Sotah 13B

קיים זה כל מה שכתוב בזה.

This one, i.e., the deceased Joseph, fulfilled all that is written in this. Therefore, it is fitting that the two arks should lie side by side.

ואי לא עסיק ביה משה ⁠— ישראל לא הוו מיעסקי ביה? והכתיב: ״ואת עצמות יוסף אשר העלו בני ישראל ממצרים קברו בשכם״! ותו: אי לא איעסקו ביה ישראל ⁠— בניו לא הוו מיעסקי ביה? והכתיב: ״ויהיו לבני יוסף לנחלה״?!

The Talmud asks: And if Moses had not dealt with the burial of Joseph, would the Jewish people not have dealt with it? But isn’t it written that after Moses died: “And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem” (Joshua 24:32), which indicates that the Jewish people completed the burial of Joseph? And furthermore, if the Jewish people had not dealt with Joseph’s burial, would his children not have dealt with it? But isn’t it written in that same verse: “And they became the inheritance of the children of Joseph,” as Joseph was buried in Shechem, which was then given to his descendants? Therefore, the question arises: Why did Joseph’s descendants initially leave the task of his burial to the Jewish people and Moses?

אמרו: הניחו לו, כבודו במרובים יותר מבמועטין. ותו אמרו: הניחו לו, כבודו בגדולים יותר מבקטנים.

The Talmud answers: They said: Leave Joseph for others. It is more of an honor for Joseph to be buried by the many than by the few, and therefore it is better that the Jewish people be involved in the burial. And furthermore, they said: Leave Joseph for others. It is more of an honor for Joseph to be buried by one of the great men like Moses than by lesser ones like us.

״קברו בשכם״. מאי שנא בשכם? אמר רבי חמא ברבי חנינא: משכם גנבוהו, ולשכם נחזיר אבידתו.

In the aforementioned verse it states: “And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem, in the parcel of ground that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for 100 pieces of money” (Joshua 24:32). The Talmud asks: What is different about Shechem that they specifically chose to bury Joseph there? R' Ḥama, son of R' Ḥanina, says that the Jewish people said: His brothers kidnapped him from Shechem (see Genesis 37:12–28), and to Shechem we should return his lost body.