Tos. D'H: Sh'ein Malachai Hashores.... says that angels do not understand/speak Aramaic except for Gavriel, Since the Gem. in Sotah says that Gavriel taught Yosef 70 languages.
Isn't it very likely that Yosef (and in fact his older brothers as well!) already knew this language because they grew up in Lavan's house?! This actually was their 'mother tongue'!
So how does Tos. know that Gavriel was different? The number 70 can be explained by rounding off 68 (since Yosef didn't have to be taught Hebrew for sure.)
Thank you for considering my question.
Alex Lebovits, Toronto, CAnada
1. It is clear from the Gemara in Sotah (33a) that Gavriel was different from the other Mal'achim. This is evident from the fact that the Gemara there states that the Mal'achei ha'Shares do not know Aramaic. The Gemara then challenges this by citing incidents where a Bas Kol in Aramaic was heard, by the Kohen Gadol, emerging from the Holy of Holies in the Beis ha'Mikdash. One of the answers given by the Gemara is that this Bas Kol specifically came from Gavriel who taught Yosef 70 languages, which the Gemara clearly understands includes Aramaic.
2. A similar question to yours is asked by the Ben Yehoyada there in Sotah. He writes that presumably Yosef already knew two languages before the Mal'ach taught him anything. These were Aramaic and Egyptian. (Certainly, Yosef also knew Hebrew but this is not included in the 70 languages. This is clear from Rashi to Bereshis 50:6, who cites the oath that Yosef made to Pharaoh that he would not reveal the fact that he knew Lashon ha'Kodesh, which Pharaoh did not know, in addition to the 70 languages.) Why then does the Gemara say that Gavriel taught him 70 languages, if he taught him only 68? The Ben Yehoyada answers that Yosef already knew colloquial Aramaic and Egyptian before being taught by Gavriel, but Gavriel taught him the proper Aramaic and Egyptian language of the nobility. Without Gavriel's lessons, Yosef's command of those languages would not have been adequate enough for him to speak in front of the king.
3. The Ben Yehoyada adds that this is hinted at in the blessing that Yakov gave to Yosef (Bereshis 49:22). Yakov calls Yosef "Ben Poras," which means that he found grace in the eyes of the king. The next words in this verse are "Alei Ayin." "Ayin" is the letter Ayin, the Gematriya of which is 70. There is also a hint in the word "Alei" ("upper") that Yosef knew the languauge of the upper classes and this was what enabled him to find favor in the eyes of the king.
Kol Tuv,
Dovid Bloom