Joseph: Joseph, Joseph, the time has arrived about which the Holy Blessed One, took an oath saying that I, i.e., God, will redeem you. And the time for fulfillment of the oath that you administered to the Jewish people that they will bury you in Eretz Yisrael has arrived. If you show yourself, it is good, but if not, we are clear from your oath. Immediately, the casket of Joseph floated to the top of the water.

(24) At length, Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die. God will surely take notice of you and bring you up from this land to the land that He promised on oath to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” (25) So Joseph made the sons of Israel swear, saying, “When God has taken notice of you (PAKOD YIFKOD), you shall carry up my bones from here.” (26) Joseph died at the age of one hundred and ten years; and he was embalmed and placed in a coffin in Egypt.

(15) And God said further to Moses, “Thus shall you speak to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you: This shall be My name forever, This My appellation for all eternity. (16) “Go and assemble the elders of Israel and say to them: the LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, has appeared to me and said, ‘I have taken note of you and of what is being done to you in Egypt (PAKOD PAKADTI), (17) and I have declared: I will take you out of the misery of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.’ (18) They will listen to you; then you shall go with the elders of Israel to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, manifested Himself to us. Now therefore, let us go a distance of three days into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD our God.’

“Aaron told all the words to the people”-- he did that which the Holy Blessed One had said “(Aaron) will speak for you to the people.” “(Moses) performed the signs in sight of all the people”-- as it said earlier. “The people believed”-- they did as the Holy Blessed One had said, “They will heed your voice.” Did they believe only when they saw the signs? No, for it says, “They heard that God had remembered”-- they believed what they heard, not the signs that they saw...

What did they believe in? The sign of the remembrance which was said. For they had a tradition passed down to them from Jacob, who had passed it to Joseph, and Joseph to his brothers, and Asher son of Jacob (one of Joseph’s brothers) to Serach his daughter, who was still living! This is what he told her, “When the redeemer comes and says to my descendants, “I surely have remembered you”-- that is the true redeemer.” When Moses came and said “I surely have remembered you” the people immediately believed. What did they believe in? They had heard the remembrance. As it says, “For God had remembered the Children of Israel and seen their suffering and they bowed low and prostrated.” They bowed low because of the remembrance and prostrated because God saw their suffering.

(Trans. Emily Fishman and Rabbi Becky Silverstein)

(17) Rabbi Eliezer said: The five letters of the Torah, which alone of all the letters in the Torah are of double (shape), all appertain to the mystery of the Redemption. With "Khaph" "Khaph" our father Abraham was redeemed from Ur of the Chaldees, as it is said, (Lekh Lekha) "Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred… unto the land that I will shew thee" (Gen. xii. 1). With "Mem" "Mem" our father Isaac was redeemed from the land of the Philistines, as it is said, "Go from us: for thou art much mightier (Memennu M'ôd) than we" (ibid. xxvi. 16). With "Nun" "Nun" our father Jacob was redeemed from the hand of Esau, as it is said, "Deliver me, I pray thee, (Hazilêne na) from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau" (ibid. xxxii. 11). With "Pê" "Pê" Israel was redeemed from Egypt, as it is said, "I have surely visited you, (Paḳôd Paḳadti) and (seen) that which is done to you in Egypt, and I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt" (Ex. iii. 16, 17). With "Zaddi" "Zaddi" the Holy One, blessed be He, in the future will redeem Israel from the oppression of the kingdoms, and He will say to them, I have caused a branch to spring forth for you, as it is said, "Behold, the man whose name is (Zemach) the Branch; and he shall grow up (yizmach) || out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord" (Zech. vi. 12). These letters were delivered only to our father Abraham. Our father Abraham delivered them to Isaac, and Isaac (delivered them) to Jacob, and Jacob delivered the mystery of the Redemption to Joseph, as it is said, "But God will surely visit (Paḳôd yiphḳôd) you" (Gen. 1. 24). Joseph his son delivered the secret of the Redemption to his brethren. Asher, the son of Jacob, delivered the mystery of the Redemption to Serach his daughter. When Moses and Aaron came to the elders of Israel and performed the signs in their sight, the elders of Israel went to Serach, the daughter of Asher, and they said to her: A certain man has come, and he has performed signs in our sight, thus and thus. She said to them: There is no reality in the signs. They said to her: He said "Paḳôd yiphḳôd"—"God will surely visit you" (ibid.). She said to them: He is the man who will redeem Israel in the future from Egypt, for thus did I hear, ("Paḳôd Paḳadti") "I have surely visited you" (Ex. iii. 16). Forthwith the people believed in their God and in God's messenger, as it is said, "And the people believed, and when they heard that the Lord had visited the children of Israel" (ibid. iv. 31).

