Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 32/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״ב

אלבניו. הם בני בנותיו:

1HIS SONS. His grandsons, the sons of his daughters.¹ must refer to his grandsons.

אויפגעו בו מלאכי אלהים. לעזרו בדרך והוא לבדו ראה מחנה המלאכים סביב מחנהו, על כן קרא שם המקום מחנים, על שם שנים אחד שלו ואחד של מלאכים:

1AND THE ANGELS OF GOD MET HIM. To assist him on the way. Only Jacob saw the camp²; i.e., only Jacob saw them (Krinsky). of angels surrounding his camp. He called the name of the place Mahanaim (two camps), because of the two camps there, his and the angels’.

אוישלח. הנה ידענו כי ארץ אדום בין חרן ובין ארץ ישראל, וזאת תשובה על הגאון שאמר כי סיני ושעיר ופארן סמוכים הם, ואלה המלאכים הם מעבדיו:

1AND JACOB SENT. This verse teaches us that the land of Edom lies between Haran and the land of Israel. This disproves Saadiah Gaon’s contention that Sinai, Seir and Paran are next to each other.³ [MESSENGERS.] From among his servants.⁴ 75:3 and Rashi who interpret malakhim to mean angels rather than human messengers.

אכה תאמרון לאדוני. אמר כן להם עד שיתברר אצלם שהוא אדוניו וידברו עמו בדרך מוסר העבד:

1THUS SHALL YE SAY UNTO MY LORD. Jacob used this language so that it would be clear to them that Esau was his lord and they should address him as a servant addresses his master.

בואחר עד עתה. האל"ף סימן המדבר, והנוח הנעלם שהוא אחריו תחת אל"ף השרש, וכן "אני אהבי אֵהָב" (משלי ח יז), כי כבד על הלשון להוציא ב' אלפין והוא מהבנין הקל:

2AND STAYED UNTIL NOW. The alef of echar (and stayed) is a first person imperfect prefix. It is vocalized with a tzere to make up for the missing alef of the root.⁵ is alef, chet, resh. In the first person imperfect an alef vocalized with a segol is prefixed to the root. Our word thus should have been written e’echar (two alefs respectively vocalized with a segol and a chataf segol). However, it is written echar and has only one alef and is vocalized with a tzere. I.E. points out that this alef is not a root letter. It is a first person imperfect prefix vocalized with a tzere rather than a segol to make up for the missing root letter. Ehav (I love) in I love them (ehav) that love me (Prov. 8:17) is similar.⁶ (love) is alef, heh, bet. Thus the first person imperfect should be e’ehav. However, the verse has ehav, one alef vocalized with a tzere. See above note. The alef of the root is dropped because it is extremely difficult to pronounce two alefs back to back. Echar is a kal.

אשור וחמור. שם המין:

1OXEN AND ASSES. These are nouns referring to the respective species.⁷

בואשלחה להגיד. כי רצוני לעשות כל אשר יצוה וזה טעם למצוא חן:

2AND I HAVE SENT TO TELL MY LORD. That I wish to do whatever he commands me.⁸, we must insert: that I wish to do whatever he commands me. This is the meaning of that I may find favor in thy sight⁹ becomes clear.

אגם הולך לקראתך שהוגד לו שאתה בא:

1AND MOREOVER HE COMETH TO MEET THEE. He was told that you are coming.

אויצר לו זה הדבר מהבנין הכבד כמו "והצר לך" (דבר כח נב]:

1AND WAS DISTRESSED. This thing distressed him.¹⁰ Va-yetzer (and he was distressed) is in the hifil.¹¹ is a hifil the word does not mean and he was distressed, but rather, it distressed him. Hence I.E. comments “this thing distressed him”; i.e., his brother’s coming distressed him. Others maintain that va-yetzer is a nifal meaning and he was distressed. Filwarg asks, “If va-yetzer is a hifil why isn’t it vocalized va-yatzer as is the rule with a double root (tzadi, resh, resh is the root of va-yetzer) in the hifil?” He suggests that va-yetzer is irregular. Weiser suggests that perhaps I.E.’s text of the Bible was vocalized va-yatzer. For a discussion of the problems concerning this comment of I.E., see Filwarg, Weiser and Cherez. It is similar to ve-hetzar¹². (and he shall besiege) in and he shall besiege (ve-hetzar) thee (Deut. 28:52).

