Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ibn Ezra · Torah

Ibn Ezra on Genesis 33/אבן עזרא על בראשית ל״ג

אושם רחל ויוסף באחרונה אולי ימלטו בעבור אהבתו אותם:

1[AND RACHEL AND JOSEPH HINDERMOST.] He placed Rachel and Joseph last so that they might possibly escape. Jacob did this because of his great love for them.

אהדרש על נקודות "וישקהו" טוב הוא לעתיקי משדים, כי על דרך הפשט לא חשב עשו לעשות רע לאחיו והעד ויבכו כאשר עשה יוסף אם אחיו:

1[AND KISSED HIM.] The Midrashic interpretation concerning the dots on ve-yishakehu¹ has dots over it According to a Midrashic opinion this indicates that Esau did not kiss Jacob wholeheartedly. Cf. Yalkut Shimoni on this verse. (and kissed him) is good for them that are drawn from the breasts.² It is obvious from the plain meaning of the text that Esau did not intend to harm Jacob, the proof being and they wept, as Joseph did with his brethren.³. v. 14).

אמי אלה לך. מי אלה עמך או מי אלה שלך הם:

1WHO ARE THESE WITH THEE. Mi eleh lakh can be interpreted as meaning who are these with thee, or who are these who are yours.⁴ can be interpreted as meaning immekha (with you) or shellekha (yours). Esau knew that these women and children belonged to Jacob. What he wanted to know was their relationship to him; were they servants or children (Cherez).

בחנן. כמו נתן, וכמוהו "חנונו אותם", (שופ' כא כב), גם חנן כמו הם:

2GRACIOUSLY GIVEN. Chanan means gave graciously.⁵ usually means to show favor to, to be gracious to. Hence I.E. explains that here chanan means gave graciously. Grant them graciously (channunu) unto us (Jud. 21:22) is similar.⁶ has the meaning of to graciously give. The word chinnam⁷. 38. Most of the printed texts have chanan. This reading is impossible to interpret. I.E.’s point is that chinnam comes from the root chet, nun, nun and means something gotten gratis (Filwarg, Weiser). (gratuitously) comes from the same root.⁸ and chinnam both come from the root chet, nun, nun. See note 7.

אמי לך. מי לעולם ימצא על אדם, ופי' מי הוא זה ששגרת לו כל המנחה הזה, או מי במחשבתך:

1WHAT MEANEST THOU. The word mi (what)⁹ (what) usually means who. always refers to a person. The meaning of our clause¹⁰ literally means: who to thee all this camp? This lends itself to the two interpretations offered by I.E. is: to whom did you send this gift, or whom were you thinking of when you sent this gift.

אאל נא. אל יאמר אדוני כן, וכבר הודעתיך דקדוק הנגיד:

1NAY, I PRAY THEE. I pray my lord not to so speak.¹¹ (nay, I pray thee) is short for al na yomar adoni ken (I pray my lord not to so speak) (Weiser). I have previously noted Rabbi Samuel Ha-Nagid’s interpretation of the term al (nay).¹²

בכראות פני אלהים. מלאך, ורבי המפרשים אומרים כי בא המלאך ליעקב לחזק את לבו שלא יירא מאחיו כי הנה המלאך לא יכול לו, אף כי בן אדם, ואין מלת שרית עם אלהים כמו "וישר אבימלך על ישראל" (שופ' ט כב), כי אין "עם" כמו "על", רק פירושו שר תחשב עם המלאכים, ואם אנשים שרים, ושואלים ישאלו מה טעם ויזרח לו השמש, והלא ברגע אחד זורחת בכל העולם, ושאלתם תוהו, כי עת זרוח השמש בכל מקום ישתנה והנה בין ירושלים ובין זאת המדינה שחברתי בה זה הפי' ושמה לוקא שעה ושליש שעה, וברחב י"ב מעלות, וזה הדבר ברור בלא ספק, ופי' והוא צולע שהיה הולך על צלעו האחת, וטעם על כן זכר לדבר:

2AS ONE SEETH THE FACE OF GOD. The face of an angel. Many of the commentators explain that the angel with whom Jacob wrestled came to encourage him not to lose heart and fear Esau. For if an angel could not overcome him, certainly no human could. The word sarita (thou hast striven), in thou hast striven (sarita) with (im) God (Gen. 32:29),¹³ to mean strove. Since Jacob alluded to the angel in his comments to Esau, I.E. now goes back and concludes his comments on that incident which is reported in the previous chapter. does not mean the same as va-yaser¹⁴, Oxford, 1968. (was prince) in And Abimelech was prince (va-yasar) over (al) Israel (Jud. 9:22), because im (with) is not the same as al (over). Our phrase (Gen. 32:29) means that you are considered a prince among the angels, and also among human princes.¹⁵ as, you have become a sar, a prince; im Elohim, among angels; ve-im anashim, and among human princes. Some ask, what does Scripture mean by And the sun rose upon him (Gen. 32:32) when the sun rises all over the world at the same time?¹⁶ 78:8, “Did the sun rise only for him?” This is a nonsensical question because the sun rises at different times in different places. For example, there is a difference of one and a third hours in sunrise and also twelve degrees in latitude between Jerusalem and the place where I wrote this commentary, namely the city of Lucca.¹⁷ This thing is certain and beyond doubt. The meaning of tzole’a (and he limped) (Gen. 32:32) is, he walked on one side.¹⁸ as a side (see his comments on Gen. 2:21). Tzole’a is a denominative. A healthy person walks straight, a sick person leans on one side (Cherez). The meaning of al ken (therefore) (Gen. 32:33) is, in commemoration of this thing.¹⁹