(6) and they took along their livestock and the wealth that they had amassed in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt: (7) he brought with him to Egypt his sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters—all his offspring.

... (17) Asher’s sons: Imnah, Ishvah, Ishvi, and Beriah, and their sister Serah. Beriah’s sons: Heber and Malchiel.

(1) When the plague was over, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, (2) “Take a census of the whole Israelite community from the age of twenty years up, by their ancestral houses, all Israelites able to bear arms.”

(44) Descendants of Asher by their clans: Of Imnah, the clan of the Imnites; of Ishvi, the clan of the Ishvites; of Beriah, the clan of the Beriites. (45) Of the descendants of Beriah: Of Heber, the clan of the Heberites; of Malchiel, the clan of the Malchielites.— (46) The name of Asher’s daughter was Serah.— (47) These are the clans of Asher’s descendants; persons enrolled: 53,400.

(21) Adun, Asher's wife at that time, died without children. And after the death of Adun, Asher went to the other side of the river and took Hadurah, daughter of Avimael, son of Ever, son of Shem for a wife. Hadurah had given birth to a daughter by Malkiel, and her name was Serach. After Malkiel died, Hadurah went back to dwell in her father's house. And after the death of Asher's wife, he went and took Hadurah for a wife, and brought her to ‎the land of Canaan. And Serach her daughter he brought also with them, and she was three ‎years old; and the damsel was brought up in Jacob's house. And the damsel was of comely ‎appearance, and she went in the holy ways of the children of Jacob, and the Lord gave her ‎wisdom and understanding.

(9) And when Joseph had finished giving them his orders, he turned: and went back into Egypt, ‎and the sons of Jacob went to the land of Canaan, in joy and happiness to their father. And ‎when they came to the boundaries of the land, they said to one another: What shall we do in ‎bringing this matter before our father? For if we impart it to him suddenly, and tell him all ‎about it, he will be greatly astounded at our words and he will refuse to listen to us. And when ‎they went on until they approached their houses they met Serach coming towards them, and ‎the damsel was exceedingly beautiful and wise, and a skilled player on the harp; and they ‎called her and she came unto them and she kissed them. And they took her and gave her a ‎harp saying unto her: Go, we pray thee, before our father and sit down before him and strike ‎this harp and speak unto him according to these words. And they instructed her concerning ‎what she had to say, and she hastened unto Jacob and she sat down before him. And she sang ‎and she played beautifully upon the harp, and she sang in the sweetness of her voice: Joseph ‎my uncle is alive and he reigneth over all the land of Egypt; he is not dead. And she often ‎repeated these words. And Jacob heard her words and it pleased him greatly, and when he ‎heard her sing it twice and three times, the heart of Jacob was possessed by joy, through the ‎sweet ness of her voice, and the spirit of God came over him, and he knew that all her words ‎were true. And Jacob blessed Serach for singing these words before him, and he said: My ‎daughter, may death never prevail against thee forever, for thou hast reviled my spirit, only ‎repeat thou this song once more before me, for thou hast caused me gladness with thy words. ‎And she sang once more the same words and Jacob listened, and he was pleased and he ‎rejoiced, and the spirit of God came over him. And while he was yet speaking with her, his ‎sons came before him with horses and chariots and royal garments and servants running ‎before them. And Jacob arose and went to meet them, and he saw his sons dressed in royal ‎garments and all the good things that Joseph sent unto them. And they said unto him: Be thou ‎informed that our brother Joseph liveth, and that he ruleth over the whole land of Egypt, and ‎it is he who hath spoken unto us all we have told unto thee. And Jacob heard all the words of ‎his sons and his heart fainted, for he believed them not, until he saw all that Joseph had given ‎unto them and all that Joseph had sent along with them, and all the signs he had spoken of ‎unto them. And they unpacked all the things before him, and they displayed all that Joseph ‎had sent, and they gave to every one of them what Joseph had sent him. And Jaco-b knew ‎that they have spoken the truth, and Jacob was greatly rejoiced on account of his son. And he ‎said: It is enough, Joseph, my son, is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die. And his sons ‎told unto him all that had befallen them, and Jacob said: I will go down into Egypt, to see my ‎son and my children. | And Jacob rose up and he put on the garments which Joseph had sent ‎unto him, and he put a turban upon his head which Joseph had sent him after having washed ‎and shaved himself. And all the men of the house of Jacob and their wives dressed ‎themselves with the things that Joseph had sent them. And they rejoiced greatly on account ‎of Joseph that he was still alive and that he was the ruler over Egypt. And all the inhabitants of ‎Canaan heard the news, and they came and rejoiced with Jacob on account of Joseph that he ‎was still alive. And Jacob prepared for them a feast of three days, and all the kings of Canaan, ‎and all the great men of the land ate and drank and made merry in Jacob’s house.‎

There are those who say that some human beings have gone alive into the Garden of Eden. ... Because Serach bat Asher told Jacob that Joseph was alive, Jacob said to her, “The mouth that told me that Joseph was alive will not taste the taste of death.”...