בויחץ. נפתח היו"ד בעבור אות הנרו הבא אחריו, כמו "וַיַעַל משה" (שמות יט כ)

2AND HE DIVIDED. The yad of va-yachatz (and he divided) is vocalized with a pattach because it precedes a guttural. ¹³ is chet, tzadi, heh. Va-yachatz is an abridged kal imperfect with a conversive vav. In such cases the yod is vocalized with a chirik. Compare, ve-yifen and va-yiven. Hence I.E.’s comment. Compare, (va-ya’al) in And Moses went up (va-ya’al moshe) (Ex. 19:20).¹⁴ vocalized with a pattach rather than a chirik. The reason is also that it precedes a guttural (the ayin). The root of va-ya’al is ayin, lamed, heh.

אמחנה. זכר ונקבה כבית ומקום:

1CAMP. The word for camp (machaneh) can be either masculine or feminine¹⁵ (one camp) is feminine. However, the suffix of ve-hikkahu (smite it) is masculine, as is machanah ha-nishar (the camp which is left). like the word for house (bayit) and place (makom).

בוהיה המחנה הנשאר לפלטה. אולי יהי' שיברחו או תשוך חמת אחיו בהכותו המחנה האחת, או יבוא להם רָוַח והצלה מד', וכמוהו "אם תחזק ארם ממני והיתה לי לישועה" (ש"ב יו"ד, יא), ומה שאמר רבינו שלמה שיהיה לפליטה בעל כרחו הוא דרך דרש, ואם השם אמר לו "והיה זרעך כעפר הארץ" (בראשית כח, יד) לא ידע אם על אלה או על אחרים, כי הנה יוסף כאשר נמכר היה יעקב חי והוא לא ידע, כי אין הנביא יודע הנסתרות, אם לא יגלה לו השם, ואלישע אמר "וד' העלים ממני" (מ"ב ד כז), גם זאת תשובה לשואלים איך פחד יעקב והשם הבטיחו, והוא אומרו ואהיה עמך (בראשית לא ג), גם זה פי' ואיטיבה עמך, שיתכן שימלט הוא לבדו, ועוד ידענו כי כל עון קטן וגדול כנגד העושה, ע"כ העון הקל לגדול יקרא גדול, ויעקב פחד שמא חטא או שגג במחשבתו, ובעבור זה לא יהיה השם עמו, ואל תתמה, כי הנה משה שאין למעלה ממנו והוא שלחו להוציא את ישראל ממצרים, ובעבור שגגתו שלח מלאך להמיתו:

2THEN THE CAMP WHICH IS LEFT SHALL ESCAPE. Perhaps¹⁶ of ve-hayah does not indicate certainty, for how could Jacob be certain one camp would escape? Its meaning is perhaps. Thus rather than translating our verse: then the camp which is left shall escape, it should he rendered: perhaps the camp that is left shall escape. the camp that is left shall flee, or perhaps my brother’s anger shall be assuaged after smiting one of the camps, or perhaps God will send them relief and deliverance. If the Arameans be too strong for me, then thou shalt save me (II Sam. 10:11) is similar.¹⁷ (II Sam. 10:11) does not mean, then thou shalt save me. Rabbi Solomon’s¹⁸ comment, to the effect that then the camp that is left shall escape means that the camp will be saved despite Esau’s intention, is Midrashic.¹⁹ as indicating certainty, then (ve-hayah) the camp that is left shall escape, i.e., despite Esau’s will, it shall be saved. I.E. claims that this is not the literal meaning of the verse (Cherez). Although God promised Jacob, And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth (Gen. 28:14),²⁰ Jacob did not know whether it referred to the children he now had, or to children he would have in the future.²¹ A prophet does not know hidden things unless God reveals them to him.²² Jacob was alive when Joseph was sold into slavery and yet was unaware of it.²³ Similarly Elisha said, and the Lord hath hid it from me (II Kings 4:27). The above also answers those who ask, why was Jacob afraid considering that God promised that he would protect him, viz., God’s assurance, and I will be with thee (Gen. 31:3)? The latter is also the promise referred to by Jacob when he said, And thou saidest I will surely do thee good (v. 13).²⁴. Hence when Jacob said, And Thou saidest: I will surely do thee good, he was restating, and I will be with thee. Jacob was afraid because of the possibility that he alone would escape. Furthermore, we know that the personality of the individual is taken into account when his sins are considered, be they major or minor transgressions. Therefore, a minor sin committed by a great personality is considered a major transgression. Jacob was afraid that he may have sinned or inadvertently transgressed in his mind and as a result of this God no longer would be with him. Do not be amazed at what I write, for behold, Moses the greatest of men, whom God himself sent to bring Israel out of Egypt erred and God sent an angel to kill him.²⁵