אנסעה. יש אומרים שהוא לשון צווי, כמו "שלחה הנער" (בראשית מג ח) וכן "נפלו עלינו" (הושע י, ח)

1LET US TAKE OUR JOURNEY. Some say that nisah (let us take our journey) is an imperative.²⁰ (let us take our journey) means, take your journey. The usual form for let us take our journey is nissa with a dagesh in the samakh, not nisah which does not have a dagesh in the samekh and has a heh at the end. The usual imperative form for take your journey is sa. The commentators quoted by I.E. point out that in the elongated imperative the first letter of the root is vocalized with a chirik and the last with a kamatz, as in shilchah. Cf. Rashi. It is similar to shilchah (send) in Send (shilchah) the lad (Gen. 43:8)²¹. and niflu (fall) in Fall (niflu) on us (Hos. 10:8).²² as their first root letter drop the nun in the imperative, thus the imperative of nun, samekh, ayin is sa. I.E. points out that in nun, peh, lamed, the nun does not drop in the imperative. Hence while in nasa the nun normally drops out in the imperative, it does not in the elongated imperative. Hence nisah is similar to niflu.

בונלכה. כולנו ושאני אלך לנגדך לא אזוז ממך, ויתכן להיותו כמו "ונסעה מנהר אהוא" (עזרא ח לא) נסעה כולנו ואני אלך לנגדך:

2AND LET US GO. All of us.²³ (and let us go) which is a plural. I.E. further points out that the meaning of and I will go before thee is: I will not move away from thee (Weiser). Compare Rashi, and I will go before thee, equally with thee. Krinky suggests that I.E.’s interpretation is: even if I perchance go before thee, I will not go far from thee but will keep up with thee. And I will go before thee; i.e., I will not move away from you. However, it is possible that nisah is similar to va-nissse’ah²⁴ in Ezra 8:31 is an elongated first person plural imperfect meaning: we will depart, we will take our journey. The vav prefixed to it changes it to a perfect. Hence va-nisse’ah means: then we departed. I.E. now says nisah in our verse, too, is a first person plural imperfect meaning: let us take our journey. However, he does not explain why there is no dagesh in the samekh. (then we departed) in Then we departed (va-nisse’ah) from the river of Ahava (Ezra 8:31). The meaning of our verse thus is: Let us all take our journey,²⁵ is a first person plural imperfect. According to the first interpretation our verse reads: Take your journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee; according to the second: Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go before thee. and I will go before thee.

אהילדים רכים, כי הגדול שבהם י"ב שנה יש לו וימים מספר:

1THE CHILDREN ARE TENDER. The oldest was twelve years and some days old.²⁶

בעלות. כמו עלות ינהל (ישעי' מ יא) והנה ההרות שעלו עליהם העתודים, על כן נקראו עלות

2GIVING SUCK. Alot (giving suck) is similar to alot (pregnant) in and gently leadeth those that are pregnant (alot) (Is. 40:11).²⁷. The usual translation of alot is: those that give suck. It means pregnant cattle. They are called alot because the he-goats went up (alu) on them.²⁸ (Gen. 31:10). The point is that pregnant animals are called alot because they were mounted by male animals.

גוטעם עלי, עלי לשמרם שלא יבואו לידי נזק:

3The meaning of alai²⁹ (are a care to me) is that I have to care for them that no harm befall them.

דודפקום, ואם דפקום המנהיגים אז ימותו כל הצאן:

4AND IF THEY OVERDRIVE THEM. If the drivers³⁰ overdrive them, then all the flock will die.

אאתנהלה. כמו אתנהל עמם:

1AND I WILL JOURNEY ON. This is to be understood as, and I will journey on with them.

בלאטי. היו"ד נוסף או יהי לשון יחיד מדבר:

2GENTLY. The yod of le’itti (gently) is either superfluous³¹. Hence the yod of le’itti is superfluous. or is a first person pronominal suffix.³²

גלרגל המלאכה. בעבור המקנה שהוא מלאכתי והקרוב אלי כי פי' המלאכה מה שיוכל אדם לעשות בכחו וברשותו, גם הממון יקרא כך כמו "אם לא שלח ידו במלאכת רעהו" (שמות כב ז), ומזאת הגזרה מלת "מלאך", בעבור שהוא תחת רשות השולח, ויהיה לרגל כמו "ויברך ד' אותך לרגלי" (בראשית ל, ל) ויתכן להיות לרגל כמשמעו שהוליכם על רגליהם:

3ACCORDING TO THE PACE OF THE CATTLE. Because of the cattle, whose care is my work.³³ usually means work. I.E. explains why it refers to cattle here. I believe that the meaning of melakhah is what a person can do by himself or through his agent.³⁴ here refers to cattle. He now expands on the meaning of the word (Filwarg). According to the first interpretation “work” refers to cattle because Jacob’s work was taking care of cattle. According to the second interpretation “work” can refer directly to cattle, for one’s possessions are one’s work. Also, one’s property is called melakhah, as in whether he have not put his hand unto his neighbor’s goods (melekhet) (Ex. 22:7). The word messenger (malakh) comes from the same root. A malakh (messenger) is so called because he is under the control of the one who sends him. The meaning of the word regel (the pace) is the same as le-ragli (because of me),³⁵ (according to the pace) means because. Although the basic meaning of melachah is changed in the second interpretation, the meaning of le-regel (because) remains unchanged. as in and the Lord hath blessed thee because of me (le-ragli) (Gen. 30:30).³⁶ However, it is possible that le-regel should be taken literally, since Jacob led the animals on foot.³⁷ means cattle, why not interpret regel literally as meaning feet, since the animals walked, viz., according to the pace (foot) of the cattle.

אוטעם למה זה. אין לי צורך:

1[WHAT NEEDETH IT?] I have no need of it.³⁸. This can be rendered: why then shall I find favor in the eyes of my lord? I.E. explains that this is not the way to interpret the verse. Lammah zeh is not to be connected to emtza chen, etc. The verse is to be interpreted: lammah zeh, why this? That is, why do this when I have no need of it? Emtza chen be-ene adoni is another clause meaning: I merely want to find favor in your eyes (Weiser, Krinsky). Cf. Rashi.

אויבא יעקב שלם. שם התואר והטעם שבא בשלום שלא אירע לו שום מאורע כי עתה יחיל לספר מאורע דינה:

1AND JACOB CAME IN PEACE. Shalem (peace) is an adjective.³⁹ can be taken to be the name of a place, Salem. Hence I.E.’s comment. The meaning of our clause is, Jacob came in peace to Shechem; i.e., no misfortune befell him on the way. Scripture notes this because it is about to tell of what happened to Dinah.⁴⁰

אחלקת השדה. חלק בשדה, והזכיר זה הכתוב להודיע כי מעלה גדולה יש לארץ ישראל, ומי שיש לו בה חלק, חשוב הוא כחלק עולם הבא:

1THE PARCEL OF GROUND. A portion in the field.⁴¹. He rather bought a portion in the field where he had spread his tent. Scripture mentions this⁴² to inform us of the greatness of the land of Israel. Whosoever has a portion in it is as though he had a portion in the world to come.

אויאמר הגאון, כי ויקרא לו אל אלהי ישראל. כי פי' שקרא אל אל השם והנכון הוא שכן הוא שם המזבח, וכן מזבח משה קרא שמו "ד' נסי" (שמות יז טו) בעבור הנס שעשה השם במקום ההוא, וכן בשוב השכינה אל ירושלים תהי נקראת ד' שָמָה (יחז' מה לה), וכן בעבור שעזר השם את יעקב קרא שם המזבח שעבד שם השם אל אלהי ישראל, והטעם שהוא חזק ותקיף:

1[AND CALLED IT EL-ELOHE-ISRAEL.]⁴³ Saadiah explained that and called it El-elohe-Israel means, He called to the Lord, “El-elohe-Israel.”⁴⁴ can mean either it or him. Saadiah had difficulty in accepting that Jacob called the altar God, the God of Israel. Hence he did not interpret lo as meaning it, i.e., the altar, but rather as Him, i.e., God. He interprets our verse as: And called to Him, God, God of Israel (Krinsky). For a slightly different interpretation see Cherez. However, the correct interpretation is that he called the altar El-elohe-Israel (God, the God of Israel). Moses similarly called the altar he erected Adonai-nissi (the Lord is my banner) (Ex. 17:15) because of the miracle God performed in that place. Similarly, when the Divine Presence will once again return to Jerusalem, the city will be called Adonai-shammah (the Lord is there) (Ezek. 48:35). Jacob similarly called the altar whereupon he served the Lord, El-elohe-Israel (God, the God of Israel) because God came to his aid. The name El (God) means the One who is powerful and mighty.⁴⁵

באלהי ישראל. שהצילו בדרך ובא שלם אל ארץ כנען כי שם שכם וסוכות, ולפי דעתי יתכן שהתעכב בעיר שכם שנים רבות, כי דינה לא היתה בת שבע שנים גם שמעון ולוי קטנים היו:

2ELOHE-ISRAEL. He saved him on the way and ensured his safe arrival in Canaan, where Succoth⁴⁶ and Shechem are located.⁴⁷ I believe that Jacob spent many years in the city of Shechem, for at the time of Jacob’s arrival in Shechem, Dinah was less than seven years old and also Simeon and Levi were yet small children.⁴⁸ 80.