Nine people entered Gan Eden alive, namely: These are them: Hanoch ben Yered, Eliyahu, the Masiach, Eliezer the servant of Abraham, Cheerem king of Tzor and the servant of the Ethiopian king, Yoavatz the son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the daughter of Pharoah, and Serach bat Asher, and there are those who say also Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.

(16) when a clever woman shouted from the city, “Listen! Listen! Tell Joab to come over here so I can talk to him.” (17) He approached her, and the woman asked, “Are you Joab?” “Yes,” he answered; and she said to him, “Listen to what your handmaid has to say.” “I’m listening,” he replied. (18) And she continued, “In olden times people used to say, ‘Let them inquire of Abel,’ and that was the end of the matter. (19) I am one of those who seek the welfare of the faithful in Israel. But you seek to bring death upon a mother city in Israel! Why should you destroy the LORD’s possession?” (20) Joab replied, “Far be it, far be it from me to destroy or to ruin! (21) Not at all! But a certain man from the hill country of Ephraim, named Sheba son of Bichri, has rebelled against King David. Just hand him alone over to us, and I will withdraw from the city.” The woman assured Joab, “His head shall be thrown over the wall to you.” (22) The woman came to all the people with her clever plan; and they cut off the head of Sheba son of Bichri and threw it down to Joab. He then sounded the horn; all the men dispersed to their homes, and Joab returned to the king in Jerusalem.

“It is an affront to you!” Abraham said, “Master of the Universe! I see through the Divine Spirit that in the future one woman will save a whole city. And I am not worthy to save these three villages?”

And which woman is this? She is Serach bat Asher. At the time when Sheva ben Bichri rebelled against David and came to Avel (to hide in the city) and the whole army with Yoav sought to break through the walls-- when Serach got word of this, she began to scream and they called to Yoav for her.

When Yoav came to her, she said, “Are you Yoav?” He said, “I am.” “You are so wise and yet you haven’t read in the torah that when you come to a city in war, you must call out in peace first? You didn’t do that! Why must our city fall?”

When he heard that, he was afraid and said, “There was a need here! It is an affront to me to do as you said.” And she replied, “And you who are merciful, you will mix together all of them? It is an affront to you!”

And what did Yoav say to her? “It is not like that. There is a man from Mount Efrayim named Sheva ben Bichri. He is a tainted idolator.” She said to him, “I am peaceful and faithful. I, who completed the number of Israelites coming out of Egypt. You stand still and I will make peace and throw his head over the wall to you.” That is how sure she was that she could get Sheva ben Bichri’s head to Yoav.

And here’s what she did: “She came to the people in her wisdom.” What was her wisdom? She said to them, “You know that Yoav and all of Israel are standing outside the wall to kill us and our sons and daughters.” They said to her, “Why?” She said to them, “He is asking to take 100 people and then he’ll leave.” They said to her, “Give him 200!” She said to them, “Actually, he’s only asking to take 50.” They said to her, “Give him 100!” She said to them, “Actually, he’s only asking for 5.” They said to her, “Give him 10!” She said to them, “Truthfully, he is asking for one, a man named Sheva ben Bichri. As soon as they heard this, they went and cut off his head.

See the wisdom of this woman! When Abraham came with his wisdom before the Holy Blessed One, he went from 50 to 40, from 40 to 30, from 30 to 20, from 20 to 10-- and she did the same. Serach’s wisdom was better than Yoav’s weapons. As soon as he got Sheva ben Bichri’s head, he left and did not harm the city. Thus Abraham said before the Holy Blessed One, “Master of the Universe! If Yoav can take the head of one person who was guilty and leave the rest of the city, you who are merciful will really destroy it all? It is an affront to you!”

(Translation Emily Fishman and Rabbi Becky Silverstein)

Rabbi Yohanan was sitting and expounding, “In what way did the waters look like walls (when the Israelites crossed the Red Sea)? They were like lattice.” Serach bat Asher became angry and said, “I was there and it was like glass windows."