As we find over and over in Tanach, subtleties and nuances bear many important lessons and insights.

The end of Sefer Yehoshua is no different. We are hinted at by the spelling of the word “atzmos” (verse 32). The possuk states, “The atzmos (bones) of Yosef, which B'nei Yisroel had brought up from Mitzrayim, they buried in Sh'chem.”

The Mei Zahav points out a difference in the spelling of atzmos here in Sefer Yehoshua to how we see it spelled when Yosef forced B'nei Yisroel to swear to him that they would bring him for burial in Eretz Yisroel. At the end of parshas Va'y'chi (50,25) atzmosai is spelled chaser, without a vav following the mem. However, when Moshe took the remains of Yosef from their burial place in Mitzrayim (Sh'mos 13,19) and in our possuk dealing with Yosef's final resting place, the word atzmos is spelled malei, with a vav following the mem.

The Mei Zahav explains that our tradition teaches that decay of a corpse is indicative of a lack of perfection, a lack of attaining lofty levels of k'dusha. Yosef, he postulates, in his great humility, asked B'nei Yisroel to take back his remains back to Israel even if there is much decay. This is indicated by the vav missing in the spelling of atzmosai in parshas Va'y'chi– indicative of a deficient skeleton. However, both when Moshe retrieved Yosef's remains upon leaving Mitzrayim and upon his eventual burial in Israel atzmos is spelled malei to indicate that Yosef's skeleton remained whole. Contrary to Yosef's humble concern for his skeleton decaying, Yosef's k'dusha clearly was of such lofty heights that his skeleton remained through the time of his burial in Eretz Yisroel.