אקטנתי. כמו "גם יכלתי" (בראשית ל, ח) והטעם פחות אני וקטן עד שתעשה עמי כל החסדים, וכבר פירשתי חסד ואמת:

1I AM NOT WORTHY. Katonti (I am not worthy) is vocalized like yakholti (I have prevailed) in gam yakholti (Gen. 30:8).²⁶ in the perfect is usually vocalized with a pattach beneath the middle root letter. However, katonti and yacholti are vocalized with a cholam. The meaning of our verse is: I am insignificant and of little worth for you to have done all these merciful deeds for me.²⁷ 76:4: Katonti. Rabbi Abba says, “This means I am not worthy.” I have already explained the meaning of mercy and truth.²⁸

אוהכני. משרת עצמו ואחר עמו, כמו "ושני אנשים שרי גדודים הי' בן שאול" (ש"ב ד ב), וכן הוא והכני והכה אם על בנים:

1AND SMITE ME. And smite me applies to two phrases.²⁹ is in the singular and prima facie refers only to Jacob. Thus nothing is stated about what Esau will do to the mother and the children. It is similar to And Saul’s son had two men that were captains of bands (II Sam. 4:2).³⁰ Our verse should be read as follows: and smite me and smite the mother and the children.

אעזים מאתים. בצאן שם הנקבות עשר לזכר, ולפרים ד', ולעירים שנים כי ידע תולדותם:

1TWO HUNDRED SHE-GOATS. Jacob sent ten females for every male of the flock,³¹ four bulls for each cow, and two she-asses for every foal. He did this because he knew their nature.³²

אורֶוַח תשימו. הפרש, וקרוב ממנו "כי היתה הרוחה" (שמות ח יא), הפרשה בין מכה למכה כמו "וְרָוַח לשאול" (ש"א טז כג):

1AND PUT A SPACE. The word revach means a space. Harevachah (respite) in That there was respite (harevachah) (Ex. 8:11) is close in meaning to it. The meaning of the latter is, there was a separation between one plague and the other. It is similar to ve-ravach (found relief) in so Saul found relief (ve-ravach le-sha’ul) (I Sam. 16:23).³³ can refer to physical space, or space in time, to relief.

אושאלך לאמר. כמו כי אַהַבְך (דבר' טו טז):

1AND ASKETH THEE SAYING. U-she’elekha³⁴ in the third person has the suffix kha added to it, the second root letter is usually vocalized with a kamatz, hence I.E.’s comment. (and asketh thee) is vocalized the same as ahevekha (he loveth thee).³⁵ rather than with a kamatz beneath the second root letter (the heh).

אגם את כל ההולכים. כי חמש הי' שם:

1AND ALL THAT FOLLOWED. Scripture says this because there were five groups.³⁶ what to tell Esau because there were five groups and each group was instructed what to say.

בבמוצאכם. נפתח הצדי"ק בעבור אות הגרון ואם אין כמוהו:

2WHEN YE FIND HIM. The tzadi of be-motza’akhem (when ye find) is vocalized with a pattach because it precedes a guttural.³⁷, as in be-shovbekha (Deut. 6:7) or tofsekhem (Josh. 8:8). However, in our case rather than being vocalized with a sheva, the second root letter is vocalized with a pattach. We thus read, motza’akhem rather than motzakhem. I.E. explains that this is so because the tsadi precedes a guttural (the alef) (Cherez). This is so even though we do not find another example of this in the Bible.³⁸. Compare, shomakhem (Deut. 5:20), where the mem is vocalized with a sheva even though it precedes an ayin, a guttural (Cherez). Thus I.E. notes that while his explanation is correct with regard to our word it does not hold for similar words in Scripture.

אכי אמר. יעקב בלבו, ואלה דברי משה,

1FOR HE SAID. He said in his heart.³⁹ These are the words of Moses.⁴⁰

בופי' אכפרה פניו אכסה ואסתיר, ופניו כעסו וכן "ופניה לא הי' לה עוד" (ש"א א יח):

2[I WILL APPEASE HIM.] Akhapperah (I will appease him) means I will cover or hide.⁴¹ is caf, peh, resh, which means to cover. Panav (him)⁴² usually means face or countenance. Here it means anger. Jacob said, “I will cover his anger”; i.e., I will appease him. Weiser suggests that since anger is expressed in the face, face is, by extension, occasionally used as a synonym for anger. means his anger. Peneha (her countenance) in and her countenance (u-faneha) was no more sad⁴³ (I Sam. 1:18) is similar.

