Joseph insisted. I cannot tell thee more, his father answered, than that
the scribe I've chosen is a great Hebrew scholar.

He was no doubt a great scholar, but he was not the man that Joseph
wished for: thin and tall and of gentle appearance and demeanour, he did
not stir up a flame for work in Joseph, who, as soon as the novelty of
learning Hebrew had worn off, began to hide himself in the garden. His
father caught him one day sitting in a convenient bough, looking down
upon his preceptor fairly asleep on a bench; and after this adventure he
began to make a mocking stock of his preceptor, inventing all kinds of
cruelties, and his truancy became so constant that his father was forced
to choose another. This time a younger man was chosen, but he succeeded
with Joseph not very much better than the first. After the second there
came a third, and when Joseph began to complain of his ignorance his
father said:

Well, Joseph, you said you wanted to learn Hebrew, and you have shown no
application, and three of the most learned scribes in Galilee have been
called in to teach you.

Joseph felt the reproof bitterly, but he did not know how to answer his
father and he was grateful to his grandmother for her answer. Joseph
isn't an idle boy, Dan, but his nature is such that he cannot learn from
a man he doesn't like. Why don't ye give him Azariah as an instructor?
Has he been speaking to thee about Azariah? Dan asked. Maybe, she said,
and Dan's face clouded.