אויעבר את מעבר יבק. הוא עבר בתחלה, ואחר כך לקח נשיו ובניו והעבירם, והנה פי' ויעבר כבר עבר, ושב באחרונה לבקש אם נשאר כלום:

1AND PASSED OVER THE FORD OF THE JABBOK. Jacob passed over first.⁴⁴ (v. 23). And he took them, and sent them over the stream (v. 24). This is difficult to understand. Why interrupt the sequence of the narrative with and (he) passed over the ford Jabbok? Furthermore, if Jacob passed over the ford by himself, how could he take his wives and children over? Hence I.E. interprets that Scripture tells us that Jacob took his wives and children over but prior to this he had gone over himself (to see if it was safe for the others to pass-Nachmanides). Scripture then resumes the narrative by relating, And he took them and sent them over the stream, and sent over that which he had (Cherez). He then returned and took his wives and children and brought them over the ford. Thus the meaning of and passed over is and he had already passed over. He then went back for a final look to see if anything was forgotten.⁴⁵

אויאבק. מגזרת אבק, עד שעלה אבק ביניהם:

1AND THERE WRESTLED A MAN. Va-ye’avek (and there wrestled) comes from the same root as avak (dust). They struggled so that dust arose between them.

בעד עלות השחר. עד סור שחרות הלילה, וי"א כי שחר רמות אור והוא הנראה בעבים טרם זרוח השמש וכן "אשר אין לו שחר" (ישעי' ח כ):

2UNTIL THE BREAKING OF THE DAY. Ad alot ha-shachar (until the breaking of the day) means until the darkness of the night went away.⁴⁶ (breaking) to mean go up, i.e., to depart, and shacher (dawn) to mean darkness, for this is what the root of shachar means. Others say that shachar (dawn) refers to the image of light that appears in the clouds before sunrise.⁴⁷ means dawn and alot the rising. Alot ha-shachar thus means the breaking of dawn. Shacher (light) in wherein there is no light (shacher) (Is. 8:20) is similar.

אכי לא יכול לו. המלאך:

1THAT HE PREVAILED NOT AGAINST HIM. The angel against Jacob.

בויגע בכף יריכו. של יעקב:

2HE TOUCHED THE HOLLOW OF HIS THIGH. Jacob’s thigh.

גותקע. כמו "פן תקע נפשי ממך" (ירמי' ו יח), סרה כף הירך ממקומה:

3WAS STRAINED. Va-teka (was strained) is similar to teka (be moved)⁴⁸ and means was moved (Cherez, Weiser). J.P.S. renders it as alienated. in Lest My soul be moved (teka) from thee (Jer. 6:8). The hollow of Jacob’s thigh moved out of its place.

אבגיד הנשה. ידוע כאשר העתיקו קדמונינו ז"ל, ואין בו ספק כי אם לחסרי הדעת ותולדות שמפרשים שהוא האבר. ויפרשו הנשה מגזרת נשים לדעת זה המלאך שנראה ליעקב שהוא גוף יתבאר לך אם השם יפקח את לבבך בפ' "כי שמי בקרבו" (שמות סג כא):

1THE SINEW OF THE THIGH-VEIN. The meaning of the term gid ha-nasheh (the sinew of the thigh-vein) is known from the tradition received and transmitted to us by the Talmudic sages.⁴⁹ 91a. The rabbis interpret gid na-nasheh to mean the sinew that slipped from its place. No one but those lacking in understanding and knowledge of nature have any doubt as to its definition. The latter interpret gid (sinew) to refer to the penis and hold that nassheh (thigh-vein) comes from the same root as nashim (women).⁵⁰ as follows: Therefore the children of Israel do not engage (eat) in abnormal intercourse with women (gid ha-nasheh). According to Krinsky it is this interpretation which I.E. negates. Note, the angel that appeared to Jacob was corporeal.⁵¹. 38. It reads, ve-da (note). The printed text reads, la-da’at (to know). This will be explained to you, if God will enlighten you, in the chapter that begins, for My name is in him (Ex. 23:21).